Lamenting Icarus

My favorite pinterest things

2012-02-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

Today is a rainy saturday. The sun is trying to poke through the clouds and I'm reading Water for Elephants. This stuff struck my fancy.

via pinterest

pretty sky

2012-02-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

via android

The sky outside my house.

We almost had snow today.

favorite things today

2012-02-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Taking some time to unwind. A poem that came my way today and sums up how i feel.

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
Yeats

These are my favorite things from Pinterest today.

Moved

2012-02-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

I have a place! I could not be more excited. A friend of a friend was trying to rent a room in her beautiful old historic house and here i am. Its 10 minutes from school with the kind of creaky wood floors i love. And a tin roof. (love) My room is white with white washed floors...wells loved and scuffed by 25 years of treading. Awnd i'm slowly trying to settle in.

via pinterest isn't it great?

Moonie Morning

2012-01-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

Today, in the pitch black i slipped on our icy porch. But the moon was pretty!

via my android

Pictures from my ride to work

2012-01-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

photos taken on my android

So the teaching job is about an hour away from my home. And what that means is that until i find a place over there, i am gifted with the most beautiful sunrises i have ever seen every morning. I eat my breakfast, listen to some awesome mixtapes made for me by my friends and watch the sun rise on the amazingly beautiful appalachian mountains. By the time i arrive at work i'm awake, stoked and i've had a moment to appreciate how happy i am.
And that feels awesome.

Living Spaces

2012-01-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

via pinterest

You know, I want my own space.
I know i mentioned that things were going better at home than i thought...and that i was excited about being able to help around the house etc. But what i really really want...is a room free from clutter. Spaces, a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room where i can make myself at home. Where i don't have to wait for other people to make room for me. Especially if they aren't interested in do that. So i'm going to have a cup of tea...and commence looking for a place to be.

Wow

2012-01-12T17:53:00.000-08:00

via pinterest

What a great week. Its not over yet...but golly will i be glad when it is. I am SO TIRED! In only the best and most exhilarating way. I've been working hard and the kids have been as demanding as i have. Its so nice to feel motivated to perform. God. It. Feels. Good. And my fellow faculty members are astounding and brilliant and have kindness and support oozing out of their pores. Its Amazing.

But totally chaotic.

I can tell that i am stepping mid-year into someone else's shoes. My students are trying out the boundaries and resisting their new rules even while they are excelling at what i'm asking of them. Frustrating though it can be...its amazing to watch. In one moment a child can be arguing with you that they can't do what I've asked of them and then in another perform beyond my wildest expectations. Its awesome.

First day of school

2012-01-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

Today i started a new job teaching drama.

Magical

tub/shower

2012-01-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

I want one of these things.

via pinterest

How was your New Years?
Mine was great until one overenthusiastic hug left me having back spasms most of the night ( I have a long running problem).

SO i've been resting and not doing too much moving around the last day or so... My friend Jake likes to make fun of me by saying that i move like an old man when my back is hurting. This is a comment that i mostly just laugh about...i do tend to waddle a little. But since i'm home and living with two old people i must say its true. I do walk like my grandpa.

Suffice it to say...i'd love to be sitting in this tub and enjoying a steaming hot bath to let the muscles work out.

Happy New Years

2011-12-31T13:23:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a fantastic New Years spent with your nearest and dearest.

This popped up in my pinterest feed. Hafiz is one of my favorite poets.

I think thats a great thing to hope for in the New Year.

See you in 2012

lovely

2011-12-30T17:04:00.000-08:00

This lovely photo popped up on my pinterest today. I thought the light was striking.

I have been walking a lot since i got home. I try to go out every day. I am always amazed by how beautiful it is around here, cupped in the mountains as we are.

I'm going to try to take some photos every day...maybe just on my phone...and post them up for you to enjoy.

Post Holiday Home

2011-12-27T13:16:00.000-08:00

photo taken via my droid

Our family has survived another holiday.

Despite all of the holiday baggage that we tote about this time of year we have managed to come through unscathed and kinder to each other than we have been in quite sometime.

And i've made the dreaded mid-20's MOVE BACK HOME. And while most of my belongings are still locked in my car because there is no room at ALL in my old room, i am not feeling as much like a failure or a mooch as i thought i would. And i'm trying my best to be as helpful as possible.

I'm hoping to hold on to the courtesy that 6 years of living with roommates in various dorms and company housing has taught me....somehow i think it'll help me get past my grandmother's obsessive preoccupation with cleanliness. And her old-world exclusivity. She has very clear ideas about how everything should be done. And the very clear idea that that way is the only way.

But this move is actually exciting in some ways. I'm happy to be able to help my grandparents out...happy to spend some time with them...and happy to be planning and working toward the goal of moving this summer. I keep trying to focus on the forward movement life is taking. Not what feels like a huge backward step.

Here's to looking toward the horizon.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I hope your off days are great. Right now i am enjoying my favorite christmas present: Knicks vs. Celtics on TNT.

you've lost me

2011-12-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

Confession: I am watching the Vampire Diaries. I remember when season one first came on and i thought it was the stupidest thing i had ever seen. Now i'm obsessed. But the good news is that i'm halfway through the first season and i just started watching a few days ago. SOON I will be back and posting with some regularity. But i'm feeling the pre-holiday exhaustion...and i just need something to zone out to...and with all this hot guys...this'll do.

deflated

2011-12-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

do you ever have those days where everything good and exciting happens and you feel great and happy?

