a familiar orange octopus

when i saw this illustration by amber alexander, i recognized the octopus immediately!  you can’t tell me that it’s not the same one i had the pleasure of meeting at the oregon aquarium back in september.
it simply must be the same one.
no question about it.

 

check out more work by amber alexander.

baby eends (ducks) + amsterdam

amsterdam is crazy. when you arrive at the central train station you are dropped off into the midst of trams and trains and canals and bicycles.  oh, the bicycles!

it’s a beautiful town to wander around and get lost in, but it was nice at the end of the day to actually leave the craziness for the calm relaxation of the lake right outside of the city where we were staying.

the city and the surrounding area (and pretty much the whole country) is made up of an intricate system of canals, which we enjoyed on a three hour boat tour into and around the city.  here are a few pictures of our adventures in amsterdam.

we also met some of the most interesting and nicest people in amsterdam.  it really is a city that is aware of, and celebrates, their eccentricities… which was very refreshing.

photos from myself and my traveling companion, katie.

an outdoor space

these two photos have been sitting on my desktop for a very long time.

every now and then i think how great it would be to have an outdoor room or cabin somewhere where you can just be surrounded by trees.

images unfortunately unkown.

the water lilies of giverny

the other day i took a trip outside of paris to giverny, where you can find monet’s house and gardens.  i was amazed at just how much his painting resemble the life he had there.
it was so beautiful, i would have painted the water lilies too.

a grey day

it’s a little overcast today, with dwindling rain that won’t seem to go away.

i actually don’t mind, because i am busy working on a project indoors… and while i may not want to walk around in the rain, i can certainly be inspired by the colors outside.

images via nelson sepulveda, lobster + swan, and grijs

cerisiers à fleurs

the cherry blossoms are out and about in paris these days.  you never quite know when you will turn a corner and get a glimpse of pink in a courtyard next to a church, or in the garden next to the muséum national d’histoire naturelle.
oh the things you see on a sunday in paris.

camp or build a fort?

my friend céline and i are currently sitting across from each other trying to do some work, albeit poorly since it is so nice outside and because we are talking about finding a place somewhere around paris where we can go camping.  our plans have reached a detour, however, since we do not have a tent/sleeping bag/anything else that makes camping possible.

but…

we can always build a fort!

image via gretchen mist.

a little ornamental greenery

i remember seeing wreaths made out of herbs last year at the farmers market, and thinking not only were they beautiful, but practical as well!

the herb wreaths are available from stokes farm, and they ship all over the states.

i love these wreaths featured on frolic! blog too.

advent post #17

the moment i woke up this morning i saw that it was snowing.  the next moment i was outside. the one after that i realized it was snowing and was in fact, very cold, so i went back inside to put on a sweater and get my camera.

jardin du luxembourg

what strikes me about the jardin du luxembourg gardens is how very different they are from central park in new york.  in comparison, they are highly manicured with abundant flowers and grass that has not be trampled by footprints or sunbathing bodies…. as the grassy areas are fenced off from public use.  this takes part of the beauty out of large public gardens for me, but they do have a plethora of chairs that you can move around and enjoy reading a book or simply relax and put up your feet.  i found myself in one such chair for an entire afternoon, reading and people watching. i wonder what central park would look like if people weren’t allowed to wander freely.  both parks however, have an area unofficially deemed for model sailboat sailing when the weather is fine.