Spring Is Happening Right Outside

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR! (Caps completely necessary.)

It's just so unbelievably gorgeous out. Crisp air, flowering trees, grass that's turning green. Everything's just coming alive, and I find it quite exhilarating. I'm so busy preparing for the National Stationery Show next month that I'm not spending as much time outdoors as I'd like, but I totally appreciate each and every second I'm out there. I savor my walks to the train and bus. I can't stop myself from smiling when the sunlight warms my cheeks. 

Really you guys, it's sort of amazing (every single day). I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am.

Autumn 2011

Autumn is here, for real. Halloween has come and gone (yay candy!), and now it's dark when I leave work in the evening. Thank goodness for my new key chain flashlight, since I can't see our doorknob without it!



Today was quite lovely, but we've have several cold days and a whole lotta rain. Even some snow here in Belmont (much more to the west).

How's autumn treating you?

{cell phone photo; 27 October 2011}

Farmer's Market

The dog parade setup was in the same parking lot as the weekly Farmer's Market, so my mom and I scoped it out and picked up my parents' CSA. 

The colors of fall are so pretty - even in the food! And aren't those teeny tiny potatoes hilarious? 

End Of Summer

It's fall, but there are still signs of summer. They're fading, but not gone yet!  

I'm looking forward to watching New England turn red and gold. It's already starting, but right now I'm enjoying this period of seasonal overlap. It's been in the 80s the past few days, but I think it'll be cooling down next week. Then maybe we'll settle into autumn. 

Harvest Moon

Did you see the Harvest Moon last night? If I understand correctly, last night was the first time in nearly twenty years that the Harvest Moon  -- the full moon closest to the September equinox -- has actually occurred on the day of the autumnal equinox. 

Since it's a pretty rare event, Eric and I went hunting for a good place to check out the sunset. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy. We stood on this bridge (which was sort of scary, because when a truck drove over it the whole thing shook like crazy) with a few other nerds and waited for the moon to show itself. I took the photo above during the wait.

Every once in awhile, it would peek through the clouds for a second, and I'd snap away with the camera. I really struggled to get a photo because the chain link fence was obstructing my view. But look how golden the moon was! 

It really was pretty cool, and it was fun trying to figure out where we could go (by sunset) in order to have the best view. We had a little Wednesday adventure!

Sunset In Vineyard Haven

Since we're leaving a few hours, it seems appropriate to share a sunset picture (get the metaphor there?). 

Last night we went to one of our secret spots to watch the sunset. The ride is a bumpy one, reminiscent of a roller coaster. And then at the end, you get out of the car to watch Mother Nature make some magic. We brought drinks (peach Izze for me, ginger ale for Eric + Will) and sandwiches for the show. After we ate, we got out the fishing pole; that's Eric in the picture. 

Le sigh. Goodbye. 

P.S. Still more Vineyard photos to share. Wait for it. 

Birthday Party From Afar

Most of the time, it's easy to forget that I live in a city. Our tiny road has several small apartment complexes and the surrounding streets are filled with similar buildings and a good number of multi-family homes. It's quiet around here, and that's pretty great. But we don't have a yard, or even any grass. Just some weirdly fenced-in wood chips out front, and a parking lot in the back. So in the summer, if I want to spend some time reading in the sun, I have to pack a bag and walk a few blocks to the park. I am joined by others who read and picnic and listen to their iPods on towels and blankets scattered all over the hill. We're all there for the same reason, I presume: to spend some time outdoors and it's closer than the beach.

On Saturday, there was a little birthday party going on at the house right next to the park. There were a bunch of kids running around chasing balloons and playing games. It was an overcast afternoon, so there weren't many people sunbathing and the kids had a lot of space. Birthday parties used to be so awesome with all the fun decorations, games, arts + crafts, and running around like maniacs. 

I only had my Blackberry with me, so this is the best picture I could get from a distance. I polaroid-ized it, which made it a little awesome-er.

Glorious Lilies

It was so perfect outside when I woke up this morning that I grabbed my little camera and set out on a walk around the neighborhood.

These lilies were certainly worth the trip. Just wonderful, no?