And then something else happens and you just feel all the joy and pleasure gush out of you?

Or maybe its just a slow slow whistle...like a small hole in a tire.

But there are only 10 days til Basketball.

holiday cooking

2011-12-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

I have been enjoying cooking things for myself!

The last few days i've made Tilapia and roasted tomatoes, Latkes, Green Pea soup and Mac and Cheese.

It was my first time making the Latkes and the Mac.

And i have learned such valuable things!

Don't you just love those first time blunders?

For instance: Do not let instant Latke mix sit too long. Very grainy. But still a fried potato cake and therefor delicious.

Or don't forget to stir your melted cheese, butter and milk mixture in amongst the noodles. That way the cheesy goodness is spread about evenly.

But all in all, its been a super fun experience. Today we're embarking into the land of Squash....Lets hope it goes well :-)

What sort of stuff have you been cooking?

Work Day Thoughtfuls

2011-12-09T13:42:00.000-08:00

Today has been a day of travel and work.
I signed papers in HR today so i can start working at my Alma Mater come the spring. I've been doing work with them on my off days for about a month. Its very exciting research and creative work.

I am the kind of person that trends towards lots of work on the plate. Its hard not to feel completely overwhemled. SO today is a day to remind myself that hard work is ok and that its ok that i just keep jonesin' for more to do. I just need to make sure I am completing tasks (nothing feels better than that) and taking time to have some FUN

thoughtfuls via pinterest

Its this kind of day today...

2011-12-07T10:24:00.000-08:00

via Pinterest

Its grey and drizzling.

The hiss of the rain on the asphalt

and the hum of my fan

whisper me to sleep,

sleep.

Music and creative workings

2011-12-05T13:51:00.000-08:00

via Pinterest

Today, my friend P from Running Snail and Rainbow had a "Crafty Day." Rather than just getting together like we always do for coffee and donuts and chatting about our Artistic and Etsy Aspirations, we decided we would have a WORK DAY. For me what that meant was doing some photo editing and experimenting with some paper i got for prints (i wasn't able to order the matting materials in time) and focusing on developing my shop blog and my portfolio etc.

Though we did get together none of those things happened. I had forgotten a doctors appointment and ended up running around doing completely Useless and FRUSTRATING errands for much longer than i planned. But P and I got to sit down and chat and share and brainstorm over tea and playing with her adorable daughter.

Somehow, I believe that having just tried to clear the space in my day for doing work has totally freed up some brain space and i am suddenly very excited and invigorated. I'm settling down to do some planning and organizing and editing right now. AND IT FEELS SO GREAT!

We've rescheduled our work day for next monday (hopefully i'll have some tangible stuff to share next week :-) ) and i'm so excited to see what i can get done between now and then and what we'll make next week.

STAY TUNED!

p.s- I ran into this lovely musician Josh Garrells over at The Cheap. I have been listening to him nonstop. This is my fav right now.

piddling

2011-12-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

via pinterest

Its the holiday season. I have been rushing around trying to get stuff done and I feel like I am really not accomplishing a whole lot. But i am eating a great deal. And cooking a great deal.

I have given up fast food.

A few weeks ago i was feeling so tired and exhausted that the only real energy i could muster was to go buy a hamburger or a taco and pop some instant oatmeal in the microwave.

via pinterest

And one day when i was thinking of hopping in my car i just had to stop and wonder "But what do i really want to eat?"

Cauliflower was the answer. So i epicurioused a recipe for creamed cauliflower and went to the store and got a healthy looking head. And made it.

A few days later I wanted Cabbage. So i've been making a delicious ginger honey cabbage with green onions and potatoes. And Green Pea soup.

I am not good at creating menus on the spur of the moment. But i am learning to build food around what i most want to eat. And what a novelty! I think we are taught to check in with ourselves about so many things. Somehow food has not been something i've been listening to my body about. It feels good to start.

What have you been craving?

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The best Thanksgivings are Solomon Family Thanksgivings down in NC. My Aunt Helen and Uncle Ira cook all day and then open their lovely house (sitting on a hill overlooking a lake) to all the family and we eat and eat and eat. The women in my family make the best Chocolate Pie.

Thanksgiving is a listening holiday and a Generational Holiday. Family of all ages comes together and its fantastic to listen to their stories...and maybe even sip a little bourbon as we watch the sun set.

This year, as i only have a day off from work, I can't travel to NC. But my friend Katie has invited me to Thanksgiving with her family up in New Market. I could not be more excited.

Hope your holiday is filled with joy!

today

2011-11-19T12:45:00.000-08:00

i would like this.

A litte treat to make all the cold tired gloominess go away.

New Project- Leaves

2011-11-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

exciting new project

leaves and fall light

reminds me a little

of the inside of a church

Cooking with the ladies

2011-11-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

photos by me

Beautiful morning sun streaming through the windows.
Toasted Coconut.
Cakes cooling on the radiator.
Onions sauteing in the pan.
Chicken stock simmering on the stove.

ShoeDazzle

2011-11-15T18:40:00.000-08:00

via shoedazzle

Ok i may or may not have clicked on a facebook link to Shoe Dazzle and just taken the most fun quiz about shoes ever. I haven't purchased a new pair of anything in so long i don't even know what to do about it...BUT i was delighted to take this quiz.

Check out my STYLE PROFILE.

Gloomy

2011-11-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

Today has been dark and drizzle threatens.

