gratuitous

This is absolutely too cutesy and crazy dog-lady-ish, but I love these random
anonymous bullmastiffs:

Happy New Year from me and Sir Henry.

favorites

If my 2009 list of books read had to go up against my 2008 books read list, 2008 would win without much of a fight. I read less this year, and I didn't read anything that came close to the greatness of The Goldbug Variations or Overlook. But these are the things I did like.

1.
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
Atmospheric, place-specific, and funny. Plus a cool cover. I believe this is Lauren Groff's first novel. So perhaps there are more good things to look forward to.

2.
O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Every year I've read a Willa Cather novel that novel has ended up on my favorites list. So of course O Pioneers! makes the list. Although unlike the year I read My Antonia I don't think I'll be moving into an old country farmhouse any time soon.

3.
The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister by Chris Nichols
Since I deal with architecture stuff every single day as I make my dollars, I forget sometimes that architecture can be fun (and funny) and that we all interact with it every day. This book reminded me. If you don't know who Wayne McAllister was, look him up.

Chairs!

But first cool curtain fabric:

Although my curtain philosophy of the moment seems to be throwing unfinished fabric over boring old rods.

And now the chairs!
First, my sweet red baby (with glowing-eyed bullmastiff in background):




Second, my lovely pale green grandma chair, with bullmastiff butt in frame:


So I finally have chairs again.
And everyone can laugh at the layers of dog hair in my house.

monsters aren't scary

This is a detail of an adorable piece that my sweet boy bought for me. The artist is Jessica Gonacha, and she is, obviously, awesome. Sometimes we all need a reminder to reach out to our monsters and take them by the hand.

enjoying

I can't call this a review, because I'm not even halfway finished. But so far so good. There are secrets, a monster, a diary, and a map on the endpapers. And beautiful writing.

sweetest goofiest thing ever

This just makes me smile and smile. It's fun and he's laughing (although at times looking a tad bit uncomfortable). As much as I love Bright Eyes (and god knows how much that is) I'm kinda getting infatuated with the Mystic Valley Band.

travels + treasure

Yesterday my sweet boy and I meandered around rural Georgia. We saw swimming cows, and cute little towns, and pretty fences, and lots of farms.
I developed a sudden desire to buy a 1951 Chevrolet pickup truck.

It's so pretty! That's, like, my favorite color ever.

It's $12,000 and can be found in Madison, Georgia, for anyone interested.

I also found the most loved-looking house, with the most beautiful grass walkway ever. No concrete, no brick, just grass! Grass!

Don't you just want to play croquet??

Oh, and we found treasure:
Cute little chick plates!

Chicks!

Found at the craziest store in Covington, Georgia.

my puppy

I haven't posted about my old man recently. Probably because he hasn't destroyed anything. He has rediscovered the joy of digging, as you can tell by the red dirt
caked on his snout.

He helps me type.

I love my sweet old dog.

they match my suitcase

My sweet boy gave me these lovely earrings. And all I could think was, I can't to wear them with my new suitcase.

bags, part two

So this could have also been titled "Score at the Junk Store" because I totally did. But back-to-back bag posts required a two parter.
And bag number two also requires a little preface. I only own one suitcase. And it is huge. And heavy. Which is necessary for, perhaps, a two week trip to Australia. But it's kind of embarrassing to head out on a two day trip with the biggest suitcase in the world. So I've been on the lookout for a smaller valise.

Behold:


More detail:




Red leather (although it looks hot pink here) vintage suitcase in pretty, pretty condition for two bucks. And who knows the travels it has been on? Now I just need to find somewhere to go. Oh! I know! I'm going here soon:

Bright eyes and red suitcases. Happiness.

bags, part one

I love this little green thing:


And no more flimsy ugly plastic bags.

lone star state

I've been thinking quite a bit about Texas recently. Oh who am I kidding - I can leave off the "recently". It seems Texas is never far from my thoughts. Kinda funny, for a state that I left in 2000 and haven't returned to since. I've been away for eight years. That's the same number of years that I lived in the Lone Star state. Eight years in which I grew up, screwed up, lost myself, found myself. All in that great wide expanse of space called Texas.

