sneak peek.

the other day, as i was dropping some things off in the mail room, i noticed some outgoing postcards.  curiosity got the better of me, so i peeked.  postcards are such funny things... your words and feelings are right out there for any somebody to see (like me!)  they said things like:

"hi chris, dad here.  today we saw the north end and the USS constitution.  we also went to the aquarium.  next time i hope we can see the sharks together.  i love you.  dad."

or

"hi lissie.  it's actually snowing here in boston!  we are having a great time despite the cold.  did you know your cousin abigail is starring in the theatre production of mary poppins?  we missed it in boston by 3 days!  we miss you.  love auntie jane and steve."

little tidbits of silly information that give you the tiniest shred of a view into other people's lives. 

once again, i am a lover of all things romantic so while at the bookstore i picked up a book called other people's love letters: 150 letters you were never meant to see.  it's a collection of love letters found: some are the sweetest things you'll ever read, others are tragic, some just sad, and still others naughty and cute.  i'm posting some for you to see.  do you keep your old love letters?

finally.

happy weekend everyone! 

my plans <3

happiness hit her like a train on a track.

i just finished reading hector and the search for happiness.  it's about a psychiatrist who takes a journey around the world in search of what makes others happy.  he comes up with 23 lessons.  i thought i'd let you in on it because i think it's a pretty comprehensive list that challenges you to think of examples in your own life.  i highlighted the ones that resonated most with me. 

Lesson 1: Making comparisons can spoil your happiness.

Lesson 2: Happiness often comes when least expected.
Lesson 3: Many people see happiness only in their future.

Lesson 4: Many people think that happiness comes from having more power or more money.

Lesson 5: Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story.

Lesson 6: Happiness is a long walk in the mountains.

Lesson 7: It’s a mistake to think that happiness is the goal.

Lesson 8: Happiness is being with the people you love.
Lesson 8b: Unhappiness is being separated from the people you love.

Lesson 9: Happiness is knowing your family lacks for nothing.

Lesson 10: Happiness is doing a job you love.

Lesson 11: Happiness is having a home and a garden of your own.

Lesson 12: It’s harder to be happy in a country run by bad people.
Lesson 13: Happiness is feeling useful to others.

Lesson 14: Happiness is to be loved for exactly who you are.

Lesson 15: Happiness comes when you feel truly alive.

Lesson 16: Happiness is knowing how to celebrate.

Lesson 17: Happiness is caring about the happiness of those you love.

Lesson 18: Happiness could be the freedom to love more than one woman at the same time.

Lesson 19: The sun and the sea make everybody happy.

Lesson 20: Happiness is a certain way of seeing things.

Lesson 21: Rivalry poisons happiness.

Lesson 22: Women care more than men about making others happy.

Lesson 23: Happiness means making sure that those around you are happy?

you're looking at me like i'm something you want.

ever since i was in middle school, i've had a fascination with museums.  when i was tiny, it was the children's museum and the science museum, then in high school i would get dropped off at the braintree train station and head to the museum of fine arts where i always gravitated toward their contemporary art section.  since living in boston, i've gotten to all the museums here. my favorite of course is the MoCA in the berkshires but since it takes 3 hours to get there, i make it a point to get to every exhibit the ICA (institute of contemporary art) shows.  my most favorite exhibit i've seen there yet was the sculptures of anish kapoor.  kapoor is an indian-born, british sculptor whose work you will most certainly recognize... don't believe me?  look:

this sculpture is located in chicago... in millenium park and is called cloud gate.  i think we've all either taken our photo in this sculpture or know plenty of people who have.  you might also recognize this:

sky mirror, rockefeller center, ny.

i love how he works so large scale and how many of his sculptures trick your eye.  here's a look at some of my favorite pieces as well as photos of the install.  lastly, you'll see a video of the ICA crew installing anish's "s-curve."  you will also see anish in the video.  pretty cool stuff!

 above is my absolute favorite.  the gray piece sloooowly moved back and forth over the red sphere.

link to ICA's install video found here.

pretty things.

how about a 5 things post? things i like, things i'm looking forward to, good things.

i am in desperate "need" of a new comforter.  i am in love with this one. it looks old and comfy and the colors aren't too sweet.

 i am huge on hair/head/hat type accessories and i am, right now, all for mini-turbans.  this one is from american apparel - i love the color and it's lined with wire so you can make it any shape you want.  this is from my favorite blog: cupcakes and cashmere.

 i recently finished reading francois lelord's "hector and his search for happiness."  it's light, not too heavy on psychiatric theory and puts life and happiness into perspective.  this is the follow up novel which comes out in the next few months.  i am OBSESSED with the cover art for both books.

i ordered this necklace from this etsy store.  z&t.  vermont, boston, indiana, abington, wherever is next... you're with me all the time.

call me crazy, but i am hooked on bethenny ever after.  her life is perfect in so many ways.  the husband, the business, the baby, the apartment, new york.  but she's crass, and crude, and neurotic and insecure.  she cries all the time but acts goofy even more often. and her husband is so kind, calm and accepts her for all her parts.  it feels good to know you can be all those things.

