Have a Wonderful Weekend!

From Marc Johns’ Serious Drawings

The Motion of the Ocean

This weekend I am taking off to Madison, Wisconsin. As excited as I am to be on vacation and see family, the idea of Wisconsin in November, and the cold weather that comes with it, sends shivers up and down my spine and I start to panic. What if I don’t make it? What if I didn’t pack enough winter gear? What if I get stuck, outside, in the cold, in the snow AND I get frostbite? Sounds melodramatic but that is exactly what I start to think. I just don’t like the cold.

In the midst of my panic a friend of mine sent me this video by Sigur Ros that reminded that no matter how cold it is outside, somewhere someone is playing in warm ocean water.

A large part of the reason I love warm weather is because I love the ocean (and its just not as fun to swim when its below freezing). Being underwater when all you can hear is the sounds of waves crashing above you or on the shore behind you, are some of my most serene moments.  The comfort of warm sand on your feet while the sun beams down on your sea soaked body couldn’t be more relazing. And there is nothing better than a sunset on the beach.

Sun setting in Montauk, NY

This poster by dear musketeer says it all. (It is definitely on my wish list!) Keep your eye out, deer musketeer is opening an online shop!

When I finally relocate to a tropical climate I will have one of these breathtaking bedrooms!

“Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter. But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore, And when you destroy them the ocean laughs with you. Verily the ocean laughs always with the innocent. ” – Khalil Gibran

Have a wonderful and warm weekend!

Friday Funnies

Hilarious comic found here

Daily drawing my the incredibly talented Demetri Martin found here.

Snap shot of Haiku for the Single Girl by Beth Griffenhagen seen on A Cup of Jo.

Yes. Too soon. Found here.

In the September NYTIMES Magazine online by Brian Rea

So enlightening and so true by a unknown author found here.

Wednesday Wishlist

Everyone has surely has noticed that chevron patterns have overtaken fashion and design.  At home, in jewelery, and in fashion, the triangle (or series of triangles) has become the newest ‘it’ thing. I, too, have been no match for the trending pattern! This “Thursdays: Things I want…” is dedicated to the triangle and the wonderful artists on etsy who facilitate my new obsession.

1. Cascading Triange Necklace at Seaworthy
2. Multi Metal Chevron Earrings by Scarlett Garnet Jewelery
3. Rainbow Bunting Stocking Stuffer Cards sold by rainy day colors
4. Linen Chevron Tea Towel by Erin Dollar
5. Pale Pink Gold Dipped Triangle Necklace by the creator of A Merry Mishap
6. ‘The Sabine’ by the creator of Son of a Sailor
7. Mount St. Helens Printed Postcard Set sold by Megan of Megan Stran Design

A Little New York Lovin’

Tags

Places

The morning commute in New York City is awful. Everyone pushes and forces their way through crowded subway stairs and tunnels, competing for who can have the most speedy and hurried transit to work. I often find myself scowling, running, weaving between crowds and forcing myself to squeeze into the last bit of air space on the subways in the morning. As I am crammed up against my fellow commuters I start to doubt my decision to live and work in this city. I look around at all the blank faces and black coats and feel like I am being absorbed into the zombie-like patterns of New York City residents.

Every once in a while I find a video like this one by Andrew Clancy who has put together tid-bits of film from being around New York City and I am immediately reminded of why I love living here.

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Or this one by Sam O’Hare;

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Sometimes I see pictures that remind me how beautiful this city is and can be.

 So the next time you feel crammed, squished, rushed, or bothered by daily life in New York remember these images or watch these videos for a brief reminder of what makes New York one of the greatest cities in the world.

Grandchildren and Fleet Foxes

A couple of months ago I bought a friend of mine tickets to a Fleet Foxes concert for her birthday. She has always been a big fan of the Fleet Foxes and has wonderful taste in music so I knew the concert would be at least mildly interesting. Mildly interesting? Wrong.

The concert changed my life.

This video of their performance at the Berkeley Greek Theatre is from the same tour we saw at the Williamsburg Waterfront.

I was completely enthralled with the visuals they had chosen to pair with their sound. The digital images flawlessly transitioned and transformed into one another while a starry sky remained translucent over the graphics.

Sean Pecknold, founder of Grandchildren, is the mastermind behind the Fleet Foxes’ visuals. Photographer, film maker and digital artist extraordinaire Pecknold is also responsible for the Fleet Foxes’ Grown Ocean, Mykonos, and White Winter Hymnal (in claymation!) music videos. Check out his photography at his blog, The Universe & You and the more of his work here.

I leave you all with this…

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Rainy Day Dinner

Yesterday was a rainy, grey day in New York City and to make myself feel a little better about the weather I decided to cook a warm, comforting dinner based on this recipe. I followed the recipe pretty closely adding a couple special touches of my own.

First, I gathered the ingredients from Smith & Ratliff’s recipe:

1 Lb. Quattro Formaggi Ravioli
1 Rome Apple (Cut into matchsticks)
4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/2 Cup Parsley (Lightly chopped)
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Then, I added a couple of ingredients of my own:

1/2 A Medium Sized Yam (Cut into matchsticks)
1/4 Cup of Dried Cranberries
1 Tsp. Cinnamon

The ingredients: ravioli, a yam, apples, parsley, walnuts, Parmesan, olive oil, dried cranberries

While the ravioli was boiling, I put the walnuts in a skillet with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil.  I then chopped up the apple, the yam and the parsley. After the walnuts were lightly toasted I added an additional 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and added the chopped-mix.

I let everything simmer with the walnuts for 10 minutes (or until the yam bits are cooked) and then added the Parmesan and cinnamon to the fall ‘stir-fry.’ Only after all the ingredients were mixed together did I toss in the ravioli. Finally, once the pasta was served I sprinkled dried cranberries on top.

YUM!

With a friend and a glass of wine it was the perfect way to end the day, staying cozy and dry.

Office humor

Today has been a painfully slow day. Here are some things that got me through…

Chickens

Watercooler

Dilbert

When I was younger my mom used to have Dilbert calendars and coffee table books. I’d flip through them and think, “I don’t get it” or “how could being in an office possibly be funny?”  Now I know.

Red Rooster

A couple of months ago my mom came to visit my ‘new diggs’ in upper, upper Manhattan. On her flight she happened across this article and insisted we go check out the up-and-coming eatery in the neighborhood.  Alas, we did not have time during her whirlwind weekend trip.  Last night, I finally made it to Red Rooster.

Left: The Savoy. Right: The ambiance

It’s wonderful! Tuesday is latin night so the restaurant was packed, pulsing with latin-samba beats. Their drinks menu is to die for. We didn’t have time for dinner yesterday (I’ll have to go back soon) but we did try some of the desserts. If you make it up there this winter I highly recommend their Spiced Pumpkin Cake for a warm and cozy treat!

It’s going to take a while…

When two of my closest friends decided to put their creative talents together and establish nosurefooting, I started to think about putting together a blog. I crafted, I cooked, and I found interesting and beautiful things online; how hard could it be? Impossible. I was not a writer. Some of my crafting did not turn into beautiful things. Some home cooked meals were failures.  And, what if I was the only one to find my interweb discoveries interesting? I put the idea on hold.

Recently, I stumbled across this video on Make Grow Gather and was immediately inspired to start-up The Art of Being Sedentary. So here it is…