pretty words that you should read // 002

gracefully changing… – a thought-provoking piece about embracing the inevitable and accepting change.

uncaptured candids – lovely words about beautiful, untouched memories.

why i shouldn’t be left alone on a saturday night – reading this made me laugh, since i definitely relate to those sorts of evenings when i’m left alone!

an open letter to my one-day-sunday-someone – meg fee again, and i think the title perfectly explains the post!

on literary risk – the sacrifice of character – interesting thoughts on over-used, extreme characters, and how the normal stories of normal people are just as worth telling.

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check this other post out, too!

pretty words that you should read // 001

smells of freshly-baked bread, and here i am, still writing

the hour is late. my eyelids are starting to droop, but here i am, still writing.

the smell of freshly-baked bread still lingers in the air from earlier this evening. it is a sweet, sweet smell that evokes feelings of comfort and home.

michael buble’s soothing voice sings on, quietly, softly in the background.

i can hear the clock tick-ticking behind me, each tick reminding me that it is late, and that early alarm clock isn’t waiting for anybody tomorrow morning.

i rest my chin on my hand with my elbow on the desk before me. my eyes close for a minute, taking in the relief of relaxation.

but here i am, still writing.

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this post was inspired by the daily prompt from the wordpress daily post! http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/daily-prompt-now-2/

liebster numero 2!

sooo i got onto wordpress the other day and was surprised to see that tameramb from the blog jibber jabber & happenstance nominated me for a liebster award! {fyi: the liebster award is an informal award that is given to up-and-coming bloggers with less than 200 followers by other bloggers, who then in turn nominate their own people…and the love just spreads! fun stuff!} i did already receive one of these (read my post about that one HERE!), but i decided to go ahead and answer her questions anyway. for some reason, i find answering questions about myself fun? maybe because i’m rarely very open about myself with people in real life, so it’s liberating to do it here? or maybe i’m just self-centered? but i really do enjoy sharing the blogger love and nominating other people, though, so that’s a more legitimate reason for why i’m writing another liebster award post.

i’ll try to keep it short and sweet, since i went into a lot of detail with my other post. but then again, this is me we’re talking about, so who knows how long this’ll be!

1. where is your favorite place to be? either in the middle of a big city (preferably new york city), or up at the top of some remote mountain, in the middle of a backpacking trip. yes, i am aware that those are virtually polar opposites. both are amazing nonetheless.

2. name two songs that describe you. “haven’t met you yet” by michael buble (haha, yes, i know this is cheesy, especially if you’ve read this post), and “theme from new york, new york,” preferably when it’s sung by frank sinatra.

3. who is the most inspirational person in your life, and why? my mom. i’m amazed at how good and patient and loving and humble she can be – all the time. she inspires me to be a better, more refined person.

4. do you believe in karma? umm yeees? kinda? i would just say that i believe that everything happens for a reason, and that every action has some sort of a consequence. would that just be the same thing as karma?

5. if you could have a dream job for a day, what would it be? some job where i could live in new york city, pin lovely things on pinterest, drink hot chocolate and smoothies, and write pretty words…all day long (and still get payed for it). and play on steinway pianos. those are always a fun time.

6. name three annoyances currently in your life. negativity (irony, no?), cold weather that needs to hurry up and be spring, and the fact that my electric blanket is so warm in the mornings, but i have to actually get up and do something with my life.

7. what “spirit” animal do you best vibe with? umm otters seem like pretty happy creatures…

8. how has blogging helped you? first of all, it has helped me focus my writing voice, but second, on a deeper level, it has helped me free that part of myself that i rarely share with people.

9. list two things that you are proud of accomplishing. although this isn’t one specific accomplishment, i’d say i’m pretty decent at the piano. also, i’m proud of starting this blog and putting all my random musings out there for the whole world to read.

10. do you have a talent? if so, what is it? looking for the best around me, whether in people or in tough situations.

11. where do you envision yourself in five years? umm maybe married? new york city would be pretty legit. ha, if you can’t tell, i’m obsessed with nyc. but really…

now! since i already did another one of these liebster award posts, i had a tough time coming up with eleven more bloggers who i love, who have under 200 followers (which really means i need to do a better job of getting out and exploring blogs more!). i actually only have three to nominate this time, but they are fabulous blogs, written by fabulous people, so you should click those links and check them out! (also, take a look at the other 10 bloggers i nominated in my original post, and don’t forget to visit tamermb’s blog, which is where i received this second nomination. i actually featured one of her posts in my link roundup this past friday! plus, she runs, and lives in nyc, which just makes her doubly awesome right there.)

here are my nominations!

jenn lost in chaos

velociraptoranna’s blog

life’s little mercies

for you three bloggers coming here to find out more details about what your nomination entails, here’s your job!

