I'm on it, are you?

I'm number 1745 on the Million Blog List.

oh how i love

& reeeally want this to be hanging on my wall:by Frank Chimero

via unruly.things

working hard & loving it!

I've only been at camp for three days
but it feels like I've been here for at least a month...
in a very good way.
It has been so easy to fall back into the routine
& back into the friendships that I've missed since August.I just wanted to say hello & to thank all of you for the warm wishes.
The photos here were all taken within my first hour back at camp on Sunday.

Life is happy.

PS sorry about the poor quality of the photos...
they've only just been developed & I haven't had a chance to play with them in Photoshop at all. I just couldn't wait to share with you!

she's leaving home

For the next 2 weeks I will be calling the Shawnee National Forest my home.
I've already told you a bit about Camp Ondessonk...but I've neglected to say that I will be spending a total of 7 weeks there this summer. Even though that's only about half of the time that I'm normally at camp each summer, it is much longer than I'd like to be away from this blog.
That may sound a little silly...but I will miss being able to keep a running digital journal of things that I find inspiring & I will most definitely miss all of you.

So to make a long story short, for the next couple of weeks I will be taking part in some yearly training & staff orientation. I may have a few chances here & there to pop in with a post or two...but I'm not promising anything.
Then, I will be back for about a month...posts galore!
But gone again for another 5 weeks starting in July.
It is all a little bitter sweet.

I hope you all have a wonderful next 2 weeks! Enjoy your summer!

photo via rich007's flickr
PS obviously I will not be needing high-heels at camp but I do love the picture!

weekly photo assignments

Over at Smarts & Crafts, Lauren & Derek have been hosting weekly photo assignments.
It all started with "something round" & became a somewhat larger compilation with "something green."Now, each week is a new theme (think word of the day or wood) & anyone can play! I've submitted pictures for the bloom & city themes.
This week's assignment is multiples...you should join! Check their website to find out how.

public service announcement

Gas prices suck...we all know it. But if you absolutely can't avoid driving Mapquest has something to help you shave off a few cents (or dollars in the long run)!

Just go here, type in your zip code & wa-la! A listing of the lowest gas prices in your area.

via in a nutshell

the great american roadtrip

The Great American Roadtrip
"3 men, 1 car, 5 days, 48 states."
what an incredible feat.

As Lauren says on Wander Lust, I've always really wanted to travel old Route 66. In fact, that's been a dream roadtrip of mine since I was a little kid. But what these guys accomplished (driving 24 hours a day stopping only to re-fuel and change drivers) may be a little extreme for me. I am astonished & greatly admire their determination. Imagine what amazing things you might see on a trip like that!

via wander lust
PS if you are an avid traveler or a traveler at heart, you should really check this site out. it is full of helpful tips about everything from how to pack light to how to live like a local to how to conquer your fear of flying.

egad, typos!

For the past three months, Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson have traveled the nation in search of misplaced apostrophes and poor spelling, bad subject-verb agreements and any other out-right terrible grammar mistakes.

Jeff Deck adds an apostrophe to the word mens
at a clothing store in Wicker Park.

An excerpt from the original article:
"Deck spun on his heels and turned back to the furniture shop and stared at the looming 'Milwuakee.' He'd learned a lot during this trip—walk away from a human powder keg, never bring up a typo on a menu until after you've finished eating your meal, our understanding of proper punctuation is shaky at best. And generally, people don't care.

He groaned and walked to the window. He pressed his forehead to the glass, then gently banged it against the pane. He stepped back and stared. 'It's bigger than my head,' he said, incredulous. 'And you know it's not going to get fixed either.'"
By Christopher Borrelli - Chicago Tribune

I would absolutely love to be these guys (or at least to be traveling with these guys). What a phenomenal road trip & service to the general public!

via hello bauldoff

quote of the day

"Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together."
-Carl Zwanzig

Another quote from the swap-bot quotations swap.

a story in 140

Copy Blogger is hosting a Twitter writing contest. Twitter updates (in case you aren't already aware), limit users to 140 characters; thus, the object of this contest is to write a creative story using exactly 140 characters - no more, no less.

