more milk

i've been an inconsistent poster. does this make up for it at all?

balloon graffiti

love these.

by david billy. (via swiss miss.)

obsessed with wordle

I know everyone has been posting about this, but wordle is SO much fun to play with! I'm a sucker for font and words and there is something really thrilling about plugging in your writing and having it come out all mixed up. I feel like it's a way to send secret messages. I plugged in this poem and it was oddly satisfying to see it all pretty and jumbled.. which were sort of the emtions I had while writing it and sadly how I still feel about the whole thing today. Spend hours making your own wordles here.

patient little wings

One of my very favorite booths at Renegade SF was of potter Sara Paloma. Her booth was packed with perfect vessels in the most soothing colors and I could have stood in there for hours. She also had these perfect little wings and this lovely branch that has 'patience' written on it. The wings have little holes and I plan on stringing them from the branch and hanging them somewhere I'll see it daily. Danica has a nice little recap of Renegade as does sfgirlbybay. It was a nice day and a nice crowd and so good to see so many familiar faces. I loved hearing from out of town venders that SF Renegade was better for them than the Brooklyn show and that west coast crafters seem to appreciate the hand made more than the hip. There was a lot of the same but I loved seeing more artisan booths like Sara Paloma's. And of course the beers sipped by the bay made me love this sweet little city even more.

the tv hole

i know it is so lame to not blog for a week and then blog about TV. for the record i've actually been outside a lot lately, had a lovely bbq in the east bay friday night and than spent saturday at Lake Temescal which i think is one of my new favorite places to be. had i taken pretty pictures of all of that i would have posted them here for you. but sometimes i don't carry my camera around on purpose.

and yesterday, since i had spent so much time outside all weekend i thought it was totally ok to get lost in a big black tv hole. there was a marathon on AMC of Mad Men, which if you haven't seen i sort of order you to put on your netflix queue or watch on demand, or whatever you do. it's a fantastic show that will totally transport you and the sets and costume and acting.. all so good. the women are complex and interesting and varied in size! Jezebel did a nice little recap of the women in the show which you can read here. my favorite is Christina Hendricks who plays the curvy and impeccably styled Joan- i want all of her clothes!

Feist on Sesame Street

Feist will be the guest star on the first episode of the new season of Sesame Street which starts in August. She is so adorable here! It makes me want to watch old Muppet Show episodes.

embroidery graffiti

some very clever crafty friends stitched this on a hotel bedspread while they were here for Renegade. i LOVE it!

book giveaway and tons of good ideas

We're giving away a copy of Lotta's new book over at the work blog... but what's really exciting to me is to read all of the comments people left on that post. We asked readers to tell us their favorite 'quick crafts' and what a truck load of good ideas there are. Click here to check it out. I'm dreaming of chalk paint and all the things I can do with an embroidery hoop today.

it's pretty outside.

spent loads of time outdoors this weekend enjoying the lovely weather. went to Angel Island for the first time on friday, what a beautiful place so close to the city... will definitely be back again.




a shot from outside Renegade at fort mason.. which i'll write more about soon. the fair was great but i also just loved sipping beer and looking out at the water. what a pretty city it is..

...

i love the way the leaves have fallen so perfectly into the cracks here (click on the photo to make it bigger), it reminds me of Andy Goldsworthy and also that Summer in SF is more like Fall. It also kind of made me want to see Rivers and Tides again, which is worth renting if you haven't seen.

Some of Goldsworthy's lovely works of creation..

summer fashion

i usually leave the street style spotting to places like these sites, but this warm weather we're having in SF has gotten me noticing all the awesome dresses and summer clothes people have been wearing. summer clothes are so much more fun and i'm loving seeing all these combos people are putting together like that great circle skirt above. i love how she's wearing chucks with that skirt. notice i didn't approach her and ask if i could take her photo- one reason i could never be a style blogger.

more lists

reading
I finally finished The Fortress of Solitude and I have to admit even though it was a 500 page book I sort of dragged it out because I didn't want it to end. I've wanted to read more of Jonathan Lethem since I read Motherless Brooklyn a while back and I was so not disappointed with Fortress of Solitude. It's right up there with one of my other all time favorites The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. If you're looking for a good book to get sucked into read this now!!

Last night I started Rob Walker's new book Buying In. Rob writes the column Consumed for the NYT's Magazine and keeps one of the more interesting marketing blogs, Murketing. I've been looking forward to reading his book and I love that he included the rise of the crafting community in his observations on murketing.

eating/imbibing
Diane from Craftypod has totally gotten me hooked on reading the The Pioneer Woman Cooks a fabulous cooking blog packed with great recipes. I love the well-documented recipes and photos and easy to follow steps. Although I have yet to make anything from her blog-- these bacon wrapped jalapeno things will be at the top of my list. I'm trying to hunker down and not go out to eat as much (this week at least) but the last few weeks (ok months) I've been indulging at some of the best restaurants in the city. Lots of great food but what stands out most in my mind, maybe because of the heat here in SF, is the refreshing drink I had recently at Nopa called the Tall Q One which is made with cucumber vodka and tonic. Simple but so refreshing.

inspired daily by
I spend a lot of time online and I read a lot of blogs (like most of us) but one of my very favorites, which always inspires me with her beautiful creations, wise words, and so much kindness is Elsita's blog. I'm blown away by her talent daily and totally inspired and in awe of her art. I was especially moved by her post called self help. The above photo is one of Elista's genius plant creations, that one is called Lizette.

fun things coming..

The first annual Renegade SF is happening this weekend! I'm so excited it will be here in our lovely city and will give lots of local makers a chance to take part in this awesome event. It happens this Saturday and Sunday from 11-7pm at Fort Mason Center.


Bets are it will be jam packed but I'm going to try and make it to Julia Rothman's opening at Rare Device this Thursday night.


And how fun does this event happening at Curiosity Shoppe look? On July 19th, artist Lea Redmond will be setting up her "World's Smallest Postal Service" in which she will transcribe a letter onto a teeny tiny piece of paper, put it in a teeny tiny envelope (packaged with a magnifying glass of course) and send it to anyone you choose. I just wonder how it won't get lost on the way?