Weeks, Weekends, & Vacations

I am so ready for this weekend. How can some weeks feel like they fly by and others seem to take three times as long?
While the location of the image above is my #1 dream vacation (the Faroe Islands--oh how I'd love to go), I think this weekend I'll be making some reservations for a little trip the boy and I are planning to San Fransisco in May (!!)...
Have a wonderful weekend!

Cartograph

I love maps. Road maps, maps of made-up lands, historical maps--any and all, I love them. Needless to say, I was pretty jazzed when I found out about the Off the Map exhibit currently at the Kirkland Arts Center Gallery (which includes a piece by Maya Lin!). Addressing the intersection between science and art, the exhibit looks to be full of pieces that aren't necessarily what most people would traditionally think of as maps exactly, but I love what they say of the show on their website:

"What is it that is so intriguing about maps? Their ability to reveal what is too large to see, or too abstract to perceive is a nearly universal source of wonderment. Even though cartography is typically thought of as an objective, scientific process, the ability to exclude or display information reveals the inherent subjectivity associated with map-making."

Fu Kun Wu

The boy and I stopped off at Fu Kun Wu, the bar/lounge above Thaiku restaurant on our way home from our Valentine's Day dinner for some swanky drinks. We liked it so much we dragged some of our friends over to it again last week, and I already want to go back. Designed to look like a Chinese apothecary shop, it's super stylish and atmospheric. Their mysterious "tonic" drinks (humorously limited to one-per-customer because of the Kava in some of them) are a lot of fun.

February Fruit

I'm not sure how it happened, but I've had quite the excess of pears lately. I've done my best to put them to good use (an almond pear tart, a brown-butter pear crisp, etc.), but they were just going mushy too fast, not to mention the fact that I was simply turning my pear excess into an excess of rich baked goods. So I turned my last few into a simple pear spread and, though sweet, it's a good use for them indeed.

Simple Pear Spread

Ingredients:
+4 ripe pears
+1 apple
+3 tbs. orange juice
+1 tbs. lemon juice
+1/2 - 3/4 cup brown sugar (depending on how sweet you want your spread)
+1/2 tsp. nutmeg
+dash of salt

Peal, core, and chop fruit into bite-sized pieces. Place in a medium saucepan along with orange and lemon juice. Cook over high heat until boiling, and then continue cooking for 15 minutes, stirring continuously. Reduce heat and simmer (still stirring frequently) for ~20 minutes.
Add brown sugar, nutmeg, and salt and continue to simmer until reduced (if necessary, press fruit mixture into a strainer to strain out any excess liquid). Pour into a sterilized glass jar.

I've been having mine over soy-butter on toast in the morning--yum!

Calming Kitchen

These photos from Jen | Sophik's Wooden Table Flickr set are reminding me to slow down today.

Greenhouse Style

Some more lovely Spring inspiration, this time from an old issue of Vogue UK (2005, shot by Carter Smith). Wish I could pull off that movie-star hair, but I'll settle for some jewel-colored cardigans and skirts instead.

Keller

I'm not a big fan of spring clothes. Pastels aren't really my thing, and the floral prints that usually seem to dominate spring fashion aren't really my cup of tea either. But Keller's latest collection could definitely win me over to springtime adornment. So pretty, with just the right tough/quirky edge.

Wild in the City

Our walk over the weekend--it was my first time at this particular park and it was love at first sight.

Weekend Pairing - Thaw

+The weekend was absolutely lovely+
I know the East Coast is buried in snow, but it felt like June in Seattle.
I was drunk on sunshine.
The plants were happy too--they blossomed practically overnight.
We did some gratifying Spring cleaning and took an amazing hike (I'll be posting some pictures from that tomorrow).
Can you believe it's February 22nd already?

February Sun

The unseasonal sun and blue skies this whole week (while the east coast gets buried in snow) helps me begin to believe that Spring is indeed coming...sometime.
Have a wonderful weekend!

