Weekend in the City

Walking through Philadelphia is one of my most favorite things to do. I love exploring the ruins of industry, all of the abandoned warehouses and factories. I love all of the different kinds of people. I love making new friends.

Jason and I took the El into center city and did our grocery shopping at reading terminal market. After getting sausages and butter from the amish and the freshest fruits and veggies from the stands we walked to fairmount park to pick up Jason's car and drove home.

Here's some of what we saw on our walk.

Break dancing teenagers of all ages and races having way too much fun spinning on their heads:




City Hall


Skateboarders in Love Park


And tourists taking photos of themselves in front of the LOVE statue.


I can't tell you how in love with this city I am. I love all of it. The dirty, the smelly, the leftovers of what was. I love the trees, the cobblestone, the people. I love it all.

Remember

From Nigel Peake

Bryannnnna

I was taking pictures of rugs, and then Bryana interupted my photo session:


I like it.

Alien Alabama goats

As you can tell from my last post I'm on a tight deadline and don't really see how all of this work is going to get done. Feel free to send up a quick prayer for me if praying is your thing.

Until next week I'll leave you a photo of some alien goats that Jason and I found in Alabama.

SUCCCCKKKKK!

why does your computer always stop working when you're on a tight deadline. LAME LAME LAME LAME!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Inside jokes

This made me laugh.

HELP AUGUSTO!

This past January I spent 2 weeks working at an orphanage in Peru. While there I met a cute little boy named Augusto. He is the happiest, and always ready for hugs. He also suffers from severe scoliosis. Everyone was super excited when they heard that a doctor was going to donate his services for the surgery, but it turns out that they still need money to pay for the rod and the medicine for Augusto. This is going to total over $8,000 and he needs your help.

I'm selling all of my Peruvian blankets on etsy to play a small part in funding his surgery. Please look and see if you could use one, and please send the link to your friends to spread the word about Augusto.

Here's the site:


You can also donate to the Augusto through the children's home website at:
Peru Hope

I like old people

Malvina Reynolds

Puritan Prayers: Confession and Petition

I like old prayers. I like knowing that the things that I've struggled with people have been struggling with for years. I like the sincerity and honesty of puritan prayers.

Smells

Sometimes I wish I could catalogue the smells of things I purchase on e-bay like

beaded bags that smell like a head shop
floral fabric that smells like a smoking grandma
and driftwood that smells like someones iguana

Smells of these objects former lives that linger in the packages that they're mailed in.

Help

If anyone could tell me how to design a season's worth of work in a week, plan a wedding on a budget, and still find time to manage life and shower I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Haley

Three Dollar Dinner

I just downloaded the three dollar dinner cookbook. It's all about socially and green conscious ways to eat inexpensively. It's also only $3 to download through May 31st.

Joel's TV premier

right after the ad.

Food Books

Just started reading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. I think he's super arrogant, but a bunch of reputable sources say that it's awesome...so far arrogant's winning.

Also left on my desk this morning was Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it, which looks awesome after spending some time with Jason's grandparents and experiencing their jarred home grown veggies.


And PS Donna Hay opened a cooking store!@#!%$!% Fly me to Australia!.

Wary Meyers

Great article on Linda and John Meyers, the famous interior design duo. John used to head the store design for Anthropologie. They decorate from garage sales rather than catalogues, and their taste is so playful. Read the article on Ouno.

YAY Alabama!

Here in AL for the long weekend with Jason and this is us having soooo much fun!

In love with Vanilla

I've always been considered a square peg. I never quite fit in. Always just a little weird...okay really weird at times. But working in such a hip environment I always feel really vanilla(which I'm pretty sure just means I still don't fit in). While everyone's wearing funny glasses and crazy haircuts and neon space suits to work I'm content with my jeans and t-shirts. I don't really like neon. I don't really like holograms. I'm not really into funny looking dog shirts. I like things that are clean and simple, but still really beautiful. If I had a design studio I would call it Vanilla Designs. It would be the jeans and t-shirts of the design world. I really like vanilla, it's sooooo good all by itself. It's fun to adorn every once in a while (especially with peanut butter) but for the most part I'd rather just let it be.

I like simple things. I'm in love with Vanilla.

Reviews

I hate yearly reviews they make me like this inside.

Toast

Wedding videos are always lame, but there's something magical about having moving images to capture such a big moment. If I had a wedding video I would want it to look like this.

Second Line Frames

Frames made from Salvaged Wood from the aftermath of hurricane Katrina
They're so beautiful, and you can tell they have a story. I like the idea of reclaiming the remnants of New Orleans and preserving it in an object.

I love Second Line Frames.

This is what they have to say about their frames, "The Second Line is a timeless New Orleans tradition – the colorful parade that follows a funeral procession to turn tragedy into a celebration of rebirth.

Second Line Frames are built from authentic wood siding salvaged from homes destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. It’s our way of preserving a little part of the beloved memory of old New Orleans while helping to rebuild it toward a better tomorrow.

A portion of each sale goes to assist in the rehabilitation of affected neighborhoods. We now donate a minimum of 20% to a wonderfully active organization, The Phoenix of New Orleans. For a look at their current projects and the stories behind them, visit pnola.org.

If you're not in the market for a frame but have a desire to help the cause, we happily encourage donations directly to the charity."

A little Lauryn

Ms. Hill.

I like Nuns

Shannon Taggart's cool nun photos.

NEWWWW HOUSE

where jason and I will eventually be living

it's on the tiniest street in all the land.


the backyard shack


kitchen


secrets in the walls


more photos here.

