feels like monday again.

it is so gray and gross outside. i am trying to remember last year at this time, but i must have blocked it out because i cannot at all recall anything about the end of march 2008 or what the weather was like. suffice it to say, i am sick of this winter stuff. and i want to get out of town.
but this little guy has cheered me up!
and led me to more laughs here. i am particularly enthralled with the twins, their matching backpacks, and their little adventures (scroll down to see the story).
i would have actually posted images, but i couldn't get them to work.
the genius behind the birdies is lauren alane.
you can find her here: shop, blog, website

workspace.

i am totally fascinated with peoples' jobs. i think it comes from the dissatisfaction i feel about my own current job--the feeling that i am a little trapped, but at the same time dreaming and planning about the job i want and feel i am meant to have. this makes me insanely curious about the jobs that other people work, to the extent that i have considered interviewing the people i interact with on a daily basis about their jobs, how they ended up in them, if they like them, if they make enough money to live on, and on and on and on.
so when i discovered the most recent project by photographer joseph o. holmes, i was in heaven. eeek!!! i am so interested by these spaces where people spend so much of their time and do whatever work it is they do.

found via enormous champion, via design*sponge

monday, monday.

i am totally dragging today, with the continual gray weather outside, and a winter storm advisory or warning or something. . . dreaming a lot about my dream life, and dream space, and this image (via sfgirlbybay--bless her and her deco files) just speaks to me. and i do not use the phrase "speaks to me" in normal conversation. or ever. i wish i was in this room today. sigh.


i am totally dragging today, with the continual gray weather outside, and a winter storm advisory or warning or something. . . dreaming a lot about my dream life, and dream space, and this image (via sfgirlbybay--bless her and her deco files) just speaks to me. and i do not use the phrase "speaks to me" in normal conversation. or ever. i wish i was in this room today. sigh.

speaking of rob ryan.

seriously, check him out! site :: shop :: blog
(thank you, katy elliot)

spiritual mansions.

i am super-proud of my friends and their band, spiritual mansions. just enjoyed some good listening last night at the red stag. i am not a music critic, so i have no enthralling words to describe their music or style, except i like it and it's great.





it's moments like this when i wish my blog had a million readers who would all go over to the band's myspace page and check them out, catapulting them to new heights of fame. sigh. maybe someday (i promise i'm not delusional, just a dreamer). i was sitting behind the band, so all the photos are of their backs, pretty much. but again, playing with my little digital camera is a huge source of entertainment for me.
it's also moments like this that make me proud to live in minneapolis and be a part of a community of great art and music, if not specifically me yet, at least vicariously through my talented friends.

um. . . .

i just had a bit of an amazon shopping spree, and bought this book, because i saw that other simplicity-loving bloggers are drooling over it.


i think i was distracted when i bought it, because instead of actually looking at the table of contents, i hit "proceed to checkout" and "place order".
then i looked at the table of contents.
some highlights:
dry stone walling
hedge laying
making a fire without matches
catching eels
building wooden boats
skinning a rabbit
plucking a fowl

on the upside, i might be able to make use of things like:
brewing beer
making cider
making butter
making cheese
candying peel

also, the strange stuff will probably be interesting, at least. i will let you know when i get it!
besides, who doesn't want to be friends with rob ryan (cover artist/paper-cutter genius)?

still giggling, one week later.

charles minor: "what's a two-way petting zoo?"
jim halpert: "you pet the animals and they pet you back."

seriously, i think it's the best office line ever.

oh, craigslist.

when summer gets here, i must move. but i can't wait until then to look for new little homes on craigslist. as i was browsing tonight, i found some details that cracked me up a little:
2 bedroom
1 Bathroom
1000 sq ft.
Cozy gas fireplace
In Unit, free washer and dryer
extra storage available
2 off-street parking spaces
Fenced in yard for animals
Fire Pit for fun

i understand that the fenced in yard is for keeping the animals, but what exactly are we supposed to do with the fun? burn it in the fire pit? just corral it there, try to not let it escape? can i bring the fun into the house or does it need to strictly remain in the fire pit?

box lunch.

