as long as gabby

hello.

how are you?

i’m okay. i didn’t plan on taking such a lengthy blogging break. the last few days have been a blur of classes, errands, oolong tea, writing, hockey games, and schoolwork. it’s also been a very sad time: recently, my cat gabby died. she was the stray we’ve been taking care of for quite some time. if you’re a regular reader, you’re very familiar with her black markings and gravity defying antics (which i’ve catalogued on my flickr stream). we’re big cat people; we’ve looked after countless homeless kitties over the years (and of course have the three that live inside), but none ever stayed as long as gabby, or became part of our animal family in the same way. she was hit by a car right in front of me. it was wretched, devastating, and shocking. although i know there are many, many things in life more important than pets, it hit me very hard to lose her in such a violent way. i’m still reeling from it, days later, still expecting to find her paw prints in the snow or her pink nose sticking out of the house we built her on the porch. she was such a sweet, vivacious cat. i really, really miss her.

to be honest, the last two weeks have been rough for reasons besides gabby. things are starting to look up, though, so i’m concentrating on the good things happening right now, like my mother’s recent doctor’s appointment going well, my brand new turntable arriving in the mail, the pens maintaining their playoff position despite losing geno for the rest of the season (and an insane amount of other injuries), and taking these february-y photographs:

check out the rest on my flickr

what have you been up to, my darlings? please share anything exciting, boring, lovely, or mundane that happened…i want to know it all!

xo Alison

yet we still walk

A POEM + AN ANNOUNCEMENT…

Pine Cones

That was the night you talked about the moon
telling me it wasn’t really a moon,
but the Earth in the future
suspended in prescience,
as we ignored the baleful warning
and hung our wet stockings
on the goodnights of little children,
mistaking its foreshadowing for tidal waves.

And that was the morning I believed
in your gravity more than my levity,
when we watched geese re-alphabetize themselves
above our 3-speed Gran Torino,
unwrapped the plastic of a gas station
cheese danish and ate it
off the dashboard, writing the ballad
of the gum wrapper paper airplane
that crashed on its maiden voyage
out the back passenger window
into the pine cones down below.

We didn’t know that the calendar
would bring winter that would break
through The Sun Sessions record
into a soft, perpetual night
that chides my shoulders like a schoolmate,
when all the dogs have gone to bed
yet we still walk like lovers do,
naming every star Elvis
and every street sign home.

— by me

photo credits: one. two.

☁☁☁

hello, darlings! i thought it would be appropriate to post a some of my own work today because i have an announcement to make:

yesterday i received a very wet + crinkled acceptance letter from the university of pittsburgh!

i decided quite some time ago that i wanted to look for another university than the one i am currently attending to finish out my undergrad in creative writing. i decided on pitt (for many reasons) last year, but haven’t mentioned it too much because i am a huge believer in jinxes and messing with the universe. but the letter finally came, so i can finally share how THRILLED i am with you all. i’m going to pittsburgh!

i’ll be moving in august, and living on my own for the first time ever. i’m the standard amount of nervous + excited + nervously excited, and i’m also uber happy to know that i have all of you to share my upcoming adventures + experiences with. so thank you for all your love, support, and congratulations in advance! i wish we could have one gigantic meet-up so everyone could partake in the celebratory risotto + wine we’re having at my house, but since we can’t i’ll just send out several virtual hugs to you all :)

hope you’re all having a brilliant day!

xo Alison

rough + real

“like a glove // like the love // that had finally, finally found me

then i knew // in the CRYSTALLINE knowledge of you…”

~ crystal by stevie nicks

one of my favorite things about having a tumblr is browsing my own archive. i love the way they set it up, like bricks making up a garden wall or tiles on a kitchen floor. i look over it pretty often as it is constantly evolving with every image i post + reblog. it’s like a mosaic of my interests + aesthetics, a memory board of my specific style of inspiration.

i was looking through it recently, and just like i realized how much i really love photographs of coffee + tea (as evident here, here, and here), i also realized that i’ve been very smitten with precious stones, gemstones, amethyst, tourmaline, crystals, things from the earth lately. a year ago i dropped earth science because i was surrounded by post-secondary kids in a room that was overbooked by twenty seats, taught by a professor who barely spoke english teaching a subject i didn’t have to take, but apparently something stuck. the hallway leading to that classroom is lined with glass cases filled with these beautiful chunks of minerals, so rough + real. that was the only thing i liked about my brief encounter with natural science, and it evidently helped solidify, or maybe spark, my love of these old, almost magical objects.

