We were alone in the windblown, gently rustic quiet of Montauk (which
the sweatshirts refer cheerfully to as “the end,” because it is located
at the very tip of Long Island).
We drove to a beach and we sat on the sand in our jeans and sweaters. It
was just us. Even the ocean was respectfully softspoken. The beach
backed up to dunes that mounded thickly and were packed into bluffs with
sharp, untamed edges. Stretches of coarse, reddish scrub brush grew low
and defensive over the sandy earth. We were tiny and the world was too
big to ever even come close to comprehending.
[kate; eat the damn cake]
that, and seabird music.
heather and derek's engagement photos taken this afternoon [anna and me with cameras in our hands:]
the pumpkin cake bars that turned out to be everyone's favorite, prettymuch.
writing...words...love.
the sunshine through the clouds near the end of the setting.
the contrast of silver ring on her finger.
her laugh; the way he looks at her.
the windy day and all the laughing.
God's love is the threads that hold my day together.
music and the lyrics that sometimes comes with it.
it's lovely.
i've been obsessed with gungor's music.
even more so, ever since anna ordered their newest album off amazon . . .
and i've been able to listen to nearly everything else on spotify. [thank the Lord for spotify.:]
if you're into music, what artist/s have you been listening to lately?
tuesday, the girlies in our family went on a day trip sort of thing.
trader joe's.
that place just makes me happy.
especially the way that certain store is set up.
their coffee is a lovely price...
and their chocolate...don't even get me started on their chocolate.
have i written about that stuff before?
their dark chocolate covered caramels are the bomb.
and their dark chocolate caramel bar with the roasted black sea salt....oh. my.
you know, they also have tons of other stuff; like a normal grocery store...but that's not the section i shop in at this point in my life.
oh...and their mango-apricot greek yogurt. sheesh. that stuff is too good.
their naan bread is awesome.
and that's where my trader joe rant ends.
next, we went to.....
the children's place.
i get so bored in there.
anna
just ponders every other outfit looking for Christmas presents for the
kiddos she nannies --sam and reese-- and all the other littles we know.
finally, we got out of there...
and
i got to stop in at alterra coffee and buy the largest --a 20oz-- of
one of their brews. not too bad. but not as smooth as some of caribou's
or berres brothers. mmmm. :)
then...we hitthe mall.
yikes.
this is where you lose me.
ask anyone who's ever gone shopping with me; i'm not good company for shopping till you drop.
nopity-nope.
in the mall, we found something that obviously was in the internet's bermuda triangle --a forever 21.
pretty sweet; i love that place. but...i only brought $9, dude. coffee and food. i'm all into the necessities only of life. ;) honestly, though, i don't need anything really right now in the way of wardrobe...just a few wants. you know how that goes? yeah.
so the second i step into forever 21 with my mom and 3 sisters, the metal detector goes off.
way to make me feel like an oddball.
because, obviously, i'm not a criminal yet.
right???
i step out...just to see if it was me, after all.
step back in...yes. it's me. must've been my camera hanging in its case by my side.
i don't think 20oz cups of alterra coffee would make store security go bonkers.
thankfully...no one paid attention to that episode.
oddness, i tell you.
:P
i browsed. seriously, some of their stuff is just strange.
i love their accessories, though. awesome prices for earrings that are not as cheap quality as other places....heckyes.
soon enough, i was done. i went out and sat on a bench, for pete's sake.
that's how not-into shopping i am......yeah.
i feel kind of guilty typing that out.
i like going with a purpose, with the money i need for what i need, and that's that.
oh --and i'm a cheapo.
i'm not into stuff that's not on sale. :P heheh. :]
so i sat on a bench, sipping the last of my coffee, watching a diverse couples and crowds pass by.
finally, my people came out of charlotte russe, the place they had migrated to.
we left and went to teavana.
great place.
love that place.
except for, you know, the sky-high prices and delicates all over the place.
there was indian music coming over the speakers, and darnit if lyddie didn't start doing some subtle zumba moves....my sisters and mom are obsessed with zumba. they go nearly every thursday and/or monday.
and i stay home...maybe make dinner....write certain people.....and, you know, i don't zumba.
i just don't.
it's not my thing.
now, yoga....yoga is a whole other story. :)
it's relaxing...stretches you....it's quiet...and the studio is clean, organized, and oh--all those lovely hardwood floors....
after a little while, i got nervous and/or bored, and took the younger girls outside.
yay for photoshoots when bored. ;)
awww, rach. you're too cute. :)
lyddie put one of those little suction rubber circles on her forehead the other night, and she's still living away the repercussions of such a smart decision. ;)
okay, this is the part of the post where i start smiling just thinking about typing.
i walked into this kitchen store with everyone....
sur la table.
and that everyone faded away.
i fell in love.
yep i did.
just like a new girlfriend confessed the other night about her love for looking at athletic shoes, i walk into a kitchen store and love the shapes and colors of the spatulas.
the pots and pans...the aprons.
[now...an apron, i did get....for christmas, from the 'rents. it's kinda gorgeous. i have a thing for aprons. :]
the shine of stainless steel.
the texture of le creuset cookware.
ahem.
enough about the kitchen place...
onto the next subject.
we found this little place...charming charlie.
full of pretty stuff. accessories. awesome hats. gorgeous scarves....some regular clothing and shoes/boots.
pretty sweet place, too.
i kept my eyes open for things in the colors of heather's wedding...plum....gray...... :)
i love sisters.
