Paperman

Have you seen Paperman, Disney's latest short film? It was just released in full on Youtube yesterday and it's the sweetest thing I've seen all week. Take a look:



...sigh...

Wordless Wednesday

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Happy Weekend

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Dance and sing, it's the weekend again! The amount of work I've had this week was insane, now I remember why people don't take time off when they have a real job.  Thanks to the magic of post scheduling, however, I've been able to keep regular blog updates, so you're welcome.

What are you up to this weekend? Last night my cousin and her family arrived from Minnesota after I'd already gone to bed so I am looking forward to spending time with them over the next two days.  We will have to find fun indoor things to do because it is freezing and snowy and not in a cute winter wonderland kind of way.

In the meantime, here are a few links I enjoyed clicking on this week:

+ Col. Chris Hadfield is currently in space and is posting pictures of Earth to his Tumblr. Did I mention he's in space? Like, doing his thing, feet off the ground 24/7? And he's sharing his view with all of us lesser-folk back here on terra firma. What a rad dude. Check out this picture of the border of Israel and Egypt. 

+ Chocolate and mint is the best dessert flavor combination in the world and no, this is not open for discussion. Chocolate mint sandwich cookies? Don't mind if I do, Martha.

+ 10/10 would hang this cheeky tea towel on my kitchen wall (via Miss Moss)

+ What is it about travelling that makes me think I'm going to need at least 3 outfits per day? It's like I'm presenting at the Oscars or something. This great tutorial reminded me that I can really pare it down when I'm on the road by explaining (with pictures!) how to pack for 2 weeks in a carry-on. Thank you Internet!

+ In case your day is lacking in utter ridiculousness, here are a bunch of animals that have guinea pig's faces Photoshopped over them. It's too hilarious, I can't even.

+ Have I shared this song already? Well I don't care, listen to it anyway.  It's lovely and makes me want to skip around in a black and white film.
"Comment Te Dire Adieu" by Françoise Hardy

San Antonio, Part 3

Sunday was another beautiful day, we had meeting in the morning, a lovely steak dinner and then it was time to bid adieu to our dear friends.

Eva and Amanda

Jilly and I, keeping it ridiculous as always

Then, as usually happens, we had a mini photoshoot of Eva & Bradly in the front yard.

In front of their cute house. 

Eva, being goofy

Bradly, being industrious

These two photos are from a new series I'm doing, called reenact the cover of a really terrible romance novel. This one was called The Lady and the Gardener.

Just kidding. That's not a real series I'm doing. But how hilarious would that be?

We really don't do normal well.

 Glamour!

Beauty!

Creepy!

Monday morning I had an insanely early flight back to Indiana but I got to see the sun come up from 20,000 feet in the air, which was kind of amazing, despite the loudly snoring fellow I was seated next to.

Sunrise from the Dallas airport, just after landing.

What a beautiful weekend.  I can’t believe it’s already been a week since I first got there. Good times always go by too fast, don’t they?  It was harder to leave than I’m willing to admit, especially because I don’t know when exactly I’ll see Eva and Bradly (or my Texas friends) again.  I know I will I just don’t know when.  Oh Texas… maybe I’ll be back to stay someday.  Until then, thanks for the memories. xx

San Antonio, Part 2

On Saturday night my sister invited all of her San Antonio friends for a night of crafts and food.  She called it Pinterest Night, and everybody who came was supposed to bring a plate of appetizers and a project from Pinterest they wanted to work on.  The crafts included painting, print-making, clothing alteration, and even crayon melting.  It was noisy and messy and just a really good time. It makes me happy to see that my sister has such a great group of friends.

Here are a few photos from the evening.  If you make it all the way there, at the end of the post, I explain the project I chose.

+ Crafts

+ Food

+Friends

+ Finished products

San Antonio, Part 1

Rather than bombard you with a squillion pictures all crammed into one post, I decided to break up my trip to Texas into three posts. You're welcome.

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On Thursday I ducked out of work at lunch and hopped on a plane to Texas.  After a pleasant trip to Dallas next to the world's quietest baby (seriously, I was like, lady did you drug your baby, wait don't answer that I don't even care) and one more flight in front of a man being "escorted" out of the country (not kidding, his hands were zip tied together and he kept yelling at his "handlers" a.k.a. INS officers in Spanish, drama!),  I arrived in San Antonio just in time for for dinner with my sister and her husband. We caught up over hamburgers and I got to meet the sweetest little dog named Bella.  Falling asleep under my sister's old daisy quilt, I could hear crickets and birds settling down for the night and the sound made me smile because it meant it was still warm enough outside for them to make music.  As much as I enjoy winter, the stillness of a cold night is too lonely for my taste.

Friday morning my sister and I went for a jaunt in Eisenhower Park and we chatted about life and things as we took in the view from atop a small wooden tower.

