It's been a while since I've done a Favorites Fridays post, but this week, when I read this poem, I knew that it was time for another one.
I've made no secret that Rainer Maria Rilke is my favorite poet. The more of his writing-both poetry and letters- I read, the more I love them. The first time I walked into the Rodin garden in Paris, France and saw his name on the plaque on the museum wall, it was like running into a friend in a place where never would have expected to find one.
Like G.K. Chesterton, I feel like Rainer and I would have been friends, had history and geography been kinder.
A hunger drives us. We want to contain it all in our naked hands, our brimming senses, our speechless hearts. We want to become it, or offer it—but to whom? We could hold it forever—but, after all, what can we keep? Not the beholding, so slow to learn. Not anything that has happened here. Nothing. There are the hurts. And, always, the hardships. And there's the long knowing of love—all of it unsayable. Later, amidst the stars, we will see: these are better unsaid.
Threshold of Spring —Rainer Maria Rilke, Uncollected Poems
Harshness gone. All at once caring spreads over the naked gray of the meadows. Tiny rivulets sing in different voices. A softness, as if from everywhere, is touching the earth. Paths appear across the land and beckon. Surprised once again you sense its coming in the empty tree.
When it comes to poetry about the seasons, Spring is definitely the prom queen of the four. Poets seem to see Spring as the most mystical and magical of all the seasons, and I suppose it is for good reason. No other season has that beautiful, resurrection quality, where after the long, cold, dark months, Spring brings us back flowers and birdsong, convincing us that life will go on, that winter won't prevail forever... that even though it has felt like it, there is life after snow.
One of my very favorite spring things is going to St. Jacobs, both the farmer's market and the town with my small group... which is what we are doing tomorrow!
Whatever you find yourself doing, I hope you have a happy, happy weekend!
It's been far too long since I've done a Favorite Things Friday... so today I decided it was time. There are two things that stick out in my mind, one in the world of books, and the other, music.
Of course, the book goes first!
I first discovered Cecelia Ahern on my last trip to Paris. On a rainy Sunday, I was wandering around the Carousel du Louvre, and when I made my way into the Virgin Megastore, something led me to a beautiful book by the Irish author, called If You Could See Me Now. Even though I was only in Paris for three days, and I did almost everything I wanted to, I still managed to finish this book before I left!
Having read just about everything she has written, I was enchanted to discover a new book, Girl In The Mirror, a small book containing two short stories. I haven't read it yet, but it is sitting on the table beside my bed waiting for me. I already know I will love it.
...and...
I LOVE this song by Adele. Love her new album, 21. Love. Enjoy the video...
i used to do a lot more crafty kinds of things at home, especially back in the days when i worked in a credit union. it makes sense that creative energy needs to find a way to express itself, and that certainly wasn't happening when dealing with money, so i spent much free time sewing, cross-stitching, etc.
then i started working as a graphic designer, and everything changed.
being creative every day meant that when i came home at night, the last thing on earth i wanted to do was attempt to be creative yet again. my poor sewing machine can attest to that. it's been years since i have done more than dust him off.
but lately, my job has required a bit less of the creative, design work, and more communications, web work, leaving me with more creative energy when i get home than previous years.
so i've started making felt ornaments, and having way too much fun doing so!
this little bird i made last night, he is way too cute, and i think that he needs to have some similar, although differently colored friends really soon.
this goldfish may be my most favorite of all i've created. he was definitely time-consuming, with all his scales, but gosh, he turned out cute!
everything but this gingerbread man was made from patterns from a book called Fa La La La Felt, which i recently picked up. but this guy i drew and designed on my own.
and finally, these little partridges were the first ornaments i attempted, and i still think they are delightful.
it's actually relaxing, making them as i watch television at night... although my living room looks a bit like a kindergarten craft table.
i have wanted to get back to doing favorite things friday posts, but have had a hard time deciding on which favorite things. this morning, when i woke up with a poem in my head, it all became so clear.
i originally encountered this poem back in 2007. i don't remember the original meeting place, but it's become such a part of me, it feels like i've known it forever.
when you get to the second line, you will see what initially drew me to the poem, but it is the defiant nature, the refusal to settle for an ordinary existence that has made this an instant favorite.
it is one, like Rilke's work, that i carry with me everywhere in my favorite Moleskine, and one that at this point, i mostly know by heart.
i won't waste anymore time...
