.a new leaf.

i've started prepping seeds for my 2013 garden . . . got some started in a seed tray . . . am making lists and circling dreams in seed catalogs . . . i've been in this new, motivated, inspired mindset lately.  i just want to create, to dream, to plant, to begin . . .

the days are getting longer.  spring is teasing me with her coming.  i know that here in the PNW, she's still a bit far off.  we've got more rain and cold to get through, but the light is returning and that's enough for me.

so, i plan vegetable gardens, i clean out my closet, i begin new art projects, i start to plod through the pile of mending, i make soups with what is left of the tomatoes i preserved from last year, i see the garlic i planted last fall peeking out of the soil.

crocuses bloom in the neighbor's front garden and it makes me wonder if i still have time to get my daffodil bulbs in the ground.

my cousin and i are buying tickets for summer concerts already . . . i am dreaming of family camping trips and flying back east for visits in the spring and summer . . . i am ready for a change.

my husband has been biking to work all winter, but i am a fairweather biker.  i prefer the bus on the cold, windy, raining mornings . . . but i am beginning to dream of evening bike rides down to mississippi ave to drink beer on patios and see shows in the small venues.  and it's on it's way.

this is going to be good.

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in preparation for this creative spring that's just around the corner, i've been reading some new books.  i'll put them in my mixed media sidebar - but here they are as well:

The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest
i am excited about this book because it offers tips and advice for growing food in the exact region that i live in, as well as month-by-month guides to what to plant when. living in the PNW means i really can have a year-round harvest if i know how to do it.  this book is pure gold.

Print Workshop
this book give examples and simple instructions for all kinds of at-home printing techniques.  i have been more and more interested in the printmaking art form and i needed a little more knowledge in my brain about how to do this business.  this book seemed to have the best approach for my learning style.  since i've renewed my simple line of Hudson Tshirts (awesome shirts with my dog's face on them), i've needed a few more tools in my toolbox in this category.  super exciting!

Cut Up This Book
papercutting is, by far, one of the most magical, awe-inspiring art forms.  it's dreamy how someone can take a flat piece of paper and make it come alive!  this book gives a simple history of papercutting, offers some awesome examples of contemporary paper artists and gives a few projects that one could do at home.  i am hoping with this bit of a push i could set myself on a journey to mastering this magic for myself.  i was lucky to get to see a cut paper exhibit at the MOMA in NYC a few years ago - it was breath-taking.  stoked.

what have you been doing in this long winter months?  how are you preparing for spring?  

xo,

tj

.30 day journal challenge day 9, 10, 11, and 12.

sorry i don't post these every day . . . some days are just too busy for me to get around to posting them! but don't worry! i am doing them.

i am also spending time with my new roommates, rollerskating, working in my garden, playing with my dog, and loving the summer weather (even though it' SO HOT, i can't complain cause it's usually FREEZING cold here . . . like 9 months a year . . . i'm cold).

so, here's the latest pages and their prompts:

Journal Prompt 9: Choose another person who is vert significant in your life right now. It can definitely be the same person that we wrote about on day 3, but I chose to do someone different. Anyway, this prompt is going to be all about those wonderful adjectives, and typography. Describe your special person with as many words as you can fit. For each word, try to use a different font or writing style. This is a great way to practice fun typography!

I created a picture of my man-friend based on a photo i took of him a few weeks ago. i used different fonts to create the different textures in the image (the beard, the plaid in the shirt, over the pocket and in the quote) . . . i really like how it turned out!

Journal Prompt 10: This prompt is all about collections. I am such a collector. I have too many collections but I love them all. I am definitely the type who moves on though to new collection depending on my mood and the seasons in my life. What do you collect? If anything. Do you collect buttons, clothes, shoes, friends, parking tickets, whatever!! Illustrate your collections. This will be fun to look back on someday and see how your collections have grown or have moved on :)

I didn't really have anything i collected in earnest, so i just walked around my house looking for themes in my life . . . so, i have a lot of: buttons (From various bands, events, etc), vinyl (obvi), feathers (mostly for crafting), sunglasses (can't say no to the perfect pair!), books (tons and tons!), coffee mugs (when i travel, i usually get one in the city that i go to), things with owls on them, vintage bathing suits (love those pointy cone bras in them! ha ha!), and vintage boots.

Journal Prompt 11: Hello friends. Today is another one of my favorite pages. And speaking of favorites, this is a page all about your faves!!

We are going to list your favorites in each of these four categories:

* TV shows: Glee, LOST, arrested development, the office and SNL (though i don't have TV so i have to watch reruns online or at a friend's house)

* Music david bazan (from pedro the lion), jenny lewis (and rilo kiley), great lake swimmers, over the rhine, red house painters (aka sun kill moon)

* Food local food, strawberries, curry, ice cream, lemonade

* Splurges vinyle, vintage, craft supplies, books at garage sales . . .

