Dear pita chips, will you be my Valentine?
Confession: I forgot it was Valentine’s Day.
I got up, did some work, went to the gym.
It wasn’t until I got to the grocery store and saw the line of men buying flowers and balloons (come on, guys – a last minute bouquet from ShopRite?) that I realized it was that day.
I saw the endless procession of long-stemmed roses parading through the automatic doors and it made me think – am I the only girl in America who doesn’t think roses are completely adorable?
I love a good hydrangea. Sunflowers, tiger lilies, gerbera daisies – all good. Roses, however, just make me feel cheesy – and not in the good, “check out this embarrassingly huge and glittery card I made just for you,” kind of way.
Don't these little lovelies look like they're smiling at you?
I may just buy a bunch of these for myself to make my room a little more excited for springtime.
P.S. – I actually don’t mind not having a Valentine. I figure it’s probably bad karma from that time I broke up with my boyfriend* in an Olive Garden on Valentine’s weekend a few years back. Instead, tonight I have plans with my two favorite boys – Charlie (3) and Drew (2 months).
* He brought me roses once, bad choice.
namaste, baby beluga.
Add the Georgia Aquarium to the list of random places I want to visit.
Last week, the aquarium started offering yoga classes in front of a tank of whales. The classes are offered every Sunday and cost $35 – which includes admission to the aquarium. I would love love love to take one of these classes – even though watching the whales might just distract me from perfecting a warrior pose. Roadtrip to Atlanta, anyone?
photo via CNN
66 days and 2,637 miles to Indio
The Coachella lineup was recently announced and I keep hoping that New Jersey will inch a little closer to California in the next few months. Here are a few reasons why:
Paul McCartney
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
The Ting Tings
M. Ward
Band of Horses
Dr. Dog
Calexico
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Jenny Lewis
Jenny Lewis at Coachella '08
I don’t think the lineup is as perfect as last year (The Swell Season, Stars, Death Cab for Cutie, Rilo Kiley, M.I.A., Duffy), but it still makes me want to run across the country and camp out on the Empire Polo Field for a few days. I had planned on trying to make the festival with my friend Dan this year, but my car and study abroad fund would be deeply depressed.
Luckily, the Coachella vibe comes east in August. The All Points West Music & Arts Festival began last year in Liberty State Park (NJ). I heard mixed reviews about the 2008 festival, but hopefully this year they’ll have all the kinks worked out.
Photo via Entertainment Weekly
groundhog day – the finale
Hello chickadees.
We’re ending this ode to winter on a Sunday night.
Sundays used to terrify me – the prospect of Monday loomed like an insurmountable fortress. My Sunday night routine now consists of laundry, reading and watching re-runs of Grey’s Anatomy and the combination seems to keep me calm.
So to round up a week of lovely winter things, I give you a Top 5 Winter Wishlist. These are things that I would love to have during chilly months, if only my bank account allowed.
1. Port-a-Sun. I have wanted a light box for the longest time. This is small enough to fit in my closet of a room and give me a little faux sunshine.
2. Snowy afternoons were made for watching old movies. Audrey Hepburn, come have a cup of tea with me.
3. I would love a subscription to The New Yorker or any literary magazine, really. The weathered copies in the English lounge just aren’t doing it for me anymore.
4. Winter is the best time for looking at the stars because it’s when the skies are clearest. I want this Constellations Globe.
5. Most of all, I just want Spring to hurry up.
photo via DCNature.
groundhog day – part 3
Even though I gripe about winter a lot, there are times when I absolutely adore it.
Exhibit A – My little nook. This is where I love to snuggle up with handmade blankets and stare at Lake Sylvia outside my window. Once spring and summer roll around, I feel completely obligated to go outside. Sometimes I really love to be indoors, in my safest place, surrounded by lovely things and free from pollen and bugs. Winter is the perfect excuse to drink 7 cups of tea a day, to spend a day reading because it’s too icy to drive, and to bundle up in completely ridiculous ensembles and blame it on “layering.”
Eating an orange seems so much better when I’m watching the snow line the branches of the trees. I perch on my chair wearing thick wool socks while trying to fish the marshmallows out of my hot chocolate. I slather my dry skin with body butter in Warm Vanilla Sugar. And I absolutely love the warm feeling I get after coming indoors from the frigid New Jersey night air.
