the last of the year

the last of the last of 2010, friends. out with a bang. a quiet bang, but still. tomorrow= 2011.

list thirty-one: christmas gifts I have loved

1. purple tricycle, 1973. complete with plastic white basket and little chrome bell. love.

2. kitchen set, 1975. with a refrigerator door that opened and closed and a stove that had knobs that turned on and off. details that thrilled me.

3. toy coffeemaker, 1977. as pictured above, friends. it was filled with a dark brown liquid that made it look as if you were really making coffee. and of course, there was an on and off switch. very important, the on and off switch.

4. darci doll, 1979. coolest doll ever. because she was a brunette. because she was a little bit larger than all the other barbie dolls. because she came with a portfolio that contained little paper magazines with examples of her work as a high fashion model. because clearly, she was a modern woman. you know, just trying to make it on her own. and who also just happened to own several very awesome pairs of metallic shoes.

5. shiny red leotard and skinny gold metal belt, 1980. there could not have been a more perfect gift for a solid gold dancer-loving ten year-old me.

6. mr. microphone, 1981. OMG I LOVED THIS THING.

7. white casio boombox, 1983. with dual cassette feature. classic times one hundred.

8. the harvey edwards leg warmers poster, 1986. what I wanted was the life of the person in this poster. bad. and my friends, they knew this. so they went in together and bought the poster for me. which, if I'm telling the whole story here, was purchased on the DL the day we snuck off to st. louis to go christmas shopping together. which wouldn't have been so bad had I actually been allowed to drive on my own with friends the two hours over to st. louis. this was the first major lie I ever told my parents and I'll spare you the details but I will say this: it did not end well. a week or so later, when my friends finally gave me the poster, I wanted to cry-- not because I was still in a crapload of trouble (and I was) but because it was the first time anyone outside my family had ever given me such a thoughtful gift.

9. vintage black velvet cocktail dress, 1988. which I originally found at a vintage shop downtown covington, kentucky and promptly hid deep in the rack so no one else would buy it before I got my mom down to the shop to buy it for me for christmas. really, I had no idea where I'd even wear such a dress but I wanted it. and I wanted it bad. I wore it around the house for a while. and then five months later, I wore it to my senior prom.

10. silver heart locket, 1990. very first christmas gift from ward, very first christmas together. seriously smitten.

11. charlie brown christmas soundtrack, 1992. favorite christmas album ever.

12. photobooth by babette hines, 2003. first spotted at a book shop in new york and then it seemed to disappear. but somehow, ward tracked it down. I am never tired of this book. never, not ever.

13. record player, 2004. six years later and I am well on my way to wearing this sweet little machine out.

14. sterling silver hula girl charm, 2005. with hips that actually move. LOVE.

15. vintage turquoise hermes rocket typewriter, 2007. the first year ward and I participated in advent conspiracy, we established two rules: the gift must be secondhand and it could not cost more than twenty dollars. imagine my surprise when I opened the box and found this beautiful thing inside. people, I could not love a typewriter more. I could not.

16. modern dance paper dolls, 2009. isadora duncan, doris humprey, martha graham, katherine dunham, they're all there. the awesomeness of such paper dolls cannot adequately be put into words.

18. every bracelet, necklace, ornament and painting ava and ezra have ever made and given me, 2000-2010. sweetest christmas presents ever. ever ever ever.


p.s. I don't know what happened during the nineties. I really don't.

to you and yours

cue magic

head on over to poppytalk for a little last minute gift wrap inspiration. I don't know about you but I've got a lot of work to do tonight, people. A LOT.

winter poem

once a snowflake fell
on my brow and I loved
it so much and I kissed
it and it was happy and called its cousins
and brothers and a web
of snow engulfed me then
I reached to love them all
and I squeezed them and they became
a spring rain and I stood perfectly
still and was a flower

nikki giovanni

victoria's house

more polaroids of victoria's rad house over at poppytalk. I blew through a whole pack of polaroid film but people, it was totally worth it.

best birthday present ever

on saturday night, I came home to find forty white paper stars hanging from the ceiling. I wanted to cry. and I could not think of a better way to start off the new decade.

I love my family.

4-0

a photobooth strip taken on the last day of my thirties called for a photobooth strip to be taken on the first day of my forties. but of course.

p.s. thanks for all the birthday wishes. you people are awesome.

photobooth friday

and the very last day of my thirties.

list thirty: things to do this december

1. pull out the rest of the shiny brites.

2. bake the red velvet cake.

3. wear the teal tights.

4. sing along with sufjan.

5. eat clementines by the fire.

6. add to the forest.

7. play christmas records.

8. make salted caramels.

9. walk down peacock lane.

10. cut out paper snowflakes.

11. line the bathroom window sill with santas.

12. blast a little james brown.

13. blast a little jackson five.

14. celebrate a milestone birthday.

15. head downtown to see the big tree.

16. hit the photobooth.

17. build a little gingerbread house.

18. pinch the ends of the christmas tree branches.

19. wear the sap like perfume.

20. spend less, give more.

21. write about the list.

22. watch a charlie brown christmas.

23. allow a little couch-jumping.

24. stockpile candy cane joe joes.

25. hang mistletoe.

26. put oranges in the stockings.

27. make paper hats and confetti eggs.

28. turn off the lights and stare at the tree.

29. sing carols, sing praise.