The winner receives an iPod Nano,
but the challenge is fun regardless of the prize.
Take a swing at it, I'd love to see what you all come up with! (comment here with a link if you do!)

via you are flawed if you are not free

Tag, you're it!

photo of Pakentuck (Cedar Falls)

at Camp Ondessonkvia tkr2099's flickr

Krissy of Paper Schmaper tagged me in this little Q/A.
I think it is so interesting to see a glimpse of a more personal side of my favorite bloggers so I'm flattered to be asked to share about myself.
Thanks for the tag, Krissy!

1} What was I doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago, my summers were dedicated to softball. I was a catcher for a solid eight, nine years & consequently, my knees are shot. But it was worth it & I miss it so much.

2} What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
1) Eat lunch! It’s already 3 o'clock…eek.
2) Take a field trip to Hobby-Lobby after work. I love craft stores.
3) Put together something fun for the $5 swap I'm participating in on swap-bot.
4) No fun chores: laundry, clean the house, start packing for camp.
5) Relax! Put in a movie while I keep my hands busy with a fun project I've been working on (a later post on that).

3} Snacks I enjoy:
Rold Gold Honey Wheat Braided Twists & Cheez-itz are my guilty pleasures,
but of course, there’s always the tasty yogurt &/or bagels with apple butter!

4} Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
In addition to the logical: pay off my family’s bills, donate to charities, etc…
I would:
-attend schools all over the world, earn a degree in everything that sparks my interest, & volunteer my summers to Camp Ondessonk (one of my favorite places in the entire world).
-& probably build an off-grid farm/community. I know this sounds a little strange, but there are a handful of people I have worked with at Camp who are very resourceful & we’ve often talked of starting a fully self-sufficient farming community. Not a weird cult, just a happy green community.

5} Places I have lived before:
All over southern Illinois: Belleville, Smithton, Carbondale, & currently Pinckneyville, though I’m preparing for a possible move to Marion in about a month.

6} 5 people I want to know more about:
Kaylen of Happy Notions - I love this girl with all my heart. My only blogging buddy that I actually know in real life!

Lauren of Double Takes & Wander Lust - Lauren & I have discussed the possibilty of the two of us being long lost twins, separated at birth. Maybe this will prove to show even more similarities between us!

Diana of Please Sir - I la,la,love her vintage finds! A great daily read & source of inspiration.

Rachel of Cornflower Blue Studio - Rachel just moved from Germany to Arizona - so lots of inspiring posts all over the place). Not to mention, her cross-stitch work & photography is beautiful!

Lea of Bat Spit - Although we've never met, Lea is a local Southern-Illinoisan just like me (we even go to the same school). Naturally, I feel a bit akin. Also, she sent me this fun postcard!

PS all of these blogs are lovely & fantastic reads. check them out!

"Wonderland": The Power of the Child's Imagination and the Adolescent's Dream

I've seen Yeondoo Jung's Wonderland series all over the blogoshpere lately & I adore it. I attempted to post about him last week, but I wasn't able to find a site featuring his collection that I could actually read...they were all in Korean!

According to Jung's biography:

"Jung's new series of photos, 'Wonderland' (2004), presents costumed adolescents posing in sets based as closely as possible on children's drawings. He collaborates with many people to bring to life the boundless imagination in the drawings. For four months, Jung oversaw art classes in four kindergartens in Seoul and collected 1,200 drawings by children between the ages of five and seven. After pouring through them, he carefully selected 17 drawings and interpreted their meanings. Then he recruited 60 high school students by passing out handbills at their schools in which he invited them to act out the scenarios in the children's drawings. In order to recreate faithfully drawing details such as dresses with uneven sleeves or buttons of different sizes, he convinced five fashion designers to custom make the clothing for the photo shoot. He also made props unlike any scale found in reality but similar to those in the drawings."

"'Wonderland' changes fantasy into photographic reality without the aid of computer-generated graphics. The works, entirely made by hand, are a tremendous group effort similar to a stage production that captures the sudden changes in the actors' forms, in the midst of people going about their lives against the backdrop of the city."

via Run4istRun (as I've already said, I've seen Jung's work in many places...but I feel Jude's post is the most comprehensive & worthy of the credit. Thanks Jude!)

quote of the day

"Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking the tartar sauce with you."
-Zig Ziglar

My favorite quote thus far from the swap-bot quotations swap.

fragile!

