Quote of the Week: Childhood

Do you remember what it was like to be a child? To have not a care in the world? To be taken care of? Every time I visit my family in New Haven, CT I remember what it's like to be a kid again. I remember playing with all the kids in my neighborhood. We'd all gather early in the morning and play until the street lights came on. Our days were filled with kickball, dodge ball, tag football, baseball, swimming, and manhunt (our version of hide and go seek which lasted for hours on end).

During the summer months I enjoyed visiting with my cousins. We all lived in different cities, so we could only see each other during the summer and on holidays. We'd come up with a master plan so that we could spend the entire summer together. Our parents would drive us from city to city. How fun! I miss those days.

Oh, and money, our primary and only goal for money was to buy candy. We'd all pull our money together to buy as much candy as we could and make a trip to our local drugstore.

One thing I loved most as a child was jigsaw puzzles. Yes, I was(/am) a nerd. I think I want to get back to that. Now, I just have to find a good puzzle.

“The things which the child loves remain in the domain of the heart until old age. The most beautiful thing in life is that our souls remaining over the places where we once enjoyed ourselves” —Kahlil Gibran

“The essence of childhood, of course, is play, which my friends and I did endlessly on streets that we reluctantly shared with traffic.” —Bill Cosby

“Childhood is that wonderful time of life when all you need to do to lose weight is take a bath.” —Richard Zera

Photo from Cookie magazine.

Envelope Book

Beautiful book from Oh, Hello Friend.

Quote of the Week: Dance

While I am not a dancer, I consider dance to be one of my passions in life. I love to watch dance. I always seem to gravitate toward dancers. All my high school friends where dancers and now I have a completely new group of friends that are dancers. I did take a ballet class in high school, I had the shoes, leotard and all (lol). Unfortunately, the class was canceled, but I did complete one course at our local city college that summer. It is a medium of art that I am innately curious about. When I'm out dancing or being silly in the privacy of my own home I find it to be a complete form of inhibition and self expression. Sometimes I'd wish I'd found this passion earlier in life, maybe I'd be a professional dancer. But maybe this is just right for me because I can love it without pressure and boundaries and criticism. Recently, cooking has become a new passion and I'm getting back to the basics as to why I fell in love with art in the first place. I'm thinking about a new project. More details to come. In the meantime, I'll be taking a salsa or hip hop or ballet class in the fall. I can't wait!

“On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined” —Lord Byron

“Dance for yourself, if someone understands good. If not then no matter, go right on doing what you love.” —Anonymous

“To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking.”
—Anonymous

“While I dance I cannot judge, I cannot hate, I cannot separate myself from life. I can only be joyful and whole. That is why I dance.”
—Hans Bos

“When you do dance, I wish you a wave o' the sea, that you might ever do nothing but that” —William Shakespeare

And here's a YouTube video. (you may have already seen it) that I find charming and funny.

Photo of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: rehearsal for “Revelations”.

Quote of the Week: Being a Woman

Recently, I was asked, "What do I enjoy about being a woman?" I think women have the luxury to express emotion. We can be nurturing, caring, intimate, sensitive, rational and even irrational. We can be strong and independent, but also needy and questionable. We can enjoy fashion, wear heels, and play with makeup. But, I guess the best attribute is being able to have children.

In my personal experience being a girl was a blessing and a curse coming from my African American-Christian-Southern family. Plus, I was the only girl: my father's only daughter, my grandfather's only granddaughter, the only niece... I had no one the share that weight with. Yes, I was spoiled, but with that came expectations and double standards. In my early years, I thought that the only way to be a woman was to be a lady. To me, to be lady means being respectful, polite and nice (I'm sure I could use more of those qualities). But also never to question authority or society. To sit quietly in a dainty, pretty floral dress. And to have long, flowing hair. Yes, there was a saying, "Your hair is your crowning glory." Now, you know why I have short, curly hair and why you've probably never seen me in floral anything. Don't get me wrong, I had a great childhood and I love my family and that I'm from the South. I guess I am just a work in progress. I'm finally figuring out this makeup thing and have discovered the wonderful world of hair accessories. Maybe that just makes me a late-bloomer, which I kind of like. Maybe it just means that I need to do things in my own time. Isn't that the same for all of us? Then why (as women) do we give each other such a hard time (at work and in social settings)? And I have been on both sides of the spectrum. I now know that there are many ways to be woman and that's for each of us to decide for ourselves and for our friends and relatives to accept those definitions. Thanks for reading.

