bear jammin'.

i just cannot get enough of podington bear!

c.

postal.

muchas gracias dahnita y allison!
me gusta el tesoro de Cozumel. tambien nosotros quieres mucho.

hasta el viernes,
c.

sweet treats.

over the weekend i was fortunate enough to catch up with these two lovely ladies.
i wish i could spend more & more & more time with you squirrely girlies!

and upon my arrival in houston my gem of a roommate gave me this prize. it is now sitting on my desk at work, anxiously awaiting the new year. i just cannot get enough of these pastry illustrations. i plan to unveil the art at the beginning of each month so that you can enjoy it with me!



the people in my life are fantastic! or, as amy would say, they are spectacular!

c.
(photo courtesy of miss whitney radley, perpetual bundle of laughs & adventure)

to the duffels!

congratulations to the newly married mr. & mrs. christopher & melissa duffel.
i wish you both a lifetime of happiness together!


it was such a wonderful reception from the dancing to the dinner to the toasts to the cans of shiner bock we attached to your getaway car!
i miss everyone already.

enjoy the honeymoon!

c.

icing on the cake!

as if i wasn't excited enough to attend dahnya & francis' destination wedding in mexico--tonight she made me an offer i simply could not refuse!



in true dahnya fashion, she came to dinner bearing sugarbaby's cupcakes!


this is going to be so much fun!
(apologies for the shoddy photos. unfortunately my camera is on the fritz!)

c.

what a weekend!

my oh my! what a weekend it was.

i went to bed early on friday in order to rest adequately for my big run on saturday. i run with a couple of girls from work, and we decided to reward ourselves for our saturday runs by planning a route that finishes at a delicious breakfast restaurant. it makes a run so much easier if you can see sweet, french toast awaiting you at the finish line.

when i returned home, allison informed me that her parents received last-minute astros tickets & off we went to the 6:05 against milwaukee. while the astros lost terribly, we won wonderfully! one minute i am watching the game, and the next minute i am broadcast on the big screen being asked to guess hunter pence's favorite vacation destination. my answer: cabo. thankfully, hunter's answer was cabo as well, and now me +1 guest (allison!) are researching what time of year we should take our trip to the sunny, western coast of mexico. can you imagine!?!



yesterday, we rode our bikes to the first annual FreePressSummerFest. this acl-inspired concert turned out to be a lovely day of listening to music from the top of the hill, watching the crowd dance, sing & mingle, and enjoying $5.00 beer with friends (which was justified by the fact that we had to purchase the beer with kicky converse tickets).

on weekends like this, i could not think of a better place to live.

c.

dated post.

a friend of mine gave me these postcards from the early 1900's. sent from new york to various locations, these are two of my favorites in the collection.





i find it so interesting that handwriting is an indicator of the time period. those stamps & post marks are treasures. i like to imagine the journey that these little post cards have made. i also like to imagine Miss Ethel & Miss Mary as they received these gems.

addicted to antiquity,
c.

sorting, seating & sharing.

i am currently sorting through the pages that i tear from magazines according to what inspires me, and i came across this delicate table setting. the subdued hues of these romantic colors transports me to another era.

i think that i will file this page under 'victorian valor' in my archives.



following a conversation that i had with chih-ping (a co-worker) during our team lunch last friday, he surprised me with a portion of the dinner that he & his wife made last night. chih-ping was sharing his chinese-vegetarian recipes with me, and he was thoughtful enough to save a sample for me to taste-test. it was a delicious pressed bean curd with parsley, sesame oil & a few other ingredients. light & tasty! though chih-ping (and i assume his wife as well) are quite health conscious, i said thank you with a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies. i snuck in some nutella & cinnamon as a special treat to satisfy their sweet tooth.

it was such a nice day.
c.

delicious decor.

i have recently been collecting various illustrations of pastries, desserts & the like from the bakeries that i visit during my travels. i have grand plans that i can someday fill a kitchen with beautifully framed depictions of decadent treats!

my favorites have a vintage feel with poppy colors!



(an acquisition from the hummingbird bakery in london).

c.

delightful.

i simply cannot get enough of this delightful little toy!
it's just so neat!

snacking on edamame after a sunny sunday of cleaning, grocery shopping & reading.
what a lovely weekend.

c.

hello august!

yes, it's here. can you believe it?!

a happy belated birthday to the dearest of friends, leilita.



after 7 years of friendship--you continue to amuse me.
i.e.
eating a baby onion....
whole....
at your birthday dinner....
for $1.00.
(aftermath pictured below)



i recently bought pride & prejudice (featuring kiera knightly & matthew mcfayden). in a week's time i've watched it 3 times & continually fight the urge to read the book once again. i'm still running through sedaris, and i would like to finish prior to diving into the world of mr. darcy, etc., once again.

i doubt i will make it another week without reaching for my crumpled, creased copy of pride & prejudice. it's just so tempting.

c.