Summertime and the livin is easy

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Summertime summertime, sum-sum-summertime! Summertiiiiiiiime!  I love summer.  I love the long lazy days of the sun's extra rays and reading by the pool, and eating watermelon and drinking lemonade and staying up late and sleeping in till 10, and ice cream on cones, sunglasses as headbands, and lounging on the beach listening to the waves crash on the shore.  Summer is the epitome of all things happy.  I know that the "official" start isn't for a few more weeks, but I'm off work and the pools are open, so that equals summertime to me.   As the French say, I hope you have a bon été!

Terra Cotta Boutique

Bonjour!  It's been a while (more like a season) since my last post, and lots has happened since then.  Most excitedly, my husband and I booked a trip to the most romantic city in the world: Paris!  I can hardly believe that three weeks from today we will be on our way! We have so much to do before then, but on the top of the list is making sure I have chic and comfy clothes for traveling the cobblestone streets, biking through Monet's gardens, and walking up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower.  Luckily, I discovered a lovely new blog for inspiration.  Named Terra Cotta Boutique, it describes its readers as follows:

"The Terra Cotta Woman enjoys waking up in her bamboo nighty and hanging her clothes outside to air dry.  She likes to support local businesses, enjoys the weekend farmers market, and fragrances her home with fresh flowers.  She strives to compare with Scarlett O’Hara and takes pride in purchasing products that give back to a good cause.  The Terra Cotta Woman pulls inspiration from fabulous people, beautifully packaged soaps, a great pair of heels, and now the Terra Cotta Blog!!!  Welcome!"


Local businesses? Farmers Markets? Fresh Flowers? Supporting a good cause? Be still my heart!  Do yourselves a favor and check it out, and while you're there, enter to win some lovely shoes by one of my favorite shoe companies.   http://terracottasavannah.com/2012/03/19/bienvenue

Bonne Chance!

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Soundtrack for a snowy day: Iron & Wine, Listener, Dear Euphoria, The Civil Wars, & Death Cab for Cutie

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It's 2 in the afternoon, and I am still snuggled up in my pjs under a soft blanket with my cuddly Westie sleeping next to me. We had about 2 inches of snow in St. Louis, so I got a snow day! I know what you (Northerners) must be thinking...2 inches does not sound like much.  Well...you're right. :) But, the roads were actually really icy and it took some people 3 hours just to get to work, so I am happy to be safe and cozy at home.  In honor of my first snow day of the year, here are some sweet snow inspired tunes to you, from me.  Happy listening. :)

Love at first listen: Zee Avi, Frosty the Snowman

On my way home from work today, I was tuned in to a local college radio station called 89.1 The Wood, when "Frosty the Snowman" began to play.  Admittedly, this has never been one of my favourite Christmas songs, but when I heard this version, it was love at first listen.  I had no clue who the singer was, but luckily I had my handy dandy iPhone available (for the record, I was safely stopped at a red light) so I was able to *tag* the song using my Shazam app. and discovered the remake was by Zee Avi from the album This Warm December, Vol. 2

 I'm sure you will love it as much as me...happy listening!

Paris Je t'aime!

I must confess...I have a crush on Paris.  My love for all things France began in Middle School when I was introduced to the language of romance.  
My husband and I are actually planning a trip there soon (hopefully this summer for our anniversary).  We shall see.  In the meantime, we are going to dine at an authentic French restaurant in St. Louis today called La Bonne Bouchée.  I hope you have a fabulous weekend too. À bientôt!

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Rainy days and Mondays....

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It's a rainy Monday here in St. Louis...and I like it that way.  Rain just seems to make everything a little bit more romantic...don't you think?

Life is short...eat dessert first.

Since my last post, I joined Pinterest and have been happily pinning lovely things ever since.  Right now I should be packing for a trip to Kentucky, but instead I'm drooling over all of the desserts I've found...including these amazing Caramel Frappucino Cupcakes.

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For the recipe, head over to Pixie Crust blog.  Happy baking! :)

Music Monday: Fall edition: David Bazan, the Album leaf, & Firekites

 It's the first Monday of the season...seems like a pretty good reason to enjoy some of these wonderFall tunes. ;)

Sergio Membrillas

Hello, Fall

Sergio Membrillas

weathergirlshop

Dolan Geiman

Lieke Romeijn 




Happy first "official" day of Fall, ya'll.  Cardigans, pumpkin lattes, tights, hay rides, and gorgeous golden trees with apples ripe for the pickin'.   I don't know about you, but I can't help falling in love with this season.

It's a good day for a birthday...

