celebrate the every-once-in-a-while

scavenger hunt sunday {i had so much fun participating last week, i'm doing it again!}

{in fact, i'll probably just make this a regular thing.}

this time,

we're looking for routine, music, technology, our style and mismatch.

i thought i'd start off with my style {if you can call it that}.

i always considered myself fashion-conscious before baby... even during pregnancy {which was so much fun to get creative with!}.

but i have to say, post-baby, it's an entirely different story.

i rarely try.

i don't think it will always be that way.

but as long as i'm nursing and he's teething/drooling and needing to be fed by someone else,

i'm not going to put too much effort into what i wear...

it's just gonna get messed up anyway.

so one can usually find me with my hair pulled back,

wearing a head band or scarf,

 and sporting relaxed, comfortable clothes that are often mismatched.

which is why...

i prefer the first photo, but i put this one in to show how unmatched my ensemble is.
i wanted to do something else with the mismatch prompt, though,
as something else came immediately to mind to shoot for it.
but i'll get to that one in a bit.


next up... routine.

it's interesting, to me, that i was never disciplined about taking vitamins myself on a daily basis.

it was always sporadic... whenever i happened to think of it... never routine.

but as soon as i became responsible for another person {isaac},

i became very disciplined in sticking to a daily routine

of giving him his vitamins...

every morning, with breakfast.

he loves them!

if he could, i think he would just drink the entire bottle down.

i only hope that, despite the fact that i am still not consistent with my own vitamin-taking,

he will pick up on the habit of me giving them to him every day

and continue to take them after he is out from under my "reign". {*wink*}

speaking of isaac...

i know i've said it before, but i can never say it enough... i adore watching these two together. i always think my son is so sweet and forever cute in my eyes. but as soon as he is in the arms or on the lap of his dad, he becomes the most precious sight to behold... both of them really. it's not one or the other. it's the love you can see between them. i melt. mr. b. is such a good dad... so giving, so interested, so fun and so patient. it was actually his idea to get the guitar for isaac for christmas. and i'm so glad he thought of it. i'd be most glad if isaac followed in his father's musical footsteps. so far, i think he has.

now back to mismatch.

like i said,

i thought of this as soon as i read the prompts for this week.

i've never owned an entire set of matching dishes of any kind.

but for some reason, that never appealed to me.

i think it's because i would never be able to commit to just one style.

plus, i love vintage things... dishes are no exception.

so when i find antique glassware that i love,

rarely does the entire set remain in tact.

usually, it's three here, one there...

or as is the case with the second glass from the left,

it's one or two passed down to us by family.

if i ever had a dinner party

or hosted a brunch,

this is what the table would look like... mismatched.

and i have to say, i don't think i'd do it any other way, even if i could.

okay.

one more.

i wish it was mine.

but it's not.

it belongs to the company that i am doing this temp project for.

it's sad, but this laptop is twice as fast as my archaic desktop mac that i am blogging on at the moment.

i bought my mac used... and that always has a down side... namely that so much is outdated.

i'm hoping to upgrade in the near future.

if i get more temp jobs, i'll be able to!

fingers crossed.

for now, i will enjoy this one... even if it is only for work.

this one can follow me around... the couch, the dining room table, the bed {in my pajamas!}, the office.

i love it!
i'm like a kid in a candy store... at christmas!

and i'm pretty sure i'll cry like a baby when i have to give it back.

{*frown*}

but i will live.

and i will work that much harder to get one of my own after having tasted the sweetness this apple.

that wraps up my scavenger hunt.

did you hunt this week, too?

i hope so.

i'm going to be checking out some s.h.s. posts of others.

it's so much fun to see all the different things others do with five words each week.

hope your weekend was grand.

happy week ahead!

