My room is far from finished (I don't even have curtains yet!), and I'm not sure when it will be decorated to my liking. Maybe never.

But one design element that I do have going on is my baby gallery wall.

Every picture or frame means something special to me, and in the morning, the light comes pouring in through my windows and hits the wall just so.

It makes me happy to look at it. I can't wait to add more pictures.

p.s. the pudding turned out pretty delicious, but a little too rich. I tried a new recipe today. Updates tomorrow.

Important Announcement.

I might have just invented a new recipe for Chocolate Pudding.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

This is Ben.

I've known Ben since freshman year of high school, and yesterday was his birthday.

I love Ben for lots of reasons. Some of them are:

1. He is an amazing cook. Whenever our gang is cooking together (which happens a lot), Ben takes the lead and we end up eating something delicious.

2. He also makes the most amazing drinks out of the weirdest ingredients.

3. Ben is fiercely loyal. More than almost anyone I know.

4. He throws an AMAZING party. Last night, he filled his house with blacklights and had one of his friends airbrush neon images on all his guests. (I got an armadillo.)

5. I've known him for ten years, and I don't think I have a single picture of him that doesn't involve a ridiculous face. (See above).

6. Ben gives the most thoughtful gifts. Unlike those of us who walk into a store and buy the first thing they see, Ben's gifts are reflections of just how well he knows his friends, and how much thought he puts into us. We're lucky to be on the receiving end.

Happy happy, Ben!

I'm so glad you were born.

Usually at work, I take a tiny little lunch break, scarfing my food down and saying hi to people, then getting back to whatever I'm working on.

Sometimes, though, when the weather's nice, I like to take my camera out for a little walk. I get a latte or a cookie at Flour, and I go in search of what's pretty.

It's pretty fun. You should try it sometime.

I am.

Are you?

{Image source}

Happy Birthday, Sara!

This is Sara.

Sara is one of my oldest friends in the world, and last Tuesday was her birthday.

I love Sara for lots of reasons. Some of them are:

1. She is a Crazy Vegan. She became one in high school, and has stuck with it since then. That's a long time to stick to your principles. (Especially when it means no cheese.)

2. She is one of the most involved people I know. Sara's always doing something to help out- recently, she hosted a gathering to write letters about clean water.

3. Sara is super creative. She designs costumes for all sorts of shows, and for Halloween, she was Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.

4. Sara is one of the most caring friends I have. When I turned fifteen, she made me a birthday card with Heath Ledger on it. She laughs about that, but seriously, so thoughtful. She does that sort of thing for all her friends. It's why so many people love her.

5.Sara throws a mean party. For her birthday, we all dressed up as pirates and drank rum. It was So. Much. Fun.

6. I have known Sara for so long, we have a shared history. Inside jokes. I am her mother's favorite daughter. Sunday School camping trips. My mother used to buy groceries specifically for her, she slept over so often. I am so grateful she's still friends with me.

Happy happy, Sara!

I'm so glad you were born.

Here's the deal: I kind of have a thing for Haiti.

Growing up in Boston, which has a relatively huge Haitian population, it's hard to miss little snippets of Haiti. The people across the street from my mother's house were Haitian. The man who owned Parnell's, the corner store two blocks down, moved to Cambridge twenty years earlier but still did a mean business in Haitian groceries and candy. In middle school, so many of my friends spoke Creole, I started to pick it up. (The only word I can still remember means "fuck." I try to avoid using it in daily conversation.)

Anyway, this is all to say that when I heard about the earthquake, it felt personal. Not nearly as personal as it does for all the actual Haitians, but still. It's just so unfair. So very, very unfair. So today, if praying is your thing, let's do that. If good vibes are, let's send some that way. If you don't believe in either of those things, let's send some money. 'Cause Haiti needs it all.

{Day of Action thought up by AphroChic}

*I'll be back tomorrow with Birthday Posts. This is just kind of consuming me right now.

When I was little, I desperately wanted my bed to be "built-in" to my wall. I remember meeting with the contractor when my parents were renovating our house, and drawing him a picture of the bed that I wanted, with bookshelves all around it and a curtain I could draw around me when I slept. I have every confidence that it was my seven-year-old drawing skills, not my parents budgetary and design limitations, that prevented him from building me exactly what I envisioned. (I did get a built-in desk, though! It's still pretty cool.)

Anyway, that's all to say that I was completely primed to love all the sleeping nooks over at You Are My Fave. They are all so cozy and lovely, and y'all should go take a look if you haven't already.

(Image from this is glamorous, via You Are My Fave.)

The other day, I skipped my morning run and made breakfast instead.

I fried an egg (did you know that sunnyside up are way simpler to make than over easy?), and made toast in the fancy new toaster,

I cut up a grapefruit,

and I even made coffee. (I'm slowly getting better.)

It was a good choice for how to spend a morning.

(Plus, I went running in the afternoon).

Sometimes at work they talk about things I don't understand.

So then I draw a picture on a post-it note.

(I recommend trying it sometime).

Happy New Year, friends!

I woke up on Saturday morning to tons and tons of snow- it's a veritable winter wonderland outside of my house, even all these days later.

Winter is so pretty around these parts. I'm so so glad I moved back to New England.

This is Holly.

Holly was one of my good good friends in San Francisco, and then she and I moved to Boston at the same time! (We switched roles, though- she was the local last year, and now I am!)

A couple of weeks ago, Holly turned Twenty-Four. This is an excellent age, and one that absolutely must be celebrated. We celebrated by going to Fig's for dinner. We had the asparagus appetizer. Holly really liked it.

Did you know that asparagus is one of only two foods you can politely eat with your hands? My mom taught me that.

We also got their famous fig and prosciutto pizza. Basically, it was amazing. It always is.

At the end of dinner, it started snowing! Holly had never had birthday snow before! It was magical.

Happy Happy, Holly!

I'm so glad you were born.