Bachelorettes and Recommended Reading

This past weekend was my twin sister's bachelorette party. Talk about the perfect way to spend a weekend - with sisters and good friends in Palm Desert, relaxing, laughing, and catching up. My only complaint was that we only had two days together, but it was so much fun.

Rockin' the tiara like a boss

I love this beautiful girl more than anything and am so excited to stand with her on her big day.

The bride and her 'maids

Now, let's see what's been happening around the blogs lately...

[Pinterest]

41 Quotes from Runners.  (Thought Catalog)

25 things every woman needs to know (Hannah Brencher)

Leslie Knope's Girl Code - this made me so happy (via Cup of Jo)

Leeana's reminder to be a friend to yourself (Gypsy Ink)

Challenge: "let's be women with eyes that look out" (Darling Magazine)

23 Signs You're an Introvert (via Cupcakes & Cashmere)

Curious cats (Buzzfeed)

One of my biggest pet peeves - your vs. you're (What Should We Call Me)

Take this quiz - I got 32/36. Can you beat it? (via Cup of Jo)

A message from the Broken Heart Committee...we've all been there.  (Hannah Brencher)

The view from my front door

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

Randoms.

Happy Tuesday sunshine, here is what my last week looked like:

Dinners with friends. Rach left this weekend to start her second (!) year of optometry school. She's growing up so fast.

Siah was my roommate last week - she's wonderful company. Her favorite activities include sitting on Trader Joe's bags, drinking out of (my) water glasses, and helping me make the bed. Dislikes? Closed doors, anyone who is sleeping when she's hungry, and sitting like a normal cat.

I finished Beautiful Ruins this week - I had seen recommendations for it on other blogs and wasn't really sure what to expect. I loved the cover right away...so there's that. Then I found it in a used bookstore and figured I might as well try it - I love any excuse to buy used books. I really enjoyed it though. The format was a little like The Help where each chapter switches to another character's perspective, except in Beautiful Ruins it also goes back and forth in time to pull the story together. Not in a jarring way. I'm not explaining this well, am I? Whatever. It was good - one of those comforting books you read during the summer, you know?

One of my friends had asked me to do some drawings for her. I really like doing these quick sketches on book pages because it doesn't feel as permanent. Like, if I wanted to throw it away, I wouldn't be wasting good drawing paper. Plus the words in the background are more interesting than a white blank page (I couldn't resist).

I'll always love drawing Rodin sculptures (okay, that fourth one is Picasso). I could draw the same one a hundred times and every drawing would look different. Granted, I don't draw them perfectly each time, so you could say that my mistakes just vary, but I like them that way. Anyway, here is the series I did for Laura.

The Little Prince obsession continues...

I realized this weekend that I own five copies of this book. One is on loan to a friend, one is in French (I've translated it for various classes), one is part of a collection of stories by Saint-Ex, and the other two belonged to my grandmother. I'm glad she shared my love (okay, obsession) for The Little Prince. Everyone should read it. It's a lovely story. I mean, how can you not love him when he explains that grown ups just don't understand the world like children do? And he loves his rose. And sunsets. And the lamplighter. Okay I could do this for days, just go read it. Or borrow one of my copies.


In other news:

Look at this painting - don't you love it?? [Cindy Greene Paints]

You're beautiful. [Darling Magazine]

My favorite shade of green [Knit Love, Knit Blue]

Unique world maps? Check. [via Rachel Held Evans]

Silence is powerful. [via Cup of Jo]



xoxo

Summer To-Do List

I don't know what it is about summer that's making me want to be more productive and creative, but I'm just going to go with it. This is my first whole summer in San Diego, and if I can't be in France, I'm going to make sure I do fun things anyway. I love routine (most of the time), but I'm getting bored with it lately, so here is my current list of things to do this summer. We all know I'll be adding things  down the road...so standby for updates. Any suggestions?

1. Be adventurous - vague, yes, but it leaves room for lots of possibilities

pinterest

2. Do things outside - duh, it's San Diego.

Mumford + Sons in Chula Vista 6.3.13

Padres vs Dodgers at Petco Park 6.20.13

3. Go places (...outside Point Loma)

Northern California, here we come

Palm Desert

4. Find interesting museums (aka culture)

Okay, so this is the Pompidou in Paris, but still.

5. Reading list! I have one started, and it's growing every day. Now, I just have to actually start reading the books...


6. Open my Etsy Shop


7. Redecorate/rearrange my spaces, add color, lighten, and brighten

8. Clean out my closet


9. Write letters


10. Try new recipes