five questions

oh how I love a curious girl! beautiful susannah (via lovely penny) posed five questions for blog readers. I had to sit on mine for a while and think. I'm curious about your answers to these questions, so think and post away and let us know in comments if you've published.

1. tell me three things you want to do before the year ends.

oh my gosh, I have got to get a handle on my "closet". I ran out of clothes/shoes/handbag room about three years ago and we cleared out a guest room and started storing them there. we've finally decided to officially make the room a closet. last weekend, I started the monumental task of sorting and hanging everything (on the 300 new perfect wooden hangers that I love, love, love!). as I was working, I realized that I have become quite the hoarder when it comes to clothes. at about one-third completion, the count is intriguing: 18 plain white tees, 12 pair of jeans, 31 graphic tees (!), 13 oversized handbags and 33 tops with assorted colorful paisley, polka-dot, floral, stripes, peacock feather, woodland creature (I kid you not!) prints. I haven't even got to the work clothes or shoes yet. the room will be painted soon with closet fixtures installed. I've hung a chandelier and want to make this the most funkiest girliest room that I never had (circa pretty in pink 1986).

and I want to take a photography class (already signed up for two) and spend a day at the fair.

2. do you wear a signature scent?

I have a tendency to dress by mood and I use scent the same way. I gravitate toward foody scents...almond, honey, clove, milk...and also anything smokey and woodsy. I love to mix scented oils to evoke a specific memory. for example, a blend of clove and jasmine takes me back to sultry summer nights of my youth when I would sneak out in the middle of the night and smoke clove cigarettes in the backyard. I would gaze up at the stars and wonder how my life would unfold. when I wear those scents today, I feel dreamy and slightly restless with possibility.

3. finish the sentence and expand on it: I couldn't live without...

of course I want to say love, my child, friendships, etc. but I have lived without these things for periods of time and survived. (I'm superstitious here and don't want to jinx anything, so I'm staying mute on the relationship-front.) I think it would be awful to live in poverty, but I've done that (briefly) too. it would be dreadful to live a life without curiosity or an appreciation of beautiful things. and I would be very sad if something happened to my camera. I really can't fathom how people don't have dogs, they are such loving little jesters. today, I'm fighting a cold, so my most immediate needs are yogi tea, a popsicle and my big comfy bed. I'm very grateful for what I have and those times when I didn't.

4. london, paris or rome?

london. summer 2010. (although I just took one of those silly facebook quizes which predicted I should live in paris.)

5. you have $100 to spend in one hour - what do you do/buy?

well, since it's 5:14 a.m., it will have to be this. not that I need any more printed tops, but this one would look perfect with little black capris and ballet flats, no? see?! I need a psychological! the alternative would have to be more wooden hangers.

it's me again

a lovely little consequence of the unravelling course is that it refueled my love of doing fun self-portraits. this month's theme for the self-portrait challenge is "introduce yourself". I was so inspired by all the fantastic submissions, but especially thrilled with this one and this one. I couldn't get the wordle clouds to translate onto the image, so I used words around the edge of the image as a frame. it was fun.

rachel at metaphorical magpie has a hilarious meme up. take your first name and put the word "unfortunately" before it, then google and see what you come up with. rachel's had me laughing out loud. mine, however, were quite gloomy:

unfortunately, lisa fell off the wagon and began using drugs.

unfortunately, lisa doesn't have a good side yet.

unfortunately, lisa never made it that far.

unfortunately, lisa is unmanned and not on mars. (I ♥ this one!)

unfortunately, lisa was brain dead in cleveland.

and so on...you get the picture. as a group, it appears that lisa's are unfortunate indeed. try it yourself, I'd like to see your results.

this is the end of nablopomo for february. we made it! it's getting easier to post daily, but there are days when I feel I just throw something up here and that's not the kind of relationship I want to have with you. as always, the challenge kept me super aware of things that may morph into something to post, and I like that. kendalee and christy posted every single day too and I really liked knowing I was going to be able to visit them for daily beauty and inspiration. congratulations!

happy, happy weekend friends!

one word

I love a meme. this one is via rachel via mormar.

consider yourself tagged.

1. where is your cell phone? charging.

2. where is your significant other? theatre.

3. your hair color? black.

4. your mother? teacher.

5. your father? serious.

6. your favorite thing? color.

7. your dream last night? parking?

8. your dream/goal? exploring.

9. the room you're in? office.

10. your hobby? photography.

11. your fear? apathy.

12. where do you want to be in six years? life.

13. where were you last night? bed.

14. what you're not? quiet.

15. one of your wish list items? iPhone.

16. where you grew up? california.

17. the last thing you did? work.

18. what are you wearing? pjs.

19. your T.V.? tivoing.

20. your pets? loved.

21. your computer? loved.

22. your mood? thoughtful.

23. missing someone? mia.

24. your car? practical.

25. something you're not wearing? panties!

26. favorite store? anthropologie.

27. your summer? happy.

28. love someone? affirmative.

29. your favorite color? rainbow.

30. when is the last time you laughed? panties!

31. last time you cried? election.

mosaic monday

rachel over at the metaphorical magpie blogged this fun idea for a meme:

do a flickr search using the answers to these twelve questions about yourself. choose a photo from the first page of results. then make a photo mosaic via big huge labs.



here are my results (see flickr credits here):

1. What is your first name? lisa (which I apparently share with a london feline).
2. What is your favorite food? fish tacos.
3. What high school did you go to? bakersfield high school in california.
4. What is your favorite color? if I have to choose, apple green.
5. Who is your celebrity crush? james mcavoy.
6. Favorite drink? mojito.
7. Dream vacation? montmartre in paris.
8. Favorite dessert? happy face cookies from smiths in bakersfield.
9. What you want to be when you grow up? anne marie duff (beautiful, talented, wakes up to james mcavoy).
10. What do you love most in life? laughing, happy children.
11. One word to describe you. inquisitive.
12. Your flickr name. lisa sparks.