bears + arizona

my weekend in…

sights ::

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sounds ::

{tanya davis is ❤}

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musts ::

:: going to cranberry, PA for discounted penguins gear {sigh} and scoring a crosby hoodie for 50% off {hooray!}

:: and getting there without using the interstate

:: these excellent blogs: where the lovely things are, the hymn for the cigarettes, and simplesong

:: gummy bears + arizona ice tea

:: matt damon’s general awesomeness on the season finale of 30 rock

:: this super adorable picture of #27 and his son

:: the revelation that many of my favorite things feature a sidecar. examples ::

what’s that about?

:: spending the day listening to tanya davis + born ruffians + vintage sting

:: imagining how luscious these organic soaps smell

:: the fact that the chicago blackhawks have made it to the 2010 stanley cup finals, baby!!!!!!

:: spending a large amount of time over at art milk

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lusts ::

{cris cris foldover // need supply co.}{multicolored flag necklace // scoutholiday}

{outdoor woven pillows // west elm}{matt lighting // llot llov}

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what was your weekend like, darlings?

xo Alison

midweek felicity: avocado eyes

{source}

i’ve been feeling a little off the last few days. between the penguins losing and starting summer classes, errands and friends and a late spring head cold, i feel like i haven’t sat down and collected my thoughts in a solid week. i feel like i’ve been walking around in a haze, been rushing from here to there, class // library // pittsburgh // grocery store // sleep…i’ve always been pretty great at managing my time, but not so much lately. i need to refocus. i need to plant some seeds to feel some dirt in my hands. i need to go to bed early and find my new morning routine. i need to take some antihistamine, have a hagrid-sized cup of tea, and let my mind calm itself, and become renewed.

here are some moments i’ve been able to live + collect + remember from this week so far…

these photos ::

women’s bathroom // 2nd floor // near west theatre // cleveland

ohio city, cleveland

street art

me + fire escape

keeping watch

view/love

lake erie

gray sunday

after the pens lost

lunch

“i turn my camera on…”

nick + nora + evening light

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these words ::

The Stray Cat Sits

the stray cat sits on the little front porch
and tries on her name like a wedding ring
not lola, or precious
not persephone, or eartha kitt
but gabriel garcia marquez
fits her warm disposition
and her avocado eyes

she takes up court with the lily of the valley
a bulls eye in the consummate green
their tiny white blossoms like bonnets or bells
their curled edges like an old man’s mustache
like your maternal grandfather’s mustache
the one you never met

she watches the presbyterian woman across the street
with the denim skirt and habitual bow
carry in her groceries fast
to avoid the cool fat drops of spring rain
the blue plastic bags weighed down
by a dozen grade A eggs
hefty jars of classic ragu
and an apocalyptic amount of toilet paper
she watches the woman hesitate with the final bag
wrapped tight around a rectangular package
as though that salmon will be special enough
to light a fire whose ashes
have long blown away

she stiffens at the sound of the metro bus
a slow growing roar, a sudden hiss
a PSA on prostate cancer in yellow block writing
beneath a boy with a straight brimmed hat
looking out the window at the little front porch
with the cat named gabriel like a gargoyle
black and white and standing guard

— by me ❤

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these things ::

:: a mid afternoon shopping spree with my big bro

:: my new electric blue swell season scarf

:: these illustrations by mischief champion that always make me laugh

:: creamy white flats with cut out flowers on the toe

:: marketa irglova’s set list from the swell season pittsburgh show hanging on my dry erase board as i type this

:: sublime new music from coldplay a.k.a. my british lovers

:: the wall stickers at studio nommo

:: stocking up on flips.flops for the summer, including a pair in whisper pink

:: the bhawks being up 2 0 in their series against san jose

:: the season finale of supernatural that was kind of, like, totally freaking amazing + heart wrenching + 18 kinds of kick ass

:: the simple, delicate beauty of susie cowie’s embroidery {via lushee}

:: passing a strip of earth filled with petunias that reminded me of my childhood as i went home today

:: funky fortune cookie fortunes

this loveliness ::

{don’t be late necklace // cocoachuchu}{old world sheleton key necklace // anorginal jewelry}