I wish it looked like this instead.

But i'm thankful for the peaceful fall of mist all the same.

monday thoughtful

2011-11-14T10:25:00.001-08:00

Hope you had a great weekend. I've been taking some rest time.

Happy Friday

2011-11-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

via pinterest

Nestled into bed with a glass of wine (not my first) and the Iliad.

Nothing better.

Give to the Max Day

2011-11-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

Shu-nan Chu is Richard II (directed by me!)

I'm in the middle of this crazy day of Fundraising! Its going great. EC has raised more than 500 dollars! Watching has been so fun.

If you can please help spread the word!

http://give2max.razoo.com/story/Emptychairtheatreco

Walk and idleness

2011-11-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking hard about what it means to be alone. To spend time with myself.

Lately in my down time i'm really struggling with just being a vegetable (which after my long work week i tend to need) and actually trying to accomplish things (which tends to just stress me out). And I think the solution may be cultivated alone time. Too often i fall into the trap of wasting hours online or running from place to place. I run from bed in the morning and i run to work and i run to the store and i eat on the run and i do other work on the run.

It has always been a challenge for me to be idle. I work through problems, i work though emotions and i work through fears. The more I'm doing the less i have to think about the things that actually need to be resolved. But that sort of driven work gets so tiring.

Today I slept late and relaxed in bed for a while. Enjoyed watching the morning light play through the slats of my blinds. Read a little over breakfast. Caught up on a show or two that i had missed during the week. I wrote and reflected for a while at the coffee shop down the street from my house. Took some time to enjoy listening to the bubbles of foam on my chai while i sat watching the sun set.

And walked. Walked and walked and just enjoyed the breezy sweater weather of fall and the warm sunlight. It was a slow day. And while i write this I am listening to Chopin and sipping a glass of wine and slowly reading a magazine.

And for the first time in quite a while i have enjoyed my own quiet slow company. And God does that feel good.

What do you do in your alone time?

Food movies

2011-11-07T13:14:00.000-08:00

I am obsessed with little movies lately.

Foraging and cooking Wild Mushrooms from www.carlpendle.com on Vimeo.

I found this one over at the Kinfolk Magazine Blog...if there was ever a magazine for me this one is.

Its all about getting people together. And food.

And though i have been cooking almost exclusively for myself lately...i do still think about it a lot. I'm not sure there is anything that makes me more happy that finding fellow Good Eaters (I consider myself to be a very good eater. very. very. good) and cooking for good eaters is fantastic.

I think i want to try cooking outside with fresh food. Its sounds awesome, ya? Doesn't it make you want to run out and gather some mushrooms?

Fantastic Fall Day

2011-11-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hope you all had a great Sunday!

Work today was great. I had a fantastic dinner and watched Ides of March with some friends.

To top it all off it was a beautiful fall day.

Couldn't have been better.

Workin on the Weekend (you were supposed to hum the song)

2011-11-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday Everyone!

I know i have been saying a lot lately about how i'm always working on projects etc. etc.

Well this one is about to happen and i wanted to let you guys in on it.

My friends and I over at Empty Chair Theatre Company have just announced our Fifth Year Anniversary Season for 2012. On the docket for next summer are productions of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet and a ton of fun endeavors from our Education Department (Camps and Workshops and Talk-Backs, Oh my!)

I'm super stoked because next week we're starting off our season with a super cool fundraiser

A crazy fun day (November 9) of raising money and competing against other Non-Profits for cash prizes. So i've been watching Webinars and coordinating our efforts to contact donors and just generally spreading the word.

I can't be up in DC to watch the day unfold with the rest of the Company (work) but between shows i'll definitely be pulling for everyone.

I wish

2011-11-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

today was about ....

adventures

beautiful flowers

and big dreams

via pinterest

Getting stuff done

2011-11-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

I am slowly churning away at projects. Isn't it great when you just start getting stuff done?
My day today was funny as i wasn't able to work at home. The thermostat in my house is broken and our radiators are going full blast (awful). And there are bees swarming around our house (I hypothesize because of the warmth of the brick...GROSS) so i was disinclined to open the windows.

So i tried to suffer through it. And eventually relocated to the coffee shop down the street. And somehow with the aid of an Oolong Tea and a pumpkin roll i was steadily rolling through work. Until a very loud man settled down behind me chasing my thoughts out of my own head and replacing them with his booming southern drawl.

But he was so impassioned talking about social work and helping the poor i just couldn't quite bring myself to ask him to be a little more quiet. It was pretty cool to be reminded how captivating a person who loves what they do can be.

In my down time i've been trying to capture the change of the season. The snow here really sped the fall along.

Fall clothes

2011-11-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'm swamped with work right now but i wanted to take a moment to share how excited i've been about how cold it is! Its now time for sweet fall clothes! And scarves scarves scarves. I have so many.

via Pinterest

What are you most excited about wearing this fall?

October Snow

2011-10-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Looked out my window this morning.

We've got about 2 inches and steady falling.

Happy Weekend!

My Creative Space - Books

2011-10-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

This week MY Creative Space is about book making. I sewed together my first booklet! No cover...but i'm still working up prototypes of things.

I also got some prints from Adoramapix....i was trying them out to see how i liked their photopapers. Am loving their Matte and Luster prints.

Even bought myself a pumpkin. And I've been collecting seeds and nuts. Fall paraphernalia.

