One Rare Bird

Travel

Prompt 22: Travel _{^{{via Reverb 10}}}

"How did you travel in 2010? How and/or where would you like to travel next year?" (Author: Tara Hunt)

That's a good question and one I feel like I've already answered here, here, and here. But as far as this coming year is concerned, there's not much on the Travel Agenda besides a few getaways to the Oregon Coast and Cascade Mountains this Summer - which is basically the only time we go anywhere. Of course I have big dreams for where I'd like to travel in the future, and that's something John and I have been talking about a lot lately. We'd love to take one big trip a year - preferably to another country - and work on finding ways to make it doable for our family. Besides, we're not getting any younger and Canada isn't that far away...maybe we should start there?

{images via Leah Giberson}

I'm Not As Think As You Drunk I Am

FYI: I'm not a big fan of cooking. Baking? Yes. Drinking? Yes. Cooking? No. So when I stumbled across My Drunk Kitchen I knew I'd found a girl after my own hart, Hannah Hart to be exact. She's not only hilarious, she's funny too, and she's taught me that cooking can be tolerable with the right amount of alcohol. So sit back, pull up a bottle, and follow the directions carefully. You don't want to miss this...

Episode 4: Not Easy, Bake Oven

"Hannah 'Harto' Hart is a bay area native and recent (as of January 2011) transplant to New York City. To support herself, Harto works as a proofreader for an international translation firm. In her free time, she can be found listening to music and doing sudoku in cafes. She calls this "writing". She enjoys long meandering walks, impromptu dance parties, and artisinal cheeses. Also, she's a big ol' homo."

Episode 6: Brunch

"Recently, Harto decided to make a cooking show and get drunk while doing it. 'My Drunk Kitchen' was received with mild (to moderate) attention and has encouraged aspiring alcoholics everywhere. For this she is very proud."

Episode 7: Tacos

"Currently, she stars in, films, and edits all of her own videos. Harto has also written a screenplay, some sketch comedy, and lots of terrible poetry. All of which she hopes one day to share."

Crush of the Week: Dottie Angel

If you've never heard of Dottie Angel (aka Tif Fussell) then you leave me no choice but to assume you've been living under a rock and you desperately need to be enlightened. But before I enlighten you I'm going to take a moment to collect my thoughts and calm my hysterical crush...

Okay, one of the things I absolutely adore about Dottie is that in so many ways she is everything I am not (maybe that's why Tif came up with Dottie?), and looking into Dottie's world, with all it's beauty, calm, and creativity, gives me a much-needed break from my own. And the best part is I can't tell where Dottie ends and Tif begins - which I'm quite sure is what happens when each of us starts living out our best imagined selves.

"Dottie Angel lives in a run down cottage over looking the sea. She has two airstream trailers in the yard, one is her studio and the other stores her vast collection of vintage notions... her eight children are home schooled and spend the day outside running barefoot and their evenings sitting by the fireplace, learning ancient crafting techniques. They never talk back to their mother and always smile... she has several chickens, seven rescued greyhounds and a bearded dragon named STIG... Dottie spends most days dressed in an old vintage slip that belonged to her grandmother, that she customized. She thinks to herself, surely everyone dreams of living this life, or at least dressing like they do... Tif [on the other hand] lives in suburbia, is a Brit, a mother of four kids who talk back and a wife. She wears a customized slip and dreams of living Dottie Angel's life..."

Isn't she absolutely fabulous?!? If you want to get out from under your rock and stretch your legs you can visit Dottie on her blog, view her images on Flicker, and buy a bit of her work on Etsy. Thank you Dottie and Tif for all the beauty you bring to the world and for your genuine loveliness. You've made my day! xo

School's Out For The Summer

Today is the last day of school for my kids, which in my mind, makes tomorrow the official first day of Summer! So Music Monday is dedicated to three classics that never fail to usher in the good vibes of Summer. Happy Monday!

Good Riddance by Green Day

Summer Nights from Grease

School's Out by Alice Cooper

Poolside

lost bird found

I'm headed to Bend this morning for a girls weekend. If we're lucky the sun will be out and we'll be sitting poolside later today. Happy Friday!

Note to Self

Prompt 21: Future Self _{^{{via Reverb 10}}}

"Imagine yourself five years from now. What advice would you give your current self for the year ahead? (Bonus: Write a note to yourself 10 years ago. What would you tell your younger self?)" (Author: Jenny Blake)

I shared a similar exercise here a few months ago and found it very cathartic and helpful. But what I haven't done is write a letter to my younger self from the perspective I have now. So here goes...

