Maya Hayuk..

With all this rain in SF (I know east coast friends, I have no right to complain) but damn I need some sunshine and color. So I thought what better way to get some quick color was to post Maya Hayuk's newer work she recently uploaded to her website. Just looking at her work I feel like I get a zap of vitamin D. Speaking of sunshine, be sure to check out Rye Rye's video Sunshine to see the below mural was comminssioned for.

Oh and Maya just joined twitter, so that's exciting!

this must be how zombies feel

Here it comes, the quintessential exhausted mother verbal vomit:I think we’re transitioning out of the ‘likes being swaddled when he sleeps’ stage.(That knowing, empathetic groan y’all just made collectively? I heard it from here. Thank you.)It’s a really good thing he’s cute.

one hundredth post!

Apparently I’ve been at this blogging thing for a while now.I can’t imagine how I found enough fodder for 100 posts already though.Maybe it had something to do with graduating from college, getting real world jobs, and celebrating our first year of marriage… all in the same month. There might have been a thing or two about moving into my in-laws’ basement for another month plus a half, then subsequently moving out of the in-laws’ basement and buying our first house.Or I suppose it could have been the renovating of our first house, the continuation of the renovation of our first house, or the perpetual renovating we are doing on our first house.There’s probably something in there about creating a human being, too.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~You can chalk it up to the first grade teacher in me, but I thought maybe we should commemorate this occasion with a little sharing exercise. This also functions as a half-birthday wish list, conveniently.Just a thought.100 things I would like 100 of 100 things of which I would like 100Stuff I want. chap sticks80 ¬∞ dayspairs of comfortable heelsduvet coverschai tea lattesadorable baby onesiescuddles with Pearlmini cheese cake biteslarge necklaceseasy-to-make dinner optionsbeautifully wrapped Christmas boxesjust-blooming white tulipsassorted glass vases, apothecary jars, or hurricanes (I think that counts as three items) ^ ^bottles of martinelli’s sparkling cideryankee candlesblack and white photos of people and places I loveplane ticket vouchers to see people and places I lovehandmade monogrammed cardsfreshly washed towels to smellchai frappuccinos blended coffee (aka dirty chai frap). wait. I already have chai on here?dangley earringsaustralian shepherd puppies – as long as I don’t have to keep themcrazy strawsleather bound copies of american literature classicsroyal gala applesshoulder and neck rubssets of table linenswarm bowls of popcornblown glass ballspouches of Capri Sun Pacific Coolerwood block words to rotate seasonally on my mantleshades of pink nail polishthrow pillowswatermelon jolly ranchersceramic baking dishesassorted colors of gdiaper little ‘g’ pantspeople who read my blog regularlybottles of bath and body works hand sanitizerteva olowahu sandalsover-sized starbucks ‘city’ coffee mugs (and a place to store them)lenses for our SLRcashmere throwsold handwritten letters and post-cardscoffee dates with friends no longer geographically nearstrawberries and cream jamba juices (it’s not on the menu any more – order it some time)potted hydrangeasbottles of european wines (for later.)aveda hair productssquare feet of closet spacekisses from DanObuttered popcorn flavored jelly belliesless days of being pregnantmore days to get the nursery ready (yes, i know. but do they all have to make sense?)crunchy leaves to step onsheets of beautiful scrapbooking paperbaby diapers changed by someone elsework vacation days in a yearhours of sleep. straight.bless you if you’re still reading this. I’m so impressed. (does that count as one?)karats in a diamondfree hours of labor on our house by someone else. anyone else, really. just not us for once.blooming cherry trees lining a streethappy years of marriagejars for canning. cuz i’m going to be that lady. just watch.strawberriesiced venti no-ice chai (oh. it is? whoops)purses in perpetually perfect conditionmaids to do my laundry… and bidding, because that’s what maids do I’m toldacres of land to cross-country ski overcopies of martha stewart living and realsimple^ that was totally twocool key chains like I had hanging from my jansport in middle schoolhugs from my family every monthounces of more patienceideas for this list (seriously, all this introspection is starting to get difficult.)fridayshours a week to catch up with friends over the phonepairs of favorite jeansshiny wedding rings in size 6 so that I can wear them (size 4 is long abandoned)minutes of fameclear hair rubber bandsquiet moments with DanOshirley temple films on dvdaroma therapy refills for my cubiclepregnancy safe allergy pills so I could smell the aroma therapy. or anything.children’s books to pile on my lap and read to nuggeteleven more to think of – I can totally do thissaltwater sandalspounds of frozen meat in my schfancy freezer (just no swine)miles of shorelinebibles to send to chinamonths of membership to the YMCAmiles to the gallon on both of our carshooded animal towels to put on nugget after he takes a bathfree dates to go on in the twin citiesbabysitters lined up for the nights of each of those free datesventi chai frappuccinos (blended cream) with condensation on the cup (aka summer)wonderful blessings, adventures, and people in my life to blog about over the last 1.33 years (check!)