here are some of my favorites…

{one. two. three. four. five. six. seven. eight. nine. ten. eleven. twelve. thirteen. fourteen. fifteen. sixteen. seventeen.}

☁☁☁

what materials have you been loving lately?

xo Alison

2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR, MY LOVELIES!

i hope you had a safe + wonderful new year’s eve celebration. ours was simple + low-key, which was exactly what i wanted this year. for those of you who read my personal blog, you know that i have an odd, fickle relationship with new year’s eve as a holiday in general, so i’m extra happy that it was so stress-free + satisfying this time around. i’m also happy to be spending new year’s day drinking coffee, uploading photos, watching my brother play x-box, and counting down the minutes until the 2011 NHL winter classic, which features my favorite boys this year in my favorite city. so far today has also included reflecting on the previous year, a year that started out pretty scary with my mother being diagnosed with cancer, but ended up being, overall, surprisingly fun, meaningful, inspiring, and memorable in the best ways possible. so, when i look back on 2010, i will be able to say…

…that was the year i

// discovered florence + the machine, mumford & sons, broken social scenes, laura marling, and local natives

// learned how to say “be careful!” and “climb down from” in latin

// watched the penguins go down in the 2nd round of the playoffs, and started my next season countdown far too early

// was given my very first DSLR camera, appropriately named dexter

// found out what chronic lymphocytic leukemia is

// watched a lot of dexter, BSG, 30 rock, better off ted, damages, mad men, the tudors, and united states of tara

// wrote a lot of poetry i’m actually pretty proud of

// saw my boys, the pittsburgh penguins, two rows from ice level, and two other times besides that

// maintained a good GPA + developed new academic contacts

// bought a lot of records, ballet flats, dishware, and bottles of nail polish

// had countless conversation about creative nonfiction + friendship + supernatural + hockey + psychology + the movie inception

// was lucky enough to see the swell season, bob dylan, hanson, and john mayer in concert (from pretty awesome seats, too)

// became OBSESSED with netflix (how did i ever live without it?)

// took hundreds of photos of coffee + tea, cemeteries, books, cats, shoes, clouds, and my little front porch

// turned twenty-two in my favorite place on earth: consol energy center

// reevaluated every priority i’ve ever had in life while spending countless hours in a squeaky, uncomfortable chair next to my mother’s hospital bed at the cleveland clinic

// wandered through shenandoah valley national park

// drank too many starry night shots + sang along too loudly to songs on the radio in bars on weeknights

// ate my weight in con queso, homemade risotto, and blueberry yogurt

// maintained such a lovely group of writer friends

// worked on being more flexible, brave, and even-tempered

// wasn’t lucky enough to travel very much or very far, but still managed to “go” to many new places

// gave into the smart phone craze, and bought a new laptop

// pinned down what i would like the next five years to be like, and started to make the right decisions to get myself there

// tumblrd, tweeted, and started a personal blog

// developed this blog into the super artistic explosion of random creativity + funk that it is now! (bwahahaha)

// reclaimed my status as the master of my fate, the captain of my soul

☁☁☁

i am already oozing with excitement to find out what 2011 has in store for me, my friends, and for all of you here. i am oh so happy to have “met” (most of) you all during this wildly unpredictable + wonderful, incredibly fast year. have a brilliant new year’s day!

xo Alison

baking + birthday

my 22nd birthday

in photos…

check out the rest on my flickr

☁☁☁

and words…

powdered sugar + hanson’s snowed in + hor d’oeuvres for dinner + twinkle lights + crinkle cookies + bursts of laughter + cooling racks + sexy stilettos + long island ice teas + white christmas at midnight + dozens of birthday wishes + an incredibly wicked hangover + my five favorite things as presents: wine, books, DVDs, jewelry, and hockey + snow flurries + coca cola cake + a crosby home jersey + the consol energy center for the first time + unobstructed, center ice seats + continuous “let’s go pens” and “geno” chants + a 6-1 blow out over my other favorite team, the coyotes + the incomparable exhilaration of witnessing a home game win for the first time EVER + late night eat’n park + more cakes, cookies, and risotto + the undeniable feeling of being content, grateful, happy, and deeply moved by the wonderful things i’ve found in my life (like you!)

☁☁☁

as christmas approaches, i hope you are all have a fantastic week doing whatever you love with the people you love the most!

xo Alison