A Spot of Inspiration

"Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly."

Franz Kafka

Delightful illustration by charming artist Dinara Mirtalipova, whose blog can be found here 

Ah, winter

 Last weekend, it looked like this:

Freedom, NY

I knew you'd rear your snowy head soon, winter. It was really nice to see you.

Even though you made it really really hard to take photos outside, it was still a pleasure.

And now you're gone already. I'm not saying I mind 40 degree temps in February. 

Not at all.

But I just want to thank you for stopping by for a quick visit. 

Same time next year?

Alright.

Won't You Be Mine? Yes, thank you, I will

Source

Happy Valentine's Day, lovers.

I love today and I don't care who knows.

For me, it's not about celebrating love with another person.
In fact, we're working with over two decades of Valentine's Day spent tout seule.
It's about celebrating me and how much I love myself.

So here's how Ellie celebrated V-Day 2012:

I began the day by letting myself sleep in. Then I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with the sun and the comics page of the newspaper. Afterwards, I put on some snazzy threads and took myself off to the dentist for a cleaning.
It was a treat. No really, I love going to the dentist. It's nice to be reminded every 6 months how beautiful my teeth are.

Seriously, I kind of have a big head about it.

The rest of the day was filled with doing only pleasant things, like hanging out with my brothers and going to the library and wandering around the craft store picking out new frosting tips. Also editing photos from last weekend's engagement session with dear friends and preparing the dough for a little baking project I'm doing this week.

Tomorrow is the day for organizing, cleaning, and other boring responsible things, like taxes.

But Valentine's Day is for me.
And for red and pink everything.
And sweet crafts from my little brother.
And for eating a bit of chocolate my dad got my mom (she shared, guys, I didn't steal)
And for getting myself flowers.
Which, for the record, is not sad because I have awesome tastes in floral arrangements. Also, I buy myself flowers like once a week.

I don't just love me, though. I love you too. So treat yourself to whatever makes you happy. Go to Starbucks and get a Venti whatever. Tell 'em Ellie sent you.
That won't get you a discount or anything. It just felt right to say. 


Also, smile a lot. It looks really nice on you.

Really, it all comes down to what my witty & charming friend Julie said this morning:

Amen.

A Dose of Cuteness

Animals doing cute things on video? Yes.

Seriously, this just makes my day.
It's a bunny who thinks he's a sheepdog. You can't make this stuff up.
Well you can, but it's cuter when it's real life.

For more adorableness, check out the the bouncing little lamb post I shared a year ago.

Happy Friday. :)

Welcome, February

Taking a little break from the photo challenge. I'm probably breaking the rules by pressing pause but I am far too busy this week to take the time necessary to do it right. I'll explain more later but a new adventure is on the horizon for me. And by horizon, I mean next week, so I have a lot to do before then.

In the meantime, the weather is nice and the calendar is on a fresh page so get out there and take the following wise advice: