tries not to anthropomorphize everything

debra. 25. seaglass collector. firefly chaser. constellation gazer. marshmallow roaster.

[stars0aked]

“i can sense my memories just out of reach. they have weight and shape, like shrouded furniture in a darkened room. i’ve simply misplaced the light to see them by.”

- Stuart Turton, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

[icanread]

[stars0aked]

“loving someone is like moving into a house,” sonja use to say. “at first you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that all this belongs to you, as if fearing that someone would suddenly come rushing in through the door to explain that a terrible mistake had been made, you weren’t actually supposed to live in a wonderful place like this. then over the years the walls become weathered, the wood splinters here and there, and you start to love that house not so much because of all its perfection, but rather for its imperfections. you get to know all the nooks and crannies. how to avoid getting the key caught in the lock when it’s cold outside. which of the floorboards flex slightly when one steps on them or exactly how to open the wardrobe doors without them creaking. these are the little secrets that make it your home.” 

- Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove, 305-306

[stars0aked]

so we talked all night about the rest of our lives, where we’re gonna be when we turn 25..

i was nine years old when i first heard this emblematic graduation song and felt the now-familiar stirrings of sentimentality. throughout my school years, this song became an anthem of change and growing up as we graduated to it again and again--fifth grade, eighth grade, twelfth grade--each time taking another shaky, eager, emotional step towards an unthinkably distant future. so unthinkably distant in fact, that i never paid attention to that number twenty-five until this past weekend when this song played on our drive home (courtesy of my boyfriend’s own eighth grade CD). 

as i sang along, the words coming to mind effortlessly, i was startled to hear myself sing the exact age i’ll be turning in a matter of days. i stopped myself and felt a rush of emotion as i exclaimed to my boyfriend again and again, “wait, did you hear that? 25. this is so trippy. i’m about to turn 25. this is crazy. i’m about to be that number. i remember crying to this song at my fifth grade graduation and now i’m about to be 25. can you believe it?” my mind was blown. (it still hasn’t finished sinking in.)

whereas previously, it was such an arbitrarily far number to represent such a vague and far-off future that the number didn’t even matter, suddenly it’s become a very relevant number. now, only days away from my own 25th birthday, i’m in a little bit of disbelief that i’m about to find out the answer to this (albeit cheesy) song that i have loved and sang along to for sixteen years because i’m here--i’m at “where we’re gonna be when we turn 25.” 

this is where i’ll be. 

[dliphotographyblog]

It was such a treat (literally!) to do a photo shoot for Shōjō this past Saturday. 

Located in Boston’s Chinatown, their menu serves up dishes that feature a modern take on Asian ingredients. They’re also rocking a vibrant mural depicting Shōjō, the ape, on his adventures through Boston. 

For our session, I got up close and personal with some of Shōjō’s favorite dishes along with a couple of new seasonal additions. Everything looked beautiful, of course, but the cherry on top for me was getting to try everything afterwards–yum!

[stars0aked]

check out my recent photo session at shōjō :)

[stars0aked]

day seven of my #100joyfuldays is a dreary, rainy one--but i'm extra thankful for comfort foods on #rainy days. #rainraingoaway #comfortfood #congee #粥 #죽 #100happydays #100happydebras

[stars0aked]

day five of my #100joyfuldays :) today is kind of exciting (and a little bit scary) because i’m trying something new—i’m opening an #etsy shop!

come and visit me: www.etsy.com/shop/starsoaked :) 

[stars0aked]

day four of my #100joyfuldays has been filled with lots and lots of laughter thanks to good friends and the game #spotit (hip edition) :) #hotpotatostyle #wemeanbusiness #noelevating #nocurling #100happydays #100happydebras

[stars0aked]

day three of my #100joyfuldays--today is an especially joyful day because alex will be back tonight and he won't be going anywhere again any time soon :) but in the meantime, i'm enjoying my quiet saturday morning with this 1000 piece dolphin puzzle that @mchu21 got me for christmas #100happydays #100happydebras #puzzletherapy

[stars0aked]

it's only day two of my #100joyfuldays and i'm already learning that it's not quite as easy as simply declaring that i will choose joy--tears were cried, walls were punched, knuckles were bruised--but today is a new day and i will take it one day at a time. #breathein #breatheout #arttherapy #100happydays #100happydebras

[stars0aked]

100 joyful days | day 1

i have to admit, it's been 2 years since i graduated from college and i still haven't found my stride yet--my place in the world, my corner of the sky. but today, today could've been a turning point. and instead, i'm faced with yet another closed door when i really thought i'd finally found my footing. which makes it unusually perfect for me to start my own 100 happy days because more than ever, i need to remember to choose joy--a joy that is deeply rooted in God's faithful and trustworthy love for me.

when anxiety was great within me, your comfort brought joy to my soul. psalm 94:19

the funny thing is, i was supposed to hear back from this job "early this week" which technically means monday, tuesday, or at latest, wednesday. and boy did i obsessively check my email for those three days. and up until wednesday night, i had no plan B--once again, all my eggs were placed in this one seemingly perfect basket and i had no idea what i'd do if it didn't work out. it wasn't until late last night (wednesday night) that a rough plan B was suggested to me, and i felt a glimmer of hope beyond this job that i had put all my hope in. maybe God was waiting until i had a rough plan B to keep my hope alive before breaking the bad news to me--maybe that's why i found out today (thursday morning) instead of actually "early this week." and who knows if this plan B will even pan out, but i'm sure if it doesn't, by that time, God will have placed another hopeful glimmer on the horizon.

[stars0aked]

i tried to write about real things. i wanted to describe the world, because to live in an undescribed world was too lonely.

- Nicole Krauss, The History of Love, 7

[orgasm]

[stars0aked]

"today, my grandpa keeps an old, candid photo on his nightstand of my grandma and him laughing together at some party in the 1960’s. my grandma passed away from cancer in 1999 when I was 7. this evening when i was at his house, my grandpa caught me staring at the photo. he walked up, hugged me from behind and said, remember, just because something doesn’t last forever, doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth your while."

- makesmethink

[icanread]

[stars0aked]

"it won’t always be easy but we’ll always be laughing. or crying sometimes, i don’t know, but either way we’ll always be feeling, and that’s huge because plenty of married couples eventually get to the point where they forget to feel. and i know we’re not perfect and things get weird but we take care of each other and we’re each other’s home and really, what else is there?"

- mila jaroniec, will you marry me?

[stars0aked]

(via photosetcxo)

lover? i don’t know. i don’t know if she loves me. i don’t know if i love her.

all i can say is, she’s the one i think about. all the time. she’s the voice i want to hear. she’s the face i hope to see.

- Sophie Kinsella, I’ve Got Your Number, 427