100 Favorite Things For My 100th Post.

this post inspired me. *

100 of my most favorite things for my 100th post:

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01. my family. mama, dad, megan, tyler, trent and danny {photo by jr}

02. spoon. the best band ever. period.

03. holladay. the town i grew up in, where my parents home is and where my grandparents lived

04. mt. olympus. my mountain, which is breathtaking in every season; snow covered with hazy, blue fog dusting the tippy tops, burning bright red and orange as the leaves change for fall, vibrant green and sprinkled with wild flowers in the spring and summer

05. tony caputo's prosciutto sandwich; piled high with the very, very best prosciutto, provolone cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and dripping with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. to die for.

06. vendi soy lattes with no foam

07. iced chai on a sunny patio in the summer time

08. anthropologie. buying or browsing are both equally wonderful

o9. robinson crusoe by daniel defoe

10. laugh-till-it-hurts-t.v. such as curb your enthusiasm, the office bbc, its always sunny in philadelphia, peep show, arrested development

11. singing. seriously or jokingly, in the car, in the shower, in a stadium full of people, in church, late at night while lying in bed

12. snow storms {photo by me}

13. the salt lake city farmers market

14. when the air gets cold enough that you can see your breath

15. being a student at the university

16. staying up all night, immersed in a book; or just being immersed in a good book in general. reading is love.

17. down comforters. i have 4 on my bed

18. and my bed for that matter. i guarantee mine is more comfy than yours

19. cream cheese, capers, tomato and lox on a toasted sesame seed bagel

20. collecting quotes

21. bookstores

22. receiving a mix c.d. that was made with love

23. staying home "sick" from work on rainy days and spending the whole day in bed eating take- out and watching movies

24. sushi. especially from ichiban

25. traveling. any place is fine with me. i love getting away, experiencing new places and meeting new people

26. fresh flowers, ranunculus are at the top of the list closely followed by orchids and peonies {photo by bloomsdayflowers}

27. french toast with raspberry frozen custard on top; the most surprisingly delicious treat i have ever tasted

28. dark hardwood floors

29. people who 'get it'. and if you are one of these people then you will 'get' what 'get it' means

30. home-made, hot, fresh, brick oven pizza. soooo yummy

31. spelling bees

32. eating popcorn at the movie theatre

33. tea

34. bookshelves

35. antiques roadshow

36. having money in the bank

37. horror movies. especially those in the zombie genre

38. soup and bread sticks from the soup kitchen
39. fish. live ones in fish bowls

40. will ferrell {because of this and this and this}

41. art festivals

42. shoes. shoes, shoes, shoes and flip flops, oh, and shoes {photo by me}

43. chips and salsa

44. oil painting

45. this american life on npr

46. people watching

47. hand massages

48. being the passenger on a long drive

49. cleaning and organizing. although you wouldn't know it from the state of my room

50. the washington post

51. costco

52. eating out

53. staying in

54. long gmail correspondences

55. these movies: before sunrise, before sunset, la passion de jeanne d'arc, match point, amelie, lost in translation, annie hall, and most recently, paris, je t'aime
56. rainy days

57. eat-a-burger in holladay, utah. best spicy fries, best burgers, best coke

58. disneyland

59. shopping at small, local markets. my favorites are both in salt lake city, liberty heights and emigration market

60. making lists

61. emily. who knows all my good and bad, and still loves me

62. claire. who would drop anything to be there for me, and who is the most non-judgemental friend

63. ghost stories

64. cold sheets

65. artichokes

66. taking a nap in front of my parents fire place {with a fire lit of course}
67. long, perfect eyelashes. which are somewhat of a commodity in my life

68. grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup and chocolate milk

69. ice cold coke with lots of ice

70. mittens

71. outdoor concerts

72. summer dresses

73. tattoos

74. cinegrill

75. sarah silverman

76. these hymns: come thou fount of every blessing and for the beauty of the earth

