"... If any man thirsts, let him come unto ME and drink."

-John 7:37

Rain Rain Don't Go Away- Come Back For Another Day!

Rain and snow may be scarce here in Arizona, but my love for rain boots still runs deep.

There's just something about a rain boot that makes me want to slip some on and stylishly splash my way through puddle after puddle.

Unfortunately due to the fact that I live in the desert, I have yet to own a pair, but I'm determined to do so someday.

Its not like I can just go out and buy the first pair I see... its a process.

After all, you don't choose the rain boots- the rain boots choose you.
In the meantime, here are some of my favorite boots of the season!

I hate hormones.

I feel icky and emotional, I feel fat and overly frustrated, I feel impatient and fed up, but most of all I feel like throwing up my hands and falling to my knees in a puddle of tears and incomprehensible sobs. My hair is unwashed, my face has no make-up, my clothes are dirty and covered in dog hair, my legs are unshaven and in need of serious lotion, my face is covered in breakouts, and my toe nails are disgustingly unpainted.

Yep, I feel icky alright.

Anyone wanna trade lives??

What no takers?!?

I'm hoping tomorrow will somehow be different. I'm hoping that by some chance miracle I will wake up refreshed, radiant, and ready to conquer the world- its definitely unlikely, but a girl can dream right??

Tea and Tents

I want this tent.

What a magical place to escape to right??

I can see it now- spending hours on end sitting in the tent drinking my favorite "London fogs" and reading book after book until I fall asleep surrounded by tiny twinkly Christmas lights and the pure satisfaction from knowing my day was well spent.

Someday... I will have this someday.

P.S. London Fog Recipe:

1. One Earl Grey Tea Bag

2. 8oz of hot water ( preferably in a cute mug of course )

3. 4oz of milk (or my personal favorite- vanilla soy creamer)

4. 3 tbs of vanilla syrup

~Steep the tea bag in the hot water

~Heat the creamer/milk and vanilla syrup together in a separate cup

~Mix the tea with the creamer and syrup

~Voila! London fog for your enjoyment!!

"The silence depressed me. It wasn't the silence of silence. It was my own silence."

~Sylvia Plath (The Bella Jar)

She & Him

Creativity makes me happy.

I love finding new little pieces of art that inspire me or make me stop and say "awww" as I admire its beauty.

It's fun- you should try it sometime.

This afternoon I ran across a new poster for one of my favorite bands "She & Him"

Just had to share it.

Oh and if your a Zooey Deschanel fan (like me) then check out her band "She & Him" here!!

Christmas Reading List

It's official- my Christmas break reading material has been selected!

It's a lofty goal to read and finish all three novels in four short weeks, two of which are over 500 pages, but with my history of book devouring skills combined with my deep love for literature, I have no doubt it will be accomplished in said time.

The books I've chosen:

The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

The Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison

Yes, it shall be a lovely Christmas vacation indeed!

Vacation

Its over!!

I'm currently basking in the relief of finally ending my dreaded anatomy/physiology class. Just knowing I wont have to return for another 4 weeks is pure bliss!

I'm determined to do NOTHING for4 whole weeks straight....

Ok well maybe not exactly... I will be working after all. But to be relieved of the burden of studying feels like utter freedom to me at the moment.

And to celebrate such an event, I've decided a trip to the book store is in order.

I plan on taking these next 4 weeks to do nothing but submerge myself in a world of literature.

Over the past few weeks I've compiled a running list of novels I've been dying to read. Its a rather long and rambling list, but here are some of the titles to get an idea:

At Heaven's Gate - Robert Penn Warren

The Pursuit of Love (book 1)/ Love in a Cold Climate (book 2)/ Madame de Pompadour - Nancy Mitford

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Doomed Love - Virgil

1984 - George Orwell

Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut (and a few of his short stories as well!)

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

The Awakening - Kate Chopin

The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter - Katherine Anne Porter

The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

Go Ask Alice - Anonymous

Jane Eyre - Emily Bronte

Catcher in the Rye (re-read it)- JD Salinger

The Stranger - Albert Campus

The Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

I plan on reading at least 2-3 of these books over break, and of course I'll keep you posted on which ones I choose.

Until then, for those of you looking for a book recommendation- I HIGHLY suggest you read the novel East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It has quickly become one of my favorite books of all time. Steinbeck himself called his final novel "the big book", and was quoted as saying -

"It has everything in it I have ever been able to learn about my craft or profession all these years. I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this."

