emjay's super rad playlist

everyone's doing fall playlists lately. well this is not one of those. these songs don't make me think of any particular season, person, or memory. they just sound good together and make me happy :) enjoy! (because of my blog layout, you'll need to use the pop out player option to see all 16 songs :)

and because playlist.com is lame and doesn't have all the good music out there, this song belongs on the play list...

Scissor Runner by Jenny And Johnny

and this song too...

ps, ms erin sunday...this is that playlist i started making for you like a million years ago.

pss, ashley and casee...this is for you guys too :)

so surreal

on august 29, it's been five years.

five years since the lives of the residents of the mississippi and louisiana gulf coasts were changed forever.

i'd like to take a moment to reflect on those who lost their lives, those who gave their lives to save others, and those who made it through with the strength to rebuild. tornadoes, 25 foot storm surges and 125 mph winds, levee breaks, widespread flooding, an entire city under water...those who were not here and did not experience the phenomenon that was katrina will never truly know the effect it has had on all of us. but these photos tell a story...one that i hope the country will never forget.

five years later you can still see the watermarks on the sides of buildings. five years later, we've come so far, but there is still so much to rebuild, but the spirit of the people is even stronger than before. it is a day we will remember forever.

even though i have a real camera, i ALWAYS use my iphone

greetings from watson, louisiana. (where my parents and sister live) i've been spending a lot of time out here lately :)

people think we're twins...i don't get it.

holy geeze...i remember as a child, time would go by sooooo slooooowwwww. a week felt like a thousand years.

as i've aged, with every year, i've become more and more aware of how time really does do it's own thing. it moves at it's own pace, regardless of how fast or slow you want it to go. it has a mind of it's own, and you're just along for the ride...i'm still not quite sure if i feel like that's a good or bad thing.

regardless, this last month has taught me a lot. i've enjoyed my time "unplugged" from the blogging world. don't get me wrong - i love reading blogs about people's lives and adventures, loves and passions, and i enjoy having a blog so that i can share mine with you! however, there comes a point when you have to realize that living your life is the most important piece...you can share it with others when you find the time, and unfortunately, spare time is something i don't come across often enough :)

with all that said, i want to say thank you to those of you who stick with me through my little (ok, big) blogging hiatuses (is that a word? it is now). i try and make my posts rich, meaningful and interesting, and since i can be so incredibly dull sometimes, i try and leave those parts out.

so what have i been up to this last month you ask? well, i'll tell you...

haven't actually gotten started on the summer goal of reading classic, however i DID find this GORGEOUS copy of pride and predjudice. what?!?

started a blanket :) hoping to finish by the time there's a chill in the air

scored some pretty BA thrifting goodness...

some blue glass ball jars to add to my ever growing collection

a cracker tin JUST LIKE the one my late grandmother had. even though this one did not belong to her, i will treasure it til the day i die. it reminds me so much of afternoons at her house.

my friend tiffany scored me this beautiful crocheted daisy blanket from an estate sale and i got some some new pyrex and vintage wooden thread spools to add to those collections as well

came across the coolest chandelier at z gallerie...it's a pirate ship! i really want it to hang in the corner of my bedroom. for real.

had lots and lots of kitty snuggles

bought this awesome dress. i can't help but to share...it's so comfortable and flattering. i can't wait to pair it with a sweater and tights/boots in the fall/winter...

(holy crap it's time for a hair cut. that crap's getting LONG)

here's a close up of the fabric and pattern

and these babies are now on the wall in my bedroom. i've been eyeballing them for months at UO, but at 40-50 bucks a pop, i just told myself "yeah right." well i had some store credit, and they went on sale for $10 this week. hells yeah.

let's see, what else has been going on? i celebrated a good friend's college graduation, found a new concert buddy (we ran into each other at the spoon concert back in march and have since decided to see all concerts together...i believe we have the black keys and mumford and sons coming up, plus voodoo fest :) )

oh! and i got a promotion :) i now have my very own restaurant and get to run the thing 100% on my own. i'm pretty stoked about it. however, it's going to be a lot of work on the front end to get it to perform at my (incredibly too high) standards, but it will be so rewarding!

lastly, i'll leave you with photos from the balloon festival this past weekend. hot air balloons are so pretty! apologies in advance for the limited amount of photos...i can't get a lot of them to import to my computer :(

have you ever seen a hot air balloon blow up? it starts with just a basket and a pile of nylon on the ground, then slowly but surely, it stands up...the entire process takes a good thirty minutes. here's a video of the last few seconds

cool, right? alrighty, i'll leave you with one last pretty one...this is called a "twinkle glow"

love you guys :)

em

[credit]

holy smokes, i haven't posted in a month. a freaking month.

i really suck at this.

buttttt...i've actually been putting together a pretty big one about some things going on over here in emjay world, plus some gorgeous photos from the hot air balloon festival this weekend. i finally have a day off tomorrow (first one in three weeks) so look for it then! who knows, maybe even tonight (but don't get your hopes up) :)

word to your mother and all that jazz,

em

thunderstorms are for...

snuggling with kitties...







fresh muffins (this one of the pumpkin variety)...



and crochet...





