Fun Finds Friday #50

These illustrated puns by Jaco Haasbroek are the cutest.



Check out these photos of a man sticking household objects in his beard.



This is what music looks like.



These photos of Misao and Fukumaru make me smile :)


+ AC/DC's Thunderstruck played on cello is awesome.
+ The nerd and collector in me loves this highly impractical clock. (Thanks, Dad!)



Happy Friday!!!

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Chair Skirt

necklace: Lucky Brand / top: Anthropologie (thrifted) / skirt: Anthropologie / tights: Macys / boots: Palladium

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love ridiculous things. That includes ridiculous patterns, so of course I couldn't resist this chair-print skirt! I'm looking forward to being able to wear it without tights and boots... maybe that will be some day soon? Probably not though, by the looks of it. I thought I had more to say today, but I really don't... so I'll just leave you with these photos of my crazy skirt.

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B.Read List: November 2013 - February 2014

Man, it's been a while since I've done a books-read recap!

Looking at this list it's clear that I've been slacking on my reading these past few months... to be fair though, two of these were particularly dense long reads. And they were my favorites! So I'll start with the books that didn't move me as much.

I just finished Choosing Civility. It was a fairly quick read, simple, straightforward, mainly common sense. A good reminder of how we should all behave with each other, regardless of the situation. I interact with a lot of people daily that could certainly benefit from reading this.

Chuck Palahniuk's Rant has been on my bookshelf for years, but I only recently actually read it. It took some time for me to get into it and the different style of writing, but eventually Palahniuk's voice shone through and I found myself quite drawn to the story, if only to finish it. Definitely not one of my favorites of what he has written, but it certainly wasn't a waste of time either.

I stumbled upon The Goldfinch while searching for books to add to my Kindle. The summary sounded interesting and the book certainly lived up to the hype it's been getting recently. The story was a touch too drawn out for me; I really appreciated all the vivid details and the intimacy developed between the reader and the main character, but I don't think the book needed to be nearly 800 pages long. At the same time though, I was never bored while reading it because the story was so enthralling. I'd definitely recommend reading it, if you have the time.

My favorite book of the four (possibly of the year!) was Kafka On The Shore, by far. I could not put it down! The story, the language, the philosophical meanings amongst it all... I was smitten. An extremely readable story with fascinating characters and unlikely (fantastical) events... I can't properly put my feelings about it into words. Just read it. I know I'll be reading more by Murakami soon!

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Week in Photos: Week 8

Since Lloyd seems to be quite a prominent feature in these week in photos post, you can possibly start considering these week of Lloyd photos posts. I promise, once spring finally decides to arrive on the east coast, things should get slightly more interesting around here. Not that Lloyd isn't interesting (quite the contrary!), but you know what I mean!

Let's play Find The Lloyd.





Big Bear is in da house. Look at that swagger!





Remnants of everything bagels and cream cheese.





Dexter was my life this week. And probably will be for the next few weeks.





Cats certainly do love boxes. This one's no different.





Cookie making after-math. Not too bad!





Wait! This is cookie making after-math! And more Dexter.





Oh, just another trip to our local brewpub. They know us there!





And they make strange but beautiful art on their windows.





I guess we're having Lloyd for lunch!





Hm. It would appear as though I need to clean my desktop and desk area.





I wonder, what do cats contemplate? Playing? Sleeping? Eating?





Friendly notes from friends at work. Lockers! It's like high school, without the drama.





I got a pedicure! And, you guessed it, more Dexter. Can't get enough!





A dreamily flying Lloyd seemed like a good way to end this.




I hope you had an amazing week!

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Fun Finds Friday #49

Child's Own Studio turns children's art into plush toys. What a creative venture!



Have you heard about the Dumb Starbucks parody? Here's how it ended.



Someone had some fun with post-it notes on the train.


+ Ten painfully obvious truths everyone forgets too soon.
+ This is such an amazing video sequence. (Thanks, Camille!)


Happy Friday!!!

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Lace & Silliness

necklace: local jeweler / dress: Banana Republic / sweater: Anthropologie / tights: Target / boots: GC Racer

A dress, tights, cardigan, and boots have become my winter go-to this year. I've never been a huge fan of pants, and with my ever expanding dress collection... the combination just makes sense. So prepare to see more of this combination! With alternating pieces, of course. This particular dress was my first choice as my wedding dress when I stumbled upon it at a consignment shop for the mere price of FREE (since I traded in some clothing which covered the cost)... but then I found this dress and, well, you know which one won out. Oh, and I'm not quite sure what was going on here... clearly I wasn't watching What Not to Wear (although it's on in the background) but was probably entertaining Lloyd instead. Probably. Then again, it doesn't take much to get me silly.

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Week In Photos: Week 7

We got a whole lot more snow this week, which means this week in photos contains even more photos of Lloyd again! I can't wait to be able to go outside for extended amounts of time again. Snow, I command you to melt and be gone!

