hushed.

RAINY/GREY

the world feels hushed in my corner of the world. it’s been dark + dreary all day, and in the afternoon it started raining cold, november rain, the kind that tries so hard to be snow. i’m thankful to be tucked up inside, writing about the role of mimesis in Thomas Wyatt’s poetry, and partaking in these rainy day staples ::

// a mug of extra hot tea with sugar + half’n'half

// damien rice, the swell season, quiet coldplay, and acoustic john mayer

// an excessive amount of fig + spiced pear candles

// slippers, sweatpants, a huge penguins shirt, and several blankets

// a fresh batch of creamed chipped beef on toast

// jane eyre, a moleskine notebook, and katharine hepburn movies

// these lovely images

{photo credits: one. two. three. four. five.}

☁☁☁

what are your rainy day necessities?

xo Alison

clever, kind

good evening, my dears

first off, thank you so very much for all the words of love + support for me and my mother. it means oodles. seriously. and secondly, on the leukemia front: nothing is concrete yet, but they are starting chemotherapy soon. the when part is still vague, it could still be a few more months, but that’s unlikely.

that’s all i can think to type. to borrow an idiom of my dear friend erin, the rest is unbloggable. and for some reason i can’t get cat stevens’ wild world out of my head.

hmm.

one more thing…to be honest, since the diagnoses in january, i’ve pulled away from my “real life” friends a bit. i threw myself into my school work, into the solace of penguins hockey + italian food + shoe shopping, into the arms of a few close friends, into the heart of irish music + the bottom of a coffee pot + and my blog. i’m really not sure what i would have done the last few months without my camera, my moleskine, and my incredible readers. i have a feeling it wouldn’t have been pretty.

basically, i’m not sure what comes next. i know what i’m doing tomorrow, which is a start. i also know that i have a lovely community here of clever, kind people, which is extremely comforting. so…

thank you

{again}

here are some other things that are keeping me going ::

collages of inspiration

photo credits: set one. set two. set three.

❤❤❤

the best video i’ve seen in years

❤❤❤

beautiful words

Morning

Why do we bother with the rest of the day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,

then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?

This is the best—
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso—

maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins—
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,

and if necessary, the windows—
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse
in the early morning.

— Billy Collins

❤❤❤

these random things

credits: photo + book // photo + tea // photo + music

❤❤❤

i can’t wait to catch up on everyone’s blogs this week. hugs & kisses. :)

xo Alison

five.senses.friday: sunshine + silhouette

tasting :: a second cup of seattle’s best coffee

feeling :: the tension of final exams + term papers coming up

hearing :: nhl live playing on the t.v. pretty much 24/7

smelling :: a simple white bar of dove soap

seeing :: this video {yes, i have yet to stop gushing about it}

and for good measure, here’s my sixth sense, capturing ::

my corner

breakfast

inside my bag

love that zipper

gazebo

gorgeous!

railing shadow

sunshine + silhouette

my nickname

mama’s!

heaven is full of these sandwiches

hope you have a lovely weekend ❤

cheers [darlin']

Alison

supermarket moment: painted on the saucers

we’ve changed our clocks…

…which means we’re one step closer to the official arrival of spring. i can feel it in my bones. i have a significant urge to organize my shoes and purses, clean out my make.up bag, buy fresh flowers, and drink peach tea from delicate teacups, the ones with thin fragile handles and tiny tulips painted on the saucers. spring makes me wish i could draw, really draw, and sketch, and paint. i can doodle like a fiend and make plain things pretty with my colored pencils and ultra thin sharpies, but nothing worth sharing. nothing worth going to the local craft store to stock up on yellow handled filbert brushes or investing in a dozen oil paint tubes for or even a moleskine sketch pad. so, i think i’ll surround myself with those who can instead, and in the meantime stick to what i do best: write, study, watch trashy lifetime movies, and take pictures of the irreverent.

here are some other things i love about this sunday ::

:: letting my ultra long locks air dry for the first time in too long

:: catching the end of the cutting edge, my all-time favorite guilty pleasure movie

:: having a late afternoon coffee and pastarie run with my mom

:: the SXSW goodies starting to pour in

:: my huge VS pink floppy bag i’ve pulled out for spring that i could easily fit my entire life inside and still have room to tuck in a pair of flip.flops

:: a 5pm puck drop, which means i’ll have time to watch billy elliot afterwards

::  the remaining patches of ice that are hanging on in the shadows in an admirable sort of way

:: making plans for tomorrow’s trip to pittsburgh, my other home

:: listening the tanya davis, being thrown back to prince edward island and its red dirt and overflow of lighthouses

:: these spring inspired supermarket finds…

cheers [darlin']

Alison

unkempt rowboats

don’t threaten me with love, baby.

let’s just go walking in the rain.

~ billie holiday

it’s raining here. it’s raining wonderful, cool spring rain. it’s dark and dreadful and it’s a little after 10am and the candles are already lit. all the blanket are fanned out and the tea is hot and sweet. i love it.

it’s also spring break for me. i especially need to soak in this spring break because i’m taking a poetry class first thing this summer, which means i won’t get a proper break until late june. then i’ll have three full weeks off before i go back for another summer session. oh, joy. ;)

but here are some genuine ”oh, joy” things i want to accomplish this next week ::

:: take the long way to mogadore reservoir and take pictures of the wrens and unkempt rowboats

:: watch old movies like the thin man, or his girl friday, or the valley of decision…or all three

:: have a wine and cards night with some friends

:: put electric president on constant rotation and have a spontaneous midnight dance party to first rate people

:: spend the afternoon at java jo coffee bar in berlin, ohio, eating delicious panini sandwiches and watching elderly couples walk by with their fanny packs and amish fudge

:: start my witchcraft in early modern britain paper like a good girl, and make note cards for the next exam

:: take a day trip to pittsburgh to wander around pitt and figure out when i’ll finally be able to transfer…and try not to stalk the boys

:: survive on mixed berry smoothies, pastrami sandwiches, coffee and girl scout cookies

:: fill up my favorite mustard leather hobo with colored pencils, my moleskine, adrienne rich’s collected early poems, and bic pens and walk to alder pond, spending some time writing at the overlook

:: have a geek night that includes playing lord of the rings monopoly…while watching glee…and discussing the king’s cross chapter from deathly hallows

:: wear open toe shoes even when it’s not really warm enough

:: finish breaking bad s.2 and the john adams miniseries

::  read your blog

have a glorious weekend!

cheers [darlin']

Alison