{don't forget to click this little guy to see a bunch of others' takes on this photo scavenger hunt.}
 

if i crack it open, i just might find some quiet there... and i might even reach page two hundred and ninety-nine

post updated 1.17.12 to participate in today's...

so i saw a photo similar to the above shot that i took
while i was on pinterest the other day,

and i thought to myself,

"i really want to take a photo like that."

so i did.

i honestly like the one i saw better.

but i like mine, too.

they are different in their own way.

but very similar, as well.

anyway, it was the vintage book in the original photo

that had me searching my book shelves for one of my own.

sometimes i am tempted to buy vintage books
solely for how charming they look

and how they might transform

a table or shelf...

or even an entire room.

but if i did that, i would have more useless clutter than i need

or already have.

so when i buy vintage books,

i try to purchase ones that are actually about

something that truly interests me...

something i would read,

whether the pages were old and perfectly worn or not...

whether or not the cover was frayed

or skin oils from hands that held it had seeped in to give it that oily sheen.

this is one such book.

it's about the life of franz schubert... my favorite composer.

i bought it so long ago,

and except for a couple skim-throughs,

i've not yet read it.

i'm so glad i sought it out and picked it up for this photo.

now, it's no longer out-of-sight, out-of-mind.

and now,

in my efforts to create a new level of quiet in my life.

i think i'll read this book

in place of any time i would have spent watching television.

being the music-lover that i am
and the kind of person that is more stimulated by film than i am by books,
i'm tempted to just listen to some schubert
or watch a documentary about him instead.
but neither of those are sans sound.
and because the one thing about reading that has always appealed to me
{even though i've never been a big reader}
is that it seems to provide a sense of quietness and focus and relaxation,
i am going to force myself to read about him, instead.

at my college graduation ceremony,

the president of the college
{who was also the commencement speaker}

gave this admonition to the graduates...

"always be part-way through a good book."

i think he meant always be in the middle of reading something,

or in other words, be constantly reading books, one after another.

i have not done that.

but {sadly} i've fulfilled his suggestion in another way.

you see, i've started so many books,

only to never finish them.

{i'm just not a reader.}

so i am {pathetically} always in the middle of a good book.

and when i say "middle", i mean way towards the front.

and when i say "always"... well, you get what i'm driving at.

i don't finish what i start when it comes to books.

i recall that in the past,

i have made "read more" one of my resolutions.

but it never really took.

maybe now, though, it will happen...

as a byproduct of seeking quiet out.

wish me luck.

approximately 300 pages isn't too lofty a goal, right?

what about you?

got any books you're planning to read this year?

forty favorite recordings of mine

before i get into this post, i just wanted to do as i promised to a new blog friend... spread the word about the terrible days many out east are having in the aftermath of the hurricane and continual rain and flooding. she left a comment on one of my posts asking me to spread the word about how much prayer is needed, as there is a lot of devastation there. even if she had not shared this request and brought it to my attention, i would have felt the need to pray after watching some of the footage on the news. i can't even imagine the frustration and pain that many are experiencing there. i pray the rain lets up very soon... and that the way of living they are used to returns to normal soon as well.

well, my blog posts these days seem trivial in the light of what is going on there. but as i am in the middle of this series, i am continuing in it each day...

i had to use old photos for todays post, because i had no time to take a new one for this list. and none of my recently taken photos seemed to go with it either. so i tried to think back to an old post where i wrote about music, and this is the one i thought of... about jazz. well, actually, it was about the ken burns documentary jazz. but in the end, it was about the genre of jazz.

the quote is from jazz musician, art blakey... speaking about jazz music. and the photos had been taken in chicago shortly before the post i originally wrote. anyway, anyone who knows me well or who has been reading this blog for a while, knows how much i love music... not just jazz. so somewhere in my thirty lists of forty for my fortieth birthday, i had to write about music! and this is the that post/list.

this list is almost entirely comprised of recordings i actually own. there may be other recordings that are favorites of mine that i don't own. but generally, if i love an entire album that much, i will buy it.

