Ah, Firenze my love.

*click to enlarge*

2 or 3 Things is another of my absolute favorites. I get the impression it's author is in Florence of all places, and the images she's been posting are tugging at my heart. Actually just about any image of Italy does that, but these of Firenze are especially killing me. I Google-earthed my old address and got this view. Owww.

The bridge top center was "my" bridge, Ponte Trínita. We used to sunbathe and journal on those triangles that stick out on it's sides, and once two of my friends jumped off of them into the Arno below in the middle of the night. If you follow the line of that bridge, you'll be on "my" street, and all the way at the bottom of the image, where the street creates an backwards, upside down "y" is where I lived, Via Maggio 48. At the very end of the road, we'd sometimes get really crispy, thin brick-oven pizza for dinner.

The bridge to the right is the famous Ponte Vecchio, which is lined on both sides by tiny jewelry stores. Looking to the left side of the image, you can see two green square courtyards. Just below that where you can see trees and umbrellas covering outdoor cafe tables is Piazza Santa Spirito. The facade of that side of the building was very plain but beautiful to me. We used to sit at those tables and drink wine after class and talk about how Michaelangelo supposedly dissected cadavers on it's steps.

Finally, if you were walking from the bridge toward my apartment, and took a left down the tiny "y" street at the bottom, you'd find the "Ciao Man", where we bought our groceries, fruits and vegetables for dinner almost nightly. Google Earth told me his store is still there. Go visit him.

Frutta e Verdura
Regoli Renzo
Via Sdrucciolo del Pitti 7
Tel. 211775

This is too cool.

This is one of several photographs by South Korean artist, Myoung Ho Lee. Seriously it would be worth it if you are so inclined to read a little bit more about it here. Or here. Or view a slide show of all the images here.

Via Automatism. Thanks for another beautiful, inspiring post, Lori.

Loving Wallpaper.

I feel the need to wallpaper something, especially since this happened. Crazily I think I could do my kitchen? This Julia Rothman pattern for Hygge & West called Daydream* might go well, and it's relatively neutral. But I can't decide if I think the whole bird obsession is too trendy?

A much bolder option, Crested Fireback, from Anthropologie caught my eye in the recent catalog. This would be really dramatic, and go well in the kitchen, but would clash I think with the general groove of the rest of the place.

For starters I think doing something a little smaller and less important in the grand scheme of things would be a good move. Like the linen closet. I could choose just about any pattern by Ferm Living, also for Hygge & West. This one is Wildflower.

And then there's this one A Bloomsbury Life posted a while ago, by Timourous Beasties, called London. What's especially wonderful about this is it looks all old school French toile, but the vignettes are actually contemporary depictions of general life you'd see today. Skateboarding. Cellphones. Punks hanging out. I love it.

And then I go back to an all-time fave, ROMO. These blossoms have always pleased me...

...until I just saw this. Again with the birds. What can I say? I like them! These colors could quite possibly be a perfect compliment to the rest of the stuff going on around my little house. I need to order a sample somehow to be sure. And then reconsider doing the little hallway instead of the closet. How do you ever decide?

*via Simple Lovely

Mrs. Peony.

This went a little out there this weekend. I don't really know what's going to become of it. Kind of both exciting – and frustrating – as I figure it out.

Previously...

Cy Twombly.

I was in Philadelphia last weekend for a wedding and I treated myself to a visit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the adjacent Perelman Building across the street.

I'm a dummy and left not my camera, but the battery that goes in it, sitting in the charger, so I'm a little sad I didn't get any shots of the space, steps, and massive Calder mobile "Ghost" that hangs in the Great Stair Hall.

I had been looking forward to seeing the Matisse and Modern Art on the French Riviera exhibit the most, and also the Modern 20th Century Chair exhibit, but I was completely blown away by the Modern and Contemporary Art wing. More specifically, the Cy Twombly "Fifty Days at Illiam" display in Gallery 185.



It was my favorite room in the whole place. I know this kind art is not for everyone, maybe not even most people, but I just love it.

Here are some other sources for viewing that I found a little easier on the eyes than the PMA website.

Waltz with Bashir.

