the endless summer.

"i loove you! i want to ser* your girlfriend!" 

was the phrase yelled to us by a group of dominican niños from a palm tree on the beach this evening. 

well, they gave it a good effort, right? 

the kids here are hilarious/awesome/everything great.

my new favorite activity has been letting them show me around their callejón.

they showed me where to pick the best guayaba,
their chihuahuas who live on the roof,
and how to do cannonballs in the nearby rio.

when i'm hanging out with them, it feels like summer will never end.

*ser= "to be" in spanish; thus, these darling little boys were trying to say, "i want to be your boyfriend." things just got a little lost in translation. 

montana.

i've taken a road trip with some friends  up to the big sky country for the weekend.

and after a few days of adventure,

delicious meals, 

and sights like this,

i'm not ready to leave tomorrow. 

it finally feels like summer to me.

west yellowstone, ® anna gleave photography 2012.

a day at versailles.

i've spent the past five days literally in bed with a nasty sinus infection (okay, with a bit more mobility today),

and thus i have been thinking of happier, more europe-y times. 

when will & i were in paris this past summer, 

we spent a lovely morning in versailles. 

after an early morning wake-up call, we took the two-hour metro ride from our hotel and found ourselves in the loveliest of neighborhoods. 

we treated ourselves to a morning of royalty... strolls through the never-ending gardens, baked potatoes outside marie antoinette's chateau, and a stop in louis' hall of mirrors.
and speaking of potatoes... i ate the most delicious curry-topped potato (i know, sounds weird, but you can't judge it until you try it!).
it was easily the best meal i ate while in france.
and as i was eating it, the most precious little old french woman came up to me and exclaimed,
"bon appetit!"
i'm serious.
it was perfect and sweet and candid and made all of my little parisian dreams come true.

i thought versailles was really, really cool... i did.

but i must admit, i didn't fall in love with it. 

i'm sure i was a bit biased, due to my two-in-a-row tour of the palacio real in madrid, 

but i was a bit disappointed with the lack of upkeep at versailles. 

and the fountains weren't even working! 

but alas, if you asked me to go back tomorrow... i'd go.

plus, those macaroons are just oh so pretty to look at. 

am i right?

tacos + sunshine=happiness.

right about now, i could reaaallly use some beach time.

the whole idea of that "endless summer" seems incredible.

you know how much i love the sunshine, warm weather, and freedom.

but there's something about summer that makes my favorite mexican food taste better and those nasty mornings seem a bit more bearable.

and the weddings.... oh, how i love the summer weddings.

i know that i've got a few weeks of summer left still (thank goodness!), but given my current state (cooped up in bed, nose bandage in tact), i'm enjoying reminiscing a bit about some of my recent summertime adventures.

while in san diego, i spent an afternoon at the beach with two of the greatest friends.

we really didn't do much but chat and nap (and consequently sunburn), but it was so calming.

just what i needed.

we then proceeded to eat the most delicious carne asada tacos (and devaun sweet-talked her way into some free diet coke) at a little surf/taco shop nearby.

so, so good.

what are your favorite summer memories?

post script: sorry for the overload of instagram photos, as of late. my little nikita has just needed a bit of a break from the elements... that's all.

my favorite things.

i've always been a sucker for the sound of music.

but after visiting salzburg and the austrian alps two summers ago, my love for this story/musical has increased exponentially.

while in utah a few weekends ago, we went up to sundance to enjoy dinner and the outdoor rendition of this play with our family reunion crew.

though the quality of acting wasn't the greatest in the world, snuggling up in a blanket with rocky-road popcorn and a perfect mountain view in sight was the greatest in the world.

if you're in utah, i highly recommend this as a fun summer activity!

i love popsicles.

sometimes, after a long week of work and studying, all i want to do is eat 28391237 fresh fruit popsicles...

what's wrong with that?

excuses, excuses.

so sorry i have been m.i.a. from my little blog as of late.

i have been busy doing this and this and this and this.

i promise, i'll fill you in on all of the good stuff (and man, do i have some stories for you).

until then, check out this view that i fell in love with allll over again this last weekend:

i wish every day were this sunny.

if you haven't seen 500 days of summer, rent it... now!

love love love.