I LOVE everything about these bracelets.
That's all for today.
Have a lovely weekend.
xoxo, M.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
The One With the Prom Video
I have been on a major "Friends" kick these last few weeks. I accidentally stumbled upon an old rerun of the show on late night TV and instantly fell in love all over again.
Easily on of the greatest shows of our generation!
If you need me you can find me rooting for Ross and Rachel while sipping on a glass of red wine.
xoxo, M
Monday, August 27, 2012
Monday Madness!
I have been feeling really overwhelmed and stressed out lately. I leave in less than 3 weeks and feel like I still have so much to do! It is exhausting and I really don't want to spend the last of my time in California panicking and snapping at everyone who loves me.
How do you manage your time when you feel like the "To Dos" are multiplying by the minute??
For now I will try and heed the advice above and relax.
Friday, August 24, 2012
There is more than one kind of love
This article by Chelsea Fagan inspired me beyond words. It is a little lengthy but so worth it.
At the ripe young age of 24 it is easy to be suffocated by self-doubt, curiosity, and fear; especially when it comes to relationships. My friends have begun to get engaged, some are married, some have kids. Yet, here I am about to pack up everything I own so that I may embark on a potentially lonely adventure while serving with the Peace Corps in Ukraine. I haven't been in a relationship for 2 years, and I may not be in a relationship for another 2 years. But that does not mean my life is not bursting with love.
When you sit and reflect on the obscene amount of love which engulfs your life it really can be quite embarrassing and humbling. My life is full of continuous, never ending, life changing love. Love from my parents, my brothers, my grandma, my friends, my dog, there are so many sources of love in my life. I feel so lucky and so blessed.
So enjoy this article. It will bring a smile to your face, and if you are anything like the sap I am, it will bring tears (happy tears) to your eyes.
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There Is More Than One Kind Of Love
AUG. 23, 2012
There exists a vague, dark, constant fear at the horizon of life. On all sides of us, drilled into us by media and stories and the sweet-but-perhaps-misguided advice of extended family members, we are told that we are supposed to “partner up” and that, if we don’t, life will be nice, but meaningless. We are convinced that there is a kind of “soulmate,” someone with whom we share a love that renders all others secondary, one with whom we build a nest and fulfill our purpose — that life is entirely constructed around this unique love. But the truth is that life is filled with almost endless kinds of love, love that gives meaning and color to life and makes us better human beings. And each of them — not just love that gets caricatured in romantic comedies — deserves to be praised.
When your parents tend to you while you’re sick, giving you soup and putting on your favorite movie and placing a pillow gently behind your head to prop you up; when they answer your calls with a warm voice even after you’ve made the too-frequent mistake of treating them like you don’t care about them; when they give you a place to sleep or a little money to get you back on your feet because, even though they want to teach you independence in life, they still want to see you doing alright — that is love.
When your friend collects the pieces of you strewn all across the room after someone who claimed to “love” you left you for someone else; when they lose days with you, laughing and singing and eating junk food and doing everything that was good about childhood that we have somehow forgotten to do in early adulthood; when they keep secrets across decades where others wouldn’t have been able to hold it in for a single afternoon — that is love.
When you wander a city and discover that, with every square of sidewalk, you feel more and more like you have finally come home after so much aimless searching; when you sit in a restaurant by yourself and allow the city to be your company, to fill you with noise and delicious smells and the thrill of the unexpected, to make it so that you are never really alone; when you enjoy a vacation somewhere warm and new but ache, ache to get back to the city that knows you so completely and treats you so well — that is love.
When you find a passion in life that drives you, that makes you feel — even if you don’t earn a single penny — like you are becoming incalculably rich in practicing it; when you lose hours, days, working on your projects and fine-tuning every last detail, not abandoning even a spur-of-the-moment undertaking until it is something that you would be proud to show to anyone who asked; when you look at a finished product for the first time and actually allow yourself to think, “This is good. I did my best and it came out really well,” with no cruel self-criticism — that is love.
