today's best fit: The Present Company Project

I wanted to stop fitting people into my world, but rather see them as they are. I thought if I could connect with others on this level it might make me a better artist, and more so, a better person. 

-  Amber Mahoney

I can't say enough about Amber Mahoney as a photographer and artist... 

and I think The Present Company Project speaks for itself. 

I love how it started and the inspiration it brings. 

Real people. Simply and uniquely beautiful. 

photograph by Amber Mahoney for The Present Company Project

fond hopes of spring

"Saw a little girl touch a big bug and shout, 

"I conquered my fear! YES!" and calmly walk away. I was inspired."
— Nathan Fillion

 Today, in no particular order:

Spring is here again. hallelujah its here again.

While meal planning, taking a note from this list of what NOT to buy at the grocery store.

Thankful for the boxes of thank you notes sold at target in counts of 50,

they come in lots of different prints and the box is sturdy and quite handy.

Spent a good deal of time this morning considering and repeating this quote:

"Do the right thing, the results are up to God." - Quincy Adams

Thankful for my husband who is such a good example to me.

Figuring out what to wear to a wedding (or two back-to-back) is much easier 

if you are the bride(s), suddenly everything seems white.

Thankful to be gainfully employed, but would rather be self-employed.

Contemplating the line between writing for oneself and writing for others which is so often crossed.

I am admittedly very aware of my fears, but very rarely chase after them...
oh, to shout them out upon conquering and calmly walk away.

To love wholly and unconditionally 

is the most gratifying and liberating feeling

and to be loved unconditionally in return - even at my most vulnerable state -

is earth shatteringly beautiful and nourishing 

beyond even my fondest of hopes.

through her eyes

"Death is no more than passing from one room into another. 

But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see."
— Helen Keller

 If ever the world seems a little gray and muddled

I need do nothing but open my eyes

and be thankful.

hello, Wednesday.

photo found here.

Today's Best Fit: Tom Shadyac

"It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, 

but like morning light it scattered the night and made the day worth living."

— F. Scott Fitzgerald

This film has been on my mind all week. 

Has me thankful for every person I pass on the street and wanting to travel all over with Mr. D. 

My mind is expanding at such a rate 

my feet are numb. 

whispered secrets.

"Because paper has more patience than people. "
— Anne Frank

 Sometimes I don't even dare let the ink of my pen whisper my thoughts to its paper friend -

even as its stark white silence beckons. Drawing me near.

I've learned that there is not enough patience in the world for all of the thoughts I have.

Even my own mind betrays me.

So I've taken to the company of trees.

They are always abiding, as beautiful and alive as they are.

We have this silent agreement

that no matter what I say - they will never back away,

only bend and sway.

photo by the marvelous annette pehrsson

today's best fit: photography as art

"A picture is a secret about a secret, 

the more it tells you the less you know."
— Diane Arbus

 I am SO thankful and excited about the opportunity Mr. D and I have been given to work with the

really talented husband and wife duo behind live it out photography.
Their work really inspires me and I can hardly wait to meet them.

Check out their website and blog. 

beauty and the eye of its beholder.

"Nature didn't need an operation to be beautiful. It just was."
— Scott Westerfeld 

The girl in this picture has me wanting bangs again

and a touch of orange-red lipstick instead of the pink I've been fancying...

but then I remember my dad constantly asking me when my bangs 

would finally grow out every time he saw me this time last year

and how my mother informed me last week that 

she doesnt like red lipstick on people 

as I stood there with a freshly applied red pout. ha.

So, maybe I will stick to just wearing lipstick in the kitchen while I cook, 

and go in for a plain old trim at my hair appointment on Monday...

----------

So glad its the weekend. Ready to take some pictures and spend 

some much needed time with Mr. D and little Lucy.

photograph found on Sally Jane Vintage, by Saul Leiter

dos meses

"To fall in love is easy, even to remain in it is not difficult;
our human loneliness is cause enough.
But it is a hard quest worth making to find a comrade
through whose steady presence one becomes
steadily the person one desires to be."
— Anna Louise Strong

Husband and I spent our two month anniversary watching whales

literally fly through the air - jumping clear out of the water -

and feeling the warm sand between our toes on the shore of the Sea of Cortez.

I read The Paris Wife while we were in Cabo 

and it left me meditating on the sacredness of marriage

making me so thankful for husband,

and the trust I have in him.

I am so happy to be his wife!

A happy mother and baby hump back whale celebrated with us...

see the baby?
baby tried to copy everything the mother did..
it was an amazing 15 minute show they put on for us

Whale photos by Mr. D.

to pursue beauty to its lair

"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget."

— Arundhati Roy   

      I had a hard day at work yesterday, 

but the sunrise this morning truly brought forth joy and light. 

It is so easy for me to let my own shortcomings and areas of weakness 

cast gray clouds over hope. 

 I love writing, but I am not a very good communicator when it doesn't involve pen and paper.

I dont easily let my guard down and I'm often quiet around people I'm not very familiar with.

These are not strengths. Especially when I truly do have a great love and admiration for people.

