Hiatus

In case you hadn't noticed, I'm taking a little break until next week. Too many things going on to try to come up with post-worthy ideas. Move is almost over! And Saturday night I'll be cozy up in my new place. I'll see you when I get there.

[found on weheartit]

Friday Video - "Sleeping Lessons" Zune Commercial

Well, this is more of a Friday/Saturday video, but my life has been overtaken my packing, feeling overwhelmed, and preparing for a weekend full of appointments and social events like CLAW (!!!). I really love this song from The Shins' third album "Wincing the Night Away," and I think that this Zune Commercial did such a great job of using the song to sell their product. Commercials are really great sometimes.

Speaking of commercials, here's a video bonus. This Adidas commercial, directed by Spike Jonze, is from years ago, but I still love it. The sequences mixed with the vocals of the lovely Karen O make this one a classic as far as "music commercials" go.

Tired of the way I see

I'm still searching for a pair of *affordable* frames that I really love to add to my current set of eyewear. Camp Comfort recently posted these new frames by Prism, and while they are out of my price range, and generally too round for my face, I think they would be cute on someone not me. Sigh.

[Rio, in Zebrahorn]

[New York, in Matte Black (also this dude's expression is hilarious)]

[Paris, in Clear]

Marimekko loveliness

I'm day (errr...night?) dreaming about decorating my new place with lots of Marimekko goodness. Marimekko is certainly one of my favorite things, especially in the category of things that hail from Scandinavia, and I am currently lacking in bold prints and bright colors. Until I can figure out my finances and get moved into the new place, I'm just going to have to gaze at their products longingly.

[Purnukka, kitchen series]

[Assorted items from the kitchen collection]

The Much Needed Words of Advice

I've been feeling like I don't like anything I do lately, and sometimes it really is hard to keep on going and making things and making attempts at creativity. This video, found via Something's Hiding in Here, was just what I needed. Thanks, Ira. You rock.

Friday Video: Anni Rossi "Livin' in Danger"

Happy Friday everyone! I wanted to share this video of Anni Rossi performing her cover of the Ace of Base song "Livin' in Danger" and it is just awesome to see what she can do with a violin. I saw her perform solo at the Black Cat with Noah and the Whale a few months back and was mesmerized. Other awesome violin covers include "Creep" by Radiohead. Click here to listen. So great.

Urban Outfitters Bike Shop

That's right. Urban Outfitters has decided to launch an online Bike Shop where you can customize a bike to look as crazy as you want. Apparently there is already a weeklong backlog and the bike will set you back $399 plus shipping. Wowza.

[the bike I custom "built" in the Online Shop]

Our garden is out of control

Without a doubt the thing I will miss most about where I live now is that I have a HUGE backyard, full of roses and a veggie garden and a lovely little patio. Today I went outside to my veggie garden to pick the first ripened tomatoes. Now, I think you all should know I've never planted anything before these tomatoes. This was a gardening first. And I honestly didn't think they were going to get to be taller than a few inches. They are now huge and are too big for the stakes I set up and they have broken through their ties and overtaken the whole garden. My eggplant are still sticking it out through the tomato empire, but needless to say things are a bit of a mess. I wasn't ready for this...or for the insane amount of rain we had this season that led my tomatoes to grow despite my lack of gardening skills.

[The first ripened tomatoes, and some mint I just picked. Even mr. dino looks excited.]

Roots

I've been working on compiling a family tree. Recently I found a copy of a book that my great grandmother, Carrie, filled out about 15 years ago, before her death, that prompted her with lots of questions about her life, and which has served as a window into the life of a really amazing woman. In one of the pages, she filled in a family tree going back to her great grandparents, and it totally fascinated me.

[my maternal great grandparents with my mom, 1953-1954]

So now, I'm making an effort to track down more information. There is something very basic about needing to know where you come from. I feel like technology is going to make it easy for our generation to be "remembered" through photographs and digitized information. It makes me sad that already so much information about my relatives has been lost, their birthdates, their birthplaces, the names of their siblings.

[my mom, and my grandma]

The next step, obviously, will be deciding how to display and catalog this information, and I'm struggling with a workable design for a family tree. This is about to sound very cheesy, but I've been Harry Pottering lately, and I wish I could have a huge tapestry filled with all the faces and names of my relatives, reaching out and covering an entire wall. I really do love the idea of that.

Ease Your Feet into the Sea

Ease you're feet into the sea

My darling it's the place to be

Take your shoes off curl your toes,
I will frame this moment in time.

Tearing it Down

I still have a few more weeks before moving day, but I'm feeling like I need to get a jump on things or else I'll just be so unorganized that everything will be a complete disaster. Also, I've been shuffling my belongings around this town for 5 years, and this is the first time that I've actually made a effort to sift through it all and get rid of things. Despite my efforts, the suitcases and stuff just keeps piling up. How do people do this without all the stress? How did my mom and dad manage to move us every three years when I was growing up and not go completely nuts or just decide to throw EVERYTHING away? If anyone has any moving tips, please oh please let me know.

[via ffffound]

Furniture Makeover

I have been given a lot of furniture over the years, and a lot of it was in need of some revamping. I recently painted my desk chair and sanded down the edges and added some pink birdies on the back. It definitely was an improvement, especially since I have a lot of mismatched wood furniture in a number of different shades. I'm also in the process of refinishing my dresser. Photos to come!

Things I had forgotten #1

Sifting through old photographs again. Who knew the life of the city and the events leading up to natural disasters and climate change could be summed up in such a cute little diagram.

[Stockholm Moderna Museet, July 2007. Artist Unknown ( I forgot to jot down the title or artist name. If someone knows out there in the internets please let me know)]

I love for me, for you

Plain and simple. Kate Miss makes such adorable things, from doodles to jewelry. I think i kind of want to snag this one. I'm so hooked.

[by for me, for you]

Let's talk about distance

I feel like I've come a long way in the last few days, and while YES I have travelled from one far side of the country to the other, and YES, I have found myself on any number of forms of transportation, I still feel like those distances seem pretty insignificant. Sometimes it seems harder and farther just to get myself out of bed and into the shower. Or to get myself to write down my thoughts that have to travel all the way from my head.

[via ffffound]

Vacations are hard to come back from. I have a hard time readjusting to the lack of sleep, the lack of reading, and the lack of general nothing-doing. Bear with me while I adjust. Until I realize that my temporary escape is really over, maybe I'll just try to find a good book to bury myself into.

Wouldnt you like to get away? Kerouac's beckoning with open arms, and open roads of eucalyptus, westward bound.

Wouldnt you like to get away? Give yourself up to the allure of Catcher in the rye.
The futures swathed in stars and stripes.

- "Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie" by B&S