it's friday, i'm in love.

just kidding! it isn't friday, unfortunately. however, i am in love...and i have to admit, that is a little bit cooler than a friday.

{we may or may not have had a giant fight that morning...}

p.s.-target does not play around when they develop photos! we were surrounded by the greenest grass ever.

p.s.s.-i need a haircut like yesterday.

little things...

that have made my days better lately.

{having this little girl around. i really don't know how i got by so long without her.}

{when someone at starbucks takes the time to spell your name right, and then proceeds to add a happy heart.}

{my grandma lifting my spirits in unimaginable ways today.}

{ridiculously cute socks with foxes that cameron bought/put on immediately. that boy is the silliest.}

{looking up and realizing how much bigger things are up there than they are down here.}

*taken on my flight from arizona to texas.

desert days, part II.

 {kaci soaking up some sun by the pool.}

i decided i should devote an entire post to the beauty and coolness that is the saguaro . holy guacamole, this place was so neat! everything was so bright and alive. walls were covered in neon paint and every room door was a different color. the lobby had huge, warhol-esque paintings. we only stayed there for one night, but i would like to think we milked that place for everything it offered. we ate at the hotel's restaurant, distrito, and knew the rest of the hotel would be great based on the breakfast burritos alone. i liked staying there because old town was within walking distance, which was a nice change from taking a hotel shuttle everywhere. it was simply paradise. ok, one thing that wasn't so great was my attempt to get back on a bike. the saguaro had bikes that you could ride around town on {see? awesome hotel.} so kaci and i tried that out. i'm positive i almost had a heart attack. but hey, i got the hang of it again! sort of. making turns really isn't my thing. but hey, now i want a bike, so that's something.

 {smiling on the outside, stressing out immensely on the inside.}

my favorite, favorite thing about the saguaro {you can ask my sister, i wouldn't shut up about it} was the pool because at night...music played underwater! what?! maybe i'm small town and easily impressed, or maybe it was just the coolest thing ever. we discovered it when we decided to take a night swim {bacon sizzling heat, remember?} and when i dipped my head under it was an underwater concert. ah-maz-ing.

 {simultaneously swimming and jamming out.}

 we loved the saguaro. i hope we go back someday, even if only to finish our giant connect four game, ha!

{one of our only non-selfies. thank you, kind employee of the saguaro. and thank you for not laughing at us.}

desert days, part I.

 {thanks, partner. we'll be back.}

 {this pool view did not get old.}

last week my sister was generous enough to invite me to a work conference in scottsdale, arizona. {basically, she goes to panels while i sit and reap the beauties of a new environment. i know, it's unfair.} last year around this time i tagged along with her to portland, which was an amazing experience. scottsdale was nothing like the rainy city of portland but it was beautiful and had its own unique feel. i mean, the first hotel we stayed at had a cactus garden. a cactus garden. the cacti were tall and stunning. we didn't get a chance to check out any suburban areas, but it would have been nice to see a few houses since the architecture was very southwestern and interesting. my only complaint about this unique place:  it was dead hot. like, bacon sizzling on a skillet hot. i thought it would feel different than texas, but there was still a bit of humidity in the air and needless to say, i sweated my bum off. we must have missed the "dry heat" that everyone talks about. hmph.

 {this was our favorite store; the cheapest mexican blankets resided here.}

 

{our delicious pizza at oregano's}

we explored the old town area quite a bit. we particularly liked the mexican imports store because everything was reasonably priced! not to mention everything was so cool. lots of dia de los muertos figurines and mexican dresses for cheap. we checked out fashion square, but we both decided it was a little overwhelming and that it was better to stick around the local shops. we had lots of amazing food when we were there. one of the restaurants, the mission , was actually a church turned restaurant; it was beautiful. my favorite dish we had was the jalapeño pecan pancakes from the orange table ...they were awesome.weird, but awesome. i want to make some of those babies one of these mornings. the food was definitely a highlight of our trip;)

 {hanging out was also a highlight. we had plenty of selfies on account of two is the loneliest number when it comes to picture taking! we were selfie queens by the end of the trip.}

i don't recall a single care, just greenery and humid air.

