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

Welcome back

Oh, hello. I'm back from vacation and still recovering from lack of sleep, so forgive me if I seem a little loopy.

I took a week off work to go visit my people in other parts of California. Parents, old roommates, best friend, twin, parents again, strangers - it was a little hectic, but I had so much fun. It's kind of a joke in our family that we're not great with transitions, and vacation transitions are difficult to say the least. But since I wasn't any one place for more than two or three days, I think it helped me stay on my toes rather than get into a routine. So now that I'm back, let's look at some pictures!

My dad and I are a bit obsessed with used bookstores. He took me to Gatsby Books in Long Beach when I was there last week. It is very organized but still maintains that cluttered-bookstore vibe. And of course there's a cat, so I mean, what's not to love? I may have gotten another copy of Le Petit Prince...you can never have too many.

 One of my favorite things to do while I'm at home is to go for a morning run on the beach. I love the ocean, especially in the morning when it's still quiet. The only people out are the locals and the surfers. No shoes and some Bon Iver or Phil Wickham, and I'm a happy camper. I don't really care that the water is freezing or that I have to constantly watch where I step because who knows what's in the sand. The ocean has always been one of the places where I feel closest to God. Refuge.

After spending a day at my parents' house, I went up to Northern California with one of my friends to visit one of my old roommates. We spent most of the first day in San Francisco then went out to Santa Rosa. We had been to San Fran together a couple years ago, so I wasn't set on doing touristy things again. While we were delayed in the airport (don't get me started) I looked up a museum in the city with some Rodin sculptures (I must have a radar for these things), so we got lunch and went there.

Lunch was an adventure. My goal was barbeque and we ended up at a little Chinese restaurant. Nailed it. Still yummy though, and I introduced my friends to dry-sauteed string beans - a Greene family favorite.

Yes, there are chickens in the window behind us

The Legion of Honor wasn't specifically a Rodin museum, but it had a few rooms with some of his sculptures - more than I expected. It was fun to tell my friends about some of the pieces and the stories behind them, like The Three Shades, The Gates of Hell, and the Burghers of Calais. Not that I'm an expert, but I picked up a few things while I was in Paris.

The Three Shades

Rodin's The Thinker is in the museum courtyard, so of course we had to stop and document him. The picture of me on the left is in Paris, the right is in San Francisco, a year apart. Yes, I realize I'm wearing almost the exact same outfit. At least Traveling Hil is consistent.

Okay, the sunglasses are the same, but that's it, I promise.

We went to Ghirardelli square and split a sundae - it was gone in two minutes, so good.

Shocker, there was fog on the bay.

The next day we went to Healdsburg (and another bookstore, oops) and then sat by the Russian River to eat lunch.

When I got home from Santa Rosa, my best friend and I drove up to see my twin sister in Santa Barbara. It was a mellow trip but so good to catch up with the two of them. Mel is in the midst of wedding planning - goodness, it sounds overwhelming!

The bean and bear - 1.18.14

It's definitely an adjustment coming back to work and routine, but it hasn't been too stressful. I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by!

Also, introversion quotes.

xoxo

thursday reading

Beauty from the inside out (GOOP)

59 Free things to do (The Freedom Experiment)

12 Things that show you who you really are (Thought Catalog)

Also - 35 Quotes for Introverts (Thought Catalog)

Why do toddlers freak out so often? (Jason Good)

How to: thrive in your twenties (Darling Magazine)

The Happiness To-Do List  (Thought Catalog)

More reasons to be Paleo (Buzzfeed)

What does your soul need today? (Gypsy Ink)


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