almost alice.

so, guess which movie hits the theaters march 5...tim burton's imaginative alice in wonderland (in 3D!). i have no doubt this film will tear up the box office with johnny depp as the mad hatter, helena bonham carter as the red queen & crispen glover as the knave of hearts. this movie is bound to be outrageous.

&, guess which album hits the stores march 2...the soundtrack to this new version of alice in wonderland, almost alice. yesterday, myspace publicized the artists, who the soundtrack will feature. the 2 songs i am most anxious to hear are, "very good advice", which robert smith (from the cure) will perform. also, "the lobster quadrille", which will be covered by franz ferdinand. this cd is going to be m.i.n.e. hands down.

do: don't:

just in case you were wondering...

*thank you swissmiss.

my life, my wall.

i can't stand living in an empty space. wherever i move, i immediately unpack my picture frames & wall artwork before unloading my clothes into the closet. to me, a picture frame on a shelf, or painting hung on a wall is what makes a house a home. when i moved to japan, i left my frames, art, photos & books in dozens of boxes in my parents attic (clearly, i didn't have room for these in either of my suitcases). however, this didn't stop me from decorating my japanese apartment.

soon after i moved, i decided to transform one of my apartment walls into a collage/wallpaper/mural. it all started with a single map of my town & snowballed into a gigantic wall of memories. overtime, i tacked various museum brochures, city maps, business cards, photos, gifts & letters to my wall: top to bottom, right to left. what do you think?

daddy dardo

after my dad came to visit me in japan, i made him a photo album, highlighting the greatest memories from our travels together. i gave him the album for his birthday, & he loved it! here are a few of my favorite pages...

thank you, infographics.

i've found a new hero. this anonymous person made a new years resolution to make an infographic for every podcast of my favorite program, this american life. whoever my new hero/heroin is: you are the most wonderful person--thank you for your creativity!

here's the first infographic made on january 4, 2010 (which just happens to be my best friend's birthday!). its titled, new beginnings.

*thank you for me, for you.

und das wetter?

its almost christmas...in other words, its almost time for me to come home for the holidays! i've been counting down the days for months now, i can't believe december 27 is just a few days away. after living over a year in this very foreign country, i can't help but scream/jump with excitement when i think about going home. food. family. driving. shopping. boston. hair cut. being able to understand what the wanker people are saying. buckley. snuggling. boston symphony orchestra. friends. twinkles. sleeping in. baking. ping pong. playing piano...

i can't wait.

one thing i can wait for is the weather. i've heard is terrible this winter--blah. i've been constantly checking boston's weather with this awesome website. check it out! i've made it my daily routine not only clicking on boston, but other cities around the world just to see how their weather is. the pictures are so great!

evian. live young.

let's observe the effect of evian on your body.

ok--this commercial just made my day.

eat. pray. love.

i'm currently reading eat pray love by the amazing elizabeth gilbert, a very talented author & journalist. my sister mailed me the book last month, & it is such an inspirational read. i can't help but highlight at least 2 sentences on every page--because her words are just that engaging.

this is one of my favorite passages, which i can't seem to get out of my mind. these are words from an indonesian medicine man, which gilbert met on one of her many journeys.

"you must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. that way, you can stay in the world. but you must stop looking at the world through your head. you must look through your heart, instead. that way, you will know God. "

the first days of spring.

dear noah & the whale,

did y'all write this song for me?

"cause blue skies are calling...but i know that it's hard."

love, leah bell.

bored to death.

after seeing rushmore for the first time, jason schwartzman stole my heart. i'm not sure what it is about him; but i love everything he's involved in from his films (darjeeling limited & i heart huckabees are definitely my favorite movies) to his music (coconut records--definitely my favorite) & now to his hbo series, bored to death.

jason schwartzman plays jonathan ames, who leads a double life as a writer & a private detective. also starring ted danson & zach galifianakis, who are both equally odd, hilarious & entertaining. this show is seriously amazing...you must watch it. oh, & the theme song is so great (because jason wrote it).