My Favorite Literary Tattoos

This morning I was in a store and a young man was helping me who had a tattoo printed on his forearm.  I was trying to read it as he was moving around and putting my order together.  When I finally was able to make out the print, I realized it was a quote from one of my favorite poems.  And somehow, it was exactly what I needed to see (hear) to make my day better.  It reminded me of important truths.  It was kind of a powerful moment for me.  Which got me to thinking...

First off, I cant really ever see myself getting a tattoo.  For lots of reasons.  And secondly, a lot of the tattoos I encounter on a daily basis seem rather hastily decided.  The artwork is bad, the placement is unfortunate, etc etc.  Plus I think now that tattoos have becomes so ubiquitous, we never even really notice them very much anymore.  It's sort of not unique or special in any way to have one.

So this is not really a post advocating for running out and getting a tattoo.  I don't even like it when my kids draw on themselves!  But, the tattoo this morning reminded me of another time when I ran into a girl at LGO who had a Kurt Vonnegut tattoo.  And that had the same effect on me as the tattoo this morning.  It kinda touched me and got to me.  I was even, I'll admit, jealous of that tattoo for a moment.

So if I were going to get a tattoo (which I'm not)  (do you sense my deeply ingrained paranoia about this idea that you, my blog reader, will assume I might be advocating for tattoos)  (okay good, carry on).

I digress

So IF I were to recommend a tattoo (which I'm not), I would probably recommend one of these.

Which frankly (can I admit?) I find to be pretty awesome.

From the Outsiders

Catcher in the Rye

Catcher in the Rye

Kurt Vonnegut

The Outsiders

Catcher in the Rye

Kurt Vonnegut

Catcher in the Rye

Alice in Wonderland (photo by never going home on flickr)

Vonnegut

And even our darling Mr. Ryan Gosling has opted for a pretty cool tattoo up there on his upper arm - The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Trend - Marquee Signs, Bulb Letters & Electric Vintage

I could kick myself.  The other day I was in the drive thru at the Starbucks near my house.  That parking lot is always a complete mad house.  There is all this one way traffic and everyone is more angry than new york drivers during rush hour, heaven help you if you didn't realize there is only one right way to drive through that parking lot and/or park or go through the drive-thru.  It's madness.  THAT's how badly I wanted a Caramel Apple Spice.  But anyway - to my point - I could have kicked myself (should have!) because when I rounded the corner where this little antique/vintage/resell shop is near there I saw marquee letters leaning up against the outdoor display.  BIG RED marquee letters which used to have working bulbs inside.

But I just figured there was no way for me to get from my car to them - what with all the totalitarian driving rules of the Starbucks clientele and parking lot.  But geez, I sure wish I had tried harder.  I bet they were a good deal too.  Just leaning against the building like the seller really wasn't sure what to do with old junky broken letters.

Dang.

It's a big trend right now and I love the look of these things.  If you find some for cheap just buy them, because usually they are really pretty expensive.  I've seen them for $200 a letter and UP.  Way Up.

Here's some cool decor that uses this trend:

Oh My Word...(more decor with typography)

I love some well placed typography in design & decor.  Lately, I am seeing old electric signs with bulbs which are super cool and I'd love to get a hold of one of those - even a letter a would be awesome.  Here's some of the best things I've seen recently:

How darned cute is that "nudist colony" signage?  I really love this room. 

love the powder room door idea in a house, love the mirrors too.

You can barely see that elegant "M", isn't it lovely?

I like the bedding and the colors (count them, 3 of our 2011 trend colors) but I totally dig the most those letters crawling up the wall.

this is super interesting and cool.

love this idea

This wall has a lot of black and white typography going on - I love how it pulls everything together

sweet pillow

I know you've seen this before in red, but this is the first I've seen it in gray.  I like it. 

I like how just the best thought out word can make a space so much more fun. 

awesome with the Shepherd Fairey prints.

Remember how Mary Tyler Moore had a big 'M' in her apartment?  She was so ahead of her time.

This is my absolute favorite!  I would nearly kill for this thing.

that "yummy" is such cuteness!

Why I heart Pinterest...and why I don't think it's a waste of time...or at least I like to tell myself that...

So a little while ago I discovered pinterest. And ever since I've been singing it's praises to friends. Many of whom I think still don't 'get' it. So here are the reasons I think it's awesome and I think you should go check it out.

First of all, you get your own page to act as a curator of things that you really like or love. Or ideas that you just want to remember. How often do you see something somewhere on the internet but later, you have no idea where you saw it? That happens to me fairly often. It's one of the reasons I save all these decor ideas. Just IN CASE, even if I think there's little chance I'll actually get around to using them, I want to be sure I can find them again. But I'll see a recipe or some craft project or just some interesting quote or something and then later I'll be bummed that I can't find it. With pinterest, you can always find everything that you care enough to save without having to save it to your computer or worry about how to file it on your computer so you can find it again.

But let me offer a practical example. Suppose I'm a person who loves to bake. And sometimes I surf the internet looking for baking ideas. I know I'm probably never going to get around to making everything I see, but I hate to lose the ideas. Well if you find ideas you love on baking sites you can save them with your little pin to your baking board. You can also find a bunch of other like minded people on pinterest saving their own baking ideas, and usually, there is a link back to the original page where it was located on the internet. Very handy. Here are a few baking ideas that I saw on pinterest today:

and let's say that you are super obsessed with baking, you could have a separate board for cakes, cookies, pies, etc. That's the thing I love - you can keep track of whatever you want and categorize it however you like with as many boards as you want. Think of each board as a separate bulletin board.

