Turning Toward

I've moved!

2013-08-10T22:45:00.002-07:00

Please come check out my new blog at kara-tanoue.blogspot.com and update your bookmarks!

Inspired: Red (Hong Yi)

2013-04-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hong Yi, a Malaysian artist who goes by the nickname "Red", describes herself as an artist-architect who "likes to paint, but not with a paintbrush." Instead, she uses all sorts of found materials to create imaginative portraits and whimsical scenes. Her work has gained much acclaim recently on the Internet, in part due to her ability to capture well-known figures in creative and evocative mediums. She currently resides in Shanghai and works for an Australian architectural firm. Her most recent project, "31 Days of Creativity with Food," consisted of a daily art piece constructed solely from food on the backdrop of a white plate. These are few of my favorite pieces from her work:

Cucumber Landscape (made from one cucumber)

All You Need Is Love (cherry tomatoes, nori, soy sauce)

Giant Squid Attack! (squid and squid ink)

"The Wave" (nori, long grain rice)

Portrait of Jay Chou, in coffee

The making of the Jay Chou portrait

Go check out the rest of Red's work on her website (it's totally worth it!)

Plus she runs a great blog!

Inspired: Marisa Redondo

2013-03-22T07:53:00.000-07:00

Marisa Redondo creates beautiful organic paintings inspired by the natural beauties of her current surroundings in Northern California. Working with oils and watercolors, she seeks to capture the unique patterns and colors of nature (which she does quite well). I find her choice of colors and the intricacy of detail in her work fascinating. You can find all of Redondo's work in her Etsy store, River Luna. These are a few of my favorites:

All of Marisa Redondo's work can be found in her Etsy shop

A [Concerto] for Sunday: Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85

2013-03-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

[Mom, this post is for you]

I think there comes a point (or many points) in a child's life when one must admit that their parents were right, at least about a few things, or (more likely) about many things. This is one of those moments.

Growing up, especially in my teenage years, I didn't quite understand my parents' insistence on listening to classical music. As an avid pianist, I had a certain appreciation for a well-written classic. But must we listen to KBAQ every Sunday morning? Must we find a classical radio station on every roadtrip? Do we have to break out the symphonies when cleaning the house? Can't we listen to something else for a change? [accompanied by the perfected thirteen-year-old eye role]

I was sick of playing Chopin's Rondo during piano lessons. I didn't want to listen to any more Bach. The musc was old, the masters were dead: Let them rest in peace.

There is this process, however, of maturation that (quite fortunately!) begins to reshape and remodel tastes of the adolescent brain and (oh, thank God!) remove the voracious appetite for catchy, repetitive, mind-numbing pop music- a process that might lead one to eventually look in the mirror and discover (how did this happen?!) that one quite resembles her mother... [In some regards this might be every girl-child's nightmare, but not all inherited traits are undesirable]

All of this is to say, by the time we decide to have children, I told Nate the other day, I will likely carry on the family tradition of torturing my children with that dreaded classical music. (He's not quite on board with this yet, but just wait- you'll see....). **[note: in my mind this child-having will not happen yet for about ten years, just in case anyone is getting ahead of themselves.] Tucson's classical music station, with its predictable, yet strangely comforting, baritone intonements of the title, composer, and performer of each piece by a seemingly-omnipotent yet unremarkable announcer, now has a home on my radio presets and, though it must play second fiddle to NPR, still manages to beat out that local "mix" station a good chunk of the time [in my "old age" and with this newly discovered phenomenon of commuting, I have no patience for listening to the same four songs on repeat]. We went to the (excellent) concert of the UA Chamber Orchestra, not just because of a friend's membership in said orchestra, but out of an actual longing for some lovely evening entertainment.

And thus, with no further ado, I present to you Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, performed by the talented Jacqueline Du Pre. Enjoy:

(Take that, ya kids with your blasted auto-tuned racket you call music.)

Weekend Links

2013-03-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

A book story by Nina Katchadourian

It's the weekend! (And the end is in sight for my thesis!) Spring has arrived in Tucson, and with it comes the reminder that Summer is not far behind. So begins the short window of perfect Arizona weather, after the chill has left the air but before the sun begins to scorch us. To celebrate, I've compiled this collection of links for you from around the web. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm out to get some sunshine.

Tohono Chul is having their Annual Spring Plant Sale (and this is where I'll be tomorrow- succulents!)