Journal Prompt 12: Journal 12 is all about trends. Whether you consider yourself "trendy" or not, I bet there are a few trends that you find yourself gravitating to. If not, you can create a page of trends that you think are lame too, it's up to you :)

for this one, i picked out all the ironic "hipster" trends that i follow . . . weather or not they are "good" (like my fabric grocery bags) or just plain silly (like leggings!) . . . i've made them painfully obvious. let's celebrate the ways that we are just like everyone else!!!

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in other news:
been eating well even though summer usually means less of an income for the man-friend and i . . . we've gotten our first two weeks of our CSA shares and that, plus great weather making our garden produce like crazy!, has kept our tummies full.

been taking some lovely summertime photos - like the construction on the interstate they've been doing . . . here's a mural that was on the overpass for I-95 . . . and the construction vehicles that are about to tear it down! ch-ch-ch-changes . . . it's sad to see a piece of art go . . . i wish they'd just let them stay and be free-standing walls . . . or incorporate them into the new architecture that goes up in the area . . .

.mixed media v2.

i've changed the mixed-media goodies on the sidebar, so i thought i'd give a little shout out to the different types of entertainment that i have been consuming lately.

on the turntable:
mindy smith. i recently read the in the providence phoenix that i missed her in concert LAST FRIDAY NIGHT! so sad. i love her. my best friend randomly introduced her to me years ago through a sampler cd she got at a local coffee shop in portland, oregon. since then, i've been in love with her simple americana sound and her big heart. her songs are great for a sunny drive in the country and her duet with dolly parton on "jolene" at the end of her album "one moment more" is amazing. growing up i always said that i hated "country music" . . . now i say i hate mainstream, pop country music. i LOVE folk revival, roots country, bluegrass and americana sounds . . . yummy.

on the screen:
the man-friend and i have recently decided to begin screening movies at our apartment every monday night. i'll stop by our local indie video rental place on my way home from work and we'll watch one of many films that are on our list. the man-friend and i will take turns choosing. this time it was my turn and i picked margot at the wedding - a difficult film about families, unconditional love, growing up and healing from the past. nicole kidman, jack black and jennifer jason leigh do an amazing job in this heartfelt, funny, sad, heartbreaking and at times a bit scary, indie film.

on the shelf:
i just finished reading jack kerouac's wild epic road-trip homage to hipsters and the beat generation"on the road." i'll just leave you with the most well-known and well-loved quote from the book:
"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow candles..."

ain't that the truth.

what mixed-media have you been consuming latley?

.pdx friends.

if you aren't busy march 5th and you live within driving distance of Portland, Oregon, i strongly suggest with all of my delicately beating heart that you go see my good friend jacob white in his first show with mount saint elias.

you wont be disappointed.

.parson redheads.

.tj loves.

.loves.

.jacob white {photo credit: ME}.

i have this friend. he's one of those friends who felt like family almost immediately. he's one of those people who doesn't waste time on the unimportant stuff, but gets right down to the dirty broken truth of things. we don't get to see him much since we live on separate coasts . . . but when we do, it is precious time. we get right to the important conversations. we open a bottle of whiskey and pick up a guitar or two. we ask the questions no one wants to ask and we answer them honestly. this man is a good man. a true lyricist. a heart of gold. he has a natural ability to see people, to make music, and to express truths in unique ways.

he's started a new music project called mount saint elias. give it a listen. and if you are in the Portland, Oregon area keep checking his site for tour dates. if you go, please let me know . . . i wish with all my heart that i could be there too.

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currently listening to my new M Ward album on vinyl. delish.

.mixed media.

you may have noticed that i've posted some mixed media on the sidebar. mostly just things i am reading, listening to or watching. i'll change it up from time to time and when i do, i'll post about it. just to sort of keep track of the pop culture i am consuming. who knows, maybe someday i'll do some reviews?

so, current book:
"love in the time of cholera" by Gabriel García Márquez . . . an amazing and beautiful and funny and charming adventure of a book.

previous music:
the ting tings ("we started nothing" album to be precise). it's been playing a lot at the cafe lately . . . and thus it has been playing a lot in my head too.

current music:
band of horses (the "cease to begin" album has got me hooked. i come back to it over and over again).

previous film:
coraline. my roommate, miss L, and i rented and watched this last week. i really enjoyed the imagery and the themes between to two different "realities" . . . very cool, but i wont say more because i don't want to spoil it for anyone.

current film:
the notebook. this film was watched out of desperation for a girl's movie night. an excuse to drink good wine and eat brie, really. i'd heard that it was a tear-jerker, i'd read the book and remember being really moved by it . . . but the film? no tears. it started out a bit . . . predictably for me. it ended up getting better as the film went on and the ending was really very sweet, but . . . i didn't cry. a friend of mine told me she cries for days after watching this film. huh. thoughts?