 BLUE SKY. AND LEAVES. AND SUNSHINE. AAAH!

Showing off my modeling skills in nature, obviously.

 Looking out to the quarry.

 Love you my dear.

She's not pouting, I'm just taking her picture from a creepy angle.

....seriously you cannot take me anywhere, I am always up to no good.

I'm so jealous of bears

I'm back from the most wonderful long weekend in Texas. It was so nice to spend time with my sister and friends! I just wish I'd had a few days more, my one regret is that I didn't have time to go visit Hattie. :( I have many pictures to share but I am exhausted from my early morning flights.  The weather was amazing, 70 degrees and sunny all weekend.  Unfortunately I came home to a snowy 16 degrees so this is what is exactly on my mind this afternoon:

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Don't you agree? Teach me your ways, bears!

Inspired By: Winter Trees

There is nothing more blatantly cheerful than a sunny day in a park, bursting with green leaves and birdsong.  And yet it is a stark winter landscape that constantly evokes poetry in my heart. There’s something about the contrast of dark bare trees against the white landscape that speaks to me.  The trees put on their brilliant fall garments for but a moment and then they’re gone, branches bare and shivering in the wind.  It looks sad at first, as though they left the house with nothing to wear against the elements.  But then the snow comes and drapes their thin knobby shoulders in a beautiful coat of white and you realize it wasn’t sad.  With new perspective, you see them with their branches uplifted, patiently waiting to catch the falling sky.  They become graceful statues, arms outstretched as if to say, “Look at what the winter gave me.” Even the proud firs with their ever present needles, seemed pleased with the gift of snow. Sometimes in the depth of the season every inch of bark is encased in ice and it becomes a glittery coat of armor.  The trees stand silent and strong, like frozen sentinels guarding the fields til spring and my heart swells with gladness at their steadfastness, despite the elements.

As if it would be any other way, as if they are creatures who think and move and would pick up their roots and head south in the weather. But if they could choose, I like to think they would stay where they are and it is comforting. As much as I would like to take you all into the woods for a chilly walk where we could marvel together in the silence and beauty of winter trees, that is impossible.  Instead, here are a collection of images and words that inspire me almost as much as a nature stroll.

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape—the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show.”

—	Andrew Wyeth

“I couldn’t live where there were no trees— something vital in me would starve.”

—	L.M. Montgomery, Anne’s House of Dreams

A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.

-Hermann Hesse

"Never are voices so beautiful as on a winter's evening, when dusk almost hides the body, and they seem to issue from nothingness with a note of intimacy seldom heard by day."

- Virginia Woolf

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Food for Thought

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My Five Favorite YouTube Videos

Today’s post is prompted by the 20-Something Bloggers January Blog Carnival: blog your favorite YouTube video.

YouTube is my go-to source when I want something to make me smile. From videos of fainting goats to clips of babies laughing, it’s easy to find cheerful content.  My absolute favorite videos are shorts by comedy groups. I can watch the same sketch fifty times and kill myself laughing every time.  As an avid fan of the site since 2006, picking my favorite video is like picking a favorite child: I just can’t, I love them all for different reasons. Not that I have children…but you know what I mean…

So instead of making an impossible choice, here are my top FIVE YouTube videos. Spoiler alert, they’re all comedy sketches. In fact, chances are good that I may have already blogged about one or two of them.

+ “Boys Will Be Girls” by The Harvard Sailing Team

Every. Single. One of my girl friends knows and can quote this video by heart. Pretty much everything made by the talented comedy group known as The Harvard Sailing Team is hilarious and endlessly quotable. But this is unquestionably their most popular one.  OMG you haven’t seen it? Where have you been living, under a stupid rock?

+ “Things you CAN’T do when you’re NOT in a pool” by Don’t Be That Guy Films

Another great duo that produces hilarious shorts on YouTube: Don’t Be That Guy Films. Again, many great videos but this one is my favorite. It makes me laugh every time.

+ "Man vs Toddler" by Barats and Bereta

I can’t make a post about YouTube videos without mentioning something by Barats and Bereta. They're like the original YouTube duo. This video still slays me.

+ “Leaves” by runawaybox

Runaway Box hasn’t made videos in a really long time so I’m not sure they’re still a thing but every time I get nostalgic for fall I watch this video and it makes me laugh. Who doesn't have this urge when they walk by a yard of fallen leaves?

More of my favorites from Runaway Box include any of the episodes from the Elevator Show series.

+ “Progression of a Mad Hatter” by Derrick Comedy 

My siblings and I are constantly quoting this to one another. This video has been around for almost 7 years and still anytime anyone asks me “How was work?” I immediately want to respond, “Sliiimy. What’s for dessert?” Don't worry, I usually restrain myself. 

Derrick Comedy has a ton of other videos but a large portion of them are not what one would consider family-friendly. Even this one gets rather dark at the end. But it’s ok. I love you Square Face.

