i'm high as a kite and i just might...

these two things make me feel the same way:

riding down park avenue for summer streets, manhattan! everyone else was behind me so it looks empty but it wasn't... leader of the pack, vroom vroom ;) i heart heart heart bike riding...

the open air just makes me feel... giddy. i think that's the exact word. free, open, high, wheeeee!!!!
i am so determined to own a convertible one day :)

i just wanna fly away...

(nyc)

animal style

you know what is so beautiful about animals?

their simplicity.

they live in the now, always, without any awareness of anything but. it's such a pure way of existing. animals don't have fat days or parental issues, they don't worry about finding a girl/boyfriend, and they don't make regular appointments with their therapists nor hair stylists. and they have a lot more hair than us.

when they're hungry, they eat. now.
when they're tired, they sleep. now.
when they feel like having a romp, they have sex. now.

and it works.

animals in the wild don't get sick from stress, have mental issues or question their self-worth. none of that matters, because they just ARE. it has nothing to do with any other animal, and most importantly, they don't get in their own way. each gets enough exercise and food to ensure their own survival, and when the time arrives for them to fold back into the life cycle/food chain/circle of life, it just happens. no tears, no anxiety, just acceptance.

of the now.

so simple, eh?

(nyc)

massive jagged

i love beaches with massive jagged boulders. the more jagged, dark and craggy, the better. there is something so raw about these cracked pieces of stone cold earth, the way time has not eroded their harshness nor softened their edges. no, they stand angry and unmoved by the pleas of the wind and the sea, not giving a shit about anything. they cannot be conquered, they make you feel small, they make you feel mortal. and i love them for it.

(nyc)

grey metal black

f'ing love everything about this picture - the braid, the heavy chain metal jewelry, the colors.. LOVE IT:

grey on grey on grey:

metal studs:

nailed it:

(nyc)

curvature

i find the curves of the human body to be so captivating, something in the hollows that i find totally alluring, sexy and sensual. hipbones, collar bones, cheekbones, shoulders, backs, the way muscles develop and how our bodies are capable of performing so much. i love athlete and dancer bodies in a way that i didn't used to always appreciate before, especially when a person is just lean and strong...

(nyc)

texturized

i love love love texture... it's such a tactile, visual, sensual thing, that speaks to me of the essence of being a living breathing being... we have the ability to be cognizant of such unnoted beauties... so easy to pass by, just a part of the background, but it deeply moves me for some reason, and always has...

love the smell and feel of leather, especially when it gets old and beat up and super soft...

the way cashmere feels against my skin...

the rough and worn hewn of old wood, weathered by time and the outside elements...

the silky softness of oh-so-delicate peonies in full bloom that fall apart with a touch...

the kind of super heavyweight paper that is so thick, you feel bad folding it, or using anything less than a proper ink calligraphy pen on it...

the softness of super bright green moss, the way it absorbs sounds, yet is so vibrant itself...

and old stones that have been stomped on, worn down, rained upon and been exposed... i love the way stones absorb light, heat, cold, history... yet also give off softness and light in its own way, standing the test of time...

these things, these textures, make me immensely happy. they feel substantive to me; massive yet so soft, grounded yet simultaneously ephemeral... that beautiful dynamic of the flow of life...

i want to have a home that i can just texturize the shit out of, and sit there and absorb its light and energy and calm amid my endless stacks of books and tea... :)

(nyc)

remember

do not stand at my grave and weep;
i am not there. i do not sleep.
i am a thousand winds that blow.
i am the diamond glints on snow.
i am the sunlight on ripened grain.
i am the gentle autumn rain.
when you awaken in the morning's hush
i am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
i am the soft stars that shine at night.
do not stand at my grave and cry;
i am not there. i did not die.

