list forty-eight: some things I miss about portland

or, the beginnings of a love letter.

1. the light on yamhill and 10th around magic hour
2. the smell of franz bread baking near NE 11th
3. the used car lot balloons that line 82nd
4. the long, tall aisles of powell's books
5. annie's happy, happy windows
6. and those sunshine yellow booths
7. lippman's bins full of bouncy balls
8. smut's bins full of instant relatives
9. grilled cheese sandwiches eaten on double decker buses
10. cherry snow cones eaten in rose gardens
11. the sound of passing streetcars
12. the smell of coffee everywhere
13. the big, beautiful downtown library
14. the view from my favorite parking deck
15. the occasional awkwardly awkward tall bike
16. the green, green moss that covers everything
17. bipartisan's sour cherry pie
18. little big burger's truffle fries
19. old cameras stacked ramshackle in citizen's windows
20. jumbles of color hung on rerun's racks
21. those five words in neon orange
22. that big loser in the sky
23. the light in the lobby of the ace
24. the secret drawers filled with secret papers
25. the cardboard city on the ceiling of tender loving empire
26. the organ music at the old oaks park roller rink
27. the red and yellow spiral slide at glenhaven park
28. the rainbow of flags that hang above SE third
29. the hidden gem that is the cameo
30. the hidden treasure that is ed's house of gems
31. a thousand different food carts
32. a window full of light bulbs
33. cargo's big red wooden doors
34. lloyd center's tiny spinning ice skaters
35. dance class up on the fourth floor
36. bus number twelve down sandy boulevard
37. chin's perfect neon
38. le happy's perfect yellow
39. saturday morning at the hollywood farmer's market
40. saturday night at the hollywood theatre
41. pambiche's empanadas and sugar cane lemonade
42. mcmenamin's magic saltwater soaking pools
43. my favorite building (the color block building)
44. my favorite thrift store (the secret one)
45. the feel of the downtown train station
46. the daily view from the sacramento ridge
47. every portland bridge, every single one
48. every portland thing, every last one

list forty-seven: 17 things to do with confetti

I keep a little bit of confetti in the house for the same reason I keep a party horn at the bottom of my purse. you never know. buy a bag when you see it and when you need it, it's there. seventeen things to do with it:

1. put in bowl like candy

2. send anonymously to friends

3. spread in trail-like fashion around neighborhood

4. stuff in pockets of unsuspecting persons

5. sprinkle in shoes of unsuspecting family members

6. hide in plastic easter eggs all over town

7. send pinch in with bills

8. send smidge in with tax return

9. leave in school lunch boxes

10. leave in self help aisle of favorite book shop

11. leave with generous tip at restaurant

12. sprinkle in cracks of sidewalk

13. scatter at downtown bus stop

14. scatter in stall of public bathroom

15. use as inspiration for entire outfit

16. wear in hair, pretend not to notice

17. put under pillow, wish for great things

list forty-six: these are things

obsessed with, as of late:

1. honey crisp apples
2. thrift store lamps
3. nineties hip hop
4. things that are yellow
5. things that are shiny, happy
6. the reading of the diary of anne frank with ava
7. the loading of the old yashica
8. the promise of yurt camping
9. ezra's teeny tiny drawings
10. my mother's beautiful quilts
11. raw honey in my oatmeal
12. coconut oil on my body
13. tom-tom club records on repeat
14. jenny's sparkling new space
15. tracy's rad friday lists
16. a pair of lovely earrings
17. a lovely fall bag
18. a ridiculously perfect pencil
19. the work of this director
20. you know what? this one too
21. rolls of vintage wallpaper
22. maps of the paris metro
23. old alfred hitchcock movies
24. shiny new projects
25. the color of the leaves
26. and candy corn
27. ALL OF THE CANDY CORN

how about you?

list forty-five: a summer manifesto

(as inspired by one of my favorite list makers, the incomparable mollie greene)

I will play records in the backyard

I will pick berries til my fingers are stained

I will bake things with said hand-picked berries

I will take walks with my husband

I will hang my sheets outside to dry

I will wear my skirted bathing suit with pride

I will take the kids to the drive-in

I will watch scary movies with ava

I will watch action movies with ezra

I will have money stashed for the occasional ice cream truck

I will share jars of flowers from my garden with my friends

I will play two square with ezra for longer than five minutes

I will get up early to hit the yard sales with ava

I will paint my fingers and toes varying shades of aqua

I will jump through sprinklers

I will ride my bike during magic hour

I will read books outside

I will cross a few things off the list

I will insist on the cherry snow cone

I will insist on the cherry-dipped ice cream cone

I will help ava transform her room

I will not cry when she turns thirteen

I will talk into fans, I will pretend I am darth vader

I will make room for small adventures

I will say yes to bubbles

I will say yes to water balloons

I will always say yes to the park

I will always have popsicles in the freezer

I will stop worrying about things I can't control

I will put it in his hands

I will dream about lightning bugs

I will swim in the ocean

list forty-four: better than candy

better than cake, even. making me thirteen different kinds of happy:

