so, i miss you guys (you know all you imaginary friends - are you still out there? were you ever there??). a while back...i got sad & stopped writing on here, but while i was away, i was posting snippets elsewhere because it just felt like less pressure. just little, pretty, shiny things that made me happy- quotes, pictures, sometimes writing - but now i feel like i'm ready to share with whoever...perhaps, you?
until i get inspired to create again, enjoy my collected treasures over at the little grey book...
[photo by kristy for thingsihearttoday / thelittlegreybook]
this is FOR sure the funniest thing i've seen in a long minute - it's don't put baby in the corner, meets don't forget to be terrified! dirty dancing in the form of a david lynch trailor remix...A-mazing! thanks to kate for posting this link to the video :) lovesit, enjoy!
this is a very cool website that my friend amy told me about recently - you look up your birthday and it tells you what tree you are, then the corresponding traits. she likes to type it out in a great font and put it in a pretty frame for friends and family which is a really fun idea that i may have to 'borrow' in the future. amy & her beau are getting hitched in august...i wish there were trees for anniversaries or couples!
so what does it say about me??? check it out...eek!
Jan 1st - 11th FIR TREE (Mysterious) - extraordinary taste, dignity, sophisticated, loves anything beautiful, moody, stubborn, tends to egoism but cares for those close to them, rather modest, very ambitious, talented, industrious, uncontested lover, many friends, many foes, very reliable.
this is a great picture that i found recently of my grandparents...they were young & in love & goofy looking - true smiles, laughing eyes and my grandmother has music notes on her shirt.
plus i just had to get in a shot of the lilacs before they rusted from the rain, so i decided to do a totally over the top sun shot with the mason jar to boot! looks like goofy runs in the family :)
i want people to walk around delusional about how great they can be - and then fight so hard for it every day that the lie becomes the truth. - lady gaga
who loves a long holiday weekend?!?!??!! I DO. it's already almost thursday again, and believe me i'm not trying to wish time away...but i do love friday afternoons! so here's to a short week and a few things that are filling up my heart around the blogosphere:
- emilia's got 11 questions for small business creatives - here, here & here. - the perfect day - i would sell my pinky for this necklace - hungry monkey with the food palette of a champ!! - have i mentioned prima mag?? it's fashion & music for cool kids. - great project - two friends, two days - one of my most loved poems with sweet photos - a wedding with a peppermint twist...
i think i need to start cooking again...it's been a little [read: a looong] while & i miss the kitchen - the sharp knife that i pretend to wield so professionally, the garlic smell on my hands, the olive oil beading on the avocado...the list goes on. i miss it, i must get there, this this photo inspires that feeling.
i love spring anywhere, but if i could choose i would always greet it in a garden.
~ruth stout
it's starting. spring has sprung here, the magnolias have nearly all fallen off the branch and lilacs are just holding onto being a a bud for one more day. THIS is my favorite time of year.
ok, so i have a bit of a crush on the lead singer of the killers...if it's wrong, i don't wanna be right! their songs make me want to wear my sunglasses at night and drive around with the top down...but what doesn't really?
i am back from california & slowly getting over my vacation hangover (i had the time change, PLUS a major flight delay coming home...YUCK). gathering myself & wading through my google reader. can't wait to be back :)
"california im coming home im going to see the folks i dig ill even kiss a sunset pig california im coming home..."
"they said, how long can you hang around? i said a week, maybe two, just until my skin turns brown then im going home..."
~joni mitchell
lyrics, a little out of sync, but the sentiment is real. i'm headed to the west for some needed rest, sunshine & visiting with my lovely friends. i hope to post while i'm there, but if not, just listen to joni & go to the beach in your mind :)
so i'm headed back to cali for an all too short visit next week and as i was sitting here tonight, i was making a mental list of ALL the things i miss about being out west...here's a sample:
emilia & the captain in & out burger (...a double cheeseburger protein & animal style, with crispy fries) buffalo exchange trader joe's pacific beach the 5 freeway fashion island fiestas authentic mexican food sushi henry's my kiddos & friends in the OC :)
that's a good start!
