Altar

I came across this little altar during my hike the other morning.  As I leaned over to stretch at the top of the hill, a feather caught my eye.  Walking up to it, I saw all of these beautiful objects lovingly placed -- I wonder over time or all at once, by adult or by child?  I'll bring my offering next time.

Gift Guide 2013, Part II

To set them apart from the rest, letterpress calling cards from Mandate Press. (photo)

For the stocking, matte nail polish. (photo)

For the chic minimalist, bronze necklace from Bario Neal.

For the perpetual hostess, Irish linen cocktail napkins. 

Whiskey  is always a good option to go with those napkins.

For the ever expanding library, books never fail. 

Christmas Party Planning

I'm hosting a Christmas Party this weekend, something I've been wanting to do for years.  I can't wait to get the house clean, decorated, and full of good smells.  My parents are coming to town and bringing a home-made traditional English Christmas cake, soaked with lots of brandy, which also serves as a birthday cake for my dad.  I'll serve mulled wine, a sparkling punch, crostini, and most importantly, heaping bowls of red beans and rice with cornbread that we can eat while surrounded by sparkly lights or by the warm fire outside. 

Some of my inspiration for the party below...

Photos:

decorated hearth / garland wrapped doorway

mulled wine / orange, ginger, rosemary punch

ricotta and pear crostini / bacon and jam crostini

Gramercy Tavern ginger cake / traditional English Christmas cake

2013 Gift Guide*

 

 For the one you want to sail away with, a ship that flies.

For the new family: a custom Memory game made from their Instagram/Facebook photos.

  For keeping those toes warm, classic slippers from Beans.

For the stylish girls, a hand knit hat with wool from Swan's Island, Maine.

 For your dad's banjo collection, custom wall hooks.

For the stylish cook, a Hedley and Bennett apron.

For the brother who used to count dead armadillos with you during road trips in the south,  

a stuffed one for the couch.

For the nature loving crafter, a cyanotype silk scarf kit.

For big sips of warmth, these Bennington Pottery original mugs designed by David Gil.

For the hostess with a green thumb, a medinilla plant.

* Please note that this is not necessarily a wishlist ;)

ABQ Thanksgiving

Traveled to see my family in Albuquerque this past week, and took a hike around the Three Sisters.  The textures of the rocks, grasses, and cacti combined with the open sky above set the scene for a glorious post-feast walk.

Raw Lumber Furniture

 I can't stop thinking about some of these simple pieces; makes me wish I was better with a saw and hammer.

Ladder shelf

Bench

Day bed, much like the one my handy sister in law built.

Arroyo Seco Walk

I've been horrible lately about posting here, and miss having the outlet for things I find lovely/fascinating.  It's so easy to get swept up in the rest of life and forget the little meditative things we do, which for me includes this blog.   And walking.  I did manage to go for a really nice walk with a good friend and fellow classmate of mine, Kate Osgood, this past weekend.  She took me to a park that was practically around the block from me, that I have never explored (embarrassing!), right along the Arroyo Seco in Pasadena.  It's an easy walk, sometimes shared with horses, and this weekend shared with art installations.  Oh, and an archery course (watch out for stray arrows)!  The concrete creek runs beside you, and large estates loom on either side of the small canyon.  It's a little gem that I can't wait to explore more.

They've done a nice job planting natives along the banks, and I snapped these pics of two of my new favorite plants: a blue Penstemon (whose Latin name I am still trying to find) and Salvia spathacea (Hummingbird sage). 

Church of Crickets

Tom Waits (on Robert Wilson): "Wilson, he's always playing with time. I heard a recording recently of crickets slowed way down. It sounds like a choir, it sounds like angel music. Something sparkling, celestial with full harmony and bass parts - you wouldn't believe it. It's like a sweeping chorus of heaven, and it's just slowed down, they didn't manipulate the tape at all. So I think when Wilson slows people down, it gives you a chance to watch them moving through space. And there's something to be said for slowing down the world."

Growing up in the south, the summer chorus of crickets and cicadas felt like a throbbing pulse, and it's one of the things I miss most about living in that verdant climate.  This recording brings that sound and the pace of the south to another level. 

Listen here.
 
Source: "Woyzeck to run at Freud Playhouse". Daily Bruin (USA), by Andrew Lee. December 3, 2002

Soon....

This will be me in Vermont on Friday. 

I'm going to sit by the fire drinking wine/scotch with my parents, counting bats at dusk, and watching stars...

after a day of searching for rustic cutting boards at the thrift stores to bring home and replace the chipped plastic ones we've had for years.

I will snuggle with the kitties and walk with them in the woods ...

while I check on the band-saw sculptures I made two years ago and hung from the trees. 

Boots and sweaters are packed; envelopes ready to stuff with fall leaves; I'm ready to catch my red- eye tonight, and wake up in crisp fall.

Photos:
1.  by The Noisy Plume
2.  by Katie Pietrowski
3.  from Remodelista
4.  from beatle.blogg.no
5.  me

Moon sighting

The moon has been stunning lately, and I snapped this picture of it out my back door a few weeks ago, just as it was lining up with Venus.  The moment passed quickly, as I stepped out a few minutes later and both had shifted. 

This brooch is almost as beautiful as the real thing.