March 18, 2010

it went down like this.....

i was picked to be a book fairy for
and
yesterday
i was all "mission impossible" while roaming the streets of madison
~~
i had a few ideas as to where i wanted to leave her book to be found
so i staked out a few places
~~
first the hubby
{aka my partner in crime}
and
i ate lunch at
lazy jane's
on willy street
thinking this would be the perfect spot
but
the place was packed and trying to be invisible and sneaky inside that amazing place
was
going to be way impossible
{and there were only the two of us you know}
so
i just left a little
"a little swirly girl like"
note
on the couch
instead

we stopped in at my favorite store
ever
on state street
when i thought about this as a
"maybe let's leave it here spot"
but
in hoping to photograph the person finding it
i decided we had
to keep moving on
but
first i shopped a little bit and took photos because this place is amazing
{see the book hiding in this photo}
and
if you come and visit me i promise to take you here shopping
{okay enough of the bribing}
~~
so anyhow
we moved further down state street where it looked like all the action was
and
that was in front of
urban outfitters
{and yes i'll take you there, too}

here is where i decided to blend in with the crowd
and
really get my tom cruise act together
see
you can hardly notice me
and
then while casually looking side to side
i walked across the street where the hubby had spotted
the
"perfect drop off point"
and
then quickly and discreetly i turned back towards him
hoping nobody
had noticed anything
and
then we sat and watched and sat some more
~~
a few people walking by turned and looked at it
and
one young college kid with his friends really wanted to pick it up
but
they convinced him to keep walking
and
then we thought
how lucky we were that it was gorgeous outside
because
this could take all afternoon
at one point i told the hubby that i really really wanted to get the person taking the book
in a photograph
since i didn't think anyone else had
that had already participated in this world wide totally cool activity
when all of sudden this young girl appears
~~
after looking at it for a minute and then taking a photo of it with her cell phone
{we think}
she reaches for it
goes for the grab
quickly
and
keeps walking
while looking straight ahead
and
then just a bit further up the street
she opens the package and pulls out the book
and
i am like
"oh my gosh we did it....we photographed the person getting the book"
"SCORE"
~~
and
then just like that it was over
and
we headed back up state street with silly little grins on our faces
talking into our wrist watches
wondering if our undercover boss
had another mission ready for us
~~
we were on fire
*


48 comments:

  1. Oh how fun does this look?!?!?!
    I'm going straight over to check out "swirly girl's book project".

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  2. you two are just so freakin' fun! you look all Secret-Op-ish in your shades and all, LOL

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  3. An adventure! What a fun way to spend the day. I like to leave notes of incouragement in odd places for people to find such as in hospitals, waiting rooms, librarys, and of course bathrooms. I love that the girl who found the book took a picture first. :)

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  4. That was great!! Such a good idea. You and your hubby rock!

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  5. How fun! It looked like the guy in the cap behind the fence was watching you. I will check this out, it looks like a fun project to do.

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  6. how fun to have a partner in your adventure ...

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  7. LOL you are so funny - love this

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  8. What a great idea...I can hear your theme song loud and clear! It's so fun to see it all go down!

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  9. What fun Beth. You seem just so full of life. Good on ya girl!

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  10. What an awesome idea!!! I was the recipient of a book left at church a few months ago and you'd thought I'd won the lottery! I LOVE stuff like this and may even do it myself! And that store.....HEAVEN!

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  11. I love this. Love, love, love it! I never heard of doing this before -- you could do it with anything! Oh, wow!

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  12. This looked like so much fun, I hope you had as good a time as it looked liked you did....:-) Hugs

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  13. How fun! What a neat project! I was in Madison with my daughter in January and I LOVED Anthology too ;)

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  14. You are so cool. I LOVE this! Good for you. You totally made this girls day. I hope she pays it forward!

    Woo-hoo.
    xo

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  15. You ROCK!!! OMG...this is just so cool. I can only imagine how that made her day. Beth, you are just a wonderful soul and this is why I love you so!

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  16. What great fun. I never heard of this little project but I am so interested. And to get a picture of the person who picked up your book!! Super. You could have been a forensic nurse!

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  17. so there's this thing that i love about the blog world. one minute you're clicking around here and there, visiting what's familiar, and what's not, and then suddenlty, serendipitously, you find a treasure. you were my treasure tonight. my serendipity.

    truly enjoyed this post, what you did and the telling of it, and the photos, too, of course.

    {couldn't leave my blog addy: www.blessedmoon.squarespace.com}

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  18. oh my friend... fabulous posting... so fun!!

    great pics... sooo fun!

    i love swirly girl's book project idea!!

    happy weekend...

    ♥kim

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  19. Hey you mission impossible girl... what a WONDERFUL way to make this world a little brighter. Make someone happy and even got shots from it...wow.
    Dagmar

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  20. You have an award on my blog.

