my dear acquaintance,

my dear acquaintance,

i've decided to take my notes to a new page. 

you can find me at love truly.[no.4] where the notes and photos and lists will continue.

thanks to all of you for reading and commenting.

love truly,

katie

[no.4]

p.s. i'm definitely interested in hearing your feedback related to my new page.

p.p.s. if you're a tweeter, find and follow me: katie_c.

postcards from tahoe.

scenic photos from my weekend trip to lake tahoe.

taken from ca-28.

stripe something!

my sister is the coolest.

she sent me this popgadget link earlier today (well, she sent it to my sister-in-law by accident; we have similar email addresses) and it led me to patternpulp. pattern pulp is chock full of groovy pattern and crafty ideas. 

on and on through a trail of groovy sites (like any good blog would (and should) do: once you start clicking links you can't stop. that's often where my time disappears to. i can click links 'til there isn't room on my chrome tablist and i have to open a new window altogether. great for slow fridays at the office.), i stopped for a bit on stripe generator 2.0 where i designed a diagonal stripe (above). then i made it into the tartan you see below at tartanmaker.

wouldn't it be great fun to print this tartan onto fabric for a skirt or tunic?

have some fun. 

it's friday. 

stripe something!

reminder.

tapping my feet to the bird and the bee.

the music of the bird and the bee makes me tap my feet, bop my head, and hum quietly. such happy, catchy music, even on their sadder songs, like "i'm a broken heart."  

"again and again" was the first song i heard of their's which prompted the interest which later lead to the itunes download.  

they are too cute.

midtown, uptown, downtown.

cool

calm

collected

1, 2, 3 

4, 5, 6

7, 8, 9

10, 11, 12

12 ladybugs

something old

something new

something borrowed

something blue

roses are red

violets are blue

lean

mean

fighting machine

tall

dark

and handsome

coulda

woulda

shoulda

lions

tigers

and bears

it's a bird

it's a plane

it's superman

flowers for the lady.

like many girls, i love flowers: lilies, dandelions, irises, lilacs, peonies, tulips, lavender, pussy willows.

a beautiful arrangement can take me from low to high in a matter of seconds. and while i'm not the lucky recipient of having fresh flowers delivered to to me, i have the privilege with my job of sending clients and co-workers flowers. this has been the case for several years now and so i've worked with many different florists including, podesta baldocchi, belle fleur, birch, and dandelion ranch. of them, dandelion ranch is by far my favourite. below are some snapshots of their arrangements. 

if i lived in los angeles, i'd ask my significant other to send me flowers from dandelion ranch and from the ranch only. i love their urban victorian farm appearance and use of odd vases—pitchers, pails, etc. 

unique. fresh. lovely.

favourite photographs.

i don't consider myself a photographer by any stretch. i wouldn't even say i snap enough pictures to call it a hobby. however, on occasion i'll capture a moment that makes me consider photography as a more regular hobby. 

here are some of my favourites. 

a misty summer morning on the farm; the mirror in my bedroom; my niece rebekah; my nephew jacob; my cousin's daughter tait; sylvia, our st. bernard, overlooking lake hamlin at sunset; a lake hamlin sunset.

california soul.

i hail from the buckeye state, good ol' ohio, and visit as often as i can—christmas guaranteed. i've lived in utah and northern virginia, and i vacation yearly with my family in michigan, but i think my heart belongs to california—northern california.

come for a visit and i'll show you what i'm talking about!

"california soul" as sung by marlena shaw

like a sound you hear

that lingers in your ear

but you can't forget

from sundown to sunset

it's all in the air

you hear it everywhere

no matter what you do

it's gonna get a hold on you

california soul, california soul

they say the sun comes up every morning

and if you listen carefully

the winds that ride on the high time

whistle a melody

and so the people started to sing

and that's how the surf gave birth untold

california soul, california soul

when you hear the beat

you wanna pat your feet

and you've got to move

'cause it's really such a groove

puts a brand new time of thinking in your mind

and you can't go wrong

'cause you're happy all day long

california soul, california soul

they had the melody and the beat

but it still didn't seem complete

until they saw two lovers kissin'

they knew just what was missin'

so happy they were rockin' and reelin'

because they added that lovin' feeling

to california soul, california soul

california soul

california

california

california

"california soul" was written by ashford & simpson. it was intended as a single for the quintet the fifth dimension in late 1968. 

colossal girl.

colossal by wolfmother

i saw the colossal landscape

of which i never was a part

it was a magical day

of which i'd never seen before

the first time i saw colossal girl

the first time i saw colossal girl

such glowing mountains before us

pillars of life all fade away

of all the things i need to say girl

all of these woods are in my way

the first time i saw colossal girl

well she's running to the hills again

can you tell me if she'll ever return

she must be mother nature's child

cause she's runnin' to the call of the wild

she's talkin' to the trees again

tellin' me that she's one of them

lookin' at the bird in the tree

though she's never gonna notice me

oh is my love a confession

will i just put it back today

if i had a love to give you

would you still throw it away

the first time i saw colossal girl

the first time i saw colossal girl

well she's running to the hills again

can you tell me if she'll ever return

she must be mother nature's child

cause she's runnin' to the call of the wild

she's talkin' to the trees again

tellin' me that she's one of them

lookin' at the bird in the tree

though she's never gonna notice me

can you remember the first time we met

living together in colossal times

some things are given with no reason why

living together in colossal times

i'm just a gypsy with wondering eyes

i'll tell you secrets that send you to sleep

all i can give you is all of my love

these are the things i can give you to keep

i'm just a gypsy with wondering eyes

i'll tell you secrets that send you to sleep

all i can give you is all of my love

these are the things i can give you to keep

colossal: were you born with it?