unfortunately, i must hold on...for one more day ;) here's a lil' wilson phillips trip down memory lane for the lovelies:
ok, so whilst waiting for my beloved ray lamontagne to take the stage this past weekend, my ears were delighted by the low anthem - i have to say it was like @ first listen! the group is uber-talented (seriously is there any instrument that the three of them don't play???) and i am now an O-fficial fan, this is my favorite song - freakishly haunting & sweetly heartbreaking...in a good way:
find them here. listen to them here. stalk them on the road here.
oh and my other fave is 'to ohio' which i couldn't find to share, so go to the website & livestream it :)
i went to an AMAZING show last night, saw ray lamontagne (who i LOVE) and it was a feeling of being brought somewhere else for a short time where love & pain are friends, where feelings are transformed into his weathered, raspy voice and spoken directly to me. after an encore, he simply said "thank you, see you guys soon." and walked off...(sigh)...i am eternally grateful for amy & her spare ticket :)
“the splendor of the rose and the whitness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. if every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its lovliness.”
-therese of lisieux
flowers have arrived in maine. i would like to than mother nature for this small promise of beautiful & warmer things to come.
if you see failure as a monster stalking you, or one that has already ruined your life, take another look. that monster can become a benevolent teacher, opening your mind to successes you cannot now imagine.
new to the shop. the skipper is a cozy addition to any sea-worthy outfit fit for a quick sail around the harbor. weather the wind & waves in style. check it out :)
“for all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, 'it might have been'.” - john greenleaf whittier
sorry friends, i have been absent and it's mostly a long story. if you've been following along for a bit you know i had my adoption interview for lil' joe, it didn't go my way friends and i have been heartbroken, sad, out of sorts and in major denial...to say the least. hold tight, i will be back in april and i'm planning a little vacation that i think (read: hope) will get be just the thing to jumpstart the next chapter of what will be. thanks for your patience and well wishes. i miss posting, but just can't for now.
“'Supposing a tree fell down, Pooh, when we were underneath it?' 'Supposing it didn't,' said Pooh. After careful thought Piglet was comforted by this.”
folks, i'm tearin' up...my bestest emilia is O-fficially engaged to the captain!! their love story is one for the books and the story of their engagement doesn't disappoint either. while i am very sad that i cannot be on the west coast to toast their happiness, i am BEYOND excited for them!!! congrats ;)
i did it! i finally got all organized and put up my things for sale on etsy :) just 8 items right now and i hope to do more things soon, but message me if you would like something custom. enjoy!
p.s. as a belated blog birthday celebration & as appreciation for my readers, i will offer 20% off the listed price of any item if you message me on etsy and put "heart" in the subject by friday march 13th.
this is how i feel this week...i have done none of the things that i promised to do last week - instead i have shoveled snow, watched reality dating show lows & worked two jobs that are workin' my mood/nerves right back.
happy birthday blog!! it has been one full year since this blog came into my life along with all of you beautiful readers! this year will be even better, i can tell...stay tuned for news & my shop next week ;)
I KNOW - i am late to catch this train and i don't remember where i first heard of this site, but if you're in need of a good laugh - a belly laugh - please visit f*ck you, penguin...she's really gives it to all those cute, furry animals who think they are all that & a bag of wood chips. LOL.
“winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail” ~proverb
remember how i was saying i miss the warm weather?!?! well, i've gone and hurt my back again shoveling the F-ing snow...RAR, right!?! anyway, i saw lil' bunny and thought - THIS is how i feel right now, made worse by watching the dragged out, 2 hour, bachelor reunion show - all around...painful.
ok, so i made this set about 4 months ago, but i am really needing it now! i am in the mood for spring and the 18-24 inches of snow outside my window, that fell overnight, that i shoveled today...is not helping my mood! i long for the long lost days in california - going to the farmer's market on saturdays and the flea with pals, kicking around san diego vintage shops or buying organic peaches in santa barbara. i need sunshine to grow my friends! i have said it before and i'll say it forever...so spring and summer BETTER be right around the corner or else i might flip my cookie!
