Quaint

BLOG | MOVING

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:34:00 +0000

how many times have you read this lately, or maybe even written it?

wow, i didn't intend to take such a long blog break. i've been [fill in the blank], but hope to get back to regularly posting from now on.

me, too. i'm not sure what has happened to blogging in general (could it really be twitter & instagram?), but for me after charlie passed away almost a year ago my heart just wasn't in 'quaint handmade' anymore. it felt like this chapter had come to a close, but i really enjoy making friends through our blog and the thought of ending it made me very sad. we've been through a lot together over the years and this space has always been important to us.

so, i was thinking maybe we can just move our bloghouse to another location to see what it's like? i've recently set-up a new blog on tumblr that will pretty much contain the same content just in a new setting. and, although i love my iphone, it's mostly going to be photos using my regular camera because i saw a big difference in quality when putting together our 2012 blurb book. i really hope you will visit us there for our next chapter, which i hope will involve actually traveling someplace on a plane for the first time in many years :).

xo, cindy

ps the photos were taken at the park avenue armory earlier this month when we visited
ann hamilton's event of a thread, which was very cool.

COUNTRY | FALL FOLIAGE

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:37:00 +0000

photos taken with iphone

we recently visited my brother in new jersey and we never really know what's in store for us, but it's likely to involve communing with nature. these snaps were taken along the ramapo river and one walk around the lake was good enough for me because i really wanted to go to the curtain shop :).

xo, cindy

LIFE | BE OPTIMISTIC

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:03:00 +0000

new york botanical garden

so far, this year has not been ours. in fact, to be frank, it's kicking our asses. first with charlie's passing, then a few months later i was in the emergency room with eye problems that are lingering, and in september scott was there followed by a three day, 14 hour, 10 minute stay in the hospital. he's better now, but it was really scary and coming home alone on those days, pure misery.

but, today's horoscope might be words to live by from here on out -

'you have a great future but for some reason you seem more concerned with your past at the moment. put yesterday and last year out of your mind completely. what's done is done and cannot be undone.'

ok, i'll try.

xo, cindy

ps most of my photos from the past month are on instagram and i'm not sure about posting some here, too. duplicative? mobile photography is definitely fun with its instantaneous results, but it is killing my blog, and i don't think i'm the only one.

COUNTRY | EDITH WHARTON'S PLACE

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 15:12:00 +0000

edith wharton's estate & gardens in lenox, massachusetts.

view from the terrace.

lush & cushiony grass stairs take you from the garden to the terrace.

beautiful outdoor rooms.

pretty shady spots.

butterfly bushes swarming with monarch butterflies. i've never seen so many and if you just stood still they would come to you.

pretty dining room featuring wonderful art.

place setting with a penchant for purple.

inviting drawing room.

edith's bedroom and my favorite room in the house. so light and airy.

my wedding dress was made with dotted swiss voile just like these curtains and i think i would love a pair for our guest room.

library featuring edith's pride & joy book collection.

stable currently being restored.

lovely ferns with a wonderful ground cover.

last weekend we traveled 100 miles north to deliver 100 pieces from our china collection to an auction house. although it seems to be taking forever & takes a lot of work, downsizing our things feels good, but this step also feels like going to las vegas as you really don't know what will happen in an auction. while we were there we visited the pretty berkshire area of massachusetts, which was highlighted by a visit to edith wharton's estate, the mount. it is so beautiful and i'm just glad i don't have to downsize a place that size.

it's hard to believe summer is just about over and notice the days getting a little bit shorter day by day. not really up for travel this year, we've spent most of the summer working around our place and hope we will have an indian summer this year so we can get outdoors a bit more in the coming days. hope you enjoyed your summer and have a wonderful weekend!

xo, cindy

TOWN | CENTRAL PARK

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 15:53:00 +0000

photos taken with iphone

this space has been quiet not because i was watching the olympics almost non-stop, or because we've been sprucing up our place a bit, or because of the heat, but rather because i didn't have any photos that weren't previously posted on instagram. no new photos = no blog post.

these pictures were taken in central park this weekend and that public pool looks so inviting, especially after a canoe ride. can't believe it's already mid-august. where did the summer go?

xo, cindy

ps the song home by phillip phillips was played a lot during the olympics and i love it. home is definitely where we've been a lot, lately.

