Summer

Yesterday i went back to the Farmer's Market, this time to shop rather than just take photos. Next time i will have to have a plan. I realized i get really overwhelmed by the amount of produce there is to choose from! 

I ended up buying some scones and some zucchini and broccoli and peaches. Nothing is better than a farmer's market peach. I had one today in my oatmeal. So sweet. 

But for ME, summer at the farmer's market is about Tomatoes. 

They come in all sorts of shapes and flavors and colors. A real feast for the senses. And the hunt for the perfect tomato can take you from vendor to vendor. And finding just the right one is oh so satisfying. 

Photos (c) Natasha Solomon

Over at [THE DRIFTER and the GYPSY] there's a pretty cool drawing going on. Check it out!

Also still 5 days to pledge. 

Today i didn't buy Rilke

So a few days ago (you may have noticed) i posted a passage that i found over at Aubrey Road by Rilke. And it so happened (as it sometimes does) that it was just the thing i needed to be reading at the time. So i have been looking for some books of letters or poetry. I've perused the online selection and even downloaded some Kindle samples. Happy.

Today i went to book store. To select a Rilke book to purchase and found only Letters to a Young Poet. I looked the edition over...not a great introduction, not as much info as i'd like...and not the book i want. I wanted Sonnets to Orpheus or one of the compilations of his work. 

And then i see a fat, full book with a picture of Pablo on it. One. Shelf. Down. Honestly, from that first waver i think i KNEW that i was going to purchase some volume of Neruda poetry...though i already have two books i haven't finished yet and dozens at home in storage. But i waffled and waffled. Finally i purchased this instead. 

But it got me thinking. What is it about that book of letters that made me want something else instead?

Honestly probably because Rilke is new in my world where as Pablo and I go way back to the 6th Grade. I think a few times in a lifetime you stumble upon an artist or a piece of literature that really touches you. Neruda was that for me. In the words of another poet that molded my life: Is not the truth the truth? I have always looked to Neruda to teach me about love and life. And somehow he's relevant through all my growing. 

Pablo Neruda speaks the truth to me. No one makes me want to fist pump and say Hellz Ya! like Pablo.
Do you have writers  like that?

Hope you're having a great weekend!
Don't forget only 5 more days to pledge to the Kickstarter! Let's go! Artists UNITE!

Yeah i did just say that. 

Thoughtful Friday

Have a great weekend everyone.

best, 

 Ta

Some more Kickstarter Designs

The $200 pledge level of Maia's Kickstarter Rewards has my favorite designs!! 

Sterling "Bike Chain" or "Stud" Earrings or "Diablito" Cuff Links

Drop earrings are 110mm long (shoulder sweeping)

 but can be ordered with anywhere from 2 to 5 links. 

Cuff links are reversible, and can be engraved (at an extra cost). 

Stud earrings are 20mm high

Aren't they lovely? Only 8 Days left. 

style-spiration

I love blazers. 
Love them. 
Especially Velvet ones.
I own about 3. 

In Green

Black

And Brown. 

Don't you love those elbows? 

Interior-spiration

I'm getting settled in my new apartment and i am reminded again and again how much I love wooden floors. I have been collecting image after image for my Home Board on Pinterest and many of them are of wooden floored rooms. When i was a child we lived in an old farmhouse full of huge windows, wooden floors, a screened in porch and a pasture full of cows for a back yard.   

 I thats why i love my new home so well. It creaks and moves and reminds me of that old farmhouse. 

I love how wood wears. Storing away a history of travels and footfalls. 

I like the way it can holds the warmth of sunlight. I like the way if feels beneath my feet.

 I like the way you hear approaching footsteps on a wooden floor. 

I think if i ever own a home or an apartment of my own...i'll make sure to have wooden floors. 

Chatting with Maia- Favorite Mediums

I'm always really intrigued by what people enjoy about their work. SO i asked Maia about what her favorite Medium is to work in, and what new one she's excited to start with when her Kickstarter gets funded. 

"Favorite medium is a tough one--18K gold is great to work with, but it's not my favorite aesthetically. And ebony is my favorite for designing around, but working with wood is always an exercise in anxiety, because you can't fix a mistake--if you lose focus for even a second, that's the end of your piece.

