be still my heart...

Over the weekend I spotted these lovely shoes and now I can't stop thinking about them.

And because I'm sick and bored I've been indulging in my boot obsession and found these.

I'm on a quest for the perfect lace up boot and these rank pretty high. It's surprisingly hard to find boots without a side zipper, so these get bonus points for that.

And there you have it. Shoe searches and hot tea have been about the most exciting things in my life over the past few days. Here's hoping both my cold and the rainy weather clear up soon.

*Shoes from here. Boots from here.

monday music: owen pallett

I can't say I'm all that familiar with the subject of this week's music post, but I think that's about to change. I've listened to Owen Pallett's (formally known as Final Fantasy) music before, but only here and there. However, today as I was doing my radio show I happened to read through the lyrics booklet for his new album Heartland, and found myself absolutely captivated. His lyrics have a poetic quality that I'd never quite noticed before and it's given me a whole new appreciation for his music.

Here is the passage from his song, The Great Elsewhere, that caught my attention today:

Thought I saw you in my tea leaves
Thought I saw you in a forest flame
I'll fill up the silence with the sound of your holy name

Knowledge of the sea-ways, knowledge of how the water flows
Whoever coined the phrase has never had to brave the snow
I climbed the shroud to the top-sail and I peeked through the glass
The curvature bisected by the wintry mizzen mast

The scar upon my stomach, I call it my Flying V
And every time I show it I can feel your eyes on me
How many islands will surrender to the blunderbuss?
And how long must we sail before you show your face to us?

Isn't that beautiful? It calls to mind so many images for me.

His new album, Heartland, is out now and I can't wait to listen to the whole thing. You can also check out the Take Away Show that he did.

the smallest signs

It is still very cold out. Today was sunny but the wind was icy and it felt very much like winter still. But there are small signs of hope cropping up here and there.

In the morning when I first wake up I can hear birds singing. Today I saw the first buds on the tiny snowdrops that are popping up in the garden at work.

They are small things, but they make me happy as we head into the weekend.

Mariclare's new tattoo.

snow and cookies

Last week's blizzard ended up being a total flop around these parts, leaving barely any snow behind. But, with very little fuss or excitement, snow came upon us quietly last night and today everything is fresh and white. And I am prepared to sit inside this afternoon with a new book and a plate of these.

I was inspired to try out this recipe by the half full bags of chocolate chips floating around our pantry. It's a rare thing in our house not to have a bag of them lying around somewhere, and we have a habit of opening them whenever chocolate cravings take hold... which happens quite often in a house full of girls.

These cookies are a perfect blend of chocolatey goodness. That's not a very eloquent description, I know, but just trust me when I say that they're good. Really good. And you should probably go make some now.

monday music: dark dark dark

I'm especially excited to bring you this week's music post because it's about one of my very favorite bands. I first saw Dark Dark Dark perform years ago in a tiny artists collaborative downtown. There were only a few people there and it's still one of my favorite shows I've ever been to. Their lyrical, haunting music captured my attention immediately, while at the same time lulling everyone who was listening into dreamlike state. That's the kind of magic they create with their music.

I was so impressed that I ended up buying an accordion off of ebay about a week later. I still don't know how to play it, but I remain fascinated.

Now the band has a new EP available, with plans to release their second LP this fall! Bright Bright Bright is available to listen to and download here. I also highly recommend you check out their first full length album from 2008, The Snow Magic.

*note: these last two images are stills from the film "Flood Tide", which you can learn more about here.

all around, day seven: the day itself

Today looked something like this.

It was a very good day.

all around, day six: photobooth love

all around, two days in one: pinks and reds

Thursday always seems to get away from me, so today I have two images to make up for missing yesterday. They are two of my favorites that I've taken recently.

The color tones associated with Valentine's Day can seem garish if you go by the decorations that are up in some stores right now. But when you take some of the flash away, I think pinks and reds go together beautifully.

if dreams came true...

...my wardrobe for this spring and summer would look something like this.

I am liking the stripes and flowers of this sweater.

And the color of this skirt.

I would love to dress things up with these bright heels.

This shirt is like a watercolor painting.

It is high time I had a pair of jean shorts again.

I guess I'm really loving orange things right now.

These shoes would make me happy.

It's time for a new bathing suit! This shade reminds me of sea foam.

