love.

it feels this way sometimes. comfort.

TH is in nyc for a few days. I'll be heading up tomorrow to join him. Then after a weekend, I have to do some business tripping. A lot of business tripping in the next 40 days. They will be great and interesting trips, but I'm always so happy to come back and see him.

laughing.

today at nienie:

I was downstairs and overheard Mr. Nielson upstairs
attending to two screaming girls in the shower.
Then he said:
"Oh girls, guess what? The devil called and said you guys were doing awesome."

I laughed and was glad the day was over.

i love their family!

friends.

i caught up with an old friend today.

we met nearly 10 years ago when we worked together at a golf course. he is my "one soul". he came to visit me at utah state my freshman year, and i took him on a tour of utah, including temple square. he wasn't lds, in fact he grew up jewish.

two years later he was baptized. two years after that he met his wife and was married in the lds temple. now he has a beautiful little girl and another baby on the way.

i am so happy for my friends who have been incredible blessings in my life. he has always pushed me to be better, knowing i can achieve more than i think capable. friends like that are hard to come by, so i feel doubly blessed that we are still friends after all these years.

what type of friend is indispensable for you? do you have a friend like that in your life?

decision.

it's been a long time coming, but this month i really have to make an important decision. i can keep putting it off, but almost every day i think about it, and try to plan out a way to make it happen.

well, it's time to go one way or the other. and november is the month to decide.

do i get an iphone or save money for winter clothes? would i use it enough to make it worth it? will it really change my life? if i have an iphone, will i not care about how freezing and ugly i am because i couldn't afford new clothes since i spent it all on technology?

decisions are the worst.

blerg.

i just realized that one of my favorite skirts doesn't really fit me, which is why i hardly ever wear it. its too big. why do i continue to buy my clothes too big and why is the size of american clothes shrinking?

the district: brunch and einstein.

we really really liked le pain quotidien. perfect place for a rainy saturday bruch. i had a yogurt parfait (the granola was amazing!) and TH had eggs and soldiers.

oh and belgian hot chocolate. you get to stir in the chocolate yourself. fun!

then we visited mr. einstein at constitution and 24th. we really like this statue and want to visit the national academy of science museum soon.

stressed. desserts spelled backwards.

you guys, don't worry. i'm cool. it's cool, no need to worry.

everything is fine. things are normal. life is good.

right?

(wishing i were still in bed right now. or far away in a nook where i can read and nap all day.)

how to avoid work OR my new hobby

here's my next big idea: reupholstering chairs.

i found a couple cheap chairs (with great frames) on craigslist and i think i'm going to try my best to reupholster what are currently very dingy chairs. has anyone ever done this? any advice? does anyone want to help or bring a chair and do your own?

i've been researching and it seems like you need a lot of tools. and sometimes the fabric can be expensive. ohhh...what am i getting myself into?

and i was out.

last night was tough.

TH and i met up to have a study date. i need to study for my job, to get smarter on all these topics, and TH needs to do some studying for his, too. well, we went to buzz cafe, open till midnight, awesome cupcakes, wi-fi and good study space...and it was totally packed! so we stood there for like 5 minutes, pouting, then went back to his studio apartment.

we got thai food, watched seinfeld, then started studying. and by studying i mean he started working and i laid down and went to sleep. so much for getting smart.

and also, i miss thai smile - the old thai place that used to be on 23rd street, which has now been replaced by a less desirable restaurant. now we go to urban thai which is fine, but you have to admit its much more fun to get take out from Thai SMILE!

i'm going to go home tonight, change into comfy clothes, make a pb&j (thanks naomi for the idea!), and watch my stories (the office, 30 rock, and project runway). sounds heavenly.

tears.

it was 10pm. dark and chilly. glowing lamps lit small cozy homes as i walked by. and this song brought me to tears - its rumored that mahler wrote it for his wife as a love letter. writing this symphony filled their first summer together as husband and wife, and his wife Alma was a continued inspiration for his music.

and well, walking home last night from the metro, i began to cry because this song really does feel like the person you love is making his declaration. i have been practicing the adagietto - a piano arrangement. its not nearly as beautiful as the symphony, but it fills some gaps.

basically, i am putty in mahler's hands.

things i need in my life. this week's edition.

1. lots of bubblegum.2. old cameras.
3. furniture with clawed feet.

