fall (pola)roid week!

it's fall 'roid week on flickr, people.  get out there and shoot some instant film!

black swan

i heart natalie portman, so i was already looking forward to this ballet thriller set in new york.  but, now they've gone and put out these amazing posters for the international release.  absolutely gorgeous!  more here.

what's on your wish list?

how is it the 19th of october already?  seriously.  this year is *absolutely* flying by.  wow.

before you know it, it will be thanksgiving, then my birthday, then christmas, then new year's.  it all goes by so quickly, don't you think?

before the stresses of the season set in, i like to think about my wish list. i can't help it. the kid in me has vivid memories of getting the JC Penney catalog in the mail and poring over the pages to make my list. now, i have the whole internet at my disposal. and with pinterest, i have a super easy way to keep track of the things i want to give and the things i would be happy to receive.

how do you keep track of gift ideas? what are some of your wish list items this year?

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(i totally got the wild panda puffalump that christmas!)

#19 - ride a bicycle

the view of lower manhattan from governor's island

i don't have any good photos to go along with this one, but a few weekends ago, the mister & i took the ferry to governor's island and rented bicycles.  it was so much fun!!  it was a cool, late summer morning and we were on the first ferry of the day, so it wasn't very crowded.  super fun!

#6 - go to the beach

labor day on long beach, ny

number six on the list was to go to the beach.  i grew up on a lovely, lovely lake in the midwest and also not too far away from some great sand dunes on lake michigan.  i only ever went to the beach on occasional family trips to florida or south carolina.  as much as i love the lake, i do love walking in the sand, the smell of the salty air and the soothing sounds of the waves crashing.

i've lived on the east coast for almost five years, and aside from a wonderful destination wedding on captiva island and a couple of non-beachy trips to coney island, i still haven't been to the beach.  if you look on the map, you will see that new york city is very, very close to the ocean.  however, this does not mean that it is easy to get to the ocean.  or so one would think.  most options involve taking a 2 hour subway ride, renting a car and sitting in traffic, or taking a train and then hailing a taxi.  but i came across the perfect beach getaway from the city.  long beach.

a direct express train from penn station had us at the long beach train station in just under an hour.  after that, it was a few short blocks from the station to the beach.  you do have to pay for a beach pass here, but i think it is totally worth it. the beach is clean and wonderful, and there isn't a touristy boardwalk.  it is very, very relaxing (if you can block out the sound of some of the louder new yorkers in the mix).  i can hardly wait to go back next summer!

p.s.  in an attempt to work on #15 on the list (shoot more film), i took an underwater disposble camera to long beach.  haven't quite finished the roll yet, though.  luckily, i took a snap with the iPhone!!

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soaking up the last bits of summer in maine

less than a week later, i found myself enjoying the final days of summer in old orchard beach, maine.  it was so wonderful!!  a bit of a trek to get up there, but it was so great to hang out with kristin and her family and visit their fantastic beach.  there were lots of great "fair food" type places (fried dough, candy apples . . . even a dairy queen!), but i was on a no-sugar diet (great timing, i know) and didn't get to enjoy any tasty treats.  i did however, get to play skeeball there!

so, after a long drought of no beach time, i had a double dose this summer!

here's hoping to a long weekend at the jersey shore next summer, more trips to maine and lots of visits to long beach!

protecting a sand fort from the entire ocean

i heart orla

have you heard the news?  orla kiely is publishing a book!  i have seen a few mentions of it on the orla kiely newsletter, but today, holly over at decor8 put up a post about the copy she received in the mail.  so wonderful!  i can hardly wait to get my hands on a copy.

 

available for pre-order on amazon.
(also, on my wish list.)

oh, orla, you make such pretty, pretty things.  xo

#20 - play skeeball

i wasn't sure how easy #20 on my list would be, so i ended up buying this awesome iphone app, just in case.

but when i went up to maine to visit kristin, we walked right by the arcade and saw in big letters, "SKEEBALL." yes!!!



while going to the county fair didn't quite live up to my childhood memories, playing skeeball totally surpassed them! (probably because i am much better at skeeball at age 33 than i was at age 10.) it was super fun and we got lots of tickets, so kristin's kids were able to get a decent prize. i snagged a tiny bouncy ball for myself, just to have something to show for my efforts. =)



so many tickets!!! playing skeeball as a grown-up is awesome!