I don't know how it would look on me, but this tank looks like it would be wonderfully comfy and light on a hot summer day. Remember those?

all around, day three: at sunset

Bouquet of roses on my mom's kitchen table. The light from sunset came through the window like this for about a minute and I was just fast enough to catch it before it faded.

of puzzles and pancakes

Tuesdays are our lazy morning. The boy doesn't work until afternoon and I don't work at all so, without really meaning to, Tuesday mornings have become our morning to indulge in breakfast and laze about doing little things. This week a puzzle has been obsorbing our attention. Although, truthfully, he's put a lot more work into it than I have. I've been thinking more about pancakes.

Ages ago I spent a few weeks trying to find the perfect pancake recipe. I went through every cookbook in my mother's collection and tested them all out on my brother and myself. He was very pleased with the whole arrangement, but I was less than impressed. Until I came across the recipe in The Clueless Vegetarian for whole wheat buttermilk pancakes. They had a hearty flavor from the whole wheat flour, but they were so light and fluffy that I could eat more than one without feeling like I'd consumed a bowling ball. For years this has been my go to pancake recipe.

The thing is, everyone needs a change now and then. That's when I started thinking about buckwheat.

I tried a few recipes out, but they didn't quite have what I was looking for. So in the end I decided to go back to my old favorite and adapt it. I'm very happy with the results and the recipe fits in quite well on Tuesday mornings.

Buttermilk Buckwheat Pancakes

adapted from Evelyn Raab's recipe

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 3/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 tbsp. oil

Mix your dry ingrediants together in a large bowl. Then add the buttermilk, egg and oil. Whisk.

Heat a griddle and grease with oil or butter. Pour the batter on about 1/4 cup at a time until you reach desired pancake size. Spread the batter to create an even layer. Cook until the top just starts to bubble and then flip and cook on other side until golden.

all around, day two: kumquat love

A bright day, sunny fruit, and a pack of polaroid film. Perfect.

monday music: love mix (all around day one)

I have something a little bit special planned for this week. For each day from now until Valentine's I will be doing a picture post with the theme of love in mind. I know there are plenty of people out there who don't particularly enjoy this day, and I must admit there have been years when I wasn't all that thrilled about it either. But for the most part it's something I really like to have fun with, and this week I wanted to share some images of what it represents for me. But since today is Monday and I usually do a music post, I decided to make a love-themed mix to get things started!

For almost three years now I've had a radio show at the local college station. And for each of those years I've done a special Valentine's Day show. Of course, since love songs are so plentiful, it can be hard to choose which ones I want to play! But there are a few I keep coming back to each year as favorites for one reason or another. I hope you enjoy these sweet songs as much as I do.

(image by Matt?!)

dream home

When I was thirteen, I wanted to live inside a Hobbit hole. I'm completely serious. I even had a book on how to build your own underground home. Of course, I also wanted to learn how to speak elvish and could quote Lord of the Rings poems. Geeky? Well, yes. But honestly, who wouldn't want to live in a house like this?

This lovely family built their own home in Wales and it is exactly the sort of place I still dream of living. You can read more about their amazing project here.

(via A Cup of Jo)

to the beach!

I had the idea for a post all planned out in my head for yesterday. I had a whole bunch of pictures of pretty, pretty clothes for summer ready to go... but instead I went to the beach.


We've been wanting to visit the beach to take pictures and roam around in the salty air for a while now, and yesterday was one of those magical days where everything just worked out perfectly without too much effort. At about noon, acting on our spur of the moment inspiration, we threw some food into a bag and then threw ourselves in the car and got on the road.

Of course, I brought along some other things as well. And by things I mean cameras. Because it's pretty much impossible for me to travel anywhere without at least five different cameras in tow. Most of the film I won't get back for a little while yet, but I did manage to use up one roll that I'll get back today. Of course I had my trusty sx-70 with me as well, so I figured I'd share those images with you today. The cold does funny things to polaroid film, especially when it's as expired as this pack was, but I like the effects.

Even though it was cold and windy and there was snow mixed in with the sand, going to the ocean made February feel so much better.

an indoor life

I hate to admit it, but the cold is getting to me. I made it through the early months of winter in fine form, but now I'm longing for fresh flowers and summer clothes. On the bright side, February is the shortest month and March usually has some pleasant days to tide us over. I suppose half the joy of spring is in the anticipation.

For now, I'm spending most of my time indoors.