I have no idea what influenced or prompted me to add Waltz with Bashir to my queue, but there it was on the TV waiting to be played. Oddly, I'm not really a fan of animation. I do enjoy it when I see it I guess, but it's never what I go to. This film was pretty beautiful.

I don't know why it's described as "black and white" because it's mostly in color. What's also great is, if you don't mind cheating, you can play it in English (I think the original language is Hebrew?) and there's no issue that the lips aren't moving with the voice. Subject matter was an interesting personal exploration, the true-life journey of the director, Ari Folman, as he attempted to retrieve memories suppressed from his time spent in military service during the Lebanon War in the mid-80s.




Also I should note that it was illustrated by David Polonsky, and that it won and was nominated for a lot of awards.

100 Abandoned Houses.

This is another set of images I continue to be drawn to. They were shot by the photographer Kevin Bauman. I can't tell you how many times I have taken a break from work and rested my eyes on them. For some reason after doing that for a few minutes, I feel totally mellowed out.




Aren't they pretty?

They remind me of an article about how you can get yourself a house in Detroit for $100. I enjoy the people that are doing this.

Even Cleveland posted about them when I first started reading there. She's moving to NY and wondering what to do with the blog. I hope she keeps it because it's my favorite one in a lot of ways. Go visit.

I should have been a professional lifeguard.

I think lifeguarding was just about the best job ever and I'm pretty thankful that I know that first hand. Now that summer is officially over (some say UN officially, but really, it's over when the pools close) I can't stop looking at these images by Matt Albiani. The lifestyle that is to a guard is so classically captured in them that it makes my heart ache to look. I'm not alone in feeling we got gypped out of summer this year, and it makes it's ending even more painful to me. I kind of want the book. And I kind of don't.



Via Habitually Chic.

Parrots.

I actually saw one of these birds on my way into work the other morning. Unfortunately it was laying dead on the side of the highway. But it got me thinking of the documentary, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. Have you seen it? Apparently there have been flocks of these birds also living in New York and even Chicago, but I'd never seen one until now.

What struck me most about the movie is how much I love to encounter someone who sets my mind reeling at the passions and life purpose certain people possess. I didn't get too caught up in the controversy of whether or not Mark Bittner should or should not have befriended these birds, because I was jaw-dropped with his whole person. I could have a pretty long conversation on the state of his jean jacket alone.

The birds are pretty. That green is one of my all time favorites. But the story of the man* was the story for me. And then the woman, too, who was just as obsessed with filming him loving the birds as he was with the birds. And the surprise twist of an ending.

*He has since moved on in life from the relationship with the flock, but it's still something you can enjoy watching in the film.

This image was on sites all over the worldwide, and I can't figure out who to credit, so I'm going with Mark Bennett.

My Friend Carter.

We all know how brilliant and talented and creative a person Carter Pann is, but then, the premier of Summer Songs, followed by something like this has to come out so we can all say "Holy Cr*p" as we remember again, and then get on with our lives. My favorite part of the article is when one of the movements (wrapped around 5 poems read by one of the Queer Eye's guys, designer Thom Filicia) is described: "...[the poem] Pann framed within a wild, tongue-in-cheek concoction of pop and parlor music. The hectic, screwball musical delivery..."

The words chosen in this sentence are perfectly descriptive of a lot of Carter's work and personality.

Me with the musical genius and his nephew.

Miso + Ghostpatrol.

Automatism led me to Daydream Lily, which led me to this really interesting documentary about two street/professional artists in Melbourne, Ghostpatrol and Miso. I am fascinated by them. The 30-minute, 3-part film, miso + ghostpatrol, an ABC2 documentary is available for viewing on YouTube. Take a look at the Ghostpartrol website, the City of Reubens website and Miso's Flickr too, for more images and information.



I'm becoming more and more enamored with art that is given away to the public and love when I discover it in and around Chicago and on my travels as this free expression that (to me) beautifies without permission. The evolution of these two artists to full-time professionals with collaborative, unique, packed gallery shows is also quite inspiring because they have found success doing simply what they love and must do, seemingly regardless of the recognition they receive.

