My Current Music Obsession

Ellie Goulding: Lights

I am OBSESSED with this song.  Make sure you click pause on my playlist on the right hand side of my page so you can listen to it.  I think I might give it a go at karaoke night next week :)  I haven't really checked out her other music yet, but I promise to do so soon.  You should too!

Around Raleigh: Locopops!

So it's officially summer... Ok, not officially, but with temperatures over 90 degrees, it's definitely summer in my book.  And who doesn't love a popcicle on a hot summer day?  I know I do.  Well, how about a gourmet, home made popcicle?  Even better right?  Right.  Locopops has been occupying its little corner on Hillsborough St. for some time now, and I have been wanting to visit for about as long as it has been there.  The adorable little shop logo definitely drew my attention from the first time I saw it.  Check it out:

Cute, right?  Anyways, I finally found the time to pop in the other day for a little visit and I was not disappointed.  The popcicles are around $2.20 each, which migh seem a bit steep for one popcicle, but, when you compare it the the price of ice cream, it's really not bad.  I tried the black raspberry mojito flavor... yummmm!  I definitely want to go back and try all of the unique flavors on the menu.  To find out more about what this little slice of heaven has to offer, visit there website here!  Do it.  And then go there.

Shopping Heaven

I am just going to take a moment to share with you all my absolute favorite place to shop in Raleigh.  As much fun as it is to hunt through endless piles of discarded junk for that one special treasure (as is required at most consignment stores), it is so very refreshing to find this gem of a shop where every other hanger pulled from the racks holds something worth looking at.  Revolver Consignment Boutique is a real treasure trove that can be found right next door to the gorgeous Victorian Rose bridal shop on Glenwood Avenue.  On every visit that I make to Revolver, I end up spending significantly more money than I had planned.

I suppose I shouldn't be advertising this place too much because I risk having all of the good stuff snatched up before I can get back over there, but I just love it so much that I can't help it!  But don't take my word for it... check it out!

Oh and Revolver also carries a few lines of hand made jewelry by local artists!  Check out some images that I snatched up from their blog: 

So lovely!  All images are taken from Revolver's blog, which can be found by clicking the link that's highlighted in the text above.

Oh poetry, how I've missed you

So, I have never really been much of a poetry person.  I have always preferred reading and writing prose.  Back in high school, however, there was one poet who I really fell in love with and remember above all the others.  I recently revisited some of his poems in an attempt to find inspiration for a better blog title.  In case you haven't noticed, I have been changing the title quite frequently, trying to find one that really fits me and the tone I am trying to set with this blog.  

Anyways, my favorite poet has been, and will probably always be, e.e. cummings.  No I did not put his name in lowercase by accident... e.e. cummings has always signed his poems with his name printed exactly as I have written it above.  That is one reason why I love him; his seemingly random use of punctuation and capitalization has a deeper meaning when observed more closely.  I also love the way his nonsensical wording flows so wonderfully and oddly makes sense when you look at each poem as a whole (although some of the poems are complete nonsense on purpose).  Everything in his poetry is done for a reason, even if that reason is simply to have no reason at all.  Does that make sense?  It doesn't matter, because it makes sense to me.  

Here are a couple of my favorite poems by e.e. cummings (all of the odd spacing and punctuation is part of the original poem):

i carry your heart with me 

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart) 

if you like my poems let them

if you like my poems let them
walk in the evening,a little behind you

then people will say
"Along this road i saw a princess pass
on her way to meet her lover(it was
toward nightfall)with tall and ignorant servants." 

since feeling is first

since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
- the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says

we are for each other; then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis 

anyone lived in a pretty how town 

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

My current blog title was taken from the following poem:

in just-

in Just-

spring       when the world is mud-

luscious the little

lame balloonman

whistles       far       and wee

and eddieandbill come

running from marbles and

piracies and it's

spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer

old balloonman whistles

far       and       wee

and bettyandisbel come dancing

 from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's

spring

and

     the

             goat-footed

balloonMan       whistles

far

and

wee

 

 

Aren't they wonderful?  The interpretations, I shall leave up to you.  Who is your favorite poet?




