New Beginnings...

Wow. So, last time i wrote was just at the beginning of the relationship with ES. it's been quite a 6-month rollercoaster since then. we broke up a couple of weeks ago. i'm was and still am pretty heartbroken. I'm doing better now, but it's been rough, and I'm still really lonely. it's hard not having him around, having someone there for you. we were really really close. and he's really an amazing guy--everyone thought so. we were just so great together. so it really hurt when it was over.

But now i have to make a new beginning, start things over. I'm trying to enjoy having my own space. and i want to try to meet more Israelis. going days on end without interacting with people in Hebrew at all is a little ridiculous.

Also, I've started therapy. At first it was to deal with my relationship with my parents and family, and how they deal with things when we disagree about my choices, particularly the broken engagement with ZB. But the last meeting was just about ES and that breakup. i have another appointment this afternoon.

On that note, i have to go grab something to eat before i head out the door. so this is all for now.

Ah, weddings...

This is such a gorgeous wedding-- I couldn't help but post these photos. It even almost looks like it could've been in Israel...

glass teapot

The cool thing about this teapot is that you can actually see the tea inside. 

You can even reheat the tea later so it's like you have a fresh cup.

Neat!

need help organizing your stuff?

Who wouldn't want to have this metal twig jewelry tree to keep their most precious jewelry safe and accessible? it would make a great present :)

plates and bowls

Wow, this Serene Sol Dinnerware is gorgeous. i wish i could get my hands on these :)

Need an idea for a gift? VivaTerra has so much amazing stuff... check them out.

Intimacy

Just some thoughts...

I came to the conclusion that sex gives you a false sense of closeness, of intimacy. The closeness is great, but after a bit--it just seems like i need something more. It doesn't feel right to think i'm so intimate with someone that i actually barely know. I mean, it feels like we know eachother really well, but most of the time we're just having sex. So, I decided that wasn't a good thing. And we called off sex for a little while.

It's been an amazing few days! We've still been spending every night together. It's just that we don't have sex. Or anything. I mean, we kiss a little, but not even as much as making out.

Then i realized another thing. And that is that it's not really about the lack of other things besides sex, but rather that i don't seem to get the same reaction out of him that i'm used to. i don't really get that I-can't-keep-my-hands-off-you feeling. Which is nice when we're trying to talk, but slightly disconcerting when we're being silly and fooling around. anyway, I have to get to bed, but i'll try to explain more later.

The point is, the lack of sex means more time to cuddle and be affectionate, which is helping re: the not feeling as attractive issue... I'll keep you posted.

Cultural Relativism

The new boy in my life: ES. We met at a purim party-he's a future doctor :)

I had an interesting conversation with ES yesterday. He came over before we went to see Juno (which by the way, is really cute), and we started talking about our day and such. He's been having a clinical week, and they're focusing on deaf people. There's this amazing new technology that gets implanted into the person's head, and sends signals directly to the neurons, thereby bypassing the deafness. It actually allows deaf people to hear--it's amazing. Anyway, ES was telling me how among the deaf community there is now this issue about using this technology, because it detracts from deaf culture. As in, who are we to impose our beliefs that "our" culture, the hearing culture, is better, more "normal"? There are some people in the deaf community who are refusing to give their children access to this technology because they believe that the child is fine, and that they don't want them to lose their deaf culture. Then there are others who claim that denying this technology from a child is child abuse. So there you have it--both sides of the coin.

Now, deaf culture is a somewhat simpler case, because most people would agree that the benefits of hearing outweigh those of being deaf. However, this whole discussion led into cultural relativism in general. For example, about genital mutilation/female circumcision. And from there, Eden said something that somewhat surprised and impressed me. He said that it was sort of funny how we talk about culture as if it's everyone's culture--but really what we're referring to is men's cultural rules; the women have to cover themselves, they have to cut/sew themselves, do certain jobs, wear certain clothing, abide by purity rules, etc.

Basically he was saying that we have to be careful when we talk about this whole cultural relativism business--who's culture are we talking about exactly? I was a little taken aback that he's thought about it in this way. And extremely impressed. This boy keeps getting more and more points :)

Nordstrom has done it again!

Yeah, so i know this may not be such a common choice for a wedding dress, but i can't imagine wearing one of those formal ball gown types... and i think this is adorable. I think i'd get it made long, or at least calf length. but the design is great. and i love the detail.

There's also tons of other dresses--all different styles and degrees of formality, and all for great prices. definitely worth checking out... for bridesmaids or the bride herself...

A Peace Treaty

A friend of mine from school has a sister who came out with a collection called A Peace Treaty. It's a line of ethically produced, artisan-level accessories and apparel for the luxury fashion marketplace. I know, it's a mouthful :) They have some awesome scarves. She and her friend, who conceived A Peace Treaty together, along with some of their friends, model the line, which i think is really cool.

