My Favorite Things...

In high school, I used to keep a jar of slips of paper on my desk. On these slips of paper were little phrases that can make you smile when you're frustrated with the complexities of life. Just some little nuances of life that are completely ordinary, but when thought of individually, they can become epic. It was a jar of distractions and of thankfulness.  

Going to Salzburg and diving into the Sound of Music world, I found it only appropriate to list a few of my favorite things. Sadly, I am not Oprah and I am not giving away SUVs, or even Julie Andrews, because I really can't carry a tune all that well either... but I did have a lot of time on trains and planes, and I think we all have some sort of gift from God in the way that we see the world. I lend you my senses...

fresh-baked bread, street musicians with passion, watching people sleep, sunrises,"San Francisco weather," lepidoptera, adjectives, run-on sentences with lots of commas, The New York Times, coffee, the warm smell of bonfires, bulky scarves, quirky jewelry, kids' choirs, cool breezes, leaf veins, the first snow, loose line drawings, the clinking of change, dutchmen's breeches, pressed pennies, fruit, blank notebooks with no lines, Toni Morrison sentences,  surreal cultures, tenebrism, crashing ritzy hotels, crayon factories, old couples, billowing cream in a cup of coffee, strong and confident women, Bruce Davidson, Horst P. Horst, Irving Penn, the gentleness of Degas, Hitchcock lighting, the Sinatra swoon, Bono, Robert Frost

open-air movies/the drive-in, the power of being behind the wheel, uncontrollable laughter, bonding, orange juice in a champagne flute, prosecco, flourished brackets, crumbling plaster, patina, text ragging, old movies with dust specks, film scores, goosebumps, peace roses, vests, snuggling, a long string of camels amongst the sand dunes, twirling my hair, the way your teeth feel after you get your braces off, when people pet my head, head-on-shoulder, popped collars, farmer's market, wearing your Sunday Best on a Tuesday, paint on good clothes, metaphors, walking barefoot, black t-shirts, a good eye lock, guys with short hair, the sound of lapping water, grace, "like a jewel in an Ethiop's ear," the warmth inside a family home on Christmas, wet typewriter ink

how eyeglasses can instantly indicate a certain decade, tousled bedhead hair, music escaping from distant windows, dancing sunlight, paper scraps, soft things, mismatched china, a long row of buttons, the & sign, gathered fabric, legs dangling from tree branches, lace, curling up into the corner of the couch, falling asleep in front of the TV, blazers with jeans, inlays, woodcarving, encores, the "reject colors" (mustard yellow, brown, olive green, burnt ochre), storytelling, musicals, the morning aire, well-loved books, Tennessee Williams, jazz spontanaeity, argyle, a child's lashes, serifs, running your fingers over braille, learning about American History, sheet music, Titanic, "the mind of him that knew her own," the way eyes flutter as they fall asleep, gelato, pounding hearts, supportive friends and family

the metamorphosis of a lit candle, Crossroads, hugs, picnics, ping-pong domination, crescendos, turtlenecks, homemade-ness, spoons, flea markets, antiques with stories, streamlined, pitchblack Napoleon nights, tufted things, astericks, icicles, "miles to go before I sleep," red velvet, seeing your breath, handmade paper with a deckle edge, paper airplanes, potted herbs, waltz, motion blurs, cathedrals at night, flocks migrating, leaf pile explosions, purring, walking barefoot, quill pens, calligraphy, ivy dangling from wrought iron, vast fields, linen, heirlooms, toes in the sand, stone skipping, dripping rain at bedtime, violin solos, the moment when the theater darkens, the click of the baton on the conductor stand, winks, a smile that travels across a room, the smell of clean laundry, gingkos, honest eyes, sequoias, love letters, floppy sunhats, obnoxiously large Audrey Hepburn glasses, silhouettes, long necks, green glass in the light, tulle, ballet form, the way the periodic table works, the way the sun is always friendly and never accusing...