ok, how freaking great is this?? it's a green AND clever idea that would make great gifts for just about ANY of my friends! recycled glass bottles as drinking glasses & vases - absolut & red stripe & corona - oh my! but (for my crew, anyway) i think he needs to add:
- a set of heineken glasses for my lovely ashley - a co-set of bud lite & bud heavy for kj & buntah - gentleman jack vase/ice bucket for mr. e - kettle one citron vase for sera - set of vintage tab glasses & JD ice bucket for emilia & the captain - set of dos equis glasses for dw
that would cover me for at least the next year ;) - check out what he does have in stock though, it's fairly fantastic!
this video just MADE my day!!! my stupid monday/president's day that i had to work on while others lounged in jammies with latte! i just love it, and lemme say - as someone who once lived in NYC & traveled those cranky, dark subway stairs daily i am amazed...you CANNOT surprise new yorkers, i mostly think that they are immune, but this does just that, enjoy!
OK! whose the genius that invented the polaroid mirror??? colin o'dowd of course! i bet this little gem will be making the rounds on flickr immediately (and everywhere) soon, and i O-fficially heart it. plus, for $29 it's a steal for the sheer novelty and fun of it all!
ok, so I KNOW this will be one of those things that you're unsure about clicking through on...elizabethgilbert, i find, is a wacky controversial figure - you either L-O-V-E her or find her horribly annoying! i think she's great (even though she overuses phrases & words such as "like" "actually" "sort of" and "you know" in a "i'm an artist, so i choose my words carefully & thoughtfully" kind of way), but then last summer, when i was talking to some friends about her, they were almost nauseated by her and the book and the whole deal! the book...i adore (eat, pray, love...for those of you under a rock in an oprah-free zone)...one friend said something to the effect of "i just wanted her to get up off the god damned floor already! enough crying & talking & voices!" but give this a shot, she gave a speech at the recent TED conference about creativity & genius...i thought it was inspiring, but i also was inspired by her chanting & eating gelato 3xs a day - so use your own judgement!!
also, as a footnote, my former college president (who, as a freshman i will admit, i called liz "the snake" coleman and made her the subject of a weekly top 10 list on my door's dry erase board because she weirded me out and later fired my favorite drama professor) also spoke at TED...had you told me back when i was roaming the grounds at bennington that lizcoleman would one day speak at the same conference as bono, bill clinton and eve ensler - i would have snapped my neck and passed out on the spot. but it's true and beware...as the alumni newsletter warned - her talk has not yet been posted, but she is prominently featured on the conference homepage!
i do love a good quote though, and she wins in that department for the day:
"You have a mind and other people. Start with those and change the world." – Liz Coleman
my lovely ashley sent me this yesterday (sorry i don't know where the image is from!) and it made me laugh out loud. in my life, i feel like laughter is my favorite kind of love...maybe my heart is located in my funny bone! anyone who can make me fall down from hysterical laughter, startle me into deep belly laughs or make me tear up with that silent laugh where you can't breathe has the key to my heart completely. i hope your day if full of laughter, people, places & food that you love ;)
there are people in life who are special, who make my days bright and help me lift my dreams to the ears of the universe everyday without ever having to ask them to. my friend has made me & lil' joe the MOST thoughtful and wonderful inspiration board, i am speechless & grateful & hopeful.
my interview for the adoption of joe is february 26th which ALSO happens to be the one year anniversary of this blog...one year is an amazing slice of time - people change, people grow, people meet little boys who turn the vision of the life they wanted into something not good enough anymore. by march we'll know many things and by then it will be spring, for today this board goes on my wall and FILLS my heart...good thoughts and goodnight.
i found this A-mazing project from oh hello friend via darling dexter and i am in love...if you're my secret crush out there - this is definitely the map to my heart. it's an envelope book - like a collage and love letter rolled into one...the extended version. how lovely?
ok, so, i have NO IDEA what she's saying, but i lovesit! i was trying to translate at least the band name (pirate heart?) & song title (house of babies?)...but, i got impatient with my search engine options - SO, just give it a listen!
how fun and great is this?!?! the lovely veiled vows (if you have not stopped over to her blog, do not walk...RUN!) has tagged me and i am just SO flattered.