TOWN | FERRY RIDE(S)

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 20:31:00 +0000

two weekends in a row we hopped on the east river ferry headed for different destinations and everyone who visits nyc should give it a try. taking the ferry provides great views, is very relaxing and you can get on and off at different places with ease (no subway stairs).

the first weekend we visited photoville in brooklyn bridge park and although it was super-hot the exhibit was really interesting. different artists set up their work in shipping containers, which led to a broad variety of displays.

gems by jane lindsay featured mug shots from the maricopa, arizona sheriff's office in tintype form and you can read her artist's statement about the piece here.

the brooklyn bridge really is so beautiful.

some street art actually painted on the street by david ellis in dumbo, brooklyn (see the full painting here).

cool mural.

the second weekend we took the ferry to governors island, which is located south of manhattan and offers, among other things, the most incredible views of the financial district and new jersey.

only accessible by ferry during the summer months, the island is just 2.2 miles around and features a variety of fun events like art workshops for children, glass blowing demonstrations and jazz age lawn parties where people get dressed up from the period.

you can rent bicycles or trollies to peddle around, which i was doing while taking this photo.

there's currently wonderful sculptures by mark di suvero on loan from storm king.

and, a gorgeous view of the statue of liberty and staten island ferry. sure i had visions of gilligan's island while on what was a two hour ferry ride round trip, but doing new things in your own town ain't so bad. next up, maybe top of the rock for some night time skyline views.

xo, cindy

TOWN | HAPPY DAY!

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 20:25:00 +0000

we found the scale model of the statue of liberty in bronze on 61st street & madison avenue purely by chance a few weeks ago. it's made by using the original frederic-auguste bartholdi plaster mold and is so interesting to see all of the details in this pretty lady up close. the second photo is just a circular parking garage at the local mall and was nice to find it empty. for those who celebrate, happy fourth of july, and for everyone else, happy hump day :)!

xo, cindy

TOWN | NEW BLOOMS

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:06:00 +0000

peony | snapdragons | hydrangeas | pansies | grasshoppers (sneakers)

i have to admit i'm kind of bored with the places we go and the things we do. even in nyc you can find yourself in a rut, so this weekend we're planning on taking the east river ferry to brooklyn bridge park to see photoville and tom fruin's super-cool water tower. i hope to take some photos with my real camera for a change and hope i still know how to use it. enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

TOWN | CITY SURVIVAL

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 14:09:00 +0000

in the city, summer may mean running through a sprinkler on a hot day to cool off, or a ride on an elevated subway similar to a roller coaster, although raising your arms up might have a different connotation. holding on, of course :).

xo, cindy

ps i really like keane's new album strangeland. tom chaplain's voice is so beautiful to me. i love the song day will come -

some days set your world on fire,
and some days they sink like stones,
that’s when your heart will cry out,
until your body is numb,
and the night will try to tempt you,
but the day will come.

brother don’t hang your head,
until your distance is run,
‘cause though it seems so far away,
you know the day will come.

COUNTRY | SUMMER SOLSTICE

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:58:00 +0000

think it's time to jump back into the blogging water on this first day of summer, but slowly, slowly as it's been a while and the cool water takes some getting used to.

these pics were taken with my iphone and i like to process them with vsco cam. although much better, i'm still having some eye problems and looking at a large computer screen with a blurry floater in my eye is a challenge. a tiny phone is much better and why i've been hanging out over on instagram a lot, lately.

happy longest day of the year!

xo, cindy

COUNTRY | MONET'S GARDEN

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 21:14:00 +0000

the new york botanical garden has a lovely monet-inspired garden on display and the vibrant colors are wonderful. love that green, too. enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

ps looking forward to listening to the new album from missy higgins and the new band to me called nada surf. love the video for when i was young.

ART | LONGHOUSE RESERVE

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:33:00 +0000

spring gardens & contemporary art at longhouse reserve.

the house.

dale chihuly's cobalt reeds.

buckminster fuller and john kuhtik's fly's eye dome.

sol lewitt's irregular progression high #7.

bronze stacks by peter voulkos.

isamu noguchi's sunstone.

unsure of artist.

yoko ono's play it by trust.

sweet pool.

we recently spent a weekend in east hampton and visited longhouse reserve, which is the most wonderful public garden designed by jack lenor larsen. thoughtful and tranquil, the garden incorporates his impressive art collection in spaces that feel like rooms in a museum. we've been going to the hamptons for years and it was nice to find something new to see & share.

xo, cindy

COUNTRY | PINK TREE PEONIES

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:04:00 +0000

these pics were taken at the new york botanical garden the day after i went to the emergency room for the first time ever because i was suddenly seeing spots and lightening flashes out of the side of my left eye. the flashes seem to be gone, but not the spots. apparently, it's part of the aging process associated with nearsightedness, and i say a hearty ugh, although i'd rather say something that rhymes with yuck. enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