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
—Oscar Wilde (Lady Windermere's Fan)

"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." —Virginia Woolf

"If a woman is sufficiently ambitious, determined and gifted –there is practically nothing she can't do." —Helen Law

The desktop wallerpaper (above) by Deanne Cheuk is available for download via Design*Sponge.

Quote of the Week

Today, I am grateful for beauty and love, for surprises and excitement, and for friendship. I am grateful for my present circumstances, for I know they offer opportunities for growth. This past week in L.A. was amazing. Mostly, I was reminded to dream and to work to make those dreams come true.

"Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true." — Leon J. Suenes

Eric Fischl: Beach Paintings

... on my book wish list.

Quote of the Week: Summer

Originally uploaded by yosigo!!!.

I love all things summer: the beach, the sun, the ocean, sand, even the smell of sunblock. I must have been a surfer or a beach bum in a past life. Have an easy breezy week.

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." —John Lubbock

"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon: to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." —Henry James

Quote of the Week

Originally uploaded by Emma Über.

I am currently reading Rilke on Love and Other Difficulties by German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. This is my second time around and there’s still so much to digest. Here are three Rilke quotes that seem most relevant to me at the present moment:

“It is not inertia alone that is responsible for human relationships repeating themselves from case to case, indescribably monotonous and unrenewed: it is shyness before any sort of new, unforeseeable experience with which one does not think oneself able to cope. But only someone who is ready for everything, who excludes nothing, not even the most enigmatical will live the relation to another as something alive.” Yes, Rilke is talking about human relationships, but oftentimes, my relationships with others can be as muddled and confusing, as painful and joyful, as my relationship with my self. With everything that happens or doesn’t happen, I cope again and again. Each time I see more of myself. I may be shy and wide-eyed, a little fearful, a little unsure, but I survive, I grow, I strengthen, I love. I embrace and I let go. I refuse inertia—and, in doing so, I think I may have found my best and most fulfilling relationship yet.

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.” I’m not sure what frightens me, or maybe I do and don’t want to confront it. This is a scary thing... maybe one day I will have the courage to do this.

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” This is a guide to how I want to be. I want to remember in moments when I’m caught up in the details of not knowing what and when and why and how that I need to go back to the notion of trying to live in the unknown—and that, in fact, hopefully will lead to the answer.

Cover Inspiration

Gorgeous vintage patterned covers from Insel Verlag.
(Via Design Work Life)

Quote of the Week

There are two things on my mind. First, the unexpected and sudden death of Michael Jackson. As a little girl I loved Michael Jackson. My parents can attest to this. My mom says I'd run to the TV whenever M.J. was on. To me he was magic. When I was old enough to have my own stereo, my dad who is a music aficionado, purchased my first cd, which was "Bad". To be honest, I don't care one bit about his controversial life. To me it's all speculation. "Before you judge me, try hard to love me" are lyrics from a song called "Childhood". I think this is something everyone wants. He had a difficult life. Let's let him rest in peace.

Second, today is my dad's birthday. He is probably one of this most selfless people I know. I like this quote for him. "The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day." —David Foster Wallace

Quote of the Week

I am not a patient person. I want to do and know everything right now. And the hustle and bustle lifestyle of New York doesn't help. The rhythm and fast pace becomes second nature. I realize this every time I go home to Chattanooga. There, no one is in a hurry. My mom always complains that I walk too fast. It's funny, isn't it. But, for the first time in a long time, I didn't do anything, I don't even think I changed out of my pajamas. Sometimes we need those days to regroup and gather ourselves.

"Be patient. You'll know when it's time for you to wake up and move ahead." —Ram Dass

"You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet." —Franz Kafka

Photograph by Cameron Gardner via The Photographic Dictionary.

Quote of the Week

This past weekend I went to see "Picasso: Mosqueteros" at the Gagosian Gallery. This masterful show reminded me of why I fell in love with art. As a child I didn't care how good something was or if it had meaning. I just loved playing with colors. It was fun. Pure creativity. Unedited. I was a genius. I believe, we start off as geniuses. We are like a mold of clay, except we are already perfect. Along the way situations, people... they chisel away at you. You change. And you forget. But, now I remember. I think today, I will pick up a brush, mix some paint and just have fun.

