whole heart

aww!


ha!!


*top photo from design is mine.
* tights from Les Queues de Sardines

photo of the day

caught my eye

I have wondered if when we move into our house, if we will have several matching dish sets or just a compilation of all designs. z often jokes sarcastically when I pick up another glass from a shop, "you really need another one of those", which is true, I don't. So I've held off and just admired from the internet instead.

I really like this necklace as well. It's from the 60s, and made to hold exactly $2 in quarters to do your laundry. Great idea.

p.s. I love typewriters.

* typewriter journal from Assembly of Text $14.

* quarter holder necklace from Snoozer Loser $20.

* pink and gold set from Louis Boston.

mine that bird!

i was listening to a story on This American Life about having slim chances, but beating the odds. And probably the shortest story in the segment, Ira mentions last years Kentucky Derby race about the underdog of horses, who was in last place... by a lot! And then suddenly, before the announcer could even really catch up with the horse, Mine That Bird races past every other horse and wins by a long stretch! I just had to see it myself.

See the original race here. It starts at about 3:34. It's nice to hear the announcer's surprise. Or just watch the overhead replay below. Maybe it will inspire you too.

the first snow

The First Snow, Canon 7D from Reid Carrescia on Vimeo.

This video is by Reid Carrescia. Shot with a Canon 7d, which looks amazing! It's so pretty.

winter is melting

I'm excited about some of the snow melting.
It seems to open up more possibilities and urges to leave the house..
z & i went to the Avedon Fashion 1944-2000 exhibit at the D.I.A. yesterday. It's one of those must-see shows, just to witness the behind the scenes of his evolution through Harpers Bazaar, Vogue, to the New Yorker, with crop notes, and the multiple versions of Dovima With Elephants. All his early photographs are beautiful. I love the lighting, the clothing and elegance of everything. The photos are set up nicely where a woman is laughing with her head tilted back, her cigarette in the air, a gentleman at her side... a fifties scene cast around her. it looks genuine and glamorous. I had a hard time finding these earlier shots online.
I didn't really care for anything from the 80s going forward. I preferred the early black and white. Here's a few of my favorites:



These are the two versions of Dovima...








These are the later ones I didn't care for too much. click here to see the whole series.

*Richard Avedon
*

colors in us.

This is Yokoo. I discovered her flickr photos and was blown away by her creativity. She has so many different styles of work filled with rich color and textures, and they are all so unique! I have always wanted to learn how to knit something other than a straight scarf, although the language hasn't really worked itself out for me. I really love the color of the wall as well.

*yokoo on etsy.

happy birthday grandpa

i love and miss u so.

*photo by dad

wedding accessories

These are just some accessories I've stumbled onto for brides. I like the organic look of the rings, although sometimes they look strange on, but it's hard to tell from these photos. Some of the other things, like the veil, or belt... I think you could probably make a DIY version that would look just as nice.

I usually prefer tulle, but thought the dress looked vintage and elegant.

* dress from alix kelly. $1600

*rockwell ring from thebeside on etsy for $480

* rings from blancamonrosgomez on etsy for $165.

* headbands from quirky beauty on etsy for $30.

* flower belt from j.crew for $25. The original one has sold out.

* bolero / silk jacket from english dept on etsy. $195

* birdcage veil from YJ design on etsy for $22.

happy birthday!

happy birthday, my darling.

the girl effect

* read more here.

get your thoughts together

i am having a moment, like the one in wind-up bird chronicles where you are in the well and enveloped by nothing but your thoughts and instead of being scared, you feel comforted by the fact that it's the only thing you hear. it's clean and pure, and there are no distractions. you can only hear yourself. this world creates so much fuzz and commotion. sometimes you need a day alone to get your thoughts together.

work to live.

for every holiday, z and i decide we will just give the gift of vacation money. We have talked about investing for years, but I'm ready to start the vacation account now. Every month, a percentage will go into the account, including any birthday or holiday $ and it will build and build until we decide to travel the world. or until we spontaneously buy a ticket outta town.


explore the world. put your feet in the grass. and dig deeper.

beans and rice

I've been trying to cook more at home, saving money and enjoying winter nights in. It's time for soups and crusty breads, samosa pot pie, and beans and rice! We'll the list goes on, but lately I've really been loving beans and rice. I made the first one with adzuki beans, and then black beans with kale, and last night my roommate made spinach b&r. I found this article online about the balanced-proteins of the two combined, although it's a bit confusing:

"First of all, you should know that all “beans” are not the same in terms of their protein quality. For example, azuki beans are low in the methionine+cystine combination but black beans are not. Likewise, different grains and nuts have very different amino acid profiles. So the conventional wisdom that eating rice and beans together always provides better protein quality than eating beans alone is an over-simplification."

read the whole article here: nutrition

I've found a few recipes from Vegan Yum Yum that sound amazing!!
This one will be my next endeavor:



Tahini Lemon Rice and Beans
Makes one large serving, will double well
1/2 Bunch Kale, de-veined and chopped
3 Oz Seitan, sliced in strips
1/2 Can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 Cup Brown Rice
Shredded Carrot to taste (1/2 to 1 carrot)
Tahini Lemon Sauce
2 Tbs Soy Sauce
2 Tbs Tahini
1 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 Tbs Rice Vinegar
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbs Water
1 Tbs Olive Oil
Start your rice. Whisk together all the sauce ingredients and set aside. Heat a small amount of oil in a saute pan and add kale. When kale starts wilt, add beans and seitan and heat through. Add all the sauce, stir, turn off heat and cover until rice is finished cooking. (You could also wait to make this mixture until the rice is finished cooking.)
When rice is finished, simply add it to the pan and toss to coat. Serve with shredded carrot on top.




* nutrition article by MONICA REINAGEL
* Tahini b&r recipe and photo from VEGAN YUM YUM. click here for more recipes.