I'm not ashamed to admit I judge books by their covers

One of the first things I do on Tuesday mornings is check Barnes and Noble's New Releases list. Why yes, I am a self-proclaimed book nerd, but that isn't news to any of you. I rarely buy full-price books, but I like to know what's new so I can keep my to-read list updated.

The book that caught my eye this morning isn't actually available until July, but it looks good! It's definitely an Eri book (history, romance, unanswered questions) and I have a feeling it's going to be a good read.

From Barnes and Noble:

"A sophisticated, page-turning double love story spanning forty years-an unforgettable Brief Encounter for our times.

It is 1960. When Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital, she can remember nothing-not the tragic car accident that put her there, not her husband, not even who she is. She feels like a stranger in her own life until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply "B", asking her to leave her husband.

Years later, in 2003, a journalist named Ellie discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and hopeful that it can resurrect her faltering career. Perhaps if these lovers had a happy ending she will find one to her own complicated love life, too. Ellie's search will rewrite history and help her see the truth about her own modern romance.

A spellbinding, intoxicating love story with a knockout ending, The Last Letter from Your Lover will appeal to the readers who have made One Day and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society bestsellers."

And, by the way, I truly, madly, deeply loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

That moment of visual pull.

Do you ever find yourself drawn to an image?

That seems like a ridiculous question because I'm willing to go out on a limb and assume everyone has found themselves drawn to an image at least once in their lifetime. We may not all be consistently visual, but I'm sure even the most linear of thinkers has had a moment of visual pull. That moment when you glance at an image and you can feel your soul sigh and you find your eyes brightening just a tad and a small smile tugging at the corners of your mouth.

I love that moment.

I have that moment a lot, hence all of the images on my blog, the fact that I'm constantly taking pictures and the copious amounts of art I continue to accumulate. I like the memories that come with old images, and the daydreams that are rooted in new ones. I like the comparison of other people's interpretations of scenes from my life.

I was caught a little by surprise today when the image above caught my eye, made me pause and caused my mind to start to wander. It's not the usual visual that instantly catches my attention. I'm far more drawn to urban scenes than to nature or tropical images, but something about this one makes me feel happy. Despite wanting to delve into my psyche in regards to this (reminiscent of Australia, perhaps?), I think I'll just settle back and enjoy the mental adventure this image takes me on.

It is, after all, a Monday and goodness knows those can be rough.

Fill in the Blank Friday

Another week has rolled on by and it is once again Friday. I love Fridays. I don't think I truly appreciated Fridays (and the weekends) until I graduated and started my job in the real world. I'm lucky that I love my job, but there is nothing sweeter than knowing you have 2 days to do whatever you want (or often need to do), and that knowledge always seems to make Fridays go just that much faster.

1. The last thing I ate was a glazed donut with hot pink and chocolate striped frosting. Perhaps not the healthiest start to my day, but it sure is a sweet one! (haha, horrible play on words...feel free to judge me).

2. The next thing I'd like to eat is salmon fish 'n chips and a caesar salad. The caesar salad I can do because that's what I packed for lunch, but the salmon may be a little more difficult...anyone want to drive to Oskar Blues in Longmont and pick me up some? Please and thank you.

3. The best things involve friends. I have an amazing family and wonderful coworkers, but it's the times when I'm with my friends that I find myself feeling happiest, most confident and completely true to myself. There's nothing in this world that can compare to being surrounded by those people whom you've specifically chosen to have in your life.

4. Something that makes me supremely and utterly happy is traveling. I have wanderlust at all times so badly I can practically feel it radiating off of me, and any chance I get to give into it is like pure magic.

5. Sports are neither here nor there for me. I do love the Red Sox, and follow their season, but my life schedule is not determined by sports. I've also gotten more into NFL Sundays, but once again, my heart doesn't break if I miss it.

6. I miss Jamie Lynn! We've both been incredibly busy, and she's reveling in the fact that her Master's work is done so we haven't managed a good Skype date in a while. Random messages back and forth, but nothing of substance. It's time to schedule a date!

7. Right now I am superbly happy. It's going to be a good day!

I rather love this outfit...that is all.

