Tag Archives: ocean

social morays

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Sometimes you just need to escape to Long Island Sound for a day and spend some quality time hanging out with eels and jellies and delicate pipefish and sea dragons, you know?

My “year of aquariums” (I’ve visited four so far!) continued this weekend with a trip to an institution in Connecticut that claims the title of the “best aquarium in New England”–and as I happen to have visited all the other aquariums in New England, I tend to agree. I appreciated the focus on the local ecosystems of Connecticut waters and the opportunity to take my best photograph of a moray eel yet! (You’ll have to click through to see him in all his glory: though if elongated, toothy fish don’t charm you as much as they do me, perhaps you should sit this one out…)

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snail mail favorites: sirens & sand dollars

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Even though I spent my idle teen years as an insufferable hipster–loath to like anything vaguely popular– today I’m utterly delighted that all of pop culture at large appears to share my fascination with mermaids. The way I see it, the mermaid trend is just another opportunity for the amazing mythology and folklore that surrounds these alluring sirens to be appreciated by a wider audience!

A bonus? It’s really easy to find stationery supplies that fit within a similarly enchanting theme – even if said supplies are almost too beautiful for me to dare use. (I’m looking at you, glimmering sand dollar washi tape!)

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outgoing mail: species speaking

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I’m working at catching up on my post-wisdom-teeth-drama letter backlog, I promise! The first step is creating envelopes, which is always my favorite way to occupy idle hours: especially with a fresh stack of old calendars and magazines featuring Hawai’i’s native species from my parents back home.

I don’t know what silly mood inspired me to bestow speech bubbles upon these creatures that share my island birthplace–they include two nēnē (Hawaiian geese) and a wide-eyed humpback whale–but I’m rather fond of the goofy finished product!

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north berwick beachcombing & bones

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Whenever I spend idle minutes organizing the hierarchy of my “Favorite Places on Earth” list (a frequent habit), the tiny Scottish seaside town of North Berwick always maintains its permanent place in the top three.

A week ago, I returned from a wonderful trip to Edinburgh, a brief six-day venture filled with unprecedentedly perfect weather, moderately tolerable air travel shenanigans, and exceedingly lovely company.  It was such a quick getaway that I sometimes am overcome with the sad sense that it was all a dream–but perhaps sharing some photographic evidence will convince me otherwise!

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Outfit of the [Yester]day: City of Gold

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We may have just experienced the worst snowpocalypse since…well, last month…here in Western Mass, but I am stubborn as ever and insist on dressing for springtime! (And also wearing my glittery cuttlefish pin at every available opportunity, because why not?)

It wasn’t that cute enamel cephalopod, however, that inspired this particular outfit. My mom found that shell-with-a-pearl necklace at a thrift store over Thanksgiving, and I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to wear it ever since! I’ve always preferred silver as my base metal (hey, I will take every available opportunity to sound like an alchemist), but my growing collection of gold-plated pins and accessories might just shift my sensibilities to every dragon’s favorite glimmering substance.

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let’s cuttle: Oh Plesiosaur pin review

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Feast your eyes on this sparkly cephalopod! I may have spent a good amount of last week gushing about my love for ocean sunfish, but the mola mola’s biggest competition for my favorite sea creature has to be the cuttlefish.

Oh Plesiosaur released this shiny enamel pin just days after I returned from our trip to Monterey. It was destiny! Now I can wear it to work, hoping it will catch some wayward museum employee’s eye and make them wonder which alien-of-the-sea is hanging out on my lapel!

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What’s In My Mailbox? Teal is a Christmas Color Now

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Receiving mail in Hawai’i over the holidays was such a special treat! I felt like a kid bringing someone to sleep over for the first time and marveling at the strange juxtaposition of two worlds: home and friends. I’m at home, and yet I’m still getting letters from my pen pals who usually write to me when I’m on the Mainland? So cool!

“Cool” seems to be the operative adjective here, as the lovely letters & parcels that came my way during the past few weeks have all featured beautiful hues of teal, aqua, and turquoise. A mere coincidence, or simply a reflection of the fact that my obsession with such jewel tones is common knowledge? Who can say?

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