1. an audience as art movement
2. a twin lens reflex camera for instant film
3. an enthusiastic ira glass waxing poetic about a brilliant modern dance company
4. and said brilliant company at the joyce this weekend (which I would so go see if it were at all humanly possible)
5. also, the most perfect episode of this american life, ever 
6. how about the promise of a new michel gondry film 
7. and california through xanthe's eyes
8. plus imaginary doors (and the people who pass by them)
9. also, a retrospective to get really excited about
10. and gorgeous work by some good friends of mine (I could watch this for hours)
11. plus, the teaching of my kids' instant photography class
12. and the taking of a new modern dance class
13. not to mention, a really really really (really) exciting email

list forty-three: small things

or, not so small things. getting me through:

1. leaves the color of butterscotch

2. trees that seem to glow

3. the constructing of halloween costumes

4. the holding of the sweetest of babies

5. home-cooked meals from the sweetest of friends

6. stevie wonder records on repeat

7. dark movie theatres

8. daily texts from my dad

9. time in the land of sunshine

10. unexpected packages from friends (filled with thoughtful things that make me cry)

11. rolls of bright-colored crepe paper

12. postcards in my mailbox nearly everyday

13. the shopping for outfits for middle school dances

14. the shooting of many, many polaroids

15. the riding of bikes down tree-lined streets

16. her sterling silver dogwood ring on my finger

17. the last of the pink cosmos

18. ezra's spectacular laugh

19. apple caramel anything

list forty-two: things I miss

surely I'm forgetting something:

1. rotary phones
2. lightning bugs
3. first kisses
4. polaroid film
5. new york city
6. dance class
7. my old body
8. sunshine, heat
9. the golden age of hip hop
10. the atlantic ocean
11. the kids as babies
12. fleamarkets with my mom
13. rides in the blue bambino with my dad
14. summers at the american dance festival
15. downtown cincinnati
16. back handsprings
17. slumber parties
18. snail mail
19. lauryn hill
20. fellini's pizza
21. camp with my cousin
22. weeks with great aunt louraine
23. RC cola in aluminum cups
24. tuesday nights at star bar
25. the backyard hammock
26. grandma corrona's bread
27. dancing with friends
28. atlanta, georgia
29. my childhood

list forty-one: things

things recently realized (in no particular order):

1. found shapes inspire me.

2. walking to school with the kids each morning is a magic way to start the day.

3. sunshine-filled forecasts almost make me feel panicky.

4. spaghetti, ramen noodle soup. I cannot eat another bowl of spaghetti or ramen noodle soup.

5. but cooking with ezra is really really fun.

6. potential train trips fill me with hope.

7. the sound of adam yauch's voice makes me cry.

8. lilacs. when in doubt, lilacs.

list forty: some things I did on the last day of the year

1. jumped on a trampoline

2. spent a little time in the car

3. but with the windows partly rolled down

4. introduced my niece to the fine music of blondie

5. played several rounds of I SPY

6. marveled over bright blue skies

7. sampled a coca-cola flavored cupcake

8. watched cousins hop in and out of a photobooth

9. yelled YOU GUUUUUYS! IT'S THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR!

10. yelled it a lot

11. maybe a hundred times

12. contemplated the making of party hats

13. contemplated the purchasing of party hats

14. laid on the trampoline with ezra and looked up at the sky

15. watched the light turn gold

16. then blue

17. listened to him talk about the moon

18. reveled in that moment, that really really spectacular moment

19. discussed the merits of 2011 over mexican food

20. blew off resolutions

21. went on a double date

22. somehow ended up at waffle house twenty minutes before midnight

23. considered ordering waffles

24. and/or grits

25. ordered coffee instead

26. played al green on the juke box

27. fished a pink plastic party horn out from the bottom of my purse

28. counted down the last seconds of the year

29. counted them down with my husband, my brother and my sister-in-law

30. and a restaurant full of strangers

31. blew that pink party horn

32. blew it loud

33. kissed my husband

34. loved everyone in that waffle house

35. for a second, loved everyone and everything inside (and outside) that waffle house

