Long Distance Love

Andrew has been traveling for work since the beginning of April and won't be home for a few more weeks. There's a seven hour time difference between us, so it makes Skyping possible, but it's still a little tough. Nevertheless, we try to see each other at least once every other day.

As much as the distance sucks, I do think it brings us closer in a lot of ways, and I totally agree with that old cliche saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder," because my heart is living proof!

I suppose it also helps that we're pretty much pros when it comes to Skyping. ;)

I miss him lots and lots and can't wait for him to finally come home. Each time, I wait patiently by the window for his taxi to pull up and it always makes me feel like a little girl on Christmas morning. Hugging him is the best feeling!

Hurry home, habibi!

Jenny Lewis Retweeted Me

Jenny Lewis retweeted me tonight. This totally makes us one step closer to becoming BFFS in real life.

Just sayin'.

If for some reason you don't know who Jenny Lewis is, she just happens to be my favorite female of all time. I've loved Rilo Kiley since I was 14 or so and have seen Jenny in concert more times than I can count. She writes beautiful music and is an amazing poet. (She was also an actress when she was younger!) My fox tattoo is definitely Rilo Kiley inspired. Even though I always told myself I'd never get a band related tattoo, Rilo Kiley is hardly just a band to me. I think they're a huge part of who I am, no matter how corny that sounds!

Music is a beautiful thing, and I think people who are fortunate enough to have been touched so deeply by a song, album, or artist are the lucky ones.

Thank you, Miss Lewis, for shaping me into the person I am today!

Click here to learn more about Jenny Lewis, and here if you're interested in Rilo Kiley.
You can watch the video for Portions For Foxes here.
And one of my favorite live performances of With Arms Outstretched here!
And Silver Lining here.
Annnnd you get the point.

I don't think I could name a favorite Rilo Kiley song if I tried. If you don't have any of their albums, I highly suggest scoping some out! Or Jenny's solo stuff which is also great.

What a lady. ♥ ♥ ♥

I think it's only appropriate that I listen to Take Offs and Landings while I fall asleep tonight.

Lady Lazarus

I headed to the beauty section while shopping at Target the other day, planning on purchasing brown hair dye. I haven't been a brunette in awhile, and I kind of miss it, so I figured it was time, especially since my blonde roots were showing.

I stood in the aisle, looking through the browns, but found myself focusing primarily on the reds. I couldn't turn away! I spotted a color I had never seen before (Garnier Nutrisse Roasted Coffee), and had to try it. I guess I truly am a redhead at heart...

Since my hair is long, I always buy two boxes. I mix them at the same time and sort of double fist it. I don't really like coloring my own hair since it's messy and time consuming, but it beats paying what I usually do when I get it colored at a salon.

Do you color your own hair? I'd love to know what brand/shade the faux redheads out there like me use! What color works best for you?

"Out of the ash,

I rise with my red hair,

And I eat men like air."

Lady Lazarus

- Sylvia Plath

Guest Post: Gina's Tattoos

It's a bit dreary and rainy today in DC. I've been hanging out in bed with Mia all day, listening to music and eating chana masala and snacking on pretzel M&M's. I've been playing with the idea of having friends/family/fellow bloggers guest post on days I'm not feeling so talkative, so I thought today would be a great opportunity to test it out.

That being said, here's a little tattoo story from one of my best friends back home. :)

Name: Gina

Age: 24

I've always had a fascination with body art, body modification, and any sort of artistic/musical outlet to express myself.

→ When I was 18, I got my first tattoo; stereo buttons on my left wrist. Music has always meant so much to me, so I thought it was perfect for a first tattoo.

→ About two years later came the circle of thoughts on my right wrist. It's an uplifting quote from a Bright Eyes song that I like to look at to remember not to dwell on things that bring unhappiness. (As much as I like to consider myself a free-spirited hippie, we all have baggage.)

→ I have a pair of doves on my neck in part because I think birds are exotic and beautiful, but also because I've always felt I was meant to be a hippie from the late 60s and doves are a symbol of peace.

→ The MAKKL tattoo on my shoulder is the one that means the most to me. It's in memory of a dear friend I lost a few months ago. (♥ ♥ ♥)

→ The simple peace sign on my knuckle was a random spur of the moment gift I walked away with when I got my Bright Eyes quote touched up.
→ The tattoo that is the most complicated to explain is the barcode on the back of my neck. It's meant to symbolize the human right to be regarded as more than just a number, or a statistic. That was inspired by another Bright Eyes song: "We must memorize nine numbers and deny we have a soul."
→ Recently I added my latest edition; my Great Gatsby tattoo. The Great Gatsby has always been one of my favorite novels. The face is the image from the cover of the book, with my favorite quote written inside.

