Slow Return

I've been absent here for awhile. At some point the events of the summer piled up and the backlog of photos became higher, and it all seemed so daunting. I took a break. To just take each crazy busy week as it came, without the analysis and exploration that this space allows and creates. Just to breathe and let it all be. I'm beginning to feel my way back. 

We've been submerged in weddings lately- those heady days of celebration that make you think about things like the length of a lifetime, and how fast it all flies by. The last two weekends we have celebrated the unions of good friends, each wedding a small reunion in itself. Then this afternoon another thick envelope came in the mail, and suddenly we are gearing up for another celebration. 

I've been thinking about time lately. How fast it goes. It's terrifying- that in the blink of an eye a decade will have slipped away. That a lifetime is so very short. Time is also so gratifying- I've been looking back on friendships that have spanned half my life or longer. Knowing that time creates a history that can't be erased, even if a friendship ends. There is a comforting permanence in that. 

As fall curls around us, I'm hoping to slow down and carve out a little more room for this space- I hope you'll join me.  

Deer via Audrey Hepburn Project

The Beatles

I love this photo. Isn't it amazing what a little change of perspective can do?

via mischief + madness 

Puppy Dog Eyes

Something about this photo grabbed me. The colorful pop of the aqua shoes. The tilt of the dog's head, the attentive, inquisitive stare.

Things have been a bit of a blur lately. I've had trouble sleeping in the new apartment with the noise of the construction across the street. The weekend was spent with another series of shopping trips to buy apt things- from lights to various organizing bins and drawers and systems. The list seems endless, and while we always come home with full bags, it seems to make only a small dent in the overall effect. We do have a coffee table now, though we aren't sure if we're keeping it...

It will be another short week for me, as my parents are coming into town on Wednesday, and then Thursday night I'm heading up to Boston. Do you have any fun plans for this week?

photo via the Sartorialist

Tree Sculptures

These tree sculptures by Patrick Dougherty make me think of rabbit holes and gnomes with thick accents. They remind me of the "Choose your Own Adventure" books I read as a kid where the lady of the manor goes running off to fight the goblins of the western wood.

Discovered via Bit of Beauty

Happy Friday!

Today is moving day! W is here to help, and I've hired two guys and a truck, so hopefully it will all go smoothly. The building I'm leaving has an elevator, but we're moving into the top floor of a walk up with a narrow stairwell, so that will probably be the the tricky part.

My parents are coming up Saturday, so they'll help with the cleaning and unpacking, and get to see the new place. (Hopefully we'll take a quick break to try the cookies at Ruby et Violette!) W will be moving his things down in a few weeks, and officially moving in June 1st. 

This week I've been alternately thinking of furniture and exotic vacations. Rustic farmhouse style tables, contrasted with industrial metal benches and designer chairs. Then it's on to dreaming of lying in the shade of a Tuscan villa, or climbing through South American jungles. Something about being surrounded by boxes and bubble wrap makes my imagination wander. I wouldn't mind a few hours stretched out on this bench with a glass of sangria, and a beautiful maze of hedges stretching out behind me...

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Photo from the Toast Catalogue, discovered via the style files.

Happy Friday!

It's been a whirlwind of a week, and next week promises to be even more so. This weekend is dedicated to packing up my apartment though we're going to make time for dinner with friends and hopefully a little stroll through the Brooklyn Botanical Garden before all the cherry blossoms fall from the trees.

I've been drawn to images of hair blowing in the wind recently, perhaps another expression of the chaos that has been going on lately.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Photos by Olivia Malone, The Electric, Lauren Kristin, and Katherine Squier

Beautiful Storms

My life is a bit chaotic right now, with boxes stacked high, full of books. Boxes leaning empty and loose against walls, and boxes half assembled and yawning open. Perhaps that is part of why I'm so drawn to the turbulence of these photos by Mike Hollingshead. The power of nature always makes me feel calm and serene. A big thunderstorm, a few minutes starring at rolling ocean waves, and the power of my own chaos is quickly put into perspective.

Discovered via Black Eiffel

Vinyl Sillhouettes

I've gotten a bit tired of the silhoutte trend, but these cut records caught my eye. A series called "Love is in the Air", Carlos Aires carves vinyl into all sorts of crazy characters. I remember the year my sister got her very own record player for Christmas. It was Fisher Price, but I thought it was the coolest thing ever. 

Discovered via d.Sharp

Photo Friday!

Happy Friday! I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend that hopefully includes a lot of time lolling about Prospect Park. It's supposed to hit 72 degrees today. That's summer weather!

Some black and white photo candy for you... I hope you all have a great weekend!

image by Layka

Life is Complicated

This makes me smile, I love the limited color palette!

Illustration by Nicholas Saunders, via Where The Lovely things Are

Bobby Neel Adams

Bobby Neel Adams merges multiple photos together, highlighting our relationships to our families, or partners, and even our younger selves. 

Age-Maps: Two images of the same person at different times in their lives. "A jump of time is established in the tear". I find such beauty in the older faces- time adds such detail to the plain, smooth faces of youth.

Family Tree: Mother/Daughter and Father/Son composites, without using photoshop. "Investigating the visual DNA passed from generation to generation." I am endlessly fascinated by where genetics begin and end in the emotional webs we create for ourselves. The older I get the more I recognize my mother in my own actions and responses, yet I have a half-sister I feel no connection to.  

discovered via Design Crush.