First page of the book...We'll see I need to figure out a better way to adhere the photos into the book....and figure out what sort of alterations i'm interested in.....lots more to do!

Things i'm thinking about

2011-10-27T11:27:00.000-07:00

So one of my current projects is working on has got my really excited about stationary and paper products (I mean really when i am i not excited about stationary and paper products...)

via Pinterest

Aren't these cool?

Brisk October Wednesday

2011-10-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

Went for a walk today.
Had a wine tasting.
Wrote for a few hours.
Went on a hike.
Took lots of photos.
It felt so good to be outside.

Shabby Apple Giveaway over at [THE DRIFTER and the GYPSY]

2011-10-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

Image from [THE DRIFTER and the GYPSY]

Check it out. Close tomorrow!

Thinking about fall foods

2011-10-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

I don't know if i mentioned this, but a few weeks back i discovered that i reactivated an allergy i had as a child to citrus fruit and citrus acid. As a wee one, there was a time when i couldn't eat any citrus fruit because it caused erosion of my stomach lining. LO and behold...after eating a little too much citrus in the last few months my body has begun to say 'no thank you' in the form of allergic reactions. So i've been thinking a lot about food. You may not know it but citric acid is in lots of things...i'm slowly experimenting to see what i can still eat and not upset my stomach too badly.

These photos just made my start to salivate!

wishful thinking.

via Pinterest

Delicious.

Somehow its been sweets on my mind :-) Hope the beginning of you week has been great.

Sunday Thoughtful

2011-10-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a great weekend!

Some ladies that inspire me

2011-10-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about women in the arts that i admire.

Women with beautiful natures.

via pinterest

Who are women you admire?

My Creative Space - My NY Inspiration Journal

2011-10-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

This week I have really needed inspiration. When there are a ton of deadlines approaching and events on the horizon I sometimes need a little extra juice to get me through the stress. Hence this week for Our Creative Spaces I present: My inspiration Journal.

I posted a while ago that one of my goals for the future is to move to NY next year. A few months ago i went through a really low sort of hopeless feeling time. So i started this collage journal of things that excite me about NY. Here are some of them.

What creative things do you do to make yourself feel good?

My Yellows

2011-10-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Do you love taking photos of Fall?

2011-10-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

Poppytalk is hosting Autumn Color Week!!

Tons of LOVELY fall themed photos.

Wanna join? Head on over to the Flickr page.

Its a super cool celebration of color!

Today's color was RED.

Another Blogtoberfest Walk

2011-10-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Fall is arriving...

goin under-a blogtoberfest sunday

2011-10-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

via

What do you do when you are feeling completely overwhelmed?
I have so many projects happening right now i barely know which way to turn.
I feel like i'm in some vicious work cycle. I am stressed out by what i have to do (most of which makes me happy by the way) but the only way to cope with the strange things that seem to just keep happening around me is to work.
I'm worried.

Weekend Blogtoberfest Thoughtful

2011-10-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

Brought to you by Pinterest

My Creative Space- postcards

2011-10-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

Wow. Its been so long since i've done one of these! I'm excited to have something to share.
I've been working on some fall themed book marks. These are prototypes. I wasn't 100% happy with the picture quality...but i'm found a great printer to work with and i'm excited for the next round.

Alabaster Coffee Roasters- Willamsport PA

2011-10-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

I discovered Alabaster Coffee Roaster and Tea Company in the cool autumn of tour last year. We were in Williamsport to perform Macbeth (there were electronic billboards about it as we crossed the bridge into the city...so cool!). We were blessed to have a little bit of down time and the days were beautiful when we got to roam about in downtown Williamsport. My friend Brad and I were roaming and i suggested we stop in for some coffee since it wasn't quite dinner time. Read: I am always hungry...perhaps this will hold me over.

And what a cool place.

I am a huge fan of rough walls, cool lighting and heavy earthenware so this place was right up my alley. Off of the main room with the counter and a few tables was my favorite parlor with a beautiful blonde wood barn door! So cool. As i mentioned in my last post its the first one i had ever seen in person. So i was stoked.

According to their website Alabaster is devoted to providing delicious coffee. They buy from farms that use sustainable farming practices. They're roasters are all local pennsylvanians and they (being Artisian Micro Roasters) roast a large number of their coffees themselves and use a variety of brewing methods. As a once and former barista i found this fascinating.

And their quality and service was great. I had a huge cup of tea, Brad had a Latte and we had a splendid time chatting it up with owner Karl Fisher who was happy to tell us about the lovely cafe.

If you're ever swinging through Williamsport...i highly recommend it.

For the home

2011-10-12T08:54:00.001-07:00

Some images taken from my Pinterest Board

Can you imagine waking up to so much light?

Love the floors and the barn door. Last year i saw my first barn door in action at a Coffee and Tea room in PA called Alabaster (I might have some photos from there...i'll dig them up if i can)

Wouldn't it be great to have a built in bookcase so close to your bed? I'm forever dropping things on them on the floor.

Happy Hump day!

Monday Blogtoberfest walk

2011-10-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

I love it when you discover something new in old places. Today i was walking down a road that i've walked more times than i can count.

And i turned to my left and saw a sign i had never notice: Please stay on path.

This is what i found.

Monday Blogtoberfest Thoughtful

2011-10-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

So far i've had an adventurous day outdoors and I'll have a photo story about it later today. But.
I've been thinking a great deal about what i want from my future...what i want to be doing and what i hope for. A friend of mine told me i needed to watch this and i thought i'd share it with you.