Au revoir,




Amanda




 

Only nine days left

Until I board a plane and fly halfway around the world.  I am super excited but also a little bit nervous and sad.  Not only will I be leaving my home behind, but I will also be leaving behind my wonderful boyfriend, Miles.  As much as I will miss him and my other friends and family, I look at this trip as an adventure and an opportunity to both find myself and lose myself at the same time (I dunno if that really makes sense but I think you get the idea).  I will be spending the week packing and stocking up on the essentials.  I can't leave without at least a five month supply of Carmex in my suitcase.  

Tonight, I am also going to share some photos from the past couple days.  

It snowed here on Friday, and all of Cary has been frozen since then.  The roads were finally starting to clear today, so my sister and I went to see "When in Rome".  It was really corny but pretty enjoyable if you are looking for something light and fun.  Here are a couple of pictures of my street and my house on Saturday morning:

 

One of my mom's many, many garden statues

 

My sweet and adorable boyfriend and his ridiculously huge truck in the background.

 

Me in front of my mom's house.

 

A really gorgeous house on the golf course.

And like I promised, here are a couple photos of the things I got while thrifting last week.  The prices at Get Dressed were a bit steeper than I expected, but there were also quite a few things on sale.

 

 

I really love this dress.  It is 60's style, but not actually from the 60's.  It is most likely from the 90's.

 

I got this really awesome flower cluster pendant.  In case you can't tell, the flowers are mint green and cream colored with little rhinestones in the middle.  I have no idea what decade this is from but I love it anyways.

Aaaaand last but not least, I have made two attempts at making some hairbows using Elsie's DIY tutorial, which can be found here.  It was really easy to do and helps use up some of those fabric scraps that you don't want to just throw away.  So far I have only made two pink ones (the first was kind of a trial run) but I hope to make lots more in prints and solid colors.  A hairbow for every outfit!

 

 

Attempt # 1 slid onto a little plastic headband.

 

Attempt # 2 looks much more professional.

 

Hairbow mustache!!

It was completely coincidental that the fabric I used just so happened to match my shirt.  Seriously I didn't plan that.  I would also like to go to the craft store and buy some felt.  I have a lot of old mismatched buttons lying around and I want to make some flower brooches with felt and buttons.

Well that's all the silliness I have for you today.

Happy Monday!

Love,

Amanda G.

Pretty little things

Check out these lovely little numbers from Anthropologie:

 

  

  

  

  

And these sweet little pieces from Mod Cloth:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

   

 I love all the sweet florals and the bright cheerful colors.  One of the many reasons I love spring... it's dress season and I want them all!!!

 

What a gorgeous day!

It was in the low 60's today and I was outside wearing a tank top, capris, and flip flops!  Oddly enough, there is supposed to be a snow/ice storm tomorrow.  That's NC weather for you.  Let's see... I did two of the things that were on my list for today:  I got a haircut and went vintage shopping.  I bought a blue 60's style scooter dress, a sheer white blouse and a really awesome necklace with an enamel flower pendant.  Pictures to come tomorrow, most likely.  Here is a not-so-great picture of my haircut:

 

Honestly, it's a little bit shorter than I really wanted, but it's layered nicely and should look pretty decent as it grows out.  My hair is so thick that without any length to weigh it down, it has almost too much volume.  Sounds silly to complain about volume right?  With the time that I spent not doing the things on my list, I went to visit my friends at Wolfgang A Cappella.  I had a good time singing with them for perhaps the last time before I leave.

 That's really all the news I have for today.  It has been a pleasant and uneventful sort of day and I am really looking forward to going to a couple of parties this weekend as long as the weather isn't too bad.

I hope your weekend is just as fun/relaxing/productive as you hope it will be!

Love,

Amanda G.