Zeitgeist 2011

           I love that Google puts together a little video at the end of each year to remind us of all that has happened around the world. Every time I watch this, I feel that swell of tiny tingles inside- the kind where you can't really tell if you extremely sad or extremely happy. I think that more than happiness or sadness, it should give us an intense sense of camaraderie no matter what country we live in or what social class we belong to or even what sexual orientation we identify with. We may not have experienced personally each others struggles, together we have all experienced and lived (/survived) this year.

Wine, wine, wine!

         I love these quirky illustrations done by Gemma Correll for A Cup of Jo, and I love wine! And it just doesn't get much better than illustrated wine etiquette tips!  Here are 8 great tips to arm yourselves with before heading to that fabulous New Year's eve party!

1. Fill red wine glasses 1/3 full, white wine 1/2 full, sparkling wine 3/4 full.

2. Twist the bottle at the end of pouring a glass of wine, to prevent drips (and to give it a flourish!).

3. Cheers! When clinking glasses, make eye contact with the other person. Otherwise, according to French superstition, you'll risk seven years of bad luck (read: bad sex). You also should clink glasses individually with each person at the table without crossing anyone's arms.

4. If somebody is toasting you (your wedding, your birthday, your general awesomeness), don't take a sip. Just smile and look humble.

5. Always hold your wine glass by the stem. Many people mistakenly think you only need to hold white wine by the stem (so you don't warm up the wine), but experts say you should hold red wine by the stem, too, so you can see its color and clarity, as well as to avoid smudging the glass with your fingerprints. Otherwise, wine snobs might call you a "bowl grabber"! :)

6. On the table, your wine glass goes to the right of your water glass. 

7. While taking a sip, you should politely look into your glass. (And not at another person, if you're in the middle of a conversation.)

8. The host's duty is to make sure glasses stay filled. "My eyes go to empty glasses immediately," wine expert John Thoreen says. "It's a real radar thing for me."

9. Or happily forget all the tips mentioned above, and just eat, drink, and be merry!

Ps. How to properly introduce people & the lipstick trick: how to prevent those ugly lipstick prints on glasses. I shared this trick with my mom and grandmother on Christmas eve, and they LOVE it!

(via Cup of Jo)

Thing we say which we owe to Shakespeare

(via tumblr)

        ....the man's a genius. 

Madness

(via flickr)

          The madness is over!!! The past few days were filled with cooking, and visiting grandparents and dads, and presents, and wild little cousin, and family feasts, and playing apples to apples.... and we have to wait another whole year to do it again! (Thank heaven's) My holidays were fantastic, exhaustingly fantastic. Now, it's time to sit down, drink a cup of tea (or if, like me, you prefer something more stiff) and reflect on all that's happened in the last year. New years is a really serious thing for me, and I really like to use the calm after the Christmas storm to really mull over the idea of a brand new year. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!!

Beatle lips

(via cup of jo)

          I want to hold your haa-aa-aa-aanmd!  Which Beatle would you lay a wet one on?? I think Ringo Starr has nice lips. Also, I feel as though he's the forgotten Beatle... which naturally makes me like him more. 

Side note: Eleanor Rigby is my favorite Beatles song!

Thanks for a fantastic year!

(via dinner a love story)

         

          Okay. Before I say anything about the holidays I have to mention that it has been a year and four days since the birth  ofmy blog! Big thanks to all my readers (the far and few!). Lately, I've been sort of falling of the wagon with things, and it's nice to be able to look back at my first post about the meaning of wabi-sabi, and my intent to use this blog to help me live by its mantra. It's time to get back on track, folks! ...and on that note, on to my thoughts about this Thanksgiving (p.s. here is last years thanksgiving post- that whole last year bit felt weird!!!)

          Lately I've been on a total Wes Anderson kick, but I'm particularly obsessed with Fantastic Mr. Fox... again. I watched it for about a week straight when it came out on dvd, obnoxiously quoted scenes, and started to say What a clustercuss!!! Now that the holidays are rolling around, it's been on my mind a lot (and, yes, the same symptoms ensue). At first, I thought it was peculiar that that movie would remind me of the holiday because there are obviously no apparent alludes to Christmas or Thanksgiving. But then, yesterday as I was sitting at a tiny undecorated table with my mom and sister it hit me. As I quietly ate our Thanksgiving meal that tried so terribly hard to be American (made of turkey aand ham, white rice, corn, Hawaiian crab salad, an assortment of Japanese pickles and kimchi, rice balls, and stuffing), I realized that Fantastic Mr. Fox and most other Wes Anderson films (especially The Royal Tenanbaums!) reminded me of the holidays because they are all about families, and dysfunctional ones at that.