Last weekend I went to a tattoo convention in Chicago, and the urge to keep 'em coming is overwhelming!

////////////////

Thanks, Gina, you're the best!

Happy Sunday, y'all!

RV Dreams

I'm not sure If I've ever explained my deep, deep love for Christopher McCandless or Into The Wild on my blog, but I love them both dearly, and if you know me at all in real life, this probably isn't news to you since I talk about them and reference them so often. The book and the movie are both incredible (which is really rare!). I think I've read the book three or four times and have definitely seen the movie at least 10 times, and I don't think that's an exaggeration. I've watched it with different friends and family members throughout the years and each time I love it a little bit more. I won't go into it too much right now; I'll save that for another post, but I truly admire Christopher, and want so badly to drop everything I'm doing sometimes and head West...

I've been daydreaming about buying an old RV (or Kombi! ♥), completely gutting it, redecorating it, and hitting the road for a few months to explore the country.

Ah, wouldn't it be lovely?

I can totally see myself behind the wheel of one of these little guys, windows down, sunglasses on, hair flying in the wind, listening to songs like Big Jet Plane, Swingset Chain, Your Rocky Spine, and One Red Thread on repeat.

Source: flickr.com via Derek on Pinterest

Source: guardian.co.uk via Terry on Pinterest

Source: josevillablog.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Source: yourhomeislovely.blogspot.com via Tonya on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Gene on Pinterest

Source: guardian.co.uk via Terry on Pinterest

Source: pinterest.com via Vina on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Terry on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Beti on Pinterest

I've traveled the west coast once before on a month long camping trip in high school. We took two vans and camped under the stars in a different national park every night. It was an amazing experience and I definitely have the itch to do it again.

Source: Uploaded by user via Emily on Pinterest

Ah, yes. Maybe someday...

My Valentine

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Have a great weekend!

March Photo-A-Day

I unsuccessfully participated in the March Photo-A-Day challenge, but I didn't fail completely!

Here are the photos I remembered to take:

1. Up - I was sick in bed this day. Sad, sad!

2. Fruit - My friend forgot her leftover Pink Berry in my freezer... ;)

3. Your Neighborhood - A lovely day in DC with Andrew, Nasser and Hamad.

4. Bedside - (Andrew's bedside.)

5. A Smile - Wisconsin friends came to visit! Here we are at the Lincoln Memorial.

6. 5PM - Andrew met Levar Burton at SXSW in Texas! I was SO excited when he sent me this photo!

7. Something You Wore - A simple dress to work.

8. Window - Eastern Market in DC. Sooo much to look at!

9. Red - Sierra playing with her squeaky bone.

10. Loud - A pretty loud statement made by the beautiful Frida Kahlo. Kendal & I checked out a special Frida exhibit in Virginia this day. We loved it!

11. Someone You Talked To Today - Kendal! We shared a vegan pizza from a place we love in Virginia called Lost Dog Cafe.

12. Fork - I promise I don't eat my pickles with a fork...

13. A Sign - My life, in bus speak.

14. Clouds - Gloomy day.

15. Sunglasses - Andrew was confused and not pleased when I made him wear these for a photo. :)

16. Green - Spring tights!

17. A Corner Of Your Home - (Andrew's home!)

18. Funny - Chris about to devour a giant slice of Lemon Meringue pie from our favorite diner.

19. Delicious - A yummy gift I received after partnering with a company on my blog.

20. An Animal - My beautiful kitty, Mia!

21. Feet - On my way to see Fiona Apple!! It was a great show. She's my favorite lady.

22. Toy - An early birthday gift from a friend who went to Korea recently.

23. Breakfast - Kashi's Strawberry Fields!

24. Where You Relax - In bed with a book. :)

I only made it to 24 (and cheated a little bit here and there) but I'm determined and WILL finish a whole month at some point... Mark my words!

xo,

Amanda

Vintage Dresses!

Kendal did some modeling for me yesterday so I could add some dresses to my Etsy shop.

We used to do this for each other years ago when we lived together in Milwaukee and ran an eBay store together. Somehow, that was over five years ago... It's crazy how much time has passed!

It's nice having a friend who will put up with your strange requests and not complain once.

(This was our second attempt. I wasn't happy with the photos the first time around, so I made her do it all over again in a different spot. This is why I love her!)

I hope to add even more items to my shop very soon. :)

xo,

Amanda

The Power of Introverts

Susan Cain is definitely my newest hero.

