autumn colors

My sweet roommate gave me these roses, which are now showing off on our mantel...

Love their color!  And I'm loving this weather!! Autumn, please stay a while! 

bittersweet

I am a huge fan of Shauna Niequist.  

I waited in childlike expectation to read her first book, Cold Tangerines, 

which I asked for this Christmas and devoured in the proceeding days.  

It's one of those books that made me grab a kleenex (or, as it were, a plane napkin) 

on one page, then laugh out loud on the next page, over and over again.  

Her heart and mine are on the same beat.  

So needless to say, I'm thrilled that she's released a new book: 

photo courtesy of Shauna's blog

Can't wait to get a copy of this one in my hands!

eric carle birthday parties

True story: there was a point in my life when I knew every word to The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  I'm still a huge Eric Carle fan, and it thrilled me to see this a whole line of party supplies at Target!

vanilla amber

Meet my new favorite candle!  It makes my room smell divine!

birthday aprons

Friday was my birthday day at work!  I was welcomed to the office by a very colorful cube and a whole lot of bagels and kolaches and smiles.  As I've somehow been deemed "the baker" in my department, everyone signed an apron that I had to wear all day long.  A bunch of us went to lunch at Olive Garden, and after work, I got to pick up my dad from Love Field.  It was a great day-before-my-birthday - I felt so special! 

my apron!

streamers everywhere

my cube was wrapped in birthday paper!

the envelope of my sweet card - everyone signed it!

surprise pomegranates

 

A bush has been sitting discreetly on the other side of my bedroom window for the last few months, giving our front yard a much-needed bit of green.  The other day, the thing decided to produce pomegranates! Some iced pomegranate tea is in order! 

SWA birthdays

At Southwest Airlines, we do birthdays the right way.  My friend Liz at work was born twenty-something years ago yesterday, and it was quite event.  Balloons, crepe paper, banners, big breakfast, department lunch, the whole bit.  To top it off, we my coworker Jorge created this magazine cover of Liz:  

Great right!?  It was a total surprise to her! Copies were all over our department... including the big poster below on the door into our part of the building... so we were all welcomed by Liz's pretty face from yards away.

My birthday is this Saturday, and needless to say, I'm getting a little nervous about tomorrow...

yellow pillows

This handsome pillow is one of a pair that live on the couch in our living room.  Love the texture and the contrast of the yellow against the blue.... my eyes smile a little every time I see it.

Oh you look so beautiful tonight...

[photo courtesy of solarcrash.com]

In my recent reobsession with U2's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb album, I was enlightened that the song City of Blinding Lights is (in part) about New York City.

This made me happier than most anything in the world.

Actually doubly happy because, unbeknownst to me, U2 put on a surprise concert under the Brooklyn Bridge - i.e. five minutes from where I lived this spring (see video below) - on the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album tour.

City of Blinding Lights one of those songs that transcends boundaries, as U2 songs can. It was used in World Cup commercials this year that still give me chills.

That first line of the chorus came from U2's first concert in New York City after 9/11. When the stage lights scanned a crowd of people who had tears streaming down their faces, Bono said, "Oh, you look so beautiful tonight." This line was written into the lyrics. Later, Bono went on to say: "It is such a naïve and innocent line. That's what this song is about, remembering those times ... It's not necessarily a curse, it's that part of us is missing. It's about recapturing a sense of wonder, being in a city and reminding yourself that you don't have to lose your soul to gain the world."

toms

I went grocery shopping today in my TOMS, and this outing was the first time I'd worn the little guys in quite a while. I own a single pair of TOMS (purchased from Whole Foods - this is still funny to me) and we have an on-and-off relationship. Today I was reminded how comfortable they are, and I think they're about to get a lot more love this fall. The TOMS website has so many designs these days - I especially love the Cordones!

[thanks, Hipstamatic]

Dallas farmer's market

Mal and I dropped by the farmer's market downtown this afternoon. We had a great time wandering around in the heat and feasting our senses on all of the produce. We practically stole some gorgeous strawberries, and after tasting the tomatoes homegrown in Kilgore, Texas, we couldn't resist bringing some home.

Classic.

Baby plants for our new herb garden

Mexican Coke - the best!

Love finding places like this in Dallas! 

visitors

This beautiful bouquet is from my roommate Mallory's friend Andrew, who couch crashed at our place this week:

Andrew was in town for a job interview, and the three of us spent evenings drinking Mexican hot chocolate and riding in his new Jeep and watching greatest-hits episodes of Oprah. It was fun having another roommate for a few days, and I'm crossing fingers that the interview went well! His delicious parting gift to us were these cake balls:

back at it.

Well folks, after a moderately long blog hiatus, I'm back at it. In New York no more; I've since graduated from Baylor and am working for Southwest Airlines in Dallas. So, major life transition hurdle crossed, I'm ready to settle into my semi-adult life and blog about day-to-day things. Which begins, happily enough, with this giraffe costume that I saw yesterday at Target:

Cutest thing ever, right?!

So many good things to come!