exploring new spaces.

I will now be posting (much, much more often, i pinky swear!) over HERE.

Cy Twombly.

An artwork (Untitled Part V (a painting in nine parts)) I haven't been able to get out of my head since visiting his gallery at The Menil.

Also, for fun: How You Think NPR Reporters Look Vs. How They Actually Do.

she walked in through the out door, out door.

A fun list of things I like. Inspired by the month of February, my boyfriend's birthday, watching the Grammys a few weekends ago, etc. etc. etc.
Prince (because there is no better lyric than, she walked in through the out door, out door).
The Black Keys.
Robert Plant.
Jack White.
Frank Ocean.
Brunch at Cheevers (for Walker's birthday) (he ordered chicken & waffles) (I love his birthday more than he does).
Brunch in general.
On essayists.
Whiskey Bourbon.
The television series Happy Endings.
The style aesthetics of both Stone Fox Bride and Stone Cold Fox.
Jalapeño chips (the ones at Jimmy John's are decidedly best) (also, I used to hate and despise Jimmy John's until Walker came along and now my mouth waters just thinking about the place).
And, on the topic of chips, Zapps! from New Orleans.
A steaming bowl of Pho.
Law & Order SVU marathons (I am hooked) (likely directly related to being enrolled in Crim Pro I right now) (but seriously, I can't stop watching the seemingly endless supply on USA Network).
Nachos.
Chives.
The name of my favorite lip color: black honey.
Bethenny yoga videos (of Skinnygirl Margarita and Bravo fame) because they just work for me.
Links recommended to me via my cousin: Joy by Zadie Smith and Java Jive.
Moonrise Kingdom (watched on Valentine's Day).
Beasts of the Southern Wild (watched sobbing between my parents).
AND my sister interviewed over at Tomboy Style.

talk'n feb. fourteenth on feb. fifth

Offerings at Momofuku Milk Bar.

I used to be pretty infamous for my chocolate consumption. Just ask anyone who has lived with me. But since graduating college, my taste buds have trended more toward the salty and savory than the sweet when I want to snack.
That being said, I still love relishing in a holiday that allows for the ordering of a really amazing dessert. So I put together my list of top desserts in the Oklahoma City metro area just for funsies...

Cookies and Cream Milkshake: Braums
This is my go-to.
A real classic.
It's perfection.
Extra points if the Braums employee gets the order wrong at least once or hands you a cup covered in milky-slime debris: just further proof that the end product is so so worth it.

Tiramisu: Cous Cous Cafe
Confession: I actually just tried this just last night and feel like I've discovered gold. Tiramisu is my absolute favorite favorite favorite dessert, and this little Moroccan restuarant (also serving great Baklava) has the best for under three bucks!

Chocolate Pyramid: Paseo Grill
This is my fancy pants/work lunch dessert. With so many layers: and I love layering. Especially the homemade whipped cream layer and caramel/chocolate icing layer and the classic ice cream layer.

Buttermilk Pie: Iron Star
I just like the idea of buttermilk pie so much that I made Walker take me here at three in the afternoon once just to try some: good and only makes special menu appearances.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Bar: Prairie Thunder Bakery
This is not a regular menu item. In fact, it may only be connected to the Thunder making the playoff games. But it is so rich and decadent and completely worth it. Plus I'm a sucker for salted caramel.

The Key Lime Pie: Charleston's
I was trying to avoid places that can't be passed off as local or homegrown, but this dessert is worth a mention.
So fresh and juicy, with real chunks of lime in it. And that graham cracker crust, whew.
I feel like key lime pie is the type of dessert you could spend your entire life searching the world over for just a hint of a perfect slice, meanwhile it was right under your nose at Charleston's the entire time.

Lavender Cake: The Earth
It's light purple! And tastes like perfume. Worth trying.

