i dream my painting, and i paint my dream

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those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night



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i hope everyone had a lovely time this holiday season;
appreciating and sharing these days with your loved ones.
i'm glad i was born around this special time, to be able to celebrate my birthday at home in between christmas and new years. it was a nice and sunny day, perhaps a sign of a bright future to look forward to. my birthday cake was just as sweet as the memories of my childhood birthdays. i want these lasting feelings of being infinite to stay forever. i've learned a lot about myself this past year and as the year closes, i finally can draw my own path now with certainty. stay positive.

from my heart,
lisa


ps. i have a ton of google wave invites left, so if anyone wants one let me know.

recite those hymns in such a way that the gods will be attracted

being home for the holidays is comforting. we actually have a christmas plant instead of a tree. i like hanging up the ornaments every year, they are so precious. they shine under the light brilliantly and you can't help but notice, and hold one inside the palm of your hands, to feel the warmth of the light.

things that make me smile:
+ snowflakes slowly falling outside the window, as if time stopped for a moment
+ seeing white lights glitter on the naked trees
+ the atmosphere of an antique coffee/tea shop like Mcnulty's
+ receiving little surprises
+ the smell of jasmine flowers at night
+ listening to a song on repeat until you just FEEL




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"She tells her love while half asleep,
In the dark hours,
With half-words whispered low:
As Earth stirs in her winter sleep
And puts out grass and flowers
Despite the snow,
Despite the falling snow."

<3
lisa

voici mon secret.

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like being at a classical concert where there's a break in between pieces
this is my intermission

there's a whispering wind i feel it inside

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like a place i can feel but never will see

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see those fingerless pink gloves above, my friend karla made it for me earlier in the year for the first few months of winter. it's my favorite pair because when it gets cold in my room, i can wear it and still be able to play the piano/keyboard. she also made me other crocheted items too that are super cute. in return, i made her a website and i updated it today. the kitty on the front page is actually a boy & i turned him into a princess. if you're in the area, please stop by and see the craft show <3


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The pain passes, but
the beauty remains.

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i bought some vintage vera bradley silk flower napkin rings last week from etsy and it came in the mail the other day. it was a nice surprise to see that it came in an old greeting card box that was once filled with renoir reproductions. it looks like the person got it from the museum of fine arts in boston. i've been to boston twice before, both times were short-lived. i'd like to go there the next time i'm up in that area. i used some of those flowers to attach it to the tulle petticoat i found at a thrift shop. i'm planning to add more delicate little things to it. speaking of such things, i have a lot of sequins and beads laying around so i want to do some kind of project with it. in two weeks when i'm home for break, we shall see.
--lsa

an inward quiet, like the outward quiet of grass and trees

my fall/winter season wardrobe consists of:
large and small bows
x
velvet pants & decorated skirts
x
dark, dark colours in contrast to light
x
accented with lots of metallic jewelry
x
sequins + lace for the holidays
x
maybe a fitted blazer or over-sized sweater
x
oxford & maryjane heeled shoes
x
a cute almost creepy doll-like style :)


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now, here is a lush trippy music video by the depreciation guild. this song is reminiscent of my bloody valentine & a bit of the cocteau twins. i am quite in love with this. the music and the vocals are very dreamy. i remember listening to their music earlier this year when they had put out an album ("in her gentle jaws") on their website for free to download. it's nintendo bits meets shoe-gaze. lovely.



<3
lsa

to call everything by its right name

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this original photograph was bland and i don't think marie antoinette would have approved. so i added a little bit of loveliness to it using a bow and frame. the drawing was taken from that powder blue book in the image below. it's a gem that i found in the library last week. there are so many pretty illustrations. the book was organized so perfectly. the story of her life was divided into seasons--starting with spring, summer, fall, winter. very enchanting. it gives a similar vibe to that of sofia coppola's film, perhaps she may have been inspired by it too.