Loving these mugs from La Corbeille.

Check out the cups with saucers & plates in this style, too.
PS they also have this interesting bookcase idea.

via please sir

la, la, la, summer is on its way

Happy Weekend!

This has been a super busy week for me...
I'm looking forward to a lovely weekend.
I hope you all get outside & enjoy some beautiful weather!

photo via Elle Moss. I am in love with her work.

my lawn needs some chairs

I want a pair of these lawn chairs so badly!

I've been on the yard sale/flea market hunt for a while now because I've seen them available in other places...but their too pricey.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I would really like white ones (because a friend & I intend to reenact this music video)...but of course I could always paint them.

RARR

Happy Wednesday!

photo via design crush

leslie hall

Oh, Leslie Hall. Where do I even begin?

Because I think her background is necessary for understanding exactly what Leslie does,

we'll start with the wikipedia bio:
"Leslie Hall (born November 15, 1981 in Ames, Iowa) is an American satirical rap artist and front-woman for the band Leslie and the Ly's and the operator of what is best described as a "gem sweater museum".
Leslie first began displaying herself in "strangely glamorous and unflattering ways" while attending Ames High School in Iowa. During her senior year, she entered the parade, as part of a homecoming prom queen campaign, donning a sparkling pink Goodwill gown, a neck brace, and a tiara (won by her mother who was crowned Miss Auburn, Nebraska in 1970). Her campaign was a success, and when springtime came, she was crowned queen."My first encounter with Leslie occurred a few months ago when Jason brought home the album Door Man's Daughter from a friend at work. At first I was skeptical but after the second listen I was pretty much hooked.
Her music is ridiculous and amazing. Her outfits, outlandish. In short, Leslie Hall is the epitome of Quirk Culture.

swap-bot

Since ogling the beautiful photos from marta writes back2school swap, I've been itching to take part in a fun swap myself. I considered hosting one...but decided against that simply because I don't think I have enough readers for it to be a success.

Lucky for me, I found Swap-bot.
It's "the easiest way to create & join swaps on the internet"..."Swap-bot facilitates group snail mail and internet swaps. It removes the hassle of collecting swap participants and assigning swap partners."
There are hundreds of swaps available & it's free to use!
They even have a rating system similar to ebay or etsy. You receive good ratings if you follow through on your swaps.

It looks like loads of fun!...I've already joined a few:
1) Quotations Swap - swap a list of a handful of your favorite quotes via email
2) Arm Chair Traveler Swap - essentially a pen pal swap!
3) Photography Postcards Swap - turn your personal photos into postcards & swap away

I can't wait to get my exchange on! You should join & just maybe we'll get partnered up.

photo via bloomize flickr

scrabble obsession

I'm so happy to see that the rest of the world
is falling into a scrabble obsession like me.This scrabble furniture is amazing...what a brilliant idea.

via double takes

moustaches galore!

I need this stamp set.

& then I need a never ending supply of stamp pads...
too bad my birthday is not until September.

Also...check out the other moustache paraphernalia

available on girl on the rocks etsy shop:
Sheriff Stache Mirror, Stalin Stache Bottle Opener, &
Monster, Presidential, Dictator, & Western Stache Pins!

via lost

hippo eats dwarf

my body couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.

...until I read this.

via swissmiss

a collection of spectacles

Do you wear glasses? Corrective lenses or shades?
If you answered yes...you should get yourself into Schmutzie's The Collection of Spectacles!

It's very simple...just email a photo of yourself (or any nonhuman/inanimate object) wearing glasses & you're in!
check here for details.
Great fun!

happy mother's day!

This is a picture of my mom & baby sister, Emma
that I took a couple years ago...
can you believe Emma is 18 years younger than me?!
After all the hard work mom did with Tom & me...
she's just started all over!
She is truly an amazing woman.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

willie & fred: 1908

I love these boys.

