Trip to the Market: A Color Post

It's Sunday, Conceptual Receptionists!

I am happy to announce that I did a guest post today over at Whimsical Poppysmic for the lovely Chrissy, who is in transit to a new home in Germany. It seems there was a bit of a "hitch in the giddy-up" with the photos, so I've re-posted here with visuals included!

xoxoxox

Today, I've decided to take you on a little weekend trip to the amazing Alemany Farmers' Market. Always on the hunt for inspiration, I have found the market to be one of the best places to pick up a creative boost.  This time around, I focused on the lush, vibrant colors that are making summer in California absolutely eye-popping.  I'm excited to share with you some of my favorite Saturday sights.

My produce-hunting partner-in-crime and I left extra early so we'd have plenty of room for perusing.  Nick and I have attended many a farmers' market, but Alemany was certainly the most impressive.

 

The display of rainbow chard was one of my top favorite finds. (Admittedly, I'd never even heard of rainbow chard before. But now I'm totally smitten!)

These hand-woven baskets were rocking a very similar color scheme... Hmmmm...

Delicious, delicious dried fruit was purchased. Lots of it. Can you blame us?

These fresh peaches came straight from Hollister. I couldn't get enough of their branded crates.

 

The fresh herbs are always of particular interest to me, avid basil-lover that I am.  I bought the cutest little bundle of fresh lavender, which is making my apartment smell glorious.

More veggies than you can shake a stick at! We bought an impressive amount of tomatoes that were mouth-wateringly amazing.  (I was too scared to try the spicy-looking peppers below...)

Is there anything like beautiful organic food, sweet people, and a good dose of summer sun to get the creative buzz going?  Thanks for coming on a mini-vacation to California! What are your favorite quick trips for getting recharged?

Finished Ripple-Stitch Blanket: Purples and Pink

As promised, here is my newest finished project! This is my medium-sized blanket (about 2.5 feet by 4 feet) and it's extra stretchy and soft. (I put Coco in the last picture for a bit of perspective.)

 

One step closer as I stock up for the opening of ... my Etsy shop! I can't wait to realize this goal I've had for such a long time, and it feels so good to be getting nearer all the time. 

Speaking of which, tonight I'm sitting in on an online workshop via Scatter Girls called "Setting Up Shop 101." This is just the push I need in the right direction and I'm ready to take tons of notes. So glad to have found these ladies who are totally in the know about getting things going!

Monday Medley: Assorted Updates

You know what poets really love? Finding the perfect metaphor.  And I have found an impeccable visual version of what my summer of thesis-writing has felt like:

Know that this is in no way a complaint! The psuedo-isolation has been eye-opening and valuable.  I love the quiet, and I truly value time spent alone.  I just wish I had this Crystal Bubble Home so I could be on the beach AND at my desk cranking out pages.  (Even though I'll be done soon, I still think I need this little Bubble.)

In other news, I have some exciting things to share with you this week!  I'll be doing a special guest post for Chrissy of Whimsical Poppysmic, so stay tuned for more details.  I also finished one of my favorite ever crafting projects last night and can't wait to post pictures of the final result. 

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Images via thecoolist.

Weekend Pep Talk: An Inspiration Post

"Friday" has a whole new meaning for me.  Rather than a work-week respite and park lounge-fest, the weekend has become my prime time for getting writing done.  Knowing that I've got another three day poetry bender about to unfold, I've been gathering my wits about me and stocking up on enough inspiration to carry me through until Monday.So today, I thought I would share two of my current favorite artists with you.  I hope this puts a creative skip in your step for the next few days!

Photographer Kimberley Akrig:

In her own words, this Vancouver photographer "aims to find the unusual in the usual, searches out the beautiful in the everyday, and wants to make you look at things in a different way."  Aren't the colors unbelievable?

Graphic Artist Ruben Ireland:

I can't get enough of this UK artist/illustrator's work.  His tools include "ink, acrylic, dirty water, foods, weathered paper as well as Photoshop and wacom tablet."  I was really excited to see that his work has been printed onto laptop and iPhone skins, and his site has tons of buyable prints.  My apartment needs some Ruben Ireland, I think.

 

Have a beautiful and productive weekend!

The Tuesday Trifecta (No. 2)

Or: The  feature in which I get all kinds of excited about three new favorite things!

1)  Journalist Jon Ronson.

I don't have much time to read "for fun" these days, but so many of my favorite book blogs recommended Jon Ronson's "The Psychopath Test" that I had to see what the hype was all about.   For a nonfiction book with such a doom-tastic title, I found it incredibly humorous and thought-provoking, and I inhaled it in three days.  

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To give you a bit of a taste, here's a quote that has been swimming around in my head:

"There is no evidence that we've been placed on this planet to be especially happy or especially normal.  And in fact... our strangeness, our anxieties and compulsions, those least fashionable aspects of our personalities are quite often what lead us to do rather interesting things." 

2) Urban Ghosts Media. 

This gorgeous photography website features seriously spine-tingling shots of abandoned spaces of all types.  From submarines to movie theaters, these photographers have gotten up close to the eerily gorgeous. 

3) Pesto Tofu Scrambles.

After our initial fling at Saturday brunch, I can officially announce that we are in love.  I'm not even kidding when I say that this is The Most Delicious Breakfast. I found a great recipe here.

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Monday Medley: An Instagram Update

Welcome to a new week, Conceptual Receptionists!

I stayed unplugged as much as possible this weekend, and happily, a great deal was accomplished on my thesis.  The preface is now finished (hooray!) so the new name of the game is: Revise, revise, revise! 

