i ♥ netflix 2

I love a good courtroom drama, so I decided to give Ally McBeal a try.

Pros:

• Um, legal stuff!  I like that sort of thing.


• The way it's edited to show Ally's thoughts is really imaginative and fun.


• Calista Flockhart is so much better than I expected, yay!


• The characters are all pretty well developed, with their own personalities and quirks


• Occasionally, cute clothes sneak onto the show!  I love these mittens.

Cons:

• Sometimes really, really bad 90's fashion rears its ugly head:

• The guy that Ally is in love with for the first few seasons is such a jerk that I pretty much didn't care about that entire plotline.


• The character that I like best, John Cage, is always getting broken up with, which is sad because he's probably the one who deserves happiness most.


• Sometimes I just want Ally to do a good job and win her case without needing to have an epiphany about her personal life to do so.

Do you watch Ally McBeal?  What do you think of it?

 ♥

birthday yarn! ♥

I turned 21 today!  First, thank you so, so much for all of the incredibly sweet birthday wishes on Facebook and Twitter.  ♥ They completely made my day.  The other thing that made my day was...birthday yarn!!!

I love my local yarn store, The Gentle Arts, so much to begin with that even going in there makes a day pretty fantastic.  The yarns are wonderful, and they're displayed in such a way that you just can't help touching them.  Oh, and the owner of the shop, Jan, winds the yarn into center-pull balls before it even leaves the store, it's wonderful.  And now I have two more skeins of the lovely green Ushya yarn, by Mirasol.

This is being added to the first skein and made into a hooded scarf.  I have the hood part of it done, now I just need to knit the ends.  It kind of makes me feel like Link from the Legend of Zelda games, and being something of a nerd, I'm really happy about that.

The other yarn that I got is my favorite yarn ever (thus far): Louisa Harding Willow Tweed.  I had some left over from a scarf (which I just realized I never posted pictures of... those will be up later in the week), and so the Field of Flowers blanket started.

Aren't they so sweet?  They remind me of little pastries or something.  One of the things I love about this yarn is that all of the colorways have a similar tone, so any combination of them looks beautiful.  I'm so excited to see how the new colors look as flowers!

I hope your day was just as lovely!

♥

trust30 project malaise

I've been trying to get around this for a while, but...I'm not as into the Trust30 Project as I thought I'd be.  I liked it at the beginning.  At this point, though, I think I need to bow out from it.  I'm starting to feel sort of navel-gazing and repetitive, and a lot of the time, the prompts that do elicit deeper feeling from me, it's because it brings up something quite private.  As much as I think you are all absolutely lovely, there are some things that I just don't want to put out there into the depths of the internet.  Somehow it feels like I'm diluting what was so important to me about it.  As a result, I've been avoiding blogging at all, which is discouraging because it's something I really enjoy doing.  Maybe I'll eventually come back an do the second half of the 30 prompts, but it's just not working for me right now.  I do look forward to continuing to read everyone else's responses though!

♥

trust30 project: day 16

I've always been shy, but high school was probably the height of it.  I did some pretty unshy stuff, singing solos in choral concerts and being in school plays-- always with a character to hide behind, though.  But one night, I think I was in tenth or eleventh grade, my brother's band at the time was playing in the school auditorium, and for some reason none of my friends had been able to come that night.  I was sitting by myself, in full flower-child regalia-- a Beatles t-shirt cut up the back and laced with ribbon, a twirly skirt, flowers in my hair-- and they started playing one of my favorite, favorite songs, and I really wanted to dance.

...so I did.  And then a few more people started dancing, and then more.  It's one of my favorite, and most inexplicable, memories from school.

♥

cozy cozy cozies! ♥

♥look what made their way into my etsy shop!  ♥

yay, mug cozies!  there are some new button bobby pin sets, too

more mug cozies will be available in the next few days, too.