This epic novel of good and evil is well worth exploring.

Final Exams

I hate school finals.

I hate studying and cramming and feeling as if I've not done nearly enough.

I hate the thought that somehow a grade is a kind of determinate for how intelligent, worthy or valuable of a human being I am.

I hate that my best always seems to feel inadequate in my own eyes.

I hate my tendency to be self critical and overly anxious.

So today I embrace ambivalence- determined not to let a simple test denote my worth.

If I've left this semester with a greater knowledge than that which I had before, I consider that a success.

Iron and Wine

Its been almost a month since my last blog post and I think its officially safe to say I am a horrible blogger. Despite the chaos and busyness in my life, I'm all to aware that these are merely excuses to cover up for my lack of commitment to writing.

You see, sometimes words simply fail me. Sometimes my overly self critical mind refuses to let me pour out my heart and soul in fear that it will somehow be rejected or come across as trite and ungenuine. I've found that with every sentence I write, at least ten others had come before it. Maybe its the perfectionist in me, or maybe its my fear of being misunderstood, but whatever the reason- I seem to have run up against a wall I can't penetrate. So as I struggle to find my footing in this overly complicated mixed up head of mine, here is a little something I can offer you.... a song.

I find when words fail to communicate emotion, music has a way of reaching into my soul and pulling out a part of me I never knew existed. I've recently submerged myself in a world of beautiful music- a world I feel I understand far better than I understand myself at times. If you've not heard of the band Iron and Wine it'd be well worth your time to check them out. Their song "Flightless Bird" makes me cry every time I hear it... I have no words or explanation as to why, but I'm content not to know.

Here it is for you to enjoy

"I have a new love for that glittering instrument, the human soul. It is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and never destroyed."

~ John Steinbeck (East of Eden)

Favorite Things

Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with string

These are a few of my favorite things....

1. Books

My love for reading extends far beyond any normal healthy obsession.

2. *SNIFF* ahhh - the smell of rain, the darkness of the clouds, and the dreary dampness all around... I quite simply love it all.
3. Any cake in the shape of a woodland creature is a work of pure genius if you ask me.

4. Dark nail polish makes me happy. Its suits my style.

5. Clever signs make me laugh- I think every past boyfriend of mine can relate to this one...

6. Coffee with friends- too beautiful for words

7. And of course my favorite new artist Laura Marling.

Her sound is hypnotic, her lyrics poetic, and her spirit free.

I love it all.

Happy Birthday Ty

It should be no surprise to you by now that I never seem to do anything in a conventional or timely manner. So excuse my inexcusable lateness in writing this very special blog post.

Last Saturday was an important day in the Anderson household as it officially marked my sweet nephew Ty's second birthday. I can hardly believe my handsome little man isn't so little anymore. It seems everyday he has a new word, sentence, or clever way to me smile.

Nothing lights up my day like a bear hug from Ty when I walk through the door.

My heart melts every time he says my name, and I can never help but laugh at the many funny expressions that are always on his face.

There is no boy more precious than my nephew, and according to his mother and I- there will quite simply never be a woman good enough for him... besides "mom" and "aunt emily" of course.

I love you Ty!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday!!

"And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected"

~John Steinbeck (East of Eden)

My Sister- the miracle worker

The beauty about having a sister is of course getting to brag about how wonderful she is all the time. For those of you who don't know Bri, your seriously missing out on knowing one of the most amazing women I've ever been privileged to know.

She's an incredible friend, mother, wife, daughter, and sister.

She loves with all she has, puts her soul into everything she does, and somehow possesses a confidence like none I've ever seen.

Among her many talents, my sister is an amazing photographer. Though she is incredibly humble and would never admit to it, she has a way of capturing even the most awkward of models (namely me) and making them look radiant. She gets the shot every time, and makes me feel beautiful even on my most grungy feeling days.
Yesterday Bri and I shot around in an amazing secret field we discovered.

This was the result.....

Thank you Sister!!
I love you more than words.

Likes / Dislikes

Well, as the opinions regarding my desired new hair cut continue to flood in, I've decided to take a break from talking about whats on my head, and instead give you a glimpse as to whats currently taking place in my head... scary thought huh?? Brace yourself for some serious madness people.

