Curious Bird

make yourself comfortable....

because I have quite a story for you.

we spent the weekend  in an area we love so much, the Hudson River Valley in New York. after two weeks of construction noise here in Philadelphia, we were so ready to get to the country for a little peace and quiet and of course good times with close friends. we had plans to hike and canoe and spend time reading in the hammock, BUT (here's where the plans took a turn) I had a little interaction with a sick bat in the middle of the afternoon in the very spot the photo above was taken. yep, you read that correctly, I had a bat fall out of the sky and land on me --due to a bat's teeth being really small, it's still unclear if it scratched or bit me, although it sorta felt like it did-- this all took place in the middle of the afternoon (bats don't typically come out in daylight). this bat was definitely sick.  after a trip to the emergency room for seven shots (SEVEN!) I was released back into the world. the weekend pretty much went back to normal except for my feeling a little sick and slightly traumatized. I feel fine now, although quite sore due to all the shots. how's that for a little unexpected adventure...
oh, and now I have to get weekly shots for the next four weeks. I'm not even sure if the bat had rabies, but rabies is no joke, so I'm not chancing it.

have fun out there..and watch out for falling bats,
leya

It has been one of those days. I am beginning to believe that the entire city of Philadelphia is under construction -- the streets, my building, the building next door, everything. Taking a deep breath and looking forward to a weekend getaway.

-Leya

sluggish start.

(the kitchen window)

Woke up super groggy this morning. My yoga practice was harder than its been in a while -- even simple stretching was a challenge. I think I dreamed that I slept in this bed,  (found via Design Sponge) which is most likely why it was so difficult to get going.

On a totally different subject, I'm considering purchasing a juicer. Do any of you have one? If so, how do you like it? Any brand recommendations? Oh, and a big consideration for me is whether or not I will have to use tons of veggies/fruit to get a decent amount of juice. I don't want to carry a fifty pound bag of carrots home from Whole Foods every time I want to make juice. I do love the idea of fresh apple, carrot, ginger, though. Or beet, celery, cucumber, parsley, lemon....yum.  Think of all the possibilities.  I would love any advice you might have.

Take it easy,
L.

Hello, March!

If you're not feeling excited about the beginning of March, I apologize for my giddiness. It's just that, although the weather isn't that different outside, I know Spring is on the way because the days are getting longer (I love that) and I'm starting to scheme about Spring dresses I want to make { or add a little flare to, like the one above}. Also, last night as dinner was being put on the table, I really felt like eating a huge salad loaded with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and feta. It sounded good then and still does. Must get to the store.

Dustin and I are planning a great trip that begins in a couple of days. We're heading down South to see friends and get out into nature a bit {boy, could we use it}. I'm not sure if I'll be posting again until next week...maybe one more before I go...

more soon, friends
l.

some days...

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. The side that made every room in my house look dirty, cluttered, and completely irritating. {it's clearer and cleaner now after I spent most of the day cleaning and rearranging}.  Waking in such a mood is rare for me because I'm definitely a morning person, and although I"m forgiving of myself, I could really benefit from hearing I'm not alone here -- please tell me this happens to you from time to time.  Got any good remedies?

After getting myself together way too late in the afternoon...I managed to salvage the remainder of the day by making some of the most amazing rice pudding ever.  I made this recipe a week ago, which means I'm addicted.  It's that good (and easy)...and it worked wonders as a mood elevator.
{my house is really clean now too, which I suppose is always nice.}

This coming week is going to be pretty hectic -- a week of photo only posts is in order.
Have a wonderful week, peeps.

-leya

tuesday. quite possibly my favorite day of the week.

Hello friends,

Things are good here. Damn cold, but good. I've been busy with several projects, some of which are getting wrapped up and others I'm still scheming about. It's fun to scheme -- I always really enjoy that part.  The imago series is one piece away from completion (thanks to a weekend of staying in and working). I'm happy that I followed through with my initial idea of doing an 8 piece shadowbox series-- I can't wait to put all the boxes together and take a look. Is it strange that I haven't done that yet?

