Two Feet

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Coté
Bobbi Gibb became the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon in 1966

Bobbi Gibb became the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon in 1966

Forty seven years ago, Bobbi Gibb became the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon. By taking those figurative and literal strides in a time when females were not yet allowed to officially race, Gibb not only helped change the rules of this famous sporting event, but she changed public perception about what women were capable of accomplishing with both their bodies and minds. She did this simply with her own two feet and a whole lot of determination, and she continued running even when marathon officials and protesters tried to stop her.

Growing up in Boston, it was this kind of story that always struck me with awe whenever the marathon rolled around each year. After all, the race has come to symbolize the fact that –no matter our skin color, nationality, gender, or religion– as humans, we have the power to go great distances by merely using our own two feet. Furthermore, the marathon shows us that if we don’t have the use of our own two feet we can cover great distances by using our arms to propel a wheelchair, and if we don’t have use of our arms the human spirit can propel us along in the form of a loved one running behind us and pushing our chairs. It was this celebration of humanity that brought me, my parents, siblings, and cousins to a street corner every marathon Monday of my childhood, and I daresay we partook in this event more religiously than we did any other holiday. No matter what personal dramas any of us were going through, we always made the time to go cheer on the runners, and I have such fond memories of holding out paper cups of water for the athletes, and of my aunt learning all the top-contenders’ names so she could call out personalized encouragements as they ran by.

For me, these memories will always be what the Boston Marathon is about: Dixie cups, and curbside lessons on the power of my own two feet. And today, as I breathe a sigh of relief that my family is all safe and sound back in Beantown, I invite anyone else reading this to bask in these kinds of fond memories with me and to celebrate the trailblazers of this world who make a difference with nothing more than determination and their own two feet. Leave a comment.

Image via Pinterest.

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Vintage Valentine

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Coté
Coca-Cola ad circa Valentine's Day 1969

Coca-Cola advertisement circa Valentine’s Day 1969

It is no secret that I am a sucker for all things vintage. Sometimes it’s because of the simplicity, yet others it’s all about the ornateness. I guess I’m smitten with this vintage Coke ad thanks to a combination of the two–that lacy doily fills me with nostalgia for making Valentines out of red construction paper and doilies with my grandparents so many years ago, and the caption (as commercially driven as it is) makes me smile in wonderment at all the simple ways there are to be romantic with our sweets. Wishing you a happy day filled with two straws, one glass, and lots of love! Leave a comment.

Image from Pinterest via Snippet & Ink.

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Just Because

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Coté
"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other." -Audrey Hepburn

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” -Audrey Hepburn

Who doesn’t love a little street art to brighten the day? These murals sure put a smile on my face when I spotted them recently on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, so I figured I’d share…

American Spirit Street Art

Waifish girl smoking American Spirits

"People like pretty things they think are deep."

“People like pretty things they think are deep.” Yup, guilty.

Audrey and a glimpse of the Sunset Boulevard sign

Audrey and a glimpse of the Sunset Boulevard sign

Psst: I’ve mostly been plugging away at work over the past few months, so little splashes of paint on the side of the road like this always feel like breaths of fresh air…Any particular sightings or happenings that have been making you smile or breathe easier lately? Leave a comment.

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Coffee Black, Paperwhite

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Coté
Paperwhites in full bloom, which now fill our kitchen

Paperwhites in full bloom, which now fill our kitchen

Whenever I set goals or try to gain a fresh perspective on life, I find myself torn between comfortable routines and an itching desire to push myself outside this safe zone of “knowns.” I guess the key is simply finding a balance between the familiar and the foreign — establishing just enough creature comforts and stability in our lives to give us the strength we need to try new things and challenge ourselves. It is so hard to remember this, though, since I am someone who admittedly lives for extremes and absolutes, but it’s funny how much I notice the validity of this whole balance thang as my husband and I turn our house into a home. The more sweat-producing chores we tackle and the more I get into routines in my personal life, the better equipped I feel to face unpredictable work weeks or venture into horrifying traffic in unfamiliar parts of our new city. Perhaps our homes, routines and creature comforts are merely a foundation for the bold adventures we’re all destined for as humans, but one thing is certain: both the familiar and the foreign are very necessary parts of a fulfilled life.

One such comfort in my recent world is the smell of paperwhite blossoms that has filled our whole house for the past month (thanks to a little planning and planting back in December). The aroma of these bulb flowers reminds me so vividly of New England winters from my childhood, and — even though I was never a big fan of this plant’s strong smell — I now can’t help loving the scent and the way it makes my home of the present feel connected to the homes and snow days of the past, which are decades and continents away. This simple pleasure is so grounding, and I’m going to make a conscious effort to draw strength from things like it more often as I attempt to strike a balance between the bold and bitty — the black, white, and new…What has been comforting or challenging you lately? Leave a comment.

