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.
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...
...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!
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.
"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."
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!
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.
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...
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!
"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.
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!
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!!
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 !!!
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 ....where do they all come from?
New York, apparently. (side note: Eleanor Rigbyis 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...
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:
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 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.
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.
