wilco

I am going with some friends to hear Wilco on Saturday night. They just released a new album on Tuesday, so I have been listening to it all week to be more familiar with what they will probably be playing at the show! I love Wilco—and am excited that this current album is returning a bit to some of their earlier stuff. Even though I have seen them plenty of times over the years, and have heard all of my favorite songs from old albums, I am secretly hoping they will bring a few of those back out this weekend. Here are two songs from the new album that I am digging. And then a handful from older albums that I can never get enough of!

“I Might”

“Dawned on Me”

“You and I” (with Feist)

“I’ll Fight”

“California Stars”

“Jesus, Etc.”

“Forget the Flowers”

“Far, Far Away” (a little shout out to Ken Coomer on the drums! Look at that hair! Love it!)

“Late Greats”

words to inspire

end of summer

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”

(F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby)

I love that line “life was beginning over again with the summer..” I love it because I relate to it. I have always felt that I was most alive in the summers. I was born during one of the hottest ones in Mississippi, so that might be why. With this Summer coming to an end, I can’t really say though that I felt as if my life “started over” or anything. Maybe it is better to say that these last few months have been more focused on living and less focused on life ending. This is a bittersweet thing, but I have to welcome it.

Fall is pretty much here. I am already making pot roasts, turning the air conditioner off, and ordering fall flavored coffees for my Keuring! The Harvest Moon has come and gone and when we wake up tommorrow it will officially be Fall. I am slightly bothered by how quickly time is moving, but I suppose that is what I love about the seasons. The excitement as each new one begins distracts from how quickly a year can go by.

So I am saying goodbye to a summer that was quiet but eventful. I was blessed with relaxing evenings with friends—old and new, precious time with family, and plenty of projects to keep my creative side going. I had a chance to heal my soul by the ocean, and later wake it up in the city. There was a lot of time to myself (which I have finally settled into), as well as many opportunities to remind myself that I am fortunate to have so many cool people in my life. There is a fullness that has come from this Summer, that while not starting over, has been a gift of renewal.

necessary days

Yesterday was one of those days that I have begun to refer to as “necessary”. These are days that whether they are good or tough, it is necessary that you walk through it in order to experience something specific. Yesterday was a bit of both. I have found that one of the most difficult things about losing someone is figuring out how to navigate a life that used to have that person so prominently in it. This is made even more complicated if you believe you still feel them around. Whether that is due to grieving, or because we need to tell ourselves they are still available in order to cope, or because you really do believe that we never really lose connections—the place that your brain and heart can go is a strange reality. I am a believer that we never lose connection. How this works is less important to me than knowing this as truth. The opposite of this is to be punched in the face with the fact that they did actually pass away and are no longer on Earth. I found myself teetering between both of these very real worlds. This space, in my experience, can be very uncomfortable.

The following bit of writing kept coming to my mind. I found it in August and had, for some reason, recently read over it again. The words “I am in the thousand winds that blow…and the “I have not left” were prominent in my thoughts all day. This would be because they were part of what made my day necessary:

"Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am in a thousand winds that blow, I am the softly falling snow. I am the gentle showers of rain, I am the fields of ripening grain. I am in the morning hush, I am in the graceful rush of beautiful birds in circling flight, I am the starshine of the night. I am in the flowers that bloom, I am in a quiet room. I am in the birds that sing, I am in each lovely thing. Do not stand at my grave bereft I am not there. I have not left." —Mary Elizabeth Frye

A plaque was ordered months ago that will mark the time E spent walking amongst us. I received the call in the morning that it was ready. As I stood over the plaque, after months and months of waiting…”Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there” I picked myself up and continued through my day.

As I was leaving work and walking to my car I could not help but notice how windy it was. Unusually windy. Unusually bright and warm. “I am in the thousand winds that blow…. I am in the thousand winds that blow..” Is he?

On my drive home I noticed a crazy homeless man wearing a Gibson shirt. I recognized it as a promotional shirt that E had used during his time with the company. Because he was in charge of taking these to every event, we had ended up with a stack of them at the house. We used to laugh a bit when we would throw a few into our Goodwill pile and wonder where they would end up. “One day we will see some crazy homeless guy wearing these!” After a difficult day I was grateful for that reason to chuckle. Grateful for this specific reminder to laugh—specific to only the two of us. "I have not left." 

“I am in the thousand winds that blow…I am in the thousand winds that blow” and so maybe he is.

words to inspire

old faithful shop

I really love what the folks at Old Faithful are doing. They have some great items in their shop and I love the simplicity of what they are focused on. If I am ever in Vancouver I will have to stop in!

