friday i'm in love

June 24, 2016 Arlene Giddings

♥ with this photo...it makes me think of fairy tales and paths that lead to dragon caves and trails of breadcrumbs left by orphans looking for witches who wear silver sparkly shoes and sing songs about pirate ships that glow in the night but disappear during the day.

♥ that i have signed up to do this read-along-course again with this girl whose blog i have adored for years...& i love the look of her brand new site!

♥ this little doll's big and bright imagination..."shark girl has the power of sharks"

♥ dan mangan has a new EP!

♥ this website...i am enamored.

♥ and this letter to the female hat wearing dog in the PD Eastman book...gold. pure gold.

♥ and this...well this....broke my heart.

♥ sunny warm fridays off with stirling manning the bbq while i play on the computer in a house that has been freshly scrubbed and laundered...my absolute favorite.

♥ finding this old wedding photo of stirling and i...this just makes me incredibly happy :) :) :)

wordless wednesday

June 22, 2016 Arlene Giddings

tuesday truths...the tired version... :)

June 21, 2016 Arlene Giddings

the truth is i'm tired
and i can barely keep my eyes open
and all i really want
to do
right this very
second
is curl up
in the corner of the
couch
and nap
like the cats do.

the truth is
i bit down too hard
on a piece of gum
today
(spearmint...which i don't even like)
and
aggravated some stupid nerve
and now
i have a stupid
toothache.

the truth is
it's only tuesday
and already
i feel like i am losing
steam.

the truth is
the tomato plants
are taking over the living room....
i thought about writing
a story about a girl named lili
who was lonely
so she built herself a robot friend
out of cereal boxes....
the house needs to be cleaned
and the laundry has become
a stockpile
of mismatched socks
and unfolded towels...
there are dishes in the sink
and 10000 steps yet to be taken
but the truth is
i'm tired today.

tomorrow's another day.

whatcha readin'? {2016::book 11 - goal 12}

June 20, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i love books like this.
i don't think that's a secret
or a surprise.
i like books that make me want to
do
things...
read up on a subject, grab my camera,
grab a pen and journal, pick up a paintbrush,
try something i have never tried before.

and i love elizabeth gilbert.

i love love love loved eat pray love
and totally, completely, wholeheartedly
expected to NOT like it.

but i did.

and so i was very excited about this book of hers
and it did not disappoint me.

she tells a story about the amazon
and highways being swallowed whole
and a chance encounter
that kinda sorta gave me goosebumps.

i just like the way she writes.
so earnest.
so honest.

and i love that she says this:

“If you are alive, you’re a creative person.””

— Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic

because i totally agree with it.
people tell me all the time
"i'm not creative at all, you're so creative"
but i think there are varying degrees and proportions of
creativity in
EVERYONE...
i think some people call it by a different name...
and then they don't recognize it in themselves
but
it's there...
if you cook, if you garden, if you build things,
if you play...if you sing, dance, brainstorm, solve puzzles,
guess at riddles, read, write, plan a vacation,
if you have made a snowman or a sandcastle,
flown a paper airplane, wrote a letter to a friend...
anything can be creative
because there is no one set way to do anything.

you're creating a life for yourself.
that's pretty damn big.
:)

so anyway...yeah...i loved this book!

4 out of 5 ♥♥♥♥'s

NEXT UP: THE HEART GOES LAST - MARGARET ATWOOD
(and yay! it's book 12!! i will hit my goal for this year!!)

father's day weekend 2016

June 19, 2016 Arlene Giddings

i have not been here in a while...
good intentions
but life is starting to get busy again

but this was a good weekend.

i shot my first wedding of my last season of weddings
which i think i keep repeating
to make myself get used to saying that...
my LAST season.
this is it.

which is both liberating and bittersweet sad.

the wedding was beautiful.
and the fact that it was my sweet cousin getting married
just added icing to the sweet sunny day.
they had an outdoor wedding in my aunt & uncle's backyard
and i can't wait to post photos of how
GORGEOUS
that yard turned out.
it literally took my breath away.

and because it was family,
it meant i got to sit with my parents and
another aunt & uncle for the meal
which was so awesome.

and today was father's day...which
meant the building of a new bbq
and a subsequent meal cooked on the new bbq...
a new deck chair complete with it's own cooler
and a harmonica.

it's been a great weekend...
i'm sad to see it come to an end.
<3