-Steve Jobs, 2005, Stanford Commencement

Sunday Blogtoberfest Thoughtful

2011-10-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

I will.

Some Cool things

2011-10-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hope you all have a splendid weekend!

My goal for the next few days is to get outside and get my body moving.

Here are some cool things for your weekend:

J Crew's new collection called Wallace & Barnes.

Films by Gustav Johansson

Becky from Run's 52 Week Book Challenge. Week 6 is LIFE OF PI! (Loved that book)

jewelry- Blogtoberfest day 7

2011-10-07T06:57:00.000-07:00

Some cool stuff has been floating around pinterest.

These are some i liked a whole bunch.

I am a little crazy about this fingernail ring. how cool.

Story of a trip- Blogtoberfest Day 6

2011-10-06T05:49:00.000-07:00

Doors -Blogtoberfest Oct 5

2011-10-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

The strong colors in these photos got me to thinking about autumn.

What are your favorite autumn colors?

via pinterest

Blogtoberfest -Oct 4

2011-10-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

So soon I've fallen off the horse! But i blame how busy i was most of yesterday.

I've gotten to visit a bunch of people since i got to NY, saw a movie, had a fantastic dinner, walked around in Prospect Park and on the High Line, and eaten more than my fair share of ethnic food.

I saw Midnight in Paris last night over at the Kennedy Center. My favorite part about it were the scenes of Dell walking around Paris. There is something wonderful about perambulation. Oddly enough i've tried since i've been here on my mini-vacation to spend as much time outside as possible. i say oddly enough, because it seems strange to me to come to a city to be outside. But i've been taking great joy in walking around and looking around, feeling the breeze in my face.

Blogtoberfest Day 1

2011-10-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I'm in the midst of packing and cleaning and getting ready for my trip (I head out tonight after work) when i discover this! Blogtoberfest! Hosted over at {tinniegirl}, Blogtoberfest is a marathon of daily blogging. It sounds like AugustBreak but with words.

I am very excited about this. Yesterday i was wishing that there was some sort of Blog event i could participate in since it really keeps me motivated to post. Lo and behold. Ask and ye shall receive.

I hope you all have a spectacular Sunday! Hopefully i'll have lots of fun stories and photos to bring home.
Best,
Ta

Road Trip

2011-10-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Weekend everyone! Are you doing anything special? I'm headed up to NY. I am so excited i can barely stand it. Its a friend visit. So i'm hoping to see lots of people and try to go to some places i've never been before.

Light Inspiration: Come Darkness

2011-09-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

As a child I was never very good at sitting still (Reading being the biggest exception). I always had to be doing something, probably doing MANY things, most of which would go unfinished.

But i would take time, outside, to watch the sky and the clouds.

Which must be why I am so in love with this Project by Maria Alexandra Vettese.

Vettese, who lives and works in Maine, began capturing the last flashes winter light 2009 with her first Come Darkness Collection. That installation featured works from over 20 international artists.

About Come Darkness:

I am always bewildered by the arrival of early autumn darkness. I travel around in my normal routines confused for weeks. This year I felt I needed to try harder to understand the transition. Was there some way I could prepare? Without even knowing it I found I was using my camera as a tool to dissect the final hours of illumination. I became fixated on capturing a momentary blanket of light, of all tones and colors, which I could hold and pull up around me when all I see is black. I wanted to feel the light. I needed to see the light. And now I feel ready. Come darkness, here we are again.
—MAV

What I love most about the 2010 edition of Come Darkness. Here We Are Again, is the medium in which the photographs are presented: Silk Scarves. The notion of taking a little bit of light with you through the darker winter months is fantastic. Here literally, you can wrap it around you.

Some of the Scarves are still available for purchase, but I'm rather most excited about the 28 page full color book of photos from the show. It was printed in Limited Edition and each book is individualized by swatch of silk.

More of Maria's work is available here

Thinking Kitchens

2011-09-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Do you have a favorite kitchen? Perhaps it isn't your own. My favorite kitchen is at my friend Doreen's house.

Her kitchen/dining room has beautiful wood floors and a fireplace. They've put in beautiful warm wood cabinets and a cool dark stone sink. The wall about the stove is covered with bright blue glass and the drawers and cabinets open smoother than silk.

And the smell! Opening the spice drawer is like opening a treasure trove. Warm colors and tantalizing scents fill the air.

images via Pinterest

I have nothing but great memories of cooking there. With the door to the back porch open listening to world outside while things sizzle on the gas stove. Perfect.

What is your favorite kitchen?

Discoveries

2011-09-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

I went home briefly today to visit the grandparentals and scour my storage unit for hard copies of undergrad papers.

If you recall a few months ago two computers died on me and i was super upset because i had lost so many photographs. A few weeks ago as i was brainstorming about what sorts of jobs i'd like to look for I realized that i might need writing samples. And then realized that all of my undergrad papers were on those two computers. That are dead. Goodbye writing samples.

But by rooting around in my boxes of notebooks i've unearthed some hard copies...let the transcribing begin.

I ALSO found a shoe box full of photo cds from my travels around Scotland and England.

Bus tour around Edinburgh.

Some Artful Inspiration

2011-09-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

I was browsing around looking for innovative flower photography and look what i found!

Qi Wei from Thoughtful Photography takes some really lovely photos.

