There is something in the way the light hits the tree trunks that I absolutely love. 

When I was a little kid we would often visit my grandmother in Denver, Colorado. Then we would drive up into the mountains for some fun skiing. Driving west on 70 my mother would say, "Look Joules, the layers of the earth." Inevitably my nose would be buried in a book & she wanted to make sure I took a moment to observe the natural world. All these years later I am still looking at those layers of the earth, mostly layers of the water & sky these days, but I am thankful my mom taught me to observe the natural world. 

Dana Tanamachi does great hand lettered chalk work. I appreciate her motto of "liv[ing] a quite life and work[ing] with your hands." from 1 Thessalonians 4:11  and have had that as one of my guiding principles for years. Below is a time-lapse piece. "Free admission to those who dream" What a great concept! When I saw Dana's work and Jessica Hische's work I thought, "Oh I have to go get a job at Louise Fili." since that was a great launching point for both of them. But I don't. I just have to continue my daily practice. Hope you enjoy Dana's work as much as I do.

I am admittedly particular about my clothing. Not just how it looks, but also how it feels. In the interest of cutting down decisions for 5 years I only wore black & white. In the past two years I have begun incorporating hot pink. You cannot live in the south and only wear black & white. People literally stare at you with sympathetic condescending looks because they believe you have just come from a funeral. My rules for an article of clothing would be:
1. Comfort: soft, no biting seams
2. Simplicity: simultaneously an interesting detail or twist
3. No garish logos: it is almost impossible to find unmarked clothes
4. Fit: well proportioned
While this hoodie is perhaps not the most flattering and certainly too casual for a fair number of activities it is my current favorite and has been since the moment I put it on. Some of the details that make this garment superior are documented below. What's your current favorite?

When I walked out to pick up the mail this afternoon this branch was laying on the road. I snapped a photo and on my way back picked up the branch. Your guess is better than mine when it comes to identifying the tree/bush/shrub this comes from. More photographs and some photoshop later I have a sort of tribute to VanGogh's Almond Blossoms series. (More on that can be found in the ever faithful Wikipedia.) What do I want to say? 1. Branches are interesting as a  concept. 2. Learning how to graft plants is one of the cooler things I learned in college.                                                               3. I need to brush up on my photoshop skills.