geninne and her abounding creativity

i love love love these painted rocks by geninne. i commented on them on her blog days ago and meant to post them, and i just remembered! aren't they gorgeous?

her blog is super inspiring, too, and she's one of those people that is always doing something ultra creative and awesome.

this mobile is what got me reading her blog in the first place, back in march, and her creativity astounds me. definitely a lady worth checking out!

random and unexpected inspiration

have i ever told you that in a previous life i was a singer/songwriter?

(ok, not a previous life, but when i was in college and a couple years beyond.) i taught myself t to play the guitar when i was 15 and started writing songs shortly thereafter.


but once my art career started swinging when i was 23, and i was trying to juggle art-making and making a living, the singing, guitar playing, and songwriting got lost in the shuffle. i just stopped doing it.

well, tonight, while ryan i and i were making sushi for dinner (vegetarian, of course!
avocado, bean sprouts, tofu, carrots, zucchini... yum!), i popped in an old, old favorite sarah mclachlan cd that i hadn't listened to since i was, oh, 18 years old or so. i have no idea what made me want to hear it, but i'm so, so glad i did because, first of all, it was still beautiful. (i think once i started listening to indie music and bands like the dismemberment plan and modest mouse, i shunned all my old "chick music." so sad.)

and second of all, IT MADE ME GET OUT MY GUITAR AND START PLAYING AGAIN. i kid you not. and it felt GOOD. my fingers are raw and throbbing, but i'm feeling something i haven't felt for a long time, and i think i'm hooked again.

perhaps one of these days i'll figure out how to record something and put it on this here blog.
but first i need to get those callouses on my fingers back.
all i can say is OUCH!

(photo from sean dreilinger's flickr page. it is not a photo of me--just a photo i liked!!)

i've got travel on the brain

(photo from library of congress flickr photostream)

after seeing this photo on pret a voyager's flickr photo stream, i can't stop thinking about traveling today.

and then i clicked over to grain edit (which i recently discovered through book by its cover, julia rothman's fantastic blog), and saw this image. all i can say is wow. there is a whole world of travel-related midcentury gorgeousness that i didn't even know existed!

{label promoting travel to africa, by sabena airlines}

check out more on the art of the luggage label flickr photostream and the midcentury modern sticker- sticker, label, + stamp club flickr group.


{vintage matchstick covers, photos from the midcentury modern- sticker, label, + stamp club photostream)

origami

i am thinking about origami this morning.
i want to learn how to make paper cranes.
i read somewhere on some wedding blog (sorry for the vagueness-- i can't remember!) about a couple that had 1000 paper cranes as part of the decoration for their wedding, and as i start to think about planning my own wedding, i really like this idea.

i also like the idea of hand-making paper lanterns.
i will post more about these 2 things soon.

(images, in order, all from flickr: here, here, here, and here)

photos from interior inspiration

i am in love with these photos by interior inspiration on flickr. they all have this warm glowing feel to them, and it just makes me feel so cozy.

here is what sas has to say about her home in the netherlands (where these photos are taken): 'the weather here is not very appealing to me (although i was born here) so i painted my house in colours that remind me of the sun. and now even when it's raining I'm warm in my little pumpkin house :)'

it reminds me of the sun, too!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year everyone! i took an unexpectedly long blogging break, but i am back in atlanta and ready to get back to it. and i have BIG NEWS:

I'M ENGAGED!!!!

ryan, the love of my entire life, asked me to marry him at midnight on new year's eve, at the beach in california. (and i said yes!)


and the ring is engraved with the date and everything. it was the most romantic thing i could've imagined. and completely unexpected. yet his whole family knew about it, and they kept it a complete secret! so, 2008 will now be infused with this wonderful beginning.

anyhow, happy new year, and i will be back to regular posting tomorrow!

have you heard of a holga camera?

i couldn't help myself. after seeing these photos (and others in the past few days) taken with a holga camera, my fingers had a mind of their own when they ordered one from amazon this morning.

i cannot wait to have this camera in my possession. a holga is a cheap cheap cheap medium-format (read: square photos!) plastic camera made in china, and there is absolutely no quality control, so each camera is different and produces unique photographs.

hopefully it'll come soon and i can start playing with it as soon as possible!
stay tuned for photos to come......

photo credits:

1. benny no pals
2. photo media center
3. picasa web album

rockafeller going green!

this is so inspiring: i just read that the rockafeller center christmas tree is going green this year! instead of the traditional bulbs (which use mucho power, i'm sure you're aware), they are using energy efficient LED lights, and, as if that wasn't cool enough, they installed 363 solar panels on the roof of the rockafeller center, and that's how the tree is going to get some of its electricity!

i'd like to give mayor michael bloomberg a hand. i love when people change traditions to make them more eco-friendly. every step in the right direction is helpful, and hopefully this will inspire new yorkers and beyond to think about the footprint they leave on this earth.

here's to an eco-conscious holiday season!

