Papermoon

A friend of mine struts her stuff on etsy!

2010-02-23T22:09:00.004-06:00

Check out this gorgeous pendant made by my friend for her new etsy shop: margotclaire!

I am so happy she's decided to put some of her creative pursuits online. I knew her as a painter, and as a fun, creative, multi-talented friend. Hooray for Margot! I WANT ONE!

-Papermoon

6th graders are a joy.

2010-01-22T20:44:00.006-06:00

Luckily for me, I have an abundance of 6th grade girls in my life.

I haven't written in a while, but I am going to skip right past catching you all up... since I am not so sure that anyone noticed the lack of posts except my father! :)

I wanted to share two things: the gifts I made for my sister (6th grade) to give to her friends for Christmas, as well as some of the joys of teaching.

Part one: Super Shawls.

Back in 2008, I made my sister a furry shawl for her birthday. She gratified my creative venture by wearing it all the time, and apparently her friends began to try it out and fell in love. Christmas 2009 rolled around with a plan in her mind: she asked if she could purchase three personalized shawls for her friends.

Armed with cuddle fur fleece, polar fleece, and some scrap felt, I came up withe these quick-to-make and comfy gifts.

I was well pleased with them. I even liked the back side, which featured the stitched outline of the flower on the other side:

Part two: Sugary Science Club

I barely felt motivated to post during the last few months, largely due to the bad quality of my old camera and the feeling I had that talking about my teaching job needed pictoral accents. Luckily for me, I am the proud owner of a new Nikon(!) and can now post pictures.

The girls I teach are amazing and so amusing. I could regale you for hours, but I will content myself to share some evidence of the fun I am having via these shots from today's Science Club.

Our activity of the day was nutrition-focused, in keeping with a recent focus at school on healthy choices. We measured out the sugar content of a few favorite snacks in teaspoons and were shocked and appalled to see the sugar we are eating! Then we made "sugar warning" posters that I can't wait to put up!

Essentially that's what I'm up to these days. You can't seem me anywhere here...but I was behind the camera, in my lab coat! :)

In other news, I am addicted to Christian rock these days. Matt Maher, Chris Tomlin, and John Waller, mostly. I think its improving my overall mood, so I am thinking it's one addiction I don't need to kick.

In hopes I will be posting more soon,

Papermoon

Oh, to have money to spend frivolously on shiny things.

2009-11-05T13:45:00.013-06:00

If I had time and money to spend I think I would rework my whole wardrobe around this bottle of perfume-I-intend-to-own.

I shamelessly want it, even though more than half of my lust is for the packaging. I started wearing Prada Intense when it came out and it was a big step in the warm fragrance direction for me. At this point my taste goes even woodier and spicier than that very sweet scent, but I still wear it every once in a while.

I was very interested in the bottle as soon as I saw it in print, and when I finally saw it in person my inner snob melted. The smoky bottle, gold, pretty pump, and creepy advertising all get a thumbs-up from me. The scent reminds me of a more accessible Dzing! by L'Artisan Perfumerie... with a way better bottle.

Now Smell This has a clear-cut and accurate review of the L'Eau Ambrée here, and a breakdown of the relationship of the Prada amber variations here.

So, on to what I would be wearing if I smelled like those creepy women in the advertisement. I have many thoughts.

For instance, this girly jewelery.

(Banana Republic)

Then there's this ostrich leather clutch that might be a nice accent piece with my otherwise highly feminine look:

(Brooks Brothers)

And what about this attractive modest dress:

(Anthropologie)

And I think I need some of these...

(Nordstrom)

Then, top that all off with a nice soundtrack and my fantasy is complete.

-Papermoon

Stressful job detox shopping cures.

2009-10-10T22:34:00.003-05:00

If someone could fill me in as to what gave me the idea I could afford these things, that would be very helpful.

Thanks.

-Papermoon

PS: Since when am I such a girl?

Classroom.

2009-09-14T20:36:00.002-05:00

Busy Life, Bugs, Bedtime.

2009-09-04T22:03:00.002-05:00

Apologies.

I would have written if I'd had a second. This teacher thing is busy... and I'm not even teaching yet! I promise to post pictures of my classroom once the decorating is done...that seems relevant to this blog.

I've been hard at working connecting with the other teachers, learning my way around my school, decorating, lesson planning, and envisioning myself as an award winning child-inspirer. I am excited to be implementing something I hope will be highly amusing: lab coats on the science department. Wouldn't that have made you want to learn science?!

I ordered this coat for myself and my fellow science teachers:

Now if only I had my lesson plans together... :)

That reminds me! Maybe it's this new science teacher role that has me interested, but I have to say that this documentary sounds fantastic!

That's just a clip... but I think it looks utterly fascinating!

Well... I'm completely exhausted. Happy Labor Day. I must say, I am glad to be laboring this labor day. All the stress now is a joy after unemployment!

-Papermoon

My sweet little room.

2009-08-24T21:49:00.004-05:00

I love my room, now*.

Lower East Side isn't half bad, either.

Being a teacher sounds pretty good, too.

I guess I shouldn't have been worried...

-Papermoon

*Except for the HEAT...it must be a million degrees in here. Yikes!

Since I'm Moving, Now.

2009-08-22T09:12:00.003-05:00

I am officially moving to New York today. Despite the fact that it's been three months since my move from Chicago, I feel a bit like today is my first break from my old city. I am sure this is because I have been living with my parents... which feels a bit more like a school vacation than a move.

So, here's my ode to Chicago... a very cute Budweiser ad I picked up from A Cup of Jo.

Onward and Upward! All Together Now!

-Papermoon

The Mysterious Book Club Society.

2009-08-21T08:48:00.004-05:00

I am in a book club.

The members range in age from 11.5 to 23.5.

We will be varying our locations between NYC, suburban NJ, and a nearby university.

We are all sisters, and the book of the month is "The Mysterious Benedict Society".

How can you resist a cover like that?!

-Papermoon

Mountains, Moving, and Monroe Bisque.

2009-08-18T20:59:00.006-05:00

I am back, having hiked the Alps.

If ever I must leave the country I love and live somewhere new, by all means let it be Switzerland.

'Real life' (and my job) begins this coming Monday, and so this week I am moving, little by little, into my little room-to-live-in on the Lower East Side. My living space is tiny, but I will pay no rent (and love little spaces) so I have decided there is no reason to complain. Plus, it's got a fearfully high ceiling...which I think will be exciting and fun to tweak around with. I am thinking of putting in some floating bookshelves, 10 feet off the floor. With a little rolling stepladder, I can be Audrey in 'Funny Face' when I go up for a book.

I am painting my room just the color of my bedroom here in my parents' house. Why not? Monroe Bisque makes the room so cozy.

I am basing my design daydream for the room on a painting I made a year and some ago, set in a favorite Evanston bookshop.

Very teacherly, I think.

More to come, assuredly, when New York assaults me with things to talk about...

-Papermoon

A break ( after a break. )

2009-08-09T09:25:00.003-05:00

Well... camp #2 kept me busy. (And cranky.) I haven't posted here in a while.

I am headed off for a last bout of relaxation, pre-job, today. I'll be here:

Au revoir / Auf Wiedersehen.

-Papermoon

All Your Childhood Favorites.

2009-07-31T09:13:00.002-05:00

While I spent my first 21 years protesting wildly against the cinematization of my favorite books, ever since the Narnia re-makes, I have been letting it go just a bit. Those movies blew my mind. Unlike Harry Potter's weak attempts (sorry, biased against that ugly Radcliffe boy) the Narnia movies have done an impeccable job with casting, CG-that-doesn't-look-like-Toy-Story, scenery, and music.

Thus, I have been more open to investigating the following. While these don't seem to be going for play-by-play authenticity, I am interested in the interpretations and nice visual treatment.

First up, Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Here's Alice in Wonderland (sorry I couldn't embed it).

Here's Where the Wild Things Are (again, sorry.)

We'll see how they are!

Books are still best...

-Papermoon

The Usefulness of Blogs, the Charms of Being a Teacher.

2009-07-20T16:15:00.002-05:00

I made a nice, bland website for my new class (2D/3D Art at a "gifted" camp) last night.

I love it. I feel like I am playing school...

Go have a look: Some Inspirations for Artists

-Papermoon

My friend Tim, on Design*Sponge.

2009-07-17T13:09:00.002-05:00

My friend Tim is famous.

Tim Mazurek was dazzling through his MFA while I was finishing up my undergrad art career at Northwestern. Despite my being a boring, Catholic, conservative, Tim was always very nice to me and I enjoyed every shared class with him immensely. As I recall, we met in my Installation Art class, for which he was a TA. (A great TA.) My 'art friends' (we called our clique 'the knitting club') and I all latched on to him and he somehow managed not to act annoyed.

I digress. Tim has an outstanding blog! Lottie + Doof has long graced my 'lovely things' side bar, and I ogle his photos daily. He has been picked up by Time Out Chicago, Refinery 29, apartment therapy, the kitchn, good bite, and Pioneer Woman. And today he made it onto one of my all-time favorites, Design*Sponge! It's no wonder, considering his organic, fresh choices are so enticingly displayed courtesy of his photography skills. The work of an artist, indeed.

I couldn't be happier for Tim. And I couldn't feel hipper for knowing him.

Check out Lottie + Doof here: Lottie + Doof
See Tim's artwork here: Tim Mazurek

-Papermoon

PandoraJam

2009-07-17T12:02:00.002-05:00

My brother has unearthed an amazing application!

PandoraJam is a genius little download that allows you to download your Pandora channel while it plays, saving the tracks as mp3s in your iTunes! The free demo is nearly identical to the $15 program; you just have to keep tabs on it more often, as it automatically shuts off every few tracks. (You can start it back up with a quick mouse-click).

The icon is also very cute!

Enjoy, Pandora lovers! http://www.bitcartel.com/pandorajam/download.html

-Papermoon

A Bag for Anna.

2009-07-14T22:26:00.005-05:00

Yesterday's project: a bag for my dear friend Anna, six months late.

She'd given me the color scheme in January, I'd apologized and promised it was coming by Valentine's day, and I had been making excuses and looking at the fabric ever since... until yesterday.

I got up, ate my breakfast*, put on a dress and some pearls (I am more productive that way), whipped up a little seltzer-with-vanilla, and got down to business.

I used the same oh fransson pattern I have before... it's easy and effective.

I like it. I may make myself a wallet in the same color scheme.

-Papermoon

*cream cheese on whatever I can find seems to be the summer favorite

Again...Yes, Please.

2009-07-14T09:17:00.005-05:00

Wouldn't this look well with that vintage suitcase you're going to buy me?

Found via { simplesong }, from Etsy shop Death and Texas (DNTX).

And in all reality, I'll take anything in the shop.

-Papermoon

PS: If it means anything for my chances, I will add that I did indeed accomplish the Audrey Tautou haircut.

Odosketch.

2009-07-13T21:30:00.004-05:00

Check this out:

This is certainly the best online sketch program I have found to date.
And who doesn't love watching it build itself up?

-Papermoon

A Visit.

2009-07-12T22:12:00.006-05:00

My friend Becca (alias Lovely Lula) came for a visit this last week.

It is always a joy to have a visit at home with a friend. Bringing together friends and family always brings about some fun and adventure.

I introduced Midwestern Becca to my home town back East. We ate 'real' bagels and she remarked on the hilly landscape and the very tree-ish looks of things here.

We boated in Central Park and took a look at some wonderful turtles, and one odd bird.

We played the Ouija board and tried to determine our futures.

We made this picture of a clock.

All in all we had a spectacular, laid back time. I miss her again, already!

-Papermoon

Darnit!

2009-07-07T09:31:00.006-05:00

I finally got around to darning my jeans yesterday, after four months of putting down on each daily 'to-do list' I wrote. Procrastination, anyone?