Because of the epic write-a-thon that's transpired over the last few days, I'm running a little short on words this very moment.  So here is a brief recap of my quiet weekend in Instagram shots!

1) Leafy latte + late night writing at Sugarlump. 2) Mid-day tofu scramble at The Fountain.  3) Study nook and thesis books.  4) Sunday night celebration of one finished preface at Zero Zero. 

This is certainly a good beginning to a mini-tour of my favorite places in SF.  It is so unspeakably nice to have such deliciousness only blocks away.

More tomorrow, when my weary fingers have recovered!

Books on the Move

Everyone knows that independent book stores are in a bind.  With online sales rising and e-readers gaining fans left and right,  local independent sellers are having a harder and harder time keeping their doors open. However, a woman named Sarah Henshaw recently had a brilliant idea to help people fall in love with the book-shopping experience all over again: The Book Barge.

Check out Sarah's site for more amazing photos.

Think bookmobile turned bookshop turned boat.  (I know. It's amazing.)  Sarah writes, "In short, we hope to promote a less hurried and harried lifestyle of idle pleasures, cups of tea, conversation, culture and, of course, curling up with an incomparably good Book Barge purchase…"

This, of course, made me insanely nostalgic for the bookmobiles I used to visit.  I was such a die-hard fan.  In fact, I refused to go home from school after breaking my arm on the playground because it was Bookmobile Day.  (I was very tenacious.)

In order to stave off my thirst for hanging out in a mobile library, I gathered some of my favorite pics of Books on the Go! Is there anything sweeter than the arrival of new reads?

1) 1917 bookmobile. 2) Open-sided RV library.  3) I like to think of this as "girls' night out" 1953-style. 4) The most gangster bookmobile of all time.

If all of that doesn't make you want to get your read on, I don't know what will!

Mail Call Magic

There are few things I love more than the arrival of some good old fashioned snail mail.  I came home from work to discover a sweet, handwritten note from my friend JohnBen who I haven't seen in ages.  Receiving letters means the world to me, so of course writing them is something I try to do frequently.

Etsy is a treasure trove for letter-lovers these days. I've collaged a few of my favorite finds below, for easy access.  I think pen-pals might be the only thing missing...

1) Crocheted Mailbox and Letters by Crafty Anna.  2) Vintage Stationery via AllThisIsMine.  3) Laurel Leaf Wax Seal Pendant by Erla Designs Jewelry.  4) Crocheted Airmail by Eternal Sunshine. 5) Natural Sealing Wax from Green Craft Store.  6) Blythe Cards by Emma Mount.  7) Self-Mailing Invitations by Papier Lapin. 8) Envelope Locket Ring by The River Is Everywhere.

With that, I'm off to do some writing of my own.

Renegade Recap

The Renegade Craft Fair, San Francisco style, was as totally inspiring and full of eye-catching goodness as always.  I was really excited that Emily Martin of The Black Apple made it again this year.  Her blog is one of my favorites, and I've been collecting her art for over a year now.  I excitedly picked up another print from her "Lost on the Midway Series" which is now awaiting a frame and a place on the studio wall.

Lost on the Midway.

My favorite discovery was the booth of Good Bye Blue Monday, run by fellow Californians Shoshana, Erin and Dru.  They make some of the most adorable hug-ables I have ever seen.

"Hug A Cloud" and "Celine" - Both available on Etsy!

I couldn't resist such sweet little faces, and brought a new friend home:

Coco! (She loves Instagram.)

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!  Time to enjoy the last few hours of Sunday.

Tiny Friday Favorite

 

I love this interior design for small apartments. As someone who lives in a "cozy" city studio, I am always looking for ways to make the space my own without cluttering it. Though painting will have to remain a fantasy for now, the bookshelves might be another story. 

Still under the weather, so it's back to bed for me! 

Reading / Writing / Dating Can o' Worms

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Having been home sick this week, I've spent a lot of time catching up on blogs, online treasure-hunting, and the giant pile of books/journals/zines next to my bed.  I wanted to share two serendipitous things that I happened upon.

The first is a short, clever blurb called "Date a Girl Who Reads," which can be found here.

Moments later, I came across "Never Date a Writer," thanks to my lovely friend Kelley.  Read it here.

How strange, to come upon these back-to-back!  As someone who considers herself to be both an avid reader and writer (and who has been the recipient of a great deal of information regarding what it's like to "date a poet") I found myself invested, quick reads though they be.  And collectively, the two pieces certainly provide some interesting food for thought.

Some Surreal Inspiration

I have discovered that doing the following things simultaneously is nearly impossible:
1) Live in amazing city
2) Know that it is summer and that there is amazing weather happening in amazing city (see above.)
3) Ignore 1 and 2 until August 16. Stay inside and write thesis.

In an attempt to keep fuel on the poetry fire, I have become a total inspiration junkie. Today, I can't get enough of San Francisco's Colette Calascione and her surrealist paintings.

"Dream of the Hungry Ghost"

"Internal Landscape"

"Swimmer"

"The Love Letter"

Writing Without Walls

I was really honored to be the first ever reader for the new "Writing Without Walls" reading series.  This was truly one of the coolest readings I've been to (and participated in!)  The venue, Project 1, doubles as a cutting edge gallery, which added some extra awesome to the festivities.

Thanks so much to Phil, Gina, and Jeff for starting this great series, and thank you to everyone who came!

You can find a video of me reading from "all things full of tiny gods" here.