take me there :: cali grapes

Winter is legit and it is officially here. I almost can't think to write. It's beyond freezing outside. Literally. So I'm leaving you with some photos that I took in Cali a few months back and it helps to keep those warm thoughts in my head. Here's to warmer weather coming sooner than later!

"Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of wine."

     

 {thomas aquinas}

take me there :: laguna beach part II

Last week I posted a few photos of my recent trip to Laguna Beach and even though I was only there for a day, I simply fell in love with it. So I wanted to point out a couple specific things I discovered. Like Asada - the best chips and salsa ever - and the Wyland Gallery - so awesome. I loved his work as a child and it was such a highlight to visit this gallery. 

"as long as there is imagination, there's nothing we can't do…"

{wyland}

take me there :: laguna beach

A surprise to me in California was how much I loved Laguna Beach, not sure if it was the portrayal of what we see on TV but I just really didn't have any expectations, I guess. We took a little day trip to explore from Riverside {where my friend lives} and I absolutely loved it. Here's a look at my little view of some of it. Maybe more to come... I took so many pictures.

la fair with a baby and ice cream

It had been so long since I'd been to a fair so it was great when I was able to visit the L.A. County Fair this year. When I think back, I can't believe it had been so much time since I last went to one and I still have yet to visit the NY State Fair. Definitely on my list for next year. I just LOVE festivals, rides, fairs and amusement parks. All that goodness of giggles wrapped up in a day of play! Yes, please. For now, take a glimpse at a bit of my day... the bold, warm colors :: swoon :: happy fuzzy feelings all around!

"you can discover more about a person 

in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

{plato}

cali baby

my recent trip to Cali was spent with a dear friend and her new little one - just the cutest... more pics to come soon but had to sneak peak at a couple. so adorable. 

"start where you are. use what you have.

do what you can."

{arthur ashe} 

time warp {travel ahead}

The weekend was perfectly lazy and exactly what I needed wanted. I decided to clean up some of my mem cards and photo folders and stumbled across these pics from my Cali trip earlier this year. It kinda makes me wanna go somewhere, like now… I think it’s time for the trip planning process to begin! Though I have no fall/winter trips planned as of it; even just thinking about it feels nice, doesn’t it?



“Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind,

merely lengthens the conversation.”

{elizabeth drew}

she's my little whiskey {and tequila} girl

Happy monday Tuesday... this is a good week to come. It’s still raining a bit or maybe everything just still feels damp but the air feels warm and though I haven’t been that great with taking snapshots lately, I had a fun-filled weekend of firsts {but still took no pictures}… so I’m going to flashback to Coachella and share a few of those instaxs and photo booth shots that I love to take! Enjoy and I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend!!

Palm Springs, Coachella, Santa Monica, California, April 2011

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,

there is a field. I will meet you there.”

{rumi}

a beautiful mess

Maybe it’s the weather today in NYC {finally feeling the warm air} but I am inspired to blog again… and lately, I’ve found myself wondering why I even stopped blogging in the first place. My friends have asked, “Why did you stop? When are you going to start again? We miss reading the quotes and seeing your pictures. That was my escape for a few hours when I had time to catch up and take some me-time during the day”…. and really, I’m not sure why I wanted the break. It was my me-time out of the day also. I thought I needed new inspiration. Or maybe just a break. But a break from what?... It’s only my day to day thoughts and ideas.

A few weeks before the New Year a friend asked me, “Why do you blog? Do you really get anything out of it?” My first thought was not really but it’s fun, it’s an outlet and it’s for me. And then he said, “but who reads it, why do they want to read about your life?” And then I thought about it – I don’t know; why do I do this? Is it supposed to have a purpose? No doubt, I feel I have made a few blogging connections and I hope/think that they enjoy reading my thoughts as much as I enjoy reading theirs and then there are people in my daily life that read it and I hope they find some inspiration along the way too. So then I thought, is it supposed to be more? Do I start a new blog with an intention in mind? A new name? We all come across people that have turned their blogging into a lifestyle and I think that’s amazing and it has given them many opportunities that possibly would otherwise, not exist. But for me, really I have come to find that I blog for me. That is simply the only true answer. I post pictures, I write, I share the places I’ve been and that curbs my wanderlust. It’s my release, time to myself during the day to put my thoughts together. And I have missed it… so with all that… I’m here and ready to be inspired by all of you all over again.

All together, we’re a beautiful mess {of inspiration}.

I’ve been thinking of how to get back into but what better way than to just dive right in! I am happy today!

::highlights of 2011 so far, that I have missed sharing::

2 trips to South Carolina {home for me} ~ a trip to Cali and going to Coachella ~ going blonder and blonder ~ wearing feathers in my hair ~ last minute overnight trip to Jamaica, literally ~ being so beyond stressed at work ~ concerts: Chromeo, Eric Church {again}, Joshua Radin and Rebelution ~ lots of snow ~ puppy-sitting for a little French bull-dog, who would just melt your heart~ my first trip to the NY Botanical Gardens

Can't wait to share more...

Anything grand stand out in 2011 so far for you? I hope so.

“to their glittering future”

{the romantics}