one of the reasons i love music {aside from what it does for me on an inspirational, emotional, motivational and audible level} is that it has such a great social aspect. music can draw people together to meet that would not have otherwise met. people can bond through music. but the best part... most music is known because someone else introduced that music. at least, that is my experience. i rarely buy or listen to an album because i know that artist was in the top forty charts or on a bestseller list. i usually will buy or rent a recording because someone recommended it to me. {with the exception of when i buy something because it is by a huge favorite artist of mine, and i trust that it will be good no matter what... and even if it is not, i still want it in my collection, because i have all that artist's work.}

i've also found that it works the other way around, too. many of my favorite recordings have been bought by friends of mine, because they heard me listening to it and asked... "who is this?" or "what is this album?"

so in my list, there will be many of each... both recordings i bought because someone recommended it to me, or recordings i have recommended to others many times.

okay... enough writing about the list and more compiling the list. {by the way, just in case you should be interested in hearing any, i am providing a link to each, if there is a place on line to buy it. just click on the title.

1. when i look in your eyes | diana krall | jazz | {this one, i just bought on my own, without recommendation. i had been a fan of hers for so long, i bought every new recording she came out with. when this one did, i instantly deemed it my favorite. i don't think she has come out with one as good since. it's a little bit ridiculous how much i listen to this cd. i've had SO MANY friends ask for the name of this when they heard it played in my home so that they could go get it for themselves.}
2. love and theft | bob dylan | blues | {this one, i bought for the same reason as above, but on my husband's behalf. he is a huge fan of dylan... but the older stuff from the sixties. not knowing this new album would be so different, i bought it for him for his birthday. he did not like it nearly as much as i do, so it has sort of become my cd. the only problem is, i lent this to someone, and they never gave it back. ughhh. at least the library has it.}
3. concertos for recorder, baroque bassoon & strings | telemann & vivaldi played by the drottningholm baroque ensemble | classical {baroque} | {i can't tell you how many times i have listened to this cd since i acquired it. it's one of those where you could listen over and over to it several days on end, and never tire of it... so very relaxing. a great for the morning cd, but, really, nice any time of day.}
4. forget about it | alison krauss | bluegrass/country | {another favorite artist of mine, whose recordings i tend to buy all of whether i've heard it or not.}
5. wincing the night away | the shins | pop | {i think someone at my last full-time job recommended this to me when he found out i had their previous album. i'm so glad he did, because if i had judged this album without hearing it based on the one before, i never would have bought it. it is absolutely in my top five of this genre.}
6. mozart piano concerto no. 24; schumann piano concerto | evgeny kissin | classical | {after seeing him play in concert at chicago symphony center, i had to buy some of his recordings... so i guess you could say, he recommended it to me!}
7. the horse whisperer soundtrack | various artists | country | {this is probably my favorite soundtrack. i often put this cd on to relax, and it often lulls me to sleep.}
8. home | fernando ortega | christian contemporary | {i find this cd so encouraging and relaxing.}
9. mendelssohn's symphony no. 3 and no. 4 | chicago symphony orchestra | classical | {i have been listening to this cd since high school. my dad owned the cd and made me a tape of it, because mendelssohn is my favorite composer. years later, i went and bought the cd for myself. i think i must have listened to it a thousand times during college.}
10. parachutes | coldplay | alternative rock | {it was a toss up between this one and a rush of blood to the head, but since this was the first one i ever purchased and heard, it has a little more of a nostalgia tied to it because it is what made me love this group, which makes me like it more.}
11. good dog bad dog | over the rhine | alternative rock | {i discovered this group at cornerstone music festival over fifteen years ago, when someone i met there raved about them, so i went to hear them perform. the lead singer's voice is crazy good!}
12. haydn string quartets op. 9, nos. 1, 3 and 4 | kodaly quartet | classical | {i picked this cd up for peanuts... maybe $.50... at a garage sale on the way home from a dentist appointment. maybe the best $.50 i ever spent.}
