serendipity

i got the job.  things are absolutely working out how they are supposed to.

its a good day.

bookstore living

So I visited Tempe for the first time ever and was really pleasantly surprised :)  I think I was expecting only heat and strip malls - and while there is a good share of both in the Phoenix area, there are also some really wonderful things. 

We also found an apartment!  It is 10 minutes from Pat's work and 10 minutes from Arizona State, where I will try to work or take classes.  And most importantly, it is close to bookstores (and some very good ones!).  Bookstores literally define my experiences in different places.  When I was 12, my grandma gave me $25 dollars for my birthday and the option of getting my ears peirced or going to the bookstore.  I still do not have my ears peirced.

I always say that I explored Asia one bookstore at a time.  Whenever we had a weekend trip planned, I would search the internet for an English language bookstore near by, and would hunt it down as the first activity.  My favorite was in Bangkok - positioned right in the midst of an incredibly busy pedestrian street with bars and restaurants.  They even had a cat!  And really amazing books.  Due to luggage restrictions, I could literally only purchase 5 and I spent at least 3 hours selecting the right ones.

I have been so lucky to live near some genuinely incredible bookstores in my life. 

My favorite is of course Politics and Prose in Washington DC -literally 2 doors down from where I lived with nightly author talks and the most perfect beat up rose colored chair in the basement that I would spend hours on.

 But DC also boasted Kramer Books, which is a gem as well with a seriously delicious restaurant attached (their desserts are out of this world).  Both stores are tightly packed with books of exceptional taste and character. 

Here in State College, I'm close to Webster's which is a lovely used bookstore with mismatched chairs shoved in every corner.  And they serve a billion teas - including "Pecan Pastry Green Tea."

And with our new place - Yippee!!  Hooray!!! there are some gems so close by.  EcoBooks is intriguing - relatively new - and .5 miles away. 

And then Changing Hands (which seems to be the best independent bookstore in Tempe from what I can gather) is 2 miles away, definitely close enough for a weekly visit.  And it certainly looks like my kind of place.  I'm looking forward to getting to know a new city, one bookstore at a time.

love

this is what i needed. via Audrey Hepburn Complex

it is official...

we are moving to arizona!  I put my notice in yesterday and am having very mixed emotions.  Its so strange to watch your job be parcelled up and to watch a search start for your replacement.  Particularly when you are going to be around for 2 more months. 

The worst part is that my site visit to Israel has been given to someone else, which is heartbreaking but completely understandable. 

I'm feeling nostalgic and chaotic all at the same time.

The good news is that there are TONs of things on my list that I'll be able to do from Tempe.  And the thought of Pat and I starting totally fresh once we get married is really exciting to me as well. 

Whew.  I need a nap.

book plant

i offically want to make this.

connecting

I made the leap and put this on facebook.  Feel free to follow me!

If you are just joining, you should read this first:  http://flyagreenkite.blogspot.com/2009/10/project-renovate.html

no 39. french pick me up via The Cracked Wooden Spoon

I loved France.  When I was a sophomore in college I traveled throughout France for several weeks while studying abroad in England. Lyon was beautiful - I wasn't expecting that. And Paris, of course.... was Paris.  My friend Betsy and I stayed in such a strange hostel that was only one room wide, with a staircase leading to each room, like a house built one room on top of the other.  Lugging all of our stuff to the room caused a sweaty, cranky me that was instantly vanquished with a view of the Eiffel tower from our creaky, bare room.

I loved two things in particular about Paris:

1.     A perfect store that sold fountain pens and used books with a pair of older gentleman playing chess and drinking wine in the front at lunchtime.

2.      Pain au chocolat.  

 Really it was love at first bite.  Or smell.  Or sight.  I loved patisseries for their elegance and their charm, but mostly just for their pain au chocolat.

I’ve been plagued with the flu for the past few days and bit down in the dumps about a few things that are going on in my life and literally have been eating nothing.  Tonight I tried to make homemade pizza and failed miserably, then tried to transform the toppings I had prepared into a pasta and stuck out for the second time.   So when I looked at my friend Kim’s blog today and saw that she made Pan Au Chocolat, I was instantly intrigued – and nervous.

I made ridiculous alterations based on things I had at my house at 8:30 - only frozen pie crust (sorry Grandma!) and two options for chocolate:  Bosnian Bitter Chocolate and Hershey's Milk Chocolate.   Therefore, my version looked nothing like the above photo. 

I’m not going to lie, I’m no French baker, and what I had lying around my house was not perfect (especially the pie crust which obviously did not puff as a puff pastry would), but it was just what I needed.  I will try the real version for Kate when she comes next week perhaps.

***I was going to take photos but then opted not to for reasons I will share in a later post.  

no. 54 finding the perfect journal

Hello friends.

Journaling has always been something that has been very important to me.  Since I was a child, I have had countless journals (often multiples at the same time) and they typically have themes like "Letters I will never send" or "Things I'm Thankful For".  And have gems of quotes like "Michael looked sooooooo HOT today in his tight jeans and big gold Raiders shirt.  I am sooooooooooooo in love with him."  When I travelled I mostly kept very elaborate journals, full of ticket stubs, receipts, maps, and directions.   I often look back at those and remember things in a completely different way.

There is a reason I journal.  It’s very different from writing on a blog or talking to a friend.  It’s the practice of sorting through my thoughts for myself.  It’s essential for stopping to consider options, for calming down, for getting excited, for making sense of who I am and where I am going.  To be honest, I rarely read back over my journals (outside of the travel journals) – the value is less the journal and more the process of journaling. 

However, I’m insanely particular about the actual books that I write in.  I have dozens of journals that have the first 4 or 5 pages written in and then nothing after that.  I just didn’t like how they felt.

I’m desperately in need of another journal.  I like moleskins, but I’m slightly tired of them – wanting something new.  But I keep striking out.  I really think I want these:

 

2010 Moleskine Daily Planner Box Set (its the colorful one all the way on the right)

But they are $40.  And that seems like a lot for journals for the year.  Especially because January is over. 

Any suggestions?

(oh!  Ps.  Moleskine has this awesomeness coming soon – I am very much looking forward to this, particularly the recipe journal and the book journal.)