Unpacking Some Old Friends

I finally lugged two big boxes of books down from my parents' attic the other day and - once I had healed from my recent plague - unloaded a couple hundred of my favorite "friends". More specifically, a truckload of book friends from teendom, college and beyond.  Stan sat and watched me, amused by my excitement. But, seriously, it was so fun! It had been so long. Some had been packed up for 4 years or more. Every time I saw a new cover I was transported back to the time in which I had lugged that book around: either begrudgingly and at length as assigned literature for a class, or obsessively - creasing and dogearing as I fell in love page by page with characters I thought created for me alone. 

If you know me, you know that I like to organize. My vinyl collection is alphabetical by first name (because I like to pretend that me and Frank are on a first-name basis). My CDs used to be autobiographical (ala Rob in High Fidelity). The books had to be tackled, of course.

I have a limited area for my library right now as I'm hunting for a free bookshelf. (ahem.) So the books are pretty squished into this tiny space. And they have to share the shelves with a sound system and a plush hotdog. I decided against trying to alphabetize, because the issue of space demanded that many books be turned on end. Check out the result of an hour or so on the floor covered in musty pages.

Full disclosure: I forgot to label a tiny section between "religious" and "plays" which should be labelled, "romance novels". But, they're vintage and adorable- so you can't judge. These aren't the ones I own, but they give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

There's nothing wrong with keeping a little (practically wholesome) vintage filth onto your book shelf (next to CS Lewis, no less!) as long as it's this stylish. 

It's funny the books I chose to keep after reading and the few I tossed away. I know it's silly to think I will want to sit down and read the Oedipus Cycle again- just for fun. But I'm not sure I want to get RID of it entirely. Other books, I got excited about adding to my re-read list?:

• Salinger's "Nine Stories"
• Hornby's "High Fidelity" (it never gets old)
• Greene's "A Gun For Sale

And I'm jazzed to read through the comments on my workshop papers from Junior and Senior year of college. Maybe I'll take some time to work on my (horrible) screenplay about a boy who is obsessed with collecting suicides. (Very dark, I know. I was soo deep.) It's a total rip off of Harold and Maude AND The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. 

Anyways- it was fun to see my writing again and to be reminded that I can sit down and make up stories anytime I want. That's the magic of words. You can make them do anything you want. Writing is a perfect obsession for someone like me who is so into organizing. Now for the patience to take up reading as a hobby again so my books don't feel neglected.

Pruning Back and Pushing Forward

Of course, after a long period of being overworked, as soon as I take a moment to rest and take care of myself- I get sick. So this is a catch-up post relating a couple projects in the works. I'm finally halfway keeping up with my dishes as I dirty them. I've finally alphabetized and tucked away the records I've purchased the last few months. My house is slowly recovering from a lack of attention.

Now, just need to focus on eating that apple a day to keep healthy to enjoy my newfound free time. A recent new focus for me has been that of renewing. An easy example? Stan surprised me with flowers a week or so ago after one of those long days. The other afternoon they were looking droopy and sad. But just a couple moments of plucking and re-trimming the stems and they were as good as new. A totally different bouquet than before. Sometimes all it takes is a little pruning in order to incite new growth.

To follow the plant metaphor a little further...The less energy we spend on keeping "dead branches" alive the better chance those other branches have at surviving. So, I'm thinking about the dead branches in my life. Busy-ness is one. I need to take more time for myself. And, though it might be hard to admit- because I love my stuff, I think maybe my clutter is a bit of a dead branch. I have collected a lot of things, and sometimes those things take over my spaces and make them stressful.

It's my intention to de-clutter, prune, and be more intentional overall with my things and clothes over the next couple months. It seems appropriate for fall, to let things fall away from my life. My living room is the first focus of this effort. I've transformed some mismatched pillows for a more adult look.  I had the flowered pillow already and tried to work around that color scheme. The grey herringbone fabric I picked up at a thrift store for a buck, the patchwork pillow is made from upholstery fabric swatches from a look book I got garage sale-ing this summer. 

As for the impending project with the blue chair: 

To cover or not to cover? It would certainly be a "pruning back" moment design-wise. But the chair is super cute as it is, a possible solution a friend mentioned would be to make a zipper pouch cover (with piping!) for the seat cushion and a general slip cover for the chair body. It may be in the works, soon. As it is, repairing and recovering my health takes precedence right now. 

