i'm sitting in my apartment while it storms outside. i was supposed to go to the Maryland state fair today, but those plans are canceled, obviously, as the sky gets grayer and the lightning becomes more active. this blows. it's also been a week since i've seen my boyfriend, which has caused a bit of friction between the two of us. for couples that spend ample time with each other, missing a day or two is no big deal. but, because we work opposite schedules, missing a chance to spend time together means that 10 days could go by without seeing one another. imagine the pent up emotions, good or bad, that could cause...

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Sunday


the week started off with the best intentions. hit the farmer's market with my boyfriend. had to drag him there practically, since he works on Sundays, but once he got there, he fell in love with the sights, the options, and we of course came back and cooked brunch. he definitely noticed a difference in the quality as opposed to what he gets from the regular grocery store.


Monday


photo a day: today. i practice Casual Mondays. isn't it enough that i can barely shift from Weekend Mode to Work Week Mode, but i simply cannot go so far as to set out office wear for the week. fortunately, my job has a very casual dress code, so this outfit works pretty well.


Tuesday


photo a day: cool. the weather has been cooler lately. that means i haven't had to really utilize my A/C since summer started, which the electric bill gawds are smiling about.


Wednesday

photo a day: home. another great shot of the block. i love it here. if only i could pick it up and move it 50 miles south to DC...


Thursday


photo a day: pair. handsome pair of desserts from my fave cupcakery! the one on the right was free. if you follow Georgetown Cupcake on Twitter, they announce a secret flavor right before they open and the first 100 folk to order will get it free! this has been a dangerous revelation amongst me and my coworkers.


Friday


photo a day: path. besides clouds, there are all sorts of amazing sights along the Marc train tracks, including a growing family of deer, foggy valleys, and hidden paths that i'm sure lead to beautiful houses.


Saturday


photo a day: fresh. these are all of the ingredients that go into my fresh pasta. it takes 5 minutes max and is full of great flavor!

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?

totally missed a week. and what had happened was... i was just tuckered out. and lazy. what else is new? i actually had a fun-filled week and weekend and kept putting off later and later on Sunday. next thing i knew, it was Tuesday. triflin'.

follow me on Instagr.am @_sarah_smile, same as Twitter

Sunday


#NaturalMoment - my boyfriend has a secret crush on my grooming habits and it manifests itself in surprise divots in my hair butters and body creams. it's his way of complimenting me... stealing my beauty butters.


Monday


i didn't post any pictures on this day. i have no idea why... must have something to do with me being called a "nigger" by a homeless looking Santa Claus in Starbucks...


Tuesday


riding on the Marc train to and from work, i see some amazing sights. the mist in the mornings, the graffiti under bridges, and the clouds during the evening... just stunning. i don't know if it has anything to do with being so close to the airport, but the clouds sit so low, i swear the sky is falling.


Wednesday


here is some of the graffiti wall art.


Thursday


photo a day: texture - as i've gotten older, i've fallen in love with the texture of runny egg yolks. something we were always warned against as children, i was previously squeamish about yolks and would only eat eggs scrambled. one day, out to eat with my old roommate, who always loved a rare steak and sunny side up eggs for brunch, i was tempted to try it and have been hooked ever since. now, i put a fried egg atop anything... warm salads, pasta, grilled meat, and it's a great excuse to make hash!


Friday


i have to say that i think Friday the 13th typically brings me good luck. i had a great day and was in the best of moods. not to mention, Fridays i have lunch dates with my coworkers. this is a simple and unassuming miso soup from a hole-in-the-wall sushi carry-out. followed by...


a trip to Starbucks for a free sampling of their new beverages, Refreshers. i got the Very Berry Hibiscus flavor, all while watching my back for Racist Santa. the day was topped off with...


cupcakes! we weren't even supposed to get cupcakes because we only had fifteen minutes and the line at Georgetown Cupcake is notoriously long. so what?! i waited nearly 45 minutes for this delectable beauty and i regret nothing.


Saturday


since my boyfriend stole half of my stash, i took the opportunity to re-up on some of my staples. the best news?? my mommy treated me to these hair goodies! take that, Racist Santa!

walking out of my apartment, i'm consistently met a beautiful reminder that it is in fact spring time. and i'm getting caught up in the newness the season brings. although i can't actually afford new anything, window shopping is still $free.99! Let's get into some seasonal fashions...

spring sights





having soooo much time on my hands mean i can explore the beautiful sights of the season. the Cherry Blossoms, the bevy of museums in Baltimore and DC, day dates/parties gives me the opportunity to play with a relaxed, care-free, subtly sexy style. these mock-wedges give the illusion of a heel that will appease my bf, but offer the support of a wedge to be able to handle a day of walking through the city. the colors of the Marni for H&M top scream spring and are best paired with white slim chinos.


