Things I Love

I realize this is not so much a writing piece as it is a list... but since it's my blog, well, Ima gonna allow it.  Plus, it's right in theme with the fact that LOVE is one of my favorite things to write about.  There is a Jesuit quote I heard once, back in my church-nerd days :)  that stuck with me:

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. 

Fall in love, stay in love and it will decide everything." 

I'm a God-loving girl, to be sure, but for me this quote is less about God and more about just plain being someone who falls in love.  Head first.  Intensely.  All the time.  And the fact that it happens to me often doesn't cheapen it or diminish it: I am a passionate girl with a huge capacity for love.  So, since it makes me happy to think of these things - let me honor the things I love, or at least a snapshot of them :) - right here, right now:

I love...

* sudoku 
* the sound of rain at bedtime
* staying up late and sleeping in
* popcorn

* gourmet versions of things: gummy snacks, taffy apples...

* birthdays
* when the perfect rock and roll song comes on the radio while you're driving
* flowers:  picking them. visiting them in greenhouses.  having them around my home. receiving them from boys.
* my cat Luna
* fireplaces
* karaoke
* ice skating ice skating ice skating [closest to feeling to flying i've ever experienced]
* sparkly jewelry
* dress-up clothes
* dressing up, every excuse i get
* fairytales: the ones you grew up with, the ones that are epic-ly romantic, the ones that are so tragic they break your heart, the ones featuring strong beautiful women, the ones featuring men you wish you could find, the ones that inspire art, the ones you love so much that you crave more versions of them - like movie form, or books with a different take on the tale, the ones that make you re-think yourself, your life... fairytales.
* printed word (like books, as opposed to kindles.  please, if you're reading this, do not EVER buy me a kindle)
* travel travel travel.  to europe, especially!  new winding streets and parks to wander down and to lose myself within.
* the French language
* boys who speak French
* boys with British or Irish accents
* boys with amazing vocabularies 
* boys who can rock hats that are not baseball caps - like fedoras or flat caps
* boys who aren't afraid to ask a woman to dance.  boys that can dance.  boys that can dance with a woman and make it fun - make her feel elegant and pretty.
* boys who can sing
* boys that play guitar
* boys that can serenade you while playing guitar
* boys who CALL, rather than text
* boys who aren't afraid of love
* boys that are brave
* boys who handle things that need to be handled
* boys that give flowers
* friends that would kill for you
* friends who build you up when you are down
* friends that listen.  friends that are there for you when you need it most.
* friends who don't judge
* writing
* anyone who actually takes the time to read my long-winded writing
* my brothers
* my city's skyline
* the moon - especially on nights when it's dramatic
* surprising people when they assumed i fit into a checkbox that I DON'T
* open-mindedness
* authenticity
* people with big hearts and an even bigger capacity for forgiveness
* rainbows in the sky and rainbows from prisms in windows
* Anne of Green Gables
* Shakespeare's love stories
* the scent of lilacs and lilies of the valley
* Farmer's Markets
* restaurants that serve humane meat
* co-workers that make the workday fun
* candles
* potatoes.  especially my mother's mashed potatoes.
* seeing people i love happy
* having my picture taken
* going for walks
* fairies and mermaids
* handwritten correspondence
* the fleur de lis symbol
* bubble baths
* pedicures
* having parties.  having different friend worlds collide successfully at parties.  helping awesome people to meet awesome people.
* stumbling upon awesome finds in second hand stores
* new purses. new shoes.
* yoga yoga yoga

* sushi sushi sushi

* moments in life when you know you're in the exact right place, at the exact right time
* making mixes for boys
* writing letters to boys
* how it feels when someone strokes my hair
* having hair people do my hair for me!
* spicy red wines.  white wines with sushi. champagne for celebration.
* Napa Valley
* the world's best way to unwind/let it all out: dancing dancing dancing
* hipstamatic.  because it captures life the way i see it.
* people who are aware of their surroundings and the way their actions affect others.
* people who are true to themselves when it's hard
* people who put love and positive energy into the world
* finding badass flight deals
* mirrors.  especially gold ones.
* the BackLot
* weddings where the ceremony is as important and memorable [if not moreso] as the reception
* people who don't let sports run their lives
* pictures of my brothers and i when we were little
* thinking of princess names to give my future baby girls.  picturing them in tutus and fairy wings.
* the colors of leaves in the fall - especially when you see bright red
* conservatories
* libraries
* dark wood fixtures and home accents
* stained glass

... I mean, I could keep going.  I will probably come back to this periodically when I think of something that simply MUST go on here.  But for now...

Fall in love.  Stay in love.  It will decide everything.