13. find me in these fields again | phil keaggy | christian contemporary | {one of my favorite guitarists... i have the majority of all recordings he has ever made.}
14. take a look | natalie cole | jazz / big band | {this is a great cd, because not only does it have good music... old school stuff like her dad used to sing. but it also has eighteen songs... that's a lot for one cd. you totally get your money's worth!}
15. ditty bops | the ditty bops | a little of everything, but mostly indie folk"ish" | {this is just a fun cd!}
16. jazz masters 38: django reinhardt | django reinhardt | jazz | {this is such a great cd to listen to at night while having dinner or drinking wine with some snacks! we discovered this cd while searching for his music.}
17. blind | the sundays | indie alternative | {this is my favorite of their albums. i find it very relaxing.}
18. beethoven overtures | the hanover band | classical | {i just like these powerful pieces.}
19. the late great pfr | pfr | christian contemporary | {i bought this for the hubby, but i like it just as much for me. it brings up a lot of nostalgia of when we were dating when i listen to it.}
20. hail gladdening light | the cambridge singers directed by john rutter | classical choral | {i know i'm a nerd for putting this in there, but i love choral music... especially from this choir and director! getting to sing with a choir in some beautiful cathedrals in europe spawned my love for this kind of music. faire is the heaven is also good!}
21. befriended | the innocence mission | folk"ish" for lack of a better term | {just beautiful... melodies, lyrics... everything. even the cover photo/artwork is beautiful. my sister got me hooked on this group, especially this particular cd.}
22. lieder: songs, chants | schubert performed by tamara takacs | classical vocal | {yes... i'm a nerd. schubert is one of my three favorite composers, and i love the songs he wrote. i would never have thought i like this singer's voice, but i do. and i love this cd. so much, that one time, my sister surprised me with something related to it.}
23. divine discontent | sixpence none the richer | contemporary christian | {another cover i love for its artwork! but i also love the music on this cd from one of my favorite groups of this genre.}
24. lieder ohne worte {songs without words} | mendelssohn performed by daniel barenboim | classical piano | {not only is this my favorite composer and some of my favorite music from him, but it is performed by one of my favorite people... the former conductor of the chicago symphony orchestra and pianist, daniel barenboim. in my opinion, no one plays this complete works better than he does here.}
25. infinite arms | band of horses | alternative rock | {this is one of those... "i'm curious about this group" purchases at starbucks. have you ever noticed how inexpensive it is to buy a cd there? anyway, i ended up really liking this cd... and this group in general. one really cool thing about the packaging for this cd is that it appeals to photographers, as it has a bunch of pretty cool almost polaroid-esque prints of photos in it. bonus!}
26. broken bells | broken bells | alternative rock | {this was also purchased the same way as above... especially when i found out one of the artists is from the shins. i have blogged about this cd before... i think just one song in particular.}
27. haydn, hummel, l. mozart trumpet concertos | performed by wynton marsalis | classical trumpet/orchestra | {this is just a happy feel good cd, that i love, because the trumpet playing by one of the best reminds me of my papa, who also played trumpet and admired marsalis.}
28. only by the night | kings of leon | rock | {someone from my last job introduced me to this group. musically, i think they are so original. and i love the lead singer's voice. great cd!}
29. fleet foxes | fleet foxes | alternative rock | {same as above. but a much more mellow group... wonderfully mellow.}
30. schubert piano sonatas | performed by radu lupu | classical piano | {especially the first movement of the first sonota... swoon!}
31. love in the time of science | emiliana torrini | alternative {i think} | {my sister got me hooked on torrini also. i like this recording as well as fishermans woman from her.}
32. best of bee gees volumes 1 and 2 | bee gees | classic rock | {don't laugh. the hubby and i think they were geniuses! their music writing ability is incredible. masters at harmonies!}

once again, i am not able to finish this before the day is over. i have my list done, but i have not added them all to the post yet. but tomorrow morning, i will add the other 8. see you then!

happier

i'm happier than the mornin' sun.

that's the way they said that it would be

if i should ever bring you inside my life.