list thirty-nine: 11 photographs of ward that I love

1. with ezra, overlooking the pacific ocean, northern california, june 2008


2. at the food carts on hawthorne and SE 11th, portland, august 2010


3. at the warwick hotel on his 40th birthday, seattle, november 2008


4. in the kitchen of our new place, our first month in portland, april 2007


5. on our first road trip down highway 101, klamath, california, june 2008


6. downtown portland, christmas break 2008


7. with ava (baby ava!), miami beach, florida, july 2001


8. after burgers and fries at mel's diner, san francisco, june 2008


9. in an alleyway somewhere in seattle, may 2007


10. in our front yard, halloween 2010


11. on a beach blanket with me, kure beach, north carolina, july 1998

happy birthday, awesome husband of mine. happy happy birthday to you. here's to more decades filled with favorite photographs of you. decades and decades and decades.

list thirty-eight: places I'd like to spend the night

I keep a running list. is what I'm saying.

oh to spend the night:

1. in this spectacular 1953 vagabond trailer, el cosmico, marfa, texas

2. in this perfect bohemian balcony room, bonito, buenos aires, argentina

3. in this unreal finnish igloo, hotel kakslauttanen, finland

4. in this crazy ridiculous pink room, madonna inn, san luis obispo, california

5. in a room with a view, washington square hotel, greenwich village, new york

6. in a luxury traincar traveling across india, with brocade wallpaper and marigold details and jingly chandeliers

7. in this amazing cave room (that must be climbed down into), kokopelli's b&b, farmington, new mexico

8. in this lovely attic room (that must be climbed up into), les toits de paris, paris, france

9. in the turquoise room (because surely there's a turquoise room), pantone hotel, brussels, belgium

10. in the room with the fantastic bedspread, peacock pavillions, marrakech, morocco

11. in a bungalow that sits over water so clear it cannot possibly be real, four seasons, bora bora

12. in a room with a sweet little record player and a sweet little fireplace, ace hotel, palm springs, california

13. in a room that is cavernous and magic, fairy chimney inn, cappadocia, turkey

14. and pretty much anywhere here, cinque terre, italy

list thirty-seven: currently loving

(number 14)

in no particular order:

1. bright-colored yarn tucked into the cracks of parisian sidewalks

2. small white bowls filled with candy corn

3. extraordinary photography projects

4. street artists who work magic with wheat paste and confetti

5. essie nail polish in light turquoise

6. krylon spray paint in neon pink

7. dances performed in the backs of trucks

8. films that beg to be seen

9. work that inspires again and again

10. sour cherry juice that is not really sour at all

11. brown leather wrist cuffs that never die

12. vintage snapshots that seem tender and brave

13. songs that slip in quietly through the back door and deliver the goods

14. 79 cent thrift store mugs that make everything better

list thirty-six: 100 things I love about summer

1. daisies in my front yard
2. rainbow snow cones
3. old lawn furniture
4. drive-in movies
5. polaroid skies
6. lightning bugs
7. sidewalk chalk
8. saltwater sandals
9. saturday morning yard sales
10. sunflower fields
11. street festivals
12. paper fans
13. ice cream cones
14. the sound of cicadas
15. the hum of old fans
16. polka dot bathing suits
17. backyard string lights
18. oversized beach balls
19. teeny tiny pinwheels
20. carnival food
21. painted toes
22. diving boards
23. impromptu picnics
24. water balloon fights
25. epic roadtrips
26. cherry slushees
27. open windows
28. hanging laundry
29. flashlight games
30. frozen grapes
31. barbecues
32. bare skin
33. squirt guns
34. sundresses
35. homemade tents
36. cut-off jeans
37. collected shells
38. super slides
39. neon inner tubes
40. roadside fruit stands
41. underwater tea parties
42. candy-colored zinnias
43. the sound of ice cream trucks
44. the scent of the ocean
45. long afternoons at the library
46. long afternoons at the park
47. mexican coca cola
48. corn on the cob
49. hand-painted driftwood
50. homemade bubbles
51. vintage sunglasses
52. white cotton nightgowns
53. pink plastic flamingos
54. roller coasters
55. ferris wheels
56. frozen lemonade
57. giant hammocks
58. dinner on the patio
59. early evening bike rides
60. late night light
61. hand-picked strawberries
62. braided hair
63. baby pools
64. dairy queen
65. tiki torches
66. the scent of fresh cut grass
67. the scent of suntan lotion
68. hot city sidewalks
69. lemonade stands
70. mexican peasant blouses
71. backyard croquet
72. watering cans
73. fireworks
74. farmers markets
75. tide pools
76. straw totes
77. water slides
78. window boxes
79. sandcastles
80. sleepovers
81. sparklers
82. art camp
83. blueberries
84. beach umbrellas
85. miniature golf
86. neighborhood parades
87. lawn sprinklers
88. turquoise waters
89. wild blackberries
90. hand-painted rocks
91. bright-colored beach towels
92. fleamarket weekends
93. happy gardens
94. magic hour
95. night swimming
96. daisy chains
97. popsicles
98. summer songs
99. bare feet
100. sunshine

happy second day of summer, friends.

list thirty-five: books I loved as a kid

these are the books that I read over and over. tirelessly, joyfully. these are the books that I loved so much it hurt.