77. b. who is so very good to me

78. 80s music

79. people with passion

80. real, in-the-mailbox mail

81. brightly painted toenails

82. halloween. my most favoritest holiday

83. people who know the difference between 'to', 'too' and 'two'

84. my digital camera and taking photographs

85. the phrase 'conniption fit'

86. craigslist

87. libraries

88. paris. the art, the eiffel tower, the shopping {photo by yuri elizondo}

89. switzerland. the scenery the alps and chateaus and glacier lakes

90. italy. the pieta in st. peters basilica, the colosseum, the food

91. meg ryan and tom hanks movies. sleepless in seattle, you've got mail, joe versus the volcano and my very most favoritest french kiss {not a tom hanks movie i know, but i love it dearly}. i can watch these movies over and over again. chick flicks just aren't the same anymore.

92. hbo and bbc

93. salt
94. hot baths. i try to take at least one a day

95. village inn at 1 in the morning

96. floppy. the stuffed bunny i have had since i was 5

97. blue

98. my daddy. he's always on my side

99. eating, talking, laughing all night with friends

100. art. art in all forms. just art.

*

thanks for reading, friends.

Oil Paintings by Moi

These are my latest oil paintings.

This one is still in need of a LOT of work, but it is coming along.

Wow! and Hooray! and Hooray again! and Boo!

first of all, wow! my good friend sarah just alerted me that shabby apple has made it onto mighty goods, a very highly visited and one of my most favorite shopping sites. this is such exciting news for emily and ck, the salt lake designers and founders of shabby apple. go check out the post here.

second of all, hooray! kelly is hosting a favorite things swap. i encourage EVERYONE to get involved. swapping is such a fun way to meet other bloggers, make new friends and get some really fun mail. {and who doesn't absolutely love getting mail?} anyone and everyone can be a part, so hurry and sign up!

details can be found here.

third of all, hooray again! look what i just bought online. so cute! and cheap! and fun! and summery! thanks to your heart out for leading the way.

last of all, BOO! boo boo boo! the jazz suck. a lot.

moby-duck

i read a charming story yesterday in The Christian Science Monitor.
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picture this:
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in 1992 a container ship in the north pacific lost an unlikely package to the sea. in the package; 29,000 rubber duckies, which, says the article, "have braved some of the world's wildest waters in their 11-year odyssey".
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these little duckies have actually been spotted and washed ashore in different locations throughout the world. they were even trapped in arctic ice packs for 4 years until they were able to make their escape and continue their journey.
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i love the images that this story conjures up in my mind; a tiny, lone, yellow duckie floating along in the vast and endless expanse of ocean. a tiny speck in an endless sea of blue. i can picture happy ducks floating past sea otters, being pecked at by birds, maybe even being swallowed whole by an unsuspecting fish. can't you just see brightly colored ducks frozen every which way in large sheets of arctic ice. my favorite part of the article: "a number of the critters ended up on the beaches of alaska, but from those latitudes there is only one way out of the pacific - through the bering strait, past towering icebergs and the curious gaze of walruses, around the northern coast of greenland, and into the atlantic." can you just imagine? :)

the ducks are now being used to help map ocean currents. the oceanographers and scientists who have been keeping an eye on these little ducks and the beach combers who scour the sands along all the coasts of the world, say they plan to see them washing up on europe's western shores any day now.

if you ever happen to find yourself on the shores of western europe, keep an eye out! anyone who finds a duck gets a $100 savings bond.

read the full story here.

i waaaant!

i want! i need! i must have! this tiny flip video. i have always, always wanted a video camera but could never justify spending the money. and even though i asked my parents for a video camera for every, single birthday and christmas of my life, they never saw fit to gift me one. boo.

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i have millions of memories of sneaking my dads video camera to make movies of my friends and i. i have an endless supply of home made music videos, talk shows, and movies. so much fun.

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this flip video is tinsy tiny, cheap {!} and fun. and think of all the life moments you could capture with it.

