Photo Challenge: Day 3

My closet

So, white girl confession time. In my current living situation, I actually have two closets. It is so stressful. When I moved in, I had no idea how to organize my wardrobe between the two. By season? By color? By clothing type? By material? And they are on opposite corners of the room, so obviously journeying back and forth between the two is just too much to consider on a daily basis.

Ugh. Drama.


"But why," you ask, shaking your head at me. It matters because for many years now, my closet has been the only thing in my life that is consistently and obsessively organized. Like, my chakra are just all out of whack when my closet is not color coded and arranged just so.

You'll notice the two photos are of the same closet. Well, I felt a bit exposed looking at full-length photos of both my closets. And let's be real, I don't need you judging my entire wardrobe.
"Girl, you have got to DO something with that scarf collection. It is just out of hand."
I know. So that's why the other closet, the one with not one, but two scarf racks, is not up here for you to see and judge accordingly.

Even though I just fully admitted to having a scarf problem.

On an unrelated note, I hate the word "scarf". It just seems so...tawdry.
I'm going to start using the French word instead: écharpe (ey-SHARP) 
(p.s. don't forget to under-enunciate the 'r')


You there, hand me my écharpe, there's a chill in the air. 
See? Much classier.

Photo Challenge: Day 2

Where I sleep




I know, you're thinking, "Way to go, champ. You dropped the ball on day 2."
Well I was tired, you guys!

I remembered, though. I was crawling into bed after a long, stressful day at work and I thought about it. So I quickly booted up my computer for a look at the list, and wouldn't you know, the prompt was where I sleep. Two shots later, I was back in bed with the lights out.

But I solemnly promise, hand on my heart, tears in my eyes, that I actually took these pictures yesterday, even though you aren't seeing them until...now.

Anyway. Where do you sleep?

Photo Challenge: Day 1

 

Photo challenges are a popular theme in the blog world. The idea is to improve your photography by taking a picture a day (for anywhere from 30 days to a year) of a series of predetermined subjects or ideas.  I'm a big fan of the picture-making but never before have been tempted to do one of these challenges, until now (...she said, dramatically).

I found this particular challenge via Pinterest and became interested because the various "assignments" are less about vague ideas and more about a matter-of-fact portrayal of your everyday life, over 30 days.
Rather than share the whole list upfront, it will be a day-by-day reveal. Disclaimer: the photos won't all be interesting. They probably won't even be high-quality. (Let's not lie, I'll probably lose motivation in a week and start using my cell phone camera.)

Anyway, begin.

Self-portrait

See? Not the greatest. It may surprise you to learn that my torso is not this awkwardly short in real life. This is a "lean over and get yourself in the frame of the mirror propped up against the wall" shot. Even the outfit choice is clearly the result of careful planning. Whatever. I'm done explaining myself. Sheesh, critics...

Une petite pensée

There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

So This is the New Year

Source

How quickly the calendar pages fly off the wall....here we are in January again and it's not even the first, I'm sliding into the obligatory resolutions post on the tenth. Well, better late than never so don't mind me while I straighten my jacket and fix my shoelaces, at least I'm here ok?

Anyway, last year's resolution was to live life with fire and zeal or don't do it at all. Admirable, but a little ambitious, in retrospect. And if we're going to be perfectly honest, I chose the later. As in, don't do it at all. If you've been following for some months now, (or know me in real life), you know the Swiss adventure ended earlier than originally planned and I came back to the States in early April.
Well, I fell into a little bit of a black hole and have had some trouble coming out of it. If I had to put a label on it, I'd call 2011 the "Year of the Retreat". Like a bear going into a cave for winter hibernation. Except winter came and went and I kept pushing "snooze" on the alarm clock.

But it's the new year again so I should probably get out of bed, right? Rather than make dramatic pledges to "New Year, New Me" and all that jazz, I thought I'd rather take it slow. I mean, I'm not planning on hanging around in my pajamas until the middle of March or anything but I also don't feel the need to cram all of life's experiences into one list of resolutions.

I don't know how to explain myself, really. All I can think to say is, one day at a time. I'm rather tired of trying to figure everything out. And so if we're going to sum it up in a sweeping statement, I'm ready for 2012 to be the "Year of the Moment". I know what I'm doing today, and that's enough for me. As we all know, worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength.

And that's enough cheesy quotes for today.

Just relax, ok? Let's all take up yoga, smiling for no reason, and doing anonymous good deeds for strangers, like in the adorable movie Amélie. 


And maybe work on my Internet shopping problem.

So if you need me, I'll be over here listening to this happy tune by a delightful hipster indie band from Iceland. Also eating a banana. In a totally, of the moment, not premeditated way.
  Little Talks by !Turnout!

Happy New Year, you merry little chipmunks.