I hope all of my american readers had a wonderful independence day! I'll be back soon with a recap of my summer goals :)

xo
em

ahhh summer...

daiquiri + pool + sunshine = great saturday


now that's a math equation i wouldn't have minded so much in school :)

happy weekend!
em

eight

i've been tagged by the oh-so-lovely carol :) i have to answer the 8 questions she asked me, then make up a new set of 8 questions and tag 8 people to answer them :) here goes!

1. what song is stuck in your head right now? scissor runner stole my heart... well, those are the only words i know so far of jenny lewis' newest music. she's releasing an album with her boyfriend johnny and i've been playing the sneak peek track in itunes on repeat all day :)

2. what's the worst job you've had? honestly, i haven't had a job i hate. i've been with my current job for 7 years, since i was 17. and i lovelovelove what i do. the only other job i ever had was at the local skating rink...and who isn't going to love that???

3. what's your favorite summer activity? that would definitely have to be visits to the snowball stand and swimming at my parents' house :)

4. where would you go if you could go anywhere today? at this moment? springfield, mo. there's this friend i have there that i miss dearly. i wish we lived next door...we'd be great neighbors.

5. what is something that you would love to learn? silversmithing. i want to learn how to make things out of molten metal...it just seems so incredibly interesting and fufilling!

6. do you like thunderstorms or do you get nervous? i *love* thunderstorms. to me, there is nothing better than curling up with a cup of hot tea, a good book, and rolling thunder in the background. plus, thunderstorms create the best sleep. :)

7. do you collect anything? if so, what? i collect vintage pyrex, blue glass ball jars, things with owls on them, and vintage thread (only on wooden spools though).

8. what's your favorite childhood memory? trips to home depot with my grandpa. he is a woodworker among many other things (gardener, homemade wine maker, honey bee farmer - and he's 84!). when i was young, he would pick me up on friday nights and we'd go to home depot together to pick up whatever odds and ends he needed to complete his latest project. afterwards, we'd stop by zackk's yogurt and i'd get a plain frozen yogurt with tiny tarts on top :) i love my grandpa!

ok kiddos...here are my 8 questions for you!

1. what was the first cd you ever owned?

2. boxers or briefs?

3. what five things would you need to survive if stranded on a deserted island?

4. what's the riskiest thing you've ever done?

5. what's your favorite girl scout cookie?

6. what's your number 1 guilty pleasure?

7. where did you go on your very first date?

8. in the song, yankee doodle, is he calling the feather or the horse "macaroni"?

and the 8 people i'm tagging are...

1. erin

2. margot

3. katie

4. danielle

5. tiffany

6. lehua

7. vivs

8. ashley

i tried to pick folks who hadn't already been tagged by someone else. if your name isn't listed, please feel free to play along and leave a link in the comment section to your answers!

hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

em

it's time for another yard sale!

round three brings some pretty big ticket items...

first item:

$28 plus $10 shipping (because of size and weight)

modular wire shelving. the two by two version shown sells retail for $44.99, but i am selling a two by 3, which has two more cubes than the one shown. some assembly will be required.

scrapbook paper organizer:

$30 plus $10 shipping (because of size and shape)

this bad boy retails online anywhere from $60-$75 dollars. this is in near perfect condition :) some assembly will be required.

i'm also selling some of my older paintings. these next few items have been adorning various walls in my home for a while, and it's time that they found a new home.

abstract landscape, 3 pieces:

$70 (see bottom of post for shipping info)

photos do not do this piece justice. each canvas measures 16x20 and are meant to be displayed together.

wes anderson inspired:

$40 (see bottom of post for shipping info)

this pieces was inspired by the wes anderson film, the darjeeling limited. my living room walsl are definitely going to miss this one! it measures 18x24

just blue:

$40 (see bottom of post for shipping info)

this piece measures 30x24. it fades from a light grey/blue at the top down to a rich deep blue at the bottom.

if you're interested in purchasing any of the items listed, follow their links to my etsy site. if you purchase a painting, use the code "emjay's yard sale" in the note to seller section and the shipping cost listed on etsy will be refunded to you.

for those of you who are local, a 5 dollar delivery fee will be charged instead of the shipping charge.

xo!

em