oh, i'm happier than the stars above.

yea, yea

that's the way they said that it would be

if i should ever bring you inside of my life.

yea, yea

i'm happier than the mornin' sun.

yea, yea

that's the way they said that it would be

if i should ever bring you inside my life.

oh, i'm happier than the stars above.

yea, yea, yea, yea

that's the way they said that it would be

if i should ever bring you inside of my life.

yea, yea

bom bom bom

bom bom bom bom bom bom

bom bom bom

i love you.

sing it.

bom bom bom

bom bom bom bom bom bom

bom bom bom

i love you.

i'm happier than the mornin' sun.

happy.

that's the way they said that it would be

if i should ever bring you inside my life.

oh, i'm happier than the stars that shine

way up above.

that's the way they said it would be

if i should ever bring you inside of my life.

yea-yeaaahhhh

just heard this song again today...
originally made famous by stevie wonder,
but i heard the jon gibson version.

{you can buy it here... it's a GOOD one!}

i love it!

always have loved this version,

but i like it even more now.

i think jon gibson was singing it about Jesus.

but when i heard it today,

isaac was sitting next to me in his bouncer.

and i found that it made me think of how i feel the same about him...

happier than i could ever have imagined.

we found the song that we once could sing

push play to hear... scroll down to read.

{photos in video not taken by me... credit here}

. . .

song of reconciliation
{by wayne kirkpatrick}


where there is love, there is a peace.

and in the cages that bind the bitter heart, it is release.

hold it close to your chest.

let it move, and let it rest...

for it is here to set your mind at ease.

where there is love, there is a peace.

where there is hope, there is a dream

to rise above, to remit and to redeem...

to go back, to go where

there's no hurt or anger there...

to find the song that you once could sing.

where there is hope, there is a dream.

where there is faith, there is a chance

to alter the course and fight the winds of circumstance...

not to scar, but mend,

not to break, but to bend...

and not to know, but to understand.

where there is faith, there is a chance.

where there is hope, there is a dream.

where there is love, there is a peace.

. . .

{i met with someone today with whom i had a long bout of silence... there had come to be misunderstanding and hurt where there was once communication, and silence resulted. but with some time away to process and heal and bend and listen to others say what we could not say to ourselves, we came back together to talk it out. in person. in love. it was good. it was right. we both believe in the same God who forgave us so much... in fact, so much that He paid the price with His only son for us to be saved. so it was easy to do... only natural. or rather, unnatural, but inspired by God's great love for us.

i had heard the lyrics above when listening to a favorite song on an old cd a couple of weeks ago. they moved me to soften my approach and my approachability. i'm glad i came across them again.

on a different note, but related in so far as i speak of forgiveness and redemption and second chances and newness, i hope you all have a blessed easter sunday.}

eine kleine nachtmusik {or a little night music }

one of last week's sunsets...




tonight's full moon.

i have not yet mastered night-time photography, but i'm okay with that. sometimes i'd almost rather not, because i love blurry, ethereal images, and my inability to work the camera just right for a crisp shot lends itself to that blurry look i love. tonight was warm and very windy... absolutely one of my favorite kinds of nights. i was out late, and it felt so incredible to feel that wind on my skin, complete with the "better than any music ever written" sound of the wind through the trees. it was the first night of the year that we have had that sound. up until now, even if we had strong enough winds, we did not have enough leaf growth on the trees for that sound to be made.

i was in heaven. pure bliss. there is only one other sound that moves me that much... roaring applause after a powerful performance of classical music. both give me the chills.

the wind also helped with the blur i was hoping for. i wish i could capture sounds the way i can capture images, and then upload them to my blog too. instead, i'll just encourage you all to be on the "lookout" for that sound. if you have never {or have not recently } taken notice of it, do it soon. and if you have been observantly admiring it, you know just what i mean.