Getting Ready - Babies, Weddings & Fall

Supposedly, the first official day of fall is around the corner. I would beg to differ. Today is the day. It's crisp out there. It's official sweater weather. The communal desire to pick apples and carve pumpkins is palpable. People around these parts are ready for a change in the seasons. (Here's a couple autumnal shots from the farm in Covington where my department held our staff retreat late last month.)

So, now... I'm finally in the clear of a long "season" of busy-ness and excited to tuck in for a cozy crafting season.

I made some little booties the other day. I made up the pattern on the spot, it's super easy. Its all single crochets. I started at the toe from a circle cast on, and then just added and reduced until I had a nice toe, then once I'd reached the arch started crocheting back and forth as if on a scarf leaving  3 or four stitches at the top open for the foot to go in. I blanket stitched the heel shut and added cutesy things when it seemed appropriate. This set made its way to my gal pal expecting twins.

Amongst sampling some of those tasty looking pumpkin baked goods on pinterest, I've got some serious autumnal work cut out for me. I have three more 2012 weddings and several babies in progress to make gifts for. I've done a little reconnaissance for the wedding gifts, and a little supplies shopping for the baby-kins but the real work has yet to begin.

I'm headed up to Michigan this weekend. I'll have to transfer my design to fabric and get a move on the detail work for wedding gift #1. Other crafts in the works include a possible recovering of my crazy blue chair. Several years ago I acquired 5 yards of italian merino wool herringbone suit material at a garage sale in Minneapolis. The seller was hesitant to part with the fabric, he told me he was a costume designer in the theatre world there, but gave me the bolt anyway (a crazy steal at $10). I had always intended to cover this cute little fainting couch I had in college. Now I'm thinking that my chair might suit the fabric well.

This isn't the fabric, but it's a pretty close match. What do you think? Should I make the transformation? Part of my reasoning is that I feel like my living room needs to calm down a little.

More to come. It has been a season of productivity on the work front lately, and my own personal projects fell to the wayside (hence my absence here). I plan to make up for my lack of creativity with an exponential output of awesome in the next couple months. Get ready.

BRB

So, an unprecedented month-long absence deserves an explanation. Let's just say: work, boyfriend, work, no internet, work, 12 hour days, work, tired, work. Anyways, I'll return soon enough with something halfway interesting and non-consequential to share.

Until then, enjoy this William Carlos Williams style apology.

This Is Just To Say

I have lived
the life
that was in
the office

and probably
you have missed
missed
my blog

Forgive me
it was out of my hands
so tiring
and so worth it

(Yeah, I know I'm ridiculous.)

Fall's So Close I Can Smell It

My dad had his first day of school today. That means summer's almost over and the cooler winds are coming soon. There was something like a dewey frost on my car this morning when I left for work. My windows are open right now and a can smell hints of the coming harvest- a musty warm scent. Maybe I'm imagining it, maybe not. Either way, I'm excited for the change of seasons.

I love the way fall feels. smells and looks. I adore the crunch of leaves under my bike tires, the baled hay in the fields, jeans and sweaters. This evening, the setting sun dappled my walls through the lace curtains in my living room window. It is something that happens every season, but it felt like fall to me. 

A new season begs new decor. Out with the old pink wreath and in with some seasonal flair. Pinterest told me that foam tubing was cheaper to buy in the plumbing section. (True!) I twisted a length of that foam into an "O", wrapped and hot glued some upholstery fabric samples around the wreath in strips, fashioned a tidy accordian bow, and finished it up with a bit of matching yarn. Presto, wreath! Total time spent: 1 cheesy movie, give or take some snack and rest moments.

And now, a tune for the upcoming turn of the times. If you don't already love it, you should: Autumn In New York by Billie Holiday. 

Would you hold this for me? (or) Unconventional Functionals

I was going to do my stinky sink full of dishes but, instead, I'm blogging about antiques. Go figure. I had every intention to be one kind of productive. But now I'm being another kind of productive. If the dishes would do themselves I'd call this a win win situation.

This Monday, I spent a lovely 11 hours spending time with my dear friend Lindsay. We had some plans. Today, I also learned that eye check-ups require appointment making (One day I'll be a real adult and plan ahead.) So we mostly spent the day following whims through this second hand shop and that antique store, laughing all the way. It was a perfect way to pass a relaxing day off after a long work weekend.

In addition to gathering a grip of ridiculous men's t-shirts to transform into ironic baby onesies for some hip babies-to-be, I picked up a couple fun (and useful) gems for my apartment. 