I'm Currently Totally Obsessed With:

1. Discovering the world of classic literature - currently reading East of Eden and loving it

2. Listening to some seriously amazing bands such as Band of Horses, Bat for Lashes, The Drums, and of course more recently discovering my love of Van Morrison.

Oh and a special shout to my adorable cousin Michael who's band If A Tree Falls totally rocks- I'm couldn't be prouder of him!!!

3. Painting my nails dark colors and wearing as many pretty rings as possible- decorated hands make me happy.

4. Taking long walks with the kids I nanny as a way to escape and be alone with the craziness running through my head.

5. Drinking tea alone in relatively undiscovered and privately owned coffee shops.

6. Spending time with my sister- my biggest inspiration, the reason I am who I am today, and the one who truly keeps me sane and grounded.

7. Daydreaming about moving to New York in 3 years.

8. The Christmas season... enough said.

I'm Currently Most Irritated By:

1. School. I'm just not interested in sitting in class for hours on end.

2. The fact that I'm deeply insecure about how I'm perceived by others

3. Lateness- its rude

4. Time in general- I wish I could slow things down and soak things up more than I do

5. Bad drivers. Go the speed limit, don't tailgate me, let people merge, don't cut people off.

6. My cell phone. I hate feeling so enslaved to it and dependent upon it.

7. The feeling of not being in control. I like control- it makes me feel safe

8. How un-athletic I am.

*Ahhhh* - its always nice to perge some of that.

Winds of Change

Ok guys I need you all to do me a favor and leave me comments with your honest opinion of my sudden desire to cut my hair into this style.....

Its drastic, edgy, and totally fun.

What do you think??

Winter Desires

Here are some yummy little winter finds.

The following images are today's objects of desire.....

Broken

Sometimes I wonder why God allows us to live in a world filled with pain, heartache, and seemingly unending trials. Some days I wake up and simply ache to go home. I know God put me on this earth for a purpose, and I'm content to stay here until He deems me ready to return to Heaven, but I truly cannot wait until the moment I am freed from this body, this mind, and this world. As most of you already know, for the past two+ years I've battled an unwelcome autoimmune disease which seems to do nothing more than wreak havoc on my body. Its painful, exhausting, unpredictable, and emotionally draining. But even through all the pain I endure or will ever have to endure- I know there is purpose. My tattoo reminds me once again that I am "Fearfully and wonderfully made". God didn't make any mistakes when He lovingly knit me together, but He did place me in a broken world with a broken body so I might be a light that shines for Him.

I know this video looks long (8min) but please take a few minuets to watch it. This simple video had the power to change my pain, alter my pessimistic view of life, and remind me once again of the great glory of our God.

An Enchanted Life

I want to live here...

And be her...

And wear these pretty shoes everyday...

The flu stinks- but chic hippies make me happy

The flu sucks.

Every year around this time I get a call from mom who lovingly suggests I get the annual flu shot- and every year I refuse. I pride myself on my rather hardy immune system, which means I'm not interested in having a dead form of the flu injected into my body only to risk side effects that mimic the flu itself. Its just all sounds silly if you ask me.... until I get the true flu that is. Yep that's right. Sunday evening around midnight I was pleasantly awoken by body aches, chills, and vomiting. Lots and lots of vomiting. I basically thought I was dying. And while I didn't die, I did get pretty well acquainted with the floor of my sister's guest bathroom. It was nice- kinda cold and a bit uncomfortable, but nice overall. Finally today I feel somewhat normal. A little weak, a little tired, but generally good. Which of course means it is time to DISINFECT my entire apartment!! So while I attempt this rather large and daunting project, here are some of my latest pieces of inspiration for you to drool over. I know they help me feel better! Enjoy!

Don't you just want to join in and dance with her?!?

So free- so beautiful!

A State of Being

Fashion- I crave it. Live it. And ache to breathe it in.

My style is eclectic and my inspiration random.

There is no method I follow. No rules I stick to.

It is deeply personal, ever changing, and always objective.

No one is right and no one is wrong.

This is my world- a reflection of who I am.

It's comfortable, easy, simple, a tiny bit dark, somewhat slouchy, and always interesting.

Today, this is what inspires me.....

A friend once taught me that to be "stylish" and to have style are two very different things.

Wearing clothing might be easy- but wearing confidence takes strength.