Salt Lake City has had some trouble with graffiti lately. I've noticed it on exit signs which can be particularly dangerous if you don't know your way around. It's so irritating to see a city employee suspended above the freeway to clean off a sign that has been covered with someone's spray painted mark.
I read about these badass knitting graffiti groups in Handmade Nation and LOVED the idea. Nothing they tag is damaged, nothing requires fixing, it looks pretty and it's hard to look at and NOT consider someone's loving hands making it. I wish this kind of group would swarm into SLC and give us some covered tree trunks, street signs, and park benches. They can start at my house.
I LOVE Tom's Shoes. I like their message, I like their effort, I love the simplicity of the one-for-one concept {we donate a pair of shoes for every pair you buy}. If I could I'd mandate that everyone buy one pair just for the simple fact that it would mean so many little feet would have something to wear. They have a challenge coming up. April 16, leave your shoes by the door; go without. It's just a way to remind us of how important, how imperative, it is to have a pair of shoes to wear from here to there. Especially if your here to there is miles and miles and it's the only way you get food and water. This challenge brings up a lot of old memories for me. Nothing as spectacular or philanthropic. When I was 20 I got a tattoo on my foot. I was told it wouldn't be guaranteed if I wore shoes {all the rubbing could cause the colors to bleed or fade quickly} for about a month. No shoes for a month? Well, I could have worn flip flops but it was January so it didn't make much more sense than going barefoot. So I went barefoot. On campus at Utah State University the "no shirt, no shoes, no service" policy wasn't enforced. I tell people you could wear a gold lame bikini to school there and no one would say a thing. After a few weeks with no shoes my feet became very tough. They braved cold weather, different surfaces, things being dropped on them. By the time a month had passed and I could wear shoes again, I just didn't feel like it. Minus a few occasions, I figure I spent about a year shoeless, toe rings and all. But that was my choice. And I didn't have to walk miles in volcanic soil just to take a sip of water. Come April 16, I'm going shoeless. I may have to warn people at work so I don't get called into HR for some dress code violation. If you are in a position to go shoeless on April 16, join me.
I have been combing through the pages of the April issue of Lucky. Three things strike me.
1. Gossip Girl's Jessica Szohr has fabulous hair. How can I get my hair to look like that? Does it require lots and lots of product and hair spray and a stylist that will primp on me for hours in the morning? I may consider getting all glam with product if it means I can look as tousled and effortless as she does. I can't afford the stylist unless there is a very talented person looking for a summer internship. Sorry, the position doesn't pay.
2. I want to try the think waxy kohl crayon by Guerlain to get the perfect smoldering eye. It reminds me of an eyeliner I saw from India. It looked so much like charcoal and smudged perfectly around the eye. Not the look for a spring morning...but definitely a good look for evening in any season.
3. Achelle Dunaway, creative director of E.L.F. Cosmetics was thinking of me when she created Eyebrow Treat and Tame {see previous post}. I'm picking it up at Target this weekend to see how well the" sci-fi-ish fibers subtly fill in sparse areas so it looks like your brows are actually fuller". This should nurse me through the awkward teen phase of growing out my eyebrows.
UPDATE: This product is impossible to find. And I cannot bring myself to buy online and pay twice as much for shipping. Anyone in the SLC area know were I can find it?
MIT Media Lab has developed a laptop that will be sold exclusively to governments in developing countries for $100 and then given to school children. I love the sleek design. And the concept of providing such a low cost machine to the developing world is spectacular in and of itself.
It was July 2007 when Paris debuted the new metered self-service bicycle transit system called Velib. Whether you're Parisian or other you can pick up and drop off any of 10,000 gray bikes throughout the city at 750 locations. I love this bike and the idea of a bicycle transit system. One more cool idea that will never make its way to Utah.
Nate and I took the motorcycle out for a spin this afternoon. We decided to go up Butterfield Canyon which is part of the Oquirrh Mountain range. Compared to some of the canyons I've been lucky enough to experience, this one is underwhelming. But I'll do just about anything to smell fresh pine and the faint scent of campfire; love that! There's quite a bit of graffiti in the canyon and these are the words of wisdom I learned today.
1. Embrace freedom. Stay high. {obvious plug for maryjane} 2. This mountain is mine! {a message left by Hank Butterfield, fictitious owner of the canyon} 3. We own the subs! {looks like there is a gang problem in the Herriman suburbs}
I'd like to identify a few of the most influential blogs out there. I'm not looking for most popular or most read, I'm looking for most influential. Blogs that would pique your interest in something just by a mention. Blogs that seem to always know of the latest, greatest, and coolest thing. Name up to five that impact you {just leave a comment}.
May's issue of Domino has a great story about two painters, Phyllipa and David Marrian. They live in Kenya and if they aren't already living my dream by taking residence in such a lovely place, they also have a beautiful home that might be one of the most tranquil spaces I've seen. See for yourself {click on the image to make it bigger}.