I shouldn't have dawdled, considering how easy it is to do. Before yesterday, I'd only darned by hand (a pain). With my machine, this quick denim rejuvenation was painless and satisfying! I feel like I have three new pairs to wear!

Here's how to do it:

Before you start, round up your hole-y jeans, your sewing machine, some matching thread (or go nuts with some funky colors! Your choice!), some pins, and a thin, somewhat stretchy, soft material for reinforcing. I used some scraps from a pair of my sister's jeans which we'd just turned to shorts. I would also recommend shirting, thin corduroy, or even polar fleece–which I hear works very well. On to the process.

First, locate your holes and worn areas. (Mine always seem to fall apart at the inner leg on the left side. Consistent problem...odd.)

Second, turn your jeans inside out and cut a patch of your reinforcement material to fit the worn area. Make sure you encompass the area right around any holes you have–the area is likely very weak. (Look for buckling, fraying and super-softness.) Pin on your patch.

Third, put a denim needle in your machine and set it for a darning stitch, inserting the proper foot. (In case you don't have a computer of a machine like I do, a darning stitch should look something like 21 or 32, shown below. Darning is basically weaving–your stitch should feature many small stitches running into each other, close together. I used 21, figuring the 'zig zag' would favor my slightly-spandex jeans a bit better.)

Fourth, darn that business! Run the stitch over the fabric to cover the weakened area. When you're done, tie your knots, cut off any lagging patch corners, and turn your jeans right side out! VOILA!

Alright... your turn! Go make new clothes out of the old! A recession-era pastime...and a lot of fun.

-Papermoon

Search Bar.

2009-07-06T10:08:00.000-05:00

I have added a search bar. I think I will be the one to use it, but I thought I'd let you all know...

-Papermoon

Crown Thy Good With Brotherhood.

2009-07-05T17:29:00.007-05:00

America...

The Free.

The Beautiful.

The Bountiful.

The Winner!

-Papermoon

Yes, Please.

2009-06-22T16:57:00.004-05:00

You may indeed buy me some of this luggage.

And, once I get my hair cut, and modify my hair to look just like this:

I will officially be primed for time travel, fancy clothes, and imminent engagement. To be sure.

I have been babysitting up a storm and raking in the cash, so I can at least take care of the hair!

-Papermoon

Images of luggage c/o Streamline Luggage.

Film stills of the prettiest woman alive c/o Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Chanel, for the new Chanel No. 5 'filmercial'.

Bleeds and Paint.

2009-06-16T14:08:00.005-05:00

Prime quotes from camp today:

"Painting outside?... Did you ask if you could do this with us?"

"Ugh. I don't want to go home. I wish you could come over for a playdate."

(One girl to another:) "Did you get hurt? Is that really a bleed? Or did you paint yourself? DON'T TRICK ME, OKAY?!"

Oh, children... you are so strange and wonderful. I particularly like this hilariously common kid-practice of calling scrapes and cuts "bleeds" or even "bleeders". There is something very Dennis the Menace/Leave It To Beaver about it.

Camp has been eating up my time, as we've gotten quite a lot of rain. Kids come to camp with the primary objective of playing on the playground and screaming down the waterslide, so it's been a huge effort to cheer them up with crafts. But, I'm making it work. Today we had some sunshine, so our art effort was some watercolor painting, en plein air. A very interesting activity with five year olds. I think they initially thought it was illegal.

On another note, related to my last post, sister Maggie and I finished a painting yesterday based on the delightful aesthetic of A Hundred and One Dalmatians. Nice, eh? And it will match her room!

Summer is excellent.

-Papermoon

A Dalmatian Plantation!

2009-06-11T13:25:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I enjoyed a post-work movie with some of my siblings and my mother. My youngest sister and I had the unique opportunity to pick out the movie without the input of the others, so we opted for the genre that might not be the first choice at a 'family movie night': a cartoon!

We both feigned interest in a few other films we'd included in the 'options pile', but settled on the movie we really wanted to see: One Hundred and One Dalmatians, made in 1961. I had forgotten how completely beautiful the animation is!

While searching for images, I discovered an utterly fascinating blog dealing with color in animated film. Check it out here. (The images I am using came from Mr. Iten's site.)

I love the almost papercut-like look of the buildings, and the way the foreground and background move like stop-animation. I also can't get enough of the color scheme... or the characters' clothing!

Lovely!

-Papermoon

Camp. / Up.

2009-06-08T21:20:00.003-05:00

First day of camp job #1. This being a very general, half day, primary-grades day camp, I felt that I was running the risk of planning too many activities for such young folks. After today I had to kick myself... these almost-first graders wanted a lot more out of me. Tomorrow I will have a much more chock-full schedule for them, I think.

Not that I had a bad first day... we opened with visor and backpack decorating, which (due to the inclusion of Sharpies and stickers) was a hit. We then moved on to some waterslide time; a good idea except for how cold they get, and how looooooooong little girls take to change into their bathing suits. If only women didn't talk so much.

Next up we played some games (a variation of 'heads up, seven up' and some playground tag) until lunchtime. Despite the fact that no child under the age of eight years eats real food unless forced, lunch went alright, too. After lunch we took a vote and decided on another round of playground time, before finishing out the day with pastels and colored paper. This last bit was a 'fly by the seat of my pants' moment because I got some very flawed advice from a fellow camp counselor, and had banked in a 'storytime' period. Which I knew wouldn't work... Should have trusted my gut.

Tomorrow I am going to give it a go this way:

9 AM Arrival, hopefully wrapping up by 9:15.
9:15-10:00 Model Magic 'fake food' craft–usually a big hit.
10:00-10:30 Water games, hopefully extending well past this time period.
10:30-11:00 Team obstacle courses. The two counselors will each champion a team.
11:00-11:30 Changing out of bathing suits.
(You would not believe how long this takes. It's unbelievable. I think I will have a sidewalk chalk or obstacle course game going on out on the blacktop so that once kids are done they can go join an activity. This, or the playground.)
11:30-12:00 LUNCH
12:00-12:30 Playground time.
12:30- 1:00 Simple paper kites (with popsicle sticks).

Hopefully it will work out.

* * * * *

On an another (though still vaguely child-related) note, I saw Up! today with a friend and my sister and mother. It was wonderful. Simultaneously evocative of childhood enjoyment of Disney movies while also drawing a very nuanced, adult tear from my eye, it was a real story achieved through absolutely breathtaking animation. I am pleased to say this was a movie (like Finding Nemo) that was better because it was digital. Purist that I am, that really matters. The balloons carrying that dear old man's house looked SO real, and that wasn't something that classic animation could have achieved. Reality was surely suspended!

I am too tired (ah, first graders) to go on... but everyone should see the film. The little boy's character is made to seem pesky in the commercials, but he is actually irresistable on the screen. Likewise, what can seem to be an annoying dog character in a quick preview is actually hilarious.

One warning: I cried throughout the movie. My face was consistently soaked. So was my eleven year old sister's. While we are both sentimental, I don't think I could fairly say our reaction would be unusual. You have been warned.

-Papermoon

Quiet.

2009-06-02T14:58:00.004-05:00

A grey afternoon, two months worth of The New Criterion, my new favorite Pandora radio station*–enhanced by my sister playing piano downstairs, my red armchair, and a rabbit friend.

A much-needed detox moment.

-Papermoon

*After many tries, I have found the perfect station for background music. Type "Limehouse Blues" and choose the Tyree Glenn version. Summery, mellow, and varied, it suggests gin and tonics and beautiful clothing. Enjoy.

Home again.

2009-05-29T19:40:00.003-05:00

Five days in and it's still a whirlwind!

I haven't yet slept in my own bed (guests abound this time of year at my parents' house) but I am settling in to being back home. I enjoyed the pool the first day in, in my new bathing suit (pictures to follow–it was cute, but needed some home modifications). I have been adjusting to the richer, more expensive, more delicious food (no hardship!) and to all the lovely company.

These last few days, my family has enjoyed the addition of more family. It is always fun to have cousins around, and to imagine what it might be like to have an even bigger group! We have had such fun with my aunt and uncle and their kids, who all came out to celebrate my brother's graduation. Last night brought my grandmother in, as well.

My brother James and I accompanied these visitors into New York yesterday–a trip that had me as much a tourist as my Atlanta-rooted relatives. I really don't know anything about the city! Moving will be quite the adventure. Of course, our tourist trek wasn't exactly in my new neighborhood...but, still. I have a whole new city to learn!

The best part of yesterday? The top of the Empire State Building in complete fog.

-Papermoon

Goodbye, Chicago!

2009-05-22T08:08:00.002-05:00

Well, it's official. My move has begun. My parents have texted me "On the way!" and the view outside my bedroom window already looks more nostalgic.

I am not going to allow much sadness over this move. I have been here for five years, enjoying what Chicagoland has to offer, and that makes me lucky. I am heading for a lot of good things: great summer jobs, time with my wonderful family this summer at home, and a new, exciting job come September. I will dearly miss my roomie and friends, and this city, but I will be back. I see no point in getting too sad. This isn't a forever goodbye...Chicago, after all, is only a matter of hours (and no oceans!) away.

Time to wrap up the packing, enjoy some sunshine, vacuum the carpet, and then welcome my parents!

Thanks for the fun, Chicago!

I'll likely post next week, when the crazies settle down...

-Papermoon

Modern Wing, Moving Things.

2009-05-20T22:36:00.005-05:00

So busy...

I spent a lovely day luxuriating in the summery weather with friends today. I have been biding my time lately in my apartment, dutifully packing like a droid until I have a compelling enough reason to allow myself a break from the box-filling. Today's reasons took up almost the whole day: First, I had to go out and get some dishwashing soap. Then, I just had to go out and see the new Modern Wing at the Art Institute. These things are necessities!

The walk over to the museum was sunny and cheerful, and I am happy to say the Wing itself did not disappoint, either. I couldn't take pictures, so I stole a few from the web.

I especially loved this view–

I was pleasantly reminded of the stairway in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (Cph, DK).

See the resemblance?

Of course, my inner conflict raged over most of the artwork. But, no matter; a lot of it was fairly stimulating. I do like Gerhard Richter, who had quite a few pieces displayed.

I also enjoyed the Giacometti sculptures (as always), some interesting architectural and design works, and some very large Cy Twombly paintings. However, my friends and I agreed that poor Twombly would do better to decline interviews; what quotes he had made him sound like a colossal idiot. Nonetheless, I love this particular peony painting:

It's a year of loving red, for me.

We ate lunch at the Intelligentsia over on Jackson, and let it be known that their panini sandwiches– fresh from Southport Grocery– are utterly perfect. I am still full from lunch. No joke. And all of this loveliness was topped off by a seasonably early-in-the-day gin and tonic, after which I handed off the remainder of my gin to these friends of mine, said some goodbyes, and proceeded to the packing.

Tonight's box themes? Sewing notions, books, plates and cooking tools, and my lovely set of eight white bowls, in eight of the most necessary sizes.

(To elaborate on that last point, these white bowls give me some kind of unnatural pleasure. I think they are perfect. They are by Gibson "White Elements" and I think everyone in the world should own them. So beautiful. And so nice to only have one of each size, when I am so used to having a set of everything. I never take these eight individuals for granted. They were the only things I enjoyed packing today. Lovingly nesting them in their original box, I really felt rich.)

After all of that, I am exhausted. Tomorrow's goals: managing to keep myself "zenned out" (as my Papa might say) enough not to stress over the boxes fitting in my car this weekend, and finishing most of the food in my fridge and cupboard. Wish me luck!

Oh Chicago... you are fast slipping away from me!

-Papermoon

Covering Up

2009-05-16T13:33:00.003-05:00

Oh my, I couldn't be more excited.

I just ordered this sexy modest swimsuit. I can't wait to see how it fits!

