Yogi in Training

I'm officially all signed up for Yoga Teacher Training!  This is so exciting.  I had forgotten just how much I like yoga, but I will never have an opportunity to forget again, because I'm going to be doing yoga 14 hours a week.  Which is, you know, a lot.  It's a lot.  But, I'm super psyched.

My textbooks are all ordered with Amazon gift cards from Christmas, and on their way.  It's happening.  I'm gaining more marketable skills.  Since all of my current ones involve acting, this is another nice step in the right direction.  Not that there isn't work in theatre- there is.  I have some of it.  Danny does too.  It is nice to be getting some experience in something moderately related yet different, though. Woot.

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days- last week was really busy, and this weekend I just needed to decompress, which involved a blatant ignorance of everything that remotely represented a deadline.  We cleaned the apartment.  It smells divine.  

In other news, the weather has been unbelievably gorgeous lately.  Some people are freaking out because it has been unseasonably warm, but I absolutely love it.  Warm weather and sunlight make me happy.  

 I spent a gorgeous lunch break out in Washington Square Park the other day! No coat!

The sun has been rising pre-7am and is up and bright by the time I leave the house at like 7:45, which  makes mornings just a little bit better.  Even Mondays.  

Danny told me this morning that he thinks I might be a secret stealth morning person, and I think that he might be right about this... 

...Does this mean I'm an adult now? My apartment is clean, my bills are paid, and I wake up before 8 every day except Sundays.  I... might be growing up.  Or, grown up.  Meep.  Then again, I am freaking out about how expensive yoga is, so maybe not. 

Here's a little friend we purchased not too long ago- a one-eyed zebra.  He looked so sad and lonely, and we decided to rescue him from CVS.  Now, he lives on our bookshelf.

Ever since I saw Toy Story I've had a weird thing about unloved toys.

New York City , NY, USA

But from Funk Comes ART!

It's President's Day, and I still have no new photographs for you.  I'll have some soon.  I swear.  It'll happen.  But, while you are eagerly awaiting that exciting day- I can smell your anticipation from here, enjoy some work by a friend of mine- Kacie Leo!

Kacie and I have known one another since we were eleven, making her one of my oldest friends.  While I do photography as a fun and silly hobby, she's actually doing it as a career.  She's in school for photojournalism, but does lots of amazing artistic photography as well.  Kacie modeled in high school, and for a year or so after we graduated, and now she uses herself as a model in a lot of her work.  She does mostly film, but uses digital as well sometimes.  This morning, she sent me this new series she recently completed, with herself as a model, and I think it's lovely.  Her art often has a darker, edgier quality to it that, frankly, I'm not particularly awesome at capturing.  I tend to be drawn to things I find nice, or pretty, though sometimes I use subjects that are slightly grittier.  When I do, though, I tend to shoot it in a way that ends up, once again, looking moderately pretty.  Kacie keeps the edge in her work, and it's a bit different than what I usually show, which I think is fun. So, I thought I'd share it with you!  Enjoy.

Here's what she told me in her email, "This recent hospital adventure put me into a bit of a funk. But from a funk comes ART!  If you feel so inclined, I would love to see these on your blog. I put a lot of myself into these images. I don't have an artist statement, or any sort of text with my vision. If you choose to use any of these, you may write what you find fitting".

Instead of writing a statement... I'm just going to let the work speak for itself.  I love how she used the hospital bracelet, and sick look after her hospital visit, however.  It's so easy to want to photograph yourself as attractive all of the time... see yesterday's post to get a glimpse at my compulsion into this.  Kudos to you, darlin', for embracing the look of the piece, and still managing to look glamorous.  

Go, Kacie.  Go.

Sunday Style: This Is Far More Difficult than Expected

I wanted to write a blog post today.  I've been dressing okay lately... not as stylish as I aspire to be, but not awful either.  There have been a few outfit "zingers" in the past few weeks, and I've been pretty appropriately proud of all of them.  This makes me happy.  There have also been a lot of jeans and sweaters because it's cold, I'm lazy, and I don't like waking up too long before I have to leave the house.  Also, I somehow manage to forget where things are sometimes.  But, yeah.  I've been doing well on the fashion spectrum.  Despite not going to martial arts a lot the past few weeks I haven't put on any weight (woot) and I guess that means I'm eating less.  Nifty.  Now I'll look even better when I start working out more hours again.  And there will be pictures, at that time.

At this time, there are no pictures.  

