Feral Houses

Almost a year ago I blogged about the 100 Abandoned Houses project.  James Griffioen's Feral Houses express a similar sentiment, only perhaps even more starkly.  These houses aren't just abandoned--they're wild, they've reverted to nature.  There's no domesticated bliss here anymore.

If only the walls of these houses could talk.  I'd love to hear about the people who lived there--about the good times and about what caused the residents to walk away from their houses without handing them off to another set of caretakers.  And about what's happened since then--as the ivy started to creep around the window frames and the saplings squeezed between the floorboards.  I think there would be many stories to be told.

Featured on Cuteable!

I'm excited that the Chesapeake Street sweater is featured today as a "cute find" on Cuteable.  Go check it out--and be prepared for a ton of cuteness.  The blog is aptly named!  I read it regularly and I'm aways excited to see what new things Lynsey and Matt will find. 

Fall Fashion Colors

It hurts my ears to hear the words "back to school" because they signal the end of summer.  But alas, it's getting to be time to face the fact that summer won't be here forever.  So, for those of you who are already planning for the fall and the colder (sweater!) weather, here are Pantone's fall colors. (In the interest of full disclosure, these were announced during Fashion Week back in February, but I couldn't bring myself to focus on them until now.)

What do you think?  I love that there are some pretty summery colors mixed in with the more somber neutrals.  Actually, the more I look at them, the more I really like them. 

This is a good time to remind you of the offer of 10% off for sweaters using honeysuckle.  See here for details. 

Fiber Art

I'm always intrigued when artists take tried-and-true techniques and put their own twist on them.  I recently purchased a bracelet that was "knit" using metal wire.  I thought it was so cool that I went looking for other examples of knitted and crocheted jewelry.  Here are some of the awesome things I found.  This is not your grandmother's knitting!

Fun earrings from JewelryByAmyT

Love this necklace from Inbar Shahak Textile Jewelry



Gorgeous bracelet from Lapis Beach

Tell her you love her with a crocheted "diamond" solitaire ring from Wrapped by Design 

EtsyBABY Customer Appreciation Sale

The July and August special offers will coincide with EtsyBABY's summer customer appreciate sale.  Check out the EtsyBABY Facebook site to see all of the good deals and offers.  Yellow House Knits is offering 20% off your entire purchase.  Use the code SUMMER2011.  The offer ends August 5, 2011.  

A Collection for Everyone

On January 1, 2010, Lisa Congdon started a year-long project to post a photograph every day of one of her own collections (real or imagined).  She posted them on a blog, appropriately titled A Collection A Day, 2010, which was apparently phenomenally popular at the time, though I confess that I didn't hear about it until after the fact, which was my loss because I would have loved to check in everyday to see the latest collection.  The 365 photographs are now a book--sort of a collection of collections.  Find out more here. 

Owney Forever

I'm charmed by the story of Owney, the mascot of the postal system in the 19th century.  As the story goes, Owney was a mutt who found a home of sorts in the post office in Albany, New York, in 1888.  He soon began to travel with mail bags on mail wagons and trains, making his way across the state and even to Asia and Europe.

Mail clerks on the trains considered Owney a good luck charm because no train Owney rode was ever in a crash.  The clerks marked has travels by placing medals on his collar, one for each stop.  Eventually, the tags got too heavy, so Owney got his own harness for all of the tags, which jingled when he walked. When Owney died in 1897, mail clerks raised money to have his body preserved (which I find a little less charming!), and he's been on display at the Smithsonian ever since.

Owney is now featured on a Forever stamp, which is scheduled to be released today.  I think the stamp is so sweet, I might just send myself a letter!

Tracking Guinness

I admit to being a bit obsessed with the animal tracker on the National Aquarium's website.  Consider the story of Guinness, a young gray seal who was found stranded on a North Carolina beach in March.  He was taken to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and found to have a broken jaw and to be underweight and severely dehydrated. 

Guinness was nursed back to health at the aquarium, where he gained 110 pounds.  He was released back to the Atlantic on June 24.  But before they let Guinness go, they affixed a satellite transmitter to his back.  The transmitter will eventually fall off when he molts, but in the meantime we can track Guinness's movements online on the aquarium's website.  As of the last update, he was swimming around near Maine, which means he has traveled nearly 600 miles.  I find that to be truly astonishing.  Happy travels Guinness!  Be safe out there!

Color Inspiration: Pool Party

I find inspiration for the colors in my sweaters in so many places.  Whenever something strikes me visually, I find myelf trying to find a sweater in it.  I'm in love with color, so I thought I would start a new series based on my thought process. 

This pool party by A Blissful Nest looks like it was just gorgeous.  And the colors are so peaceful and dreamy and summery.  Oh the possibilities . . .

The Ideal Bookshelf

I think these paintings by Jane Mount are fascinating.  Kind of like portraits of people's souls.  Jane paints people's ideal bookshelves---their favorite books, books that inspired them, that changed their lives, books that made them think. 

I've been trying hard to think of what would be on my ideal bookshelf.  It's actually a really hard exercise.  There are so many books that have meant a lot to me over the years.  To boil it down to just a handful is no small task.  Here are some I couldn't leave off the list: 

--Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery 

--Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

--The Secret in the Old Attic by Carolyn Keene

--Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams

--East of Eden by John Steinbeck

--The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

--The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

--"B" is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood

--Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

What would be on your list?

Find the whole collection and ordering information on The Ideal Bookshelf website.