The art of forgetting oneself. 

No matter your surroundings. 

Because in order to truly pursue beauty and care for others

I have to get out of the way.

photo from flickr.

people

"I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited."

— Sylvia Plath

I have such a fascination of - and an admiration for - people. The things that make them happy... what they count as success. The people and situations that have molded them to become who they are and the things that sent them running the opposite way.

It is the allure of both joyous fulfillment and heartbreaking pain that makes me want to read about, photograph, watch and listen to their unique beholders. The rawness and the truth behind it can be so shockingly beautiful. 

Maybe its the realization that we are all so intertwined and similar, even when we feel as lost and alone as can be.

I will never forget New Years Day on the Brooklyn Bridge. 

Adopted and cherished by strangers.

 --------------------------

Thank you:

• Colin Ball from Liverpool who sat on the bench with the piano man and sang "Hey Jude" to Mr. D and I on Thursday
• the people with the animal hats who waited around for 45 minutes to take a picture with us on the bridge
• for the wedding toast over the weekend from the lovely and courageous group of women in my mom's Bunco Group who have met for 20 years (and only played Bunco that very first time)
• for the woman who gave us the left over minutes on her parking space in Chinatown
• for the man who opened the door and carried the groceries in the freezing cold for the woman with the tennis ball adorned walker
• for the bright, contagious smile of the heart-transplant survivor woman whose blood now pumps through the heart of an 18 year old boy who died in a car accident
• to the 10 year old boy who pointed at us and started the whole line of people clapping as we walked up on to the bridge

today's best fit

The Sartorialist is one of the blogs I read every day.

What a joy to be in the habit of searching out beauty in humanity.

Ordinarily and perfectly unique people.

I have his book and never cease to delight in its pages. 

The Plains, Va.

"He moved like a dancer, which is not surprising; 

a horse is a beautiful animal, but it is perhaps most remarkable 

because it moves as if it always hears music."

— Mark Helprin (Winter's Tale) 

There is something always so refreshing and beautiful about being 

home in the country - no matter the time of year. 

But this is especially true if there is a hunt taking place next door.

elopement

"We love the things we love for what they are." — Robert Frost

"She read Dickens in the same spirit she would have eloped with him." — Eudora Welty

 Beautiful vulnerability. That was my intent. 

And so inspired by such an adventure, I feel that I should come clean. 

We are quasi-eloping in mere days. 

While it might be pure insanity to plan a wedding in 30 days, 

turns out a quasi-elopement is quite doable.

Everything has fallen and continues to fall into perfect place.

While I don't want to give too much away...it is a quasi-elopement after all...

I will probably be dropping hints here and there 

because I'm too excited not to share at least a little. 

There will still be a reception come spring. 

But for now, I am daily crossing things off of my to-do list. 

Dress. Check. 

Rings. Check.

Marriage License. Almost. 

because its officially my birthday ...

and because we are getting married 

and I could not feel more thankful and blessed. 

thankfulness.

I can hardly wait for this week to be over. 

My birthday is Sunday and a trip West awaits just days after.

Also, I have exciting news to share soon.

Its delicate and vulnerable and oh so warm in my chest

just waiting on a few things. 

In the meantime, I have never been so thankful for friends dear. 

Friends who's words have been truly uplifting and in many ways healing. 

 This is very much the month to be thankful. 

only flowers in your hair.

"He folded his fear into a perfect rose.
He held it out in the palm of his hand. She took it from him and put it in her hair."
— Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things) 

I love this quote. 

I think it says everything I could ever hope to say today.

photo by annette pehrsson.

gifts.

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."
— Robert A. Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land) 

 Last night, I received one of the most wonderful gifts

Mr. D turned the "other blog" into a book - bound and everything...all 365 pages of it!

Yesterday was actually full of gifts:

the weather could not have been more beautiful

we both got off work a little early and met at Estadio (a new sushi style spanish restaurant downtown)

a wonderful and honest conversation, that turned to tears and then laughter

(yes, for those who may be wondering...the tears are recorded)

bought the new iPod nano 

new red lipstick for me and a brown corduroy blazer for him

and to top it all off, Mr. D received amazing accolades from paypal for a commercial he filmed and directed

 And later, when my heart started beating irregularly, I was once again reminded 

that I have so much to be thankful for, a unique and perfect gift

a celebration of life indeed.

For once I am actually sad that the week has come to an end.

photo one found here from inhabit, photo two once again by the amazing annette pehrsson.

Annette.

Annette Pehrsson has completely captured my mood today. 

Her amazing photography has me no longer searching for words, 

but content simply feeling.

originally spotted on SallyJaneVintage

anticipation.

Can't wait for those leaves behind us to change color.

What would I do if seasons never changed

and life's reminders no longer stared me in the face?

A new adventure starts Sunday.

School is back in session

I have successfully completed People Pleasing 101 - I mean gold stars, A++ and that magical O for outstanding that always managed to make my heart stop at first glance because of its similarity to a big fat zero. 

This fall I am taking Forthright Personal Confidence 400.

Here's to the new school year!

Photo from LeLove