happy blogiversary, or it’s all about me

warning: self-centered post chock full of funny facts about me ahead!

more than a few weeks ago i was tagged by four fine bloggy friends and asked to reveal several random/quirky things about myself, as well as tell you what i sites i personally enjoy visiting. i have put this off for a while for a variety of reasons, i think mainly because i don’t think i’m very interesting. but once i realized that not being very interesting could count towards one of my revealing facts, i decided to take the plunge…

- i am a freak about spelling and typos. i frequently see misspelled signs, and tell myself (or others that are in the car with me) that “somebody paid cash money for that sign” aloud. i think my favorites signwise were the “newspapars” sign i saw in philadelphia once, and the “best tacos in tawn” here in chicago, where i reside. in grade school i got 100 on every single spelling test up until the 4th grade, when i received a 95. i was quite beside myself and indignantly went over to fellow classmate megan quinlask, who had been assigned the dubious duty of correcting the tests. when i pointed out that she had made a mistake in scoring my test, she pointed at my paper and said “you got one wrong. fourty.” fourty! fourty! i will never forget that. especially because that is how old i became this past may. stupid fourty. ruined my record.

- on my business card, i describe myself as a raconteur and bon vivant. i don’t weave tales out of the air, i tell it like it is, and usually it sounds like something someone would have made up, because sometimes nutty things happen, you know? i started describing myself this way after i heard gene rayburn introduce charles nelson reilly on the match game this way.

- this month of june that just passed marked my one year blogiversary. hurrah! i have gone through regular periods of burn out and elation writing almost every day. it has been a lot of fun and it hasn’t stopped yet, so i will continue to hunt and peck and dig up as much original content as this space can hold. i love all the friendships around the world that have come out of this website. it is a strong positive thing and it powers me through the down times when they come sweeping through around here.

- my love of reading was cultivated by my parents when i was a child, and continues to this day, although i read more online than in books these days, and i have the dry eyes to prove it. i have carefully selected the sites in my blogroll for the quality content and sparkling writing. these people have a point of view or style i thoroughly enjoy. please pay them a visit when you have time, and you won’t be disappointed!

- out of all the myriad ways to express oneself in an artistic way, i like photography the best. i have always been attracted to and inspired by slightly askew, out of focus, beautifully composed photographs, so without further ado, i am nervous and happy and pleased to announce the grand opening of my own digital photography shop on etsy! i have been working hard on this for months and months and months, shooting, editing, re-editing, trashing, researching, biting my nails, and ultimately taking the plunge. nothing would please me more if you were to head on over there and take a peek. i am starting out slowly so there are only a handful of images right now, but there are lots more to come. let me know if your philosophy about photography is similar to mine, and i hope you enjoy them if you have a look!

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fundraiser and contest for figs with bri

bloggers unite!

one of my favorite food bloggers, briana brownlow of the wonderful figs with bri, has recently discovered that the breast cancer she battled two years ago has returned to other parts of her body. bri has been one of the most enthusiastic supporters of my blog, and even though we have never met i feel such a nice and genuine friendship with her (and consequently horror and sadness upon hearing the news of her illness). as it turns out i am not alone. bee and jai of the jugalbandi blog were also affected by the news, and have created a fundraiser for our foodie friend to help her pay for treatments that her health insurance does not cover. bri is actively seeking traditional and holistic treatments, and the cost estimates for one year of treatments are about twelve grand! almost $3800 has already been raised right now. as a person who strongly believes in equal parts of science and spirituality when it comes to treating illness, i am all for this creative way of reaching the goal!

bee and jai are dedicating this month’s food photo contest to bri. the theme is yellow, the symbolic color of the fight against cancer and of the livestrong foundation. you can click on the chip-in button here to donate, and click here to enter the contest, read the rules, and get a chance to win some wonderful prizes that bee and jai have gathered. the deadline for photography entries is june 30th, 2008. let’s all take a photo, send money if we are able to and support a witty, articulate, caring food blogger who provides so many delicious recipes for healthy organic vegetarian meals, and serves as frequent inspiration for all of us.

i am thinking of you bri, and sending you positive healing thoughts always.

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poppytalk handmade market (shopping)

jan at poppytalk is back at it with an eco-themed market this month, chock full of lovely adornments for home and body. let’s have a look at some of the highlights now:

fun hand and digital collage prints from layla renzi for her dollface design

steel linked necklace from megan auman

gocco printed notes and stationery on recycled stock from sarah parrott

vintage car bank from blue bell bazaar

recycled cotton totes from jen harris for her black sheep heap

now is the perfect to do some spring shopping, so hop on over there and choose your personal favorites!

