When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. 

-Ernest Hemingway

That quote is perfect. If I wasn't swamped with school, I could probably relate a little bit more.

Tonight I glanced over some of my saved pictures once I realized that our annual Springtime picnic has been on a continual raincheck the last few weeks. You know it's the end of a semester when your slammed with final assignments and projects and papers for class, which seems especially tiring this semester considering one of my professors treats statistics like it should be a part time job.

But today felt like spring. And that is good enough. Better yet - according to the weatherman, spring is here to stay. Since the summer solstice is exactly three months away from today (summer can't seem to come fast enough this year!) I decided to celebrate in small ways like wearing a skirt without tights and having a lunchable picnic inside of a car (but hey! at least we were parked next to the park!)

For now, I'll take what I can get.

this should come as no surprise.

I took thelma out for her very first ride of 2k11, and it was as wonderful as I thought it would be. I once heard someone ask a friend in class, "Who did you fall in love with for the first time?" and she replied, "Oh it was with my bicycle" -- I thought about that this afternoon as I pedaled all the way to center street and back.

And lets be honest, spring is worth celebrating. And if there is anyone who adores springtime and red bicycles with wicker baskets as much as me, it would probably be ee cummings. So because this is a favorite, and because it's a tradition -- after spending a whole day riding my bicycle, and a whole night watching love movies on the balcony (picnic basket/twinkle lights/Ewan McGregor singing and all), this poem is most definitely worth sharing.

--

sweet spring is yourtime is my time is our time 
for springtime is love time
and viva sweet love

(all the merry little birds are
flying in the floating in the
very spirits singing in
are winging in the blossoming)
lovers go and lovers come
awandering awondering
but any two are perfectly
alone there's nobody else alive

...

(secretly adoring shyly
tiny winging darting floating
merry in the blossoming
always joyful selves are singing)
sweet spring is yourtime is my time is our time 
for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love

-ee cummings

really, though... viva sweet love.

the beatles had it right.

As we sat with our soda pop and picnic baskets yesterday afternoon, the sunshine came to pay a permanent visit. I was a little worried on our drive over with the dark gray clouds still hanging around -- but once we set our picnic baskets down, the clouds seemed to understand that they were no longer needed for the afternoon, and they finally disappeared...

(as did my parking ticket and sticky hair. the secret just forgets to inform you that all you need is love... but then again, i guess the beatles do that too).

So yesterday I loved sunshine, orange soda pop and two friends who will be the main reason why my wrinkles show up at age 25, because somewhere in between the "sparkle" and "nice rice" comments, I laughed from 4 PM until midnight. And this is all a good thing, because that also meant I ended up with 416 pictures on my hard drive by the end of the night -- 97% of which are of somebody laughing. I plan on posting these pictures online too, but first I need to go spend $327 dollars in printing them at Walmart.

And last I checked it's unofficially Spring. Happy day.

all i want out of life.

the
little brown pen probably has the most beautiful pictures i've ever seen.

and after spending a sunday afternoon browsing through the entire website, i have decided that all i really want out of life is a picket fence and twinkle lights,

and maybe fresh flowers on my kitchen table.

--

we scheduled our "celebrate springtime picnic" this tuesday because daylight savings means we get an extra hour of sunshine (and that makes daylight savings okay even though i dread losing an hour of sleep)

looks like spring.

i love her dress. her hat. her lipstick. her flowers.
everything, everything, everything about this look is flawless and beautiful.

dear springtime,
please come 3 months early?

via

beach cruiser.

is it just me,
or is there something slightly bittersweet
about the last day of the semester?
(i'm guessing its probably just me)
but as the professor ends the class with his parting wisdom,
and everyone applauds after a semester well done,
i feel a bit sad -- and i know that sounds funny,
(but aside from american heritage or any math course i've taken)
i always feel this way on the last day of the semester.

but hey!
i promised myself that if i did particularly well in my classes -
i'd buy myself a bike.
(beachbikes.net = free shipping = yes, thank you very much)
and that is just what i intend on doing the second i get off of work,
(t-minus 3 hours in counting)

so i've narrowed it down to these two:

the red one


and the cream one


what do you think?

Cherry Blossoms.

I happen to have a really good friend who is currently serving an LDS Mission in Japan,
and when I saw this picture today, I thought of:
1. How much I miss him,
and 2. How much I would like to live in a city full of cherry blossoms during the springtime.
They are so beautiful.

In other news:
The crush...well, we'll get to him next time
...
But might I just add -- regardless of the love life,
It has been a most wonderful Friday (and it's only noon!)
and best of allI still get to look forward to Conference, cupcakes and
Martha Stewart Dinners.
(lets hope my knack for food poisoning my friends
is kept to a minimum this weekend)

Anything fun on your weekend agenda?

Happy Spring & Happy Easter!

{photo msnbc.com}

love/hate relationship.

i have somewhat of a love/hate relationship
with "having a crush" at the moment,
and even typing that makes me cringe because
i sound like i'm in the seventh grade again;
but if i'm being honest with myself,
this matter-of-fact is frustrating my heart
and i thought it may be worth writing about.

this isn't love, this isn't anything like love -
but it is a crush and it feels like it's just
"as big of a deal" as it did when i was 12.

and this morning as i woke up with my stomach in knots,
butterflies going nuts,
and a complete lack of any control over my train of thoughts,
i decided that this is most definitely a love/hate relationship.

and depending on the hour (even down to the minute) of day,
i'd say that the "hate" part of the relationship
ranges from either 0-90% of it;
but then again, the same goes for the "love" part of it too,
i suppose.

is there any correlation between springtime and hormones?
i'd like to think so.

{photo via.}

it's not what you know, but who you know.

I feel that if I were to try and describe this past weekend,

"March Madness" would be enough said.

Final papers, projects, assignments to be done -

Reception centers that either do not exist or MapQuest is at fault,

Concerts too loud to enjoy,

Politics, Healthcare reform bills, (and so on...) that frustrate me,

Cutting my finger.

But despite my rising blood pressure,

and my tendency to stress out too easily,

Blessed sunshine made everything okay -

it provided enough warmth to keep a smile on my face,

giving us an excuse to pull out our
summer hats and paper bags,

the three dollar picnic basket, the red and white checkered bow;
surrounding myself with bridges,
baking cookies and wilted flowers.

And with friends like these,

"it's not what you know, but who you know" that

really makes life so much sweeter.