2.17.2011

Polka Dots, Cardigans, and a Wavy Bob, Oh My!


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How cute is she?
A navy dotted dress...precisely what my closet is missing for spring :)


2.16.2011

Let's Be Kids!

      A good friend of mine who was unaware that I had half committedly started writing a blog reminded me of a time when I was utterly petrified to let anyone I deemed to be remotely intelligent, creative, and artistic read anything I had written. How silly is that? It is hard for me to fully wrap my brain around just what it was that I was so afraid of. While my intense anxiety has since subsided, I am so thankful for this reminder because I think it will push me to write more and perhaps advertise a little more publicly that I actually do author a blog. I believe a good way to find motivation and confidence in writing is to read old things you have written. As I was thumbing through the archives today, I came across this old gem:


March 22, 2008
        Today I found myself sitting in a spa chair getting a pedicure. I glanced down at my toes and the color being applied to my nails was a shade of pink that can really only be found on barbie cars and princess hats in the shapes of cones with endless sparkly streamers waving down. Well, then again this nail color was very reminiscent of the nail color that was made by Bonne Bell and Tinkerbell as well. Every time the young man doing the pedicure would grab my foot, my toes would curl and I noticed myself scrunching my nose and giggling with a snort.

     Clearly, not much has changed since my Bonne Bell years but anyhoo...

          These pedicures go on for some time so I began flipping through a magazine. I read a little tidbit about how getting at least 8 hrs. of sleep every night helps to reduce our tendency to snap at friends, spouses, bosses, etc. I flipped a few more pages and began reading another snip-it about how 30- 45 minutes of vigorous physical activity everyday reduces your chances of  obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis....blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada. I glanced down to see the progress of the fuschia barbie car shade appearing on all ten of my wigglies and thought to myself...why do we not live our lives like kids anymore? When did everything become so serious? As a child, I think there were very few nights where I did not get 8 hrs of sleep and I definitely never had to be told that I specifically needed 8 hrs. of shut eye so that I didn’t start a conflict on the playground. (Sheesh, maybe we were more grown up when we were kids). I also did not need the fear of horrific health issues instilled in me to know that I needed to run around at the park, jump on my trampoline and swim until my eyes burned so bad and my fingers were so pruned up that I personally removed myself from the pool. I continued to read on about how we don’t need to diet but rather we should eat a balanced diet, eat when we are actually hungry, and eat the things we want in moderation. Is this rocket science, people???? As a child, my family would go to the river to go skiing and swimming from early in the morning until the sun went down. If I was not on the boat, I was in the water. This is no exaggeration either. I remember somewhere around 530 or 6 being hit so hard with hunger, I didn’t know what had hit me. At this point, I would come out of the water and eat to rid myself of my hunger pains. I should also mention that at this age I had this very special plate that was divided in to sections so that you could really only put so much food on your plate and each section was the place for a different food. I definitely exercised, ate when I was hungry, had a balanced diet, and ate the things I wanted but in moderation. It was simple...so simple in fact, that I am almost certain that diet, exercise, sleep, and moods never crossed my mind. At what point in time did we start caring so much about these things? And further, if we started to care about them so much more at a later age, why is it so hard for people to get a hold on it? If all of us adults could just remember how we ran our lives as kids, I think we would all be healthier, happier, well rested, and less stressed out. Yes, many adults would argue that their lives become more complex, more busy, more financially driven, more on the road...well, more of everything sounding slightly negative. I agree, kind of. I do think we have more responsibilities but I would like to think that it is just us living our lives on a little bit of a larger scale. Or at least we are able to do that. As a kid, my friends and I would lock ourselves in our rooms for hours and stay up all night making up elaborate choreography to the sounds of many of our beloved early 90’s artists. We would do it over and over and over again until it was just right. What am I doing now? I dance upwards of 15 hrs. a week, I teach an artisitic sport and I choreograph routines! The greatest difference from then and now is that there is a little more riding on the end result, sometimes rejection is involved and now I make money doing it. So really, the only differences are the money and rejection part because as kids we treated every step as if we were doing it in front of a million people and everything was riding on that final performance. I really think that we can bridge the gaps between our childhood and adult life more than we think. Afterall, we are the same person...we are just living in different times. Alright, was that enough mental diarrhea for one night? Probably so, but I could talk about this for days.