:)
and no, sadly, i did not buy that hat....i had thought i had lost the can-do for rocking hats since i got my hair chopped, but anna tried to reassure me otherwise...
oh well. maybe next time.
we went to qdoba for the first time ever...
i got a mexican gumbo.
ohhhhh, yum.
on the way to david's bridal[to find anna a bridesmaid/wedding coordinator dress for heather's wedding, and to order my dress, yay!] and on the way home, rach and i played hangman....
my new favorite game to play with siblings.
totally awesome bonding time.
i can rock at it...
because i love words...
but man, i just hate when rach says "hey, let's go with just a subject. bugs."
whaaaaaat?!
yeah, those are the times that i totally suck at the game.
heh.
i love these two quotes about life.....
and this picture.
it makes me want to cry.
anyone else??
my formula for living is quite simple. i get up in the morning and i go to bed at night. in between, i occupy myself as best i can. [Cary Grant ]
people living deeply have no fear of death. [Anais Nin]
so.
i found a new site earlier. a guide to women. a blog for men. now, i've only read about 3 posts so far from her, so i'm not like, well-versed in her world/relationship views. but....dude! i love sites like these...
amusing....informative in a quirky way...
unique!
anyhow....
yeah, i found the link off a comment on this post by ragamuffinsoul. heheh. all around fascinating. ;)
now for links. yay!
a random one: jessica, from bohemian bowmans, wrote a thing on christians and cussing.....that's always an interesting topic. heh. the keeper.
thankfully, she admits "take all of these with a grain of kosher salt. they will appear in varying degrees and manifestations...... i realize that i’ve made her sound like the unicorn of womanhood....." amen. :)
the keeper: testosterone edition.
i love the comments.
the comment section on most posts are nearly, if not better, than the actual post. :)
in life news:
this morning, anna and i went to meet heather at a coffee shop [independently owned place, heckyeah!] so anna and heather could talk wedding plans....
i sat in a leather love seat and curled up with the yada yada prayer group book that some ladies in my church are reading and discussing tomorrow night....oh, and let's not forget the 2 20oz cups of coffee i had within those couple hours. :]
wonderful days, i tell ya.
still can't believe our dear friend is actually...planning.....her....wedding.
a wedding!
w.e.d.d.i.n.g.!!!!!!
oh my. :)
oh!
in other random news, i fell asleep last night with a letter --uh...correction: rant-- to starbucks going on and on in circles in my head.
something like....
dear starbucks,
you are fast losing my love for your coffee.
your beans are burnt.
it's not a pleasant experience anymore, your brew, in-store or otherwise.
too dark, too harsh, not smooth....
hmm......i miss that anodyne coffee....definitely should stock up on that sometime soon....now that stuff was a beautiful thing to wake up to, anytime of day.
i mean, honestly!
just the other night, i was talking to a lady who worked at a place that served starbucks...and while she said she enjoyed working with people and coffee, she mentioned in a muttered sentence how starbucks beans and brew are not that satisfying of an experience. [my more detailed paraphrase.]
i think some people are afraid to say such a thing.
or else, they just don't know better; or don't notice; too busy getting a bit of caffeine for their lifestyle to notice smoothness, pleasantness in the mouth. mild. nutty. deep, but not harsh and biting flavors.
seriously.
anyone else have anything to say about that?? or am i the only one who chooses to spend spare moments thinking about coffee and the depth of taste and not the next to-do list........heheheh. :)
happy november, by the way.
is there something you're looking forward to this month, in particular?
saturday night [october 22], lyddie and i made this.
you knew it was time for another food/recipe post, didn't you?
wow, this was when my hair was still blonde...lol.
mmm, butter :)
what was i doing here when rachel got it into her head to get this capture?
probably writing someone special . . . and reading blogs while waiting for this good stuff to finish baking. :)
short story, you should make them.
you really should.
on the other hand, this has been one of the best mondays ever. paint, coffee, grandpa nate [an old family friend] coming over for lunch, and spontaneous errand trips with my brother, ben . . . plus writing someone, and bible study tonight . . .
yes. a very good monday.
even with all the clouds and no visible sun.
i don't normally call mondays good, even those with tons of coffee in them. but this day . . . yes, this day is very good.
what [small or big] thing has made this day good for you?
know how to live the time that is given you. [dario fo]
remember how i announced that dear heather is now engaged to her derek?
well, i'm in the wedding.
i don't know if i mentioned that.
and tonight . . . the other bridesmaids/friends and anna and i went dress shopping with heather. :)
it only took an hour and a half for heather to find The Dress...happy day!
all the dresses are going to be in plum, the color of my dress.
gray shoes and pearl necklaces...mhmm:) lovely!!
steph, heather's younger sister, and i found our dresses right off.
pretty much first dress, first try-on. the one.
only me and steph found our dresses tonight, and darnit if i'm not tempted to re-dye my hair come march with this color for the wedding....or maybe normal dark blonde would be best. :P who knows. it'll be on the end of our loooong winter, so i might just go with some lovely change and do the dark red again. after, ya know, december-february of my natural color....el oh el.
happy-happy-happy.
we need another one of these days.
october was really lovely . . . but november's going to be a very good month.
