moving day

new host, same shenamygans.

unbelievable

ringz

i'm drooling. awesome design.

oh man.

so awkward.

that's it

i give up trying to be a musician... right about now.

everything in its right place

driving home this morning around two was rough. i'm so tired of studying. throwing things together that don't represent my inner perfectionism. i pulled out of the driveway of my friend's house and headed into the street. there were billows of fog. everything had a layer of dew. everything smelled of muggy spring. i rolled the windows down, turned up ok computer way too loud, and threw my hands out the window. i exhaled pure stress and just smiled. 

i drove home on streets made of clouds. 

inspiration

i know what i want. i want what i don't know i want yet. to be inspired. by the inspiring and the not so inspiring. to continually want to be alive, and to experience all of it. to remember, to move on, to renew.

opera weekend

happy weekend, all. opening night of orpheus in the underworld tonight- the spring season opera production. shows saturday and sunday, too. i'm in the pit. should be a good, completely risqué time. 

happy may day!

this song by elvis perkins is about the time spent while his good friend was in a coma. it's the most meaningful song i've heard in a great deal of time. the lyrics blow my mind.

applebees and hot wings

always hits the spot

outfits that make me happy

sartorialist

can't wait to see this

speaking of

mia farrow is the coolest. i like her a whole lot. 

reminds me of my mom. 

need the eggs

i've been at sick all week now. drugged into sleeping the majority of the time, forcing myself to the doctor, stuff like that. i've been lonely and watching a lot of movies. annie hall has been my favorite. 

i won't be the first or the last to like woody allen's work, but it's been a nice time nonetheless.

stay with me baby

church bells

i think about weddings a lot. maybe it's because there is so much happening with marriage in the news, maybe because i think about my own, but mostly because they're part of my life. i've been the maid of honor. i've been the cellist. my mom's been the organist/pianist, my sister's been the violinist, i've been in the string quartet. i've played pachelbel's canon more times than i care to think of. i've seen the candelabras fall over. i've seen the father-in-law show up drunk, and i've seen the bride outside drinking a beer. i can tell what's popular, what's cliche, what's real and what's not. when people make it their own day, regardless of trends and fashions, that's what it's all about. when i hear of ideas like this one, it makes me so happy. renting out a few super 8 mm cameras to your friends and having them film it. the whole day will be a blur, so why not see it through the people who see the best in you?

that's just what it's about. 

bunnies and eggs

these people make my life a lot better than it should be.

happiest of easters everybody! 

i'm sick for the second major holiday in a row. yeah!

quoting this for infinity

the classiest

god, i love this movie

this is fantastic

thanks, bennet. as always.

bitch pleeze

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

little joys

no stranger to the stage, but started to notice things

this hall filled with people, friday evening

packed full, last concert of the season

hundreds of little faces, dark and similar

giddy and restless, lots of little noises

woman in blue suit, third row

bopping to ellington banged out of the piano

clasping her hands at moments

old man, holding wife's hand

seeing his face, swell red with tears

head lifted to the sky, huge smile

respighi's pure bliss 

makes me feel magic

like a stranger, all over again

great idea

(dfm)

perfect

i have no control over my tear ducts when i hear this.

words can't describe what it does to my insides.

beyond magical. out of this world. 

it's about love

and i'm sure in love with iowa right now.

and i love being in love with iowa.

map animals

(swissmiss)

book fever

really looking forward to reading this. what a good guy.

amazing.

(the sartorialist)

stupid marc

damn it, marc jacobs. stop it. i can't afford your shoes. quit teasing me.

xoxo

this pretty girl is my whole life and i cannot wait to see her in aspen for summer number four!

bike of my dreams

i really, really, wouldn't mind having the genius portland people of map build the bike of my dreams. all of the bikes are so fantastic. drool.

unexpected theme of the day: children books

oh my dear god, i could not be more excited for a movie if i tried. 

all my childhood dreams are coming true.

coolest cake

oh wow- this rules! my nephews should brace themselves before i become awesome and duplicate that.