5/9/09

I am the luckiest girl to be engaged to the sweetest, kindest, smartest, most good looking, cuddliest, best friend in the whole entire world.

Giant Spin art

CHECK IT OUUUUUUUT. You can see the mouse in the bottom left in the 3rd photo.

May

The exciting month of May

Brooklyn design show Friday
Brimfield Massachusettes for the worlds largest flea market Monday
Alabama the week after that

Vulcan via here.

I'd live here

What a nice little escape where I'd make s'mores and take pretty pictures.

Tough or Dumb

I was talked into doing the 10 mile broad street run the day before the race. Mind you I've never run more than 4 miles at one time before in my life. I ran and finished the race.

There's something about making last minute decisions that frees you up to do things that you weren't sure you were capable of doing, because you don't have time to think about the implications. There was no pressure except to finish.

The broadstreet run is the largest 10 mile race in the country. There were 27,000 people there yesterday running in the rain. There's also this feeling that if 27,000 other people can do this than you can too. I like strength in numbers.

Zen Proverb

When walking, walk. When eating, eat.

Giant Spin Art and dead rats

I've been obsessed with spin art lately and convinced myself that there had to be a way to make giant spin art without spending $300 on an industrial circus spin art machine. So since Jason's a genius I asked him to help me brainstorm, and he came up with the idea to use a box fan. After a ridiculous string of events and destroying my personal box fan I purchased a decrepit one from an old man on the side of the road. I came home and took it apart and found a fossilized mouse or rat or something super disgusting stuck to the bottom of the fan. HOW DID HE GET IN THERE?! Luckily my friend jenna is brave and got it out for me. My giant spin art also turned out AWESOME! I'll post it on my new blog next week.

Oil and Water

Jason sent this to me today. I think it's the prettiest.

Oil in Water from Shawn Knol on Vimeo.

Crazy love

Via here.

I'm joining the Circus

Happy Friday. From Life:Google

Sufjan's Name

What's in a name?

New Craft

Scarves!

Church Design

Books of the Bible


Good Church Design

Glass Chapel by the rural studio

I like

spontaneous dinners on the fire escape overlooking the city with my favorite person.

Tulip Fields

in the Netherlands

My Family

The cousins playing with frogs.


Dolan and Doug. Don't worry, he caught him.


I'm on the side because I was in charge of the self timer.

Abundance in and Empire of Recession

Great sermon on the recession from pastor rick mckinley of imago dei.

Talented Friends

Abbey's Adventures in the Apple.

Never ever fails to make me smile really big.

Pippi Longstocking

was the coolest.

Off to Lewes

Jason and I are off to my home town for the weekend for a late easter celebration with the fam. I believe the weekend's festivities will include fried chicken and Cornhole. Needless to say I'm way too excited.

History of Design

Why is this so pretty?

Dorothy Love-Coates

I heard about Dorothy Love-Coates today on XPN. I love her.


Also loving Led Zeppelin meets folk music on the album Raising Sand.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Interesting loveliness.

On Fear

I write a lot on here about my fears as they relate to creativity, mostly to just get out the insecurity and to expose some of the things that scare me to my friends. I think I'm becoming a lot freer with my creativity, and just trying things. Cutting stuff up and stitching things together and not being afraid if it looks really dumb. Just the act of creating and experimenting. Creating outside of work is a struggle, but I'm beginning to see that even little tiny projects and bursts of create energy help to foster a lifestyle of creative thinking. You get to make and compile and fill your tool box with different techniques and ideas that you'll be able to use over and over again. It's lovely.

All that to say that me and a couple amazingly talented friends started a little tiny blog. We want to document our creative endeavors and share our trials with people everywhere. We each share once a week a project that we did. The projects are usually super simple and inexpensive and things that anyone can do. We hope to inspire and empower you to get over your fears and make stuff too.

You can follow along with us and our little experiments at:
Bows and Arrows

Away We Go

In love

with F-Troupe shoes.

****Update****
I found these online for $31 and free shipping. Canvas and Suede and Rubber.
I like them a lot.

Cup of Tea

All I want on this rainy day is to lay around with a nice cup of tea and you.
Photo via here.

Rock Tumblers!

I got my mom this for her birthday. Shhhh don't tell she won't get it until the 18th. But isn't it cool! She can put shells and rocks from walks on the beach in there and make pretty jewelry.

Nightwood

So pretty.
Reclaimed wood.

Grey Gardens

I want to see this new incarnation of an old classic sooooo bad.

The old one was sooo sad. You feel like a voyeur watching the old documentary of two aristocratic lives gone awry.

CONGRATS

Yay for Maarten and Andrea and their baby on the way! It makes me smile.

tile via Rob Ryan.

Neti Pot

I woke up yesterday with a sore throat. I had to run to a previously scheduled doctors appointment and go and stock up on vitamins in the morning which was lame because all I wanted to do was make soup and go to sleep. Luckily I got my wish later in the afternoon.

**disclaimer this is kind of gross**
I also have friends who swear by the neti pot to cure their colds and allergies. It's a little pot that you fill with salt water and stick in your nose to let the salt water clear your sinuses. I decided to see if I could make my own and found directions here. I think it worked. It burned a little but I feel so much better today, and no sore throat from my runny nose.

AMAZING!

Frowners Never Win

It's a gloomy day. The last one of what seemed like a never ending few weeks of long hard days.

But the sky is starting to clear. My to do list is looking quasi managable, and I'm reminded that:

Sea Dragon

It makes me happy that things like this exist in the world. That there's this whole beautiful eco system that carries on without anyone taking notice. I heart sea dragons.