short stories.

i can't look through dance costume catalogues for my students without wanting to buy any and every tutu i see in the pages. especially all the baby blue ones. a plan of mine is to convince adam how sorely i need a tutu to lounge around the house in. purely for the joy of it, of course. the outlook on getting my hands on one is promising.

we have lived in this apartment for a few months now, and i can't seem to get the hang of this trio of light switches on the wall. one is for the light on the patio. one, i think, turns on the kitchen light. and apparently when you're tired, one is to turn the volume up on the stereo (this happened). i don't know what the third one does, really. the place didn't come with a manual.

i would not want to be a piece of halloween candy in our house. it would be a short life to live. i wish i could say that it was a shared effort to stomach all o' that sugar, but adam's sweet tooth must have fallen out in first grade.

sometimes the only thing i want to do is watch all of tony besides videos on vine before i shut my eyes at night. something about the poetic, minimalist representation of a life soothes whatever ails me. it's public living at its most appealing.

adam is always kind enough to help me out with my photo assignments, even though i've basically taken the same photo class for the last two years and had repeat tasks. the photo above is not only an example of how not to use your flash multiple times during a long exposure, it's also a great example of what someone who celebrates "no shave november" year round looks like. double whammy.

xo.

short stories.

i put miniature m&m's in my oatmeal this morning. it wasn't even very good, yet i ate the whole thing. for the thrill of it. and it made me realize more things should be done for the thrill of it, even when they're half baked ideas. "thrill" is a word i'd like to encounter more often in this life.

i don't particularly love autumn. i don't love boots and scarves, nor does my heart go all aflutter when i step into the crisp air. i do love to look at it, however. and while i look at it, i have the milk carton kids to aid the process, and that's making my summer-lovin' heart turn like the leaves day by day.

speaking of summer, adam & i have been dying to see this film since hearing about it last year at sundance. my brother, cousins, & i tried to build an all-too-legitimate, secret clubhouse one summer after reading the entire boxcar children series and i still get misty eyed when i drive past the spot where it all went down. they make it all looks so sensational!

we have approximately four trips planned for the next six months, including our first road trip, and my excitement is palpable. you could spread it on toast. hello, open road & airports!

we picked up some spray cheese at the grocery store the other night. i have very few regrets about it. adam sensed that my taste buds were in need of some nostalgia. he was right. one bite and it was like all those family road trips and junk food nights in my mouth at once. thanks, spray cheese.

xo.

short stories.

my dog avoids the camera. he really does. the second i pull it out he turns his face away from it. i can only imagine how much my kiddos are going to just love having their picture taken every single day...

speaking of my dog, one of the best parts about going for a walk with this one is seeing fellow dog owners and their dogs out for a walk. except when they spot us, they see how excited (and i mean e x c i t e d) my little pet gets at the sight of his own kind and swiftly start walking in another direction. mmmmprobably should get a handle on my dog's energy or something.

i had pie for breakfast. not just any pie. crack pie. as in momofuku's crack pie. i don't even want to tell you how much butter goes into that recipe. okay. it's a lot. i regret nothing.

adam & i were planning and talking about a few things. we got to talking about things we want to do over the summer and every time i'd suggest things, he'd go "mmhmm let's see how you feel in a couple weeks about that one." it started to annoy me a little bit, until i realized that two weeks ago i said my dream vacation was italy and today i said it was amsterdam. my mind might never be made up about anything.

i'm on a major andrew bird kick. in fact, i listened to the song below for the entire duration of that walk mentioned above. that whistling! you can find some sweet whistling in this version of sifters here! the sweetest lyrics, too. (seriously, click on it! you won't be sorry) anyway... back to that jam i had repeat:




lovely, no?


xo.

short stories.

with all my talk and daydreaming of ...
... living in the big city lately, i sure have been spending a lot of time in small town draper. draper park has seen the likes of me nearly every day in september so far.

when i took little bruno to get his booster shots...
... he was out-of-control hyper. could not self-regulate his energy to save his life. even barked at a couple babies in the waiting room. i was incredibly frustrated and embarrassed, when a woman came over, smiling, and said "look at this cute pup! he's just so happy to be alive!". that sure made things a little easier on me. thanks, stranger.

the other day adam caught me...
... looking at little tattoos on pinterest. he's since been randomly scratching my skin without warning and, when i wince or say "ouch!", he says: "yeah, babe. if that hurt, there is no way you could handle a tattoo". thanks, love. *eye roll*

 i think i've said this to everyone that knows me but...
... i'm in complete denial about autumn's presence. the other day i got my swimsuit on and was going to sneak into adam's neighborhood pool as i have so often done this summer, only to find it closed (oh, right. it's after labor day. duh, ayley.). this morning i actually had to wear a sweater walking out to my car. a sweater!

i have found that...
... despite my desires to change something big in my life and pick up and explore, my tastes in music, colors, fashion, and movies have remained entirely unchanged. as in... i listen to the same 12-song playlist, read the same authors, and would be perfectly happy watching one of the same three movies every movie night. and i'm perfectly contented with this.

it's the little moments that define a life. 

xo.

short stories.

last week i remembered...
...that i had an etsy shop! okay... it's not like i really forgot, but it sure has been a while since i've budgeted any attention or energy for it. now i'm really looking forward to working on it over this next week!

every morning when i wake up...
...bruno wakes up with me and adorably wiggles his way closer to me on the bed so i can pet him and rub his little bruno belly. it's pretty cute.

this weekend i visited the post office...
...and the line was devastatingly long! i had only a couple small packages to send and it took me twenty minutes just to wait in the line. when i got to the front, the postal worker was so unbelievably pleasant. i mean, if she can be wonderful in a rush like that, what's my excuse?

while riding in the car on thursday...
...i realized how much i rely on technology to function in my job, school, and personal relationships. i'm coming up with a plan on how to change that...

there is a spot in my mom's room...
...where both the fans on the ceiling hit you in the most perfect way. that combined with the beautiful east facing windows that let sunlight breathe in so beautifully... i think it's my favorite spot in the house.

what is life if but tiny moments strung together.   

xo.