I haven't bought a new swimsuit in two years (perhaps longer?) and so my plan for this year was to splurge for a new one, and dedicate my search to modesty. I used to be a big advocate of teeny-bikinis (better tanning!), but as I am no longer in avid pursuit of skin cancer, and am no longer in a stage of my life in which I want to wear a couple of triangles on a string, I have been looking out for more modest options.

Initially, I was hoping to buy something by Jessica Rey–the white power ranger from TV!– purely because I would love to support the messages she promotes about modesty and chastity. She based her whole line on Audrey Hepburn movie characters... very cute. However, In the end I couldn't get as excited about at tankini as a one-piece. My 18 year old self would laugh and laugh...

In any case, here's a link to her line: Jessica Rey: Who says it has to be itsy bitsy?

And here's a link to the store I bought my suit from, which Gabrielle tipped me off about: Down East Basics

-Papermoon

Progression, at the Dittmar Gallery.

2009-05-14T22:33:00.004-05:00

Headed over to Evanston today after work (tomorrow will be my last day at work!) to see the current Seniors' Art Theory and Practice show. It was a great opportunity to see some friends as well as some of my classmates from my college 'artsy' days. I feel very far away from that lifestyle at this point, and certainly haven't found that I am pursuing art-making in a way I might have expected I would while I was still in college.

The show itself was very pleasant to look at. All of the work was actually quite interesting, and their class is lucky enough to have real variation in terms of their media, pursuits, and politics.

My favorite works were some very lovely illustrations and paintings by my friends Yana Myaskovskaya and Lauren Redding; a performance/installation peice involving gauze dragged through the Chicago city streets by one Joyce Kim; and a dazzling glitter painting–something I would never have thought I would like!–by Tiffany Wells. I didn't bring a camera, sadly, but I managed to scoop up some images of a few off of the internet. Here's to Yana and Lauren! :)

One of Yana's illustration works–Untitled.
The ladybug is actual size, printed on a very large sheet of white paper. Clever!

Yana's second illustration–The Sound of Silence.
This really surprised me in person; I hadn't realized how tiny the drawing was!
It is incredibly detailed and beautiful, and only a few inches tall.

Lauren's self-portrait.
A beautiful girl with a beautiful talent!
I love the timelessness of this ...that is the best part about her work, in general.

All in all, the last few years have been a personal tug of war for me over whether or not I would like to continue to involve myself with the art scene. I am often frustrated by the contemporary presentation of art, but I can not deny that I would miss it if I renounced it completely! It was wonderful to see this show.

Off to bed, wishing these friends of mine good luck!

-Papermoon

I should be in a bad mood!

2009-05-13T09:57:00.003-05:00

Thankfully, I must have woken up resilient and optimistic this morning. Perhaps it was something in the chicken last night.

This is a blessing, because everything appears to be working against me today.

First, I woke up freezing cold, as rainy wind was blowing into my bedroom through my open window. Not only was this uncomfortable, but I was also coming out of a nightmare involving running mice, prompted by the sound of the blinds rat-a-tatting against my window pane. Yikes.

I was entirely exhausted, as the poor choice of drinking coffee last night at 9 pm didn't allow for a very easy sleep. However, I had plans to make a last trip out to the Green City Market, so I shoved myself out of bed. I knew they operated rain or shine, so I grabbed an umbrella and a waterproof bag and headed for the bus.

I waited approximately 20 minutes for that stupid bus–and then, as I sat down, he announced that he would only be going another block, and wouldn't be finishing his route. (Please keep in mind the persisting POURING RAIN.) One block later, I stood at the bus stop for another ten minutes before boarding another bus.

Caught up in a text message, I missed my stop for the market! I had to get off, turn around, and slosh through mud. I was so glad to get to the market, however, that my spirits were high. I ran, jubilant, over to some beautiful tomatoes. Mmmmm! They looked so delicious. I gathered together a bunch of them, and made myself a bag of watercress. I stood in a rainy line for my produce to be weighed, whipped out my wallet, and... WHAT?

I had four dollars in cash. That's it. No money. And you might not know this, but most farmers don't bring an ATM machine to market. I bought the watercress for $1.50, walked around for a few minutes, and hopped another bus. (To Trader Joe's, where I could use my debit card.)

Sighing at the 'cop-out' nature of ending up at a grocery store–albeit a good, 'green' one– when I had planned on delicious natural goods, I picked up some artichokes, tomatoes, yogurt and a cantaloupe. By this point I was very hungry.

Acting on this hunger, I came home and put some bread in the toaster. And burnt it absolutely black. I am eating it now, with yogurt.

And you know what? It really doesn't taste that bad. When it rains, it pours...but I have always liked rain. I have a presentation later today at the Children's Museum, and while I am pretty sure something will go wrong (Power outage as I start my Power Point? Spinach in my teeth? Embarrassing spoonerism?) I am still in a positive mindset about it all.

Nonetheless, I hope your day goes a bit smoother than mine!

-Papermoon

Darkon.

2009-05-11T12:56:00.002-05:00

At the strong risk of alienating my readership, I am going to go ahead and make a very nerdy recommendation.

Godsbody turned me on to this online documentary, and something in my fantasy-loving past called to me to watch it. I have to say that I wasn't disappointed. Something in role-play battle, Renaissance fairs, re-enactment culture, and like has always secretly appealed to me. I will grant that the behaviour of these enthusiasts can border on insane, and can in fact be debilitating to their real lives. I don't think I could ever become so seriously 'sucked in', either. But, having a very active imagination myself, I think I can comprehend the excitement.

A surprising, entertaining hour and a half. If you have the time, you just might enjoy it.

-Papermoon.

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.

2009-05-09T13:55:00.005-05:00

I have come to a decision.

I am in the middle of reading the book above; a fabulous and witty diatribe against our modern culture and its disregard for grammar and punctuation. Having always been extremely interested in writing-- and being prone to reading 'with a pencil in hand for corrections', just as Truss describes-- I knew that I would get a kick out of this book.

What I didn't see coming was the acknowledgment I would be forced to make that the casual way in which I write on the internet is childish and unattractive!

As someone with a design background, I will vehemently stick to my opinion that lowercase letters are beautiful. However, I couldn't help but remember that for years, in my early experiences with the internet and texting, I used proper punctuation and formatting, and appreciated the favor in others. Funny that I would abandon this "proper" emphasis as I aged...I would have thought I'd have gone in the opposite direction.

In any case, here ends my chic use of lowercase letters. Onward and upward! Why squander my knowledge of the elements of style in the name of... style?

-Papermoon

poladroid fun

2009-05-08T11:06:00.004-05:00

don't know how i've missed this: Poladroid

i suppose i am the last to find out, but maybe someone else missed the boat on all this fun, so i will share!

you download the sweetest little polaroid camera, which sits on your desktop, and then you drag your digital files right over to the camera, it makes an authentic polaroid sound, and then your pictures takes full minutes to process, looking for all the world like an actual polaroid!

it's so adorable, i am addicted!!!

-papermoon

some summer dresses in mind...

2009-05-05T23:31:00.004-05:00

... from another time!

i was at vogue fabrics the other day, just taking a gander and picking up a pattern i've been wanting.

i couldn't help but get distracted at look at basically EVERYTHING in the store, as usual. i had a painstaking battle with my willpower over a bunch of vintage menswear buttons (my willpower, thankfully, won). i must have touched and admired every piece of venetian lace and let's not even talk about the remnants i managed not to buy.

in any case, the best part, as usual, was looking through all the patterns and catalogs at the fancy things i would never make and don't need. i became extremely fixated on the summer offerings in the butterick's catalog from their 'retro' section. i think i might order some of these!

my new life plan, in which i toss all trends to the wind and embrace my love of high waists and secretary blouses, is really making me feel pretty. not that it's so important to enjoy one's reflection at all times...but it is nice! :)

-papermoon

contemporary art morning

2009-05-05T09:38:00.005-05:00

headed to the MCA with a friend to see these two big timers. despite my usual frustration with contemporary art, i do have a few wackos i am very fond of. olafur eliasson is someone i am very, very excited about. i will be sure to let you all know how these are!

buckminster fuller

olafur eliasson

*** later***

it was great--as expected, i found eliasson's portion to be much more exciting than fuller's, but both were well done in terms of exhibition.

the highlight for me was a piece of eliasson's called 'Room for one colour', which featured a hallway of yellow monochromatic light, which made every present figure appear to be black and white. it was fascinating to see yourself as though you'd jumped directly into an old movie!

i also enjoyed a piece called 'Ventilator'--a basic fan, hung by its cord from the ceiling, moving in an arc due to the motion of its own blade. strangely mesmerizing, notably so for the sound it made. a bit like the ocean.

i do like art, sometimes...

one of the best days of my whole life.

2009-05-03T15:25:00.003-05:00

all throughout my childhood i was a compulsive lister. i don't think much has changed. i was constantly revising lists: in my head, in my diary, on scraps of paper and on chalkboards. i loved planners and pocket notebooks and post-it notes, and have written myself at least one daily 'to-do' list since i was about twelve. (i used to include 'wake up' every morning!) the back of my first diary--pink with ballet slippers, and my name in stickers-- held a running list of 'best friends' that is hilarious too look at, both for the ridiculous reasons i crossed people off the list, only to add them back on, and for the fact that the word 'best' didn't seem to limit my quantity! 12 best friends, really?

one of my mental lists through my growing up years was that of the 'best days of my whole life'. some were very specific events--one particular Palm Sunday in which i felt very grown up, my eighth and ninth birthdays, the day my brother and i filled up a top hat with snow and made beautiful 'snow cake', some family vacations, a 24 hour period i spent exclusively painting as a freshman in college, a very hilarious fancy dinner in which my sister katie and i accidentally got drunk... there are too many to count.

today was one of the best days of my life, despite being entirely solitary and without much to speficically define it. i suppose i will just list everything, in keeping with the theme!

woke up (without an alarm) to good weather
spent a lovely almost-hour talking to my littlest sister on the phone (SHE called ME! so nice!)
cinnamon toast and coffee
did the underpainting for something new i am working on (mother's day!)
showered, got dressed in the new ($20) Audrey Hepburn pants i bought yesterday (sorry, it's a cellphone picture)

lunch on my sun deck, pretending i was on an enormous cruise ship (delicious egg salad and iced tea!)

read C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves: Friendship

and in an hour i will finish it off with Mass. the best.

-papermoon

i am EMPLOYED.

2009-05-02T21:25:00.002-05:00

so, as of yesterday, i have a job.

i will be teaching at this school starting in the fall, and i couldn't possibly be happier about a job.

:)

-papermoon

if i ever have to get a dog

2009-05-01T09:47:00.002-05:00

i will get an airedale, because they look like adorable muppet-dogs

or a portuguese water dog, because i want to kidnap my friend norah's.
and come on, this doesn't even look like a real animal!!!

oh hahah or i want this one.

can't lie, poodle mixes are my favorite all around.
and they are so SMALL... how convenient.

well, this was definitely my dumbest post ever. and anyone who knows me knows i am NOT an animal person... how random. hope you all enjoyed this girly puppy moment. maybe i am lonely. haha.

-papermoon

2009-04-30T11:23:00.002-05:00

taking in my little black dress, drinking coffee, before venturing out into the fog for work.

what a funny life!

-papermoon

my cousin's film company.

2009-04-29T11:41:00.003-05:00

hey there readers... help publicize my cousin and 'become a fan' of his film company on facebook. he's a multi-talented fellow (writes, makes films, takes excellent still photos) and he's my relative, so clearly he's a superior fellow. :)

just click the link to get to his page!

-papermoon

a wonderful way to start the day

2009-04-29T10:32:00.004-05:00

please go watch this--i couldn't embed it:

stand by me, around the world

basically whoever it is that produced this took street performers contributions to one song, around the world, to make one really excellent version of ben e. king's song. and the result is like one of those olympics commercials that makes you cry. awesome.

enjoy!

