Do I Splurge?

J'adore these Curtains...

http://www.anthropologie.com/

Lobster & Artichokes

...does life get better than this?

only half-kidding - could eat arti's daily...

This is one of my most favorite buffet ideas ever.

I Love You C

From 100 Layer Cake (http://100layercake.com/blog)

I found an old poem...

And thought it was appropriate for the here and now.

Friendship.

A pursuit, generally, in lack of peace.

We, goodheartedly and with a subtle hint of control,

attempt to challenge each other to be what we expect

And then fall back in frustration and anger and disappointment.

Our lives change and friendship changes

And we don't support each other enough.

Friendship,

the best form of it,

knows how to protect

and also when to let fly.

It teaches all who experience it

what self-sacrifice is

And what all the silly empty words really mean.

It trusts,

and inspires through authenticity,

and gets better with age.

Maturity happens as a result of it,

and material possessions never come into question.

It philosophizes over everything and nothing

and nurtures the soul.

It makes you feel blessed, finally,

and only serves to strengthen the individual.

through the group experience.

It heals, and smiles, and serves.

It holds drama at bay and

peruses how terrible life must be for those

who are not so rich.

But instead,

we cling to the past,

and regret not being more accepting of the present,

and pretend the future will be better, like a dream.

We should love, not pretend to protect.

We should challenge

by being true to ourselves,

and not by expecting others to be true to what we think they are.

We should love those who love our friends. Period.

Dreams

Dreams are hazy. I catch glimpses of my dreams, but they don't always fit together with my life like a puzzle. Sometimes they don't even translate into reality. Dreams can be inspiration. Dreams can even masquerade as wish fulfillment.

I think life should be full of dreams...but flexible dreams. Being stubborn about what "you thought might be" and not willing to accept what "is" results in unhappiness. In not accepting others for who they are, or who they might become.

My dreams, for the most part, are a mixture of family, friends, romance and love, and creative endeavors. I pray that I get to live my dreams, flexibly, while embracing and wholeheartedly accepting the dreams of those I love.