I still get homesick whenever I drink a Shiner Bock, get a scent of sagebrush, or dream about the prairie. I can't wait to go back one day. The last time I saw Texas was the Dallas skyline through tears.

girl detectives

I just received the sweetest treat from one of my sisters - a vintage Trixie Belden book (The Mystery Off Glen Road). I couldn't find a cool cover shot of that one, so
I just went with the Mystery on Cobbett's Island, which is my very favorite Trixie book. Trixie Belden was a huge part of my childhood. In third grade I found a copy of Trixie Belden and the Mysterious Code in my school library. Read it, loved it, and noticed that it was number seven in a series. My little school library didn't have any other Trixie books, so thus began my sporadic pilgrimages to the closet bookstore (some crappy Waldenbooks-type mall store) with pockets full of saved up coins to buy more Trixie.

I'd already read Nancy Drew, and while I appreciated Nancy, with her dreamy boyfriend Ned and her cute little roadster and her perfect titian hair, she was no Trixie. I don't know how many times I've reread the books now. I do know that I used to pretend that I lived in the Hudson Valley on Crabapple Farm and solved mysteries.

inspiration

It's been a while. I've been lazy. But I have now been inspired to type some words again. And what inspired me? Do you even have to ask?

Conor Oberst.
New album.
August 4.
Tour!
Of course, he's not playing my fair city (why?), but I'm up for driving to Tupelo, Mississippi.

want

I would like to sleep in this:

Designed by sculptor Shawn Lovell.

they wouldn't be still

Saw the most fun show Sunday night:
Tilly and the Wall.
They were so smiley and happy and sounded amazing.
Tap dancers, maracas, balloons, and confetti.
I'll just call my pictures atmospheric because the band would not stop moving.



This all happened at the Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta, where there is no sign, but there is a painted velvet banner of a unicorn hanging at the bar.
I think it's perfect that the band played at a place with unicorns.

city love & treats

My new city is turning out to be fairly awesome. Such great authentic neighborhoods. Absolutely diverse. Energy everywhere. Over the weekend I got some nice little treats* while hanging out in one of the cool neighborhoods. Evidence:

Some sidewalk art

With my own personalized sidewalk artist message

And one tough bracelet

From this mesmerizing store

Plus a lovely ring from a street vendor (it spins!)

And so much incense...this is the disaster that caused

I love this town.
*All treats courtesy of my dear boy

it's not just me

Everyone loves the Fierce One!


Christian Siriano, Mr. Fan Favorite!

watched

I watched Cache over the weekend. It was disturbing and a little confusing and not at all what I expected. I thought it was going to be a creepy stalker movie but it turned out to be this metaphorical statement about France and Algeria. Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche were excellent. It was a very quietly tense movie. Literally, with the quiet - there was no music at all.

saturday

Today has been the most lovely, lazy day. It's the kind of day that is what I thought my life would be like when I was a kid. Except I was awakened by the sound of my dog throwing up (on my couch!). Only he wasn't really vomiting; it was just a dog hair phlegm ball. So after that got sorted out - The dog and I went out for a walk in my cute little neighborhood and we waved and chatted with folks. Back inside, doggy got his breakfast, I read two books while listening to this . Which is absolutley amazing.

I made a delicious lunch (scrambled eggs with cayenne and goat cheese - yum!) which I ate while playing with my Mac on my couch. Then the bullmastiff and I ran around in the backyard until I collapsed on the hammock where I fell asleep in the sunshine while the bullmastiff sniffed every single blade of grass in the yard.

Now we're hanging out in my apartment with the setting sunshine and the windows are open with a little smell of spring. There is nothing I have to do and no where I have to be.

32 days

So it's been 32 days since I've posted about Bright Eyes and I must remedy that.

Fixed. I was driving to work this morning listening to Blue Angels Air Show which is barely a wisp of a song. But these words are so simple yet convey so much:

There's a show we can see at the base outside of town
where the planes, they turn circles in the air.
I watch you stand next to me with your hand over your mouth
and join the crowds' heavy gasp.
One for each time they pass overhead.
So we've been selected in this beautiful lottery.


They remind me of William Carlos Williams. I know - I'm crazy.

happy valentine's

So it's Valentine's Day. My happiest Valentine's day memories are not of the romantic variety - My mom always got us (me and the sisters) great Valentine's presents. I got the greatest maroon leather wallet one year. Maybe that was 9th grade. Oh, and there were always green apple jolly ranchers. Yum. And sweet cards. And there was the one year I was away at college that I sent my sisters Valentine cards filled with little red cupid confetti. Sweet. But not really romantic.

However today is a lovely day because I have an awesome boyfriend (and he's not imaginary!). Sweetness and Light.

the happiness is back

So my one day bout of melancholia appears to have passed. And while I love to listen to sad Neil Young songs when I'm down, the happiness invites some Bauhaus!

