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There is a certain kind of summer that we all dream about and attempt to construct out of the ethereal, fusty memories of all the summers past. It’s the kind of environment that seems really dreamy, built on lethargy and languid, slow-moving, snapshots of bike riding, picnics, sun-umbrellas and christmas lights, the moments before and after thunderstorms, hair sticking-to-the-back-of-your-neck and freckled, sunburned noses.

— All This Happiness

♥ Being riddled with giddy, girlish glee over Margaret/Thornton while reading (and finally finishing!) Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South. Le sigh. Who needs Darcy when you have Thornton? ;) *dodges arrows from ardent Austenites*

♥ Daydreaming about running away with friends to semi-rural retreats with a Mary Poppins-esque leather bag in tow, stuffed to the brim with classic novels, a fantastic vintage wardrobe, a bone china tea set (complete with top-notch loose leafs), a picnic basket of food, pillows and fluffy blankets that magically keep cool, a flying carpet ...

♥ SLEEPING IN on three-day weekends.



(c) Snuggle Muffin

♥ Electric-blue nail polish (inspired by The Clothes Horse)

♥ The view of the Bay from the bridge during my morning commute into the city. It's so serene and majestic.

♥ My new rose-adorned locket necklace from Sea Unicorn! It's my favorite piece of jewelry right now: so simple and subtle, but very elegant and feminine. I've worn it everyday since I got it in the mail on Saturday. :D



(c) glass orthodoxy

♥ Watching favorite movies with crew/cast commentaries running. Seriously, you come to appreciate the film so much more when you learn about all the behind-the-scenes stuff that went into it.

♥ Looking out from your bedroom window at night, and soaking in the quiet neighborhood while breathing in the cool ocean breeze.

♥ Having a client genuinely thank you for helping her out with a problem. It's amazing what two words, when earnestly meant, can do to brighten up your day.



♥ Receiving spontaneous text messages from Little Sis #2. Granted, they're usually just picture messages of Kosie, our family dog, sleeping on the couch in amusing positions; but I find her accompanying captions cute. Oh gosh, I'm going to miss her juvenile ways when she grows up!

♥ Mailing handwritten letters to Little Sis #1 (handwritten correspondences ftw).

♥ Romantic Summer Hair tutorial by All This Happiness



Source: goshkazdes

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How about you? What are some things that have inspired you, or piqued your attention this week?

Photo by The Unicorn Diaries

♥ Beautifully ethereal and feminine necklaces by Sea Unicorn

♥ Dreamy composite photography by Al Magnus

♥ Nubby's reflections on the end of an era — rest in peace, MJ



♥ Homemade iced tea (unsweetened with a slice of fresh lemon)

♥ Specialty's muffins/cookies + Starbucks coffee, because they're a match made in heaven ;)

♥ Teen fiction writer Sarah Dessen was my dose of writer's inspiration this week. While I'm not a fan of her books, I was encouraged by the fact that she established herself as a published writer while working full-time as a waitress, then as a teacher.



Photo by All This Happiness

♥ IrenaS has up on Flickr a set of soft, nostalgic photos of Paris that captures the City of Light in explosions of heart-shaped bokehs.

♥ Get Off The Internet via Gala Darling — hear hear!

♥ Doe Deere's suggestions on how to make the most out of Talk Like Shakespeare Day (which I missed this year!)

It's been a while since I last did one of these posts. But then again, it's been a while since I wanted to jump up and down because I found little treasures that made my heart leap. :)

♥ The Unicorn Diaries -- In my free time, I like scrolling through and searching for blogs and online journals filled with whimsy photography and/or prose. I recently came across The Unicorn Diaries via a friend's blog and was immediately taken in, particularly by her writing style and her post on Sarah Crewe.

♥ MINE + YOURS by Hello Handmade -- I wish my handwriting looks like that!

♥ GOTHAM font -- I'm sort of becoming a typography geek.