In case you are wondering whether I forgot that I'm getting married, I did not, I promise.  I realize the engagement was announced during the holidays and I have been as quiet as a mouse about it ever since. Well, I'm quietly working on several projects and plans with hopes of getting a few things squared away soon. We're thinking September is the month for the wedding. I've never paid too much attention to September, you know, as a month...however, I think that is about to change. just a hunch.

be well, out there
l.

sweet tooth.

Hi ya,

Thanks everyone for all the nice compliments about my new imago series. I really appreciate all the support -- they were quite fun to get lost in during the creation process, and I have at least four more planned with hopes of getting one started later today {fingers crossed} so more fun to come.

After dealing with a little snow and a lot of frigid air smacking me in the face while out and about these last few days {talk about feeling chapped and wind-beaten}, I am so very happy to see the sun shining and the wind calm out today -- so happy that I had to celebrate by picking up a little cheesecake for me and D to share. Sometimes you gotta treat yourself, right? There's nothing better than cheesecake for pretty much no reason on a regular Tuesday...I highly recommend it, actually.

and since I'm having such fun, here are a few sweet things I've stumbled upon lately.

*always a fan of silhouettes.
*birds and horses, oh my!
*letterpress love

stay warm, friends
l.

Mac happy

Today I had oatmeal for lunch {it was cold, I was lazy}. And thanks to my lovely new Mac which came equipped with Photobooth, I was able to take this photo while I ate. In case you're wondering, I've been a sucker for photobooths for eons. My first photo strip was taken at Circus Circus in Vegas when I twelve and quite possibly the lankiest girl on earth. I remember very little about Circus Circus besides the photo booth, which is somewhat telling, don't ya think? Isn't Circus Circus supposed to be memorable?  I probably still have that photo strip somewhere...maybe I'll try to locate it.

Thanks to everyone who de-lurked. I am thrilled by the fact that each of you introduced yourself. It's great to know you're out there...and not only did I just get introduced to several cool people, but several cool people who have cool blogs I didn't know about. That is an added bonus.
More de-lurking is always welcome. I would love to hear from you. I'm giving it a go out in blogland myself.

new arrival

No, not that kind of new arrival, silly.
I'm talking about our new laptop that arrived today. The boy and I (and motown) spent the last several hours getting acquainted with our snazzy new MacBook and we have no complaints. zero...and motown's pretty picky.

It's good to have a nice laptop around again...I can hardly wait to get several new photos from the holidays, our travels and misc. daily snaps I've taken uploaded and organized. All in due time. For now, tea and sudoku.

turbulence is not my friend

 
jeff in bushwick

Hello there,

The boy and I made it home yesterday and we're happily settling back in. The plane ride early yesterday morning was not my favorite airplane experience, so it's good to be firmly planted back on the ground here in Philly. Have you ever experienced stormy weather turbulence in one of those small planes? If not, I hope you never do, and if so, you probably understand why I'm bringing it up. Geez, that was harrowing...and the fact that it took place on a 6:30am flight made for an even more sensitive stomach. I'm still sipping peppermint tea...
The weather in the Rockies is pretty serious right now. My friends just emailed me to say they and their dog are stuck at a hotel in western Kansas trying to find a way back to Olympia. Send them some good traveling love if you have any to spare. The whole trapped in the snow thing worries me immensely. 

You're probably wondering what the heck the above photo has to do with anything. Well, the answer is nothing. Its just my friend Jeff in Bushwick and I like it. Actually, my computer crashed last week {yes, I'm still whining about it} so I'm using Dustin's old IBM Thinkpad with very little access to photos.
Speaking of crashed computers, we are resolving the issue and I'm quite excited about our new purchase {no more whining, I promise}.  Of course it hasn't arrived yet, but its coming and I'm tracking it every step of the way.
This will be our first Mac and we're looking forward to it.

Lastly, before I jump back in to unpacking and reorganizing after a wondrous christmas, I wanted to say THANK YOU regarding all the amazingly kind and supportive comments about the question being popped, the ring and our future big day. Dustin has felt very good about his ring choice after seeing several of the comments. And once again I've felt such a sense of community and friendship from people I may never meet in person, it's really amazing. We are excited and can't wait to begin planning our quirky wedding celebration.

stay warm and bring in the new year with a bang!
happy 2007,

leya