Swing the heartache!

melancholy

Completely inexplicably, I woke up this morning feeling so sad I couldn't stand it. I must have had some horrid dreams or something. So I spent the morning listening to Neil Young and just being blue.

Helpless
There is a town in north Ontario,
With dream comfort memory to spare,
And in my mind
I still need a place to go,
All my changes were there.

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless
Baby can you hear me now?
The chains are locked
and tied across the door,
Baby, sing with me somehow.

Blue, blue windows behind the stars,
Yellow moon on the rise,
Big birds flying across the sky,
Throwing shadows on our eyes.
Leave us

Helpless, helpless, helpless.

read

I haven't read anything by Paul Auster in almost 10 years. The last book of his I read was the New York Trilogy, which I loved. I'm not sure why I never picked up anything else by him. Anyway, I just finished reading The Book of Illusions. It's such a look at how the tiniest details can make up a life, as well as how creating art fits into living life. Lovely book.

a perfect song

I love all of Elliott Smith's songs, but Rose Parade may be my favorite. It's a masterful display of alienation. You can feel the loneliness. RIP, Elliott.

Rose Parade
They asked me to come down and watch the parade
And to march down the street like the duracell bunny
With a wink and a wave from the cavalcade
Throwing out candy that looks like money
To people passing by that all seem to be going the other way
Said wont you follow me down to the rose parade?
Tripped over a dog in a choke-chain collar
People were shouting and pushing and saying
And when I traded a smoke for a food stamp dollar
A ridiculous marching band started playing
And got me singing along with some half-hearted victory song
Wont you follow me down to the rose parade?
Wont you follow me down to the rose parade?
Wont you follow me down to the rose parade?
The trumpet has obviously been drinking
Because hes fucking up even the simplest lines
Id say its a sight thats quite worth seeing
Its just that everyones interest is stronger than mine
And when they clean the street Ill be the only shit thats left behind
Wont you follow me down to the rose parade?
Wont you follow me down to the rose parade?
Wont you follow me down to the rose parade?

cuteness

So I should have posted this in the Darjeeling write-up, but forgot. And I'm feeling happy today and this makes me smile.

Great outfit, great hair, great smile, great writer, great actor. Love him.
Edited for the clueless (you know who you are): It's Jason Schwartzman! And I love his eyebrows so shut up.

into the wild

It's a cold grey day and I'm listening to the soundtrack for the movie Into the Wild. I haven't seen the film. I have such an intense relationship with the book that watching the movie seems like an infidel move.

But the soundtrack, which is basically just Eddie Vedder singing, is perfect.
I wonder what Chris McCandless would think.

darjeeling

I saw Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited last night(I know, it came out ages ago. I'm behind). The Vuitton suitcases pictured above were one of the stars.

It wasn't as funny as Bottlerocket (although Owen Wilson was playing Dignan again, it seemed). And it wasn't as pretty as The Royal Tenenbaums(close, though). But it made me want to take the train in India and it made me love Jason Schwartzman even more. He could have been a great silent movie actor. His face is so expressive and he has such control over his movement. More Keaton-ish than Chaplin. And evidence of my Schwartzman devotion - I bought all the Phantom Planet albums while he was in the band. Although I really didn't like the band. Glad he gave that gig up.

project runway update

My diva Christian made an awesome outfit (well, as awesome as an outfit made entirely of denim can be), so he's still in. Yay for the Fierce One! Win or not, he's still the most talented designer in the entire history of Project Runway. For evidence:

I'd wear it.

yellow

After seeing this

recently, I started obsessing over yellow dresses. Probably because I'm so jealous of people who can wear yellow dresses and look pretty. Yellow hates me. But I love it so. Anyway.

Here is my favorite yellow dress of all time:

Michelle Williams wore this to the Oscars when she was nominated for Brokeback Mountain. She didn't win. But the dress is fashion history.

And we have this beauty:

"Lady in Yellow Dress"
Painted by Max Kurzweil, 1899
Lovely, but where are her feet? I think it would be neat to have some black heels peeking out from the hem of the dress.

And this cute one:

I love the yellow shoes. I might could pull off yellow shoes.

Love the pale:

"Lady in Yellow", painted by Thomas Dewing.
If I wore this I would look like I had jaundice.

And from one of the prettiest movies ever filmed in color:

The always beautiful Catherine Deneuve in The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (and I know she's wearing more of a coat-like garment, but we can pretend it's a dress).

And a little vintage advertising:

I totally dig the dress. But not Pepsi with dinner.