Happy Birthday Girl

Whenever I think about turning 30, I immediately think of Friends and The One Where They All Turn 30:




I also think about the movie 13 Going On 30. "30, flirty and thriving!"




There isn't much about turning this milestone age that has me freaked out. I love birthdays too much to have any negative feelings over it. The only thing that seems weird to me is that now, for the first time in my life, I will have to look at the next age group in Bazaar's "Fabulous At Any Age".

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I know a lot of people make goals when they have birthdays and list things they want to accomplish. Well, I want to do something a little different. I'm going to tell you what I've accomplished already:

*I've played the clarinet for a majority of my life.
*I still play in an orchestra and recently started playing bassoon in a band.
*I played in Carnegie Hall in 2001.
*I coached a swim team for five straight summers. The most difficult and most rewarding job ever.
*I graduated from UMW in 2002.
*I got a masters degree in 2008.
*I get along with my family...like freakishly well.
*All of my baby cousins know me.
*I did a fashion photo shoot for my brother's store and some of the pics actually look good!
*I am not selfish**
*I taught middle school band as a long-term sub and didn't kill anyone (including myself).
*I own every Brad Pitt movie there is.
*I can make people laugh.
*I played tennis in high school even though I got cut the first time I tried out.
*I played with the Air Force Band once in high school.
*I have a lot of friends.
*I've seen a gazillion bands live.
*I've spoken Spanish in Puerto Rico.
*I am happy
*etc.
*etc.
*etc.

So yeah, yay for me!

XO,
SVR





*So not a fluke I chose this cover:)
**Of course I am sometimes! "Sometimes" is key.

Linger

I absolutely loved Shiver and recommend it to everyone!


In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other.  Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack.  And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

Favorite Things

I think 99.99% of people are wishing for spring to get here. I understand that people get sick of the snow. Yes, it interrupts plans and closes jobs, but hi, it's winter so it's to be expected. And it's so pretty!


Personally, I love for it to be cold. I like for the air to feel fresh and energizing...I like to wear scarves and sweaters...I like to straighten my hair and for it to stay that way.

Serena today, though, posted about what she is looking forward to in the upcoming months*. I will probably never wish for Spring to be here sooner**, but I have vowed to try to be positive about the warmer months.

So, the following are some things I like that happen to occur when it's warmer. This is no way means I do not love winter with all of my February-born heart.

Flowers:
Flowers are pretty and always fun to photograph. I will not think about their pollen, which makes me miserable.



Blue Skies:
I'm actually not one of those people who gets down when the sun hasn't been seen for awhile, but I can't deny that a crystal clear sky is gorgeous.


Water:
A lot of times, water in the winter is frozen. Or, since this is not Minnesota, the thought of water just makes a person cold. But I do love being around water. Beach or pool preferably, but Crockett Park has a special spot in my heart:


Beach:
I LOVE THE BEACH! I love the beach so much I think I could live there. I know, I know. It makes no sense. The thing about the beach, though, is that when it's cold here, you can vacation to the beach. It's no fun when it's 95 degrees and there is no ocean around. Why would you want it to be 95 degrees as you go to work? Yuck! Oh wait, I'm supposed to be positive here. So, I love the beach:


Rain:
I love the type of rain that makes a summer day chilly.
(You know, so I can heat it back up?)

Pools:
One of my favorite smells in the world is chlorine. Pools make the summer hear bearable.


So, that's all I can think of right now...but until it warms up (ugh), enjoy the chills, sweaters, scarves, jeans, socks, fires, cold noses, and...most exciting of all...MY BIRTHDAY IN ONE WEEEEEK!


XO,
SVR

*But don't rush it! It's only 10 Feb! We have over a month of winter left.
**I'd like to skip spring and summer and go straight to fall!

Ice Ice Baby

Ice Ice Baby
Originally uploaded by scarls17

View from my window. Reston, VA

Whispy Whispers

Whispy Whispers
Originally uploaded by scarls17

The Lover In Me

I recently saw two movies that seemed to have been made for me. Bright Star and The Young Victoria.

I love love love period pieces. I love the clothes and the accents and the manners and traditions. Most especially out of that list, though, I love the clothes. Do you know how badly I wanted to be wearing a regal gown today? Very!

I don't want to bring back much from that time period, but can't we have a blast from the past with the clothes?











XO,
SVR

Beautiful As A Butterfly

I want this to be my Facebook doppelganger:

Elizabeth Taylor