Cutters

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"I know all about you Midnight Cutters...and you must be stopped."

 - Mitra, my hair stylist on girls who cut their

 own bangs on a whim. 

I just love her :)

Happy Friday!

This song - Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric - came on my ipod today while I was driving and it put a big ol' smile on my face. It always reminds me of this scene from Stranger Than Fiction, which is a favorite movie of mine. Hope it makes you smile, too...

The Coral Sea

The opening few paragraphs of this book gave me chills.

     "The first time I saw Robert he was sleeping. I stood over him, this boy of twenty, who sensing my presence opened his eyes and smiled. With few words he became my friend, my compeer, my beloved adventure.
     When he became ill, I wept and could not stop weeping. He scolded me for that, not with words but with a simple look of reproach, and I ceased.
     When I saw him last we sat in silence and he rested his head on my shoulder. I watched the light changing over his hands, over his work, and over the whole of our lives. Later, returning to his bed, we said goodbye. But as I was leaving something stopped me and I went back to his room. He was sleeping. I stood over him, a dying man, who sensing my presence opened his eyes and smiled.
     When he passed away I could not weep so I wrote. Then I took the pages and set them away. Here are those pages, my farewell to my friend, my adventure, my unfettered joy."

-Patti Smith on Robert Maplethorpe

I love the way she writes about her relationship with Robert. I feel like I can relate my own experiences with certain people to the friendship and love that they had for each other. 

Some people, you just love no matter what, unconditionally. And that's that. You can go away for a while, mentally, emotionally, or physically, but sooner or later you find each other again 

and it's just...good. Maybe the context of your love has changed. It doesn't always have to be romantic love. Perhaps it has morphed into a beautiful mutual friendship or maybe it's just a quick loving smile between you two in passing. This person, this presence, is a strange comfort, but a wonderful comfort nonetheless. 

{Patti and Robert}

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Monday music

Let's Get Lost by Elliott Smith

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February can suck it.

In short, I've been sick+yucky+tired for the month of February. I had some stomach problems for the first two weeks which led me to feel extremely uncomfortable and lethargic. And once I got over that, I got an awful head cold sickness that took over me for a week. 

Once I could breathe through both my nostrils again, I made it out to hang out with my bestie, Erin, who is a new Oakland resident! I am very excited to have her in my town and show her all Oakland has to offer. Here is a picture of us at Cafe Van Kleef; where the greyhounds flow like wine (and they give you a big, delicious segment of grapefruit for a garnish). We drank, we danced, we watched people eat tamales from the ever present Tamale Man who delivers to local Oakland bars.

 It was so fun to have her in the 'hood!

P.S. March is my birthday month so it's bound to be better. Right? Yeah, I am going to go with that....

WOWZA

Ok, I've loved Michelle Williams since the Dawson's Creek days when she showed up one season as Jen Lindley, the rebellious but lovable girl from New York City. Since then, I've been a fan of every movie she's been in (that I know of), and I love her personal style and overall demeanor. You could say I have what some might call a "girl crush" on her. So I was stopped dead in my tracks while aimlessly wandering through the grocery store isles when I saw her looking MAD SEXY on the cover of GQ Magazine. I quickly flipped through the pages and found the article and pictures. She is definitely channeling Marilyn in the photos since she just played her in the acclaimed film My Week With Marilyn. (I can't wait to see it. Soon!!) So here I'll leave you with some eye candy from the GQ spread that is the gorgeous and talented Ms. Michelle Williams. :)

Kate Spade, you have won my heart

All of these adorable bracelets from Kate Spade have sweet messages engraved in them:

"In the spotlight"

"Come full circle"

"Toe the line"

"Gild the lily"

And my personal favorite and most coveted:

Inner reads "This is the year to"

Outer reads "be curious as a cat, lose yourself in a good book, add a twist, play your cards right, make sparks fly"

The hanging garden

West Elm is carrying these glass wall planters by Shane Powers right now. They need to be in my kitchen ASAP. 

How cool are the air plants that grow inside these planters? Apparently, you mist them a few times a week and they should thrive. Sounds perfect for my not-so-green thumb. 

Audrey and Pippin

On and frequently off the set of 1958′s film Green Mansions,  Audrey had near her often a deer named Pippin. She called him “Ip,” rather than “Pip." In order for the deer to convincingly follow her character around during principal photography, she spent a great deal of time bonding with the fawn and training it to stay with her. The pictures of them together are quite possibly the cutest things I have ever seen. Can this woman be any more lovable?!