TOWN | CENTRAL PARK

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:56:00 +0000

over the past two months we've had one weekend of pure fun and it started by spending friday the 13th with jen on her birthday. it was a lucky day filled with beautiful sunny skies as we took a photo crawl through northern central park and the conservancy followed by a nice lunch. i'm looking forward to doing more fun things again as we finish packing up charlie's apartment and get ready to turn over the keys this week, which is bittersweet for sure.

xo, cindy

ps i've always thought twitter + instagram = blog killer and now that i've experienced both it kind of seems to be true. it's so easy to take a photo with a camera phone and then upload/tweet about it, but using my 'real' camera is still the best and finding a way to use both without being repetitive is the goal.

LIFE | SWEET INDULGENCE

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:24:00 +0000

i've wanted a vintage sterling silver loving cup for a long time, but they're hard to find or large or banged up or expensive. last week, after having the routine medical test i've been putting off since last fall, i saw this tiny one awarded to the winner of a tennis tournament in england in the 1940s and could not resist bringing it home. it's not something i need at all, but life's too short not to indulge oneself from time to time, right?

enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

ps the little white book contains charlie & helen's wedding photos. it is so sweet and quite modest compared to what people do today.

LIFE | CHANGE THE DISPLAY

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:25:00 +0000

i've always thought of personal blogging as a two way street. i say hi from our bloghouse and we chat. then, i visit yours and we chat some more. as hard as i try lately, it's become hard to do both, but i wanted to at least change the window dressing around our place.

when i feel lonely and too isolated, i check in over on twitter and recently got a new iphone, so i'm also playing with instagram, which is very addicting.

xo, cindy

ps the bottles are from charlie's collection and were picked up for auction this weekend. we are so grateful he had someone working with him on downsizing his collection because even now it is quite substantial. the cobalt blue is from helen's collection and we're struggling to find a home for all 200 pieces of it minus these two. i suppose you could say we've got the blues in more ways than one.

COUNTRY | TROPICS & DESERT

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:00:00 +0000

thank you for your loving comments and emails regarding our dear charlie. although this part of life is hard, we don't feel so alone knowing we have friends who cared about him and us. i just wanted to end the week with some photos taken earlier this year in the conservatory at the new york botanical garden, which always provides us with some peace & tranquility in this hectic city. enjoy your weekend.

xo, cindy

LIFE | OUR LOSS

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:45:00 +0000

Charlie Krikawa | 1923-2012

i'm sorry to say that after a week in the hospital, scott's dad charlie passed away last weekend from congestive heart failure. people at the wake said he was never the same after helen passed away a few years ago and it does seem as though he died of a broken heart.

with no offense to our own parents, my brother and i considered charlie to be our favorite in many ways. he thought we were very talented and always encouraged us. my brother is great at taking things apart and putting them back together again and charlie loved to hear about his latest projects. he's the one who always said i should have a shop, although i'm sure he meant it in the traditional sense.

although he retired long ago, charlie had a furniture store in his neighborhood for many years and people remembered him. they would stop him on the street to tell him they still had pieces purchased in his store 25+ years ago. so many people, including the cutest gray-haired ladies, have been telling us what a wonderful guy he was and with heavy hearts we agree.

xo, cindy

CRAFT | SELF-PUBLISHED

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

ever since getting a dslr in 2008, i've created a blurb book each year with some of our favorite photos. our blog is a handy resource for reminiscing, but a book is much nicer to flip through. i like digital magazines, but print is still my preference.

going through a year's worth of photos is onerous, so one of the benefits of doing a 365-project is having a partially edited set of favorite images. this year i'm doing a weekly 365-project and hope to build the book as the year goes by with an emphasis on the hope part.

xo, cindy

ps i saw this video by walk off the earth on jane's blog and love it. now that's teamwork and the girl's voice is so good.

HOME | LOVE BLOOMS

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

sometimes, i am really a pain in the tookus (butt). there, i've said it and on valentine's day no less (keeping it real). i try not to want flowers around this 'holiday' (expensive), but as the day gets closer it's useless (weak). i love flowers (dna).

when i heard about the nicolette camille & saipua pop-up shop i made my case (sad face) even though scott had different ideas (spoiler). getting this bouquet home on the subway was quite interesting (excuse me, pardon me), but somehow we managed doing so without having it torn to bits (barely). i was a little worried it wouldn't last as the flowers are kind of fancy (delicate), but with a little rearranging they still look beautiful (phew).

i'm just lucky scott puts up with me after all these years (patience of a saint). hope you have a lovely day (enjoy it)!

xo, cindy

ps the storycorps animated shorts are adorable and this love story from danny & annie will touch your heart (get your tissues).

