five!

five years ago today, I started this blog. after months of mercilessly teasing my husband about his, I finally broke down and started my own. and I didn't really know what I was doing or why I was even doing it, I just knew I wanted to do it. I wanted my own space, someplace where I didn't owe anyone anything, where I could write about whatever I wanted, share whatever I wanted and shamelessly post work.

in those first days, you could mostly find me holding a little baby ezra in one arm while typing with the other. thus, the lack of capitalization here. my affinity for lowercase letters has nothing to do with cuteness and everything to do with necessity. simply put, it's a habit born out of necessity. I found it nearly impossible to capitalize letters while typing with one hand and holding a baby in the other. and who was even reading my blog anyway? but five years later and baby ezra is no longer attached to my hip. I continue to run with the lowercase here because I am a girl who likes visual consistency. and, as I said before, this is a place where I call the shots. I pretty much love that, much as I pretend that I don't.

five years later and I'd like to think I still operate from that same place of independence. I write about what I want, when I want. welcome to the land of the ebb and the flow. quite frankly, I wish there was less ebb and more flow but I refuse to bow to convention. the day it becomes a chore here is the day I end it. and I can't help but wonder, is that day coming? exactly how long does this sort of thing go on? I don't know. but I'm all about seeing it through to the end, whenever that may be.

also, I'm amazed that I have any readers at all. mostly because of that pesky ebb and flow thing but also because I occasionally tend towards the cryptic and am often a little all over the place. in case I have not said it, thank you for reading. or in many cases, looking. I realize I am less with the words these days and more with the images, thanks to a little thing called change. at any rate, thank you. for all kind words and support, I thank you.

but the best part about today? I totally used it as an excuse to buy five cupcakes. to photograph and share here, of course. because that's the thing about blogging. it tends to lead to all kinds of goodness. five years worth, to be exact.

oh hi

where to start, where to begin? work my way backwards? or start with the beginning and work forward? it's possible I am overthinking it. over the last three weeks, there's been a shoot in cincinnati, a few visiting germans and an unexpected trip home. and probably a few other things. also? along the way, I missed three lists. THREE LISTS. so, you know. things are all off kilter here.

but it's friday, people. I don't know about you, but we're still on spring break. and, as it turns out, instant film is not dead. so, until further notice, we'll be jumping on hotel beds to celebrate. we'll be jumping until it's time to come home.

currently

things are crazy. when this happens, I sort of shut down. this is unfortunate. because I think I'd feel a little better if I could write my way through the craziness.

list eight: guiltiest pleasures

I'm writing from the road, friends. internet access is spotty and there's work to be done but I am here and I have a list. guiltiest pleasures:

1. cheap make-up

2. bad television

3. fountain cokes, heavy on the crushed ice

4. cherry-flavored blow pops

5. ridiculous gossip magazines

6. donuts with sprinkles

coincidentally, when I'm on the road, all self-imposed limitations regarding guilty pleasures fly straight out the proverbial window. I am on my 17th cherry blow pop, folks. I have been to the drug store and I have the cheap green eyeshadow to prove it. from the cocoon of my dark hotel room, I will watch many, many hours of bad late night television. also? a donut with sprinkles is surely in my near future.

hello from guilty pleasure central. things should be back to normal in about a week or two. I think.

(eight down, forty-four to go)

in like a lion

first of march and the two trees in front of my house practically exploded with pink blooms today. hello, march? I am so ready for you.

on an unrelated note, I am loving all your words. LOVING.

list seven: words you love

culled from list five's comment section and a few willing twitter peeps. these are your favorites. and now they're mine too.

1. scrumptious
2. tweeze
3. clunky
4. marsh
5. hullabaloo
6. defenestrate
7. aboulia
8. unctuous
9. new york
10. montagne
11. qualms
12. rapprochement
13. iridescent
14. vestibule
15. shenanigans
16. smithereens
17. incandescence
18. menagerie
19. quixotic
20. moisture
21. aperture
22. aesthetic
23. hijinx
24. broccoli
25. apropos
26. humdinger
27. exacerbate
28. conundrum
29. onomatopoeia
30. swoon
31. literary
32. et cetera
33. gingham
34. yummy
35. luscious
36. subterfuge
37. anthropomorphic
38. quandary
39. caliber
40. delete
41. plethora
42. palpable
43. superfluous
44. lovely
45. hootenanny
46. scalawag
47. insane
48. zack
49. beloved
50. allegorical
51. moonlight
52. mayhaps
53. sublime
54. bemoan
55. bequest
56. tiny
57. hello
58. deluxe
59. bonus
60. cozy
61. angst
62. rustic
63. ballerina
64. melancholy
65. chartreuse

oh you word lovers, you. you are my people. I spent a good part of the afternoon rolling these words around my mouth. I said many out loud and spent more time with a dictionary than I'd care to admit. these are good words. these are really really good words. they deserve to be written over and over again, to be used in sentences and paragraphs and stories of all kinds. they deserve to be said out loud, to be casually interjected into conversation whenever possible, proclaimed with conviction over dinner when the lull is too much and muttered softly under breath when there's nothing else to say. thank you for sharing. thank you very much.

consider this an open call for more words. there's no end to good words. I am sure of it.

