POV: The Right Words.

POV ("point of view") is a new series that addresses many of the same themes covered in my Equals Record column: growing up, saying yes to adventure, learning to embrace a quarter-life crisis. Each POV entry will include a photograph and a short reflection based on what’s pictured. While my previous column focused largely on ideas, POV will focus on moments - glimpses, glances, tiny stories.

I heard the writer Maggie Nelson speak at a bookshop a few weeks ago. When asked how her life as a writer had changed since having a baby, she described watching the clock as her baby napped, feeling the pressure to produce. My dad – a writer himself – often tells me about sitting in front of his typewriter in his twenties, a blank page in front of him, tears streaming down his face.

  

One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple, said Jack Kerouac.

12 hrs.

A big thank you to Miss Moss for introducing me to 12 hrs, a unique set of travel guides that aims to show what can be seen, done, eaten, and explored in just twelve short hours. Creators Anna Peuckert and Soren Jepsen (a writer and photographer, respectively) have Hyeres, Copenhagen, Vancouver, and Antwerp covered thus far; Portland and Berlin are coming soon. Below, a few shots from the Antwerp guide:

"We love to travel," say Anna and Soren. "We also love design, and music, and fashion. And we were missing a website full or travel tips for people like us. Somewhere between the backpackers and the luxury hotels. With tips that aren't about money, but about great discoveries from all around the world."

See more, here. Can't wait to see what's next. (I'd love to see features on Tokyo, Bangkok, New Orleans, and Prague - all places I'm hoping to visit soon!)

Sleep Spaces.

Photographer James Mollison's book "Where Children Sleep" features "stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms." Below, a few standouts:

From top to bottom: Fifteen-year-old Nantio of Lisamis, Kenya; fifteen-year-old Risa of Kyoto, Japan; nine-year-old Dong of Yunnan, China; seven-year-old Indira of Kathmandu, Nepal.

According to the photographer: “I hope the book gives a glimpse into the lives some children are living in very diverse situations around the world; a chance to reflect on the inequality that exists, and realize just how lucky most of us in the developed world are." 

Purchase "Where Children Sleep," here. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Double Decker Days.

Crystal Thomas of Victoria, Australia calls herself a "lover of eccentric and unexpected interior spaces." True to her word, she's embarked on a journey transforming a 1970s double-decker bus into a cozy, creatively-designed home, a process chronicled on the website Double Decker Days. Says Crystal, "I hope this project will endorse different living options on a budget and show that owning your own piece of something special doesn't have to be logical." Cool.

Follow Crystal's progress at Double Decker Days, here. Happy Thursday! 

Getting Wordy.

Anyone familiar with my blog knows how much I love Etsy and its seemingly endless abundance of quirky curiosities. This afternoon, I'm so happy to share a post I curated for the Etsy blog, combining two of my great loves, art and words. It's "an ode to wordiness," if you will - check it out, here. Thanks so much for having me, Etsy! 

 

From top to bottom: Chosen Words poem by Brooke Schmidt; "Sweet Heavenly Molasses" print by Kate Moore Creative; "I Shall Bring You Happiness" greeting card by Laura Gee Illustration; Red Animal postcards by Furze Chan; "LOSER" banner by Napkin.

A side note: In putting together the post, I developed an obsession with everything from the shop Napkin (owner Cortny is responsible for the pom-pom banner featured in the last shot above). I'll be moving apartments in June - thinking of getting this as a first addition to my new space.

POV: The Great Fall.

POV ("point of view") is a new series that addresses many of the same themes covered in my Equals Record column: growing up, saying yes to adventure, learning to embrace a quarter-life crisis. Each POV entry will include a photograph and a short reflection based on what’s pictured. While my previous column focused largely on ideas, POV will focus on moments - glimpses, glances, tiny stories.

Weeks ago, on a cold February afternoon, I put on my running shoes and went for a jog through my neighborhood. A half-hour in, as I circled around to come home, it began to snow. 

I ran faster. 

