bright goes the bag.

you guys, i'm going nuts over here for this bag. i want to grab it and love it and use it all summer long.  it's kind of the perfect size, my total obsession with neon has only strengthened over the months, and dare i say it is affordable? plus, the colors are much better than those offered up by kate spade for the scout, which has been in my shopping cart for ages now. 

{the cambridge satchel company 13" fluorescent satchel found on HonestlyWTF via Fashion Squad}

matthew brandt.

these matthew brandt c prints are processed and then dunked into their subjects.  it's a pretty cool idea and the result reminds me of a project i did in undergrad ... giant 20x24 black and white prints of marshland completely obliterated with polaroid emulsion lifts.  my project, though well intentioned, kind of looked like shit.  i was young, and obsessed with boiling polaroids and playing with their tissue like emulsions ... matthew brandt just has style.

the sun is my enemy.

we all spent some serious time out of doors this weekend and no one left unscathed.  there was the minor mishap of forgetting sunscreen and then being in an awkward situation that didn't allow for the procurement of any. follow that up with an ocean, lots of sand and no umbrellas.  it took a toll on everyone, frances has only been awake long enough to pee (since yesterday afternoon mind you ... that's pushing 24 hours) and both mas and i are bright and splotchy pink in places ... there was a relatively fruitless attempt to lather up in face lotion that was spf positive. 

but despite the failure of grown-up sensibilities there was a wonderful time running around in the sand and flitting through charleston, great city, that one.  and now, it's back to the regular old week, and i'm kind of liking it.  we are going non-stop these days and it's always nice to catch a break.

food.

she has me smitten.

dc.

there were houses, there were shit holes, and there were more houses.  there were lots of low blood sugar moments that resulted in fewer squabbles than i would have guessed.  there was good food, and then there was bad (though, the bad came mostly during the low blood sugar emergencies and sometimes just made things worse).  there were three FULL days of house hunting and learning of all of the neighborhoods one tends not to visit while *just* visiting dc.  there is still no home, but there is a serious front runner.  there was also furniture :

well over 15 houses into the weekend we came across well built and promptly started decorating our new city diggs before we even really have a new city OR new diggs.  i'm totally pumped that this place is exactly 1.2 miles away from where we want to be living in a few months, and maybe after we re-coup all of that money spent on a place to live we might actually be able to furnish it.

{hepburn modular sofa via well built}

this week.

yesterday mas turned 30! we celebrated with cheeseburgers and fries and a chocolate cake.  there were red balloons, but no mylar numbers, party poopers (the ONLY party store in the area) was sold out of the number three.  unbelievable really.  i gave mas a TOOTHBRUSH and then we spent the rest of the night laughing at the fact that i gave mas a TOOTHBRUSH.  for the record he had been wanting that toothbrush for at least eight months. 

now, for the rest of the week, we are on the hunt for a house.  it's going to be a crazy few days and the weather in dc looks like a mixed bag (rain, boo, hiss - sun, cheer, yay!).  also i think there will be pho, i like pho.

{drawing by joe kievett via}

weekend burger.

saturday afternoon mas arrived from a week away. he landed at the awkward hour of 2 in the afternoon, but we had decided to wait and eat.  airport food sucks anyway no?  so on our way back from the raleigh airport we stopped in chapel hill for lunch at SANDWHICH.  we are kinda crazy about this place, it is delicious and close to our go-to venue for music, the cat's cradle, we go a lot. 

but this time was different, because they've started serving BURGERS.  while mas was blind to everything except the fresh farm egg BLT, i opted for the ulitmate 'which burger (in addition to the regular stuffs put on burgers this one came with avocados, bacon and roasted jalapenos) and it was heavenly.  i seriously haven't had such a scrumptious burger in ages. i think it was due to the delicate spice that came from the peppers and the quality of meat used in the actual burger.  it was a bit fattier than the grass fed beef we've been scoring from our CSA, and that is never a bad thing for a burger.

after we gorged ourselves we made it home and rushed to spend the rest of the day in bed watching glee and napping.  perfect.  and then there was sunday, which was spent in a pollen haze, but at least it was sunny and warm.

sometimes.

{photo of a most awesome cloud formation found on one of my most favorite flickr streams EVER, CubaGallery}

confetti animal dots.

animal prints, um, mostly not for me.  animal dots, especially those that look like confetti, um yes, yes please.

{tsumori chisato tank, background image from nasa ... satellite image made using infrared, near-infrared and visible light amazingness.}

HELP.

i need a new laptop case for my most amazing 15" macbook pro.  after lusting after this clare vivier i've decided it is not as much protection as it is awesome.  and while i like awesome when it comes to things that carry things, i need something that will prevent my life (i.e my laptop) from cracking in half (or denting or scratching etc, etc) when traveling.  i'm a FREAK when it comes to protecting my electronics, so i need something sturdy.  for my black macbook i used this black incase sleeve.  it worked well, but i want something new ... and amazeballs. mmmmmm k?  thanks.