-papermoon

anthropologie-inspired headbands

2009-04-28T10:47:00.005-05:00

anthropologie is a great source for research.

i love to window shop there and get ideas, especially for crafting fun gifts for friends.

a few weeks ago, my friend leigh admired these headbands, which fetch a mean price of anywhere from 32.00 to 38.00.

i decided to whip up my own version for her birthday.

i just put together some fabric flowers with bead accents, sewed them onto a fabric strip base, and then attached them to the headbands with a series of tight thread loops. they looked adorable in her hair this weekend!

here are a few detail shots.

sorry about the blurry one. i think i need a new camera.

make yourself some! spring has sprung!

-papermoon

summer job excitement

2009-04-23T09:55:00.003-05:00

moving is such an emotional rollercoaster!

after a few hours of being alternately weepy and determinedly optimistic over the phone to my accommodating mother last night, this morning am just laughing at the ups and downs of my psyche as it attempts to deal with change. never been my forte!

in any case, my chin has been up quite a bit higher about everything since nailing down my plans for the summer. (my job search has actually been a lot more fruitful, in general, since i directed it to NJ.)

this june i will be running the art (and possibly cooking!) end of things at a day camp at my elementary school. it's extra exciting because this drop-in day camp is a new idea for the program, so i get a lot of freedom in terms of what i want to teach. plus, it's little tykes: likely K-2nd grade, which will be delightful.

then, in july and early august, i will be the 2D/3D art director at the SIG day program at Stuart Country Day in princeton. 4th, 5th, and 6th graders...very exciting... and i get to set the curriculum, which should be a great challenge. comparable to my current work at the Children's Musuem, but with a bit of an older set.

here's what i dug up... this appears to be where i will set up shop:

i am especially excited about the campus of Stuart. during the school year, it is an all-girls Sacred Heart school, and one i am especially interested in. i actually applied for the summer position so i could scope out their campus...part of my long term interest in all-girls education.

the website has a really neat 'architectural tour':
take a tour of the pretty things!

alright-- off to get dressed and such for my current job. can't get ahead of myself!

-papermoon

i can't stop laughing!

2009-04-20T10:24:00.002-05:00

i love insidecatholic.com, and i read it almost every day. the site is basically a collecting forum for various opinion pieces, editorials, news briefs, and informational articles and reviews as relates to Catholicism (Church and culture).

on sundays, there is usually a "Sunday Comics" post--which I don't often read. it's a fun novelty, as the man who updates it takes his offerings from archives and most of the comics are from the 50's, which means they have a very sweet, classic look (and some hilarious slang).

i went on this morning and felt drawn to the comic because it was so utterly random--it's about 'spring cleaning'! for whatever reason, i think it's hilarious.

i hope you all enjoy 'patsy manners' and her great ideas. hahah.

check out the rest of the panels (the full comic) here: patsy manners.

later!~
papermoon

today is

2009-04-19T15:34:00.003-05:00

this beautiful foggy rainy view

this collection of rainy day paraphenelia

and this new delicious experience

five is haagen daz ice cream's new contribution to the 'natural', 'getting back to homemade but still buying things' movement. and i am 100% on board. today, absolutely nothing could have prevented me from eating ice cream. nothing. and when i hopped over to treasure island to peruse the options, the font on the carton really stuck out. and i am glad it did--the ginger ice cream left me dying to try the other flavors! and i am a sucker for the REAL FOOD ingredients on the nutrition information...ice cream i can feel good about.

and now, off to church!

-papermoon

chicks from a chick

2009-04-18T16:18:00.004-05:00

look at this hilarious gift i got from some chick:

i laughed so hard. the eyes on those things...they get me every time.

more to come later--the weather's nice and such!

-papermoon

weeks upon weeks.

2009-04-14T08:34:00.003-05:00

been two weeks!

i had a few rounds of visitors--this has been my record year--and then a trip home to celebrate Easter. work has been busy as well; today is day one of the workshop i have been writing. wish me luck.

i haven't been too crafty as of late. more overwhelmed than creative. sometimes overwhelmed with joy, but a bit crazy as well. the lingering sinus issues weren't helping either. however, after today's class my life should be more predictable and may in fact reclaim that illusion of being master of my own schedule. the fascinating trip to the ENT i had last week may also prevent further maladious sick days--who knew heartburn and digestive problems are connected to sinus infections?!!

i will likely be posting quite a bit in the next month, as i have decided to really embrace a joyful 'carpe diem' sensibility and really blast into spring with lots of creativity and fun trip-taking.

you see, i am moving away from my dear chicago in five weeks.

i think i have known i would be moving for quite some time. my funds are exceedingly low--basically, i am long-term borrowing at the moment-- and i have no prospects, career wise, in chicago. i kept my fingers crossed and tried not to think about where i would be headed when my lease ran out, but at a certain point you have to face the facts. i will be moving home with my parents, in NJ, memorial day weekend. it feels very soon.

of course, i am sad. chicago is my favorite city, and the last nearly five years have been wonderful and very formative. i am trying not to look at this like a closing door, and i am certainly not silly enough to think i can never come back. but at this point, this is the right decision. an economy like this certainly doesn't justify my being such a financial burden on my parents, and i can do all the job searching i have been doing here just as well from my little town in jersey.

and i will dearly miss everyone here in chicago. but i will be near the family i miss all the time. i suppose life isn't simple enough to allow for a moment where you don't feel like someone is missing.

in any case, i intend to make the most of the remaining weeks in the windy city. i just wish the weather would cheer up instead of preemptively mourning the loss of me!

-papermoon

really into drawings lately

2009-03-31T23:43:00.003-05:00

erin mcguire, you are my new favorite artist in the world.

and all your 'nerdy girls' look like... me.

amazing...

2009-03-31T10:14:00.000-05:00

this goes with a thanks to oatmeal and cinnamon.

chronic illness.

2009-03-30T15:57:00.004-05:00

haven't been writerly lately--had a fun weekend (with lovely lula), but i am just out of pace lately, not sleeping correctly and generally green in the head and such.

i have been doing a lot of wondering about the emotional connection to sickness lately. sometimes i wonder if a lot of it is psycho-somatic. and whether i just need to get a bit happier and more hopeful and then my head would clear. who knows. it could just be my deviated septum.

i am caught somewhere between hypochondria-medicine-dependency and super-hippie-herbal-tactics-doctor-skepticism. i don't know which side to lean to to cure my months and months of sinus problems.

i'm just a bit of a sicky bird.

on another note--it's very pretty here. like God is apologizing for randomly making it snow yesterday.

and on a last note... i can't wait for my stupid hair to grow out. and isn't this picture awesome? it's from Allyson Kalie's flickr, which you can see here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaliegarrett/3247906257/

a great photo. such a nice braided look. i think of heidi, and spending hours in art studios, and fall, and romantically cold days.

-papermoon

popcorny perfection

2009-03-26T23:24:00.004-05:00

i can't believe it's 11:30 at night and i am this awake (without caffeine). i have work tomorrow! i have Mass in the morning! what am i thinking?

i think i need to get back into the pattern of exercising to get my body back to getting tired.

in any case, anyone who knows me knows that i try not to eat after 11 pm, because i know that what the 'hunger' i feel as soon as the clock strikes 11 is actually probably just my stomach kicking into digestion mode, thinking that i am asleep.

today i gave in, and ate popcorn. and i discovered something great!

my parents called uncharacteristically late tonight, as they are on a weekend trip and wanted to let me know they reached their destination. by force of some coincidental fate, my mama was eating popcorn--just what i'd been craving. i started to complain about the effort of it (i don't eat microwave popcorn--overpriced and i hate the 'butter' smell) because i haven't had good luck lately in my 20 year old microwave with the brown paper bag method, and i hate shaking pot over the stove for 20 minutes. but then my mom laid the tip on me: heat the oil FIRST, sans kernels... and when it starts to get hot, just throw in kernels to test if its ready!

maybe that's the obvious way, and you all already did it... but it was news to me and it made the whole thing 100% easier!

hooray for the most delicious healthy snack in the world.

g'nite!
papermoon

pollyanna strikes again.

2009-03-25T12:21:00.005-05:00

first i hit you with the pollyanna cake (still have to try that recipe).

now, i've unintentionally dressed up as pollyanna. i think it was a subtle subconscious attempt to 'get glad', as i woke up to a rocky emotional state this morning.

my cheerfully ugly outfit is already helping me out. i just love looking a bit off.

it's my day off, so i think i might take a journey out to the bookstore and then work in a coffee shop all day long, pretending i am a book character.

they say that the main reason adults have trouble relating to children's desires is that they lose the ability to actually see the real world through the lens of their imaginary world, instead of vice versa. i think God forgot to take that from me. glad for that!

-papermoon

the boots of bliss

2009-03-23T21:52:00.004-05:00

ok if i don't own one or both colors of this boot some time in my life i will just feel upset. does anyone have $128?

or fashion sense they could possibly loan me?

i know if i could wear shoes like these that i would also, magically, be happily married, 28, have a sweet little baby (or two), and long hair (worn in a bun), be insanely rosy-cheeked, eat organic food from a small farm, and i would love my government.

so... if anyone wants to loan me that money, they're at urban outfitters.

-papermoon

leftover coffee rice pudding.

2009-03-23T20:06:00.003-05:00

my brother came in for a whirlwind visit with seven of his buddies, and when they left they also left me a full pot of coffee, undrunk.

so, i saved it all day until i thought of something to do with it.

all of my online recipe searches only yielded the idea to freeze it into coffee cubes (cool, but not intellectually stimulating) or to add it to brownies or frosting. not my style--i don't really like either of those things.

i couldn't stop wondering what would happen if i made rice in coffee.

so i just did it. after i put the coffee and basmati rice i had around into a pot and started it going, i thought about whether i wanted something sweet or savory. after poking my finger in to taste some of the coffee rice, i decided it would be very tasty in a strange stir fry, but that i wasn't in the mood. (i already knew that whatever i was eating for dinner needed to be tasty with my leftover vodka sauce.) i moved on to sweet.

i googled 'basmati rice pudding' until i found a recipe that interested me.
i modified it to come up with this: and it's DELICIOUS.

(modified from the recipe for Basmati Rice Pudding in Totally Vegetarian by Toni Flore)

SERVINGS
4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

2 cups leftover coffee
1 cup white basmati rice
4 1/2 cups milk (i drink 2%)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

PREPARATION

1. Combine coffee and rice and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over very low heat 8 to 9 minutes, until most of the coffee is absorbed. Check and stir to avoid stuck rice, which will burn at the bottom of the pot.

2. Add 4 cups milk and the sugar. Continue cooking, now on low heat, for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, OR until the rice is soft and most of the milk absorbed. Remove the rice from the heat.

3. Pour 1/4 cup of the remaining milk into a bowl and whisk in the flour to dissolve. Add the vanilla extract. Add remaining milk and add to the pudding. Serve warm or at room temperature, or even after refrigerating.

delicious. and not too unhealthy.

and the rest of the coffee? in my ice cube tray. :)

-papermoon

perfect video for today's spring start.

2009-03-21T14:01:00.001-05:00

i love lisa hannigan.

her mom made the book covers... sweet.

-papermoon

my new project.

