weekend reading:

it all comes out in the wash ... 

• the trick for hand-washing on MyEdit
• Cara's clever vintage photo valentines. my favorite says : 

"valentine, do you hang dry our tumble dry your skinny jeans?

• I'd love to hang this "doing laundry can be a love letter" print from Blue Bicicletta in my laundry room someday.
• my sister, Lily, shows us how to fold a fitted sheet
• Laura on the comfort of clean when you're inbetween 
• and (in case you missed it) a look at my laundry routine. 

(photo) clean sheets on a clothes line. Outside my hostel in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. This was the exact moment I fell in love with photography 

weekend reading :

f o r   t h e   n e w  y e a r  

• the cover of Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror on Glee me tear up when I watched it on New Year's Day (... so embarrassing.) 
• Hila's practice of presence in her poem New Year

 "rather than relentless mental list-making / a few seconds of smelling my perfume / rather than carelessly putting it on"

• relevant for anyone making resolutions : A Navy Girl's Guide to Goal Setting
• Thought Catalogue's 20 New Year's Resolutions for 20 Somethings. My favorite:

"Cut one person out of your life who you truly do not like and add one person who you truly do. Note: not on Facebook, on Earth"

• New Year's Eve party-favor pins on Unstitched. A sweet way to share your resolution. 
• Ralph Waldo Emerson on ending  |   Benjamin Button on beginning

(photos) campari champagne cocktails in the "color of the year" - Tangerine Tango | on film with Pentax k1000 | at our New Year's Eve Party in Tessa's Tangerine mexi-kitchen

Mid-week Reading :

for the h o m e b o d y

• . Cara's magic modern family : housemates & flashlight tag
• . "If I really think about it, though, the truth is that there may be new houses, but there's only one home." - Laura Marie Given
• . illustrated : Edward Sharpe's idea of home 
• . Abby Powell perfectly captures the small pieces of the places we call "ours"
• . Adele's Hometown Glory. I have the same bittersweet feelings about my home town (Eugene, Or) 
• . a question of "where?" from Water for Elephants  

are you a homebody? I definitely am!

(and my family knows it ... I got towels and jammies for Christmas.)

M. Toomey | Locked Away

"I am not afraid of solitude. I am afraid of the way you keep everything locked away within yourself while I give myself away, and of the unbearable loneliness that overwhelms me as a result."

Michelle Toomey, writer (and friend)

A Look at Christmas in Portland

Today, I'm sharing What Christmas Looks Like In Portland on Un Giorno Da Leone, with my friend (and fellow USD alum), Alessia. I jumped at the chance to be a part of the series for two reasons:

1. Alessia is one of those people that keeps it real. Even on her blog. It's a refreshing rarity! So when she asks you to write something, of course you say yes, because she's coming from the same honest-to-goodness place that keeps me accidentally laughing out loud in my office as I read her daily recaps. (really, read this.)

2. Portland and I have been on an upswing in our relationship. This season has made me feel like maybe I found my city-soul-mate. Who doesn't want to brag about being in love? Plus, It'll be nice to have a written record of this feeling somewhere in June-uary when I'd rather become a recluse than have one more day of wet jeans.

You can read my color story and the rest of the What Christmas Looks Like In ____  on ByAlessia.com .

Wreath Making at the Portland Bazaar

I had the best Sunday afternoon at Amy Merrick's wreath making class in the Portland Bazaar. Turns out they're one of those things that look difficult, but are really just a few key skills. Amy was a great teacher, and I definitely feel that - after borrowing a few boughs from nearby trees - I could make another. I would feel very impressive bringing one as a homemade hostess gift. oh, this? just a little something I whipped up. 

I know it's the season of giving, and I really shouldn't be buying classes for myself. But, I'm giving joy to every person who sees this bent-evergreen beauty on my apartment door. (You're welcome, neighbor with an indistinguishable accent).

[ (photos) on film with my Minolta srt-201. full frames on flickr.]

Someday Hopes

 

I'm excited to share a new adventure that begins this week:

 I'm now contributing to a project called Someday Hopes with my real-life best friend, Laura and my bloggy-friend, Anna. It's a sweet little place for them (and now - me!) to share the kind of girls we hope to be. Someday.

For my first post I wrote about something I've been thinking about a lot :  my future office. I'm currently applying to graduate school programs to - hopefully -  become a professor. It's such a big, and often overwhelming, aspiration that sometimes it's easier to look for office decoration inspiration rather than study the quadratic formula for the GRE. 

They say you should live your dreams. I just think that means living it right down to picking out prints for the walls.

[ I like gray, okay? (1) Ethan Allen (2) Ikea ]

Bookshelves on Unstitched

Today, I'm sharing a little about my favorite books in the Unstitched series : Bookshelves.