& I love that their names are Willie & Fred.

via Shorpy

goodies in the mail!

This fun package came in the mail a few days ago
& I've already been using its contents!
Isn't that bag lovely? ...& that lip balm? superb.
Thanks so much to Kristen for including me in her Pay It Forward!

$100 giftcard to Target?

You know you want it...
go here to find out how!

human tetris

Ever heard of the Game Over Project?
"GAME OVER is one of the art projects developed by the French-Swiss artist Guillaume REYMOND (NOTsoNOISY creative agency). It consists of a series of collaborative animation movies which revive some of the very first video games. The pixels are replaced by a group of real human-beings that are moving from seat to seat in a theatre during about 4 to 6 hours. Each "pixel" has its own rules and decides what s/he wants to do for each picture. Once all these pictures are turned into a short animation movie, a giant human-scale video game unfolds "live"."

It's pretty spectacular...check out their version of Tetris:



They've also done Pong, Space Invaders, & Pole Position!

claudia

Another beautiful etsy shop!
Check out Sylvia May for more lovely originals like this one:

Claudia

una pistola

Lovely silhouettes at Miss Crowland's etsy shop!

(don't you just love those tea cups!)

Her work is truly lovely & instead of using the post, she sends her art to you via email.

Yes, a little shocking, I know...but listen to her reasoning:

"1. No shipping charges and hassles

2. You can use the image in any personalized project...it's limitless...just like you.

3. No packaging means less waste."

Brilliant!

On top of all that, you can have the art personalized. Text, color, you name it. Wonderful.

via design for mankind

happy birthday, tom!

My little brother is 18 today! (I haven't quite come to terms with that yet...I'm still calling him Tommie, though I'm pretty sure he goes by Tom these days). He's a remarkable young man & a very talented musician. Happy Birthday, Tom!

him at 1, me at 4...we haven't changed a bit!

oh no!

I just realized that for the past week all of my blog related mail has been going into my spam folder. Eek! So I'm trying to get caught up...but if you've tried to contact me & haven't gotten a response yet, it would be a good idea to try again!
Sorry for the confusion!

PS I once took a photo very similar to the one above...I'll have to see if I can dig it up!
via aboemonster's flickr

andrea cobb

I'm feeling very inspired today & am head-over-heels for the art that's been inspiring me. These pieces by Andrea Cobb have definitely been tugging on my heart strings.

American Beech

Half Moon Bay

Burrowing Owl

via Creature Comforts

justin degarmo

After falling in love with the painting in this post...I had to check out the rest of Justin DeGarmo's work.

I love everything about it.

Especially the color use.

via Paper Schmaper

DNA design

DNA 11 = brilliant. You can have portraits of your DNA made to hang in your home.

"Swab your cheek. Mail. Score genetic art."

Amazing.

PS they also offer finger print portraits & kiss portraits. love it.

via hello bauldoff

paper plates

I'm in love with these "paper plates" by Joshua Gajownik...
especially that last one. It reminds me of happy grade school days.

via old glutton

happy weekend

Here's a little something pretty to help celebrate the weekend!

via ali edwards flickr

the zombie of oz

Wizard of Oz fan? Zombie fan?

Perfect!

I saw this shirt back in March...& only just remembered it. Go Ape Shirts has lots of quirky designs. (Another favorite).
Zombies have been coming up a lot in conversation lately...is this happening to any of you, too?
Jason thinks -scratch that- hopes the Collective Unconscious is trying to tell us something.
He's a bit infatuated with zombies.

via Rare Bird Finds

j.crew spring sale!

J.Crew is having a Spring Sale! All of their sale items are discounted an additional 20% at check-out. That's two deals in one! But hurry! The sale ends tonight (Friday) at 9:59 p.m. ET.
I'm considering this dress, but I'm having a hard time 1) deciding on a color & 2) rationalizing spending $60... maybe I could just consider it a hooray!-the-semester-is-over gift to myself.

common words

Can you guess the 100 most commonly used English words?

Take this quiz to find out!

I got 41 right on my first try...how many can you get?

quiz via A Pixelated Mind

photo via Darwin Bell's Flickr