it's also that time of year when i will be taking loads of sunset photos. i think i went out chasing sunsets three to four times a week last spring and summer. i often got shots i loved, but it was more than that for me. it was the experience. the intentionality to see. that is what makes those evenings memorable. the photos that turned out well are just the icing on the cake... or to put into a musical context... the bow and encore at the end of an already memorable concert.

i haven't seen this day before

{a repost of an old post from last year...
inspired by the always inspiring kristin.}

if i could i would break into flower.
if i could i'd no longer be barren.
this day is filling up my room,
is coming through my door.
oh i have not seen this day before.

oh mourning dove, we'll go up to my roof.
oh mourning dove, we'll go into the sky.
this day is filling up my room,
is coming through my door.
oh i have not seen this day before.

and the cars are a stream running by me,
bend away to a place i don't know,
this day is filling up my room,
is coming through my door,
oh i have not seen this day before.

{by innocence mission}

happy birthday, mozart!

today {wednesday } was mozart's birthday. {i say was, because the day is almost over.} i wish i had a music-related photograph to post... or at least some sort of image that "says" music. but i don't. so i'll just post this recent winter shot and give you a recommendation for a good piece to listen to. i heard it the other day while driving home from work. mozart's quintet in a, played by the emerson string quartet along with david shifrin {thus making it a quintet }.

while mozart does not make it into my top three composers of my personal favorites, i do like much of his work, and this is one piece i liked and will be getting some time.

happy birthday, mozart!

music.two {desafinado}

~stan getz

pssst.... push play below.

desafinado

as you can see and hear, desafinado by stan getz is playing. this is my second post in a series of posts related to music. last time i wrote about my brother's influence on my musical tastes, which is more on the current or modern music i listen to. but anything old school like jazz or classical is almost completely my father's doing {i guess a little of my mother's, too}.

anyway, what you are listening to right now is a series of notes that positively spell d. a. d. for me. i hear this piece and i can't think of anything but my father. this was one of his favorites, and growing up in my home, it was played all the time... i mean ALL the time! there are a few other pieces that he loved as much and gave equal amount of airtime to, like feels so good by chuck mangione, birdland by maynard ferguson, take the a train by duke ellington, and take five by dave brubeck. those all have the same effect when i hear them... they make me smile and think of nothing more strongly than dad. they are all now loved by his children just as much, but i think this one is probably my favorite.

so i was so delighted when i plugged in my earphones at work today and saw that one of my coworkers had this 1962 recording by getz and byrd called jazz samba on his i-tunes. i started playing it {desafinado is the first track}, and it instantly brought the broadest smile to my face. it put me in the best mood. partly because it caused such warm memories of my father to surface, but also because it's just plain feel good music. i love when music does that. i love that music can do that.

i'm pretty sure i owe my love of jazz to papa. this is not one of my november gratitude posts, but i'll say it anyway... i am so grateful that my parents raised us in a musical home and instilled a deep appreciation for good music in us.

i hope you enjoyed it. go ahead... listen to it again when it's done. it won't be on my blog forever.

music.one {ten.cent.wings}

music, the greatest good that mortals know,
and all of heaven we have below.
~joseph addison

music is probably the only art form i get as excited about {or moved by} as i do photography. in fact, probably more, because it has been a part of my life for much longer. i grew up in a musical family, so it was woven deep into my self from early on.

{in case you are wondering... there are more photos. but unlike my usual posts, this one is "words first, photos last", other than the little teaser slice i gave you above.}

anyway, i thought i would do a few posts that were musically inspired since it is such a big part of me. this will be the first of at least three music-related posts.

my brother got me listening to a female artist whose voice i really like, but whose lyrics have an even greater draw for me. her name is jonatha brooke, and one of my favorite songs by her is ten cent wings. on her web site, she writes a little about how she came to compose this song. {the lyrics, a sound bite, and a button to buy the song are also at this link.}

anyway, because of what the lyrics say, i knew i would want to use a sweater in the photos for this post. but i did not know what the wings would be "made of". then i saw this inspiring post on a favorite blog, and i knew right away what i would use. i'd also say that this post inspired me, as well {just for the way she took an ordinary object and "played" with it}.