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” —Pablo Picasso

Quote of the Week: Happiness

Every Monday I send out a quote of the week. Here's what I sent today:
Lately, there has been much talk about the pursuit of happiness. Maybe we've been looking at the concept of happiness wrong. Is happiness something one can pursue? Perhaps, it's simply a state of being. It is a choice one makes. I choose to be happy. Yes, there are still many things I want, many things I want to do, and I am driven to strive for and do those things. Once attained, these things will allow for a better quality of life, but I can't say that they will guarantee happiness. Plus, I know I'll just want more. It's human nature.

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” — Frederick Keonig

Paris: Made By Hand

Love this.
Here's an excerpt from the book:
As a stylist, I am always on the lookout for objects that are distinctive and alluring— which is why I adore all things handmade. And Paris just happens to be a rather wonderful place to find the things I adore… Paris: Made by Hand is an insider’s look at the city’s artisans, createurs, and crafts boutiques. You’ll discover some ateliers that have been around for hundreds of years (many of which are tucked into the oldest of passages or hidden courtyards), and others that have just surfaced. Between the pages of this guide you can expect to find papermakers, shoemakers, jewelry designers, milliners, umbrella makers, dressmakers, ceramicists, and more: all of them from my private little black book, and all of them right in the heart of the city. Among them you’ll discover an exquisite, century-old haberdashery that I go to when I need ribbon and silk from a bygone era, and a boutique, in the hub of Le Marais, that is the place for finding new handcrafted designer housewares.

Hug the whole world, will that make it better?

From Hug Time by Patrick McDonnel.

Dear Sir Obama: Presidential Advice

A few days after the election, 826 Valencia's Programs Director, Jory John, asked students from 826 centers (nonprofit writing workshop and tutoring centers) around the country to provide advice and guidance to their new President. The result was a stack of hilarious, heartfelt, and occasionally downright practical letters loaded with advice, such as the following, for President Obama:

I really hope you put America back together. No pressure though. — Sheenie Shannon Yip, age 13, Seattle

A wonderful collection of the letters emerged from the project and was compiled into the book Thanks and Have Fun Running the Country: Kids' Letters to President Obama. The book, published jointly by McSweeney's and 826 National, would be a great addition to your Obama memorabilia collection, the perfect gift for your favorite teacher, or a immensely pleasurable read to keep on the nightstand.

Ted Talks Elizabeth Gilbert: A different way to think about creative genius

I Heart Independent Booksellers

One day I think I would like to own my own little bookstore. I would only sell art, design, and architecture books. In the meantime I will enjoy independent booksellers like McNally Jackson Books in Soho and Spoonbill & Sugertown in Williamsburg. With self-publishing and digital printing on the rise, small and independent sellers need our support.

Surprise

Check out the intro to Visionaire's latest collector's publication, Visionaire 55 Surprise. The holiday issue presents intricate pop-ups by various artists including Steven Meisel and Mario Testino. Executed by renowned paper engineer Bruce Foster, the issue features moveable images, 3D scenes, and surprise reveals. The pop-up folios are housed in a dark purple cloth-covered case with a magnetized closure and engraved numbered metal plaque. Plus, I love the "Rock With Me" mix.

I am...

This has been a very introspective week for me, which has lead me to various difficult conversations. I've taken the first steps to rebuilding an old friendship and lost the possibilities of another. Right now I am taking deep breaths and listening to Beyonce. I am who I am and I'm proud of what I've been able to come to terms with. A friend recently asked me if I have any regrets. I do. But this passage from The Unbearable Lightness of Being makes me think again.

We can never know what to want, because, living only one life, we can neither compare it with our previous lives nor perfect it in our lives to come.
There is no means of testing which decision is better, because there is no basis for comparison. We live everything as it comes, without warning, like an actor going on cold. And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself? That is why life is always like a sketch. No, "sketch" is not quite the word, because a sketch is an outline of something, the groundwork for a picture, whereas the sketch that is our life is a sketch for nothing, an outline with no picture.
Einmal ist keinmal.