happy sad songs.

i love jens lekman. my favorite song is "a sweet summer's night on hammer hill." the beginning makes me feel like i'm in the middle of that dancing in the streets performance at sea world in the late 80's. the middle feels like i'm in the midst of all of my favorite people at a mid-century high school dance. download it for free here.

moving on to today.

today i am a fan of this song and its sad parts that sound so happy.

Alexander Girard

the internet and i most definitely have a love hate relationship.

it's true.

hate it : 'cause it's nearly 11am and i still

haven't gotten much "real" work done

love it : 'cause it really is a crazy web of awesomeness

and i get to stumble upon new friends like 

now, i'll admit--i should have known about alexander long ago {though my design history is fading}, as he worked closely with the likes of herman miller and the eames {who i love!}

here are a few new products a la house industries in his honor: 

a beautiful memory game & some amazing wooden blocks that i would love to call my own.

if you want to see some of his gems from the past

you'll have to do more research of your own.

funny thing is--i stumbled upon all of this

while looking at this beaut of a bike:

now tell me that's not a web of awesomeness...

dear & yonder

i'll be at the 7pm showing tonight, with my dear friends liz & greg.

check out these lovelies:

i'm pretty dang sure...

that i spoke with either my soul mate or my twin

on the phone the other day.

[edit: but i've never met him}

reasons i love gmail

there are plenty [of reasons] as i'm sure you well know, but here are just a few of my tops:

{ random quotes! }

{ random tid bits }

first of all, i can never hear or see the word hooray enough, and second, how can the title "spam fajitas" at the top of your email not trigger a small chuckle or two? i mean really. (i have a hunch that extra salsa is a must on this one though)

{ LIGHTNINNNG! }

enough said.

{ funny happenings }

this is my paul walking on dan's paul's face.

this weekend

this weekend i am going to this:

this:

and this:

and i'm pretty dang happy about it!

[ ps: sorry for the lack of posting. i think i just have so many things

i want to post about that i end up posting about none of them.

we will resume shortly :) don't you fret, nah!]

another Angle

i thought the cover of the latest new york magazine to land on my doorstep {the interiors issue} was as good as it gets.

...and then i opened it up :

those lines are killer. pure awesomeness.

{cheers to new york mag & the design glut gals!}

she couldn't help but sing...

i was listening to a song this morning (it's the first song here) and all i wanted as i listened was to be dancing in a field with these boys:


and as i let the words sink in, it began to remind me more and more of this post--which whether he knows it or not, continues to bring me back to where i want to be with each re-read.

as much as i think that i am trying to surrender [ideas, wants, fears, etc], or that i even know what that looks like, i just plain don't. i need constant daily reminders to stop flapping my wings so hard, to stop struggling to the shore and to just let go and be.

i think these lines will be my new mantra:

come tortoise, standing still
go hummingbird, my will
come tortoise, stumbling blind
go hummingbird, my eyes
come tortoise, empty hand
go hummingbird, my plan
come tortoise, undefined
go hummingbird, my mind
come tortoise, letting go
go hummingbird, i know
come tortoise, come and die
go hummingbird, my I
goodbye, I
goodbye, I
bye, bye, bye

there's a line earlier in the song that says: "there's a movement in our stillness." i love that.

because really, surrender is the greatest gift i can give myself right now. there is movement in it.

{ i'm ready for the rest of my holiday at sea }

twenty-six

last summer there was a roadtrip. and on that roadtrip there was a list made. since summer is fast approaching, i figured i would post it here to help track my progress...

{ • = done / @ = needs attention }

• start a blog
@ learn to surf [work in progress]
• bike to encinitas [change to: just bike more]
• host a BBQ at my condo [still working on my grilling skillz...]
@ learn the guitar [this one is desperate of attention]
• READ! [i have a few books going, but need to make a priority]
@ learn to sew
@ go to the drive-in
• make some kick-ass business cards
• ROADTRIP! {take one & begin planning the "biggie"}
• start collecting look-a-likes [yes, but now get some contact info!]
@ enter a photo competition/get published
• start a gratitude list [now, stick with it]
@ [start] doing something with my hands each week--paint, draw, collage...
• approach a cute stranger and say hello... [room for improvement]
@ go to sea world at night
@ become a woman--buy perfume.
• san francisco trip!
@ get motorcycle liscence
@ ride a horse [missing those days...]
• visit shirley and leo
@ camp at san elijo
@ shoot 3 senior portraits by sept/oct
@ monday night BINGO in encinitas
@ visit SRF gardens
@ star-gaze on the tennis courts

and the bonus, but most important of all:

• listen to my gut more

[i realize that this one will never be "complete"
and that all i can do is my best for that day.]

something new & something blue

no im not getting married--just stating the facts of the day.

here's the new part :

i went to the thrift store and saw these two lonely crates of old books {BIG fan of old books here} hanging out under the table. i decided to pay them a little attention, and boy were they worth it.

