writing: the road

there is a road that takes me to and from

and it's big, the things that road has seen

i've gone fast down that road

i've meandered slowly around its curves

i've rolled the windows down and let my hair run free

i've had exultation and anthems and fingers in the sky

i've cried my way down that road

cried until my belly hurt and my eyes ran out of crying

i've walked that road

i've run that road

i've fallen in, on that road

i've fallen out, too

i've stood and i've sat and i've paused and i've looked

i've rejoiced and despaired and felt silence so loud it roared in my ears and rushed in my head like the chatter of a thousand things i should have said or the memory of the brave moments when i finally did

if i pressed my body to the concrete

put my palms flat on the pavement

i might feel the pulse of hundreds of heartbeats

and the rolling rhythm of it all would be so much

it would fill my lungs and run my veins and shut my eyes

but right now, the road keeps them for me

2013 Henna Calendar

need an awesomely artistic gift idea for Christmas?

my talented bestie has done it again:

2013 Henna Calendar

every month features totally boss hand-drawn henna art,

including a fox on my birthday month in february.

because maybe i'm foxy or something.

buy it here!

she also updated last year's steampunk gadget calendar for 2013.

(i've had the 2012 version on my wall at work all year and can fully recommend it.)

so go to her shop, check out the goods and get some christmas shopping done.

fox and the hound,

katilda

Dumb Ways to Die

guys, i had other plans for my blog today.

and then this video happened.

you're welcome.

i have a serious weakness for clever marketing.

can't even choose a favorite part,
katilda

10 Ways to Give Back for Christmas

in honor of giving tuesday, i would like to present...

Heifer International

How it works: You donate funds here to buy livestock for families in other countries.

A few years ago for Christmas, I made donations in behalf of my family members, printed up the certificates and framed them to wrap under the tree.

Salvation Army Angel Trees

How it works: You take a tag off a tree a at the mall and buy a Christmas gift for someone in need.

Some of the best gifts I've received are when someone took a tag off a tree, shopped for the person in my behalf, wrote the items on the back of the tag and gave it to me for Christmas. I keep those tags in a special place.

Print Aid New York

How it works: You buy a pretty poster here and the funds go toward Hurricane Sandy relief.

The Shine Project

How it works: You buy super cute jewelry and other goods here and the money goes toward scholarship funds for at-risk youth.
I recently met Ashley, the brains behind this amazing organization, at a blogger party. She has a big heart and I love her for that.

Make-A-Wish Believe Campaign

How it works: You write a letter to Santa and drop it off in the red mailbox at your local Macy's store. For every letter received, Macy's donates $1 to Make-A-Wish. Learn more here.

As a personal plug, I used to work at Make-A-Wish. The wishes mean everything to these children, and the Believe Campaign generates about $1 million every year. Go here if you want to read wish stories.

Barnes & Noble Book Drive

How it works: When you purchase a book at your local B&N, tell your cashier you want to donate a book to the holiday book drive. You get to pick a book off a shelf, add it to your purchase and BAM...someone's getting something good to read.

American Red Cross

How it works: You can make a donation here to Hurricane Sandy relief.

Ryker Bracelet

How it works: You buy a lovely gold heart bracelet and the money goes toward helping Ryker, a little boy with a heart condition. Follow his story here.

P.S. I love my bracelet so much.

International Rescue Committee

How it works: You donate here toward food, healthcare, education, etc. for a refugee family in need.

I had the chance to deliver Christmas gifts to several of some of these families in Phoenix a couple years ago and it was an amazing experience.

Chrissy's Random Acts of Kindness

How it works: You follow the example of this amazing gal and do things like tape dollars bills to vending machines with little notes that say things like, "Happy Christmas! Buy yourself a nice treat."

She also dropped off knitted hats and other treasures at a local hospital on Thanskgiving. Love this girl. Her Thanksgiving adventures seriously warmed my heart.

happy christmas,

katilda

a black friday trip to sedona

i did not go to the mall on black friday. instead, i drove north.

if you've never been to sedona, arizona....

put that destination on your bucket list, yo.

red rocks. leaves. hippies. food. shopping. cowboy & indian folklore.

all the goods.

and don't worry, i totally bought a dream catcher for my wall...

i still had really weird dreams so maybe it is defective,

katilda

if i could start a small business...

so, today is small business saturday.

you can read more about that here.

you know, i've always wanted to start a small business.

but there's always that nasty little problem of financing such dreams.