          Holy turkey did I have an unusual Thanksgiving! My sister, mom, and I visited my Bachan who now lives in downtown LA (little tokyo, of course), but lived the first half of her life in the country side of Japan. She's not very American and doesn't understand our Thanksgiving holiday very well... needless to say, it hardly felt like Thanksgiving dinner at all. Thankfully, the tides turned after the meal, when we began to ask her about her childhood and where she grew up (very mysterious things to us since we can hardly make sense of most of the stories she tells). She told us about our family in Japan, where they live, and even showed us loaaads of old pictures.

          Somewhere over the weekend, I read this really simple but honest quote: “The small things of life were often so much bigger than the great things … the trivial pleasure like cooking, one’s home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard.” This year's Thanksgiving was definitely not what I'm used to nor anything I'd prefer, but just like all of Wes Anderson's uncomfortable and unorthodox families, we always seem to come to terms with our family's uncouth quirks and even somehow learn to cherish them.

And, just like the movie goes, there's something kind of fantastic about that, isn't there...

A fantastic haloween

(via black eiffel)

      I totally failed at my blogging duties this Ween.

Not.

A.

Single.

Halloween.

Post.

...and Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I'm shameless. Welp, this year I was an owl- I found a black, grey, and brown vintage lacy high waisted skirt and I spotted my face with gold leaf. I thought it was pretty clever and unique, but most people just asked me if I was a pigeon. Yeah, a pigeon. My friends and I always chat about how we think of amazing and quirky costume ideas all year round, but  when Halloween rolls around we can't think of a single one. And of course, on Halloween night we see tons of fantastic outfits. Speaking of fantastic, I almost dropped dead when I saw this couple dressed as Mr. Fox and Mrs. Felicity Fox. Soo adorable, this is definitely going down under my costume ideas for next year!

Bustin' moves

:57
adorable as hell

I wish I had moves like that little boy...if I did, I would be bustin moves all day.

Tipsy Turkey

(The Tipsy Turkey Thanksgiving Cocktail from LEAFtv on Vimeo)

       This girl is going to be one tipsy turkey this thanksgiving. Can't wait to try this out!

What English sounds like to foreigners

     I am a huge blundering fan of accents. The whole idea that each culture not only has their own language but also their own sound is fascinating.  It is especially mind boggling when you come to the realization that you don't speak the "normal" way, that there is in fact no "normal" accent. I have always always tried to imagine how americans sounded to foreigners... and now I know. This short is brilliant... kind of weird, but brilliant.

Sunday night pick-me-up

(via richard heller gallery)

"I must learn to love the fool in me--the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool."

-- Theodore I. Rubin, MD

Reykjavik street art

(via because im addicted)

       These street art style installations of glitter and sequence are bananas! Artist Theresa Himmer created these beauties on building sides in the streets of Reykjavik (go ahead, try to sound that one out), Iceland. They were inspired by glaciers, volcanoes, and waterfalls- I love how Himmer alludes to the idea of natural and urban colliding. Brilliant!



Mast Brothers

        For LA, this past week has been the first time we have felt the cold crisp air of fall. I love love love the beginning of fall, it is one of my favorite seasons. That is, the "beginning" part not the"fall" bit. The first few weeks of each season are my favorite times of the year. Right now I feel excited and giddy! I can't wait for scarves, crunchy leaves, sweaters, crispy wind, eating pho', seeing everyone's breathe when chat outside, holiday chaos, the sound of the heater running when I wake up in the morning, and (now that I've watched this video) hot chocolate!

      There is absolutely no better season to eat chocolate than the holiday season! I love this dreamy video of  the Mast brothers discussing the uniqueness and craft involved in their chocolate shop Mast Brothers Chocolate. I adore how they convey pride and passion for chocolate making. Their attention to detail and sentiment, from the way they ship their beans overseas by sail boats to the way their chocolate wrappers are made using printing presses, shows their absolute dedication and passion for honest craft. If I am ever passing through Brooklyn, you better believe I'll be stopping by for a taste. 

Air France: Making the sky the best place on earth

(Air France - L'Envol from Air France on Vimeo)

      I'm not all that sure what is going on in this Air France ad, but I really like it. It makes me feel simple, blissful, and content.

A Handy Tip for the Easily Distracted

(Miranda July: The Future on Nowness.com)

    Moving. Class. Boxes. Storage. Learning. Growing. Organizing. Work. Cleaning. Packing clothes. Packing seeds. Homework.  When I want nothing more than to distract myself with pretty things, September is brimming with lots of not-so-fun things to do. I guess right now is the perfect time to take a quirky tip from Miranda July...

Birthday wishes

     To my wonderful, quirky, talented, tremendously strong, hilarious, charming (the list could go on for ages), and of course beautiful sister... happy birthday! We'll be at your surprise birthday party by the time you read this, but we all adore you and love you! Happy, happy birthday Dana!


      On an equally important note, tomorrow is my mother's birthday. So happy birthday also to my lovely, amazing, marvelous and beautiful mom!! Love, love, love you guys!

