spring fever.

(photo ganked from ringo! have a banana, aka one of the most adorable blogs in existence.  

she's got the right idea with these lilacs, here.)

GUYS.

I REALLY CAN'T CONCENTRATE. like, REALLY REALLY can't concentrate. like it's writer's block and daydreaming about spring and portland this weekend and picking out what color i'm going to paint the walls of my new room next week and...... other things. all combined. in mah skull. i'm staring at four open word docs at my desk, i'm caffeinated, i have clients calling me every five seconds and i can't seem to just simmer down and get to work.  i would so much rather be in my bed with my laptop and some tea with the windows open doing my work from there, especially if my window had some beautiful flowers in it like the lilacs above.  a girl can dream, right? that would fix this crazy creative slump, right? GYAH!

this is for a multitude of reasons, but i think it just wittles down to the fact that it's been rather pretty out, it's finally time to tune up the bike and that my absolute favorite time of year in boston is here.  i'm missing my favorite holiday (marathon monday) in favor of exploring one of the best cities on the "best coast" for the first time, but i'll be celebrating the unofficial kickoff of spring with one of my favorite people in a place i'm bound to love, so it's ok.

for those of you with any portland (OR, not ME) advice to impart, out with it.  never been, so stoked to be there, and i want to make the most of my weekend!

oh, and while we're on the topic of procrastinating/not concentrating - i have to find a dress to wear to my dear friend erin's wedding, as the one i ordered on sale from anthro is hilariously small.  the wedding's in the afternoon and the reception is in the evening at the biltmore in providence at the end of june - how do we feel about this one, or too casual?

ok. need to buckle down and write some stuff, the next installment of defend yourself! that's getting published in the weekly dig next week.  did y'all read my feature on freelance whales? if not, go put on "Generator ^ First Floor" and start scrollin'.

X H

i am truly happy.

for the past four years, the first sox vs. yankees game of the season has been the true start of spring for me and i've celebrated it with my best friends in new york who all happen to BLEED pinstripes.  with the exception of the spring of '07 when i was still living in spain, i've watched the game go down at a dive bar in yonkers with bren, ryan, billy, larz and a slew of my other ny favorites.  i got all nostalgic sitting on my couch with meg and later jessie last night watching the sox take it in an AWESOME game that stretched into the twelfth inning courtesy of jason bay and his 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th with two outs.  i miss my boys down in yonkers and mel and jules very much, though it was kind of wonderful to just crack open a brew and feel the first drafts of summer passing through my open windows last night.

so, this is meg and goofing around during the game.  photobooth turns everyone into small children who are easily amused.

oh, and jessie and i got excited when they won.  here's the celebratory shot.

this is jessie's anime face.  this is just my scary face.

before the sox went all rockstar at fenway park last night, meg and i went for a feast at local indian food favorite punjabi dhaba followed by banana cinnamon/chocolate banana ice cream cones at christina's.  there is NO BETTER COMBINATION than a delicious, piping hot meal at p-dhabs followed by the best homemade ice cream in cambridge.  we were gonna stop at the thirsty scholar on the way home for a round/some sox action but opted to just drink the beers in my fridge and slouch on my couch for the game.  we ran up to the roof last night because meg's never seen it, and i could've done cartwheels when i realized that it's FINALLY that time of year for drinks and hookah on the roofdeck.

meg had to bust early due to her crazy athletic fitness loving ways (she's going hiking today, have fun meggg!), but jessie, christoph, mikey and matt all came bounding into my apartment shortly after her departure and within fifteen minutes we were smoking honey shisha on my roof while matt cat-called and howled at random pedestrians moseying up and down somerville ave.  (favorite quotation of the evening: "hey BOZO! you got a calzone? .... yeah ENJOY YA PEPPAHRONI CALZONE BOZO.")

after the hookah started to ash, we opted for an impromptu adventure and decided that heading to the nearest playground was definitely the way to go.  the one up the street from my house is an excellent choice for late-night playground debauchery as it's got good swings, monkey bars and a huge basketball court that slants at a pretty sharp angle, ha.  we must've been out there for at least an hour.  here are the best photos from one of the best nights of early spring.

it's gorgeous out in boston today, you guys.  jessie and i are bouncing over to harvard to go find maya in a little bit and i'm wearing the first sundress of the season.  GO SPEND TODAY OUTSIDE! :)

impromptu springy wednesday to-do list.

SPRIIIIING.  these tulips were shot in the naschmarkt of vienna during slovak attak '07.  everyone should be looking at flowers in SOME capacity today.

+ eat something?  i have absolutely nothing to eat in this house except for fruit, easter candy and greek yogurt, so it looks like i'm going to have to go grocery shopping after the gym today.  i would rather be doing breakfast at the biscuit but i've been really lazy regarding my fitness, so strawberries, honey and greek yogurt it is.

