The Eternal City

I finally uploaded my pictures (all 300 of them) from my trip to Rome this weekend. These were a few of my favorites. While I love my camera (it has been through a lot with me), its creeping up on four years old now and just cant perform like cameras on the market today. Sigh.

I Love Take Away Shows

I think this is the stuff of life.

(thanks to my sister)

Fuck This Advisory Stickers

Beautiful and practical

(by third drawer down)

49.

Open the screen door slowly so it doesn’t make a noise. Take one last look before slipping into the night. Count backwards from one hundred and see what will need to be remembered. One hundred. Blue potted plants by the window. Ninety nine. Her lashes throwing shadows on her pretty mouth. Ninety eight. Red and dandelion-green scarves hanging from the coat rack. Ninety seven. Traffic light through the window reflected on the ceiling. Ninety six. Photograph clipped to the bedside lamp. Ninety five. Half-full glasses of water on the mantle. Ninety four. The way her back feels against your chest. Ninety three. Swallow air and keep it swallowed and before exhaling save the time it will take to remember the other ninety two things and just leave it all behind forget the rest lose those things shut the screen door silently.

-J Samuel Yingling

(I literally cannot stop reading this tumblr)

BookBook

It's scary how much I use my precious Mac, and I've been thinking for a while now about buying a cover for it because it looks like it has seen battle. Most of the laptop covers I've found have been goofy looking or cumbersome, but these covers called BookBook look pretty darn awesome.

(via booklicious)

Ireland

Ireland was cold but lovely. Me and my fellow travelers went to Blarney Castle, where it rained, snowed, and blustered until the sun finally came out. A good time was had by all.

An Old Favorite.

I don't have much inspiration today in terms of posting. I'm going to Ireland tonight for a couple of days, I'll post post pics when I come back (if I come back).

(via polanoid)

Preach

This sums me up pretty well

(by the birds and beasts)

Perhaps, Perhaps

This Looks Good

Aint it the Truth

(made by this guy)

At Last

I finally watched this last night (with perhaps a smidgen of sangria) and loved this scene. Sometimes all you need is a little Hall & Oats to get you out of a funk

In Our Talons

Life Abroad: Home

I guess one of the challenging things for me about living abroad is the notion of home. Back in the states, my actual "home" (the house in which I grew up and where my mother lives) is a place where I only spend one month out of the year. For me, my real home is school. I love the valley. One of the things that I cherish most about the valley are the cafe's, places where I can spend lazy Sundays drinking coffee, reading, doing homework, and people watching. I dont know why, but cafe's and coffee shops are really only one out of a few places where I truly feel at peace. They are like my temples, my cathedrals, my sanctuaries.  I've had a hard time finding one here. Yesterday afternoon I roamed the streets of El Guinardo trying to find a bit of home. No such luck. 

Libros Libros Libros

This trip has made me re-discover my love for books. Too bad they're not in Spanish

(via ffffound)

Spring

Sometimes, I miss the winter.

(via postsecret)

Book Mill.

Is it weird that one of the places I miss most painfully I've only been to twice?

What Matters

(by Tim Wirth via Now Voyager)

Gullshrooms

The folks over at booooooom are having an art fundraiser to benefit Haiti, and this is one of the many great pieces for sale (its by Amy Ross). Gullshrooms. Genius. I think this might be my favorite thing I've seen on the internet in a while.

(via swiss miss)

Eh Poop

So literally 4 hours after my last post, my internet ceased to function. Since the Spaniards dont consider Friday a working day (and why would they) I had to wait four excruciating days to get it fixed. Furthermore, the techno-retard that I am learned that having IGB internet means I have to seriously cut back on my browsing. Therefore, for the time being, I shall be only blogging on Mondays and Wednesdays when I have access to campus wi-fi. I'm sure you find this news a travesty, and are currently wondering how you will possibly make it through this crazy journey called life without me, but I mean the Russians have been surviving for decades on nothing but their cold, cold tears, so I think we can make it through this.

I also suffered another setback this week when I learned that I don't have access to the loan I was going to use for spending money. I'm used to living frugally, so its no biggie, but being left behind whilst the friends I've made here go off to explore Europe is not fun. But hey, at least I'll lose weight from not eating all the food I can't afford! There's a bright side to everything I suppose. As many of yall know Ive never been an optimist, but I'm all alone in Europe, so I think a sunny outlook is essential at times like these.

Dios Mio

me home!

