you don't need a man, you need a space heater.

a really, really good investment that will not cause you grief. today, my winter gear was accused of being insufficient. the ONE day i don't wear a cardigan, a fleece, a sweatshirt, and my winter jacket. so apparently, space heaters do cause overconfidence in one's ability to thermoregulate.

don't write, don't call, i'll see you in the fall

1. Every day, I'm all, I'm going to go to bed early! Or, I'm going to bed before midnight! Every. Single. Day. And every day, without fail, I go to bed around 2 AM. Even today, when I woke up early for breakfast (at Sweet Maple Cafe, for Chicagoans- Bonus: Their About page has a sentence that starts, "One October morning..."), had a marathon study session, did yoga*, played badminton, grabbed Chipotle on my way home. Here I am. 1:40 AM. Will try harder tomorrow.

2. I took 5 buses today. I kind of have been wondering what the average per day for me is. I'm going to keep track, for simple lack of better things to do.

3. This picture is a reminder of how I have not finished putting things up around my house yet, despite the fact that it has been 6 months. But that is the mantel above the fireplace and it is possibly the only thing I am satisfied in my place. More work will be done in the subsequent weeks.

*I accidentally found myself in the advanced yoga class, during which I found myself upside down, legs in the air and contorting a lot of things. It should be fun not to be able to feel anything tomorrow. No, seriously. I love the post-workout sore.

a Buddhist prayer

"May your enemies run far away from you. If you acquire riches, may they remain yours always.
Your beauty will be that of Apsara. Wherever you may go, many will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides."

because i'm reading an excellent book right now.

winter fashion

The theme (in my mind) for winter fashion: pretty, vicious, tough, cool. I guess that's a general life theme too for my winter. I haven't bought any clothes in a long time, which I think is a good thing.

This dress.

So beautiful.Corduroy Leggings.
Love this look.
Foiled Lace Skirt
Sweater
Chiffon Dress:
Herringbone Vest.
I'm working on herringbone mittens right now, so I think I'm impartial to the herringbone.

and there's gold falling from the ceiling of this world, falling from the heartbeat of this girl

This morning, the wind woke me up. To me, that meant it would be necessary to wear a light sweater, a Snuggie rolled up (seriously), and a Columbia fleece under my winter jacket. I was very warm on top. Legs, not so much. It snowed all day and was quite beautiful out, particularly when I was inside the warm store, working. Three-year-olds warm my heart and good parents more so.

I worked all day and considered meeting up with my friend at a sports bar to watch the Bears game, but man, that weather was a very convincing argument to go home. I caught the end of a demoralizing game at home and proceeded to fall asleep for an hour. I thought about studying, but ended up sitting in a handknit sweater:

1) Knitting
2) Drinking tea that I bought when I was in New York last March
3) Trying very hard not to think too much
4) Listening to:



Despite the fact that there were moments during my commute (which involves walking to bus stops) when I couldn't help but say, "Am I alive right now?!", today was a good day. The perfect end to another rough week.

where i get my smile from

Hello loves. I sort of fell out of love with my blog. And the internet in general. And I would even say I fell a little out of love with myself. I know that they say (in a way that is truly annoying- which is not to say untrue) that "loving yourself" is important. I have yet to verify this. As in, loving yourself is beneficial, yes, but is it necessary? Then again, is it really necessary to be so compulsive about determining whether things are necessary? So there you have it. I am attempting to purge my life of the things that appalled me or made me feel weak in November.

Last week, I went to the first yoga class that I'd been to since the summer and it did wonders. It brought me back. Never mind that I am so obviously replacing all the inappropriate things in my life with more socially accepted substitutes :)

Here are some things I found today that are my definition of beautiful:

1. Morse Code Necklaces by Coatt. I think this is genius. A bracelet would be even more perfect (for me).

2. These paintings... I feel at peace. I love all of them, but these are my favorite.
Pretty canvas print.

3. Crumpled City maps. My idea of the way traveling should be done.


4. Bon Iver. Always. For some reason, my iTunes didn't recognize the songs on the CD when I put them on my computer. Manually typing them in (finally) was cathartic.
5. This reminds me of someone I adore too much:

6. These past few nights=talking to my brother, watching movies on his bed (okay, a movie. Singular. Yes, I am that person who does not have time for multiple movies), figuring it out. It's been crazy; I'm trying hard to slow down.

7. "If someone breaks your heart, just punch them in the face. Oh sure, it seems obvious now, but you’d be amazed at how many people don’t think of it when it’s relevant. Seriously, just punch them in the face and go get some ice cream." -Chuck Klosterman