Our experience with Holland’s Big Red was a difficult one, but I knew that this shot would be the picture of the day.
Project 365: Day Two : “Pure Michigan” LIVE
Picking a photo for day #2 is tough because I took 250+ pictures on my camera. RJ and I are celebrating our 3rd year together with a weekend drive along the west coast of Michigan. To start our trip, we drove to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and spent the afternoon there hiking the dunes. It was absolutely stunning to see Lake Michigan in its full glory.
So as hard as it is to pick only one, I am dedicating today’s photo to the beautiful Lake Michigan and the 450 foot steep bluff on Look Out point #9 on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. { The little dots on the left side of the photo are people climbing up the dune. }
What I want to remember about this day: I have an amazing partner in life.
Project 365: Day One
I don’t know where I’ll be 1 year from now, but I’d at least like to know how I got there.
About picture #1 : RJ and I spend most of our weekends in Saginaw. It seems only fitting that the first picture I post for this project is of us driving up north. I took a couple of different pictures this afternoon but decided on this one in the end. Two things about this picture that I want to remember: (1) driving to Saginaw is a part our ritual – it’s just one of those things we’ve been doing for day 1! and (2) the finger splint was a result of a bowling incident from a bachelor party last weekend.
An Etsy wish list
For my 30th birthday I decided to treat myself to a Jennifer Comstock original watercolor painting. “Happy Memories” arrived in the mail today and it is absolutely beautiful. I haven’t decided where I want to put it yet but I’ve placed it in the study by the window for now until I find the perfect matting and frame for it.
I’ve been doing a lot of perusing on Etsy recently. There’s so many amazing things out there – from art to household items to jewelry even handmade and vintage furniture. It totally boggles the mind how many talented crafters and artists are on here. What a great way to support art! I also love that different artists get an audience they otherwise wouldn’t get without this medium.
What follows is my Etsy wish list. I’m hoping some of the things can be fulfilled although I’m well aware that there are things on this list that I probably won’t be able to afford to buy. But that’s why it’s called a wish list right?
Pure Simplicity: Amazing Sara Poloma white pottery
Something Unique: Bubble Necklace by Shiho Yamashita
Your Guests Will Envy You For This: Chandelier Throw Pillow Cover
Something French for the Kids: A digital print
&Love from NYC: Ampersand Love Screen Printed Poster
A Timeless Classic: An alarm clock from the era of the Soviet Union
For the Jane Austen Lovers: Screen Printed Mr. Darcy Proposal Notecard
An Urban Gardener I am Not…
When I lived by myself in my old single girl apartment, I didn’t own a single plant. But in our new space I’ve decided to buy plants and flowers to put around the house. It’s a welcome change…and I love it. Here are a few pictures of our growing garden family, which started with a lucky bamboo we bought from Ikea. Happy Spring everyone!
My Florida Pink from The Potting Shed in Chelsea.
Mixed Wizard is an interesting name for a plant… This is another The Potting Shed find.
An adopted plant of three siblings.
Adopted plant #2.
Adopted plant #3.
The first in the lot.
*** I try not to play favorites.
My Favorite Female Writers
In the most recent O Magazine, they asked readers about their favorite female contemporary writers. I felt inspired to do something similar so I created a list of my own favorites. Who are your favorites? Who do you admire and whose work do you keep in your bookshelves; by your bedside; in your car?
Here’s mine. Some of them are famous and others unknown but I think that that’s precisely why I love them all.
♥ Jhumpa Lahiri: I fell in love with her work beginning in 2005 when an English professor assigned her book of short stories Interpreter of Maladies. It was a beautiful collection and I was hooked ever since. I don’t read a lot of short stories but I often find myself looking for hers in The New Yorker or elsewhere. I think that my favorite is the Namesake – read the book then watch the movie.
♥ Nikki Giovanni: Possibly my only favorite poet. In jr high I tried to love poems -I even went so far as to write some of my own, which turned out to be total trash. So I gave up not only on writing but reading it as well – I just didn’t get it and it didn’t get me. It wasn’t until Nikki Giovanni came to speak at my college that I discovered poetry again. When she read her poems they came to life and I began on a path of re-discovery. Poetry and I were finally speaking the same language.
♥ Erica Simone Turnipseed: {Love Noire and Hunger}: Her books got me through a very difficult time in my relationship and eventually got me through a painful break-up. Those nights I spent alone when I thought I was going crazy – she stayed up with me. It was me, her, and Noire.
♥ Amy Tan: I no longer have a favorite book of hers because I love them all. Other than Jane Austen, she is probably the one author who I have been reading the longest. A favorite cousin introduced me to her work and Amy Tan, in turn, introduced me to the world of Asian America. I didn’t know then where it would lead me but I know now that she gave me my first glimpses into a parallel world. The first time I read The Joy Luck Club I cried.
♥ Maya Angelou: She is probably in everyone’s favorite list – and why not? She is absolutely amazing. I saw her speak at the University of Michigan – what a dynamite! Essence (April 2010) has a wonderful piece on her titled “A Poet’s Life in pictures.”
♥ Veronica Chambers: The Joy of Doing Things Badly got me through some tough times but she also saw me through some really good ones. In my most difficult moments she reminded me that everything would be OK. On the good days, she encouraged m to try new things and not be afraid. As a perfectionist of sorts, her book showed me bravery and encouragement even for the littlest things like singing karaoke in public and starting NYT crossword puzzles no matter how intimidating.
♥ Jane Austen: I can’t recall the first time I started reading her books – sometime in the 90s? – but I guess it doesn’t really matter. She took me to another world beyond the one I knew. She introduced me to a world of women in love and in confusion about the world around them. Now that I am older, I understand. I know what it is like to fall in love and get hurt and then to find hope in love all over again. Jane Austen will always be a classic to me.