4. stripes.5. grand piano.6. friends.probably some cinnamon rolls, too.

but not all at once. wait, on second thought - yes, all at once. i'll work on this - and will provide photographic evidence.

when history looks oh so bad.

sometimes i cringe at the boys i've dated in my previous life. You know, Julie B.TH. (before TH).

facebook always brings their pictures to my attention and it ruffles my feathers sometimes. maybe i should look at facebook less and look more at things that matter, like the growing pile of work in front of me.

but seriously, most people reading my blog probably know of at least one person who i should never have dated. *sigh. such is the life of a 27 year old girl. why didn't you guys tell me what i couldn't see for myself? glad that is history and now my boy TH surprises me with tulips on a wednesday night. and doesn't mind watching project runway with me. and has some really, really good jokes. and just makes me feel good about life in general (i always think of that depeche mode song when i hear "life in general". then i think of report rhyming with report and it sends me into a fit of giggles.)

(best hairstyle ever)

last night.

i made the upside down cranberry cake. it was delicious.

we watched 30 rock, the office, and project runway.

then after the shows, we were talking about crabshacks for some reason. and TH came up with best name for a crabshack: shadrach's crabshack.

at 11pm, it was really funny. my stomach still hurts from laughing for like 10 minutes. the silent laughter is the best, with the shoulder shaking? ya know?

we also laughed about the time i said shadrach, ratshack, and abendego. i never said i was up on my bible stories, did i?

cranberries. no...cranberries. alright both.

i'm talking gild the lily, folks.

as if cookies and dessert breads were not enough, i'm feeling the need for a little more...oh how the french say, "i don't know what".

i will be making these and this. i think i'll start with this, and i can always freeze these. just keep me away from the orange zester because last time i zested my thumb and forefinger. disgusting.

and yes, this was all inspired by this.

ug, autumn, what are you DOING to me? besides destroying my waistline, that is.

nerves.

my big haircut is right around the corner and i have no idea what to do with my hair!

i always do this. i schedule an appointment weeks in advance with plans to find "the perfect haircut" then i go in with nothing and say "ummm, what do YOU think?" i need an image consultant, i think.

in other news, i practiced scales for 30 minutes last night on the piano, and then determined that i still am a romantic. bach is hard to play and i make it sound choppy, and debussy is beautiful and flowing. how do i fight that kind of logic? welll, folks, i don't.

movie theaters.

growing up, i was never much of a trouble maker. i was kicked out class occasionally for talking too much, and once given a referral for flirting (this honestly did happen! how embarrassing!), and i think i said the A word for the first time in 11th grade.

when i moved out and went through my college years, things pretty much stayed the same. i was a good kid and didn't get into too much trouble. however, i did develop one habit that was less how shall we say, "moral" than my other habits. i was a movie sneak.

i snuck into more movie theaters than i care to mention, from dc to missouri to utah to alaska, etc. from sea to shining sea, really. sometimes i would just walk in and not pay. other times i would pay for one movie and catch a double feature and on the rare occasion - a triple feature. i didn't have much money at this point in my life, but i still thought i deserved entertainment just as much as the next guy. i did a lot of temp work, which meant sometimes 5 days a week of working, or sometimes only 1 or 2. it was boring. i was poor. i snuck into movies.

one time i pulled the "can i use your bathroom" trick, then sneaked off to a theatre. on the way, i saw the guy who let me in to use the bathroom. my heart sunk to my chest and i got the insta-sweats. i was sure i was busted! but the guy just looked right past me. lucky break.

yes, i have a shady past when it comes to movie watching. and you know what? i don't even feel that bad about it.

still the weekend.

3 day weekend! so much to do, and that extra day kind of gets us there.

friday we left work a couple hours early to meet on the mall and check out the peacock room and the solar decathalon. we movied, hung out in the portrait gallery, and tried out meat and veggie burgers at good stuff.saturday we bageled at brooklyn bagels in clarendon (a fav spot), then met with some new friends, hannah and rob. we started reading each others blog awhile back, then they just recently moved to dc from paris (!), so we decided it was high time we were real life friends. and i don't want to jinx anything, but i'm pretty sure we hit it off. we talked loudly in the corcoran for like an hour and hannah wasn't even that upset when i started touching all the art, which i can only assume means we are friends. we walked through dc for a while, then supped for 3 hours at tonic in mt. pleasant. TH and rob found out they work right across the street from each other and share a common love. (well, besides significant others who enjoy meeting blog friends)
sunday was dinner with family and baby lijah and laura are in town!

today? more solar decatholon (even though the weather is trying to thwart us...)