 {dixie's first excursion at the lake, i love her and she loves the water.}

why yes, those are death cab for cutie lyrics. i may or may not be listening to end-of-summer-jams right now i.e. summer skin by dcfc and age six racer {so long sweet summer} by dashboard confessional. it's just the high school girl inside of me, i hope she stays there and makes me listen to emo pop music forever. anyway, these songs are hitting so hard right now. summer has become the strangest season, it was such an anticipated time growing up because hello, no school and tanlines for days. this was my first summer post college and while yes, i had free time galore {welcome to funemployment, not so fun afterall} but it wasn't the same kind of freedom i was used to having. i guess that comes with the whole adulthood thing, eh? i really can't complain, though. my skin is brown and warm enough and i tackled a lot of "firsts" over the summer. so did dixie! {see above photo, she's a little stinker.} i'm looking forward to squeezing out the last bit of summer, we get lucky down here in texas and basically have an extra month of humidity and cloudless skies. hoo-ray.

austin is good for your health.

as exciting as this town might be, i believe i'll leave it for everyone else to enjoy this weekend...

{dixie pretending she was a lap dog earlier this morning.}

i'm off to austin! and leaving this wild child of a pup of mine behind is the only thing that makes me a little sad about that. i'll most likely be jamming out to this guy the entire drive there because his sound is ah-mazing. ok, he was in fleet foxes for a whole minute so i guess i liked him before i ever heard him, if that makes sense. he's playing a show in austin next month...i foresee another trip to the capitol very soon. he's also playing in that one city i have my eye on, so maybe that'll give me the motivation to go there already. ;)

sxsw: video diares.

in addition to the awesome photobooths that were around every corner, hype hotel had this really cool video booth. you would pick the background, do whatever you wanted in front of the camera, and voila! your own little festival video. the film strip would also be printed as a photo strip. it was one of the best things i saw at the festival. obviously we didn't really know what to do in front of the camera {or at least i didn't} --moving around proved to be very different than striking poses. nonetheless, it was an extremely neat, fun concept by lensley. just another way to document that wondrous time at sxsw.

{making love to the camera? my drink? i don't know, it was after 1 a.m.}

p.s.-apologies for that fuzzy look, i have no idea what i'm doing with this video thing. also, the cool part of these videos is that they loop, but since i am nowhere near a computer whiz, i didn't know how to download the videos with that effect. to see all of the videos {with the proper looping!} from the booth, look here. some of them are pretty entertaining ;)

masks.

{source: www.redtreetimes.com}

this is definitely something i would've posted on my tumblr but oh well. it'll be fine here. i kind of miss tumblr. i could post the most random, emo {is this word still relevant?} quotes and images and it would be completely okay. anyway. i came across this poem today and fell in love with it. shel silverstein just has a way of pulling at the old heartstrings. {ahem, the giving tree.} and i really like what this means. i'll sometimes leave conversations thinking, wow, i didn't say anything genuine or like me at all. i'll even look back on entire friendships and relationships with people and think that, which is frightening.

 it's very important to be blue.

hello, springtime.

{add spinach, they said. you won't taste it, they said. but i totally tasted those leaves...}

{so i obviously had to get real and get a blizzard.}

{easter cascarones with this pretty egg.}

{dixie meeting some goats on our walk.}

spring is finally starting to show its face around these parts. spring has that whole new life thing going on and i guess i'm into that. i'm looking forward to spending more time outside with dixie and getting some color from the sun...check out that mean farmer's tan i have to get rid of. i attempted to do some yoga outside today in the spirit of the new season, but the only position i could really get a grasp of and gain an appreciation for was the corpse pose. so, yeah. i just decided to lie there for a bit. it was a little awesome and i will definitely be revisiting that position. maybe next time i'll add a tree pose or two, for the sake of the spring season and all.

i like songs about cheeseburgers.

{blaze foley-big cheeseburgers and good french fries}

i thought i would go ahead and share a musician/song that has been taking over my brain lately. i started listening to him around the end of december and am still in a state of fascination. it's hard to find anything that sounds close to this these days. it's simple, yet there is so much behind it. i've been leaning toward more electronic sounds lately, but it's always refreshing to hear songs like this. and i mean, just look at that still of him. was he a southern stud or what?

other jams currently on repeat:
foxygen-shuggie
geographer-kites
alt-j-breezeblocks

p.s.-aren't all of these youtube links extra fancy? i'll have to make a springtime playlist soon to make up for it.

sxsw: tacos and tunes.

