Tuesday, September 01, 2009

September NaBloPoMo

Whew. How'd September happen?

There is something really lovely about September to me. I don't know what it is exactly. It's something in the air - how it changes. I love the warm days and cool nights and the anticipation of fall. Now that I'm older I love watching kids go back to school and knowing that I don't have to go! I love cider and apple picking and pumpkins, all that good New England stuff.

September is usually one of the most fruitful kayaking months. The water seems to slow down. Birds are beginning to migrate. The mornings are misty and cool and lovely.

I think what I will miss most this month is running. August running is crap. September running is perfect. Though I had a love/hate relationship with cross country my entire high school career, there was something special about the beginning of the season, freezing your butt off in shorts before the race but having the temperature be ideal for running as you crossed the finish. Alas, my tibia is in no condition to run, despite my continued lack of diagnosis, there will be no running in September.

Maybe bike riding?
(something, b/c I look pregnant today. And I'm soooo NOT!)

Another reason I'm so looking forward to the fall is that it marks the official reasonable start of wedding planning. I've been negative about the process lately and haven't been planning anything at all. I just keep adding DIY projects to the list and obsessing over the "to do" bit. Now I can reasonably start to tick things off the list. I recently re-discovered a wedding invite site that has positively gorgeous invites with an incredible price range - to amazing but completely out of our league to totally affordable. I found something amazing today that made me very excited and happy. It would pretty much mean no DIY invite stuff except for envelopes, maps (maybe) and stamps. I'm still figuring out calligraphy and labels and such. The cost would come out to about $600. I am kind of loving this option. EEK! Exciting.

So I haven't done a post a month in a long while. I'm going to try to do NaBloPoMo's September theme, which is: beautiful. I am hoping that it gives this blog a more positive spin because I have been a (as my sister would say) "Debbie Downer" LOL. I am cool with my angsty side and all, but I'm also open to trying new things. So I'm going to blog on beautiful every day.

Mary Poppins (ok it was Keats, but I remember it from Mary Poppins!) said "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." I could not agree more.
This is the reason I bought my much-mocked fringe studio tray:



trust me, it's waaay more beautiful in person, a delicate shade of blue grey with jewel-toned hummers. And no, it may not have a specific function, but it will bring joy into my life when I look at it.

Another thing I treasure is a Royal Copenhagen I inherited from my cousin Catherine. I found out it's worth about $300 and some would say "just sell it! who cares?" This is one of my things of beauty though. I wouldn't care if it were worth a million - I like it the way it is and that's all there is to it. Ok. Maybe I would care if it were worth a million bucks. LOL.

So yes, I value things for their beauty and not for their cost. Little random things I've picked up here and there matter more to me than some ancient priceless artifact (maybe this is because I do not own any ancient priceless artifacts?)

Today I bought something else that I think it just lovely. It's also quirky and weird, but totally appealing to me. This is from Etsy.


Normally I would not bother buying a print because I've got so much sh*t on my walls. And normally when I'm on etsy I am looking for something incredibly specific that has been researched to DEATH. Instead, this was a complete and total impulse buy. Yup. Impulse! It was in the featured section on Etsy's home page and I gobbled it up because I was struck with an idea (wedding-flavored, sorry bored readers). So many people have family wedding photos set up at the guest book/gift dropoff section. That's not really going to work for us....for a lot of reasons, ranging from alternative family-esque to the fact that not many pics exist of grandparents weddings. On my paternal side, my grandparents got married at City Hall - nothing fancy. So it'd be weird to have like, my parents pic and no one else's because we can't track down the pics or whatever. But to fulfill my need to clutter every available surface I thought: what about a table with a couple of really fantastic bird prints? Our loose wedding theme is birds. Our tables will be bird names and I'm sure birds will show up at some point in other wedding things such as placecards or labels, so why not just go with it?? I think this would make a nice artsy addition to the wedding. Yes, it's excessive and unnecessary but it's just lovely. It would make me happy just to see it on a table. So. YAY for things of BEAUTY!

THE END.

3 comments:

everything and nothing said...

I have no idea what a fringe studio tray is, but it's lovely.

I thought your Kennedy post was really thoughtful and well-written,
L,
R

Al said...

ha ha you didn't think I was bitter and awful? I felt bad about it later. But then again it's how I feel. WHy do I always have guilt about my feelings?

So the Fringe tray (that's just the name of the company on the back of the tray) is this tray with hummingbirds. When I bought it Jamaal was like "um nice, but what are you going to do with it?" I said 'PUT IT IN OUR HOME AND ENJOY ITS LOVELINESS' He laughed and mocked. I get home and show it to Amy and she says "That's nice. But uh, what are you going to do with it?" Then the two of them laughed, hi-fived and said "Leo Love!" I am mocked. But YOU like it, my mom liked it, EE saw it and liked it. SO there. AND I will have things of beauty bringing me joy forever so HA!

Elizabeth said...

Not only did I see it and like it, but I was with you in Belfast when you bought it, and I believe I was like, "Yes please! Buy it now it's gorgeous and so you!" Because I am such a helpful shopping friend like that. I VALIDATE. When it's worthy, LOL -- look at it LOL! I'm so glad it brings you such happiness. Just rise above the mockery, Al. Rise above.