30. hope for snow.

happy happy

celebrating with a little 2-for-1 sale in le shoppe! and a few new prints: how about a little world globe love? a little shiny brite love? happy happy, merry merry. sale runs today through sunday, december 12th, friends.

habit

hey peoples, I'll be posting over at habit all month long. habit= lovely little internet space where people pair photographs of daily life with 30 words or less. I began the year at habit and that's how I'll end it. I like it when things work out like that. I really really do.

p.s. the above photos are selections and outtakes from habit january 2010. how is it that we are practically pressed up against january 2011? how?

routine

my thanksgiving morning routine does not usually involve the borrowing of a purple bicycle from a hotel. nor does it involve the riding of said bicycle along a river that gives way to an ocean that goes on forever. never has my thanksgiving morning involved pedaling past ships and docks, past seafood markets and old souvenir shops. never has there been the standing beneath a bridge of any sort nor the unsettling cries of sea lions and the swooping of sea gulls. never has a thanksgiving morning been so different. and while I did miss my usual thanksgiving morning routine (the one that involves the wearing of a familiar old apron and the peeling of many many potatoes), this one was not so bad.

thanksgiving

we packed up the car and headed to astoria for thanksgiving. if we couldn't be with family back home then why not a little adventure? why not?

today, I miss home

I miss family, I miss home. but still, I am thankful.

hello monday

"I never dreamt to be a model, never never dreamt to be a fashion editor but I just love the pages and the pictures. in my early years as a fashion editor, I worked with norman parkinson who was a really big photographer, and he taught me to always keep your eyes open, you know. never go to sleep in the car or anything like that, keep watching because whatever you see out the window or wherever, it can inspire you."

grace coddington, vogue

that rain

so like I said, on the day of the workshop, there was rain-- cold, blustery, miserable rain. but my workshop people, they would not be stopped by this. cameras were wrapped in plastic grocery bags, hats and coats were thrown on. and there was an umbrella, I think. maybe two. I don't know, I'm from portland so I never carry an umbrella. anyway, for about an hour, we shot in the rain-- ducked in and out of shops and alcoves, zigzagged through traffic across valencia street. people scattered this way and that. so okay, it was still pretty miserable. but also, it was fun. SO MUCH FUN.

again, ttv workshop peoples-- I thank you.

the workshop

it's been about a month since the workshop but I'm still feeling all shiny and happy about it.



because I could not have asked for a more awesome group of workshop participants. really, I could not.



and I could not have asked for a more perfect studio space. seriously, jordan-- thank you. more perfection: valencia street. I am a big fan of valencia street.



then there were sibby's cupcakes-- cupcakes for the ttv peoples to eat! well, and photograph. though not necessarily in that order.

on the not so shiny happy end of things, there was rain. and not just gentle misty rain but blustery miserable rain, the kind of rain that makes you want to burn your umbrella and stay inside forever. this did not bode well for the photo walk but that's another story. like I said, I'm shiny and I'm happy and also, I am brimming with gratitude. indeed, my cup runneth over:

thank you, victoria-- for hosting and for so much more. you should know that if I could lead a parade in your honor, I totally would.

thank you, jordan-- for letting us use your space. above and beyond generous. also, most fantastic studio ever. still dreaming about those bright yellow doors.

thank you, sibby's cupcakery-- for keeping us in cupcakes. the sweetest, the tastiest and it must be said: the cutest.

thank you, leslie-- for bringing a basket full of colorful props. you are a girl after my own prop-loving heart. but then, you already knew that.

thank you, workshop peoples-- thank you for showing up. thank you for tackling the contraptions and the ttv technique with so much enthusiasm, for experimenting all over the place and for totally rolling with the rain. thank you for being so completely awesome.

um,

I want these bikes to be real.

(write a bike via poppytalk)

number 33

number 33 off the list and I still can't believe I had a show. er, am having a show (built like this is still up at arkay workshop in san francisco and will be through december 31st).

'tis a strange thing to publicly show your work. furthermore, to invite people to come look at this work. to say HEY, I TOOK THESE PHOTOGRAPHS AND THEY MEAN SOMETHING. PLEASE COME LOOK AT THEM. I don't know if I've ever felt more vulnerable. or more excited. the whole thing is all sort of a lovely blur now-- not unlike a wedding day. all the planning and anticipation and nervousness and then the whole thing is over in a flash. and afterwards, the elation and head spinning and you're just so glad you did it but what actually happened? who was there? was the show even any good? did you look okay? did you sound okay? did you talk to everyone? did you thank everyone? and did someone remember to take pictures?



I did not actually remember to take pictures. I mean, I took a few pictures but they're mostly crap. except for maybe this one of ava and the cupcakes. I really love that my family was there, that my kids were there. ezra may not remember it twenty years from now but ava will. and I love that my husband was there to keep my head from spinning out of control, to help hang the show, to remember little things-- things like setting aside a cupcake for me for afterwards. a red velvet cupcake, at that. I really sort of love that guy.



there are a few random pictures but nothing that comes close to capturing what the night actually was. all the people that came out, the lovely lovely people. I would have been over the moon had a handful showed up but for two solid hours, the place was packed-- with more people than I could wrap my brain around. close friends and online folks, a sweet someone from high school who I had not seen in 21 years, people from the neighborhood who wandered in from off the street. and what a street it was-- 24th in the mission is fully alive and electric with color and character. the whole show is about sense of place and I could not think of a better place for this show to be, I could not think of a better street, a better neighborhood, I could not.



thank you, everyone-- for everything. thanks to mati, the magic person who made it happen, to rachel and arkay workshop for lending the walls and making the opening extra awesome. thanks for all the kind words and encouragement that were left here or sent my way, thanks to jan and victoria and everyone else for spreading the word. thanks to all who came out to the show, who braved friday night traffic and parking (and whatever else) to be there, to all who wanted to be there but for whatever reason, could not. thanks to all who bought a print or two, to kristine for the fresh flowers and to jen for the sweet handmade loveliness. thanks to leslie and riley for their general awesomeness. and extra special thanks to ward and ava and ezra for getting in the car and driving down to san francisco with me to do this thing. and for holding my hand the entire time.

it was a good night. a really really good night.