About the artist: "my philosophy is that the creation of an image does not stop merely with pressing of the shutter button, or pressing the “save as” button in Photoshop. No – the entire process ends with the output – which is the print, that matches to my personal vision. And that is something you need to hold in your own hands, to view with your own eyes in person for yourself."

I find these flowers particularly compelling. Perhaps because i think of how intricate the creation of these images is...look at all those petals!

This image too (the latest from Qi Wei's Blog was awesome.

all images from Thoughtful Photography

Qi Wei's Panographies are also super cool. Check it out!

Prints of these beautiful photos are available at the Thoughtful Photography Website.

Happy Weekend !

2011-09-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Some things i love.

images via pinterest

Shell Study

2011-09-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

First batch of shell photos!

I've been having such a great time with them.

These are a little conch shell i found.

A little about me

2011-09-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

Erika over at A Tiny Rocket posted one of these up and i loved how many things i discovered about her. SO i thought i'd borrow her idea and do one for myself.

A. Age: 25
B. Bed Size: Queen/Full
C. Chore you hate: Washing the dishes. My grandpa used to put scrambled egg pans in the sink and the egg would float in the water like algae. GROSS
D. Favorite Decadent Activities: smoking cigars and drinking bourbon or eating chocolate mouse out of wine glasses.
E.  Essential start to your day:: Sunshine....the brighter the day the better the mood i greet it with.
F.  Favorite Color: It used to be blue. But i find i have a lot of brown and green in my wardrobe lately.
G.  Gold or Silver:
H.  Height: 5'8"
I.  Instruments you play: Piano, Cow Bell (yeah i do) and a little Mediocre Uke.
J.  Job Title: Actor, Understudy, Costume Mistress and Stage Manager
K. Favorite Kiss: Forehead
L.  Live: Shenandoah Valley, VA
M. Favorite Month: April or September ( I love the gentler seasons of spring and fall)
N.  Nicknames: Some people call me Tash, or Nana
O. Favorite Outdoor Activitiy: Kayaking and Hiking
P.  Pet Peeves: Chewing with your mouth open
Q.  Quote from a Movie: "A Jester's chief employment is to kill himself for your enjoyment. And a Jester unemployed is nobody's fool"
R.  Right handed or Left handed. I'm a righty, but i play the piano better with my Left.
S.  Siblings: Four- two brothers my age-ish (20 and 22) and a little brother and a little sister 4 and 6.
T. Tattoos: Pear blossom on my right ankle (But i've always wanted a tribal cuff)
U.  Underwear: Brights.
V.  Vegetables you hate: Butternut Squash
W. Wine of choice: Cab Sauv or Moscato
X.  X-rays you have: Most recently my right hand. I once had a double jointed thumb. It now doesn't move much :-(
Y.  Yummy food that you make: I make a really good mustard glazed salmon.
Z.  Zoo animals: White Tigers (did you know they are usually born with mental impairments?)

light and darkness

2011-09-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

Its been really grey lately.

It was raining when i got up this morning,

but the skies have cleared and the sun

is attempting to peek through the overhanging clouds.

via pinterest

A friend of mine likes to point those refractions of light out to me whenever we drive around.

Usually calling out "Look, God" or "Beautiful"

There is nothing better than sunlight through the clouds.

Hope you are having a happy Tuesday!

(Took lots of photos yesterday, still working on the shells

and some beautiful bouquets of calla lillies and hydrangeas!)

On a Thoughtful Sunday

2011-09-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

via Pinterest

Necklace

2011-09-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

My Kickstarter Reward Necklace came the other day!!

I love it and have been wearing it ever since!

Thanks Maia.

So excited to see what else you create!

Do you ever find that when you're feeling down or lonely you return to

books and stories you read as a child?

I think its really helpful and it gets my imagination moving.

As a little girl i read tons of fantasy books. I've been staying with a friend

and i found on her shelf books i read more than 15 years ago.

So i've been revisiting them.

What are some of your favorite books to revisit?

Shells

2011-09-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

I have been longing for a vacation. I'd love to walk up and down the beach

getting sprayed by the waves and having the foam lap at my feet.

Every year i got to the beach i collect shells by the bag and box full.

It might be the best kind of therapy for me,

a soothing repetitive motion accompanied by the sound of the sea.

I have years and years worth of shells collected up.

And i keep gathering more with the plan of making some sort of craft with them.

And i never follow through!

So i think i'm going to do a shell study with photography.

via pinterest

Excited to see where this takes me!

Back in the saddle again

2011-09-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Work is starting bright and early again today.

I hope you all are doing well.

I'm buckling down to get some stuff done

and i was inspired by some of these cute workspaces!

via Pinterest

Tentative Dreams

2011-09-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

Sandra, who writes one of my fav blogs posted today about dreams.

The last few weeks have been hard on me and I am not feeling dreamy.

But the things i have been dreaming and hoping and worrying over are still there.

All of us are just feeling a little tentative.

And its no fun to dream alone. So i thought i'd share some of my dreams for the coming year.

1- Etsy shop. I have been wrestling with the desire to open an etsy shop focusing on my photos in the form of paper products: postcards and book plates and prints and the like.

2- Poems. I've been writing again, though earnestly in my gloom i haven't been writing much. Shame. But in the year i'd love to have written and edited 2 collections.

3- MOVING. After this contract is over i'm planning to move to DC and get a job and work and save a slave away until i've saved up enough money to move to NY. Next August is my goal.

4- JOB. So hand in hand with that is getting a well paying job. I'd love to do some sort of theatre education. I miss that sort of thing.

