23 June 2009

"Is this heaven?"

"No, it's Iowa."









one month until i return to the homeland for a short visit. i love love love living in hawaii, but there's just no place like home.
[photos: 1,4,6,7,8,9 Todd Ehlers; 2,3,5 mine! check out Mr. Ehlers' stunning set on flickr: beautiful iowa]

20 June 2009

grab onto the ankles of happiness and not let go until it drags you face-first out of the dirt

A little while back, I was visiting a career counselor for advice on what the heck to do with my life. (I still have no clue. I am just not as concerned about figuring it all out right now.) And as we discussed what things I valued most, aesthetics always came to the top of the list.

As Katie said one day, "Erika just likes pretty things!"
Although at first I wanted to shy away from that claim -- it seems so shallow and...unrealistic! And ridiculous! -- upon further contemplation I have decided there is nothing shameful about loving what is beautiful and desiring to surround yourself with it. There's just something about beauty that breaks your heart and stitches it back together at the same time. Beauty can lighten the darkest of days and offer comfort when all seems hideous and hopeless. I am a firm believer that there is beauty and wonder in everything this world has to offer. And I want to enjoy it all.


"In a world of disorder and disaster and fraud, sometimes only beauty can be trusted. Only artistic excellence is incorruptible. Pleasure cannot be bargained down. And sometimes the meal is the only currency that is real.

To devote yourself to the creation and enjoyment of beauty, then, can be a serious business -- not always a means of escaping reality, but sometimes a means of holding on to the real when everything else is flaking away into...rhetoric and plot...

You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight."

"This is not selfishness, but obligation."
Thanks Liz. Eat, Pray, Love. An old favourite. Definitely a must read.

17 June 2009

project time


i want to make some of these! art night? soon?

except who says they have to be black and white? hows abouts a splash of color in there?

hokay! sounds great!

p.s. thank you to ting for showing me color me katie!

16 June 2009

the dicks



So at first I meant for this post to be an ode to real life freckles, but somewhere along the line it turned into an ode to my dear sweet family. So here's some random photos I found on my hard drive and a few little tidbits about the fambam. Meet the Dicks:

oh. that's me. this was originally in here because it showcases a few of my frecklies that have pretty much disappeared since the hawaiian sun kissed my skin. See?
Next is Nicole:
Nicole is such a ham. This was taken the summer before my senior year of high school -- so it's a bit old -- but this encapsulates Princess Nicole Marie. She's a lady, alright! And she will sure let you know it! She's the sweetest soul and is going to make an incredible mother; she mothers everyone and everything, always has. Just be careful when she bakes cookies for you. One disaster batch (with 1/4 c. of salt) has become the family joke.

This is Danielle! She's the goofiest of the bunch. She's super smart, super motivated, and super loud. Danielle brings a whole new energy level when she comes home. Even though neither of us can remember one another until her senior year of high school (it's weird), we've been super close ever since then. Danielle always says I'm the smart one, Nicole is the sweet one, and she is the one who farts on command. I think that pretty much sums her up.

And here's my Mama, Mary Lu:
Isn't she lovely? My mother is one of the most fascinating individuals I have ever met. You'd think I'd have her figured out after spending months in her belly and the next 18 years under her roof, but she is always surprising me. She is the young actress/dancer/cheerleader turned parole officer/prison inmate counselor/state penitentiary treatment director. Pretty intense. But she's so goofy and sarcastic and loves adventure novels from African safaris and she knows anything and everything about mountain climbing. She exercises all the time but can still enjoy a pan of brownies on Sunday evening. She takes pleasure in small delights and loves learning new things. She's always giving away what she has. She loves everyone so much! And she's just as lovely now as when she was young.
Oh Papa. Meet Jim. James. This is the man who gave me my eyes, nose, lips, ears, hands and feet (i know that sounds weird, but my dad has great feet! and ours match almost perfectly...mine being more feminine though of course), and my sense of humor. He is the youngest soul I've ever met. And as equally fascinating as my mother. He is the high school and college sports star turned art major/teacher/principal/superintendent. My dad loves kids so much. He is such a kid! He is one of the most well-balanced individuals I've ever met and he never stops learning. He can go from watching three hours of football to watching a musical and crying shamelessly. He reads books and then breaks out the power tools. And he's got the biggest, kindest heart. He's always worrying about so-and-so and just wants everyone to be happy.

Aren't they just the cutest? They are so in love.

bahhahah! oh nicole! her crazy curls and big glasses. so great!

and danielle the dancer.

check out that feast! no wonder my dad looks so sleepy/happy.

Mary Lu and Danielle
oh easter morning photos.

who is that cool cat?

what a fox, mom!
oh fambam. i will see you in five weeks!

15 June 2009

more love for the day

freckles.
check out this amazing post of the lovliest freckled faces i've ever seen

it's love, not santa claus

I am wasting time this morning.

Usually (well, "usual" as last week) by this time I have read my scriptures, eaten breakfast, laid around, exercised, and am on my way to shower.

Today I have yet to leave my bed (besides the trip to the kitchen to bring my breakfast back to bed).

Maybe I'm just basking in the fact that it is summer. Maybe I am finally catching up on all the sleep I missed and my body is relishing the soft bed, cool fan, and warm sun. Maybe I just love the contentness radiating from the pit of my belly as I revel in all of the possibility and anticipation building in the clouds and the blue sky. Maybe I just love the way summer makes me feel like a kid again -- full of energy and excitement and in awe of the simplest things. Maybe the key is to surround myself with people who give me the summer-effect -- thank goodness I already have amazing friends who do that for me.

Maybe I just can't get enough of this blog: le love or this one: rockstar diaries
I've followed them both for months upon months. What can I say, I'm a hopeless romantic.

As much as I complain about how everyone I know is getting married, I couldn't be happier. Maybe I just love seeing people in love. That spark is contagious! I love the peace and utter glee that just oozes from lovely lovers of loving love (Aquabats, anyone?).

Maybe I really want to see this movie:


Maybe because I've been a sucker for Joseph Gordon-Levitt since 3rd Rock from the Sun, and I can't get enough of a man in a sweater vest. And maybe I have a girl crush on Zooey Deschanel. And I may also happen to love The Smiths and Regina Spektor. And Sundance. Sun. Dance.

Maybe I just love summer. And maybe I just love love (or the idea of love?).

And maybe it's time to get out of bed.

14 June 2009

some day

Okay, so a few of you already know how much I love Urban Outfitters apartment stuffs. Here is further proof of my adoration and a few dream pieces for a dream house. Some day I will be a real person and live in a real house.... Some day.


























let's be roommies?