le shoppe!

huge update in le shoppe! huge.



many new polaroid prints added.



oh so many.



to kick things off right, I'm running a super happy 2-for-1 sale. this week, all prints are buy one, get one free. details here. also, I'm doing a little print giveaway over at shutter sisters. hop on over and leave a comment before midnight tonight for a chance to win.

in closing: yay!

photobooth friday

breaking news: there's now a photobooth at voodoo doughnuts on NE davis. I KNOW.

list sixteen: 100 (more) things in the world I love

an addition to the original 100 things list because I ask you, how can there only be one hundred things in the world to love? how?

1. double rainbows
2. salted caramels
3. bicycle bells
4. boomboxes
5. airstream trailers
6. gumball machines
7. clementines
8. car washes
9. band uniforms
10. board games
11. hand stands
12. bakers twine
13. brown sugar
14. roller rinks
15. toy cameras
16. fishnet stockings
17. paper hats
18. tide pools
19. empanadas
20. xylophones
21. vintage aprons
22. hula hoops
23. lens flare
24. compact mirrors
25. cigar boxes
26. peel apart film
27. japanese masking tape
28. aluminum christmas trees
29. motel room keys
30. post-it notes
31. orange crush
32. bobby pins
33. banana seat bikes
34. tiny guitars
35. beach hair
36. paper snowflakes
37. pink telephones
38. polka dot boxers
39. pull down maps
40. greek yogurt
41. fingerless gloves
42. magazine stands
43. nesting dolls
44. orange ranunculus
45. ice cream trucks
46. party horns
47. kit kat clocks
48. hats with feathers
49. secret handshakes
50. paper balloons
51. palm trees
52. french films
53. field trips
54. room service
55. newsboy caps
56. popsicles
57. yard sales
58. british accents
59. blackberry bushes
60. handmade valentines
61. harmonicas
62. lemon curd
63. paper straws
64. parasols
65. mandolins
66. fireplaces
67. charlie brown
68. neon arrows
69. cotton candy
70. garden sprinklers
71. silver charms
72. viewmasters
73. piggy banks
74. potted succulents
75. button rings
76. bonfires
77. starburst clocks
78. crimson peonies
79. paint brushes
80. beach blankets
81. fleamarkets
82. sugarcane lemonade
83. saltwater sandals
84. sun paintings
85. inner tubes
86. guerilla art
87. wind-up toys
88. rosebud salve
89. red velvet cake
90. mary tyler moore
91. maraschino cherries
92. 24 hour diners
93. karmann ghias
94. cotton nightgowns
95. vacuum cleaners
96. aqua vespas
97. pinwheels
98. pow wows
99. soul claps
100. leotards

(sixteen down, thirty-six to go)

the moment is

I was plodding through today and then I stumbled across this film. it made me glad to be alive.

(thank you, william j. hoffman)

music

is the word over at le collaborative blog words to shoot by. stop in and say hello, if you like.

number 16

please do not judge me when I tell you how long I waited to unravel the surprise ball. because, look at it. I mean really. prettiest. ball. ever. color so bright you can practically taste it. gina (surprise ball maker extraordinaire) kindly sent one my way and once I received it, here's what I did: I tucked it away someplace safe. and I did not touch it for two years. I KNOW. people, do not judge. I could not help myself. I was saving it for a rainy day, I was waiting for emergency circumstances. ultimately, I was forced to put it on the list. according to gina, I am not the only one. there have been others-- all of them reluctant to unravel, all of them women. I don't know what that says about us.

anyway.

but one bleak january day I broke down and I'll tell you, I could not have picked a better day.



you know what the hardest part was? breaking that seal.



in case you're wondering, this is how the surprise ball works: you unravel it. and as you unravel it, sweet little vintage trinkets are revealed. no one was more excited about than this than ava, designated unraveler.



once the paper confetti came spilling out, the party was totally on. then came the paper balloons, brilliantly buried in layer after layer of crepe paper, flattened and ready to blow up.



