wolf hall

I decided to delve into this 640-page behemoth because my friend Melissa (we were booksellers together so her opinion matters) spoke so highly of it. I'm 40 pages in. So far so good. Have you read it?

... as soon as I opened the book I was gripped. I read it almost non-stop. When I did have to put it down, I was full of regret the story was over, a regret I still feel. This is a wonderful and intelligently imagined retelling of a familiar tale from an unfamiliar angle — one that makes the drama unfolding nearly five centuries ago look new again, and shocking again, too. —Vanora Bennett in The Times

etsy finds

Lee L Woodward Rocker

Bark Decor Eden Tank

You're my very favorite greeting card

RiverLuna feathers

love is the law

dream collective

Chevron Cuff

Astrid Cuff

Eye Dazzler Collar

Holon Ring

Arrowhead Amulet Earrings

Dream Collective = seriously dreamy.

ruta skirt

How cute is this Lotta Jansdotter Ruta skirt? So cute.

25 things you didn't know about mad men

I'm still thinking about the 25 Things You Didn't Know About Mad Men after reading through the list last Friday. Did you know that 7 out of 9 writers on the show are women? Yep. 

Did you know that Glen is played by Matthew Weiner's real-life son? It's the truth. If you're as big a Mad Men fan as I am you'll be fascinated by the list too...

good spirits

Stella gets a backrub

Stella's good spirits have returned (thankfully) after a mild case of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease at the end of last week.

We're slowly getting back into the swing of things...

card catalog concierto

<3 this.

[via my friend Caitlin/Bookable]

homemade pizza dinner al fresco

I made two tasty pizzas last night, a carmelized balsamic onion and gruyere pizza, and a simple margarita (recipe taken from Ruth Reichl's The Gourmet Cookbook) with basil from my garden. The weather was so heavenly and warm we sat outside and ate dinner on our back deck. Summer, I love you.

(The carmelized onion and gruyere pizza was my fave).

world type map

I'm liking this World Type Map.

[via bloesem]

fiona banner's harrier

Fiona Banner's Harrier, 2010
BAe Sea Harrier aircraft

"She recently turned her attention to the idea of the classic, art-historical nude, observing a life model and transcribing the pose and form in a similar vein to her earlier transcription of films. Often using parts of military aircraft as the support for these descriptions, Banner juxtaposes the brutal and the sensual, performing an almost complete cycle of intimacy and alienation." Frith Street Gallery

troentorp wright, an update

I got them. They're awesome. Now I'm tempted to get a pair of these.

well girrrl...

We're back from Louisiana. We had a nice time seeing family, celebrating Mary-Lou's life, meeting distant relatives, saying lots of "well girrrl," and eating bar-b-que. I could have eaten 20 more slices of my cousin Richard's carrot cake, and I'll be quite happy not eating fried food for quite a while.  Stella stuck her hand in a fire ant nest and came home with bite blisters on her hand. Fire ants are no laughing matter...

stella at 18 months

Stella and Ruby (photo by Joey)

Oh my god Stella is busy. 

She is everywhere, getting into everything, and in a second she is gone. Walking has turned into running, and she loves to just take off. Yesterday we took Stella to a mall (gah!) to pick up something for my Mom and she was pulling clothes off shelves, wending her way through shop mannequin legs, and then she was gone. After looking frantically for her for all of 30 seconds, a lovely older woman said, is this one yours? Stella walked towards me grinning and baring her teeth. Yep, she's mine. 

Stella's vocabulary exploded about two weeks ago. One day Jordan came home and all the sudden she was saying 10 new words. Some words in Stella's repertoire: car, bus, cheese, pitz (pizza), water, bee, up, no, yes, dog, hi, bye, Pappap (my Dad), ball (this is a big one, any round thing in the world is BALL), woof, please, book, boo, cracker, choochoo train...

Oh, and Stella's favorite word: boobies. This is a word Stella says many different ways. In the middle of the night it's "boooobiieees." After falling down it's a short, demanding exclamation "boobies!" If she's been sitting too long in the car it's a unending novel of "boobies. boobies. boobies. boobies. boobies. boobies. boobies." In public, it's just plain, nonchalant "boobies," usually accompanied by a hand reaching down my shirt.

Stella's hair is finally long enough for pigtails. In pigtails Stella looks like a big kid. I love putting adorable (hand-sewn felt animals, and colorful pom pom) barrettes in her hair, though they are fast to disappear. 

A few things Stella is loving right now: Kaikai (my parents' dog...the first thing she said this morning was "Kaikai!" and when she woke up from a nap it was "kaikai!"), Marzano pizza, saying "hi!" to everyone, putting her head on the ground (illustration above), "Taitai" (her stuffed Tiger has been a favorite for awhile now), looking at and requesting to look at "pics" on the old iPhone, baked trout, Fairyland, being chased by her Dad, putting shoes on by her self, crawling through her yellow tunnel, music class, dancing (this song always gets her booty moving), tickles, helping out in the garden, stickers, and strawberries.

louisiana

Tomorrow Stella and my mom and I fly to a Louisiana for a family reunion and memorial service for my dear aunt Mary-Lou. Mary-Lou was one of my Grammie Mildred's younger sisters; my Gram grew up in Louisiana, the oldest of seven girls. Here's a picture of her looking quite glamorous.

And this is my Gram teaching me and my sister Sarah to fish. This photo was taken at the last Louisiana reunion we went to. I'm the little one.

We're looking forward to seeing cousins and family we haven't seen in ages, eating crawfish and bar-b-que, and celebrating Mary-Lou's life...

bryan nash gill: woodcut

I posted about one of Bryan Nash Gill's amazing woodcut prints awhile back, and I'm still in awe. We picked up his new book Woodcut (PAP) at the bookstore today and I'm loving it. Each woodcut is like a fingerprint telling a story, evoking a mood and a persona. Simply gorgeous.

greg & mel get married, san francisco style

Wow, now this is an awesome wedding video. I used to work with the groom Greg at Chronicle Books. He and his lady have some mad style... And I love the Beach House. Enjoy!

heaven or las vegas

Happy June, y'all!

The sun is shining, and this song is echoing around in our house reminding me of all the mornings I listened to Cocteau Twins' Heaven or Las Vegas while getting dressed for high school. I forgot how much I love/d this album.