WOW. That’s fab.

I’m a blogstalker. It’s true. I like reading about other people’s lives, seeing other people’s photography, and finding out what inspires other people. Reading blogs gives me a fresh perspective on life, art, and just being. I have a number of favorites I follow daily, and there is always something that makes me go, WOW. That’s fab.

There is too much greatness out there for me to be the only one enjoying it all, so today I will share some lovely, fun, inspiring things with you…Enjoy!

The Shadow Project, by Color Me Katie, just makes me smile every time I see it. SO creative, and such a happy way to make art. Check out her whole blog, it’s such a spirit-lifter.

Decorated Bookcases, from A Cup of Joe, are what I will have in my house someday. I’ve always said I want floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and I love the idea of decorating them with more than just books. I pretty much love everything I find on that site.

Jessica Claire’s wedding, everything about it! Those details…wow. Jessica is one of my favorite photographers and I follow her blog daily. I guess after shooting so many weddings, you really know how to plan one! Oh and check out her wedding invitations…to die for!

Illustrated Missed Connections, by Sophie Blackall, are fascinating. Obviously I have a soft spot for the Craigslist Missed Connections.

Underwater Engagement Photos, taken by Steep Street, found on Green Wedding Shoes. Does it get more creative than that?? So cool!

This hair piece, and really everything made by Twigs and Honey. Someday I will buy something made by Myra. Each piece is just exquisite.

This wedding video, by Shade Tree Films. I literally teared up over this couple who I’ve never even met. I’m eagerly waiting for the Packet of Awesomeness in the mail too…sounds exciting to me!

Jasmine Star’s photography blog. Because she’s amazing, and her story inspires me. And her photography is just FAB.

One of my new fascinations is the craft blog, A Little Gray. The craftmaker/blogger is Jessica Rider, a girl I went to high school with, back when she was Jessica McTaggert and her boyfriend was Nick Rider. I remember having Government class with them when I was a freshman and they were seniors, and I was completely intimidated by their coolness (they were actually SUPER nice to me despite my lowly freshman status). Apparently the coolness lasted well after high school, because now they are married, have an adorable baby, and Jessica is crafty like nobody’s business!  

The yellow shows this bride wore are divine. Courtney Fries is one of the first photographers I started following online, and I fell head over heels in love with her photography, and her writing.

The Blog is Found. Uh.Maze.Ing. I want to know this family. I love their eye for architecture in their photos, and their composition is just so gosh darn creative. Someday I want to attend one of their Shootshops…putting that on the to-do list right now in fact…

The intro to Jesh De Rox’s portfolio site gives me the chills. The first time I was a Stargazing Ladybug, and that just touched something inside me, tickled my insides and made me smile. I got Todd to do it too, and now we make up names for each other depending on our moods. Today he called me his Dreaming Caterpillar, and he was my Dancing Seahorse.

Ok, that’s enough for today. I could go on forever, so maybe this will become a regular post I do–sharing the things that make me smile each week. In fact, Cup of Jo  posts links on her blog every Friday so that people have things to look at over the weekend. I may not do this every week, but I like the concept of sharing inspiration and smiles.

Let me know if you find anything inspiration on the web too! I’d love to see what makes you go WOW. That’s fab.

P.S. Hammocks are ALWAYS fab.

Rub a dub dub…

Lexie was in the tub!

 

Distant Dreamer

If I didn’t think I would bore you, I would probably post song lyrics every day on my blog. There is usually some song, some lyric, some tune that really captures my current mood. I promise I won’t make you read song lyrics every day, but just humor me today.

To preface…My best friend Jess and I have always referred to ourselves as dreamers. It makes sense to us, and defines us in a way that few people understand.

Today I am a dreamer. I feel landlocked, I feel like I can taste things that are hopefully in the not-so-distant future, but I can’t quite grasp them. They aren’t tangible yet, just teasing my heart.

I also knew that putting one toe on foreign soil would starting the rippling in my mind again…the bubble thoughts that drift through my mind with shimmering visions of far away lands, that burst in a shower of mist when I realize how truly far away they remain. I ache for places that aren’t here.

“Distant Dreamer” by Duffy

Although you think I cope,
my head is filled with hope…
of some place other than here.

Although you think I smile,
inside all the while…
I’m wondering about my destiny.

I’m thinking about,
all the things,
I’d like to do in my life.

