Longwood Gardens

Yesterday, since it was my mom's and my day off work and it was my brother's first day of summer vacation, the three of us took a spontaneous trip to Longwood Gardens.  The entrance fee is pretty cheap, especially since my brother and I both got discounted tickets for being students, and we spent about five hours wandering through the gardens, the trails, and the conservatory.

I, of course, took plenty of photos.

 

This was the "Whispering Bench".  Because of the way it's built and some other things that I don't quite understand, a person sitting on one side of the bench can hear a person on the other clearly when they're only whispering.  Theoretically, as my brother put it, "it's a great tool for eves-dropping"!

 

Of course, these aren't nearly even half of the photos, but Blogger only lets me upload one photo at a time, so I just posted some of my favorites. :)

How has your week been, loves?  Anything exciting going on?

<3 Kiersten

Watcha Reading?

Hey guys!  So I think I'm going to start using Saturdays to post what I'm reading, and talk about it.  I read compulsively, and last night almost had a panic attack at the mere thought of the Nook and how it's going to be the death of book stores.  I love owning books, being able to fill a bookshelf with them and hold them while I'm reading them.  I love being able to stack the books I plan to read in a pile next to my bed.  I love wandering through Barnes & Noble reading the backs of  every book that catches my fancy.  I dream of one day being able to stack the books that I (hopefully) write on a shelf in my office, and saying to people "These are my books!". 

Ok, enough of that rambling.  

 image from here

Right now I am in between books.  I just finished reading The Help a couple of days ago, and since I haven't been able to start a new one yet (and that one is amazing) I'm going to write about it!

I know you've all probably seen the commercials for the movie.  Well, I'm one of those people who likes to read the book first, and I had also heard from a reliable source that the book was wonderful.  

Well, you know those books that keep you up at night reading them?  The Help was one of those books, and it's been a while since I've had a book like that!  I stayed up till past midnight every night for a couple days just reading that book, and almost missed the bus on Thursday because I couldn't put it down

I don't want to tell you too much about the book before you read it, but it's about Jackson, Mississippi during segregation.  The book centers on black women working for white families, and one white girl who decides to get their side of the story.  It's told from 3 different points of view, which makes reading it plenty more interesting than one omniscient viewpoint!  

So what are you reading right now, loves?  Any suggestions?  I think I'm going to start on Water For Elephants next!

<3 Kiersten 

Hey guys!  

So now that I'm finally back after my break, I'm moving my Weekly Grateful post to Thursdays (doesn't it sound better anyway - Thankful Thursdays?), which makes today Day 1!  If you haven't seen anybody talking about something like this before, and you're interested check out the link above, or the link on my sidebar to go to the blog where it started!

-getting to see good friends from school

-places like Pheonixville

-bookstores that do still exist.  Most of them are privately owned, which means a lot fewer books, but it's better than using the Nook!

-strawberries

-really good books that keep me up all night reading (I just finished The Help and it's the first book in a while that's had that affect on me!)

-sunglasses

How about you, loves?  What are you thankful for this week?  Link me up if you decide to join us, and don't forget to drop by Love, Life, Lace too!

<3 Kiersten

 

Maroon 5 and Spring Cleaning

For as long as I can remember, my parents have held the mantra, upon hearing some new song on the radio targeted towards my generation, that there just isn't a band that will hold through the years the way there was when they were kids.  And maybe that's true - I can't debate that none of the bands I listen to are on the same level as The Beatles were and still are.  At the same time though,  I have a feeling that my grandparents held Sinatra in a higher regard than John Lennon.
Every so often a mood will hit me to listen to Maroon 5.  They're all I'll be able to listen to for a couple of days, and today was one of those days.  I spent most of my day cleaning, and in the background my iTunes played their most recent CD, as well as one so old that they went under the name Kara's Flowers.  I've loved Maroon 5 for as long as I've been listening to music, really. And I doubt that that will change.
Now I'm sure that not everyone feels the same way as I do about This Love and Never Gonna Leave This Bed, but they're a band that I'll certainly remember as being a large part of my childhood.
Okay, so I guess this post is trying to make a very shallow and basic topic much more deep than it is, but I'm listening to my iTunes as I write this, and it's what came to mind to write about.