I may or may not have squealed when I first saw the vintage swimming goggles.



actually, I'm pretty sure there was squealing.



lots and lots of squealing.



dear baby crayon, I love you.



and little bluebird candle holder, I will probably have to bake a special cake. just for you.



the end would have been devastating had we not been so taken with the sweet old jacob's ladder toy we found at the center.



truth be told, it was the pile of leftover crepe paper that sort of stole my heart. it sat on my desk for weeks and weeks afterwards. I could not bear to throw it away.



one of a kind vintage trinkets from all over the world. swoon worthy, yes? we are in love with every last little thing. and we are still fighting over stuff. though the vintage goggles are mine. THEY'RE MINE. gina, we thank you. a thousand times over, we thank you. your awesomeness cannot adequately be put into words.

(number 16 off the list and you can find gina's extraordinary surprise balls over at kiosk)

clearly

I have some catching up to do.

on the pages

in the spring issue of UPPERCASE: pyrex, nylon, glockenspiels, grandparents, textiles, foxes, romanticism, cardboard, pattern, post-its, babushkas, band camp. and my regular covet column featuring the story behind a vintage brooch collection. take a peek, if you like. or get your copy here.

list fifteen: recently spotted

from the seat of my bicycle yesterday I saw:

1. an aqua-colored house

2. blankets hung out the window to dry

3. irises and poppies in full bloom

4. a man with impeccable posture

5. I LOVE JUSTIN BIEBER written in pink chalk on the sidewalk

6. a tangerine-colored banana seat bike

7. softball-sized grapefruit at the vietnamese grocery

8. a perfect example of the subconscious art of graffiti removal

9. one clawfoot tub

10. one pink door

11. two yellow balloons

12. a spectacular view of mt. hood

13. fruit crates in a rainbow of colors

14. a perfectly cloudless polaroid sky

(fifteen down, thirty-seven to go)

aptly preserved

"we photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished, there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again. we cannot develop and print a memory."

-henri cartier bresson

(the story is in the tags)

day five

it's been a good week for instant film lovers. a really good week.

(last of the last here and a few of my favorites here)

day four and list fourteen: why I will love polaroid forever and ever amen

whereupon I refrain from overusing the word 'magic':

1. because it taught me to slow down already.

2. because I die for the colors. every time. I die.

3. because press that little red button and anything can happen.

4. because the SX-70 camera is a thing of beauty.

5. because the automatic 100, also exquisite.

6. because just when I think I've got a handle on all the different kinds of polaroid cameras out there, I stumble onto one I've never seen or heard of before. thank goodness for the land list.

7. because peel apart film is cool. also, it makes me feel important.

8. because the zip and whirrr sound the SX-70 makes as it shoots the picture out is the most spectacular sound. unofficially speaking.

9. because truly, it has transformed the way I frame and compose.

10. because show a polaroid camera to a group of kids and they will look at you like you've just come from the moon.

11. because a polaroid sky is a sky like no other.

12. because I look at light now with completely different eyes.

13. because there's nothing in the world like the moment that image slowly appears. it's magic.

(fourteen down, thirty-eight to go)

(meanwhile, 'roid week continues)

day three

there's a list coming. and it's all about you know what.

('roid week, y'all)

day two

if, heaven forbid, the above polaroids go mysteriously missing or the internets are suddenly destroyed in an elaborate whackadoodle scheme to take over the world, I'll be okay. because the way ezra looked yesterday in the fur hat that made him feel like a pirate explorer is not something I'll ever forget. not ever. and the color of the sky the day my mom turned the car around so I could take pictures of an old sign? also unforgettable.

('roid week continues)

day one

week of the polaroid is so on, peoples. monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday. everyday I'll be posting and checking the pool for crazy inspiration. so, you know. the polaroid par-tay is officially on.