Things I'm loving lately...

Daily Thought wallpaper from Real Simple magazine. I devour this magazine every month, and I get their Daily Thought newsletter every day...but now I can have it on my desktop all the time! Charming, sweet simplicity. Guess which one is on my desktop right now? (Hint: I just finished reading Austen's Persuasion.)

Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman, lent to me by the lovely Julie Sosebee, who is, in her own words, "always pushing books at me like an incorrigible drug dealer." It's true. But I love it. Please, Julie, don't stop with the delicious books!

Hershey's Extra Dark chocolate bars. Cheaper than Dove, less sweet than Ghirardelli - I love the yummy bittersweetness. Enough said.

Lunches with friends, planned and impromptu. Wraps with Dawne at my flat; peanut butter, jelly and fruit with Julie D at my flat; yumminess at the Hickory Street Cafe with Julie S. I adore connecting time.

Anne and May's hilarious posts on everything from facials to adoption to Amy Grant. I want to meet these girls some day. Both their books and their blog are a real kick.

My new-to-me mackintosh, long and khaki-colored, a hand-me-down from Betsy. I feel European chic in it, and it keeps me dry - important in a rainy A-town this week.

Passing out copies of my FIRST print feature, in the spring issue of Radiant. A whole box of them came last week! I love sharing stuff like that with people who are proud of me. :)

More Oxford stories and pics to come soon, after a weekend spent mostly in Midland, catching up with the 'rents and attending a wedding shower for yet another dear friend named Julie. (I have four. Aren't I lucky?) Happy (wet) Friday, everyone!