{via dori and val at greenfeet}

wallets wallets wallets for your money money money

i am in serious *love* with these wallets! while browsing trunkt this morning, i came across these gorgeous little wallets, made by blissful in san francisco. i just noticed that they are sold at little otsu in sf, too, so i'm wondering if i saw them when i was there...? that was one of my favorite shops in san francisco.

anyway, check out more of blissful's wallets here, and buy them here.
i have my eye on that green one above...

{what great fabric!!!!}

this image makes my world complete.

i cannot get over this photograph. i think my world just shifted, knowing that things like this exist somewhere out there. i was looking for images of hanging lanterns and came across this image of floating chinese lanterns at the botanical gardens in montreal, canada. i would give just about anything to see this in person. the website says that this is the 15th year that the chinese garden in the botanical gardens will be aglow during september and october, for people to come visit and learn about chinese legends.

why don't i live in montreal?

the swan image came from an unbelievable site called trek earth (i'd never heard of it before, but am clearly hooked already.) these images below are from the site. for those of you who love to travel (as i do), this is a must see. there are some truly spectacular images from all over the world. you will want to visit each and every one of them. have fun browsing!

aqua creations

while browsing inredingsbloggen this morning (of which i can't understand a word, but i love the site anyway), i found aqua creations, and its amazing sea-inspired lighting and furniture.

i am smitten. i want that hammocky chair above so badly, i'm having a hard time thinking about it. i am picturing it in my dream house right now: in a corner, by a window, with a really great brightly-colored rug nearby...

sigh. where is that disposable income when you need it?

anyway, check out they're lovely website (i am in love with the moving sea drawings on the home page), and have fun oogling at all the amazingly creative work!

light up your life

i'm sure many of you saw this this morning over at poppytalk, but i couldn't resist posting about it as well. these patio lanterns are simply gorgeous. and inventive! it makes me want to host a backyard party just so i can make some lanterns like this! you can see more images and ideas for lanterns at sunset magazine.

drooling over someone else's house

yep, i'm pretty much in love with this interior. that pattern on the walls has me captivated. i want it on my own walls. the lucky man that lives in this dream house (and designed it, of course) is mark christofi, and it's right outside of boston. this is somewhere that i would truly love to see in person. see more photos on the house & garden website right here.

spring time in the rockies

some images of spring in boulder. i saw deer eating out of trash cans on my walk home today. lovely. next come the bears and the mountain lions.

the bottom photo is the love of my life [ryan] and me.

installation at bmoca

we have been diligently instaling the work of halim al-karim at bmoca for the last few days, and this is quite possibly my favorite exhibit i've seen there yet. halim is an artist from iraq, and i'm sure of the specific story behind his work yet, but it involves the idea of not being free, and it is absolutely stunning. the boat in the photo above is made of clay and metal and weighs 750 pounds! it took 5 of us all day to get it hanging.

i'll take more photos of the finished installation, because it is blowing me away.

oh, to be a model

[ad for emanuel ungaro, seen in kinky magazine, out of the uk]

[photograph of dress by john galliano, seen in kinky magazine, uk]

[seen in kinky magazine]

wow, i just love some of these magazine ads i've seen lately. what must it be like to be a model and actually BE one of these women? it seems like fun to get to be whatever the designer/stylist/visionary wants you to be... plus, you get to take gorgeous photos like these. quite the life.

truly inspiring...

all i can say is wow. and i wish that i were in venice to see this incredible installation. it's called "falling leaves" and it's by gerda steiner andjorg lenzlinger, at the san stae church in venice... unbelievable. i am now on a mission to REALLY plan a trip to somewhere exciting. no more fake talking about traveling!

[via oh joy! via free people via love forever via apartment therapy. fun!]

glass wing butterfly

my friend beth just sent me these images of the glass wing butterfly that lives in south america. the presence of this rare tropical gem is used by rain forest ecologists as an indication of high habitat quality and its demise alerts them of ecological change. yikes. scary to think we are destroying little beings like this with our harmful ways.

today i am... a snow bunny

(looking south on my street...4th street)

(a view up the hill from the corner outside my house)

(the next street down the hill from me; feels like "where the sidewalk ends" to me...)

i love my neighborhood when it snows. i went out for a walk this morning and was blown away by the beauty. the sky was this perfect deep blue, and all around me the white snow was so pristine and quiet... i love walking in the snow.

we're having a blizzard!

{view from outside my studio}

this is dowtown boulder today. 6 inches and still snowing. my car wouldn't start this morning, and it wouldn've been a nice day to stay in bed. oh well! things to do...