80 Degrees in April

Today I head a few miles away to Manor Park to lounge on some rocks overlooking the sound. I got a few pages into Women Who Run With The Wolves before I started sweating to death and worrying about getting a sunburn.

"Once women have lost her and then found her again, they will contend to keep her for good. Once they have regained her, they will fight and fight hard to keep her, for with her their creative lives blossom; their relationships gain meaning and depth and health; their cycles of sexuality, creativity, work, and play are reestablished; they are no longer marks for the predations of others; they are entitled equally under the laws of nature to grow and thrive. Now their end-of-the-day fatigue comes from satisfying work and endeavors, not from being shut up in too small a mindset, job, or relationship. They know instinctively when things must die and when things must live; they know how to walk away, they know how to stay." - Clarissa Pinkola Estés

I also made a few totem animal connections today. I'll look into their messages and share what I find soon.
Were you lucky to experience any unseasonably warm weather today?

It's Late, I'm Up

I love this art print from Tina Crespo.

An Ode to the Road + Connie

park county route 90, co

walt whitman

bagley bridge, nh

william least heat-moon ▲ clay county, wv  

montgomery county highway 115, ny

My car's been in the shop for a few weeks now, after sitting in my parents' driveway for, well... a few months. When it conked out in August, I was in no financial position to check it out (ie: I just took myself off of unemployment benefits without any job lined up). My anxiety over the possible diagnoses lead to nervous procrastination. So she sat, and I made due without. (I also happen to live with a guy godsend who lets me use his car all day while he's in the city.)

When friends hear that I haven't had my own ride for six months, their jaws generally drop. While being an amazon blonde is one of my most defining characteristics, I'm equally recognized for always having a car, and always offering to drive. "A car" is specifically my Connie, The Conference Room, a Chevy Equinox -- and we've been through a lot.

I got the vehicle new nearly 9 years ago, with less than a hundred miles on her. Since then we've been out to Colorado, down to Nashville, and all over the eastern seaboard -- country muddin', climbing mountains, down dirt roads, by the beach -- taking pictures the whole time. I've driven 125k+ miles of this country, and loved every second.

Turns out some of my more badass off-roading escapades lead to the extra time in the shop. Initially, it seemed that the only problem was with the fuel pump -- but it turns out somewhere along the way I managed to strip the drive shaft & lose my 4wheel drive. Not that I noticed, but I'm thrilled to know it's all about to be fixed. A sturdy car is best for the longest of drives. Wee! I cannot wait to have her back.

Do any of you have destination suggestions for my next road adventure? Or also have a weird love for your car? Spill.

The View From My Kitchen Window

Just threw together these snowy little .gifs from a few snaps out the window. The snow's really coming down, and I'm praying for as much as mother nature's willing to dump! I've got to get skiing soon. It's been over a year, and last season was abysmally snowless. I only got out to ride once, hmph. Fingers crossed for inches in the mountains!

"...it is a special gift of the relationship between earth and sky. It only comes in sufficient amounts in particular places, at certain times on this earth; it lasts only a limited amount of time before sun and wind changes it. People devote their whole lives to it for the pleasure of being so purely played by gravity and snow." - Dolores LaChapelle

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In other news -- I've finally managed to make some progress with my blog layout -- after holding off forever because blogger was being a little shit. I reset the template and essentially started all over again. But with the new tablet E gave me for Christmas, it's been more fun than ever to mess around. I plan to be back on the ball with everything very very soon!

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I've crossed my line in the sand. A year's up.
2013's going to be special. It has to be.

Rethink Your Life

This is so important. So logical, so true -- food for thought. Joe Rogan's a smart dude. Some language NSFW.

Links

▲  Antlers, by Lynndoodles

▲  "It seems like my whole life I´ve been asked 'what I do,' as if presenting myself with a title could truly define me, define whether I am a person worthy of respect, worth listening to, in control, etc. It´s always been something that has deeply bothered me... Now I realize that what made me feel so uncomfortable about this "what do you do" question, was not the fact that I felt less worthy because I didn´t have a masters in what-ever-the-hell-bla-bla-bla, but because according to what we are raised to consider "normal," I was supposed to to feel less worthy or incomplete because, in not choosing something with a specific title, there was no way I could be considered someone successful. I was just a random soul, wandering aimlessly through life, without ambitions or goals." - Claudia Almandoz's "Search My Sweet Soul," for The Mama Earth Project


▲  Three years ago (tomorrow) I embarked upon a solo roadtrip from NY to CO without much more than a place to crash + a seasonal ski pass. Who needs more than that?! It was phenomenal, and I wish I could have been back at ABay for opening day this season.

▲  Cabin porn much? My thoughts on a life of simplicity couldn't mirror Sondra's more closely.

▲  Success comes from The Willingness to Think Differently.

▲  I love this house tour of Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato's apartment. Lots of exposed brick, geometric textiles, and hard wood floors - yum!

