a very nice day

today was filled - and is continuing to be filled - with oodles of things i love:

waking up to sunlight.
sharing a morning with emma, post-birthday celebration.
eating an-almost perfect orange at lunch (not as sweet as i prefer, but juicy enough to compensate).
reading outside with tea in hand and much time to spare.
meditating on my baguette options for a meal i'm making tomorrow, which requires day-old bread.
trekking to another cafe for a berry tart.

and later, i'll be lingering over some tapas, wine, and merriment.

oh, such a nice day...all beginning with emma!

the times when you just feel beautiful

my current read is a homemade life: stories and recipes from my kitchen table. the title says it all. i love it...every story, every recipe, every ounce of wit that makes you feel like you could be best friends with the author. my heart just melts when i find a book that seems to mirror my life at the moment - when a book speaks to me, calls me in, and shares exactly what is already in my mind. this book is doing just that. 

after taking a shower this morning, i decided to fashion my new panties (please, don't be scared away...i have a point to make). you may ask, "why did you have to decide on which panties to wear? aren't they just panties?" and now i kindly reply NO, they are not just panties. there are the everyday ones - the plain-jane, cotton ones, if you will. there are the semi-uncomfortable ones - the ones that are used as a last resort when you find yourself guilty of waiting way too long to do laundry. and then there are the delicates - the ones that make you feel beautiful. trimmed with lace. soft hues of color. silky smooth without being seductively outspoken. no one has to see these panties to know that you feel absolutely beautiful. when i wear such delicates, i feel like i walk with a better posture. like i know exactly what i want that day. when i wear these delicates, i feel delicate. and empowered. and lovely. 

so what does my panty story have to do with my book? well, as i was reading (wearing my delicates), i had that moment i described earlier - that feeling when the book reflects your current state of being. the following is the excerpt that matched my sentiments, although i must confess that it's a bit more erotic than my panties. to me, it just screams beautiful. confident. subtle...

"a classic among classic french desserts, tarte Tatin is essentially a sexed-up apple pie - a housewife in stilettos, you could say. it starts with wedges of apple caramelized to a deep amber, their juices mingling with butter and sguar to yield a complex flavor that verges on hard cider. covered with a sheet of puff pastry, baked to golden, and then inverted, the apples sit coyly atop their many-layered blanket. dolloped with creme fraiche, tarte Tatin doesn't dally with small talk. it reaches for your leg under the table."

back!

finished. i am absolutely and one-hundred percent finished studying! last week, i sat down to one of the most important exams of my life - the nclex. i completed it. i walked out. and i took a breath of life. then i went to the farmer's market to buy some fresh flowers with mama. yep, i am back!

i haven't tasted sweet freedom in quite some time. for the past few months, studying had become the norm. exhaustion was no longer my antithesis, but rather my essence. it seemed as though life was put on hold as i crawled into my cave of heaping information. yes, it was temporary, but my oh my, was it dreadful!

so as i take my first steps outside my cave, outside the familiar and the much too predictable, i have to admit that it's a bit overwhelming. nursing student, no more. here i am, still trying to grasp the concept of "graduate" while my professional life beckons me forth. in less than one month, i will be a working woman. a registered nurse in labor and delivery at ucla. again, overwhelming! but so exciting!

a new life is ahead. one replete with the simple joys that teased me when i was a student. deadlines...gone. time constraints...non-existent. i am ready to be raw. to be enlivened. to rediscover my surroundings with a new lens. i am ready to indulge in my spirit of inquiry and live. live. live.

hibernation

hibernation. yes, we may equate the term with bears during the winter. resting. dormant. unlikely to be seen. i suppose it's nice to think about when all you want to do is get into your comfies and snuggle up on the couch or perhaps spoon the lucky person to your side. however, when i say hibernation at the present moment, i am far from eluding to that cuddly, winter-esque scene. for the next two weeks, i will be hibernating with my nursing textbooks. notes. flashcards and highlighters. i will not be updating my blog (unless absolutely warranted) until i walk out of the exam room. for the next two weeks, it is unlikely that i will experience anything more than filling my mind with all things nursing. but trust me, when this madness is over, i will be back and at 'em. simple pleasures. everyday joys. all the lovely things to live for.