my summer has officially begun

Yes, yes, yes. My aunt and I are driving down to Southern California today for a family get-together. I am so excited! I'm bringing my laptop so hopefully I will be able to blog from there. Or at least share some photos. And oh, don't you just love this tote? I saw it via A Cup of Jo and it was love at first sight! I might just break my self-imposed shopping hiatus for this one, what do you think? (You can buy it here).

bastille day

Yesterday was Bastille Day and there were small celebrations all over the city. I didn't know about it until my friend greeted us a bon 14 Juillet. I have visitors from out of town and we spent the afternoon walking everywhere. We walked up the Filbert Steps to Coit Tower and saw this dog. I was cracking up when my friend Anne said, Oh, he must be French, he's wearing a striped shirt.


Come to think of it, I was also wearing a striped shirt, skinny jeans, ballet flats and a light scarf --- unconsciously dressing like a French girl, perhaps? The best part was walking by a Bastille Day party on our way back to their hotel. They were serving crepes and cupcakes and playing Edith Piaf songs in the background. Further down, there was a gorgeous couple kissing passionately in the middle of the sidewalk and we all smiled when we heard someone said, "wow, that's just like a movie." The scene reminded me of this famous photo by Robert Doisneau, it was oh-so-romantic and so French.

keats and a field of flowers

I just learned about the movie Bright Star (via lumiere) and oh my, the film stills look absolutely stunning. I know very little about Keats and I must admit that I tend to avoid reading 18th century romantic poetry, but I do remember really loving Ode to a Nightingale when I was still in high school. The movie is based on the love affair between Keats and Fanny Brawne and received great reviews at the Cannes Film Festival.

P.S. Here's a short clip from the film. Can you imagine reading Keats' letter in a field of flowers? Ah, I think my knees would buckle too.

happy 4th of july!

Wishing you a bright and colorful weekend!
{oh how i LOVE the patterns of these origami papers}

my summer reading list

"...if you want to get high, don't drink whiskey; read Shakespeare, Tennyson, Keats, Neruda, Millay, Whitman, aloud and let your body sing."--Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones

I'm re-reading some of my favorites. Thank you, SF Public Library.

the poem store

I was tired and hot and about to tear my hair out during last Sunday's Pride Parade when I saw this man and his little poem store. Watching him type away a poem on his old beat-up typewriter amidst all the chaos that was going on around him was like a breath of fresh air.

Just to give you an idea of how thick the crowd was, here is a shot of one stage (and there were many stages) at the Civic Center where the parade ended. Finding this lone poet in the crowd was such a wonderful surprise. I wondered how much he charged for each poem or if he was giving them away for free.

where the light is

This is my favorite coffee shop in the city. I love it for so many reasons, but mostly because on sunny afternoons, the light falls so beautifully here, turning everything it touches into something so sweet I could stare at them forever --- the froth on my latte, the pages of my journal, the chair cushion prints, the paintings on the wall, the single white rose on each table -- even the view from my window is lovely.

This last picture is my favorite. I saw these two happily scribbling away in their own tables and I was secretly rooting for them to be together. It was like a scene out of a movie and I couldn't help myself, I thought that they'd make a gorgeous couple. Isn't it funny how you see certain people and start to imagine what their story could be like?