sunsets with my love

Some days it is absolutely necessary to rush to the park right after work to see the sun set.







Sunsets are best when shared. :)

talking in bed

photo by Lauren Pinson Photography

Talking in bed ought to be easiest,
Lying together there goes back so far,
An emblem of two people being honest.
Yet more and more time passes silently.
Outside, the wind's incomplete unrest
Builds and disperses clouds in the sky,
And dark towns heap up on the horizon.
None of this cares for us. Nothing shows why
At this unique distance from isolation
It becomes still more difficult to find
Words at once true and kind,
Or not untrue and not unkind.
- Philip Larkin

fall love: diy fabric wreath

One of my goals this year has been to decorate for holidays. I always wanted to in the past, but never seemed to get around to it. No longer! This fall, I started with a diy wreath that I spied on A Beautiful Mess last year.




I made it almost entirely out of supplies I already had lying around, which kind of made me feel like the Craft Queen. And, I must say...it feels good to be Queen. :) Find the tutorial here if you want to make your own! It's a super fun project while re-watching your favorite tv show (aka: Freaks and Geeks.)

How about you guys? What are some of your favorite crafts this season?

date night - pizza by marco

I feel that I am not presumptuous when I say that Corban and I are quite the pizza connoisseurs. There is nothing that we love more than a really good slice of pizza. I had been wanting to try Pizza by Marco for months, and when I finally got the chance, I was not disappointed. The super thin, crispy crust and a amazingly flavorful sauce made me a believer within seconds. I highly recommend if you're in the Dallas area!

dreaming of pumpkins...

Pumpkin carving is an autumnal activity that I have been looking forward to for months. I think I'm even pretty close to settling on a design.


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I'm definitely in love with the classic "Jack" face, a la Return to Oz and The Nightmare Before Christmas. You know...keepin' it classy in the Casa de Johnson. I can't wait to drag Corban to a pumpkin patch this weekend! I haven't carved a pumpkin since I was a very small child, and I'm holding on to that child-like wonder. :)

I'm also relying pretty heavily on googled info to get me through the process. Is anyone else carving pumpkins this year? Any tricks of the trade from my more seasoned pumpkin carvers out there?

book review: in the land of invented languages

I'm determined to write book reviews more often. Now that I am back in school and tutoring students in writing, it certainly couldn't hurt for me to get as much practice as I can with writing. Plus, it's a good excuse to put much more time than I should into pleasure reading. :)

Spending time at work and school around people who share my interests and obsessions has given me so much confidence and really awakened my curiosity, which is probably why, when I happened to see a display of In the Lange of Invented Languages by the linguist Arika Okrent at Half-Priced Books, I just had to indulge. The book centers around Okrent's studies of the history and current life of artificial language invention. If you are the kind of person who would find this subject fascinating, read on! If you are not (weirdo), please read this post about my backpack.



In the few short days weeks that it took me to read this book, I went from barely having heard of Esperanto to putting its study on my list of goals for 2012. If it's possible, I have actually fallen deeper into nerdom now that I am aware of the fact that Middle Earth was "made rather to provide a world for the languages than the reverse"(from The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien). Huge volumes of text and hours of story-telling are a reasonable price to pay, in my eyes, to provide a platform on which to present an invented language. I also sympathize with the grown adults that Okrent describes fretting over their Klingon proficiency exams. That's totally normal, right?

More importantly and (somewhat) more seriously, Okrent asks her audience to simply marvel at the ability of languages to give form to the imperfect jumble of human thought. Though human beings often bemoan their plight of having to take pains to properly communication abstract concepts and emotions, the flexibility of the spoken word really does allow for a huge range of self-expression. Since our thoughts can not be perfect, it stands to reason that language would be the same. It's really no wonder that attempts to clean up the mess and make a universal human communication system have generally been less than successful.

