Grey Days

Is there a name for those endless days this time of year? My head is so achy and heavy and that I cannot for the life of me think of one. I can think of names for other times of the year but not this one.So, needless to say the weeks have been a bit long. It always makes me think of the Shins lyric, "The years have been short but the days go slowly by". I was listening to the Shins on repeat while finishing up some things for a Cleveland Handmade show at Silverthorne Gallery. (If you are in the area it's up until the end of the month). Maybe it was all the time spent in a VERY cold attic, but I've been sick all weekend. I am so.tired.of.being.sick. This has been a truly rough January.

The picture above was taken through one of my favorite candlesticks.
I have had my eye on them for quite awhile. I imagined them looking lovely on the mantle, but the realities of very thin glass on a mantle above a ceramic tile hearth and two cats and at least one very clumsy owner, it was not to be. After I broke one just minutes after arranging them, it was clear they needed a new home. Luckily they fit on the window ledge of the very high leaded glass window in the dining room. It turned out to be good decision because looking at the way the light shines through them gives me a lot of pleasure.



I just finished this book and really enjoyed it. It's been a bit difficult to throw myself into a new book, after enjoying that one so much. This always seems to happen to me. I did score this at the library, so I'm trying to make a sewing goal for the month. Also, the I'm Not There soundtrack has been playing a whole lot around here. It's so,so good. In the meantime, I'll be checking Leya's blog to see what other people's solutions are to these days.

keyhole

Just a little corner of my home I wanted to share.

naan stop

A few nights ago we had Mutter Paneer (well, tofu actually) and I made a huge batch of naan. I use this recipe a lot. Mostly because the majority of naan recipes I encounter have yogurt in them and I just don't always have plain yogurt on hand. It was pretty delicious and it's really easy to make as long as you don't mind cranking your oven up to 550. I find that preheating the oven with a couple of pizza stones in it works really well. I bake about 3 at a time. It takes a round or two to get into the rhythm, but once you do, you'll start to feel confident enough to make jokes about opening your own Indian restaurant and calling it, yep you guessed it, Naan Stop. Maybe the heat was getting to me.



It seemed like fall was all stalled out, but suddenly overnight the colors are finally here. They always seem to sneak up on me. We've been hiking at Huntington Reservation few times a week. I didn't even take the camera, feeling like colors hadn't changed enough, but of course I was wrong. Deciding not to take the camera is pretty much always the wrong decision. Other than that there's been a lot of soup making and dvd watching. I realized that there are few things as great as discovering a really funny tv show and watching it all in one go on dvd. I also discovered that there are few things as disappointing as realizing you are caught up with said show and you have a years wait before you can watch another episode.

I watched the Godfather for the first time. (I know, I know, I'm not sure why it took so long). I was really struck by how visually beautiful it was, the colors in particular. The whole movie (actually 1 and 2) the color scheme is almost entirely muted neutrals with these shots of burnt orange. I tried to find a picture to show you, but I couldn't find one that wasn't filled with weapons. I can't get those colors out of my head. Unexpected inspiration.



I decided it was time to take part in the Pay It Forward Exchange. I think it's a great idea and I joined up on Jen's page. It works like this: I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on this post requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.Such a good idea.

So, comment away and enjoy this October Sunday (Actually, by the time blogger behaved...Tuesday).

Shop Update

I've updated my etsy shop with some new items including some special seasonal editions. I loved sorting through all my things to handpick these images especially for this fall. I was thrilled to receive my first jewelry order and to send it off to this lady. I hope you enjoy it!
The laptop is going to the Apple store for some diagnostics, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again. Hopefully soon. In the meantime, I'm listening to this,
being so inspired by this blog, and loving all the happy,puppy love here.

new inspiration

I bought this lot of vintage pins a few weeks ago at a flea market. I think they may have been grouped by political persuasion, but I"m not sure. My favorites are the Audubon Society pin and the "comrades" one. It ended up being the inspiration for my next project.I've been collecting vintage illustrations, in particular those from old reference books. After a little trial and error, I'm really excited with the end results:
brooches

barrettes


I really love them so, so much. I hope that there are some other people out there who will love them too. I keep passing by them and looking at them. I can't seem to help myself. I hope to add this batch to my shop as soon as possible.

It hasn't been easy working on things in this heat. I did make a delicious strawberry tart from this recipe.It was the perfect weather to enjoy this dessert, but not so much the perfect to make it. But, it came out alright and we managed to have seconds.

free.inspiration.

I have a bit of a hair obsession. I'm not really sure how it all began. I think that it has something to do with the transforming powers of a new haircut or new hair color.To me, getting a new haircut has a thrill of adventure attached to it. The very sentence "I like hair" sounds a bit ridiculous and flippant. But, I don't think it is just a cosmetic obsessions. I think that hair is the same as the clothes we wear or the things we put in our house. You can debate over the actual importance of these things, but they do matter in a aesthetic, inspiring way. So, a few years ago, I was really excited to discover the Hair Stories books put out by Bumble and Bumble.They are put out biannually and they cover various themes combining style and photography along with more technical articles intended for stylists. These books really appreciate the style value of a great haircut and move them beyond the typical hairstyle magazines with bad lighting and photos that are all about the cut and nothing about the inspiration or soul behind the haircut.

In the very first issue,they included an excerpt from Hemingway's The Garden of Eden,used as an example of why a woman cuts her hair short. " No decent girls had ever had their hair cut short like that in this part of the country and even Paris it was rare and strange and could be beautiful or could be very bad. It could mean too much or it could only mean showing the beautiful shape of a head that could never be shown as well."




At first the books were pretty difficult to come by. Of course, you know how motivated I am by scarcity, so it was pretty fun to track them down. They are free and are supposed to be available from Bumble and Bumble salons, but it's a pretty mixed bag whether or not you can find one. Some salons never get them, some reserve them for stylists only.But I have managed to get hold of all of them so far.The newest edition, is all about "The Bob" and also includes a dvd. (The last issue included a dvd as well including a retrospective of their fashion photography). Luckily, Bumble and Bumble is making it much easier to get a copy. Just go here.Request one. You will not be disappointed. As Bumble and Bumble press says, it's free.inspiration.

yellow + gray

I am really loving the color combination of yellow and gray at the moment. I think it appeals to two sides of me. One is the neutral loving side and the other side is the one that craves bright, saturated, sunniness. Here are a few of my favorites, alone or together.
This chair .
This bag, which is also here.
This is on my wish list.
i'm really glad that I came across this flickr.
Enjoy your weekend!