Monet Refuses the Operation —Lisel Mueller
Doctor, you say there are no haloes around the streetlights in Paris and what I see is an aberration caused by old age, an affliction. I tell you it has taken me all my life to arrive at the vision of gas lamps as angels, to soften and blur and finally banish the edges you regret I don't see, to learn that the line I called the horizon does not exist and sky and water, so long apart, are the same state of being. Fifty-four years before I could see Rouen cathedral is built of parallel shafts of sun, and now you want to restore my youthful errors: fixed notions of top and bottom, the illusion of three-dimensional space, wisteria separate from the bridge it covers. What can I say to convince you the Houses of Parliament dissolves night after night to become the fluid dream of the Thames? I will not return to a universe of objects that don't know each other, as if islands were not the lost children of one great continent. The world is flux, and light becomes what it touches, becomes water, lilies on water, above and below water, becomes lilac and mauve and yellow and white and cerulean lamps, small fists passing sunlight so quickly to one another that it would take long, streaming hair inside my brush to catch it. To paint the speed of light! Our weighted shapes, these verticals, burn to mix with air and change our bones, skin, clothes to gases. Doctor, if only you could see how heaven pulls earth into its arms and how infinitely the heart expands to claim this world, blue vapor without end.
it's been a while since i posted some of my favorite things. you may think it cheating a bit if you've sneaked a peek down to the first one, but i really don't think my favorite city in the world has ever officially made it to a favorite things fridays post... Paris it has been 457 days since my heart was last in the one place on earth it truly feels at home, Paris, France. in some ways the days have flown by, but lately, the length of the journey between visits is starting to wear on me.
i've been dreaming of this beautiful place. dreaming of the Rodin museum gardens, which i am sure are beautifully blooming right now. the Tuileries, and the walk through them from the Louvre to Angelina Tea Room, where africain chocolat awaits. dreaming of standing on the Champs Elysee, looking right to see the Arc de Triomphe with a faint outline of the Arc de Defense behind it, then turning left to see the Obelisk in front of the Louvre, made tiny by perspective.
but mostly, i have been dreaming about the streets of Paris, and the sheer joy that i feel just wandering through them.
i think it's time to go back...
Stacey Kent on my first visit to Paris, while visiting the Virgin Megastore in the Carousel de Louvre, i was introduced to a recording artist that has rapidly become one of my very favorite, Stacey Kent. this American-born jazz singer has a smooth voice that i simply adore. to be honest, i would have to say that my favorite song of hers is one from the first album that i bought that day in Paris, a song called I Wish I Could Go Traveling Again. does that not sound like the theme song for my life!? {especially when you listen to the first two lines of the song: i wish i could go traveling again / it feels like the summer will never end...} kind of sums up exactly how i'm feeling right now about this brutal heat! you can listen to a clip of my favorite song here.
just a couple of months ago, Stacey released a new album, Raconte-Moi, entirely in french, which makes me so happy i am almost giddy. i haven't got it yet, but hope to soon. here is a video of one of the songs on her new album, so you can hear how absolutely brilliant she really is:
Kobo eReader on my last trip, when i discovered New York City for the first time, my carry-on had 12 lbs. of books in it. {the fact that i wrote that sentence with a little bit of pride is very telling.} but as much as i love my books, carrying them around, especially when traveling can be wearing.
so i did research, O did i do research, just about every eReader on the market, as well as other vehicles, like the iPad, was under some pretty strong scrutiny, but in the end, i landed on the Kobo. at only $149, it was substantially more economical than the Kindle, which would have been my second choice. and while it may lack 3G wireless, i decided that a person such as myself doesn't need book buying to be made easier, or ANYWHERE! so the Kobo was my choice.