I’m a dreamer,
a distant dreamer,
dreaming for hope, from today.

Even when you see me frown,
my heart won’t let me down,
because I know there’s better things to come.

And when life gets tough,
I feel I’ve had enough,
I hold on to a distant star,

I’m thinking about,
all the things,
I’d like to do in my life…

I’m a dreamer,
A distant dreamer,
dreaming for hope from today.

Yeah, I’m a dreamer.

 

Dreaming in Venice…

Photo by Jesslinn

I was on vacation, so it couldn’t be that bad.

I had to choose between editing photos from my cruise and cleaning my apartment that I trashed in the process of packing for said cruise. Um, I picked photo editing. Duh.

So, here I am, no longer on a boat, and still trying to figure out what exactly I want to tell all you lovely people reading this right now. I’m pretty much a dork, so when I got back, one of my first thoughts was “What am I going to write on my blog??” This question crossed my mind because I don’t have a raving review for you. I am torn between being upbeat and positive, providing a little escapism for you via descriptions of a delightful and sunny vacation, or just being honest with you about the things that weren’t so great. I don’t think this blog would be worth reading if I fake how I feel about things, so how about I be honest first, and then I’ll throw a little positivity into the mix to make sure I don’t depress you on an already rainy Tuesday.

Honest Wendy:

I don’t think cruises are my thing. There is not much to do besides gamble (Did this a little–don’t worry, Mom, not alot–and lost. Losing sucks.), drink, and wander aimlessly around a packed lido deck, realizing sadly that you will never find an open chair to enjoy the semi-warm sun. Oh, and add to that the unseasonably cold weather, not leaving the Tampa marina til 11:00 on the first night instead of 4:00, feeling dizzy most of the time from the rocking boat, and the general lack of classy people (It’s Spring Break time. Should have known.), and not-working amenities (ie, the hot tubs were all broken)…let’s just say I was less than impressed.

So, not thrilled with this choise of vacay. I won’t lie to you, I’m not known for being the most positive person. In fact, I have to work hard in situations like that to not just pout and be basically miserable to be around. I wish I was more of a glass-half-full kind of girl, but I’m not–unless I work at it, hard. I have to put a little extra effort into being positive, which is what I’m going to use the rest of this blog to do. It will be like therapy…I will stop complaining about what I didn’t like about the cruise, since I got that off my chest already, and I will share some of the truly good moments of the trip.

Positive Wendy:

First of all, this guy. He’s pretty awesome, and his hat was the coolest on the ship. I think he wore it every waking moment, and even during some naps.

The inside of the ship was….interesting. I expected opulence, but not necessarily the “Vegas-on-acid” kind. However, positive point: That elevator was see-through, and I like see-through elevators.

When we got to my room, I was giddy with excitement over the portholes! It was always fun to be able look over and see the ocean racing by.

While we were stuck in the Tampa harbor on the first day, our view was a shipyard repair area. Sounds blah, but at night you could see welding sparks dancing off the bows of ships, and the spotlights made a gorgeous reflection on the water. You can’t see it in this photo, but the moon was also HUGE and orange, and it was really peaceful watching it as we waited for sail away.

When we docked in Cozumel, it was early in the morning and pretty cloudy outside. The clouds actually made for a really striking background as I snapped shots of our ship, so I’m glad it wasn’t perfectly blue skies. And how amazingly huge is that boat?? It was a little surreal to stand beside the boat, trying to take it all in at once. How in the world does that thing float??

I love me some sun rays coming through clouds. Combine that with the bow of a giant ship, and I’m a happy girl.

 

I love the details on ships. I’ve always been a sucker for anything ship/sea-related…probably because The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was my favorite book when I was little.

Fun details in Mexico as we made our way through the touristy shopping district.

Ah, the beach. The water really was that blue, and crystal clear. Positive thing to note: Even though I didn’t bring a towel (dumb, I know), I managed to find that blue cushion thing I’m laying on, and it basically saved my day. Sooo comfortable…I took a couple of naps on it, and they were heavenly.

The beach in Cozumel was all-inclusive–all you can eat and drink. One of the best things about the cruise was the abundance of super delicious, super fruity drinks. This pina colada was YUM.

When I wasn’t sipping fruity deliciousness, napping in a hammock, eating Mexican food, or getting a massage (that’s right, I got a massage on the beach, and it was divine), I was wandering around the beach with my camera.

