i'm on fire

Is there a time of year during which you just feel...uncomfortable? Winter can sometimes make me blue but summer just doesn't suit me. I love berries and the many hours of daylight, but I'm too pale, my hair is too dark, and the heat is too suffocating. I guess I just don't like extreme weather of any sort, as I always feel my best in Spring and Fall. However, I know people who can't leave the house without a jacket if it's under 80 degrees and whose allergies make spring unbearable.

As with all things, though, we just have to make the best of our time. I'll be making the season more enjoyable with lots of ice cream, many bike rides, high hemlines, and spf 30.

Oh the things that summer brings

It's a love you'd kill for, when all the world is green.

happy summer.

photo via

Atticus

I've talked about identifying with a character, but sometimes I find myself falling a little bit in love with the heroes of movies and books. Most recently it was Prince Albert and last year it was Burt Farlander (John Krasinski) from Away We Go. But my all time on-screen crush is Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. I thought the To Kill a Mockingbird character was such a great dad when I read the book but Peck filled the role so well in the 1962 film adaptation. I'm positive I'm not the only woman who swooned over him.

Secret Service

I have found my dream bicycle. It's about 10 times more expensive than my current one-speed Huffy but I think some things are worth splurging on. Naturally it'll take me several months to save up for but I'm just so in love with this bike. It fits my style well and I'd like, eventually, to live in a town where I can ride just about everywhere.

My Dutch Bike says it's "A tough and stealthily modern Dutch city bike that blends into the crowd. Compared to our extraordinarily robust traditional models the Secret Service is tighter and lighter. It's ideal both for those who cover some distance and also for smaller riders."

So tell me, what is just too important to you to put a price on?

I hate sports

except when they look like this.

Coco

I just love looking at pictures of an older Gabriel "Coco" Chanel. No one ages gracefully these days so it's really inspiring to see a matured woman with such a distinct style and palpable character.




"Simplicity" she says, "is the keynote of all true elegance."

Photos via via

The Young Victoria

Last night I watched The Young Victoria, a period film about the early years of Queen Victoria's reign. It was really touching and inspiring as she was only 18 years-old when her uncle died, passing the crown to her. Emily Blunt's performance as a young woman coming of age and falling in love is so convincing and relatable while the beautiful Rupert Friend is painfully charming in his 1800's garb.


Victoria ruled longer than any other British Monarch- over 63 years, 20 with Albert alongside her. After he died she still laid his clothes out every day to honor his memory. Is that the most romantic thing you've ever heard?

We thought our very hearts would up and melt away

My gentleman friend and I were recently discussing albums that changed our lives. On the top of my list was Joanna Newsom's Ys. The 5-song cd was released when I was in highschool and I remember checking the clock constantly (which I did anyway) because I was so anxious to go home and listen to it. She had an entire orchestra accompanying her and the language was so rich and the vocals so desperate, I had never experienced anything like it. For a few days I would just sit and listen through with the lyric sheet in front of me until I had memorized every word. The best part is, years later I still melt when I play those songs.
Here, a little taste of Newsom's brilliance:

Say, say, say in the lee of the bay; don't be bothered
Leave your troubles here where the tugboats shear the water from the water
(Flanked by furrows, curling back, like a match held up to a newspaper)
Emily, they'll follow your lead by the letter
And I make this claim, and I'm not ashamed to say I knew you better
What they've seen is just a beam of your sun that banishes winter

Let us go! Though we know it's a hopeless endeavor
The ties that bind, they are barbed and spined and hold us close forever
Though there is nothing would help me come to grips with a sky that is gaping and yawning
There is a song I woke with on my lips as you sailed your great ship towards the morning...

Pure poetry! From the song Emily.

Plus, Joanna is so so pretty and and she rocks the harp.