A magical room of books

A few weeks ago, Fig and I decided to go a-wandering into some of the antique shops in downtown Tacoma. Along the way we spotted some pretty neat finds and we stumbled on this amazing, magical room of books, buried deep under the city sidewalk. 

BFFs and babies

I spent a long, wonderful weekend back in Las Vegas, visiting friends and celebrating the coming birth of my BFF's baby on the way. Hands down, that was the most fun I have ever had at a baby shower! The mother to be was gorgeous and glowing, the food  was delish, silly awesome decorations, and hilarious games. 

For the shower I knew I wanted to give her something handmade along with the store-bought gifts. I couldn't decide between a mobile (which I might try to make and send to her before the baby gets here) and a set of blocks...I finally decided on a set of alphabet blocks. I don't have any pictures of the finished product, but I do have a few shots of the making of.

But besides the mega awesome baby shower, it was just so wonderful spending time with my friends. My BFF and I spent time cooking and catching up. She found a recipe for Hagrid's rock cakes online and we whipped up a batch. They were awesome and if she sends me the recipe I will post it here! Plus, we sipped on amazing jasmine tea from our matching mugs. Fun!

Sunday Snapshot

Here is a snapshot of my Sunday afternoon. I have settled down to enjoy a steaming pitcher of cinnamon chai with soy milk, while I dream about fall. Fall is my favorite time of year for these reasons:
-chilly weather
-beautiful fall colors on trees everywhere
-crunchy leaves to pile up, jump into, and walk on
-foggy mornings
-the scent of fall in the air (mixture of dying leaves, wood burning, and....magic?)
-excuses to wear layers and scarves and boots
-pumpkins!
-cozy dinners of beef stew and hearty bread with hot cocoa for dessert
-halloween!
-back to school supplies (which I have no real reason to purchase, but I LOVE to peruse the aisles and check out all of the new stuff anyway. As Tom Hanks says to Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail, "If I had your address I would send you a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils." There's nothing quite like the scent and feel of new pencils/crayons/notebooks....ah, the possibilities they hold.)

There are a hundred other reasons I love fall, but I think one thing that really makes fall special is the anticipation I feel during that time of year. Its almost like a new year, I suppose. Maybe because it used to mark the start of a new school year, which as a child is how I really ticked off the beginning of each year. Even now, as an adult who is done with school (for now, at least), I still anticipate fall as if it is the start of something new and fresh. It marks the start of the major holidays (halloween!, thanksgiving, christmas, new years) and it just feels like the overall pace of things pick up in the fall. Maybe I'm just imaging this bit, but either way I love fall and look forward to it every year.

What are you up to this fine Sunday and are you looking forward to fall?

Did you see it?

Have you gotten a chance to see the last installment of the Harry Potter series? We went to a midnight showing. It wasn't nearly as crazy as I expected, but we must have just lucked out with our theater location. Normally, we avoid midnight premiers and such, but I knew we would see it in the theaters and since it is the LAST film, I wanted to enjoy it with a theater full of die hard Potter fans, most of whom were decked out in costumes and tribute t-shirts. I myself wore my AVPM 'Keep Calm, its Gonna Be Totally Awesome' shirt.
I thought it was wonderful! Great way to wrap up the films and much more humorous than I expected. I laughed, I cried (a little), I loved it. What did you think of it?

 I'll love you forever, Harry Potter.

Nuit Blanche - Arev Manoukian

This is amazing/beautiful/moving. Love the music.

Penelope

Have you seen this movie? It is definitely in my top 10 favorite movies for the following reasons: adorable/innocent love story, a full cast of wonderful characters played by amazing actors (Catherine O'Hara, Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Peter Dinklage...), awesome score/soundtrack, BEAUTIFUL sets and props, and I love, love the costumes. Penelope is just adorable from head to toe. Plus, I just want to live in her bedroom, the colors and textures are gorgeous, and all of the terrariums and bird cages are wonderful. I've rounded up a few beautiful items that I would love to have and that I think would most definitely be found in Penelope's wardrobe.

If you haven't seen this yet and you are in the mood for a cute, feel good movie or are needing some creative inspiration I totally recommend this one. Plus, it has James McAvoy. James McAvoy. You pretty much can't go wrong with that.

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Also, here is a great post about the set of Penelope from Apartment Therapy.

Happy Independence Day!

Hope everyone had a safe and relaxing 4th! We spent the afternoon bbq-ing at my grandparents and relaxing in the sun.