the fact that it came with 100 pre-loaded classics was a big selling point for me. carrying around all Jane Austen's books, some Dickens, not to mention War and Peace would give anyone a backache! i can also read PDFs, ones i've created, or otherwise and carry them with me as well. good times.
one other reason for going with the more economical option was that i was unsure if i would even like reading eBooks. i am a HUGE fan of paper. i love the look, the feel, the smell. i love how it feels to hold a book in your hands, and open it for the very first time, unaware of what or where the ink on the pages will bring you. so the whole eReader thing could have been a mistake of epic proportions for me.
but surprisingly, i love it! it's easy to read, i even read it on the beach in South Haven, and the fact that i daily carry 119 books around with me, always giving me something good to read makes my heart happy.
i will always love books. just because i have the eReader does not mean that i will never buy a book again. to be honest, i ordered two earlier this week! but it does mean that traveling will be considerably lighter, and this girl will never be without something to read!
* * * * *
well, these are a few of my favorite things this morning.
have a fantastic weekend, stay cool however you can!
the clutch i am the original lover of 'big purse' syndrome. perhaps it is the minimum number of thing that i consider must-carries in whatever happens to be the bag du jour {wallet, Moleskine, pencil case, book—at least one, hand cream...you get the picture}. or maybe it's just because they are pretty in a grand sort of way, but i will admit to having some of the largest bags known to woman-kind.
but it really doesn't explain my new-found love of the clutch. tiny yet oh-so-pretty bags that if i was very, very lucky i might be able to get my tiny copy of Jane Austen's Emma and some lip gloss in, but not much else. i've recently started using a black clutch that used to be my grandmother's, and then my mother's, which just makes me so darn happy. then yesterday, at lunch with silvia, we came across the one pictured. it's velvety and absolutely perfect in it's clutchiness. {yes, i know, but i'm still using the word} it was ridiculously on sale, so i have taken it upon myself to give it a good home. it may be new, but it is definitely a favorite!
St. Jacobs living in windsor, ON, one of my happy places was on the other side of the Detroit River, and north on I-75, Frankenmuth, MI. it is a happy, quaint little German town, complete with the world's largest Christmas store, and the Birch Run shopping outlet just outside of town. one of the saddest things about moving up here was being so far away from one of my truly happy places. one place that has saved me is the small Mennonite town of St. Jacobs.
the farmer's market outside of town is so perfectly full of beautiful fruit and vegetables, not to mention flowers and t-shirts you'd never in a million years wear but still laugh at, and a myriad of things that you had no idea that you needed, no idea how you might use it, but strangely, find yourself considering anyways! the town is perfection in its quaintness, with the black and white store being easily in my top three.
today, in just a couple of hours, my friends, alicia, barbara and jenn will arrive here to pick me up, and we are going to go to St. Jacobs. how amazingly perfect is that?
God's grace like so many people, i have always struggled with understanding and accepting God's grace. unmerited favor. on my best days, i accept and try my best to understand it, knowing that without it, i am nothing. other days could find me wallowing somewhere between feeling that given all the mistakes i have made, i couldn't possibly be a recipient, to thinking that if i could only do it myself, i'm sure God would appreciate it more.
i make no claim to be the most intelligent person who follows Jesus.
but considering the amount of time that i think about God's grace, and how desperately i need it myself, i was reminded last night that i too often withhold this life-giving thing from those others.
can you say hypocrite?!
so, today i am grateful for God's grace, that not only saves me, but also helps me to remember that i still have far to go... but i'm not going it alone.
i took a bit of a hiatus, but am now back with more of my favorite things...
the art for PORTICO's current series i love my job. i get to create all kinds of fun things and see them come to life and be used throughout the church. right now we are in the middle of a series on the book of Acts, that has four different parts to it. when i initially worked on the art for the series, i had four concepts, and figured that one would cover the entire series. this Mac/power button idea was the one i desperately wanted to win. but we ended up going with a different look for each of the four sections, and this is the one for right now. i don't normally hear feedback on how people think the bulletin looks {unless it is negative}, but for this one, i keep hearing how much people like this one!