although the weather has been nothing but gray this week, i have had a bit of color in my food this week-some natural, some not.
i do love a good breakfast sandwich, and of course surdyk's does not disappoint. let's talk about surdyk's for a second. it is becoming increasingly apparent for many reasons that i either need to a) stop going there or b) start working there. i am there at least once a day, often twice. i never walk away without something, even if it their 75c coffee--which is really good, by the way. also, my job is getting to me. it really, really drains my soul. and my brain. i have spent this whole week working on feeling positive about it, but i am coming to the conclusion (which i had a hunch about before) that i am just not cut out for boring office jobs. or office jobs at all, probably. so it has crossed my mind to check on the employment opportunities there.
anyway, the food. . . .
we also have for your enjoyment, an orange, cut just the way i like it. and left-over red velvet goodness.

wishing i still played piano.

this adorable, hilarious little item was on etsy's front page today and totally cracked me up. i love it. (does anyone else wish there was a word in the english language that falls somewhere between like and love? something to differentiate between the giddiness i feel when i see things like this and the enduring LOVE i have for my friends and family? maybe i will start something. if 'OMG' can become common lingo, i can make up a good 'tweener word, right?)

check out this delightful little shop: pulsewidth

sigh.

i actually really wish i were here with all the other printmaking nerds. i told myself i would go, since it's so close, but i have not been prolific at all lately (i think i made one real print last year--yikes), and somehow that translated into not having anything to share and thinking i would show up and feel like a fraud. not that anyone else would even notice, but still. and i didn't want to go alone. or with strangers.
i feel like i have been in a funk for a long time, and i need to snap out of it.
thus ends the string of introspective blog entries.

road trip.

this is what i want to do today, instead of going to work. well, one of thousand things i want to do instead of going to work. my attempted zen attitude about all things work-related is rapidly going down the tubes. it takes so much energy to try to be positive about it! and i am a positive person, in general (right? unless i'm dillusional).
just realized that tomorrow is the full* moon, no wonder i want to run wild.
as a distraction, though, isn't this photo amazing? i am loving flickr lately, and this guy's photos are all quite captivating.

image found here.

*and by full, i mean new, now that mel has set me straight. i guess i have no excuse for my wild-wantings.

i still don't take pictures of people.

i made a batch of amy butler's red velvet cupcakes for the party on saturday. mini ones.and then, at the party, ended up taking about a million pictures of the lights through the window. i can't decide yet if they look like they are actually great or really not great at all. i got a big kick out of taking them, and my impulse says i like looking at them, so that's going to be enough for me.

a monday rant.

it's monday, and rainy, which is actually nice. however, i have nothing to share or show you. it was a party-party weekend, and i finally got the press working. so later, i will have some photos to share, and my first brilliant letterpress experiment, but for now i just have quiet.

unless, of course, i say what i'm really thinking, and that is: even though we are all bloggers and on the internet, why does no one seem to edit their content? i agree that if you sell stationery, you should not talk about your stationary line, and would it really kill you to proofread your content before publishing it? does no one care about these things anymore? i could have a career as a blog proofreader if they did.
humph. i am feeling like a spinster lately. perhaps this is just more evidence.

spring!

they are saying on the radio that it has snowed in mn this morning, so it's not as if the official start of spring really means anything. but it is a good mile marker anyway. i wish this is what it looked like outside my window:

(photo found here, via here)

what do i call it?

in an effort to create interest and continuity, i have decided to implement the regularity of featured blogging content (wow, that was a stuffy sentence!). so let us commence with the inaugural installment of cube food* (a temporary name, i am terrible at names. i did name my business after myself, after all. any good suggestions would be greatly appreciated).
i have chosen thursday as the day for cube food, because thursday is my favorite day of the week and this is a favorite thing i am doing here. so, without any further ado, i give you. . . what i have been eating at work lately!
ooh, maybe a little further ado: the cheese is yummy, yummy driftless sheep cheese. i usually go for the donnay dairy goat cheese at surdyk's, but apparently all the donnay goats are about to have some kids and aren't milking. the driftless is really good, although i do crave that perfect, tangy chevre (it's the best in the world). i topped it with the greens and curry chicken.
the chocolate is some amazing thing with cocoa nibs and nutmeg.






