Currently + Manet

The Luncheon on the Grass by Édouard Manet 1862-1863

Inspired by. Art inspires me endlessly, and my current fascination is with the 19th-century French painter, Édouard Manet. I would love a book on both his life, and his work.

Loving. This weekend was amazing, because it was simple. It consisted of sleeping in, the New York Times crossword puzzle, coffee dates, shopping, family dinner, long walks, and playing cards. Honestly, I can not think of anything more perfect.

Working on. One of my favorite things to do is to make Shutterfly books. You can digitally create a scrapbook, and then they send it to you in the mail. My favorite part is picking out different embellishments and playing with the orientation of the photograph.

Reading. The Great Gatsby. I have not read anything other than a textbook in a while, so this is very exciting. This summer I hope to read at least five classic novels, that I have not read. I'm taking suggestions. I would love to hear about everyone's favorite books.

Watching. In the background of tidying up the house, looking over schoolwork, and doing a little blog upkeep, I decided to put on Spiderman. I totally have a girl crush on Kirsten Dunst.

Thinking about. Jason and I are planning a trip to San Francisco, California this summer. It is our next big adventure. We are thinking about going late July or early August, hopefully just in time to see the fog roll in over the Golden Gate bridge. It is about an eleven hour drive from Phoenix, but we are going to stop in Los Angeles overnight to stay with my brother and then take the Pacific Coast Highway all the way up.

Tasting. Fresh corn on the cob. My mom made some for a family dinner, and I forgot how yummy, and fun it is to have.

Anticipating. The end of the semester! A little over a week and everything will be turned in, and finals will be taken. I can not wait to have the summer ahead of me, and have all the time in the world to read, paint, and go on adventures.

Listening to. The Postal Service. I love Ben Gibbard. Always have, always will.

Wishing. A pretty, new bathing suit is on the top of my wish list. It is almost time to go swimming!

♥ Thank you to Danielle at Sometimes Sweet for the idea for this post. What are you currently into?

Favorites + Pink Peonies

Album. Vampire Weekend's Contra. It has not left my car stereo is a week. I keep hitting repeat on "Run". I'm anxiously awaiting their new album to release on May 14.

Flower. Pink peonies. I have not found them anywhere in the Phoenix area, but I go to Los Angeles enough, and there is a whole flower district there. If you are in LA and want to pick up some pretty flowers, I highly suggest Larchmont Village Florist.

Color. Wedgwood blue. It's a soft blue, and I thought it was interesting that years ago blue was considered feminine.

Book. I ordered The Great Gatsby off of Amazon, and it was delivered today! I need to get started on it if I want to read it before the movie comes out on May 10. It's a classic, so I'm sure it will be an instant favorite.

Drink. I was on a crazy tea kick, but lately with countless papers and finals rapidly approaching, my iced venti vanilla soy latte from Starbucks is getting me through everything.

Game. It's a tie between playing pinocle over a cup of coffee, and croquet while enjoying these last few moments of bearable weather in Phoenix.

Moment. Every night Jason and I take a bicycle ride around the park near our place. The air is still cool at night, so we are soaking up every minute of it.

Food. Last night, for Jason's birthday, we had dinner with his family at King's Fish House. I had hazelnut crusted salmon, and it was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten.

Show. I'm completely addicted to Gossip Girl. I dream of living on the Upper East Side, with a wardrobe to rival Blair Waldorf.

I noticed that my favorites have changed. I thought it would interesting to note them now, and look back on them in a month to see any differences.

♥ What are your current favorites?

A Log Cabin + Marmaduke

For Jason's birthday, we planned a weekend in a log cabin called Marmaduke. It was about five hours Northeast of Phoenix. On the drive we listened to Vampire Weekend, sipped our Starbucks, and talked about all the adventures we want to have in the near future. It was absolutely beautiful. By day we played with Joker out in the field behind the cabin, and sat by the fire watching The Hobbit at night. It was lovely leaving the doors open while feeling the fresh, cool breeze, and playing Pinocle over cups earl grey. It's safe to say that we are definitely coming back to Marmaduke, that truly felt like a home away from home.