♥ Cleaning/Reorganizing the home workspace -- After "complaining" about the haphazard mess on my work desk yesterday, I descended upon my desk at home immediately after coming home from work. I went through my messy pile of papers and hand-shredded whatever was necessary, took out all the contents of my over-stuffed stationary drawer and reorganized (thank you, Ziploc bags), moved things around... By 8:00, I was pleased with the progress I made; but I hope to do more cleaning up and reorganizing this weekend, and eventually redecorate.

♥ The AM/FM Radio -- At our office, we have a downstairs "basement" (it's really just another floor) that my coworker and I use during our respective lunch breaks. In this basement resides -- amongst the boxes and boxes and boxes of files -- a microwave, a mini fridge, a few desks, a full-length couch (perfect for maps, I'd imagine), sconce lights along the wall, standard white lights overhead, and last but not least a well-working AM/FM radio. I know my co-worker has used it before to listen to a Chinese station during her lunches, so I honestly don't know why it took me until two days ago to decide to use it myself during my lunch hour. Regardless of my delayed reaction, I'm so glad that the radio is able to receive the classical music station. With the music playing, the sconce lights on, my tumbler full of warm tea/water, my diary/journal in my lap, a thick sandwich in one hand, and a ballpoint pen in the other, my lunch hour becomes a much sought-after oasis amidst the unpleasantries of constant computer glare, phone calls, and disgruntled clients.

Highway 17 has to be one of the most beautiful drives in California. The Santa Cruz hills are covered with acres and acres of lush evergreens and various other species of trees. If you drive through the windy highway early enough in the morning, you may be lucky enough to see the hills shrouded in mist and cloud.

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♥ Within Temptation - "All I Need" - I have been a fan of Within Temptation for a while now, yet I took little notice of this song until I saw it on one of Heather's post. I bought the song off iTunes on Monday, and it has been stuck in my head ever since!

And while we are on the topic of Within Temptation, "Memories" is also a good one. Cheesejoose made a Faramir/Eowyn AU fanvideo to the song, which is quite well-made and moving, in my opinion.

♥ Vanity Fair - I'll be honest -- I bought the December issue just for the Twilight article and photoshoot (although I was very miffed to find that the "photoshoot" was no more than two full-page pictures). But after flipping through the magazine and reading the various articles (actually reading them, because they are interesting and witty), I have decided that my Vogue subscription will be getting the axe. Vanity Fair will now grace my desk monthly.

♥ Twilight! - Yes, the movie is coming out within a matter of days, and I am quite excited for the release. I don't think I shall watch it opening weekend. The crowds will be insufferable, for one thing. But mainly, I want to watch it with my sister when I go home for Thanksgiving. :)

♥ Moon and mist

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Last night was quite the unusual night (in a good way). While waiting for Virginia to pick me up from the BART station, I had the opportunity to do some major moon-gazing. The moon looked unusually large. Against the clear night sky, it was a very beautiful sight to behold.

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Berkeley was also shrouded in mist when Yoojin and I left midweek Bible study a few hours later. While walking to her car, we joked about being on 4 Privet Drive, ane expecting Dumbledore (with his trusty Put-Outter, of course) or the Grim to pop out at any moment. The experience felt very cinematic.

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The mist seemed to have migrated overnight, because this morning I found myself walking through a significant amount of it on my way to the casual carpool stop.

♥ Jamba Juice - My boss has been on a Jamba Juice fix these past weeks. Consequently, my co-worker and I have benefitting from it by having the pleasure of enjoying a cup of Mango-a-Go-Go when we split a large amongst the three of us.

Untitled / Old Lady and Carousel

♥ Bocage New York — Bocage New York has some cute, whimsy, vintage-inspired knick-knacks for sale. The Lion Head Vintage Brass Charm and the Gold Flourish Cameo Pendent caught my especial attention.

♥ Natsumi Nishizumi — It might come off as a strange expression, but my eyes feel so refreshed after looking at some of Natsumi Nishizumi's artwork. Her use of soft, vibrant watercolors on equally soft but distinct black ink illustrations make for a very soothing and engaging combination.