♥

 

 

trust30 project: day 15

I came across a pattern for a crocheted flower about a year ago, and it was everything I look for in a crocheted flower (yes, I do have criteria for that).  It's not too cartoon-ish looking, it's not part of a granny square, it only takes a few minutes to make one... I really, really wanted to make a blanket of them, a blanket that I could take with me when I have my first real non-school apartment, and maybe even my little dream-cottage, eventually.  But it always seemed like a project that was too big-- each flower is only an inch and a half in diameter, and I'd like to have a blanket be the same size as my comforter-- 86"x86".  As much as it pains me to actually do the math, that means I'd have to crochet 3,268 flowers.  Which is crazy!  It would take too much time, and too much yarn, and...

...and I have ten flowers done.  Only 3,258 to go!

♥

trust30 project: day 14

I only agree with this prompt to a certain point (shocking, I know).  It's true that for me to make such a strict plan that no other outcomes were possible would be silly, it would limit my life to an unhealthy degree.  And yet... the plans I've made, the paths I've laid out for myself, they exist because I do know what I want my life to be like.  The possibility that that vision will change exists, of course.  But I like being able to picture having tea and watering my window-boxes of flowers before leaving to design for a company that I click with.

♥ There are a lot of things I'm willing to compromise on... but the tea is nonnegotiable. ♥

yaaaaaaay!!! ♥♥♥

so very proud of you, new york!

♥

fields of light

one of my favorite things: Bruce Munro's lighting design installations...

♥

fill-in-the-blank friday ♥

via the little things we do

1.   The last thing I ate was: cheerios for breakfast, out of one of my very favorite mugs.

2.  The next thing I'd like to eat is: one of the amazingly delicious nectarines in my fridge!

3.  The best things: don't usually last forever, but they get kept close to the heart for a long, long time.

4.  Something that makes me supremely and utterly happy is: finishing everything I need to for the day by 8 p.m., and having the rest of the night free to watch movies, do yoga, make crafty things, and have a few cups of apple cinnamon tea.

5.  Sports are: completely baffling to me.  I like baseball, it seems to have the least number of confusingly-named terms involved, but otherwise I never know what's going on.  I watched a hockey game for the first time a few weeks ago, and imagine my surprise to discover that there are only three quarters in a game.  How did that happen?

6.  I miss: the sunshine!  It's been so rainy the past few days.

7.ttempting to fix my shower.  I'm either going to fix it or I'm going to render it completely inoperable!

happy friday, lovelies!

♥

 

trust30 project: day 13

day 13

     I didn't think I could be one of those kids who gets everything finished on time, in fact, ahead of time, during finals week...It's taken me a while to get there, six semesters.  I surprised myself by spending the nights of finals week doing yoga, watching movies, and going to my favorite coffee shop for glasses of hot chamomile tea.  I know this all sounds irritatingly self-congratulatory, but I don't intend it that way... I mean it in the sense that I was truly surprised, I didn't know I was capable of that much planning ahead, starting as far back as the week before spring break.  The next surprise I'm hoping to have on that front?  Doing the same thing this coming semester.

As for how I'm going to surprise myself this week... well, if I knew, it wouldn't be much of a surprise, would it?

♥

bear with me

 

it's strange how everything can change but nothing changes.

 

i ♥ netflix

I've felt lately that this blog has been distinctly lacking in fluff.  So here we have it: What I've been watching on Netflix, and what I think about it.  And since I like any excuse to use bullet points, it's going to be in the form of pros and cons!  wheee, lists!

Parks and Recreation

Pros

• I thought Rashida Jones was very funny on The Office and it's nice to have a show that showcases her.


• Actually, the whole cast is great-- there's nobody totally unlikeable, like Creed on The Office.  (No offense if Creed is your favorite character, I just... oh, who am I kidding, I think he's a totally pointless character.)


• I actually physically laugh at least two or three times every episode.


• Sometimes cute clothes sneak onto the show, like this intarsia bow sweater:
  
  [caption id="attachment_1673" align="aligncenter" width="331" caption="unflattering photo of Amy Poehler, good photo of the sweater!"][/caption]
  
  Cons


• The guys on this show kind of suck.  Not in that the actors are bad, because they're great, but the characters totally don't deserve any of the girls..and yet the girls are with them.  Discouraging.


