calling cards...

do you keep them on you? this is mine. i've hesitated to print them because i squirm at the idea of slapping job titles on myself. AND i feel like there are so many things i love to do... style, draw, interview neat folks, rent/sell antique props, play with flowers, design weddings and experiences. not to mention matchmaking, impersonating, and all sorts of tom foolery.

currently i'm working for one of the neatest, wittiest, most charming women i have ever met. annette joseph. she's a photo-styling woman producing and building an empire, which is pretty rad. and she has the loveliest ability of taking a negative and turning it into a positive. and she is the ultimate connector. she networks like she invented the concept. j'adore that. and her.

when people ask how we connected, she replies: "oh ginny stalked me." so true. i like to euphemize with the phrase "politely persistent".

so back to the main question, DO YOU CARRY A CALLING(BUSINESS) CARD ON YOU???? should i start?

the giving tree

today i am grateful for...

seeing one of my favorite books come alive. and for breaking my heart all over again. i love this story.

girl of my dreams...

today i am grateful for...

lying in bed watching i put a spell on you, the new film short collaboration between the belles of the black diamond field, topshop, and lula magazine.

oh holy smokes. maximilla lukacs and my ulimate girl crush, sarah sophie flicker, create the most intensely beautiful and bewitching films. this particular ethereal piece of goodness feels like a mixture of some my favorite films- picnic at hanging rock, valerie and her week of wonders, the virgin suicides, and daisies.

i love how the film decays from a languid and sweet picnic scene to a dark and sinister stormy mystery. the lighting and colors are so eerie and delicious. i loves it.

now all i want to do is hang out in prospect park in fabric tents, blowing bubbles and making flower crowns. and can i steal miss flicker's polka dotted legwear and that beribboned hula hoop? oh summer, you were short and sweet and i can't believe fall has already come to take you away.

'til we meet again...

au revoir...

farewell fashion week. you were a long haul and worth every extra hour. i hobbled down cobblestone streets in ridiculous shoes. i wore an obscene amount of red lipstick. i bought my man friend's balenciaga brief case for pennies. i accepted every glass of champagne that came my way. i saw some really beautiful collections and met some fashion legends and icons, young and old(er). i think fashion is starting to see the light at the end of the so-called recession tunnel.

and i met the style rookie. hot dang. and i didn't even freak out too much on her. i didn't ask her to rap or take a photo with me. and i didn't call her "precious" or "adorable". i hear she hates that. instead i fixed her and her blogger pals a snack plate at the slow and steady wins the race installation. and played it cool...kind of.

*p.s if you haven't invested in some sswtr pieces, i highly recommend it. not only is it reasonably priced for avant-garde fashion, but the designer is one of the kindest and smartest, down-to-earth girls on the block. someone i am thankful i know, and happy to have worked for. go here, here, and here for the goods.

what does fall smell like to you?

today i am grateful for...

the arrival of my new fall scent...

a mixture of in the library with a dash of burnt wood and a heaping of burning leaves. i keep nuzzling my wrist and smiling to myself. it just smells like my high school's camp grounds, where my husband and i would sneak off to empty cabins and smooch. our first kiss was on the trails by the bonfire circle, fall of '97. swoon.

i wish i could customize an all-star fall scent. perhaps i would also add hot apple cider spiked with loads of cinnamon and clove. freshly cut grass, like the kind you find on a football or soccer field. especially when it is early in the morning and still covered with dew. piles of leaves and earth muddled together. pencil shavings and rubber cement. new book smell. new textbook smell. chapstick kisses and winterfresh gum. old spice deodorant. wool sweaters and rarely, barely washed denim. but who knows what kind of calamity of opposing smells it would create. i think it sounds lovely in theory...

thank you christopher brosius for your talented nose. for being able to bring back wonderful memories with one inhalation. maybe one day i will track you down for a custom scent, if i can ever catch the elusive cb i hate perfume.

but really, what does fall smell like to you?

everything will be ok...

today i am grateful for...

hometown diners.

ok cafe is a childhood touchstone for me and an atlanta landmark. i love this greasy spoon. pancakes that can run laps around any fancy overpriced new york establishment, and biscuits that put any recipe i've tested to shame. coffee that is consistently piping hot, never burnt, and never watered down. waitresses who wear 50s blue and white soda pop shop dresses, aprons, and funny little hats. and the check arrives with tootsie roll candy, their equivalent of an after-dinner mint.

*oh and by night, the ok cafe parking lot transforms into the local meeting ground for friday night football games. a giant carpool of buckhead teenagers with handmade posters and painted faces. awesome.

the shadows are changing...

i could really see it today. i woke up and the sky was cloudy and it smelled like winter. and now the shadows are taking over the bright spots. and the sun sets 'round eight. is it really time to say farewell to summer?

grateful days: old ladies summer...

thank you ileana from clicky overload for submitting your wonderful gratitude list.

today i am grateful for...

