good morning sunday :: n˚17

Hello friends!  It is Sunday, not morning however, but still Sunday.  It's been a great day so far and I hope that yours is as well.  This last week started off rather slow, per usual, but the pace picked up during the weekend.  This week will be even busier.  Yay!  Ideas are flowing and I'm moving with it!  Okay, so on to the list!

• I'm enjoying this new to me wedding magazine from "down undah"!  It is chock full of lovely photographs, the kind that make you want to get remarried all over again just so you can recreate some of the beautiful decorations and celebrations featured on each page!  Neat thing is, they also have a blog!
• The research I did for my previous post about photographer Tim Walker has really helped to get me inspired!  I am seriously SERIOUSLY dying to get my hands on his book Pictures.  I know I've told you that already, but just in case you didn't know.  ;)
• Last Friday, I had the pleasure of working with a young model by the name of Marley.  We took a trip up to North Topsail on the northern most tip of Topsail Island here in North Carolina and all I can say is that it was gorgeous!  The above photos are just a few of the images I took that day.
• A new photo shoot again tomorrow!  More on that once I have pictures for you.
• I think it would be so neat to get one of these and see what kind of photos you can make with it. 
• Since we're talking about toys, I'd also love to get my hands on this camera too!  To view some photos taken with this adorable little toy cam, check out the Diana Mini Love flickr group.
• Can you believe it's already August.  Seriously, can you? 

Alright friends, there will be more to share with you this week, especially with fun projects in the works so. . . here's wishing all of you a creative and joy-filled week ahead!  'Til next time.

.good morning sunday :: n˚10.

Good morning friends!  Once again, I hope this Sunday morning finds all of you well.  Without further ado, here is my list for today:

• Last week was a pretty busy week.  Had a couple of photo shoots.  Yay!  I'm also in the process of working on a personal project that will probably take a good while to complete.  The above photos are some of the shots I took to inspire me.  
• Picked up a copy of Super Natural Everyday, by Heidi Swanson.  I LOVE it!  I'm not a vegetarian but the recipes look so delicious that I had to get it.  Plus, I did say "LOOK so delicious" because her photographs are beautiful.  More on this book soon.
• I love photo essay books.  I hate how expensive they are, but I love them nonetheless.  And one I'd love to add to my library is Irving Penn's Small Trades.  The book features a collection of portraits Penn took in Paris, London, and New York between the years 1949 to 1951.  It was a personal project he had to photograph different trades people dressed in their work clothes.  Or in the case of the sculptor model. . . no clothes.  The book shows an array of different workers:  from the dingy chimney sweep, the heavily geared deep-sea diver, a long-legged fishnet wearing rockette, to firemen and busboys.  It is a fascinating documentary, giving us a glimpse into the past as many of the trades he photographed are no longer prevalent in our society today.  A brilliant book by one of the world's great Masters of Photography.
• Another photographer to add to the list today is Robert Szabo.  If any of you happened to pick up a copy of last week's Sunday paper, you probably noticed that on the front cover of Parade magazine was a very nostalgic looking photograph of Robert Redford.  His portrait was taken using the wet plate collodion method which Robert Szabo is well-known for.  I had seen Mr. Szabo's work before and was stoked to see it again in my paper.  When you visit his website, you will enjoy browsing through an interesting gallery of images.  From still life, marionettes, to portraits of swashbuckling pirates and parlor girls, his photos seem to have come from a different era.  
• And last but not least, wise words and inspiration from a photographer I continue to admire.

Have a beautiful week friends!  Oh wait!  Wait!!  If you love 80s rock and a good laugh, you HAVE TO watch these two videos:  "Love is a Battlefield" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart."  I laughed so hard I cried!  Okay, 'til next time!

.good morning sunday :: n˚7.

Technically, it's a "good afternoon Sunday" to all of you!  I don't know what the weather is like where you are but here in Wilmington today, the forecast is cloudy with 100% chance of rain.  Which means muddy shoes and wet nylons as you run across the church parking lot.  It also means soft, beautiful light. . . my absolute favorite.  Even as I washed dishes after brunch, I could not help but become mesmerized with the bubbles and soft lines forming in my sink.  Honestly, everything looked so much more interesting, calm, lovely.  If British skies are usually this gray, maybe I should look into moving across the Pond if only I would be guaranteed this wonderful light!

