why i need 4000 helium filled balloons.

why i need 100 umbrellas. stat.

more umbrella fun here.

eye.spy.

dear amazon, what the heck are you trying to sell me?

how california tries to charm me…

pencil-icious

this fantastic project involves subscribing to receive 25 colored pencils in the mail for 20 months. not a clue what i’d do with them (build a fort?), but i want them nevertheless.

fields of yellow flowers = perfectly acceptable reason to pull over on the shoulder of the busiest highway

my perfect bed. for the most part.

in love with love.

why sarah brown is one of my favorite people

extracted from her blog, que sera sera:

Unbridled

Lady in bridal shop: What kind of dress do you think you’d like?
Me: Not long or white, not strapless or halter… bright color, knee-length full skirt, no veil?
Lady in bridal shop: Yeah, we don’t have anything like that. Why don’t you let me bring you some things I think you might like?
Me: Sure, you’ve known me for 30 seconds now, that seems foolproof.
Lady in bridal shop: [Brings me long white dress.]
Lady in bridal shop: Do you want me to get you a veil to try?
Me: No thanks, I don’t want a veil.
Lady in bridal shop: Let me grab you a veil.
Lady in bridal shop: [Puts veil on my head.]
Lady in bridal shop: See, it looks so good! You should wear a veil. I mean, what other day in your life will you get to wear a veil?
Me: Maybe when Nick dies fighting a holy war, and I enter a convent?
Lady in bridal shop: [silence]
Me: And then every day following that day, I guess.

heart still hurting for haiti

see the slideshow here.

reason #52958 i need to be within arms reach of ash right this second.

blog worthy

dr. shelley’s amazing kona coffee is DEFINITELY blog worthy. a delicious way to start the day. :)

pərˈfɛkt

our last day in samoa. in a few hours we’ll be boarding another plane, this time to LA. we spend our remaining hours visiting the baha’i house of worship on the top of the hill. the rain pours down outside and the greenery happily drinks it up. lush takes on a whole new meaning in these islands. the ferns unfold their spindly fingers to catch every available droplet and i am awed by trees bursting with flowers so vibrant and saturated in color that you think at any moment they will turn into exotic birds and fly away.

inside the house of worship it is cool and quiet. just me and devon. our bodies tired from this four month adventure in the pacific, our minds racing on imminent and exciting projects, and our hearts full.

we sit side by side. my hair, wet from the downpour, sticks to the back of my neck. we hold hands and we sing a prayer. our voices bounce off the nine walls and fused together, they sing back to us. i used to be shy singing in front of dev. but i’m gaining confidence, and so i relax and sing out. and the rain drums the ground in unison with us, a delicate backtrack to our song.

i want to capture this feeling in every sinew and neuron contained in my body. i want to inscribe the details on my insides. i want to stash them carefully next to those other moments that are so perfect, and yet so fleeting, that you almost can’t believe they ever really happened.

the final note of our song hangs in the air hesitant to leave. i don’t want to go anywhere either. i slowly open my eyes and my breath catches. dev is holding a small, weathered, heart-shaped box in front of me. his eyes are shining. i open the box to find a ring fashioned out of a vintage button and wire sitting on tissue paper.

my tears take a cue from the rain and spill over freckled, damp cheeks.

the ring fits perfectly. of course it does.

in case you needed a good reason to buy cowboy boots…

naturally, i’m incredibly excited about our wedding. but is it strange that i’m also so VERY excited about our ‘cowboy, damsel, bear’ BBQ photoshoot the next day with our favorite friends & family? because i am.

in other news, me and my FIANCE are obviously in the wrong decade. the 70s beckon.