friday friday friday

i so so so wanted to write a nice, long post about my weekend and other things going on.  but work is so busy i can't do it justice. a few things though:

i watched date night this weekend.  i thought i would hate it, but i liked it, i really really did. i also caught up on rebecca black, pandas doing the dougie {watch it here, it is awesome}, and the thursday night shows.  on my drive home from vermont i listened to the final ricky gervais: guide to.  it was his guide to philosophy and i have to say, it was the only one i did not enjoy.  ricky and steven argued through the entire episode and karl was extra grumpy.  even for him. 

anyways.  more tomorrow. dodgeball tonight.

it's not a rant.

ah. this is something i've been thinking about for a long time.  as someone who, {at times}, can be irrational and a little obsessive, facebook can have its moments of torment for me.  let's think about it: it is a fantastic thing for reconnecting, for making new friends, for planning events.  i can't tell you how many emails, conversations, drinks i've shared with people from grade school, high school, college as a result of a facebook friendship.  i've planned bachelorette parties, showers, birthday parties and tons of random nights out through facebook.  i even owe so much of getting to know my boyfriend months ago to late night facebook chats. but this we all know.

facebook also provides an arena for a total time-suck. i can't count the number of hot coffees that have cooled to almost icy on my desk as i sit clicking through faceless photo albums of my cousin's girlfriend's friend's sister's husband.  it's also the perfect place to log on when you're feeling a little down and start comparing your life to that of the beautiful girl from high school who is now married to a gorgeous man, with the perfect job you want and the kind of life you didn't even know you wanted.  it's the perfect place to have passive agressive fights with friends through status updates and profile photos. And of course the worst is that it provides a sort of diary into the past life of significant others.  photos of ex-girlfriends, ex-boyfriends, husbands, wives.  there are old mushy status updates that feel like a hot knife searing my skin.  logic says that everyone had a life before you stepped in, but logic doesn't exist in the impossibly cruel facebook world.

yesterday i had a conversation with my brother's girlfriend bee.  i'd been wanting to write a facebook post for awhile so i asked her thoughts on it and she summed it up pretty succinctly, "facebook makes everything worse."  and she's one of the lucky ones - my brother [her boyfriend] has never, will never have a facebook.  he just doesn't care. 

i've heard friends say that people without facebook are creepy.  i just think they're awesome.  so, you say, why don't i simply deactivate my facebook account?  well, that would just be too logical.

(image via google)

papes!

a ball-dodging update! remember when my dodgeball team won theme night back in june?  well, on monday, we were up to our old tricks.  this time there was a theme that each team had to stick to: disney.  we were feeling hungover and lazy and decided we'd go with newsies.  well, whatya know?  we won our time bracket and advanced to the finals.  we're currently losing the battle on facebook to the 7 dwarfs.  it's a bummer because my team rules.  i couldn't imagine 10 people better suited to play silly sports together.  everyone is laid back, fun, goofy and pretty freakin good at dodgeball.  i really love em.  the prize for the competition is tickets to wine riot.  we'll go regardless, because it's such a cool event.  250 wines, food, dj's, and a kickass photobooth. 

so here's out team: NEWSIES

and here's theres: SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

they look great, we look great.  i just wanna win!

hairy stuff.

tomorrow, i'm getting my hair cut and colored.  i look like a mangy dog right now . split ends, ugly uninspired color.  i am almost unbearably excited to wake up late, get a hot pink marylou's coffee, and sit in that salon chair chattering away with jill.

so here are my thoughts for tomorrow...

color:

obviously, jennifer aniston has the best hair ever.  i like her new cut, but i want to grow my hair longer and longer and longer.  like this:

and while i wish i could go straight to jennifer aniston blonde, i may have to make a slower transition a la leighton meester:

all about the suburbs.

this weekend i am planning an all suburbs good time family band weekend.  meaning: i will not leave the suburbs from fri-sun and i will plan awesome, suburban adventures for me, my friends, and my boyfriend. then monday we'll kill at dodgeball and leave for new york tuesday morning.

things i have in mind:
1. cosmic bowling at timberlanes.
2. karaoke and scorpion bowls at kam's garden
3. F1 racing in braintree
4. cinema de LUX in dedham = gittin' drunk at the movies, yo.
5. homecooked meals followed by 3,000 rounds of nerf gun fights. 
6. early bird specials & cheap martinis at the mockingbird.
7. twin peaks/west wing marathons in flannel pajamas and microwave popcorn.
8. and maybe, if we wanna get fancy, dinner at alma nove in the hingham shipyard.

bring it on, burbs.

pretty little windstorm.

sorry i was off yesterday and friday! lots of changes in the past weekend, week, and month.  some really great, some good, some just... different but all important and all are making my life a happy place.  i moved to a new home this weekend and i moved to a new office at work.  moving is never that awesome so i decided to celebrate tomorrow night with my friends and with my family.  eight of us are going to see the ready set at showcase live in foxboro.  i love nights like this, that combine my friends and my family and music and drinks.