*also, almost immediately after i so carefully and proudly scheduled this post to publish, i was informed that no one gives a you-know-what about what i had for lunch. incidentally, this also comes from the same people who suggested i create interest and continuity through regular blog content. apparently, i am easily influenced? easily intimidated? i guess we'll see how this all goes. tell me what you think, but say it nicely, i'm a little sensitive at the moment.

happy birthday,

you beautiful, beautiful man (i'm actually not obsessed, for the record).

my thoughts exactly.

for any girl who has ever sought love on the internet, enjoy.

the answer to all my problems.

preface: isn't it interesting how now we all talk about money all the time? i heard a segment on npr the other day about how now that everyone is having money troubles, it's not a taboo subject anymore. interesting. . . .
i have been thinking about what to do with my little tax return that should be making its appearance in my checking account any day now. the options:
1. a big, fat credit card payment (old standby).
2. buy a ton of letterpress supplies and go to town.
3. buy a new, bigger bed (i currently sleep in a sad little single--i'm not lame, i swear!)
4. buy this car.

this is probably what i will go with. it will probably change my life entirely, in the following ways:
1. i will finally get to move to california! since the car is not what you would call a practical, minnesota car, i will need to relocate.
2. relocating would be the perfect opportunity to start my own business for real, abandoning my depressing beige cube in exchange for my studio (new, of course, probably in berkeley?), where of course my new art/design/writing life will really begin to take off.
3. i could potentially get back a vw-loving ex-boyfriend, if i wanted.
4. i could probably get any new boyfriend i wanted. this car will make me sexier, right?
5. i will suddenly know what it is i really want.
6. i would finally drop those pesky thirty pounds and be able to achieve the gorgeous thrifty-vintage style i have so long envied about the skinny girls (some things just don't work if you're not a stick). this would in turn make me even sexier, reinforcing benefit no. 4.
7. it's a lot simpler than modern cars, i could learn to fix it myself, which is probably what i would need to do. i might have to stop every so often to put water in my radiator, but really, i like having things that make me slow down and enjoy life. and since i will be a sexy, skinny girl with a new sexy beetle-boyfriend, i won't mind stopping once in awhile to douse the engine.

i guess i can't think of any good reason NOT to buy the car, really.

st. stomach's day.

do you ever wish that maybe you didn't have such an agreeable appetite? that maybe that loving mother of yours had not instilled in you the value of eating whatever is put in front of you? for example, it might sometimes be helpful to not really find everything appealing. and by everything i mean the samosas, the chicken fingers, the french fries, and the blue moon. not everyone is adventurous with food. but you, you are indiscriminating. you'll try anything at least once! you will take what others turn down! oh, yes. and you will regret it.
you will also regret the decision to follow your happy hour experience with a trip to the gym (after all, you picked the pub that is next door to the y for exactly this convenient reason!), where you will bounce up and down for thirty minutes and consume copious amounts of water--brilliant!
and of course, after all this, you must get yourself home. how convenient (the theme of the evening) that you chose today as your inaugural bike riding day of the season! there is nothing like a two-mile bike ride in the chilly minnesota night, that's for sure (these are the experiences that, if she read your blog, would make your dear mother shudder with fear for you). about halfway home, you realize that stopping is not an option. somehow the inertia of pedaling keeps all the food inside you. you contemplate which would be worse: barfing on a random street corner, or on the steps of your own house. you imagine what it would be like to throw up while in motion. would it throw you off balance and cause you to crash? would you be able to strategically miss yourself and your bike in the process?
thankfully, you make it home without any actual vomiting (it's a miracle!) and recover slowly on the couch. you swear this is not happening again.
you resolve to be more picky next time. and to follow your pickiness with something besides a trip to the gym, no matter how convenient it may be.

there are moments in my workday when i feel an ulcer coming on.
i am pretty sure i am too young for this.

hoo-ray, it's mon-day!!

or, at least it's 65 degrees in the twin cities, and that makes even a monday a great day.
off to the studio to get some work done in daylight.
also looking forward to my brand-new, life-changing book that came in the mail (finally! who knew media mail takes a month?).
i'm not kidding about the life-changing part. i am really excited.

more cube food.

this is starting to be a fun little game (i'm thinking of making this a regular blog feature. this is really only the beginning of the pictures, which is only the beginning of what i actually eat in my cube. which is perhaps why i need a diet?) i'm thinking i should become a spokeswoman for surdyk's, the home of many a delicious thing, particularly the yummy sandwich-baby. i'm pretty sure most of my workday meals [that i don't make myself] come from there. oh, and i do love girl scout cookie time. . . .