if you are born with those lashes that extend to great heights without the aid of mascara, you need read no further. if, like me, your lashes need a lift, then read on!

in past posts i've blogged about my love of dior's diorshow mascara. my love continues but is slightly waning—all thanks to an earth-shattering beauty discovery (shared with me by one of my working girls). 

my friends, this discovery i speak of is of massive proportions: colossal volum' express mascara by maybelline.

 

my working girls and i decided to challenge leading drugstore brand mascaras to a lash-off. colossal volum' express trounced the other competitors leaving them in their dry, flaky dust: maybelline's classic great lash, maybelline's volum' express, l'oreal's full definition voluminous mascara, and cover girl's lash blast. 

i've been wearing colossal now for about 3 weeks. (i'd post a picture but i'm afraid you'd be jealous.) in the beginning i wore it only during the weekdays to work and then when i went out i pumped up my lashes with the diorshow. diorshow continued its unmatched reign on my lashes but as i wore colossal more and more i was slowly turned to its magical power. 

when it comes to mascara, i'm a believer in the more the merrier! a beautiful trait of diorshow—i can coat my lashes time and time again and the mascara wouldn't clump into tarantula leg-looking lashes (say that 3 times fast). colossal isn't quite that talented yet but the clumps are only few and far between. clumps are in your control simply by your application and how you pump your mascara wand. 

read on for tips.

pumping your mascara wand: pump the wand in circles around the tube instead of up and down. when you pump the wand vertically, air creeps in and dries out the mascara before it even hits your lashes. this will form clumps and the wand won't evenly spread the mascara on your lashes. you'll end up with mascara that only lasts part of the day before it starts flaking onto your high cheekbones and smudging. some like that look (for going out it can be quite glamourous) but it doesn't usually appeal to many—particularly for an everyday look.

application: the more mascara caked on the wand the better the application will run. (you may likely notice this when you buy a new mascara and the first application is a little thin.) you can coat time and time again without having to reinsert the wand into the tube. when touching the wand to your lashes, sweep up and to the outside corner of your eye. this will elongate your lashes and open your eyes up to a wide almond shape—flattering on every face. as you're coating, wiggle the brush back and forth, starting at the base of your eyelashes all the way to the ends. this ensures every lash is laced with mascara to make them as full and long as possible.

mascara is my favourite of all beauty products. while my lashes are naturally long enough to stand on their own, they're lighter in colour. fated to always wear mascara, i find immense joy in my daily routine of applying it. my dark colossal lashes draw more attention to my eyes and since i consider my eyes my best facial feature it's crucial to me to find a perfect mascara to accessorize them with. i love it. 

dior diorshow lash out mascara runs for $24.00 at sephora.com.

maybelline colossal volum' express mascara runs for $7.19 at ulta.com.

wolverine.

i'm short on words to describe how excited* i am over the upcoming may 1, 2009 release of x-men origins: wolverine. 

the x-men series of movies is one of my favourite comic book adaptations. 

*elated, ecstatic, euphoric, fired up, gleeful, jubilant, on cloud nine, etc.

the next will smith?

leverage, showing on tnt, has the next big male actor: aldis hodge. he has the charisma, quiet humour, good looks, and obvious talent as will smith, but likely more--his voice, his smile, intoxicating. i believe he has more to offer the entertainment world than will smith and can't wait to see where he goes from here. not too soon, though, i hope--i'm thoroughly enjoying leverage.

i stumbled upon leverage by accident last week and instantly fell under aldis hodge's character's spell, alec hardison. (i'm attracted to insanely handsome and charming african-american men.) if you're a fan of robin hood teams made up of criminals-gone-clean than you'll definitely want to check this show out. it plays tuesday nights on tnt at 10.00p.

happy birthday, mom!

this is a special shout out to my mother who turns 60 today. 

60 more ways she's wiser and more graceful. 

60 more ways she leads quietly by example.

60 more opportunities to hear her laugh.

60 more ways she's lovely.

she my best friend.

she's my mother.

she's my model.

she's my muse.

she's my mom.

happy birthday, mom. 

i love you!

word of the day: peloton.

peloton: the large main group of cyclists in a road race. riders save energy by riding near (generally behind) each other lowering the intensity of the drag, sometimes by nearly 40%.

see a peloton live in action at the 2009 amgen tour of california. lance armstrong is riding with little to no talk of him riding to win. 

stage 2 of the road race (sausalito to santa cruz) has been brutal with wet roads from lots of rain, heavy winds, and cold temperatures.