/// D E A D B E A T S U M M E R

Long, hazy nights with talks till dawn, many records spun and jammed to, and a late night swim while listening to the XX. Oh, and a a little Seinfeld and Arrested Development thrown in there too. 

Not to mention an upcoming trip to the hottest spot on earth: NEW YORK CITY. Just the thought alone illuminates everything around me. 

It seems like I say this every day, but things are really good right now.

/// COME ALIVE

 

This is going to be my last week of summer and yes, it's been the best summer of my life. But I honestly don't feel like it's the end of something. If anything I feel as if something is beginning because of what this summer has been. It feels like the start of something magnificent, something with no end in sight. And I like that. 

{photos by me, polyvore set via tumblr, video by me}

/// Participate

And in that moment, I swear we were infinite. 

/// Periphery

And just like that....I'm suddenly in the mood for The Smith's, Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, and a Halloween party. I eased into this feeling, and still it's coming as every day passes growing purer, but it's here nonetheless. And I like it.

I think just reading Perks of Being a Wallflower enhanced every last one of these feelings. But now that I think about it I feel it actually enhanced a lot of my feelings towards life. 

{first and last photo taken by me, other photos via tumblr}

/// BLOOM

                                

"Bloom is a journey. For me, it is about the irreplaceable power of imagination as it relates to the intense experience of living. A bloom is only temporary...a fleeting vision of life in all of its intensity and color, beautiful even if only for a moment."

-Victoria Legrand

This quote says it all. I can't tell you the countless times I've been going through my day or night and I've turned on Beach House, whether on my own or with people, and suddenly life feels real and vibrant as it pulsates with energy.

{first photo taken by me at Pitchfork, third photo by hawaiian coconut, video by me}

/// CONFETTI

                             

When Blood Diamonds is my nightly jam it's images like this that catch my eye and get me all jazzed. 

{second photo by vague promises at Pitchfork 2012, all other photos via Tumblr, video by me}

/// Infinite

That night it was just me with the best people listening to Treats and Reign of Terror at the skate park feeling the wind and the sultry night, just living and dreaming.


{photo by me}

/// Summer routine

   

"Yes, summer was rituals, each with its natural time and place." -Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine


The days melt and combine and the month changed like some sweet sun-melted popsicle. I'm no longer conscious of dates or months or hours. They are irrelevant. The only thing I can even begin to think of doing is to soak up every last drop of summer whether I'm on my own or with my favorite people.

{photos and illustration by me}

/// Endless summer

"My bone's have to move and my skin's gotta breathe, you pick up the phone and I'm so relieved. You slide down your stairs to the heated streets and the sun has left us with slippery feet. And I want to walk around with you. It doesn't really matter, I'll go where you feel. Hunt for the breeze, get a midnight meal. I point in the windows, you point out the parks. Rip off your sleeves and I'll ditch my socks. We'll dance to the songs from the cars as they pass, weave through the cardboard, smell that trash. Walking around in our summertime clothes. Nowhere to go while our bodies glow. And we'll greet the dawn in its morning blues, with purple yawn you'll be sleeping soon and I want to walk around with you." 

-Summertime Clothes, Animal Collective

{photos and illustration by me}