(nyc)

sludge

do you ever feel like sludge
where you don't wanna do anything
move
be
and you're so lost that all you can do is sit there
and breathe
and the little voices inside your head
chitter chatter
with the stupidest things
that have nothing to do with
what you should really be thinking about
but it's too hard
so you just
instead
do nothing
surf the net
watch tv
eat too much
go outside
get distracted
and meanwhile
the hole grows bigger.

yeah, me neither.

(nyc)

one for me, one for you

this is an animal highway, so that they can cross safely too. brilliant.

day 210-216

you see in others what you are yourself.

city of angels

i feel so peaceful whenever i'm here, just totally immersed in the flow...

incredibly blessed, yes.

(beverly hills, los angeles)

day 201-209

:D

snow white stills

in keeping with the whole gothic fantasy medieval motif, i loved the look and feel of "snow white and the huntsman", even if the story was a little uneven. whenever i read/see these kinds of stories, it transports me to another world that i so love:

the sets, the scenery, the costumes are amaaaaazing. would love to work on such a story one day in some capacity.

(nyc)

kirsty mitchell

this photographer came out with her work recently. she pulled together a series of fantasy portraits into a book entitled "wonderland", which i can't wait to order. i've always loved stories and art related to anything fantasy, medieval or gothic, so this falls right into my realm.

it took kirsty over five years to shoot these photos, as she pieced together the budget for each photo bit by bit. she did this as an homage to her late mother, who inspired her sense of reality and beauty. love love love it:

p.s. none of these were physically photoshopped in that they are all real locales around her home in surrey, england, with real set pieces. so lovely.

(nyc)

eugenio recuenco

have always loved this photographer's sense of light and fantasy, he has a cinematographic feel to his work:

(nyc)

day 198-200

the last time i did, i was SO mortifyingly embarrassed but i couldn't stop laughing hysterically... it involved my sister, meryl streep, philip seymour hoffman and an entire theater full of people... at least everyone laughs till they weep whenever they hear the story too... :D

when

when was the last time you played a hand of failure
the last time you cried your eyes out in the shower
the last time you said yes
and it shattered your heart

"it is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, because there is not effort without error and shortcomings, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
- theodore roosevelt
"citizenship in a republic" speech at the sorbonne in paris
april 23, 1910

(nyc)

day 185-197

day 173-184

by the way, i want a pet:

oh llama-ma-ma, oh llama-ma-ma...

it's been awhile...

but i have a really good excuse. i was too busy eating.

for breakfast every morning, fresh fruit at campo de' fiori!

then for a nice stroll in gianicolo, with a sweeping view of rome from the top.

grab a snack at aristocampo in trastevere...

the panini were so good, we went back four times and made friends with the owners...

one day we decided to check out david's ass in florence. michelangelo knew what he was doing.

why are all balconies so charming in italy? i found this one above ponte vecchio.

on that note, even random doors are so beautiful. though i don't know where the doorbell is.

another day, we decided to go to positano for lunch.

where i ate the most glorious homemade seafood pasta ever ever ever. if you are ever in positano, GO. you can find it at buca di bacco, right on the beach. i'm literally drooling as i type this right now.

aren't i an amazing photographer? :) more like, it's hard to take a bad picture of this place.. the sun, the sea, the flowers.. sigh.

the pantheon at night is magical.. something about the fact that it's been standing here, so solid, for so long. that i could stand in the exact same place as past romans, kings, gladiators, slaves, regular everyday people. it encompasses thousands of years of history, was built well enough to withstand all that wear and tear, and has witnessed so many stories played over and over again upon its front steps. i used to come here all the time to write in the evenings. thank goodness the mcdonald's that used to stand right in front of it is gone, that was kind of an eyesore (but i admit that i love their fries.. shhhh.... don't tell the italians!).

the time-old tradition of throwing a coin into the fontana di trevi for a speedy return to rome.

literally translates to "little one, you are mine." italian graffiti never gets old, even when it's just on the side of a trash can. roma, you are mine, as mine as you ever can be. ci vediamo presto, grazie mille per tutti i giorni, la mia famiglia e sempre la belleza...

(roma, firenze, positano, italia)