1 the light of late summer. i am already looking forward to "altweibersommer". that's how we say "indian summer" in german. it means "old ladies summer" because the many white spider silks seen at this time of the year have been associated with the hair of old women.

2 my new clip-on earrings from the flea market, they go clickety-clack the whole day.

3 things that first went wrong and then turn out just right.

4 reading gloomy books in the sunshine while...

5 ...listening to C. playing the ukulele on the porch.

how i love the way you describe indian summers. the light is changing and soon, so will this season. thank you very much for being the first to kick-start "grateful days".

grateful days and new traditions...

today i am grateful for...

summer's sun-scorched flowers. i like imperfections. a whole lot.

thank y'all for posting your gratitudes. i kept smiling to myself throughout the entire day. i would like to start "grateful days" where i post y'alls gratitude lists with a photo of your choosing (or i can dig through archives and pick one, if preferred) and a link to your blog or website. i was going to assign this to a specific day, like every friday... but i think i would rather show gratitude love all week long.

if interested, please email your 5 things and photo to me at ginnybranch(the "at" symbol)gmail(dot)com. sorry to spell it out this way... i've just heard it thwarts all those unfortunate spammers.

merci beacoup, sweet folks out there!

i love love...

meet chris and kyle.

source: altmix photography

two childhood sweethearts who i wish lived in nyc. too cute for words. see more about them here and here.

how does your garden grow?

..with shasta daisies, wild roses, yellow and white yaros, feverfew, foxglove, and all sorts of pretty maids all in a row. elmwood's kitchen might have one of the best landscape views ever imagined. crotched mountain in the background, an algae-coated lake in the main, and a sweeping garden in the foreground. like a yummy layer cake of nature! 

but oh my, the flowers. they popped up in the most unsuspecting places the entire week...

a handpicked wild yellow and white bouquet courtesy of the (not-so) secret gardener, amy merrick. 

the beginnings of a pink and girly bouquet for amy's frilly gal pals.

woke up to this sweet little fawn sneakily eating elmwood's flowers!

the lilac room. we had the pansy room at lakemont, so this made me smile real big!

hello petunias!

the adorable francesca's rose dress, the most precious vintage number. amy is an amazing gift giver!

the box of birthday treasures from miss francesca to miss amy. an endless amount of treats!

if only new york had a few more buds for the plucking! i guess it is a pretty sweet deal to have a pal workin' for an extra, extra extraordinary florist in the nearby area.

red, white and china blue...

happy(belated) birthday america. i wish i could have baked you a cake with 233 sparklers stuck in it.

yer a grand ole' flag. 

i think i need to commission katie runnels to make me her version of this wreath! oh i loves it.

always coca cola. a gift for my sweet man who i left to fend for himself in park slope for the week!

the elmwood kitchen pots and pans. cherry, cheery, and downright precious. 

mollie little peppermint flowers. found in the town of peterborough.

the elmwood collection of blue and white china nestled in a gorgeous porcelain sink. and a pretty charming dish rack to boot!

a selection of blue cobalt glass bottles. amy swears i can find loads at bottle beach. sign me up, pretty please!

ooh boy do i love me some new england. i saw connecticut, massachusetts, new hampshire, and vermont- and all in four days! charming. elegant yet rustic. clean and green. but also very red, white, and blue! momma branch would be so proud! miss merrick was yay close to being a fourth of july baby, which makes sense because she is quite the firecracker! she is what literary heroines are made of. jo march and anne shirley ain't got nothin' on this lady!

family band...

ed and i are trying our hand at toy instruments. i'm giving the toy accordion a go, while eddie makes beautiful music on his new harmonica. i am barely making it through the first two lines of "take me out to the ball game".


source: little red fox

i may just join the clown college at coney island. i'm pretty goofy and i'm double jointed. and i wouldn't mind wearing some old sequins and silly hats while banging away at my toy accordion. and speaking in different accents, depending on my mood. ed thinks this is a fantastic idea, without a hint of sarcasm.

shoe string series...rainy day date in 5 steps

so, this has been a gloriously rainy summer. i wonder if this is what if feels like to live in portland? i dragged my main squeeze to prospect park to break out of the stale confines of our apartment. keys to good rainy day fun...




1. find a lush, yummy park with a view of the water. and a concession stand with popcorn, candy, coffee and soft drinks. delicious snacks, less than $5.



2. spy on a family of swans preening on a patch of grass. momma, poppa, and two fuzzy cygnets (the proper term for a baby swan, as i was just informed by pete).


3. scout a good tree for climbing. low branches and thick limbs, to sit and read a good book.



4. discover a spooky carousel, isolated and with two seaters (perfect for smooching, provided no children are nearby). the easiest way to find it is to listen out for the carnival music singing on the other side of the billy goat bridge. rides are $1.50 a person.


5. partake in an evening boat ride in a precious little electric boat called the independence. too sweet for words! rides are $8 a person.

all of this would be ever so fun on a true summer day. but sometimes you have to get creative in yucky weather. when seeing a movie or going to a museum just doesn't sound like the solution.