2009-03-20T11:26:00.002-05:00

i am finally at 75% on a new project i am working on, which is a high enough percentage to talk about it.

lately, i have been very interested in various listing projects--amy krouse rosenthal's 17 things i made , hwa young jung's 'english things', beth campbell's 'potential future' lists, to name a few.

one morning as i reached into my cupboard to grab a mug, i reflected on the fact that, like a pre-schooler who will only drink out of a batman cup, i am legitimately frustrated when i don't get to have my coffee in my mauve glazed mug. i have about 12 mugs--way more than is necessary--but i always want this one. it's my favorite.

i had a similar moment later, when, upon preparing to eat a scone, i kicked the dishwasher in anger because i couldn't eat my scone on my clear glass dimpled plate, which i bought for 50 cents at an apple orchard. i have a full set of dishes-- 8 full sized plates, 8 salad plates, not to mention at least 6 saucer sized plates and a few decorative plates--but i only want to eat my snack on my favorite plate.

i have a lot of some things, but one favorite. hence my new project.

lots but one favorite

i am not 100% committed to this format/layout, or even to the whole idea of this being a blog. it may morph into a series of drawings, or photos, or just a written list. this is what i am trying out for now.

hope you enjoy it!

on a totally unrelated side note, i put extra mustard on my sandwich today in hopes it would help out with my cold--and my brain is burning, i swear...

-papermoon

monster game with yana

2009-03-12T22:09:00.004-05:00

i am going to be taking a short hiatus from the internet--having a little holiday with my family this coming weekend!

i thought i would leave off with something fun... a prime exhibit of the monsters-eating-other-monsters game*, a relic of a lovely coffee shop talk with my friend yana. (the more beautiful monsters are hers--a fabulous artist is she.)

hope you have a monstrously fun weekend!!!

-papermoon

* do other people play this game? i know i have at least been playing it since i went to RISD's summer program back in the day...

inspiration strikes...

2009-03-09T12:45:00.003-05:00

... at inconvenient times.

i have a new project in mind! it's really been a while since the 'nudge' to make a little art came around. i am going to attribute these newly flowing creative juices to a little reunion of sorts with my old art scene, this weekend. (this rendezvous was the one bright moment in a weekend full of the stomach flu and sinus woes.) of course, i have been struck with this idea right in the middle of the stress and flutter of trying to catch up on my life and duties before work tomorrow. this is a shortened week for me, as well--i am meeting up with family this weekend out of town--so we'll see if progress is tangible.

i am excited for the moment i can reveal the notion...

-papermoon

guest blogger: chicken soup with lovely lula

2009-03-06T22:10:00.000-06:00

it's a first for papermoon! a guest blogger: miss becca mae of lovely lula.

becca and i met as art buddies during my long lost college years (ha) and have enjoyed brunching our way through our mutual unemployment ever since.

topic of the day? chicken soup! here's becca!

Well I'm thrilled that we're doing our first official "guest blogging" piece.

A few nights prior I'd tossed together a little homemade chicken soup for one at home, using egg noodles, and some pan fried chicken. It wasn't just right; the chicken was a little too chewy, but I could tell this hearty meal had a lot of potential. When Sarah and I got together that week for dinner, we gave this homemade chicken noodle soup another go, this time with two chefs in the kitchen.

This lovely dinner happened back in March before Lent began,
so I won't lie to you and say those lovely sparkling beverages are just tonic water.

Sarah worked on the chicken, since I wasn't too pleased with my first try. I don't consider protein to be my specialty. And Sarah made the most incredible, soft, tender, lemony, herbalicious chicken I've ever tasted. It was perfect for soup. It was perfection all by itself! SO delicious.

* a side note from me: my chicken tactics

cut your chicken up into soup-able pieces, salt and pepper them and add plenty of herbs de provence. (i add a lot of extra rosemary to mine whenever i have it around). i also added a bit of sage to this particular chicken. i am an herboholic.
make a country dijon vinaigrette--for the acid, use one part white wine vinegar and one part lemon juice
put that chicken in the dressing and let it hang out.
when it comes time to pan cook chicken, i am all about medium heat. i object highly to putting down those little pieces and then flipping them over. i let them all sit until they are all basically visually cooked-looking, then turn over for the other side. dried out chicken is disgusting. medium heat! just cut the biggest piece down the middle to check for any pink before you turn off the stove and proceed.

back to becca!

I got busy chopping up the vegetables:
Garlic
Onion
Yellow Pepper
Carrots
Parsley
(I'm not big on portions, numbers, that sort of thing... I usually just sort of judge by how much seems to be proportional to the meal size. But I believe we used... two cloves garlic, 1 onion, 1 pepper, a handful of baby carrots, and a handful of parsley, if you were curious.)

They looked so pretty in Sarah's tiffin box containers. How convenient to have such a pretty, stacking set!

Cooking was pretty easy, but I just can't bring myself to pretend I'm a "food" blogger.

If you want a good food blog, check Lottie + Doof or Smitten Kitchen!

But anyway.... olive oil in the pan, medium heat, heat oil, add garlic until its just about to brown, toss in onions and carrots. Thank heavens Sarah suggested the carrots to cool the garlic, because I was about to burn it. If you've ever accidentally over browned your garlic, its not a disaster, but when you are enjoying your soup, you might bite down on something chewy and be confused about when you added peanuts to your soup, and why they taste like burned garlic. What I'm saying is, they get crunchy. Not good. Anyway, thanks to some cold, crispy carrots, no garlic was burnt!

Next, broth. We used vegetable broth--no need for any extra chicken-ness with our delicious recipe.

Toss in the peppers, add the chicken, and I add even more herbs, because... its hard to go wrong with fresh ground herbs, and a good pinch or two of pepper.

Now this is important... Egg noodles are delicious, but NOT if they are over cooked... they get pasty, and fall apart, and then you'd have Chicken Mush Soup, which is a texture disaster - never okay with me.
We tossed the parsley and the noodles in to boil for about 5 minutes, and it was perfection!

A peppery bowl of soup, some paintings, and a few Audrey Tautou movies later, and we were ready for dessert.

I got the recipe for the mango, ricotta and lime parfaits from Food Everyday by Martha Stewart.
Its lime juice, lime zest, mango, and sugar combined together and poured over ricotta cheese.
We may have been a little overzealous with the bourbon-enhanced whipped cream on top, which I could eat alone as a meal it's so good.

All in all, it was a lovely evening and an incredible meal, and in the end we learned a very important lesson, blue paint tastes the best.

what can i say... former art majors can't resist tasting the watercolors every once in a while.

-papermoon

the apron display

2009-03-05T16:03:00.006-06:00

a few days ago i was freshening up the apartment and i felt the need to nail something to the wall. (sometimes i just want to use a hammer.)

i had already put a nail up in the bathroom for my hair dryer, and one near the front door for lora's keys, so i really had to stretch my mind for an excuse. walking into my bedroom, it came to me! i have been storing my excessive and ever-growing collection of aprons on my bedroom doorknob, when i could be proudly displaying some of my favorite things!

i think it really adds something to the hallway. i also like looking at them together and thinking about the story behind each of them...

hope you put your favorite things on display!

-papermoon

learning to be still again!

2009-02-28T14:58:00.002-06:00

well, i have had quite the social/busy streak lately, which has been nice in its way, but hasn't left me much time for crafting, finishing up some projects sitting on my sewing desk (one of which is darning the sweater i usually wear EVERY night while putzing around --cassie it's your pretty tan one!---, another of which is Weekend Anna's bag, which is in pieces and not a bit sewn...)

today i vowed to stay at home, clean everything, plan up some sunday dinner for tomorrow, at least START one of my projects, and to kick the cold i am having. it's freezing out, so my restrictions are not bothering me a bit. i stuck to journeys born of necessity (trader joe's and Mass for Lent) and i am listening to some big band favorites on full blast, thanks to iTunes radio, and i bought ***flowers*** at the grocery store. so nice!!!

i used to think my mom was nuts with all her fresh flowering all the time, in nearly every room, but man have i ever caught the bug. they just make me feel so happy, even when i get that feeling that the clutter is going to eat me. and they smell nice, and they look so nice in old wine bottles! i have not been very good with plants, historically, and when i was in a position to recieve them, romantically speaking, i always felt so stressed when i killed them! i'm thinking if i get really good at keeping my cut flowers looking good, i will move on to learning how to be diligent with little potted things. it's a nice trait in a person.

well, i am off to some relaxed cleaning and enforced calm. here are some lovely flower shots for my dear readers!

-papermoon

the ladylike project

2009-02-25T21:46:00.004-06:00

lora and i decided, last weekend, that something had to be done about our level of ladylike behaviour.

it was way, way below the pioneer/victiorian standard.

our main reproachable behaviours? less-than-lovely language, occasional slips in terms of using the Lord's name in vain, and less than grateful expressions about our appearances. added to that, we won't stand for certain things in visitors to our apartment, such as misogynstic comments.

we devised a series of fines (some things are weightier fines than others) and we have been duly paying up, and occasionally forcing others to do the same. it's a bit of a tyrant move, but hey--it's improvement. we are very dedicated, and we hold each other to the honor system when we're not around each other. it's both amusing and highly annoying, since we are neither of us abundantly rich at the moment.

i owe a good deal of money already...but it's already improving my language!

and doesn't lora make the PRETTIEST tissue paper flowers??? such a talented girl.

-papermoon

a lovely thing.

2009-02-24T16:53:00.003-06:00

yesterday was my 100th post--today i will celebrate my 101st post with something truly beautiful.

i saw this on design*sponge today and it made me cry.
it's so nice, i don't want to spoil it by writing anything else right now.

but... i did find my water bottle. :)

help

2009-02-23T12:26:00.004-06:00

that font is my papa's handwriting! neat, right?
in any case... i don't know if i left my sigg at work, or somewhere in chicago (like a bus), or what... but i am dying of thirst because i just can't bring myself to drink liquids without a vessel designed for hikers. alas.

2009-02-20T09:12:00.003-06:00

i would like to go here:

http://www.ingallshomestead.com/

and here:

http://www.walnutgrove.org/index.html

very, very much.

well... off to my real life. sigh.

-papermoon

ever feel like your brain is running too fast?

2009-02-17T23:30:00.003-06:00

i think of my mind like a computer. in general, i think i have good hardware and even good software, but in general i contend that i am lazy with software updates. however, in the last two weeks i think i must have gone into the mac store for some repair, and then they must have done all my updates for me and now everything is lightning fast. they fixed my trackpad, too.

did i take that analogy too far?

in any case. i feel wired, and busy, and fast-paced lately. i am sure this is largely due to a busier life than i have had in six months, now that i am actually doing something. plus, i've been really social lately! i am not a seriously social girl but man i have been amping it up lately with the peopled activity thing. i think it's nice, actually.

anna's visit was so great... i wish i could have elongated it. we packed it in, though... we went for a REALLY late dinner at the hopleaf as valentines... and we got a perfect seat right away! love must have been in the air. :) i got mussels (of course) and saison dupont. anna had a cashew butter and fig jam sandwich and a chocolate stout. mmmmmm delectable, with the great frites to boot.

we then woke up early and rushed around to get to Mass in evanston (with becca!). sheil was packed! we had lunch with her relatives at the lucky platter (mmm) and then split ways so she could pursue some of her other chicago people. i had some coffee time with becca and some dinner with lucy. we ended up on my couch that night watching priceless--the movie that is inspiring the growing out of my hair at the moment-- in and out of sleep, totally full, and totally dehydrated and exhausted.

we woke up feeling sick! but we were in good moods. just sad to say goodbye! i miss her so much already.

i had work today and i felt a bit like i didn't get enough done... i need to use some of my day off tomorrow to get in a bit of reading/research. it sure is nice to have research to do on the kind of thing i e-mail my sister about... playing with miniatures and dollhouses! work with kids is AWESOME.

speaking of that, check out maggie's great picture of her little critters:

they are soo cute. i love calico critters.
i keep my little hamster family on my tea shelf. one sits in my pretty teacup.

ah, little anthropomorphic creatures!!!!

ooo... i have to get this recipe i cooked with my friend aamna and upload it. it was this very delicious fish recipe with a TON of paprika in it and i feel so delicious right now as a result of it. her company was also delicious. food and friends are very nice.

well, i wish i hadn't had coffee in a soy freezie tonight. i am tired but mentally buzzing!

goodnight!