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the review states, "this critter packs a built-in flip-out USB port for downloading 640×480 MPEG4 at 30 frames-per-second (geek-speak for “pretty decent quality”) to your PC or Mac, a small LCD to review what you’ve recorded, a cable to watch videos on your tv in seconds, and a friendly user interface that requires no manual. cinema-quality video it is not, but surprisingly clear and bright for its size and cost, it is. we’ve been having a blast using this guy this past week!"

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and the bottom line: around $100. !!!

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i'm sold.

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check it out on amazon here.

Where's the call ?!?!

my brother-in-law, tyler, gets very worked up when he watches basketball games, or any sport for that matter. when our state basketball team is in the national playoffs it only makes matters worse. watch the hilarity:



another magic moment, full of magicness {at least he didn't swear}:



and my personal favorite, also my new screen saver on my cell phone:

i love paris in the spring time

some days, such as today, when the sun is shining and the breeze is blowing, and i'm so sick of work that i could just scream, i start getting that get-me-OUT-of here! feeling. today i ache for europe. it was around this time, not so long ago, when emily and i started planning our escape. and off we went to europe with no plan and even less money. it was a true adventure full of spontaneity. i hope to always live my life like that. {train station in amsterdam}


{outside of the louvre in paris}








{florence, italy}







{interlaken, switzerland}







{rome}

quote.

"life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage."

-anais nin (1903 - 1977), the diary of anais nin, volume 3, 1939-1944

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{photograph by me.}

Tag! You're it!

i've been tagged! and now you have too.

{i was tagged by a few people so i thought i would combine it all into one giant tag.}

so...you've been tagged!

these four things:
1. four of my favourite jobs
2. four of my favourite local places
3. four of my favourite foods
4. four of my favourite international places

1. four of my favourite jobs:

- color me mine. i managed a local pottery store during my college years. i got to paint pottery, create and help others be creative all day long. what a lovely job that was.

- gallery manager. for a local artist. i framed artwork, went to art shows, sold art, and managed the gallery. i learned a lot from this job and loved, loved, loved it. although, at times, working for an artist can be a bit...um...crazy.

- editor. for a magazine on my college campus, which mostly included hanging out with my editing friends on the weekends.

- and literally nothing else comes to mind, except for maybe that one summer after high school when i worked at a credit company and got to repo peoples cars and t.v.'s. yikes.

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2. four of my favourite local places:

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- red iguana. best mexican food around.

- downtown salt lake city library. its beautiful and i have a crush on reading. i could hang out there all day. {pictured.}

- cinegrill. this is an italian{ish} restaurant in downtown salt lake that is lit entirely by fluorescent pink lights. there is always live jazz music and almost every time i go there i see someone semi-important, like the mayor or senator hatch or mr.mac {ha}. oh, and they have the BEST salads ever.

- the university of utah campus {and surrounding area}. it feels like home up there.

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3. four of my favourite foods:

- sushi. cliché i know, but i really love it.

- sandwiches from caputos, a local italian deli.

- chips and salsa.

- sourdough bread.

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4. four of my favourite international places

- switzerland. one of the most beautiful places i have ever seen. i would go back there in a heartbeat. emily and i took a nap on the grass under the alps, rode the tram to the jungfrau and para sailed over glacier lakes and little chateaus. breathtaking.

- the cinque terra. the italian riviera is nestled in the moutain side along the coast of the mediterranean. the streets are cobblestone, the beaches are nude {woohoo!}, the food is caught fresh from the ocean {they are famous for their pesto and lobster}, and the people are so laid back.

- italy. in general. love love love. love the language, love the food, love the landscapes, love the people and the art and architecture is above and beyond anything i could have ever imagined. i really feel like italy is where i found my independence from my parents. {well, until i came home. ha.}

- the louvre. just wow. i've got to get back there. my personal fave was the winged victory of somathrace. seeing that brought me to tears.

and for barb, 8 things you might not know about me:

1. i am deathly afraid of sharks.

2. i was nearly paralyzed and got over 500 stitches after being attacked by a dog when i was nine.

3. i know sign language.

4. i was completely infatuated with michael jackson when i was younger.

5. i don't like animals.

