Get ready to pee your pants with delight.
I had a mini road trip that took me just North of San Francisco last week.
Ever since I figured out how to do the
crochet loop stitch, I've wanted to use it on a project ... like REALLY wanted to use it on a project.
Here's another great Brian Eno quote from
Here Is What Is where he talks about what Daniel Lanois should put in
his documentary about the creative process of making music.
OK, this post is so totally not what you're thinking, because, I totally know what you're thinking. Stop thinking that. Really. Just stop. ;)
What I'm talking about is an amazing quote from Brian Eno that can be heard on the Daniel Lanois album
Here Is What Is.
We spent a couple days in New York recently and I've got a weird mix of things to share with you from our trip.
Bad signage mesmerizes me. I'm dazzled by this guy's weirdness. I've named him Edward Sausage Hands. Where is he sewing on those pants? How is he feeding the fabric with his fingertips. He freaks me out.
So what do you do right after you get rid of your car? Go on a road trip, of course. :) We've been wanting to do a New England Fall Foliage road trip since we moved to the East Cost, but have only heard horror stories about the CRAZY traffic (which we witnessed first-hand when we drove up to Montréal years ago). Couple that with the fact that you have to book your accommodations years in advance, apparently, and it makes the trip impossible.
On Sunday there was a street fair right outside our hotel on 8th Avenue (near Times Square). I checked out the booths from our 4th floor window before we headed out. Once we were on the street, I made a beeline for the roasted corn on the cob. Delicious! They just peel back the husk and you hold it by that while you nibble away the hot, yummy corn.
It's hard to believe that it's just a coincidence that these three things match perfectly. One is my current organizational notebook (there's a little glare on it in the photo ...
here's a better photo as far as color is concerned). One is the book I'm reading right now,
Walden*. One is fabric from Ikea. I totally love the charcoal brown and acid green mix. I think it's the new "light blue/chocolate brown" for me. But don't you think the world is trying to tell me *something*? I don't usually believe in signs and omens, but they really have EXACTLY the same colors in them.
I added a shilshl of architectural animal photos to
my Flickr (the last 13 in the set). There are a couple owls, some lions, some naked-nudie humans ...
Oh, so much fun!
Isa was the very first person who asked me to swap. She has a very special place in my heart. And, last week I got a special surprise package from Germany.
I love computer parts ... and electronics parts. I have no idea why, I just always have: little gears, screws, hardware, circuit boards. I remember the first time I saw a one gig external hard drive around 1993. I asked, solemnly, if I could touch it.
Memorial Day weekend (two weeks ago already!?) we stopped by the
Perelman Building, a new-ish addition to the
Philadelphia Museum of Art for the first time to check out an Ansel Adams exhibit, which was amazing. Not only did the exhibit include the grand landscapes he's known for, but there were also many intimate, impressionistic, close-ups of nature that I really loved.
I'm usually pretty frugal and practical. I never wear makeup because it makes me look old. But a couple of years ago at the mall I convinced myself that I needed some moisturizer, tinted SPF face stuff, and an eyeshadow/blush set.
Don't you just love this poster I found. What a snazzy suit! I posted a
close up on Flickr. I spied it on our way to Kinokuniya in New York last weekend (excuse the window reflections). I was shocked when we got to Kinokuniya's Rockefeller Center store and found it CLOSED! There was no note on the door about moving or anything. So sad.
[Don't worry ... we find their new location later in the post]
Thank you,
Tiffany, for feeding my need for peacock stuff. Aren't these fabrics sensational?!?
I mentioned our bedside lamps in
this post when I talked about how I like to name things around here. There were a *ton* of hilarious comments on that post which you should go read if you missed them.
The bacon-y goodness from the last post is a project for the next issue of
The Anticraft. The theme is bacon. I can't wait to tell you guys all about it. They are taking submissions until the 31st, so if you've got a kick ass bacon idea, send it to them!
This was an amazing week for mail. This little surprise showed up, a co-production of
Blaize and
Bethany. Blaize found the amazing brooch in
Bethany's Etsy shop and Bethany packaged it like a pro. Isn't it gorgeous!? I *love* the book-page leaves. Thank you!
I've mentioned
peacocks here before. As you can imagine, I was so excited when I saw this peacock on someone's gated front porch here in Philly. They've got their newspaper in the body-basket. Can you imagine how cool a great plant would look in there?! Oh, peacock, they don't love you like I could.
The plan for the sewing machine cover is starting to come together. I've pulled out the vintage German fabric that
Isa sent me eons ago. I'd love to use them in a way that I will see them every day. I like how they look with the Victorian lady, too.
I was one of the lucky ducks that snagged one of
Cathy of California's Vintage Flower Loom Kits. It arrived yesterday and I'm so happy!
I am totally into lions. I took the photo above when I was getting some produce this afternoon at the
Reading Terminal Market, one of the most wonderful places in Philadelphia.
Andrew and I routinely take 2 hours walks meandering through the city. This summer I delighted in discovering bunches of front porch lions (why didn't I have my camera!?). As soon as it warms up enough to walk again (it's been in the 20s here!) I'll get some pictures of them. My favorites are the ones with shields. You'll see, they rock.
This awesome lion is one of a pair that guards the entrance of Sutro Heights in San Francisco. Since we were there on vacation in April, Andrew had his camera on him. The lions are at least life-size, if not bigger. They are pretty impressive!
And, since I insist on doing things in sets of threes, the lion's are part of a larger Asian animal obsession that includes peacocks (I'm cuckoo for peacocks!!!) and elephants. I'm 100% sure that peacocks and elephants are going to get very popular this year. I was worried that lions would be left in the dust, but when I popped into Anthropologie in December, I discovered that they had 3 peacock ornaments, 2 elephant ornaments, and 1 lion ornament. Oh, happy lion, you will not be left out.