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

creative crush

INES AMD

flickr | etsy | tumblr

i am very much inspired by ines amd’s work. she’s captured exactly the kind of quiet, cold moments i want to photograph myself this winter. i’m entranced by the mood in these, and the how incredibly rad is the setting? i’ve been drawn to such vivid, colorful images recently, which makes the whites + grays + soft, pale blues in these photographs beautifully refreshing. they make me want to pull on some boots, wrap a scarf around my neck tight, and step inside this world.

☁☁☁

by the by, i’m sorry to be so absent from the blog world the last few days. things are pretty well with my mom, but my coursework has been uber time-consuming. today everything is covered in ice so all classes have been cancelled, though, and i plan to spend my suddenly open day reading, writing, and catching up on all of your posts. maybe i’ll make a fort, too. i mean, it is a snow day. :)

xo Alison

yes, please!

GLEENA SHOP

shop gleena here

☁☁☁

hello, my darlings! sorry i’ve been somewhat absent this week. i’m still getting into the swing of the new semester which is proving to be quite busy already. plus, my mother is having some cancer-related tests done today, which weighs on my mind for a while beforehand, so to be honest it hasn’t been the most awesome of weeks. as of last night (which featured a much-needed night of theatre, cocktails, and funny friends), things are starting to look up though, so i’ll definitely be making time to catch up on blogs this weekend.

have a wonderful day!

xo Alison

*gleena first seen on creature comforts

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

bury the beat no. 15

FLORENCE + THE MACHINE

florence + the machine isn’t new to this blog. i even have a tag just for her. since 2010 is coming to a close, though, i thought i would feature the artists that made the deepest impression on me this year, the musicians that i played on the heaviest rotation, and that 2010 wouldn’t have been 2010 without. that definitely includes florence + the machine.

you know how people have albums that encapsulate a certain time in their lives? like when people say “holy crap, kate bush totally got me through freshman year of college”, or “dude, green day is the music of my first summer in wyoming”, things like that. for me, florence + the machine is the music of my mother’s cancer. i know, what a downer, right? but it’s really not. i heard her music for the first time within a couple of weeks of my mother being diagnosed, and instantly fell in love. the rest just came down to timing. and i’m thankful for that, because i’m not sure how i would’ve gotten through those first few months without florence + the machine. there is so much emotion + vibrancy + symphonic overload in her music that it’s incredibly easy to disappear into, or at least use as a fantastic distraction. and for that, her songs will always be close to my heart, and totally encapsulate the first few months of 2010.

so here’s florence…

find her here

☁☁☁

what were you musical tastes like this year?

xo Alison

p.s. in case you missed it…i started a new personal blog! you can read all about it here. ❤