Book Title Stories

Beautiful Bay Lights in San Francisco

I'm thinking of trying this recipe out for breakfast tomorrow

Cool snake rings

Make your own lovely earrings

A real time map of cyber attacks

Love this warehouse-turned-apartment

A handy guide to pairing food and wine

Meant to be?

A fantastic South Philly abode

This map is awesome

Inspired: Maja Lindberg

2013-03-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, the hedgehog illustration is the primary reason I found this artist (Hedgehogs are my catnip). Anyways, back on track: Maja Lindberg is a designer/illustrator from Sweden who draws ethereal portraits of animals and fairytales and other such things. I find her use of light most striking in her illustrations- an effect that gives a depth to her dreamlike figures. These are a few of my favorites from her pieces. (You can check out all of her work for sale in her Etsy shop here.)

All of these and more can be found in Maja's Etsy Shop

The kind of post inspired by too many hours of air travel

2013-03-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Night Lights by Beata

The sun fell below the horizon long ago but still
along the mountains hangs a choking orange glow that
burns the sky with bands of blue remnants of day
last lingering on unwilling to succumb before the
sweeping creeping darkness
engines hum a steady cacophony drowning the simplest
thought smothering sense dulling mind to even
most jolting terror as she looks across
clouds to see light has gone diving into impending
blackness and fireflies dancing below
(Afterglow, author unknown)

Songs for Sunday: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

2013-03-03T10:02:00.001-07:00

I have to thank NPR for this one. After hearing a charming interview on All Things Considered with Aly Spaltro, known on stage as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, on the drive home, I just had to go find a bit more of her music. This girl has an incredible voice, and her brand new album Ripley Pine is fantastic. I highly recommend getting yourself a copy. If these videos aren't enough to convince you, check out her live session with The Wild Honey Pie (and download a free copy of her performance).

Best Reads of the Week

2013-02-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Photo by Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Members of a Haitian Ministry of Health body-collection team unload 14 bodies of cholera victims

Death by Treacle: Are we overexposed to emotion?

A housing development experiment in Mumbai: What happens when the rich and the poor live next door to each other?

Who exactly are we fighting? Al Qaeda and the "War on Terror" in 2013

Negligence in Haiti: The United Nations and Cholera

What makes a charity? What sorts of organizations deserve tax exempt status?

The legacy of C. Everett Koop: Examining the impact of our most outspoken surgeon general

Sudden Death: When death comes for the unprepared

Domestic Witness: A photo essay unmasking domestic violence

Inspired: World Press Photo Awards

2013-02-28T13:36:00.001-07:00

The results of the World Press Photo Awards were released a few weeks ago, and the winners are stunning. Out of 103,481 photographs from 5,666 photographers, a few winning photos were chosen by an international jury in a number of categories ranging from sports to news to daily life. These were a few of the photos I found most striking, but all of them are so incredible. Head over to the World Press website to check out the rest of the winning images for 2013.

Gaza Burial, Paul Hensen, 20 Nov 2013
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories
World Press Photo of the Year, 1st Prize, Spot News Singles

Joy at the End of the Run, Wei Seng Chen, 12 Feb 2012
Batu Sangkar, West Sumatra, Indonesia
1st Prize, Sports Action Single

Emperor Penguins, Paul Nicklen, 18 Nov 2011
Rose Sea, Antarctica
1st Prize, Nature Stories

Cross Country Steeplechase, Roman Vondrous, 15 Sep 2012
Pardubice, Czech Republic
1st Prize, Sports Action Stories

At the Dandora Dump, Micah Albert, 03 April 2012
Nairobi, Kenya
1st Prize, Contemporary Issues Singles

Want to know how they picked the winners? Check out these interviews with the jury members.

Songs for Sunday: The Roots and Sufjan Stevens

2013-02-24T10:45:00.002-07:00

These four tracks, which comprise the Redford suite that concludes The Roots' Undun album, have been playing on repeat for about three days as I work on thesis edits. Love love love. (The rest of the album is pretty nice as well.)

On Confronting a Mental Disorder

2013-02-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Burn #210 by David Nadel

It is quite difficult to bluntly admit one's weakness, to lay bare one's closely-guarded, mangled pieces without excuse or explanation, without mounting some defense or plea of extenuating circumstances. Easier to lay charge on some environment factor, to impugn some abtruse agent-- school, work, weddings... or perhaps to construct some detailed analysis of the influencing factors. If this, this, and that coincide, then this failing is the inevitable result. Such constructions lead to false hopes: once this is done, all will be well and normal again; if we just make it till Christmas, till graduation, till the 5th of March, this won't bother us anymore.

