currently coveting: hello

I really, really, really, really want this.

to my valentine

I'm so lucky to have you around.

in which there is bread in my belly

I love this sweater.  I can't believe my friend Elizabeth gave it away, but I'm glad she gave it to me! :)  I also can't believe I wanted to cut it up and turn it into a vest at one point.  That would have been a travesty!

(sweater: llbean; scarf/shirt: thrifted; jeans: pacsun; boots: tjmaxx; earmuffs: urban outfitters)

I'm having sort of a mind-body WTF situation going on right now.  On one hand, I feel good.  I've been getting up at 7 AM this week, which is EARLY for me.  This gives me just enough time to have a cup of coffee, eat breakfast, write my morning pages, and read a few chapters of a book.  I've also been exercising.  I went to the gym on Monday night, I did my workout video last night, and I'll be going to the gym again tonight.  On the other hand, I've been eating a lot of bread.  Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE BREAD.  As a relatively lazy, carb-craving vegetarian, I eat a lot of it--pasta, hunks of sourdough, bagels, sandwiches--but lately whenever I eat bread I feel kind of uggggghhhh.  It's almost like all of the good things I'm doing lately (working out, avoiding alcohol) are just making the knot of bread in my stomach that much more unpleasant.

The thing is, I've been thinking a lot about what I eat lately, and it's not just because I watched that documentary or because I can't just slip into my skinny jeans like I used to or because I want to appear virtuous or anything like that.  It's because a lot of the "comfort" foods that have always been staples of my diet now make me feel ugggggghhh.  And I don't like that feeling.  I don't know if it's just because I'm getting older and my metabolism is dragging, or just because it's winter and I don't get enough fresh air and everything feels like uggggghhh (a distinct possibility), or because I really should just embrace being healthy,  once and for all.  I've always loved my bread and wine and cheese, and I have never wanted to deny myself the pleasure of those things for this or that reason.  I've always clung to them with a sort of "I will indulge!  It is my right! You can't take that away!" mentality, but what if avoiding those things could make my life more pleasant?  I dunno, it's on my mind.

in which this is my mortal coil

I am so TIRED, and blogging has been rather sporadic lately, I know.  I'm always running late these days.  But I also feel like I have been pretty productive lately... maybe only by my own standards.  

(coat: sears; jeans: pacsun; scarf: tjmaxx; tunic: zara; boots: seychelles; sunglasses: urban outfitters)

I had a surprise day off from work last week because I needed to get my car fixed, and I ended up really using my time wisely.  I drafted a query letter so that I could start sending the novel out to agents (although in the process I basically decided that it's not ready/isn't good enough, and I'm kind of okay with that... it's only the first pancake), and then I started the second novel that has been brewing in my mind for a while now.  This one has a much more concentrated focus and, well, plot, so I'm pretty excited about it.  

I'm toying with the idea of using my blog as a way to "write" certain sections of the book that I think could really benefit from outsider input.  I think it could be really fun!  So I'll get back to you on that.  I've been kind of struggling with where I want this blog to go, mostly because my life is about to change dramatically in a few months (if all goes as planned) and I want to find a way to transition into a blog that encompasses more than just what I am wearing.  After all, "clothes are but our outmost cuticle and mortal coil."

Yesterday I went snowboarding with my mom and brother and it was a beautiful, perfect day, and so much fun.  I really love spending a day on the mountain, and am so grateful to my mom for taking me along!  There is something so refreshing about winter sports, that I always forget until I am doing them.  I look forward to the day when I have land and can casually go outside and move around.  Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding... all so much fun!  And Vermont is just so beautiful.  I have such pride in my little home state, for so many reasons, but its beauty is certainly one of them.

Oh, and K got in to the first two graduate programs he applied to!  Two for two :)  We're just waiting to hear on six more.  So proud of that guy!

happy hot air balloons

Oh, weekend.  I miss you already.  I do feel like my weekend was satisfying/productive, though, which is saying something.  I zipped through The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith (loved), watched some great movies (The Giant Mechanical Man, Your Sister's Sister, and Vegucated, which seriously made me consider veganism until I realized I can't live without cheese... but I'm going to cut back on dairy products as much as possible [not loving the almond milk in my coffee and soy isn't a great substitute, either, healthwise--any suggestions]?  Also it made me feel good that I've at least been a vegetarian all my life.), went to the gym and did my workout video... all good things.