The new medium that I've just begun experimenting with that I'm pretty excited about is alabaster. It's soft, so no rings, but it has an incredible luminosity that's really amazing."

For myself, as i begin to piddle with photography and collage again...i am wondering about what sort of framing i'm interested in. I like unusual things...But what i miss most is painting with oils. I don't know that i was ever terrific at it, but let me tell you there is NOTHING better than the feel of oil paint moving through a brush or off a knife and against that canvas. GIVES ME CHILLS. :-D 

What's your favorite medium to work with? 

Foodspiration for your Monday

Aren't these lovely? 

Potato, pesto and shaved avacado

photo from my pinterest

So i am trying a post schedule. Just the look of those words is a little scary to me, but i wonder if it might be nice over the course of weeks and weeks to have a little consistency. Both for me, and readers. So we'll see how this goes. Today I woke craving potatoes. This is not unusual for me since i love starch. It may be my downfall...but i thought these potato rounds look delectable. 

More designs

A few more designs from Maia's kickstarter. These are the rewards from the $100 dollar pledge bracket:  Lucite and Sterling "Cut" earrings or "Piano" Cuff Links. Available in multiple colors. Cufflinks are reversible and can be engraved (at an extra cost).

I love how elegant these look!

And i LOVE cufflinks. Maia makes some really pimp ones.

 Just wait til you see the ones from the next bracket. :-) 

Only 12 days left! 

Pledge here!

Inspiration

Just found this over at Audrey Road. 

I have been writing and writing lately and just so frustrated that i haven't been able to write any poems, just record my experiences. And this just a) almost made me weep and b) was exactly what i needed to hear. 

a little Rilke for my evening. 

Happy Weekend

What a beautiful day! While my weekend doesn't start for another two days, down in Staunton, the Farmer's Market kicks off the weekend for a lot of people. SO i thought i'd pop on down and see about taking some photos. I have never photographed at a Farmers Market before and it was SUPER FUN.

However...i've mislaid my camera cable and can't download my photos. BOO.

So instead we're going to talk about ALEXANDER MCQUEEN! I think i first found out about McQueen when i was like...maybe 16. I was fat and unhappy and ALL I WANTED was to be pretty so my Grandma had gifted me with a subscription to Vogue. And i think they had done an article on the Oyster Dress. And all i could think was that that model looked like she had wandered out a Grimm's fairy tale and was STUNNING. I wanted a man that could make things like that to dress me one day.

My first impression of this exhibit was that it was remarkably curated. Andrew Bolton of the Costume Institute was the curator responsible for this amazing exhibit. On the Main Exhibition page, Bolton does a video about the collection that its really insightful and a real pleasure to watch.

It seems to me, the largest challenge in putting together an exhibit of such beautiful and exotic clothing would be how to best package them in an equally beautiful way. I thought Bolton and co did this remarkably. Even the lighting was incredible.

The first room The Romantic Mind tickled me because of the delightful dress forms that the jackets and pants were placed on.

I was piddling around on Pinterest the other day and found this lovely antique dress form and was so excited to see aged wood fingers and things poking out from under McQueen's coats and pants.

And from there i was just caught. It seemed like around every corner there was something even more amazing than the last. I loved that in among the displays were clips of McQueen's fashion shows. 

Some of my fav objects were as follows:

With the exception of the Video and the dress form photo which i took from Pinterest all the other photos are taken from the Mets' blog : http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/

If you have a chance to go to this exhibit i highly recommend it. The man's skill and output was remarkable. And the creativity is so inspiring. My imagination was just reeling. 

In anothers words

I also really like this video. I've taken it off of Maia's blog....its her cause in the words of her boyfriend. LOVE IT. 

Untitled from Héctor Pablo Pereyra on Vimeo.

Image for the day

What a great view to wake up to. 

I just have a moment before i have to scamper off to work. 

More NY adventures coming later. 

Things from NY

First things first! I got to hook up with Maia for a delightful evening while i was up in NY and I am super excited to say that she's posted up some more designs. These selections are the pledge rewards! This one is the bronze charm that's the $65 dollar pledge reward. Its super! I'll be posting the others in the next few days. :-D Maia is 24% of the way funded...but she's only got 15 days left. So scamper on over.