Imaginary Travel: Captain Fairfield Inn, Kennebunkport, ME

My wanderlusting never really ceases, and it's a little strong today. That tends to happen to me on days when I'm feeling introverted and quiet, which is exactly how I've been feeling all morning. So, rather than lust my way somewhere across the world, I thought across the country was far enough away. You all know I have a special place in my heart for the East coast, and Maine sounds lovely today.


Care to join me at the Captain Fairfield Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine?  I'm completely in love with the gorgeous color palettes and the eye-catching mixture of period and modern pieces.

(All images courtesy of the Captain Fairfield Inn's facebook page)

Quarter of a Century

Tomorrow may be the first day of Summer, but today is my BIRTHDAY!
I am officially 25 years old, and so far it has been a good day.
I've never worked on my birthday before (I'm spoiled and always take the day off), but with Colorado's fire season raging and numerous calls coming in from the field, it just didn't feel appropriate to take the day off. And, I'm kind of glad that I didn't because my coworkers have made me feel so appreciated, loved and celebrated today!

I have a really good feeling about my 25th year...let's all keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Mr. Man!!

We haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but I know you always have my very best interests at heart. You're my favorite person to butt heads with, and I love the father-daughter relationship we have. Thank you for always looking out for me, for not laughing when I call needing directions, for researching technology for me and for always loving me, no matter what.

I love you!

(I get this look a lot...yes, I know I'm crazy. Sorry, Dad.)

No truer words...

found over at see.hay.fly

Fill in the Blank Friday

Wow, it has been a week! I'm in the midst of the height of my busy season at work, and I feel like I've been teetering on the edge of sanity since Monday...never has a Friday felt so good!

Here's hoping this weekend involves some family time, a movie with a glass of wine and a morning spent reading and soaking up the sun.

1. The last movie I saw was Something Borrowed with my Mama. I saw it right when it opened, but I really wanted my mom to see it, too, so as soon as it moved to our local cheap theater we made a date! I just love this movie...and Ginnifer Goodwin (total girl crush)...and Colin Egglesfield (be still my heart). I read this book the summer after my freshman year of college and always hoped it'd be turned into a movie.

2. I want to spend my day reading by the pool while eating blueberries and mango and drinking a beer + sparkling lemonade.

3. Surprises are tough for me to keep because I get so excited about the person's reaction.

4. The best accessory is a unique pair of earrings or a kick-ass pair of shoes!

5. My favorite warm drink is a flat white, but seeing as I can only get those in Australia, my 2nd favorite is a tie between a cup of Lady Grey tea with milk or a nonfat latte from The Human Bean...if I close my eyes, The Human Bean's latte tastes similar to a flat white.

6. My favorite cold drink is water. I'm also oddly obsessed with V8 right now, which is so not like me.

7. Currently loving Nora Roberts' latest book Chasing Fire. It has romance, mystery, wildland firefighting and lines from Tennyson, so pretty much my ideal book. And, I have to tip my hat to her for her awesome research on the topic of wildfires; she's got her facts straight!


ps- my birthday is on Monday!!

I'm ready to get out of my 4 books per month slump!

From what I read in May, I have to tell you that Susanna Kearsley's The Winter Sea was by far my favorite. It was breathtaking; and yes, I know how insanely corny that sounds, but that's just how I roll sometimes. I professed my love for this book when I started reading it (I'm too lazy to link up with the post) and it did not disappoint. Thank goodness I have this one on my Nook because I have a feeling this may be one I re-read bits of every so often.

Now that summer is making itself known here in Northern Colorado, I find myself wanting to spend significant amounts of time reading in the sunshine. But, summertime reading, for me, is different than any other season because I find myself drawn more to chick lit and quick-to-read series (think Sookie Stackhouse and Stephanie Plum series) for whatever reason.
That being said, does anyone have any book recommendations for me?
Please and thank you.

I spent Saturday with the cutest baby boy in all the land!

You all remember my Baltimore bestie, Corey, right? The one who showed me such wonderful long weekends in Baltimore over the past couple of years, and who got married (to someone I also consider a dear friend, Matt) last August? Well, I've neglected to share with you all 2 very important things:
1. Corey and Matt had a baby while I was in Australia, and
2. They moved back to Colorado to be nearer to both of their families!