The Magic of Storytelling

I know I've blogged about the amazing Meg Hunt before, but here I am doing it again because she's got a sweet new project that's just beginning.
The Picture Book Project is, in the words of her website, "an extended love-song to books. Fifteen illustrators will reach out to their favorite books and create wonderful pieces of art in response to the text that has moved them, shaped them, or excited them. From sci-fi to children’s books to fantasy to serious novels, we’ll cover them all. For three weeks out of every month there will be a new illustration every day from one of us along with our thoughts, process, anything we can come up with. Together we will try to excite readers both new and old and capture some of that magic of storytelling."
I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with! I'm especially looking forward to when Kali Ciesemier does Sabriel, one of my favorite books as a kid.
Illustration for Ella Minnow Pea by Lizzy Stewart.

Untitled #3

Mysterious photographs by Maggie Haas. She has prints of these magical woodland scenes available from Little Paper Planes and I really want to get one of the top image.

Sweden's Capital

Some recent loves from Stockholm Street Style. My favorite is the woman on the lower-right--that belt with its gold buckle is a perfect touch.

A New Print

Greens is now available in the shop.
Also, thanks to Kelly for the mention yesterday over at Design Crush!

"A Letter From A Vanishing World"

I love Square America. Whenever I need a burst of inspiration, I check out the galleries--some of my favorites are On the Limits of Memory, What Was Next, and the classic Family Dynamics. The ones above are from my all-time favorite set, The Readers (probably because I the biggest bookworm ever).
Speaking of books, I just finished this one. It's only February and I am already positive that it will be appearing on my Best of 2010 list.

Dreams of Sunshine

I've been seeing hints of Spring all over town lately. The just-about-to-pop buds and new green leaves unfurling everywhere are exciting, but I at the same time I also wish we could just jump straight to summer with its warm weather, long days, and glorious sunshine. These gorgeous photos by Snjezana Josipovic aren't helping me be patient--I wish I could teleport to this glowing grotto now.

David Pearson

I love these book cover designs that David Pearson created for Penguin's Great Journeys Series. They are simple and graphic but completely perfect. Wouldn't they make great posters? I'd love to hang the cover for Escape From the Antarctic on my wall.

Weekend Pairing - Mid-February

This lavish and golden ballet was just what I needed on Friday.
Spent most of the weekend cooking and puttering in the kitchen--it was so relaxing.
Had a completely lovely dinner out with the boy once he got home from being out of town. ♥
I feel so lucky.

Preparations

Working on Valentine's Day presents. I hope you all have a wonderful February 14th--not for Hallmark's sake, but because love is something beautiful and essential and any day that serves as a reminder of that is a good day in my book.

Emerald

I saw these feather notebooks at a bookstore the other day and bought the green one, even though I already have tons of sketchbooks, notepads, journals, and blank books that aren't even close to being full. It's a bit of an addiction, but how could I resist a notebook as lovely as this? Plus, they are made from bagasse paper and are super environmentally friendly.
I think I'll keep track of recipes in it.

Questions

I wasn't completely certain upon looking at Amy Bennett's paintings, but doing some research on her website confirmed my hunch: Bennett paints her scenes from detailed miniature models that she has constructed. The fact that her paintings obviously looked like they'd referenced a teeny tiny model both bothers me and intrigues me. For all their believability, the paintings don't look like depictions of real people and places--they actually look like paintings of fake foliage and water, of plastic, static people and artificial weather. The more I think about it, the more I can't decide how I feel.
Of her work, Bennett says, "The paintings are glimpses of a scene or fragments of a narrative. Similar to a memory, they are fictional constructions of significant moments." I love this idea--a lot of my own work is actually inspired by the same theme. But the fact that the paintings don't look like "real" moments but moments clearly derived from a miniature model puzzles me. Is Bennett painting the abstract idea of "significant moments" or is she simply painting a physical diorama that she's constructed? Or both?
What do you think?

Black Flowers

Peonia Dress . Peonia Dress
Verda Top . Fleur Dress

Gorgeous dresses from Elroy on super sale (70% off!). Since I wear almost exclusively black and dark blue (I used to force myself to branch out and buy brighter colors, but they just hung in my closet, completely unworn--now I've just accepted this fact) I'm especially attracted to these classy pieces. Plus, even though they're dark, all of them look like they'd transition nicely from winter into spring.