I loved the way the sun shone through the blinds that day.





Shawn put on "Aquarium in Your Home" and Lloyd sat right there, mesmerized.





I said "Thank you so much, Siri" and then she went and got all creepy on me...





Cappuccino and tea following a delicious meal at Agricola with a girlfriend I hadn't seen in far too long.





My new keyboard. I think I need one of these.





He's so good at looking being adorable!






This photo does not even begin to encompass how much snow is on the ground right now. The sidewalks are giant puddles.





Girls day! My friend Sam invited me over to watch Sex and the City and I demanded that she paint my nails with her fancy polishes. Lucky for me, she happily obliged.





"Now I am human, like you?"





I ate this whole thing myself while Shawn was at work. Don't judge. It was awesome.





One of my colleagues had her last day yesterday and the break room was filled with too many irresistible treats.





This weekend we had a floral challenge, so I wore my flowery-est dress to work. I love the colors!





Just in case you didn't believe me about my new keyboard... this was taken on a different day.



I hope you all had an amazing week!

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Fun Finds Friday #48

This guy makes clouds for art!



These modern art desserts are fun looking!



I wish Philly had some creative bus stops.
I think Montreal wins though!

+ 15 reasons you should eat more chocolate.
+ This video of a crow is pretty remarkable.
+ A neat little photo project called TheHours.
+ These scenes from the road make me crave a mountain cabin retreat.
+ I really like the organized concept of the bullet journal.

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Valentine's Day Cards

Well, it's another snow day for all of us here on the east coast, and I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking "Gee whiz, can winter just stop with all this snow already?!" I'm not tired of winter so much as I'm tired of all this snow that keeps piling on top of endless weeks worth of pre-existing snow. The sidewalks here have been a mess for weeks, which makes walking (our most common form of transportation) super difficult. I'm really just tired of sitting around the apartment because the thought of walking a half mile up the roads sounds too daunting. I want clear sidewalks and parking lots!

Since I wasn't expecting to have time to post today, I didn't have a post planned. But with Valentine's Day right around the corner tomorrow, I thought it'd be nice to post some last minute Valentine's Day cards. Shawn and I don't 'celebrate', but I still get a kick out of looking at cards this time of year.

The Indigo Bunting on Paperless Post



Happy Dappy Bits on Etsy



Fish + Cake on Etsy



....hm, it's pretty clear that food and love are in the same boat for me.

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My New Favorite Sweater

necklace: Love Culture / sweater: Anthropologie / skirt: Anthropologie / shoes: Anthropologie
Last week I showed you my new favorite pants, so this week it seems fitting to introduce you to my new favorite sweater. Some of my best purchases from Anthropologie have been items customers have returned from online. This sweater fell into my hands sometime in November and at first I wasn't so sure I liked it. I thought the fit was awkward and I didn't think it would go with anything in my closet. But one of my colleagues convinced me otherwise and I ended up purchasing it... and it's probably the sweater I've worn the most out of any of the ones I've bought over the last few months! Actually, that's been the case for all the purchases I've hesitated over... they've ended up being my favorite pieces. Also, my love for this skirt knows no bounds. It was yet another returned item that I snatched up as soon as I saw it - lucky for me it was exactly my size.

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Week In Photos: Week 6

I've been wanting to get a photo of Anthropologie in the morning sun, but they keep scheduling me to close on Sundays, so here's a night time shot of our window displays. Creepy.





Philadelphia got a ton of snow on Monday. This is what our apartment complex's parking lot looked like.





I never manage to take a photo of breakfast before I dig in...





Our neighbor's kids made a snowman! It was fun watching them roll the giant balls of snow around the lot.





Making cookie dough happens at least once a week. I can't believe we haven't gone through it all already!





Wednesday there was an ice storm, so of course I walked to Trader Joe's for some snacks.





That's the look he gives me when I try to read while he wants cuddles.





I've been going through old whimsey boxes I never got around to making...





Peppermint lip balm! I have to melt it back down though... I added too much wax and it's as solid as a candle. Oops!





This is my view when I read on the couch in the mornings...
he was having a ball with the catnip beaver Kaylah got him for Christmas!





I made lemon bars! That's probably why we haven't eaten many chocolate chip cookies this week.





THAT FACE. I love that face.





Chicken salad in the making. Next time, more chicken, less apple.





Break time at work! (I took two work photos this week... I'm trying to branch out, guys!)
Chicken salad, lemon bars, and a Palahniuk book.





Shawn said he was going out for 'a couple of' donuts. Then he came home with a box-full.
And some Girl Scout cookies.





I did it! I took a photo of breakfast before taking any bites! You guys don't understand how difficult that is.



I hope you all had an amazing week!! How about less snow this week though, no?

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