*The latest edition of Lost in Thoughts is up on the ELM blog. I'd love it if you stopped by for a little visit!

Pink Nails

I used to hate the way I looked with my nails painted. But then, in the winter of '08/'09, I discovered navy blue nail polish. I rocked it during the cold months this past winter as well, but when the spring rolled around the nail polish came off.

Until yesterday.

A bottle of pink quick-dry nail polish caught my eye (for some unknown reason it's called Penn Station). I'm surprised by how much I like it. I keep my nails really short, and these deep colors are good for that style. I feel so fancy now. And summery. 

(I didn't match my toes to my fingers; I chose my favorite orange-y color instead.)

Summer Colours Week: Yellow

Today's yellow for Poppytalk's Summer Colours Week.

This is my favorite yellow thing I've seen so far today. Just a nice, old tin.

Have you seen anything yellow today? Are you playing along? If so, leave a link to your blog in the comments so I can check it out! 

Fun Fountain

In case you're concerned after my last post, I just want to let you know that I feel better than I did on Tuesday. That first day was just hard. But I've been working and making dinner and going for walks and working some more and talking to Eric, just like always. But now our talks are on the phone. It's even been exciting to learning about his new apartment and hearing about the office.

As I said, things here are carrying on pretty much as usual. And since it's June, that means it's starting to get hot in this apartment (where I live and work). The heat usually starts in the late afternoon, and when it's muggy like it is right now, I want a splash of cold water.

Maybe I'll just have to make a trip back to this fountain.

Or hop in the shower.

*Check out Lost in Thoughts today; it's inspired by Eric's adventure in Philly.

Minot Rose Garden

Eric and I have this 3 mile walk that we like to do. The best part is that there's a fantastic public rose garden right around the halfway point. We've been walking past it and inspecting the rose bushes for a few weeks now, in anticipation.

Obviously we were in luck this past weekend! There were many, many buds and we saw three roses that were a little bit ahead of the game. I wish you could smell these, because they were just heavenly.

Spring Blossoms In Newport

On Saturday morning Eric and I went to a cute little diner caller Corner Cafe in downtown Newport. A hotel employee suggested we go there, and we really enjoyed the food. It was a short, but beautiful (and chilly) walk. We passed this house, and I just had to take a picture. Look at the tree and the white lattice railing and the shingled siding. Oh man. So cute!

The second picture is a close up of some of the flowers on the same tree. I simply cannot resist taking pictures of pretty flowers. Springtime is so fleeting; I want to hold onto it as long as possible because it's just so perfect.

I hope you had a beautiful Tuesday. Till next time!

Cloudy Spring Day

Yesterday, I took the morning off from my day job and brought some of my newer ELM designs to Rugg Road Paper Company (they ordered some cards last spring). They liked my stuff and placed an order; I'm so excited! If you're in Boston, they should be available in the store in 2 weeks or so.

Anyway, yesterday was a cloudy day, but that didn't keep me from noticing all the stunning trees in (on?) The Common. Isn't spring the best?!

After my jaunt downtown, I had a few errands to run in Brookline before getting back to work. While I was walking home, I was dodging raindrops every now and again, but it was really fun (and awesome to spend some time away from my computer). Plus, I saw some more trees in bloom.

I took these pictures with my blackberry.

Open 3/30/10

I'm 27 today, and I don't feel old at all. In fact, I feel young and amazed that people consider me a grown up. When I was little it was always a little disappointing that I didn't feel different, but now I'm used to it. I suppose it would be sort of shocking to wake up and feel like another person, since growing, maturing, and aging are gradual processes that happen over the course of weeks, months, or years. Plus, I'm still me (even if I have grown up some), so I imagine that I'll always love opening presents (almost more than what's inside), eating sweets, and making wishes - you know, all the things that make birthdays special.

On Friday, I got a letter in the mail and I was super excited. I knew right away that it was a birthday card from my gramma, but I didn't open it because it had instructions on the back:

Well today I opened it as soon as I got out of bed, and it made my day. (Thanks gramma, you're great.) Then I opened the gifts from my family, and my day got even brighter. (Thanks family, you're great too.) And then Eric came home to have lunch with me and a birthday package from his parents was delivered! (Thanks Schwarzes, you are also great.)

