....to everyone who visited my little corner of the Internet today. (And thank you to LA Observed for the mention!) The Pulitzer Prize winning critic Jonathan Gold proclaimed my blog "girly." A compliment, indeed! Stop by again....t.
These embroidered handkerchiefs by illustrator Kate O'Connor made me laugh. I especially like the Facebook one. I was recently rejected on Facebook by someone who went on to friend my husband. Ha! O well. 
..for a happy life, as captured through the lens of the amazing Sydney-born photographer Petrina Tinslay.....
I've officially been blogging for a little more than a month now. When I started, I had no idea that the most incredible joy of all would be meeting people from around the globe. Today, while escaping the Super Bowl frenzy, I spent the late afternoon on an amazing blog, Rummage, authored by Nanette Louchart-Fletcher in Canberra, Australia. It's summer there and Nanette's photos (above) bring to life the season in vivid detail: Tomatoes from her garden, handmade cotton dresses, a jar filled with nasturtium. On her companion gardening blog, acacia_et_coquelicot, she talks about the trials of growing a pincushion plant. "I did everything bar of sending it off for a spot of psychoanalysis," she writes. Witty girl!
The weather in Southern California has been beautiful this weekend...I think the beach would be the perfect escape from the Super Bowl!
Makes me happy to see Maira Kalman's new blog post (on the inauguration) for the New York Times...(And I adore the pink chair).
From a gorgeous post this Saturday morning on the flickr blog. (I'm loving images of bare trees at the moment!)
Awarded by the Denver Post in 1925! And now, a charm for getting through hard times.
When I was little, I would build inspiration boards on whatever piece of cork I could find. They became the mediums of self expression and cheer, packed with cards, scraps of wrapping paper, fabric, dried flowers, love notes. I still have an inspiration board (It's almost as big as the kitchen table now). I will try to get good photos of it for an upcoming post. In the meantime, I wanted to share with you some other boards I spotted around the Internet this week. Which image do you like the best? (The full moon on d.Sharp's board especially caught my eye.) xoxo
I have enjoyed the past few days watching the moon and Venus make their transit across the winter sky. This evening, beyond the trees, the waxing moon was shaped like delicate bowl, to toss wishes in. 
Goodies:
I'm awed and inspired by Pennsylvania artist Valorie Cox's photos, meticulously taken though the bubble-top glass viewfinders of vintage cameras. (Usually Rediflexes). She has a number of prints for sale on Etsy at the moment and she also has a blog, where she generously shares her process for creating these little works of art. Unexpected and beautiful.
There are so many interesting images on The Sartorialist, but this one really struck me. How beautiful is this mother and daughter? Picture taken in Italy, of course.
In honor of the lunar new year, Dylan & Jean from Ladies & Gentleman have a charming post (via Poppytalk) on all the treasures they've found in Chinatowns from Seattle to Los Angeles. The little coffee pot is very functional, but I prefer the pink plastic cake stands. Frivolity in plastic. Pure bliss.
My small tribute to John Updike:
Happy Chinese New Year. We've left behind the year of the rat (take that Bernie Madoff). And now for the year of the ox, a symbol of strength and good luck. I love visiting Chinatowns in various cities--Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and, last week, Washington D.C. I can never resist the mooncakes. Gong hei fat choi!
I just got my film developed from my trip last week to DC for the inauguration. I wanted to share with you some of the images I took on my Holga camera at the Jefferson Memorial. The middle picture is of the ice and frost on the Potomac River. It glistened like diamonds. Please visit my flickr page to see the entire set!
Which one is your favorite? I love the top one. I always feel I like I'm walking on a highwire (but not quite with as much style.)
