happy August! the summer is on its last leg, although i didn't really do much to enjoy it. while most of my friends spent it at festivals and concerts and traveling, i spent it making a meager wage at a temp job... that i'm very grateful to have, might i add. paying my bills is a joy, even though i have no money leftover to have any actual fun. speaking of last leg, the Olympics were somewhat amazing! i say "somewhat" because NBC sports absolutely sucks! look, i get it, the goal of a network is to keep people watching and garner ratings, but how dare you make me sit through four hours of uninteresting events just to catch thirty minutes of the main event! i was up wayyyy past my bedtime and avoided all types of media just to catch certain historical moments. Khaaaaan!

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Sunday


i've been in the business of making agua frescas this summer. mostly because my eyes are bigger than my stomach when i see delectable fruits at the farmers market. then i get home and realize i have a real aversion to the texture of most fruits. they're too soft and squishy most times, which is why i gravitate towards apples and bananas. the solution to being seduced by the purple sweet plums? make juice. this concoction here is puréed plums strained and mixed with fresh water and honey. i still have to figure out what to do with all the peaches i bought...


Monday


photo a day: calm. faced with a very important interview the next day for a job i would do questionable acts for without question, i needed a big ole glass of this to calm my anxieties and put me to bed. pray for me? thanks.


Tuesday


this is the style i wish i could recreate in my apartment. soon...


Wednesday


photo a day: outside. hello August. this is the golden time of day. wish i could've captured the morning light, but there was none! for the first time this summer. it'll be sweater season before we know it.


Thursday


photo a day: one. on the other end of the summer spectrum, the opposite of agua fresca-ing is roasting just about everything. this onion was so effing glorious! just an onion, sliced in half, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper transforms after sun bathing in the oven for 25 minutes. it's a sweeter, tanner version of its usual self.


Friday


Friday lunch with my coworkers. i introduced them to my fave, Bangkok Joe's. if you love Thai and live in DC, you must try it, if only for the sexy bowls. you know i love me a sexy bowl!


Saturday


photo a day: somewhere i sat. on my block, gazing at the large moon. it looks like one of the street lights, doesn't it?

i like to travel. if i had seen more of the world, then i guess i would be allowed to say i love to travel. but really, i love to park my butt in a car or board a train and just go. even better is if i have a great soundtrack to accompany it. there is nothing better that driving music. i don't drive a lot, but when i do, i am at the mercy of the radio, which isn't necessarily a bad thing; the main way i keep up with new music is through the radio and the only time i get to hear it is when i am in a car. my mother likes to listen to smooth jazz, as it is relaxing and calm. i am the opposite; nothing keeps me focused better than music i would never listen to at my own leisure, like Lil Wayne or Waka Flocka Flaming Idiot. the beat and the nonsensical lyrics keep me on edge and alert. really.

but driving music is something different. it makes you want to drive, to just get away with no real destination in mind. it's provocative and moody and touching. nothing gets to my escapist nature like a good driving song.

Christopher Cross - Sailing

i don't know what it is about this song, but it gets the best of me. i remember the first time i heard it in my daddy's car when i was about ten or so. it made me want to cry, and every time i hear it, i remember that drive. the lyrics and the music combine whimsically to make you just forget the road in front of you and takes you to a place... utopia maybe.

It's not far down to paradise
At least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me

beautiful.

Alicia Keys - Un-thinkable (I'm Ready)

this song also has the lyrics and the music to transport you, for similar reasons. the message behind the song is one that makes you imagine a better time and a better place. if you could just get to that place, you could do the unthinkable and everything would still be alright.

Why give up before we try
Feel the lows before the highs
Clip our wings before we fly away
I can't say I came prepared
I'm suspended in the air
Won't you come be in the sky with me

before we fly away, indeed.

Erykah Badu - Window Seat

there is a reason why i chose the video with the lyrics and the not the official music video. listen to the lyrics! have we not all felt this way at some point in time?? i feel this way A LOT. sometimes, i feel so lost, in my family, my group of friends... i feel unnoticed and neglected. and usually the only way i see to remedy that is to imagine if i were to just go away. i wonder who would miss me a little when i'm gone? who would come looking for me? and when i get back, who would even notice that i wasn't there?

But I need you to miss me
Need somebody come get me
Need your attention
Need your energy yes I do
Need someone to clap for me
Need your affection

the best part about saying good bye is hearing, "come back, come back, baby."