• Also, this gives me verrrrry little faith in local government, I'm hoping they've exaggerated the inefficiency.

....actually, let's make this an ongoing blog mini-series, because this will be a mammoth post if I go through everything I've been watching.  another installment soon!

trust30 project: day 12

day 12

     Hmm... I used to be an avid journal-keeper.  That was my form of introspection, I needed to go through my thoughts there to confirm that what I was doing was okay, that it was in accordance with the plan I'd created for myself.  But eventually, it started to seem like I was spending more time writing and analyzing than actually living.  I've come to terms with the fact that I'm not an overly spontaneous person, but to go back over everything that I've done and wonder if I could have done it differently and what would have happened if I had... There's just no point.

     I think I looked back at the past because there's no way to look forward into the future.  And that thought, the idea that I won't really know what's going to happen until it does, that's the thing that I've been fearing.  And it's something that is absolutely not worth fearing, because all I can do is to try to move my life in the direction I want it to go.  I can't control the rest of the world.  All I can do is to set myself up for the future I want, and... that's what I'm doing.

♥

urban flowers

I love the photography/digital art mix of the work from Urban Flowers Living.  These are offered as wallpapers, but I think they would make beautiful framed prints, too.

 

♥

trust30 project: day 11

day 11

I once imitated someone who put their whims ahead of my morals and happiness.  Not going to do that again.

And that, as they say, is that.

♥

♥happy father's day♥

Just some of the reasons my dad is such an amazing guy...

♥He's the most gentle person I know.

♥He knows so much about plants-- any plant that I point out, he knows what it is, how it's used, and where it grows.

♥He truly has the soul of an artist, and I'm so proud of him for staying true to himself and continuing to do what he loves.  Sculpting with the kids at a family party.

♥My dad reads a lot.  We've always had a lot of books, on everything from poetry to gardening to cooking, and my brother and I both really, really like books.

♥Speaking of cooking, my dad is awesome at it.  He can take a bunch of seemingly unrelated ingredients and make something delicious on a moment's notice.  And he makes the best scrambled eggs in the world.

♥He's never missed events that were important for Zach and me-- dance recitals, graduations, birthdays, band gigs, he was there for every one.

♥He's still madly in love with my mom.  This is from their 25th anniversary party.  My mom was a bride-of-Frankenstein character, with crazy hair and tons of lace over a hoop skirt, and my dad wore a hideous rubber mask for most of the night.  So much fun.

♥My dad is really funny, and he's always so delighted when one of his jokes goes over well.

♥He never told me or my brother that something we wanted to be was unrealistic, or would take too much work.  He's always encouraged us in whatever we wanted to do.

♥He's accepting of people just the way they are.

Happy Father's Day!  Love you so much, Dad.  I can't wait to see you in a few days.

trust30 project: day 10

I think I'd talk about how the way that we're living, as a society, isn't one that can end well.  It's not sustainable both in that it kills our bodies and in that we're losing our humanity to continue it.  One million people seems like an impossibly small number compared to the almost-seven-billion people in the world, but it would be a start.  If I could convince those one million to start working together for the common good, instead of competing for personal gain, to take pride in the openness of their hearts rather than the size of their wallets, then hopefully they would spread that message to other people, and it would become clear that yes, coming together is a viable, and essential, option.

So...pretty much like this:



 

♥

trust30 project: day 9 (sort of.)

Y'know... I'm not totally sure how I feel about this.  As much as I like trying new things, and being open, this is kind of a heavy topic, and there's enough heavy stuff going on without my contributing to it.

Well, I wrote the beginning of this post at 10 this morning, and now it's 9 at night.  I hate to do this, but after a day of pondering, I don't think I'm going to be getting anywhere on this prompt, at least not right now.  There are things I don't talk about here, of course, mostly because they're quite private and/or I like to keep my blog a pretty positive place.