▲  "We’ve been conditioned to believe that life happens in stages, that there are milestones to be reached, that you go from infant to child, from adolescent to adult. And now that we’re up at bat, now that we’re of “adult age,” we keep striking out. The truth though, is that you’re not just some adolescent, or some adult, or some merging of the two. You’re you. You’re just you. You always will be. And so the decisions that you make are the only things that define you. Not your age, not your savings account, not your thread count. You are in control of your own life." - Stephanie Georgopulos muses on the reality of growing up in, "You're Not A Child, You're Not An Adult, You're Just You."

▲  Vintageprintable.com is way too much fun to browse around. Seriously, I've lost hours of my life... The site's a little wonky, but the imagery is so sweet (and completely up for grabs!)

▲  Sandy's damage was wild, and we're not out of the woods yet here in parts of NY. If you've seen pictures from the vast fire damage in Breezy Point alone, you realize it's going to take a long time for the community to recover. If you have the means, please think about making a contribution to the relief effort.

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I hope everyone's having a great Thanksgiving week so far! I can't believe we're into the end of November already. Time's been flying, and there's so much to do before the holidays. But this is my favorite time of year, no complaints here :)

True & Brave

This is the manifesto found on Josh Abe's blog True & Brave. I'd been following his curation at Oh, Pioneer (which is equally wonderful), and shot right over to check out the new blog when he announced it today. He's got an amazing eye, and I just love looking through everything he shares. Not to mention, he's got a great, grounded head on his shoulders, too - clearly. You should totally check him out.

Hope you're having a great Wednesday so far. I should be back later :)

Happy Labor Day

A Monday mashup of pretty, if you will. Here's an image, a quote, a song, and a tattoo that make me smile. Enjoy!

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If you talk to the animals they will talk with you  and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys.
[Chief Dan George]

jake kearney tattoo via fyeahtattoos

I hope you're all enjoying your holiday, whether working or not! I'm gonna get off the computer and back the video game playing boys in the living room. We've had such a relaxing couple of days. I love when Baby (our dear friend Sean) comes to visit.

Sister

erin ratchford photography

Of two sisters one is always the watcher, one the dancer. 

[Louise Glück]

Notes from the Universe

Back when I first started working at The Annex, it was my job to watch classes on video, take notes, then break them down into reasonable "chapters" for viewers' ease. The topics of the videos ranged from erotic photography, to how to start a t-shirt business, to appearances by f-list celebrities.. Honestly, the list just goes on and on - you wouldn't even believe.

Most of my favorites though, were the self help and personal improvement classes. Watching a life-coaching segment with JudyMay Murphy, she mentioned Mike Dooley's inspiring, funny, and poignant "Notes from the Universe" emails, so I signed up to check them out.

Two years and countless email subscription cleanups later, and I still receive a Note from the Universe every morning (along with 400,000 other subscribers). The notes are fantastic reminders of your personal beauty, power, and place in the world - and who doesn't need more of that?

You should totally subscribe.

The Last Free Place

This video made it's way to me through that silly grid of (generally) related videos YouTube promotes at the end of each video. Completely unrelated to the big cats and catnip I'd been watching, the internet knows me, and must have thought it time for a little rubber tramp longing.

For anyone unfamiliar with Slab City (or who doesn't feel like watching the video), it was formerly a military base in the southern Californian desert,  it's "uncontrolled, and there is no charge for parking. The camp has no electricity, no running water or other services." But still, a handful of people sustain lives, create art, and work as a community.. together, with limited funds & limitless freedom.

I've been dreaming of an SoCal trip to Slab City and Salvation Mountain since my introduction to Alexander Supertramp many years ago. My daydreams of a life like Kerouac, flying by the seat of my pants over every twist and turn of the country, open to every experience the road throws my way only intensifies my desire to get out there.  

I long for a simpler place, where the people who surround me are less encumbered by the need for more and prefer to really live. Where a good life is judged on happiness and enjoying the outdoors rather than material possessions, conventionality and cubicle hours.. Where free-thinkers reign, reduce, and reuse. It might be grungy, but it's oh so very real.

>>>>>>>>>>     "Ain't no nation like donation, ain't no city like generosity."     <<<<<<<<<<
Krystal Baber

Salvation Mountain

Sidenote: Gotta make this happen soon. Leonard Knight is turning 82 years old this year.

Artist // Twelve Odd Months

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I love tumblr. It can lead to some of the best finds.

I'm a geographic, cartographic, typographic and a roadtrip fanatic,
so when I saw this map + type combo by TwelveOddMonths, I fell in love.
(Not to mention I'm always in favor of moving away.)

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Apparently these are just 2/366ths of 16 year old Alexis' 365 project, and there are a ton more to love.

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"The world whispers to me in my sleep,

it wants me to tatoo itself upon my skin."

(too good. just way too good. I can't believe this girl is only 16. a definite inspiration.)