"its the little things..."2 july 2008 gratitudes

1. had a fortuitous day in the editorial world. the new issue of milk magazine arrived at my local newsstand and i also remembered to check out the summer 08 issue of small magazine (an online publication). i couldn't believe the image reading" i could sail away for a year and a day". year and a day is the name of chelsea and my (future) design label. because we were born a year and a day apart. it just seemed like some sort of sign...

2. received the sweetest note and box of cupcakes (one magnolia, the other vegan) from nicole, "coco", my darling neighborhood nanny. i love this girl and i will miss seeing her bounce down the street, chasing after little cosimo in chiffon-y print dresses. or in buttercream jeans with a paper-thin nude racerback tank (cute bras often showing, tastefully, like a lovely layer peeking through). the lopez clan is leaving me for the summer and i'm already going through withdrawal.

3. my sweet client, danielle came in and invited me to go to another gallery opening at the new museum. i adore this girl, and it always brightens my day when she comes in with her sweet dog, anouck.

4. saw sidewalk chalk art outside of my apartment. as a child, i used to love spending summers in the driveway of my house, drawing with chalk; playing with my skipit; or playing a game of horse with a basketball and my dad. i miss being a little girl. living in georgia. with nothing to worry about but skinned knees and mosquito bites.

5. heard the song "beautiful boy(darling boy)" by john lennon. i heard it today and knew instantly that it will be the song i will sing to my son, when i first hold him in the hospital. the first time my father ever held me, after the doctor handed me to him, he sang "the twelfth of never" by johnny mathis. and he sang it to me every night as a little girl. i've always wondered what songs i will sing to my children and i know this will be one. it is one of the sweetest songs i've ever heard. and it gives me goosebumps.

6. saw one l'argent de poche, or "small change". i love me a good french coming-of-age film.

7. saw little grace, one of my favorite west village darlings. she is all freckled and adorable. she and her brother were headed to the park, complete with sticky lollipops. i had to make her stop and photograph her. i have never seen more adorable little ones than the darlings in the west village. i mean, they can brighten up any day. we have these really low (child's height) windows, where certain sweetpeas (harry, grace, henry, and cosi) will sneak up; noses pressed to the glass; and wait, til i turn around. without fail i will be greeted by a squeal of delight and a giant grin. good lord i'm lucky.

8. had dinner with my sweet corrie pellerin. my college roomate, dear friend, and future bridesmaid. we love to laugh and self-deprecate and justify "eating our feelings". that girl can make me laugh and i'm so lucky to have her in my life. she is such a good listener and has such a kind, good heart. i have the best friends in the whole world.

ed corrie kristie rankin jessica chelsea pete amy cynthia lauren haynes haylie katie bethany mollie frances my mom my dad my sisters. i keep some good company. i am so lucky to have these people in my life, thinking good thoughts for me. i hope everything good comes back to them tenfold. and i know it will.

advice like youth, probably wasted on the young...

...by mary schmich

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. Scientists have proven the long-term benefits of sunscreen, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or celebrate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders. Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it is worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

every child is an artist...25 june 2008 gratitudes

"every child is an artist...the problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up". pablo picasso.

1. had breakfast with my darling amy merrick. she shared this beautiful manuscript of diary entries from her great grandmother that she and her mother unearthed while at her family home in new hampshire. my word, i could have listened to her read these stories to me for hours! what a way to start the morning, hearing a young girl's world read to you by a dear friend. i felt like i was listening to louisa may alcott retelling little women to me.

2. had a moment of dyslexia when looking at the schedule and realized that my day off was today! oh i was so happy, like coming to school on a forgotten holiday, and then getting to leave.

3. ran into the president of the company on the street as i was leaving work. he has been so kind to me, and all of the savannah kids. we are still bewildered that we are here in new york; working where we are; living our lives like this. he has taken such good care of us and we all are still stunned by it all.

4. collected my sweet pete cooney for an adventure in the city!

5. found a book on joseph cornell at the new museum on the bowery. the marionette hot air balloon girl caught my eye and i got goosebumps when i looked at the back of the book. automatic writing sprawled over the page with overlapping words and motifs similar to what i jotted down a few days ago. lord knows automatic writing is a common brainstorming step for artists; it was just so strange to see it staring at me. by chance. in a museum bookstore. i love happy accidents.

6. went to opening ceremony and the new jil sander store. both completely different in concepts, but both like galleries. i love seeing the way stores display their wares.

7. caught up with the sweet cast of characters at opening ceremony. my beautiful and talented friend, madeleine alder-cossitt used to be the assistant designer for the store's in-house label. this store is where i discovered mary ping and gerard tully, two designers and artists i respect and adore very much.


