wearable.

I've always wanted to wear a maxi dress, but believed wholeheartedly that with my body proportions (short + stout) this dream would never come to fruition. But, after striking it rich with dress luck last weekend, I threw caution to the wind, headed back to the same store and grabbed an armful of options.

The outcome: surprisingly wearable! Choosing one was tough, but I went with this navy maxi, which is 100% jersey...and 100% within my comfort zone and budget ($20). Something about it feels so effortlessly casual and goddess-like. Translation: I like it enough that I wore it while cleaning my apartment all day yesterday.

Later, I wandered over to my parent's house and completely threw them with the sight of my dress-cladden self. My mom kept gushing, "It's so elegant...you look so lady-like!" and my dad, with the most puzzled expression, simply said, "Uh...what's with the dress...?" 

From this I've concluded that my mother is excited about the potential of her daughter dressing her age, and my father is somewhat confused by it all. I think he missed the memo that little girls do turn into grown women someday. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, dad. :)

let them eat cake.

Yesterday was Gabe's birthday, so Tuesday morning I set out to make a fabulous three layer cake...which turned out to be fabulous only in theory. Halfway into the frosting process, the entire back of the cake crumbled and caved like a Californian rock slide. And, at that moment a vital lesson was learned: There is absolutely no cake crater that scads of frosting can't fix. You may literally have to use your bare hands to scoop handfuls of frosting into said crater, but don't give up. It can be fixed.

Needless to say, fantabulous fantasy cake was ruined, and the cake train took a sharp left turn to Seussville (see photo above). It was the only way I could salvage it. I adjusted the layers to be slightly off center, whipped up a batch of green frosting and threw some crazy aqua polka dots on top of it all. Seussified.

It may have been the most tragic cake I've seen, but, it's the thought that counts, right? :)

playing dress-up.

Can I be honest? I'm not a dress wearer. Rocking a dress requires an intense commitment to leg-shaving and choosing perfect accessories and shoes which I will never possess. Also, dresses plain-ol' look funny on my body...I look like a porcupine in a suit jacket. So unnatural and uncomfortable. For this reason, I like simple combinations: jeans + flip flops + cardigan. Cannot go wrong there.

But, I found this breezy linen cutie last Saturday and couldn't resist trying it on. Granted, the largest size left in the store was two sizes smaller than what I normally wear, but rub a rabbit's foot and wish on a lucky penny...

...it fit! (I would like to take this moment to thank the friendly stretchy empire waistband.) And, I only looked slightly uncomfortable and awkward, which I think could fade with time.

Perhaps I'm growing up. :) Hope your extended weekend was fabulous!

because i can't...

...stand looking at that last post any longer--behold! Another photo of local flora! 

Pardon the previously mentioned prior post/life breakdown. Every single second that post hangs out in cyberspace is one second that makes me increasingly less cool. And life is, really, truly and fundamentally, all about being the coolest you can appear to be to others. (Of course, I'm kidding.) 

But thank you, thank you, thank you to those who let me know that yes, having a life-panic is perfectly normal. And furthermore, we all write our life-chapters at different paces, and if one is not carrying multiple babies, signing a 40 year mortgage and pursuing a masters in astrophysics at age 30...LIFE WILL BE OKAY. Really. It will. Now breathe.

And, as a treat for sludging through the funk with me, I give you this. A song that may be the most hauntingly beautiful thing in the world.

growing.

If you asked me how old I am, I would catch myself saying 25. And while nearly saying 25, I would be nervously calculating just how close 25 is to 30...and then slowly remembering that I'm still only 22. Which is odd, because last year I thought I was 17.

Suddenly I feel the weight of every single life landmark I have left to reach: graduate as a total smarty-pants, marry a hunk I'm crazy about, craft a career I love, take at least one European jaunt, make a zillion beautiful babies, buy a fab-u-lous home and somewhere in the middle experience enough personal fulfillment to figure out just what I'm supposed to be doing for the rest of my days.

Because growing up I was a total goodie, I can distinctly remember the feeling of realizing that I'd forgotten to finish my homework. One second of all-consuming panic, followed by an intense cold sweat and mind-numbing nausea. That's what it feels like. Like I'd better start frantically scrawling down some friggin' answers, lest someone realize that I'm so, so unbelievably far behind. 

Am I normal? (Someone please say yes.) 

sunshine.

Seeds are sprouting and trees are blooming in the midwest, something that several months ago I did not believe would ever happen. Words could not describe the joy this brings me! My heart is *so* full...spring always rockets me to cloud nine!

I snapped this little guy in my favorite park...isn't he just the cheeriest?

blissful wednesday.

Is this the most blissful kitchen on the planet or what? In the words of Tina Fey...'I want to go to there.'

Little Glowing Lights found and posted this beauty, and if you haven't checked out her blog, please do so right now 'cause she's so much cooler than me.

Happy Wednesday!

wanderlust.

(image via sara brewington)

I have been in such a funk for the past week...one of those funks that leaves you aching to drop everything and run to some obscure corner of the globe. Call it spring fever or call it wanderlust...when it strikes it is oh-so crippling.

When I have these days (weeks...or months), I tease myself with a little question:  If I could go anywhere in the world at this exact moment, where would I go? Then I spend an embarrassing amount of time finding the most beautifully undiscovered niche in the location I've chosen. If it were at all permissible to slip off into the night leaving only a note behind, today I would be running here.

Your turn: If tomorrow you could wake up anywhere in the world, where would you find yourself?