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i've been taking so many books out of the library. the other day, i asked them what the limit was for a student to loan out books. the answer was non? no, they didn't know until a few minutes later the lady said 15. i am gradually reaching that limit. it's not just books that i am borrowing though. i took out a couple of piano sheet music books namely rachmaninoff's preludes, bach's well-tempered clavier, and prokofiev's sonatas which i later learned is nearly impossible to play at my level. i'm a bit over my head, a lot of the time. well, isn't that what makes a dreamer?

---lsa

i understand completely, miyazaki.

"it's the splinters of glass in people's eyes that makes them see the world in jagged little pieces. if we could just get out the glass we could make them see clearly."

last night, i finished watching the 1957 russian animated film Снежная королева aka "The Snow Queen". it is a beautiful adaptation of the book by Hans Christian Anderson. i suggest you get your hands on this treasure. there's a raw aesthetic feel that can't be captured by the cgi effects that are the standard today.


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pull the soul


thread the body

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ode to N O V E M B E R
blessed souls of the dead
that shower us with falling stars on the 17th
make it a crisp evening, the darkest hour
for when cassiopia crosses the meridian
i drink thy chrysanthemum tea, wolfberries afloat
who's in?

love,
lsa

acturus is the halloween ghost of the sun

the moon, like a flower
in heaven's high bower,
with silent delight
sits and smiles on the night



tonight, the moon can guide you to the square of pegasus. has anyone seen hubble's great new images? the universe is a beautiful thing. seeing a star covered sky is a rare treat when you live in a city. it has been unusually warm recently but i sense the dead air is coming as the night falls. mellon collie & the infinite sadness sets the perfect mood for this expression. elements of 90's nostalgia, feelings of lost youth.



xx

tomorrow is only a vision

you grabbed my hand
and we fell into it
like a daydream
or a fever

last week, i drove through a brief snow storm in the northwestern edge of maryland. possibly, the most magical moment of the year as i am surrounded by the beautiful fall foliage. when the temperature dropped to 32F, i knew it was coming. the snowflakes quickly melted away on the car but it stuck to the sides of the mountain. The last time this familiar feeling came through me was on a foggy morning two springs ago when i saw a herd of deer emerge from big meadows of the shenandoah state park in virginia.



x
my favourite things:
+ godspeed you emporer!
+ decorating pages of a book
+ going to the bakery in the morning
+ watching 'yumeiro patissiere'
+ striped stockings
+ fall foliage
+ curling in my pink fuzzy blanket
+ the sound of the rain
+ '80s pop girl outfits ♥





† lsa

if my heart metamorphed, it’d be missing a part of you

we are creatures of thought, we seek clarifications.

i found a special place along the river bank and it will become my secret spot for reading. this is where the butterflies would flutter endlessly on a hot summer afternoon. a lot of the wildflowers and plants are decaying now but the river maintains a consistent ebb and flow. naturally, changes are expected as the cool air sweeps across and in between the hills and valleys. i think that it would be amazing to find a library hidden in a forest. you would pick a book dangling from a tree instead of a shelf. it will be adorned with little ribbons and tags indicating how 'dark' or 'light' the book makes you feel. i imagine this type of setting would be lovely by echo lake up in maine where i have spent my summer there two years ago. my favorite moment was climbing up mt. beech which is 839 feet high and then jumping in the crystal clear lake.





i am really looking forward to seeing where the wild things are as directed by spike jonze. i think i'm going to make a tent out of sheets and blankets for some good old nostalgia. it brings me back to a time of innocence and infinite possibilities. the kind of feeling that seems lost and forgotten. and if we allow magic to be a part of every fiber of our human being.

xx

narcotic flowers and humid seas of foliage

things of autumn:
cassiopeia,
earl grey tea,
flannel sheets,
purple colored sweaters,
black bows,
the cool air,
blankets everywhere,
nocturnal ambiances,
gothic wares

i've been spending the last month with plenty of studying accompanied by tea drinking. playing with cards and dreaming like alice. composing long over due letters to friends and attempting several pieces of bach literature on the electronic keyboard. feeling frustrated most of the time. it's not the perfect substitute for the piano in terms of playing anything of the classical nature as it is a machine and not made of real raw materials.

