To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements, lock it in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. C.S. Lewis

That man...genius.

"Everything changes when you start to emit your own frequencies rather than absorbing the frequencies around you, when you start imprinting your intent on the universe rather than receiving an imprint from existence." -Barbara Marciniak

There is no force in the world but love, and when you carry it within you, if you simply have it, even if you remain baffled as to how to use it, it will work its radiant effects and help you out of and beyond yourself: one must never lose this belief, one must simply (and if it were nothing else) endure in it!  -Rainer Maria Rilke

 

These two songs are guaranteed to make me smile. Guaranteed. 

They could not be any more different, but when I hear them on the radio I immediately smile. A big smile, that I can't hide. And I can always use more smiles.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. Henry David Thoreau

And the non-twisted, perfectly lovely, current celebrity crush....

Those silly, silly women that say hair matters are sorely mistaken.

Twisted List...

My friend's mom has what she calls a "Twisted List." In other words, men she thinks are oddly attractive. Weird, strange men that are somehow attractive. And Bonnee and I have been thinking about ours for awhile, we were so intrigued by the idea.

Here's mine. (Don't judge. That's the purpose of a Twisted List, it's supposed to be weird...):

1. William Fichtner
2. Alan Rickman
3. Steve Carell
4. Edward Norton
5. Jay-Z

The. Greatest. List. Ever. (volume 3)

1. Oh my goodness. I'm obsessed.
2. One of my new favorite TV shows. Why, hello. I think you're fantastic.
3. Also, thank heavens for this. Without it, that stupid Indiana Jones theme song would still be stuck in my head.
4. Love this book. There's so many wonderful things in this world. 
5. I'm out of things to say. But I guess I'll always be grateful for this wonderful thing. 

The. Greatest. List. Ever. (volume 2)

1. Away We Go. One of my all-time favorite movies. Definitely in the top 5. 
2. Obviously Diet Coke. 
3. Dizzy Dean said, "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up." Well, I can SO back this up. I make the best chocolate chip cookies on this planet. 
4. To Make You Feel My Love, as sung by Adele. I honestly think this version is the best version of this song ever sung (though my step-dad would just say, "Oh, another world record. Great.") 
5. Strawberries with brown sugar and sour cream. My roommate recently introduced me to that lovely treat, and it is to die for. 
6. CHI's 44 Iron Guard spray. How else do you think I keep my hair this soft?  :)
7. My mom ROCKS. 
8. Bath & Body Works' White Citrus spray. It's divine.
9. Chalkboard spray paint, a cheap foam board, chalkboard markers, scrapbook paper, and a bottle of Mod Podge. A great craft night. 
10. Across the Universe. Also in my top 5 favorite movies.

Happiness

I was making pancakes yesterday...my favorite. And I was totally lost in stirring and smoothing the batter, smelling the vanilla, and feeling the warmth of the stove. Then I realized, at that moment, I was truly happy. And I thought about all the other times I have been truly happy, and those times are almost always when I am cooking (or handwashing my beautiful turquoise Paula Dean pots & pans set). Somehow, no matter what is going on in life, whether I'm worrying about the electrical deposit, budgeting money for milk, or thinking about when I need to do my laundry or clean the shower, I know that I can always stir flour, eggs, and vanilla and I will have delicious pancakes. Sour cream and brown sugar are delicious on strawberries. Boiling butter, cocoa and milk on the stove and adding oatmeal will always give me delicious no-bake cookies. It's cut-and-dried, it's logical, it's consistent.  It's effortless, straightforward, and uncomplicated. I have complete and utter control. It's a few minutes of priceless and exquisite peace. And nothing else compares in this universe.

"Some people like to paint pictures, or do gardening, or build a boat in the basement. Other people get a tremendous pleasure out of the kitchen, because cooking is just as creative and imaginative an activity as drawing, or wood carving, or music."  -Julia Child

The. Greatest. List. Ever. (volume 1)

I love lists. So here's one, of everything and anything and everyone I'm currently nursing a healthy obsession of/crushing on/can't get enough of. 

1. Why is this so emotional? I swear, somehow this band has a link to my brain and my emotions. But how is that possible?
2. Wow, I love this movie. I could watch it over, and over, and over, and over again.
3. I can't get over the beauty of this poem. It's simultaneously joyful and gut-wrenching. 
4. Sexy (adj.): highly appealing or interesting; attractive. Should be used sparingly. See also: I want this man.
5. Also.............wow.
6. More tomorrow. I really need some of this.

The idea for this post came from my new favorite site. Check it out if you have a few hours, because trust me, you'll want to browse for ever.

I am SO very, completely, incredibly in love with this song:

here!

He is a first class d-bag (old news, but for reference, hear what he said about jessica simpson? and jennifer aniston?) Like I would have the chance anyway, but that made me realize he's not very dateable. So I had to tone down my ardent love for him. Anyhoo....but I still love his music. Sorry, I can't stop that. And this song is just incredible.

favorites

Just a few things I love at the moment:

--So I watched the last round of this, and actually enjoyed myself.

--While on the subject, meet my future husband.

--This is on the way to my house right now, and I am looking forward to seeing his lovely face every afternoon after work.

--I have rekindled my love for this. But blame it on my father.