♥ Have you ever stayed in a cabin? What was your experience?

The Getty Villa, Rose Bowl + Weekend in LA

Life has been so busy lately with classes, papers, birthdays, and anniversaries, that I am so thankful for weekends like this. Jason and I spent a long weekend in my favorite city, Los Angeles. We stayed with my brother Michael, and who feels like my other brother, Guillermo. They have a beautiful home, and when we weren't there we were out on little adventures around the city. We went to The Getty Villa in Malibu where it felt like we were instantly transported to a little Roman villa. We also went to the Rose Bowl flea market in Pasadena where literally anything you could ever want is located in one giant parking lot. We already planned our next trip in May, as soon as this semester is over.

♥ Do you have a favorite city to visit?

5-Year Anniversary + Croquet

1//Eleven is kind of our special number. We started dating on April 11, 2008, and got married on November 11, 2011. So, I woke up to eleven red balloons, and a dozen roses. 

2//It was such a special morning.

3//We ordered a vintage croquet set on Etsy from 1960. I used to play all the time when I was a kid growing up in Maryland. This was Jason's first time playing, and he really enjoyed it. I think we are going to spend more afternoons like this.

4//Yours truly.

5//Clever boy, trying to knock my ball out of the way.

6//We ended up playing until the sun went down, so our afternoon picnic turned into a moonlit one.

7//Best app ever.

♥ Have you ever played croquet before? What's your favorite app?

Michelle's Baby Shower + Leona Sky

1//I used my new handy gift wrapping skills for Michelle's baby shower gifts.

2//I'm in love with this stamp.

3//Time for presents.

4//This is the cutest cake I've ever seen.

5//We played a game to see who could guess the correct amount of tummy tape. Guess who won? Yours truly.

6//It was a monkey theme, so this was fitting.

7//Swim time.

8//My sister glows!

9//Banana candy party favors.

10//Momma-to-be and Ya-Ya (aka Grandma). I love my family.

11//Me, Michelle, and our mom. 

12//Skyanne, Michelle's friend, hosted this lovely baby shower.

13//A day we'll never forget.

♥ This was my first baby shower. Have you been to one? What was your experience?

Gift Wrapping + Party Hats

1//I got all the wrapping paper for $1 each from Target. The pretty paper, stamp, tags, and ribbon are from Michael's. All the supplies you need for fun party goodies.

2//This is the first time I've actually spent time wrapping a gift, and making party hats. It wasn't perfect, but I feel like that's what makes them so cute.

3//Little details, like the fresh French lavender courtesy of Trader Joe's, make all the difference. This gift is for my sister Michelle for her birthday.

4//The white hat with the hearts is for me, the white and purple gingham is for Michelle, and the blue and white polka dot one is for Jason. His birthday is on the 15th, so I thought he deserved some early recognition. 

♥ Do you have any neat tricks for gift wrapping?

Birthdays + Butterflies

//My sister, Michelle, and I have our birthdays within a week of each other. We had a nice dinner (and cake) with our family. I made the birthday hats.

2//Jason surprised me with the bicycle of my dreams! It's a Linus Dutchi. We took it out that night around the park because I couldn't wait until morning.

3//During the day we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens for the Butterfly Exhibit. There were about 2,000 butterflies all flying around. It was so fun!

4//I thought they would be scared, but they were really friendly.

5//We learned that it is dangerous (for them) to touch their wings, but Jason got pretty close.

6//This one is called Queen, and she was my favorite.

7//This one is called Pipevine Swallowtail, and I still can't get over the coloring.

8//So pretty.

9//Jason got some action shots while the butterflies flew around me.

10//I had such a wonderful birthday!

♥ Thank you to all my friends and family that made my day extra special.