living heavy//travelling light

Hello again.

Excuse, if you will, the chorus of crickets that have consumed this blog these last few months.

Truth be told, I almost never made my way back here and even now it feels a little like I'm trying on an old dress that doesn't quite fit any more.

For a while there it seemed like life and it's wicked sense of humor had been pulling some of it's best moves to trip me up and send me out of step with the music. I let a few key events get the better of me until I literally stooped beneath the sad & sorry personal rain cloud I was totin'.

My bad run culminated in the death of my beloved Nana Kitty on Sunday who was, and will ever be, my hero. 

Coming back to Ireland for the funeral has slid all of my bad luck into a new perspective and I realize that any heart sickness I might feel now will somehow, over time, evolve into the footnote to a new, and happier, tale.

During a particularly rotten week when I was ready to crack some skulls my family whisked me away with them for a few days in Weymouth on the South coast of England. It's incredible what a dose of sea breeze, fresh, salty lungfuls of air and several rounds of tea and crab sandwiches can do for the bluest of the blues.

So here's to wiping the slate clean, picking myself up after yet another tumble, and finding comfort in old dresses.

tuesday pretty

"Autumn is a second Spring,

when every leaf is a flower"

~ Albert Camus

Sources 1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8//9//10//11

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."
~L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Sources 1//2//3//4//5//6//7//8//9//10

so it goes.

Yesterday was a seasonal flues blues, red nosed, mooch around in my pajamas all day kind of day. With a little rock n roll and needle n thread action for good balance.

It kicked off around 7.30am with breakfast and a side order of Velvet Underground.

I had to make a quick run to the doctor in Itaewon and scooped up some Campbells tomato soup from the international food mart on my way home to rustle up the perfect under the weather comfort food lunch: tomato soup with grilled cheese and avocado sandwiches.

I was feeling fancy so I threw some cinnamon in with soup and it tasted just like Fall in a bowl ^^

By 7pm I was still a mess of achoos and balled up tissues so I air kissed Dallas goodbye as he left for a night out with our friends and sat cross legged on the apartment floor for the next 5 hours finishing this canvas stitch project while watching Janis Joplin get high and jam with the Grateful Dead in Festival Express.

I'm tickled pink with how this turned out. Dallas and I scratched our head for hours over what quote we wanted to add-trading and dismissing lyrics, Wes Anderson and even Adventure Time quotes.

But then I remembered this quote from one of my favorite novels; Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut and knew it was perfect: "So it goes".

I love how in three simple words it delivers such a powerful message of peace and acceptance with life. 

There's no real tutorial to go with this craft. All you need is a canvas, needle and thread and preferably the flu to give you Saturday night off and the long hours needed for it's completion!

Peace, love and all that good stuff.

x

3 Little Things

Good Tuesday Morning to you all!

I kind of fell under the weather and off the map over the last week and a half but now I'm bouncing back and no longer under the weather- I'm all over the weather!

I would describe myself as a Spring/Summer kind of gal normally but I "fall" more and more in love with Fall as the years tick by.

I love that crisp, clean smell the air gets as the temperature starts to dip, crunching through leaves the trees gave up overnight on my morning walk to school.... and planning and conspiring with Dallas about Halloween costumes.

This week's 3 Little Things are dedicated to all the Fall things that have helped this little lass return back to her former self this week....

1. Leaf Art

Big thanks to this blog post for giving me this incredible idea for using all those beautiful crunchy scattered leaves outside to decorate your inside.

Remember my last 3 Little Things I was wishing I could keep the leaves I'd gathered for my Kindie art class and use them at home? This idea was my perfect opportunity to return to our park and scavenge for the perfect sized and shaped leaves for the project.

I enjoy leaf hunting far more than I should and I must have looked a sight. I could see the thought bubbles appearing from every staring Koreans head..."Why is that alien stuffing dirty ground leaves into that Hello Kitty shopping bag??"

I had such fun painting these saturday evening and I think the end result turned out just swell.

If you guys want to try this at home here is a tip for you~ microwave your leaves for 30 seconds before painting them. This will preserve them and prevent them from going moldy ^^

2. Leaves as big as your face

I swear I never saw Autumn leaves this big growing up in England.

That can't be true. I think I just never noticed before. 

The older I get the more open my eyes have become nature's transformations throughout the seasons. 

And how truly beautiful they are.

3. Giant pumpkins

I found these monsters hanging out on the pavement around the corner from our apartment.

How bad did I want to pinch one and harvest a month's supply of pumpkin bread/muffins/ spiced lattes?

Really bad.

But I sufficed with a quick snap and a backwards glance as I continued my strolling.

What are your favorite things about Fall?

Do tell!

cinnamon & spice

 At some point in the last week Fall was no longer just in the air and it literally fell upon us. I officially realized this yesterday morning when I happened upon this enormous beautiful burnt orange leaf on the sidewalk on my way to school. My secret dreams for a long Indian summer have now been brushed aside in the wake of burnt & crispy tree trinkets raining down on the streets outside.

Nature's color palette is informing me we are no longer in the in-betweeny stage of the two seasons....no,  vivid greens and olives have given way to vibrant oranges, brown sugars and honey yellows.

 Tomato soup and long sleeved cardigan weather is upon us and I say it's about time I embraced it!

 Saturday offered a warm but brief sanctuary from the crispy autumn air and the sun stayed out long enough for me to enjoy a morning break in Itaewon. I managed to find the High Street Market store which has been on my go-to list for the longest time and it didn't disappoint in the least. Imagine every comfort food from home you'd given up ever expecting to find in Korea. It's all here. Deli meat, sour cream, hummus, red velvet cake, sun dried tomatoes. The (Western) girl behind the counter was so warm and frendly and even told me to suggest to her anything I can't find and they will try to get it in (hello dark chocolate with sea salt).

I ordered a latte and I finally managed to try a vegan muffin made by Mipa from the Alien's Day Out blog. Simply delicious! 

I left with a bottle of almond milk and hopped over to the international food mart to pick up some spices for an extra special recipe I will be posting very soon. Let the title of this post be your clue, haha!

After Itaewon I hopped, skipped and jumped (I took the subway will just never sound as fun) to Hongdae for lunch with the boy and a trip to the Homi Art Shop for some craft supplies. I have several projects up my sleeve which I'm looking forward to sharing with you.

& finally, speaking of sleeves, Dallas very sweetly put together a CD compilation for my Pop's birthday and here I designed a sleeve for the CD case. Here it is, it's called 'Howling at the Moon' and the teepee sketch has me ten shades of itching to get one tattooed somewhere on my person.

                                                                    Happy Fall friends!