10 random things:
1. i would eat breakfast for every meal of the day if it were possible and/or socially acceptable.
2. i can recite the movies 'you've got mail' 'when harry met sally' & 'my best friend's wedding'...pretty much word for word.
3. i like to sing carpenters' songs REAL loud when i'm alone in my car.
4. at some point after i graduated college my eyes changed from brown to hazel...most days they are green which makes me exceedingly happy for some reason.
5. my favorite song to work out to is 'damaged' by danity kane.
6. i buy books and never read them, but write my name inside of them so i can't re-gift them.
7. i looooove pumpkin ice cream.
8. i check my online banking at least once a day, just to make sure.
9. i enjoy grocery shopping WAY more than shopping for clothes.
10. i want to live in a farmhouse near the ocean with a big porch, an organic garden, an english mastiff and a little guy named joe.
auburn & ivory turns one today...and for one WHOLE year, the world has been brighter. heck, i wouldn't be here without her - happy birthday and thanks for the 365 days of inspiration (hem, hem...and for all the years of love & inspiration before that!). across the miles - cupcakes & kudos to you! MWAH.
so, my sinus infection is slowly (and i stress slooooooowlllyy!) going away, but i have been working on a little sumthin', sumthin' by way of an etsy shop and while it's not ready yet, i have been furiously knitting.
cowls (here and here) and skinnies (see above) and epics (you'll have to wait for it) - oh my! above is a sneak at my favorite sumthin' so far...i call it skinny iced chocolate! (OK, i'm having a little too much fun naming my creations!) i promise i will let you know when the shop is open (once it is, i promise i will probably talk of nothing else...jk)
BUT in the meantime, skip over to auburn & ivory and enter a RAD-tastic contest...you could win a necklace, but get there before friday!
transparent duct tape?? could it be true?! YES. awesome...did you know that duct tape is the official state tool of maine? just a little trivia for you. [via here, via here]
i am stuffyhead, sick & TIRED...when will winter be over?? i feel a little like this...especially if what is in that spoon is nyquil. i hope to be back on my feet sooner than june ;)
so, i had been organizing my yarn the other day (read: procrastinating) and then later in the day i was talking to the the ever inspiring emilia, who mentioned her affection for a cowl (you know, the not-scarf-anti-neck-warmer-neck-warmer) and i agreed! i have been spying them on etsy, but just couldn't part with the cash. so then it struck me, that combining my frugality and knitting skills...perhaps i could make one - two birds, one stone - right? well, obsessively i knit for the rest of the night through two movies (one being juno...my new fave). and i did it! and now i am lining up yarn colors for my lovelies - emilia has requested a surprise and sera [shocker!] has requested black :) here is my cowl made of some lambs wool yarn i bought WAY back in college, it's a lil' bit of rust with mustard, but i luvs it - PLUS wooden toggle buttons are the icing on my cowl cupcake! i'll share the others once i recover from sunday's carpal tunnel!
“sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.” - goethe
happy 2009! i am all snuggled up in a blanket as i write tonight, it's frigid outside in maine and i DESPERATELY miss the warm beaches of california (and margaritas enjoyed in the comfort of my flip-flops...but i digress!). so as i'm sitting here i'm thinking of all of my favorite people who are also snuggled up tonight and feeling uncertain about the year to come...i have no crystal ball (just a cotton-candy pink magic date-ball from the free pile in college that always tells me to try again later), but i believe the quote above and know that everything will all shake out. from my beloved friends in new york, to my very own dad - times are tough, but i'm putting good thoughts into the universe because i believe the best is yet to come and hopefully, soon to come. do me a favor friends and put some good energy out into the world today...and everyday for that matter! love to all, kp
photographs & recipes on this site are copyright protected by kristy phinney (unless otherwise noted). they may not be used, downloaded or reproduced without proper credit and/or permission.
so, i miss you guys (you know all you imaginary friends - are you still out there? were you ever there??). a while back...i got sad & stopped writing on here, but while i was away, i was posting snippets elsewhere because it just felt like less pressure. just little, pretty, shiny things that made me happy- quotes, pictures, sometimes writing - but now i feel like i'm ready to share with whoever...perhaps, you?
