hippies

i heart hippies.

the original hippies of the 1960s sought to free themselves from the restrictions of established society, choose their own ways, and find new meanings in life. they championed ideals of beauty, honesty, love, peace, and freedom. they made good music (hello, woodstock? think janis joplin, the grateful dead, creedence clearwater revival, santana, the who, jefferson airplane, and jimi hendrix). they rejected the materialism of consumerist culture. they lived in communes, ate organic food, and hugged trees.

because of hippies, public political demonstrations are now considered legitimate and legal expressions of free speech. religious, cultural, and even sexual diversity are widely accepted. unmarried couples can live and travel together without the disapproval of society (your parents may be a different story). there is a greater awareness of our impact on the earth, and a greater interest in organic and natural foods. and did i mention there is good music?

these days there are still hippies. they come in all forms, and in all degrees of hippie-ness. my parents were/are hippies. most of my best friends are hippies. i am a hippie.

i believe in beauty, honesty, love, peace, and freedom. i believe in tolerance and respect. and i am as anti-consumerism as i can be for someone who works in the fashion industry (like i said, i believe in beauty...). i am a vegetarian, i eat organic foods, and i am absolutely a tree-hugger.

today's birthday boy is everyone's favorite texas-cowboy-hippie, willie nelson (april 30, 1933).

seinfeldisms

i grew up watching three shows religiously:

1. the simpsons

2. friends

3. seinfeld.

these are the shows that i grew up with, and at the same time i kind of feel like they grew up with me too. moments from these shows define certain moments of my life.

i'm pretty sure i'm not alone in this, either, because there are about a hundred million words and phrases that only make sense (or at least have a special meaning) in the context of these shows, and if you say any of them out loud, everyone else knows exactly what you're talking about.

i found this seinfeld dictionary today, and picked from it some of my very favorite seinfeldisms, which i have conveniently listed below, in alphabetical order, for your viewing pleasure:

astronaut pen

big salad

close talker

festivus

fusilli jerry

jimmy legs
low talker

man-hands

shrinkage

soup nazi

stopping short

...and my personal favorite: "these pretzels are making me thirsty!"

happy birthday to comedian jerry seinfeld (april 29, 1954)!

quality time

once again i find myself under attack by the allergy monster. i have been a non-stop sneezy, itchy, watery, puffy, runny mess all day long... all i need is two more and i'll have my own little collection of dwarves... stuffy... and... achey. excellent.

anyway.

i came home from work after trying to fight through the haze of mucus and medicine for a couple of hours. now i'm getting in some good quality time with my little scoopcat. we watched a little tv, but mostly we've been reading. well, i have been reading. scoop has been sleeping in the corner. i might join him in a little bit... not in the corner though.

right.

today's birthday girl is harper lee (april 28, 1926), the american writer who won a pulitzer prize for her novel to kill a mockingbird.

happy news

a couple of weeks ago, i got a phone call from one of my best college girlfriends/roommates, who is currently living in england with her adorable welsh hubby in all their newlywedded bliss. she wished me a happy belated birthday and a happy anniversary, we chatted about life and all of the craziness that goes along with it, and then she told me that she and her hubby were expecting a tiny little welsh-american addition to their family!

i couldn't be happier for her. what a fabulous mum she will be! and i get to be auntie olivia!

happy birthday to russell t. davies (april 27, 1963), welsh television producer and writer.

paris

i've been to paris twice.

the first time, i was a senior in high school. i was pretty upset that my mom wouldn't let me go on the senior trip to cancun with the rest of my classmates... until my friend allison invited me to go to paris with her and her mom and her mom's friend. it was amazing. there are no words.

the second time i went to paris was with my hubby on our honeymoon last year. apparently i had talked about paris enough during our four years together that he wanted to go see it for himself. i had always wanted to go back there, to the most romantic city in the world, with the love of my life. and it was maybe the best trip i've ever taken.

i'm not trying to brag. i never thought in a million years that i would go to paris once, much less twice. i know that i am one incredibly lucky girl. i have stood at the base of the eiffel tower in awe, strolled along the champs-elysees, wandered through the halls of some of the most amazing museums in the world, shopped the seven stories of the galeries lafayette, mastered the paris metro system, gotten lost in the streets of montmartre, and eaten about a hundred million baguettes.

today's birthday boy is i.m. pei (april 26, 1917), the chinese american architect who designed the glass and metal pyramids that serve as the main entrance into the louvre in paris.