8. dropped off archimedes, my beloved owl ring off to get re-gold plated. i love this ring. it is the most precious ring i own other than my engagement ring. one time, during a window display change at christmas time i thought i had lost it. a full on anxiety attack took over my body until frances pezik prayed to saint anthony, the finder of things lost. hours later, from thin air and no disturbance, i heard the sound of rolling metal on bare flooring...my precious archimedes ring, rolling back and forth under a clothing rack. now who doesn't believe in magic?

9. stumbled upon the alexander wang sample sale. so flipping excited! i have had the pleasure of meeting this sweet boy a few times; and i might be just as in love with him as his clothing. i've been saying for months that i just want some alexander wang pieces, but couldn't afford them. thank the lord new york city has sample sales.

10. went to the galleries in soho like i had planned a few days ago, when they were all closed. oh how i love looking at art! i love the physical reaction your body feels when a piece touches you and makes you feel something inside. some people like to talk about art because it makes them feel smarter. i am magnetized by how art speaks to different people and how it can change a person's mood, outlook, state of being...it can change everything. i am thankful to be in this city, surrounded by art and the people who create it. in georgia, i only had books and professors telling me what art looked like and how i should feel. now i can look at the originals and feel the way i want to feel. and i love that.

you are the company you keep...

from age 5 to age 18 i was educated at one of the top, academically competitive private schools in the south. unfortunately, i was never naturally one of the brightest bulbs in the bunch. i had my share of teachers who gave up on me right away, dismissing my learning disabilities only to label me as a lost cause. thankfully, i always had at least one patient and kind teacher every year. always had one who took the time to appreciate that i had the heart and passion to do well, it just would take me more than a few tries to get it right. always the underdog, always having to work harder than most just to stay afloat. at the end of the year, when i would give my teachers their thank-you gifts, my mother encouraged me to write "thank you for believing in me" to the ones who made a difference.

i am surrounded by so many supportive people in my life, personally and professionally...

thank you for believing in me.

gratitude is the memory of the heart...23 june 2008

once upon a time i had the idea of sweet talking my coworkers into writing down 5 things daily that they were thankful for. when all the commotion had slowed down to a murmur( usually between 8 and 10 pm), i would march around to the different sections of my store, armed with post-its and ballpoint pens. many grumbled, most were compliant, and some even seemed tickled. it was by far the happiest moment of my day. one-by-one, they would return to me with their gratitudes. i stapled the colored notes onto the letterhead stationary and would review the pages like a child reading a bedtime story. and during my time at this store, i collected tomes of thanks.

i miss these moments. i think i shall try and start it up again.

if anyone wants to send me post-its with their daily gratitudes, i guarantee it would brighten both of our days...just a thought...

eventually all things merge into one. i am haunted by words...

such random thoughts i have...

bell jars. shadow puppets. marionettes. tristan tzara. paper doll chains. clotheslines. fishtail braids. brown eggs. craft paper. boudicca. touchstones. dandelions. daisy chains. jesus and the mary chain. heartstring. ball of string. stockings. bralettes. balloons. alice in wonderland. dorothy. maude. juliet. wishing. curious and curiouser. obsession. repetition. insomnia. paper planes. kites. wink'n, blink'n, and nod. tiddlywinks. goodnight moon. love you to the moon. pat the bunny. baby's breath. snap dragons. hope chest. hope on a rope. soap on a rope. rope swing. jump rope. cat's cradle. hop scotch. chalkboard. sidewalk chalk. doll house. valley of the dolls. milk bottles. bottled emotion. drink me. punch drunk love. book shelves with ladders. jacob's ladder. wallflower. potting soil. clutter. collections. treasure maps. globes. constellations. dippers. ladles. label makers. typewriter. writing pens. love letters. alphabet blocks. flash cards. house of cards. speakeasy. big band. phonograph. photograph. polaroid. polar opposites. opposites attract. laws of attraction. lawyer. eddie. man of my dreams. daydream. automatic writing. surrealism. maya deren. beautiful as the chance meeting upon a dissecting table of a sewing machine and an umbrella. duchamp. r mutt. r crumb. henry darger. l frank baum. patchwork girl. quilting bee. spelling bee. bee charmer. charmed life. charm school. etiquette. table manners. cotillion. debutantes. coming of age. how to kill a mockingbird. why is a raven like a writing desk. mome wraths. moths to a flame. magnifying glass. looking glass. mercury glass. mason jars. jam. teapots and cups. clotted cream. egg cup. silver spoons. spooning. sleeping. nightmare. night terror. sleepwalk. talk in your sleep. nonsense. nonsense and kind. year and a day. grandfather clock. lullaby. my mother. my father. twelfth of never. neverland. lost boys. shadow. happy thoughts. thimble. thread. hand sewing. stitch. mend. lend or borrow. on borrowed time. tick tock. calendar. chart. lists. to do. check.

stir my soul... visual gratitudes

all of these make up all of me. i am forever grateful for these artists and their works. my influences and my touchstones. one in the same.