-papermoon

(polly)anna

2009-02-16T13:24:00.002-06:00

anna has to leave today. i am too sad about it to even give a good recap of her visit this weekend, so i will save that for later. right now we are lounging, marveling at our lethargy, wondering if we might be just a bit ill, eating a strange combination of foods and drinking coffee and water, and watching pollyanna. which is one the best movies ever. my family watches it every fourth of july--since hayley mills' "and crown they good with braaaaaaaaaaaaatherhood" is so moving.

we both think the best part is the cake at the bazaar.

something about hanging out with anna makes me use google in a very funny way. i basically type in the result i want instead of searching the right way. in any case, i wanted to find a recipe for this delicious cake and i think i might have hit the nail on the head thanks to this neat-looking blog!

check this out!

i can't wait to give it a go--if it works out i will be a devoted reader. and i love her photo--i was just looking at a little teapot like hers at whole foods yesterday. so sweet!

well... i am sad about anna's departure, but i am glad to have a friend like anna to miss. see? i can play the glad game with the best of them...

-papermoon

tempted!

2009-02-13T10:03:00.002-06:00

look what design*sponge had to offer today:

no relation to this papermoon...but very neat!!!
check it out yourself--just click the post title for the link.
i want to buy something! maybe happy valentine's day to me?
we'll see. i am so broke i would have to forget meals for three days to do so.

off to pre-work preparations... one day to anna!!!!

-papermoon

oh so chocolate brownies.

2009-02-11T15:16:00.004-06:00

one of my favorite cookbooks of all time is a little wonder i picked up in my younger years. in fact, it was the first book i ever bought all by myself.

i was a wee little eight year old, taking my turn at the book fair in second grade. we were living in tokyo at the time, and my copy still has--among other childhood ephemera--an envelope stuck into the back cover, ripped at the top, with my papa's handwriting on the front stating my name, 2A, 'BOOK MONEY', and 2,100 yen. (which really isn't much money.)

yes, my sophisticated book of choice is Betty Crocker's NEW Boys and Girls Cookbook.

mine seems to be the 1990 reprint. the pictures are of little ugly children in 90's gear, adding their opinions to the easy recipes, which are categorized in such groups as 'super snacks and drinks', 'good morning eye openers', and 'noontime fixin's'--to name a few. i was enamored with it as a child, but i barely made ANY of the recipes--i just looked at them and thought about them. i was strange. i actually remember envying the kids on the 'test panel'. and i had their names memorized. it was a lot like my obsession (um... at 15(!) years old) with ZOOM on PBS, and all the kids on it.

in any case, i actually got the most use out it in middle school, when my taste for cooking finally went farther than melting american cheese and milk in the microwave, adding pepper, and proclaiming it salad dressing. (seriously. and i ate it.) i have made a few of the recipes many, many times...though most of the book goes unused.

the recipes i have actually used are a funny collection:
-chocolate milk shake
-chocolate popcorn bars
-egg in a frame
-big puffy pancake (this one is actually UNBELIEVABLE and a way better recipe for a german pancake than most. i will be sure to post it at some point. mmmm. i impressed many a sleepover buddy with this... in high school! and college!)
-i <3 shortbread
-big burger cake (we forced my mom to do this one)
-cranberry apple sparkler
-toasty hot dog roll-ups
-and of course, the oh so chocolate brownies

all in all, it's actually a great book for kids. it makes everything sound easy, explains what every term means, and has pictures of almost everything--and the pictures are fairly realistic. for instance, the one pot spaghetti looks disgusting, and the vegetable soup looks appropriately bland. i treasure this little wonder.

to be honest, all the childhood reading of this book is probably responsible for my innate ability to make chili and macaroni and cheese without ever bothering to 'learn'. cute.

and here are my oh so chocolate brownies, freshly made this afternoon--off to eat them in front of some little house!!! hooray for my 23 year old childhood!!!

-papermoon

internship/weather/fake beef

2009-02-10T18:42:00.003-06:00

1. internship

today was my first day on the job at my internship at the Chicago Children's Museum and it was just lovely. the women i am working with are definitely awesome, the children i will be teaching are veritable babies (so cute), and the space is spectacular. i am going to learn a lot about writing curriculum for a very unpredictable audience, and i think a lot more on top of that.

i ate lunch in the navy pier crystal gardens, watching little catholic school kids chase eachother around the palm trees. this is going to be great!

2. weather

whatever it is that has possessed God to give Chicago spring weather in february, i hope it keeps happening. i wore a blazer, and NO SCARF (or gloves!) and ballet flats today. that is UNREAL. then, after work, i went jogging again along the thawed lake, and it was amazing~! the weather has everyone smiling... i just hope it stays around a bit.

3. fake beef

i just want to talk about fake meat. i have never been really into meat--not for any high minded reason or animal rights reason, but just because it doesn't really do it for me. never has. in elementary school my favorite food answer fluctuated between 'lettuce' and 'baked potatoes' and 'soup'. (yes, i was a starving irish child.) in any case... in my adult life, i can probably count the number of times i have cooked meat on my fingers and toes. or maybe even just my fingers.

i don't worry about this AT ALL. i don't think my health is in the least affected. i eat more eggs than Gaston, and if i chance to eat out, i usually order meat because otherwise i suspect i am being ripped off. and, of course, i eat meat when i am at home with my family.

what i do cook myself occasionaly is fake meat. usually just fake beef. which is hilarious, because if i eat meat, it's usually poulty. but fake chicken is not really my style. i think i don't like the seasoning that usually goes with it. fake beef is really quite good. i love seitan, beef-style, and i love general beef substitutes (i also love tofu, but not when it's masquerading as beef).

tonight i am enjoying trader joe's beefless beef strips. one of the best things about fake meat is how cheap it is!!! it's even cheaper than the cheap meat at trader joe's! i fried mine up with mushrooms and onions and A1 and worchestire sauce and chomped it down over penne. good.

funny thing is, i can't even finish my fake meat!!!

-papermoon

grilled brie sandwich.

2009-02-09T16:25:00.004-06:00

oh my... how is it that this delicious thought never occurred to me until now?

i love grilled cheese and most people do. i pretended not to for a long time because i thought it was uncouth to enjoy fattening food. i was a lame-o. in any case, it's delicious. weekend anna and i like the grilled cheese at twin anchors* best, if we're eating out--it's ridiculous, you should eat it. but today i was so inspired and i will tell you why.

duh! half the goodness of grilled cheese is how fried and buttery (or margarine-y) it is, right? let's not kid ourselves. i don't even profess to like fried food that much--i am not one of those people who thinks the one way to make something better is to fry it up--but when it comes to something like grilled cheese the whole point is the greasy goodness. usually, grilled cheese is made of some kind of pathetic cheese like american, since the point isn't delicious cheese, but a gooey, greasy mess.

but today all i wanted to do was poke a fork into the brie i had in the fridge, cut into the wrong way and do away with the rind, and spread it like butter on bread. and that's when it occured to me! i could make a lethal grilled cheese! i have made creamed cheese grilled cheese before (awesome) and i loved the way the spreadable cheese made for a hot, thin sandwich. brie had the same effect. and for the greased up outside of the sandwich, i mixed margarine and MORE brie.

this is the most delicious heart attack i have ever had. if i hadn't eaten the whole thing in under a minute, i would post a picture. please, go make one now.

-papermoon

* twin anchors is doubly awesome because it's where return to me is filmed. which is NOT cheesy, and is probably the second best chick flick with bonnie hunt in it ever. the first is obviously only you. seriously. cinematic achievement.

HEY ANNA: "bonnie hunt... lives... in... chicago. search!" haha.

i feel so relaxed!

2009-02-07T14:43:00.006-06:00

the weather today is truly a gift.

it is 50 degrees, sunny, breezy, warm, and beautiful. the lake is a pristine blue sheet. i woke up in a great mood--second day in a row--to a friendly breakfast of yogurt, honey, toast, and one organic egg. my coffee was strong and i felt absolutely in love with the world. the rhinitis i had yesterday is also gone! could it be the sunshine?

i did something crazy today--i went outside and jogged. yes, i know other people run and swim and actually do taxing things to exercise, but i fell out of the habit when i realised that my motivations for working out were entirely, 100% vanity-based. so it's been a few years of lethargy for me. in any case, i was ridiculously out of shape but it was fun! and it was great to see the lake and think about the nice fact that, as out of shape as a person can get, they always have the choice to reform. (we'll see... i can't say this will be habit!)

i let myself window shop after a bit of that, walking around and in and out of things over on rush st. and such. i got a free hand treatment at some soap shop, and enjoyed some vicarious shopping at anthropologie (it's great not to have any money), and just enjoyed the smiles on everyone's faces on the street.

i stopped in to l'artisan parfumerie (my favorite perfume house) and sprayed a very floral choice all over myself for a bit of added aromatherapy... anyone who's smelled me knows i really don't wear florals (bring on the amber! tea! musk! wood! bourbon!) but this was the day for La Chasse aux Papillons. that, mixed with the sweet almond oil all over my arms from my free hand treatment, was a sweet smell of a preview of spring.

i came home and did some yoga with the windows open, and the sun streaming through onto my face, and the breeze on my toes and neck, and the sound of the wind on my building like a gently lapping set of waves had me transported to the beach. when i finished my salutation i just laid on my mat, in and out of sleep and utterly blissing out!

peace!

-papermoon

oh wow if you wanted to buy me a gift

2009-02-06T11:08:00.003-06:00

ok this is the prettiest thing i have ever seen.

i don't buy jewelery (unless it's from H&M) and i am not one of those people who keeps up with clothing or jewelery or anything... but when i saw this on design*sponge this morning i just about died. all of her other things are lovely as well...but this one ripped me right out of my seat and made my palms sweaty.

in middle school, i had this fascination with the idea of engagement rings. not really engagement, per se, or rings, but engagement rings. i still think they are one of the most romantic things around, and i love that they have been something humans have done for so long. in any case, i have this thing about simplicity... and i hate whopper-of-a-diamond rings, because they lack any kind of sweetness and they would never look quaint when you're old, or when your great great granddaughter is wearing them.

i was so sure i wanted a pearl engagement ring. of course, my mom told me that would be sad, because the whole point of a diamond is that it will hold up, and my imaginary engagement ring would be liable to crack and fall apart and that would not be symbolically prudent. :)

in any case... wouldn't this take your breath away, anyway? pearls are so romantic when they are portrayed naturally (as opposed to the preppy way they are sometimes set). this ring just looks like it was born.

sigh..............

recap: leigh comes to the windy (frigid, icy, snowy, face-numbing) city

2009-02-05T10:48:00.007-06:00

warning: i don't think i have ever put so many links in one post in my whole life.

hi all!

yesterday didn't allow me to blog-- i had to work on printing out a lot of work, which always leaves me in a pickle--you have to watch and tweak and adjust print settings when you are printing graphics (on nice papers) so it doesn't leave much ability to multi-task. i settled for 7 episodes of little house. i ate a lot of food, too.

in any case, as promised, i am going to get myself caught up and briefly detail leigh's visit.

leigh arrived fresh on the tail of my san fran visit, so she had a real view of my apartment: no fancy clean up job. we started off the early day with a trip over to have some brunch at my favorite little place (maybe my only favorite place?) in streeterville: the cute little café that hugs the ridiculously lovely peninsula hotel. of course, we took a little jaunt through the main floor of that decadent hotel, first. and pretended that we already owned all the fur and diamonds in the little windowboxes in the lobby. the concierge smirked at us.