Honorable mentions: Donut Pirate by Jeffery Dallas/Julian Smith and any Potter Puppet Pals video by Neil Cicierega

The 20SB January blog carnival is sponsored by WIGS, the #1 channel for scripted drama on YouTube. You can watch the video of their popular network stars talking about their favorite YouTube videos here.

Do you have any favorite YouTube videos I should watch? 

Happy Weekend

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Hooraaaay Friday! It came rather quickly this week...I'm glad! One of the high points of the week: my boss presented me with a framed certificate of excellence for conquering the electric typewriter. It’s a running joke in the office that as the youngest one there, I am not equipped to handle such “complicated pieces of machinery”, like the typewriter we use for cutting checks. Well last week I finally used it all by myself without calling for help (or ruining anything) and so they gave me an actual award.  We had a good laugh but afterwards I sent all the merry pranksters an email to let them know I will be keeping this joke in mind the next time one of them comes to me with an internet/computer/smart phone problem. We’ll see who’s laughing then…

Anyway, I am so looking forward to tonight, my pal Amanda is coming to spend the weekend with me before she heads off to Italy for a semester. I know, how posh of her. I rarely get to see her, as she is normally in Pennsylvania for school so this is a treat. Yay visitors!

Well, the day’s not over yet, so until then, here are some things I’ve enjoyed from around the web this week:

+ Amazing colorized photos of famous people in history. It looks so real, this guy is a Photoshop genius.

+ Awesome cheap gift idea: jazz up plain white dinnerware with Sharpie markers and an oven. The possibilities are endless! (via The Sweetest Occasion)

+ I love the artwork of Jen Ramos. Very bright and fun!

+ YOU GUYS. I can't stop thinking about chocolate brioche. Can one of my old pals at the Blue Moon please arrange for a delivery? Thanks.

+ An incredibly inspiring quote (via Hip Hip Gin Gin)

+ "Little River" by The Tallest Man on Earth


xx

Wordless Wednesday

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Ten Things + Creative Challenge Winners

Wheee I'm pleased to announce that at least five people commented on the Creative Challenge post! This could have been really embarrassing so thanks for participating. I asked you to share one random fact about yourself and unexpectedly, there were a lot of stories about freckles, but I'm glad to know each one of you just a tiny bit better. While we're on the topic, if you connect some of the freckles on my left arm, you can see the Big Dipper.

                                                      

But I digress.

Will the following people please use the Email Me link in the sidebar to send me your physical address?

1. Eva (not you, I know where you live)
2. Courtney
3. Lynsey
4. Alyssa
5. Laura

At some point in the year, I will send you a little something. I think technically it's supposed to be handmade but I can't promise it will be, especially if I find something really cool made by someone else.
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In the meantime, it's time for another clearly phoned-in, list-style post! That's why you come here isn't it, for my half-hearted attempts at blogging. I know, I've got your number.

Ever thought about the things you absolutely have to have/do on a daily basis? We are creatures of habit, after all.  Here are ten things I simply can't do without on any given day:

1.  Chapstick
2.  Music, without & within
3.  Hair pins
4.  Time by myself
5.  Daylight
6.  Thinking about baked goods. You guys....brioche.....
7.  My Moleskine day planner
8.  Talking to my family
9.  Breakfast
10. My glasses

What about you?

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I Left My Heart at Downton...

Warning: extremely frivolous fangirl post ahead...

 

Season three, eeps! I'm so excited to see the wedding. Thanks PBS. Thanks Masterpiece. Thanks Julian Fellowes! It was so hard not to read the blogs about it today, no spoilers please!

In other news, how beautiful are her dress/hair/veil? I would totally get married in that. Even if it's not to an adorable Brit at a super fancy estate.

Sigh...ok.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming of me being too cool for school.

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2013 Creative Pay It Forward

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Feeling creative?  There's a little challenge that's currently floating around Facebook. Maybe you've seen it, it's called the 2013 Creative Pay it Forward. Here are the details:

The first five people to comment on this post will receive a gift from me this calendar year! It will be unexpected and whenever the mood strikes me! Expect something fun and unique! If you comment, you must pay it forward and offer the same on your Facebook status! :)

Well clearly this isn't Facebook but I wanted to extend this to my fellow bloggers & readers, some of whom are better people than I and currently not on Facebook. Instead of choosing the first five, I'm going to pick five commenters at random and send them a little something. What's better than receiving something in the mail?

So my dear ones (even those of you halfway across the world!), all you have to do is leave a comment telling me one random thing about yourself and you're entered. If there are more than five of you, I will put names in a hat and post the winners on Tuesday morning. If there are less than five of you, I will cry just a little bit but then buck up and move on with my life.

Happy commenting!

P.S. If you do happen to have a Facebook account, feel free to like Hither and Yon to stay connected.