spring classics



clearly, i'm ready to re-enter the workforce and am ready to start experimenting with professional work hard, play harder outfits. i imagine myself after a week of work, skipping from my office to the nearest happy hour. to do that, i'm looking into double duty outfits. by day, the flirty peplum dress in a bright color will show my enthusiasm for the approaching weekend, most likely covered with a cute office appropriate cardigan. after work, the spring sweater comes off and a hint of skin comes out, just in time for after work drinks. a cute envelope clutch and pyramid heels in psuedo-neutrals round out the look, with a pop of color with the button earrings, which i've been feeling for a while now.

did you remember to set your clocks forward? me neither... all digital everything.

but this shan't be about daylight savings time. this shall be an obvious segue, more so than my pride will ever let me admit, into the construct of time and how we use it in life. or misuse it.

no matter where you are on this earth or in your life, a second is a second. a minute is constant. so, why then, does a second feel like a minute depending on the moment in your life? when you're experiencing trauma or boredom, just one second could feel very different. i've known that all in one day, some seconds seem to have been much more tedious and drawn out than all the others... that i remember some and can't even recall another... that few seem like a gift and many seem to escape my grasp even when i've gripped ever so tightly. when i'm running late, i pray for five minutes to extend themselves into 15. when someone else is running late, i pray that I'll be there in a sec! is the truest sec. and the years. THE YEARS! during the summer of 1995, i was convinced that was the longest year of my life. the summer was long, hot and unrelenting; the winter was even crueler. i felt perpetually eleven years old. these years, i regret ever asking time to speed up. slow down a minute, just for a second. time... what a grim fairy tale.

i am fascinated and extremely fearful of the concept of time, that by which we measure living. considering everything we use time to measure: speed, acceleration, momentum... like a ride in the car. how our lives are propelled through this virtual reality of time, ever stop a minute to think if you've taken the right road, if you've sped through the parts you should've slowed down for, if you missed a turn as a result, if you've enjoyed the ride? because this car hasn't the ability reverse and it has no brakes. that's the hardest thing to learn about time.

but, does time teach a lesson? i've had a lot of doubt, not necessarily regret, concerning my life. wondering about the decisions i've made, the ones that seem to have been made for me. were they the right ones, the most effective use of my time, and sometimes am i in the place i'm supposed to be in? maybe i just have too much time on my hands, or maybe this is just the right time to ask the right questions. when things feel off or i've experienced failure, i have to ask, what's the lesson to be learned by the roadblocks encountered in my life? there has to be a reason, right?

maybe it's because i have reached a certain age that i have become so introspective. life is short. one day i looked up, and my childhood was over. entering into a new phase in my life where the things i do and decisions i make hold more weight, carry more momentum... i feel as if i have very little room for error. the car keeps on rolling and the road ahead looks to be bumpier. but, with that realization also means i have a lot more time, a lot more life to live. a new phase. and no matter the doubt, regret, fails, wins, i still have ample time to live it. i might even be wasting time wondering if i've wasted time.

it's the middle of February and it is also 68°F. people are getting on their knees to pray. pray for their salvation based on this weather indicative of Revelations or to give thanks to be able to wear less wool, less clothing altogether. there are more smiles, more acts of kindness, more bodies in movement to enjoy what they expect to be a short window of time for such unseasonable warmth.

but even on the coldest day of winter, i found a smile in my heart and a pep in my step. i wore yellow on a gloomy day. i gave thanks in a dire situation. my present is not a terribly happy one, but i refuse to let it just be terrible. it has been over four months since i have been put out of my so-called stable state. even with ample time to prevent destitution, here i arrive with no future prospects and no current allowance.

as a scientist, i understand heat transfer theory... thermodynamics. and the first law of thermodynamics basically states that the energy of an isolated system is equal to the amount of heat supplied minus the amount of work performed by the system on its surroundings. what i take from that is, no matter how cold the world gets, no matter how cold the opportunities are, as long as i'm willing to work at being happy and optimistic, i will have a warm disposition.¹

also, as a scientist, i understand how heat transfers itself; it moves to any cold body in contact with it, until an equilibrium is attained. and just because i have fallen on hard times does not means that other areas of my life are not white hot, just waiting for a connection to spread warmth to the cold corners of my life. i may not have much money, but i have tons of love, from friends, family, and my boyfriend.² i may not have a job, but i have time and wisdom to donate.

and even though i lament that my grocery store trips no longer include buying a cornucopia of cheeses, wine, and gourment bread, i know that the one type of cheese that i do have melted nicely on a slice of toast fills my body and soul sufficiently with memories. i have juuuust enough.

keep warm, keep happy, for cold times don't last always. and enjoy the heat waves to the fullest.

¹as you can see from this post, i am a starving and talented scientist. hook a sister up with a job if you can.

²oh yeah. i have a boyfriend now. he keeps me mostly smiling.