And here is my Sunday list:

• I received an email from a woman who had just recently purchased a painting by my grandmother at an auction in Florida.  She found the Myspace page I had set up a couple of years ago about my grandmother's artwork and copied my email address.  Her determination to find out more about the artist behind this precious painting has given me the encouragement I need to gather more information, photos and stories about my Tutu, C. H. Evans.  
• Just ordered a copy of Photobooth:  The Art of the Automatic Portrait which features Andrea Jenkin's and her "photobooth Friday".
• A few more books I'm thinking about adding to my book shelf:  Binocular Vision, Thirteen Moons, and Bliss.
• One of my absolute flickr faves is Wild Goose Chase, the creative photostream of artist Fiona Watson.
• As we begin to welcome Spring with joyful glee, I reflect upon the icy, yet beautiful wonder of Winter.  This video I found via the Owl Diary is a wonderful tribute to the quiet season.

A short list today, but I hope a good one.  Go out and dance in the rain my friends!  Just make sure there's some nice warm soup and tea when you venture back in!  Stay well.

.today's list::05.31.09.

• Got a copy of the new summer issue of Boho magazine.  LOVE it!!  Chock-full of awesome finds and wonderful reads!  You can almost feel that summery sunshine beaming off the pages!  
• Fell in love with a pair of earrings by this talented gal!  Too cute.  
• TOTALLY blown away by the fact that the new Selvedge magazine is $30!  Bummer.
• Finally picked up the HUGE and heavy table that we originally used for displaying merchandise at the bookstore.  Unfortunately, the massive fixture was too wide, no matter how we maneuvered it, to fit through the door frame.  With some tweaking, some how, some way, this bad boy's gonna be my new craft table.  Yay yay for free stuff!!
• Craft room is ALMOST done.  Thank god!  Finally, a place to let loose!  Woo hoo!
• Really intrigued by this new craft printer called Yudu that I saw at Joanns.  
• Reading The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule.  I truly enjoy and appreciate the fact that she helps us, as parents, to realize that these wonderful beings we call our children are the best examples, teachers, of the creative spirit.  
• A card I had purchased a couple of years ago fell out of one of my journals as I was reading over some of my older entries.  I remember buying it because I adored the playful watercolor design on the front.  Two bees hovering over a flower of red, pink, and coral.  I flipped it over and saw that the artist, Masha D'yans, has a website.  Her unique, whimsical style and sheer talent with watercolors leaves me mesmerized!  
• Quote of the day:

A large part of nurturing a spirit of creativity

comes from being mindful, slowing down, 

observing, and looking at the beauty

and inspiration all around.

~Amanda Blake Soule

Hope all of you have had a splendid, sunshiney weekend!  Let's hope it carries on into this coming week!  

.today's list::05.20.09.

Before I go on with today's list, I wanted to thank everyone for their comments to my blog.  It means a lot to me that you've taken the time to actually say something.  It's rather nice.  So thanks again!  Okay, on to the list!

• Found out today that the Lilith Fair will be back on tour in 2010!  There's really no more detail about it at the moment, but I'm THRILLED that my favorite musician, Sarah McLachlan, has decided to bring it back to life!  
• I watched a brilliant documentary lastnight, one that has truly touched and inspired me.  The film is called "Born Into Brothels," a documentary film created by Ros Kauffman and Zana Briski.  My next post will be about this remarkable documentary so stay tuned!
• Enjoying the sounds of this album!  
• Concerned about the fact that Walmart is running out of Polaroid 600 film.  The stock in their stores is all that there is.  Target has already stopped selling them.  YIKES!!  Going to have to stock up soon!  Still learning to use my SX-70 Alpha camera.  Somewhere in the garage, there is a box that has my scanner in it.  I've been wanting to scan the images of some of the shots I've taken so far.  But  I STILL can't find it!  Double ugh!  
• I've already decided the next book I'm going to read is When the Elephants Dance, by Tess Uriza Holthe.  

That pretty much wraps it up for today.  Hope everyone's week is going well so far!  Have a good one!

.today's list::05.14.09.

Good day everyone!  Not too much going on today.  Just a lot of errand running with the wee one and her Gran.  Popping into shops and popping right back out!  Ha!  Alright, so let's see, what made it to my list today...