composition notebooks i love paper. i love books. so it really only follows that i super-freaking-awesome love composition books. they remind me of being in school, especially the new ones, when the possibility of all the book would contain was still a mystery. before my hopelessly left-handed self sitting in an equally hopeless right-handed desk could make a mess of it. these days, now that my handwriting has been cured by the creation of more 'gauche' environments, i use them for my morning pages, the three pages which i attempt to write every morning, and this week i just began using the pretty flowery one for my new Life Journal. all composition books are great, but if you can find ones that are pretty, it is pure bliss! {oh, and if you find them, let me know where!} learning from my mistakes okay, i don't always love learning from my mistakes... especially since sometimes the lessons continue to follow me throughout the years, like this one! but the good thing about learning a lesson the hard, painful way is that you don't ever forget it. this is one that i discovered while sitting in a worship service on Easter Sunday morning, 2007.
i had, actually, thought that this particular mistake was now only a legend, but someone recently unearthed a whole stash of what is known by PORTICO staff as The Queers Brochure.
a bit of background... we had to put together a brochure quickly, i think i started it on the Tuesday before Easter, and my brilliant printer had it to us before we closed the office on the Thursday before Good Friday. let me just say that bad things happen when suzi doesn't have enough time to do things well, and actually see what the final product will look like. the inside of this four-panel brochure had a header that read Questions and Answers. unfortunately, when it was folded, if someone happened to open it the wrong way, the heading, with only the first three letters of 'questions' and the last three letters of 'answers', transmogrified into Queers.
the lesson? take the extra time to know EXACTLY how something will look in its final form.
* * * * *
these are a few of my favorite, if not always unpainful, things.
for a short week, this one has really packed a punch.
i've had some pretty heavy personal stuff to work through.
my baby brother became a daddy, and we welcomed Gabriel Edgar Phaneuf into the world.
i saw some art that i began four years ago finally completed, and used as PORTICO's set for Easter.
last night, dad's oldest brother, my uncle silvio, passed away.
then, this morning i attended our Good Friday service, and was once again reminded of God's great sacrifice for us.
given a week filled with such highs and lows, leaves me with a different kind of favorite thing for today. a favorite thing i could not do without. one i would be nothing without.
today, my favorite thing is God's love... ...for people who love him back imperfectly. ...in spite of the stupid things we do. ...regardless of what happens in our daily lives. ...for sinful, messy people like me.
i really love these favorite things of mine... some of these are old and have been with me for years, some are new, and more than one is vital to my sanity.
scarves i don't remember when i first started wearing scarves, it is another of those things that feels much like i have been doing it the whole of my life. much of the fun i now have with my scarves is remembering where i bought them each time they are worn. the black, white and pink one in the photo i got in Niagara-on-the-Lake when Angie and i went there. the orange one i found calling out to me in the window of a little shop on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris. *sigh*
kraft barbecue ranch salad dressing this little gem of deliciousness i found at Longo's last week, and it is nothing but pure goodness. so far, i have put this on not only salad, but a grilled chicken sandwich, hamburger, and oven fries. i have yet to discover something that it could not make better. now, i haven't tried it with ice cream, but i don't think i'm going to go there!
Moleskines the Moleskine website says that their aim was to bring back the legendary notebooks of great artists, such as Vincent van Gogh and Ernest Hemingway. i haven't talked to Vince or Ernie lately, so i don't know how they feel about Moleskines, but i LOVE them. my first one was a black reporter notebook that Ang got me for my birthday one year, and with that, i was hooked. for the past three years i have used their red daily planner as my portable brain, and most recently i have been scribbling furiously in my Moleskine NYC City Notebook all the things that i want to remember when i get to the Big Apple. it is a rare day when you can catch me without one.
saturday mornings i love a lazy saturday morning. last week, for example, i was awake before 6am, which is normal. so i gathered up my things and walked over to starbucks {with a stop at the Town Talk bakery for one of their blueberry scones first}. there i sat for over two hours, drinking my cafe americano, writing, reading and watching the world of Streetsville pass me by. it really was pure bliss, and i will do it again and again as often as i can.