While it sounds strange, I really love that little screwdriver! I find myself having to dig through tools more often than I would expect, and this little guy might come in handy to keep in a drawer nearby. That day-planner is beautiful! And possibly perfect for me, considering you can pencil in your own months and days. I just reached the end of mine, only I didn't know it because I had not looked at it in well over a month! Hmmm..very tempting!

pottery class

I start a pottery class tonight. I am excited to get my hands back in the clay. I don’t expect much more from this class than getting reacquainted with the craft, and the wheel, and glazing, and maybe doing a bit more slab building than I did while I was in college. And also to be happy that I am now at a place to get started back down this road that I feel strongly will be a long one in my life. You may remember this post back in December, but the fact that pottery is one of the only real long-term goals that I have, still holds true. I don’t expect to be gray in the near future, so the pressure is off to have this figured out anytime soon. But I know myself well enough to know that it takes me some time to find my voice in anything, much less be at a place of really having something refined and understood. Here’s hoping that getting back on the pottery wheel is like riding a bike!

a few inspirational images from Pinterest:

Source: flickr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: whatsgabycooking.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: tracykendall.com via Woodchip and Magnolia on Pinterest

Source: designsponge.com via Emily on Pinterest

life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans

"life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"
(John Lennon)

I have never been to New York City, so when a dear friend moved there recently I jumped at the opportunity to get up there and check it out! Little did I know I would be there during crazy Hurricane Irene! I am at least glad I got a rockin' deal on that plane ticket. Anyway, what was going to be a weekend of going to the Met and the Brooklyn Flea, shopping, seeing Sleep No More, and eating lots of great food; took a bit of a turn on Saturday due to the weather shutting down the city. And the reality is, while all of those things would have been great to cram into a four day trip, it was still such a fun weekend.

I can't complain too much, we did manage to make a ton of stops on Friday—Central Park, SoHo, 5th Avenue, Times Square (which was totally weird to me), Restaurant Row, and we ended the night meeting up with my friend Kath and heading to a karaoke bar on the lower east side. It was here that she got the next two days started by singing "Rock it like a Hurricane," which was possibly one of my favorite moments of the entire weekend! Once it was clear that we would not be making it over to Brooklyn on Saturday, or anywhere outside of Greenwich village for that matter, we settled into two days of slowing down and making the most of it. Which basically consisted of finding one of the few places in the neighborhood open to grab dinner, great conversation over a few beers while watching it storm outside, and marathon Bravo tv watching.

Turns out the trip had less to do with me seeing everything I could while I was there; and more to do with me stepping out of my day to day and reminding myself that I am, in fact, living. It is easy to get into so much of a routine that we forget that we are experiencing things every day. A city with something around every corner can wake you back up to this. So can a hurricane. And stopping long enough to spend time with people that are in your life. And not worrying so much about walking in the rain.

estate sale finds

I spotted an estate sale over in the 12South neighborhood Friday afternoon, and am sure glad I did! $8 later I walked away with these lovely finds:

A little ceramic crock, a wooden letter opener, and a very old children's book.

The ceramic crock is probably meant to hold butter, but right now it is storing some muscadines that I got over the weekend just fine! I have been looking for a letter opener, but that is the kind of thing you don't necessarily go out and buy unless you have a really organized office...which I don't...so I snatched this up the minute I saw it! The wood detailing is really beautiful and I think it is pretty neat/convenient that there is a ruler on the blade. And this children's book that is filled with folk stories was one of those buys that my gut told me to move forward with. Not quite sure what I will ultimately do with it, but the pages are really old and not holding up all that well; so I thought I might save the good ones but cutting them loose and letting them stand on their own for framing and art. Perfect for a cool kid's room!

when life hands you a busted water heater...

I woke up yesterday, jumped out of bed, ran down to the garage (which is really the laundry room, storage space, as well as my studio) to grab something out of the dryer, and “splash”… stepped right down onto a wet floor. My response was nothing worth mentioning on my blog, but you can imagine when I realized that the old water heater that had been hanging on by a thread, had finally given up and was busted. Anyhoo, a few hours and a new water heater later I was back in action. The clean up could have been MUCH worse, trust me, so I thank the good Lord above that I caught it before it really flooded. And anything of real value that was down there was bypassed completely by the water, so I have to send a shout out to him for that too! At the end of the day, the mess that I did have to clean up could only be looked at as an opportunity to get my studio back in action! And to get some things reorganized. However, as I was moving everything back in, the leg of my worktable definitely came off…just fell to the ground! Granted, this worktable consisted of two misfit tables pushed together and covered with kraft paper, but whatever, it worked. It is no longer working. Just like that danged water heater. So, I am now on the lookout for an actual worktable. A few years ago I came across a picture of one that I have been pining for ever since—long wooden surface on top, storage space below, and it was on rollers. I spent some time today looking around for some other ideas. I would love to make it or have it made vs. buying one. Unless of course, I found a really great old wooden table that called my name! So that whole "when life hands you lemons.." quote could play in here. Sure, I can't say I enjoyed yesterday's fiasco, but it did result in a clean studio and a much needed jolt to improve my work space. A space that really does me so much good.

