leahbrier.com

I saw the The LXD a few seasons ago on So You Think You Can Dance and I was immediately obsessed. Since that aired they have started an online series on Hulu and actually just wrapped up season one. The dancers are all amazingly talented and the stories are fairly entertaining. All and all it is definitely worth checking out — even if it’s only to see episode 1 with about Trevor Drift (who’s real name is Luis Rosado — Quite the cutie!)

Found via Susannah Conway who found it via Vivienne McMaster

My half birthday just passed on July 13th and in case you were still searching for some gifts here are a few things I have been eying to spruce up my apartment. If you haven’t already caught on my apartment is in perpetual “sprucing” up need!

(From left to right)

1. Jonathan Adler Druggist Love/Hate Lamp

2. Crate&Barrel Paloma Square Dining Table

3. CB2 Taxi India 16” Pillow

4. CB2 Taxi London 20” Pillow

5. CB2 Un Homme/Un Femme Vases

6. CB2 Buddha Head

7. CB2 Metal Trunks

8. Jonathan Adler Capricorn/Cancer Zodiac Pillows

9. Crate&Barrel Delta Side Chair

I’ve always loved the classic look of a bowl of apples, pears or lemons on a table or sideboard. But what I really want is something more unique, obviously, and something that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.

I have been searching high and low for the perfect filling for a simple glass ice bucket and I think these boysenberries and raspberries are just the ticket. It will take a ton to fill the whole bucket, but I think the dark red and blue will look rich and delicious!

Life is made up of tiny, little opportunistic gems that are given to us to take and make our own. Deaths, break-ups, jobs, broken finger nails, botched haircuts — just ab0ut anything that seems like the most devastating thing in the world (at the time) is actually life’s way of shining new light on a new path that provides you with the chance to do whatever you want from there…

Life has not always been easy for me, but I guess it comes with the territory of being a combination of very outspoken and open emotionally. For me, when life got hard recently, I fell into the lap of Reiki, and that has changed my life. I also started painting and writing and for the first time I am starting to look at those activities as more than just creative outlets, maybe there is a future there for me.

I guess what I am trying to say is that as heartbreaking as the hardest things you encounter may be, there really always is a silver lining (however small or hard to see as it may be). I want my life to be about taking advantage of each silver lining I come in contact with and using that moment to create new lives and new paths for myself that will make me a better, happier and more fulfilled person.

I keep seeing these pictures of peoples’ apartments, dorm rooms, bedrooms, etc. with these different words spelled out in big letters. While I think words like ‘live’ and ‘love’, ‘peace’, ‘happiness’, ‘joy’, ‘friends’ and ‘family’ are all great words, they do nothing for me in terms of motivation. Instead I have decided to take the road less traveled, as I so often do, and choose words that mean something to me but little to others (in fact I get many questions from people about what the word in my living room even means!)

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Moxie (spelled out in my living room)

–noun Slang.

1.     vigor; verve; pep.

2.     courage and aggressiveness; nerve.

3.     skill; know-how.

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Gumption (hanging over my bed)

–noun Informal.

1.     initiative; aggressiveness; resourcefulness: With his gumption he’ll make a success of himself.

2.     courage; spunk; guts: It takes gumption to quit a high-paying job.

3.     common sense; shrewdness.

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I’ve made a decision. A big one. And it’s one of the first big decisions I’ve made that doesn’t involve my computer, my phone, my iPod or the internet — in a very long time!

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I am going to start writing letters.

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I’m talking real snail mail.
On beautiful stationary.
Packed in pretty envelopes.
Adorned with the prettiest stamps I can find.
Sent to people I love and admire and those whom I feel like sending a little special surprise to.

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I recently reconnected with someone who I actually introduced myself to in a letter. We were in middle school, he was the cute new boy, and I was the ballsiest of my girl friends (Go figure?!) and we wanted to know if he had a girlfriend from his old school. It was very dramatic (and obviously took place during lunch/recess) and it was a very big deal when the letter came back and ‘NO’ was circled. Long story short, we ended up dating for a long time and he reminded me of how special notes can really be.

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I am a huge proponent of email. I don’t buy into the hysteria that lacks the ability to capture emotion, etc. etc. etc. But what email can’t do, or what I can’t do with email because I don’t have a tablet, is share with someone my penmanship, little doodles and a proper signature. Those things are fun, and I love switching up my handwriting based on the type of letter I am writing.

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Mark my words. If you are a close friend or family member you may very well have a letter coming your way.

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*The only hurdle in this whole new plan is finding addresses…hrm!?!?

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Day 3 of inanimate object portraits. I love these chair pictures because even though the chair is the main feature of the photo, the unique setting they exist in gives the chair and the whole picture a personality and story. If stairs and doors as bedroom art play the role of the pathway and gateway into a dream world, what would a chair be? Maybe stairs lead to doors that open to one of these unique spaces and the chair acts as the place to relax and dream?!

In my imagination, yesterdays’ stairs lead to these doors — regardless of the fact that the stairs were all indoors and these are all exterior doors. I think its amazing how a door can set the scene for what you experience when you step inside. There is so much personality in all these images and they are all so inviting. All that’s missing is a welcome mat and a key! Come on in!

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I was thinking about taking some pictures of different staircases that interest me. I think hanging them in my room (I have a blank wall that I stare at every night) could be a new twist on the idea of a dream catcher. Instead of something catching the dreams you have, stairs can be the pathways to new dreams… Ahhh isn’t it dreamy?