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Love Lost video

I think it's cute to see these young boys' earnest faces singing this sweet love song. Plus I'm a sucker for synchronized choreography and cheeky British humor. 

(A certain kind of) Happiness Is:

A wall of colorful cute flats. 

I'll take a pair of each, 

thank you. 

Taken @ Urban Outfitters

Loving Lana

This is "Video Games" by Lana Del Rey.
I've been listening to her a lot lately. I love her buttery, jazzy voice. Her self titled EP is pretty great. Not sure if this is her official video or not.
Enjoy.

If you haven't heard already...

Pintrest is a really fun site to organize ideas on so many things! 

I use it for fitness, recipes, style, DIY projects, inspiration, etc.
You need an "invite" to come aboard, but let me know and I'll shoot one your way ASAP!

Happy pinning!

It's that time of year again!

I love Christmas. 

Here are some of my favorite things about this
 crazy and wonderful holiday:

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Stonewall Kitchen Holiday Jam

My mom got me hooked on this jam. It's full of pears, cranberries, raspberries, orange liquor and spices. 

I could eat it with a spoon!

(and sometimes do)

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Giant Christmas kitty mug

You can pour a whole lotta hot cocoa in there...

Or spiked apple cider, whichever you are in the mood for :)

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These guys:

These are some of my friends from Chico and they play in an awesome Christmas holiday band called The Yule Logs. I look forward to seeing them every year. You HAVE to see them in action. Such a great time! But if you aren't fortunate enough to see one of their shows, buy the album on iTunes!

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Lights, lights, lights! 

I am partial to the big old fashioned Christmas light bulbs. But no matter what kind of lights, there is a warmth and happiness that comes with being around such festive glow. This year, I felt quite content to be in bed snuggled with my kitty in my dark apartment with only the sparkle of lights coming from my small tree. 

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Holiday parties 

with some of my most bestest friends in the world <3

Aren't they so adorable??

Oh and I love dancing. Duh.

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Gingerbread Houses

This has become a new family tradition in the past few years. My parents buy enough ready made gingerbread houses to accommodate our family and the grandkids (there are 12 now!). Everyone brings candy galore. My dad makes some awesome frosting/glue and then we all just go at it. We are pretty competitive by nature so everyone wants to have the BEST gingerbread house. I just love that we all get together and have a great time. Call me a sap, but I love being with my family.  :) 

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Aaaand this commercial:

This commercial has been around forever! It makes me smile every time I see it. 

deviant art

Whole Lotta Love

skull swap

I've been a lazy blogger lately and I apologize. Let me elaborate on this delicious photo I posted: I have been reading Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis and am intoxicated with the greatness and excess and voodoo of Led Zeppelin. I've been infatuated with them since high school and a few years ago learned more about Jimmy Page through the writing of Pamela Des Barres in her book I'm With the Band. Little side note: the character Penny Lane from the film Almost Famous was based on Pamela. She had a fiery love affair with Mr. Page. Juicy Stuff. Eh ehm, I digress, I am halfway through Hammer of the Gods and am SO glad that it was written. It gives us youngins something tangible to hold onto and fantasize about from a time that came way before us. Led Zeppelin may have have been in their prime a long time ago but their influence lives on in music and rock history forever.

Also, Robert Plant and his Band of Joy played at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival this year but unfortunately I missed it due to San Francisco traffic and absolutely no parking. Oh well...I'm just glad he is still here and reminding the world that music can still be meaningful and beautiful. 

"There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them." 

-Sylvia Plath

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I love you more...

This is a fave necklace of mine. 

Translates (roughly) to: 

"I love you more than yesterday and less than tomorrow."

Sweet, no? 

Morcom Rose Gardens revisited

I have been back to the Morcom Rose gardens many
 times since I first discovered it. 

I took these photos with my droid phone in May, 

when the roses were in full bloom. 

As you walk towards the garden you can smell the sweet fragrance 

from the plethora of flowers waiting to be unveiled.

The sight is quite beautiful and it has become one of my favorite spots in Oakland. 

Brilliance, really.

Sssshhh...I know. I love it, too.

Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David
 thisisnotporn