Desiderata

As some of you may already know, before today I was a hair color virgin. I'd never done anything to my beloved locks, because my natural auburn hair was something I really, truly loved about myself (it's okay to like something about yourself :) Anyway, you might think, why did you change something you loved? Well, I figured, why not? It's just hair. It grows back. I decided to get a balayage, which is a French word for painting on , and the process is set up to leave your natural roots in tact and lighten the bottom portion of your hair to give the effect of movement and lightness; it's a very summery trend. I really love the way it turned out! I might go even lighter in the future, but it's nice to know I could chop my hair short and be right back where I started if I ever wanted to. What do you think? Do you like it? If you're looking to get this done, I'd recommend Nikki at Slash studio in Santa Monica. She's really great! So nice, warm and fr...

If you liked Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight , you'll probably like, Boyhood . This is a pretty phenomenal feat--director Richard Linklater cast a young boy Ellar Coltrane at 6 years old and filmed him every summer for 12 years with his fictional parents, Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette (who also signed on to work on this film for over a decade). By the end of the film, Ellar is 18 years old and we'll see the fictional family go through divorce and many other coming of age moments. The film debuted at Sundance with great reviews ("moving", "touching", "once-in-a-lifetime"). I'm really looking forward to watching this! Here's a trailer:

Just eating some almonds, watching the wind blow through the trees outside.

I know I'm so late getting into the photo editing app trend, but I just got A Beautiful Mess app for my iPhone. It was created by the cute girls over at A Beautiful Mess. I love how cute the fonts and borders are, but mostly I love how easy it is to use. I've created a couple little pictures that I like--hopefully I'll get better at this!

This gorgeous, slouchy trench . Should I just buy the damn thing already? This cute high school girl isn't getting great grades and didn't get into her colleges of choice...but she started her own company , and it's adorable (and successful). In love with Lianne La Havas right now (thanks, Shane). This song is especially fun. I also really like when she sings with just her guitar. Pretty floral dress for a springtime wedding. Another great option here . ASOS is offering 20% off their label for a limited time only. Per usual, Wit and Delight's wish list is spot on. "As per vs. per usual" ^ via the Grammarist . And now that you've just clicked on all of these links, here's a link to an  article  that suggests that link hopping and surfing the internet can be harmful to your brain. Fantastic exhibition on view at Richard Heller Gallery featuring work by collaborating artists Neil Farber and Michael Dumontier. Love this image. Com...

Today I received this cool gallery invitation from the Kohn Gallery . They represent neo-surrealist Mark Ryden . The envelope was the size of a record and inside was an incredible invitation to the opening--a work of art itself! I'm taking it home and putting it up in my room.

de·sid·er·a·tum diˌsidəˈrätəm,-ˈrātəm,-ˌzidə-/Submit noun plural noun: desiderata 1. something that is needed or wanted. "desired things" I desire so many things. I'd love to be a writer. I want to speak another language. I want my room to feel like a sanctuary. I hope to be fit and healthy; to wake up naturally and full of energy. I want to be a great cook and have children and be married. I want to work at a nonprofit--to truly help people in need. I want to take up photography and take pictures that make people smile. I want to write a play--and a short story. I want to play piano and guitar. I want to work for Conan. I want to make a beautiful website. I want to start surfing. I want to be a yoga instructor. I want to work in a museum. I think about these desires on a daily basis and yet I do not make any moves toward completing any of them. I am a healthy, young woman with a great brain--these desires are more than attainable if I set my mind to it. I was...

This morning after my massage I wandered down the street to get some coffee. I knew there was a Starbucks on the corner, but then I noticed this sweet little coffee shop across the street. I walked in and was immediately taken with the wide, airy-white space. It was clean and bright and urban--like something straight out of San Francisco. I loved the Swedish-style architecture and design--notably the cluster lighting elements over the long, raised bar in the back. Simple brown bags with minimalist typography packaged their coffees in neat rows. The only art on the walls was a large giclee print of an old, bearded and bespectacled man from the late 19th-century. White, brown, and black everywhere; The only pops of color came in the shape of beautiful macaroons, artisan chocolate bars and a few orange ranunculus. The coffee bar was really like an actual bar. The baristas mixed, clamped, shook and stirred the drinks just like mixologists. My iced coffee was so strong a...

I'm sitting at a bar right now listening to these two really hot girls talk about how nice they are with an overly attentive, gay bartender. There are about fifteen different sized television sets playing various late night shows and sports. "I cain't help myself, I luh you and nobody else" blasts all around me. There's a general sense of merriment in the whole establishment; I'm alone and happy. I just went and saw a movie by myself. I've never done that before. I have never seen a movie. Just kidding. But yeah, I've never been to a movie by myself. I didn't have any plans for the evening and I was really itching to see Divergent , so I just did it. I've read the books and really enjoyed the first one. It's chock full of young adulty-cliches and tropes, and sometimes I just eat that shit up. The film was really long but I was kind of happy about that. When you're looking for something to fill your evening, sometimes there's noth...

Here are some photos from the other weekend when we spent the afternoon playing footy golf in Costa Mesa. My dad's company sponsored the tournament, which was a fundraiser for Pure Game--an organization that helps at-risk youths learn how to be team players and create rules together through the beautiful game of soccer. Other sponsors included El Jimador Tequila, who handed out small (but strong) margaritas to anyone who asked. Grandad had a few too many and crashed his golf cart into a tree. 

these are two poems by e.e. cummings; that i (love so much) [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] by e.e. cummings     i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling)                                                       i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart i carry your heart(i ca...