* * * * *
well, that i all i have for now... although i am listening to the Emma soundtrack right now, and it being pure bliss itself is my bonus favorite thing for you. the whole album is amazing, but there is one song in particular that makes me stop and notice it no matter what else i am doing. it's called Cliff Tops, and is heartbreakingly beautiful.
have a most super weekend, and as always, i'd love to hear about your favorite things, if you'd like to leave a comment and tell me.
it's that time of the week again, when i get to share some of my favorite things in the world with you.
Emma DVD even though i have only received this little gem in the mail today, i already know that i can count it among my favorite of things. this version of Jane Austen's Emma aired on PBS last month, but not here in Canada. so i patiently waited for it to come online. after all, even last year's Lost In Austen showed up online eventually, keeping me from a long and {self-induced} painful wait.
but alas, only the first two of the episodes showed up online. and there are four! how is a girl to live through that kind of disappointment?!
well, fear not, my friends, i will not have to live through said disappointment, thanks to my good friends at Amazon.com. so, if you wonder what i'll be doing this weekend...
the music of Matthew Mayfield iTunes tells me that the first time i bought one of Matthew Mayfield's songs was in early october of last year. given the extent to which i love his music, not to mention the fact that i cannot go a day without listening to him {Lives Entwined is playing on iTunes as i type}, it feels like i have been loving his music for much longer.
i love, love, love his lyrics and his music. can i say more than that? except maybe that my favorites of his songs, at least today, are As Long As You're Not Leaving, Maybe Next Christmas, and the previously mentioned, Lives Entwined. but since it changes every day, you never know which will be my favorites tomorrow. since there isn't a bad one in the bunch, it doesn't even really matter!
learning i absolutely love to learn new things. take on new challenges. right now i am learning {or re-learning} french, a new computer program, how to navigate New York City, and how to not let HTML code make me want to pull my hair out of my head.
if i had to choose between continuing to learn or continuing to walk, i would definitely turn in my feet. a life where i am not constantly improving and growing is unimaginable to me.
* * * * *
once again, these are a few of my favorite things... i always walk away from these posts with the song of that title from The Sound of Music. whatever you're doing, i hope you can hear it too!
happy favorite things friday! this week i decided to do something a little different...
there are some days of the year that are simply more special to me than others. here is my top ten list of favorite days.
10.the first day of autumn {september 23, 2010} it means summer and its accompanying heat, which i loathe, is finally over, and the best season in the rotation is beginning!
9.july 14 {bastille day} vive la france!
8.october 31 {the day i put up my christmas tree} while the rest of north america gets dressed up and goes begging for candy, i love being home, watching christmas movies, and decorating my pretty, pretty tree.
6. july 1 {my parent's wedding anniversary} i love that they tried to get in on windsor's canada day parade while driving around after the ceremony. i love that they've been married for 44 years and still like hanging out together. simply put, my parents rock!
5.december 26 {phaneuf family shopping day} every boxing day it is the phaneuf family tradition that we all trudge to the mall together, not so much to shop, as to watch the crazy shoppers aiming for whatever deal they can find. that's not to say that we don't buy anything, but the goal isn't the shopping so much as the family outing. these are even better now that my niece megan is old enough to join us!
4.may 8 {the anniversary of the first time i went to paris} i am unashamed to say that when my airplane landed, i cried out of sheer happiness. the man next to me asked if i was okay, and i'm pretty sure he thought i was mentally unstable, but i was too busy reveling in the fact that my feet were on the floor a plane whose wheels were touching french soil...er, tarmac.
3.the day advent begins {november 28, 2010} i love advent, and the weeks preceding christmas. i don't know why or how, but these days somehow feel magical, almost as if the most impossible thing in your life could actually happen.
2. april 19 {my birthday} need i say more? except possibly that i think the whole month of april is magical...