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  21. Loved your undercover project. Mission Impossible has nothing on you!! Great project!!!! Loved the photos!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  22. So many things to luv about this post. I didn't want it to end, it was that good.

    I'm familiar with the idea of leaving anonymous notes of encouragement & kindness in random places for people to find. but the Swirly Girl's Book Project takes it to a whole new level. Do we get to know the name of the book? And that's one wonderful husband you have to join you in this kind of fun.

    Your photos make me lonesome for Madison. We lived there almost 40 years ago (that's probably older than you are). Our small house was on Ross Street, a street lined with big trees and not far from Hilldale Shopping Center. That's where we would go the day after Thanksgiving to greet Santa as he landed in a helicopter in the parking lot. I worked at First Federal Savings & Loan on State Street. We often had to hide out in the basement while anti-war protesters were being sprayed with tear gas.

    Regarding your hardiness zone in Madison....most of your beautiful city is 5a (-15 to -20 degrees F). According to my source, this means that it would not be wise for you to plant a coconut palm tree.

    Sorry to go on and on. Your post brought back so many memories.

    donna

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  23. Love it! What a great way to spend a beautiful day... making another person's day even MORE beautiful :) Cheers! Molly

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  24. That is so cool!!!!! What book was it??? Your pictures are so sharp and clear! and that store???? Looks really good.

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  25. What an amazing looking store! I was in Madison last fall (first time!) to visit old college roommates---how did I miss this?!?!

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  26. ha! that's great. i hope she really enjoys the book!

    i guess i'll have to come back sometime to visit anthology!

    p.s. the pillows on my chairs and couch from the grain sack and flour sack material are great. makes me think of my trip up and you all the time! xoxo

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  27. oooooh!! I'm a book fairy too!! I'll be on my mission this weekend---although, the way it's planned out, I don't think I'll get to capture it like this. How cool!

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  28. you are so cute Beth- that was fun!

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  29. what an incredibly fun idea, such small things that make such a big difference in the world we live in!

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  30. OHMYGOSH I am LOVING this...sitting here at my kitchen table, home alone, laughing my head off!! I can't wait to show my husband (a Madison alum) when he gets back from his bike ride.

    THANK YOU!!!!!!!

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  31. how cool is this project?! and wow, you are just hilarious

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  32. you rock, Beth.
    I've left notecards around, and never had the courage to wait and see when someone finds them.
    Let alone a book! Incredible.
    I'm going to check out the site.. love this idea.

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  33. that's amazing! great score for that young lady.
    you are all heart.

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  34. What a fun project to be a part of, and a great introduction to your blog. I'm honored that Anthology made it to runner-up drop location...

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  35. You are one awesome dudette!

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  36. dude, this is too cool! so glad you saw her get the book. i felt the happiness.
    and yes, i must must go to that store when i visit. : )
    xoxo

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  37. OMG I just love you both to pieces! You for never losing your youth and your hubby for the same. I loved your recount of the day's adventures. And I really like that store you photographed! I was just thinking how cool it would be to leave things for people to find so of course now I have to go check out that blog. What a cool idea!!

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  38. what a great adventure and a great post!! i felt like i was there with you! Linda E from squam

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  39. this is so much fun isn't it? I do this on occasion, in my circle it's called 'book dropping' and I love it!! I have at least 10 tons of books and now that the weather is better, it's time to do a bit of dropping here! :) awesome that you got the shot!

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  40. Love this :-)
    So totally cute.

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  41. That is just so cool. Every minute of it!

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  42. You two are hilarious. What a clever idea, too. Loved this!

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  43. What FUN!!!!!!

    A few weeks ago, I painted *you are loved* on a stone and left it on a park bench at this amazingly wonderful spot on a rocky point over the ocean. As I walked back on the narrow path, I passed a cute young couple, who were so friendly and full of love as they said hello. I was full of giddyness as I walked away, hoping it would be them that would find my stone. I didn't get to stick around to find out, like you did (so SO much more fun!) but spreading a little love anonymously is such a wonderful feeling, isn't it?
    I love your stealth moves. So cute...talking into your wrist watches. LOL!

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  44. Beth....you are FAB! What a complete circle to watch this happen....SPREAD THE LOVE....

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  45. That's the best story ever!!!! :D

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  46. This is so awesome, I too was a Book Fairy when I visited NY recently. Love your shots and the way you told the story.

    I used to live in Madison (actually got married there too) and it was so nice to see State St. again ...hope to visit again this summer.

    x

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  47. I LOVE the way you told the story and you got the shot! So fun. And I'm originally from Madison (now in Los Angeles) so seeing all these familiar places was fun. Thanks for bringing us along.

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  48. Oh I LOVED this!!!! I feel good just reading this - so I can imagine what a high it was to have been there!! :)

    How fun!!

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**I love reading the comments you leave, as they make me feel like we're sitting in my kitchen, having a cup of tea, discussing life and wondering where all the time has gone ...beth