How to look at the winter without actually going out into the winter

I just spotted this house on the Odessa May Society.

How rad is that? A cozy-looking stone cottage all old and snowy and probably filled with tons of glowing hearths etc, and then that big glass box (that's presumably also warm somehow) so you can sit and marvel at all the snow-beauty and never actually have to go out into it! If I were forced someday to take a romantic winter vacation in snowland, I would insist upon this feature. Win win win.

Nobility Dogs

Tristan, my awesome soon-to-be brother in law, just sent me this little piece of amazing. I think it's my christmas present. I'll take it, sir!

(I think the watermark is supposed to be a deterrent, but really it just adds to the majesty)

Ryan Gosling

I always knew he totally gets me.

Hamburger Wrapping Paper

Great idea. Though I would hate to get a gift wrapped only in the "meat patty" sheet. It's glistening.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Loki!

Here's to the best little floofball I know!

eight weeks old and sleepy  

total polar bear

just chillin' so hard

just sliding face-first into a mud puddle

stone cold digging

being an ewok

frolicking with his BFF Winston

 wearing the cone of sadness 

so gonzo

so noble 

so river-dipped

the Falcor to my Childlike Empress

a prince among pups

the best-looking member of our family

You're a good boy, Loki. 

Meanwhile, in the countryside

This public art by Niklaus Ruegg is awesome, I wish I had seen it two Halloweens ago.

How to Survive Black Friday

Put two very furry dogs in a car:

(one might wear the other as a hat)

Take them on a pretty hike:

If one dog gets tired, give her a lift:

That's my little brother, Kief

Observe some fall foliage:

(bougainvillea totally counts)

"Detox" from turkey day with an epic smoothie:

Take pictures of yourselves at magic hour *without* a camera shadow on your face:

(whoops!)

(much better.)

Admire your handsome husband:

Pose interestingly:

 Finally, cuddle with Loki on your brother's couch 'cause he's not allowed on the couch at home.

Success!

Bicycle Animation

People do neat things.

Signs of Life

When we lived in Iowa we had a sweet old house with an enormous yard that looked, sometimes, like this:

Dreamy!

In the late spring I would plant a fantastic vegetable garden: 

and by the summer our dinners would often look like this:

90% home grown. Just look at those purple potatoes!

It was the tendency Iowa has of looking like this that was a major motivation to get back to sunny California just as soon as grad school was over:

I still get cold/sad just looking at this.

Hilariously, now that we're in this magical climate where one can garden year round, we're living in a yard-less apartment.

All we have is a sunny shared back patio that I'm still too shy to use, and a bunch of windows...

But lookie here, the windows are working!

(parsley, basil, lavender, strawberry)

Just check out this sweet strawberry baby:

Observe my little lemons:

One of these days I'm gonna stake a claim to the patio, where, when I peek out timidly through the curtain I can see that my neighbors are growing tomatoes, kumquats and a ton of flowers. But until then, I'm happy with my little window champions. One day soon we're gonna have dinner based entirely on strawberries and lemons and it will taste so. good.

I love this place.

Creepy things that happen when you sleep

Um.

So this is supposed to be very dreamy-swoony but A) if I woke up and there were strings all around me and over me I would have a serious panic attack, and B) the blood-colored spider web of words at the end looks more like a death threat than some romantic marriage proposal.

But maybe that's just me?

Also? The concept is called Love injections? Really?

(found via The Hairpin)

Currently nerding out on:

Magnified grains of sand.

Gaze at the wonders of nature etc!

(images found here)

It's hard to take pictures of a fireplace

We recently experienced our first cold and rainy evening in our new place.

Loki didn't like it. He prefers snow.

I didn't like it much either, as I have a sort of hyperactive version of SAD that flares up with any perceivable dip in sunshine levels, and leaves my entire household tiptoeing carefully around the couch where I lie, wrapped in blankets, loudly despairing.

BUT!

Our new apartment came with a fireplace, and it is a truth universally acknowledged that a roaring, crackling fire can thaw the mood of even the most determined seasonal depressive. So we gave it a go.

I was so excited by the prospect that I even got up off the couch to go get my camera. "This will look so great on my blog!" I thought. "Is there anything more charming than a cozy, firelit home on a rainy evening? Think of the pageviews!"

But then:

Readers, it is HARD to take pictures of a fireplace! At least for me and my little Digital Elph it is. 

What's the secret? Tripods? Fancier cameras? Photoshop? I am ashamed!

But documentation notwithstanding, we did have a lovely, warm evening curled up by the fire. And as we have since realized that it is in fact the only source of heating in our drafty old living room, we're actually going to be curling up in front of a great many more of them this Los Angeles winter. 

And every night that we do, I'll be sure and break out the flip-phone and snap a picture for you to warm yourselves to.