(coco cake cupcakes)

live every week like it's truffle week

pretty walls

this print is lovely. i'd love to have it on my wall. 

(irene at isphotography)

another crush

not as good as jungle love in purple rain, but nothing compares to that. 

god, the time is so amazing.

weirdest thing ever

really?

(weird)

coke commercial

this is beautiful. even if it is an attempt for coke to take over the world. 

schumann and daydreams

i pretend to play this with an orchestra today-

windows open, with bird accompaniment.

i'm getting a hair trim today. really excited for that. 

milk!

happy first day of spring, happy friday, happy two day anniversary of this movie being in my life. you have to watch it if you haven't.

cooking shows

i love cupcakes. i also hate to love tamra davis' cooking show, her adorable kids, her adorable life, and her adorable husband mike from the beastie boys. god dammit. 

cutie pie

hi paul rudd. you're adorable, and it's quite possible that i love you. that's all. love, amy

(portroids)

i want i want i want

i would look good with one of these. really good. 

(amazon kindle)

good words

from your ill-fitting overcoat

something that really made sense today:

"'Give me a smile, sunshine,' he says as I swipe my card through the reader. 'It can't be that bad.'

"I roll my eyes. 'Good morning,' I say, with the inflection of a world-weary twelve-year-old. He laughs.

"Everyone's talking to themselves on the bus this morning and all I want to do is sleep. At least they aren't talking to me. I curl up against the back window, spring jacket pulled tight around my shoulders, hood over my head. I'm sick again.

"For the first time in a long while, I don't feel like going to work. But I don't feel like staying home either, a place that's feeling less like home and more like a place I'm tired of sleeping.

"I know I'm not depressed because I can still imagine a place I'd like to be. I can see it in my mind's eye: a deserted island, off the map and off the grid, somewhere in the furthest flung corner of the South Pacific. I can see myself cracking coconuts on a rock, wearing a sarong made from palm fronds. Maybe I could bring Sudafed.

"Mostly I just want sunshine. And the space to be alone instead of lonely.

"I haven't exactly cornered the market on hard times. We're all scrounging and sick and over it-- bulls and bears and puppy dog tails, the world's crumbling faster than a handmade pie crust, and still I find time to feel sorry for myself.

"It's not the three months I'm behind on rent. It's not the sickness that never fully leaves me. It's not the way the house around my ears is busting apart at the floorboards, mouse-eaten and bulb-burned and too cold for an almost-spring day. It's not the way I'm losing or have lost nearly every person I could ever care to love.

"It's the way the way the sun never shines full-bright. It's the way that every little moment is a chore. It's the way my wheels spin and spin and never go anywhere I really want to be.

"And then, I don't know. I'm sitting on the bus on a day as dreary as an eighth grade poem, hail and snails and puppy dog tails, snow and rain mixing to sleet, gum stuck to the seat beside me, and I'm looking through a smudged window at a street that needs cleaning and I think, This is beautiful.

"Just this moment.

"This is enough.

"And maybe it is".

this is what 70 degrees looks like

(weheartit)

trees and memories

happy weekend (and spring break for me)! one of my very best friends and one of his friends is coming to visit today. the pictures of the trees were taken by me and clayton during the past summer. clayton was in aspen, colorado, and i was in beijing, china. can you tell whose is whose? or which continent is which? makes me think a lot about good times had and good times to come. hope this weekend is a great one. 

i can't wait to go hug that new baby boy!

beautiful boys

dear boy with the green coat and amazing facial hair,

please marry me. i will be a good wife to you. i promise.

love,

amy

(the sartorialist)

the original joker

this wrings my guts out and hangs them up to dry. unbelievable.

