Zooey Deschanel

Zooey Deschanel

I've always liked Zooey Deschanel. She's pretty much the only thing I remember from Failure to Launch, she seriously stole the show. (Not that Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Mconahaugh {good lord how DO you spell that man's name???} put on much of a show.)

She plays a lot of instruments and records music with M. Ward, under the name She & Him, and she is married to Ben Freaking Gibbard! Oh yeah and she is in a jazz cabaret. Which is pretty much the coolest thing ever.

I still haven't seen (500) Days of Summer, which everyone keeps raving about, but she is adorable and a fabulous actress in everything else I've seen her in. (I highly recommend Tin Man, it's awesome.) She encapsulates the quirky, intelligent, beautiful, vintage-clad girl every girl on earth seems to want to be, including myself.

all photos are from weheartit

Currently Reading:

These lovely books:
So far I like it, the writing style is really fluid and lyrical. I am thoroughly engrossed to say the least. It's very psychological at times. In this way it reminds me of Crime & Punishment (and not just because the author is Russian).


I actually started reading this one before Lolita but decided to read Lolita first. I may decide to try and read all the books that this little Iranian book club read before I read the book, I'm not sure yet. Lolita seemed like a prerequisite at the very least.

My boyfriends mom gave this book to me, as she grew up in Alice Springs, AU. It seems really interesting so far. When I googled the book to find the cover for this post I found out it's a movie as well. After I finish I may try and rent it.

Started this over the summer but let it fall to the wayside behind Paulo Coelho' s "The Witch of Portobello" and Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere", amongst other books. Will get back to it someday so I can complete the Ender Saga. I think I'm feeling the Classics (or books that are considered "literature" at least) because I'm not bogged down with school reading. When I was in school reading boring textbooks all the time I needed a good science fiction escape, but now I want to learn as much as I can, because I'm not getting the intellectual stimulation I'm used to.
Interesting.
Signed,
A once and always bibliophile

Inspirational Photo Friday

Yet another friday! Goodness this week just flew by.
So last night friend and boyfriend and sister and I all did Tarot cards. Well more like tarot cards that believe in god and seek their power from angels. It's a long story.
But one of the cards I drew said to "Spend More Time Outdoors", which is perfect because I've been aching for some good forest time. (Though I can't find any good forests in the heart of Orange County. Sad Day.) But as such the theme of these photos are forests and greenery and the good ol great outdoors.
Enjoy. :)

Happy December!

Here's to fires in the fireplace, my moms hot applecran cider, pea coats and scarves, and holiday cheer.
:)

And now to start playing Sufjan's "Songs For Christmas" like it's going to save my soul.

Inspirational Photo Friday

That last image totally reminds me of The Magnetic Fields music video for "Crazy For You"... it's pretty cool looking, check it out:


All of the above pictures are from weheartit. The second to last picture is of course Alix aka thecherryblossomgirl, one of the few blogs on my blog reader that I actually check religiously. (The others being of course xkcd, postsecret, and that's probably it...)

This little collection of photos encapsulates so many wonderful things... the holidays, the great outdoors, snuggling up in bed to read a good book, and of course the lovely smell of clean sheets. :)

Anyways, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and todays Black Friday in no way resulted in any shopping-related deaths.
A tout a l'heure!

Inspirational Photo Friday

All images are from weheartit.com

It's holiday dresses and reading sanctuaries, and holiday lights, and green fields, and moss covered bridges, and all around perfection. A little bit fairy tale, a little bit holiday, and a lot of nature. Just something to inspire. :)
ps: has anyone ever seen fireflies in real life??? It's one of the things on my list of things to do in my lifetime... Someday. And in other news I applied to a grad school in Australia today!

Location Love: Yosemite

I LOVE Yosemite. I can't help it. It's nostalgic for me. My family has been going to Yosemite in fall/winter for about a week for as long as I can remember. Staying at the Lodge, walking to the lower falls, biking around the valley floor, skating at the outdoor rink, it's all so familiar and amazing. And I miss it. I didn't go this year, I couldn't go last year, and frankly I need a big ol dose of Yosemite. So here are some pictures to tide me over...


all photos from weheartit

Isn't it simply enchanting? So many lush trees! And clear skies! I think this might be what heaven looks like... My family always goes for the Vintner's Holidays, which are super cool if you're really into wine. They have the wine makers come and they do tastings and give talks about the wine... I went to a cool one 2 years ago where they paired Mumm champagne with sushi. It was a dream come true.

Seriously though, SoCal is killing me. I need some trees and forests. Stat.

Free Thanksgiving Image Download!

So my darling sister works at a museum, and brought home a bunch of neat autumn/thanksgiving scrapbooking paper, that was left over from a childrens craft they had over the weekend. (Ps: shameless plug, if you live in orange county you should check out OCMA's Target Sunday's, they have tons of stuff for families to do, and free admission!) But so she brought the stuff home and I started playing with it and ended up taking pictures and finishing the scrapbooking via Photoshop. (isn't technology amazing?) The results are now viewable on the etsy and website!

Here are the same pictures as above, but without all the dot&dash stuff on it! For your own use, whatever it may be:


Just click the picture for the big downloadable version!

Apartment Polaroids

We moved in to a new apartment in October, and we've been having fun putting things up, filling the space, and basically making it a home. Below are a few pictures of it so far...










Everything looks better in Polaroid format. Even the rainbow of our bathroom towels!

In other news it's finally getting a bit chilly. So excited for pea coat weather! And my new flannel shirt! Winter is amazing. Confession: It's not even Thanksgiving and I've already started listening to Sufjan Steven's christmas cd. Last year Christmas passed and I felt I didn't get to listen to it enough, so I'm starting early. :)

That's all for now! Have a great day.

Eco-Friendly Home

I realized recently that I love eco-friendly houses. This dawned on me as I watched The Ballad of Jack and Rose and realized I really really really wanted their house. Unfortunately I couldn't find any pictures online of the house from the movie. (Seriously odd, coolest house ever, and the movie sort of highlighted it, I don't know why I can't find more online.) The movie is rather interesting. Camilla Bella gets her hair cut like mine in it, which was kinda sweet.

But the point was, in my search I found another SUPER COOL eco-friendly house that this couple with 2 kids (a toddler and an infant) built in the woodlands of Wales. For even more information here's a link to their website. And check out the "similar buildings" link, for even more eco-friendly house goodness! With 2,000 pounds a very little other collateral they built the house in four months! So amazing.
Here are the beautiful pictures:





Someday I will have to resolve my inner conflict between living in the woods in an eco-friendly house and my fear of living in the woods, and my love of cities.

Love: Stacking Rings

I am borderline obsessed with stacking rings. Perhaps because these are one of the things in the world of jewelry that I simply cannot make for myself. (I've looked in to it... I would need so many supplies and a workspace and such that it's just not feasible right now.) As such rings are one of the things I covet most when looking at other peoples shops. Here are some of the beauties I've found on Etsy. I hope you will find them as amazing as I do.

By Meetalls:

Colorful Rings - $36



Set of Three Wave Rings - $36

These by singleBbeautiful:

Pebble Stack-Recycled Silver - $198

Reycled Silver Textured Ring Squared - $20 (per single ring)

And this last one I actually own. It's brilliant, I always get tons of complements when I wear it. It's made by Pauper's Bounty.

Skinny Sterling Silver Forget Me Knot Bow-Tie Ring - $10

That last one isn't a typical stacking ring, but I think it would look lovely sandwiched between to thin sterling silver bands. Just a thought.

Anyways, there are some beautiful things for you. Enjoy. :)