But the circumstances change, the deadlines of change come and go, those influencing agents mysteriously fade away, and the gaping wound remains, unhealed, unchanged. More explanations can be sought, perhaps even convincingly found, but the facade begins to slip, paint peeling, frame sagging. Those willing to look will see the straining timbers beneath the plaster and cheerful signs. Much longer and down it falls.

The honesty begins with oneself, for the excuses, though to them told, are not so much made for the others. Acceptance of these flaws is often feigned but rarely carried to full term. It's the schedule or the assignment, the sheer number of demands or the short time in which they must be done- it must be. A change of scenery would cure it, but since there is so much to be done here now we must grit our teeth and suffer through. It's easier to believe this than to grapple with the fundamental shift required to cope with a permanent impediment.

Mental disorder is a term quite apt for application to anxiety and panic. One's thoughts are constantly asunder-- leaping from thought to thought and task to task propelled with an impending sense of doom. The inability to stop the mind leads to flurries of business, the harnessing of thoughts for productive activity or their preoccupation with stories and news of the day, for at the moment they are left to their own devices comes the overwhelming wave of dread, the paralyzing sense of failure, the seemingly prescient clarity that nothing will end well. These thoughts, if captured, are easily dismissed as irrational, but the feelings are not, nor the physiological response they provoke. The clenched jaw, the racing heart, the perspiring palms and quickening breath, the trembling frame, weighted chest, sudden faintness all spell fear, choking, inescapable fear. At the surface these fears bear names: the deadline-missing-fear, the offending-fear, the being-mistaken-fear. But at their heart something unnameable lies, no matter how often one tries to conjure it into words in the middle of the night. And after the weddings and paper deadlines, the moves and illnesses, the self-imposed deadlines, the thing remains, evidencing its persistence and forcing a new reckoning with the frustration and shame of admission that one cannot control one's own mind and hasn't the slightest idea how to change that.

The last few weeks have been full of projects, opportunities, exciting news, nasty flu, tasks checked off and more tasks to do, and they have brought with them the difficult realization that I have once again underestimated my anxiety disorder. My deadlines have passed, and the terror remains, whether the week is busy or calm, whether the deadlines are short or long, whether the project is going poorly or splendidly. It feels like a continual drowning: treading water on the good days, flailing and gasping on others, whittling away at the last shreds of patience, stealing any sense of hope or calm, wearing on the ability to function reasonably, trapping me in my own thoughts, unable to claw my way out of a perpetual state of semi-isolation. The feeling of having little to know control over one's thoughts leads to perpetual frustration and exhaustion. And at this point it is difficult to know how to cope with this unwanted companion. I know the practical steps: the breathing, the centering, the reframing; but such small tools seem vastly inadequate in the shadow of the monolith that towers above me, like spoons in a sinking ocean-liner. Still something else whispers that this is all in my head while another suggests that I am not trying hard enough. Another points out that hearing voices, metaphorical or not, is evidence enough for a lack of sanity. I wonder sometimes if turning toward pharmaceutical solutions would be a wise choice or a cop-out. The winning feeling seems to be paralysis.

Yet even with the realization of these last few weeks come comforts, most of all that even in this we have begun a marriage. In all honesty, it probably took a marriage to provoke the final blunt admission that things are wrong and cannot easily be righted. And though my anxieties wear on him-- the volatility, the crises, the moments of despair-- he says that he knew what he was getting into and that this does not change his love. Together we'll struggle through and find something that helps. It's by no means easy, but it is incredibly reassuring to not be alone.

Part of the practical reality of the moment means that I'm not sure how much I'll be writing at the moment. I'm beginning to learn that I need to give myself grace, and, with a house still half in boxes and a number of key school projects and important interviews coming up, I'm finding it necessary to carefully conserve my time and energy. I'm not sure how long this process of managing this anxiety will take or what it will look like, but I know it needs to happen now. And so I start and hope for the best.