So...yeah.

Sorry, guys.  Hopefully I'll come back and edit this later to include something insightful.  Or maybe the thing I'm afraid to write about is feeling uninspired!  Mmkay, mmkay, I'm grasping at straws now.  Let's try this again tomorrow.

birds in her hair

1.2.3

♥

fill-in-the-blank friday ♥

via the little things we do

1.   The last movie I saw was: Year of the Dog.  Which I expected to really like, because it was directed by Mike White and starred Molly Shannon, who I think is just lovely.  And to be fair, it's not that it was a bad movie, but it was in the comedy section of Netflix, so I was expecting, oh, I don't know, a comedy?  But honestly, not a comedy.  To the point where I was crying about ten minutes into it.  This won't be one I'll be watching again.

2.  I want to: start knitting with my gorgeous, gorgeous new yarn... it's green, with little hints of aubergine and blue and gray.  And it's fluffy and wonderful and incredibly light.  I haven't decided what to make with it yet, but it's the Ushya yarn by Mirasol.  And I love it.

3.  Surprises are: not my favorite thing, generally speaking.  They can be really fun, too, of course, but I do like to feel prepared for whatever I'm about to be doing.

4.  The best accessory is: a great bag... or cute shoes... or maybe a cute hair accessory!  Mmhm, I'm going to go with a cute hair accessory, because the right one will draw attention to your face, which really is the most important part of an outfit.

5.  My favorite warm drink is: hot chocolate... ooh, no, tea... I could deliberate all day and never choose between them.  As for choosing a kind of tea, I can't even begin to do that, but a few of my favorites are peppermint, chamomile, cranberry green tea... it's all so warm and lovely.

6.  My favorite cold drink is: generally water, but pineapple-orange-banana juice diluted with seltzer water is delicious too, like a light, not-too-sweet fruit soda but without the zillion tablespoons of sugar.

7.  Currently loving: Round the Twist with Carin, a knitting video podcast.  I'm knitting vicariously through her because she makes these gorgeous lacy shawls that I'm not sure if I'll ever even attempt.  And it's fun to knit or crochet while watching her podcasts because it feels like being at a knitting group, except that it happens whenever I have time to watch it. 

♥

shakespeare in love

"The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster."

"So what do we do? "

"Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well. "

"How?"

"I don't know. It's a mystery."

♥

trust30 project: day 8

day 8 of the trust30 project!

I think I like this prompt.  And to give you an idea of who I'd be writing this first letter to, here's me at my junior prom.

[caption id="attachment_1607" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="because apparently it's normal to photo-ambush people in bathrooms."][/caption]

Dear sixteen-year-old Julie,

You're almost out of high school, yay for you!  By this point you only have a couple close friends, and you are more than ready to get out.  Just hang in there a little longer.  You've dealt with some pretty rough stuff (for a sixteen-year-old), and there will be a whole bunch more of it, and sometimes you're sure that you won't make it through, but you will.  And as much as you absolutely hate when people tell you this, it will make you a stronger and more compassionate person.  But it's not all gloom-and-doom, you have some fantastic times and meet some amazing people, too.  Don't regret anything, but be careful with yourself and remember that there are people who love you.

♥ almost-twenty-one-year-old Julie

and now for my letter to myself in five years... eek.

Dear almost-twenty-six-year-old Julie,

     I don't know you yet, but you've met me.  I know where I'd like you to be and what I'd like your life to be like, but as long as you're happy and healthy, I'm pretty much okay with whatever you've chosen.  Hopefully you've found a way to design for a company that you're passionate about and have found someone who makes you feel like the best possible version of yourself.  If not, no worries, you'll get there.  I don't know what you're going to be like, or what you'll be doing, but I'm looking forward to finding out.

♥ almost-twenty-one-year-old Julie

hope everyone's enjoying their Thursday!

♥

falling garden

so very in love with this installation by Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger

♥