the district: national arboretum and the mall

it was cristy's birthday this week!to celebrate, she was gracious enough to invite me on her birthday day of exploration.

we went to the national arboretum.

we ran into nature, including a praying mantis the size of my head.

cristy prayed to the birthday gods and they smiled upon her.

this slug also impressed us with its size and mobility.

cristy near the castle.

ahhh dc is wonderful! i keep saying that new york ruined me and i can never love any other cities, but the more time i spend in dc, the more i love it. the arboretum was so beautiful. we went to the top of the washington monument and saw for miles around. we visited the peacock room which is one of my new favorite spots in dc. we walked through the solar decathlon that is on the mall for the next few weeks (with incredible scandinavian-esque designs and solar panels everywhere!!)

point is - i really like this city. in the same way it takes time to get to know a person, it takes time to get to know a city. but i feel like this is more than a crush and it may be something more akin to endless love once its fully developed.

<3

winter coat.

i'm so bored of the pea coat.

i saw this girl in iceland with a mid-thigh length black jacket with a hood. i guess you could call it a cape, but it was so stylish. i looked all over iceland for it, but no luck. it was so flowy and beautiful, but not like, you know, robin hood or lord of the rings.

man, i want that.

isn't life tough sometimes? haha. this is what mark calls a "bouge problem" like bourgeoisie.

youngest sister has some exciting news...again!

laura always keeps me guessing. i always thought i was the wild card of the family, but now i realize i'm just rather boring.
i...
sit in my office day after day and
pay my student loans and
make excel charts to track my budgets and
go to bed at a reasonable hour and
get to work early and
stay in a stable relationship with a good boyfriend and
watch the same shows everyone watches...

anyway.

point is, she is way cooler than me. (so is the rest of my family for that matter.)

at 19: pregant, married
at 20: has cute elijah baby, husband baptized
at 21: pregnant with #2 and talks of a big move

WHAT? who IS this girl? the great part is she is totally cool about it all and not all control freak like i'm afraid i would be. cool as a cucumber, that laura.

plus i just found out this morning via her blog. i was shocked and SO SO happy! i love my sisters!

harvest season.

last weekend: a scenic drive with dear cristy and annie to an orchard/farm in potomac, md.purchased: 10 pounds of apples, 3 squash, 2 corn, 1 apple cider, and a bag of yellow and green beans.

yielded: 3 lunches of butternut squash/cauliflower/chickpea salad, 3 dinners (accompanied by various fish), and one delicious apple pie.

remainder: 4 pounds of apples. what do you do with all those apples?!

well, you invite more friends over to have apple desserts.
on the list: apple tart, apple cake, apple fritters, and applesauce!

moral of story: a good way to burn yourself out on fall flavors is to be overzealous at the orchard.

well, does it look like we could help ourselves??

feeling fancy.

i need a sparkly dress and a top hat to match the mood i'm in.

october, is the second most romantic month out of the year (november 1st, duh), and it makes me all silly. i know TH just LOVES my whims.

let's eat french food!
let's drive to the river and take pictures of us in animal masks!
come pick me up and we'll ride with the windows down through the night air!
let's buy tickets to paris and leave tonight!

of course how often do these things happen? hardly ever. but sometimes they just need to exist in my mind for a few moments. i'm a romantic at heart. i should've known when growing up, all i ever wanted to play on the piano was liszt, chopin, beethoven.

have a beautiful weekend, lovelies.

clothes. this is my materialistic post.

a discussion on the evolution of shopping.

here's the thing. the other night, sitting in the hall, staring in the mirror and debating which hairstyle would flatter us the most, cristy and i were paging through vogue and elle. many many adorable clothes and many gorgeous women. we started on a conversation about how many of the clothes we love cost $2000 per article. and how the clothes we used to rely on are growing more dull everytime we step into a shop.

i.e.
banana republic: have your clothes changed since 2002? i'm so bored of seeing the same lined ill-fitting office pants. and the same overpriced trench coat. just reinvent yourself already.
jcrew: a tshirt for $60? why because it has some sequins on it in the shape of a bow?
anthropologie: yes, of course i love everything you sell, but why must it cost so?

my question is this. is there some secret store that i don't know about selling beautiful sweaters and boots and fall-wear for a reasonable price? and these sweaters would last for years and be timeless and i could keep shopping at H&M and UO for of-the-moment fashion?

it's just so depressing, what with my new budget and all. its turning cold and i'm finding i have nothing to wear.

question.

should i cut my hair like this?
or do i just want the impossible? (to look like audrey hepburn)