dear yasmin,

this weekend was mary hale's 30th birthday. can you even begin to ever imagine what it must be like to turn 30? or to be 5 1/2 months away from turning 30? i cannot possibly. not even.

mary, as you know, is amazing. she is super funny, creative, and an unbelievable thinker. she recently finished her masters in architecture at MIT, and right now, she is working on an installation for the des cours festival in new orleans.

here is a condensed version of her proposal for the festival:

Four years ago, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans in a deadly pass. Four years later, her destruction endures, but not for a lack of effort on the part of local and national groups, led by citizens and celebrities alike... Many of their projects break ground in flood-zones without adequately safeguarding against future disasters. Meanwhile, contemporary architects and urbanists obsess over climate change and its rising tides that are projected to flood our coastal cities. Their design proposals range from the practical to the absurd, but few of their ideas take shape beyond the drawing board and beyond the pages of glossy magazines. New Orleans is a hotbed of both confusion and possibility.

In response, Itinerant Home provides a focal point to discuss these possibilities. The project takes the form of a wearable, inflatable house that shelters multiple wearers as they work together to navigate through the historic neighborhoods and water bodies of New Orleans. Itinerant Home goes beyond the gallery to be seen – and worn – by the public of New Orleans in the context of their historic building stock. In this context, the project will symbolize and stimulate new ways of thinking about the architecture of home and the future of the city. It is a playful venue for conversation and exchange, literally tailored to fit people of all ages.

that's right, mary is building an inflatable home for multiple people to wear. as they move, they re-situate the structure. she is doing this all by herself!!!!

this astounds me. it's really an amazing undertaking and the concept is so strange and funny but, at the same time, a feeling of magic and poignancy really resonate-- especially when you see the piece itself.

here are some of the pictures of her process from her blog, itinerant home....

(mary and me inside the proto-type!!! a very exciting moment!)

ahhhhh! do you see what i mean? i love her images.

this is going to be such a fantastic accomplishment and contribution to the festival and also... something to which we 20-somethings can really aspire...

ha!

happy new year to mary!

blog mlog chlog,

meest cheest

i love my apartment for many reasons... one of which is that my neighbor, keiko, is a very talented shoe designer... talented and generous. she has just up and given me two pairs of what are now my favorite shoes.

the first were a great and sexy pair of summer sandals




and the second are the shoes of lifetime



these shoes are the dopest. they are 90's green and 90's round and they are comfy! i feel cool and sexy... i love them. they also come in perfect shades of blue, red, black, tan... arg. they make everything look better.

these are equally amazing.






you want some now too, don't you? go here:

http://kstarshoes.bigcartel.com/

boo ya.

tgif.

j

Osaka, Japan:1923

Hi my little angel,

This past weekend was my grandmother's birthday. She is one of the sweetest, most beautiful woman in the world. She is frail and tiny in frame, but walks at least 2 miles a day and has told us stories of her Japanese martial arts training as a child. She could probably put you in a headlock.

Things that remind me of her:


This fountain pen:
she has amazing penmanship, any visual artistic talent stems from her side.



This kimono-style sweater:
In all honesty, though, I've only seen pictures of her wearing a kimono...

...but this top:

and this skirt:

are more her style.


This wallpaper:

reminds me of the dining room where we used to have our Thanksgiving dinners. She's moved out of the house since then, though. Sadness.

My mother grew up on a blueberry field, and even though they no longer had a backyard full of berries once I was born, my grandmother would always find the sweetest ones to make the most delicious blueberry muffins. If I ever make blueberry muffins, I'd serve them in this:


Here's to you, Taneko Erles, on your 86th birthday!

See you Sunday, Jess, at our 1st book club meeting. Time to get nerdy.

xo
Yas

as you know, yasmin, i painted my room indigo/midnight purple on a whim one night while looking at hubble telescope photos. just dropped what i was doing, went to home depot, and stayed up half the night painting. the result was a beautiful color--a bit dark for the space but still, i like it more and more-- i find it to be very geometrical (?) and very rich. today, i have been ruminating (pun alert!) on what i could add to the space that would make it even more wonderful. or even better, i like to think: what if all my furniture etc was stolen and i had to start over...

as you know, i love a bed that looks like a boat:




and while i love the color of my room, i wouldn't mind wallpapering one of the walls in this just to soften the room up a little:


i could like either of these for a bedspread:

(handmade moroccan wedding blanket)


(egyptian hand loomed bedspread)


these sheets... haven't made up my mind which colors/mood to go with:



maybe this would be a good throw pillow:


on this chair:


where i could sit and read a book.
when i moved, i had 11 boxes of books. i think these shelves would be beautiful and soft with all the bold colors and modern lines that i seem to prefer always:


i like both of these, but i'm not sure either work. dressers are giving me a hard time. i'm glad this isn't a real scenario or my sweaters would be on the floor:




love:


overhead:


standing:



i could go on and on and on. i know it's a bit of a mish mash-- but i've got a pretty ok picture of it going in my head, and i think it might work.

off to play the lottery. see you manana por la tarde, chica.

<3, jeest

ooooooooh boooooooooy,

yasmin, i had a good time looking at the internet today. i saw some incredibly happy little wonders. a couple of times, i found myself smiling. smiling at the internet and my beautiful little computer with its light-up keyboard. my little robot best friend.

hmmmmmm... let's pretend instead that i was galavanting with you. these are things that we would be excited about in the internet mall of my dreams.


if i had $35, i would buy this for you because you would appreciate it best in the world.
this is a shirt BUTTON from the 1920's that is also a COMPASS.
sigh.
i wish i knew french so i could write about it in french, do you know what i mean?





opposite of the compass button, but i got out-my-seat excited about these doctor martens.
future boots:






something perfect:




fairy tale, brooklyn:





bentwood, blonde wood. two best ways wood can be.



i like american apparel, even if i am jealous of all the skanky girls in their ads.
and you know what, i think these tights are sexy and soft and really special:




i would look very good in this sweater.




from designsponge, this is great. it's not perfect or even great architecture, but still, this really made me smile. i grew up in a house like this in san antonio (in fact, the house featured in this before and after is in austin on a street called ridgeview and my house was on ridgehaven!!!) and i would sit outside, perched in my magnolia tree, thinking of ways to remodel the outside. i loved redesigning things and this transformation really reminds me of something i would have sketched out for my house. i'm so glad they kept it so 50's/60's-y:






this is what eric's office feels like since we redid it:



wallpaper!
want love where how soon now:




ooooooh! i get the fat bird, you get the poodle:



i miss summertime:



let's just say, one day i get engaged.
i know. you're taken. but i can dream.


i can't remember where i found these but they are the best!!!!



a really neat neat neat house also from designsponge. this is the kind of thinking to which i aspire:







this was a lot of window shopping. i am zonked. i was dive bomded by magic winter mosquitos in my sleep last night. no rest, just itching. sheesh.

ttfn,

jw