Friday Favorites

Sweet Friday... and not a moment too soon. I stayed up late last night (which, sadly, means just barely past midnight), and I am paying for it today. It seems that in the 2.5 years since I graduated from college, I've become a 90-year-old lady. My night owl husband really loves it -- sometimes I even wake up just a little bit when he kisses me goodnight as he comes to bed at a slightly less elderly hour.
But enough of that... here's what I'm loving this beautiful fall Friday:

I treated myself to a rare but delicious lunch today -- I had an errand to run that brought me too close to Chipotle to say no. I haven't been there in months, and boy have I missed it. I am currently stuffed beyond belief and yet I continue to eat these chips... terrible.

That errand that left me vulnerable in the general vicinity of Chipotle? I was meeting up with our fantastic wedding photographer to pick up our pictures!!! I have allowed myself to look through one of the three boxes of prints, but I'm saving the others to look through with Dan. So far I've seen some incredible pictures, and we also have a CD full of video snippets that I am soooo excited to see. The best part, though, is that because our day ended up being overcast and pretty dark, we are going to meet up with him again next week to get some more pics of the two of us all dressed up. I can't wait to put my dress back on!

This weekend is full of exciting things: tonight I have a super-secret but awesome date night planned, and tomorrow should be a gorgeous day for a football game (even if we are going to lose). Sunday, Dan and I are headed out to visit some puppies, maybe pick up a pumpkin or two, and then we're meeting up with friends for dinner and a ghost tour. Yay fall! Let's just hope I can stay awake through everything...

I just can't get enough of this guy:

or this poem:

 Thanks

[W. S. Merwin]

Listen with the night falling we are saying thank you

we are stopping on the bridges to bow from the railings

we are running out of the glass rooms

with our mouths full of food to look at the sky

and say thank you

we are standing by the water thanking it

smiling by the windows looking out

in our directions

back from a series of hospitals back from a mugging

after funerals we are saying thank you

after the news of the dead

whether or not we knew them we are saying thank you

over telephones we are saying thank you

in doorways and in the backs of cars and in elevators

remembering wars and the police at the door

and the beatings on stairs we are saying thank you

in the banks we are saying thank you

in the faces of the officials and the rich

and of all who will never change

we go on saying thank you thank you

with the animals dying around us

our lost feelings we are saying thank you

with the forests falling faster than the minutes

of our lives we are saying thank you

with the words going out like cells of a brain

with the cities growing over us

we are saying thank you faster and faster

with nobody listening we are saying thank you

we are saying thank you.

[found via one of the ladies I introduced yesterday]

And finally, I leave you with a bit of music that you've probably already heard but is definitely worth hearing again:

So. good. 
Since my first $0.99 purchase on iTunes so many years ago, I can count on one hand the number of full albums I have purchased digitally. Sure, I often purchase a CD at concerts (the most recent a signed copy of this fantastic album), but I very rarely fork over the money for more than a few songs from each release by even my favorite artists (notable exception: Dave Matthews). I certainly have never done what I did on Monday when I purchased Mumford & Sons' entire new album after having heard only one song. I knew I was taking a risk, but luckily my reckless clicking left me smiling all day (on a Monday, no less!). Not one bit of regret -- this is one of the best albums I have ever heard. Ever. And if you follow my lead, please, buy the "deluxe addition." This cover of one of my all-time favorite songs is truly breathtaking. (Mom -- you definitely want to hear that one!)

Happy weekend, all!

   Love,

    Meg