Short Film: 3x3

2013-02-07T13:25:00.002-07:00

I love this wonderful little short film about an intrepid night janitor from Portuguese director Nona Rocha:

WINNER OF 14 AWARDS WORLDWIDE
Grande prémio ZON (portugal) | Cinema Jove Festival Internacional de Cine, Spain | Festival Internacional de Cine de Huesca, Espanha, Spain | Warsaw Film Festival, Polónia | Festival Internacional de Cinema do Algarve, Portugal | Odense International Film Festival, Dinamarca
Curtas Vila do Conde Festival Internacional de Cinema | Festival du Court Métrage de Bruxelles, Bélgica | Circuito Off Venice International Short Film Festival, Italy | Sapporo International Short Film Festival, Japan
Naoussa International Film Festival, Greece: 3rd Best Short Film, People's Choice Award
Festival Internacional de Cinema de Humor, Portugal: Menção Honrosa Curta Metragem de Ficção
Festival Iberico de Badajoz: Young audience award
Faial Filmes Fest Festival de Curtas das Ilhas, Portugal: Prémio RTP2 - Onda Curta
Golden Butterfly Prize for Best Direction at the 24th International Festival of Films for Children & Young Adults

A Late Song: Freelance Whales

2013-02-05T22:31:00.000-07:00

This is a bit past Sunday...and Monday too for that matter. My excuse: Deadlines have been looming and I've been buried in an avalanche of Russian essays (in Russian), GIS visualization (map-making in layman's terms), and trying to help put together a lecture that will convince a bunch of eighteen-year-olds that there is much more to studying applied political economy in Europe than study abroad excursions to Spain.

I'll be back tomorrow to write some and share some wonderful finds I've made in the past few days, but in the meantime I want to share this song from a great little band that my sister introduced me to, the Freelance Whales. Their closest relation in sound is probably Arcade Fire, another love of mine, with their astral sound and choice of instruments. Here's their song "Aeolus," performed live:

Freelance Whales performing Aeolus from their new album Diluvia, available now.
Get it on iTunes here: http://smarturl.it/freelancewhales
Find out more here: http://www.freelancewhales.com

Happy Friday!

2013-02-01T15:07:00.001-07:00

Tonari no Totaro by Victor Vercesi

It's finally the weekend! We're still unpacking, so that will probably take up the majority of our weekend. Plus, for the first day in a while, we get to sleep in tomorrow! Sleeping, eating, unpacking, cleaning, perhaps watching the Super Bowl- that will be our weekend. Just what we need after weeks of craziness. But before I go take a nap (or work on homework...), here are some links for you:

Love this Valentine's Day card

Maybe I'll make a Big Pancake for breakfast?

A beautiful little house with pops of color

This Totoro print is gorgeous

A pretty vintage clock

Make your own Masala tea

Lots and lots of business cards

Visualizing a designer's worst nightmare

How awesome is this chromatic typewriter?

A simple note

Have a wonderful weekend!

Best Reads of the Week

2013-01-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

Oh look! A new feature!

For those of you who don't know me well, to say I read quite a bit might be a bit of an understatement. Part of this voracious reading appetite comes from my area of study- when one studies international relations and civil conflict, one needs to stay up on what's happening in the world. The other part is most likely predisposed. When I was a kid, my mother discovered that the best motivation to get me to do my chores was to confiscate my books until they were done. (Seriously, I was the kid who didn't clean my room because I was too buried in a book. Grounding or banishment to my room wasn't an effective consequence in the least.) Anyways, I'll be posting a short list of my favorite articles and books that I've read each week on various topics. I'm sure my favorite news sources will become pretty obvious over time (Al Jazeera, The Economist, Slate, The New Yorker...), but I'll try to have a nice selection of well-written and interesting articles for you every week.

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite finds this week:

The harmful consequences of the quinoa craze may be over-exaggerated

An interview with President Obama

Two wonderful articles on Jane Austen and her legacy: Piece 1, Piece 2,

Google's attempt to map North Korea

Nonviolence for White People

Short Film: Dark Side of the Lens

2013-01-31T11:00:00.000-07:00

At the heart of "Dark Side of the Lens" is one man's struggle to capture the power and beauty of the ocean. After seeing some fairly big waves in person, I can't imagine going out there in that surf and trying to film it or photograph it. It must take some combination of adventurousness and insanity. But it seems he's doing what he loves:

Winner - Best Cinematography, Rhode Island International Film Festival, 2011 | Action Sports Category, Vimeo Awards 2012 | G-Raid Driven Creativity award - Professional Category | Best Cinematography, 5Point Film Festival 2011 | Grand Prize - Chamonix Film Festival 2011 | Best short - New York Surf Film Festival 2011 | Digital short of the Year, Surfer Poll | Relentless Short Stories 2011 | Amstel Surf Film Festibal, Peoples Choice award | Best short, Sheffield Adventure Film Festival | Best International Short, Canadian Surf Film Festival | Best Short, Waimea Ocean Film Festival

Wedding Sneak Peek

2013-01-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

The end of a wedding seemingly opens the floodgates for a torrent of wedding photo requests, one that I cannot quite satisfy since we still don't have all the official photos. However, we do have a few "sneak peek" photos generously provided by our lovely photographer as well as some wonderful shots from family and friends. Perhaps they can buy us another few weeks?

Photos by Thea-Grace Okimoto (our lovely photographer), Uncle Calvin, Uncle Jack

Inspired: Jennifer Booher

2013-01-29T12:38:00.003-07:00

Beachcombing No. 63, available on Etsy

Jennifer Booher, a denizen of Bar Harbor, is an art historian turned landscape architect who delves into the intersection of art and science. An avid beachcomber, she gathers and carefully arranges her finds into beautifully ordered photographs. She calls herself "part magpie, part squirrel, part scientist, and part historian" in her drive to collect, document, and research her findings as she transforms castaway flotsam into captivating fine art. Her work can be found in her Etsy shop, Quercus Design, or on her blog of the same name. These are a few of my favorite pieces of hers.

Beachcombing No. 52

Aluminum, Seaweed, Driftwood, Periwinkle

Beachcombing No. 55

All photographs belong to Jennifer Booher and can be purchased in her Etsy shop

On a Reception and Such

2013-01-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night we had our last wedding reception here at the lovely Tucson Museum of Art. The night was fun, relaxed, and festive, with great food and drinks and wonderful company. It marked the end of the last eight months of wedding planning, and I can't say that I'll miss it very much. I want to write a bit in the next few weeks about what I learned from the wedding process- about weddings, about marriage, about family and friends, and about myself. But for right now, I'm content to bask in the glow of the well-wishes and revel in the wonderful return of the routine. Never did a week of simple coursework and little things around the house seem so nice. For some long-awaited rest, I am thankful.

PS: All of these photos were taken by our wonderful, talented friend Blake and his fantastic camera

My mom made all our desserts from scratch! (And they were DELICIOUS)

We used Carte Blanche Catering and the food was awesome!

My best friend Hannah and I

Short Film: Mine Kafon

2013-01-24T11:44:00.001-07:00

Landmines are a huge problem around the world. Nearly invisible, buried in fields or along roads, landmine can kill for years after a conflict, rendering land unsuitable for farming or for habitation, and killing 15,000 to 20,000 people per year. The mines can be difficult, dangerous, and expensive to remove, making demining difficult in developing countries. However, Afghan designer Massoud Hassani has engineered a low cost, effective solution for demining in regions of Afghanistan. Check it out:

MINE KAFON is a 5th place Winner in the $200,000 GE/FOCUS FORWARD Filmmaker Competition. Watch the winners at http://www.focusforwardfilms.com/winners.
DIRECTOR: Callum Cooper
DOP: Michael Latham
CAMERA: Michael Latham, Mahmud Hassani, Callum Cooper
SLOW MOTION CAMERA: Ed Edwards
EDITOR: Anna Meller
COLOR GRADER: Chris Teeder
SOUND MIXER AND DESIGNER: Sandy Milne
TITLE DESIGNER: Ray O'Meara
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Bobby Kapur
PRODUCERS:Alicia Brown, Michael Latham, Callum Cooper
THANKS: Lucie Kalmar, Slowmo High Speed, Optimism Films
The RNLA explosive ordnance disposal service
Copyright Ardent Film Trust 2012

Find out more about this project on Hassani's website: massoudhassani.com. You can also read more about the project on their (fully-funded) Kickstarter page.

North Shore

2013-01-23T10:50:00.001-07:00

We made the drive out to Oahu's North Shore on a wet, stormy day when the clouds hung low across the mountains. The grey mist shrouded all but the road and a few glimpses of pineapples, coffee, and corn stretched out across the flat plains. As we hit the coast, the rain finally let up enough to promise a clear view of the surging surf that had closed the beaches for the last few days.