When your family understands that an older loved one is going to need help going forward, that living alone and being independent are no longer options, and you take them in with a smile; when you hold a hand that, though terribly small and wrapped in tissue-paper skin, still knows how to squeeze back; when you bathe and hug and put to bed this person who may not be able to verbalize a clear “thank you” but whom you know is warm and comfortable and completely taken care of in a time when they need it most — that is love.
When you have a pet who has become more a member of your family and less an accessory to your daily activities — as some pets can be — who shows you as much love and understanding as another human might; when they move around you and come to comfort you with an innate comprehension of your complex emotional spectrum, putting their body against yours and reminding you that, no matter the circumstance, you are not alone; when their passing takes as much out of you as another human’s death would, and you understand that the world has lost a little bit of light, that a creature who existed only to love and to bring happiness is now gone and lives only in your memory — that is love.
When you find a place that, though not terribly big or well-located, is the perfect size for you and your humble needs; when you repair and paint and decorate your new home with an affection and a tenderness that seems almost silly to bestow on inanimate objects; when you eschew going out with friends to spend nights in your perfect little place, cooking dinner for one and feeling so warm and so safe in these rooms that seem to have almost been made using your specific fingerprint — that is love.
Life is filled with love, love that stretches and nearly bursts every seam it presses against, love that spoils us and surrounds us so completely as to let us forget it is there. It’s almost embarrassing to take a moment and consider all of the love that you are privy to, that you are an active participant in, that you get to take home with you at the end of the day — but we have to. Let’s never allow ourselves to believe in the ludicrous idea that there’s only one kind of love, and that you either have it or you don’t. Perhaps such a myth sells us movie tickets, but it will never make us happy.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Mountain Winery Summer Concert Series
Last night I saw Colbie Caillet and Gavin DeGraw at this beautiful venue...
The Mountain Winery is located in San Jose, California in the Saratoga Hills. It is the most beautiful concert venue I have ever been to.
You drive 10 minutes up in to the lush mountains where the stage/venue is nestled in between rows and rows of grape vines.
The view of Silicon Valley is killer
Plus the stage and concert area itself is amazing. Every seat is great and it has such an intimate feel. We just happened to be 5 rows from the stage.
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Hey Colbie.
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Hey Gavin.
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The show was just amazing. Both artists are fabulous performers! I left loving them both even more.
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He even stuck around to sign autographs and take pictures.
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We had a great time!
If you are ever in the San Jose area, I highly recommend checking out a concert here. I will definitely be back!
The Mad Ones.
“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
-Jack Kerouac
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Gavin DeGraw & Colbie Caillat
Sporadic change of plans! Tonight I am heading to the Gavin DeGraw & Colbie Caillet concert. Once of my close girlfriends has an extra ticket and I am so excited to join her. The show will be at an amazing venue called the Mountain Winery which I have been dying to visit and the seats are 5 rows from the stage.
Pictures to follow!
Have a wonderful Wednesday,
xoxo, M.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Strive to be MORE
Today marks less than four weeks until I leave for the Ukraine.
I' nervous excited!
{well, a little of both I suppose}
I started the daunting task of going through all my clothes so that I can toss the old and only bring my favorites.
Wish me luck!
And on a side note, I met two of the most beautiful ladies ever the other night and they happened to be Ukrainian/Russian. Better step of my game ;-)
I'll start with a little fall inspiration:
Kisses, M.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Hiatus
My goodness! I haven't posted in forever. I took a lovely 1 week vacation to Lake Tahoe with my family and have been struggling to catch up ever since.
Today marks exactly 5 weeks until I leave for Eastern Europe and I am beyond excited!
My days are now jam packed with language lessons, packing, and organizing. I have 5 weeks to go through my entire life- packing up what I want to save and getting rid of the rest!
I'll leave you with a great winter look that I am totally digging; perfect for a trip to the Bazaar on a cold Eastern European day-- with a sassy coat of course
Ciao Bella!
Or should I say...
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