Sunday, March 29, 2009

sun!!


after four days of rain, I woke up at 7am to see the sun peeking up from behind the trees. I think I had forgotten what it looked like. I took a picture of the blue sky, just in case this never happens again.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

reading

I have always loved reading but I don't get to read for pleasure as much as I would like--either school work or laziness seem to get in the way. Still, I have a pretty ambitious reading list that seems to only get longer and longer. Books are my absolute favorite thing to collect. When I was 13, my grandmother gave me her antique copy of The Princess and the Goblin, her favorite book as a child. It is torn and tattered, literally falling apart, but it is one of my favorites in my collection. Since then, I have collected books both old and new, hardcover and paperback, and I have had some of my most peaceful moments drinking coffee and browsing the shelves of bookstores. Not surprisingly, the number of books I own yet remain unread is probably approaching 100. Here are some books that are at the top of my miles and miles long reading list:
I started A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius this summer, and I loved it. But I still had 100 pages left when I returned to school and have yet to finish it. Dave Eggers is so hilarious and this book is both funny and beautifully meaningful, not an easy combination.
I received this set of Olive Edition Contemporary Classics for Christmas. Not only are they aesthetically appealing, they are each highly-regarded works of new American fiction that are destined to become classics. I'm half-way through The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which is a really lovely and thought-provoking book, and I hope to finish it and move onto the others in the near future. In the meantime, they look quite pretty sitting on the bookshelf.



I love William Faulkner's short stories and novels but I haven't read Absalom! Absalom! which some believe to be his masterpiece. I already know I'm going to love it and I feel that Faulkner's work is so importantly, especially as a Southerner.


I can't wait to Disquiet, Please! a book of humor writings from The New Yorker. I read a few short pieces and stories in Borders one day and was laughing out loud. With contributers like Woody Allen, David Sedaris, Dave Eggers, etc. it is guarateed to be completely hysterical AND have literary merit (not that it always matters).

Reading On the Road in the 10th grade definitely played a major role in sparking my love for literature and appreciation of American writers. Since then, my love for Jack Kerouac has only grown and I would love to add this beautiful, 50th Anniversary edition to my collection.
...it has been raining here since Wednesday and is currently pouring outside. Maybe I should curl up in bed and begin to tackle this list?



Thursday, March 26, 2009

i want that.

as a compulsive list-maker, I pretty much always have a running tab of things I want/need in my life. some are more realistic and some may need to be reserved for another lifetime. here are several items from my current "stuff i want" list:


how perfect and adorable are these american bull dog puppies? they are purposely at the top of my list despite the not-so-practical idea of raising a puppy in a house with 8 girls and barely any yard to speak of. i've been trying to convince joseph to get a dog, promising that i will do my part to take care of it (i have done all the waking up at 2am to take the puppy out housetraining with milly) but i'm not sure that's going to happen any time soon. i'll give it a year or two, i guess, but then i am bringing one of these babies home.


this "for like ever" poster from vllg.com. it has been featured on the cover of domino (r.i.p.) and countless design blogs but i still find it so charming and hopeful. i need it in my life.


a big, pretty tote from goyard with my initials in the lovely painted mongrams they do.

a first edition copy of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. i almost always have one on my ebay watch list but they're a little out of my price range... one day, though.



lomography's reproduction of the diana, a plastic toy camera that's cheap construction (sorry, but true) causes light leaks that create the most beautiful, dreamlike photos. i love this model called the dreamer. the color of the camera body is so pretty, almost as pretty as the ghostly, photo vignettes it produces. like this (found through google search at zinkwazi.com):


ladythings

gwenyth paltrow as margot in the royal tenenbaums = intense girl crush

love the warmth of these photos



i want this hair. terribly sexy.



penelope cruz being too pretty and makin' me jealous



angelina jolie eating a sandwich



While browsing the brilliant, beautiful, infinitely inspiring blog JJJJound, I realized how many lovely photos of breathtaking women were featured on the blog. Women are such beautiful creatures--how could anyone not appreciate that?!

bonsoir

is the first post on a new blog just inherently awkward?

I wanted to start story sounds as I way to create something pretty full of things I love and things that make me happy. the list is long already and continues to grow every day so be it books, songs, people, art, ideas, places or things, glorious things! I will post it here along with other surprises that will jump out and make you glad you're alive to see. or, that's the plan!



kicking off the list, here's a photo of a room in amanda peet's home that I think looks so cute and cozy. the spread of her house in Domino was kind of swoon-inducing. very cute and eclectic, basically my dream home:




i want this lovely hallway set-up in my house, like immediately:


okay that's it for the time being. more later?

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