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Kubrick and the Craft

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Coté
Stanley Kubrick's camera on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Stanley Kubrick’s camera on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Last week my husband arrived home from a lengthy Taiwan trip just in time for my birthday. We celebrated by playing hooky, eating ice cream along with all three meals, and attending the Stanley Kubrick exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibit was beautifully curated (complete with red-carpeted floors in the gallery room that was devoted to “The Shining”), and my favorite part was getting to glimpse some of Kubrick’s earliest works and influences. It was particularly inspiring to me to see snapshots from his early career as a photojournalist, and to learn about how admittedly embarrassed he was of his first films.

As someone who constantly worries that I’m taking the wrong approach to my writing career, it was nice to see the meandering-yet-passionate path Kubrick took as he honed his craft. Seeing his whole life’s works on display reminded me that creating art worth humanity’s attention involves a lot of missteps and constant readjustments; and, the important thing isn’t necessarily what perfectly calculated steps we’re taking in our careers, but rather the act of taking steps – any steps at all – and doing so with passion while working our asses off. Here are some images from the exhibit – may you find them just the teensiest bit inspiring…

Costumes of the creepy twin girls from "The Shining"

Costumes of the creepy twin girls from “The Shining”

The image of these girls loomed over the room devoted to "The Shining" (where there were also ominous axes in the wall)

The image of these girls loomed over the room devoted to “The Shining” (where there were also ominous axes in the wall)

You know what they say about all work and no play...

You know what they say about all work and no play…

Kubrick wanted every frame of "Barry Lyndon" to look like a classic painting, and these costumes certainly look like they're straight out of an old Dutch portrait

Kubrick wanted every frame of “Barry Lyndon” to look like a classic painting, and these costumes certainly look like they’re straight out of an old Dutch portrait

Ah, how iconic this costume from "A Clockwork Orange" became...

Ah, how iconic this costume from “A Clockwork Orange” became…

The gallery room for "A Clockwork Orange" was truly trippy, and featured two plaster-and-platinum sculptures like this

The gallery room for “A Clockwork Orange” was truly trippy, and featured two plaster-and-platinum sculptures like this

The infant from "2001: A Space Odyssey" encased in glass

The infant from “2001: A Space Odyssey” encased in glass

Script pages proving that - like any good creator - Kubrick edited until something was right

Script pages proving that – like any good creator – Kubrick edited until something was right

Posters of Kubrick's works - what a life.

Posters of Kubrick’s works – what a life.

Psst: Are you a fan of Kubrick’s films? If, by chance, you’re an Angeleno like me, have you had the opportunity to see this exhibit at the LACMA? Leave a comment.

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Thanks and Quiet

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Coté
Wishing you a couple quiet, lazy mornings like this amidst the buzzing of holidays

Wishing you a couple quiet, lazy mornings like this amidst the buzzing of holidays

My thoughts have been very noisy of late, and as a result this blog has been exceptionally quiet. Despite this current proclivity for silence, I wanted to drop you dears a line and say how grateful I am for the role that this blog and you have played in the past few years of my life. I hope to be returning to a more regular posting schedule soon, but until then I wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving. I will be spending the holiday with my husband’s family and am over-the-moon with excitement about meeting my baby niece for the first time in just a few hours… Do you have any big plans, or will a reflective silence be more your style on this gratitude-filled day? Leave a comment.

Image via Pinterest.

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Love from Laguna

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Coté
Vibrant flowers grew all along the cliffs of Laguna Niguel, CA

Vibrant flowers grew all along the cliffs of Laguna Niguel, CA

When reading Jane Austen novels, I used to crack up whenever stodgy, Victorian doctors recommended their cure for everything – time at the beach. It didn’t matter if a girl was suffering a broken heart, a broken limb, public shame, or terminal illness, the prescription was almost without fail, “Take her for a spell in Bath.” Silly as this has always seemed to me, I must admit that when my husband and I made an impromptu escape to Laguna Niguel this weekend I could feel my stress and body aches melting away. Even though I had to work most of the time we were there, I felt instantly soothed by the smell of salt air and the sounds of ocean waves. Perhaps there really is something to be said for the healing properties of time at the beach…

Don't you love how these cliffs create a cushy, flowering waterfall into the ocean?

Don’t you love how these cliffs create a cushy, flowering waterfall into the ocean?

Pretty palms abounded...

Pretty palms abounded…

My favorite meal: lobster tacos, held together by the cutest clothespins in the world

My favorite meal: lobster tacos, held together by the cutest clothespins in the world

A shot of the Laguna Niguel coastline from our balcony

A shot of the Laguna Niguel coastline from our balcony

My husband and me enjoying the last blast of summer sun on a jetty

My husband and me enjoying the last blast of summer sun on a jetty

Ah, the visage of a sunset and the sound of crashing waves...

Ah, the visage of a sunset and the sound of crashing waves…

Psst: I hope your autumn is off to a grand start! Have there been beaches, or maybe waves of foliage in your recent landscapes? Leave a comment.

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Leaps and Bounds

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Coté
Isn't this gentleman sweet giving a lady a helping hand to leap over a puddle?

Isn’t this gentleman sweet giving a lady a helping hand to leap over a puddle?

