Think About It...

My mom and my grandma tell this story of my great-grandmother 'Granny' who, due to circumstances beyond her control, only finished the third grade. But she never quenched her thirst for knowledge. In fact, she would sit and read each night - with a dictionary by her side so that she could always be learning new things. Although she passed away when I was 10 - and I never knew her so well in person as I've come to by (not so) secretely hoarding stories of my family's history - I was and am profoundly awed, inspired, and influenced by this story.
My favorite book is my OED (specifically the Oxford Dictionary of Current English, third edition). It's well worn - and not half as fancy as the one Ione Sky immortalized in Say Anything - but I love it. I really like to go through it at random and look up words that are sure to have an "origin". Well, all words do - but origin in the sense that the dictionary tells you the root or etymology (from the Greek) of a word. So today at lunch - I've been reading Paradise Lost at lunch (sigh. I know...) and I keep my OED handy.
Anyhow, I was reminded of a word I absolutely love today. Not because I use it overmuch, mind - but because the origin is literally so cool.
Ahem. genial /jee-ni-uhl/ adj. Friendly and cheerful. ORIGIN Latin genialis 'productive'.
...I'm just saying.

A Love Letter In Photos...

Dear Fall,
Welcome back - you have been sorely missed, but this makes reunion (if we ever get out of this Indian Summer...) that much sweeter, right?

There's a rumor of rain in H-Town this weekend, and while I'm minorly concerned that my tea party on the balcony guests might not love it - I mostly don't care. Because I.love.the.rain.


Ps. If you decide to rock up on the tea party - all unexpected style... note the dress code. This might be the only exception Yasmin & I will accept to fancy dress....

...such a fan of irony - and of pretty fridays. Enjoy!

Oriental Night in an Occidental Age

The Inspiration: (images of Seville, Spain & Old Jaffa, Israel)
The Invitation:

The Soundtrack - ok, so part of it....

Fancy dress tea party doubles as a dance party doubles as an excuse to gather a bunch of people who maybe don't know each other so well so we can all make new friends....

I'm super excited!

...Si, Solo los Domingos

Some friends (the K's) and I went to Tel Aviv this weekend. Excepting the airport, I'd never been there before - and I really loved 'adventuring' around the city. Such a fantastic atmosphere. (Hopefully, I'll be able to post pictures from it soon)
I felt that we were in perfect harmony with summer that day.... Like we weren't quite ready for summer to be gone - and summer wasn't quite ready to loose it's hold on the world.

... in fair New York, where we lay our scene, my friend Amy of Montague fame (I told you about my nerd factor, yes?) took this picture at the Coney Island boardwalk. I actually saw this picture earlier last week - and I was totally won over by the beauty in it. But I had no idea how completely it would capture the feeling of my experience with the beauty of summer's end. Enjoy!

I Need Therapy...

So did any of you used to watch Friends back in the day? (Is it weird to think that there will be a day when people you're talking to won't know who Ross & Rachel are?) Anyhow, do you remember when Ross married the Brittish girl (sorry - I don't remember her name...), and Ross was having this melt down about how the girl had all of these elaborate plans, and he would have been happy with a JOP (Justice of the Peace) ceremony.... And how Monica had to step in and remind Ross to let her have her day because she's probably been planning it since she was a little girl?
Well, I kind of have a similar issue. I regularly put the cart before the horse - I call it Cart before the Horse Syndrome (CHS).
It's no surprise that I love looking at pretty things, right? Well, many of those pretty things just happen to be wedding related.... and I'm not even in like.
Yeah, it's like that.
Anyhow, I ran into this picture this week - and I think it's hilarious! I especially love the lady in the back with the hat - she's just along for the ride.


p.s. I think I could hear the collective sigh of relief all the way from OC.... Oh, hey Mom.

...In the Lines

Have you ever looked at pictures of yourself as a kid - or even as a baby - and been able to see the person you are now? I think sometimes we can look at habits we had as children and see the people we are now....

When I was a kid (like last year... or yesterday) I would usually only color the main characters on the coloring page - unless I was feeling really artistic.

My life is mostly like that - the finer details aren't so filled in....

Image credit.

A Brief Introduction...

This week's "thoughts on all things I think are pretty" surprises even me. ...okay, so I'm not so surprised as I am impressed with myself - but you'll see what I mean.
As you can probably tell, I err on the side of obsessed when it comes to fashion and art and etc. But lest you get the wrong (ahem. right) idea - I read a lot, too. A lot. And the things I found to be most beautiful and inspiring this week were things that I read.... The piece I've chosen to share with you all (or you 5 - I mean, let's not be dramatic, right?) is from the writings of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The picture is one that I took during the Bahá'í International Convention of the Shrine of the Báb.

To learn more about the Bahá'í Faith... click here.
I hope you enjoy this Friday's post and find it to be as beautiful and inspiring as I do.