Food for Thought

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Inspired By: Frosty Fall Mornings

This morning’s commute felt unusual in that it’s the first time in over a month that I made the whole drive in the daylight. Because of the time change, the sun was already over the horizon by the time I left the driveway. Usually it’s only just risen when I’m pulling into the parking lot. Once I got over the feeling that I was somehow terribly late for work, I got lost watching the lazy dance of the Earth waking up. The now-bare trees were a black silhouette against the watercolor sky of aubergine, orange, pink and blue. The grass—finally green after a dry summer—was shrouded in frost, giving the hills a glittery gray cast in the distance. The color palette shifted quickly but subtly as the sun crept over the trees, changing the scene entirely. The harsh black trees relaxed into a chocolate brown and the fields turned gold, shining wetly in the sunlight. The orange sky faded, as the blue grew bolder. Before I knew it, I had arrived at work, amazed at how fast 50 minutes passed.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not at my most sparkling before 8 am so I’m thankful for a long quiet drive, even more so when I can actually see the landscape around me.

What Did You Do With Your Friday Night?

...oh me? I just sat in my room and pretended I was Taylor Swift at every awards show ever the Grammys.

"Did they just call my name?"

"Did that just happen, people to my left?"

"And you guys to my right, did you hear that too?"

"I JUST WON ANOTHER AWARD. This is SO. UNEXPECTED."

"LOOK AT IT. ARE YOU LOOKING?"

"This is the greatest day of the month my life!"

"You guys are so sweet. SHOUTOUT TO MY FANS! EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE IF YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND HAVE AMAZING HAIR. Never stop dreaming!!!" *music swells*

Post-awards show red carpet:

"I HAVE SO MANY bottles of hairspray STATUES. THIS IS SO UNPRECEDENTED. here's one for best BREAKUP SONG. And this is the one for most characters portrayed in one music video. And they even gave me one for best attendance at every single awards show in the last five years! LIKE, IS THIS REAL LIFE YOU GUYS?"

"IT'S JUST TOO MUCH FOR A REGULAR GIRL TO HANDLE."

Jk, T. Swift. You know you're my home girl. Sorry you didn't win anything at the CMAs last night. Fabu dress, though.

Ok but for reals, she wins so many awards. I mean, we get it America. And she reacts like that every time (yeah, that's four separate picture links). Seriously, why are you even surprised any more? 

Well, feel free to carry on with your evening. That's enough excitement for me for one night.

Happy Weekend

Whew, I don't know about you but I have never been more happy to see a Friday in my life. Hope all my favorite coasties survived the hurricane.  If this darling illustration by Alex Wilson doesn't perfectly describe this past week, I don't know what does:

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+ OMG, Lisa Frank! Raise your hand if you were a little girl in the 90s. Ok now put your hand down and go watch the video and read the interview. Because if so, you were probably as obsessed with Lisa Frank as I was and it will make your day.

+ Who's in the mood for some hearty crusty bread? Baking party at my house tomorrow!

+ Now that 2013 is only 2 months away (eek!), I have my eye on this calendar print for my bedroom wall. I love pretty much anything made by Rifle Paper Co., they have so many things that would make lovely gifts. *ahem*

+ 16 Ways to Appear More Productive At A Coffee Shop. Oh Thought Catalog, I love you. I never knew one website could be so hilarious and occasionally helpful at the same time.  On a more serious note, this article is a must-read if someone in your life suffers from anxiety attacks. I couldn't have written it better myself.

+ I need some camera straps that actually stay on my camera. Making some myself  and adding a fun design will also help me quickly pick my camera out of a pile. Which is something I needed last weekend when I was constantly setting my camera down next to someone else's identical model & promptly forgetting which one was mine.

+ A song for you! This is a new release by Ben Gibbard (frontman of Death Cab for Cutie and Zooey D.'s former husband). Love.
   **update: my bff Hattie just posted this song on her blog too. It's no coincidence, we are musical soulmates.

Well, that's all for now. I'm looking forward to a weekend of doing NOTHING. It makes me smile just thinking about it.
xx

Move Over, October! It's MOVEMBER!

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Happy first day of November! Hope the month is off to a great start for everyone. Well, at least better than mine. This morning I was twenty minutes late to work, jammed up the plotter so thoroughly a repairman had to come, and had my credit card info stolen, all before noon.

So today is a day in which I am counting (and recounting) my blessings in an effort to keep myself from throwing in the towel and going back to bed. First and foremost,  I am thankful for my health, and the health of my loved ones. Did you know that 1 in 3 men and 1 in 2 women have cancer? That is a terrifying figure. Now that the pink confetti has settled from Breast Cancer Awareness month, let's talk about Movember, or Moustache November. It's time to focus on men's health!

Do you remember my cousin George? No? Well, let me tell you about him again. An avid fan of Bruins hockey and graphic design, George is currently living the dream in Salt Lake City, drinking locally-brewed coffee and toiling in a super rad letterpress shop. He likes wearing Bean boots, Instagraming pictures of the shop dog, and using his carefully coiffed facial hair to raise money for prostate and testicular cancer research. A cool cat, that George. 

Photo pilfered from GQ Facebook

For the last two years, he’s raised over $1,000 each year to this end. Can he go bigger?  It’s my mission this month to help George exceed his goal. I’ll be the first to admit I dropped the ball last year. I one hundred percent let November roll right on by with nary a word about it. But not this year, my friends. This year I’m doing it right. Every Thursday until December, I will be posting something Movember-inspired to keep us motivated to spread the word. So will you join us? Help a Mo Bro out!

I don’t ask for much my dear readers, but I’m asking for this: pitch in the price of a latte or two, tweet his Movember page, or just educate yourself about the facts of the matter.  Ladies, let's do this for our guy besties. Our besties with testes.

I'm sorry but I had to. It was right there.

Until next Thursday then! If you need me in the meantime, I'll be over here working on my beard.

Whoa. This is going to get interesting....