I like finding unintended purpose in objects. That's the theme today. For instance, I found this sunburst clock on the side of the road a few weeks ago. I dusted it off, hung it up and enjoyed it for a few days before I realized that it was perfectly situated to hold my sunglasses collection!

This tie rack I picked up at Goodwill for $.79. Turn it on end, and flatten the arms in the upward position and I have a brand-spanking new mail holder! I think it looks pretty darn classy, if you ask me.

Also enjoyable? When things with very practical purpose don't take themselves too seriously. For instance, this way crazy and decorated waste basket. I COULD NOT pass this kitschy thing up. (Especially for $2.50!) 

What a lovely day off! I hope your last days of summer are filled with both purpose and whimsy as well. Those are the best kind of days, filled with a lovely balance. 

Childhood Dreams

My local public library is currently featuring some pretty fantastic kid art. The theme of the project is to write about your dreams. One librarian's example was that she has a recurring dream that her teeth fall out (the internet tells me that this either means she's going to come into some money or that she's under a lot of stress). The students ran in all directions with the assignment and there were so many cute responses. Some were about dreams that they had while sleeping, others drew depictions of their dream occupation or their greatest fantasy. I snapped some shady, pixelated pictures with my phone. But I think it was worth the awkward creeper moment.

This little girl knows exactly what kind of life she wants to lead. And who wouldn't want to be such a beautiful mermaid?! I love the big, swirly bubbles.

The left photo reads: "My dream is... eating a double decker pizza." (And seriously, I want to try that. Don't you? Although I'm thinking the picture isn't quite capturing the concept. This looks more like triangulated pizza.) The other reads: "My dream is... I am in the cloud." (How deep can a 5 year old get? And that isn't some fluffy white cloud, it's a thunderhead.)

Below you'll find another couple surrealists. The left one reads: "My dream is... meeting a caveman and him leading me into a video game." And then there is a tsunami (great spelling, kid!) chasing the kid in the ocean. (This kid has some crazy dreams! Really? Time travel, turning into a videogame, natural disasters? I think maybe this is a plotline from a 90's teen movie.) And on the right: "My dream is... I will fall from the roof and fly like a bird with wings."(This kid and the cloud kid need to get together and start a writing group. There's something so beautiful, and also haunting, about this dream to fly. Not just fly, but fall off the roof first. As though the fear of falling is a necessary step in learning to soar.)

 When we are children, there is no shortage of dreams. My reoccurring dream when I was small was that Garfield was trying to eat me. (Try to explain the meaning of THAT one, internet.) But I also had lots of dreams for my future. I wanted to be a cartoonist. I dreamed that I would be a famous playwright. I prayed every night before I went to bed that God would let me be in just one movie before I turned 16. I was certain that if I met Devon Sawa he would be as determined in his love for me as I was for him. These dreams were maybe not the most consequential or practical dreams, but they were so real to me. they were all consuming. I wrote about them, talked about them, prayed about them constantly.

As I grew a little older -but was still oh so young- I started to dream of being a wife a mother. Of keeping a certain kind of house.  Living little moments filled with big love, like something out of the last scene of a romantic comedy. I didn't think much about my profession or of my accomplishments, but mostly fantasized about the feelings I would have: of completion, contentment and satisfaction. These seemed the rewards to be reaped from a live well lived in the building of a family.

Then, when it became harder to focus on what I didn't have (mainly the "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" complex) I intentionally tried to stop dreaming so much about about relationships. At first, my dreams were structured around my profession. I imagined myself growing a life in non-profit management and perhaps entrepreneurial efforts in social services. It seemed as I got older, my dreams became more practical. But you know, that is just so boring.

Why should dreams be practical? Dreams are dreams. They need not be bound by the trappings of reality. They are supposed to be to high to reach. I am supposed to want to be in the cloud. So here's a new dream. 

I want to float on an innertube down the Mississippi river, from Lake Itasca to the Gulf, linked up with 20 of my closest friends and family members. (Heck, let's make it 50!) I want the sun not to burn our skin and for our toes not to wrinkly. There will be a bluegrass band floating on a raft behind us providing the entertainment. I dream that our meals will fall from the sky like manna, but be more like kielbasa, spinach pies, and spring rolls depending on our mood. I want the weather to be perfect, 75 and partly shady with a warm rain once every now and then. If, when we reach the ocean, we all want to do it again, I want the river to reach up, like the arm of a man, to it's beginning and plop us back down for a second ride.

It's just one dream of many that I have. One day, it might happen in some strange, roundabout ways. Or, who knows, one day I may fall from the roof and fly like a bird with wings.