1. maria tallchief by tobi tobias. purchased in first grade at the school book fair and the beginning of so much for me. filled with gorgeous pencil drawings of a dancer who was born on an indian reservation and went on to become a famous prima ballerina with the new york city ballet. I spent hours examining the drawings. hours and hours and hours. and even though I have long since parted ways with ballet, I still want to slip inside this book and become maria tallchief.

2. peppermint by dorothy grider. a litter of kittens is born in the back of a candy shop and all of them find a home but one-- a sickly little white kitten named peppermint. oh the heartbreak! I could not take it. which is probably why I read it again and again. also? pictures of pretty candy in big glass jars plus pictures of fluffy kittens= total win.

3. little majorette by dorothy grider. baton twirling was never really my thing but the pictures of the costumes in this book had me reconsidering. oh, that bright red two-piece number with the white fringe! and the fancy majorette costume that patty's parents surprised her with at the end! SO. GOOD.

4. I know a story by miriam blanton huber, frank seely salisbury and mabel o'donnell. pretty much your basic collection of classic tales here-- i.e., the gingerbread boy, the three little bears, little red riding hood, yadda yadda yadda. but the last story in the book, the boy who went to the north wind, was something special. there was a magic stick and a magic goat and a magic tablecloth and wind that actually talked and a boy and his mother who had nothing but got everything in the end. the best, people. the best.

5. popular party games edited by alison m. abel. purchased at the school book fair in second grade and the very beginning of my lifelong obsession with party planning. there's a price tag on the front with 30 cents marked on it and the initials A.C. scrawled next to it. which means I must have tried to sell this book at one of my mother's many garage sales. which, if it had actually sold, would have been nothing less than tragic. there are important sentences underlined and specific game titles circled and entire paragraphs crossed out. it's a little piece of second grade andrea and I die when I think of how easily it could have ended up in someone else's attic.

6. flicka, ricka, dicka and the strawberries by maj lindman. checked out from the local library repeatedly and then purchased at an antique mall somewhere in tennessee a good twenty years later. to be clear, I loved all the flicka, ricka, dicka books. all of them. I was also a big fan of the snip, snap and snurr books. because please. old-fashioned storybooks about swedish triplets are meant to be adored. however, this particular flicka, ricka, dicka book just about did me in. every time. the story: flicka, ricka and dicka (in adorable matching red and white dresses, mind you) go on a picnic in the woods. along the way, they fill their baskets with wild strawberries which their mother has promised to pay them each a silver coin for. at some point, they lose track of time and end up horribly lost. which is when they stumble onto a sweet family who takes them in. fyi, this family has nothing. they're walking around in ratty clothes and bare feet so in my 7 year-old mind, they have nothing. but you know, the mother keeps the tiny home clean and clearly, they're kind, humble people. the kind of people that just sort break your heart. so anyway, the mother sends her daughter (who just happens to be the same age as flicka, ricka and dicka) back into the forest to help the triplets find their way back home. when they return, the triplets tell their gorgeous (blonde) swedish mother everything. they tell her they want to use their silver coins to buy the girl a new dress and there's a whole page devoted to the shopping (which I loved) and of course, they pick out the most perfect dress ever-- crimson red with white polka dots and a little white lace collar. in the end, they take it to the girl, along with a basket filled with apples and jars of strawberry preserves and milk for the baby (who you just know was starving) and oh people, it was beautiful. and I don't remember crying but I bet I did. I just bet you I did.

list thirty-four: things to do this spring

in no particular order:

