Happiest Moments

As I was driving to work a couple days ago, I found myself thinking of all my happy times & places. I know people say that they do their best thinking in the shower, but my best thoughts come to me as I'm heading north on the 101 with the speakers playing some classic Ari tunes.

Here are my five (edited to add: ahem, three) favorite time/place/people combinations, at least for right now.

{1}

Road trips with my mother.

We start out with homemade egg & cheese breakfast sandwiches, and my mom makes mine with egg whites, because she knows me. We wash our breakfasts down with iced green tea from huge plastic cups. Then we talk. We don't turn on the stereo, and we don't stop for seven hours. We reminisce on shared memories from the past, figure out our presents, and dream on our futures. I love slowly learning that my mom is more than my mom; she's Tamara, a person, a beautiful woman, and she doesn't have all the answers. Even so, there is something about being with her that relaxes me more than I feel capable of relaxing. In her presence, I can turn myself off a little, and I don't have to hold it all together. There's someone here who's got this. I hope that's what being married is like. Even if it is, I know I'll still sneak off for road trips with my mother.

{2}

Andrew McMahon concerts.

Max & I wait in line, and we bolt through the door before we put our shoes back on after passing through venue security. We secure our places and wait. I shift around a lot, because I need to be perfectly positioned to see Andrew's hands work the piano keys. I ball like a baby and Max pretends not to notice. We both scream-sing ourselves hoarse. Then we spend our paychecks on hoodies. We go every chance we get, and we're never happier than on that car ride home, Andrew's voice still weighing on our minds, laughing about how he said that Arizona keeps it "sexy sweaty". Cos we do.

{3}

Nap time.

Look, this isn't as special as vacation or concerts, and it certainly happens much more frequently but, hot dog, do I love a nap! The set-up never varies. I put in a DVD of FRIENDS, twist the blinds down, leave my make-up on, and crawl into the sheets. I pile the blankets on me, and my kitten loves pile themselves onto the blankets. Two hours later, all the world's ills are lost in our post-nap grog.

Sigh

source

It's Monday, so naturally I need to be in this awesome bathtub right now. I mean, is that so wrong?

Thankfully, this week looks like it should be pretty stress-free and relaxed. So far, just one work thing and a fun dinner with a friend. :)

What does your week look like?

Southern Charm

One of my silly dreams is to own a nice, big Southern home with a huge porch and lots of charm. Basically, I would be in heaven if I lived in the house from The Notebook.

I'm not too choosy, though.

Any of the below would do.

I comfort myself with the fact that my two-bedroom apartment is infinitely easier to keep clean.

Bookmarked

My next paycheck (the first one since September) is so close I can almost taste it. Here are a few items I've bookmarked during my work hiatus.

"Sweet" Rubber Address Stamp from Paperwink

Custom Family Tree from erinjaneshop on Etsy

Itty Bitty Hearts Necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs

Mary Jane Bow Flats from Marais USA

The Internet is practically spending my paycheck for me.

How to Be a Better Blogger

I feel as though I live in two worlds: the "real" world and the blog world. The real world is ripe with imperfection- rumpled bedspreads, passionless jobs, cluttered living spaces. The blog world is home to women with perfect faces and even better jobs, not to mention homes; it's home to perfectly coordinated, labeled jars full of organic, gluten-free pasta. The blog world is beyond inspiring and has plenty of fodder for us girls who want to learn where to buy the most stylish throw pillows or how to whip up the world's best orange rhubarb compote. It's challenging, this world, not in the same vital and palpable way as the real world, but nonetheless...I've compiled this list.

How to Be a Better Blogger

1. Buy charming desk (accessorize with turquoise to make even more charming)

Writing from the office is not ideal and my kitchen table doesn't hold a candle to my dream workspace. How gorgeous is that inspiration board?

2. Buy scanner

Having a scanner would mean posting photographs of my grandparents as teenagers and sharing pictures from my old magazines. Too bad, at $495.95, this dream is a little out of reach.

3. Blogger collaboration

I adore when bloggers collaborate and share the blog love. I would love to get a little of that going on Audrey Onassis.

A day in the life I wish I lived

Unfortunately, I am still in that stage in my life that I like to call the Set Up stage. Surely this can't be my real life, but rather a transition period during which I get all my ducks in a row before I can start the real deal. If I had more control over the way I lived, this is how it would go:

8am- wake up and browse blogs and drink tea in bed

8:30am- change into not-yet-designed gorgeous workout clothes and head to a pilates studio
10am- shower and spend an hour or two in my giant dressing room getting ready

12pm- have a light lunch and ride my bicycle to the market

12:30pm- write letters to friends and loved ones, watch DVDs of I Love Lucy
1:30pm- go to Barnes & Noble and peruse the new releases
3pm- take my new book to the beach with a big blanket and jug of iced tea

4pm- start preparing the food I bought at the market for dinner (in my fantasy life I can cook)
5pm- call my girlfriends to chat while playing with the cats
6pm- eat dinner with the love of my life (since this is pretend, let's just say Matt Damon)
7pm- watch my shows or a favorite movie with cheesy popcorn

10pm- go to bed early in a sea of white fluffy blankets and mountains of down pillows

[All images courtesy of tomycoffee]