three - L.A.

It was a classy weekend for me because on Sunday I attended a trunk show for the talented designer duo three-L.A. And indeed I have three things to say about this show. First, the clothing was just beautiful. One of the star pieces was probably the versatile and Chateau-friendly Ascot Dress. I did not get a good shot of the dress myself so I've included a picture from three-L.A.'s website (it's the third picture down and is a photo by Dunja Dumanski). Second, the absolute love-ability of the designers themselves and their equally warm, talented and friendly entourage of people-friends. I love when good people attract good people. Third thing: cupcakes.








When I got home I fell asleep on the couch for two whole hours. After the socializing and cupcake eating and drinking of champagne I was tie-tie.

euphonious murmuration

My mother just sent me this article through the mail. It is about starlings taking over the skies of Rome. It made me go searching for a book that belonged to my father and that is often recollected by my mother. A book that has shaped my opinion of pigeons and rocks and water and sky.






"I had lifted up a fistful of that ground. I held it while that wild flight of south-bound warblers hurtled over me into the oncoming dark. There went phosphorus, there went iron, there went carbon, there beat the calcium in those hurrying wings." - Loren Eiseley, The Immense Journey

flickr favorites

I'm just loving this whole flickr thing..


1. It produced what no other refractory in Beirut could., 2. Everything that reminds me of you makes me unbelievably sad., 3. We thought we knew a great deal, but really we knew nothing., 4. It had to be said, it reminded them of home., 5. Lisas Tattoo, 6. IMG_1669, 7. feet, 8. vera pillows, 9. sand dollars, 10. pea hen, 11. introductions to intoxicating poems with very long and specific titles, 12. ping'S, 13. mark with or consist of a pattern of crossed lines, 14. backstreet girl, 15. oyster mushrooms, 16. spotted shroom, 17. listen, 18. Calendar 2006 - August, 19. ping'S, 20. WAWA9, 21. flor, 22. mais que demais, 23. #680, 24. for mom, 25. studio portrait

new red shoes

Look at my new shoes! Practically orthopedic but still adorable and very red. I only wish they weren't leather, but oddly, I completely forgot about my search for non-leather shoes the second I saw them yesterday. I found them at the Candy Store, one of my favorite, favorite places to go. They are reasonably priced and you can also get them here. One day I will get these and then I'll have a collection. It's a very silly picture of my foot, but that is the only corner of my apartment that gets natural light, so I had to sort of hold my foot up in the air while sitting on the bed. Very silly.

tree outside window

This was a generous gift from my mother when I was around 7 or 8 years old. He's a one-of-a-kind, handmade doll by Charla Khanna. In case you haven't heard of this artist, she often sold her work at the Ann Arbor Art Fair where her dolls would sell out on the first day, sometimes in the first couple hours, and the lines to her booth were infamously long. People just gravitate to her work. She called this one Baby Jesus. Oddly, I was not too young to appreciate that Baby Jesus was a piece of art. I loved him totally. I played with his hair endlessly. I knew I was a lucky girl. Meet Baby Jesus:

melissa moss

This morning I happened upon a podcast interview with amazing LA based artist Melissa Moss. Melissa's paintings have tiny and mesmerizing and sometimes precarious-seeming worlds inside them. I get lost in there. And according to the interview, she gets lost in there too and l love that.




The way I found Melissa's podcast interview was through another artist's blog: Creative Thursday by Marisa. What's interesting about this blog is that Marisa, also an artist, is doing a project in which she interviews people about their creative life. It's hard to explain everything she does but you should check it out. And you should also check out this cuteness while you're at it.

P.S. I think that last painting, the blue one, takes my breath away the most. At least for today. And there is a tiny someone hidden there if you look closely. Thank you Melissa, for painting beautiful paintings.

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Oh yes I did.


I'd like you to meet my first sewing machine. My friend J. helped me pick her out at Target, then gave me my first sewing lesson yesterday. And before I went to bed last night (as I was gently placing her sewing-machine-cozy over top to keep the dust away) her name just sort of popped into my head: Edie, short for Edith. And it just felt so right.

P.S. You can get yourself one here.

