Irina Wernings Back To The Future photo project is nothing short of, for back of better wording, completely awesome. (found via)

Turbans

I would really like to try wearing a turban this winter as an alternative to the cold weather staple knit hats. These are just so cute!

(via A Cup of Jo)

Do What You Love

Ryan over at Pacing the Panic Room has been doing an awesome series for Gap 1969 Jeans, titled Do What You Love. In this series he showcases real women who are doing what they love and living life on their own terms

The women he features are so extraordinary and interesting. It is really neat to get a little insight ino their lives and how they have gone about reaching their own personal goals and dreams. Plus, Ryan is jus a really great photograper/blogger/story teller! I really enjoy catching the series every Monday!

Design Sponge love

I absolutely love everything about Design Sponge, a daily website dedicated to bringing fabulous design to the masses! Everytime I browse the site I find myself daydreaming about when I have my own home and can put some of the awesome ideas to use. One of my favorite features has got to be Before & After. It's really neat to see what people can do to make things new with a little creativity.

A couple of my favorites include this absolutely amazing laundry room transformation, and this super cute keyport. Check it out and get inspired!

via Might & Main

Day 26

Your definition of love.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."
-1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Day 19

A passage from a book that has touched you


"Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them - if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry."
 -J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Day 15

A moment, phrase, or song that has changed your life the most.

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.” — Audrey Hepburn

something good to remember, especially fitting for me currently.

I've been listening to this song on repeat the last few days. I heard it during The Hills marathon over the weekend and loved it. It's by Tamar Kaprelian who I think has an absolutely wonderful voice.

“Life changes every minute of everyday. You lose friends. You gain friends. You realize your friend wasn’t ever really your friend and the person you used to hate can make a really good friend. You look for love. You find love. You lose love. You realize all along that you’ve been loved. You laugh.You cry. You laugh so hard that you cry. You do this, you do that. You really wish you hadn’t done that. You then learn from that and you’re glad that you did. You have your ups. You have your downs. You see good movies. You see bad movies. You wonder if your life is just a big movie. You look at others and wish you were them. You then realize who they are and glad that you’re you. You love life. You hate life. In the end you just find yourself happy to be living life, no matter what’s being thrown at you.”

"The unreal is more powerful than the real, because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. stone crumbles. wood rots. people, well, they die. but things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on." -chuck palahniuk

lost and found

While sitting here at work I recdieved an email from my grandpa containing an attatchment leading to an essay I wrote back in my senior year of high school. I believe this essay was to be a memoir giving a snapshot into a piece of our lives that made us who we were. I chose to write about my love of writing and what led to it being something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In high school I was always pumped to write, but as I've gone through my first year of college I've slowly become less and less thrilled about it. Not that I don't still love it, I mean I am a journalism major, but I think when you're required to write multiple papers week after week and allow them to be brutally judged and graded it takes a toll. Anyway, after reding through my essay a year and a half later I remember why I chose to strive to make writing of some sort my career. (keep in mind this was a high school essay, so if you think it sucks give me a break!)



The Love of My Life
In a time when most of my peers were amazed by pokemon cards and being hit by game boy fever; in a time where our biggest worry was who would receive the distict honor of being the captain of the recess kickball team; in a time that consisted of mastering the skill of counting to one hundred and completing first grade level sentences; I found my one true passion in life. While it did not match the priorities of my juvenile fellow six and seven year olds, I knew in my little heart that it was something I treasured. I fell in love with the craft of writing.
My amazing first grade teacher, Miss Werth, loved the written word. She believed that even as first graders’ writing was something that would be valuable and enriching. Everyday neatly printed next to our Daily Oral Language and Daily Oral Math work was a writing prompt meant to get the tiny wheels of our brains turning. Each morning as my fellow classmates and I clambered into the back room filled with cubbies and coat hooks, I would throw my pink book bag into its assigned place and race out to my desk. Once situated I would pull out my black jumbo-sized pencil and large lined paper and begin to write works of first grade literary perfection.
One morning upon rushing to my seat, I was appalled to see the absence of my beloved writing prompt. In its place were three boldly printed words, Young Authors Contest. Anticipation rose up within my tiny body as I pondered what those three words could mean. Just when my anticipation was near its absolute peak, Miss Werth took her place near the front of the class to explain the disruption in our normal routine. What she explained to us would be the spark that started my fire.
The Young Authors Contest, as we would soon find out, was a contest designed to mold our developing brains into those of great pre-pubescent writers. Each one of us in my class would write a story, create illustrations to go with it, and submit it to be judged with hundreds of other entries from other kids in our school. The select few winners would then have the opportunity to represent our school at the Young Authors Conference, where we would receive recognition for our achievement and have the chance to read our written masterpieces to students from all around the area. The pure thought of my two favorite entities, writing and competition, being thrown into one idea awakened a sense of adrenaline I had never yet experienced in my seven years of existence. Almost immediately I began writing feverishly the best story I could ever imagine to come up with. No piece of paper was safe, and no pencil was to be left unused-I was a little girl on a mission. Within days of receiving the news of the Young Authors Contest, I had briskly completed a story that I believed to be the best thing to come out of a New Haven Elementary School classroom, ever. Being the former over-achiever that I was, I was the first to turn in my piece of writing, and the first to be left to wait in anticipation of the announcement of the winners.
One day, four thousand years down the line, or so it seemed, Miss Werth once again stood near the front of the class. With wide eyes and gaping mouths, my peers and I leaned forward in our desks in hopes that this would be the day that we found out the results of Young Authors. While it was in fact the announcement we had been anticipating, the news was not as great at we had expected. Miss Werth congratulated us all on submitting excellent stories that were far beyond her expectations, however only two winners were picked from our class of nearly twenty-five children. With even the minor thought of failure setting in my vision became blurred, my body feverish, and my normal breathing pattern turned into a wheeze. In what seemed like slow motion Miss Werth deemed it time to announce our class winners. With the anticipation nearly unbearable, the name of the first winner; a boy named Tyler. At the sound of his name he leapt up from his desk and took a victory lap. A single chorus of “nah-nah-nah-nah-nah” could be heard bouncing from wall to wall throughout the silent room. While Tyler continued his joyous celebration around the rest of us impatient souls, our teacher began to read the second name. Just when I thought I could no longer contain myself my name was called out in front of the class. After experiencing a brief moment of shock, and allowing for all of my vitals to normalize, a sense of joy and relief swept over my body.
After receiving the news of my first Young Authors win, I became more and more determined each year to continue the winning tradition. Besides the obvious satisfaction of winning that first year, I also became more interested in taking writing seriously and developing myself into a bonafied writer. Each year, until I was no longer eligible to submit to the Young Authors Contest, I took the time to sit down and take my thoughts from my head, to my paper. And each year I was pleased to receive the news that I had once again met my own self-goal to become one the prestigious students to be chosen to be recognized for their writing. To this day I look back and reflect on my experience with the Young Authors Contest, and am proud to say that it helped me further extend my passion for writing; an enthusiasm instilled in me from the gusto Miss Werth exhibited for the craft. Without her persistent writing prompts and her belief that, even at six and seven years old, my classmates and I could make an impact through writing. Even as a senior in high school, nearly twelve years after first being introduced to the written word, a passion still burns inside me for the one thing I’ve ever truly loved.

