Wide Open Spaces

(c) my brother, Carson

Who's ready for a clean slate? I most certainly am! Now that we've landed in a place we want to call home, I'm excited to see where this next year takes us. I plan to use today to reflect on 2013 and think about some goals for 2014. I really liked what Kris Carr had to say about ease. Care to share some hopes of your own?

Pretty Thangs

via here

via here

via here

via here

I thought we could all use some pretty pictures right about now. 

Friday Film

Everything they touch turns to gold.

New Music Tuesdays

I'm not sure who I love more: Brett, Charlotte Gainsbourg, or Beck.

Christmas Week

It's a short week with Christmas falling on a Wednesday. I'm cranking out another day and a half of work then heading to Richmond. I'm so happy to be home for the holidays this year. There's really no place I'd rather be.

Give

via Elsa May

Everlane

Snagged one! Merry Christmas to me. I can't say enough good things about this company. Their motto is know your factories, know your costs, and always ask why. These are three things I can absolutely get behind!

+ Hear what the CEO and founder has to say.

New Music Tuesdays

Couldn't resist sharing another Jose Gonzalez song, especially when it's a collaboration with Ryan Adams.

Bookmarked

 (c) Erin Boyle

(c) Erin Boyle

+ loving this girl duo

+ the grass is always greener (thanks, Instagram)

+ adding this ring to my wish list

+ as if I need a reason to love Mindy Kaling any more...

+ festive recipe to try

+ house envy

+ these are my favorites this time of year

December Weekend

C&O

We had a nice, relaxing Virginia weekend. Instead of exchanging Christmas gifts this year, Brett and I treated ourselves to a nice dinner at a new (to us) restaurant. C&O definitely lived up to its reputation! I'm looking forward to going back again soon and checking out the bar. 

On Saturday, we went to my parent's house in Richmond. My aunt was in town from Michigan, so we had a great visit with friends and family. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love this time of year!

Hope everyone's keeping sane out there and soaking up the goodness of the season. 

Seth Godin

I finally signed up to receive Seth Godin's daily blog posts. They are short, sweet, and spot on. He writes about leadership, ideas, technology, marketing, and changing the world. I really enjoyed his latest entry, Getting Lost on the Shelf. I'm always thinking about how to do things differently, how to stand out, how to make a name for myself. Since reading his writings the past two weeks, I've learned ways to go about this.

If you're still not convinced, check out his TED Talk.

Gift Guides

via here

I'm more of a consumable gift giver (spoiler alert) but have been enjoying some of the gift guides circulating around the internet. Thought I'd share a few of my favorites.

+ parents
+ BFF or sister
+ the man in your life
+ munchkins (confession: couldn't resist Larry Gets Lost in Portland for my favorite Rose City toddler)
+ hodge podge

Forever Young

I hold a special place in my heart for this song. It was played during our father-daughter dance at my wedding and (thanks to my Dad) it's always been a personal favorite. This children's book made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Cute idea.

Hey, I Know Her!

 (c) Eleanor Busing

I've known Lolly since the summer of 2004. She's a Charlottesville native who's living abroad with her husband in London. Can you tell that she's an interior designer in the making? Her home tour left me wanting to re-do everything in my own apartment. Her style is clean, classy, with subtle modern touches. Oh, and did you catch that her space is only 560 square feet?

New Music Tuesdays

This used to be Kurt Vile's band. It still sounds a lot like him. And Springsteen too, don't you think? It makes me want to dance around the house Stephanie Tanner style.

Still

Still features a post a day of natural objects found by blogger and photographer, Mary Jo Hoffman. What I like about this is that her gatherings are simple things that we can all find out our own back door. Sometimes it just requires a double take to see such beauty. 

The Priest

My dad, brother, and I went for a chilly December hike on Saturday. It definitely felt and looked like winter! Despite the cold temps, it was great getting outside, stretching the legs, and catching up. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with pizza and beer because that remains to be the best post-hike treat. Ever.

I can't help but think of this time last year. I was far from home and unemployed. The holidays made for a difficult and blue couple of weeks. Now I'm only a quick hour away from the people I love most. Getting to do these kinds of outings is such a gift. I look forward to exploring more Virginia trails come 2014.

An Insane Christmas List

via here

My personal favorite is a little thing that can turn into anything at anytime. Genius! I'll take one of those, too. 

Friday Film

This blog loves Andrew's videos! See more here, here, and here.

Shadow Sculptures

(c) Tim Noble and Sue Webster

I keep seeing this link floating around the interwebs and I'm not really sure what to make of it. I am most definitely impressed, but I'd love to see it in person.

I Could Live Here

(c) Jamie Beck

I've been following Courtney's blog for a year or so. She has good taste, style, and apparently a GORGEOUS house. The kitchen! That garden! 

New Music Tuesdays

I've never met a Jose Gonzalez song I didn't like. Step Out is on the soundtrack to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Another Christmas time movie I must see!

Humans of New York, Part Two

"I've got a whole stack of books in my cart. Most of them are advance copies. I know a place where they get thrown out."

"How many books have you read?"

"Thousands."

"So why are you homeless?"

"I've tried to work a job a bunch of times. But then I get sad, and then I get high, and things fall apart."

"Make sure you get the hat. I'm all about the hat."

"I came from China one year ago."

"What's been your lowest moment since arriving?"

"No one moment. Just nights alone, not with parents, not with friends, sitting in room, thinking about nothing, smoking cigarettes."

I blogged about this site awhile back. It's since become a book. I enjoy following his Facebook page where he posts daily about the folks he meets on the streets of New York. There's something beautiful about the not-so-glamorous. 

December, December

Happy December! I'm re-energized after an amazing couple of days in Arizona. There was lots of food, family time, hot sun, long walks, and a bit (okay A LOT) of pampering. I am more than ready for the craziness of the season! I absolutely love this time of year. Who doesn't?

PS: I took this photo at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. I finally got to see Chihuly's work.