I admire fashion bloggers a lot, because they have to do more than I ever thought.  Getting your hair, makeup, and outfit model-perfect every day could be fun, sure, but it could also be painstakingly hard work.  Doing my hair sometimes takes me a full 10-15 minutes depending on how straight/ curly/ generally organized I want it to be, and don't even get me started on outfits.  There have been far too many times that five minutes before I need to leave the house, I find myself sitting in a pile of dresses, tights, socks, cardigans, and boots, silently sobbing.  Okay, I'm not always silently sobbing, but you get the idea.  Not always.  Only every other day.  Indecision is a cruel mistress, and makeup has to be reapplied every time you cry.

Why, clothes, WHY??!??

My standard go-to outfit is a dress, tights, boots, and a sweater, or, perhaps a blazer if I'm feeling particularly sassy.  In summer, there is no sweater, probably no tights, although, maybe, if they are sheer, and some sort of little sneaker-shoe.  A scarf could be worn around the neck with any of these outfits, along with some big, vintage-y earrings, and the three silver rings I have on every day.  Sometimes I get creative and wear, oh my god, jeans.  Or separates.  Like, a skirt and shirt.  That go together.  On occasion, I even belt them.  I know.  I can't believe it either.  Then, every once in a while, the sky melts, and... I ... I put a scarf in my hair.  Or an equivalent thereof.  My clothing is moderately creative, but there are really only so many options.  I have a whole bunch of little dresses, but I wear the same 12 or so most of the time.  Likewise with shirts- I own many neat shirts, ranging from blouse to tee and back again.  Given that generally, dresses are worn, there aren't too many opportunities for shirts that cannot be used for the purposes of working out.  Thankfully, I work out a lot, so the shirts appropriate for such tasks don't have to feel abandoned or unloved.  The other ones get neglected quite often.

I did buy a pair of tights the other day with a pirate print.  They are in the mail.  Necessary?  No.  Wait... necessary?  Yes.  They have f****ing narwhals on them.  Fighting.  What did you think I said?

So, uh, yeah. FASHION.  I'm wearing PJ pants and a sports bra right now.  True story.  I clearly am beyond qualified to write fashion posts.  Both articles are from Target.  Big budget.

I swear, one of these Sundays, this will be a real fashion post again.  It's just difficult because....

1. 

It's cold.  You know what you don't want to do when it's cold?  Pose outside wearing anything that isn't a warm, snuggly winter coat.

2. 

I only have two warm, snuggly winter coats, and I've showed off both of them already.

3. 

I have no backyard.  I have to find somewhere outside to do this, because my apartment isn't the best setting, and everyone, including myself, looks best in natural light.  This means going somewhere.  This also means that using a tripod is maybe not the best idea because I'm outside in New York City.  A skinny little white girl by herself, kind of close to, but not touching an expensive piece of machinery.  I might as well run down the street screaming, "take my camera!  Free camera!  Take it!".  This means I need a buddy.  And, I'm just not quite narcissistic enough to steal an hour out of someone's day just to get photographs of myself.  

All of these things will be resolved, but just to let you know, I admire fashion bloggers because they have apparently gotten over all of these things.

In the meantime, here are some cute things I've worn.  In the past.  I do wear clothing.  Pieces you will probably see again, when I have real fashion posts.

This one is what I wore to the Sleep No More Valentine's Day Party on Tuesday.  It's the only picture, because it was dark, and I felt tacky about using flash.  This dress made me so happy, though- it's a floor-length black casual gown with slits on the site that let my ribs hang out.  Since my ribs are the only part of my body one might describe as "bony," I feel like I might as well show them off.  That handsome guy is Danny.

This was taken on Thanksgiving at my parents' house.  The lady on the left is me, and the one on the right is my  little sister, Julianna, who is doing her first print modeling gig this week!  I'm excited for her.  We're all printy and full of happy smiles here.

This was taken on my birthday, in Texas.  That's our friend Alex Stevens on the right.  It's an actual full-body shot of me... not too many of those exist.  You can see how short I really am.  But, you can also see how rocking that dress is that I'm wearing.  It's one of my favourite dresses, but I've been having issues figuring out how to adapt it for winter.

Now this is a rarely-seen sight.  That's me.  IN SHORTS. Next to what may be one of the weirder tags I've seen, in Austin.  Also, I'm wearing a Batman shirt, because, I can.

And, in this one, Danny is wearing a Batman shirt.  Because, well, he can.

Really, though.  I'll have a real post next Sunday.  I'll get over this.  Don't be stunned if it involves Batman too.  Between the two of us, we have five Batman shirts.

Happy Sunday!

What's Your Spirit Animal?

I think I'm an ocelot.

Absolutely adorable- and surprisingly deadly.  