I know I mentioned in my last post about "visiting Corey and baby Landon" and for some of you long-time readers who are aware of who Corey is there may have been a little confusion. I'm hoping all of the pieces are coming together now, though.

Anyway, Matt and Corey recently moved to the southside of Denver, so after picking my mother up from the airport Saturday evening, we took the long way home in order to have dinner with the new little family and to finally meet little Landon Justin.

He is too cute for words! And, such a mellow, sweet little man; he completely stole my heart. My mother obsessed over him for a couple of hours, but she was kind enough to let me hold him for about 5 minutes before stealing him away again. Sounds mean, right, but little babies make me kind of uncomfortable still, plus I'll be down to see Corey and Matt far more often than she will, so it's all fair.

It was so wonderful to see my lovely friends and meet their handsome little man. And, Corey already looks completely amazing less than 2 months after having a baby, so she's obviously a rockstar that we should all be jealous of.

Fill in the Blank Friday

Lauren's blanking all about summer vacations today, so feel free to link up! I mean, come on, who doesn't love talking about summer vacas?

1. This weekend I'm planning on doing some cleaning and reading, picking my Mom up from the airport, visiting Corey and baby Landon (!!), possibly going for a hike and hitting up the Taste of Fort Collins, and I'm looking forward to it!

2. My last vacation was the most amazing trip of a lifetime to Australia. I'm dying to go back (but you all know that already).

3. My next vacation will be a long weekend in Boston, hopefully.

4. My favorite way to relax is with a long walk followed by reading with a glass of wine.

5. When vacationing one should always relax and have fun. I'm big on planning things out, but I have to agree with Lauren: a little spontaneity is important! You should always take pictures, too...there is nothing wrong with a little documentation.

6. When vacationing one should never pick fights, nor turn down a really good opportunity; you'll probably regret it later.

7. The best part about a vacation is travel. Stay-cations are lovely, but having the opportunity to get away from it all for a little while is a fabulous thing. Whether you're off to a new destination or an oft-frequented one, there are always new adventures to be had.

Midnight in Paris

I am absolutely dying to see this movie soon, perhaps even this weekend!
Paris, Woody Allen's quirkiness and Rachel McAdams is a recipe for perfection in my mind.

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. I love mangoes because, despite being a serious pain in the butt to cut, they have such incredible flavor! They also make me think of summer time, margaritas and Townsville, Australia...all good things!

2. A time that mama knew best was when she told me it would be better to buy a ticket to Australia than a new couch. I was having one of my usual Eri freak outs about how expensive the trip was going to be and about traveling so far by myself, etc, etc and Mom talked me down from the edge and I'm so glad she did. A life-altering adventure with my bestie was way better than a new couch.

3. My first kiss went a little like this...does being chased around the playground by the same boy every day in 1st grade until he'd catch me, pin me down and then kiss me count? Because if so, that's a little how my first kiss went. Haha...

4. My celebrity crush is Christopher Egan from Letters to Juliet. He reminds me so much of a British Heath Ledger, and Heath stole my heart when I was 11 years old. I have numerous other celebrity crushes (what girl doesn't?), but we'll stick with the Chrises for now...Chris Pine, especially when he wears his glasses, and Chris Hemsworth. Yep, all hotties.

5. My splurge of choice is travel. Sure, I love to splurge a little on dinners with friends, bottles of wine, nonfat lattes and a new book here and there, but travel is my real, true splurge. Travel is extremely important to me, and I always manage to find a way to pay for that plane ticket, or get that day off of work for a long weekend. I swear it's vital to my sanity.
*let it be noted that I would travel far less if it weren't for my incredibly supportive parents...they rock*

6. My biggest accomplishment is finding a grown-up job that I love. I'm lucky, and even though I would kill to make more money, I love what I do 95% of the time. I work for an agency I believe in, with good people and it challenges me.

7. My dance jam of choice is constantly changing, but currently it's Who's That Chick? by David Guetta, featuring Rihanna and Nicki Minaj's Super Bass.

If you want to link up with Lauren, play along here

Keats speaks to my soul. Always.

Give me books, fruit,
French wine and fine weather
and a little music out of doors,
played by someone I do not know.
-John Keats-