i love paris in the springtime

lately i've been tortured by the travel bug...so, this weeks muse is inspired by:

FRANCE

oh how i miss that beautiful country...almost a year ago i was there for far too short a time. i may hate learning to pronounce the language (really, what is with all of those silent consonants at the end of every word that come with no rhyme or reason?), but i love the food, the music, the food, the countryside, the cities, and the food...i want a banana+nutella crepe right now. unfortunately i can't give you a crepe virtually, but i can give you a variety of french songs i love, so here they are:

of course, carla bruni "quelqu'un m'a dit"...ah, her voice is so tender and mellow

my favorite franco-israeli jewish singer, yael naim (okay, really only one line of this song is in french, the rest of it is hebrew...but come on, it's about paris)

and french melodie: faure's "les berceaux" sung by the famous opera mezzo, janet baker.

peace+love

WATER is all you need

even before the earthquake, a lot of haiti was living in poor conditions. many do not have access to clean water and after the earthquake even fewer did.

Unshaken - charity: water's campaign for Haiti from charity: water on Vimeo.

even just buying the shirt helps.
peace+love

dear ol' d-a-d

virtual kiss on the cheek (i hate high-fives) to whoever can name the movie to which the post title belongs.
sometimes i'm kind of a romantic. which is why i am in love with these photos of my parents that i found the other day while going through some old albums.

this is my handsome father's james dean-esque pose, circa 1973. i think it's the suspenders.mis padres as young, married, college students (1978, mom?) it makes my heart smile.i don't actually know anyone in this photo, also circa 1973, but my dad grew up in this tiny town called Orderville. tiny as in population 596 and shrinking. (seriously, it topped out at 700 in the 1870's). anyway, this was for a parade or something.i look like my mom in this picture...except she's more beautiful

peace+love

goodbye quasimodo

the day before thanksgiving, my family had a "pre-holiday party"...aka deep clean the house. i was working at my old job that morning and unable to attend. a day later, i opened our game closet only to find all of our disney vhs' were gone. snow white, sleeping beauty, cinderella, oliver and company, beauty and the beast, even the hunchback of notre dame were all missing! all the classics. when i inquired as to their whereabouts, i was informed my family had taken them all to D.I. when i expressed anger about this dark deed i was told, "that's what you get for not being here to clean."

fast forward (vhs style) to today

i went to D.I. to get some holiday garb for an ugly sweater party tonight. as i walked up to the checkout line, i heard the man in front of me say to the cashier, "yes, these'll give my daughter endless hours of happiness." i looked at the counter to see what he was buying. to my horror, i saw 10 of my old disney movies. as i watched my childhood slip away, bar code by bar code, it was all i could do to keep myself from grabbing the videos and running for the door. my hands were twitching, then i remembered i'm not very quick on my feet right now.
i suppose it is the season of sacrifice.

i just hope that girl appreciates the pot of gold her father is giving her this christmas.

peace+love

i'll be home for christmas

finals are over, pretty sure i aced them all, and i'm home for the holidays (possibly the last time for 2 years)...

i love living in southern utah. on the drive home i made my routine stop in fillmore at maverick for a potty break and drink refill. i followed a highway patrolman into the gas station. the man holding the door open for us called him by his first name. the highway patrolman called the first man i saw in there "dad". pretty much everyone in there knew his name. then this nice old cowboy helped me get my hood open so i could check my oil.

when i grow up and live in a big city, i might miss this.
peace+love

vienna waits for me

hundertwasserhaus - vienna, austria
i know i'm not really big into picture posts, but...remember europe? remember how i didn't bring a camera? well i may have failed to mention i bought one for vienna since i knew i'd have two days there by myself and needed some visual documentation...the quality is less than ideal, but i like the rustic look--keep in mind these were taken by me with a disposable camera that didn't have a flash...enjoy!

entertainers in the jewish quarter and the holocaust memorial
people watching at one of the million beautiful parks around the city
oh how i desperately miss that gorgeous countryafter three weeks of living out of a backpack, sharing a bedroom with complete strangers that probably don't speak english, trying to sleep on a train or in a train station, and putting up with one tough travel companion, i've never been happier to not be on a plane or train headed anywhere but home

oh, and here's a pic at the top of angel's landing with my greasy hair and two dear friends, erica and bryce
peace+love

it's a small world after all

yesterday i went to paul mitchell school to get my hair done...the girl who was doing it asked where i went to high school and when i graduated...i said woods cross and '07...oh, do you happen to know brandon cardon?...yes, of course, he dated one of my really good friends...that's funny, i dated him...oh really? ya, he's cute and he's such a nice guy. always a gentlemen...ya, he cheated on me....oh ya, i meant he's a dirt bag
don't worry, my hair is still intact
peace+love