Do you ever feel like you put too much time and effort into your career, while letting your personal life perennially occupy the back burner? Or, maybe do you get consumed by big life goals while letting small, day-to-day pleasures slip through your fingers? This is a sentiment widely experienced between me, my husband, and many of our friends – we work toward the big stuff of life at the speed of light, only to slow down months later and realize that personally we’re still standing in the same spots. Recently, I was stuck with a pretty darn good idea of how to fix this, so let’s see what you think…It suddenly hit me that maybe the reason so many of us let our personal lives fall to the wayside is because we don’t treat them with the same seriousness as we would a job. This is to say: I’ve made numerous action plans for meeting career goals or losing big chunks of weight, but I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and drawn up a detailed plan for “relaxing more” or “being more present.” How would I even begin to write up a list of goals for these things anyway? They’re so intangible – or so I’ve thought…

Setting simple goals makes us take our personal fulfillment seriously

Setting simple goals makes us take our personal fulfillment seriously

When I stop and think about it, I realize that the leaps and bounds of life also seem pretty abstract until we break them down into detailed tasks. So, why not break down all the little steps it will take for us to accomplish the personal goals/states of well-being that we crave? I’ve come up with four simple goals that I think will help enrich my daily life, and I invite you to do the same. The baby-steps that I’d like to take before the new year are as follows:

My 4 Simple Goals

  1. Actively love more and stress less. This sounds so lofty, but I’ve got a simple action plan. My goal is to make a habit of taking a breather whenever I feel myself getting stressed out – the idea will be to force myself to think about one thing I love and feel grateful for in my life, and then to approach whatever’s stressing me out with this new perspective.
  2. Take a honeymoon. We’ve been married more than a year, but my husband and I
    have yet to find time for a real honeymoon. At first, we felt pressure to plan a big, extravagant trip (and that’s why we kept putting it off), but now we realize the important thing is just to carve out a week or more that we can simply spend together – just the two of us – free of work and all other distractions.
  3. Print and frame wedding photos. This will require a little elbow grease and money up front, but I know seeing our wedding photos every day will make me smile, and will be a visual reminder of the family and loving husband I am so grateful for. Even as I type this, I’m so psyched for how much this is going to enrich my daily life.
  4. Drink green tea every day. Bye-bye, jitters, sugar highs, and lying awake at night…I’m slowly weaning myself off coffee, cookies, and anything else that gives me extreme spikes in energy. To help ease into this healthier lifestyle, my plan is to basically guzzle green tea non-stop. (I’m one week into this decaffeinated adventure already, and it’s going surprisingly well.)

Psst: When catching up on posts from one of my favorite blogs, I found this apropos guide to setting simple life goals that you may find useful. (You may also want to read my guide to setting goals.) What say you? Wanna join me in this quest to actively live better, more enriched versions of our lives? I would love to hear your personal goals, or I’d be interested to learn about any other tricks you have for carving out time to make investments in yourself and your quality of life. Leave a comment.

Photo from Facie Populi via Pinterest. Second image from A Beautiful Mess.

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Seconds

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Coté
Two kitsch-tastic flamingos

Two kitsch-tastic flamingos

This past year has been all about firsts. I celebrated my first blogiversary, my husband and I shared our first year of marriage, and we even bought our first house together. While firsts are special and often possess a rarefied intensity that can be found nowhere else, seconds are pretty grand, too. As such, I’m tickled pink to be celebrating the second anniversary of this blog with you today. Thank you for your support and sweetness throughout the thick and thin weeks of posting…Your readership means so much to me, and if I lived close enough to all of you dears I would be sure to buy you each drinks with plastic-flamingo garnishes so we could toast to the coming years of seconds, thirds, and whatever other numbers life throws our way. Cheers and love to you on this day, my darlings! Leave a comment.

Image from Sparkles and Pretending via Pinterest.

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Street Femme

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Coté
Street art by Becca in Beverly Hills, CA

Street art by Becca in Beverly Hills, CA

Paint-spattered lady on the side of a building

Paint-spattered lady on the side of a building

Love, kittens, and hair bows - can you get more feminine than this?

Love, kittens, and hair bows – can you get more feminine than this?

Street art tends to be a very masculine medium. Is this because women don’t like sneaking around in the dead of night with spray cans, because they prefer rebelling against the traditional art world in other ways, or because stuccoed walls and grimy lampposts simply lend themselves best to stark lines and male subject matter? I’m not sure what the answer is, and I had honestly never put much thought into this phenomenon until yesterday, when I spotted these ladies on the side of a building in Beverly Hills. I had been passing through an alleyway in the famous Rodeo Drive shopping district, and something about seeing these two paintings in the dumpster-filled underbelly of one of the most iconically female realms of our planet seemed so perfect and unique. There was dirty sewer water trickling down the concrete drive and the smell of chicken grease in the air, and I had a hunch that the scent of garbage and the fresh memory of Chanel shop windows were all a part of what the artist hoped people would experience when viewing her very feminine work. Although I cannot recreate the smells and sounds of that alleyway, I just couldn’t resist sharing these paintings with you. What do you think? Leave a comment.

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