Happy Pi Day!

(And here you were, thinking that I forgot.)

like I could ever forget about PI day.

I've been too busy celebrating.
(and you know, drinking too much tea, watching the Goonies, packing for Paris, doing homework, cleaning my room, and everything else that I always seem to be doing.)

Have a slice of pie on me.
:)

flower show

Oh how I love the Philadelphia Flower Show.
I live for it.
or, if not for it, at least I live because of it.

(you might think I'm joking, but I'm not.)
my parents met for the first time when my mom was leaving the flower show.
I suppose this makes me something of a flower child. (insert laugh track here?)

My mom and I attended the flower show on Friday this year, but my mom had already been there on opening night with my dad.

so, here are my thoughts on the 2010 Passport to the World Philadelphia Flower Show. I'm sure that you're positively dying to know my opinions, so I won't spend any more time introducing this post.




the shipping containers were really wonderful. one was mirrored on the walls and ceiling, and when you walked through it you could see yourself looking back at you from all directions. On the side of another container there were three small arrangements that used construction lighting and various flowers. (ranunculus were included. and you should know that I'm a sucker for anything/everything with ranunculus.)



The Antarctica section was absolutely amazing. big icicles were made out of flowers and fabric, and the lighting was nice too. A really beautiful part of it was that there were calla lilies in slowly melting blocks of ice, being held above a pool of water by ice tongs. probably my favorite section of the entire show. (It didn't hurt that the cruise ship themed display was positioned right next to it. Can you say RMS Titanic? I laughed.)



the African themed section was astounding. an entire lion was made out of plant materials and stood at the entrance. The giraffe was equally impressive, and was made out of a metal base and suspended containers of orange orchids.



ikebana, la tour eiffel, and a kiwi.
just some various other things that I really enjoyed.

The ikebana was more interesting than what I can remember from previous years, as was some of the smaller displays.

I geeked out a lot at the 'window shopping' section, especially when it came to the rain gear themed shop. Umbrellas made from pussy willow branches? Colorful boots filled with flowers? Yes please. The chocolate/Parisian themed 'shop' was nice too. (just three more weeks until I'm up off and away!)

the smaller scaled arrangements were nice too, and as they shared a common theme it was pretty unique. The ways that people varied a single theme were wonderful. The theme was kiwi... and while most people themed it after the kiwifruit there were a couple that used the lovable and flightless kiwi bird.

And that's about it. I spent a little time meandering around the various shops, and (as per usual) questioned the amount of cat themed wall hangings.

Allons-y Alonso!

It's official.

The apartment is rented and the plane tickets are purchased and I'm excited beyond belief.

I'm going to Paris.

Je vais allais a Paris dans le vacance du printemps pendant une semaine.
(or something like that)

Rather unfortunately, my french is completely horrendous.
but hey, if this isn't a learning experience I don't know what is.

Valentines

Well, rather late then never, right?
Here are some printable valentines for all of you last minute lovers.
I took some pictures of vintage valentines on display at my local library, and then played with them a little bit in Photoshop. These valentines date from between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Hope you like them!


"To my Valentine"
two cherubs playing badminton with a heart. Sweet. (painful.)


"Valentine Greeting"
"Dear Valentine, this is no joke, I'd rather look at you than smoke."


"To One I Love"
"Accept this loving heart of mine, and be my own true Valentine."
The gold band on his hat has the words Heart & Arrow on it.


"This for remembrance."
"I pray that your heart's garden
May be get with sweetest flowers,
That your life be like the dial -
Telling none but sunny hou'rs.
-G. Clifton Bingham"

Not entirely certain if the apostrophe in hours is an apostrophe or a smudge. whoops.


Well, this one might be the most difficult to read out of the lot. (sorry!)
"Love's Tribute"
"My heart's affections clings
As faithfully to you,
As ever ivy tendrils twined
With loving grasp & true.
J.L.W."


"Feb 14th"
No cute poem on this one I'm afraid, however, the back contained the following message:
"Mabel tells me it is my turn to go see you, but you know the trolleys are so uncertain this winter, I was afraid to venture out there..."
I suppose you can't really expect every message to be as sweet as the card it was written on.

There was a seventh card that I took a picture of, but I was not really willing to go through the messy business of cleaning it up. Too many loops and swirls and whatnot. The poem on that card was:
"Tulips, dear, how sweet they are!
But your two lips are sweeter far."

I'd love it if you used these, but if you do, please remember to credit back here!
Have a lovely valentines day! <3

hello again.

oh you know how it is.

when you get to exam month and you devote all of your time to studying and absolutely nothing else, and then you just start to be a mess in general, and then you forget to do really important things like doing the dishes or wearing socks or putting the correct amount of sugar into your tea or take a shower every night or posting on your blog?

don't even pretend like this doesn't happen to you.
---
Exams are back. I passed. (cue applause!)

it's been snowing. there is about a foot on the ground right now. there was more three days ago. I've been sledding twice this week. it has been absolutely delightful. (there are bruises in places I didn't even think I injured.)

I want to frolic in the snow and go sledding. I want slide across the icy patch on my driveway and pretend that I am a champion skater. I want to wear formless snow pants and I want to roll around in the snow and stare up into the sky and get dizzy from doing so.

and guess what? I have done everything that I want to do, and it has been absolutely delightful.

The year in review

(picture heavy!)

So, I am doing one of these things after all.

I suppose that I will start at the beginning, continue through the middle, and stop at the end. (Sometimes I can be just so predictable.)

It's in as much of a chronological order as I can remember it.
---

1. Went to the flower show.


2. Befriended a giant balloon tower.


3. Obamaaaaa!

(wall of mars mercantile. Berkeley, CA.)

and that leads us to...
4. Went to California.

(painted ladies. coit tower. cheery cherry blossoms in the japanese gardens.)

5. Ran track.

6. Saw some bookish art.


7. Picked 13 pounds of blueberries.

8. Chased hot air balloons across the sky.

10. Became a librarian.
Geeked out a lot. Alphabetized.

11. Found very convincing evidence supporting the existence of fairy magic.

12. Took a ride on a ferris wheel.


12. Had (mis)adventures in gardening.

13. Bought my very first typewriter.


14. ran cross country.
(and made varsity!)

15. Frolicked after the rain.


16. Read many good books.
and expanded my collection of second-hand literature.
organized my bookshelves, and cleared out one to make room for more books.

17. Took silly family photographs.
(Some of you know the picture I'm talking about.)

18. Celebrated!
new years was spent with friends,
and japanese food and harry potter.

---
And that's it! 18 things that I did in 365 days. I feel that more things should have happened, but I can't remember. Happy happy happy new year!

p.s. somewhere between numbers 4 and 6 was where I started blogging. (just in case you were wondering)

happy new year!

I can still remember going to my first new years party in 2000. It was hosted by the after school program. We celebrated in the school cafeteria. I wore a velvet dress. Likely white tights and black shoes, but I can't be sure. There were pigs in a blanket.

it has been an entire decade since then. this is a strange thing to grasp.

2010. wow.

I hope everyone had a good one. :)
(I know that I did)

*this was where I attempted to start a to-do list for 2010, but then I realized that there were a million things that I wanted to do and I had no idea where to start.*

*this was where I was going to attempt a ta-da list for 2009, but then I realized that there was a lot of things that I did and no way to organize it all.*

So, I guess that is it. Welcome to 2010, goodbye to 2009.
Lets hope that 2010 is happy, healthy, and wonderful beyond belief.