I Heart London

Remember when Paris stole our hearts? (And then Beijing and Barcelona?)

Well here's London:

EF - Live The Language - London from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

I love this reverse look of seeing it in our own language. And really, I just love London. We lived in Cambridge from 1996-1999, so we got to know England pretty well (and yes, I returned to the States with a British accent. Which I promptly lost upon going into 4th grade at an American elementary school -- insecure 9-year-old that I was, I thought the other kids would tease me. Such a poor decision for my current life, though, because I'm pretty sure I'd be about 27 times cooler if I had a British accent now...)

Anyway. Last time I was in jolly ol' England was for a speedy jaunt through London-town with my sister during a particularly heinous layover on our way to Kenya for Christmas during my first year at college (in 2008). We were only out and about for maybe six hours, but we managed to hit our fave places. Namely, Camden Town (in matching black Northfaces, at that):

The time before that was when I tagged along with my best friends family as we stopped through on our way to the States the summer after graduation. Let me tell you, about the only thing that can make the prospect of leaving your home for a foreign/technically home continent and the unknowns of college a little better is London with your bff and second family. Here we are on London Bridge:

Oh, London. You really are the best.

Soularium

Tonight at small group, Hope and I decided to take a break from the Daniel study we've been working through and try out Soularium instead. Soularium is an evangelism tool used by Campus Crusade for Christ (which is the fellowship I do here at UVA, except we call it Agape) made up of a set of 50 pictures and a series of questions: 

1. Which 3 images would you choose to describe your life right now?
2. Which 3 images represent what you wish were a part of your life right now?
3. Which image would you choose to describe God? (If they say "I'm an atheist" ask: Which image describes that?)
4. Think About your life so far. Which image best describes what you've experienced spiritually?
5. When you think about your own spiritual life or journey, which image best represents what you wish were true?  

The idea is that you go through the questions and choose corresponding pictures, and as you explain why you chose each one, you can figure out where people are at and create opportunities for spiritual discussions. Here's a sweet example of it being used!

We didn't do it as evangelism tonight but did it with each other, which was also kind of incredible -- just getting to see people's perspectives on life and God and stuff in a new way, even after leading them for almost two years now! (Woah.) Of course, it didn't hurt that we were all spread out on a blanket on the living room floor in front of a fire and with pecan shortbread and a plethora of tea options in front of us...

But really, it's a pretty cool thing all around. And I think you should check it out.

[image source. Yes, this is a blog about a trip to my home city Addis Ababa last summer. Yes, my roommate Liz was also on this trip, and this picture just happened to show up when I googled Soularium. Yes, it is an incredibly small world.]

Daring Adventure (Please)

Just a little Monday night inspiration...

[Source: Parker Fitzgerald's 365 Polaroid Quotes, via Design is Mine]

Don't Cry, Shopgirl. Don't Cry.

Y'all, I do not watch movies that often, but I have watched several this week. (And by several, I mean three.) (Except I slept through one of them, I think, so maybe that doesn't count?) Right now I am half watching You've Got Mail and half doing work. As I sit alone in my house. If only my housemates knew what they are currently missing out on. Wouldn't you agree that this is the most wonderful movie, especially to have on as a background to work/other obligations that you only have to semi-pay attention to? I particularly appreciate the wealth of excellent - yet subtle - lines in this movie (por ejemplo: "Patricia makes coffee nervous" or "It's like those people who brag because they're tall" or "Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?"). And the final half hour is really just the best ever. ("I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly.")

Other than this You've Got Mail moment I'm having right now, this weekend has also included: brunch with my fam, an acapella concert, learning some swing dancing, roadtripping to Richmond for dinner and Dave & Buster's and waking up to SNOW this morning. (Yes, on March 27. Let's not talk about it.) And now I'm in that reluctant phase of Sunday evening -- reluctant for the weekend to end yet here on the precipice of Monday and the million things that you need to do or think about. Not to mention, I'm starting a JOB this week.

And to all of you who are still soaking in as much Sunday as you can, who are facing difficult weeks of piles of schoolwork (or whatever else), who just wish weekends could be a little bit extended sometimes, I wish you the simple, comfortable joy of a Meg Ryan movie or twirling in an empty bookstore. So on that note, bring it on, week.

[image via We Heart It]

Friday Five

The I Heart Books Edition

1. "Books are a hard-bound drug with no danger of an overdose. I am the happy victim of books." - Karl Lagerfeld

2. Penguin re-released all the classics with these gorgeous new covers, designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith:

[image sources: 1 | 2]

I kind of want to own some of these. They would look so pretty all lined up on my bookshelf... They even sell them at Anthropologie!

3. Why is stop motion SO COOL?

4. Why secondhand books smell so good: 

"Lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from adopting the weeping habit, is 

a polymer made up of units that are closely related to vanillin. When made into 

paper and stored for years, it breaks down and smells good. Which is how 

divine providence has arranged for secondhand bookstores to smell 

like good quality vanilla absolute, subliminally stoking a hunger for 

knowledge in all of us." [source]

5. The following pictures all come from this tumblr and fill my little book-loving heart with so much joy. Suffice it to say, I could live in ANY of these places.

So I Took Her Hand and I Gave Her a Twirl

...And I lost my heart to a Galway girl.

Study Break

And by study I actually mean: paper-writing.

Currently Listening To: my Mumford & Sons Pandora station. Right now it's playing Falling Slowly by the Frames. I do love this song...

Aren't old photobooth pictures just the perfect distraction from paper-writing/anything you currently should be doing on your computer?

What does it say about me that I tend to be either a) a blur or b) stuck in all these pictures? (the getting stuck and then extraction processes are documented in the two 4-frame pictures.)

Goodness, these make me miss the White House.