peg leg sam...

a harmonica-playin', joke-tellin', medicine show man. a charming, hysterical, musical gem i discovered via channel 6.

february is a very good month to remember some very special people. and i wanted to share peg leg sam with y'all.

roy orbison...

i'm getting dressed, listening to my main man roy. "lana", "love hurts", "crying", "workin' for the man", "candy man". how could you not love roy orbison?! he is one of my father's faaaaavorites. mine too. i'm fixin' to go to sol moscot for a new pair of eyeglasses. anyone who knows me, knows i am blind as a bat. and not in a cute, "oh i need reading glasses kind of way". we're talking i might have the same prescription as your grandfather. don't you love roy's sweet specs? maybe he will be my inspiration...
*p.s bonus fact about roy orbison. he played at a dance at my highschool, the westminster schools, in the 60s. my parents attended this dance. some folks have all the luck. go cats!

little white dress...

the only more exciting thing than finding a perfectly shiny, 1920s party frock at the brooklyn flea... having a hot date to wear it for. eddie is taking me to see crazy heart tonight. i'm pretty sure it will blow the last movie we saw, out of the water.

i love having reasons to get dressed up, don't you?

and i love gussying up to go see a moving picture. happy sunday y'all.

the color purple...

certain movies pull on every heart string of mine. fried green tomatoes, a league of their own, a time to kill, steel magnolias... now i would like to add the color purple. i remember attempting to read alice walker's epistolary novel when i was in junior high and quitting. too heartbreaking and too racy to keep turning the pages.

but the movie...

little nettie and celie steal my heart instantly. two dear, dear sisters whose bond can not be broken, even when danny glover's hateful character rips them apart. they play hand-slap games in fields of flowers. they carve their names in a heart on a tree. they wear the best calico dresses and crushed straw hats. this whole movie reminds me of marc jacobs spring 2009 collection( even though i know mary poppins is supposed to be the inspiration).

but my favorite scene is when nettie teaches celie how to read. it made me smile and cry happy tears. the women in this movie are so strong, and lovely, and inspiring.

whoopi goldberg. wow. i thought oda mae brown was my favorite character of hers... but she is wonderful as celie. so resilient. so forgiving. so self-sufficient. so much mental and physical fortitude.

shug avery. the saucy singer/ danny glover's mistress who brings celie to life and reminds her that she is worth being loved. and man does homegirl have the BEST flappery, shiny costumes. i want to raid her dressing room!

sofia. me loves oprah. me loves this fiery, feisty character. any woman who is kind of mouthy and balks the role of the stereotypical obedient and subservient wife, is my kind of gal. a kind of quality i find is shared amongst all of my female friends.

for being such a sad, sad place in time, dusty, rural georgia looks awfully beautiful in spielberg's portrayal. i fell in love with the patchworked tin houses, fields of flowers, sun-bleached laundry drying on clothlines, and kitchens filled with honey jars and herbs dying on windowsills. and i might be more inclined to go to church if i could find one as charming as the church in this film.

now i need to get the courage to read the book again. let's see if my 25 year old heart is strong enough to turn the pages...

signed, sealed, delivered...

this is my valentine card i sent out this year, which i attempted to fold like a bright star "origami valentine". i made a field trip to champion stamp, determined not to let another holiday card go in a mailbox with a ho-hum stamp. i even sweet talked my husband into accompanying me to a field trip to midtown new york city to visit the stamp shop.

yum. he quickly became disinterested as i poured over their catalogue of vintage stamps. and he could only half-heartedly feign interest, so he left me to my feverish stamp selecting. i even walked away with a jumbo bag of old, used stamps. i spent the rest of the day on the floor, color-coding them and picking out ones to give to my friends and family.

i definitely recommend making a trip if you live in new york, and absolutely shop online if you need a little wedding envelope facelift, or want to pimp a party invitation. this place is such a treasure. honestly, i kick myself that i didn't discover this joint 'til nearly 8 months after my own wedding. blast and wretch.

and my calligraphy. still abysmal, but lettering envelopes is excellent practice. i am hoping to send lots more snail mail this year, so hopefully i will see a marked improvement within the next few months. fingers crossed.

have i mentioned i love my friends and family? everytime i sit down to mail a letter or card, i feel a surge of joy in my heart. and it is a lovely reminder of how lucky i am to know such good people. such good people.

p.s john gardner, darling, if you are reading this, you and miss paige's card came back to me. my computer was busted when i mailed everything, so i mailed this to your old place. i might just have to make a date with you to give you yours.

momma branch love...

i've mentioned my mother sends pretty fantastic care packages. these are the contents of her latest and greatest. a heart cake pan and all the fixin's to make eddie a heart-shaped cake. with icing and sprinkles.

vintage heart quilt squares, paper heart doilies, heart cups (for the valentine's party i was going to host til my computer short-circuited). ikea tea towels. she always includes funny sunglasses. always.

she's such a good momma. she is the jam.

hello gorgeous...

