toulouse-lautrec at the high...

yesterday was a particularly gloomy day so i spent the latter half of the afternoon moseying up and down the toulouse-lautrec exhibit at the high museum. i haven't been to a museum in an age and it was time to recharge my soul. i've always been particularly fond of toulouse-lautrec. he inspired many collections when i was studying at SCAD. i adored his fascination with the dredges of society and all the parisian smutty debauchery during the fin-de-siecle. it was truly delightful to see his impressive posters in person. i was equally stunned by his sensitivity to color. he has this amazing ability to ever-so-slightly temper primary colors into a beautiful palette.

it was a beautiful afternoon, wandering through the rooms hearing only slight whispers and watching rain drops crowd the museum's windows. and i very, very nerdily took notes and sketches on my ipad. terribly uncool but it was so easy and effortless. anyway, if you live in atlanta i HIGHly reccomend going to see the exhibit.

resolution: travel more

{via here}

i act like this is such an easy one to do during a recession.. but i think it is do-able! i vow to at least go on more adventures! i am even willing to stop buying $15 forever 21 shoes in order to start a travel fund. osa johnson, here's looking at you kid ;)

pin the tail...

gratuitous donkey-smiling-at-me-over-a-fence photo. couldn't help it. i asked ed if we could keep him but he didn't think the beagles would be happy if we brought home a new pet. happy saturday!

pick your own pumpkin...


i am so grateful that my friend blayne beacham suggested picking pumpkins from a patch! ed and i decided to take advantage of an uncomfortably warm fall day, and drove to watkinsville to pluck a few jack o lanterns from the vine.

i kept loading our wheel barrow with the chubbiest, stumpiest green globes. i was on a mission to find cinderella, fairytale, ghost, or baby boo pumpkins, but settled for pretty standard pumpkin fare. nothing wrong with traditional- i ain't mad at that!

ed was a true blue trooper, as always. although he totally put his foot down when it came to going on a hayride. and he definitely vetoed watching the pig races. hey, ya win some, ya lose some.

later at night, we even snuck a pumpkin with a really good spindly, sinewy stem on my parents' porch. my mom is quite picky about pun'kin stems. this might have to become a new tradition...sneaky pumpkin gifting at night.

i love fall. i am officially ready to kiss these 80 degree days goodbye! and i also am tapping my foot at the trees to hurry up and change colors now. and i'm also ready to pull on some rag wool socks, drink obscene amounts of cider, bake some bread, and go on a fall hike down tallulah gorge. is that so much to ask??

u-pick 'em and i'll eat 'em...

here's a little peek at our day at fleeman's farm, run by a darling, charming mom and pop. we were chased by some ominous, black clouds and flickers of zig-zag lightening, but we managed to come away with a bucket of berries and violet-stained fingers.

my husband even took me to a delicious dinner afterwards in athens, ga at farm 255. hard to believe we had an appetite after consuming mouthfuls of the yummiest blueberries we have ever tasted.

blueberries for sal...

...or really for me and eddie. or for anyone who wants some! we picked a gallon of the sweetest, tangiest berries yesterday. i have a few plans for some of 'em, but our cups overfloweth with these bad boys! we have plenty to share- neighbors? anyone? bueller?

i must admit, i am crushing on summer 2010 pretty hard. my one wish would be to teleport my sweet new york friends here with me. i am wishing extra big on that one. if y'all come i will fix you blueberries and cream for breakfast every day. pinkie swear.

the peach state...

georgia, oh georgia. i have so many places i want to visit! my sweet momma-in-law found a whole magazine of georgia site-seeing and delicious tourist-stops! old grain mills, georgia gem mines, margaret mitchell house, tullie smith house, swan house, jimmy carter's old stompin' grounds, foxfire museums, whistlestop cafes, tallulah gorge and swimming holes, mayfield dairy farms, i keep batting my eyes at my husband, and i think he is slowly warming up to the idea of hittin' the peach highways and back roads. he's even taking me berry picking this weekend! we were going last weekend, but he had too much studying to do.

oh, did i mention he is taking the georgia bar exam in a few weeks??? grief. too bad you can't just pass it in one state and have it count for all. law is tricky stuff, so i hear.

wanderlust...
today i am grateful for...

my grandfather's drawings. when i moved back to georgia, one of the treats my mother gave to me was his collection of travel sketchbooks. he and my grandmother traveled all over europe and asia together, and thankfully, poppa kept a visual record of their journey. i come from a long line of nostalgic folks. it's in my blood.

sigh. i want to mary poppins jump into these pen-and-inked pieces of paper.

