Things I Love This Week

Ok, technically it's Sunday so these are the things I loved last week. Oh well, details!

> Camping and all the related bits: 

• the campfire
• making smores 
• the way time passes completely unacknowledged
• walking around barefoot in the grass and pine needles
• being able to finish a really good book
• sitting around like slugs in shorts in those folding camp chairs, gabbing away about Civil War prison camps. Ok, so this one is probably just me. 
• being completely "detached" from the modern world: no computer, no phone, no problems. If you can't reach me by smoke signal, then it's not important. 

>Bar soap from The Body Shop. It smells amazing and it's made out of natural oils and jazz so you're not washing yourself with any strange chemicals. I'm not normally someone who cares, but I've been weird about it ever since I found out that formaldehyde is a popular ingredient in cheap hair and body products. Yeah, formaldehyde, the stuff that pig you dissected in high school biology class was soaked in. Gross.

>Graduation cake. Please stop inviting me to your graduation parties. I've been to 3 in the last 2 weeks alone. The cake is too delicious, I can't resist it!

>Expanding my herb garden with cuttings of peppermint. Summer, prepare yourself for icy pitchers of lemon mint water...

>Missing my cousin's piano recital but getting to see it later on UStream. Technology is awesome. And coincidentally, so was your playing, Lindsay!

>Finally getting around to framing some of my own photography. 

Around the Internet:

>Rock Scissor Paper. Completely unnecessary but really adorable things like elephant stationary, notebooks, coasters, and coffee mugs with owls on them.

> The Swiss Bakery Online. They have real store locations in Virginia but I weep with happiness that while I'm in Indiana, I can get all my favorite Swiss food goods sent to me at a flat $6 fee. Yes, Cailler chocolate, raclette cheese, and Laugen rolls can all be mine within a few days time. Huzzah!

> French Connection's "You are man? You are woman?" ad campaign. The ad spots are random and hilarious. Shift + click to check them out: Le Cinema

>Paper banners from Banter Banner. So cute.

>This is a couple of weeks late but, Twitter user @Stefmara posted this picture of the Endeavor shuttle launch from her window seat as the plane flew by. So cool.

Source

Hope there is plenty to love about your week!

Things I Love This Week

Happy Friday, darlings! 

The thing that always makes my week better, no matter what, is getting OUTSIDE.
Photos from a recent afternoon in the lakeside village of Lutry:

 Other pleasantries:

• Floating sky lanterns 
• Penny farthings
• iPhoto books
• Bouquets of pink ranunculus, white tea roses, and anemones
• Roasted chicken tacos with avocado, onion, cilantro, and lime
• Classic striped birthday candles
• Wrought iron headboards
• Anthropologie shoes
• A bright yellow Kitchen Aid stand mixer
• Dubstep
• Fishtail braids
• Packages from Texas
• T-strap Mary Jane heels
• Silk cocoon string lights from Muji 
• vintage campaign buttons
• Evian designer glass bottles
• Stacks of letters tied with ribbon
• Cailler chocolate
• This video. This lamb is cracking me up.

Get out there and seize the weekend, you crazy kids.

Things I Love This Week

My TILT basket is full to brimming of lovely things because it's been so long since I've done a regular post! So here we go, grab a sandwich, this might be awhile.

Getting Thanksgiving dinner after all- last week I had a nice little getaway on Lake Neuchatel. The Indermuhles invited me up to their gorgeous house for a Thanksgiving dinner on Friday with the family. Julie is from Canada so she cooked up all the traditional goodies (including my favorite: sweet potato casserole!) and it was like a plate full of home. I don't remember much of the conversation because I was at the end of the table sighing in happiness. It was a pleasant, relaxing weekend filled with sledding, cookie decorating and incredible views of the lake.

Images of America in the late '30s, early '40s - Incredible color photos of America emerging from the Great Depression.  I don't know if you thought life was lived in black and white until the '60s, but here's proof that it wasn't.  Color photos from this period are pretty rare but they exist, and thanks to our wonderful Library of Congress, we have access to them. These are not the world's most interesting photographs, but I love them for their honesty. There is no posing or Photoshop wizardry. This is an actual glimpse into life.

I swear these kids are the incarnation of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. 

Movember success - a big noisy CONGRATS to cousin George! He exceeded his goal by raising $1,107 in the name of mustaches and prostate cancer research. And a big digital hug to the Internet community, for proving that some good can come of all us and our excessive bandwidth usage. 

Facial hair and Scrabble tiles = ultimate hipster photograph nonsense.

ShortList

• Getting not one but TWO lovely silk/pashmina scarves as gifts. One from my mom and one from Spain from my host mom.
• Having hot chocolate in my marshmallows. Yes you read that right. 
• Being legit, letter writing pen pals with my favorite newly-minted Texan. You know, like stamps and smudged ink and jazz.
• Getting excited for round two of a weekend in Paris with the ever delightful and snarky Jillian.
• References to Switzerland in TV shows: "The chocolate! It's so milky!"
• The pure bliss of waking up whenever I want on a Saturday and doing absolutely nothing productive all day, guilt-free.  Well except update my blog. But one could argue about how "productive" that is...
• Spontaneous emails from my dad. He's hardly as garrulous as his daughter but it's always nice to hear from him.
• The book my sister is making for a class. Teaching the pythagorean theorem using sandcastles. It's very clever and expertly illustrated.  You read here first, kids. Consider this a review before it has even been published. Which reminds me, Eva: if you use that title I suggested, I want a cut of the royalties.
• Wintery floral arrangements with purple beautyberries. Which is a really "My Little Pony" kind of name but they are gorgeous.

Julie's centerpieces

What do you love this week?