Oh, hello.

Hello, world!

The past few weeks have been a blur of blankets, coffee, shoes, purples and indigos, interviews, lists, furniture, shivering, Misfits, organising, re-organising, worrying, caring, not caring, skyping, typing, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, staring, Tumbling, quoting, cups of tea, reminiscence, planning, trying, failing, trying again, and--finally-- feeling like I'm just about getting there.

Some recommendations until I make it over the blogging hump:

• Re-watch your favourite films. My goodness, this put me in a good mood. For the record they are Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Almost Famous. More to come in the next week, if I can find the time.

• Buy something you really, really want. Seriously, just do it. Why not? My new reading chair is the best "eff it!" decision I've made in months.

• Watch this.
  
  

• Pay Ms. Von a visit over at Yes and Yes.

• Read some short stories. (I recommend Miranda July's No one belongs here more than you.)

• Give me some feedback, please! I've had a bit of a dry spell lately, but I'm back on track and have lots to write about. I'd love to know what you like to see around here, and what you'd like to see more posts about. I value your feedback.

For now, I shall bid you adieu with promises to return soon, and to break this streak of TiLTs and lack of real content.

Salut!

Photo by Ianton.

Things I Love Thursday: Homecoming Edition

Hello, world!

I have returned to Scotland and am finding the transition very tiring and chilly and overall not very exciting. So here is Things I Love Thursday: Homecoming Edition!

People! - Seeing my family and friends after being gone for 4 months has been wonderful. My friends and I went to the local pub quiz this week, too. It's the little things =)

Sleeping - You have NO IDEA! For one thing, my room is gloriously dark and dungeonesque and so quiet. Makes me miss my man, but you can't beat a good 8 hours!

Discounts - My friend recently started working at one of my preferred clothing stores and, being the darling that she is, shared her discount with me. New clothes are even better when they're super cheap!

Tea & Chocolate - These are the two things I miss most while I'm away. At home, they're never in short supply. Delish!

...& - in-flight movies; warm booties; cute text messages; skype; hoods; knitted beanies; drinking on the cheap; toast & paté; cuddling the cat; Regina Spektor gig anticipation; friends' drunk parents!; this scene from 500 Days of Summer; Hall & Oates in general; Breaking Bad; Glee.

What's making your week?

Photo.

Things I Love Thursday

Haircuts; cute comments and messages; unexpected phonically; Nyquil & Robitussin (making life possible for snobbery folk like me); Toy Story 1 & 2 in 3D of course!; opening iTunes on shuffle and never having to hit skip; Lorrie Moore's short story How to be an Other Woman (officially the only good use of 2nd person narration I've ever read); a good chat; hot cups of tea on cold days; accidentally finding a song you've been unable to identify for months (it was this one, not that I'd tried very hard); reading together in bed before slipping into Nyquil-induced coma; Jeopardy!; daily doses of Gilmore Girls; Tosh.0 and 30 Rock anticipation; this video (had me in hysterics while on Skype with my mum!); Google Reader; Junioooour Miiiints; Evan saying "a girr-ul who likes squirr-ulls" in a Scottish accent.

Et toi?


Photo by daweoff.

The Uncommon Reader

A fun wee fun book quiz. Thanks Christina!

What To Do: Using only books you have read this year (2009), answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title. It’s a lot harder than you think!

Describe yourself: Naïve. Super (Erland Loe)

How do you feel: American on Purpose (Craig Ferguson)

Describe where you currently live: Neither Here Nor There (Bill Bryson)

If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Into the Wild (John Krakauer)

Your favorite form of transportation: Blink (Malcolm Gladwell) -- I wish!

Your best friend is: The White Tiger (Arivand Adiga)

You and your friends are: Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman)

What’s the weather like: The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway)

You fear: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)

What is the best advice you have to give: Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters (J.D. Salinger)

Thought for the day: The Geography of Bliss (Eric Weiner)

How I would like to die: Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides) -- it was too funny not to!

My soul’s present condition: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (Dave Eggers)


This was probably easier for me since I've been keeping a list! Show me yours.

Photo by Surb.

Things I Love Thursday!

Well hello there! It has been a couple of weeks; not much changes from week to week here. The seasons are finally changing, however, and it feels good. Really good. And along with that...

• Pumpkin Spice Lattes - Now I understand what all the hype was about! They are truly delicious; hot and cold. After a long absence from caffeine in general, drinking these seems to give me a new found zeal for life. Fantastique!

• Nyquil - On a more medicinal vein, I've been sick for the past few days, huddling up in a blanket drinking theraflus and popping nyquils before bed. Sleeping for many (too many!) hours and making a hasty recovery is the way to do it.

• San Francisco & San Jose - Last weekend my boy and I made a trip up to the Bay area. On Friday we ate massive burritos at La Cumbre (featured in Man vs Food), and sampled many delicious and strange and wonderful brews at the Monk's Kettle. I've never seen so complicated a menu - nevermind a beer menu - in my life. It was great to explore the city on foot. On Saturday we traveled onward to San Jose and saw the Sharks beat Minnesota Wild 4-2. Ice hockey is so much fun.

• Carl Sagan - I have been reading The Demon-Haunted World and having my mind blown. This video has been stuck in my head adding a healthy dose of awesome to my life all day:
  
  
  
  

Your turn! What's maxing out your concept of awesome this week? If you've already written your own tilt today, please do link me!

Have a lovely one!

Photo via mizekatzen.