I love these

Ever since Amy made a post about the I Can Read blog I have been obsessed.
here ---> http://icanread.tumblr.com/

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
-1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

Food for thought

The Way I See It # 53

"I have faith. Faith in our wonderous capacity for hope and good, love and trust, healing and forgiveness. Faith in the blessing of our infinite ability to wonder, question, pray, feel, think, and learn. I have faith. Faith in the infinite possibilities of the human spirit."

those little stoppers aren't supposed to let the drink spill!

On my way to work this morning I stopped at Starbucks to get a little jump on the day.
Upon recieving my grande non-fat white chocolate mocha (no whip) I read the little piece of insight on my cup known as Starbucks "The Way I see It".
I love reading them and I noticed on the bottom of the cup in fine pringt it has where you can go online and view tons more "The Way I See It" 's.
So, like the always on task employee that I am I got on the website and looked through a few and found some that I rather enjoyed...


It takes two seconds to tell the truth and it costs nothing. A lie takes time and it costs everything.
-- Randi RhodesRadio host. Her program, The Randi Rhodes Show, is heard on AirAmerica.

A person’s pursuit of goodness leads to greatness, but the pursuit of greatness leads to ruin. Pursue goodness and you will achieve great things.
-- John E. KramerVice president of communications, Institute of Justice.

Sometimes good art is simply creating an honest mess.
-- Stacy D. FloodWriter and Starbucks customer from Redmond, Washington.

Why in moments of crisis do we ask God for strength and help? As cognitive beings, why would we ask something that may well be a figment of our imaginations for guidance? Why not search inside ourselves for the power to overcome? After all, we are strong enough to cause most of the catastrophes we need to endure.
-- Bill ScheelStarbucks customer from London, Ontario. He describes himself as a "modern day nobody."

Our greatest prejudice is against death. It spans age, gender and race. We spend immeasurable amounts of energy fighting an event that will eventually triumph. Though it is noble not to give in easily, the most alive people I’ve ever met are those who embrace their death. They love, laugh and live more fully.
-- Andy WebsterHospice chaplain in Plymouth, Michigan.

Women’s bodies are valued as ornaments. Men’s bodies are valued as instruments.
-- Gloria SteinemAuthor and advocate of women’s rights.

Love wins.
-- Tavis SmileyTelevision and radio host, and author of What I Know for Sure.

Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.
-- Dean KarnazesRunner and author of Ultramarathon Man

itchy itchy scratchy scratchy.

"There are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroads. Afraid. Confused. Without a roadmap. The choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days. Of course, when faced with the unknown, most of us would rather turn around and go back. But once in awhile people push on to something better-something found just beyond the pain of going it alone and just beyond the bravery and courage it takes to let someone in. Or to give someone a second chance. Something beyond the quiet persistence of a dream. Because it's only when you're tested that you discover who you truly are. And it's only when you're tested that you discover who you can be. The person you want to be does exist, somewhere on the other side of hard work, faith and belief, and beyond heartache and fear of what lies ahead."

I have no idea who said that, but a friend of mine shared it with me a couple years ago when I was going through a bad time and I happened to come accross it saved in a file on my computer.

It couldn't be more fitting and helpful to me now.

I really want a pink iguana. They were just discovered recently in the Galapagos Islands. What a cutie right?!