1.the day daylight savings time ends {november 7, 2010} it only goes to follow that tomorrow, when daylight savings time begin, is my absolute least favorite day of the year. getting robbed of one solid hour of sleep is bad enough, but when one wakes up at 5 am, it is a downright tragedy!
* * * * *
now you know my most favorite of days. do you have any days that always make you smile? if so, feel free to leave a comment and tell me about them.
have a most wonderful weekend, and if all it does is rain all weekend, as the weatherman is threatening for us, i hope you have a good book to keep you company.
this favorite things post is a little different, as it is one person who inspired a whole bevy of favorite things...
Jane Austen i arrived at the 'i love Jane Austen' party later than most, but it hasn't kept me from diving in wholeheartedly.
from my multi-faceted love of all things Pride and Prejudice, which includes movies like Bride and Prejudice, the Bollywood adaptation of the story {and unofficial movie of our small group}, toLost in Austen, the brilliant mini-series where a young woman from today's London switches places with Elizabeth Bennet and ends up inside the story of P&P, and as hard as she tries to maintain the original story line— which is hopelessly messed up due to her presence— she cannot keep herself from falling for the one man we all dream of, Mr. Darcy.
and speaking of Mr. Enigmatic, there is the great debate over who the best Mr. Darcy is on the screen, Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen. my theory is that whichever version you first see P&P, that Mr. Darcy becomes your favorite. my first was the 2005 movie with Kiera Knightly, making Matthew Macfadyen my ultimate Mr. Darcy. others, my mother for example, swear by Colin Firth. to each her own, i suppose. {funny, i've never heard a guy talk about his favorite Mr. Darcy...}
but it's not just about P&P, the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility is also one of my favorite. and over the christmas holidays, my mother borrowed her friend's DVD of Persuasion, and it didn't take me long to fall in love with that as well. just this past month Masterpiece Theater released a new version of Emma, which i have not yet seen, but simply cannot wait to do so.
another movie, while not written by Jane, but inspired by her works, is the Jane Austen Book Club, another personal favorite. this movie was adapted from a book by the same name, which i have not yet read, but am sure to read sometime soon!
ah books... there are still some of Jane's works that i have not yet read in their entirety. i have begun both Emma and Persuasion, but have not finished them. P&P, S&S and Northanger Abbey i have read. i'm not even sure if i own a copy of Mansfield Park, i'll have to check.
but other books, inspired by Jane are also on my bookshelf. A Walk With Jane Austen is a memoir of a woman who goes to England to lose herself in the words and places of Jane's life. i haven't read it yet, but it's on my shelf. also a part of my library is Lost in Austen, a choose-your-own-adventure novel with yourself as the heroine of P&P, Elizabeth Bennet, and your goal is to marry well, preferably Mr. Darcy. i have spent many happy hours trying to marry that elusive man, and have only managed to do so once. {hmm... perhaps if i spent as much time with someone who wasn't a literary, fictitious character, i wouldn't still be single? something to ponder!}
well, these are a few of my favorite things today. i hope you enjoyed them, i know that i always do. as a matter of fact, all this talk has created in me a desire to watch P&P. perhaps tonight is date night with Mr. Darcy...
since last week's favorite things, i've been sick. my voice left me, and i stayed home, not going much farther than the comfy Roots chair for three days. so, i'm sure you'll understand the 'comfort' theme i have happening here this week...
grilled cheese sandwiches one of the best of the comfort foods ever. given that i don't even really like cheese, i'm not sure why two grilled slices of bread surrounding real cheddar cheese makes my heart just so darn happy, but it does! couple it with a bowl of steaming tomato soup, some pickles, and everything suddenly seems right in the world.
