Rickshaw

Here are the last few instants.

The school year is starting up soon and I am a little bit nervous!

A few weekends ago, we got a text really late at night asking if we wanted  to take a trip to Austin in the morning. duh! For some reason BJ and I decided to start roasting a chicken around midnight, instead of packing and resting for the trip. So we only got a little bit of sleep before, we met up with 26 other cousins (more or less, I loss count) and caravanned to Lake Austin. Some of us only had 10 minutes notice to pack, but I’m so happy so many people could go. We jet skied, played volleyball with strangers, grilled, swam, got tangled in seaweed multiple times, and squeezed everyone into 4 hotel rooms at the end of the night. We ended the trip with a finger lickin’ meal at Salt Lick. Mmm, summer.

Woo hoo. I finally scanned all the instant photos from July. Thank you, Rice Media Center. Below are some of my favorite shots from our trip to New York, and I uploaded the rest here.

We were gifted a Diana camera and instant back from Catherine and Trevor for our wedding. More than my digital camera, it ended up documenting the majority of the trip. I guess we’ll just have an itty-bitty photo album to hold all these memories. Plenty of trial and error happened before we got a better handle of the settings, but we loved the instant results (especially me, Ms. Impatient) and having something tangible to hold and look at. Thank you, C + T!

I desperately want to buy a scanner, but I guess a washer and dryer, vacuum, and forks and spoons should be more important on the list. Unless we don’t mind a slightly dirtier house and eating with our hands ….

Next up: Austin photos.

Inspiration from the web. I love the simplicity of these posters as well as the designers’ other work. (Click on the links to see more)

Allan Peters‘ Poster-On-A-Stick. More here.

Micah Max’s Explosion in the Sky concert poster. And in his own words:

The firecrackers and their abnormally long fuse, represent the band’s ability to go from quiet, shimmering beauty to bold, loud passages in an instant. It’s always fun to do work for a band that I greatly admire.

Hat tip: Twig & Thistle

This summer is going by way too fast and we’re getting pretty frustrated that there are way too few hours in the day after we get back from work, make dinner, clean, etc. This +  all of the other things going on has put us in a little funk.

With the school year approaching, I’ve been filling a lot of professional development hours with workshops. Some are not so exciting but still helpful—like the two-day sessions on classroom discipline. And others—like the ones at the MFAH and Glassell—are much more enjoyable and relevant. The sessions were only a few hours each, but I got to dabble in collograph printing, pinhole cameras, enameling, ceramics, and, well, just having some fun. It was just the boost/kick in the butt I needed, and now BJ and I are considering taking an evening class during the school year.

Instant pick me up. I used to by these by the strip, but I spied a bulk pack at Candylicious in the Rice Village.

Our plates and cups seem to be chipping at record rates. I wish I knew how to do something like this.

I tried enameling for the first time and decided to do something simple and not so “art teacher”. You know what I mean?

Yes! Got to go back into the darkroom and learned how to use a paint can as a pinhole camera. The weather and lighting were unpredictable, but I still had fun shooting in the sculpture garden.

Working on a few projects and still figuring out my footing.

hah. excuse all the hand shots. not feeling so creative. again.

During our stay in NYC, the first two days were spent buying essentials that we didn’t have time to pack. Honestly, we were happy just to make it to the airport on time. So we ventured down to Rockefeller Center to pick up things like socks, underwear, t-shirts, shoes, etc. We didn’t buy too much after that, but here are some of my favorite things we snagged besides the books BJ got.

29.99! oxfords on final sale at Madewell. They kind of slip off my feet when I walk, but I’m determined to fix it!

Yoshitomo Nara towel (already doubling as my movie blanket) & a Warriors of Radness sweater from Opening Ceremony.

1968 (BJ’s favorite year) calendar towel from 10 ft. Single *

J.Crew tie & Steven Allen Tie from Bird **

Melissa Joy Manning triangular earrings from Bird

* Kudos to Lena C. for the tip
** Spotted George O’Malley + was probably very obviously about it

photos by Todd Cole

We also enjoyed  reading about Rodarte’s Top 10 picks for Criterion. Beautiful just like their work.

50% off Criterion Collection at Barnes & Noble until August 1st.

We’re back! Our feet are worn out, our bellies are full, and our brains are about to explode from all the noise, art, people, sights of New York City. We ended up taking more photos with our new Diana Instant back (Thanks you Catherine!), and once those get scanned, I’ll post them here and write more about our trip later…

10.75 lunch specials at Azusa, Grand Central market lobby, Pearl River Market, Despana tapas, water towers, MOMA, the Met with Annie, Brooklyn Museum to see Kiki Smith + the fashion exhibit, Vanessa, and looking at the skyline from a dock in Brooklyn.

We are overwhelmed with all the love, friends, laughter, family, dancing, food, and joy surrounding these last few days and feel so fortunate to have so many people celebrate and support us. THANK YOU. More pictures to come- we’re off to spend more time with everyone who is still here especially these kiddos. Cute overload.

Hi there,

Just coming up for some air. Whew. My house is covered in paper scraps, my head is spinning, and 24 hours seems like too short of a day! I finally settled my car situation, and we decided to take out a loan to buy a new car. At least I’ll have more peace of mind during my long commutes to work. And we’ll both be sharing it, so I think it’s a good idea in the long run. Still, timing? Not so great.

I thought I would share this piece BJ did a few nights ago. I swear he busted it out so quickly. Don’t you think he should do more?

I’m so excited to see all my friends and family next week.