spring in seattle

This last weekend is what keeps people living in Seattle. There is, in my humble opinon, no better place to live than in Seattle when it's sunny. If you haven't been here on a sunny day - you'll have to trust me on this one - and come visit sometime soon :) You can see the mountains, hear the water, and smell every single flowering plant. I love it.

I think spent ~80% of my waking hours this weekend outside. Yesterday, I spent all morning outside at the Tulip Festival and then came home and took a nap in the park by my home. Don't worry, I'm liberally applying sunscreen. Not that I'll ever get rid of my bike shorts line from last summer, but hopefully my ears stay a normal color! Today, I biked 13 miles around Mercer Island (though we didn't stop, so no pictures to share), played a game of Ultimate - where we pulled out a win after being down 7-2 at halftime - and went to church in a very sun-filled building.

I love the sun. It's a good thing I want a career in solar energy :)

apparently, I've been to Tulip Town before - when I was maybe 6? You can't tell, but that is a Minnie Mouse sweater underneath that awesome hot pink jacket. and don't forget the floral blue and pink pants with matching bow! Pretty sure my mom made those for me :)

Clearly, I am now significantly taller than the tulips. And it is awkward to try to stand amongst the tulips. (photo credit: Stephanie Rubesh)

Yep. Definitely the same Tulip Town. I have a pic somewhere of my parents and me with this same sign.

the moon is out

{ via }

"Where are the people?" resumed the little prince at last. "It's a little lonely in the desert..."

- The Little Prince

dream design

I've always been a fan of a modern, minimalist design when it can be acheived without losing warmth in a home. Recently I found one of my favorite spaces via a roommate's house sitting job, but as a 2.5 million dollar house is out of the question, I'll have to settle for creating my own space someday. Another friend passed along the following space (found on Apartment Therapy, but apparently she's met one of the people who live there, maybe)

I'm not a fan of the cluttered cottage look (though I'll be the first to admit that my personal room is perpetually messy) so this space was just beautiful to me. The warm woods, floor-to-celling bookcases, and the fantastic artwork - especially the origami tessellations - are some of my favorite aspects.

{more pictures here}

#tallgirlproblems

oh, how I love the internet. found this entire tumblr supporting tall women. granted, many of those who write in to the tumblr are shorter than I am, I completely identify with so many of the stories and 'tall girl problems'.

Ironically, I've always wanted to be 6', yet it has taken me a little while to be totally comfortable with my height. I'm sure that some of my height issues were compounded when I found out that I was passed over for a lead role in a ballet near the end of high school because there was no guy tall enough to partner me. (Kali - my dance history may be part of the reason I'm not willing to date guys shorter than me?)

 

between 6th and 7th grade, I had giant growth spurt - but first my feet grew from a 9-11. lets just say that the local shoe store did not have girls sketchers in my size. 

yep. done. 

story of last week. I really wanted a pair of the close-fitting, cropped running pants, yet every pair hit mid-knee, not below my knee :(

every. single. time. I visit NYC. so glad I live in a city where natives don't use umbrellas.

I wouldn't say I have no athletic capabilities...but yeah. hand-eye coordination is not my thing.

tights save everything / I make my own clothing that fits. 

true story: family road trip consisted of 62 hours in the back seat of a suburban and I messed up my right knee enough to require two sessions of PT.

unless I wear my awesome new heels that force me to walk in slow motion. It's a very strange sensation.

it's happend. more than once. this one is newer though, so I'm still not as used to it.

this one happens more than I'd like - it's one of my least favorite aspects of being tall / wearing heels.

and the exit row seats don't recline. #firstworldproblem for sure.

I could go on and on and on - so many appropriate #tallgirlproblems :)

stuck with sore feet

One of the trickiest parts of my daily decision making is what shoes to wear. You laugh? Sure. But truly, I often feel like shoes 'complete' an outfit and so I'm always frustrated with my somewhat limited shoe choices when I've worked so hard to pick out the rest of my outfit.

Limited shoes choices? again, I'm sure you laugh if you know me - yes, I own ~15 pairs of Nine West heels. (not sure how many I own in total) - but I don't own many good flats, appropriate for the lab. I don't like wearing jeans everyday, but I also don't have a ton of flat, closed-toe shoes that cover the entire top part of my foot. Toms come close, but generally I wear my poor pair of oxfords or my chucks when I'm headed to the lab. So, I've been on the hunt lately for a pair of tennis shoes that are low profile, give decent support for standing on my feet all day, but I can get away with wearing slacks with. i.e. - not a brightly colored nike tennis shoe.

I tried a puma shoe earlier this year that I ordered online, but that didn't work out so well :( This time I decided to go to Nordstroms, where I could get help from knowledgable shoe-people and have long/thin options (I have weird feet). I thought I had a great shoe with this Ecco Vibration II:

but after wearing it in this morning - it is not going to work. at all. 

let's just say that this post is a consequence of this shoes. I can't currently put shoes on. And as I don't keep flip flops and the like at school, I can't even walk to the bus, so I can't get home. My heels have lost large amounts of skin and even with bandaids I can't put any shoes on :( 

The worst part is that I was supposed to do work in the lab today, but as I can't put shoes on, I can't do that. And it was sunny out today, so I would have loved to go to a building with windows, but I can't since I can't put shoes on. Ugh. So now, I'm stuck at school waiting to be rescued by my sister.

Needless to say, these shoes are being returned ASAP. possibly tonight.