It did happen...

(via lost)



"This Photograph is my proof. There was that afternoon, when things were still good between us, and she embraced me, and we were so happy. It did happen. She did love me. Look see for yourself!'

This is My Proof, Duane Michals, 1974

I love love love Duane Michals! Which is bizarre because I'm not really a photography person. (I think that's mostly because I just don't understand photography enough to actually get it get it.) But, Duane Michals is no mere photographer, he's an amazing poet. He's known for pairing his beautiful black and whites with words to make his art more personal and understandable (and trust, understanding is something I greatly need when it comes to photography). The handwritten text is so intimate and it gives the viewer a totally new perspective of his images. It's kind of like getting to peek inside Duane Michals head. This piece is my current obsession. The photograph itself seems happy-go-luck, but it's textual revelation is mindblowingly heartbreaking. A momentous laps of time is represented by a few understated words. It is beautiful. And unbelievably relatable. Everywhere I look there are pictures just like this one.  

Pencil Perfect

     In my room, I have a lovely white washed wooden four poster princess bed, two matching delicate night stands, one not so large dresser, and an upright easel. I used to have a desk, but I replaced it with a small sewing table that I use to house my many dying plants. I thought a place for my (continually replaced) plants was a much better idea mostly because I couldn't keep my desk clean enough to actually work on it. It was so cluttered with books and magazine clippings and half finished projects that I couldn't even find a place to put my favorite pens. Today I came across this back to school theme babble post, and it totally inspired me to move my squeaky drawer, wooden antique desk back into my room! They're beautiful- but more importantly they are simple.
     You can find them on etsy for about $43, but I'm really into making my own things. This would be a really easy and fun DIY- in fact I think I'll try to crank some out before the school year starts. There is something nice about having a home filled with things you've made yourself!

Tea out of a glass

     Favorite snacks of our favorite authors?!?!?! These illustrations are AMAZING! My favorites are Michael Pollan (because I drink my hot tea- english style with cream and sugar- out of a tall glass too!), Mary Roach ( because any author who eats pho' is bad ass), and Truman Capote (*see illustration* self-explanatory, duh).

     Ok folks, I'm about to collect eggs out of our chicken coup and make my delicious baked strawb pie! I'm having a country blast at my grandparents this week, pictures to come soon, I swear- for now, here are some great things floating around the web this week, enjoy!!

It's official- congrats again!

If I could create my own shop, I would be pretty close to this one- amazinggg!

This post reminded me how much I've always wanted to visit Greece.

This post from Cup of Jo is a about how to talk to little girls- it mentions

this article which urges people to change the way little girls think by commenting on their intelligence rather than their appearance..... I can't agree more, it's a total must read !!!

almost..

(via postsecret)

      My favorite postsecret of the week. I think, it's because I never knew that this is partly my secret too, until I saw it staring me in the face this Sunday morning.

All the happy people...

(via buzzfeed)

    All the happy people ....where do they all come from?

    New York, apparently. (side note: Eleanor Rigby is my all time favorite Beatles song) I just felt the urge to wish all the happy newlyweds one big giant CONGRATS!!! I think it's especially sweet to see the old, wrinkly, and at-the-end-of-the-match couples finally get to walk down the isle/court house steps with their lifetime beau!

I've been eyeing this thought provoking poster for a while now, and this seems like the perfect time to post it...

(via pinterest)

I totally agree.

A few months ago, I posted this video- I can't help but wonder how ecstatic this kid was to hear the news...

Brown, but spottless

     Hey y'all! I haven't gotten around to a new post in over a week. Typical Erika, I know... but I've been busy doing small town things on my "Burwell family visit vaca" (which explains my y'all slip). Soon enough I'll post little snippets of my adventures and maybe even a few poorly taken pictures (in Erika land, bad photography is unavoidable...trust). For now, here's a snap shot of a few brown eggs we plucked from our chicken coup this morning. To my disappointment, I learned that my grandmothers hens never lay spotted or blue-ish eggs. Apparently, you need a special breed of chickens for that sort of thing- who woulda thunk?

To hold y'all (there I go again...) over till the next post, here are a few nifty things floating around the web:

A seriously  cool hammock park in Austria

I looove children's books- the really good ones are more profound and poetic than most grown up books! Here is a list of recomended children's book (none of which I have read, and all of which I will)

If you haven't already figured it out, I ADORE teacups...Can you tell which is porcelain and which is paper?? I couldn't...

I'm not the only one...

(SCARFFY from Bri Emery on Vimeo.)

     I wear scarves a lot. In the winter, in the summer, in the spring, and in the fall.... But apparently, I don't wear scarves the way other people wear them. I wear them around my head, in my hair, in one giant long loop around my neck. I tie them in bows and knots and braids and tangles. Sometimes people ask me if I'm supposed to look that way or if my scarf just messed up... So, to everybody out there- Yes, I am a little odd. And yes, my scarf is supposed to look that way.