5- Theatre. FOREVER i've been wanting to do some devised work. And maybe direct another show...

More Morning Glory Study

2011-09-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

It was raining out.

I ran out and cut some.

They're so pretty underneath.

A foodie Monday

2011-09-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day everyone!

I had planned on getting outside to take some photos but the weather is dim and gloomy.

So perhaps i'll stay in and read.

I hope you have had a fantastic 3 day weekend filled with delicious and tasty foods!

Morning Glories

2011-09-03T09:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Weekend Everyone! Do you have anything cool planned?

Off to a good start

2011-09-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

I am slowly working back to being productive again.
Thanks for all your good thoughts everyone!
We're doing dress rehearsals for Henry V right now and i must admit that after the show is done i have little energy for anything.

Other than sleep.

But i woke this morning (i'm staying at a friend's right now. I thought the change of scenery might be good for me) and went outside and took some photos of beautiful morning glories (i'll post them tomorrow).

A grass study.

Back

2011-08-31T07:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a truly annoying day. And i use the word annoying because it annoys ME when i get so down i'm pretty much immobile. Do you have those days where you are just disconnected from the world?

It really bothers me. My mind is whirling, I'm having creative ideas left and right. I feel as though something is about to happen. Something GOOD. But i feel ridden by this nervous energy and the need to be working on something. And i don't know what...only that this strange energy combined with a hard day at work put me in my bed at 8:00 and i did not get up again. And in those moods its so hard to remind yourself that anyone is out there. I have not been so unhappy for about ten years.

Thank god for beer and sleep. So ok. I'm done with that. Woke up this morning feeling quiet but much more at ease. And we're going to start today off with something lovely. I'm about to go for a walk. So i'll leave you with these lovely places.

Thank you Pinterest for starting my morning out right.

Break day

2011-08-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday all!

I'm going to take a break today.

Last night i finished a long week of work and i'm pooped.

So i'm going to take some time and replenish my stores.

I'll see you all in a day or two!

p.s- i did scoot a poot over to the Staunton Music Festival over at the theatre on Saturday.

It really did me some good to just sit back and listen. What are you listening to today?

August Break-Happy Weekend

2011-08-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Weekend everyone! Stay safe.

August Break- An Afternoon Walk

2011-08-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Have you been getting outside lately? I find it so uplifting.

A break from August Break - Jewelry

2011-08-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

One of the ladies that i follow on Pinterest has been posting some really cool jewelry lately. And as you know i am newly interested in it....i thought these were wonderful pieces so i'm sharing them.

What do you think?

So cool!

Neruda Part 2 and a photo

2011-08-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

Epithalamium (part 2)

Do you remember, my love,

our first steps on the island?

The gray stones knew us,

the rain squalls,

the shouts of the wind in the shadow.

But the fire was

our only friend,

next to it we hugged

the sweet winter love

with four arms.

The fire saw our naked kiss grow

until it touched hidden stars,

and it saw grief be born and die

like a broken sword against invisible love.

I love this section of the poem! I love how Neruda asks these questions. I think questions are so powerful. They ask for a response...i find myself imagining an answer before i've even kept reading.

Today was a good first day back to work. Beautiful day. Still a little weary, but pressing on. In the sage words of my grandfather: Suck it up and deal with it. So i am. :-)

Friday one of my photos got featured over on my friend's blog Down Home Foodie. Check it out! Its one of my shots from the Farmer's Market.

Today was a Lazy day

2011-08-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone! I didn't do anything today, yet i am still exhausted and not ready to go back to work tomorrow. But i did have another fantastic shoot at the Tangled Trees! I'll post photos soon.

August Break Day 20: Neruda and a Photo

2011-08-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having a WONDERFUL weekend. I am so SO ready for my day off i cannot quite express. By the end of the work week i am just so weary. But then again i have still not been feeling top notch or sleeping well.

But to the point.

I told you yesterday about how awesome this new book of Neruda Poetry has been for me.

My current favorite is called Epithalamium. I want to share it with you, but it is very long. So as I've been working through it i divided it up by the questions he asks. So I thought i'd give it to in the same way i've been spending time with it. Look for more tomorrow!

(Part 1)

Do you remember when
in winter
we reached the island?
The sea raised toward us
a crown of cold.
On the walls the climbing vines
murmured letting
dark leaves fall
as we passed.
You too were a little leaf
that trembled on my chest.
Life's wind put you there.
At first I did not see you: I did not know
that you were walking with me,
until your roots
pierced my chest
joined the threads of my blood
spoke through my mouth
flourished with me.
Thus was your inadvertent presence
invisible leaf or branch
and suddenly my heart was filled with fruits and sounds
You occupied the house
that darkly awaited you
and then you lit the lamps.

August Break Day 19: STORYSCAPE and of course a photo.

2011-08-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

So. About my exciting day yesterday.

Thursdays are becoming my Coffee Date Days. My friend Phoebe from Running Snail and Rainbow and I go to get some coffee and sit around talking about work and life and family and fears and frustrations and hopes. Its one of the highlights of my week. I've been rereading The Sound of Paper and Phoebe is working through the Artists Way and its been really fun to swap stories and observations with her about doing WORK. Since i started doing Morning Pages again I have been writing poems and taking photos. It took a little while to get going but its such a fantastic feeling and super exciting to have someone to chat with about the pleasures and challenges.

