inspiration & temptation, part 2(thousand)

when all else fails,

look at beautiful things.
and if you can,
buy some of them.

that's my current motto --- you can quote me. i have been indulging in the smallest of beauties lately; in my world right now, even the small beauties are a big deal. they stand out against a shifting grey backdrop of skittishness in my soul. i'd recommend them highly --- this necklace from anne kiel. these notecards from satsuma press (they're even more beautiful in person). receiving beautiful packages in the mail from these ladies has kept me coming home at night when all i really want to do is keep driving to someplace vast, free, and far away.

but since i can't buy everything, i hoard it until my virtual cheeks are bursting. then i share it with you. don't hate me. instead, be grateful that i'm bored and rebellious enough to craft these naughty posts during the workday. now without further delay, my inspirations and temptations for this week . . .

on the street, 6th ave
found on the Sartorialist

i mean, those shoes! the uneven pant cuffs . . . the posture! and all against the city backdrop . . . i love it. i know the Sartorialist's photos get reposted ad nauseum, but i couldn't resist this one.

heather smith jones' post on mixing watercolor --- enough said.

i wish my life was this orderly right now. don't get me wrong, it's colorful enough. just not lined up and arranged beautifully like these . . .

(find the whole post here.)

beautiful little 4x6 prints on sale by the same artist . . .

this is precisely one of the little treasures i'm most susceptible to wanting right now. sunlight sparkling on water is one of my favorite things to see in any image, and i really love the dark navy and grey-blue in this one. and can't you feel that sand between your toes, falling from in between your fingers?

and finally, this image found on the Hudson Jeans blog, pulled from Vogue Australia. i think in some way i'm drawn to this photo because it reflects where i find myself right now . . . the thing is, i couldn't really articulate how. it just does. (and i didn't even LET myself click on the Vogue Australia link yet, just so you know. i have a feeling that will be a post of its own . . .)


this week's icing on the crumbling cake that is life: i won this giveaway! i entered on a whim and ended up seeing the announcement quite by accident. let's just say it was a very welcome late Monday afternoon surprise. thank you to every blogger out there who does things like this. it brings more brightness than you know!

i shall leave you with these words from the saint:

if God can love what you consider ugly, then maybe you should try not to consider it so. we all want to be more, but the true task of we ambassadors of God is to understand the paradox of the cross and what it means for all humans: and that is the impossible possibility that we are acceptable.


when Jesus talks of loving others as we love ourselves...i think there is more to it that we expect. i think it is impossible to love others without loving ourselves. i think we as Christians are not called to "neglect" ourselves and love others....but rather to love ourselves COMPLETELY in order that we are able to love others. only then can we have an abundance of love on which to operate --- when we ourselves are empty, so is our love.



{ i have no words after that },
she.