I've been getting emails and phone calls and texts and facebook/twitter messages all day. I feel so loved, so I thank you all! Some of you have expressed concern that the rain might be ruining my special day. I want to assure you that it never has and never will. I was born on rainy day and I've had very few sunny birthdays (I think I could count them on one hand). I've grown to expect and appreciate the rain, especially since it usually leads to a little more of this:

And that's just wonderful, isn't it? I'm so glad I'm a spring baby. Happy birthday to me! ★

*I wanted to share my day with you, so I'm offering 27% off sales of $10+ in the Everything Little Miss shop. Click here for the details and the coupon code.

Quidditch In The Park

Yesterday Eric and I spent some time downtown. The weather was beautiful, so we walked around quite a bit. As we passed through The Common, Eric spotted a Quidditch game. A. Quidditch. Game. What great fortune! In case you're living under a rock, Quidditch is a made-up game from the Harry Potter series that's played while flying on broomsticks. These days there are leagues and they play competitively. On broomsticks. On the ground. You better believe I took pictures.

Unfortunately, we couldn't hang around long enough to see the snitch in action. I wish we could have though, because I've heard that sometimes they glue a yellow ping pong ball to a cross country runner and try to catch him. I would have loved to have seen that. Click here to see a video about the sport (via @evolution20).

*If you live in or near Cold Spring, NY, a selection of Everything Little Miss cards is now available at The Country Goose!

Crocuses

Yesterday was the first day since we changed the clocks ahead that it wasn't pouring. Not only did the rain hold off, the sun was high and the sky was blue, blue, blue!

I guess these little guys decided the weather was good enough to make a showing. Um, hello spring!

I took this picture last night around 5:30, when it still felt like mid-afternoon it was so bright (though these flowers where in shadows). At 7:00, when Eric and I were walking home from our errands, it was still light out. What a difference daylight savings time makes!

Was your day as sunny as mine? Did you do anything to celebrate (like a nice walk)?

Robin's Egg Blue

I submitted these two photos for last day of Poppytalk's Spring Colour Week.

As you probably know, I've got little cranes (and some bigger ones) floating around all over our apartment. I fold them whenever I have a scrap of paper around. It's nice to make something pretty out of what would otherwise be considered trash. I used real origami paper for this guy, though.

This bracelet was a Hanukkah gift from my aunt and uncle. It's a few years old at this point, and it's the only bracelet I ever wear. I might wear it for a few days or weeks at time, and then I put it back in it's pretty little box until I'm feeling bracelet-y again. Normally, bracelets aren't my thing, but this one never gets in my way and it's not too flashy for my simple taste.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. Will you be looking out for spring colors? It's just around the corner, you know. ★

It's Here!

Oh my god, you guys! Guess what came last night! Did you say "new camera?" YES!!! I can't believe how quickly it arrived or how much I love it! It's a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi. Our other Digital SLRs (both the same model) were wonderful while they lasted, but this is going to be great.

In other news, I'm participating in Spring Colour Week over at Poppytalk (see the gorgeous Flickr pool here). Today's color is yellow!

A few months ago I strung together four vases (that I made from old light bulbs) and filled them with homemade tissue paper flowers. It's hanging in our living room window - mostly because there was already a ceiling hook there - and I love the way this yellow flower is fading at the edges but still has some strong color in the middle. The edges look a little pink because it's reflecting the fuschia from the pink flower hanging below!

I also took a picture of a lemon for today's yellow theme.

Longer Days

This afternoon I looked out the window and I couldn't believe how light it was outside! At 4:30, it was really and truly bright out. It was such a nice little discovery.

I'm one of those people who enjoys winter, but the short days are hard. I look forward to longer days just as much as everybody else. ☼

I took this picture in 2003 at the Tate Modern in London.

In other news, I updated the blog layout. I've added pages along the top and expanded the post area so we can display bigger images. Hope you like it!

*Thursday is Lost in Thoughts day over at Everything Little Miss. Go get inspired!