va highlands.

  A sweet morning with nothing to do lead me on a surprise trip with my sweet boy down to the Virginia Highlands. We began the day with breakfast at the Highland Bakery; a chocolate croissant was shared over coffee and conversation. Making a to-do list of exciting things to do in the "one-day" trip to the big apple stirred an appetite that only a decadent feast of eggs covered in hollandaise sauce would suffice.  The meal: delicious. The Company: could not be any better. 

  The rest of the afternoon was spent snickering at silly greeting cards and adoring small boutiques. A favorite of mine would be the "Urban Cottage." The store was owned by a vintage buyer that also repurposes old furniture into unique treasures. It took much will to make it out without spending a sum. The hope would be that I would create my own pieces that would enable me to tell others quirky stories of findings and finishings. An end to the trip came about with a trip to Ben & Jerry's to cool off with a sweet treat: coffee and chocowlate ice cream shared  along with a pomegranate smoothie. 

  A day of looking at things I think I want but would never need ended with the true prize that was holding my hand.

Currently Listening: "Everlasting Light" by The Black Keys

dorian.

  Upon finishing the only novel from Oscar Wilde, my mind started reeling. In so few pages themes of pride, self indulgence, sin, life, eternity and forgiveness create the life of a young man. Just the simplest suggestion that beauty is the ultimate prize to be grasped slowly ate away at the life of Dorian Gray. People that met him found him extraordinarily striking. His golden hair and sly smile bewitched women, young and old. Somehow upon entering a room his presence was felt and heeded to.
  A friend of Dorian's, Basil Hallward, was also estranged by the perfection of a man. He asked permission to capture such beauty on a canvas. The completion of the painting sealed the demise of Dorian Gray. Contrary to how most humans age, Dorian retained his handsome demeanor in exchange for his sin marring the portrait of himself. Each day wrinkled the face of acrylic and spilt blood on the guilty hands of a citizen. His secret, hidden beneath a cloak of purple, consumed Mr. Gray's mind until he ran mad. The obsession with perfection drove him to drastic measures of protecting a face.
  Dorian ceased to realize that over the years fascination with the perfect man grew to disgust. Many felt the weight of his presence as too much to bare. Though the human face on Gray was preserved, the beauty was fleeting. His heart revealed what his face did not in the form of a painting. In his attempt to destroy the very thing that lead him to his lowest place, he took his life.
  He asked for no forgiveness. He made no amends. Wilde weaves in the importance of forgiveness into the novel with Basil's character. Basil begs Dorian to shed light on his faults and expose his life. For an author struggling with deep longing for faith, his beliefs show their face throughout the pages of his sole novel written. Wilde gives reminders of how fickle these lives are without reconciliation and love. All outward beauty shall fade.

Currently Listening: "Wash." by Bon Iver