my first paperwhite bloomed! i think our apartment smells like heaven, and my husband complains that the paperwhites smell like urine. ahhhh marital bliss.

and the local florist had white anemone's with little pink-striped undersides. i love how the stems crook and bend as if to greet you.

growing flowers from bulbs is pretty rewarding. i even whisper to my flowers as i water them and give them funny names. i've heard plants respond to whispered sweet nothings, no? i think i might have to make miss halligan norris' mini megaphone for this. ed thinks i'm loony tunes. now i have an amaryllis bulb, courtesy of momma stelling, nestled in a pot that i am cheering on every day to bloom.

this may become an addiction. which might be healthier than ice cream or online shopping. and probably much cheaper. when the weather warms up, i see a day trip to liberty sunset garden. 'til then, bodegas GRDN and zuzu's petals will be my salvation.

blanket of white...

i am not even a little tired of the snow. not one bit. i love waking up to trees coated in powdery white. and grey skies. spring can wait, so long as there is snow in my life.

my husband lent me his jacket and we took a snowy, morning tour of prospect park. we made snow icecream and watched all the families take their babies sledding and teach them how to make jolly snowmen.

we saw an army of snowmen, far as the eye can see, stationed at different points all along the park. there were dapper snowmen with red velvet bowties and punk rock snowmen with pine branch mohawks. and lots of snowbabies. i wanted to hug all the snowbabies. new yorkers really shine in this department.

ed and i got a real kick out of seeing the hardcore snow forts littered with beer cans, gloves, and forgotten sleds. i doubt i will ever witness enough snow in georgia to craft anything more than a tightly packed snowball.

but my favorite thing to do is snow graffiti. on any given snowy day, you can be sure to find me carving hearts on trees and doodling elementary school-style declarations of love. if you live in the park slope area keep a look out...

in short, we love the snow. love. i hope everyone had a chance to hurl a snowball, sled down a hill, or at least savor some delicious snow icecream. probably not too many of these days left before spring arrives...'til then at least i have the winter olympics to tide me over.

i love my computer...



thank you apple store for fixing her. nothing like a busted graphic's card to throw a wrench into blogging.. but i am so grateful to have my mac back.

one fine day...

i love the snow. i have been tagging the trees by my house. i want to carve ed and my initials into one of the trees in prospect park. maybe when it is a little warmer...

i spent valentine's bed in bed reading, listening to old records, and drinking champagne with my husband. i scrapbooked a little, made a few heart garlands, and capped the evening with a really terrible movie and a really delicious southern comfort dinner at buttermilk channel. my husband surprised me by cleaning the whole apartment... he even dusted the ceiling fan blades. it was perfect. i love love. i hope everyone's february 14th was divine.

interrupt this program...

i have a sick computer. my poor mac is at the computer hospital. i am so sad and have a series of valentine's day posts waiting to be shared. last night i had to improvise my valentine's day "puzzle purse" cards due to this technical difficulty. but here is what i will share when my computer is all healed and well...

* my d-i-y rose crown.

* a sweet care package from my mom.

* paperwhite success!

* red doily garlands and vintage finds.

*snowmen, snow forts, snow icecream, and snow hearts.

* a visit to champion stamp.

*...and more!

sigh. i'm being optimistic, hopeful, and am using the secret for my sweet, baby mac. think good thoughts for her!!!

so don't judge me when i barrage y'all with lovey dovey posts after valentine's day is over. hearts and kisses and roses can be current all year 'round, right?

picnic at hanging rock...

netflix watch instantly is rocking my world lately. room with a view. the last picture show. and just in time for valentine's day...

picnic at hanging rock. a 1960s-pretending-to-be-victorian mystery film, chock full of gals with waist-length hair prancing around in frilly white dresses, black stockings, hairbows, and straw hats. this one is definitely a chart-topper for my illustration-inspiration archives.

the opening scenes are my favorite. corsets are tied. flowers are pressed. faces are washed in real rose water. valentines are exchanged. all sorts of unabashed girlish things that make my husband, and my sweet pete, cringe and roll their eyes.

the story takes place on st. valentine's day, where a group of school girls and a professor mysteriously vanish during a picnic at hanging rock. this movie is pretty dang creepy, which i love. the delicate balance between saccharine and spooky is my driving aesthetic, and this movie smacks you over the head with it!

a sunny blonde, wildly carving a cleaver into a supermarket-esque, heart-shaped cake. surreal layers of organ music. girls drifting in-and-out of a poppy-like slumber, as they climb hanging rock. peculiar, voyeuristic men in the distance, spying on the girls' ascent. shrill screams and almost paranormal disappearances. and plot-thickening mystery and misfortune at every turn.

an unsettling movie, to say the least, that leaves the viewer with a whole lot of unanswered questions and some serious head-scratching. personally, i prefer to watch the movie up until the girls disappear and the whole school falls apart at the seams. clue-gathering and crime-solving can be saved for a whole 'nuther day.

besides, i like to keep my valentine's chipper and cheerful, don't you?