Photo Friday

Happy Friday! I've decided to start Photo Fridays- a photo or two every Friday just for fun. It could be a quirky candid, or a sexy fashionista shot. Anything goes!

W and I are heading up to CT early tomorrow to celebrate my father's birthday. I'm excited for fondue and German Forest Cake! What are you up to this weekend?

Doesn't this woman look like she just walked out of the Country Buffet and landed in MOMA?

Photo via Me Melodia

Oh Alice!

I love this Alice in Wonderland image (actually an iphone wallpaper) by Katie Kirk. I'm intrigued by the movie, but holding off to avoid the crowds, and of course to avoid the disappointment of yet another over-hyped movie. So, have you seen it? Is is quirky and amazing, or does it fall short?

via Share Some Candy

Wire Dresses

Leigh Pennebaker makes these fabulous wire sculptures, each with a name inspired by the personality of the dress. Below are Juliet, Gwen, Deveraux, Denise, Coco, and Zsa Zsa. She writes that she "channel(s) the spirits of southern belles,  divas, vixens, and ingénues." They look they should be worn with bright red lipstick. Rather saucy aren't they?

found via Maquette

Tents

This warm weather makes me dream of summer- laying in the sunshine listening to the birds, floating in the middle of a lake, and camping. Those warm still nights under the stars.

7 Tents by Gretchen Mist, availble on Etsy; found via Black Eiffel.

Underwater

I hope you all had a lovely, restful weekend! W stayed up in Boston to kick the sniffles so I had a few quiet days to myself. The sunshine made it the perfect lazy weekend to hit up the greenmarket, enjoy a smoothie outside Tea Lounge, and catch up with some girlfriends over brunch.

Check out these images of surfers by Wayne Levin, discovered via Lost. I love the contrast of energy and motion with the dark, silent world of beneath the water.

Portrait

How beautiful and haunting is this photo? I love how subtle and timeless it is. Ache.

By Softcollapse, found via the always excellent Feaverish Photography

Twitter

I've taken the plunge and joined Twitter. (@pbandpoetry). Come say Hello!
Photo by Brooke Shaden

Paint Images

My mind's been in a bit of a swirl lately, sorting out comings and goings. All candy colored lines of motion and confusion and hopefully a little bit of poetry. The fluid motion of paint conveys such a rich intention, full of possibilities and direction and promise. Don't you just want to dip a finger into the wet paint and leave a little mark of disruption? To just for a second disrupt the smooth flow onward?

Paint images by Kristina at Kris's Color Stripes; Constructed landscapes by Gregory Euclide, via Me Melodia; Paint table by John Nouanesing from epotpourri;

What Inspires Me: Blog it Forward

Welcome newcomers to Peanut Butter and Poetry! Blog it Forward is a chain-letter type progression of blogs linking backwards and forwards to each other in a line. Many thanks to Victoria of Sfgirlbybay for pulling this all together! More details here, as well as a full list of the 300 blogs participating and their scheduled days here. Thanks to Paris Hotel Boutique for passing the torch!


So, on to a few things that inspire me...


1. New York City

 

The people next to me on the subway, the museums, the amazing restaurants. How does one choose between Opera in the park, strolling across the Brooklyn Bridge, or a drink on the Met rooftop? This city is alive at all hours with an energy that shifts and changes by neighborhood. Astoria, Park Slope, the Upper East Side, the Village- each one has it's own people, vibe, trends, and architecture. Each one is a mini city of it's own. 


Credits: The poster above is by Julia Rothman, soon to grace our subway cars, and available at the MTA store. Thanks to Oh Joy for the head's up!


2. Travel

All that city energy can be draining, and I often find inspiration in new places, new faces, and new vistas. I love history- seeing something hundreds, or even thousands, of years old takes my breathe away. Exploring the world, whether it's with a scuba tank or hiking boots, helps renew my sense of wonder in this crazy world. 


Travel can also be imagining yourself in new places, like this house on it's own cliff in Iceland. Or peeking into other peoples lives via the Sartorialist. I'm not a big fashion connoisseur, most days you'll find me in jeans with my hair pulled back with the same old clip. But when I see these photos I imagine a whole life for these people. Whether it's taken in Milan, or on Madison Ave, I feel transported. 


Credits: The largest known Olmec head in Santiago Tuxtla, Mexico; Camping in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica; Trying out the Cu Chi Tunnels (enlarged for tourists!) in Vietnam;  From Kilimanjaro, Tanzania; Iceland photo here, as part of Heartthrobs and Villains "Let's Run Away" series; Fashion from The Sartorialist - 2/8 (man) 11/23 (woman).


3. Contemporary Photographers

I'm constantly inspired by contemporary photographers. Anyone that makes me look at the world a little differently. I love dreamy, ethereal prints, scratchy film edges, and have a huge soft spot for black and white images. 


Credits: Ballerina by Logan White, via Feaverish Photography; Field by Keith Davis Young via Lost; Freckles by Vic at Lost; Water by From Me to You; Yasmine Bleeth by Piewacket, with the story behind it here;


I hope you've enjoyed our journey through a few of my inspirations!
I now Blog it Forward to Piewacket! (what a great name, right?)