I feel I may be naive, but I find it surprising that there hasn't been more attention paid to these artists. The third video of the series had only just over 500 views at the time of my watching it. Perhaps there is another posting of it somewhere with a lot more hits? But I love that people who draw command the attention to have a documentary made about them in the first place. For me, drawing is a really beautiful and intimate art form, quiet and personal, just like these artists' soft-spoken voices.

It's a beautiful morning.

I'm Grinning.

This is really very exciting. The fabulous Lisa Borgnes Giramonti, who keeps the blog A Bloomsbury Life, arguably my favorite blog on decorating, travel, and attitudes about life in general, has agreed to use my design as her banner!

I've been a regular reader of A Bloomsbury Life since January and had often thought about designing a banner for it because her posts are filled with gobs of imagery and inspiration for creating one. She writes with such personality and has impeccable taste in decorating, fabrics, shops, art, travel, literature... I could go on and on. It's like she takes you on a little journey with her as she continues to design and enhance her home. And she's so REAL about it – it totally adds to the allure. I've written before about her here and here. But really you should just go read it for yourself.

Chicken and Normandy Cow.

Picked these two* up from my frame guy this week thanks to a surprise visit from my parents and I'm absolutely in love. I'm guessing I've had them for about 6 years. The price tags on the plastic sleeves were worn yellow. Not sure if you can tell but the wood frames have a little detail and are both brown and black. This morning I got a little sidetracked before work trying to fit them into the wall they belong on without hammering in any new nails. The placement isn't right yet, but they go so well with the room and what's up there – and I am so crazy about them – I wanted to share.

This wall is all sort of farm and old west stuff. That little black and white photograph on the bookshelf is my Mom on a tractor, about 3 or 4 years old. She's wearing those old school leather, sorta like high-top, little kid shoes. Also on the wall is my "Cowgirls at the Round-up 1911" framed poster** that I also love. The message underneath it reads, "The emancipation of women may have started not with the vote, nor in the cities where women marched and carried signs and protested, but rather when they mounted a good cowhorse and realized how different and fine the view. From the back of a horse, the world looked wider". Oh, how I love a big sky.

*The artist is Julian Williams, but they are actually greeting cards from the company Two Bad Mice.

**Photo adapted from a portrait taken at the second annual Pendleton Round-up in Oregon, courtesy Hamley & Co., Pendleton, Oregon. Quote from The Cowgirls, courtesy Joyce Gibson Roach.

Regrouping.

I spent another amazing weekend away from home in Michigan and thankfully took today off to float back to earth. Last week didn't count, as I continued as if I was still on vacation while going to work, and let everything else slide. Lots of cleaning, laundry, wrapping up projects, a trip to Target, groceries and rearranging my bedroom in my future.

On a side note: In part of my dream last night, I was in an old, rusty Bronco or Range Rover with one of my childhood friend's mothers at the wheel. She was wearing a straw cowboy hat and barreling through a field of tall grass, taller than the hood and reaching at least half way up the windows. The noise of that grass as we burst through it was incredible. And the thrill of being unable to see where we were headed as we bumped and bounced forward in the sunshine and blur of maize is something I'd like to carry around with me today.

Image by d.jane.85 via Flickr.

Shots around New York.

John Derian's shop, Hugo Guinness flower negative print. Bulldog bag.

Von's. 3 Bleecker. Sauvignon Blanc, "Sewn-ya... Soto-my-yor".

High Line Park. Garg.

Yellow and grey. Color combination that reminds me of our lake house from the 1980s.

Er, Manhattan Bridge from DUMBO.

More DUMBO.

Equality. Even with aliens.

Beautiful blues, reds.

Hot. Subway.

Yeah, you're not supposed to take pictures in here, but I couldn't help
this one. I didn't use a flash?
The Guggenheim.

Ruth's kitchen window. Daisy. Bruce.

New York was fantastic. Don't really feel like writing about it. Man, I love it there. So much to look at. Next time I go, three full days instead of two. Ever since I did the i55 shots and cropped them to squares, I've been really enjoying that format. Keeps everything uniform, and gives me a bit more control, but I can't decide if it's cheating or not. Bruce's eyes are so cool. They have a deep blue ring around the pupil, then a bright green one to finish them off. Beautiful.