a new anthem.

Leona Lewis - Happy [NEW SINGLE 2009] FULL/HQ
by awb8

i think this will be my theme song for the rest of 2009...i totally just wanna be happy :) who doesn't??

sir links-a-lot.

who loves a long holiday weekend?!?!??!! I DO. it's already almost thursday again, and believe me i'm not trying to wish time away...but i do love friday afternoons! so here's to a short week and a few things that are filling up my heart around the blogosphere:

- emilia's got 11 questions for small business creatives - here, here & here.
- the perfect day
- i would sell my pinky for this necklace
- hungry monkey with the food palette of a champ!!
- have i mentioned prima mag?? it's fashion & music for cool kids.
- great project - two friends, two days
- one of my most loved poems with sweet photos
- a wedding with a peppermint twist...

[photo by kristy for thingsihearttoday]

mirror image.

OK! whose the genius that invented the polaroid mirror??? colin o'dowd of course! i bet this little gem will be making the rounds on flickr immediately (and everywhere) soon, and i O-fficially heart it. plus, for $29 it's a steal for the sheer novelty and fun of it all!

found via sfgirlbybay

BIG hearts.

“feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like
wrapping a present and not giving it.”
-william arthur ward

[photo via flickr]

auburn & ivory turns one today...and for one WHOLE year, the world has been brighter. heck, i wouldn't be here without her - happy birthday and thanks for the 365 days of inspiration (hem, hem...and for all the years of love & inspiration before that!). across the miles - cupcakes & kudos to you! MWAH.

lost and found.

back when i was in college at bennington, i spent many days and many MANY long, loopy nights at our campus costume shop. for hours, i would labor over blind stitches and weather denim till my fingers went numb, usually laughing hysterically (we called this "head-joy" when everything becomes SO funny because you are SO tired!) and rocking out to madonna or lauryn hill or portishead or simon & garfunkel. so many of those glorious times were spent along side leah*, who always signed her name with a star and greeted you with a smile.

emily montrose ~ hearts kimono robe by L'stell

well, if there is one thing to be said for facebook & the like, it's that finding old friends and seeing what they are up to these days becomes a little easier and a few months ago i reconnected with leah* (a fellow maine-iac, now transplanted in san fran, ca). her lovely designs and style have followed her west - point & case, her blog L'stell which features resource links for locals and new designs available in her online shop. do check it out - if you like handmade gems, attention to detail and vintage fabric you'll have major hearts for L'stell. lobster, hugs and kisses leah*, from the east coast to the your's!

kinokuniya apron wrap dress by L'stell

thorns & all.

couldn't you just eat these up...if, of course, that wouldn't hurt so much.

lee hale's black rose thorn earrings from erin basin in oxidized bronze, YUM.

[photo via erin basin]

what i heart.

"i don't want to end up simply having visited this world"
-mary oliver, when death comes

ok, so i have been feeling for some time (and maybe knowing more recently) that i need to make some changes to this blog and get it focused. as i have admitted here, and my lovely karly reminded me this weekend - enough with the garden! it's true, but i have been so overwhelmed with what i need to do lately or with what i am avoiding to do (perhaps!) lately that it has been my safe-haven...a.k.a. - easy way out of: being creative, inspired, up late at night obsessive about discovering.

so, to break down a series of events, i was thinking about this today while i was driving (bad idea) and i need to work out some things with what i post about and when, i need to get creative and i need to be inspired...not by tomato plants (though, sometimes yes, that will happen still!) but by living. too many times lately i have simply written the short email saying "days keep passing by! summer is draining me! i promise to call soon!" i need to call people, write the obvious email, send the random card, walk around target and leave with something frivolous in my hand, go to a museum by myself and sketch...it's a must.

i think i had a tipping point tonight reading one of my favorite blogs and seeing her quote one of my favorite poets. so here is one of my favorite poems by mary oliver (who taught at bennington when i was there, and i have a very funny story about that, so remind me to tell it someday!). enjoy and please hang on as i take a few days to sort out what i heart, & what my heart needs here - i promise not to be gone too long, i'll brb;)

The Swan

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

- Mary Oliver

what do you feel in your heart? how does it change everything? what is beauty for? have you changed your life? discuss.

photo by kristy for thingsihearttoday]

wow...Wow...WOW!

so some BIG news...emilia (my loveliest lovely!) has awarded me this award...how freaking cool is that?!?!?! i'm not sure if i deserve it, but i will take the honor and enjoy the nepotism (we're basically family). i have to say, if she hadn't awarded me, i would have awarded her because my life was blog-less before she started writing auburn & ivory ...i cross my fingers for posts from her everyday...OH! and did i mention she's the inspiration for this lil' ol blog even being here?? i lurv her and now (drum roll) for my other 7 favorites who i also stalk on my google reader:)



rules...
1. when received, you may post the premio to your blog

2. link to the blogger you received it from

3. give it to 7 blogs

4. link to those 7 blogs

5. and leave those 7 bloggers a comment about receiving the brilliant premio!

ali loves curtis
ali's posts were my first true blog obsession when i started reading blogs. she always has sweet posts and inspiration

for me, for you
these gals keep it coming from both coasts - kate (from the east) & andrea (from the west). these friends have: style, inspiration & sweet treats for my brain!

the style files
danielle's posts are a new addition to my blogroll. i just love her interior design finds and of course i have been linking up to some of her posts about greece!

more ways to waste time
also new to me, but quickly becoming an obsession - do i need to say anything more than the title already suggests?!? leah has some great finds, and i can't live without any of them:)

milk eggs chocolate
alyson, from unruly.things featuring yummy delights & recipes on her cooking blog...YUM!

creature comforts
ez is just the coolest - with her posts i read, star & repeat - daily, like shampoo...'nuff said.

simplyolive
design, fashion & a cute shop on etsy - what's not to love?


so THANK YOU to all the inspiring folks above & emilia, i have the greatest admiration for you ladies, you rock...blog on!

“feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
~william arthur ward

someday.

this is not even on the radar folks (so chill out mom!), BUT when i saw this i knew...someday (in a far away land) i will be married on a chilly fall day and wear this as i jet off for a fabulous world tour. i lurv the rainy season shall from las lopez las along with several other things from their shop which i cannot purchase at this time, but you should...go! shop! wear beauty around your neck!

[photo from laslopezlas shop on etsy]

century city.

"motivation is what gets you started.
habit is what keeps you going." -- jim ryun

so yesterday, i realized that i had my 100th post! i know, not a huge deal, but i'll take a mini-milestone where i can get one;) i wish i had something to give away! especially because when i started this journey, i had no idea what i was doing or what i would write or find or love, but the fact that i did it and stuck with it for more than a few silly posts makes my day. i am so excited to be here - to be reading other blogs and to be inspired daily by so many great artists and creative spirits. i can only hope this is the first of many 100's of posts here. and thank you for coming along on my journey (here, there & everywhere sometimes i know!) because it makes me come back as much as i can to take time out, to appreciate the moments & the details.

when i look at my sitemeter (like a cuckoo bird everyday!), i see so many visitors from all over the world, some repeat some new (thanks to creature comforts for bringing some new friends my way & welcome everyone!). i am here because you guys show up to read, so please feel free to leave comments on this post...i can be a bit all over the place sometimes, so let me know - what do you like? what do you miss? what could you do with a little less of? do you like the pictures, quotes, random happenings?



i feel like i am no longer in WAY over my head, but just up to my ankles in something good, thank you!

[photo by kristy for thingsihearttoday]

oh joy.

"joy is the best makeup."
—anne lamott

[these are my favorite flowers this week, PEONIES!! yummy, they make my
room happy:) plus a lovely dish that my grandma
gave me after i painted her kitchen...the new pale lilac blue color covers up
a mint green that had graced the walls for years - oye. oh and a pink flare dot, love.]

i have been absent - without any great excuse - BUT i have been starring items like craz-azy on my google reader and because i can't get it together lately to write posts, i will just share my list-o-faves "things i heart lately", links of love, if you will - MWAH!

- m*a*s*h for grown-ups...YAY.
- easy-peasy & eco-friendly for yer veggies
- light up your life [or den] with graffitti
- anti-energy drink
- feeling fine about this
- realistic comic relief
- YUM! Yum! yum. this looks good...
- i think this might get sera to agree to camping
- i am ready to move here, does anyone have a mountain i can borrow?
- t.o.t.t. - think on these things
- LOL for $5.99
- i'm doing this...and i might need some encouragement!
- i need this in my life, for the occasional days when a primal scream just doesn't cut it.

and finally!!
- who wants to take me HERE! i am really good company and i can pack a mean weekend bag;)

[photo by kristy for thingsihearttoday]

rock it.

untouched by the veronicas

i heard this song the other night on so you think you can dance, and now i am obsessed. i wanna do a major 80's dance rock out to it at the next possible opportunity! BIG hearts.

take time.

it's friday, another weekend that has crept up on me quickly and while i'm hoping for good weather so that i can get outside and plant some posies, i wouldn't mind being lazy in the rain. i have a stack of starred items in my google reader that i need to revisit and computer work to do for my mom's dance recital (it's next weekend...eek!). here are a few finds that earn BIG hearts and above is the most molten sunset from this evening just before it disappeared behind the farm. happy weekend:)

--> i heart office supplies, and these are my soon-to-be-new obsession...in addition to my already unhealthy love of sharpies;).
--> my loveliest lovely emilia was featured here and for good reason...great idea.
--> synchronicity is running RAMPANT around here and i nearly fainted to find this on my friday favorite ...it was just two days ago that i told my mom that we had to dig out our recipe that our danish exchange student used to make
--> i need this book and a business plan
--> a gluten-free travel guide for when i make it to italy...someday
--> it's really not easy being green in this video, it's sad

[photo by kristy for thingsihearttoday]

be the change.

on this anniversary of a 5 year war, i have decided instead of an angry rant to post something that makes me feel peaceful. caroline colom vasquez of paloma's nest, makes these lovely creations that i adore, they are my count-to-ten-breath today. her studio is green powered (by renewable wind energy!) and the quote on her page reads, "do small things with great love" - my new motto.


she adds that, "by adding text, I give written ideas, feelings, and daydreams a place to rest." i can buy a ticket to that - thank you, caroline.

exhale & enjoy.