currently listening to...

I've always loved Amy Winehouse's music, but for some reason, I've never been able to fully love or support her because she's so F'ed up! Now, I have found someone with that same soulful sound and poignant lyrics that makes my soul happy.... Duffy!



Her album "Rockferry" is killer. I've been listening to track number 2 on repeat all day. Also, this video is sexy...


Also, thanks goes out to Matt for his recommendation!

no doubt about it.

today is a monday.


I have a hundred and one things to do, but no energy to do it.

can i get an amen?

finally!! Topshop has launched it's US website and is opening a store in NY in November!

When I lived in Scotland this was my favorite store! Soon, very soon I will start stocking up on cardigans, skinny jeans (they are the best! Everytime I wear them, people ask where they're from.)and ballet flats! I'm so happy to get a lil bit of the UK in the USA!

Going out tonight!

to celebrate my dear friends Kim & Jimmy's birthdays (yes, they're married and have the same name and birthdays 1 day apart!) I want to look extra special. I'm feeling these looks and wondering how I could pull them together with pieces I already have in my closet??

something fancy?...
something funky?...
something sophisticated?...
something sienna?...
(images from alldressedup.com)

bad news comes in three's...bad news #3

soon i will be living alone.

Sometimes roommates can be bad...but when you get a roommate who is great, you want to hold onto them for as long as you can...until you find a permanent roommate for life, that is. Lauren is the best roommate for me. She was when we lived together three years ago with Anne in the duplex. That's where she taught me how to make Swedish pancakes and how to properly do my laundry (whites with whites, colors with colors - DUH!). Her room was in the basement of the duplex and always cooler in the summer time, so I'd sneak down there and sleep with her every once in a while and we'd watch an Audrey Hepburn film as we fell asleep. Then we lived with my parents for a couple months before she moved to CA and I moved to the UK. That was random, huh Lo?! For the third time, she moved in with me when she came back from CA. Which is where we are today.

She is the best roommate, which is why I don't think I can top her. I suppose I'll keep my eyes and ears open for potentials but I'm thinking living alone is the way to go. I know that because I'm terrified of it.

Honestly, I'm afraid to live alone. What will I do with all this time...by myself. Will the silence make me lonely? I am a strange version of an introverted-extrovert. I cherish my alone time because I love to be around people so often. What will happen when I am alone now most of the time? Will I still want to be alone or will I always want to have someone around or something entertaining me? I love coming home, walking in the door and seeing Lauren's purse on table - I know she's home. I love opening a bottle of wine and nibbling on goat cheese & figs while standing in the kitchen in our underwear, re-capping our days. She got me into juicing and buying Trader Joe's soy milk. I love when she gets in her "cleaning moods" and doesn't want me to help because it's therapeutic for her. I love that. Sometimes, she even sleeps with me. We love the same food, music, tv, movies, clothes, decor...I should just marry her! But since I'm prone to the males, her as my best friend will have to do.

I know her reasoning for leaving is justified and I will support her wherever she goes...because that's what friends do - no matter what. Even if she's leaving me alone in a big city, empty house, with no one to make breakfast with every morning.

On the upside, I know I will still see her when she comes to clean my house every other week.

bad news comes in three's...bad news #2

My friend Nicholas Aaron Madrazo died on September 9, 2008. He was a Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps, serving in Afghanistan. Him and 3 other soldiers died in a roadside bombing.


I am still shocked and stunned when I think about his death. It is tragic and unbelievable. When I heard the news Tuesday night, I didn't believe it. I wanted to be angry with the reasons he was over in the middle east and with the people who killed him but Nic believed in his heart that he was meant to serve his country this way. He believed that this is what he was called to do. He was a true patriot and a soldier of strength and courage. He is a hero, no matter what your views on the war are.



I've grown up with Nic since 6th grade. He was my first boyfriend in 8th grade ( and by "boyfriend" I mean we talked on the phone at night and saw one movie and dated for about a month before he had his friend break up with me at Disneyland. ha!) We went to church together and had a great group of friends. I have memories from taking trips to Whistler, California, and summer camp every year and they are all great memories. We ended up going to the same college together and had a mutual group of friends there. Even though over the last few years we haven't stayed in touch as frequently as we should have, every time we ran into each other, we'd always end up reminiscing about the days when we were little care-free kids! I laugh when I think about his sense of humor, wit, kind heart, and openness. He was always someone who I could talk to about anything and he'd really listen. Every time you saw him, his smile would light up the room and his joyful spirit was contagious. I will miss him.

Nic, I'm so thankful that I've been a part of your life - a life that has obviously touched so many people all around the world. Your family and friends are in my prayers, as we're all feeling this great loss. The memories of you will never go away. I will carry them with me always and smile when I think of you... you are in a far better place now than I could ever imagine. You will never be forgotten.


Someday I'll see that bright, smiling face again!

bad news comes in three's... bad news #1

i am single.


enough said.

re-couperating...

does Mac & Cheese sound good to you??

