Curated : Alison Van Pelt

When I discovered Alison Van Pelt I pictured myself at a showing of her works in person with Celine from Before Sunrise. Celine and I would both say "transitory" to describe her work at the same time followed by a "jinx owe me a coke"...

I have imaginary Parisian friends.

When it comes to art I love ethereal. I love movement. I love mystery. I love pieces that bring to mind the word "transitory". 

Is it any wonder then that I would fall madly in love with Van Pelt's paintings...the following pieces are just a few of my faves.  

Stunning.

If I could own only one it would be Silver Horse-and after I came-to from the fainting spell, I would hang it above my sofa and never leave my living room again. Ok, I exaggerate-but it would be hard to let any of these out of my sight...

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Any faves?

can't.get.enough.

Of this...

Holy goodness. This completes me and I will play it on repeat until my ears fall off.

This...

Because seriously, what are your impossible things and aren't they worth believing in? And on this note-can you believe Mr. B doesn't have a "bucket list"....!!???!! He said he's, "never thought about it."

And if I could have lunch with anyone today (besides my mom & brothers) it would be with Barbara Kruger over a Wolfy's grilled cheese (hope she's not vegan) so we could discuss these...

Why Barbara Kruger? I blame it on spring and society...oh, and swimsuit season. It's so close I can taste it and all you ladies out there know the pressure we feel this time of year (as opposed to every other day of the year!?) to lose the lbs, muffin tops, and back fat so we don't offend anyone with our cellulite and stretchmarks-because according to every magazine and commercial in existence-these make us ugly and subject to ridicule. Because of the 3 S's a lot of beautiful ladies I know (who I think are perfect as they are damnit) are starving themselves, smoking more, doing crazy-stupid diets, and obsessing over the number on the scale multiple times a day. I'm just as guilty (ridiculously so) for wanting to do what I can to have the perfect body. So thank you Ms. Kruger for putting what it really means to be a woman these days in perspective for me for two shakes...

*blog post dedicated to these in the works*

Spring Albums

Have you heard this yet???! 

This album has been on repeat on my Spotify all month and I see no end in sight! In fact, I plan on actually buying it, I love it so. If you are a fan of Sade you will love Rhye's album Woman. It is so perfectttly sexy-so perfectly shaved legs, so sun on bare skin, so spring!

Also loving this soundtrack...

shit is emotional

It's been a while since I've put a movie rental on pause so I can find the soundtrack...maybe even since Away We Go...well this is it! Oh, and the movie was pretty great too, but I have a huge girl crush on Rashida Jones, so I'm just a smidge biased....isn't she TOO gorgeous?

What are you listening to this spring???

Standing Deer

Standing Deer

Jane Hirshfield

As the house of a person
in age sometimes grows cluttered
with what is
too loved or too heavy to part with,
the heart may grow cluttered.
And still the house will be emptied,
and still the heart.

As the thoughts of a person
in age sometimes grow sparer,
like a great cleanness come into a room,
the soul may grow sparer;
one sparrow song carves it completely.
And still the room is full,
and still the heart.

Empty and filled,
like the curling half-light of morning,
in which everything is still possible and so why not.

Filled and empty,
like the curling half-light of evening,
in which everything now is finished and so why not.

Beloved, what can be, what was,
will be taken from us.
I have disappointed.
I am sorry. I knew no better.

A root seeks water.
Tenderness only breaks open the earth.
This morning, out the window,
the deer stood like a blessing, then vanished. 

Places to Return

Places to Return

by Dana Gioia

There are landscapes one can own,
bright rooms which look out to the sea,
tall houses where beyond the window
day after day the same dark river
turns slowly through the hills, and there
are homesteads perched on mountaintops
whose cool white caps outlast the spring.

And there are other places which,
although we did not stay for long,
stick in the mind and call us back—
a valley visited one spring
where walking through an apple orchard
we breathed its blossoms with the air.
Return seems like a sacrament.

Then there are landscapes one has lost—
the brown hills circling a wide bay
I watched each afternoon one summer
talking to friends who now are dead.
I like to think I could go back again
and stand out on the balcony,
dizzy with a sense of déjà vu.

But coming up these steps to you
at just that moment when the moon,
magnificently full and bright
behind the lattice-work of clouds,
seems almost set upon the rooftops
it illuminates, how shall I
ever summon it again? 

Nearly 18...

...months!!! 

Hudson is SO close to turning 18 months old...which means he's so close to turning 2...which means 18 is around the corner-ay! Mr. B and I officially have our hands FULL. Taking care of a running/getting into everything in the blink of an eye toddler is my excuse for not documenting his days as well as I did when he was a somewhat stationary 6 month old. 

During our recent move I've misplaced 75% of my pants, and my camera (not sure which I'd prefer to find first)...hence the reason for the following pics courtesy of my phone that is apparently incapable of taking pictures of moving things (so much for good pics of my son).

these blocks come in handy for checkin out the new hood...see that fireplace...I'm painting it white.

he is obsessed with sitting in his chair...I'm obsessed with his wall color-White Dove by Ben Moore

His grande ice water which ends up spilled all over his lap.

RUNNING to the playground.

Toast at Hogan's...what a beautiful face! I could look at this all day every day.

Watching the dogs at the back door.

This is older...but it melts my little heart.

Big boy climbing to the big slide.

How he felt about wearing my scarf.

Moved

Somewhere between 2006 (back when I was driving our stuff all white knuckled across the Blue Mountains listening to John Denver and bawling) and 2013, I forgot how incredibly-crazy-freaky-HARD moving is!!!!!!

Moving is SO hard (SOHARD) that my bright idea of looking for a new place in six months (because the kitchen here is a nightmare and there is 80's dusty rose and country blue linoleum in the bathroom) has been laughed right out of thought-land. Mr. B and I have agreed that the next time we move, it will be to Boise. And that may or may not happen in the next 365 days.

I feel a huge sense of peace with that decision-because I ultimately want to end up near my family, and now we are one step and 3 miles closer to that goal!

And don't tell anyone I said this-but I'm also kindof at peace with our kitchen, wood paneling, and ivory carpet. I could even go so far as to say, I kindof like this place. I mean, I LOVE this neighborhood. When people ask to see pics of the new place, I almost want to offer pics of my working-non-drug-dealing neighbors instead. But that would probably be weird. Or send them a pic of the park a few blocks from our cross street. Or evidence that we no longer live within walking distance to 4 porn shops (I don't even think there is one porn shop on the south hill). I want to show them pictures of the bank that doesn't have a security guard out front, or the grocery store that is not full of drunk people with pitbulls tied up outside. I want to record the LACK of police car sirens and helicopters outside; the lack of people smoking in the car with their kids on every road I drive down and share that with them. So I have an ugly kitchen...pretty sure I can deal. 

Speaking of suburbia and ugly kitchens, I amused myself by Googling 1950's kitchens (which it turns out this one is-not 60's as I originally guessed) and I'll share these beauts with you-until I have time to post pics of our first couple weeks in happy land! Happy Thursday! Oh, and I'm totally rolling with it by planning a Mad Men house warming party. Martini anyone?

one word. OMG.

I actually could do this.

Gonna need more hamburger honey.

White bread and jelly for lunch.

More white bread and jelly.

This is actually in a museum!

I could definitely live with this.

My hands down fave! PRELUDE pink...a prelude to what?!  The asylum?

This one is a 60's kitchen...but I love every part of this pic...ok except the crazy wallpaper!