noah james

welcome to the world, little man. it sucks a lot sometimes, but most of the time it's pretty okay. don't get discouraged if you lose something, or your brother or your parents don't agree with you all the time, or if you get dumped, or if you wreck your first car. i will do everything in my power to stuff you with the junk food your mom doesn't approve of, and tell you all the stuff your mom would freak out if she knew i told you. i can't wait to see you walk and talk, i can't wait until your first birthday, i can't wait until you graduate high school, or your wedding day, or the next time i get to see you. i could hold you in my arms forever. i wish you would stay this little forever. never wish to grow up, and never regret anything you do. i will remember everything about this day forever- how i cried when i saw you in the nursery window, the way you smelled, when i brought your dad a half eaten chicken salad sandwich and cold fries (and he loved it), when your brother david picked out your teddy bear and wrapped it in blue tissue paper, when i wore yellow rain boots into the hospital, when the nurses told me i looked like your grandma, the way the sky looked above the hospital as i drove away. i wish you a long and happy life, and i wish you strength to handle it all. 

i will always be here for you. 

rain clouds and sad songs

childhood living is easy to do
the things you wanted i bought them for you
graceless lady you know who i am
you know i cant let you slide through my hands
wild horses couldnt drag me away
wild, wild horses, couldnt drag me away

not only is that song beautiful, but i love watching musicians listen to their own stuff. everything about that video made me feel better today.

happy weekend!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go.
--Dr. Seuss

(weheartit)

weirdest thing ever

i don't have an iphone. if i did, i would never do anything but this.

black cab sessions

i highly recommend the black cab sessions. i've been watching them all morning. a lot of my very favorite artists have recorded with them, and it's a really cool concept.

oh yeah, sorry i'm sort of obsessed with her. oh wait, no i'm not.

daydreams and photos

these images make me not want to live in iowa right now. i'm so itchy for spring it's insane. i just want to hibernate and not come out until it's 70 degrees and sunny all the time.

the first one is of iceland. how cool is that?

(weheartit)

birthdays of glass

happy birthday, mr. ira. hope your day is swell.

cereal and strange dreams

so i had weird dreams last night. i think i'm getting/am sick with something, because i'm constantly tired and sore all over. anyway, i was in this big auditorium- which was possibly underwater- and i'm pretty sure it was part of the aspen music festival (which i applied to and am patiently waiting on the news of my pending acceptance). a lot of people i knew were there, and it was a very steep auditorium. the seats just kept going forever. i got in trouble for bringing my cello along, but i think that i didn't know where else to put it. yo-yo ma was quietly playing cello in the back of the hall, and nobody was paying attention except me. then i took my cello to him and asked him what he thought of my bow. he put my bow vertically in between two strings and had me hold it there while he played open strings with his bow. then he told me my bow was too lightweight. how did he know that?! i had a craving for cereal, which lasted the entire dream. turns out- that was a real life craving that is still lasting throughout my morning. hence the picture of the newly reinstated vintage general mills cereal boxes that are completely bad-ass. i saw them at target on friday and freaked out. must. have. all. of. them. man, cereal rules.

mini-golf and crêpes

happy weekend, everybody! what a lovely one it's been so far. my dear friend, olivia rose, celebrated her birthday yesterday with mini-golf and cupcakes. i saw a lot of old friends, and made some new ones. it was a really nice evening. today i woke up at noon (heaven), and went to watch my cello professor's 4 year old- matisse. then, i went to a place for brunch with a friend that one of those new friends last night recommended- the leaf kitchen. i had the crêpe up there (lime and brown sugar wheat), with a mint lime soda. it did make me want to drink a mojito, for it to be about 40 degrees warmer, and possibly lay on a hammock for days. oh well. time will cure all, i'm sure. then i spent 3 hours at a coffee shop with a couple of friends. i plan to keep hard-core relaxing through the weekend, maybe eat a lot of indian food, maybe cuddle too much, probably play cello a lot. 

hope the rest of yours is great!

itzhak lovie

god of gods

warning: cello nerd post
this is insane.

frugal wishlist

we both know i have no money, but if i did, you'd better believe i'd already own these things.

see? i don't ask for much. besides, nobody can have too many moccasins.