(how to be at) home

I should be packing, and I am, but I can't help taking plenty of breaks to get lost in the pages of Kinfolk....

Incredible and breathtaking and beautiful, no?

It makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, there are more kindred spirits out there than I thought.

(Side note: Those dishes in the last shot completely reminded me of this Lotta Jansdotter tutorial. Been thinking of making it an Abu Dhabi project, since it seems simple enough. Plus it'll keep my hands busy and possibly help me feel more at home. You know? That whole sense of ownership that comes from making something. But we'll see.)

lunch date

Title: Bossypants

Author: Tina Fey
Publishing Info: Regan Arthur Books / Little Brown and Company, 2011 (ebook edition)

I laughed: Especially hard at the part featuring all things Modess (a highlight of Fey's, ahem, "transition" into womanhood).
Her descriptions of summer theatre camp and the resulting shenanigans with the myriad of misfit friends she makes there also had me going.

I cried: Mostly from laughing so hard. However, at one point the teenage Fey confronts a strange truth about how she views others and the world that gave me a knot in my stomach (page 32).

I took notes: On Fey's discussion of more serious fodder, such as women in comedy (I loved her description of Amy Poehler putting a fellow SNL cast member in his place for a sexist remark, page 94) and women at work in general.

Recommendation: Couldn't put it down. Plus the ebook version features Fey reading a chapter from her book, full of behind-the-scenes info about life at NBC and Fey's hit show, 30 Rock. This one's a

oh, how they grow! and introducing...

Remember how I said my Summer Reading List was prone to change? Well, good thing, because almost immediately after posting it (and delving into approximately three of those books), I added five more titles. What can I say? Kid:Candy Store, Emy:Books. 

If that lollypop were a book, we'd be on the same wavelength. 

Although replacing it with chocolate might have the same effect.

Andy also gave me an iPad for our wedding (amazing!), so of course I was obligated to finally check out the whole e-book revolution. (Conclusion: Accessibility is a major plus, but I'm still so in love with the sensory apects of reading an actual book - the texture and smell of pages, the weight shifting in my hands - that it's hard to settle for a less dimensional reading experience. Not to mention the the gloriousness of real-life, physical bookstores, may they rest in peace.)

Luckily I chose a winner for my first e-book: Tina Fey's Bossypants. Purchased in a matter of seconds, read in a day.

My digital library also now includes the following:

Read it in three days. I know, I'm a couple years late. 

It was still fascinating.

In the middle of this one as we speak. 

Saving this for the plane ride. Maybe. I think.

While I was back in Chicago, a friend also loaned me this:

It's satisfying to have a summer goal I can actually accomplish. 

After finishing Fey's book, though, I realized I wanted to do more than just share the titles/covers of what I'm reading for once. And so the idea for my first-ever blog series was born: The Book Report.

It is as it sounds: When I finish one of the books on my list, I'll do a mini-review with rating. Simple. (Funny how something I hated doing in school becomes pleasurable when there's no longer a grade attached.) Hope you'll check back soon!

art at the intersection

Stumbled across this the other day and fell in love . . .

Wouldn't it be amazing to see something like this in action? Berlin, I love you.

new hat

To shield me from that Abu Dhabi sun.  

I've always wanted to wear a big hat like this but didn't know if I could pull it off. Now I have a reason.

(Can you tell I was watching Gentleman Prefer Blondes before doing my makeup? It's always been one of my favorite guilty-pleasure/packing movies, along with this one. Oh, how I used to want that closet! Also a white lace body suit and light blue jeans. Instead, I've got two suitcases and a great hat. I win.)

back up

After two (glorious) weeks in Chicago, Andy headed down to haul me back to Grand Forks. (He'd been with me in Illinois for the first few days but had to go back to work while I stayed on to pack, sort, and see friends.)

So here we are, in Grand Forks. It's flat. With bugs.

But I don't care so much any more - I'm just thankful to be with my husband again. I never thought I'd admit that, or that I'd feel such a sense of relief being back in his presence. What can I say? It feels completely right.

Meaning even though I'm here, I'm home.

yes yes yes

Kaylin Haught
GOD SAYS YES TO ME

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to do
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don't paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I'm telling you is
Yes Yes Yes

Photo by Lauren Ross via Snippet and Ink

feeling most myself

Print from Fifiduvie

Andy and I went for a hike around the Arboretum today, and I could feel the stress melting from my shoulders as we walked. The temperature was perfect (as was the company), and I found lots of "treasure" along the way (in my world, this means half a robin's egg shell, pinecones, and wildflowers). I somehow felt more like myself than I have in a very long while, at ease in my own skin. I'd forgotten what that was like - happy to be where I was, as I was.

Lately I've been wearing lots of what I call "tomboy clothes": easy pieces that don't pinch or cinch or limit me. Maybe I'm reacting to all the dressing up that came with the wedding (always including proper "foundations," mind you). Maybe summer just calls for something a little more laid back. Really, I want to go exploring, to remember what it feels like to imagine I am Harriet. I want the confidence, innocence, and curiosity that comes with it.

Today was no different. I wore a loose striped tee, my favorite pair of slouchy pants, and perfectly broken-in sneakers.

The outfit reminded me in some ways of a photo I'd seen awhile back, of a ten-year-old Caroline Kennedy reading on her summer vacation in Greece:

Found here, after first seeing it here

Which then brought me back to this photo:

Andy took it during our trip to Istanbul last April. (Actually, the moment captured here stands out as another time where I felt "most myself." But reading - in my favorite comfortable clothes, with a cool breeze and faint city sounds floating through the window - often helps me "settle in" like that. Perhaps the reason for my theme this summer?)

I'm not really sure where I was going with all this - just musing, reflecting. And so on.

Until next time, then. Cheers. (And there will be a next time - I have an updated reading list, plus photos of our living space in Grand Forks, to share soon.)