Ricotta Cheese Cookie: Cafe 501
You want to see the face of God and the wings of angels: get to the center of this cookie.


p.s. My preferred method of eating restaurant dessert is ordering it to-go and eating it out of the styrofoam container on the drive home.

p.p.s. On a completely unrelated note (and for a little fit-spiration)...
Tracy Anderson article email'd to me via Goop. Thanks Gwyneth. I now feel absolutely inspired for a Lent devoted entirely to happiness and healthiness.

an extraordinary theory.

I am currently reading: An Extraordinary Theory of Objects by Stephanie LaCava and a couple of the quotes from the first few pages really resonated with me:

"What saved me, in the end, was my fear of change transforming into raw wonder and wanderlust."

"Intense sensitivity can be debilitating, or it can increase the upside of chance and the power of whimsy - a need for storytelling, strangers, and odd encounters."

I also recently saw one of the short films featured at Sundance called The Arm, which was this funny, sweet, earnest account of a high school kid freeing himself from total text message entrapment.

So now I have this inclination to throw my iPhone out a window and go stomping through mud puddles, study archeology in Egypt, plan a trip to Rio, run up a mountain, etc.

At the very least, I'm putting my phone away when I'm interacting with real live humans: because, despite it being addicting and convenient, there is nothing more rude or self-involved.
(I may be the only person who liked this mom's iPhone contract with her 13-year-old son.)

Other stuff:

I am currently loving: the subscription to New York Magazine my boyfriend got me for Christmas. A few gems:

Why You Truly Never Leave High School.

How I Turned Instagram Into A Dating Service.

&

Checking things off of my Oklahoma bucket list, I finally ate at Meers after a hike: #friedpeaches #friedgreentomatoes #breadandbutterfriedpickles #burger  #RCCola #teapartymemorabilia

And I've come to the conclusion that I love hikes as long as they are motivated by treats/a light at the end of the tunnel: see Machu Picchu, see my mom's promise of root beer floats when we were little, see the aforementioned fried peaches.

This may be a good way to approach life. Motivation via treats. For me, this usually comes in the form of coffee: I lie in my bed marveling at the day I have ahead of me and promise myself coffee if I can get out of bed instead of hitting snooze.

&

I want to go to Maui now, thanks a lot fashion blog.

&

Beyonce reads Joan Didion via my subscription to The Beyhive. Girl's got great taste. Duh.

Don't worry, I also subscribed to Goop.

patron saints of snail mail.

So rarely do we get to hear a great mail story (especially with the financial straits of the post office these days), that when two occurred over the holiday season I figured I just had to share:

First: this summer I sent my aunt a postcard from Petra, Jordan addressed only to "Aunt Barb" and accidentally sent to her work address, which happens to be the very big University of California San Diego.

While most university mail directors/interceptors would have balked, this kind soul attached a note to the postcard reading "We are trying to find the right Aunt Barb, if it's not you, please forward to the next Barbara in the campus directory."
Well, my little postcard went through over thirty "Barbaras" documented via the university mailing system before finally finding the right one just before Christmas break. Which means over thirty people took the time to find another Barbara on campus and forward it to them.

And then: I received this email from my cousin Sandra when I asked for a return address in reply to the sweet postcard she'd sent me while studying abroad...

Cousin! So glad you got your post! You won't believe the story behind its arrival. I had a little paper bag full of posted postcards that I had written to friends all over the world and somehow, I still don't quite understand how because I was being so careful, I lost it while I was roaming around London one day very near Christmas. As you can imagine, I was absolutely heartbroken that all of my written treasures had been lost and that I would have no way of knowing where I had left the bag. I hate losing things and I hate that feeling of not knowing where. But as soon as I got home I started to receive emails and voicemails from friends and family thanking me for the good wishes! Some lovely person must have found the bag in London and popped them in the post box for me! Hurrah!

...I like to think these thoughtful moments to take time for written correspondence inspired strangers to magically rally around it.
From Wikipedia: A patron saint is a saint who, in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic Christian practice, is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person. Patron saints, because they have already transcended to the metaphysical, are believed to be able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges.

also for the new year: no fear.