grateful days: jenn alexander fletcher from blonde shot creative

today i am grateful for...

1- my wonderful & sober husband who has agreed to square dance lessons

2- our animals that are always happy to see me when I get home

3- my parents who are still happily married

4- that Autumn is around the corner

5- Pioneer Woman & the few minutes she gifts me of completely stress-free thought

today's grateful days list came from one of my former co-workers from the paris market in savannah, georgia. she was one of the adorable gals whipping up frozen hot chocolates and infused waters, while i was sweet talking folks into buying fantastic antiques and fresh products. jenn has a wild sense of humor, makes a mean espresso, and photographed one of my favorite pin-up girl series. i am so grateful for her list that popped into my inbox! and she had a mighty cute wedding too...

grateful days: allison rae hipple from the underwing

today i am grateful for...

1. The sweet smell of Nag Champa burning on muggy nights.

2. The lingering transcendency of Fleet Foxes' music, and the guitar pick I magically received from a very kind man.

3. My hair's innate decision to keep growing and growing.

4. Freshly sharpened pencils, set and ready for the first day of school, just like the little kid I am.

5. Learning how to undress in front of the mirror and knowing there's more to this life than what I cringe at.

thank you ahip for sharing your gratitudes! this list inspired me to start my morning off with "white winter hymnal" and sharpen some pencils to sketch with. i miss the first day of school. i was always so giddy, hugging everyone to pieces and itchin' to see who my new teachers were. and school supplies... i might have to share my favorites very soon. what are y'all's favorite school supplies?

darn it and mend it all...

the best part of unpacking is unearthing forgotten treasures. this was a paris market purchase from back in the day. paula pulled it out to show me and it was an instant purchase. no thought required.

i bought it when i signed up for embellished surfaces, an embroidery class at SCAD's fibers department. this was my favorite class i ever took, and the only kind of sewing i can manage. give me a needle and thread and a decorative objective, and i'll be a happy camper. stick me behind a sewing machine and i break out into cold sweats.

but i love the art of fabric manipulation and textile decoration. every aspect.

appliqué.

ruffles.

smocking. one of my all-time favorites.

embroidery.

darning. i can't wait to give this a go. i have several garments in need of it.

and her notes are little works of art. the graph paper and the penmanship. makes me want to take a calligraphy class, really badly.

i wish my marks for my swatch book back in sewing tech were as glowing. my highest score was a 6/10 at best. i wonder if nicole became a dressmaker in paris. or if this was just a home-ec type of class required by the l'ecole. i guess i will just have to wonder...

good girls...

today i am grateful for...

1. blind friend dates. i met the lovely jc from mystic domestica for a late afternoon showing of julie and julia. she is incredibly articulate, modest, and has one of the neatest jobs doing development for a poetry library. and she is incredibly thoughtful. she also gifted me with an "E" and a "G" alphabet block. it made me so happy! i immediately added them to the ginny and ed ephemera mantle.

2. feel-good movies. julie and julia was such a darling, uplifting treat. not to mention, i want to live in her kitchens. especially the one in paris and the one in cambridge, massachusetts. and i admire julia child. i admire her spirit, her enthusiasm, her love for food and her husband, and her cheerful disposition. i really wish i could have been friends with her.

3. summer afternoon thunderstorms. thick, black clouds with loud claps of thunder. good cracks of lightening. we needed it badly. this heatwave was driving everyone mad, particularly me. i am one cranky baby in hot weather.

4. "craft night" with chelsea cook. she is in the process of making another beautiful wedding dress, and i was supposed to be embroidering my wedding quilt. she was diligent. i however nursed a tea cup of red wine and gossiped instead. charming.

a few rips and tears that i want to attempt to darn. i think darning is one of the neatest methods of garment repair. i can't wait.


5. the paper doll dress. this is the chelsea cook half of our paper doll costume, from halloween many moons ago at SCAD. chelsea is in the process of cleaning out her closet, which is filled with the most amazing vintage dresses. this silhouette is not her favorite shape, so she gifted it to me! the colors, the drop-waist, the bubble hem. oh. my. word. i adore this dress. and have crazy sentimental attachment to it. it definitely went to a loving home.

daisies and fizz...

today i am grateful for...

( photo courtesy of sidecarbrooklyn.com )

1. sidecar. my new favorite south slope spot. cozy, dark wooded interior, bespoke cocktails, and fancy twists on classic american bar fare.

2 .and for my favorite, peter hale cooney III, my date for the evening. i miss living with my sweet pete and it was 'specially nice to catch up over gin daisies and ramos fizz's (one of the most delicious, decadent drinks invented). he makes me laugh 'til my sides hurt and he can out-accessorize me any day. lately, i've been seriously slack on my pieces of flair. too hot to wear any extra of anything... now i want to stock up on orange blossom water; layer on some costume jewelry; slip into my ridiculous shoes, and break out my sequins. i am so ready for fall.

thank you petey pie for schlepping all the way to this part of brooklyn. and for being you. i love you to pieces.

mon petit chou...

today i am grateful for...

carepackages from the ultimate treasure huntress...my mother. she frequently sends me giant boxes filled with various foundlings, newspaper/ magazine clippings, childhood ephemera, homemade chocolate chip cookies, recipes to try, and knick knacks galore.

today, she gifted me julia child's mastering the art of french cooking.

not only have i been itchin' to see this movie, with just about anyone who will accompany me, but i genuinely want to master proper french cuisine. my friends tease me that my "spirit eater" is an old french lady. i'll agree to that.

and how darling are these illustrations? cook book illustrations are awfully adorable.

i think i read cook books half for their diagrams, index of terms, definitions and drawings. i like the learning process more than the end result... well, maybe not with food...eating the finished product is pretty rewarding.

this fleur de lis pattern would make a yummy wallpaper, non? fleur de lis' remind me of my sweet corrie pellerin. my new orleans baby.

hopefully i will evolve into a master of french cooking in no time yet. fingers crossed. til then i will have to drool over sites like sprouted kitchen, sunday-suppers, sweet paul, and smitten kitchen. au revoir cheries.

*****p.s who knew julia was such a tall drink of water? cheers to that*****

a garden of graves...

i am grateful for...

exploring an old brooklyn cemetery with eddie. haylie bird and i were originally going to go together on sunday, but opted to go junkin' instead, due to the summer heat. but ed and i have been waking up insanely early so i pulled him (hemming and hawing) to green-wood cemetery, while the air was still semi-cool. and it was delightful.

the beginning of our journey.

the best view, overlooking a lily pond and a mausoleum.

paths named after various trees and plants.

along the way we encountered many brave men and women.

and a flowering stump.

and an army of bullfrogs sunbathing on water lilies.

i have a big ole soft spot in my heart for cemeteries. when my mother was a girl scout leader in atlanta, our community service trip involved venturing to oakland and scrubbing down margaret mitchell's grave. i can't wait to go back in the fall, when the leaves are changing. i might just sit by the lily pond and watch the bull frogs jump from pad to pad.

...or maybe just have a creepy séance with my friends, now and then style.