Danny is probably a husky.

And, I think my sister, Julianna, is a jackalope.

If you couldn't tell- I am out of photographs today.  This has never happened to me before.  I have no more.  Work, martial arts, yoga, and you know, life in general, have been so busy that I haven't been out-a-shooting lately.  Today, I should be able to get some new pictures, so that tomorrow's blog post isn't about spirit animals.

In other news though, what is your spirit animal?  What animal do you resonate with the most?  Share in the comments!

And, have a happy Saturday.

Inspiration Fridays: My Dream World

So, we've properly established that I'd like to be a badass and live in a castle.  If you haven't picked this up, read this article, and then read this one before continuing on here.  We good?  Alright.

If every romantic dreamed that ever danced through my subconscious, or conscious, for that matter, magically came true, I would be a shockingly gorgeous, magical witch-princess who lived in a moss-covered tower, somewhere in England, with Danny, who was my husband, lover, and commander of my army.  Because, I'd have one of those in this fantasy.  An army.  All mine.  All ours, actually.  With lots of hot guys in it; but none of them would ever have a chance because, well, no one could ever beat Danny in a hot contest.  They'd be our minions, essentially- saving the lands from the depths of evil and corruption on Danny's and my orders.  Yeah.  That is how I'd like this to work.

 By the river Main, by Dionizije

 My humble beginnings would be just that.  Humble, and plain.  I'd feed geese, perhaps, my long blonde hair flowing in the breeze.  Although, in this mystical fantasy-world that is totally real in my head, I'm brunette, not blonde.  Why?  God knows.  I just think of myself as having brown hair.

 HBIC

 My epic castle would be in a lovely, hidden grove, only accessible by traveling through some type of labyrinthine tree set-up like this one.  The whole thing would be stunningly beautiful, because, yes.  If you're going to have a moderately creepy maze as the entrance to your house, the would-be-invaders might as well be impressed by your sense of taste and your confounding entrance when they attempt to destroy you and storm your castle.  That's how these things work.

Efidriade

 My castle would not be densely populated.  I like people, in general, but I wouldn't want them in my house.  A house is a sanctum, in my opinion, and is meant to be kept silent, so that, if one wants to escape into solitude, it is possible. However, it would have an okay number of people, all of whom I would have hand-selected for their sarcastic humour and ability to understand true fun.  Every pretty lady-in-waiting would be just as kickass as every one of the men, and wear their standard garter-dagger, as well as a sword.  Or, a mace, if they are really sassy.  The mace-wearers would be my favourite friends.
 

Kirkstall Abbey By (For the easily distracted)

This is my personal courtyard.  I sit here, sip tea, read books, and cast spells to my heart's delight.  Did I mention that I'm magic?  I'm magic.

 Fairy Nobasho

All of my clothing would be eloquently designed, except for my battle outfits, which would be desperately practical because I don't like dying.

I would camoflauge my castle and surrounding hedge maze with fog, making it just a bit harder to detect.  This would be accomplished using that magic that we've established I have.  Not only would this fog make me more difficult to overthrow, destroy, and/ or kill, it would also add a calming, though moderately creepy ambience to the whole scenario.  Fog is mystical, and I am too.  In my dream, I mean.

Starry Messenger

 My enemies would be obliterated because screw evildoers, and all of their evil deeds that they do. Because I like and appreciate culture, I would not wreck the shit out of their architecture or art.  Their buildings would be partially preserved so that history can look back on them, and appreciate my destruction of them, and also so that I have ruins to photograph now.

 La Belle Dame sans Merci by Sir Frank Dicksee


 This would be my painting because, on top of being a commander of an army, the head of my castle, a master hedge-designer, and magic, I would also be a painter.  That would not be me on the horse.  Flowers in my hair?  No sir.  A helmet would be on my head.  A battle-helmet.  Because I battle.

Medieval by Moyan_Brenn

This is the scene from out of our bedroom window, and what a view it is indeed!  Marshy marshes with some manner of something with an acqueduct or bridge thing attached.  I'm sighing in glee at the moment.  Just look at that.  I'm so glad we built our castle here!

Heart shaped book of hours from the 15th century, Amiens, Picardy, France. 
Original from Bibliothèque nationale de France

And... that's my spell book.  Because I can.

Happy Friday!!

599.......

So, um, this is my 599th post.  I don't know whether to be excited that I've been at this so long, because god knows, sticking to a habit, especially one that doesn't make you any money is a hard and impressive thing to do, or to laugh at myself because I've apparently had enough things to say to fill 599 blog posts.  And, that would label me a pretty ridiculous narcissist.  Or, someone who has way too much time on their hands.  Probably, though, option C- all of the above.  Both.  

