Don't Stop

I have been in love with this commercial since I first saw it. It's one of those that I stop the fast forwarding of shows to watch.

I don't know what it is about this commercial: the music? the costumes? the dancing? the message maybe? But I adore it.

I hope you do to.

A Home for Pretty Things

I know that you've heard of Pinterest by now.

Leah said it perfectly: "If you’re not familiar with it, Pinterest is a site where you can collect images from all over the web and share them with your friends and followers on a series of themed “boards” on any subject you choose: fashion, home decor, books to read, recipes to try, products to buy, projects to tackle, ideas for your kid’s upcoming birthday party, or just cool stuff you want to look at and share."

What shows up on your home page is based on who you're following. But whatever shows up, I promise you will love it. The beauty and inspiration and wisdom and everything will overwhelm you, but in a brilliant way.  You'll find new sites and favorites sites.

Just try to see if you don't love it. 

You have to be invited to start. And you know what? I would love to invite you! Email me at: colieslovenotes {at} gmail {dot} com. Then, you should follow me! 

I play favorites

Remember how I have 5 cameras now?

Well, I definitely have a favorite.

Now, to be fair, there are two cameras out of the running. One I can't play with because we can't figure out why it won't turn on. And the other, my Diana, I haven't had 120 film to play with.

But that aside, my favorite camera is the Pentax.

I love it because:

  It is heavy.

    It has 3 lenses.

      It helps me to create amazing pictures.

        I get amazing compliments on it.

          It takes film.

            It makes me think about the pictures I'm taking.

I love this sucker. And tonight, I found this and this.

I can't wait to take this camera with me to Texas (next week!) and show you what I get from it. 

Now, I just need to buy a scanner....

Rain, Crutches, and Nice People

On Saturday, I fell off my bicycle and tore a bunch of important ligaments and other such things in my foot. So, I am now in an air cast and using crutches.

Anyway, today, I was meeting some friends for lunch. It conveniently started pouring rain which I then had to walk in -- slowly walk, by the way. It's more of a waddle shuffle, really.

I was dreading it and tried my best to stay underneath awnings, but then I had to cross the street.

And this amazingly kind guy walked up to me and said, "Are you crossing here?" And I said, "Yes," and chuckled. He moved his umbrella over me and proceeded to cross the next two streets with me, totally out of his way so I could get where I needed to dryly, and safely.

That made my day.

So did this:

Sarah Dessen's signature that a friend picked up for me from her reading in Omaha. On a sticky note so I could put it in my favorite book. ♥

Monday, Monday

Dearest Monday,

Thanks for having the word "mon" in you. That's French for "my," in case you weren't aware, Monday. It makes me think of you more as "my day," and frankly, that sounds like a much more promising start to the week. 

Love,

Nicole

via

Adorable

Sometimes I just need to get a goofy grin smile on my face. The kind where you're doing something and don't even realize that you're smiling until you realize it. That kind of smile.

The mister showed me this tonight, and it did the trick.  It's long. 7 minutes. You could stop watching around 6 minutes, but I think it's worth it.

Enjoy!

Found it!

Remember how last August I wanted a new bicycle? I had some specific requirements:

I needed to fit it (hello 5'1"!)
Needed to have handbrakes
No more than 5 speeds
Please be cute

I had hoped to find this holy grail of bike by mid-August. That didn't happen.

My bike was stolen in March, which meant that if I wanted to ride, I would have to find a new one. The first thought was to just buy another Wal Mart one, but I found myself just being frustrated by that, which meant it was not the way to go. 

Fast forward to April 3rd. Just a couple of months off, but I finally found it on Craigslist.

Spring! {might be here}

Today, I spent an hour and a half eating lunch with a friend.

On a patio.

Outside.

In the sun. Soaking up the vitamin D. And a sunburn. Ha!

Which means.... Spring might actually be here.

I think living in a place where it snows and is (litteraly) bitterly cold gives me a new appreciation for Spring. Something that I never would have had if we had only ever lived in Texas.

But! This is not about that, specifically.

This is about dresses. Now that it's spring, it is time for the dresses to make an appearance.

And these are the ones that I want. All from Target because that's about all I can afford:

Seriously! I want these. I stopped by Target to look at something else (which I'll show you tomorrow! woo!) and saw all the lovelies.

I want, I want, I want!

I'll even take donations.

Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle!

Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. ~John F. Kennedy

I didn't learn how to ride a bike as a kid.

I know, I know. sacrilege. But, don't blame my parents. Nope. My whole family looooves bike riding. They did things like the MS-150 and the Alamo Challenge. My grandmother even had an article written about her.

But I had no desire to ride. If you know anything about me, you know that I can be a bit ornery. That's kindly put. And I, I was *not* going to do anything that my family loved (stupid, stupid, stupid).

Now, I want to ride. I got the bug a couple of years ago, when Husband, Best (boy) Friend and I all moved in together. I really wanted to learn. So, they taught me. And, I loved it. But we never really had the chance to ride. We just couldn't do it in Huntsville -- too many early mornings and too many late, late nights. Then, husband and I moved to Lincoln, then we moved downtown. And it's perfect. I just have the bug, and I want to ride and ride and ride. We live about a mile from campus... perfect! Library? .5 miles. Grocery? 10 blocks.

We started riding. And it was fantastic. Then, his pedal fell off. Oomph. A month later we finally repaired it, only to have my bike become this ridiculous pile of stuff.

Why? Because I'm short. Okay, that's not the whole reason. But, I am short. And that means that I need a little bike. Which meant the kids section at Wal Mart! Which meant a crappy bike. Which meant that it's a pain to ride and sucks.

Which means I need a new(er) bike. And, I've been looking.

Straight up, I love these bikes:



(click on photos for link)

They're gorgeous. But not cost effective. Instead, I'm saving up to buy a refurbished, older bike.

See, I just need something simple, single speed but with hand brakes, not the ones you pedal backwards on. And the older bikes are perfect for that. So, by mid-August, I will have the perfect (for me) bike.

Wish me luck!