Because it does to me! Yummy. This week has been so exhausting that all i want to do tonight is curl up on the couch with comfort food, wine and a good film.

I'll update you soon on the events of the week that led to me needing a quiet night in.

just silence

"blah blah blah"

"yadda yadda yadda"

"whatever"

I don't have much more to say besides that. It's been one of those days, weeks and ok, MONTHS!

I'm looking forward to calm, peaceful rest soon.

genius.

A telescope-like ladder that extends up to 12 ft.

I have light bulbs to change and 14 ft walls to paint...this might just come in handy!

oh you, great dane

if you love me and care about my feelings then you certainly know that my last name is spelled with an "EN" not an "ON". That's because of my great Danish heritage. I'm quite proud of it! On the top of my list of "Places to Visit Before I Die" is surely Copenhagen! Here's some inspiration:

cool Danish kids...




cool places:




(fashion images from Nylon Magazine)

can we be friends?

they are both fabulous.

start your day

breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It's also my favorite meal of the day. I could eat breakfast food morning, noon and especially at night. Nothing better than pancakes for dinner!

JSW sent me this photographers website and it's genius. He photographs a person and then what they ate for breakfast. Here are some of my faves...

looks yummy.

sweet. candy in the morning.

honestly. sometimes that's all my morning breakfast consists of too.

mmm...not so yummy.


(all images by Jon Huck)

back in time

Lo and I watched the film Atonement last night. I could watch a period piece film every night and never complain. Especially this one. Yes, it's a bit depressing, but the fashion is amazing. It's amazing how after enough time has passed, fashion comes back around - like the one-piece swim suits, high waisted skirts and men's wear for ladies...






oh. and James McAvoy is never bad to look at either. d*mn Scotsmen.

my new motto

I just bought this poster online. If you read as many blogs as much as I do, then you've probably seen this poster everywhere...but since I've yet to step into a home with that poster I decided to be the first!

It's a silk screened reproduction of a WWII poster distributed to encourage the British. I think I'll hang it beside my front door so as I leave for the day, I'll remember to keep those words true.

(image from sfgirlbybay)

flight plans

I just bought a airplane ticket to Washington DC for my best guy friends wedding!

gosh, buying airplane tickets online is so exciting! The excitement builds and builds as you click through every one of the 15 reservation confirmation pages.

off with the old...

...on with the new!

if not for the witty remarks, inspiring photos and simply keeping tabs on my life, a new design should keep you coming back for more!

top fives

TOP 5 THINGS UNDER $5 I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
1. double tall extra dry cappuccino from Ladro
2. J.crew catalog
3. votive candles
4. plastic bracelets
5. Vogue

TOP 5 FAVORITE MOVIES
1. Paris Je T'aime
2. Factory Girl
3. Amelie
4. Closer
5. A Good Year

TOP 5 BABY NAMES I LOVE
mmmm. I don't believe in picking names until you've picked your babies daddy

TOP 5 SONGS I COULD LISTEN TO OVER AND OVER AGAIN
1. The Cure- Just Like Heaven
2. Ryan Adams- New York New York
3. Sigur Ros- Hliomalind
4. Jimmy Eat World - Night Drive
5. Bob Dylan - Lay Lady Lay

TOP 5 BOOKS I LOVE
1. Eat, Pray, Love by
2. Front Row: Anna Wintour by Jerry Openheimer
3. The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
4. Larousse Gastronomique
5. A year in Provence by Peter Mayle

TOP 5 THINGS THAT ARE ALWAYS IN MY PURSE
1. iphone
2. Keihls minty lip gloss
3. moleskin notebook and precise V5 rolling ball point pen
4. camera
5. sunglasses

TOP 5 MOMENTS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER
1. moving to Seattle when I was 10
2. throwing a party in high school while my parents were gone and my punishment was going to Judy's house to take care of her
3. moving to Scotland
4. moving back to Seattle from Scotland
5. traveling through Europe in July '08

TOP 5 CURRENT OBSESSIONS
1. Jeff from Flipping Out
2. Juicing
3. root beer
4. Ballard
5. vanilla soy latte

TOP 5 PLACES I’D LIKE TO GO
1. Spain
2. Portland, again and again, and again...
3. Prague
4. Savannah, Georgia
5. Capri, Italy

TOP 5 APPLIANCES/KITCHEN TOOLS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
1. wine opener
2. copper crepe skillet
3. Juicer
4. wooden ikea drying rack
5. glass mixing bowls of every size

dreamy

Could anything be better than this?


well, maybe if she wasn't alone.

(a photo still from one of my favorite musicians, Jessie Baylin's new music video shoot.)

juice

With our weekly trips to the Ballard Sunday Market and the purchase of her new juicer, Lo (The roommate) has been juicing like a mad woman.

Carrots, beets, kale, apples, oranges...


they died for a good cause.