There are days...

...when the only thing that will make things better is looking at cute pictures.

This week has been exhausting and it is only Tuesday. I'm only making it through because I have plans to meet up with friends every single day this week. It helps.

So, in case your life is shaping up to look anything like mine, here are some cute pictures to (hopefully) help you make it through. Exhibit A: A hawaiian rubber duck that was the wedding favour at one of the weddings I went to this summer. Exhibit B: An old post with some adorable dogs. Exhibit C: A picture of of a teeny tiny kitten. (I can't look at this without making odd squeaking sounds.)

Meanwhile

I'm a big fan of the background, the stuff that isn't the centre of attention. I'm the kind of person who looks at the groom when the bride enters the church. The kind of person who will start laughing over a typo on a sign no one else is looking at. The kind of person who photographs light fixtures at a wedding reception. These chandeliers at M & E's wedding reception were stunning. Since I'm someone with a penchant for vintage, a love of luxury, and an adoration of light, these are pretty much my dream light fixtures.

Perfect Little Details

I mentioned yesterday that I went back to Edmonton for a wedding this past weekend. The wonderful bride is a girl after my own heart. She was my first friend at King's and is one of those people who makes me feel like my strange eccentricities perhaps aren't that strange after all, or at the very least are endearing and lovely. She and I share a perfectionist streak and a penchant for the classic and beautiful. She is one of the few people I know other than myself who doesn't wear sweat pants in public. Ever. And who dresses for every occasion. I love her dearly and knew that her wedding would be a gorgeous affair. And it certainly was. A lot of this was due to the amount of love that was obviously going on in that room: the love of her and her new husband (who are possibly the cutest couple ever) and the love of every guest for the new couple. It was amazing. But beyond that, the details of the wedding were perfect: classic, simple, elegant, and gorgeous. The centrepieces on the reception tables were the embodiment of all these things. Gold frames stacked on top of each other with candle holders, simple white tapers, and little glass containers with strands of pearls cascading out of them arranged on top...they were incredible. I kept staring at it all night. And, get this, each table was named after a classic author (I was sitting at the William Shakespeare table)! Simply gorgeous.

The Search for Safety

This weekend I had the great good fortune to go to my friends' wedding. It was an absolutely lovely day, ending in a very late hour and a half drive home. I've told you all before how being in a moving vehicle makes me feel rather safe. Well, this was just driven home on Saturday night. Life has been stressful lately. Apartment hunting, everything involved in preparing to move across the country, working two part-time jobs, and trying to maintain a social life has left me feeling like I'm one of those circus performers spinning plates. This isn't to say life hasn't been good. I'm lucky enough to really enjoy my jobs, I have some wonderful friends with whom I've had some grand adventures, and in general have been loving my summer. However, I've been stressed, and worried, and constantly on the verge of tears, especially lately. But for almost all of Saturday I was able to forget about all of that and just enjoy myself. And then about halfway home I realized this. I realized that sitting in the back seat, in the midst of conversations with my travelling companions, I felt totally safe. As if as long as I stayed in the vehicle with these people and we kept driving I had the chance of outrunning my worries. And in that moment I thought to myself, "Don't ever forget this feeling." Because really, that is what I am always looking for. I am constantly searching for people I feel safe with and people who I feel care for me. It was a rare moment for me to feel that way, and to be quite honest I didn't want the drive to end. I didn't want to have to climb out of the car and back into reality. But, alas, all such drives must come to an end. Since then though, whenever I start panicking too much, I try to recall that feeling. It's peaceful and calming, and is helping me cope just a little bit better. So, thank you to my Saturday travelling buddies. I don't think you know how much that trip meant to me. And congratulations to my newly married friends. I am so happy for you both.

I call you mystery

I call you mystery

Josh Noble

    

          I adore to tiptoe around

Your mystery.

                                  In quiet, pastoral moments,

                             just the two of us,

                       inhabiting our Ikea kitchen.

                             Superbly planned, laid out and arranged

                                  tidy and spotless, with the warm glow,

of energy efficient bulbs

                       reflected off a varnished oak table.

            The reassuring hum of the two-door refrigerator.

                             Cascade emanates from the silent,

                  running dishwasher and permeates

                         the room with familiarity.

And there you are, domestically swishing a cloth over and over

           the counter - wild as a tiger.

                      You are Emily Dickinson

                        and my Sylvia Plath.

           You are the Cat's Eye Nebula,

                                 Niagara Falls, baby,

                         and Christ's empty tomb

You brush past me, with a kiss on my cheek

           and you sit down in a covered arm chair, picking

                      up a book.  And I

           shake with delight, tiptoeing around your mystery.

It is my dear friend's first wedding anniversary today. Happy anniversary Steph and Tyler! I'm so happy for you guys.

These are a couple of my favorite pictures from their wedding last summer. There is something magical about the first dance, so I was glad to get some good shots of it. The top image was actually published in my school's annual student art publication last spring and the poem is the piece it was paired with on the facing page. I was actually really excited to find out that my photo was being paired with one of Josh's poems. I really adore his work. It is the kind of poetry that I can get lost in, the word choice is impecable and he excels at adopting the voices of different people and conveying an incredible depth of emotion. Plus, I just love the lines "You are my Emily Dickinson / And my Sylvia Plath". I thought this poem just fit these pictures so well that I had to put them up together today.