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annie leibovitz: a photographer’s life 1990-2005

the brilliant annie leibovitz has an extensive exhibit at the legion of honor in san francisco now through may 25th, 2008. if you can’t get there in person to see it, victoria, the sfgirlbybay, has an interesting review of the press tour with photos here.

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poppytalk handmade market - march

spring is nigh and look at the colorful reminders we have at the handmade market from poppytalk:

sterling and resin jewelry from melanie favreau

sweet office accessories from simple song designs

fun prints from cate anevski for her bees knees industries

polaroid sx-70 print photography from aly and rob for their isofoto

check out the rest of the market out right here.

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bloesem special read!

my talented local ceramic artist friends burt and nancy have opened up a new etsy shop, and i was so thrilled to have had the honor of writing about them in a special post for irene over at bloesem. now i am certain (certain!) that all of you are already enjoying bloesem, but if you have not visited her blog before, please go and check it out. she has beautiful (beautiful!) taste and finds marvelous artists and designers for her blog. i just know you’ll love it (and hopefully my article too)!

i ran into burt and nancy at the bucktown art fair last summer and was thrilled to reconnect with them and their gorgeous handmade pottery. if you like lumpy handmade things trust me this is the stuff - check it all out here!

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sandra soss mixed media art

grace at design sponge did a sneak peek on my dear friend sandra’s apartment here in chicago yesterday and i am so glad she did, because i think the whole world should know about her. today, i would like to focus on her creative collection of home accessories. sandra is an artistic soul who is best described as a renaissance woman - she can paint, draw, sew, write, cook and do so many other kinds of other creative designing and artwork! right now she is creating a very cool series of functional collage works and one-off shadowbox work that is full of colorful layers and very pretty imagery.

everything we see in this collection has a wee touch of humor and a hat tip to nostalgia. the vibrant pieces, while covered and coated in paper and glue, are cleanly patterned and very easy on the eyes. and each piece exudes a certain warmth, which is the absolute direct hand of the artist coming through.

click here to see the whole article, check out sandra’s blog and purchase her work at her etsy shop.

(congrats san - you deserve lots of recognition for your talents! xo)

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crisis! at the blog

yesterday, the post i wrote a few weeks back about the packing tape art of mark khaisman made it to the front page of digg. all hell broke loose thereafter, in the form of broken servers and slow loading times, as 31,000+ 50,000+ people decided to head over here (mostly at the same time) to see what the fuss was about.

thanks to muhammed for digging my post, and thanks to you all for your patience if you were trying to come over and read or make a comment on sunday. people are still coming today from the article but the traffic levels are much more manageable now.

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an artist a day website

if you do not already, i encourage you to look at this interesting website called artist a day. they feature one new emerging artist per day in the hopes of creating more exposure for them and art in general, everyday. the people featured work in a variety of media, and a few words about themselves and their vision are included along with one or two images. what a great way for creative people to create additional internet presence for themselves!

local artist gisela insuaste

boston illustrator ria brodell

portland photographer corey arnold

i love this and i love what they are doing, but i want to see more - much much more and more types of media please! they feature wonderful high quality talent here (including the brilliant jennifer maestre and mark khaisman recently), so whoever here among us is making the beautiful things, please go and submit your work for review!

thanks for the tip dear husband!

via joshspear

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janine kain photography

pssst. do you like photos to go along with the story you’re reading? if you do, then i bet you will enjoy the work of zimbabwe born janine kain. she currently lives in edinburgh, and documents her struggle with borderline personality disorder through her expressive blog writings, poetry and high quality digital images. reading janine’s written reflections is a journey: harrowing, heartbreaking and wrought with emotion in one moment, buoyant, hopeful and victorious the next. her photographs are an extension of this idea, offering an intimate pictorial insight into a world — her world — frequently filled with pondering and solitude, where there is no reality. only perception.

she has beautifully composed creations, tight framing, great timing, layers, light, depth of field. it all seems to come so naturally. it’s all here, full of life’s everyday moments, and i am so happy to have discovered them.

find janine’s striking images for purchase at the photobox gallery and red bubble. and please, don’t pass up a look at her flickr stream and of course the thing that got me hooked - her very compelling blog.

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poppytalk handmade market

poppytalk’s handmade market has a theme called “love transforms” this month. look at some of the goodies being featured!

run away with me photograph from bueller designs

wheel thrown poppy bowl from whitney smith

gocco print art cards from scott ballard for two guitars

felt covered journal from stacy handmade

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poppytalk handmade market - november

can you believe it’s november already? here are some choice items from the poppytalk handmade market, which just opened on monday:

handcut paper art from a little hut

prints from the azure grackle

sterling jewelry by liz mathews

photography and wearable art from thea coughlin

if this doesn’t inspire you to buy handmade for the holidays, i don’t know what will!

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