Immediately after watching this 20 minute video I found on TED, I went to Amazon and purchased her book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking."

How perfect is that title??

I've been an introvert my entire life, and there has never been a time where I felt it was okay to be this way. Since childhood, I've been encouraged non-stop to be more outgoing, to speak up, to not be so shy, to not look so sad, to join in on more group activities, to go to more parties, etc. I was never allowed to just be. If you weren't an extrovert, then obviously there was something wrong with you.

"Doesn't participate," is something I'm sure teachers wrote on my report cards quite often growing up. This "problem" even continued on into college. A professor emailed me once to inform me that if I didn't start "participating" in class discussions, I wouldn't be passing her class, since apparently 50% of my grade was participation. Ha! Imagine that. Half of my grade in that class was to sit in a big circle and tell a room full of people my opinion about whatever it was we were discussing. (It was a Women's Studies class, so more than half the time, we were talking about food or George Clooney or something equally as pointless and we rarely opened our textbooks.)

I just couldn't make sense of that.

It would be different if it was a public speaking class and I was refusing to do my assignments, but that simply wasn't the case. I don't think I gained or learned anything from taking that class, and I was punished for being who I am on top of it.

I don't want to stray too far from my point here. I could write an entire book going over all the times I've been unfairly singled out, pointed out, punished by a superior, or made fun of by my "equals" for being too quiet, but I'll save that for another time.

While I do think I'm getting "better" at being social and talking to people the older I get, I'm still very much an introvert.

I have a blog which seems like something an extrovert would do rather than an introvert, but I've found that to be quite the opposite. I read a lot of blogs by girls who claim to be just like me, which is probably why I love my little blogging community so much. Call me dorky, but it's true!

We aren't able to express ourselves openly the way extroverts do, so we have little spaces of our own, like public diaries almost, where we share our thoughts and ideas in a more open, yet private kind of way. I can sit alone and write for hours and let my brain spew out what I'm thinking, but I can't seem to do the same in person, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

I constantly feel the need to share my life, but it's always in the soft spoken sort of way. I don't go out of my way to tell strangers all about my life in person, but I do welcome them to visit me here if they're interested to learn more about me.

Now, this isn't to say I don't enjoy one-on-one chats with people, because I certainly do! I think getting to know people is great, and sharing interests is fun, and I can definitely be goofy and outgoing when I'm around people I feel comfortable with, but I don't think I'll ever consider myself to be an extrovert, no matter how hard I feel I've tried.

Anyway, what Susan talks about in this video, is how we need to make the world more accommodating for introverts and stop punishing them for not being extroverts.

She touches on a lot of things I've wondered about and struggled with all my life, and I'm so glad I found her. Finally - someone telling me it's OKAY to be shy. What a relief! I wish I could give her a great big hug. I can't wait to read her book!

Please take 20 minutes out of your day to watch this video!

Are you more of an extrovert or an introvert?

Birthday Weekend

It's always a little awkward when you know certain people know it's your birthday but they choose to say nothing intentionally. I suppose that is life, though. People come and go. Some choose to stay, and others don't. Some care enough to be a part of your life, and others drift away. There really isn't much you can do about it. You must simply say, "The hell with 'em," and continue on... And I must admit it's getting easier every day.

Regardless, I had a wonderful birthday, and I love my friends. This was my first year being away from everyone and it was hard, but the friends I have here made my day an enjoyable one and for that, I am thankful.

Andrew and I checked out the Titanic exhibit on Saturday in DC.

They had actual props from the movie which was cool. The wall Andrew is standing in front of was used in the movie. They also had a cherub from the grand staircase, as well as a huge model replica of the ship.

After that, we headed to Georgetown and shopped a little bit.

I snapped a picture of myself quickly in the dressing room wearing my new dress from Emerging Thoughts. (I won it in the Skunkboy Creatures giveaway last week!)

And of course we had to get cupcakes!

Andrew took me out to dinner Friday AND Saturday night because he's just that sweet.

THEN he cooked one of my favorite meals on Sunday night. ♥ It was a delicious food packed weekend.

He also took videos of me throughout the day yesterday and put together a little birthday movie. It was really cute. I love him!

Here are a couple of stills:

I posted about this dress in the past here. I basically fell in love with it the minute I saw it at Anthropologie, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on it. (Even with my discount! Ugh!)

I really didn't think I'd ever get it, but my parents were sneaky and sent Kendal a check so she could go buy it! I unwrapped it while I was Skyping with them. I was very, very surprised, and so happy! They're the best.

I had a great weekend, and am so grateful for the wonderful people I'm fortunate enough to have in my life. :)