I met Lillian while I was photographing the frolic summer flower class. We were chatting, and after she mentioned that she was visiting from Los Angeles, I had a little - oh, your Lillian from Unstitched! - lightbulb moment. I read her blog everyday. She shares inspiring interiors, and creates a lot of original collaborative content. And, I'm pretty sure she is the nicest girl in the blog-land.

See you there!

[(1) on film with my pentax k1000 for unstitched. More can also be seen on Flickr] 

Weekend Reading :

read with r o s e colored glasses

• Dark and different, Brian Ferry's roses at dusk remind me of the thorny vines in Sleeping Beauty.
• I love Anabel's new photo-print project rosegolden. So pretty.
• Judith Thurman on what writing and rose's share.
• Martha Stewart's glossary of rose fragrance {on This is Glamorous}
• Chelsea said she would do physical labor at the Bulgarian Rose Festival - I was thinking the same thing about picking lavender in Provence!
• New York Times : A fresh take on flowers in Brooklyn from Emily Thompson. "Her store is like a floral curiosity cabinet, with shells, wax lobsters and feathers mixed in."
• Photographic proof that Portland is the city of roses

Hope your weekend comes up roses!

[ [ (1) on film with my pentaxk1000 for the {frolic!} summer flower class. You more on out-takes on my flickr. 
(p.s) weekend reading for the s o c i a l b u t t e r f l y and for the b o o k w o r m ]

An Inspiring Weekend Ahead

This should be a very fun weekend here in Portland!

On Saturday I’ll be at Summer School Portland taking film pictures for Chelsea’s flower class. I just refurbished my Pentax k1000 at Blue Moon – so I can't wait to use it. I went to her class this spring and it was such lovely time. I’m especially excited because I hear there might be Peonies, my favorites! Are any of you going to one of the classes?

Sunday I’ll be going to Joy’s second section of her Blogging and Social Media class. I’m a little nervous to talk with everyone (I am so not a networker), but I think it will be fun and help me focus my writing voice.

 And, of course there is Father’s day too, and my sister is moving to Portland. It will be a real whirlwind. I’m sure next week will be full of show-and-tell.

[ (1) on film with Pentax k1000. More of the flower class on Flickr, and shared by Chelsea on {frolic!} ]

Lisa Warninger | On Portland's Smart Style

"One trend that is never going to go away here is looking smart. Wearing glasses, that kind of nerdy cool will always be popular. It's a very bookish kind of town and this is the only place I've ever lived where I see people reading while walking down the street all the time. People here love to be informed and well-read, and I think that kind of academic nerdiness will always be fashionable."

Lisa Warninger, photographer of Urban Weeds, in an interview with CNN.com

I love what Lisa had to say about Portland style. I always smile to myself as I ride the bus in the morning. It's like being in a hip library on wheels. Everyone is dressed in their best business-casual (sweaters, black leggings, and oxfords ... not a pants-suit in sight) holding Portland's favorite accessory, a paperback book.  

[ image by Lisa Warninger, for Urban Weeds]

A {frolic} Flower Class

I recently had the pleasure of attending Chelsea's first official {frolic!} flower class. 

She taught us how to make a 'french bouquet'; which we learned means the steams are tight and crossed and the overall shape is rounded. (Although, you could probably sell me anything with 'french' in the title. See me, buying the can of french cut greenbeans at the grocery store)

Chelsea was a fantastic teacher; sharing with us the history of the 'nose-gay' and encouraging all of our individual styles. The combination of her past life as a flower shop owner, and current career as a prop stylist make her a real pro!

I used shocking pink ranunculus, purple lilacs and white freesias, which smelled absolutely heavenly. Chelsea also suggested we use greenery in our bouquet, which I had never really though of. It gave them shape, and made them looked fuller and more finished at the end.

And, it was an added plus that the class was full of fun ladies like Lauren (of The Little Things We Do), Laura (a letter designer) and Jenn (an event planner at Bowtie and Bustle)

 It was such a great, girly morning and I had a beautiful bouquet to bring home to wish my sister good luck on her marthon. I always get a little sad when it's time to toss them - but as Chelsea pointed out ...

"That's the beauty of flowers. They aren't permanent. They're fleeting"

You can read more about the class from Lauren and Jenn and professor Chelsea, herself ( ... where you can also see a picture of me, my bouquet, and a very bad hairday).  

 

and there are more of  film pictures of the {frolic!} flower class at my flickr.

 

(p.s.) If this sounds like something you'd like to do, she'll be teaching another flower class at Summer School Portland!