• Daisies!  Is it just me or does it seem like spring is ushering summer in much sooner than normal?  It's me, isn't it?
• While in the car, I sat behind a van that had a bumper sticker that read, "got milkweed?"  This caught my attention as I had purchased a book recently for a teenage friend with the title Milkweed.  Apparently milkweed (also known as "butterfly flower") is a vital source of pollen for bees and food for monarch larvaes.  Very interesting.  
• I have been in a mood to sew.  Not that I have started any projects yet, but I want to.  There's been such a big boom in the desire for and making of handmade items just these last few years that the shelves in bookstores are spilling over with instruction and inspiration of all kinds!  I skimmed through a few today and it brought to mind an article I read in a Home Companion magazine (which I just found out, is no longer in circulation! Argh!) that came out exactly this time last year.  It featured designer Heather Bailey and some of her cute ideas.  Her look is vibrant and playful, just like a tall glass of cool, pink lemonade on a warm May afternoon!  A wonderful source of inspiration!  Of course you'll have to go and check out her website and her blog now.  :o)
• Wondering where I can get a decently priced, and fully working, vintage Singer sewing machine.  

Hope you lovely folks are having a lovely week so far!  

.today's list::05.13.09.

"Keep it fresh," that's been something I've been aspiring to do with this blog since day one.  My desire has been to post an entry every day, but here lately, I'll do good to get one in a week.  This bothers me.  A lot.  I've been trying to figure out ways to keep the pages of my blog from becoming stagnant.  Well, on my way home from work, in between red traffic lights, I found myself making a list of things that I wanted to write in my "random" journal just for the sake of documenting it.  Nothing important.  Just tidbits of information I felt I needed to jot down somewhere, before I forget them.  Kinda like making a grocery list, only without the butter and milk.  So, I thought, 'Hey, why not put them in my blog?'  Well here you go.  

• They say you should never judge a book by its cover.  Sometimes, I do.  Especially when there's a fantastic photograph of a pair of worn, red shoes on the cover.  I purchased the book Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie and so far, I'm loving the read.  Great insight to what life was like during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.  The book was turned into a movie which was adapted and directed by the author.  Guess I'll need to check that out when I'm done with the book!
• The photographer responsible for the wonderful image in the above book is Kate Shermerhorn.  
• New words to add to my vocabulary:  crestfallen (to be sad, ashamed); sesquipedallian (using long words); and euphonius (pleasing to the ear).
• Read a cute children's book about relationships called Enemy Pie.
• Listened and loved some awesome tunes by Irish singer, Lisa Hannigan.
• Hoping to watch the movie Slumdog Millionaire tonight.  
• Curious about this book and movie, Sweet Land, by Will Weaver.  Anyone read or seen it?

So what is on YOUR list for today?  

.a life in lists::childhood.

I realize that it's been a little while since my last post about "a life in lists."  So, today, I thought it would be fun to put up another.  Today, we shed some light onto our childhood memories.

LIST A FEW OF YOUR FAVORITES FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD

• "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl.
• Punky Brewster.
• An Ewok Adventure.  
• Sanrio merchandise, like "Hello Kitty."
• Ricky Martin when he was in the group "Menudo."
• Watching "Garfield" and the "Smurfs" during Saturday morning cartoons.
• Peeps, BubbleYum, Tootsie Pops, and Big Hunk candy.  
• Dr. Pepper and A&W Root Beer.
• The color pink (of course).
• Tear for Fears and Duran Duran.
• Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite.

What were some of your favorite things growing up?

.listography::a life in lists.

Okay, so I couldn't help but pick up this journal book thingy today to see what it was all about.  Listography.  Cute.  Catchy.  You can see more of these books by Lisa Nola and Nathaniel Russell here and the website here.  The idea of the journal is to record bits of your life by creating a list for different things.  For example, "List your favorite TV shows of All -Time."  My answer would be:  Kids in the Hall, The Vacant Lot, Absolutely Fabulous, Northern Exposure, Golden Girls, Punky Brewster, Mr. Bean, Saturday Night Live, to name a few.  Many of us have a "soft spot for nostalgia," but we may not have the time to bring out the glue sticks and patterned paper to create a scrapbook about our lives.  At least, not yet.  This is where I think creating a list is actually a pretty nifty way to catalog aspects of our lives that others can look over and say, "Well, that definitely explains why she's got a funky sense of humor."  So I've decided that I would start sharing some of MY lists here.  Today, I will start with:

LIST PROFESSIONS YOU'D LIKE TO TRY

• Pilot
• Anthropologist
• Elementary School Art Teacher
• Tour Guide (not sure where yet!)
• Jockey
• Dressmaker
• Baker
• Marine Biologist
• Chocolatier
• Photojournalist
• Actress 
• Elevator Operator

How about you?  What professions would YOU like to try out, if only for a day?