(dress: h&m; shoes: seychelles; belt: urban outfitters; hot air balloon earrings!)

On Sunday night, K and I watched the Superbowl and drank beer and ate nachos.  I must admit, I'm a bit of a closet football fan.  I used to love playing it (my family is very competitive, and sports were never an exception), and I do enjoy watching it once a year (even if the 49ers did lose...).  And Beyonce was awesome.  Now it's back down to business--getting my car fixed (hopefully?), working working working, finishing my tax returns, all that boring grown-up blahblahblah.

in which i am (officially?) a wild woman

Hello there!  The dead weight of this cold weather finally lifted a bit, so I was able to brave the great outdoors once again and I decided to brighten things up a bit!  I originally bought and altered this dress for Christmas a couple of years ago so it always feels a little bit "holiday" when I wear it.  The gold tights probably don't help, but oh well :)

(dress: thrifted; belt: urban outfitters; tights: hue; shoes: seychelles; earrings: bought in austin, tx)

This past weekend was pretty wild!  I've sure been getting my girl time in lately.  On Thursday night my lady friends and I had Art Club at my apartment, drank Heady Topper and ate snacks and had another one of our epic conversations about femininity and day moons and the power dynamics between men and women and taking control of to-be-looked-at-ness and women in combat and combat in general and the unfortunate  way in which our society encourages the expression of masculinity through violence... and then they went home, and on Friday I headed to a house in the woods for my semi-official initiation into the tribe of WWW (wild women of Woodbury), and I didn't emerge from those woods until Sunday afternoon.

I have always been awed and inspired by the WWW.  They're all such passionate, intelligent, wonderful (wild) women, and I feel so lucky to have been raised under the umbrella of their influence.  I also know I am fortunate to have some of their daughters as my very best friends/soul sisters/future WWW (and hopefully we will manage to carry on the tradition of this epic weekend for decades to come).  There was a lot of cosmo-drinking, southern-style food-eating, puppet-making (and a somewhat scandalous puppet show on Saturday night), ping-pong playing, hula-hooping (I will figure out how to be awesome at this... mark my words), and an incredibly epic snowshoe over fields and through forests and over the top of a hill that looked out around all of the Green and White mountains (the weekend was hosted at Switchell extraordinaire Susan's house in Cabot and the surrounding land is amazing) and culminated in a campfire powwow with soups and spicy sausage.  I was so exhausted on Sunday that I when I got home all I the energy I could manage to muster went into watching Downton Abbey (and I still fell asleep on the couch).

Anyway, THANK YOU to the WWW for allowing me to attend!  It was really nice to get to know everyone a little bit better after all of these years :)

savory (thursday): mac&cheese and roasted roots

Seriously, it is SO COLD this week.  It was -12F this morning (that's -24C), and I am in full hibernation mode.  Something about the cold weather is making me moderately domestic, however.  Nesting?  I've been cooking and baking, which is not a common occurrence.  Maybe it's the opportunity to stand over a warm oven?  Anyway, it's cold.  A couple of nights ago I decided to make macaroni and cheese (because what's more heartwarming than comfort food?) and roasted root vegetables (my friend Elizabeth introduced me to the deliciousness of roasted roots).  So here are some pictures.  Because I'm certainly not stepping outside.

life lately: a day on the mountain

On Saturday night, my mom called and asked if I wanted to hit the slopes the next day, and I said "yes!"  It has been so long since I went snowboarding... the lift ticket tag that was still on my coat said 2008, but the last time I remember going was back in college, when my friend Steph was visiting:

So that's kind of a mystery... but anyway, it has been a long time since I went down a mountain.  I always forget how much fun it is, which I think is really just the result of my selective memory protecting me from wanting to go since I really can't afford it.  But anyway, it was pretty much a perfect ski day except for the wind, which was pretty out of hand by the end of the afternoon.  I was exhausted when I got home, and flopped on the couch to eat coconut chocolate chip cookies (which I was randomly inspired to bake late Saturday night) and watch a documentary about the ballet (First Position).

I feel so lucky to have been able to learn to ski as a kid (when I was in high school we got to take half days off and go to the mountain every week during the winter--pretty amazing), and I'm happy to say that it is like riding a bicycle--I was able to pick up right where I left off.  And thanks to mom for inviting me along!  It was fun :)