Update: Apparently this is the original post: click here. If you choose to continue this on your own blog, link back to this page!

Happy Weekend

Photo by Christope Jacrot

Hooray weekend! This was not one of my favorite weeks so I’m glad to see it go. I have no big plans and if anything comes up that includes changing out of my big comfy slippers, I’m not interested. I think I’ll bake a loaf of bread and knock out a couple of chapters in A Casual Vacancy. 

What about you, anything cooking on the first weekend in the new year?

Until then, here are six things I’ve enjoyed this week:

+ Hilarious staged photos of bug memorials. Have I mentioned I love the Internet?

+ How to make decorative waxed paper for gifting baked goods

+ Sea-creature inspired hanging lamps. Cool? yes. Would I hang them in my house? Probably not.

+ Single serve, deep-dish cookie recipe. #fat

+ Then and Now: composite photos of a now-abandoned school in Detroit, with scenes from when it was in use. Rather sad to think about a place with so many memories just sitting empty.

+ Favorite winter song: "White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes

Bonus: I made a little playlist of all the songs from past Happy Weekend posts on Grooveshark. You don't have to have an account to listen, check it out here.

Until next week!

xx

Happy New Whatever

A little inspiration for you on this Wednesday that feels like a Monday that we wish was a Friday:

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Did you have a good New Year's holiday? I would have posted sooner but as hard as I tried to fight it, I fell prey to the evil stomach virus my family brought home from Minnesota. Man, say what you want about other ailments but that is the worst. THE WORST. My family (all better, of course) went to a little get together but I stayed behind and nursed a ginger ale under a pile of blankets. I said cheers to the moon at about 10:30 and turned out the light. It sounds depressing and it was a little but I’m not going to complain because I don’t believe how you ring in the new year is necessarily an indicator of what that year will be like for you. Especially because the best New Year’s Eve I've ever had preceded one of the most difficult years of my life.

Today I'm like 80% back to normal but I can't seem to shake the deep-seated fatigue. I’m in a bit of a fog and even my limbs feel heavier than normal. Blah. 

Also, I haven't had chocolate in almost a week and I miss it.

I am such a girl. Sheesh.

Last year I promised myself that 2012 would be the Year of the Moment. As in, learn to be ok with what I'm doing day to day and stop worrying about the future so much. 

On the surface I succeeded. I flew by the seat of my pants for the first half of the year. I left my bakery job in Massachusetts in February and was living it up in Texas by March.  However glorious it was, my Ikea and Whole Foods habit was not sustainable without employment so by May I was in Indiana, back at my parents' place looking for a job.  I grabbed the first one that came along and bam, seven months later, here we are at the start of a new year.

Here’s where it starts to dissolve. After I started my job, I fell into a holding pattern. Every day, the exact same: work, eat, sleep, repeat.  At first my response was, yes, this is exactly what I need, a concrete routine. But after awhile the daily grind became well, a grind. My job holds little day-to-day variation and the evenings and weekends were starting to look the same. And so then the questioning began again: what am I doing? Where am I going? Am I fulfilled? But I kept telling myself,  “This worked for me yesterday, so it will work for me today. Be content in the now.” So I didn’t go anywhere or do anything new.

That may sound strange if you have been following my blog this whole time. What about the projects and the conventions and the weddings? I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, I am so thankful for all the beautiful experiences I’ve been a part of in the past year, particularly my sister’s wedding. But the everyday in between was just reliving the same moments, over and over; there hasn’t been enough balance. And maybe you've noticed the change in my blog. It has become a lot less personal over the last couple of months, more links and pretty photographs than stories and writing, which is why I started this blog in the first place.

So I declare 2013 the Year of Balance. I want to find the right balance between present and future, between my work life and my social life, between my mental, physical, and spiritual health. This year I want to learn how to live in the moment enough that I’m not in my own head too much but also make the big scary choices and changes, the ones good for my future.

As grandiose and broad-brush as that sounds, I’m going to take a page from Amy's (of Rainy Saturday) book by tackling small but specific things each month so I can work on it a little at a time.

This month I’m going focus on something that has needed work for a long time: reading my Bible. I need to learn how to read it more in depth. I’m starting by reading a chapter from Proverbs in addition to my regular study, something a dear lady in Texas once recommended. There are exactly 31 chapters in Proverbs so it works out perfectly. The key is to start over in February and then again in March and so on until the end of the year.  I don’t know if I’ll make through the whole year but I’d sure like to try to get to know the book of Proverbs as well as I can. 

So that’s where I stand. What about you, do you make resolutions? Does putting up a new calendar inspire you to be a better version of yourself?

Before I go, thanks for continuing to read and support my weird corner of the Internet in 2012.  I blog to keep myself inspired but it makes me happy to know that other people find enjoyment in it too.

I wish you well in 2013!  

xx

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