in other news, i think my press is fixed!! thanks to a fresh pair of eyes and a level. so we'll see if the tighter screws hold. all plans for tomorrow are scratched, i am spending every moment i can with that press-baby.
kim came to visit today and saw the press and the studio and we walked all over northeast and it felt great to be in the sunshine and smell like outside again for once. i cannot cannot wait for spring and summer.
today is amy's birthday, so we are going out for fancy-schmancy dinner, which we never do. but i've been sitting on a big fat gift card for awhile now, so why not? i need to scrounge up something appropriate to wear, and i discover once again that i have no fancy clothes, let alone fancy clothes that are seasonally appropriate.
regardless, i am looking forward to a little dinner, some wine. . . a movie to follow, perhaps?

making my day.

this cover song, played by my favorite deejay.
it's friday and my workday is flying, so i am happy.

this is how i entertain myself at work.

but only sometimes! turns out the direct florescent light in my cube is not horrible for styling my snacks. it gives me the chance to practice my photography skills, too. i'm starting to get the hang of the macro setting. the granola i actually made myself (i think most of the food i post about is totally store-bought and often way processed), the palmier and coffee are my new favorite cheap treat from surdyk's, and the donut. . . oh, the friday donut. officially on the 'no' list as amy and i have begun serious diet change as of today (an incentive-rich program designed to motivate and inspire us to healthy eating and plenty of exercise), but a visual marvel nonetheless.

spring fever.

today i miss the mountains so much i am on the verge of tears. there is nothing i want more right now than to escape over monarch pass.

image found here, a weird page with lots of links to beautiful natural things.

more officialness.

here they are! i finally made it to the studio with my camera, so here are the first photos of the little press-baby. i have diagnosed her problem, which is that the roller hook arm on the left side is not solidly attached where it needs to be. however, i don't know how to fix this. if anyone out there does, please let me know! i have tried posting on the briarpress discussion board with not much luck. perhaps i will try again with my updated knowledge.
i really cannot wait to get printing!
she came with lots of type. here is a small sample.
this is my name, spelled out in type (duh). i'm going for expositionalness today. i'm also having dinner from mcdonald's. there, i said it.

the submarines.

just heard a great in-studio performance.
another reason i love my mpr.
also checked out their website. it's lovely.

nyc.

i have not ever really wanted to move to new york. i have always thought of myself as more of a west coast kind of girl--or a mountain girl--stranded in the midwest, of course. however, lately, the idea of living in new york does not seem altogether unappealing. today i came across another reason. who doesn't want to blog about all the great places to eat in their city? hmmmm. . . .

via oh, joy!

it's official.

well, friends, i really wanted some photos to accompany this news, but i have forgotten my camera the last two times i went to the studio, so i had to turn to the wide world of flickr to provide a symbolic photo. thank you, cake & pie, for the photo you didn't know i borrowed. this is actually very similar to what my new girl looks like (yes, she is a girl, it's true).
she is smaller and more complicated than her older brother, the etching press. and she is a great addition to the studio. she arrived on saturday; i didn't have to go anywhere to pick her up or pay for shipping. really, the whole experience was pretty providential. i am excited to start printing all kinds of great things on her, so keep your eyes peeled (although, to be honest, i am currently working out a little problem with her so i need to get her fixed up and working). she also came accompanied by a bunch of great wooden type that will be great for experimenting with.
last night i shared the news with some friends, who so helpfully started to suggest some names for my press/business. as you can imagine, the ideas got sillier as the night went on, and most of them are not at all appropriate for sharing here. however, some highlights include:
pressy press, the most-advocated name by far (by the end of the night the slogan went something like, "pressy press is not an effing joke!"), which evolved into smooshy press and smooshy-pressy-press, obama! (no press necessary in that name, obviously), and press up against me, not to mention the various other puns having to do with being depressed, impressed, oppressed, etc.
and yet, somehow, i am still unsure.
i had other thoughts i wanted to share about the weekend. . . .
friday night i saw some great music at the cedar, perhaps music in one of its best forms: friends playing and having fun together.
i got a haircut and a massage, and managed to snag a sweater for $16 at anthropologie.
the themes of "out with the old and in with the new" are layered all through my life these days. it's kind of amazing to watch.