in the year 2068

Lately I’ve found myself thinking “I am so old.” I’ll be a college graduate in mere days, I know every word to the songs that come on in the “90′s hour” on the radio, which makes my high school co-workers (see last post) look at me like “how bizarre, how bizarre…”. My knees hurt when I kneel for more than a few seconds, oh, and I’m married.But let’s be honest, I’m not old at all. Unless of course you’re talking in terms of making the Chinese Olympic Gymnastics team, and in that case I have in fact missed the boat by a good 8 years.I am sort of looking forward to it though – being old that is. My guess is that there are pros and cons to the last stages of life. Here are a few that I have been pondering:Pro: RetirementNever missing a day of Oprah.Con: 8:00pm bed timeMissing every single Colbert Report.Pro: Dorm life, 2.0Think about it: retirement homes (and college dorms) provide: a social calendar full of planned events, room/floor mates, provided food at a central location, a sense of communityCon: That old person smellI don’t think you can ever wash that sucker off.Pro: Free Time200,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Niagara Falls anyone?I think that when the time comes, I will be one happy, retirement home livin’, grandchild cheek pinchin’, afghan knittin’ elderly person. For now though, I guess I’ll just have to *ahem* save the best for last.

kill pixie print from fecal face..

Fecal Face just released this amazing print by Kill Pixie. Limited edition of fifty, signed and numbered these babies are sure to go real fast. Jessica of Fecal Face says that due to the rich paper they chose to use, it looks almost 3D. How swell. Well, just looking at it through my computer screen...it looks pretty fresh to me, so I can only imagine what it looks like in person. Purchase it here.

detail.

we had a promise made, we were in love. .

i'm smitten gets a big, fat prize for the best lil' tote w/ the cutest image ever and their doorbell (a-door-bell aka adorable) website w/ the wonderful images of part girl/part animal people. the music. the images. it's all just darling. ok, i have no prize for i'm smitten. but i love, love, love that tote and the website. can't my love just be enough?

what is it about antlers lately? why are they so magical? really. please tell me. you can check out i'm smitten here. my christmas list just continues to get longer...

* heartbeats by the knife.** images used by i'm smitten's cutie pie permission.

New Work Richard Pearse..

Richard Pearse shot over an email with images of a new group he's been hard at work on for the upcoming group show, Linear Empires at White Walls Gallery. Richard's detail and ability to connect color & shape in his work is what really draws me in. So much to look at.

Check out Richard's blog to see all of the work that will be in the show. Linear Empires opens on February 12 and runs through March 5.

Studio Visit Mark Warren Jacques in SF..

Contributor and gallerist, Jillian Mackintosh shares with us her latest studio visit with newly transplanted artist, Mark Warren Jacques. Mark's studio is a pretty remarkable place, however Jillian's pics make it look even more inviting than ever. They make me want to grab a sleeping bag and sleep under the stars surrounded by Mark's work. - meighan

Mark Warren Jacques admittedly has an amorous disposition and this time he’s fallen in love with San Francisco. While embracing different cultures, ideals and perspectives he’s undergone a metamorphosis in his painting, both conceptually and symbolically. Last week I dropped by the warehouse where Mark has built himself a zen tent in the attic studio space. A skylight reflects bright light into the white cotton tent filled with succulent plants, a guitar and new paintings for his upcoming solo exhibition I'm Here Now at Gallery Hijinksthis October.

Introspection of the mind, body and soul are divulged figuratively while remaining abstract. Bright colors cluster together with patterns and stark edges as elements of the natural world take form with bare boned foliage and starry constellations. Mark tells me he's experimenting with form, figures and anatomy for his next show which should be an interesting addition to his existing spectrum of symmetrical and organic shapes.

Stephanie Simek Jewelry. .

Adornment fascinates me. I love how we live in this super evolved (some would argue...) society and yet we still wear symbols and signs to let people around us know where our aesthetics are at. I am always super drawn to jeweler's that work with unique and non-traditional materials. Stephanie Simek transforms shells, fauna and egg shells into beautiful pieces of wearable art. That Illuminated Sea Cookie pin would look slammin on a tweed vintage coat! Oh, or the Pussy Willow earrings?!

Be sure to check out Stephanie's latest project; her Sound Locket. She collaborated with five musicians to create this unique piece that literally holds a song.