Lissy Elle

Eliza Adam

Rifle Paper Company

Amy Atlas

Country Living

From left to right: Aryn, Sam, me, Britt

and today is mine...I'm twenty-nine! I will be celebrating tonight and this weekend by: eating yummy Nepalese food (my new fave) from Everest Cafe, getting free cheesecake from My Daddy's Cheesecake, going to the balloon glow in Forest Park, finally seeing Midnight in Paris, and enjoying the world's best banana split from the Fountain on Locust.  Happy birthday to everyone who was born today...and a very merry un-birthday to everyone else! :)

Music Monday: Of Time and Tide, Hiding May be the Death of us all

My favorite band from St. Louis, Of Time and Tide just released their highly anticipated new album, "Hiding May be the Death of us All" (available on itunes, amazon, etc...) and ya'll should seriously check it out.  If you like Circa Survive, Thrice, or Moving Mountains, you'll definitely dig this!

Wednesday's words of wisdom: Make art of it all

Oh. my. gosh! I love every single thing about this lovely piece by Amy Rice!  

"Tea" G.I.F. A puppy tea party

Did you know that August 26th is national dog day? Well, it is...(although, every day is national dog day if you ask me).  In honor of man's best friend, here are some "paw"sitively adorable pictures I found of some sweet pups in Britain having a tea party for charity.  Happy Friday! :)

Tea for Blue Cross Animal Charity Photos by: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty images Europe

Wednesday's words of wisdom: Great love

Inspired by one of my all time favourite quotes by Mother Teresa: "We can do no great things, only small things with great Love." A lovely polaroid by Parker Fitzgerald.

Dogs have a new trick: helping kids read

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it is too dark to read." ~Groucho Marx

Mostly everyone knows that dogs are good for your health...but did you also know that they can help kids learn how to read?  This story melted my heart and if you're a lover of books and dogs, I'm sure it'll melt yours too!

Happy reading from Maya & me :)

Music Monday: Summer Skin

Back to school. Back to work. I'm a teacher, all I need are minds for molding.  ;) This song by Death Cab is one of my favourites to listen to when saying so long to sweet summer days.  Enjoy!

Live with more books than you read.

Today is National Book Lovers Day. I happen to be a book lover, so I obviously agree with this quote about owning as many books as possible:

"He should live with more books than he reads, with a penumbra of unread pages, of which he knows the general character and content, fluttering round him. This is the purpose of libraries.... It is also the purpose of good bookshops, both new and secondhand, of which there are still some, and would that there were more. A bookshop is not like a railway booking-office which one approaches knowing what one wants. One should enter it vaguely, almost in a dream, and allow what is there freely to attract and influence the eye.

"To walk the rounds of the bookshops, dipping in as curiosity dictates, should be an afternoon's entertainment. Feel no shyness or compunction in taking it. Bookshops exist to provide it; and the booksellers welcome it, knowing how it will end."

--Economist John Maynard Keynes, as quoted in a Canberra Times piece headlined "Bookshops about more than just purchasing."

Unfortunately many children around the world do not have the luxury of being able to live with more books than they can read...some of them may not have any books at all. But an inspirational company called Out of Print  exists to try and change that.  They make adorable shirts like the one below featuring a classic and fashionable book cover (To Kill a Mockingbird happens to be one of my all time favourites).  For each shirt sold, they donate a book to a child through their partnership with Books for Africa.  

$28 shop here 

If you don't have extra cash to buy a cute T, you can still make a difference by "liking" Out of Print on Facebook. For each "like" they receive, they will donate one book to a child as well.  That's a great way to celebrate national book lovers day if you ask me. :)

"Tea" G.I.F. Sea for two

In honor of shark week, here are some tea things inspired by sea things.  Happy Friday! :)

Sea dream, blue green froggie mug

by: claycreaturecomforts for etsy.

JAPAN RELIEF EFFORTS - Blue Sea Grass Tea bowl

by: Artenchantedstudios for etsy.

100% of proceeds of the sale (minus fees & shipping) will go to earthquake relief efforts.

Mini Round Dish with Sea Horse or Conch Shell Design

by: zinniadesignstc for etsy. 

Perfect for holding tea bags

Sea shell textured Tea Bowls (set of 4)

by: TGRpottery for etsy

Gorgeous Sea Green Squid Octopus Teapot 

by: skybirdarts for etsy.

Wednesday's words of wisdom: Devour

I adore this linen tea towel by Studiopatro.  May the rest of your week be devoted to devouring delicious delicacies like the ones above.  :)

Hungry for change?

FEED Foundation Promo from //kneeon on Vimeo.


Head on over to the FEED shop to buy a bag like the one below and help change a child's life.

This is probably my favourite bag of all for two reasons. 1. It was made by deaf Kenyan women and I teach deaf children and 2) Not only does this purchase support women and deaf Kenyan artisans, but the donation provides nutritious school meals to two Kenyan children for an entire year. 
 Happy shopping! :)