What a whirlwind trip i had! I already am holding my breath in anticipation of going back. 

One of my many adventures around the city was visiting a friend from my Tour who lives in the East Village. Knowing I love to eat he took me to brunch at a place called Veselka

This photo is taken from a blog called NYC Food Guy

It was a hopping little place and Daniel and I got some great food.

Pierogies. TO DIE FOR. 

I had them in potato, sweet potato, meat, sauerkraut and mushroom and arugula goat cheese. They're served with grilled onions, sour cream and apple sauce. 

INCREDIBLE. 

I think the Arugula goat cheese and the potato were my fav.

Back home

Hey ya'll! Hope you had a great couple of days. I'm back from a whirlwind trip to NY and totally wiped. But i had such a great time. I can't wait to head back. I'll have tons of things to share soon! Btb...Alexander McQueen. 
AWESOME.

Inspiration

Some more lovely photos. Look at those colors! 

Love those birches. 

Maia posted a new design!

My friend Maia posted a new jewelry design on her blog! So i thought i'd pass that along since its pretty damn cool. 

I have a huge respect for people who MAKE THINGS.

I also make things. But they're paper things. 

I feel like as a medium its a lot easier to work with (FOR ME).

 I make collages and draw and paint and make photos. And while i'm really interested in the way that those kinds of artwork can move beyond their frames and simple two dimensions...i'm not always particularly adept in working in three dimensions.

 Let alone making something functionally three dimensional. 

That also looks incredible. 

So needless to say i am somewhat in awe. Can't wait to see these designs in action.

Pretty Cool

A fellow blogger of mine just brought this blog to my attention and i HAD to pass it on. Its lovely and just pictures. Arranged by color. Awesome. 

Definitely hop on over and check it out: http://hereslookingathue.com/category/orange

restaurant week

So word on the street is that while i'm in the city it will be restaurant week. I love to eat. Especially good food. These are some of the places that at first glance sounds best to me. Somehow unsurprisingly...they are expensive places. :-) 

http://www.10downingnyc.com/

http://www.avocerestaurant.com/avoce_columbus.html#/menus/

http://www.kittichairestaurant.com/


Now, I go to NY for lots of reasons...and each visit seems to have one motivating reason. Like, this time, i go to visit with people. Sometimes i got to see shows. Sometimes, as i mentioned, i go for museums. 
So now. I just have to see if i can marry seeing people with eating good food. :-D 


A nice challenge. 

Maia on Jewelry

So i posted a few days ago about how my friend is running a kickstarter. So i'm going to post about what's going on with her periodically. Note the widget in top right corner of my blog! Right now she's 14% of the way to her goal and only 22 days to go. So any support is welcome! 
This is one of my favorite of the videos on her kickstarter page. 



Kickstarter Video Outtake from Maia Merav Holtzman on Vimeo.

Umbrellas

I have a secret fetish. 

I love umbrellas. I didn't REALLY discover how deep rooted this passion was until i studied abroad in London. Unlike my other friends, i didn't buy a Mind the Gap t-shirt or an I HEART LONDON shirt or anything of that nature. 

But i did buy a 100 dollar green plaid umbrella. Because i thought that better summed up by experience in the UK. I have been collecting umbrella's for most of my life. As a child i had a red parasol, as i grew older i started being excited by the size of them, ( i have some that are very large) and by the patterns they come in (i have one with a rainforest scene on it). 

Do you have things that you covet and collect? 

Some Pretty for your Tuesday afternoon

I've committed myself to taking pictures again and so i've been collecting really lovely photos from my Pinterest as inspiration. Aren't theses lovely? 

I wanna see this!!

Next weekend i'm heading up to NY. So i thought i'd take a peek at what's happening in the museums. I pine for museums. I like to get to them early in the morning when they still smell crisp and clean and i can hear the reverberations of my own footsteps in their hallways. 

Whenever i'm in New York i always go to the Met. I like to go and sit. Sometimes i get in the most compelling conversations with total strangers...and sometimes just read or write or just look. 

I'm SO excited about the McQueen Exhibit!!! 

season

What is your favorite season to photograph in? 

Based on the photos i've taken over the last year...

 I think it must be spring and summer. 

 Photos (c) Natasha Solomon