"$1 a piece? ...with that kind of charm i'll take 13! thanks."

i carefully selected my 13 based on cover, illustrations, and advertisements. my favorites were '41-'43. they had both cover (right above) and ads (below) going for them.

there was a book from every year ranging from the 1930's to the 1970's at least. rarely do you get the chance to see the progression of a single yearly publication [this being The American Rose Annual] over nearly its entire existence. i saw the opportunity for a little design history lesson and took it upon myself to carefully rearrange the crates in numerical order.

it was interesting to see when the cover styles changed, how the typography of the advertisements progressed, and when the number of photographs began to outweigh the illustrations as technology advanced. i probably would have added a few more to my lot, but my education was rudely interrupted when some missus decided to come over and practically steal half of the books out of my lap!

you know the economy is tough when you need to wear padding to make it home from the thrift store in one piece. i'm sure i'll see the rest of those guys on ebay tonight.

heres the blue part :

a new office chair!

she's pretty. easy on the back. and a lot skinnier so as not to maul my precious map [which i shall speak more of at a later date]. funny that those $12 feel sooo much more well-spent than the 100 some i spent on the fancy desk chair that i hate.

it's true when they say things just aren't made like they used to be...

the city

as promised, here are some snaps from my wanderings up north...

on tuesday morning i hopped in jen's car [thanks jen!] and headed west. the drive was beautiful. on monday i had realized how much i miss the trees in northern california. and the fields. there are good fields there. i made a stop in davis for nostalgia's sake [and a bagel] and headed on down to good ole san fran.


on my way i stopped off to see a few dear friends. which always puts a smile on my face. liz and i wandered around oakland for a bit which proved to be full of charm and treasures. tacky dive bars, cool old signs, closed down burger joints, and free books! i picked up a few of those and we continued our wander...

{you probably want to click for a bigger version of this one}

just so you know, my initial reason for the trip was basically to kill 2 birds with one stone--

birdie 1: see a show at the Fillmore [i'd been having quite the withdrawals]
birdie 2: see the cold war kids [if you know me, that needs no explanation]

unfortunately neither of these ended up happening, but luckily ally and i woke up on wednesday with smiles on our faces and ready for a new day.

various maps were drawn--accurate or not--and we made our way to the city, dropped off the husband, and hurried over to our first destination of the day :


EDEN & EDEN is a lovely shop that ally had been telling me about for months. rachel the owner is the nicest, and i enjoyed experiencing her idea of neat things and how they should look in a space. i even picked up this great piece from my favorite city across the pond.

neat, eh?

more wandering ensued, as well as picture-taking video-making as we made our way to visit jeff. jeff is an amazing artist and sign painter who i have been admiring ever since i stepped foot in my first Mollusk in venice a while back. [if you don't know already, you will soon learn that i have a bit of a thing for type]. i had emailed jeff before i headed north asking if i could stop by his shop and chat for a bit, and he was kind enough to oblige.


both ally and i were struck by his openness and his humility. he even invited us to lunch with him. we had a great chat over thai food and headed on to our next destination: the sunset.

when we weren't walking to the parking meter for the 50 millionth time, we were either thrifting, exploring the strangely beautiful Paxton Gate & Paxton Gate Children's stores, or falling in love with the Curiosity Shop.


i think lauren & derek [the owners] are some of my new heroes as not only have they created an awesome store, but they have also published a neat book with my favorite publisher. ever.

the day was getting on in hours and we still had to make it over the hill to mollusk. i had already been to their other 2 shops, so i had to go to this one too to make my experience complete.

it was worth it.