Besides her new line, she has impeccable style--in my opinion anyway... these are two random photos of her. The reason i wanted to put them up here is cuz i thought they'd be great inspiration for those designing a wedding dress. enjoy!

New blogging topics!

So, this is already a blog for random things that i find and want to keep track of or make note of. Starting now, it's also going to be more of a personal thing. Events in my life, relationships, thoughts, crises, and such... I don't know if anyone will be reading it, but that doesn't really matter, cuz it's basically anonymous.

That's all for now.

family vacation

We spent a couple days at the beach with the cousins. i think we all had a good time. and the beach is real pretty. here are a few photos. i actually didn't take them--these are my dad's. i rather like them though.

Visiting...

The cousins came to visit for the week. it's fun to see them. so far i think it's been a pretty good visit, but i hope we get some time to talk. it's been a little hecktic.

Alright, i was up super late last night, and we're planning to go on a mini family camping trip starting tomorrow morning. so i gotta get going. sorry for the lack of pretty pictures...

News!

My apologies for the long break. I've been quite busy with exams and such. good news is that i passed one exam, and I'm fairly certain that the most recent one went ok as well.

First things first. I found a neat thing over at Sundance Catalog. There's this little purse-like sari jewelry roll. They're really pretty, and they come in many colors.

I gotta get packing so i can head home for spring break. 

Hopefully i'll get to post a little more often, but school's keeping me real busy. Along with the rest of my life. so, we shall see...

decor ideas

I think it's really cool to focus on lighting for decor ideas. The lanterns and such can be really pretty, and lighting is a great way to set the mood.

Here are a couple of hanging lanterns that i thought were nice... i really like the leaf theme.

J crew again

Sorry my posts have been a little sparse. it's coming up to exam time over here in the real world, so i'll be pretty busy for the next little while.

anyway, back to the dress thing--it's funny, cuz i'm not usually the hugest fan of jcrew, but their new line of party/wedding dresses has been great.

here's a relatively new one that i found...

Flower girls?

I couldn't resist mentioning flower girl dresses. the little ones are just too cute! These are from Fox 'n Lily.

The junior bridesmaid dresses are really cute too. this is the one to match the flower girl dress. i think it's quite lovely--almost suitable for the bride herself :)

"Green" centerpieces- no, not the colour...

I found these centerpiece ideas at Estilo. They have some great stuff-- it's worth checking it out...

I really like the whole green theme. Very natural and organic looking.

J Crew dresses

These dresses from J Crew are surprisingly affordable, and elegantly simple. take a look!

They also have a more expensive one, and i can't resist posting it, cuz it's such a beautiful dress...

  

Eco-friendly

There's a website dedicated particularly to eco-friendly weddings. 

One of the things that's featured on it: if you're looking for jewelry, Dawes Design uses recycled gold and responsibly mined stones. here are a few examples of rings--i think they're gorgeous.

another dress

This is more of an angelic look. Not the more common ballroom gown style, but i like it alot.

flower inspirations

Happy Leap-Year Day!

In case you need a little inspiration for flower arrangements and bouquets-- types of flower, colours, etc...

Engagement rings in Israel...

If you're into the classic, traditional, non-artsy engagement rings...

You can find these at Scheffer.

  

  

Gorgeous dress!

Check out this one! isn't it amazing? it's from Vera Wang.

Have your cake, but you won't want to eat it-- it's too pretty!

Check out these unbelievable cakes from Jolly Be Bakery! it's like jewelry for your food.

and thanks to KenzieKate for the find. they're gorgeous!

Taj Taj

I'm a huge fan of handcrafted jewelry, and Taj Taj has some gorgeous necklaces (and earrings too). here are some of my favourites.

Saja

Here's a nice spring-inspired possible bridesmaid's dress. This one is by Saja.

I also love it just as a fun dress to wear, if i had a suitable occasion....

Maggy London dresses

You can find these at Nordstrom. They're both gorgeous and not extravagantly expensive! It's win-win :) 

Aren't the colours great?

Colour combos

And speaking of bright colours--they're great for table cloths and flowers too. even just a simple bunch of bright blooms with a few tealights and a bright tablecloth can look stunning. i especially like the orange-yellow combo here.

mood-setters

I love the idea of these colourful chinese paper lanterns to set the mood. so simple, yet classy and elegant too.

flowers...

First off-- happy valentine's day.

And since there haven't been pretty pictures in a couple of posts... here are some cute, simple flower centerpieces (courtesy of The Knot).

It's all about a simple, bold, bright statement!