Here are few that I came across:

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Justine on Pinterest

Source: ffffound.com via Superkitina on Pinterest

Source: mnml.it via Vik on Pinterest

Source: readymade.com via Susan on Pinterest

Source: None via twelve chairs boston on Pinterest

Source: factory20.com via Amy on Pinterest

painted floors

I love the look of a painted hardwood floor. Especially when it is a light color...say white or pale gray. It is a perfect solution for floors that are in bad conditon and would need some major refinishing. But lately, I have seen it in rooms where this does not seem to be the case. There are so many options for color and pattern that it has nothing to do with hiding anything, it is about enhancing a room. In some cases it is the focal point! Here are a couple of my favorites from Pinterest:

Source: morganmoore.typepad.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: blog.katiemaennle.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: futuredomesticgoddess.blogspot.com via Brooke on Pinterest

Source: awelltraveledwoman.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: ginger-ella.tumblr.com via Cassie Nicholas on Pinterest

I also love the concept of a painted concrete floor. That is something I could do in my garage/studio!

Source: google.com via PJ on Pinterest

Source: erineverafter.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: s3.amazonaws.com via Leigh on Pinterest

crafty girls brunch

I have been blessed over the past year to reconnect, as well as meet, some close girlfriends who are crafty and creative. I love to look back and see how people come in and out of your life at all the right times, and the wealth of creative friends that have been dominate in my life lately are nothing short of necessary and perfectly timed. I am at my best when I am creating something, and most of the time it is the only real way that I heal and grow. To begin to have others to do that with is such a nice change, and has been something I have truly missed since I graduated college.

Yesterday I had a few of those girls over for a Sunday brunch—to enjoy a beautiful day, to spend some time together, to nosh, and to make something with our hands. Appropriately enough, we made friendship bracelets! Here are a few snapshots from the day:

pinterest

The last two weeks I have spent more time scrolling through Pinterest than I have any other blog that I normally visit. I have been seeing this whole Pinterest thing here and there, but it was my mother who nudged me to it. Thanks mom! The minute I signed up I was hooked! I have spent the past few years pulling images and taking screen shots of things I wanted to remember, or found inspiring, and would put them into folders on my desktop. Thank goodness for this more organized way of managing all of that! It is also too much fun to share with others. You can find me HERE. Below is a sampling of what I have going so far:

how to hem jeans: a DIY for short people!

This weekend I figured out how to do something that will change my life forever! And I am not exaggerating! I successfully hemmed two pairs of jeans without having to lose the original hem, resulting in jeans that DON'T look like they have been altered! At 5’2” there are very few times that I put on a pair of jeans and they fit perfectly. They are almost always way too long. Over the years I have tried to fix pants by cutting length off and making a new hem, only to have it look so obvious. Sure, a tailor is an option, but adding that extra cost is less than desirable, and I always felt like this was something I should learn to do myself. I recently found a pair of jeans that I loved and couldn’t pass up, but were definitely going to need to be hemmed. Days later I happened upon a tutorial on how to keep the original hem, so I felt like it was as good a time as any to try this out. It worked beautifully and I am not sure there are words that express how exciting this is!! For all of you other short friends of mine, here is the lowdown:

Put on the pair of jeans and roll up the cuff to the desired length. Pin it in place. Take the jeans off and measure the length, but do not include the hem in the measurement. Divide that measurement in half and this is the number you will use to pin the final sewing length. For example, I rolled mine up about 4.5 inches (I told you I was short!) and the original hem was about ½ inch. So I was really only working off of 4 inches. I divided that number in half and was left with 2 inches. I moved the amount rolled up, down to 2 inches and pinned it there. Using a thread that matches your jean color, you then stitch right underneath the hem. Try them on before you cut off the excess fabric to double check that the length is correct. Once you cut the extra folded fabric off, iron the hem down. It will barely be visible that there is a seam above the hem, and who looks that closely anyway?!

Top shows the original amount that I rolled up (the 4.5 inches), and the bottom
shows the amount divided in half and pinned (2 inches)

Measuring and pinning around the whole hemline

Stitch right below the original hem

Finished stitching

Cut the excess fabric off

Finished! You can't even tell they have been altered!