(seven down, forty-five to go)

this weekend

I was all set to tackle the chaos in the basement this weekend, I was. boxes and labels and sharpies, ready to go. I was in the perfect frame of mind, I was ready to take it on.


and then I saw it. the weekend forecast for the oregon coast. two days of guaranteed sunshine. two days of blue skies. two. whole. days.


and so the aforementioned plans were promptly chucked. bags were hastily packed and thrown into the car and people were happy. as it turns out, the people were ready for a road trip. late saturday afternoon found us barefoot on the beach. barefoot! in the middle of february! which, of course, was worth all the meticulously organized basements in the free world. and then some.

it does, it really really does

street art makes me happy.

list six: clothes I loved to wear as a kid

1. red and white striped tee-shirt, circa 1981. as pictured above.

2. maroon stretch velvet pantsuit with creamy lace trim and gold threading, circa 1982. normally reserved for holidays, natch. although I remember it most as the thing I wore to the emergency room on christmas eve, thanks to the worst ear infection ever.

3. hot pink dance costume crazy with fringe and sequins, circa 1975. my mom picked it up at a yard sale for 25 cents and thirty years later, it still manages to bring the house down.

4. little cotton red and white gingham romper with matching hat, circa 1975. witness.

5. esprit muscle tees, circa 1982-84. in grey and fuschia. witness.

6. calvin klein jeans, circa 1980-83. with chic jeans a close second and jordache a distant third.

7. shiny red lycra leotard with matching gold chain belt, circa 1980. worn only when rehearsing solid gold dance choreography or acting out imagined scenes from fame.

8. white jersey tee with a rainbow that stretched from sleeve to sleeve and across the chest. three quarter length sleeves, circa 1982. does anyone remember these? I want one for ava so bad I could cry.

9. cotton paisley print halter top, circa 1977. my childhood summers defined.

10. red satin jacket with baby blue corded stripes down the side of each sleeve, circa 1981. repeatedly worn to the local roller rink.

11. white esprit trousers covered in black splattered paint, circa 1983. very jackson pollock. in the small southern illinois town I lived in, nobody had ever seen anything like them. my friends? so jealous they wanted to spit.

12. red tee-shirt with john travolta on the front, circa 1978. I refused to put posters of any boy on my bedroom wall (because what's the point if he can't really love you back?) but I wore john travolta around til he was spotty and faded.

13. I Dream of Jeanie pajamas with sheer, billowy pink pants that gathered at the ankle and reddish-pink satin top (billowy sleeves to match), circa 1976. my absolute favorite thing to wear, maybe ever. I wore them until there was practically nothing left, til they nearly evaporated into thin air.

(six down and forty-six to go)

and speaking of words

vintage is the word over at words to shoot by.

ezra still says valentimes

and I really sort of love it.

happy valentimes day, friends.

xo

list five: words I love

mostly for the way they sound. or the way they look on paper.

1. cerebral
2. languid
3. electric
4. phosphorescent
5. cerulean
6. luminous
7. preposterous
8. kinesthetic
9. bohemian
10. vinyl
11. aquamarine
12. bambino
13. cheeky
14. peripatetic
15. starlight
16. vernacular
17. mambo
18. rouge
19. vintage
20. betwixt
21. exuberant
22. brilliant
23. catapult
24. maudlin
25. spectacular
26. tangerine
27. italiano
28. shrill
29. ranunculus
30. hustle
31. lush

(five down, forty-seven to go)

blog it forward, baby

word on the the street is that this whole blog it forward thing started with a conversation victoria had on twitter. one thing lead to another and voila: the ultimate blogger mash-up. three hundred bloggers from all over the world writing about what inspires them, starting today with me, victoria and eight other terrifically lovely and inspiring blogs.

hello, I'm inspired by color:



color color color.



color found



in my everyday.



color found while looking up and



looking down.



color found out on the street and



abandoned on the side of the road.



color found at the market,



the cupcake shop and



the thrift store.



color found in snow cones,



inside a box of crayons and



in an assortment of found papers cut and pasted together.



color found in my kitchen and



in corners of my home and



in so many of my personal collections.


color found while traveling and



then traveling some more.



color found in dance and movement and



in street art.



color found in the paintings and drawings my children make and



in the spectacular work my husband does.



color found in photography, in the way my world looks through a few favorite viewfinders.

color color color, everywhere I look.

you should know, color is only the first item on a long and lovely list. modern dance, art, photography, books, films, music, my family. it's a list that makes my head spin, a list that needs more time, more space, more everything. consider color my official jumping off place and the beginning of a long conversation to be continued in fits and starts.

tomorrow, follow the parade of virtual inspiration over to a blog called good good. because with a blog title like that, you just know. it's going to be good.

here, not here

oh that karen. I like her so much.



I'm over at her place today with a little guest post. because that karen is busy writing a book, the kind of book I'd very much like to read.

stop by and say hello, if you like.

number 19

number 19 off last year's list and key tag jewelry might be my new favorite thing.



hours of fun, I promise you. the earrings, by the way, were totally ava's idea.



and the earrings are my favorite but the bracelets are such a close second.

make some, if you feel so inclined.