i have been bitten by the travel bug. i want to go anywhere and everywhere! give me a map, passport, camera(s), a sketchbook and some pens, and i will be set! a drivers license might help too(but that's in the works).

take me anywhere! it can be in georgia, lebanon, maine, morocco, panama, wherever! i am game. i have a list of places in georgia that i will be dragging my husband to this summer. i'll start small and local, but dream big.

planes, trains, and automobiles. i want it all.

in the meantime, i'll hang some of these on my walls and just play make-believe. and maybe make a travel map like halligan's. best summer idea ever! i love looking at everyone's summer snapshots on all y'alls blogs. keep up the good travelin'!

bon voyage...

tonight was our last night in the big apple, and my heart definitely hurts.

we said our final goodbyes to the city as we rode the staten island ferry.

we finally got a little closer to our nation's leading lady of liberty. and saw the sun set behind her.

the city's skyline. i can't believe so many buildings and people can fit on that tiny little island.

goodbye emerald city. i will miss you. and all of the wonderful people who get to call you home.

flowery branch...

dear brooklyn botanical garden,

i've loved having you as my neighbor. i am definitely going to miss you and our short lived romance.

your patches of lilac and hyacinths knocked my socks off. their smell is so delicious, and i wish i could take you back to georgia with me.

hey mom, look, WISTERIA! as a child we played the wisteria game, aka "who can spot the wisteria first" game.

corrie had fun playing with nature's confetti.

but cherry blossom row...

man oh man, what a beauty!

curtains of pink powder puffs interlocked over our heads.

so thank you, little garden, for providing us with a magical place to play. so much beauty in one place, it makes my heart swell. i wish i could keep you.

i promise i'll keep in touch.love always,ginnybranch stelling

coney island...

today i am grateful for...

pallin' around brooklyn with one of my best friends corrie pellerin! i love my corrie girl, and having her in town for my last week in nyc is soooo sweet. we ventured out to coney island( my "brilliant" idea) only to find out... the rides won't be open to the public until tomorrow! i know i have made the disclaimer that i am the most hopeless tour guide, and i firmly stand by it. thankfully coney island has plenty of charm even in its semi-closed state.

all i wanted was to ride the dang ferris wheel. i need to get on this dang wheel. it is legendary!

hello handsome. i love you.

fade to black film is the jam.

i love my corrie girl.

shoot the freak.

sx-70 artistic film.

suggestion noted.

we took the bait.

i am thankful i have so many forgiving people in my life, who don't seem to mind my absent-minded tour guiding. eeps. but it was a gorgeous day with lots of laughs and colorful sights. i wanted to hijack all the hand-painted signs and sniff out the sideshow freaks. i was tempted by the cotton candy and candy apples. in the end it was lots of laughs, nathan hotdogs, and ice cream cones. yum. and oh yeah, my best friend is in town. did i mention i'm so happy she's here?

bottled up...

today i am grateful for...

an adventure to dead horse bay with sweet friends. chelsea rose cook and peter hale cooney III researched tide charts and even managed to wrangle up directions to the secretive bottle beach. chelsea designed a treasure map, pieced together by bits of cryptic, neverland-esque instructions, transmitted over the phone, by a mysterious woman.

after a near-apocalyptic ride on the 2 train, a fairly tame ride on the Q.35 bus, and a 3/4 mile hike to floyd bennett field beneath circling buzzards, we approached an unmarked, winding pathway flanked by cattails and creeping, thorny brambles. this pathway then lead to a three-tined fork in the field. still nary a sign or marking in site. scratching our heads we chose the middle path which crooked and bent so much we figured we were walking in circles.

we finally saw the first good sign. it should be dubbed, "heart marks the spot"!

after several more paces, matt released a cheer, and we knew we had arrived!

armed with rubber rainboots and work gloves, we set to diggin' and collectin'. we divided and totally conquered that little beach! i could hear little gasps and yips of excitement and wonderment from my pals at all points. discovering little treasures all about.

we unearthed so much milk glass, cobalt glass, brown apothecary bottles, handled jugs, coca- cola bottles, ponds cold cream bottles, tea cups, chunks of horse bone, and doll parts. such a treasure trove! we filled our satchels to the brim, and waddled away with heavy arms and numb fingers and noses.

now our kitchen table is littered with my new(old) loot and our bathroom smells like a drip castle. my tub, is dusted with a layer of sand, sea sludge, and unappetizing bottle innards. but hey, now i have vessels for any and every occasion. and a really lovely memory with good friends. hooray!