i wish i could have the song playing on my blog while you read, but it was not available on the playlist widget that i would have used. so instead, i posted the lyrics below. if you want to hear the song in its entirety, you can go here. i hope you enjoy!

ten cent wings

if i knew what i was after,
i’d remember where i’d been
if i was sure of something better,
i’d go, i’d go
~
but i am just another picture,
and i watch myself like you
i imagine what you’re thinking,
i know, i know


ten cent wings,
i’ll take two
pin them to my sweater
and i’ll sail above the blue
~
ten cent wings,
tried and true
orbiting like satellites
i’ll sail away with you


i will love across the borders,
i will wait until it’s dark
i will fly and you’ll be with me,
my wings, your heart
~
then our memory may fail us,
and our language will go too
but the shooting stars will catch our
celestial view


ten cent wings,
i’ll take two
pin them to my sweater
and i’ll sail above the blue
~
ten cent wings,
tried and true
orbiting like satellites
i’ll sail away with you


but i’ll never tell,
i’ll never say,
i’ll never be that brave


ten cent wings,
i’ll take two
pin them to my sweater
and i’ll sail above the blue
~
ten cent wings tried and true
in another life
you are with me,
and i’m with you

{by the way, i found this lovely vintage-esque cardigan on my lunch break today. i stopped at a second-hand store on my way back from hunting down some chicken soup. i was so glad i did. a cashmere j.crew sweater at a mere fraction of what it sold for originally, no doubt... doesn't get any better than that. i was going to use any old sweater that i already owned for this post. but this one went perfectly. it's blue!!!}

sweetheart tree

they say there's a tree in the forest,
a tree that will give you a sign;
come along with me,
to the sweetheart tree,
come and carve your name next to mine.

they say if you kiss the right sweetheart,
the one you've been waiting for,
big blossoms of white
will burst into sight
and your love will be true evermore.

music by henry mancini
lyrics by johnny mercer

{i forgot how much i love this song. it's from the movie we watched on sunday--the great race. {{by the way, sunday was so much fun! i'll write more about it later.}} natalie wood sings it so nicely in one of the scenes {{although i'm not 100% sure it is her actually singing, but i think it is.}} you can't help but fall in love with natalie's character {{miss maggie dubois}} in this movie, especially during scenes like this one. it's almost like how one feels about the lovely audrey hepburn as holly golightly in breakfast at tiffany's. they're both dolls! and they are both lucky enough to sing the ever-delightful and catchy tunes of mancini. he just never got it wrong with his music for films, did he?}

{i took these photos last spring. i know... not very appropriate for this time of year. but they went the best with my post, since they have white blossoms. i "vintagized" them for effect.}

{well, friends. it looks like i have some freelance work lined up through spring {{speaking of spring}}. it's so needed and so wanted. i know a lot of people have been praying for me. and for that i am very grateful, as am i for the work! this will cut into my blogging time, but you know what? that's quite okay. i'm so happy to have the work and to feel a sense of purpose for the day--to feel like i'm needed and wanted for my skills and expertise. yay, yay, yay!}

{happy wednesday!}

how good things can make a good day even "gooder"

things like... 

• warm weather

• an iced soy green tea latte

• taking pictures 

• the hubby cleaning the bathroom {and doing it even better than i would} 

• the cutest little old man saying hello to me when i walked by as he sat by the open door of his very old furniture store that is straight out of the 1950s while the best 1930s music was playing over his speakers 

• finding a chic and stylish neck-scarf at the second-hand store

• feeling a sense of accomplishment from getting lots of things done over the past few days

• running into a friend while walking around to take pictures downtown 

• chatting with someone who makes me laugh 

• receiving $100 from someone who said it can only be used for a day trip to the beach two states away, and if not used for that, it has to be given back {in other words, to ensure that it gets used for leisure and r&r—not used to pay a bill} 

