Ten Things I Love

10. Fabric stores

I just love walking through and running my hands over all the different textures and colors... some colors just seem to feel differently. I always think deep reds and purples have a different feel from citrus-y yellows and oranges, and then white has a completely different feel altogether. Pure.


9. Peeling the thick white stuff off of an orange

I know this one is really weird. But there's just something so satisfying about pulling off that thick white inside peel... especially when it comes off in big chunks.












8. Auguste Toulmouche

His colors are so rich, and the fabrics look so real. You can almost feel them just looking at the painting. One of my favorites by him (besides this one) is The Reluctant Bride. It's just hilarious, her expression is so perfect.













7. Old diners and gas stations

There's something terribly nostalgic and romantic about old, deserted diners. Gas stations, too. I love the old fashioned pumps, and just the colors that were used in old diners. I'd love to have a photoshoot in front of one sometime...



6. Creamed butter and sugar

Just the act of creaming butter and sugar is so much fun, but then the smell.... *sigh* I'm convinced that only one thing (see #1) is better than the smell of creamed butter and sugar. If you've never done it, you're missing out. It's my absolute favorite part of cooking. =]



5. Paint swatches

Every time I go to Lowe's I take a few. It's my dream to cover a whole wall, and eventually a room with them. Something like this - http://blog.hgtv.com/design/files/2009/04/paint-swatch-headboard.jpg. Only with less space between each swatch, and with only one color, just different shades.



4. Old books

First of all they're so much prettier than new books. The paper feels nicer, and the covers aren't all covered with slick plastic. This is the main reason I love to work in special collections at the library, because I get to shelve all these beautiful old books. Sometimes I just walk through the shelves, looking at all the different colors and fonts on the spines, and smelling the different old smells of them.



3. Crayola colors

Atomic Tangerine? Blush? Inchworm? Wild Blue Yonder? Sugar Plum? Fresh Air? These never cease to amaze me.
After all, who wants to color with grey when you can color with Leather Jacket? Or orange when you can have Mango Tango? Yellow instead of Macaroni and Cheese? And finally, my favorite, Fuzzy Wuzzy. What color do you imagine Fuzzy Wuzzy would look like?




2. Snuffing candles

When I was little, we used to have a "candle snuffer", and my sister and I would always fight over who got to snuff the candles. It always made me feel like I lived in the 1800's, snuffing candles instead of using a lightswitch before going to bed. Now I've graduated from a candle snuffer to just using my finger. It's almost as fun.



1. Cedar

I'm completely obsessed with cedar. I can pick out the scent of it whenever I walk into a lumber store, and it's the only reason I ever would go into any kind of hardware store with my dad. I'd always wander away to the wood section, and he'd find me sniffing away at the cedar like some kind of druggie. (By the way, I'm still convinced that I've gotten high off of cedar before...) It reminds me of birdfeeders, autumn, old hope chests and dresser drawers, school supplies, and the Botanical Gardens in DC (the only live cedar trees I've ever found.. I'm in heaven there...) I'd really love some of these for my drawers - http://www.signsealedelivered.co.uk/ekmps/shops/ssdshop/images/cedar_balls.jpg.