i mean, what is not to like, right?? beautiful boards, rad books, TREE HOUSES! the guy there was great--very friendly. he quickly earned the name cathy [read: chatty cathy] as he kept using fancy surfing lingo all the while ally and i just nodded and smiled.

we finished off the day with some fancy macaroons. times 2.

it's crazy to think that that's pretty much ALL we did in an entire day. somehow all of our quick stops turned into extended stays. it wasn't until the end of it all, that we were struck by just how nice everyone we had encountered throughout the day was. everyone was super open, willing to chat, etc...there wasn't a sour one in the bunch.

i don't know if i've ever had a single day like that before. we both walked away inspired: inspired about art and inspired about people.

new york. new york.

if NY wasn't so damn cold i would live there.
and i would go to things like this.

who's who in the show:
jesse - seattle summer teacher/mentor
devon - current manager
jeff - new friend from SF
peter - interviewed me for a job
andy - lives down the road
scott - part of my blog comma
alex - just plain rad
thomas - rad times two

i <3 MOLLUSK

fun found fonts!

(i love alliteration, btw)

im sure you have realized by now that my idea of "blogging" comes in sudden obsessive bursts followed by long drawn-out silence. i don't deny it. and now that we are on the same page, we can move forward with this post...

so last week i went to "the city." which city you ask? why, san francisco, of course! it was part of a lovely trip i made to the northern part of our state with the intention of filling my heart with good friends and soulful music. the first was accomplished to a degree higher than i had ever imagined, and the second, well, we just wont talk about that.

anyways, while i am getting my act together with the rest of the images, here are some samplings from my wanderings to tide you over...

dreaming...

lots of things have been floating around my head lately.
things about life and people and roads and faith.

i'll write more here as it all starts to make sense.

but for now, i'm thankful for wise old words
that make me want to read again, encouraging friends
who believe in me when i can't and mostly for

DREAMS...

time for some MEAT.

some day--some very special day--i will use these. and smile.

i already am at the thought of it.
{yes these are invitations, and yes there are more where they came from!}


{EDIT: below is some additional meat-mania for your enjoyment}

such as one of my favorite books:


i must confess that i havent actually cooked with it yet,
but i have admired its design many a time. the details are great...


and the "rules" are even better.


it's amazing how many meaty products are out there...
such as band aids and shower curtains
{both of which i have used at one point in my life}

ally's friends actually have an entire blog called Feats of Meat
{now tell me that typomeaty (get it??? like typography?!) isn't somewhat spectacular}

trust me, i haven't always been obsessed with meat.
it is simply a joke between college roommates after hearing the
ever-inspiring words to the "meat shower" song...

after which we were never left the house without a meaty sticker or two.

an ode to [orange]

we've got new friends in the office...

and unfortunately these had already been purchased
by the time i got there...

i am loved.

i stumbled across a folder of images that i had collected throughout college, and this one made me smile with remembrance as soon as i caught a glimpse. i have no idea who took it, where it came from...nothin. i do know though, why i initially loved it so much...

font & turf, that's why.

if i could get my hands on that font....well, there would be no words. and for some reason--to me--life automatically looks better when there's some short pile synthetic turf lying around.

but besides my funny fascinations, the image really does have some great color and perspective of its own. dontcha think?


i'm lovin' this tunnel of love.

Catch A Tuesday

apparantly i'm all about the specs lately, as i just got done
enjoying a trailer for oliver peoples' 2009 line...
{thanks ally for the tip on that one}

the campaign stars zooey deschanel & matt costa
{secret: i have "adventured" under the name zooey before...
in honor of her fabulous style and lovely voice}

... and is directed by autumn de wilde.
{as you can tell from these screen shots, she's def got some talent in there...}

enjoy the entire campaign trailer here.

i actually didn't notice all of the great color toning until i was
browsing through my screen shots after the fact. love it!

someone's home

i stumbled upon this piece while helping my parents clean out the garage a week or two ago. it's hard to pass up a beautiful 35 year old pen & ink--especially when it was created by your own uncle. he gave it to my mom on her 22nd birthday.

you wouldn't know it today, seeing him rush around his busy brewery restaurant, but when he had the time and space he was quite the artist.

the present.

thomas campbell's new film is premiering at la paloma {fri & sat}.
you can pick up tickets at patagonia in cardiff.

(look at those nice alaias)

word is that these fine fellas will be there, so you should too!