1. break out the bike

2. keep the vases filled with ranunculus

3. teach a workshop

4. rearrange the collections

5. study portraits

6. watch the trees in the front yard explode with pink blooms

7. stand in the aftermath

8. bring out the mismatched yellow floral plates

9. celebrate four years of living in portland

10. paint a couple dozen eggs

11. lose self in tulip fields

12. revel in the extra hour of light

13. hoard marshmallow peeps

14. hoard orange jellybeans

15. shoot more rolls of film with the canon

16. paint with mati, cook with tracy

17. head downtown to the farmers market

18. revisit old family vacation photographs

19. watch for the poppies and the peonies

20. participate in spring color week

21. order saltwater sandals

22. plant seeds

23. prepare for this kid's seventh birthday

24. spend a day wandering

25. escape with friends

26. hang new string lights in the backyard

27. shoot more of the impossible project's glorious new PX 680 color film

28. plan the season's first picnic

29. find out what the center of the earth looks like

30. wear the edith piaf record out

31. take dance class

32. pray for sun

list thirty-three: things seen from the window of a train

part of my belated 40th birthday present involved riding train number 11 (the coast starlight) all the way down to san francisco. after eighteen hours of riding, here's what I know: I love trains. I think they might be my favorite way to travel. and friends, I could not tear my eyes away from the window. I could not. I stared out that train window until the sky turned black and there was nothing left to see but the dim neon lights of the occasional small town we passed through. I did not sleep much but I did make a list of a few things I saw along the way. well, of course I made a list. I made a list because it's what I do. but also, I made a list because I want to remember.

things seen:

1. bright blocks of trainyard graffiti

2. birds swooping in oblong patterns

3. golden magic hour light and the willamette river

4. cobbled-together shanty towns

5. a woman waving from her back porch

6. the insides of a few dimly lit dining rooms, the glare of tiny televisions

7. a rainbow of plastic fruit crates

8. a field full of bright yellow tractors

9. a brilliant pink sky

10. a spectacular jumble of electrical equipment

11. nothing but darkness for what seemed like hours

12. small town neon

13. train passengers scrambling off the train to smoke

14. the insides of a long grey tunnel

15. finally, a sliver of moon

16. and then eventually, milky white light and the beginning of a new day

17. an unfinished highway

18. a neon pink wind sock

19. the first palm tree

20. an unrecognizable word spelled out with pieces of driftwood

21. a swampy area filled with a dozen overturned grocery carts

22. tiny hopeful patches of blue sky

23. and then finally, a wide open blue sky

24. an old turquoise trailer and too many industrial parks to mention

25. the waters of san pablo bay

26. more and more bright-colored graffiti

27. the beginnings of oakland

28. a woman in a row boat

29. the san francisco skyline

I cannot wait to ride again. I. cannot. wait.

list thirty-two: work that inspired me in 2010

this is the work that kept me going, the work that made my heart beat a little faster, the work that blew the lid off. creatively speaking, that is:

1. espo's love letter murals

2. grupo de rua and the brilliant backwards running segment (and the seeing of this! oh the seeing of this! live and on stage)

3. the book let the great world spin by colum mcann

4. the work of my brother von (particularly mixed media)

5. maira kalman's show at the jewish contemporary museum in san francisco (the paint rags, they sort of killed me)

6. the rainbow painted favelas

7. q&a with an amazing 90 year-old anna halprin after a portland screening of breath made visible (90 year-old anna halprin WHO IS STILL DANCING)

8. the work of jordi ferreiro (particularly color spectrum and drawing the space)

9. the film everlasting moments (again and again, I am watching this)

10. the work of street photographer vivian maier and the story that continued (continues) to unfold

11. keri's smith's list how to feel miserable as an artist

12. the work of my brother nate (particularly remnant's know this)

13. the book learning to love you more by harrell fletcher and miranda july

14. the work of so many brilliant photographers

15. the film radiant child

16. the tightrope video by the incomparable janelle monae (restoring my faith in video choreography)

17. the book the rest is up to you by cohen morano with aye jay morano

18. the mexico city knitta please bus (well, knitta please in general and reason alone for me to take up knitting)

19. the work of my husband (endlessly overwhelmingly inspiring)

20. the let's colour project (yes please, let's)

52 lists

so I started the list project about a year ago. I wanted to see what a year of list-making might look like. 52 weeks later and I am only a little over halfway done. the original idea was to have a weekly creative writing exercise in place should words fail me (and so often, they fail me). but, as it turns out, I am unable to rattle off lists week after week. I get an idea for a list and sometimes I like to sit on it for a while, come back to it when I'm ready. I write and re-write, contemplate topics, vacillate between yes and no. the very obstacles I was looking to avoid. the project took on a completely different life (as personal creative projects so often do) and at some point, I had to let go of the 52 weeks thing. I am definitely a girl who needs a deadline but I am also a girl who tries to recognize when to let go.

and so I continue on with the project (because I really do love the project) and I do intend to finish. just might take a little longer than originally planned. 21 more lists to go and one on deck for this afternoon. and to that, I say: yay.

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.

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.