[via]

but if i could pick just one thing and run with it?

i would open a nook.

you know, a coffee shop type place. 

essential elements of my nook:

• mismatched furniture
• many, many books to peruse
• scholarly bearded people, laughing jovially
• signs that instruct people to laugh jovially or not at all
• little tables with handmade goods for sale from other dreamers
• yoga in the mornings, even if my body isn't very stretchy and i just have to watch
• is it creepy to watch other people do yoga?
• probably.
• local musicians performing at night
• my meggles could sell cupcakes, because she's good at those
• it would always smell like pumpkin spice candles, always always

yes, i even have a killer name picked out for my nook.

but i can't tell you, because what if you are an angry troll and you want to steal my idea?

harry potter taught me a lot about angry trolls.

what kind of small business would YOU open?

[via]

wallowing in nook dreamland again,

to black friday or not black friday?

[via]

i love me some shopping, but i've never really been the black friday type.

a couple years ago, this lady needed to snag a trampoline for her sister's kids and she recruited me as wing woman for her sleepless shopping shenanigans.

my feelings on the experience are debatable:

i love me some sales and adventure, but sleep is a fierce competitor!
and trust me, the dark circles under my eyes don't need to get any bigger.

are you a black friday warrior?

...is it ok if i call you a warrior?

walmart is a brutal crowd at the midnight hour,

it's thanksgiving

on a serious note,

i've got a hecka lot to be thankful for.

namely, a long list of amazing people who deserve mucho credit and gratitude.

you all know who you are!

on a less serious note,

you need to see this gem:

because i am thankful for awkward family photos.

and i truly love this video.

and i want to reenact it.

that is all.

what are you doing for T-Gives?

i'm making yams for la familia.
and playing frisbee. of course.

we we we are gonna have a good time,

katilda

stuff i wrote in my 2nd grade yearbook.

this week i've been cleaning out the closet in my old room at my parents' house.

and oh, the treasures i've found!

i will be sharing more of my discoveries from my childhood,

but today we're going to focus on my 2nd grade yearbook.

oh look, there i am in all my 7-year-old glory...

apparently i had a thing for labeling people...

and i obviously wasn't too fond of 3rd graders...

and, my favorite of all, is when i labeled this young fella as cute but apparently later changed my mind and thought some stealthy editing could cover that up...

"cute to most but ick to me"

brilliant.

i have since learned that i should have used the same color pen i started with.

i'm pretty sure this boy must have deeply wronged me somehow to cause such drastic measures.

he probably didn't pick me to be on his kickball team.

i take these matters seriously.

stay tuned for heartfelt written excerpts from my childhood journals.

they will not disappoint.

i helped a stranger propose to his girlfriend.

last night i went on a walk by the lake with some friends, and we stumbled across some people frantically lighting candles in the sand.

"what are they doing?"

"wait, does that spell..."

yes, we had discovered a marriage proposal in action!

it was about that moment when they pleaded for our help, and we ended up crawling around in the sand lighting hundreds of tea lights right along with them.

we finished our fiery masterpiece just in time and ran off to hide before the couple in question came walking across the bridge overlooking the glowing creation.

they came strolling down the bridge and saw the letters, and the girl got all caught up in looking at it, not fully realizing the message was for her.

while she was looking down at the letters, el hombre dropped down on one knee and it all clicked and then there was much hugging and kissing and other smushy stuff.

look at us, we've got that "we just helped a stranger propose" glow:

all in all, it was one of the loveliest magical adventures i've ever had while going on an otherwise uneventful walk by the lake.

have you ever seen a public proposal in person?

i burned my fingers several times on those tea lights,

katilda

p.s. remember that time i helped a friend propose in the airport?

i shop in the little boys section.

you guys seemed to really like my other clothing post, so here we go again!

plus, like i said, it motivates me to get dressed and stuff.

disclaimers:

1. yes, i wear clothing items twice within the same week. it's an art form i like to call "if you didn't spill anything on it (nothing big anyway) and you won't be seeing the same people as the first time you wore it, then you should definitely wear it again."

2. it's true, that blue plaid shirt at the end is from the little boys section at walmart.

3. yes i bought it in three colors. i was seizing the day and stuff.

the threads:

black boots & spants: target // striped sweater: kohls // infinity scarf: payless
brown boots, yellow tights & green cardi: target // denim skirt: thrifted // red plaid shirt: random store by the beach

 orange cardi, olive belt, blue dress & tan boots: target // gray ruffle jacket: kohls

 black flats & green cardi: target // striped maxi: F21 // red belt: thrifted
leopard flats & black sweater: target // jeans: DownEast

      

 black lace cardi: gift // black v-neck: target // green skirt: thrifted
blue t-shirt: walmart // flower necklace: DownEast

 polka-dot shirt: madewell (clearance!) // charm necklace: F21 // green accordion skirt: kohls // red lips: mac
tan boots: target // skinnies: urban outfitters // mustard tank: wet seal // blue plaid: walmart
mustard head swag: vintage wanna bee

two people told me my green accordion skirt looked like grass and one guy said the shirt reminded him of a cow and proceeded to make a mooing noise at me and i decided not to give him a hard time because hey we were in the middle of church,
katilda