Thursday, December 31, 2009

2 0 0 9

path

. . . . .

j a n u a r y


jan20th: the mall was packed
inauguration.
i feel hope.
after a long hopeless time.


baby fifi is born.


f e b r u a r y


feb 2009

a room of one's own.
visiting my brother
in nyc
for valentines.



m a r c h


searanch: tripod this
sea ranch.
grub & west coast pony.
she teaches us to jump.
and we jump.



a p r i l


danish night: viking hats required
danish night.
our 11th anniversary.


baby luca is born.


m a y

'roid week 2009: beekeeping (tues)
falling in love with bees.

'roid week 2009: sheep & wool fest (mon)
yearly trip to yarn mecca.


j u n e


celebrate
grub gets his LEED.
i turn 35. gulp.


baby ruth is born.


j u l y

goodbye 2009

field work.
bee yard.
my sister visits.
we all go moth collecting.


layoffs
at school.
our lab is decimated.
i learn to hate academia.



a u g u s t

new mexico: packing planner
santa fe: opera
meeting in
new mexico.
my mother & aunt
join me.



s e p t e m b e r

zucchini flower pizza
weekend walks
with grub.


tulum: bug
meeting in mexico.
an amazing adventure
with grub.
grub turns 37.



o c t o b e r

a saltie morning
visiting nyc.
missing friends.
a lot.


happy (belated) halloween!
halloween!


n o v e m b e r

a few more leave left to fall
lab moving.
just coping.



d e c e m b e r

the 1950s pink coat
jenny penny vintage
trying
to get rid of
things.
simplify.
finally.


. . . . .

thank you
for visiting
my blog
this year.

happy
new year
friends.
xo

artists space

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

reflections 2009: three. flour. more

dec28_deer

happy belated
holidays!

only a few days
left of 2009.
a little scary,
don't you think?
is it just me,
or does it
seem like
time moves faster
as you get older.
how time
just seemed
to
draaaaag
when i
was little.

well,
before the year
is done,
here are
a few more
reflections on the year past.

. . . . . . .

three. best packaging
four. tea of the year

dec28_tea

lisa sent me
tea from andrews & dunham
for my birthday.
the packaging
introduced me
to the design group
at
aesthetic apparatus.
a new favorite of mine.
i am a big collector
of concert posters
dec28_trees
so i love
to discover
a new artist...
my favorite tea
is the one called
Thomas Sampson.
thanks lisa!

five. word or phrase.

well, i have a lot
of phrases.
this year i said
it's all the rage
or
we go with the army we have,
not the army we wish we had

(i usually replace "army" with "data")
about a million times.
but my saying
for this year
and
the upcoming year
is
one my mom always said...
"come hell or high water."
as in,
i am going to finish
my phD in 2010
come hell or high water.



six.
memorable car ride.

that would have to be
the car ride
grub and i took
from cancun
to chetumal, mexico
in september.
driving in mexico
was both fascinating
and nerve-wracking
but the smells
and sights
are clear
in my minds eye
like it was yesterday.
the smell
of the fish tacos,
that grub declared
were the best
he'd ever had.
tulum: the perfect fish taco
(if you knew grub,
you'd know he never
says "best" anything).
i only wish
i had had
the time
and
the guts
(and the language)
to talk to
and
take photos of
the people
i saw.
including
the girl
walking her monkey.

dec28_spot

seven. project.

being a part of
habit
in may
and again
this december.
tomato-fennel soup
it meant
a great deal
to me
to be among
the words
and visions
of such
amazing women
who i admired.
it was
a part
of my year
that
i will cherish.

i think
i have already
said
too much
but
i will
do a photo
wrap up
of the year
in the next
few days.

what was
most memorable
for you this year?

xo

dec28+marimekko

Thursday, December 17, 2009

reflections 2009: one. two.

reflections 2009

i was
sitting here
by the christmas tree
and i
planned to write
a whiny post
about
my shortcomings
and
being overwhelmed
when
i was drawn back
to
this beautiful post
by shari
and thought
that instead
i could reflect
on the good
that came out
of
this past year.

so i will follow
shari's lead...

. . . . .

no. 1: favorite trip

i was lucky enough to travel
quite a bit this year.
but i always return
again and again
to memories
of my trip
to sea ranch each year.

searanch: grub jumped

perhaps it is
because
it's the only time
i can relax
and just be.
perhaps
it's because i am
a water baby
always anxious
to return to the sea.
this year
my dear friend
joined us
for a few days
by the sea.
i love that place.
and i cherish
the memories
of each year i
get to return.


no. 2: favorite restaurant experience


searanch: A16 dessert

although
every time
i have been
to ubuntu
it amazes me,
i'd have to say
that my lunch
at a-16 with
grub this spring
was the
most memorable.
i love to share
a these experiences
with grub
because we can
get completely
absorbed
in enjoying
the food
and the experience.
we don't have to worry
about conversation
or if the other person
is having a good time-
we can just enjoy.
maybe
it was memorable
because
nate appleman and crew
were
breaking down a pig
while we ate.
maybe it was
the unusual
and delicious
bottle of wine,
the perfect pizza,
or
the weird
icy
but
incredibly tasty
dessert.
i can't decide.

. . .

what are
your reflections
on the year past?

more soon.

have you seen
habit
this month.
it gives me
a little joy
each day.


xo

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

fashion: blazin'

blazers: bluecord
(blue corduroy, h&m)

catholic school
gave me
a great disdain
for
anything with
collars and buttons.
plaid
and all
things
preppy
were way
to close
to the
uniform
i was forced
to wear
for 15 years.
but it was
the 80s
and preppy
was big.
so what.

blazers: brownplaid
(brown velvet pinstriped, h&m- thrifted!)

i once heard
you should
pick
a profession
based on
what you
want to wear.
i dread
ending up
in a job
that requires
a business suit.
ecologist/
entomologist
suits me
just fine
because
no one
cares
what you wear.
dressy
in the ecologist
world
is putting
on
something
clean.
i am considered
dressy
in my field
because
i color
coordinate.

blazers: blackcord
(black corduroy, h&m- thrifted!)

i hate
to say it
but
i blame
my new
fancy
for blazers
on jcrew.
i saw
this blazer
and
this one too.
i started
coveting
blazers.
i found myself
cruising
the blazer aisle
at value village.
i think
they appealed
to me
paired
with
less dressy
clothing
like tees
& jean shorts.

blazers: redplaid
(red plaid, thrifted-
still had original tags!)

red plaid tags

my mother
would be
so proud...
she always
hoped
i would wear
something
"more appropriate"
(i.e. something
from eddie bauer).

what
are your
new
fashion
loves?

xo

blazin': black corduroy

Monday, December 07, 2009

jenny penny vintage

jenny penny

my dad use
to call me
jenny penny.
not so very
unusual
for a girl
with the
given name
of jennifer.
like every other
girl born in 1974.

he taught me
how to
drop a penny
into
a mixture of
salt and vinegar
to turn
a dull
brown
penny
shiny again.

every time
he went
on a trip
(this was often
when i was little)
i would make
him a new
lucky penny.
i would make
it shiny
with
vinegar and salt,
staple
it into
an index
card,
and
scrawl
a note
on it.

a few years ago
i found
a whole
pile of
them
in a drawer
of
his dresser.

there
is something
very sweet
and sentimental
about
a father's
nickname
for his little girl.
that's why
i picked
that name
for my
little
vintage store.

i am selling these
things
because i must
but
as a friend
told me
recently-
you can get rid
of the item
but save the memory.
so that's what
i will do...
with the items
i have the most
difficulty
selling
i will
tell the story.
save it
instead
of the item
that i
can no longer
keep.

the 1950s pink coat
(like this one)

my store
:
jenny penny vintage
items
will be added
often.


hope you
find
something
that
brings
back
sweet
memories.

xo

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

fashion: legwarmer love

legwarmers: pink (blog only)

it was 1983.
i was in 3rd grade.
i remember standing
on the schoolyard
at recess.
looking down
at the yellow painted lines
of the hopscotch
and my new
navy blue legwarmers.
don't get me wrong,
i hated navy blue
then
as much as i do
now
but we could only wear
colors that matched
our school uniform.
navy blue,
white,
or golden yellow.
blue was
the only
reasonable option.

legwarmers: gray

like most girls
my age,
i dreamed of being
a dancer.
but not
one of those
pink,
tutu-type
ballerinas...
i wanted to be
a modern dancer
like those
in the tv show
fame.

legwarmers: green (blog only)

i'm gonna live forever
i'm gonna learn how to fly
i feel it comin' together
people will see me and cry


i was never
a particularly
good dancer.
i think that
i just liked
the clothes.
maybe it was
just the 80s
but maybe
it was
the legwarmers.

legwarmers: brown(blog only)

one way
or another
it's a favorite
item
in my wardrobe
this
season.

not in costume.

xo