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Like I said - I spent a large portion of my day today cleaning my room and doing laundry.  I even went so far as to organize my bookshelf (it's small, and doesn't hold even a third of the books I own.  But honestly I just have a thing for bookshelves) - an organizational strategy that may even confuse the Vatican at first, and a few minutes ago Kitty was taking her first peak around the room.  It hasn't been this clean since I graduated last June and started getting ready for college (constantly in a state of packing and unpacking over the last 12 months).  She seemed confused by the state of things and quickly demanded that I let her out of the room. Personally though, I like it.  I know that in less than a couple of months the room will be chaos and nearly empty again as I pack up all my things to go back to school in the fall, but for now I'm enjoying it.
What did you guys do today?  Anything exciting?  I'd love to hear about it!!
<3 Kiersten 

I'm back :)

Hello loves!
I'm finally back from my hiatus (albeit a little later than expected), and I'm pretty excited about it.  There were days where I really wanted to write on here, but life got in the way.  
As for the 365 Project that I mentioned restarting in June, I think I'm going to put that on hold.  My most recent attempt at it certainly wasn't my first, and for right now I think I need to take a break from it and figure out what it is I need to do in order to ensure that I actually finish it.  Any suggestions?  
Anyways, summer has been good to me so far.  Although I haven't gotten too much done (especially with that 2-week lock-in as a result of my unidentified illness) but the weather has been gorgeous, and I've gotten to see some good friends that I haven't seen in what seems like forever (and has actually only been a  few months at most, but still)  And with 3 months left, I'm sure I'll get a bunch of great things done!  How are all your summers going? I'd really love to hear about them!
And finally (for this post at least) Bethany over at Rinse. Repeat. is having a great giveaway in honor of her birthday - a 50$ Anthropologie gift card. Awesome, right?  So head on over there and follow her to get your chances in! 
And that's all for tonight, guys!  
<3 Kiersten 
PS.  What do you think of the new layout?  I made it a couple days ago, and I'm still not entirely sure how to feel about it.  Let me know what you think in the comment box, please! :) 

Weekly Gratitude

I know, I know - I've been slacking lately.  I think it's been a couple weeks since I've written a gratitude post, and even though I'm feeling pretty gross and not thankful for anything right now, I want to make this list. (good karma, right?)

So, if you're interested, check out the girl who came up with Weekly Gratitude posts here!

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*Friends.  I have been stuck in the house for a week, and talking to friends has made that less reminiscent of what Emily Dickinson's life was probably like.*

*Soup!  It has become a staple in my diet over the past few days since I can't really eat much else*

*Gilmore Girls.  And the fact that I own every season.*

*Really good books that I could read a hundred times and still love.  Like Practical Magic*, for instance.*

How about you, loves?  What are you thankful for this week?  And if you do decide to post about it, make sure to link me and Love Life Lace up! :)

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*I saw the movie before I read the book.  I know - sacrilege!  But as a child, it was the movie my best friend and I watched at every single sleep over, and I think it's safe to say that that movie is what cemented my love of Nicole Kidman.  

But we were always book lovers, both of us, and so when we found it that it was a book first we of course had to read it. And read it again, and again, and again. I love the idea of magic like that, but that's a story for another time.  

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<3 Kiersten

Prom and Other Springy Things

Last night was my brother's Junior Prom, and I got to go along to take photos of him, his date, and their friends before they left. 

So of course, I couldn't resist a shot or two of him getting ready...

For some reason, I really liked the idea of a picture like this (I'm probably just weird...)

I also have a love of black and white photos/candid photos - which makes this one of my favorite photos from the day (although half of them are smiling and watching the camera lens) 

And his bootaneer (how do you spell that?).  

I'm weary of putting photos of other people on my blog - especially people who aren't my family, so that's all from that :)

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In some other news - because I haven't been keeping up with my 365 over the past couple of weeks (finals and being sick have made that kind of difficult), I think that I'm going to restart the project in June.  (Hopefully by then this thing will have run its course)  What do you guys think?

Until then, here are some other photos I took yesterday.

So how are you guys?  Enjoying the spring?

<3 Kiersten