TOWN | EARLY SUNSET

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

in the winter, scott leaves for work in the dark and comes home in the dark, but each day has been getting a few minutes longer as we get closer to spring. so, in the meantime, one good thing about the shorter days is finding a pretty sunset at around 5 pm (happy hour) vs. waiting until 8 pm (bedtime, almost).

xo, cindy

TOWN | CHINESE NEW YEAR

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

this weekend we went to the chinese new year parade in flushing, queens, which is home to one of the largest chinese and east asian populations in nyc. just a short subway ride away, 2012 is the year of the dragon and the parade was great with lots of color, traditional costume, marching bands and fireworks.

but, the parade was not the best part of the visit. the seafood markets & ethnic food there are incredible! it's like going to a different world as most things are not in english and we found an enormous supermarket with all kinds of asian food products like pocky. we will definitely be going back to try and figure out what's what very soon.

the steamed pork dumplings in the new world mall food court were delicious and we brought home a dozen crabs to cook for charlie for his superbowl celebration and a celebration it was, indeed. thank you new york giants for winning the big one. make 2012 the year of the giant dragon :).

xo, cindy

ps love this new song from kathleen edwards and her sweet, sweet voice.

LIFE | FASHIONHESTA

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:59:00 +0000

bergdorf goodman windows, nyc.

a few weeks ago charlie decided he wanted to treat himself to new shoes. great! being a new yorker they are all black and include: slippers, sneakers and dress shoes. i'm not sure why he needed the dress shoes, but he insisted.

last weekend, we took him out to lunch and he was wearing the dress shoes, which kind of remind me of herman munster. we head out to the restaurant about 250' door to door and charlie's moving pretty fast. it's all good. then, just as we turn the corner he stops and says "oh no, why did i wear these shoes? it's the first time i took them out of the box and they don't bend. i should have worn my sneakers!" and from that point on he stops every 10' to say the same thing. oy!

fortunately, we made it back, but i don't think we're ever going to see those shoes again and that's fine with us. this weekend we hope to go to the chinese new year parade in flushing, queens and will not be wearing dress shoes :). have a great weekend & don't forget to break in those shoes!

xo, cindy

COUNTRY | GARDEN SNOW

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:30:00 +0000

just a few more photos from the one snowy weekend we've had so far this year taken at the new york botanical garden. to get to the bronx river waterfall, we could have either hiked through the snow-covered woods or walked along the snow-covered pavement. to be on the safe side, we took the pavement, which reminds me of adele. chasing pavements was the obvious choice, but then i heard this version of set fire to the rain recorded live at the royal albert hall and it is incredible. the strings. chills.

xo, cindy

town | snowy central park

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

when i look back on photos of snow, the atmosphere seems so lovely. a sublime blend of tranquility and fun. but, at the time they're being taken, i'm encouraging scott to hang in there as we seem to be walking for miles while thinking 'just get this over with'. the problem with that is snow is so damn photogenic, especially in b&w, so we miss it when it's gone.

this weekend we hope to see gallery shows featuring photos by vivian maier, flickr friend trish mayo, and check-up on what charlie & his home health aide, shakira, have been up to. enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

Quaint

BLOG | MOVING

COUNTRY | FALL FOLIAGE

LIFE | BE OPTIMISTIC

COUNTRY | EDITH WHARTON'S PLACE

TOWN | CENTRAL PARK

TOWN | FERRY RIDE(S)

TOWN | HAPPY DAY!

TOWN | NEW BLOOMS

TOWN | CITY SURVIVAL

COUNTRY | SUMMER SOLSTICE

COUNTRY | MONET'S GARDEN

ART | LONGHOUSE RESERVE

COUNTRY | PINK TREE PEONIES

TOWN | CENTRAL PARK

LIFE | SWEET INDULGENCE

LIFE | CHANGE THE DISPLAY

COUNTRY | TROPICS & DESERT

LIFE | OUR LOSS

CRAFT | SELF-PUBLISHED

HOME | LOVE BLOOMS

TOWN | EARLY SUNSET

TOWN | CHINESE NEW YEAR

LIFE | FASHION*HE*STA

COUNTRY | GARDEN SNOW

town | snowy central park

LIFE | FASHIONHESTA