Well, after two long weeks here in Spain, I finally have the internet. Hallelujahpraisethelord. I'm not gonna lie, the first 10 days or so here were really rough. I was so homesick that if I did have the internet I probably would have bought meself a ticket home, because after all is said and done, I am a coward. I kid I kid (sorta). Barcelona is a beautiful city and cleaner than most urban areas I've been to in America. Spanish is kicking my ass hard like I expected it would, but I think maybe perhaps I'm kinda getting better. I went to my first ever club (a rather underwhelming experience) and stayed out till 5am. This was a week ago, and I don't know if I've recovered. I am an abuela. Deal with it. 

The weather here is a tricky bastard that likes to give you a bit of hope one day of the approaching spring, only to pour ice cold Spanish rain on you for days on end. Olé. I intend to return to blogging here at the ol' lurve whilst throwing in a few tales about my travels. I would love to be able to be snooty and cultured and do this in Spanish, but how bout I just throw in a word her or there and call it a day ok?

Bump It

Pioneered by David Bowie?

Anonanimal

I know I've been posting a lot of videos lately, but i've become recently enthralled with this song. Sometimes I try to listen to more upbeat music, but I cant seem to stay away from my mellow tunes.

Happy New Year!

So my hooligans, it seems that another year is drawing to a close. As I look back on the past 12 months, I see a lot of changes (mostly positive ones) but also more of the same old shite. New Year's Resolution Number One: stop worrying so much god dammit. In ten days I'll shall be embarking on a new adventure broke as sin and as scared as a child but I'm gonna embrace this experience and take all I can from it (here's hoping). As for tonight, let's wave goodbye to 2009 and usher in a hopeful new year.

Listen to the Pipes on this Girl

I've had this song stuck in my head for days. This will surely be on my new years playlist.

Merry Christmas

A holiday classic, for you and yours:

Fern Hill

Nothing I cared, in the lamb white days, that time would take me

Up to the swallow thronged loft by the shadow of my hand,

In the moon that is always rising,

Nor that riding to sleep

I should hear him fly with the high fields

And wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land.

Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,

Time held me green and dying

Though I sang in my chains like the sea.

-Dylan Thomas

(image via polanoid)

Make Words

This is a little video for an upcoming EP by Impactist. I'm not familiar with their music (its electronic I believe), but I think the video is pretty rad:

Last Day, Last Daaaaayyyyyy (sorta)

Well folks, today is my last day of junior year. In America at least. In just a few short weeks I'm going to be boarding a plane to Barcelona. In related news, I am currently crapping my pants. I'm going to stick around school for a few more days to earn some extra monaaayy because europe looks to be a wee bit expensive. My biggest worry, however, is that I'm not going to make any friends while abroad. Well, that and the whole language barrier thing (ever heard of Catalan? Me neither). Mostly I'm just in denial that this whole semester abroad thing is happening. Hooray!

(why a picture of a bike you ask? well I saw it on ffffound and liked it and wanted to use it. I do what I want, 'natch)

Here is my Handle, Here is my Spout

I come from a family of tea-drinkers (we're Irish after all), and growing up my Nana had a collection of teapots that she displayed in her kitchen. Here are a few beautiful handmade teapots by Samantha Robinson that I would love to have in my own kitchen:

(via piajane)

Get Me Outta Here

Wanderlust: (n) a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.

T-Shirt Site of the Week: 2K T-Shirts

2K

Olimpia Zagnoli

These are illustrations by Olimpia Zagnoli that were recently showcased at an exhibit in Milan (oo la la). They kinda make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Either that or its just my morning coffee. One of the two.

(via the lovely kitsune noir)

Happy Birthday!

Over the weekend Crooked Lurve celebrated its first birthday! I can't believe that my first post was a year ago. Crazy. Thanks for sticking with me these past 12 months. I hope I have a lot more left in me.

Image of the Day: 12/3/09

Rotating Kitchen

So this is an art piece by Zeger Reyers that was put on display in Germany last Friday. This is kinda how my kitchen gets after a long weekend. My housemates and I are artists.

(via today and tomorrow)

Frolicking with Polaroids

Frolic! is a lovely little blog by Chelsea Fuss that I like to drop in on once in a while. She recently put up a link to her flickr page and I became enamored with her charming polaroids:

I would love to get an instant camera. With polaroid out of the picture (hehe get it?) fujifil is now offering instant film but it aint that great of a deal. The prices are pretty steep and the pictures are the size of credit cards. I'm gonna hold out for something better thank you very much.