most people get hangovers the next day, i get self realizations.

last night, i went out with a friend

who, oddly enough, i've only ever seen in person twice

yet knows practically everything about me.

one of those people you just connect with, you know?

he threw another one of his friends into the mix and the three of us went off,

galavanting out into the night .. into the strangest place i've ever been to.

normally, i would have never found myself in the company of such interesting, fascinating characters. i would have never ventured into this venue or that far downtown, for that matter.

i would have never seen the performances (and performances?) that i saw.

and i realized how closed off i've been lately.

how much i've been playing it safe.

how sheltered my life and i have become.

i remember a very recent time when i felt so open to the whole world.

inviting and accepting everything around me and 

trusting the universe to take me where i need to be

and give me what i need.

somewhere along my recent journey, i've lost my trust in that

and my belief in the joy and excitement of the world around me.

i think it's time to work on getting that back.

now i just have to remember how to do that.

there's no place like ..

.. your second home. 

that isn't even technically your home. 

but is, in fact, the home of your relatives.

the view from the back of the house ain't so bad either:

i only have a week left at home and i'm gonna do my best to get there

to think a little, sun a little and revive a little.

fresh air and family are cures to almost anything.

taking a moment to smell the ...

this morning i woke up to these!

being sent these beautiful roses - pink and white, which happen to be my fav - made my day and helped me feel much better than i have lately. it got me thinking that i should send flowers to someone that i care about and i know just the person! now all i have to do is figure out a good place to send flowers from... hmm... some googling is in order! it seems kind of strange that i've never actually sent anyone flowers but i guess i can blame it on thinking it's more of a boy thing to do? clearly i should alter that thinking. 

one day, i want a garden filled with bright and beautiful flowers.

... and a lovely gardener to tend them for me ;o)

xo

some tasty goodness.

two of the things i like best in the world are

1. COOKIES

2. giving back

so you can imagine my delight at finding this in a recent DailyCandy

Baking for Good is a sweet little company that creates yummy treats for people to order and then allows their customers to choose a not-for-profit or charity of their choice and donates 15% of the purchase to that charity.

how cool is that? the company benefits, the charity benefits 

and the person receiving the baked goods sure as heck benefits :)

win-win-win. i like it!

AND, as if this couldn't get better, they have gluten-free and VEGAN options.

(okay, i only found one vegan option but i either wasn't looking carefully enough or they will surely add some more)

so, add health conscious to the list of pro's.

quite the sweet treat.

image via paperwhite (thanks!)

i fell in love today.

this is Bell. she is purdy. if i can make some magic work 

and she hasn't been adopted by anyone else yet.

she shall be mine. 

if she has then so be it and another wonderful little

baby will find her way into my life.

it's probably entirely unreasonable for me to bring a dog on tour..

but do you know how many people do it and how sane it will keep me?!

sometimes (mostly) i get along better with dogs than people.

plus i finally thought of the BEST NAME tonight. 

cross your fingers!

and check out Petfinder to find yourself a new pal. 

adopt don't buy!

photo via Petfinder (thanks!)

xo

change is good for the soul.

well, hello. 

here's the thing, i have another blog i've been keeping since about march of this year. 

however, i made it on a different website and, well, it's just not working for.

i haven't even posted anything here and i already love it more. the other one was too boring.

and i don't do boring very well.

i need EXCITEMENT. i need aesthetically pleasing lines and pretty pictures and colors.

that might make me four years old (albeit the only four year old who knows the word aesthetic but four all the same) however i do not care. i wanted to be as excited to go to my blog as i am to go to the other wonderful blogs i stop in to check out from time to time. 

the last blog had lots of fun, interesting posts that i don't feel like i can simply throw away so i'm gonna copy/paste them in here providing that is easy enough to do. or, who knows, maybe keep both blogs and leave that one just for the five people who read it.

so many options! or, you know, two options ..

alright, over and out!

xo