Another example. Suppose you're planning a wedding and you're looking for ideas for a wedding dress which isn't strapless (tough to find, but based on pins I'm seeing on pinterest, the strapless gown is finally falling out of favor and lace gowns seem to be enjoying a comeback). Found on pinterest today:

And maybe all you care about right now is planning a wedding. You could have one board for flowers, one for cakes, one for dresses, one for bridesmaids, one for invitations, etc. Maybe you're looking for floral arrangements to the bride or the bridesmaids to carry which are unique. Found on pinterest today:

See what I mean? It's great resource. Even if you aren't in the mood to search the internet for flowers, you could always just search pinterest and find all the best stuff that other people have already curated to their boards for you.

So what else is on pinterest? Well, it's pretty much full of beautiful things. Home decor ideas, pithy quotes, gorgeous photography, excellent travel destination ideas, lovely portraits, fashion, shoes, accessories, crafts, sewing projects, quilts, colors, design and many other happy things.

To see my pinterest page go here: MY PINTEREST PAGE

Pinterest adds just a little bit of happy into my life.

A year of music

usic isn't something I talk about a whole lot on the blog, but it is something I care a great deal about. I like the way that music can alter your mood instantly. I like that when I'm trying to be motivated to accomplish a specific project there is particular music or a playlist that will help me along. I have itunes lists called "cleaning", "study", "mellow", "summer", "sunday" and many many more. My taste in music is very diverse. Probably the only genre of music I really don't like very much is country (though I will tolerate it okay while eating a steak dinner...I have no idea why it doesn't bother me when I'm in a steak house).

I adore discovering new bands or groups that I love or obscure music from other countries I've never heard before. I also love when you're watching something on tv, or listening to a radio program or viewing a movie and suddenly there's a song that you totally forgot about, and forgot how much you loved it! Then you can run home and buy it on itunes. Often, I discover music in the score of movie. I will frequently wait around for the credits so that I can go home and search for a particular song.

Music is like the thing that fuels everything else. It reflects our moods, but it can change them too. It can transform and transport.

Here is a list of music I bought in 2010 (and I've added some of them to the music player as well), some new discoveries and some old friends:

Abel Korzeniowski - a Polish composer who does lovely contemplative pieces

Michael Jackson - although I already had a few of Michael's songs in my play list, after seeing the movie "This Is It" I remembered some favorites that I had nearly forgotten. It wasn't really cool to like Michael Jackson (except in a very general nostalgic sense) prior to his death, but it's become acceptable again.

Donna Summer - I went through a brief disco reminiscence there for a while.

The Smiths - 80s nostalgia...plus they're always awesome.

Yann Tiersen - I only had his work from the film score of Amelie, but he's done some other interesting work as well

MGMT - I discovered these guys in 2009, I really dig them.

Samantha Ronson - I got oddly obsessed with one of her only songs which became popular a few years ago, mostly she dj's but I've listened to "Built Like This" about 800 times this year (okay I exaggerate - itunes said I listened to it 357 times...that's still A LOT)

Tegan and Sara - odd little indie duo that I really like

Frank Sinatra - I was in a Vegas mood

Doris Day - I wanted a copy of Que Sera Sera cause I used to sing it all the time when I was young

Dionne Warwick - I got obsessed with "Say A Little Prayer" there for a couple of days

Phoenix - cool indie group

Vampire Weekend - I've liked them for a couple of years

Pixies - got obsessed with "Here Comes Your Man" and listened to it 332 times beating out the Ronson song!

The Psychedelic Furs - 80s nostalgia strikes again

Diana Ross - I had an "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" craziness there for a day or two

Hole - Courtney Love got into me there for a few days

Joao Gilberto - I love to listen to Brazilian music sometimes - Bossa Nova

Jennifer Hudson - she has about 2 songs I really like

Alicia Keys - one song that I kinda like

Len - I love "Steal My Sunshine", I have no idea why

The Human League - 80s again

Metric - I was in a techno mood there for a few weeks and I love the message behind the song "Gold Guns Girls"

Air - ditto

Alexi Murdoch - nothing better when you're slightly depressed

Elvis Costello - I've always really liked him

Belly - I almost forgot how much I liked "Feed the Tree"

The Libertines - some good stuff even though that lead singer is a messed up heroin addict

Morrissey - I love Morrissey so much I wrote poetry about him in the 80s...wanna hear the poem?

oh mr. morrisey

oh how lovely it would be

if i could melt myself into the music of your minds machinery

What can be better than music that makes you pen a verse?

Did you discover anything this year that you loved?

Say What?

ay something...say anything...say what?

A big trend this year in home decor was typography of a million different kinds. Old letters, marquee left overs, sign posts, wood blocks, stencils, antique signs, etc. I happen to love the trend, though honestly, I don't have much, if any, of it in my house at the moment.

I'm ALMOST done with my new room. As we speak my shirt is covered in green and yellow and white paint and my fingers have yellow paint on them from the 3rd coat I've been putting on the dresser. I figure it's going to need at least one more coat. Hopefully today I'll have time to make my headboard, and the art work too. (sometimes I am overly ambitious in my thought process though...I thought I could get everything done over the weekend but that did not happen). And thankfully 3 friends helped me paint the room itself or I would still be working on that. I did get the baseboards installed last night, moved the bed and a few small pieces of furniture in there and changed all the bedding, new bed skirt, etc. So far I LOVE it. It's smaller than my other room, but cozy and lovely. I'm excited to show it to you, but you're going to have to wait another day or so. In the meantime, here are some cool typography ideas that I may incorporate in some form or another in the artwork.

Enjoy!