weekend in la

harlow and i made a quick trip to LA this weekend. the rain stopped and it was sunny and blue. thank goodness.


i went to the temple on saturday.


and harlow almost got us kicked out of our room... but i snuck her back in! she was as good as gold but i was nervous that we'd get kicked out so i didn't get much sleep.
(and fyi the front desk said it was okay to bring her but the security guard said she wasn't allowed...ugh!)


i took my new (to me) pentax camera i got from jen out for a little bit. we'll see how it turns out when i finish the roll of film.


and then we hit up the oh.ban.fest yard sale. hot dang i scored some great things and got to meet bri, jen, joy, paige, em, jasmine and i'm probably forgetting some other blog/twitter friends. SO fun! it was also pretty funny introducing myself as "joiebutter"... make sure you pick a blog/twitter name you like!


harlow loves her new bed from bri... she loves it! and i took home a few of these ladies from jen.

then we headed home to watch the oscar's and visit with my cousin who was in town. i'm ready to head back to la now!

a little recipe

in my search for healthy foods i came across a recipe i love. it's for chicken baked with lentils and it's really, really good. really. it may not look pretty but it's warm and stewy and delicious. i first found it on the wednesday chef when i was looking for a dish to bring to my friend and her family.

i used smaller chicken thighs (not drumsticks) and added extra celery for good measure. the chicken comes out incredibly tender and the lentils are perfect and flavorful. it's meant to be served with mashed potatoes but this is a potato free zone now and really it was filling and satisfying on it's own.



i managed not to lick the dish. but just barely.

granny goose

my great grandmother, my granny is 97 years old and she's incredible. she lives alone, drives all over the country (not at night), is sweet, funny and just feisty enough to keep her young.

she had minor surgery earlier this week and did great but we had to take her to the hospital last night because she wasn't feeling well. the doctors are keeping her till monday but she's okay. they just want to keep an eye on her. even though she's been "old" my whole life i've never thought of her as old. she's just granny. i know i'm lucky to have her in my life and i feel so blessed that we have such a close relationship.

i asked her tonight if she needed me to bring her anything while she was in the hospital. her request? her lipstick.

aren't grandparents wonderful?

finally... a picture

a little birdie told me that my blog was lacking pictures of me. pictures of me are not my favorite. most of my childhood pictures have me holding a packet of certs (which was my favorite candy when i was little) because that was the only way they could get me in a photo with me looking at the camera. i was a shy little violet. but i do like this picture that krista took when we went to hearst castle. so there you go, that's me.

the "d" word and loving you

call it a diet, call it detox... whatever it is i'm doing it. i'm jumping back into doing what i did last year and we'll see how it goes. i'm been sugar/carb free for two whole days and haven't lost it so that's good. of course that may just be because since i'm drinking a gallon + of water everyday i'm distracted by my bladder. but so far so good.

this isn't my first attempt at changing my eating habits and maybe it won't be my last. some of it's worked, some hasn't. some of it has made me feel good and some of it has sent me head first into a bowl of ice cream. but this time feels different. maybe i'm more "ready" for change but also, i think i've learned a thing or two.

if you're changing any habit (eating, smoking, spending, whatever) i think a lot of your success it determined by your own way of thinking. i'm not an expert (clearly) but this is what i think.

changing yourself shouldn't be a form of punishment. purging your closets simply because you feel guilty about shopping won't make you feel better. changing your eating habits because you've been calling yourself "lazy", or "greedy", or "a slacker" is a set up. you'll end up rebelling against yourself.

i know me. i know my hair is frizzy more often than not. i know i almost always have circles under my eyes. i know i'm not skinny. but i also know i have worth. i know i am a child of god. i know my body (wobbly bits and all) is a gift.

so while i am embracing this change, i'm doing it because i like me. i want to take care of me.

i hope you take care of you too.

and if you have any heathy recipes you'd care to share i'd love to hear them. xo

photo by jen gotch

i used to be a unicorn

i have loved chloe aftel's photography for a long time. her polaroids are especially wonderful.

photo by chloe

all this sunshine

all this sunshine pouring in through my bedroom window this morning is making me happy. you can't really tell from this iphone photo but it's bright. and warm. so i got up, brushed my teeth, cooked breakfast, fed harlow, washed up, brushed my teeth again, opened all the windows wide, put the beatles on, and feel ready to face a new day/week/month. i'm excited to spend next weekend in la and meet some new friends.

even if it's not sunny where you are i hope you have a wonderful week. xo

can you resist the power of the mallow?

An experiment where these kids are given a marshmallow and told that if they wait until the person comes back to eat it then they can have two. I laughed out loud watching these kids try to resist. There's a story about it in the New Yorker.

Spotted at Cup of Jo.

about time

it's mid february and i am ready to make some resolutions. i like to take my time with these things.