pierrot gourmet (as that cute little café is called) is so calm-- i really like it there. i have a lot of important memories there, in fact: my mother and i sharing a sandwich a while back when she made a visit, while i was still in college... lunch with my whole family the day before my graduation... a sad conversation i had over the phone this fall... and now i have a new memory! brunch with a dear friend of mine. :)

we followed this deliciousness up with a walk down michigan, so she could experience the magnificent mile for the first time. we hit up all the glamorous stores... H&M, Forever XXI...you know the kind. big spending. that night i made rice casserole, which is a highly delicious and very affordable food item... leigh has since made one for sister, i hear. (i will share that recipe in a post to follow.)

we topped it all off with cookies, tea, and watching our long time favorite special--'living dolls'--on youtube. it details the life of some child beauty pageant contestants, namely one Swan Brooner and her TERRIBLE mother, and nothing tops it. i recommend it highly, for the sake of this alone:

the time the two of us have wasted in pursuing this trashy documentary... it's appalling.

the next day was meant for evanston! we took the shuttle after a slow morning and got lunch with a friend of mine who happened to be free, enjoying the deliciousness of unicorn cafe, as a little peek for leigh into my college days. mmmm.... the windfall sandwich. we were so cold that we really elongated that meal--tacking on an amazing cookie. then we hopped across the street to look in at what asinimali and crossroads trading inc. had to offer. (in my case, they had an $8 banana republic sweater wrap and a $7 striped club monaco shirt to offer.) then we got a shuttle home, with plans to make some chicken stir fry.

funnily enough, we ended up being far too lazy to cook! maybe the sandwiches at unicorn are just very filling. we had a bloody mary (how crazy of us!) and some snack foods, and basically played scrabble all night instead of being normal, dinner eating people. very fun. :)

thursday was one of the museum of science and industry's free days, so we hopped into a cab and spent the day playing there. we even saw an IMAX movie about the marine life of south africa. so pretty! and we had a lot of fun with all the exhibits. i especially liked one exhibit about the internet... leigh caught me "swimming through the internet". it's a very special look for me, wouldn't you agree?

that night we had plans to meet up with leigh's uncle who lives in river north. funnily enough, i got us lost because i didn't pay attention to cardinal directions. no matter. we weren't late enough to make it problematic, and we had plenty of time to enjoy her uncle's company/beautiful apartment/delicious h'ors d'ouvres. mmmm spinach artichoke dip. he then treated us to a lovely little dinner at the exceedingly quaint la scarola. i had eggplant parmesan.

we hit the sack early because i was set to teach at galaxie the next morning. i deviated from my norm and taught a simple course this time-- 'secret stories'. i taught the basics of book folding, to enthusiastic reception. i had mostly repeat kids and a small group, so i basically got paid to chat up some nice, smart kids. they had great book ideas, too--my favorite was a girl's book--entitled 'where is the love'-- that had pictures of hearts, kissing couples, and head-over-heels-in-love faces, all of which were followed by the word "EW!!!!" hahahaha. kids are hilarious.

i came home to leigh, who having just woken up, sympathized with my comment that i was STARVING. we cooked up the neglected stir fry and enjoyed it while watching a special on scandalous pageant queens. (can i please remind everyone that is was record level freezing last week? and that i don't usually drain my brain watching people strut around in spangles?) is it bad that i can't remember what we did afterwards? what i do know is that we made tacos for dinner. and they were amazing. and this is coming from a woman who honestly could go without ground beef for the rest of her life. amazing.

saturday was lovely... we had brunch at ann sathers at my suggestion with some of leigh's friends from gwu who live around here now. (they were great fun and i hope to hang out with them again!) it was long and delicious and i had too much coffee. we followed that up with the art institute--happy hooray. i blew leigh's mind with my ranting on about contemporary art (haha) until it was nearly closing time and time for us to go home and nosh on leftovers.

which we did. a lovely combination of stir fry and italian food with some two buck chuck. (yay trader joe's.) then we headed out to hang out with the same girls we had brunch with, which was an EXCELLENT time, spent at their very homey apartment and then at fado irish pub. i sincerely enjoyed myself, partly due to the STRANGEST band ever. we could not stop laughing.

sunday was lazy! we took our time. leigh had moved her tuesday flight to monday due to weather warnings, so we just enjoyed eachother's company for most of the day, before heading off to Mass (sad! my last Mass at Holy Name for a while--there was a fire yesterday!!!) and then out to dinner. we decided to forfeit the superbowl purely so we could have more time for conversation. we had a nice dinner at bistro zinc. another place i have a lot of emotional attachment with. the food was great, the company even better.

we browsed children's books across the street at barnes & noble for a while, and then left, having bought bananagrams--my favorite game of the moment. we played into the night, and i dreaded leigh's departure the next morning!

now she's home in nj and i miss her-but what a week it was!

and as if i couldn't get any luckier with seeing friends... weekend anna is headed out here for valentine's day!!!! just when i thought i was going to have hide in a cave for the whole holiday. i love anna.

lovely.
-papermoon

what a nice surprise in the mail!

2009-02-03T14:06:00.007-06:00

(this will be a lovely segue into my back-track through the last two weeks.)

i just got in from some errands and checked my mail, to find i had a package. i left my crocs (yes, i love crocs--i own more than one style, in fact) at my cousins', and my aunt had called for my address to mail them to me. little did i know i would get a whole package of goodies!

i love cards, and the photos were so nice, and my cousin catherine sent me a handmade potholder--and she must have ESP because it matches my stovetop perfectly! what a nice surprise, especially when a person was just about to make tea!

i can't believe it was only a little over a week ago that i flew back from san francisco. it really was, altogether, quite a vacation!

i posted just after my first day hanging out with cassie and ben, so i should fill everyone in from there. on my third day, and final day staying with the witten siblings, i had a real marathon of fun. ben and i met cassie for lunch at a potbelly's-esque sandwich shop, and then drove to napa!

i didn't realize napa was in such approachable distance, so it was quite a surprising jaunt. the driving scenery was awesome--the golden gate bridge (cassie made fun of me for calling it 'that big red bridge'), the miles of vines, the hills. very beautiful. it was rather grey out--which anyone who knows me knows i was glad about--and all the colors were really coming out. we stopped in so i could attempt sophistication with a wine tasting experience, and with the first glass, clearly not from any threat of intoxication, but only clumsiness, i toppled over some red wine. oh dear... can't take me anywhere, i guess. but it was delightful and very educational!

one of the vineyards had a lovely red barn...

that night, we all cooked dinner. and by that, i mean that cassie made (awesome) guacomole, i chopped up some sausage and some apples, and ben made risotto. so, you might say ben cooked dinner. :) it was delicious and cassie had a friend come by, and we spent the night discovering how terrible i am at blockus! i was already sad to leave--but my family had already been kind enough to extend cassie an invitation to the new baby's baptism, so that helped the goodbye feel less sad.

the next morning, bright and early, i was shuttled off to my cousin's school assembly for the chinese new year. they attend a chinese immersion school, and the assembly was very beautiful--with lovely dances and songs, and a very impressive lion dance! i wish i could have gotten a video of the large scale puppets. all three of my participating cousins did a lovely job.

i spent the rest of the weekend with the whole clan and my grandma, which was utterly lovely and relaxing. i was put in a good mood that will last a long time...it is always so nice to hang out with other big families, considering how much i love my own. and it's doubly nice when you're related, too! all of my cousins cracked me up and we had a great time playing the game i brought them--bananagrams (which i was tipped off about by the small object).

i got to eat my first dim sum (very delicious), went to my cousin patrick's indoor soccer game (cassie came, too! what a good fan!), and of course--got to see a baptism, which is always special. all in all, totally wonderful. and i got peet's coffee EVERY DAY! a big plus to being in california!

i could go on for ages, but i have a lot to do today if i want to check anything else off my list.

here's how i have done so far:

clean bathtub done
get throat blessed (feast of st. blaise) done
buy rose water done
mail comcast bill done
buy binder with clear protectors done
walk around outside for at least 20 minutes done
buy a movie at blockbuster done (ok clearly this wasn't originally on the list... but see above)
blog done
put graphics work into said binder with short write ups
start weekend anna's purse
MoMA application essay
vacuum bedroom
cook delicious dinner

so there you have it... wish me luck.

tomorrow i will talk about last week--leigh's visit! and then maybe i will be up to date and normal again! just in time to start my internship...

-papermoon

Myers Brigg

2009-02-03T07:50:00.002-06:00

i am an INFJ. i woke up to see lora off to class today and she had me take a myers brigg because she thought hers was very accurate. i laughed the whole time because every question pointed to how introverted and pig-headed i am!

and the result? it sounds pretty accurate.

INFJ

slightly expressed introvert
moderately expressed intuitive personality
moderately expressed feeling personality
very expressed judging personality

this part i excerpted is most interesting to me, because people have often described their confusion about this aspect of my personality to me:

INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people -- a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world. On the contrary, INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." While instinctively courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent paradox is a necessary escape valve for them, providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to prevent the emotional overload to which they are so susceptible as inherent "givers." As a pattern of behavior, it is perhaps the most confusing aspect of the enigmatic INFJ character to outsiders, and hence the most often misunderstood -- particularly by those who have little experience with this rare type.

interesting! i was also glad to find out that michael landon was also an INFJ.

it was also nice to hear that my 'type' almost always has problems deciding what to pursue as a career because while we are very human empathy/'inspiration' oriented careers seem like a natural career, we are often such compulsive system builders so darn full of judgement that we wish we could pursue more logic-based jobs... but we almost always find hard logic highly confusing.

very amusing. i recommend everyone take it.

-papermoon

lulabecca

2009-02-02T23:01:00.002-06:00

isn't that a nice name? becca should name her first daughter that. and her daughter can live on breakfast delights. i for one will send miss rebecca some pancakes instead of flowers when she gives birth to her little lulabecca.

i should explain.

my friend becca and i always go to brunch. it's just what we do. if we are hanging out, brunching is likely to be the thing. it's very fun, and we have very serious patterns. becca orders a savory sandwich, often with something like avocado or chipotle sauce involved, and i pretend to be debating what to order until i get a LOT of coffee and the most immature pancake-like sweet thing on the menu. i usually bring my own benefiber to dump into the drinking water. clever. classy.

today we did something new: LUNCH. it was highly spur of the moment and i think we were both amused that it even came together. we'd both gotten up early and had a good portion of coffee, and i think we both must have been struck by how sunny it was outside. becca texted me right when i was about to melt away and do nothing for hours and not shower at all. (secret: i still didn't shower.) so it was good timing. i threw on some clothes and cleaned up my room before i left for her location of choice: lula cafe in logan square.

it was very chi chi!

but not that expensive, relatively speaking. the decor was simple, done in sage green and burgundy, and we both liked the simple photography and prints on the walls. our table was on a slightly raised platform (think kafein in evanston) and it was made of slate grey marble. the waiters were very coiffed and the company of diners were older than us and a bit art history department looking. the whole bit is organic and quite local and sustainable, which is nice to have in a restaraunt.

i got a BLT (i love bacon oh i do) and becca had a nice grilled up sprouty turkey sandwich. we chatted in the sunlight and then wandered off to our days. i for one didn't accomplish much, but i felt more structured because i left the apartment.

good times.

tomorrow i will post with some backtracking, considering i left off on san francisco after day one. yipe!

sweet dreams...

-papermoon

been MIA again!

2009-02-02T11:18:00.003-06:00

sorry about that-- the culmination of the trip to san francisco, and then a visit to chicago from a dear friend this last week has meant non-stop action lately. i have lots to say, and i will be sure to compensate for my absence with tons of posts this week.

on another note, i just finished bawling over this beautiful song by Flipsyde's "The Piper". I am not usually a rap fan, but this is a very unique song, and a very honorable move on his part. I bought the single because he deserves that support.

(thanks to american papist for pointing it out.)

who knew?

