TGIF LINKS

LAYLAONCOUCHFOXMUGIt’s been a long week and there’s still 2 days of work left for me! It seems like a punishment every time when I have to work 6 days after a weekend off. But there are small pleasures like my cat dog and fox mug that I get to look forward to. Also very much looking forward to the weekend! Enjoy!


 

Links for the weekend:

  1. I’ve found so many good book lists recently! This is a great one.
  2. I am a very sarcastic girl.
  3. If you haven’t seen this yet, watch it now!
  4. I’ve always wondered.
  5. So many great words here.
  6. Judging wine by the bottle.
  7. I want to see this movie SO BAD.

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY BIRTHDAY

My birthday tends to come at a transition point in my life every single year. All I wanted to do this time around was get away with my person. So I obviously went to Tallahassee with Lauren, where our love affair first began. I must say, the Taylor Swift album could not have come out at a better time. Blank Space is now being sung in my sleep.

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My diet consisted strictly of waffles, pizza, tacos, hot dogs and gin & tonics. I love my body and my body loves me.

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That’s what year I am!

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BOOK REVIEW – THE GOLDFINCH

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Oh, the things I could say about this book. I fell in love with it and immediately felt so connected to Theo, the main character. It covers so much ground and ends up lightyears away from where it begins but it was still so detailed in every single moment. Essentially, the book begins with this huge life moment that ultimately shapes the rest of Theo’s life. I wouldn’t want to give to much away but I had to mention my favorite part. It may be lengthy but it stood out so much to me.

“A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves want what’s good for us or what’s good for other people. We don’t get to choose the people we are.

Because–isn’t it drilled into us constantly, from childhood on, an unquestioned platitude in the culture–? From William Blake to Lady Gaga, from Rousseau to Rumi to Tosca to Mister Rogers, it’s a curiously uniform message, accepted from high to low: when in doubt, what to do? How do we know what’s right for us? Every shrink, every career counselor, every Disney princess knows the answer: “Be yourself.” “Follow your heart.”

Only here’s what I really, really want someone to explain to me. What if one happens to be possessed of a heart that can’t be trusted–? What if the heart, for its own unfathomable reasons, leads one willfully and in a cloud of unspeakable radiance away from health, domesticity, civic responsibility and strong social connections and all the blandly-held common virtues and instead straight toward a beautiful flare of ruin, self-immolation, disaster?…If your deepest self is singing and coaxing you straight toward the bonfire, is it better to turn away? Stop your ears with wax? Ignore all the perverse glory your heart is screaming at you? Set yourself on the course that will lead you dutifully towards the norm, reasonable hours and regular medical check-ups, stable relationships and steady career advancement the New York Times and brunch on Sunday, all with the promise of being somehow a better person? Or…is it better to throw yourself head first and laughing into the holy rage calling your name?”

That whole thought may be a little on the morbid side, but gets you thinking nonetheless. Anyway, I highly recommend it!

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NEXT UP: 1Q84 by HARUKI MURAKAMI

BACK IN THE GAME

Well..I created this thing and then quickly disappeared, I am fully aware. I’ve always heard that once you fall behind on a blog, it just gets harder and harder to get back in it. So very true! I was beyond inspired when I first started this a couple months ago and then the initial excitement of it all passed. And, not to mention, my life has been fully consumed with a whole lot of red wine, late nights, bubble baths and some cheesy soul searching recently (heavy on the red wine).

Even though I’m sitting here writing a blog, I am not much of a writer (I’m more of a pretty pictures kind of girl) so Pinterest is here to speak for me and my current state of affairs.

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But more so..

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Many fun things on the way!

(Hi mom! I’m back!)