burlington

the (typical, of my peers) work/life balance in vermont couldn't be any more different than the (typical, of my peers) work/life balance in manhattan. my life back in new york was becoming increasingly off-kilter, so it felt good to slow things down for the week and sit for endless hours on floral fabric blankets by lake champlain. even our barefoot walks on the quiet, broken-pavement sidewalks seemed worlds away. we woke up late, drank strong coffee, ate local food and hula-hooped. this trip was, as i imagined it would be, good for the soul.

vermont until sunday

au revoir. ben and i are off to vermont for the week to visit annie in burlington. 

violet

maybe i've been in new york too long, and am wildly in need of a vacation (true, and i leave for vermont tomorrow), but i've been totally lagging on noticing the lovely little occurrences that used to be so apparent. i'm beyond excited/desperate to spend some time in the green mountain state for a few days. anyway, i know it takes effort and it's easy to let things slide, so to kick things off, i tried to be more aware this weekend. this is what i came up with: 

mary brought me back an amethyst from charleston. i am so grateful and it made me ridiculously happy. when i went to cannes, i brought her back a blue seashell. i am pleased that we exchange treasure. mary gets it.

there is a stamp store a block away from my apartment. during annie's last visit to the city, we stopped in and she bought a swimming lady. i have a rose, which i did not buy from this store but i so appreciate having my own stamp. 

this was a painting that was on my street near a garbage can. it looks like a flying pig. i liked it, but not enough to hang in my apartment and nothing is worth the risk of bedbugs. i liked it enough to add to my blog tonight.

ali's homemade macarons for jenna's welcome-to-new-york party were divine. truly, they've rivaled any macaron i've ever had. and i am no amateur. they were baked with love.

here are the clothes that i am taking to vermont. i spent half of sunday packing for this trip. i am an ace packer, and i weirdly think it is adds into the fun of going away...

...but figuring out what makeup to bring is a different story. especially when i will probably go without for most of the trip. it is vermont, after all. essentials only. this is what i've decided on. it all looks pretty, no?

there you have it. a slew of things that were lovely. 

summer blues

last weekend seemed to be tinted blue. it was the combination of the summer sky with the icy shade of nars polish that has continuously been on my nails for the past few months. it was the blue floral top that i wore for days in a row because i didn't think to bring a change of clothes, mixed with my favorite guerlain by emilio pucci terracotta gloss in porto azzurro and that slushie from the bodega that i wanted to get after the park but forgot about until now. le sigh, these summer blues were anything but sad.

bueno

someone told me that today is the first day of summer.

burner

tonight's required reading
+ sheila heti's how should a person be? 

slippy

remember these chinatown slippers that we all use to wear ten years ago? i popped into pearl river in soho a few weeks ago and picked up a pair for two dollars and seventy-five cents. it's funny to be so over a trend and then fall back in love, love, love. i wear them every sunny day to skip around my neighborhood. 

wait v. worth

when days were cold (think wind chills of negative 30) in vermont, the obvious choice was to skip the mile walk up to campus, stay in my nest of blankets and watch the martha stewart show. i was thankful that she kept my creative up while temps were low. i was inspired by everything she did. she was my idol. and among many things, i am grateful that martha introduced me to etsy. i've been using the site since february of 2008 and i've made countless purchases--my first being this sterling silver bracelet that i had custom engraved with "give peace a chance." little vermont hippie that i was! i didn't take it off for nearly three years and now it lives in my jewelry box. 

anyway, on october 29, 2010, i purchased a 1970s red kimono dress. now i should note that i am very selective with my purchases and make it a point to not buy everything that i see. the package arrived and i brought it back to my apartment, but i never opened it. the year ended. 2011 came and went. i moved into a new apartment. i'd see the package, but still i didn't open it. i kept the package in a duffle bag with my extra gloves and scarves, and occasionally i would think about opening it. but unexplainably, i wouldn't. until yesterday. june 4, 2012. i found it while i transitioning my wardrobe for summer. 

and here it is:

nice. it is nice. i'm neither over- or underwhelmed. worth the wait? sure. but maybe its worth was in its wait. i didn't expect to fall in love with this red kimono. i didn't think it was going to be the dress to end all dresses. i felt as neutral as i do in writing this. what i am trying to figure out: at which point was the anticipation for this dress lost?

emily once bought a powerball ticket, or something of the sort, that allowed winners an entire year to claim their prize. she waited months and months until she was ready to see if she had won. for her life to change. she'd mention every once in a while, in a variety of contexts, "well, i might be a millionaire." i don't remember her reaction to losing, or the minutes leading up to losing, or what made her finally decide to check. the deadline? the curiosity? 

last month, i ordered something from the something store. for ten dollars, the company will send you something. it could be a fragrance. it could be a tie. it could be a robot alarm clock or a patio lantern. my level of anticipation was through the roof. i figured that i would be the person that randomly got the laptop or the camera. i'm often very lucky. i had my coworker order something too. our somethings arrived on the same day. within three minutes, a week's worth of excitement dissipated as i opened my retractable car charger. my coworker received a reflective runner's vest.