2009-01-21T19:31:00.001-06:00

been a long time fan of DRY soda, but didn't know they had two AWESOME SOUNDING new sodas out! i will be venturing out to fox and obel's as soon as i return to chicago, so i can make lora a virgin gin and tonic!!!

-papermoon

exploratorium--san fran day one.

2009-01-21T18:22:00.006-06:00

hello! from far warmer place than chicago!

i had a long flight in to california--as my dad says, getting out here feels like getting to europe-- but it wasn't half a problem, considering i had some good reading in tow, and some celine dion music videos on my itunes. i arrived and had the lovely good fortune of having a chaffeur service in the form of my uncle, who drove me right to cassie's door-- so nice of him!

cassie's apartment is lovely and nothing beats the company. i had a delicious dinner with the witten siblings last night and got a view of what a hopping scene the mission area is, even on a tuesday night. (i had roast chicken and olive oil mashed potatoes. delicious.) we watched some little house on the prairie (she has all the seasons on dvd, now, too!) and then crashed in her pretty bedroom. i got some (peet's!) coffee with her this morning before she left for work, which had me reminiscing as i got my morning dose.

ben and i spent the morning discussing the farm movement, jamie oliver, cooking, natural living, and politics. highly enjoyable. then we had some soup for lunch, and headed off to a great museum: san francisco's exploratorium!

it reminded me a great deal of the liberty science center, back east, but with a lot less structure in terms of your route--which i appreciated. the highlights were a two person exhibit in which you read questions to eachother and gauged how anxious it made the other person via graph readouts (very funny) a huge contraption that blew smoke rings, a dome that you could pull over your head to experience the emotional outcome of being inundated with different colors (AWESOME), and a pitch black "tactile dome" which we did three times. we would be bad at being blind.

tonight we will go to dinner again and that should be delightful. san francisco is beautiful, clean, and a lot more lush than i expected. very pretty trees and such mountains! and i am still shocked at the crazy hills. no amount of warning prepared me for cars parallel parked on a serious incline.

on an entirely different note, my brother is hilarious for making this:

later!

-papermoon

i've been busy and i will soon be busier!

2009-01-20T09:51:00.005-06:00

hi all!

i have been very MIA, my apologies. i have been a busy bee, preparing for a trip i am taking to san francisco-- leaving today. first time out there and i'm excited!

i will start the week with my lovely friend cassie (not to mention her brother, ben!), stealing as much of her day as she has left over between and after work hours. i am excited for the reunion-- for the last four and some years we have seen much more of eachother than her move out west has recently allowed. it will be great to catch up and see what her new chapter is like.

once the weekend hits, i am very excited to be getting in a visit-- and a baptism, no less!-- with my san francisco cousins! i have never visited with them in their home territory, and i can't wait. i get to meet my littlest cousin, and catch up with the rest of the troop, whose company i so completely enjoyed at the november wedding. it is nice to have some relatives with such a comparable experience of siblinghood (a parallel family of six kids!) to mine.

i have been sewing like a maniac so that i can bring presents, which is my way. i am very pleased:
for baby, a baseball bib:

the last two bags in the series i have been showing you:

for my grandma (who is visiting, too) a little travel jewelery case:

i didn't know what to whip up for the boys, but i found (alas, didn't make) some great gifts:

a reporter's notebook for my encyclopedia brown loving cousin, a nice compact moleskine set for the oldest of the family, and bananagrams for everyone, in the guise of a gift for my uncle.

hopefully none of them are reading my blog too much so the surprise won't be spoiled... but at this point i think they are probably too busy to check before i will see them, as my cousins emma and elizabeth are singing at the inauguration today!!! so totally exciting. i have been up all morning and sifted through the channels enough to hear them and to see that they caught elizabeth looking lovely in every song! nice job guys!

in any case, i am still in my flannels and glued to the tv. my stomach hurts terribly from the 5 cups of coffee i've had, and the two eggs and three pancakes i ate for the occasion. i am praying the snowflakes won't upend my flight patterns. i can't decide if i should be lazy, and take a cab, or cheap, and take the el...

later!

-papermoon

something i missed about milk...

2009-01-15T21:53:00.002-06:00

...is the color of tea mixed with it.

although i do like the way soymilk makes a little coral reef in a cup of tea. when i stop being lazy i will do a comparison picture of the two.

right now, i am going to enjoy listening to music, in the middle of a mess of fabric in my room, drinking a perfect cup of tea in a perfect tea cup.

-papermoon

just kidding.

2009-01-14T11:17:00.001-06:00

looks like tomorrow's going to be even worse, weather wise. i am going to evanston.

later-

-papermoon

foiled!

2009-01-14T09:55:00.004-06:00

woke up early with serious plans to get myself to the vogue fabrics in evanston, but my view was snow snow and more snow... and regardless of how severe it is, it's just too much for me if i'd be lugging a bunch of fabric/notions around in it.

luckily, i love snow, so it doesn't really put a damper on things. at all.

AND... i made scones. mmm. i love the joy of cooking. and heavy cream.

off to another bag! can't say i'm not looking forward to another day snuggled in front of my machine.

scones and yesterday's bag.

-papermoon

this girl is my cousin!

2009-01-13T20:54:00.002-06:00

if you click this link you will see my lovely cousin, emma!

San Francisco Girls Chorus

-papermoon

the most satisfying tutorial online.

2009-01-13T09:25:00.004-06:00

hi there!

i wanted to share a lovely online tidbit--probably the best sewing tutorial and print out pattern i have ever used, to date. with a gorgeous outcome.

i don't actually include oh fransson! on my list of 40-blogs-i-read-every-day (because i am not a quilter), but it's a really great one. i wanted to make some purses for a few of my cousins as gifts and i decided to give this 'margaret bag' a try because hers looked so pretty. and WOW--she included a pattern, a step by step pdf with pictures, and a materials list. the ocd girl in me was positively giddy.

and... the results of my first one were awesome. it only took 4 hours! (!) the pleats are so pretty and the pockets are so cute inside.

i can't wait to make another one today.

-papermoon

internship success!

2009-01-12T19:48:00.004-06:00

woo hoo! i have a structured schedule!

i just heard back from the children's museum and i will be enjoying the delightful feeling of being a productive human again from february to may as their arts learning intern! which is great...because i have ALWAYS wanted to work in a children's museum, and this job involves writing curriculum for workshops and then teaching them... bliss.

art classes, in a museum that features such delights as a kid-sized town and a fabricated over-sized backyard. perfection... i can't wait.

hooray!

-papermoon

delicious caramels and a really fun game idea.

2009-01-11T17:29:00.004-06:00

first of all, my friend norah gave me three neat boxes of japanese candy for christmas, and these morinaga's milk caramels are rocking my world. i may or may not have eaten half of them in two days. (the link is another blogger's very good description of them.) the box looks like a 1920's cigarette box or something, but opens like a matchbox to reveal the delicious little guys. i am going to save it, obviously. the japanese really do milky candy awesomely, which is odd because as a child i really hated the milk there. maybe it's better for candy than straight-up consumption.
second reason for posting: guess who?
yesterday lora had been diligently studying for most of the day, so she was ready for an evening break. we had already decided to make some vodka sauce and have a little dinner together, and we really wanted to play a game. we only have dice/cards/scrabble here, and none of the above were really appealling to our desire for a relaxing game. i trekked out into the snow to walk to borders and see what they had to offer, which wasn't much. i was pretty disappointed and spent an hour searching the internet for creative game-making ideas online while sipping a beer. (delicious thing: black toad dark ale, brewed for trader joe's. a.maz.ing.)

remember these?

i was getting a bit exasperated with the options, and then guess who? came to mind. remember that game, from kindergarten? "does your person have a mustache?" etc? well we realized we could make our own version!!!! i wasn't initially as creative as lora, and i was thinking i could just do a funny image search and get a mix of random people, celebrities, and cartoons...but lora realized that we could use our friends! much more fun! we just used thirty mutual friends, and used their facebook pictures to keep it easy.

if we were planning on making it look good, i would have standardized the size and used photoshop to add nice, clear text, but as it was we were getting hungry, so i just globbed a bunch of photos on a document and got them around the same height, and then printed three sheets: one set for each player, and one set we could draw from to guess who? about. i cut them up into little cards, and we would just flip them over when ruling out possibilities. we used the coffee table as a divider and just layed everything out on the floor.

it was HYSTERICAL. we decided to nix the questions about physical appearances and gender, and the results were very funny. questions ranged from "does your person subscribe to a monotheistic religion?" to "would your person be described as metro?" to "does your person appreciate chill fashion shows?" etc, etc. it was very funny. i very nearly demolished an entire bottle of wine. i hope we play again soon!

you should try and make one... i think it would actually make a very funny gift if it were made with relatives or family friends in mind. or, for your girlfriends, if it featured past love interests. very amusing. book characters would be really adorable... i might do that for my kid someday. the possibilities are pretty endless... babies could have an animal version...

-papermoon

need money/groceries

2009-01-09T20:09:00.002-06:00

hmmm. i am very broke lately.

i need some money, and then i need to use it to buy some groceries.
tonight for dinner i had a biscuit--since i am normal, and made drop biscuits last night--and some cucumber salad. and some cookies.

in the fridge: a baby sized portion of some chicken, heavy cream, a baby sized portion of brie, greek yogurt, broccoli, and leftover cake.

maybe i need to do some practical shopping?

i guess there's always the beans i have in the cupboard. or pasta. i kind of hate pasta...

-papermoon

break from interview prepping

2009-01-07T21:47:00.003-06:00

i just took a little break and watched this video...it randomly came to mind.

Butterfly Assassins - Sylvia II from Chris Amos on Vimeo.

it's northwestern's niteskool winner from last spring. i really loved it.

wish me luck tomorrow morning!

-papermoon

kanye west is the most arrogant fellow around.

2009-01-07T14:57:00.001-06:00

not in the productive way, either.

breakfast

2009-01-07T08:37:00.002-06:00

i'm totally ready to not be sick.

why i don't have a job

2009-01-06T21:41:00.001-06:00

i just found a typo in my resume.

now i know why no one wants me.

morning goodness.

2009-01-06T10:37:00.002-06:00

my roomie made me the cutest birthday banner as a belated party decoration:

i got some eucalan knit wash in the mail and it smells great:

it's snowing and gloomy-pretty and i am glad to be back in my suitably grey city:

off to work work work work work work on things.

-papermoon

last day at home

2009-01-04T11:04:00.005-06:00

well... i love chicago, but it sure seems odd to be headed back.

it's been nice to be here at home, seeing my enormous family and my puppy dog, eating meat (who knew... i currently enjoy it), watching movies on a big screen, and seeing friends who reside east of the west. last night maggie and katie and i watched 'the secret of roan inish' and i was PERFECT as usual. i haven't gotten that lovely, muted mood out of my system yet. i need to order that on dvd, stat. it's nice to have ample excuses to watch kids' movies.

sometimes chicago really pulls at me when i'm away, but it didn't this last month-and-some. i am sure that once i land that familiar feeling will hit me again, though, and i will wonder at how i wasn't dying to return. not to mention, i will get to see the lovely roomie once more.

it was a good thanksgiving, a great christmas and a good first few days of 2009. my family does what a good family should... they build me up. i will miss the activity and all the good debate!

off to treasure today!

-papermoon

awesome animation!

2009-01-01T12:10:00.000-06:00

This Is Where We Live from 4th Estate on Vimeo.

happy 2009

2009-01-01T10:14:00.004-06:00

we had our family party as usual...

it was great!

we all continued the old tradition of wearing fancy clothes, eating hors d'ouvres for dinner, and putting up our glitzy decorations... and some homemade. i broke out the paper cut out garland we've used for three (?) years now (papa says it's time to laminate)

and maggie had the great idea of making fireworks in front of the fireplace.

some of my pictures act like evidence of the adults only punch in action...

-papermoon