+ gym gym gym gym gym.  i've been so good for the past month! i don't want to break my every-other-day streak TOO badly, even though it's been three full days since my last workout.  whatever. i walked to and from harvard yesterday and that's a full 40 minutes, that's something, right? haaa.

+ get on mah BIKE!!! i bought a u-lock yesterday! i'm in business!  i still have to borrow mikey's tire pump because mine are compleeetely flat, but after that i am a biking fiend.  (please keep your fingers crossed that i don't meet my demise on somerville ave/elm street/mass ave.  pleeease.)

+ clean. seriously.  i can't find my camera and i have a feeling that it's hiding in the mound of clothes that's accumulated atop my giant blue chair in my bedroom.  i have the charger and the battery, just not the camera.  wtf.  i'm hoooping that it's not lost because i can't afford to drop a couple hundred bucks on a point-and-shoot right now, and i really can't drop a few hundred bucks on a gorgeous beauty like jessie's new toy, as much as i want a sick ass camera of my very own.  so, long story short, today will be the day that i sweep, dust, fold, wipe down, brush up, and vacuum my apartment... until that little canon bastard is found. 

+ make some new playlists.  i've acquired some new tuneage as of late, including the shout out louds, lake street dive, the love language and a bunch of other bands that i've either seen lately or heard great things about.  i'm getting sick of my usual "sunny" and "springy" playlists and i'm getting tired of my longstanding iTunes favorites.  any recommendations, music-savvy friends?

+ do something green.  it's earth day, people!  go do something good for the environment!  chances are my green activities for the day will consist of choosing to walk everywhere as opposed to taking public transportation and i'll most likely bring my own bags to the grocery store, but for those of you heading out of town in the near future, check out andrea's list of green travel ideas over at the cheapflights.com blog.   give it a click and while you're there check out a few of my old travel guides, haha.  (i wrote a particularly riveting one on reykjavik, so check that out if you're still going through with that crazy icelandic weekend adventure, marc.)

+ cook dinner.  i've been eating out entirely too much lately.  for some reason i feel like experimenting with pork chops or something. we'll see.  i should be eating more brown rice instead of french bread.  that's just a sidenote.

what're you guys up to today?  anyone feel like drinkin' beers and playing guitar on my roof later?

"she left those white boys/back in lexington"

walking home from inman today i passed someone's front stoop and saw theeese little babies.

crocuses! crocii? (good question, jessie.)

anyways, point being, it's finally finally finally finally officially spring.  no more snow, please, o benevolent new england weather gods.

i know everyone's been going bonkers over passion pit and after seeing them in action downstairs at the middle east a few weeks ago i can understand why... but, honestly, i feel like bodega girls stand a shot at overshadowing the hub's resident favorite when it comes to keeping hipsters on the dance floor.   last night was the second wednesday i've spent shakin' it at middlesex to the tunes of bodega girls and jessie came with me this time around.  we weren't there for the whole show, but we made it for the majority of their set and stuck around for the dance party that ensued after the live portion of the program ended.  bodega girls get major points in my book because they actually stick around and dance WITH their fans after their shows, and their "drink, dance, fuck and be merry" attitude is friggin' great.

anyways, here's the music video for my favorite track of theirs, she's into black guys.  bodega girls' next show in the area isn't until may 1st when they play harper's ferry over on brighton ave, but they're playing at the iron horse in north hampton if all you kids out in amherst feel like gettin' down on a school night.

color, japan, and more "I WANT SPRING" musings.

last july, i bought a roundtrip ticket on a whim and took off to visit a friend living in tokyo.  for two weeks, i spent my days exploring japan's teeming metropolis on foot and stumbled upon countless galleries, museums, bookstores and boutiques that were exploding with vibrant, bold colors.  i left tokyo for a weekend and visited the country's cultural capital, kyoto, and found that the same shades embraced by japan's creative elite could be found in the shinto shrines residing in kyoto's alleys.  i love looking at the following two photos side by side because i think that they're a perfect pair for their harmonious hues and contextual differences.  the chains of paper cranes pictured below were photographed in downtown kyoto off the beaten path: we had gone for a walk down the street from our hostel and stumbled across a tiny shrine set back a block or two from the city's main drag, and i was entranced by these meticulously crafted ropes that seem as though they were strung together by Technicolor.  the second photograph is of me at the front doors of design festa, an artist's collective in harajuku, which housed some of the most bizarre and inspiring sculptures, textiles and murals that i've ever seen.

(above: chains of paper cranes, shinto shrine, kyoto, japan.)

(above: hil at the front doors of the design festa gallery in harajuku, tokyo, japan.)

sitting here and looking back at these snapshots, i realize that what i'm looking forward to most about the melting of winter is the blooming, bursting nature of boston in the springtime.  the pastel shells of the candy easter eggs at the grocery store down the street make do for now, but i'm seriously counting days until i can shake this snowy lethargy and embrace the newfound energy that'll come blowing into town about a month from now.  i get that march comes in like a lion and out like a lamb and all that, but c'maaaahn.  i want brilliant shades in my life on a daily basis like they were when i was in tokyo; until then, i'll look at these pictures and paint my own and wait for the thaw.