But, you know what?  Despite thinking, "Oh, wow, I... I've been doing this for a while now... I should, um, yeah... maybe do things that well, aren't this..." on occasion, I'm thrilled.  I've written a whole bunch of nifty articles, taken many photographs that I am incredibly proud of, and possibly, entertained you.  

You guys are the reason I do this.  Thanks for reading my stuff.  It's rather cool that you do.  Cool like ice.  Covered in adorable, yet surprisingly scary polar bears, who aren't drinking coke, because, Coca-cola, bears don't drink coke you sillies, and who are certainly not fraternizing with penguins, because, duh, penguins don't like polar bears.  They are too cool.  Unlike every bird other than them, mostly, they are too hip to fly.  Flying was so last season.  Psscht.

Well, back to 599.  What a cool number.  For half a second, I thought this was the big six-zero-zero, and I planned some sort of bizarre 300 times two thing, where I was going to photoshop my face onto Leonidas, who, was that king who wore no shirt in 300.  Oh, wait.  No one wore a shirt in 300.  What an amazing movie! That would have been a weird post.  I didn't seriously contemplate this, I'm just joking.  Or, maybe I did.  That's up to your imagination.  I'm not making that image.  Or posting it.  Because it's not saved on my desktop at work.  It isn't.  Stop looking at me like that.  Today isn't 600.  Today is 599- the post before 600, which will land whenever I happen to write my next post.  Considering that I don't know what I want to write about next, the chances of you having the magical, mystical knowledge of when Travel and Toile shall update again is actually a moderately terrifying concept.  Your future-telling skills are impressive.  Snaps for you!

I'm going to be perfectly honest for a moment.  I have no idea what I'm writing about, or where I'm going here.  There was no planning.  This is all stream of consciousness.  Simply put- 599 was inspiring for reasons unknown, and the need was felt to post something.

OH LOOK.  A GNOME.

 Thus, let us discuss kitschy stuff.  In particular, shall we say that this discussion is about lawn ornaments?  Yes.  Why not.  Lawn ornaments.  They're weird.  They are bizarre.  They are about as kitschy as kitschy can be.  Lawn ornamentations range from moderately tasteful to supremely tacky.  Freeport, NY, you know, that place we went for Danny's birthday, had an impressive number of them.  

Like this one:

What is even... it's a bird.  A heron?  Pelican?  A helican?  Perhaps?  Also, it's missing a wing.  Not that the one still attached looks as if it would do much good- it's flipped around the wrong way.  Someone kimora-ed this poor thing into oblivion of one-winged twisty terror.  Although, I'm not utterly certain it's a poor thing.  Those eyes make me think demon.  This would also explain the wing flip, because, well, I have seen The Exorcist, and this just makes sense.  Yes.

  I'd like to title this one "Voyeurs".  Porquoi?  Look at the Rabbit.  And the Turtle.  Oh, right.  And, the dog.  They all want to get on that mosaic-y, kissy, childy goodness.  Stone cold awesome right here.  Except for the turtle out-of-frame on the left.  That one shall henceforth be named Santora-turtle, because he is opposed to public displays of affection, and for some reason, this makes me think of Rick Santorum... because he hates fun.

ONE DAY I SHALL CATCH THE LIGHTHOUSE AND THE GIANTS WILL LET ME COME INSIDE.  Unless I'm eaten by the giant crab beneath me.  That would suck.

This is my most favoritest tiny bridge to nowhere.

That is all.

Guard Kitty.

Cute and chubby guard puppy.

A cabbage of the ornamental variety.

Another cabbage, which happens to look like an alien.

And last, but, certainly not least, a headless, um... stormtrooper?  Stormtrooper.

Happy 599!

Freeport, New York, USA

If Nautical Nonsense Be Something You Wish

I love the sea- and our trip to Freeport definitely had some lovely nautical nonsense.  We spent most of the first day at the Nautical Mile, a stretch of marina, bars, and restaurants, and it was lovely.  That hibachi restaurant I posted about last week was on this strip.  

 

The day was cloudy, the sea was calm, and the smell was fishy in nature.  We frolicked, almost alone on the piers, taking in the sites of the boats, and the closed-down outdoor bars.  The wind was enough to blow around my hair, but not enough to create a chill.  We wore lighter coats.  It was lovely, and quiet.  We were almost alone on the street.  

 

Most importantly, Danny seemed to enjoy himself.  I was watching his shoulders descend from his ears, and his gait slow.  Ahh, vacation.

Freeport, New York, USA