1. write your own post answering these same 11 questions, making sure to link back to the person that nominated you somewhere in the post (me!).

2. choose 11 of your favorite bloggers who have less than 200 followers to answer your own set of questions (you can come up with different questions than these ones, but i’m just a tad bit lazy, plus i like these ones i was given, so i didn’t write any different ones for you guys to answer).

thank you again, tameramb, for the nomination! i am honored!

ducks, the cold, and a canal

today’s been a pretty decent day, if i may say so! it was just a nice day of easing back into the routine of normality after spending the weekend lazing around in unproductive bliss.

the weather around here has been interesting lately. today’s sky was a plain gray color, like an almost-blank canvas, waiting for something. the world has a feeling of unrest, or maybe it’s expectation – expectation for some amazing event yet to happen.

i took myself on a run this afternoon along a canal in a nearby park, which was quite enjoyable. the air was harsh and cold and biting, but that’s actually my running environment of preference. there were only a few other people out in the park today, so i just had the canal-abiding ducks to keep me company. during the course of my run i came to the excellent conclusion that ducks are actually very pretty creatures. they have a regal, majestic, intelligent sort of a look about them with their sleek, deep-toned feathers. maybe i should find a duck to be best friends with.

i feel like “canal” isn’t quite the right word for this particular collection of water that flows by the park. if you look at it right, it’s actually quite picturesque, in a raw, down-to-earth, honest sort of way. semi-large trees, now bare of leaves, have put down their roots here and there along the banks. ducks swim up and down, and different shrubs have also made their homes at the waterside. even now, in the wintertime, the varying shades of browns and grays and faint greens have beauty about them. it’s not the vibrant color and bursting life of spring and summer, but instead a peaceful, serene sort of beauty that only the hand of january can bring about.

yes, it was as fun time indeed, communing with the ducks and the cold and the canal. a fun time indeed.

love these days

how do i feel about love these days?

love is illusive. love is wonderful. love is vague. love is ambiguous.

if we’re talking about the home-for-the-holidays, cozy family love, then love is peace and comfort and a breath of relief after a long, long day. family love is constant and i’m grateful for the family in my life that always has my back. this family sort of love is what has continually given me a leg up throughout my life, particularly in the past couple months.

and then there’s that other kind of love.

that sweep-you-off-your-feet, kiss-in-the-moonlight, will-you-be-my-forever-and-always, let’s-make-plans kind of love. that love that gives our world hope and belief in the magical, the impossible and improbable that seems to somehow happen anyway.

how do i feel about that kind of love?

well…i can tell you that i want it. holy cow, do i want it. {ask anyone who knows me and they’ll testify to my position as a hopeless romantic.} i can tell you that i hope hope hope that my future is holding that kind of love in its hands as we speak, outstretched and just waiting for me to get close enough and far enough along in my years to reach out and snatch it – snatch it and never, ever let go of it.

that’s the kind of love that has the power to cross all sorts of barriers and break down all sorts of walls. that is truly the substance of magic.

but i don’t think i’ve quite reached that kind of love as of yet in my life. sometimes i occasionally wonder…but then i shake off the wondering because it doesn’t feel like it’s time for all of that yet. i’m not one to rush into things, and rushing into suppositions just scares me. not that it’s necessarily wrong, it’s just my nature to wait and wait until i’m absolutely, one hundred percent sure that it’s real.

and the funny thing about love, and how i feel about it these days, is that i’m pretty much okay to wait. yeah, i do my fair share griping and wondering about when prince charming is finally going to make his definite entrance, but secretly i’m really okay. i have a strong belief that everything’s under control and it’ll happen when it’s supposed to happen.

the thing about love – that heart-breaking, heart-aching love – is that while a little bit of halfway love is nice and fun and all that, it’s the deep-down stuff that really counts. i think our hearts know that and my heart, at least, is willing to hold out for the good stuff.

so how do i feel about love?

love is magical. true love speaks of sparks and sunshine and constancy through the rough spots.

the concept of love is exciting, and exhilarating, and just so, so lovely. the reality that two people can just happen to meet at the right time, in the right place, in such a way that will intertwine their fates forever – that’s beautiful, right there.

i’m excited for that – that whole love thing.

and when that does happen, when the bells ring and the angels sing praises and the real sparks fly and all that cliche jazz, i’ll probably write another “love these days” post and let y’all know how it all worked out, okie dokie? i have a thousand different scenarios worked out in my head, and i’m sure it’ll end up far different from anything i could have imagined, but however it works out will be absolutely perfect and so, so right.

love these days? currently, it’s hiding backstage, behind a curtain, just waiting for me to whirl it open, maybe with a flourish or maybe slowly and carefully, ready to welcome it into my life.

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this post was inspired by THIS OTHER POST!