stroll down memory lane...

every time i get a jcrew catalog i stop whatever i'm doing for at least 10 minutes to page through and check out the color schemes.... it's not that i really buy that many things from them, or even that i particularly like all of their shapes and sillouhettes, but the COLORS.

last week, when boone and i FINALLY went to post office box after about a week of putting it off, i found the new balinese vacation edition and promptly started devouring it cover to cover. here's the thing... first, i had an issue using children from bali as props for the shoot. then, as i looked at the photos i realized that boone and i had been to the exact same spot as the Ubud temple and monkey temple shots. cray-zy.

knowing that we'd actually been to the spots in the shoot made me also realize how awful it must have been to be a model wearing at least 3 layers of clothing on the beaches in equator heat...i could hardly stand to wear tank-top jersey dresses with flip flops, much less a tee-shirt, dress, and cardigan with closed toe leather flats all at once.

regardless, it was super fun to remember that at about this time two years ago boone and i were on a plane to singapore to see our nieces, and then took our jaunt to this most amazing island. thanks jcrew for the stroll down memory lane. and also, i'd really like the seafoam maxi skirt pictured above. for serious.

the perfect pattern...

i've always loved this japanese-style wave pattern (apparently it has a name, but i can't find it) but i lusted after batik silks painted with this pattern in bali, and while we were in singapore i bought two bowls for rice that look JUST like the one in the top left. i can't get enough of it's simplicity and fluidity. it just seems like the perfect zen pattern, right?

if i could find a duvet just like this one from crate & barrel that was grey and white for our bedroom i would just keel over and die.

images from here, here, here, and here, here.

"it looks like a screensaver!"

we watched couples retreat right before we left singapore and this quote kept popping into my mind when we got to sanur beach. i really don't have much to say about this part of our trip, except that we had a traditional balinese couples' massage for like $40 total (where hot hot hot spice mask is slathered all over your body and left to dry) the massage part was fantastic...but my skin didn't find the mask all that relaxing. Boone loved it, though.

the photos just say everything else...







everything except about the food. so, sanur also has tons and tons of small warungs, or food stalls along the beach. we drank bintang beer and sampled some piping hot roasted corn on the cob. (one slathered in butter, the other in sweet chili sauce. again, i tried something a little too hot for me).







it was a perfect beach vacation unlike any other i've ever had. if only destin or pensacola would get some seafood stalls or bars on their beaches...

we're off to bali!

whooo hoooo!!! honestly, i'm not much of a beach gal, but i'm pretty sure i'm going to LOVE this beach. i won't have computer access until we get back, so stay tuned for an update in a few days.
love,
biz

plum, peacock, & midnight blue...

ok, here goes my second try... my oldest friend, megan is getting married in december. she's always been the queen of glamor (i'm pretty sure she only owns ONE pair of shoes that aren't 4 1/2 high and those are her running shoes) anyway, i think she said midnight blue was her color of choice, and what looks better with midnight blue than plum and peacock?

and since the wedding is in winter and she and her honey are high society I mixed in some fancy details and thistles.... what do you think?

credits from left to right:
???, flightsoffancy, snippet&ink, swmag, luckyluxe, our labor of love, flightsoffancy, bdunlap, elizatriutt, swmag, sweetp flowers, little winter bride, our labor of love

relieving stress/sucking time

it's no secret that i've been a bit of a nuclear-sized mess recently. the thesis is looming (although coming along fairly well) my job and internship are getting busier, plus all my professors decided that they wanted to SIMULTANEOUSLY step up their assignment giving this semester. anyway, i'm feeling the crunch. so... just in case you're in the same place that i am I thought i'd pass along my 7 favorite ways to relieve stress and suck time. no one says these are healthy ways to do it or the right way to do it (you won't find exercise or yoga here) but they're my ways and they def. work for me...

#7 clean. everything. in my path.
this means the kitchen, the carpet, my tennis shoes, that stray dog i just saw, and every already- clean piece of clothing that maybe looks dirty or wrinkled. once my world is in order, i can relax. or at least get back to whatever it was i really and truly needed to be working on.

#6 bake something that smells good and involves flour or sugar or both.
obviously cooking usually takes a long time AND the eating will release endorphins or something, right? plus, then the kitchen will need to be cleaned again, resulting in more time to collect oneself before getting down to business

#5 take the longest, hottest bath
(even if you've already taken one) something about warm water relaxes me, and also signals to me that a shift has occurred and I need to kick myself into gear. maybe when my muscles are relaxed more blood gets to my brain for thinking?

#4 go on a long country road drive
i realize that this isn't good for the environment, and I also live in Atlanta now, so going on a country drive is a little harder these days, but revving up the stereo and rolling down the windows is the BEST way for me to chill out. Since living in the city, i've replaced "country driving" with walking around neighborhoods. not the same, but still sufficient.

#3 watch crappy, crappy tv
a few years ago, it was smallville, now it's NCIS. obvi, i always know what's going to happen and am HORRIBLY embarrassed when ANYONE catches me in the act, but when i'm freaked out about all i've got to do, sometimes turning off my brain for awhile makes me feel tons better.

#2 pray.
with someone, by myself, outloud...whatever. talking with God makes me feel so mellow... and makes me remember what's important. in fact, after a good prayer session, i'm usually so mellow i end up practicing my favorite way to suck time and relieve stress...

#1 take a loooong nap.

do you have a way to relieve anxiety or stress?

found here somewhere

in the navy...

i love navy walls... and i especially love shiny navy walls! keep it up mrs. howard

all around fab decor...

another stick tree!!!! LOVE it.

and, um, also i'm really in love the wooden table/painted chairs combo... how lucky for me that i actually have mismatched painted chairs under my dining room table right this moment AND that boone and i bought ourselves our very first SHARED piece of furniture at the auction part of the museum gala.... and it's a table that looks an awful lot like this one. hm. wonder if my man'll go for it?

photo from design is mine blog