a sweet wedding idea.

the other day i heard about the following adorable, coffee-inspired alternative to a wedding guest book and swooned!

the bride and groom invite their wedding guests to write something on the inside of an individually wrapped sugar cube - a wish, a joke or a love note. then every time the newly weds have coffee or tea they can open up a sugar cube and read the message! how adorable is that?

can you tell i have weddings on the brain? :)

the best time of the day.

i stumbled on this lovely poem the other day and thought you might enjoy it as well.

cool summer nights.

windows open.

lamps burning.

fruit in the bowl.

and your head on my shoulder.

these the happiest moments in the day.

next to the early morning hours,

of course. and the time

just before lunch.

and the afternoon, and

early evening hours.

but i do love

these summer nights.

even more, i think,

than those other times.

the work finished for the day.

and no one who can reach us now.

or ever.

-a poem by raymond carver

(photo credit: beca c)

tossing and turning.

last night i couldn't sleep.

i tried adjusting the temperature, switching up the covers, drinking a glass of water, flipping my pillow, breathing, meditating, and last but not least, getting up and puttering around the house.

but alas, i still didn't get more than a couple hours of shut-eye.

what do you do when you can't sleep? i'd love some suggestions!

(photo credit: madelinetosh)

love in the afternoon.

i stumbled on this engagement shoot the other day and literally swooned. this couple is so sweet, and everything about the photographs just radiates happiness and peace.

enjoy...

their eskimo kisses are my favorite! to see more from this engagement shoot, visit here.

(photos by wirken photography)

on top of the world.

whenever i feel the slightest bit discouraged about life, all i have to do is look at this picture of my parents.

it reminds me that as long as we have someone in your lives that make us radiate and laugh this much... everything else will work itself out.

happy monday, everyone!

p.s. i also love that my parents look so norwegian. i think i need one of those sweaters.

enlighten up! or not so much.

my dears,

have you seen this documentary about an average, smart (albeit skeptical) guy who travels the globe in an attempt to understand and learn about the practice of yoga?

i watched it last night, and i have to confess... i have such mixed feelings. i don't usually write negative things on this blog, but as someone who practices yoga regularly and wants to be a yoga teacher, i feel like it's important to set the record straight.

so much of the movie is over-the top, biased, stereotypical, and poorly edited. not to mention that the writer and producer of the movie clearly has a strong agenda. she projects spiritual questions and possible "awakenings", she consistently patronizes him, and last but not least, she seems disappointed that he doesn't end up having some sort of karmic transformation. seriously?

this is not what yoga is about. it actually made me a little embarrassed. i literally watched most of the film with my arms crossed.

i hope that people who have seen, or will see, the movie realize that it's one viewpoint that doesn't do the practice of yoga justice.

yoga, as i know it, is a personal practice. it is not something that i can force upon others (or would want to). it's a physical practice that has non-physical benefits for some. it is non-dogmatic, all-inclusive, and non-judgmental. and no, it is not customary to be forced into a pose, be asked about your birthday, or be expected to bow down to anyone.

not surprisingly, the only part i really loved about the film took place in india. and that is because india is a magical place. the end.

now i'm really really curious... what did you all think?

the things we do.

the other day simon and i were hanging out on two different levels of our condo. he was downstairs packing for a trip and i was upstairs on the couch, catching up on emails.

suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, i saw a crumpled up piece of paper come flying at me. simon was nowhere to be seen, but since i don't believe in ghosts, i knew he had somehow thrown it at me from below. (talented fella).

minutes later, another arrived. at first i thought: "why is simon throwing pieces of paper at me? in the words of stephanie tanner, how rude."

but then i realized that maybe he had written something on the notes. so, i opened them up. sure enough:

1. "hi, i'm downstairs. come hang out."

2. "there is another note, but i think it got stuck behind the couch."

i laughed, closed my laptop, and went downstairs to hang out. and this, my friends, is how we communicate in our 820 square feet condo. :)

please tell me you and your significant other do ridiculous things like this too? :)

(photo credit: robersonchristina)

it's time.

i took my first yoga class when i was eighteen and remember thinking that downward dog was impossibly hard. i also remember admiring my yoga teacher: the way she carried herself, the way she moved, and the way she taught.

now, eleven years later, not only do i love downward dog, but i've decided to become a yoga teacher myself.

so, the crazy, exhilarating and scary decision has been made. i will leave for my yoga teacher training on august 1st of this year, and one month later be certified. it's almost hard to believe that a life long dream will actually be happening!

have you ever taken a huge leap like this? was it everything you hoped it would be? eeps!

(photo credit: kelly loves whales)

old school toys.

while browsing etsy last night, i fell in love with these vintage sunday times market toys. wouldn't they be adorable on a little shelf, or even better, in the hands of a toddler? love.

photos from san diego.

hello friends!
sorry for my absence the past couple of days. i missed you!

my trip to san diego was wonderful, but i forgot my camera cord, so i couldn't upload my pictures. oops! but here they are now, along with some little stories about our adventures. i hope you are all having lovely weekends and i am excited to get back to my regular posts next week.


i had a lot of work meetings in cafes... which meant lots of coffee and cute surroundings. i am also secretly thrilled that my best friend is now addicted to coffee too... it's just one more thing we can do together! ha.


when i wasn't working, i didn't hesitate to put my feet up. i slept in every morning, and curled up on the couch at night. sometimes it feels good to make relaxation a priority.


one evening we ate dinner at buonissimo. it was one of the cutest restaurants i have ever been to, and the food was amazing. (and when i went to the ladies' room, my friends told our server about this blog. i blushed.)


this sweet bike was in the courtyard of the restaurant. it made me want to set up a similar display at our wedding, but it's terribly impractical. but maybe i should just do it anyway.


and finally, i saw these purple flower bushes on the ucsd campus and fell in love. does anyone know what they are called?

we also went shopping, went to ginseng yoga, laughed hysterically, played with friends (and a baby) and talked about everything and nothing. good times. :)

now, tell me all about you. what's new? what did i miss?