♥ The Writer's Almanac — Today's report was interesting. "Welcome Home, Children" by David Shomate reminded me of American Poetry class, and all the strange but interesting stuff that we read. As for Augusten Burroughs, I really like this quote from him:

"The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It's not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work."

— Augusten Burroughs

How timely, don't you think, since Nanowrimo is just around the corner!

♥ Dress up — Gala's post on Parisian style, and Très Lola's post on film noir makes me want to dress up and air out my French.

♥ Cutting apart my Vogue issues — Earlier this week, I Twitter'ed about cancelling my subscription to Vogue US on the basis of my opinion that the magazine is too consumeristic, and not focused enough on fashion. My intent to cancel soon dissipated that very evening, when I began ripping out pages from the September and October issues, and cutting & pasting pictures into my Nanowrimo workbook/inspiration journal. I guess Vogue has proven more inspirational than I thought. :P

♥ Goodies in the mailbox — Our first-ever shipment of Adagio tea arrived today! Flavors are: Oriental Spice, Jasmine #12 (which everyone seems to absolutely love), White Pear, and a complementary sample of the Leo blend. We haven't tried any yet, but I promise that I will keep you guys posted when we do. :)

Also, the Pride & Prejudice (2005) DVD that I thought I had canceled, arrived. Long story short, I ordered it on a whim one evening, along with the Penguin Reds edition of the novel, but canceled both orders the next morning because of what was already racked up on my credit card. The cancellation request for the novel went through, but I guess the request for the DVD never did. I was thinking about notifying the seller, but decided against it. The DVD was $2-something, and one that I've been wanting to buy for a while. Plus, I don't think sellers offer return policies. Might as well keep it. :)

♥ Psalm 5:12 — This blog post by The Blazing Center was very encouraging. This week, despite it being a shorter week, was pretty rough and stressful. Being reminded that God is sovereign and has everything under His control was very refreshing.

♥ 1940s-inspired 'do — Casey posted a video tutorial of how to pull off a very simple and pretty 1940s-inspired hair-do over at her blog. Being Asian, my hair isn't as thick and wavy as her's (not to mention, shorter -- ugh, the pains of having shoulder-length hair), so my experimentations didn't come out as "successful" as I was hoping. But it did give me an opportunity to play around with my hair. Even though I can't pull off the look exactly, I still like the idea of bobby pin-ing my hair up. If time and situation allows, I want to do that instead of using a clip or a "claw."

♥ Mondialito's new album — I have quite forgotten about Mondialito! But thanks to a friend's g-mail chat status, I have been reintroduced, and excited for their (upcoming?) fourth album. If you like mellow music and the French language, I recommend checking this duo out.

♥ Epik High - "One" — This song has pretty much taken over my head. I catch myself replaying bits and pieces of the melody throughout the day.



♥ Pomodoro Pizza — The guys and gals over at Pomodoro Pizza make awesome pizzas. Each pizza is made to order and from scratch, and believe me, you can taste the difference. The staff is very friendly, and they seem to genuinely enjoy what they do. If you're ever in the area, check them out.



Oh yes, I am so ready for the weekend.

♥ Breakfasting over tea and books — About a week and a half ago, I instigated a new breakfast "regimen," which basically calls for something savory to eat, a cup of black tea to complement, and a Current Reads book to top it all off. While the first bit utterly failed this week (I've been thoroughly enjoying the sweet buns that I bought at a Chinese bakery on Sunday), the last two bits have been a major success in regards to 1) helping me wake up in the mornings without the rough, shock 'n' jolt effect that coffee is known to give me at such an early hour; and 2) giving me a heartfelt incentive to actually get up earlier and/or not hit the snooze button so often.

♥ Online inspiration galore — This week has been a marvelous one for my Google Reader. The recent posts of UPPERCASE journal have been very interesting (typewriter theme week!), and loaded with colorful, whimsy-spirited pictures.