{photobooths are everywhere...!}

i don't know if i've ever had such a magical sxsw experience. there was something so special about this year. was it seeing foxygen? devouring the cool ranch doritos loco tacos? possibly. whatever it was, i'm so happy it happened. i had a different experience this time around, partly because i was working twelve hours everyday. while that was exhausting, it was also very exciting to be out and about the whole time during the festival. i felt very connected to what was going on in the city. plus, when you are out and about that long, you sort of stock up on free everything {including kimchi fries} and nothing gets better than that. regardless of how tired i was by 9 o'clock, my twenty four year-old heart was like, "wait, you're really young!" and i somehow mustered up the energy to see some of the greatest shows and drink some of the best drinks {because they were free...} of my little life. i loved staying up until the wee hours of morning and getting a taste of austin that i never quite had before. i left sxsw wanting it to stretch out another week, wanting to re-meet everyone i had met all over again, wanting to wait in line for another band, and wanting to have every single late night conversation once more. if that isn't the best feeling ever, i'm not sure what is.

{vital food group for sxsw/life}

{iron & wine being more perfect than i could imagine. third time is a charm.}

musical highlights: seeing solange in a small recording studio while eating cookies {thank you, kaitlyn,}watching my beloved foxygen, crying while listening to iron & wine play in a church at midnight, doing crazy things four rows away from jim james, and grooving to phosphorescent.

a few sxsw tips i picked up on: a music wristband is worth every penny {or in my case, every hour worked}, don't pay for anything unless it is jimmy johns, and rsvp with this gal. oh, and let loose. i finally decided to try that this year and it ended up being one of my all time favorite weeks ;)

whoops.

 {me and one of the main considerations i have to take in for the move.}

i know it seems like i have abandoned this blog and left it for dead, but that's only because i have abandoned this blog and left it for dead. whoops. i don't know, i just felt as if it took gallons of effort to make some of the most recent happenings seem interesting, or less personal even. yeah, sorta the bad kind of personal. the kind of personal you only want your journal to know about. there have definitely been high points, but even those i almost wanted to keep to myself. basically i've been ultra selfish about my experiences lately. but, i've missed this a little. i've been trying to get my act together and embark on a new adventure, so i'm thinking that will give me a push to be more on top of this. this new adventure of mine: ditching the lone star state. while i love this queso filled, wildflower lined state, i'm ready to explore other lands. or at least i hope i'm ready. either way, i've been looking into all the states and each day i want to move to this place or that place, i want to live in a wide open space or a tiny apartment in a big city. it's been an exciting hunt and i think i have found a winning city. i'm going to take my time and be smart with this moving thing because i know there are umpteen factors to consider, but i'm kind of chomping at the bit here. we'll see. here's to being back on the blog more? i'm making a toast to myself with my mug of earl grey tea right now.

this is how you lose her.

{i blame those annoying library dust jackets for how fuzzy the cover looks.}

so, junot diaz. i read his work in almost all of my intro-literature classes {yes, there were several of those suckers} and i can remember really caring a lot for his writing. he had a beautiful way of describing sadness. i decided to pick up this book after seeing it on at least four "must read" lists, and i definitely think it's a must read. it's a compilation of short stories about this boy, yunior, who came from the dominican republic to the united states when he was a boy. he has the most incredible voice. it's casual yet very smart and quick. he throws in some spanish slang and dirty words that only add to the thrill of reading this book. he grows up with a very interesting view on fidelity, or lack thereof. all of his mistakes eventually catch up to him, and the last chapter/story of the book is absolutely heartbreaking. it was definitely one of my favorites from the collection. i guess i'm a little biased because i tend to like short stories more than anything, but still. this is how you lose her is a great, fast read. plus, the cover art is cool. bonus points!

tiny texas trips.