Last but not least, my favorite lemonade-from-lemons moment. On the last day at sea, the pool area was so crowded that I truly couldn’t find anywhere to sit. So, I went back to my cabin and made a  nest in the porthole window-seat. I curled up with a book (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), determined that if I couldn’t sit in the sun by the pool, I would sit with a view of the ocean and enjoy the sun streaming through the portholes. It was actually quite lovely and possibly the most relaxing moment I had on the ship.

I’ll borrow Todd’s explanation of the whole experience: “It was ok, not great. But hey, I was on vacation, so it couldn’t be that bad.”

Getting My Land Legs Back

I’m back! And I think I might need another vacation to recover from my vacation. Not gonna lie, I do not have the energy to blog about the cruise at the moment…but no fear, I will have plenty of photos to post from the trip sometime this week. Perhaps tomorrow, but if not tomorrow, later this week for sure. For now, I’ll give you a teaser photo….ah, Mexico!

28 hours from now…

…I will be on a boat. No,not one with T-Pain and Andy Samberg, but I will definitely have my flippy floppies with me! I am going on my first cruise EVER with the Todd and four of our good friends to Cozumel!! That’s right…I will be soaking up the sun (however much gets through my 50 spf sunscreen…what? I burn easily!), drinking something fruity and delicious, and getting some much-needed relaxation. I’m thinking book by the pool and umbrella in my drink…does life get any better than that??

I’m pretty much flipping out excited, not only to go on the cruise, but also to go to Mexico! I am definitely a travel enthusiast, and I definitely do not get to do enough of it. I’ve never been to Mexico, so even though it will only be one day, and even though I probably won’t get more than a mile inland…it’s a country I’ve never been to, and I’m stoked.

So, in honor of me getting to travel, which makes my heart happy, here are some photos from my favorite place I’ve ever traveled to, Cinque Terre, Italy. I’m not even going to tell you anything about it, because I plan on actually writing a whole post about Cinque Terre someday, but I’ll leave you with a few beachin’ photos (hehe…see what I did there?) from that trip that are getting me excited about some Cozumel sand and sun.

Watch Out, Paula Dean

Those of you who know me well know that I am not known for my fabulous cooking skills. I can follow a recipe (sort of–I call my mommy every five seconds to ask question), and I do cook for myself now and then, but overall, my cooking abilities are what you would call low. I chalk it up to lack of experience, as I balked at the idea of anything cooking-related as a child, much to my mother’s disappointment. I was zero help in the kitchen. I also chalk it up to my tendency towards being a perfectionist. It really irks me when food doesn’t come out exactly like it was supposed to, or when I don’t time the dishes correctly and the chicken is done but the rice is still cooking and the steamed veggies are getting colder by the minute. Ugh…hate that, and due to the aforementioned lack of experience…it happens more often than I would like.

So, since my cooking skills are sub-par, and I happen to have a boyfriend with chef-tastic cooking skills (he could probably throwdown with Bobby Flay), I tend to leave the cooking to him. When I ask what we (er, HE!) should make for dinner, he’ll pause for the smallest moment and then he’ll bust out something like, well how about fish tacos? Fish tacos! As in, we went and bought fresh fish and all sorts of veggie-like things I don’t know the names of, then he cooked the fish and made a slaw to put on it and made other deliciousness I couldn’t even explain. Just busted it out, no big deal. Blows my mind every time.

However. This post is not about Todd’s fabulous cooking abilities. This post is about my cooking accomplishment this past weekend. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen…I made breakfast. Don’t roll your eyes! This was a big accomplishment for me. I made bacon, eggs, and pancakes! And, get this….it was actually delicious!! Todd looked up between scrumptious bites and said, “I think this is the first time you’ve cooked for me in the entire year we’ve been together.” Wow. Uh…so, maybe I cook even less than I thought. I’m gonna beg off that one because we were long distance for 10 of those 12 months, but still. I need to get my cook on WAY more often. So, Paula Dean…watch out! I’m going to rival your cooking skills one of these days. You just watch!

Deliciousness in progress…

And the tasty result. And yes, that is a heart-shaped pancake you see. I like to put a little love in my food. Oh, and there are silver dollar pancakes too…shoutout to my Dad, who makes the best silver dollar pancakes you ever did see!

Any thoughts on a (easy) dish I should tackle next? Anything goes…breakfast, dinner, dessert…you name it, I’ll attempt it!