Ode to Devendra!

apparently my ode to spring toootally worked in the positive thinking department: it's 60 degrees out in Somerville, the sun is shining, and the sunset roses mirror the weather's pleasant disposition.  see?

on days like today you need a decent soundtrack for skippin' down the sidewalk, and nothing hits the ear nicer than devendra banhart when it's brisk and beautiful out.  i know i'm tardy when it comes to joining devendra's fan club, but better late than never, right?  i've got banhart's two most recent albums, smokey rolls down thunder canyon and cripple crow, playing on repeat for the afternoon.  banhart was raised in venezuela and thus a hefty chunk of his discography includes some lovely spanish melodies, and coincidentally his spanish tracks happen to be my absolute favorites on both albums.  

songs i currently can't stop dancing to/listening to/lusting after courtesy of mr. db:

quedate luna.  the haunting minor chords of this mellow track off banhart's 2005 release is my favorite on the album and tugs at my heartstrings a little just because it reminds me of flamenco and impromptu jam sessions in the albaicín, granada's old arab neighborhood and my favorite barrio in a city that i miss being able to call home.  i learned how to play this on guitar last night and the callouses on my fingers are kind of beastly from practicing it too much.  love it.  major sexy time music, too, but then again half of cripple crow makes for excellent sexy time music as well. 

carmensita.  if you're not dancing to this song within 30 seconds of pressing play, you're either a) broken in the legs, b) deaf, or c) too cool for school.   this song can usually be heard blasting in my kitchen while i'm making food for people or when i'm getting psyched before leaving my house for a big night out.  this shit'll put you in fabulous mood, guaranteed.  it's auricular candy. 

bad girl.  ok so this one's in english but i love it anyway, mostly because i find it slightly touches on the melancholic nature of the dissolution of my last relationship.  ("i'm not waiting but i keep holding on" hit a little too close to home for me, i guess. erm, yeah. moving on!)  the consistent reverb and pulsing syncopations practically put you to sleep, and in a good way: this raw, lamenting lullaby of banhart's is comforting and heartbreaking at the same time with its crescendoes and perfect balance of resignation and refusal.  [for the record: i'm listening to it today NOT because of allllll the romantic bullshit that doesn't need to be drudged up yet again; i'm listening to it because it's a beautiful song, despite/because of its emotional undertones, and it sounds divine on a day like today when the heat of the afternoon starts to cool off and the wind starts reminding me that spring isn't quite upon us yet.]

also: thank you, devendra, for your quirky lil' cameo in "nick and norah's infinite playlist".  you are great.  and thank you for this photo, as well:

image courtesy of paste magazine.

¡vete pa'ca, primavera!

I.  WANT.  SPRING.  I want to trade in my bruised and beaten boots for pretty flats that don't have to fear the grimy salty, slushy mixture that's currently plastering the sidewalks of Somerville!  I want to be able to wear dresses without wooly tights and thick socks only to curse the blustery winds that keep my legs popsicle-like!  I want new galoshes that fit and a big red umbrella to combat April showers I plan on welcoming with open arms!  I want flowers and Marathon Monday and lighter jackets and outdoor markets and Easter candy and brunch outside! I. WANT. SPRIIIIIIIING!

phew. I feel better.  well, until I can have Spring in all it's blooming, busting-out-all-over glory, I'll settle for the following:

-Mozi's new collection of Casablanca candles.  I found my Gardenia-scented ones at Anthropologie a week or so ago and they've been burning ever since.  They throw great light and they smell amaaazing and kind of make me want to fill my apartment with bouquets of flowers and throw a makeshift garden party.  So girly, so sue me.

-That new Gabriella Cilmi song, "Sweet About Me".  This latest Australian import to the pop charts has a lot more grit on her vocal chords than Kylie and Natalie combined and her latest single is perfect for dancing away the winter doldrums in the privacy of your own apartment before braving the chill for a night out.  

-Each and every one of the champagne cocktails served up at The Beehive.  How can you turn down bubbly mixed with honey and the essence of elderflowers? I can't, that's for sure.  My personal favorite is La Vie en Rose, which is champagne and lychee-infused cognac, but you really can't go wrong with any of these fragrant, flirtatious concoctions.

-Floral headbands.  Right before my birthday a month or two ago, I had been lamenting about the pricey beauty of the headbands over at ban.do, namely #10, so Los, my infamous and almighty best friend, worked her creative wiles and gave me the lovely headpiece you see pictured in the previous post to celebrate my 23rd.  Basically, I want to wear that massive blossom on my dome every single day, rain or shine.

so, my darlings, what are YOU indulging in to beat your winter blues?  what are you looking forward to this spring?