     What am I actually trying to say? I think I am trying to say that life is a lot more simple than we make it out to be. Let’s be kids.

     Paint your toenails the color of a barbie car. When your mom takes you out to lunch, try not to agonize whether or not to get cheese and avocado on your sandwich fearing all of the fat you might be consuming...I mean geez, you are getting treated to lunch. Enjoy it. Take the word exercise out of your vocabulary, get off the treadmill at the gym and run around in circles and feel the spring air on your shoulders because you want to...not because you need to. When you feel like you have too much responsibility, remind yourself how you wanted to be in charge when you were a kid and how great it felt when you were given tasks and responsibilites to fulfill. And when you get that rejection from a job interview, audition, etc. that meant so much to you because it is all you ever wanted to do...keep doing it. Damn, life is good :)

1.25.2011

Surfer Girl Dream Gone Bad

I had big plans for the January sun this past weekend.
I was going to learn how to surf. 
I borrowed the "wettie", had a cute boy visiting who was more than willing to teach me, and a light green long board which according to him was made for me since it matched my eyes.
Sounds like a dream, right?
I thought so too.
I even dreamed that I would say something to him like:
via fifi du vie on etsy
And he would reply, "Yes dear, let's"
After a sunshine filled day of paddling hard, and trying to find my balance:
via shehitpausestudios on etsy
I might look a little like this:



via slanchreport

and we would end the day gabbing and laughing about how much sun, surf, and fun we had:

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Ha, I wish!
 
What really happened is that I got out there and completely froze. It seems as though I may have a bit of a phobia of the ocean and even the smallest waves it produces. 
I know now that if I ever want to surf, I must spend more time in the ocean so I don't have a heart attack in my 20's.
 
Take note: I will learn how to surf!
It may take more time since I have some mental hurdles to get over but I will get there...I promise!
 
PS~Aside from the near panic attack, the weekend was dreamy and memorable for various other reasons ;)

1.21.2011

Foodie? Um no, I think you meant Fattie ;)

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating." ~Luciano Pavarotti   

It's safe to say that I adore shopping for food, picking food, cooking food, eating food, and sharing food.
I would like to say that I am a bonafide foodie but no...I'm just a fattie :/
What are your favorite foods?

Note about me: I heart tomatoes almost more than life itself...just sayin'

Dreaming about Sunny Weekends

"They came to sit & dangle their feet off the edge of the world & after awhile they forgot everything but the good and true things they would do someday." ~Brian Andreas


via Being Brazen

 With the weekend swiftly approaching, I can't help but think back to a warm weekend in September where I dangled my feet over a cliff edge and chatted and laughed the afternoon away while feeling the sun beat down on my shoulders. 
Ah, what a lovely weekend it was...
 (PS~I have a scar on my knee from hopping over the railing so we could sit on that cliff edge and I am reminded of just how wonderful that weekend was every time I look at it.)

Happy Friday My Darlings!

Guess what?...I'm learning to surf this weekend :)

How do you like to spend sunny weekends in January?


12.19.2010

Ready for takeoff!

Hello there my lovelies and welcome to my blog!

I have been an avid blog follower for some time now and I just love the inspiration, creativity, imagination, beauty, and wisdom that I gather from several lovely gals that keep daily blogs about fashion, food, DIY, interior design, event planning and lifestyle. 

I have always wanted to start my own blog but have found a million excuses to not get it 'off the ground.'

As a recent college grad, I have suddenly come upon an excess of time and energy that needs to be channeled in to a) getting a "grown up" job, and b) finding a medium where I am still thinking, writing, sharing, and growing. Since a good portion of my day is spent in front of my computer looking for the next step i.e a job :/, why not take a break from perfecting my resume and focus some of my energy on expressing my interests and loves?

So, here I am ceasing the moment and I have to say I am very excited about it!

I have decided to title my blog, "To the Moon" because I frequently use the expression out of adoration for people, places, things, and ideas. This blog intends to illustrate and display just that...the things that I simply adore!

So please, follow me my darlings, as I begin my journey through the unknown. I hope to keep you posted on the happenings of my life and hopefully along the way I can show you some things that are just too simply adorable to keep to myself! 

Enjoy!