The ever-popular Miss Gala, having just arrived back from her short trip to Paris, centered her most recent TiLT post and Daily Outfit post on her -- from the sounds of it -- fantastic Parisian experience. Her enthusiasm and excitement makes me want to hop a plane to Paris myself.

♥ Weddings, marriages, and engagements, oh my! — I don't know about you guys, but in my social circle, weddings and engagements are popping up like daisies in a field. At our church alone, four couples (including Clara -- remember her? -- and her fiancé!) are lined up to get married within the next six months, and one dating couple just got engaged this past weekend. One wedding does seem to bring on another. ;)

But anyway, the reason why I brought this up was, aside from how I'm excited for the wedding this Saturday, I found some neat wedding-themed blog posts at Style Me Pretty, Oh Joy, and Snippet & Ink that were too neat to pass up sharing. While I'm in no way expecting myself to getting married anytime soon, I found the posts very useful and inspiring. Who knew that having a genuinely aesthetically beautiful & charming wedding with a small budget was possible?

♥ Calling cards — I guess we call them "business cards" now, but I think we should totally bring back the concept of personalized calling cards. Some calling card-related findings: Casey has her own in the works. Places like Mr. Boddington, Satsuma Press, and Etsy advertise their card-making services (although personally, I think they're a bit pricey).

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This weeks' TiLT is a bit short -- and late. But this week has been pretty crazy. Today was perhaps the worst day of them all, with mistakes galore and difficult clients (the worst is having to deal with them over the phone). I was seriously out of it by four o'clock, and desperately looking forward to the end of the work day. Yikes.

But anyway, I don't wish to be negative, especially on a TiLT post. I know in hindsight, today's mishaps will only be a small blip on the radar, so to speak. And I have much in my life that I am thankful for and should be thankful for. :)

Have a happy Friday, friends. ♥ And please do share some of your TiLTs!

♥ Local exploration — I did some "exploring" north of the office on my lunch break Tuesday, and came across some quaint streets lined with numerous boutiques and eateries. I passed by one barber shop, and saw an elderly gentleman within, piping a cheerful, relaxing jazz-esque tune from his clarinet. So cute. The walk was very refreshing, and gave me quite a thrill. My knowledge of San Francisco and its streets are very limited to one section of the Financial District, so walking about unfamiliar streets was both somewhat frightening (don't want to get lost) and exciting.

♥ Ingenious woodcuts — porkchopshow's Etsy shop has some very interesting knick-knacks for sale. I'm quite intrigued by his idea of taking photos and from them creating three-dimensional trinkets. There was a set of beautiful antique skeleton key wood cuts that were up for grabs yesterday morning, but it seems that it has since been bought. Alas.

♥ Revisiting old (literary) friends — Okay, so I have something to confess: ITV's "Lost in Austen" miniseries is fast becoming a guilty pleasure of mine (I say "guilty" because I really like the main character and the story, even though the basic plot is totally cliché and screams Mary Sue fanfiction in bright neon lettering). Thanks to its influence, I picked up Pride & Prejudice to re-read, and can't seem to put it down. I'm really enjoying it. I have forgotten so much of the details, to the point that I feel that I'm discovering new ones.

♥ National Novel Writing Month — National Novel Writing Month (or more commonly known as Nanowrimo) is back again, and I am all too excited to jump in this year. The past few years were no-go's because of midterm exams and papers. But as I am now done with school, and have only work and church to occupy my time, I am very determined to participate in this year's marathon and reach the 50,000-word goal. Whoo, bring on the caffeine!

♥ Rain! — One of my friends was dismayed when I announced that we are to expect rain this weekend (lol). But I am very much looking forward to it. I can see myself now -- sitting on the living room couch, with some tea by my side and a good book in my lap, all the while with the rain drumming calmly against the window panes... I just need to remember to buy myself a new umbrella. Walking in the rain is fun, but not when you're working and expected to be cleanly and neatly dressed!