and this is why i love the man i love.
- him (with an ikea duvet draped over his head fresh out of the dryer): look, i'm a swedish ghost.
- me: laughing hysterically
meet me in montauk.
photo from my own travels, circa 2004.
it’s wet and miserable here in nyc today; the snowstorm from last weekend has all but disappeared, leaving in its wake sheets on sheets of rain and grey. unfortunately, it’s also days like this that completely kill my productivity.
ever since seeing ‘eternal sunshine of the spotless mind’ years ago i’ve had a fascination with the beach, particularly during rainstorms. i remember one year heading down to cannon beach on christmas weekend with a couple of friends during one of oregon’s worst rainy seasons. on a beach normally overflowing with families, children, dogs and beach toys, the entirety of the beach was quietly and absolutely deserted. we fought so hard to walk the beach, fighting against the rain and wind with every step as the rain pelted us nearly horizontally as it fell, determined to knock us flat; it was one of the most peaceful and beautiful moments i’ll remember.
now that i’m in new york and especially during times like these, it takes all i have to not fantasize a day away about trips to the rainy beach. when i had my car it was no issue to instantly uproot for such spontaneous trips, but now when it’s an entire event to simply head over to the neighborhood ikea, such a journey to the beach seems a far reach at best. one can dream, though. and that’s exactly what i intend to do.
photo from design*sponge, tutorial here.
i literally had TONS of this stuff when we moved and now i’m really kicking myself for not keeping some just so i could make this awesome diy. seriously, what a great way to repurpose something most people just throw away after a move! plus it seems like you could really do this with any packaging/wrapping paper, maybe even some stiff fabric. how sweet would a butcher paper version of this with red thread be? now go make one, dangit. tutorial can be found here.
first/second photo from the purl bee, third/fourth photo from martha stewart.
i was looking up projects for valentine’s day gifts and got the idea to do a valentine’s day handmade gift exchange - would anyone be interested in participating? i was thinking it’d be super simple and casual; basically email me if you were interested and i’d match you up with someone else from the pool and you two would work out the timing, secrecy of the gift and address of where to send it to. sorta like a secret santa really, except more like secret valentines in this case.
if interested, please let me know! send me a note at whoskay (at) gmail and i’ll start a list (friends welcome) of people interested. i’ll update in a week or so after i get a better idea of how many people are participating. but seriously, what could be better than getting a handmade with love valentine’s gift from a new friend on valentine’s day? not many other things, that’s what.
photo 1: felt coffee cozies from the purl bee
photo 2: i-cord necklaces from the purl bee
photo 3: catnip hearts from martha stewart
photo 4: scented sachets from martha stewart
image on left from ladies’ home journal/peter ardito.
chris was at work all/most of the day saturday, so i took some time to settle in at home and work on a few projects i hadn’t had time to tackle during the week, starting with this vintage book kindle cover. i got a kindle as an “indirect” christmas gift and have been hauling it around everywhere, and since i don’t have the greatest track record in keeping portable electronics alive and remembered that i really enjoyed this tutorial when i first saw it posted on design*sponge, i figured this would be the perfect project for a lazy saturday. plus, i accidentally discovered the bargain racks of books outside strand last week (first time there - what an amazing bookstore!), and totally found the perfect hardcover victim for my kindle. and what a surprise! when i took off the book jacket i was greeted with a little embossed dog on the cover. score.
image from amazon.
when i first moved to ny i was super excited to be in a city filled with so many artists, crafters and artisans, and i made it a personal goal to try and meet as many people as i could that were just as interested in crafts/handmade as i was in hopes of starting a monthly craft night. we’ve since been here two months and it’s been kind of a disappointment as craft night still hasn’t happened, though to be fair, we’ve been so busy getting our apartment situated and me working during the day that i just haven’t had the time to go out and meet as many people as i’d hoped. realistically though, i should probably go easy on myself - it’s only been two months and there’s been so much stuff that we’ve needed to do since we moved here and unfortunately life sometimes takes over. but seriously, how amazing would it be to get together and make something fun, like one of the stuffed animals from sian keegan’s ‘how to make stuffed animals’?
on a related note, it’s kind of unfortunate how much the outside weather can really affect my mood. i managed to soak my entire head of hair this morning in the half block it took to walk corn (no umbrella, oops), and it’s been cold, rainy and gloomy all day. all of this has me in a pretty melancholic mood, so i might just be a little more disappointed about craft night (or lack thereof) than usual. things will look up though, and craft nights will happen. even if it is just between me, the dog and the cats. dammit.
image from steven alan.
i promised myself i wouldn’t post too many “things” that i wanted on the blog this year, but how cute is this sweater? i’ve been looking for a good gray sweater that isn’t terribly ornate or too long in the torso, and this really looks like it fits the bill. i can easily see this transitioning from cold and gloomy nyc weather to warm and sunny, plus the light gray is in my favorite shade of gray. now, if only it’d go on sale…
image from blog.shopwiksten.com
did you guys see the shop update from jenny yesterday? jeez. my favorite is the Öljett Hat. if i didn’t look like i had an egg for a head any time i wore beanies i’d totally be up on that. plus, how adorable does she look? double jeez.
