A New Orleans Christmas

As soon as finals wrap up, I will be spending the majority of the month of December in New Orleans staying with my Dad, his wife, and their two beautiful children. Even though this is will be my first Christmas to spend without my Tennessee family, my siblings and my mother I am still quite looking forward to it. I have found tons of neat festivals and shows I hope to check out during my stay. I will stay busy exploring the city's food, reading, walking, and there will be plenty of time for Magazine St. shopping! Here's a photo of my father & I on Burbon St. Me, with a "Huge Ass Beer." So ladylike, I know.

"Missing you, New Orleans

Ahhh, New Orleans. You lusty, insatiable thing. You have a piece of my heart always, it turns out. Not that I should have been surprised.

There are places that I know without ever being there that I will love. They are inevitably places of history, places of culture, places of tradition, places of music, places of food, places of art, places that are no one's but their own. On paper, I could check each one of these items off for New Orleans. But walking around its streets, shoulder to shoulder with its people, well that's a different thing entirely. The real deal."

Such a wonderful description of N.O.L.A.
by The Freckled Citizen (one of my new favorite blogs!)

This reminds me of my mother.

- found via shop SCAD

pretty

tfs

My very own Box Office

Oh! I'm looking forward to this pretty film. Such thrilling elegance!

things inspiring me today

i want to be here right now (see below)

Happy Halloween!

lovely

This is cool:

Found via Apartmenttherapy

Colombian memories..

"Watashiwa"

An island free from firearms.
A family of five:
five explorers, five thinkers, five lovers.
Weekends spent on white sand beaches
that surrounded the tiny Japanese island.
Crystal-clear saltwater, a picnic
with triangle sandwiches, Tang, sushi.

Mother bronzed in a rainbow fold-out chair.
That was beauty.
Dad caught sea cucumbers with his bare hands.
The bravest man I had ever known.
That was safety.
The five of us
removed from belongings, states, family.
With white concrete blocks for houses-
to keep safe from typhoons.
Rented furniture,
hibiscus outside my window,
and always a turquoise blue sky
was home.

titiribi

dreaming of Titiribi, Colombia today....

21

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Dinner Plans

High hopes
I was wearing some of my favorite pieces.
We met Jacque Imos, Upperline, and Dick & Jenny’s-
No luck.
We drove by, peered in, and went on.
This night’s jaunt ended at La Crepe Nanou
-just off of Magazine St.
Charming.
Walking distance from the house.
Dimly lit.
Maybe ten tables in the whole place.
Maroon colored velvet curtains covered all potential entryways for light.
Red wine- no i.d. necessary.

Honesty,
I like that.

The tattooed waitress served us joy.
Much needed, after the year I’ve had.

Chacos

After much personal debate I finally let myself order a pair of the famous, durable Chacos. Travelcountry.com is my go to site for things of this sort, such great deals. The sandals came in the mail today. I look forward to many kayak, canoe, and hiking trips with these new friends. I also look forward to much relief when making the long walk home from a tiring (maybe rainy) day of classes. Welcome to my life, Chacos.

Say a prayer.

My heart goes out to the families of victims of 9/11. God bless.

Roommates

This is a photo of my roommates, Lindsey and Katie, & I.
I love them both so much but we are all very, very different
people with different hobbies, beliefs, hopes, and dreams.
We have about 12 more months left in this apartment's lease.
This next year will be an interesting journey with these ladies.

English 363: An Introduction to Poetry

Vigo

Thousands of miles from home,
a journal to occupy the mind.
Forget responsibilities, reservations.
Enjoy sweet, chunky sangria.
On a rusty, wobbly porch with traffic below-
I hear Edith Piaf.
Bear snores inside.
Writing, tripping-over nothing.
An adolescence with firm beliefs.
Many disbeliefs.
On a cot, thirsting for companionship.
Crying. Smiling. Pass out.

NOLA

New Orleans: just might be the most amazing, magical, and most fun u.s. city that i have visited thusfar in my life. such a combination of cultures and all kinds of people coming together for one common goal: to enjoy life.

With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?
-Oscar Wilde

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

yes, yes, yessss!

I loved following John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as the expectant couple they play search all over the U.S. for the best place to raise the new addition to their lives. I didn't even mind Maggie Gyllenhal's eccentric character. I definitely recommend this sweet summer film.

the big 5-0

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOTHER! CHEERS TO 50 YEARS!

Dreaming of Barcelona

Coming Soon....

Just a few movies coming out in the next couple of months that I am soo looking forward to!

FOR SALE

Goodbye to my sweet, nearly 60 years old, lovable, charming, cluttered, 4,000 sq. ft. home. You have been kind and patient. Although you have required many long hours of maintenance, labor, and costly repairs we have loved every minute of our lives with you. The spacious side and front yard provided John, Natalie, and I with forced yardwork many fall mornings. The kidney bean shaped swimming pool and large back porch helped me host many social functions during my high school years and provided entertainment for all of the cousins during the summer months. I will miss waking up early to dive into your cool, loving waters. I will miss my large navy blue bedroom decorated in a pale green and all sorts of blues. I will miss the old wooden shutters on my window that I would open each morning, first thing. I would put my hand against the window to test the weather then report to my sister. I will miss the sunroom, my favorite room in the house, with its pale yellow walls and inviting yellow and white plush sofas. I love it for its oversized bay windows and bamboo curtains that rolled up by a string, which I have never before seen. I love how the bookshelves in there are so full that the shelves literally are bent inwards due to the heavy weight. I hope you find a family or couple or individual that appreciates you, loves you, respects you, and doesn't change you too too much. xoxo, ags.

As mentioned before, my parents are selling the first home they ever bought. I just realized that in a small town it is likely that I will know the buyers. Oh, I hope not.

My Hometown & C'est La Vie

-Right now I am back in my sleepy, simple, (kind-of) hometown, Fayetteville. It is a quiet town. Not much to offer for a girl my age. That is why I don't really plan on telling my peers that I am in town. I am, however, staying with and spending time with my close family. Now that my summer job is over I retreated here for some r & r. While here I plan to check out the new library in town, catch up on some zzzz'z, play tennis with my cousins, decopauge my old dresser with maps, and work on my tan.

-I have just finished reading this charming book about an American journalist who relocates in Paris upon losing her husband to cancer. The author, Suzy Gershman is the lady behind the famous Born to Shop book series. In the book Suzy tries to adjust to her new life by first renting an apartment then spending the next year decorating it. As a fellow shopgirl I loved reading from this perspective. Her days were spent frequenting flea markets shopping for unique pieces or sitting in cafes for hours on end journaling and sketching. Oh to be Parisian!