Pussywillow Bracelet

Ever since I first saw this bracelet in Boulder when Chelsea moved out there (~10 yrs ago),

I've REALLY wanted one. The pearl pussywillow buds are so delicate, and the way the links bend and bow like real pussywillow twigs has always been so pretty to me. Whoever first cast these links was beautifully in tune with the real thing. But they're always like 140 bucks. Today I stopped at our local "Feather Your Nest" antiques mall and found one for just $7! I love synchronicity like that. Sometimes it DOES pay to wait...

Rainbow hands

I hope we can all get along and hold hands one day. [James Joyce "Peace Hands"]

A glove ad by Gildo Medina. ["Maison Fabre-11"]

Polar Bears

Maybe because my last name has the first syllable as 'polar bear'...I've always felt an affinity with these great white bears. My first REALLY loved stuffed animal was "Huggy" a polar bear that was larger than I was when I got it (my 2nd christmas). I'm saddened that their habitat is becoming less 'habitat' and more 'open sea'. Here're some polar bear pics that interested me.
[Option-G "Underwater Print", Robert Clyde Anderson "Bright", Autumn Whitehurst "Prey", and unknown]

Confetti

One of the things that burned in my house fire was all the hole punches from every piece of paper I put into a 3-ring binder while I was in vet school. I was going to use those little specks to throw up and over me and my friends on graduation day.
["Hole Punch" by James Joyce via the Art Department]

Bikinis make Men see Women as Objects

"Brain scans revealed that when men are shown pictures of scantily clad women, the region of the brain associated with tool use lights up."

So, women ARE objectified by men. Hard evidence (article) here.

Green Love

For Valentines, a day full of pink and red, I'm going to fill your eyes with my favorite color, green. I love our Earth, and so I begin with a Yann Arthus-Bertrand photo of a heart-shaped wetland. Awww...


What a beautiful contrast. When I was a child, I called my house "my green house" because our front door was green.


I want to make this simple shift with sheer black overlaying the green, so gracefully. (photo by Erez Sabag)


Another green dress with sheer, but this time the sheer part is given texture (how'd they do that?) (and I'm surprised I have 2 'fashion' pics in a row...)


I love how greenery takes over abandoned buildings. It gives me hope.


I don't know what's up here. Be careful not to jump headfirst into a box when wearing green.


Pretty green shiny baubles! (another 'fashion' pic, sheesh)


Photo by Lars Botten. Um, yeah. Huh.


What a gorgeous silhouette!


I love how this model's green eyes are brought out so piercingly by the green in her shirt. Photo by Sarah Silver.


Another Sarah Silver photo.



Cool, refreshing, gorgeous water.


Somewhere in SriLanka. Doesn't it look cool and warm at the same time? Perfect for a Valentines Day cuddle.

Marlies Dekkers Bra/ Tjarda

I want this bra, but unfortunately, I'd have to travel to New York or Amsterdam (or some other far-away place) to visit one of the stores. (No online boutique! Dang.) I first saw it on my Dutch friend Tjarda, whom I met in San Francisco, when I was staying with Mira. She had several bras by this Dekkers lady, and the key thing is that they all make a boring tank top a little spicy with some unexpected zigs, zags, crosses, curves or strings. For example:

Okay, Tjarda is somewhat unrecognizable here, dressed as she is for the German Sparkle Party, but you can get a sort-of idea of what the bra does UNDER clothes. Just the fun straps are visible. Cool. ...Here's a much better pic of pretty Tjarda (sans bra):

Hongera Barack Obama

I meant to post this back at the end of January when I first saw it. It's a kanga from Kenya, printed just after Obama's election. Kangas are what every woman wears in East Africa around their waists as skirts. They also double as baby carriers, backpacks, kleenex, etc. They are sold in twos (one wrapped around each side of your waist for modesty's sake and so that you have an extra useful piece of fabric literally hanging around if you should need it). Every kanga has a border, a decoration on it and a phrase on the bottom that often is something like a quote or proverb. Sometimes people choose to wear snarky sayings on their kangas if they're trying to teach someone a lesson. Some make no sense (like the one below). When I was in Tanzania, I chose mine based on the design and figured out the meanings later. The one above says "Congratulations Barack Obama" (Hongera Barack Obama) "God has bestowed love and peace upon us" (Upendo na amani ametujalia mungu).

Kanga, translated, means guinea-fowl, after which the fabric kangas were named back in the day when they all came in black and white (looking, I suppose, like a guinea hen). When they started making the kangas in color, they retained the name kanga. Kitenge are the similar but slightly more upscale pieces of fabric that don't have sayings across the bottom.



I love kangas. My friends and I would have "kanga fashion shows" to see how many ways we could make the kanga fit. Kinda like this. I wish I still had those photos.

**********
UPDATE: I found one of those photos!

Homebrew Calendar/Planner

I am a bit of a snob (or at least a connoissuer) when it comes to calendars and planners. I never feel like I find the perfect one. Once a year, I spend a week or so combing book stores and office supply stores for the one that will be good enough. This year, I found one that would have done me well, but I had the sudden inspiration to make my own. Making my own is not a new idea, but it's always seemed like such a hassle and, frankly, I've always been able to afford a planner in the past. This year, "free" sounded better. So, I dug up the blank moleskin-esque booklets I'd been hoarding to make into gifts one day, and made my own. (If you're interested in printing out your own planner and don't want to deal with rulers and pens to make your own, the DIY Planner is really really awesome. Check it out here.)

I made one page for each month, with the intention of then making each week in the rest of the book. But I realized that drawing in each week by hand WOULD take forever, and not every week of mine is hectic enough for me to justify a whole page. So instead, I left the rest of the book blank, so I can write in lists or weeks at a time as neccessary. This has turned out to be enormously helpful, useful, and practical. If I were to do this again, I'd take 2 pages for each month, so I'd have more room to write in each date box. For now, it's a good thing I have small handwriting.

Then I decorated the cover with stickers.