6. i oil paint.

7. i have a degree in english lit with an emphasis in gothic lit.

8. i am compulsive to a fault.

***

now consider yourself tagged.

Pearls Before Breakfast

a while back i stumbled upon a fascinating story written for the washington post that was titled "pearls before breakfast". the heading read "can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour?"

joshua bell, world renowned violinist, agreed to 'play' street musician for a day in a D.C. metro station. dressed in jeans and a baseball cap he opened up his violin case and began to play some of the most beautiful and difficult classical pieces ever written. over 1000 people would pass him on their way to work, but would they stop to listen?

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about ten years ago burger king advertised the slogan “fast food for fast times.” they were right. everything about our lives is fast; we are constantly rushing for one reason or another. one side effect of this speed is that we tune out the things around us. we can’t lose focus.“pearls before breakfast” beautifully illustrates this principle. are people so focused that they will really ignore the sublime when it is right in front of them? perhaps we should focus on what we are becoming, rather than what we are doing.

beautifully written, thought provoking; go read it here.

for megan.

sent to me by emily; this is, quite possibly, the most adorable thing i have ever seen. and making me happy today. a couples first dance as husband and wife:

Gus.

a favorite post from the past that i am re-posting so i won't lose it forever.

...
there is something...'not normal'...growing out of the drain in our tub. in fact, 'not normal' does not even begin to describe it. whatever it is, it has made itself a nice little home in our lukewarm, 10-day-old bath water. it looks like a jellyfish, all gooey and transparent.

"how?!", i thought to myself, "does a jellyfish make it all they way to SLC from the ocean, up our water pipes, and into our bath tub?"

ever the curious one, i decided to reach my bare hand into the water to give it a little poke. as my finger descended upon the creature, it actually moved away from me. i kid you not people. little gooey tub monster was like, "oh no you DIDN'T just stick your finger at me!"

so, for now, he is living in our tub undisturbed. who knows how long it will take Mr. Landlord to make it over to fix the problem...weeks? months? years? it is as if little gooey tub monster, who I shall call gus, picked the one apartment where he KNEW that there was little or no hope of our clogged tub EVER getting repaired.

well played gus. well played.

and here is a picture that i drew to better demonstrate to you the situation...

Passion.

"it's the soul's duty to be loyal to its own desires. it must abandon itself to its master passion."

-rebecca west

"there was a disturbance in my heart, a voice that spoke there and said, i want, i want, i want! [and when i tried to suppress it it got even stronger]."

-saul bellow

{photograph by angus rs.}

You Got Your Cherry Bomb

making me happy:

listening to the new spoon album {over and over and over again} which, i must add, is AMAZING. so poppy and happy and perfectly put together. every single song makes me want to dance. {and dance i did.}

{want? i might share.}

friday. finally. on change:

"they always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."

-andy warhol

"we all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance."

-harrison ford

"things do not change; we change."

-henry david thoreau

"change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. to the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. to the hopeful it is encouraging because it means things may get better. to the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."

-king whitney jr.

{photograph by amarilla.}

mini mart.

please go check out martas lovely mini mart.
today is the grand opening {!} and i am so
excited to see what she has in store in the
upcoming weeks.

tuesday quote

"determine to live life with flair and laughter."

-maya angelou

{photograph by blindspot1330}

bold bathrooms

i am BEYOND in love with this bathroom. i love the colors, the funky, retro chandelier, the dark wood floors, the metal mirror. lovelovelove. check it out at dominos website here.

ok...first things first...

he asked me here {a favorite place of ours}:{and down on bended knee no less}

i was surprised right up until he pulled off the exit {i thought we were going to dinner}. and then the poor boy had to endure my endless questions, "why are we going here? what is going on? you know i hate secrets! are your proposing?!" {sigh...yes, i actually asked him that. i was nervous, okay!} then he said some beyond lovely things, i cried, he asked the question, i said yes, and THEN we went to dinner, because no important event is complete without really great food.

so there you have it! low key and sweet. perfect. and i am one lucky girl. b is beyond wonderful and i am so happy i have him.

i hope to not turn this blog into an all day every day wedding planning extravaganza. but...i am sure i will frequently be asking for opinions and insights from all you blogger friends out there who i know have impeccable taste and mountains of knowledge.

thank you for all of your congratulations! it means so much.

xoxo,

a & b.

