We are under a Winter Weather Advisory.  (I want to be in school again and sleep in at my mom and pop’s with stacks of books and movies on their big projector screen)

People in these parts are mostly upset with the results of last night’s Super Bowl.  Any sympathy for the underdog was completely trampled over by devotion to the Colts.  Sahwee.

As far as sport-viewing, I’m a fan of basketball (Go Hoosiers!) and tennis.  I like the idea of football and respect it, but i always forget all the rules.  Even in my younger cheerleading days — we just clapped & yelled when everyone else clapped & yelled (well i suppose i should only speak for myself).  I would have enjoyed watching the game last night, but after hearing the winner, I have to say i’m glad i was not around my family in the moment…..

…..Introducing my nephew…..His name is Colt

So now switching back to my comfy nerd-dom… What are you reading right now friends?  It’s been such a crazy-busy time, I haven’t been able to read for my own pleasure in quite a while.  I’m digging in now though and this is what I’ve got on my chair-side table…

I’ve been desiring to read the entire series for several years but always got distracted by Lewis or MacDonald or the Russians.  They’re definitely hefty meticulous books and since I already know the storyline…  but enough excuses…  I finished The Fellowship a couple of months ago and so I’m determined to continue faithfully (plus- i got the illustrated hardbacks from my little bro. for Christmas!)

A recommendation and gift from my friend Mike….  finally getting around to it after over a year…

Ok, this one is a little embarrassing and not what I would normally choose to spend time reading BUT my dad’s a smart guy and I make him read/listen to all my fave authors & speakers so it’s only fair I read some of the stuff he throws my way.  Enter in probably the first real self-help book I’ve ever read in my life.  We’ll see how it goes.

Finally, I want to dig back into some Tolstoy short stories after my bestie Lyndsy reminded me of how beautifully and richly he writes them.  Here is a list of some good’ns you can read online! .  In the past, I’ve read How Much Land Does a Man Need?, A Lost Opportunity, and What Men Live By.

*Interesting fact: Pushkin was enamored with the female foot while Tolstoy noticed his first love’s “aristocratic elbow”

And now… Just Because… in honor of my viewing of “Bright Star” this past weekend, I will close with Keats words under the same title…

Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art–
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors–
No–yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever–or else swoon to death.

The weathermen are calling for a yucky rainy & snowy Friday & Saturday and so my plans are simply to walk a block over to…

for this…

and this…

Saturday, i’m going to sleep in, clean my very messy room, do some laundry, and watch this …

with my dear friend Meg

And I will scoff at the mess outside.

What are your weekend plans dear friends??

Last Friday we bragged told you about our trip to the cabin/lakehouse and in honor, posted some photos of our ideal retreats.  Well, it turns out we had no need for an imagined ideal location somewhere else ’cause little did we know we were about to arrive to the aboslute idyllic that we couldn’t even have had even an inkling of an idea of.

It was like mom taking away the brownie before dinner ’cause only she knows you’re going to get a giant piece of chocolate-caramel mousse after your steak dinner.  We knew we were in for it when we first arrived to this…

And then it only got better as we entered- tranforming into Real World castmates or Americas Next Top Model contestants, screaming and emphatically claiming our rooms.

Happy Birthday Jenn!!

(only thing missing is that fantastic hot tub under the bare trees outlining a starry sky -sigh.  But you think we’re actually gonna let you see those?  psssh…This aint the real Real World honey!)

I don’t even understand….

What magic here

or if curiosity killed the magician, click HERE

More found here: Vinography Images

One website that I am going to add to my lunchtime rotation is Slaughterhouse 90210. The author, Maris Kreizman, very cleverly pairs screenshots from a wide range of television shows with quotes from literature. One of my favorites, featuring Freaks and Geeks:

I’d like to watch TV with Maris.

…Florence + the Machine’s Lungs. I’m especially obsessed with the song “Cosmic Love.” I may be a little behind the curve, since this album came out last year, but better late than never. Have a listen, and let me know what you think.

Our Cabin weekend was better than we could have ever imagined it would be.  The only sad part was that Starling got stuck in snowy/icy road conditions  and she wasn’t able to make it .  We missed you Starling!

We’ve got lots of pics to update you with but here’s a little teaser.  All pics below captured by Bea.

Why noncreepy cabin in the woods edition? The lovely ladies of MSB will be spending the weekend at a cabin celebrating a dear friend’s birthday.  There will be much talking, laughing, fudgy brownies, and Beyonce.

Starling’s Pick: Falling Water
(If I’m going to spend the weekend in the woods, I’d like to do it in style.)

Bea’s Pick: Gatlinburg, TN

The Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant, Smokey Mountain National Park, and Coach outlet have a special place in my heart. Plus, I really love singing “It was Gatlinburg in mid July” every time we go there.

Before I start with my selection, I have a couple of messages for my dear superior co-bloggers….Starling: I want to steal your location.  Maybe I’ll just go with you and forget mine.  Bea: One picture?  Are you kidding me??  Starling and Bea:  Let’s hope our lakehouse-cabin is not quite as nice as the first one and not quite as uh…. high up as the second ’cause you know our partay be bouncin’ & shakin’ that house DOWN.

Wren’s Pick: Huemoz, Switzerland (Where Schaeffer founded the first L’abri)

(crap! i can’t get the Sound of Music out of my head now)

I love bridges. Crossing out over open air in your car or on your own two feet is a wonderful feeling, and the views are always spectacular. I think a bridge offers an amazing opportunity to use architecture and engineering to create a functional piece of art, a landmark. This morning I was reading this article on beautiful bridges around the world, and I thought I’d share a few with you. The bridges I have selected are pretty modern in style, but there are some gorgeous historic bridges as well, if you care to research further.

Millau Viaduct in France. This bridge is taller than the Eiffel Tower.

The Atlantic Road in Norway. A 5.5 mile stretch of twisting and undulating concrete bridges.

Erasmusbrug, a cable-stayed bridge in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is nicknamed "The Swan."

Henderson Waves, Singapore's tallest pedestrian bridge. I desperately want to run through this one.

Gateshead Millennium Bridge, a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge in the U.K.

Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany. I love this photo. Boats on a bridge!

The title of my post can best be described as a bait and switch.  This post is pretty much a shameless plug for my Flickr page that I just set up.  So, head on over to Flickr, check out my page, and let me know what you think. If you have a Flickr page, let me know so we can be Flickr bffs!