These are the things I try to remember when my car is covered in a sheet of ice and I’ve forgotten my snow scraper. I try to remember them when my Converse get soaked through by puddles of melting snow. I especially try to remember these things that I adore when I slip and end up flat on my back on a dirty sidewalk. So even though winter is mostly my worst enemy, I like to think we have a soft spot for each other.
groundhog day – part 2
I am here to report that walking in a winter wonderland is not all that awesome. Still, it looks pretty nice. And since it’s Winter Week, the snow is perfect for my list of the best albums for chilly days.
The weather gods must know it's Winter Week on Grey or Blue.
I’ve always associated music with different seasons. I can only listen to Rilo Kiley’s More Adventurous in the fall, and their earlier album, The Execution of All Things, is only allowed in the Summer. Sometimes, the association is linked to the album’s release date, but more often than not, it’s a result of when a certain lyric or song or entire collection was especially important to me. My favorite winter albums actually feel wintery to me – slower, softer, occasionally bordering on the melodramatic. I’ve decided on my three favorite winter albums and thrown in a few honorable mentions as well:
Jenny Lewis, Rabbit Fur Coat (2006)
The epitome of blue-eyed soul.
Best tracks: Happy, Melt Your Heart, Rabbit Fur Coat
Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová, Once: Music from the Motion Picture (2007)
Winner of the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original song and the Grey or Blue award for favorite soundtrack ever.
Best Tracks: Falling Slowly, Say It to Me Now, The Hill
Cat Power, The Greatest (2006)
I highly recommend listening to this while lying flat on the floor. Sing it, Chan Marshall.
Best Tracks: Where is My Love, The Greatest, Willie
Those are my top three. Honorable mentions go to:
The Decemberists, The Crane Wife (2006)
John Mayer, Inside Wants Out (1999)
Nick Drake, Bryter Layter (1970)
Snow Patrol, Final Straw (2003)
Damien Rice, O (2002)
See you tomorrow for more wintery goodness!
groundhog day
Happy February.
Punxsutawney Phil has done it again – 6 more weeks of winter.
In honor of my favorite February holiday (Anyone else not looking forward to Valentines?), we’ll be talking winter all week on Grey or Blue.
Show me your winter face!
I’ve spent my entire life in the Northeast, so I’ve never known a winter without snow. This year is the first time in recent memory that I haven’t loathed every second of the chilliness. I made a conscious decision to not be seasonally affected – so far it’s working. I’m determined to enjoy these next six weeks on the way to my favorite time of year – Spring. So get out your favorite trapper hats and let’s talk about the best books, music, and lovely things to combat the winter blues!
Saturdays
Greetings from the Keystone State.
I braved rush hour traffic last night to take a quick trip home to visit my parents and Frida, who is a little lonely without my brother. And while I love showering without flip-flops, sitting on a couch and having a dishwasher at my disposal, being home has completely sabotaged my weekend productivity.
Normally, I spend Saturday morning at the gym and the rest of the day at the library, reading and drinking lots of tea with my friend Kim. Today, however, I spent the morning snuggling in the sunlight with my dog and have yet to emerge from my sweatpants. This house is simply too cozy.
Luckily, I am heading back to Jersey in the morning, and plan to camp out in the library until kick-off. I’m not a fan of the Steelers or the Cardinals, but I am so looking forward to some delicious snacks and Bruce Springsteen at halftime!
white walls
I deep-cleaned my room today and I realized how empty my walls are. I figure college is the only time in my life when hanging posters on the wall is considered appropriate decorating, so I’ve been searching for some goodies.
This picture makes Central Park look almost magical. Even though I know the city gets so crazy and ugly at times, I would love to hang this at the foot of my bed and stare at it while I fall asleep.
You know I love Obama and how can you go wrong with a copy of his inspirational acceptance speech from election day? This could motivate me to turn off The Real World and do something awesome. On the other hand, having the commander in chief staring at me all day and night might feel a bit like Big Brother is watching.
Hello, loves of my life. It’s true, I have an embarrassing attachement to John, George, Paul and Ringo (and I have the ink to prove it). I would love for these boys to hang out in my room.
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One of my favorite places in the world is the European paintings galleries at the Met. Everytime I’m there, I am so overwhelmed by the quality of art. These peeling walls could use a little van Gogh, don’t you think?
Any other suggestions for decorating these bare dorm walls?
