creativity in the new year!

hey friends, meet fashionary.

apparently it's a moleskin-esque notebook for the fashion-obsessed. not only does it come with sketches of many. many. many. kinds of tops/bottoms/acessories, BUT it has pre-printed figures to help you plan the outfits you want to wear. when i was an art teacher, we did a fashion unit...the hardest part was teaching students about figure proportions, but this takes all that uncertainty away.

 love it. want it. in red.

ava wrestles the alligator.

I'm in a few book clubs these days...one helps me make sure that I connect with some girls i LOVE at least once a month and talking about books and also life (although we have to meet using google+ and conference calls), and the other ensures that I'm reading books I wouldn't have otherwise read. case in point from bookclub #1: Swamplandia! by Karen Russell. it was beautiful, poignant, and so, so suspenseful (although it is certainly NOT a thriller). Imagine a story about Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird set in the 1990s Florida Everglades written by someone who thinks like Salman Rushdie. awesome, right?

I won't give you the gory details here or share my own review, BUT here are some places to go to read more... and some really lovely visual representations of the subject and characters. pick it up if you want something to read on the plane home or while sitting around the fire this holiday season.

from the NYT

 found here.

found here

the actual cover of swamplandia!

a tree house for grown ups!

oh my...

did you see the NYT article "A treehouse grows in Brooklyn" yesterday? FIrst of all, I wrote my college essays about the book... what a classic. And secondly, if you didn't read the article....you MUST. right now. for $400 and lots of scavenging,  this burgeoning interior designer created the MOST PERFECT hideaway complete with oriental rugs, french doors, and a rocking chair. 

also, since last week's Modern Family (the treehouse episode") I've been thinking about how it would be SO MUCH FUN to have a special outdoor spot for reading, drinking wine, and pretending to be a kid...but I guess that's what a screened in porch is for. what kind of hideaway would you want to build?

capturing the delta...

So, this year I get to work with NINE art, music, and dance teachers around the Delta (plus a host of other kinds of teachers)... but as a former art teacher, and as a super duper advocate for arts in schools this is a particularly heavenly assignment. see, when people think of my home, people IMMEDIATELY can conjure our musical and literary legacy, but rarely can they name even ONE visual artist. since both my mom is fantastically creative and talented with the oil paint, the ink pen, the potter's wheel, and the pencil, i hate that people don't look to MS for burgeoning artistic talent.

I'm not going to bore you with gory details, but here are four of my favorite visual artists who live, (or have lived) work, or create in the Delta. (and by favorite i mean, "would be INCREDIBLY excited to have a piece in my home" Two are pretty well known, two are smaller-time, but all are fantastic. PS: I don't mention my mom here-Holland Wilson- because her art already graces our walls. but she's probably my most favorite.)

Here we go...

Maude Schuler Clay: Sumner, MS

Alison Furr-Lawyer: Jackson, MS (ok, not technically Delta)

William Dunlap, Tupelo, MS (also NOT the Delta, but he paints the Delta A LOT)

Bradley Gordon: Clarksdale and Oxford, MS

 

has your appetite been whetted sufficiently? Go here to learn more about MS artists of all stripes

clicking my heels...

oh oh oh oh oh....

loooooook at these! wish the grey ones weren't sold out. they would be on my christmas list and then would be my go-tos every work day! shoes from modcloth

mantra...

ran across this wonderful workspace on imagespark... love the desk, love the chair and I really LOVE the poster and would love to have a copy of it since:
1) it's printed on kraft paper. my fave.
2) and it's sort of the KIPP charter school network's motto. I'm not hardcore enough to make it as a teacher at KIPP, but I sure do love what they do
3) plus, I just believe that the phrase is a great mantra to live by.

it's especially fun that i found the poster this week since tonight i'm meeting up with my KIPPster friend, shapiro. she and another wonderful friend are visiting the 'sip (their old stomping grounds) and we're meeting up in oxford. katie's been an all-star teacher since day one and it always inspires me to be around her and listen to her talk about her kids. :) I CAN'T WAIT.

what are YOU doing this weekend?

a beautiful kitchen isn't THAT complicated...

when the power (and heat) went out on Christmas day, the boone family decided to movie theatre to stay warm. apparently everyone else in town had the same idea. anyway, my wonderful, adorable MiL and i wanted to see it's complicated, so off we went.





guys, i was super disappointed. everything and everyone, (espesh the three blonde, blue eyed, WHITE-toothed children) was just way too perfect looking... and i thought that every actor except meryl streep was overdoing it.

but the set design was wonderful. every time they'd have a scene in the kitchen i'd stop paying attention to the dialogue and just look around at the way they'd decorated it. the whole movie revolved around gutting this kitchen and building a better one, but WHY? it's perfect.. white dishes, double ovens, aluminum finishes on everything, a big window, bottles of balsamic vinegar everywhere...i bet i could cook for days in that place without sleep.




anyway, thought i'd share a few shots from the movie in case you haven't seen it yet. it's not as good as something's gotta give, but the sets were pretty fantastic. maybe one day, if i'm a very very good girl, i'll have this kitchen in my own house.

stay tuned! i'll post a few non-kitchen photos later!
images from traditional home and remodelisa

beautiful burlap!

oh oh oh! look what i found!
burlap is my favorite texture...it's scratchy, but so great looking here as upholstery.



i'm so in love with it that we used burlap as the tablecloths for our reception... anyway, what do you think? unbelievable or uncomfortable?

photos from 1stdibs and gypsypurple

real kitchen...

finally! a home shot that isn't styled TOO perfectly. I've tried for years to get my desk and kitchen to look like the ones in magazines, but i always end up losing the battle when i realize that i actual USE my desk so pencils and paper are a must and that i actually COOK in my kitchen.
anyway, THANK YOU desire to inspire for posting a stylish (but real kitchen).

and happy friday.

pretty bird...

you know i've got a thing for origami birds (see here, here and here)...

found here via here.

ordinary to extraordinary...

i love every day objects that are made special with extraordinary materials...

when i was wedding planning, my friend mb gave me the most wonderful silver origami peace cranes from 10,000 villiages that we have hanging in our apt.

and today i saw this... and i might just need to find a way to get one of these bone china cranes all the way from austrailia to atlanta to go with mb's cranes.



or maybe just one of haveyoumetmissjones other fab bone china designs....