.take more pictures, especially polaroids. at least weekly.
.cook and bake more and blog it.
.england, france, and or australia.
.move
.sew something
.unravel
.make more time for spiritual things
.10 days of truth
.dream a little bigger

and next week i'll have my first, just-for-fun giveaway for you. i'm excited!

polaroid by me

the daily bunny

a daily dose of bunny goodness. that's all i've got. a bunny. but look how cute!

i found it while browsing emma's blog

good to be king

the styling of the images in french look book (from 2009) is amazing. and the kids.. so cute! 2011 is pretty great also.

images from talc via oh joy

i love love!

i know i'm a day late but i've been sick. i hope you had a beautiful day filled with love - whether it's romantic, friend, family, nature, music, puppy, kitty, artistic. whatever it is i hope you love you!

and here's a little more belated valentine's day love:

i wish i'd thought of this

a new hoodie with a wee heart from max wanger

in the running for the world's greatest love story (thanks for tweeting annabela)

a little baby/belly love song from rachel and grant to their little one.

red + pink + white on hi + low (thanks for the link bri

and ps,

thanks for the heartfelt comments to my very frustrated, not so attractive post. a good friend reminded me of a favorite quote: "Comparison is the thief of joy." hands off my joy universe!

photo by jen gotch

emmadime

i am so in love with Emma's knitted goodies. i have the big red bow and i LOVE it. i wore it three days in a row - work, church, and everwhere else. if that's not love i don't know what is. now i need one in every color and the bow tie and the bow scarf and basically anythign else she makes. and she has a blog. and she has prettier handwriting than me. and she's basically awesome.

progress or a lack thereof

"Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Only assholes do that.” - Haruki Murakami

i'm going to risk looking like an a*hole and write this anyway. sorry.

lately i've had a difficult time blogging because i've been wanting to avoid what has actually been on my mind. but after a few weeks of "sitting on it" i'm just putting it out there in the hopes of getting it off my chest and having done with it. feel free to vacate the premises. and if you do read i fear you will realize what a selfish, ungrateful, miserable person i am capable of being. really unattractive, i know - so i'll just apologize now with the hope that you'll forgive me.

i like my life. a lot, actually. but i also feel like in one particular area of life i'm stuck. i don't like being stuck. i need progress and change to feel like things and life is moving forward, developing, growing. lately it's a constant inner battle - fighting to stay positive, not to give into wallowing (is that what i'm doing right now? sorry), to not act like a jealous 5 year old. i have so much to be grateful for that it's silly to focus on what i don't have and to let it drive me crazy. i feel like this week especially it's taken extra energy not to compare my life with other's or to become resentful or basically be such a big baby.

long walks and fresh air help. harlow helps. and when all else fails a little drive and a little cry in my car where no one can see helps. i'm working on it.

or maybe i just need a little fairy dust.

even if i could

a found a couple old books of poetry in a box that i haven't seen since high school i'd forgotten how much they'd meant to me during that part of my life. here is one i read during "raw talent" at a little cafe in town many moons ago. you have no idea what a "hippie" i used to be. i'd like to think i still am a little. maybe one day i'll show you my first car that my friend named "the grateful bean"... you have no idea. anyway, here is the poem that i loved enough to read in front of the world.

Even If I Could by C.K. Williams

Except for the little girl making faces behind me, and the rainbow behind her,
and the school and the truck, the only thing between you and infinity is me.
Which is why you cover your ears when I speak and why you're always oozing around the edges,
clinging, trying to go by me. And except for my eyes and the back of my skull,
and then my hair, the wall, the concrete and the fire-cloud, except for them you would see God.
And that's why rage howls in your arms like a baby and why I can't move-
because of the thunder and the shadows merging like oil
and the smile gleaming through the petals.
Let me tell you how sick with loneliness I am. What can I do while the distance throbs
on my back like a hump, or say, with stars stinging me through the wheel?
You are before me, behind me things rattle their deaths out like paper.
The angels ride in their soft saddles:
except for them, I would come closer and go.

how to feel miserable

i found a list awhile ago called "how to feel miserable as an artist"... but i think it can apply to to any aspect of life. so here is an edited version of that list that i'm going to tape to my wall/mirror/forehead until it sinks in.

1. constantly compare yourself to others
2. talk to your family about what you do/want to do and expect them to cheer you on.
3. base the success of your life on one single aspect of life
4. stick with what you know
5. undervalue yourself
6. let money dictate what you do
7. give in to society's pressures
8. only do things that you know other people will love
9. always do what other people expect of you
10. set unachievable goals that must be accomplished immediately.

photo by me

adopt rinah

I don't know Carissa or Andrew or Rinah but I've read their tweets and posts about their journey to bring little Rinah into their family and it warms my heart. Hooray for a little more love in the world.