{those are not my glasses, for the record. taylor and i just decided it felt like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters. thank you, taylor swift.}

i've been trying to make mini road trips to remind myself that there is life outside of temple, texas. it's kinda sad that i need those reminders, no? anyway. they've been pretty great little escapes. i went to austin this past week to see taylor and we did our thing on the east side, ate lots of good mexican food, and had our first chicken and waffle experience at 24 diner. it's right next door to waterloo records, so record browsing was a must. austin is good for records, you know. then i headed to waco over the weekend to see kaci and tad. it was basically full of scary movies and supernatural goodness, and of course pizza. while this post-grad transition is rather confusing, i will say that this part of being out of school and completely clueless is pretty great. i have this incredible freedom to drive my car anywhere and not worry about anything. i have a feeling that this freedom is pretty fleeting, but i'm definitely going to enjoy it while i can.

the paris wife.

i wasn't exactly sure what to expect with this one. i'd been somewhat aware of ernest hemingway's tumultuous love life before i picked up the book. i didn't really know much about the man, though, except that he had big spaces in his heart for spain and fishing. it was so, so interesting to see a part of this writer through the eyes of his first wife, hadley. albeit they were fictional eyes, the story was still told as accurate as possible. and what a story! i cried in the end, which isn't saying a lot because i cry at the end of nearly every book. it's weird, i know. but this one was worth a tear or two. anyway, i cannot get over how much i adored hadley's character. she was perfectly self-deprecating. she never felt as if she had a passion, except for ernest and her son, as ernest did for his work. i thought this part of her was so relatable. i mean, i don't have children, but sometimes it kills me that i don't have something that absolutely thrills me. she was sensible and plain, but loved her husband very much. from their courtship to their life in paris, it was all so captivating. of course, the love story turned sour and that's when the book became a little difficult to read. it was wildly uncomfortable to read about someone's heartbreak and marriage crumbling in such an absurd way. it was also a little heartbreaking to watch as hemingway slowly began to change from this charming young man into someone completely different. nonetheless, i still love the man. and i loved this book. i'm tempted to go back and read the beginning of the book and put it down before things have a chance to go bad because their love affair was so fascinating. i've been staying up late looking at old pictures of them and reading about their life together. i want to read everything i can by and about hemingway now. oh, and i want move to paris. the latter might not be so easy...;)
 

meet dixie.

i thought i'd take a moment to introduce dixie. she's just about the sweetest pup a girl could ask for. she's a blue heeler mix and two years old. she likes to play fetch almost as much as she likes to eat treats. she hasn't quite mastered the art of walking on a leash and sometimes sleeps on the covers so i spend the night freezing and uncomfortable. but i love her. oh, and i like her, too.

p.s.-a big thank you to the birthday girl {a.k.a. kaci} for snapping these shots this afternoon.

for winter ears.

cold weather mix. from kandeeflores on 8tracks Radio.

{image via imcomingcolrado.tumblr.com} 

i made a little playlist of songs that have been circulating my music library this month. my moods are pretty seasonal, so this dreary weather has made me a little... well, emo. good thing sad songs are sometimes the best songs.

1. this modern love-bloc party

2. land locked blues-bright eyes

3. norwegian wood (this bird has flown)-the beatles
4. i don't love anyone-belle & sebastian*
5. the dangling conversation-simon & garfunkel
6. don't think twice, it's alright-bob dylan
7. blue ridge mountaints-fleet foxes
8. ramblin' man-hank williams
9. acid tongue-jenny lewis
10. just one thing-my morning jacket

i didn't include this band on the playlist, but that's because i couldn't narrow it down to one song. the secret sisters' entire album is by far one of the loveliest things i've heard in awhile. it's perfect country music and i highly recommend giving them a listen.

*a few years ago, a boy told me this song reminded him of me. how sweet. at least it makes for a pretty nice winter jam.

indie game: the movie

i watched this last night. lately i've been straying quite a bit from films and leaning more toward television shows. there's just a greater feeling of investment in characters and plots when you see more than two hours of them, you know? now it sounds like my life revolves around television characters. anyway, i really miss watching and loving films. i decided to delve into the documentary section last night because i rarely browse that netflix field. i was pretty pleased with indie game: the movie. i'm not exactly a big gamer. my game days sorta ended with super nintendo. but i really, really enjoyed everything about this documentary. it was so interesting, partly because i had no idea about the indie game world or that it even existed. but the games actually seem a little awesome and i'm tempted to explore them a whole lot more. i also liked the idea of the indie concept. these game creators were so passionate about what they made and didn't feel the need to succumb to working for giant game corporations if their product went sour. they didn't make games for money or recognition, but because it was the only way they knew how to express themselves. ok, that sounded rather sappy, but the film was so fascinating and--here comes more sap--inspiring.