SCARVES- THERE ARE NO RULES.

Big noses, big places

(via postsecret)

     Earlier this week I posted how a friend of mine is notorious for admiring eccentric noses. That same day I stumbled upon postsecret only to find this secret! I dedicate this to my bizarre, but oh so lovely pal- you know who you are!

     I also found this gem of a secret on postsecret. Although I seem to like the more sad and desperate secrets, I'm oddly drawn to this almost uplifting one. It's simple, refreshing, and somehow still heavy. It's paradoxical, and I love it.

PS- The bottom postsecret reminds me how great it is that in 4 days I get to get on a plane to my own place that makes me realize how small I am, even with all my problems.

Thursday pick-me-up

(via ali loves curtis)

Gather ye rose-bud while ye may, old time is still a flying. And this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying.

-Henry David Thoreau

Spectacular nose

    

     I must say, nerdboyfriend has had some great nerdy picks lately... I have a history for gushing about nerds- I even posted about Collin Firth, once. What can I say?? I have a certain admiration for slightly off kilter men. The nerdboyfriend blog features many fashionable men, but few embody what it really means to be a "nerd" in all the best ways.

     The first is Adrien Brody. I am crazy about Adrien Brody(especially in The Brothers Bloom- and don't even get me started on how smokin' Rachel Weisz is). A friend of mine is notorious for admiring eccentric noses. I have never really admired anybody's nose... until Adrien Brody. Not only does he have a spectacular nose, he seem effortlessly suave and charming but at the same time extremely quirky. It's almost an impossible combination.

     As embarrassing as is it to admit, and for reasons only God knows why, I have just recently watch for the first time The Graduate. (And, by the way, what they say IS true- it truly is a life changing movie.) And let me tell you, I was soo excited to see that Dustin Hoffman (circa The Graduate) had made it on nerdboyfriend! Yeah, his wardrobe was great (blah, blah), but he was an anxious, passionate, sweaty mess! What says nerd more than that?

Monday pick-me-up

(via you are my fave)

For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long return.

-Leonardo da Vinci

Clam Lab

 

    It's nice to look at pretty things on a Sunday morning. I first discovered Clam Lab while browsing the ceramics & pottery section of etsy for inspiration on my own work in the ceramics studio. I immediately fell in love, and I often find that I keep visiting their etsy shop, especially on days when I feel an inspirational void (and not just when it comes to my ceramic work). I love the organic shapes and the freshness of the glazes. The way the pieces seem slightly off balance and their subtle imperfections perfectly reveal the hand of the artist. Every piece uniquely embodies the perfect balance between blemishes, simplicity, and grace.
    Too often my posts aren't an example of  “a way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay” , in which spirit my blog was created. We get to distracted with pretty things, and neat videos, and interesting designs, and cool knick-knacks. While none of these things are really terrible, it's not a way to live an inspiring life. These are the sort of things I find when I look for inspiration, but they tend to leave me feeling a little more lost and dizzy than when I first started. It's sort of like "keeping up with the Joneses", but for artists. Maybe everybody, and most certainly myself, need to take a humbling step back and take a look at this totally imperfect and terribly beautiful world that we all live in, then take a deep breathe and appreciate it all. And if we do, we might makes something as beautiful as what you see above.

 
       On a side note, Clam Lab studios also has a wonderful "clam blog" aaaand the artist behind it all, Clair Catillaz, was featured on etsy with an amazingly cool and insightful interview. My two favorite quotes are:

-(when asked about the name of her future memoir) "Something witty and dashing, but I hope that by the time I am distinguished enough to write a memoir, I will be humble enough to leave it unpublished."

-"Anyone who works in clay knows about letting go. So much can go wrong. Pots break, kilns misfire — it’s foolish to be attached to a fixed outcome. The only survival strategy is to be in love with the process. I make products, but my real work is the practice."

       While following Clam Lab for at least the past year (Clam Lab was only founded about two years ago), it is amazing and inspirational to see its growth and recognition. One bitter sweet detail that I've noticed is the rise in prices. It's disappointing to realize I could have bought the same amazing pieces for about half the price a year ago, but it's awesome to see that some artist recognize the value of their work. There is an AMAZING article about the value of handmade crafts that EVERY artist should read. Aaaand, because I know most of you won't read it, I'm obligated to leave you with a break-down:

-You must value what you are making.

-When you set your prices too low, you are undercutting everyone that creates handmade goods.

-You took your two hands + the required tools + out of love for the craft + your developed talent you then made something beautiful + useful.

-Create something that you love, value what you do + others will value it as well.

I know I rambled on more than usual this today, guess I had a lot on my mind... Hope you all had a wonderful and creative Sunday!