dreams

when i was in middle school (and partly high school too), i wanted to be a movie star. i took all kinds of theater classes, tried out for school plays, participated in drama tournaments, and even auditioned for an actual movie one time.

it's questionable as to whether or not i can actually act. i never got any lead roles in the school plays. i did play dead woman #2 in our class' production of our town, but i hardly think that counts. i don't recall ever winning any awards in the drama tournaments, even though my team's lipsynch performance of "i will survive" (we included both the cake version and the gloria gaynor version, don't worry) was spectacular. oh, and by the way, i have terrible stage fright.

so whatever. i didn't become a famous actress.

i rediscovered my passion for making art and my love of all things fashion-related. i chased a different dream. and i haven't looked back.

that's the best thing about dreams. you can have as many as you want. they can be as ridiculous and out-of-reach as you like. there are no rules - only endless possibilites.

lots of movie stars are celebrating their birthdays today - happy birthday to al pacino (1940), hank azaria (1964), renee zellweger (1969), and jason lee (1970).

the west wing

i have to say that i was not at all interested in the west wing when it was first on tv. nor was i interested when my mom told me over and over what an amazing show it was. and when she leant me her dvds of season one of west wing, it was only out of boredom and a lack of motivation to do anything else that alan and i actually sat down and watched an episode.

...and then we watched every episode.

...of all seven seasons.

because it is that good. and i'm not even kidding. hello, it won like fifty awards (actually, three golden globes and 26 emmys)!

could i vote for josiah bartlett please? and if it's not too much trouble, could i marry josh lyman? ...or at least be best-couple-friends with him and donna? i like donna. she's sassy.

happy birthday to actor eric balfour (april 24, 1977), who has appeared in several movies and television shows, including the west wing.

love poems

today is the supposed birthday of legendary english poet and playwright william shakespeare (baptised april 26, 1564 - april 23, 1616).

like everyone else on the planet, i had to study him in high school, which of course meant that there was no way i was going to appreciate his work (except maybe when the leonardo di'caprio version of romeo and juliet came out...). but being as mushy as i am these days, i can always appreciate a good love poem.

sonnet 15

when i consider every thing that grows
holds in perfection but a little moment,
that this huge stage presenteth nought but shows
whereon the stars in secret influence comment;
when i perceive that men as plants increase,
cheered and cheque'd even by the self-same sky,
vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
and wear their brave state out of memory;
then the conceit of this inconstant stay
sets you most rich in youth before my sight,
where wasteful Time debateth with Decay,
to change your day of youth to sullied night;
and all in war with Time for love of you,
as he takes from you, i engraft you new.

earth day

i am thankful for...

the sound of birds chirping, the feel of warm sunshine on my face, the way that spring smells like mustard and cut grass, the impossible blueness of caribbean waters, the way that the sound of a babbling creek breaks through the perfect silence of mountain air, getting lost in a summer breeze, the shadows cast by the early morning sun, the sound of rain on the ground or the roof or the porch, the way that cold winter air pierces your lungs when you take a deep breath, the feel of soft grass under my feet, the vibrant colors of sunrise, the feeling of smallness that you get from staring into the night sky, watching the endless motion of a body of water, the way that winter smells like dead leaves and burning wood, the joy of finding a rainbow on a rainy day, the postcard-view from the top of a mountain, the sight of a pristine white landscape that has just been blanketed by fresh luminous snow, dancing in warm sweet summer rain, the feel of being surrounded by more trees than you can count, and the quiet softness of twilight.

happy birthday to julius sterling morton (april 22, 1832 – april 27, 1902) who served as grover cleveland's secretary of agriculture and was also the founder of arbor day.

happy earth day!

being treated like royalty

every girl grows up wanting to be a princess - i know i did.

and i think that's the way it should be. i truly believe that every girl deserves to be treated like a princess.

i've been lucky in my life to be surrounded by lots of people who treat me like one*. my parents spoiled me to perfection. and my amazing husband spoils me even more. he cooks, he cleans, he gives a damn good foot rub, and he serenades me too.

*please remember: princesses handle (most) every situation with grace and dignity and exhibit a strength of character that warrants such royal treatment as respect, presents, and foot rubs.*

today's birthday girl is queen elizabeth II of england (april 21, 1926).

also, happy birthday, kristi!