--

* as many of you know, blogger (the publisher I use) was being a real butt-head and, because of a glitch, removed many recent posts from around blog-land. Luckily, this post wasn't gone for good - but some of the comments are. I promise I didn't delete them. I love every word you write to me.

Falling in Love with Orange

I've never been a big fan of orange, perhaps because it heralds the end of my favorite season. But a few things have given me an attitude adjustment

1. This is Glamorous pointed out, autumn comes in shades of Hermes. Now that is a positive association.
2. Seen all over Paris on Little Brown Pen the perfect tangerine color suddenly seems so french
3. I bought an old book yesterday called Color Design, published in 1972 by Harald Mante, to teach me about using color more effectively in my film photography. It says that Orange

   "combines the brilliance of yellow with the warmth of red. It's luminous ... the absolute pole of warmth."

   It's inspired me to focus on orange to capture the few perfect, warm air and cool breeze, September days.

If you look in the thesaurus for synonyms for Orange one of them is bittersweet.
Much like its appearance in the trees at summers end & my new feelings for this color.

It Makes Me Smile {guest post at Richellephant}

Richelle, over at Richellephant, is posting a list of things that make her readers smile. I was being a real piece of work yesterday, but after seeing her request I took a little time to stop being such a sourpuss and lighten up. It's nice the way that someone's blog can do that for you. & Richelle is awful crafty so you should check her out. She'll probably inspire you too.

(10) things that make me smile:

1 • clothes that aren't mine
2 • grocery shopping
3 • loving someone down to their eye lashes
4 • hoarding girl scout cookies
5 • white sheets on a clothes line
{see: the picture I took at a hostel in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina}
6 • doodling hearts on everything
7 • champagne giggles
8 • college friends with blogs so they don't feel so far away
9 • ribbon and bows
10 • wearing too much jewelry

I Just Play One on TV ...

I had my picture taken by Lisa Warninger of Urban Weeds last week!

I am wearing ...

• dress: Ella Moss {Anthropology}
• belt: from local boutique {Sloan}
• Michael Kors shoes: thrifted {Buffalo Exchange}
• bracelets: Forever 21
• necklace: Erica Tanov {a gift from my best friend Jessi}
• lipstick: Chanel, Dragon
• nailpolish: Chanel, Dragon

When you write a letter to the editor of the New York Times or clip a picture from Vogue it's rare that anything comes of it. But, blogging is different and special because of things like this. It was weird to be on the other side of an interview, especially with someone who made me just starstruck. I'm a bit of an awkward duck (a product of being so skinny growing up) - so these pictures are a true testament to her talent!

When we talked about my personal style I told her There is nothing rock-and-roll or avant-garde about the way I dress. I have a casual, earthy lean to my preppy style and I've never been able to pull off wearing much makeup or anything grunge revival. Because of this I'm rarely on the forefront of the trend watch, but I do incorporate fresh pops that are consistent with the way I like to style myself. It helps having hair like I do - I'm always with my biggest, permanent and most signature accessory.

"I'm a simple dresser, I don't like my clothes to compete with my curly hair. It's big enough as it is."

Working Title

since I'm moving this week and I will be a busy bee in places other than blogland

you should go enjoy Working Title, my roommate* Tessa's new blog! ( .. and by roommate I mean bedmate, since we have been sharing a bed since I got back from Argentina because I had 31dollars in my bank account)

she makes pretty things like this ..

Postsecret : One is the Loneliest Number

(image) vintage postsecret from a file at my computer at home

I know the feeling probably better than when I saved it.
I would rather be nowhere with the one I love, than anywhere with out them.

Argentina: Lost (& Found) in Translation

this comment, on a post I wrote about foreign language, is pure poetry 

"eventually you make a home in it--the silences where you try and understand each other start to feel like sharing secrets. Je promis."

Caitie Mace at Light on the Subject {who I happen to know in real life, mostly through a shared copy of Vonnegut's Breakfast at Champions}.

Oh, Won't You Stay Just a Little Bit Longer

" So light and fragile that you fear the slightest wind could come and carry them all away in one swift motion. " Melanie Ormos (quote and photos)

One of my very favorite people Melanie moved to Portland the week I left for Buenos Aires. It has been so wonderful reading her blog as she discovers a place that I kind of forgot to appreciate when I was so excited to be somewhere new. It reminds me daily of all the magic that waits back there for me {and part of that will be seeing her}! She is a fabulous writer and photographer who looks at life with her own kind of elegant optimism, don't you love these?

Dear Blossoms, please wait for me to come home before you f l u t t e r away for the season!

PostSecret * : Unforgetable Love

{*PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.}

Sometimes the memory of the past has a way of defining our present. But, there is a kind of love that makes us forget who we thought we were and gives us a blank slate to be who we want to be. This is the kind of love I've found.