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mushrooms and basqueland

Too sick to do color week pictures yesterday or today, but here are four other things I've been wanting to share:

Mushroom specimen from Anthropologie, sent by my mother earlier in the week as part of an adorable Easter package (thanks Mom). It's pictured here in front of my dirty window:


BEAUTIFUL film by friend Sonny:
basqueland

And while you're there, you will want to watch this:
Romulus/Sufjan Stevens by Sonny

My good friend B is a hero for the people. Oh, the humanity:
an email horror story

P.S. The above video is part of a book project and you can find out more about it here.

P.P.S. Thanks, B.

pink wednesday

green tuesday

Hoping it's not too late to join color week via handmaid. Here's a green Tuesday:


And a turquoise Monday:


Tomorrow is pink Wednesday...hey mom and sister, you two should be playing this game....it has a Suskin vibe, no?

silent d's etsy shop

I was waiting to post about my friend Joanne until she had an online presence to refer to and then guess what? She went ahead and opened her etsy shop: silent d. Along with being one of the coolest humans ever, Joanne is also the crafter of the most charming, high-quality aprons and pillows. The aprons are perfect for stylists, make-up artists, crafters, bakers, painters, photographers, waitresses or poets that like to keep a note pad and pen handy. The pillows are pure one-of-kind, embroidered, patchworked, adorable sweetness. So after seeing one of Joanne's beautiful pillows, I asked her to make me one and you will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER guess what I found on my handmade pillow when it was done. A fox! She also used a stunning assortment of vintage, patterned fabric, but why am I writing all this when you can just look at these pictures:




And here is one of the aprons in her etsy shop:

littler guy

After much deliberation over my fabric assortment I've made another little guy, only he's a littler guy. He does not resemble the drawing much more than my first guy. And I'm having some trouble with the seams, probably not doing the right kind of stitch. He was so much fun to make though. So. Much. Fun.

P.S. Once again I'm using the patchwork pillow that a friend of mine made as a backdrop in one of the photos. Full disclosure on her beautiful, hand-made items at a later date...




I'm inspired by the makers out there, women like Dawn from plush-a-holic, Leslie from one girl, Fanja from le train fantome (her blog and shop are BEAUTIFUL, you can visit her shop here.) And the other day, via Dawn, I discovered gnip or WAWAYA, a free spirited Japanese artist that kicks butt. I found myself completely mesmerized by all her wawayas on flickr. (Um, people, that was funny - did you catch that sentence?). Obviously I'm only naming a few here - there are so many talented crafters out there, all having some serious fun and making me smile.

maría elina méndez

These two paintings are by María Elina Méndez. The first painting, I believe, is called either "Basta por hoy" or "La vida pesa". According to my personal translator, "Basta por hoy" means "Enough for today". "La vida pesa" is something like the heavy or weighty life, not sure exactly. The second one below is called "Indios". Apologies for the rough translating. Love the sweetness of María's paintings.

Méndez lives in Argentina and you can see more of her work here and here. Thank you María! So beautiful!

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- 7:00 am
- day two of antibiotics
- excruciating sinus headache
- out of coffee filters
- good supply of puffs plus though

rock hyrax

My mother sent me this clipping from the New York Times yesterday. She came across a picture of a rock hyrax and thought he might make a good "comfy". Thanks Mom, how cute are you?! Always looking out for me! You are the best Mom in the world. This creature is so sweet-looking with his funny little toes and koala-like nose:



What I learned from the article:
- The rock hyrax shares common ancestors with the elephant.
- The mass extinction that wiped out the dinos did not directly influence the expansion of mammals, as was previously thought to be the case.
- Today's mammals took much longer to "flourish in number and diversity" than experts orginally thought (I guess you could call that slow progress, hm?).

Photo by Roy Toft / National Geographic, via Getty Images.

i love natural and funny too

Do not click unless you have a deep love of cuteness in the form of small, adorable children playing with small, impeccably dressed dogs. You've been warned:
BEETLE
BEETLE FAMILY
There seems to be very little that's written in English on their site, but there is this, which is helpful:

we love natural & funny
- beetle calcium family

Yay Beetle Calcium Family! Wish I spoke Japanese.