Birthday Wishlist!

I’m turning 27 in less than a month! On July 7, to be exact.

My wishlists usually consist of clothes, shoes, books, & camera lenses, with a few small, random things throw in for good measure. My mom is flying in on the 4th, so I’m trying to keep things small and light (and limit the number of books I ask for) so that she can bring everything in her suitcase for me. (Last time I flew back here from Texas, I had 24 books in my suitcase. No need for exaggeration. I’m ridiculous. Good thing I fly enough to be an elite traveler with Continental, so my suitcase is allowed to be heavier than normal.)

THE LIST:

- fisheye lens for canon eos digital rebel   [ link ]
- of mice and men; by john steinbeck (hardcover, please)   [ link ]
- sookie stackhouse books 1-7; by charlaine harris   [ link ]
- set of stainless steel straws   [ link ]
- dresses from Anthropologie (links below image)

and because my love for twilight, the piano, and learning about how movies are made knows no bound:
- twilight dvd (3-disc special ed. from target)   [ link ]
- twilight: the complete illustrated movie companion book   [ link ]
- twilight: the score (piano solo songbook)   [ link ]

Eep! So excited for my birthday. 27 sounds so old until I remember that I’M about to be 27… Feels pretty young to me!

Posted in Fashion+Beauty, Lists, Special Occasions, Thoughts + Things | Link | 2 Comments

Feeling the Loss

I saw my grandma die two months & one day ago.

I feel like just saying my grandma died does a disservice to the loss that I feel. She wasn’t a grandma I only visited for holidays or got a birthday card from. She was a grandma that lived directly across the street from me throughout my childhood, and then in the house next to me for the two years before I moved to Holland. As a child, her house served as a refuge when I needed to get away from my own. Her pool was the place I spent almost every day of the summer. The older I got, the more I realized where I came from. My mom and sister are so much alike, always leaving me as the odd man out. But when I spent quiet, one-on-one moments with my grandma, I would see myself. She was strong, and smart, and one of the only people I’ve ever met that I could spend hours upon hours with… talking seriously, laughing at our common interests, despite our 46 year age difference, and just enjoying our time together.

I never thought I’d be in the room when someone died… especially not at 26. But once I was faced with it, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. She took such great care of me in her life that I owed it to her to take care of her in her last weeks, days, moments. It’s painful to recall, but I have a feeling it would be more painful if the memories didn’t exist at all.

Sometimes I catch myself going to pick up the phone to call her with a question about a recipe I’m trying to remember or to get an update on the family gossip, and then I remember that she won’t answer the phone. Sometimes I almost call my mom to ask her the question instead, but I worry that she won’t know the answer and the loss will be devastating for the both of us.

I live 5000 miles away from home and my family and all of her. I often wonder if it will make returning to Texas harder than I can imagine… If I’ll feel the loss again when I go to her house and she’s not there.

Posted in Family+Friends, Thoughts + Things | Link | 2 Comments

Style Idea: June 2009

I’m a big fan of the cardigan, and living in Holland means I get to wear them longer into the year than I normally would back home in Texas. I own the Orla Kiely bag and it is one of my absolute favorite things. I hardly ever wear pants, so this skirt is just my thing.

Sassy Fitted Cardigan, Boden
Twill Skirt, Old Navy
Flossie Blouse, Anthropologie
Faux-Patent Ballet Flats, Old Navy
Multi Stem Holdall, Orla Kiely
Rosemond Headband, Anthropologie

Posted in Fashion+Beauty | Link | 4 Comments

Wedding Plans: The Dress

I ordered my wedding dress! It’s short and feminine and simple, with a bit of an old fashion feeling. It’s exactly my style.

Click for photos (from the website, not of me in it).

(more…)

Posted in Fashion+Beauty, Wedding | Link | 2 Comments

RPattz

Remember that time I publicly acknowledged my huge, ridiculous crush on Robert Pattinson here. (Hint: It was early today. ha!)

Well, it’s his birthday today. He’s 23 - making my gigantic crush on him feel slight less sleazy.

However, Edward Cullen remains 17. (I’m so funny.)

NOTE: These days, I mostly keep this sort of thing to my livejournal: prettyinprint.livejournal.com

Posted in Movies, Total Crush | Link | Comment

Mid-May, Already?

I’ve been back in Holland for a few weeks now. I’m trying to get settled back into my life here. Everything feels sort of strange… Nothing reminds me of my grandma here, except my own troubled heart, but I can’t decide whether that is a good thing or not. I feel like, if I’m not careful, my next trip home to Texas could feel like I’m experiencing the loss all over again because I’ll suddenly be confronted with the evidence of her life. I’m doing my best though… whatever that means.

Back to Holland — The weather has been beautiful. About 70F in the afternoons, sunny and very little rain (although with still a bit too much wind for my ears’ liking). I think May could be my favorite weather month here. (It’s probably April for Texas.)

During my stay in Texas, I got hooked on Twilight. I Netflix’ed the movie, and then my ridiculously out of control crush on Robert Pattinson (hence forth referred to as RPattz) combined with my general love of vampires made me want to read the books. I’m participating in a read-along over on the vavri livejournal group (see: here). We read two chapters each day and then meet-up for a nightly discussion. Luckily, the group is specifically for people who openly poke fun at the general ridiculousness of it all, but admit to enjoying it, nonetheless. It’s pretty fun & hilarious.

Posted in Reading, The Netherlands, Total Crush | Link | Comment

Lovely News

I’m getting married in NYC in September!

We’re still working out the details. I’ll be sure to share. (It’s not going to be a big wedding, by any means, so I hope that keeps it from being annoying. haha)

Posted in Announcements, Wedding | Link | 4 Comments

Hello.

Hi! I’m back. I finally feel like I can post here again without suddenly disappearing or being too depressing. I’ve missed writing and reading blogs and chatting with all of you.

I updated my domain (Sarah Blackstock dot com) with links to just about everywhere I can be found on the web. I’ve revived my Tumblr for posting things I love & my livejournal for all things pop culture (not to say that none of that will make its way here, but there will be more of each in their respective places, for sure). One of my favorite parts about the Internet is the community, and being involved here & over there is the best way to interact with as many people as possible.

Daily photos are going up on Today ; Captured once again. Kim & I really missed them during the break, but most of my photos during my stay in Texas were depressing reminders of death and sadness, so we decided to take a pause.

So, that’s it. Hello! I’m back. I hope you’re back too. I’ve missed you.

Posted in Announcements, Links, Web+Computer | Link | 4 Comments

FYI

Posted in Announcements, Web+Computer | Link | Comment

In Texas

I’ve been in Texas a week as of today. It’s been hard and exhausting. I feel like I’ll need an outlet soon, so I’ll be back to posting more regularly. Things are sad here.

Posted in Thoughts + Things | Link | 3 Comments