Monday, August 31, 2009

always be prepared...



today i am grateful for...

back to school supplies


school supplies

sources: various dennison gummed labels and paper clips, nesting thumb tacks and paper fasteners, pilot stapler, and moore push signals from chelsea antiques garage, Red Chair, @ Home, Paris Market...



pretending it is the first day of school. yesterday my boss lady and i went flea marketing to pick out props for our shop, and i got a wee bit side tracked. one of my favorite vendors had proudly displayed all of her notebooks, rulers, composition books, writing samples, and all the trappings to be a good lil' student.




yummy treats

one of my many school slates. one day i hope to have a large wall-sized school chalkboard re-purposed as a kitchen table top. (in the style of sweet laraine papa montgomery).


ledgers




ledger & pencils

my sweet haylie bird is the queen of collecting ledgers (and all yummy school supplies for that matter), and passed down this love to me. they make for the perfect sketchbook/ scrapbook. i alternate between these and moleskine's kraft notebooks, which were my art school staple through out SCAD.

ledger 2




my knap sack



and this is my favorite knap sack. it was my sister's when she was studying in paris, and she gifted it to me, many many moons ago. it is my favorite shade of leather... almost georgia clay brown. come to think of it, all my gal pals have a brown leather knap sack. it is 'specially helpful to be hands-free when you live in a big city. and to hide all your treasures...



i have to go now, don't want to be late on my first day... just teasing.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

the silver lining...

today i am grateful for...

scrap fabrics


botany


crying girl 2


crying girl 4


crying girl 5

rainy saturdays. very conducive for sketching awkward, nudie girlies and scrapbooking. i love drawing and collaging. pen and ink. sharp pencils. watercolors and crayons. needle and thread. ooh la la...

Thursday, August 27, 2009

the shadows are changing...


smushed hat

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?


Wednesday, August 26, 2009

delicate cycle of summer...

today i am grateful for...

doughnuts and doilies

1. discovering the wednesday farmers market on my morning walk 'round prospect park. and discovering it is apple cider doughnut season again! i'm no doughnut champion, but i can devour a whole bag of these babies if given the opportunity. and i finally broke out my doilies( part of a momma branch care package).


delicate cycle

delicate cycle 1

2. being responsible enough to give my delicates and linens a good oxiclean soak. sweet francesca( who i am very bummed i missed seeing during her nyc visit) makes a lovely spokeswoman for oxiclean. she swears this is the be-all, end-all for vintage hand washables. now i just need a decent steamer!


straw flowers

3. my straw flowers finally opening up! and some have even fully inverted, which just tickles me pink. i think i might have to make a straw flower crown today. a little end of the summer head piece.


piano rolls 1

piano rolls 2

i wish i had a sweetheart

dreaming

4. this newsworthy local record shop owner for getting rid of his stock of piano rolls... for dirt cheap! in the past i have bought one of these bad boys for more than 10 times what i paid for. oh well, you live and learn. but i have a few repurposing ideas i am tossing around. we shall see...

5. freaks and geeks marathons with my husband. it doesn't hold a torch to my so-called life, but i do like it. a whole lot.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

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...

Monday, August 24, 2009

grateful days: allison rae hipple from the underwing

today i am grateful for...

scene study

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?

Saturday, August 22, 2009

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.

couturebook

couture

couture

annee

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.

applique

appliqué.

ruffleswatch

ruffles.

smocking

smocking. one of my all-time favorites.

embroidery

embroidery.

darning

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

nicole's notes2

swatches&graphpaper

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...


g letter



E letter



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.


paperdoll dress



dress repai r2



dress repair



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.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

daisies and fizz...

today i am grateful for...

sidecar

( 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.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

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.

mastering the art of french cooking front cover

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.


whisks



crepe pans

spoons


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



definitions

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.



fleur de lis

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.


mastering the art of french cooking back cover

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*****

Monday, August 17, 2009

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.

cemetery steps

the beginning of our journey.

mausoleum

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

sweet gum path

paths named after various trees and plants.

lady statue

brave soldiers

along the way we encountered many brave men and women.

flower stump

and a flowering stump.

lily pond

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.
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