And I Think to Myself, What a Wonderful World

People don't take nearly enough time to appreciate everything that is around them,

whether it is a well-known masterpiece,

a less well-known, but equally as beautiful interpretation of history,

or the beautiful and wondrous nature that is everywhere.

(photos collected from sweetinspiration2014, simplycasual, and pinterest)

Playing Under the Moon

"It's by night that we see our true desires.  We reflect on our moments of unhappiness and those yearnings that that are momentarily blinded by the sun.  It's when we become poets and philosophers, martyrs and murderers... It's when your most tender, authentic and suppressed sides come out to play under the nonjudgmental eyes of the stars... It's for all those things you could never dream of doing by day, under the watchful eyes of the sun."
-Lauren Martin, Intelligent People All Have One Thing in Common: They Stay Up Later Than You

This quote is taken from an interesting article I read recently on Elite Daily about how people that stay up later tend to be more intelligent and/or creative.  See the full article here.  It starts off with some great writing (see above), followed by some scientific findings, and then breaking down a few character traits and tendencies that come along with being a night person.  The night owls get to daydream, are anti-establishment, more open-minded, and proactive.  The article explains that people who lay awake at night think about things in ways that daytime doesn't allow.  They can imagine and analyze and daydream, if you will, to their heart's desire, without using up productive working hours.  As someone who has trouble falling asleep every night, I found this article quite enlightening.  Maybe my insomnia has had some positive effects after all!

(photo collected from zsazsabellagio)

Terrifyingly Fascinating

Yesterday, while driving around Nashville's inner highway loop, I saw a billowing tower of black smoke circulating upwards in the distance.  I didn't think much of it until I got a little closer, and upon seeing a truck engulfed in flames, I immediately reached for my phone to document.

The firemen arrived as I drove by, feeling the heat from the fire a whole lane over.  It was an unbelievable sight to see in real life; movies (and these pictures) do not do it justice.  Unfortunately I can't find any information about the incident but hopefully the driver and any passengers got out ok.

(photos by e.hunt)

Breaking Life Update From the Editor

After living in Nashville for a little over a year, and absolutely hating my office, sit-in-front-of-a-computer-all-day job, I have decided to move back to St. Louis and go back to school.  I will be studying secondary education at the masters level, with the ultimate goal of teaching high school history or art.  It was a pretty sudden life decision, but looking at my future, it makes sense.  I could have stayed in Nashville for another year and worked retail, but it would just be putting it off.  This way I can get certified the quickest way possible, be a highly qualified candidate which will help secure a job soon after graduating, and then have enough money to move out of my parents house again.  I will miss my Nashville friends, and not living with my best friend will be a big transition, but I'm really excited to be back in my hometown, and in an academic atmosphere full of similarly inspired people.  Here's to being one step closer to being a happy, fulfilled adult!

(photo collected from jalexbooks)

Standing By the Ocean's Roar

A casual summertime outfit for a casual summertime day.

(photos by e.hunt)

The Enduring Organization of Stuff

Here's a little summertime organizational inspiration, starting with a waste installation piece on a beach in Hong Kong.  Although it made for a great photograph, it's kindof sad there's enough trash laying around to fill that much space.  The others aren't quite so dire; natural items found on a beach walk, barbeque supplies, a fleet of trucks, and nautical knots.

(photos collected from thingsorganizedneatly, flickr, and imrevolting)

How'd You Make That?!!

As mentioned in the previous post, many sandcastles were constructed during our week in Destin.  The first couple days, I was all by my lonesome, with one bucket, one mini shovel, and one solo cup.  I warmed up the old standbys; forms, stairs, drizzle castles, and the like.

And on Day Four, the boys arrived, and brought with them our backlog of buckets, carving tools, and large shovels.  The scale increased immensely, starting with a free-form castle featuring a wrap-around snake, a three-way tunnel, forms on a curved surface, and some very precise organic line cuts.

The next day we got a bit more daring, trying the Washington monument technique, or cutting stacked circular forms into straight-sided towers.  We only had one casualty in the late afternoon due to a sneaky injection hole left un-filled.  More stairs, half-cup forms, and flags were also used.

And the final day, we went all out, accomplishing a new sandcastle feat, and raising the standards forevermore.  It started off as a massive pile of sand.

After much deliberation on the overall scope, carving and form work began, with the detail crew following immediately.  I think we attracted the biggest crowd of spectators out of all our years of sandcastles, starting with an awestruck kid asking "How'd you make that?!" when it was still just the large pile, and ending with passersby of all ages stopping for a photo, almost always followed with "How long have you all been working on that?"

(photos by e.hunt, and r.hunt)

Still On Beach Time

Well, we left the beautiful Florida coastline early yesterday morning and I woke up today feeling a little displaced.  I got pretty severely sunburned, ate enough seafood to last a year or two, came up with some fairly innovative sandcastle techniques, got crashed by a few waves, and had lots of family time.  I wouldn't have it any other way, and am already wishing we could go back.  Wearing my new Destin t-shirt today in an effort to continue the happy beach vibes.

(photos by e.hunt)

The Best Place in the World

After a four year hiatus, the Hunt family is back!  Back to Destin, that is.  Back to the sunny Florida coastline, with crystal clear water and beautiful white sand to welcome us.  The grounds haven't changed much, and neither has the neighboring pink building.  It's great to return to familiar territory, and with great weather at that!

Oh, and today I found my cocktail of choice, Capri Sun Pacific Cooler (the best kind).  Now the real beach fun can begin!

(photos by r.hunt, and e.hunt)