Kleenex with Lotion! i am fully prepared to say that i am a tissue snob. i bring my own tissues pretty much everywhere i go, and always keep a private stash at work, so i don't need to use the sandpaper brand. yes, there are those that i work with who have no problem using the standard issue tissues, but perhaps my nose is more wussy than others. but these beauties by Kleenex, with lotion built right in to them are really the best discovery in the world. no, you don't want to clean your glasses with them, but when you're blowing your nose 67 times an hour, it's okay to be picky about that comes close to your face. {yes, i am hugging the box... i love them that much!}
Ikea tea light holders my last outing, before the cold sunk it's evil claws into me, was a trip to Ikea with my friend Barb. i was being really good, as we walked through what can only be described as two floors of solid temptation to spend money. but when we walked past these black and white floral tea light holders, all my resolve went right out the window. granted, they were only $2.99. so little a price for such prettiness.
Alias i am a strong enough person to admit that when i hear about some injustice or someone hurts someone i love, there is nothing i want more than to be Sydney Bristow and kick all of the offender's bad-guy butts. of course, this all happens in my mind. in reality, me trying to kick box my way out of a paper bag would have the score paper bag: 1 me: 0. but since September 30, 2001, when i was first introduced to Sydney, i have wanted to be her. all five seasons of Alias now reside in my DVD collection, and while i was home sick this past week, i took the time to reacquaint myself with them, and even after all this time, i love its sheer brilliance. is it any coincidence that the creative mind behind this show is the same as LOST, Fringe and Star Trek? one has to wonder if J.J. Abrams ever had a bad idea.
* * * * *
well friends, these are my favorite things for this week. i hope you have a super weekend, and that you'll have no need for Kleenex with Lotion any time soon... but go get some anyway, you're worth it!
can you believe it is friday already? this week has gone by so very quickly, that for today, i only have three favorite things. but they really are three good ones.
my map of Paris in my living room, right next to my Roots chair, i have a large, framed map of the city of Paris. i love that when i'm feeling homesick i can look at the one place on earth i feel at home. i always start at 11 rue des Ecoles, my Parisian 'home', also known as the Familia Hotel, and go from there. planning out where i would walk, what part of the city i would explore if i were actually in the map. its not the next best thing to being there, but it definitely makes it feel a little closer.
Vincent van Gogh i have loved this man's art, both painting and written, since i first heard his story years ago, and my love for him grows with every new discovery i make of his.
this painting, Bank of the Oise at Auvers (1890) was at the Detroit Institute of Arts when i visited there last year, and it's my most recent 'new' one. i'm looking forward to seeing my next new ones, which i am sure will be in new york city in may.
coconut yogurt! for anyone who has had to endure watching me eat north american yogurt, let me say that there is redemption! thanks to my friend silvia, i no longer have to go to poland to get yogurt that is not a pain to eat, and couple that with one of my most very favorite things in the world, coconut, and here is a little bit of heaven in a plastic container. so, so yummy!
well, these are a few of my favorite things for this week. i hope you have a super, super weekend, and i'm going to go eat some of that yogurt!
happy friday! here are a few more of my favorite things... {does anyone else have the song from The Sound of Music running through their head?!} vacation days! ah, vacation days are pure bliss. and how can a girl be sure? you'll have to trust me since i'm experiencing one right now! i added today onto the already long, family day weekend, and have little planned but hanging with some friends, doing some writing, reading, visiting Chapters and a birthday-edition movie night. as i said, pure bliss.
{oh, and yes, that is matt lauer from the Today Show on my television, and yes, he is one of my favorite things as well. he's pretty...}
hot lips candy given that i'm not a candy person, the fact that i can eat these babies until i am ill, is a mystery to me. but regardless, i love them. i had to explain them to a friend the other day, and the best i could come up with is that they are like swedish berries with a serious kick.
perhaps they have some mysterious addictive quality...?
pride and prejudice game last weekend, i saw my best friend for the first time since last fall. she drove up from michigan, and to prove that we are not old ladies, we did many new and different things than we usually do when we get together! {i put that in there for you, ang!} we also exchanged christmas gifts, and this super cool game is what she got me! now, if you're not a jane austen-aholic as i am, this could mean very little to you, but you have to understand how incredibly happy it makes me! you are, after all, reading the words of a girl who owns a pride and prejudice choose-your-own-adventure book! i simply cannot wait to play it.
