Hair waver curls

This morning I had a fun time doing both my mom's and my own hair during breaks from reading an article for class. I tried a fun new hair curling style that involved a three-barrel hairwaver and the tricky ability to weave hair in between the prongs. I got this idea from a youtube tutorial, but unlike the girl in the video I neglected to wear a woolen glove. BIG mistake. I stubbornly pushed through the burns until I finally gave up and fished through a box of old winter accessories. The glove is a must.

YOU CAN FIND THE TUTORIAL HERE

photo collages!

This is mostly a trial post to test out whether I can actually create image collages. I've seen a lot of blogs that display coordinated images to go along with the theme of the post, and I've always found that these images complement the writing very well. I'm excited to try it out myself XD It's been a troublesome attempt, however, because my photoshop decided to disappear off the face of the earth... and more annoyingly off of my computer's harddrive. I've had to look elsewhere for an editing program.

Lately I've found myself pouring over pictures of glorious, majestic houses, personalized bedrooms, and mysterious gardens. I've been paying attention to the kinds of things that catch my eye: Victorian architecture, ornate woodwork, light colorful wallpapers, BIG wide open kitchens (to fulfill all my baking needs of course!), high ceilings, secret staircases, reading nooks, interesting wall and roof angles... all of these things strike me as making a home particularly lovely, homey, and pleasing to the eye.

Love

Maybe Valentines day SHOULD be boycotted. For single people it's a slap in the face for the whole month of February. Every time they go into Walgreens or Saveway the shelves are stocked with red hearts and teddy bears. Every time they watch TV or listen to the radio there are endless ads for Shane Company's diamonds, "the gift as beautiful as she is," or "the gift that says forever." And if they want to leave the house on Valentines day, good luck avoiding those stampeding gooey-eyed couples. And for those of us who are in relationships, popular culture Valentines day implies that it is the one day of the year when your guy buys you flowers or shows you any affection. It's weird... designating a day for love. Doesn't that go against everything that love is supposed to be? It's supposed to be free, and uncontrollable. Irrational and surprising. It's complicated and difficult, even painful at. It's a new chapter in life where you're no longer the sole narrator. Your lover can weave an enchanting fairytale, or a heart-wrenching tragedy. And you never know which it will be. Love is taking that chance. It is not a rhyming Hallmark card.

The Grand Scheme of Things

It’s 1:30 in the morning. I cannot sleep so I will blog instead. I’m stretched out on the floor next to the heater typing, and hopefully my boyfriend cannot hear my incessant finger tapping.

This afternoon I packed two sandwiches to go and headed to the beach to meet up with my friend. Under one arm I carried my scuffed up skimboard as I rode the bus. I felt slightly awkward carrying the thing, but it’s San Francisco and I see people riding the bus with surfboards all the time.

Despite the awkward juggling of a few things I was so happy that I made the effort and dedicated myself to the day’s events. My friend and I had been planning a skimboarding afternoon for ages and we finally made it happen. I always feel so warm inside and brimming with pride when I actually make plans happen. They’re so easily talked about as a concept or a wish or an idea, but often those plans never evolve past the invention stage. I feel so accomplished when I can actually make ideas real and tangible, with genuine memories attached that can be shared with friends.

Given that life is so mysterious and the future is so unknown, I often get overwhelmed. Yet, I expect myself to attain impossible goals and know the answers to profound questions that I shouldn’t reasonably be able to answer at this point in my young life. Like, what is it that I want to do with the rest of my life? On one level I realize that this is a question that many people probably ponder even in their thirties. And I realize that what we want from life is constantly changing as we grow older and learn more about what it is that makes us happy.

Slowly, I’m beginning to allow myself to be in that uncomfortable realm of not knowing. It’s scary, yes. It’s terrifying even, but I think it’s a much better place to be. It’s an honest place, a calm place, a safe place that allows me to be forgiving of myself. If I can find this place of acceptance I will be much more patient and content with life’s confusing twists and turns. Instead of asking ‘why’ and demanding an answer to all of life’s questions, I’ll be able to just go with the flow and have faith that answers will come when they ready. And when I’m ready.

As my boyfriend says, “be in the moment,” and I think that is a beautifully simple way to accept the unknown. The present is now, and ‘now’ is much simpler place to be than the future. And I’m learning that it’s the little things like skimboarding, being outside in nature, making rituals with friends, laughing with loved ones, and acting on those beautiful, fleeting moments of inspiration that keep me centered in the ‘here and now.’

This is my goal. It’s not laying in bed, fuming over the fact that I cannot sleep. My goal is to sigh at the silliness of it all, move on, and enjoy my heater’s splendid warmth, the softness of the pillow I’m laying on, and embrace the urge to capture my thoughts. It’s not much in the grand scheme of things, but it’s that grand scheme that throws me off. What may seem trivial to one person is what makes my life worth living. It’s the little things that make me happy. They make every moment special. And although a night of insomnia may not be such a great thing come tomorrow morning, but right now, on this night, it’s making the moment meaningful. And even one special, meaningful moment means more to me then the ominous grand scheme.

Mandrake

On Clement there's this amazing aquarium slash orchid and plant store. In a huge bin I found jumbled narcissus bulbs, sprouting and ready to be planted. I couldn't resist so I brought some home and I've been watching them grow ever since. I cant wait for them to bloom and fill the house with their beautiful fragrance.

Here they are at day 1

and here they are 4 days later with roots!

And of course. I love them because they absolutely remind me of the mandrakes from Harry Potter :D

A Walk in the Park

My mother reminded me this morning that fresh air is good for the soul. She's right. I've been sick with a cold quite a few days now and it was about time that I got outside. I tend to get a little stir-crazy if I'm inside too long so I decided to go for a little stroll in Golden Gate Park. It's not quite "nature" in my opinion, because you can't walk 10 feet without tripping over a sprinkler valve, but it's not too far off.

Before hand, I rustled around in the kitchen to gather all the stale bread-like substances I could find and ventured out to feed some ducks.

I was on my way to Stowe Lake, but I saw this little pond on the way, which was full of the most exotic-looking ducks I'd ever seen. These little guys had the funniest rubbery faces and the cutest eyes. They walked--or should I say--waddled over to me on the grass and looked up expectantly. As I was feeding them, a redtailed hawk swooped down right next to me and caught some kind of a mouse or vole or something, and took off to eat his lunch. It was an amazing catch and I wish I whipped out my camera faster.

Also, Many people don't like seagulls. They're loud and cunning and they're mean to all the other little birds... But I actually kind of like them. Or at least I liked the ones I saw today. They learned pretty quickly that my style of feeding was to toss the food in the air, so all the seagulls began to hover above me like flapping angels, ready to snatch the bread from the sky. I quite liked this game, and amazingly I got some pretty cool pictures.

Watch!

True Winter

California is wonderful in so many ways...but still, I miss the snow!

Growing up in Pennsylvania, it almost never snowed on Christmas. Yet after a few more weeks, the cars at the side of the road would be lodged under feet of snow, and the snowplow would rule the streets.

However, right now I long for a Yule worthy snow storm. I long for a blanket of pristine, untouched snow. I long for a wintry forest with a crystallized natural beauty.