kaki kaki kaki!

i am completely addicted to kaki king's newest album, "dreaming of revenge". i first heard of her when she played on the soundtrack for "august rush". she completely dominates on the acoustic guitar. i'm not usually one for instrumental music, which a good portion of this album is, but i am absolutely in love. she's playing in brooklyn with beirut in february, and i want to go! oh, she's also gorgeous.
go love up on kaki on myspace.

missing the ocean.

i am obsessed with the ocean. i spend my summers in cape may, nj. i work a few minutes walk from the ocean, so i can go to the beach in the morning, brush the sand off my feet and head into work for the afternoon. it's a beautiful way to live, and i want to spend at least part of my life living by the sea. during the winter i miss the ocean terribly. i recently found this video of waves in cape may, and i love to play it and close my eyes and imagine i'm there.

home!

I've been at home since sunday, for winter break. i am loving spending time with my family, snuggling my pets, and eating plenty of homecooked food! here are my obsessions lately:


1. TIME's photo essay of obama
check out this photo essay of obama during his college years. so cool! he looks so vibrant and fun! i am so excited and proud to call this man my president.

2. ode magazine
my stepmom subscribes to this magazine with the tagline "for intelligent optimists" and i always read the issues when i'm at her and my dad's house. it's full of inspiring stories of what people are doing to make the world a little better. they've got an excellent website also!

3. shop ruche
i came across this website yesterday. they sell the most adorable clothes and accessories!

4. cooking!
now that i am home for winter break, i have the urge to cook and bake for my family. i'm not the best cook in the world, but i try! i made penne with vodka sauce the other day, and i'm making picadillo, a cuban dish, tomorrow night. i am excited!

finals week obsessions.

it is finals week at seton hall, but i have no actual finals... just a take-home essay final and a paper to write. therefore, i'm filling the time not spent at work or writing with the following obsessions:

1. kanye west - 808s and heartbreak.
i've always had a random and wonderful love for kanye, and his new album is just so interesting and different, i'm loooving it. when you think about it in the context of his life lately (losing his mother, breaking his engagement) it's really fascinating. "welcome to heartbreak", especially.

2. hummus
i always love hummus but lately i've been wanting to eat as much of it as possible. roasted red pepper, especially. delicious!

3. theselby.com
photographs of wildly creative people in their equally creative and fabulous homes. check out cheryl dunn and michael karbelnikoff's brooklyn home. i want to show up on their doorstop and ask if they'd like a roommate.

4. this video
i tried to embed it but the internet has an attitude today, so that didn't work. but go watch it! it's beautiful and adorable and will make you smile, no doubt about it.

5. k'naan - "in the beginning"
i've loved this song since i came across k'naan this summer, but lately i've been listening to it a lot. k'naan is a rapper from somalia who raps about his homeland, global politics, and the like. definitely better than any bitches-n-ho's rap i've heard lately.

zach williams.

last weekend i went to brooklyn to see "to write love on her arms" on tour. if you haven't yet heard of this organization, do your heart a favor and read the story. this organization means a lot to me and i thoroughly enjoyed hearing the founder, jamie, speak about love, hope, and community. an unexpected outcome of my journey to brooklyn was being absolutely floored by the talent of a man named zach williams. zach and josh moore played before jamie spoke, and both were incredible but i was especially impressed by zach and joely pittman, who sang with him. the song "james" was stuck in my head for the rest of the evening until i came home and bought his album on itunes and played "james" over and over. it is a truly gorgeous piece of music - beautiful voices singing heartfelt and touching lyrics. check out zach's website and make sure to listen to the clip of "james" in the music player.

pumpkins.

i am obsessed with pumpkins. in the past few days, i've consumed pumpkin coffee, a pumpkin muffin, pumpkin ice cream (from coldstone... with cinnamon and graham cracker crust crumbs, trust me - you must try this!), and pumpkin pie. i've been told that starbucks has some delicious pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes that i must try. today i carved a barack obama jack-o-lantern... barack-o-lantern, if you will. i used a stencil from www.yeswecarve.com and it turned out much better than i'd expected, given my lack of artistic skill.
i think tomorrow morning a pumpkin spice coffee will be necessary...

honest tea honey green tea.

i am an iced tea fanatic. my mom makes incredible iced tea but when i'm not at home, i have to make do with bottled varieties. the best i've found is honest tea's honey green tea. it's delicious and refreshing and just a little bit sweet. it's also fair trade certified, and when i googled to find a picture of it, i learned that barack obama likes it, too!
on friday night i was heading back from new york city, and had just gotten into penn station when i was hit with an unrelenting craving for this tea. luckily, when i stopped at a bakery/deli and asked for it, they had one last bottle hiding out in the back of the refrigerator. perfect!