i want to do something creative. i have things in mind but i don't have the resources at this present address, i would need to go home and fetch them. my dilemma for the month or months to come.

xx

guiding light

rebirth.
nature, to be controlled, must be obeyed.



when the heat starts to fall and the cold weather begins this cycle, i like to immerse myself in feeling like the seasons change. autumn reminds me of several things, mostly good music, good fashion, and good times. it's very close to being my favorite season. i wish it would arrive here sooner so then we can get to winter where i can see some snow on the ground. of course, summer is still lingering around as usual.

every time i listen to muse, matt inspires me to play the piano. the 'resistance' is absolutely beautiful, especially 'exogenisis', a 3-part gorgeous symphonic rock orchestrated masterpiece. when you take out the sweeping vocals and everything else in between, you are left with the skeleton of a classical piece influenced by rachmaninoff and chopin to name a few. it also doesn't hurt that muse likes to use esoteric and cryptic lyrics in their songs. they've gone above&beyond this time to ∞
-----lsa

a stranger's light

hope sandoval is on my list of girl crushes. she is known for being the other half of the band 'mazzy star'. she also has a new album out and will be touring soon. unfortunately, i live in the middle of nowhere now and i'm missing out on much of everything. if you haven't heard of her, you'll find that her voice is warm and angelic sounding. i've just discovered that she covered "cherry blossom girl" by air. it's really pretty, i suggest you download it if you haven't. it's been played on my list so many times as evident from my last.fm chart.

lately, i've just started going to school. the second time around, i hope it works out this time. on the side, i've been doing some art related things. maybe, something will come out of this. i've also been doing deep breathing exercises as the sun rises. it helps me focus and i feel that it tunes me into the universe. keeps me grounded to earth and makes me more aware of my surroundings. been reading much about esoteric things as well, it entertains me to no end. and listening, oh yes. i can never get enough of listening to music. so when is 'muse''s album going to leak? 30 second clips are such teases.

xx

asleep from day

if there is one thing you should know about me, it would be that i love collecting jewelry. they've always attracted me ever since i was a child. my first and favorite piece would have to be this vintage necklace that i picked out and begged my mother to buy for me when i was five at a local flea market. unfortunately i don't have a photograph of it since it's not here with me right now. i keep it safe at home in new jersey. so i've been looking at a lot of pretty little things on the web and found a mix of treasures along the way.


1. Cat Priem: it's jewelry for little kitties and the like. i'm not really into taxidermy but the way the feathers were incorporated how the bones were placed is really clever and cute albeit morbid. i'd wear it.



2. Alidra Alic: her 'alice's adventures in wonderland' collection is absolutely beautiful and creative. it gives off an innocent feeling with the painted pastel colors, which is delicate and falls true to lewis carroll's story.

xx

playhouses like mine

sometimes, i can read on forever and ever. yesterday, i finished oscar wilde's "the picture of dorian gray". i like how throughout the novel, there was a lingering darkness to it until the very end. definately will be added to my library of favorite books.



it's been very hot lately, i wish autumn would come sooner so i could lie on something soft and fuzzy until i can fall asleep to the sound of leavings falling. i cannot wait to wear my heavier tights and coats, the loveliest combination. i really want to get these tights by bebaroque. i already own a pair by them below but a black one would be perfect when it gets cold. the ones i am wearing are the prettiest and most delicate pair of tights i own. i also, found this post very inspiring as well (diy beaded tights!) and i might have to try it some time once i get the appropriate materials.



and this is where the magic happens, i'd say the kitchen is probably the most important room in the home.

tears of st lawrence, falling stars

my diet consists of granola and fruits since moving down here. i had an awesome chickpea curry meal last night. at this rate, i may be turning vegan soon. maybe i'll reserve certain days into being a carnivore. i think meat tastes much better when taken in sparingly.



the brain secretes thought as the liver secretes bile

xx

in the words of wordsworth

hello. welcome to the new doll house.
a place to post things i like and do not like.
expect photographs & many words.

There are in our existence spots of time,
That with distinct pre-eminence retain
A renovating virtue, whence--our minds
Are nourished and invisibly repaired;

xx