• wearing my favorite shoes

• realizing i have a boatload of sweet banana peppers--a second crop that is three times as plentiful as the first—growing on the two plants i put in the ground last spring 

• cutting off some stems of several plants from my herb garden so that i can dry them and send them to a friend who sent me some of his home-grown garlic 

• discovering a new artist that i really like as a result of hearing one of her songs—call off the search by katie melua {have you heard it?} 

i'd say it's been a very good day! {look below... i kind of had a feeling it would be.}

we took a trip to spain with miles davis tonight

okay, so we didn't really go to spain. but in my heart, i badly needed to get away. and tonight was just the escape i was looking for.

remember me talking lately about the film we'd been watching on jazz? well, the portion that covered the career and work of miles davis mentioned that there are three must-have recordings that anyone interested in in davis's music should add to their library. miles ahead, porgy and bess and sketches of spain—all collaborations of davis's playing and the arrangements of gil evans.

well, being that we are big lovers of jazz and really appreciate groovy album covers, we had to get sketches of spain after hearing a snippet of the album and after seeing the cover art. we looked for it yesterday at the used record shop. they did not have it, so the search will continue. but we were still itching to hear the music of this cool cat. {i knew he was a great musician, but until the film, i did not know just how cool this guy was.}

anyway, we bought the cd at borders today. while in the store, i said, "oh, how fun would it be to have and/or make some spanish food while we listen to the cd tonight?" so after our purchase, we went next door to world market for some spanish fare. not only do they have a fabulous international wine selection, but they have several interesting food products from all over the world—as you may have guessed by the name of the store.

we found four spanish wines, one of which was sangria. {i do like a glass of sangria, and i often get one when i go out for tapas with family or friends.} i got the sangria and some other white spanish wine. b. got two spanish reds for himself. we also found a box of ingredients to make paella--a spanish rice dish. i had never made it, but we knew we liked it, because my mother-in-law made it when we last went to florida to visit b.'s parents.

i thought of getting a bottle of spanish olive oil to pour in a dish and sprinkle salt on for dipping bread into as an appetizer. but you know how expensive olive oil is. so i grabbed a container of spanish green olives instead. these were for the paella, too, but only my half. b. won't go near olives. {poor guy—he just doesn't know what he's missing.}

now all we needed was some fresh ingredients to add to the rice mix—this is the part where i was just wingin' it. so we went to the grocer to buy red, green and yellow pepper and some mini shrimp. oh, we threw in some red onion, too. i did not need to buy cilantro. i had plenty of that in my herb garden at home. but we still had no appetizer to have while we drank wine. cheese! spanish cheese! i don't even know what kind, but it was spanish and it was tasty! we nibbled away at that little block until it was gone.

wine and cheese actually went with christopher parkening's classical spanish guitar recordings--as did the paella preparation. but when the meal was done cooking, that was miles davis's cue to start blowing his horn. wow! was that paella delicious and was that recording all it was cracked up to be!

we ate in the cozy living room on the floor at the coffee table. this 60s-designed and furnished room of our house was the perfect setting for a spanish meal with the relaxing jazz from the 1960 release of sketches of spain. a little stay-cation much needed for my state of mind. i took the opportunity to get lost in the music and flavors of spain.




here is the paella. i can't say enough how tasty this turned out to be. i included the recipe below my cooking photos, just in case you would like to try it too.

paella recipe

• one box of vigo yellow rice/paella seasoned seafood dinner from world market
• one half of each of one green pepper, yellow pepper and red pepper {cut in pieces}
• one bag of frozen or fresh shrimp {not jumbo size shrimp}
• one small red onion {chopped}
• fresh cilanto
• spanish green olives stuffed with anchovies {cut in pieces}

follow the instructions on the box. after getting to the step where you are supposed to simmer for 20-25 minutes, add the peppers, shrimp, onion and cilantro to allow those ingredients to cook with the rice. then, just before serving, add olive pieces.

enjoy!
happy travels!