As well as being just plain entertaining, In the Land of Invented Languages was a great encouragement to me to continue to be curious and pursue my linguistic studies. I would recommend this book for anyone with an interest in languages, natural or artificial (though, I will warn you that real comprehension does require a bit of linguistic base knowledge.) Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and am grateful for the shot in the arm of enthusiasm that I needed to propel me into my studies with renewed vigor.

outfit: menswear

The other day I definitely put on my husband's shirt instead of doing laundry. Yes, I am just that lazy. It ended up working out, though...I'm pretty sure no one noticed. That could have been because they were distracted by my new bangs, though.






Either way, I deem the experiment a great success! I hear menswear is coming back, anyway. I will feel no hesitation when cross dressing from now on!

grandma's 96th

A few weeks ago, I had the amazing privilege of celebrating my Great Grandmother's 96th birthday with a few family members. I was so happy to spend the time with my family, some of whom I haven't seen for five or more years.








I will say, as I've said many times before, that she is such a special woman and I feel so amazingly lucky I have her in my life. It's always so amazing to visit her house and all the happy memories it holds. I can't wait to go back for Thanksgiving. Happy birthday, Grandma, I love you! ♥ ♥ ♥

ode to a backpack

I have recently been forced to the realization that the backpack which I have used and loved since the eighth grade has died what was probably a slow and painful death. Through middle school, high school, and college, it has served me well; now it is time to bid farewell.

Had you for twelve years
Don't want to say goodbye, but
Your lining is dead

date night - meso maya

Today's Date Night is really a lunch date with my best friend, Ashley! We tried out the new Meso Maya on Preston and Forest.





We both had the tacos (chicken for me, shrimp for her), which were amaaaaaazing! Ashley tried the skinny margarita, which I thought was fantastic, and I had the white sangria. I'm definitely bringing Corban back here asap. Since our beloved Masaryk closed about a year and a half ago, we haven't had any good mod Mexican. I'm so excited that we have such a fabulous replacement!

All my Dallas peeps, please go to this restaurant so that it does not meet the same sad fate as Masaryk! We need this place to stay around. And, take caution when you try the salsa...it's hothothot!

sunset walks

A post about sunset walks from Olivia over at Everyday Musings gave me a moment of thought. She always posts the most lovely photos from her travels, and it's obvious from her writing and images that she really makes an effort to see the beauty in the world (and take walks at sunset every day!)

What an inspiring idea.



It's like having a date every day with the world you live in. Or maybe a bit more like prayer. "Hey, Earth, it's me, Chelle. Just wanted to say hi and thanks for being so totally awesome!"

It's the way I want to be. I'm glad to have such heartfelt daily reminders.

outfit - comfy tee

Comfy v-neck American Apparel tees have been my total go-to item the past month. With grad school, work, teacher classes, and general life activities (not to mention all the walking and book shlepping that go along), I've got to stay as comfortable as possible while still maintaining a level of confidence. That means flattering clothes that are also super duper comfy. Basically, the Shangri-La of women's fashion.






I paired a simple grey tee with pearls, skinny jeans, and highhigh heels to make me feel sexy in the day time, then switched it up with denim shorts, Converse, and the German hat for fun at Oktoberfest in the evening. Such a versatile item! Love me a grey v-neck tee.

date night - the ginger man

Now that we've truly entered what I like to call "porch weather," Corban and I have started venturing to try outdoor eats and drinks for date night. Recently we revisited The Ginger Man in Uptown, a pub located in a rickety old house with an amazing backyard porch filled with twinkle lights. I'm a huge sucker for twinkle lights. The pub is known for it's large selection of beers and ciders. I, true to form, ordered wine. :)










This is really one of my favorite porches of all time. Seating is mostly long tables and benches, so people have to sit pretty close together and, dare it say it, actually interact! For a person battling social anxiety, this may not seem ideal. However, it worked out as we were able to snag a private table and do some very interesting people-watching at a respectable distance from the crowds. :)