a lovely week

my parents' truck just backed out of our driveway—ben and i standing and waving as they left for minnesota after spending nearly a week with us in ann arbor. maybe it’s because i miss them, because it's been a hard year, or because nothing seemed to go as planned over the last 6 days, but it just felt like they left too soon. i needed them for one more week, or maybe two.

on thursday morning my mom put the pumpkin pie in the oven and as i was setting the timer for 40 minutes a hug spark shot out of the back of the oven. the fuse blew and the control panel was fried. one hectic trip to sears on black friday and a new oven later, we were finally able to have a proper thanksgiving on sunday night. it was worth the wait.

i hope you had a wonderful weekend and ate lots of leftovers! stay tuned. i have holiday gift ideas coming all week. . . and next.

(photo by: erin)

perception of things

these beautiful pastel illustrations by brooklyn-based artist, jason fiske, remind me of colorful inkblot tests, each side slightly mimicking the other.

bootie camp

my husband just gave me these beautiful low boots for my birthday. unfortunately, they are on backorder until december 1, so i am impatiently counting the days until i can wear them. there is something perfect about a simple bootie. a cross between a shoe and a boot—what could be more versatile? (1) brown suede cuffed ankle boot, (2) tan fold-over bootie, (3) cognac dorado chelsea boot, (4) raccoon leather backroad bootie, (5) black zip ankle bootie, (6) green lace desert boot, (7) grey suede buckle bootie.

(top photo by: dart photographie)

not just a pretty print

british clothing label, nadinoo, by designer nadia izruna, recently released their autumn/winter 2010 collection, pulling inspiration from mid-20th century clothing design with high-waisted shorts, peter-pan collars, swing capes, and cropped shirt dresses. each piece is carefully hand crafted and made to order so that every garment is unique to the wearer.

in my head

yesterday, rain rolled down the windows and the sky was so dark and gray it was difficult to tell if the sun was rising or setting. on days like these i get wrapped in my own thoughts. i need to step outside and take a deep breath to stay alert—to inhale something fresh. these beautiful images by melbourne-based photographer, velco dojcinovski, capture small moments of solitude.

pixels of color

artist helga groves, from melbourne, australia, explores geological sites and natural phenomena in her paintings and drawings. each piece above uses a geometric grid of small squares creating an optical effect through light and color.

prohibited

when our friends ceci and andrew came to visit us in paris, they decided to bring food and chocolate home as gifts for friends and family. i remember her telling me that at customs they confiscated a beautiful jar of caramel sauce from the bon marche grande epicerie. is caramel really a liquid? she should have opened the jar and started eating it right then and there. to me, caramel sauce seemed to fall in a grey area, others are a little more obvious.

photographer and native new yorker, taryn simon, captured 1,075 images of smuggled goods in just 5 days, from november 16, 2009 to november 20, 2009, at both the u.s. customs and boarder protection federal inspection site and the u.s. postal service international mail facility at john f. kennedy international airport. some of the items detained from passengers or express mail are shown above in her series “contraband”: (1) south african cycad with soil; (2) bird corpse from indonesia labeled as home décor; (3) plastic pitcher of salami, eastern europe; (4) insect larvae and pupae, india; (5) counterfeit disney nesting dolls; (6) peppers and capsicum, ghana; (7) unidentified liquid hidden in a thermos in satin bedding; (8) gbl, used as a date-rape drug, poland.

made by hand

the blue house in ann arbor, michigan, opened its doors to the creative community in march 2010. located in a late 19th century house on the corner of pauline and main street, the handmade studio offers workshops lead by area artists, rental space for individuals and private events, and a consignment shop with local handcrafted goods. siobhan lyle, the brains behind the blue, has created an ideal environment to work in, filled with bold colors and inspiration along with all the materials and tools you need to start making.

yesterday, my friend carrie and i went to the blue house and took the diy workshop “basic sewing for adults,” by amanda schott of dang argyle. i’ve been sewing since i was small and have all of the equipment, but the skills just aren’t there yet. i guess, like everything, i need to practice in order to get better. hence the class. amanda went over each of our machines and had us running through stitches to get us comfortable working with the different settings. after the refresher course, i am officially ready to start some projects.

on saturday, december 18, from 11-6, the blue house will be hosting “mittenmade,” a handmade craft show featuring some of ann arbor’s local artists. more information about the show, along with a list of upcoming events and workshops, can be found on their web site at: www.bluehouseannarbor.com.

(photos by: erin)

little greens

i received a package from my lovely sister yesterday. my birthday is in a few days, but i was told to promptly open said package as soon as it was delivered. when i pulled back the tissue paper i found not 1, but 4 sweet little air plants inside. one was even blooming. i can't wait to find them a place in our house.

(photo by: erin)

2011 calendars

there are so many amazing calendars to choose from this year. i have no idea which one i like the best, but here are a few of my favorites: (1) seesaw letterpress's removable prints; (2) cicada studio's tee towel; (3) sycamore street press's foxes, trees, and mountains; (4) 1canoe2's things that are loud; (5) leah duncan's hand drawn southwestern motifs, and (6) cats let nothing darken their roar.

small world

kelly lynn jones is the founder and creator of online art shop little paper planes, which sells affordable prints and pieces from over 90 artists. in may 2010, she received her mfa from the california college of the arts in san francisco, california. some of her more recent work includes this beautiful selection of minimalist watercolor paintings titled “google images: caves.”

pumpkin patch

over the weekend, ben and i had a little halloween party. friends came dressed as a sister wife, an astronaut, and sid + nancy, to name a few. it was so much fun seeing everyone in costume. now, i just have to figure out what to do with all of these pumpkins. (1) green trail jacket, (2) striped cotton jersey, (3) relaxed roller jean, (4) charlie boots, (5) tiny star clutch, (6) mustard patent belt, (7) 3-diamond necklace, (8) navy shimmer socks, and (8) orange plaid thermos.