oh happy day

After far too many days laid up in bed, feeling pretty wretched, I'm about to head off to a place I've been dreaming about all week. Can you guess?

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I have a few trusty cameras packed up and ready to go and a whole crew of people to take pictures of. Happy Memorial Day!

the best bedding

Since bedding tends to last for a long time (providing it's well made), I view it as somewhat of a luxury item. It's something I'm much more likely to put on a Christmas or Birthday list than buy for myself. But lately I keep spotting things that I'm just dying to put on my own bed. So here is a dream list. These are the quilts and covers I'd love to snuggle into at night.

Urban Outfitters has a rather lovely selection of bedding at the moment. I'm especially fond of the fanciful pennants.

Is it any surprise that I love the bedding from Anthropologie? The Out At Sea quilt caught my eye right away. And how lovely is that little bedroom nook? Very lovely indeed.

I am absolutely in love with this PataPri quilt. It looks so soft and cozy.

I'm crazy about everything in the John Robshaw collection. These are two of my favorite quilts. Don't even get me started on the gorgeous sheets.

monday music: tokyo police club

It was years ago that I saw Tokyo Police Club live, but I remember thinking to myself at the time that their music managed to capture the tenuous emotions that go along with youth perfectly. Which really wasn't that surprising, considering at the time all of the band's members were still in their teens. Now they're releasing album number two and, judging from the few songs I've heard so far, I'm going to like it just as much as the first. Their sound has matured while still retaining everything that made it special to me in the first place.

Check out this video for their new song "Breakneck Speed".

Tokyo Police Club - Breakneck Speed

TOKYO POLICE CLUB | MySpace Music Videos

playing catch up

I had such fun during Polaroid Week this year. Lately I've been trying to improve my portrait skills and work up the courage to ask people to let me photograph them. Mostly I take pictures of the people I feel most comfortable around, but I think it's time to branch out. I have a pack of Artistic TZ film just waiting to be loaded into my camera. I love how the tones of this film look for portraits so I think that will be my next project.

For now, here are my shots from 'roid week. Oh, and one more thing... guess who was one of the lucky winners of a shiny new pack of film! I can't wait to test it out.

to albany... and beyond!

Sometimes it's just nice to have a little change of pace and change your surroundings, even if it's just for a little while. So last weekend we made our escape to Albany, NY. Deb had promised to show us good times in her home town and we were not disappointed.

Our day started early, and I couldn't resist wandering around the house and capturing the light.

One of the best parts of the day was checking out the farmer's market in Troy. I was too distracted to take any pictures while we were actually there, but remembered to snap a few before we consumed all our goodies.

Isn't that a gorgeous spread? There were so many bakeries that it was hard to choose which one to buy from. We ended up getting a baguette from one vendor, and a beautiful strawberry-rhubarb tart from another. There may have been a few other treats that didn't last long enough to make it into this picture...

The boy took quite a few pictures as we were wandering around the city, but they haven't been developed yet. This is the one "city" shot I got in. Apparently I'm much more drawn to pictures of food and pretty glass bottles than buildings. Surprise, surprise!

not quite monday music

Isn't it funny that when I have the most ideas buzzing around in my brain and the best things to post about happening around me, I have no time to blog about them? That's irony for you, I suppose.

Things have been busy around these parts lately, between graduation parties, work, late night reading, garden planning and impromptu trips to Albany, I haven't spent much time on the computer. It was over a week ago now that the polaroids in this post were taken. To celebrate Deb and Tiff graduating we invited all our families and a bunch of friends over. Many cupcakes were consumed and a dachshund puppy was in attendance, so I would say the party was a definite success. Hopefully we will have time for at least one more before our lease is up at the end of next month and we have to say goodbye to our lovely house.

(The graduates. Don't they have awesome taste in footwear?)

Anyway, I haven't really gotten around to the point of this post yet, which is music. Normally I do a music post on Mondays, but this week I was rather occupied with planning my very last radio show, so I decided to delay posting until today. I've had a show for three years now and it's been an absolutely wonderful experience that introduced me to some of the people I'm closest to now. It's one of those things that I can look back on and honestly say changed the course of my life. But there comes a time to move on, and for me that time is now.

Seeing as I'm a sentimental person, I've been feeling a bit down since signing off the airwaves, so today I'm bringing you the highlights of my last show. These are some of my all time favorite songs. Even though I've played them countless times, I had to bring them out for one last hurrah.

I'll be back tomorrow with a cheery post about our trip to Albany. For now, I hope you enjoy listening to these songs as much as I do... even though it's bittersweet.

monday music: mix for may

As a new week dawned and I started thinking about what sort of music post to do today, it occurred to me that I haven't posted a mix in a while now. Which worked out nicely since I have a whole bunch of brand new songs that I've been loving lately. So here they are for you in mix format. Some of my very favorite new tunes this spring.

fabric fabric fabric

Lately it seems like all I can think about is fabric. I've been working on getting better at using my sewing machine and have a bunch of projects and ideas for projects swirling around in my head. And it seems like very time I see a new piece of fabric I get even more inspired. My stash of various prints is growing at an alarming rate, but I just can't stop.

Here are some of my favorites on Etsy at the moment. A few of these are actually being shipped my way right now!

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everything with a side of green

Asparagus season is here, in all it's glory. It's brand new and exciting to me, since these heavenly green stalks are a newly acquired taste. But now that people are bring bunches of locally grown asparagus into the co-op, I can't get enough of it. My favorite way to cook it is in the skillet with butter, salt and pepper. Above is a picture of what my lunch looked like today and it was the perfect meal. This season is fleeting, but I intend to enjoy it as much as I can while it lasts.

monday music: deer tick

It's kind of amazing that I haven't talked about Deer Tick before now considering how much I love their music. Then again, I also forgot to mention them when listing my best of 2009 albums. My reasoning for these oversights is this: As soon as I heard their music it was like I'd been hearing it forever. Born On Flag Day was an instant favorite for me, and I felt like I'd been listening to it for years. It still hasn't gotten old.

I went to see them live last fall and was happy to discover that the band puts on a great live show as well. Lots of energy and good times. These guys have a distinct southern sound, despite the fact that they hail from Rhode Island.

A few weeks back I was lucky enough to listen to a track off of their forthcoming album, The Black Dirt Sessions. I can't even tell you how many times I've played it. I love it so much. So, so much. Not the most eloquent description, I know. So I found this audio clip for you. Listen to it for yourself and hopefully you will feel the same way about it.

best week of the year?

Happy Polaroid Week!

I'm very sad to see my stack of 600 film dwindling, but I've managed to save enough to last me through the spring and summer... if I'm careful. This week I'll give myself a little extra leeway to celebrate everything I love about instant photography. I can't wait to get out there with my sx-70 and capture the blooming lilacs and green leaves that are showing up everywhere.

Above is the first picture I added to the group. Expect more soon and check out the flickr group to see everybody's lovely shots!