From Waimea to Pipeline to Laie Point, the sea pounded the shore under a blanket of grey skies. We wandered the shores, disregarding the wind in favor of a chance to try to capture that moment of breaking.

Laie Point provided the most haunting views, at the edge of the land, a glimpse north into nothing, knowing that from here only the Aleutian islands dared to rise above the sea.

After the shutters stopped, the wind carried on relentlessly, bringing with it another misting of rain. We stood bundled in our coats, content to watch the waves and wonder.

To Make: Terrarium

2013-01-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

DIY Terrarium via Project Wedding

As the artsy-crafty type, there's usually a list of at least three projects in the back of my mind that I'd like to complete if only I could manage to find the time. And since I'm finally taking a lighter semester (no writing-intensive classes for the first time since I started college!), I actually have the time to check some projects off the list. And thus here, in order of scheduled time of completion, are my projects for this spring (so far):

1. Finish the vases for the Tucson reception (expect a post next week)

2. Give the beloved bubble chandelier a facelift (in blue!)

3. Finish organizing the apartment

4. Learn how to grow mushrooms (I'm debating about trying this kit)

5. Create my own terrarium

For a while now, I've been fascinated by terrariums-- I love the idea of living decor. Plus Tucson is a perfect place to grow succulents. I'll probably find my glassware at one of my favorite thrift shops around here, but these lovely terrariums will be my inspiration:

Pyramid Terrarium, Jechory Glass Designs

Air plant terrarium, Sea and Asters

Universe terrarium, ABJ Glassworks

Suspended Tetra, Score and Solder

Glass terrariums, West Elm

Particularities

2013-01-21T12:37:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quite like significant life milestones or periods of extreme stress to shake out all sorts of things you never knew about yourself, or at least all those things you suspected but never wanted to admit to. Being the over-achiever that I am, I decided to roll at least of three of these events into a period of a few short months, and the result has been an avalanche of uninvited self-discovery. (A note to anyone tempted to try writing a thesis, getting married, moving apartments, and graduating all around the same time: It will unleash insanity. Be forewarned.)

Probably the most uninvited of these discoveries: I am a very particular person.

I think I've suspected this, but I like to masquerade as the happy-go-lucky, go-with-the-flow, laid-back type. Do whatever you want-- I don't care... Oh, that can go anywhere. Routines? Oh, I don't have those. There's nothing like combining your life with another person's to quickly shatter that illusion.

It drives me nuts when people squeeze from the middle of the toothpaste tube instead of the end of it. I really do want the furniture to match. I need at least one hour a day, preferably in the morning, to sit quietly, read, or do something by myself without interruption to preserve my sanity. Dirty dishes need to be in the sink, in the dishwasher, or washed immediately (none of this countertop-lolly-gagging).

This sort of particularity is actually normal, okay, and even good. Everyone has their own personal quirks that create unique little particularities that make clutter on the coffee table odious or form a tolerance for squash only when it's baked with butter and maple syrup. In fact, if I had to hazard a guess, I would say that most of those happy-go-lucky, laid-back types out there are probably closet people-pleasers like myself. It's not that we don't have particularities, we'd just rather hide them than risk offending others. Of course, such facades can only last so long, and they can crumble in quite ugly ways. Rather, it is best to put away the pretenses and expose one's idiosyncrasies with grace. Some will have to be put away for the time- the dishes may always find their way to the countertop, but better than the kitchen table; the toothpaste tube may always be slightly squished around its waist, but such things will not matter for more than a few moments. Other particularities can be accommodated with ease-- so be it.

Most of all, I've learned that one must release that false hope that everything will one day be "just so." Right now the house is filled with boxes-- hopefully in a week it will no longer be, but it may never be completely spotless. Lived-in houses rarely are for more than a day or so. Best instead to focus on pursuing the reasonable: a comfortable, inviting place to host friends and family or to simply enjoy now being two together from formerly-autonomous ones. With that I think I can be content.

Image: Merrily Merrily Home by Ashley G, available on Etsy

A Song for Sunday: Of Monsters and Men

2013-01-20T11:24:00.003-07:00

We have successfully moved, and now we just have the daunting task of unpacking all the boxes... Listening to Of Monsters and Men makes the task a little bit better:

Of Monsters And Men perform "King And Lionheart" Live @ Billboard's Tastemakers Session