Valentine's Day

Exactly one year ago I moved to California, driving over 900 miles to close the distance between Adam and I. Poor Adam endured 15 hours on the road with a carsick cat, then several months with a homesick girl.  It was a grand gesture of love.

We've got nothing planned tonight save a truly romantic date at the laundromat, but I'm grateful for it. Love is so rarely presented in pink and red trappings. Once in a while it appears with a diamond and a question you can answer with exhilarated certainty. Other times it's terrifying, asking more of you than you can imagine giving. Most often though, it shows up in the simple act of pairing someone else's socks.

So for me, this day requires little fuss. I'm reflecting on all of the better and worse we've experienced already, and on how very excited I am to say my vows in October.

Card by Paula Skene Designs

Happy Valentine's Day!

xoxo,

Elizabeth

My Knight in Shining Armor

Adam and I have an anniversary coming up in September. A big one. 5 years. A fifth of my life!

We don't usually buy each other anniversary gifts, but if, say, he wanted to...

He could get me this ring!

It hits my aesthetic on the mark- brassy and bold with a sense of humor. More importantly, it reminds me of how Adam and I met- in a college class called Medieval Romance (cue "awwwwww"). An appropriate love token from my knight in shining armor, no?

A Medieval Thread

My wish list has grown a little longer, thanks to recent comment from Inside Lost City. 

The Lost City Aquila pillow, embroidered with gold wire and resting upon an Elizabeth tombstone. Yow.

Lost City's stunning textiles appeal to me on many levels. Firstly, as someone who has read Middle English literature while humming along to Radiohead. Secondly, as a girl who would still be accessorizing with her gold eyebrow ring, were it not strictly forbidden by her bosses. Lastly, as a gal with champagne taste, for whom it comes naturally to obsess over pillows costing a whole week's wages.

 Colum, Griffin, & Canis pillows, from the Lost City Medieval Line.

A menagerie of mythical beasts artfully worked into a graphic pattern... on a pillow. That's what I call indulgence. My couch dares to dream.

In the Cards

Once, as a little girl, I received a deck of tarot cards as a gift. I couldn't make heads or tails or cups or swords of the whole thing, but I loved the illustrations!

Tarot cards are steeped in history and symbolism, depicting classic archetypes of the human experience. Adam may raise an eyebrow to the occult association, but he's a Joseph Campbell enthusiast and an avid student of Medieval literature. I wonder if I could persuade him to consider some tarot art in the new place?

I've seen individually-framed cards before, and I caught a glimpse of this giclee in a house tour. The cards are divine in this 3x3 presentation, but I'm not so excited by the illustrations (or the price).

I did, however, have way too much fun with the new feature at AllPosters that allows you to view pieces "on the wall" in a selection of styled rooms. Yeah. Way too much fun.

I foresee a DIY project for the Berkeley apartment. I like the style of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, but the bright yellow and orange throws me. Perhaps I'll trace and hand-color my own (especially if I'm unemployed for any length of time).

Images from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck courtesy of Tarot Experts & Instant Oracle

I'm not superstitious, but I might do a little research first to make sure I don't hang some dire prediction on my wall! What do you think?

Dare to Dream: Tallmadge Doyle Prints

In my most fantastical imaginings, my future self dines at Chez Panisse every Tuesday, holds the red pen for some fantastic design publication, and decorates the walls of her Tudor cottage with the rewards of art patronage. Just in case this dream should come true, I am compiling a wish list for my collection.

Dotting that list are works by Oregonian printmaker Tallmadge Doyle.

"Aspects of Creation III"

"Aspects of Creation VII"

My parents have several prints from the Origins of Medicine series (inspiring my eternal envy). I sometimes find myself completely hypnotized by these pieces- simultaneously contemplating the cosmos, recalling last night's fiery sunset, and hunting for meaning in the layers of signs and symbols. I half expect to find some long lost secret to alchemy embedded in those mysterious scribblings!

"Kepler's Cosmic Geometry"

Doyle's art is where Adam's rational preponderances and my whimsical wonderings meet. Wouldn't these be perfect for two lovers of curiosities? I'm particularly drawn to her recent Celestial Menagerie series (the name alone makes me giddy). Subtle faded neutrals, delicate tracings of constellations, graceful creatures amongst the stars... 

"Apis the Bee"

"Stellar Feline"

I start the week off grounded in the present, and by Tuesday I'm already floating into the realm of "someday, maybe." Heh, ever the dreamer.

Under the Tree: Fit for a Queen, or Me.

I thought you might like to admire some more of the gifties that I got for Christmas... At the very least, I wanted to show them off!

I happen to know that these embroidered napkins were found at Anthropologie, and that they were a sweet deal. Very regal new additions to my decor menagerie. That freckly lion just does me in, he's so cute. Where shall I put them?

My Mom found the "E" necklace at a favorite jewelry store in Edmonds called Bluefish. Subtle sparkle, delicate leaf charms, an elegant capital E in antiqued gold... made for an Elizabeth who loves letters, right?

I Might be Cursed.

Hello friends, I apologize for my neglect!  My follow-up to this week's Wednesday Fixer has been postponed due to a little "family emergency." 

Last night our fish tank had a melt-down (literally).  This led to a fishie evacuation and relocation to a new tank. Thankfully no lives were lost, and the fish seem to be enjoying their swanky new digs.  I actually had a creative moment and decided to glam things up for them a little bit (check back tonight for pictures!)

By the time our humanitarian (fish-tarian?  I don't even know what I'm talking about here) efforts were finally over, it was quite late.  We wearied volunteers had just settled in for a peaceful slumber when... Matilda elected to be sick all over the freshly cleaned carpet. I am choosing to believe that her illness was completely unrelated to the fish tank. Total coincidence.  For sure.

Today things aren't going much better. I found aquarium snails in my bathtub this morning, which was a little disconcerting.  Then, when I got to work, I found that some mommy spider had chosen my desk as the place to lay her eggs.  And they had hatched.  And they are everywhere.  As I type I'm watching two march determinedly towards me (have I mentioned that I have an itsy-bitsy spider problem?).  

I'm not sure who I ticked off, but I could be in a little trouble here.

Medieval illuminated manuscript depicting the plagues of Egypt.

Wish me luck.  If I make it through the day, you got two posts coming atcha tonight!