This is a view of our lake. Oquirrh {pronounced O-ker} Lake. Beyond it you can see the Oquirrh mountain range and, of course, Kennecott copper mine. Kennecott owns the land on which our home and the community of Daybreak is built; they make many of the decisions including that to keep our community energy efficient and planned effectively. Whenever Nate and I refer to this unknown, unseen decision maker, we call him Hank. Hank Kennecott. Sometimes we like Hank and sometimes we despise him. Nate and I took a nice motorcycle ride through Yellow Fork Canyon on Friday night. I needed to decompress. I love the mountains and always feel like I can breath better when I'm in the trees, smelling foliage or a camp fire. I feel the stress getting sucked right out of my lungs every time I exhale. Such a nice feeling to know that reprieve is just 30 minutes away.
That's right. I think it's fabulous when done right but I'm just too scared that I'll do it wrong. I'll pick the wrong paper or the wrong wall and begin a saga of bad wallpaper layers that will endure the test of time. And somewhere down the line in say, 2030, the current owner of my cute bungalow will curse me for ever covering up the cool fresco texture on my walls and ask the ageless question, "why do people use wallpaper anyway?" Because by then wallpaper will be out of fashion again. Just because I'm a coward to try it myself doesn't mean I don't admire it when done right or done interesting. The current issue of Blueprint has a fun wallpaper story on page 96 called "The Cutting Room" and I was drawn to this photo. I like the idea of adding low hooks to hang handbags and smaller objects. Unfortunately, the lower hooks would likely end up displaying less attractive items on our walls like a frisbee, an orphaned sock or my security badge. It just wouldn't look the same. It's sad that life rarely imitates the art we are drawn to. We try, and may achieve it for a moment, but then you dribble raspberry lemonade on your crisp white blouse or a child sticks a finger right in the middle of your frosted cake and shazam! it's right back to reality.
I love the way the doors look with wallpaper applied in sections.
And this wall with the settee looks perfectly feminine!
In highschool {circa '85-'89} I recall specific rules about dressing. What was acceptable and what was not. Molly Ringwald was a real trend-setter although I never quite had the guts to pull off some of those genius ensembles. Until now. In the informal formal 80s and 90s, there were particular rules that, if broken, brought immediate shame; colors that should never be worn together {pink with red}; distinct fashion lines that should never be crossed {hemline of a skirt and the height of a heel}; panty hose vs no panty hose {um, you should never wear panty hose}! 2007 brings total freedom from all these lame restrictions. Expressing yourself meets more applaud then it used to; finally and thank goodness. Yesterday I wore lavendar and green. Today it's pink and red. I think I'll try and take many of my color cues from Warhol since he seemed to know what he was doing.
Three cheers for this British couple who learned the entire Dirty Dancing final scene and reenacted it in the form of their first dance as man and wife. Watch this to the end; it is darling.
It's all up to you to take this idea and run with it Kym...since I often live vicariously through you anyway. Thanks to brilliant Chelsey for enlightening us with this little gem of a find.
While I'm doing mindless work at work, I have become addicted to listening to archived episodes of This American Life. I feel at once smarter, funnier, more informed and yes, a little bookish in a snobby way. You can stream the audio to most episodes dating back to the 90s.
Go have a listen. You can start with the "Favorites" if you are overwhelmed and don't know where to begin.
I'm saving the episode called "roadtrip" for my longer then life roadtrip to the Sasquatch Festival with Nate, Julie, Tim, Brandi and Jamie. It's available for free download right here.
Also, what do you think the chances are of me ever getting on this show with some compelling story from my life?
Rosanna has a pretty collection of bottles in colors of the sea. Wouldn't these look pretty on a bookshelf of mantel? Much like her intention, they look like apothacary bottles washed up on the beach. I'm really inspired by pale, worn shades of blue and similar shades of green. I feel instantly creative and relaxed.
Pretty shades of green and blue at West Elm {vases no longer available but still pretty to look at}.
I use the word "babe" too much, I'm always making changes to my life soundtrack, I have aspirations of being good at everything I do, I nervously pick at my cuticles, I have a rad baby girl named Clementine.
This is a view of our lake. Oquirrh {pronounced O-ker} Lake. Beyond it you can see the Oquirrh mountain range and, of course, Kennecott copper mine. Kennecott owns the land on which our home and the community of Daybreak is built; they make many of the decisions including that to keep our community energy efficient and planned effectively. Whenever Nate and I refer to this unknown, unseen decision maker, we call him Hank. Hank Kennecott. Sometimes we like Hank and sometimes we despise him.
That's right. I think it's fabulous when done right but I'm just too scared that I'll do it wrong. I'll pick the wrong paper or the wrong wall and begin a saga of bad wallpaper layers that will endure the test of time. And somewhere down the line in say, 2030, the current owner of my cute bungalow will curse me for ever covering up the cool fresco texture on my walls and ask the ageless question, "why do people use wallpaper anyway?" Because by then wallpaper will be out of fashion again.