If you haven't read Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way or The Sound of Paper they're great. (I'll link to the books at the end of the post if you want to check them out).

So my morning began beautifully. And most excitingly Phoebe just added her first drawing to her Running Snail Facebook. And its so lovely. If you haven't stopped by her blog you should. She's just getting it started but its already so thoughtfully written and well curated. EXCITING!

NEXT! Maia got her studio space. You may recall that i was posting up a storm about her Kickstarter Project. She just got some studio space up in Tribeca! You can read about that here.

AND FURTHER MORE! As i said earlier, I've been writing a lot. (For a while i was trying to keep it on the DL but i feel good about sharing since it'll keep me honest and working. Feel free to pester me about what I'm working on). I have also been reading voraciously. I was working through Clash of Kings but that has fallen by the wayside in the advent of POETRY. I had been pining after some Rilke and of course doing my duty by Mary Oliver when I started reading Pablo Neruda's Love Poems. I posted about the acquisition of that book some time ago, but have just really started reading it. It has REALLY gotten the juices flowing.

Top off August 18th with a positive work day and i'd say yesterday was a pretty darn great day.

For your consideration: Artist's Way and The Sound of Paper

My Creative Space

2011-08-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

So its actually Friday and not Creative Space day at all...

but i am somehow a little behind in my week.

This week has been a week of editing photos and writing mostly. Its been really exciting to just buckle down and do it to it. Getting out of the house has been a huge help.

As you can see by the second photo i got out and stalked some Zinnias.

I find when i walk around (or in this case drive around) I'm always looking for things that catch my eye. I think 'photo' or sometimes not even that much. Its like an 'oh.'

I was driving home from the Kroger and stopped at a stoplight when i looked to my left and bam. Beds of beautiful Zinnias right down the road from my house. I filed it away in about 2 days wandered down, hopping through traffic at a crazy intersection to go take some photos of Zinnias someone planted in a median. NOT the safest thing in the world. BUT totally worth it.

August Break Day 18: Zinnia

2011-08-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

What a day! So much has happened and so much has been accomplished. I started a lengthy post about everything but i'm petering out tonight.

So I'll leave you with a Zinnia. And i promise LOTS Of stories tomorrow!

August Break Day 17: Bookscapes

2011-08-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

What a great day today has been! I have been feeling so stressed and ill of late that its been a huge challenge to get up and get moving. TODAY i decided what i really needed was not to lay in bed a little longer but to get up and get outside. And I wasn't going to take a Camera or my Zune. I was going to go outside and enjoy myself.

And i wandered around this pretty little historic town and for the first time in the 6 years i've stayed here i found the perfect neighborhood. I can't wait to go back and take photos. I can't wait to write about it! I have not been so inspired by a place in a long time.

When i am old and a professor I want to live in houses like those with ivy growing on my gateposts and on my old stands of trees.

Yesterday a friend of mine asked me to take some photos of her bookshelves as she's trying to put together a website for her students. (She's an English Teacher)

Its actually my first time doing something because i was asked. This may seem like a small hurdle...but i was curious how it would be for me taking photos of things i had not been compelled myself to photograph.

These are some of the ones i liked best. I loved the textures on some of the old books.

August Break Day 16: Yellow

2011-08-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

What a dumbdumb i am. I put this together yesterday and totally forgot to post it!

Down the road from my house is a verdant strip of median that is just BURSTING with Zinnias and Sunflowers and Elephant ears and these little flowers. Suffice it to say i may or may not have dipped and dodged through traffic to take some photos.

Do you know what they are? I've been wondering.

August Break Day 15: Housescapes

2011-08-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

I could not be happier for an off day today!

All I truly want to do is read some books and laze around until tonight.

We'll see if i can actually manage such a relaxing thing. Somehow i doubt it. :-)

Some friends of mine are getting married so i'm attending their wedding. Exciting!

August Break Day 13: Landscapes and Cloudscapes

2011-08-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday all. Beginning to feel better

August Break Day 12

2011-08-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Farmer's Market Day.

It feels to me as if i live for Saturdays.

I can't wait to buy some more flowers to spend time with.

Here are some more of the Dahlia's i bought last week. They did not last very long.

But they were so pretty!

Still feeling very much under the weather.

But the love-day seemed to help today.

I feel a little less strangled by my to do list. Now if only my body would stop feeling as if has been beaten by a stick i'll be set.

Thoughtful Friday - This day shall be a love-day, Tamora

2011-08-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

Name the quote from the title!

The week is coming to a close (two more days til my weekend) but i am feeling a little stressed. I've been getting a lot done this week, but i still have a lot of reading and work to do. But today i have decided shall be a play day. I'm watching Mansfield Park (I have had Jane Austen on the brain) And i'm going to do some pleasure reading.

Here are some thoughtfuls for your weekend guys! I hope its a great one and thanks for stopping by this week. I've loved hearing from you.

Thoughtfuls from my Pinterest

August Break Day 11

2011-08-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

Some more Farmer's Market flowers. These are Lisianthus.

They have lasted and continued to bloom since saturday! SO pretty.

Boots again - Thursday Stylespiration

2011-08-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

Tis the Season. Almost. But Tis the Season to at least be thinking about the season for BOOTS!

Here are some of my favorites:

FRYE Women's Melissa Button Knee-High Boot,Dark Brown Distressed,8.5 M US

A swanky distressed pair i found on Pinterest

FRYE Women's Harness 12R Boot,Tan,6.5 M