{make haste mug P & P mug // bookish}{i love you more than cards // paperwhite studio}

{tea bags w. literary tags // novel teas}

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so, how do you manage to manage your time? how do you rejuvenate yourself when you let yourself wander too far?

xo Alison

obsession confession: birds + their cages

can i make a confession?

i have another minor obsession.

and it’s with anything related to birds…

{dove bobby pin // revisions design studio}{PATCH NYC // west elm}

{great & small coin purse // anthropologie}{wise guy wall art // elly nelly}

{antiqued owl // anna kiel jewelery}{chickadee paper clips // modcloth}

{gold finch rug // thomas paul}{bird in flight earrings // ruche}

❤❤❤

and their cages…

{young hearts card // the great lakes}{plywood mobile // ferm living}

{antique bird cage // soozer loser ny}{bird cage stamp set // velocity}

{fly free tee // modcloth}{aviary shower curtain // urban outfitters}

{birdcage ring // dillondesigns}{gilded birdcage tote // branchhandmade}

❤❤❤

what’s your obsession confession?

xo Alison

p.s. i’m totally handling the penguin’s defeat in stride. and by stride i mean…

waking up crying // spending the last 36hrs in sweatpants // living on carbs and chocolate // lying on the dining room floor, wrapped up in my gigantic pens blanket, with peter gabriel singing “i think it’s going to rain today” on repeat // cycling between lusting after don drapper + lee adama // listening to the saddest coldplay songs // sigh.

take the edge off

so…we lost. the penguins lost.

i’m pretty devastated. i’m full of ennui. i’m exhausted in every way.

it still doesn’t feel real. it feels painful + shitty + wrong, but not real.

i need to take a bit of a break to wallow, to mourn the end of our season, the end of our playoff run, and the end of mellon arena.

i need a break to put things in perspective and move on.

i need to take a long walk with no destination, detox my body from the midnight donuts we consumed like rabid toddlers after the loss, then disappear underneath a big blanket that smells like home.

in the meantime, here are some good things, some things that take the edge off the general sucktitude of right now.

{sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

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i love you all.

go pens.

xo Alison

midweek felicity: like plums out of trees

t-minus however many hours until the game. dun-dun-dun.

my plan today?

:: disappear within mad men season three

:: consume copious amounts of coffee

:: re-read all the smiles + support the you all have left leave me in the comments

:: celebrate this week’s midweek felicity in the form of…

these photos ::

doctor’s office, eight a.m.

shopping

bookstore

after the storm

breakfast

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these words ::

Night Rain

I wake with the rain.
It has surprised me.
First, delight,
Then I think of outdoors:
The shovels and rakes I left in the garden
Rusting now in the mist,
The splintering of handles.
I think of car windows open
Tricycles
Canvas cots, trash cans
The hay uncovered
Mildew.

Well, they are out.
And the animals -
The cat, he is gone
The dog is the neighbor’s
The horses have a tin roof
If they will stay under it.
And the wild things are there -
Birds, wet in the trees,
Deer in the brush, rabbits in hiding.
The leaves will all be washed
The wild lilacs, the walnuts.

I am sleepy and warm
I dream of the great horned owl
Snatching birds like plums out of trees

—Ann Stanford

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these things ::

:: anne sexton’s complete poems for three dollars at my favorite used bookstore

:: spinach artichoke dip + random conversation

:: fat drops of rain announcing a fresh thunderstorm

:: searching for a second-hand couch for a lovely friend at various thrift stores, the highlight being when we rushed over to goodwill right before it closed and i said “oh my god you guys, this is like the furniture version of the amazing race!”

:: finding a wicked cool old DKNY sweatshirt at said goodwill

:: everything about oyster mag

:: watching the blackhawks advance to the western conference final

:: getting a B+ in the 400-level tudor + stuart britain class as one of the only non-history majors after not taking a history course since high school {insert “i rule!“ moment from american beauty}

:: fig scented votives in the perfect shade of pale green

:: the creativity + beauty emanating from jenny vorwaller’s natural historie shop

:: having all of these things to comfort + distract me during my game seven anxiety extravaganza

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this inspiration ::

{source}

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LET’S. GO. PENS!!!

what are you up to today?

xo Alison