travel books simply put, i love travel books. i especially love travel books about paris, but since i am meeting mom and dad in new york city this spring, my love of NYC travel books has grown exponentially. my favorites are the Top 10 series, which i have two different editions for paris, one for london, and soon i will own the new one for NYC which came out only days ago.
well, these are my favorite things today. have a super weekend, and if you feel so inclined, i'd love to hear what your favorite things are! feel free to leave a comment.
angelina's africain chocolat while it may be true that i LOVE any and everything from paris, the angelina tea room holds a very special place in my heart. located on the rue de rivoli, basically between the louvre and the place de la concorde, this delightful tea room is best known for their africain chocolat, an unbelievably smooth and perfectly rich drinking chocolate. it comes with its own little bowl of whipped cream.
yes, i miss paris constantly, but for the last week, this has been what i've been most craving about my favorite city.
bookdepository.com you don't have to know me long to know that i have a serious addiction to books. couple that with the goal of reading 75 books this year, and you've got my new best friend, bookdepository.com! my two favorite things: super low prices and absolutely no shipping costs! does it get any better than this?
streetsville how i love my little town nestled with my city!
i am definitely not a small town girl. in order for me not to self-destruct, i need a city. but here in streetsville, i have the best of both worlds, the village feel of a small community right in the middle of the city! and with the cupcake place, crepe restaurant and my neighborhood starbucks, what else could a girl ask for?!
daisies i have long had a love of daisies. and gerbera daisies are no exception. according to proflowers.com, the "meaning of gerbera daisies stem from those attributed to the general daisy family. these meanings include innocence and purity, and daisies are also a classic symbol of beauty. however, the gerbera variety holds an added meaning of cheerfulness." with such a happy foundation behind them, i have and will always hold that every girl should have daisies on her special day.
* * * * *
well, that's it for this week, my friends. have a super weekend, whatever you do. i know that i'll have a perfect weekend, as my dear friend angie is driving all the way up here so we can hang out together.
i'm starting something new today, something i'm going to call favorite things fridays. every friday i will post about four things that make my life a happier place or simply make me smile. i hope you enjoy it.
cara black books i am not sure how i was first introduced to these murder mysteries all set in paris, but i am so grateful that it happened! the heroine, amy leduc, is a private investigator living on the ile st. louis who gets herself into more messes than any one should! she may not be as super cool as sydney bristow in alias, but she can hold her own in stilettos just fine. and because the books are all set in paris, every time i pick one up, it's like taking a mini break to my favorite place.
woodless colored pencils a trip to the art supply store is definitely one of my favorite saturday things to do. on my last visit there, i found these beauties, colored pencils from the czech republic that have no wood in them! i'm not sure how they are held together, but it doesn't matter. they are pretty, they draw beautifully, are perfect when underlining in my Bible and other books, and quite simply, i love them! one day soon, i will have to discover more than these four colors, though!
LOST i make no apology that i love this television show, not to mention its visionary creator, j.j abrams {also the creator of alias}. even when it has left me with more questions than answers, i have remained steadfast in my love of the show. now that we are only four days away from the beginning of the final season, i am filled with a mixture of excitement, sadness and dread. excitement, because i've been waiting so long for the story to continue. sadness because by may it will be over... and a tiny bit of dread that the end won't live up to five years of creative madness and brilliance. if you're not into LOST, it's not too late. start now. even my friend rick, who is as anti-television {except sports} as a person can get has watched all five previous seasons in the past few months and is as eagerly awaiting the rest as i am. did i mention it was brilliant?
mom & dad i adore my parents. this july they will have been married for 45 years, and if ever two people deserved each other, it is my parents! they are two very different people who love each other despite their differences, and even after all these years, still love to spend time together. they are loving, kind, creative people who i am exceedingly proud to take after. right now, they are driving around the florida keys and having the time of their lives. i miss you, mom and dad. hope you're having fun!
It's been a while since I've done a Favorites Fridays post, but this week, when I read this poem, I knew that it was time for another one.