About a dozen blocks from my apartment, I passed a barbershop with a metal grate on the sidewalk in front. Left foot hit grate. Right foot followed. I lost my balance. Pitched forward. 

I hit the ground with so much force I barely remember the pain. 

Catherine & Cat.

Favorite discovery of the day: four-year-old Catherine and her cat companion, Lilu. Captured by Catherine's father, photographer Andy Prokh, they're the stuff children's book dreams are made of. 

See more, here. Found via Laughing Squid.

PS: For more cuteness, check out Misao and Fukumaru, and Matteo and his marmots.

Writers On Writing.

As part of Shared Worlds 2013, literary luminaries share their best advice for fellow writers. According to the website, "some days...you simply need to know that someone else has been there before--behind a different keyboard, holding a different pen." Below, some of my favorites:

Writers, from top to bottom: Lev Grossman, Scott Eagle, Garth Nix, Karin Lowachee, Tobias Buckell.

On a related note, a tip I like to keep in mind, from Henry Miller's work schedule commandments: "Don't be nervous. Work calmly, joyously, recklessly on whatever is at hand."

Find more advice at Shared Worlds, here. And have a wonderful weekend!

Beguiling Beds.

Beautiful, unusual beds, discovered this week while perusing Pinterest. I love the idea of hanging plants over a bed, though I wonder if the upkeep (and the clean-up) might be more effort than it's worth...

More on beds:

-Bed art.

-Lithuanian cat cocoons.

-A book bed.

Have a happy Thursday. I'm covering for a friend at her shop here in Williamsburg today - my first time ever working in a store! Wish me luck - that credit card machine makes me nervous.

Top image: Josephine Ryan Interiors; bottom image via Demilked.

Wonder Bread Windchimes.

Vanessa Boer makes windchimes out of vintage pencils and rulers.  Says the Portalnd-based artist: "One of the best things about these, which you can't really capture in a picture, is the sound they make. When the pencils catch a breeze, they sound like tiny bamboo chimes."

See more at Vanessa's Etsy shop, here. (Don't miss "Sloth and Radio" while you're there.)

PS: Stories of kindness in Boston, and ways to help.

POV: Basketcase.

POV ("point of view") is a new series that addresses many of the same themes covered in my Equals Record column: growing up, saying yes to adventure, learning to embrace a quarter-life crisis. Each POV entry will include a photograph and a short reflection based on what’s pictured. While my previous column focused largely on ideas, POV will focus on moments - glimpses, glances, tiny stories.

I knew things were changing when, perched on a stool at a table in my favorite neighborhood coffee shop, I read a letter that the poet Ted Hughes had written to his troubled twenty-something son years ago, and felt tears welling in my eyes.

That’s how we measure out our real respect for people, he writes, by the degree of feeling they can register, the voltage of life they can carry and tolerate - and enjoy. End of sermon. 

A man sitting across from me at the table in the coffee shop pulled a chocolate doughnut from a paper bag and took a bite.

&.

Emily Blincoe's "This & That" is a photographic tribute to the ampersand. I love it all, especially the mac and cheese, and that perfect little waffle.

I also love this recent self-portrait of Emily, posted on her blog last month:

Further ampersandic (just made that word up) reading and viewing: its fascinating history, and a pair of earrings I've considered buying on more occasions than one. See more from Emily's series, here.

Quotes, Clouds, Iconic Sandwiches.

Three things to share for a rainy Friday: "Rap Quotes" posted in their real-life locations,

this very stylish Berliner, who really knows how to strike a pose (thanks, FvonF),

and this quote, via Note to Self.

Further reading/viewing for the weekend:
-Abbey Nova's Cloud Studies for Etsy.
-Iconic sandwiches from around the world, courtesy of Bon Appetit.
-And, in case you missed it, here's the first in a new series of personal reflections I'm planning to feature on Sho & Tell. Starting next week, it'll be a regular feature each week, so please check back!

In the meantime, have a wonderful weekend (I'll be paying a visit, weather permitting, to the Brooklyn Flea - very excited), and I'll see you Monday.