Engaged...

me!

to him:

{and after only 6 years. :) }

so all in all i had a very happy weekend!

i love my marmie.

i am extremely lucky to have the mom i do and i have ALWAYS known it. my mother is beautiful; a complete girly girl. she is one of the classiest people i know {she takes after her own mother in that way}. she is kind to everyone and a great listener; a friend to all {she takes after her dad in that way}. she is intelligent and has always told me that i could do anything i set my mind to. for as far back as i can remember my mom has pushed me to be the very best person that i can be. she made sure that we had every opportunity available to us; dance and singing lessons, piano, soccer, swim teams and math tutors. and she never once missed one of our hundreds of performances, recitals, sports games or swim meets. she read to us every night and instilled in me an endless love of books, something i will be forever grateful to her for.

so, in celebration of up-coming mothers day, i thought i would post some favorite pictures of my mama. oh, oh i loooooooooooove her so.

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thats me in there! april 1983.

may 1983.

grandma and grandpa, mom and me.

june 1985.christmas 1985.i was not extremely thrilled about having a new baby in the family.
february 28, 1986.

trent, mom, meg and ty at little brothers soccer game.

sometime in 2006.mama and me in mexico.

summer 2006.

my sisters wedding. august 10, 2006.

dad and moms 50th surprise birthday party. november 2006.
love you endlessly, marmie.

xoxo.

andrea.

making me smile today:

robin, who's blog is the coolest one out, posted this video today. i am seriously in love with this video. seriously. now go watch.

websites as graphs.

this is a graph of my website. isn't it beautiful? i want to print it out and hang it on my wall.

a guide to the colors:

blue: for links (the A tag)

red: for tables (TABLE, TR and TD tags)

green: for the DIV tag

violet: for images (the IMG tag)

yellow: for forms (FORM, INPUT, TEXTAREA, SELECT and OPTION tags)

orange: for linebreaks and blockquotes (BR, P, and BLOCKQUOTE tags)

black: the HTML tag, the root node

gray: all other tags

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you can make a graph of your website here.

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other bloggers who have graphs of their websites:

fortysixth at grace &

swissmiss

best business cards around.

check out these and these incredibly cool and creative business cards; sure to leave a lasting impression. i could browse around these sites all day. some of my favs:

italy.

i love this photograph. it reminds me so much of walking along the streets of monterosso in the cinque terre with emily. sigh. i need a vacation.{capannelle}

on kindness:

"no act of kindness, no matter how
small, is ever wasted."
-aesop, the lion and the mouse
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"that best portion of a good man's life,
his little, nameless, unremembered
acts of kindness and of love."
-william wordsworth
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"forget injuries, never forget
kindnesses."
-confucius {551 bc - 479 bc}

{photograph by cat dancing.}

mothers day...4 days and counting!

to me, a great gift includes personalization, thought and food. and, when gift buying, i usually try to live by the motto that if i would love receiving this gift then i have been successful. i looove giving personalized theme gifts. usually, this type of a gift takes a bit more time and planning. unfortunately i am usually living life by the seat of my pants so i never leave myself enough time to put together the gifts i really want to give.

but this year for mothers day i have been thinking ahead. i am hoping i can pull it all together by sunday!

i love the dish sets at pottery barn, but especially their partyware...so bright and fun...perfect for picnics and backyard bar-b-q's, which my parents love to throw all summer long. and you can never have to many sets of dishes. {my mother agrees, which is the important thing.}

check out how fun these dishes are:

pair these dishes with some brightly colored sodas in glass bottles...stewarts fountain classics are always a good choice and a favorite of my family. you can choose from root beer, orange n cream, key lime, grape soda, etc.