Jul 302009

I have a thing for Blueberries. A serious thing. As they are in season right now, I have been eating a minimum of 3 pints a week, yum. My favorite way to eat them is frozen with a bit of sugar sprinkled on them and milk poured over the top…although these days it is fat free soy milk, bit its still my all time favorite treat…the milk, sugar and ice get all slushy and its oh so fantastic. I enjoyed a stack of pancaked monday morning made with handfuls of fresh berries and topped off with both sifted confectioners sugar and the maple syrup that my dad makes in NH, the whole meal was especially divine…since I didn’t have to make it.

Father knows best...

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Jul 292009

I had to run a plethora of random errands today, many of which took me to Poughkeepsie, which I tend to avoid for as long as possible…because its, well Poughkeepsie. One of these errands is a simple task that costs nothing and makes a huge impact on my life…I swapped my flopping pliers for brand new pairs. How on earth do I manage that you may ask? Well, as a wee lass my father always told me that if I used certain tools over and over again that I should consider using Craftsman tools from Sears…why? Because you walk in, hand them your tools that no longer work their best and are handed back brand new versions…as simple as that. I tend to use my ergonomic bent nose pliers in Edward Scissor Hands fashion and therefore tend to abuse them a bit, but thats ok because I now have 3 brand new pairs, yay!!!

Jul 282009

I have been having a bit of wanderlust recently…I have been itching to jump on a plane to Paris…then the idea of Greece was brought up and just yesterday my friend Tara said that I absolutely had to go to Positana, Italy and that too seemed like a rather fantastic idea. I was playing around in Etsy just now, checking out the new photography…and found the above photo…this is exactly how I ended up at the Bellagio last March…now I just need to figure out when to go…I’m headed to New Hampshire and Vermont in August, but September is looking pretty open…

Photo: Positano Italy by ciaobella3

I know I have gone on and on about my paths and walkways…so this is old news…but I have been having an itch to encounter one, to get lost in the woods for a bit…I used to do this often as a young girl and think that it would do me a world of good in my over connected life. Until that happens, I will live through this photo…

The Path by impulseART

Jul 222009

Something about this photo really does it for me…the styling, the red laces over her face and oh my god, did you see those rings?!?!? Love it in every way.

Photo from Vogue Italy, June 2009

To the beach I went...

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Jul 202009

I was so fantastically excited to go to the beach today, I actually woke up at 8:30 this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep I was so excited. Last night I drove into Manhattan to meet up with D, dined on fantastic food, hung out with my sister and a dear friend and then went to sleep in anticipation of going to the beach for the first time in a few years.

This morning we headed out to Long Beach, Long Island and frolicked in the waves, gathered shells, read and just squished sand between our toes….it was pure bliss…makes working until 3 am for the rest of the week worth every minute.

Jul 192009

I can’t help but be often reminded of how differently technology has defined “togetherness”. I vaguely remember a time when hanging out with a member of the opposite sex after you’ve hung out for a while meant sitting on the couch together with with maybe one watching tv and the other attempting some sort of hobby. Well now we have entered a time with the idea of relaxing together means lying around with a couple of lap tops while one watches a movie or tv and the other is blog jumping or working. Its about time there was an acceptable form of hanging out that brought you together and yet allowed both of their activities to occur seamlessly…with their acceptance and embracement of both…and then I have merely to hear scalping scenes instead of seeing them too.

I do find it scary that I have recently had to figure out how to make my relationships with friends and family allow me more time to work…

Jul 172009

I plan on continuing on my summer adventures by going to the beach at some point this weekend, yay!  I hope you get a chance to get outside and enjoy the abundant sunshine (in between the constant rain we have been having here in the northeast anyway).  I leave you with a few stunning images from Vogue, China, July 2009 .

Jul 162009

I have been trying with all my might this summer to get out there and enjoy it while I can…it often means working in my studio until 3 am, but its worth it…in the last 10 days I have been to Syracuse to see a great band and visit with great friends, to Manhattan to eat in a fantastic late night diner and to Westport to go for an awesome canoe ride (during which I was told to sit the wrong way, put the paddle in the boat and relax), dinner at a clam shack and catching up with one of my favorite friends form college. Life is good.

Before I even launch into why, please note that I said *most* gals. So last night I achieved studio perfection when I got to break in the new set up…the girls were all sprawled out on the couch and we all watched chick flicks while I worked (I am where the arrow is pointing in my jewelry area).

After the girls left I continued to work all hopped up on girl talk and cookie dough and proceeded  to somehow break all of my hole making apparatuses at once…I have NO IDEA how this could happen, but I did not have time today to bring my power drill back to sears and the hand drill I broke is out of stock indefinitely…this brought on a mild panic attack at 2 am last night…but I survived.

This morning I dashed into my awesome local hardware store down the street and discussed the options. We decided that the best idea was to buy a new smaller power drill then my broken cordless one…and this is when I realized that I shop for tools like a girl…and I say this as a girl who grew up with a father who is an art carpenter and made sure I knew how to operate every single tool in his workshop by the time I was three and a mother who once brought home a table saw because she thought “of all the cool things she could do with it”.   I know my way around a hardware store…and I still suck at shopping in one. I kept trying to grab at all of the pretty colored, multi functioning, fancy packaged drills…the patient man who often assists me and is therefore used to this told me those were overpriced useless toys and steered me over to this plain looking PLUG IN…wait, I want to be on the go!!!…he pointed out that I make jewelry in one spot and would get a much more powerful drill this way…but its so inexpensive…but, he pointed out, a really great drill….but it’s really ugly…he just looked at me with a look I get A LOT from men…but the packaging is really ugly too, and the direction changing button doesn’t have arrows printed on it…I got that look again…oh fine, I huffed.

So I carried my ugly drill home and put it aside…a bit later I decided it was time to test drive it…my intern J was watching me out of the corner of her eye with a look of mild amusement as I pointed out how unattractive the box was and that the drill was only inside a plastic bag…what kind of packaging is that???…I then plugged it in and locked in one of my favorite bits and almost drilled through the table while I shot the metal I was drilling across the room…her amused look turned quickly to fear…I quietly put down the drill and looked at J…this may take a few minutes to get used to, but I promise to aim away from you…I took a deep breath and picked the speed machine back up…I’ll admit it freaked me out, who knew such an ugly drill could have so much power??? It took a few tries, but within 15 minutes I was drilling through anything I could get my hands on…with an amazing amount of ease I have to point out…and then I realized that this is the most bad ass tool I have ever owned…and seriously the best $23 I have ever spent.

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