I could spend hours on flickr browsing the gorgeous photography people are creating. It is amazing! Inspiring, makes me want to travel, or wander with a camera for days. It gets me thinking about the days in high school when all I wanted to do was photograph. I had a 35mm slr camera, it was a Minolta, i loved that thing! It was all manual but had a light meter… I would shoot plus-x or tri-x film and develop it at school. Things are so different now, with digital you can shoot all day and not worry about buying film or developing (messing it up possibly in the process). The contact sheets are gone, now its iPhoto or Aperture (or flickr) to see them all in a row and choose the best enlargements.

I am really wanting to do some photography… Meanwhile here are some thumbnails — click on a thumbnail and browse the images on flickr! These artists are amazing. NOTE: these images are all random, can’t vouch for the content of any of them.

There, I said it. So many people seem to hate the rain. I would always hear it from co-workers, friends “ohmygosh I totally hate the rain don’t you?” or “what an ugly day” and it seemed they all assume everyone hates rain or they’d look to me to say “oh yeah me too, it’s terrible” etc. And you know, for years, I’d just nod absent-mindedly. Why didn’t I ever express my opinion? Maybe I wasn’t sure I liked the rain? 

Now I know, I love it. OK there are some caveats: I don’t really enjoy driving in it… it can be scary… and I have spent many MANY an hour in my life standing in the rain waiting for the bus or streetcar, which is pretty rough. But other than being stranded in it or driving scarily in it… i LOVE It. I love watching it pour down the street, i love the droplets on the windows of the house as you look out… I love hearing it on the roof!! I secretly wish it would rain harder if it is just sprinkling. It washes things clean, it is a fresh start, it nurtures the ground. It is dramatic and stubborn and doesn’t care what anyone thinks!

Living in California we have some pretty good weather, easy enough to manage, no hurricanes or snowstorms. We get sun, fog, rain, wind and sometimes hail. When it is super hot, everyone complains, when it rains, everyone complains. When it is just a normal 70 with puffy white clouds, it is rare to hear people say it is a gorgeous day. It’s more fun to complain I suppose. 

It is what it is — that’s the thing that clicked in my a while back … no matter what the weather, you can’t change it, you can’t control it, you can spend hours complaining or being pissed off, but it just IS. It IS raining. You can find some kind of joy in it, or make it a bad day. OK it’s not raining here, I think it is in the 60s and kinda bleh out there. Is it awful? no. Did the roof blow off? no. I am thankful for today’s bleh weather, and I won’t complain, because it wont do me any good.

I am a complete bag addict. I love bags. But I am super particular. Someday I would love to be a bag designer. I can’t help it. I just love this stuff! I like simple clean lines and traditional styles… nothing puckered or crinkled or too many buckles. Or too shiny. Maybe I am just a little bit boring but hey, I’d rather accessorize with a chunky bracelet or scarf than with a lumpy slouchy logo-y snakey bag. A bright solid color bag or cute zebra thing once in a while would be great. I wouldn’t turn down a big Louis Vuitton tote either. 

Anyways… I’ve got a powerbook and it is too big for most briefcases, so I started looking for the perfect leather tote. Googling “leather tote” gave me some crazy options but I found a few that are just… just plain adorable :).

This one is the “Rachel Laptop Bag” from FranklinCovey. I remember the days of having a dayplanner, bringing it to every meeting, taking notes, writing all kinds of lists and being super organized. Well that is a good feeling right? I have a date book but it isn’t as serious as my old franklin dayplanner. This tote bag looks like it would make me happy and more organized though! It has a shoulder strap too (or so it says)… Hold me back! I am afraid I will order it. I will have to put this on my wish list for Christmas…

I’ve been kinda wanting a red leather bag too. Maybe on the flashy side. I always wear black, grey or brown. Some white and blue but I am always neutral. I need more scarves and stuff to spice things up. And a classy bag.

Googling further I came across this a.dor.a.ble Michael Kors bag. Is it really as big as it says? Does it come in black or brown? Ohhhh it is cute and kind of not-work-ish. 

 It is listed as being 19″ wide. Definitely big enough for my computer. But it would probably look all wrong with something rectangular in it. 

Looking around a bit more… I am seeing more potentially cool bags, some are more for traveling but would be great for work. This red one is a stunner, with it’s shoulder strap it would be convenient. It’s big, at 21″ wide. Hmmm! not bad :)

I’ve been thinking i should be wearing some cute shoes. I spent the whole summer in flip flops (talk about being a boring mom… sheesh) which was fun and all but come on now! Mom’s gotta get cute right? I am the type that likes to basically wear the same shoe all the time. I am into comfort… I want to just slip the shoes on and go. I have some old Dansko clogs i keep wearing but they are just so clunky! They are really old but i love them. I was just looking around and found these other Danskos called “Tara” and I think I am in LOVE! Maybe could wear with jeans and skirts… versatile. These are black suede, they come in brown and in nappa leather as well. I want something comfy with the cute pump/maryjane look. I am so tired of being frumpy or boring or predictable …  I think i’ll have to go for it.

These maryjanes have a peep-toe and are called Tillie. The heel doesn’t seem too high, and they also look comfy. These are officially on my wish list. ?