Dear Jessica,

When I think back to what it was like being you at the fresh age of 21 I can't help but love you and root for you. So much will happen in the coming years and here are a  few things I wish I'd known back then:

1. Trust yourself. Trust your intuition as well as your practicality. You are smarter and more capable than you think. You ask excellent questions, have a fantastic point of view, and you know yourself better than you think you do. Continue questioning the "rules" and practice asserting your needs. Trust what feels right to you.

2. Stop apologizing. I know you've spent most of your life feeling like you are in the way and like it is not okay for you to take up space. You have worked incredibly hard to shrink and fit-to-size, but trust me, you have every right to take up worlds of space. You are worthy of love and acceptance - no apology needed.

3. No matter how thin you are, there are some things that just don't work for you body type. Instead of trying to make things work that don't - and that goes for more than just fashion - find what works for you and buy it in every color. You'll not only save tons of time, money, and undue stress, you'll be spared the humiliation of your butt crack hanging out of your jeans in public.

I love  you,

Jessica (circa 2011, age 31)

P.S. This is where I try to wink at you but can't...maybe learn how to do that too.

A Mexican Summer

I saw this mug at Goodwill last week and knew it had to be mine. Not only am I obsessed with collecting mugs but I have a major soft spot for brightly colored things from South of the border....  And speaking of South of the Border, wouldn't this dress from Hell Hound Vintage match my mug perfectly?

Which would also make a fantastic cover-up for my new J. Crew swimsuit....

And nothing says Mexico like a little siesta. I think this awesome hammock from Anthropologie will do the trick...

Not to mention some light summer reading....

Now all I need is for Summer to arrive! Until then I'll be enjoying a cup of liquid sunshine in my new mug - Cheers!

Crush of the Week: Julia Solis

I've been following the work of photographer Julia Solis for a while now and she is beyond crush-worthy. Julia spends her time scaling the crumbling walls of decaying and abandoned mental hospitals, prisons, factories, schools, and theatres (just to name a few). The result is not only amazing images, but a heavy sense of sadness, loss, and haunted wonder. I can't help but imagine the former life of these places once filled with happy school children, rough inmates, and busy nursing staff. To see Julia's full portfolio of work you can visit her blog, Dark Passage Travelogue or her website, Dark Passage where she shares many of the stories behind the  ruins.

"Abandoned stages large and small. Grand old movie palaces, ballrooms, school auditorium, theaters in hotels, mental hospitals, churches and jails. No matter how glamorous or shabby, they have one thing in common: Before being darkened forever, they were the sites of entertainment, pleasure, and contemplation - sometimes for audiences who had no other means of escaping their worlds."

"In the course of organizing clandestine scavenger hunts and other frivolities, Dark Passage has discovered a plethora of derelict sites, the exploration of which has fed an ever more urgent obsession. Rather than seeing the documentation of these spaces as an end in itself, it is meant as fodder for further creative projects. In the meantime, however, some of the photos and stories resulting from our excursions are presented on this site."

Thank you Julia for being my Crush of the Week. Your work is not only amazing but it gives me pause - and that's something I always appreciate and admire in an artist. xo

Brother One, Brother Two

Twenty four years ago today two baby boys were born. The first was my brother Sam whom I adored instantly and claimed as my very own. The second was my husband's brother Tim who is 13 years his junior and every bit the fun-loving and big-hearted "baby" of the family. I've wondered what the odds are that John and I would both have younger brothers born on the same year to the day, but that doesn't matter as much as how grateful I am for my two little bros. So Music Monday is dedicated to Sam and Tim: First is Tighten Up by The Black Keys, one of Sam's favorite bands of the moment; then it's Hey Jude by The Beatles - Tim's all-time favorite band. Happy Birthday guys! xo

  Tighten Up by The Black Keys

Hey Jude by The Beatles

Read To Me

Kristy Bee

 

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."  ~P.J. O'Rourke

Matou en Peluche

 

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.  Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."  ~Groucho Marx (Attributed)

Little Sonrisa

 

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend."  ~Paul Sweeney

Parada Creations

 

"To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting."  ~Edmund Burke

Majali

 

"Never judge a book by its movie."  ~J.W. Eagan

Belafonte