BE BACK SOON

"There are some things better left un-blogged"  - My wise friend, Austin

I'm taking a digital sabbatical for the next week or so. I plan on turning some of my inspiration into creation, and spending more time with my loves.

Until we meet again,
Katie

JOHN MASEFIELD

"I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky, 

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, 

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and white sail's shaking, 

And a grey mist on the sea's face and the grey dawn breaking..." 

-- John Masefield

FILM POSTERS

Sometimes it baffles me how production companies choose the cover art for films. There are some really good film poster designers out there. I think we can all agree that the best design doesn’t always win. As a designer, this is bittersweet. I would enjoy the experience of choosing a movie way more if the covers were pretty. However, I have a hard enough time as it is choosing a good film to watch. If I’m being real honest, I should say that the decision making process usually wears me out so much that I usually fall asleep within the first 30 minutes. Great design could potentially worsen this condition. The decision making process could potentially get easier, but the great design could mask a terrible story line resulting in premature slumber all over again.

I really love the film poster design work of Akiko Stehrenberger. Check out some of my favorites below:

Katie

ERATO

BABY SHOWER

This afternoon, I’ve been drawing inspiration for a baby shower invite I am working on. The turnaround time is pretty short – 2 days. Needless to say, I’m extremely grateful for Pinterest today, as I don’t have much time for brainstorming completely original ideas. This friend has been a huge blessing in my life so I want the invites to be really special. I’m leaning towards water-colored imagery – blues and peach (it’s a boy!) – paired with a sans serif typeface. Hand-lettering would be ideal, but knowing my perfectionist nature, I predict a time crunch if I chose that direction.

Here are some of the images that I’m inspired by...

Final product coming soon!

Katie

MARY OLIVER

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms. 

When it is over, I don’t want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don’t want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument. 

I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.

—Mary Oliver

KITCHEN FIRES

In true October fashion, I roasted pumpkin seeds this weekend. This was my first go at roasting seeds and it was a thrill. This was one of the easiest snacks I have ever made, and everyone loved them. The time in the kitchen was less than 10 minutes! Click here to see a detailed recipe.

This snack recipe is vegan, sugar-free, and gluten-free! Chili powder is high in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Cooking Diary:

Purchased 2 cups of pepitas and a glass jar.

Spread the pepitas over griddle and started roasting. Mixing bowl ready.

Caroline got spooked by the popping seeds and took cover in Chris's arms.

Mixed the roasted seeds with chili powder, salt and oil. Cooled in fridge.



Transferred seeds to jar to store.

Enjoyed my new snack and a cup of tea on the porch!

WORDS

MONDAY MUSINGS

Inspirational images for the week...

Staying cozy with my Vagabond blanket

Warming up my mornings with breakfast tea

Giving thanks for the much-needed Texas rain

Rainy day updos

Try to stop buying books faster than I can read them

Keep dreaming of a sailing trip

Read more Shel Silverstein poems

FRIDAY DIARY

The birds are back!

Girl time in the neighbors yard

Shootin pool listening to blues music

iPhone photography fun

AFTER THE FACT

As summer comes to a close, I highly recommend listening to Fruit Bats album, The Ruminant Band. After-the-fact Newsflash: I’m way behind on the discovery of this album. Released in 2009, it didn’t fall on my delayed music palette until early 2011. I’m convinced there is some cosmic reason for this. Nevertheless, I spent this summer enjoying Fruit Bats and it’s not too late for you to enjoy a untimely listen either!

WORDS

TEA

My love for green tea may be a bit excessive. Most days I drink 4 cups, sometimes more. I have also grown to love herbal teas, most of which contain no caffeine. Some of my favorites are:


Detox tea - This tea usually contains licorice root which is known for detoxifying the liver. Drink some of this tea after a night drinking to speed up the hangover process. Also, detox tea is great for your skin. You skin is a peek into your overall heath. If your insides are clean, you’re skin will soon follow.

Chamomile – known for its relaxing properties can be used for insomnia and anxiety. Also can be used to calm the stomach. Drink some right before bed and you will sleep like a baby. Chamomile is often found in “Bedtime tea” blends.

Lemon Ginger – both of these ingredients work wonders for your digestive system. This tea is great for settling the stomach. 

Echinacea – known for boosting your immune system. If you ever feel a cold coming on, spend a couple days day fighting it with this tea paired with Vitamin C.

MONDAY MUSING

I should’ve kept a photo diary of last night. I was a walking cliché. I enjoyed takeout food, wine, chocolate, and a face mask while watching Serendipity. The only things that could have made my night more cliché are a aromatherapy bath, a book, and some tears. The good news is I feel well rested this Monday and ready to take on the work week.

 These inspirations are setting the tone for my free time this week...

Buy flowers

Make more earrings

Draw some organic type

Continue kitchen-witch journal

Enjoy beer in nature (or wine for me since I'm gluten free)

Find a bathtub and relax

AFTER THE FACT

Today has been made better because of the new Feist album, Metals. You can listen to a stream of the new album here. Of course, this stream launched August 6^th but as usual, I’m a little behind. So if you have already heard about this, I apologize but I can’t promise my after-the-fact news won’t keep happening. Turn your Thursday around and have a listen!

You can purchase the album on October 4th and the tour dates are below:

OCT 15 AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND / CARRE THEATRE
OCT 17 LONDON, UK / PALLADIUM
OCT 19 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM / CIRQUE ROYALE
OCT 22 BERLIN, GERMANY / TEMPODROM
OCT 29 PHILADELPHA, USA / WORLD CAFÉ LIVE 20TH ANNIVERSARY
NOV 02 BROOKLYN, USA / HOWARD GILMAN OPERA HOUSE
NOV 04 CHICAGO, USA / RIVIERA THEATRE
NOV 06 ATLANTA, USA / TABERNACLE
NOV 08 DALLAS, USA / MAJESTIC THEATRE
NOV 12 LOS ANGELES, USA / WILTERN THEATRE
NOV 14 SAN FRANCISCO, USA / WARFIELD THEATRE
NOV 16 PORTLAND, USA / ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
NOV 17 SEATTLE, USA / MOORE THEATRE
NOV 18 VANCOUVER, CANADA / PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE
NOV 20 EDMONTON, CANADA / NORTHERN ALBERTA JUBILEE
NOV 21 CALGARY, CANADA / JACK SINGER CONCERT HALL
DEC 01 TORONTO, CANADA / MASSEY HALL
DEC 03 MONTREAL, CANADA / METROPOLIS
DEC 05 OTTAWA, CANADA / NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE
DEC 06 QUEBEC CITY, CANADA / GRAND THEATRE du QUEBEC
 
Twitter: @fiestmusic

Website:  listentofeist.com

WORDS

Photograph by Cori Kindred

EL ANATSUI

When I ventured to the El Anatsui opening in Austin, I had no idea what I was walking into. His work landed here in Austin by chance. The Blanton Museum of Art happened to have a gap in their schedule when another city cancelled on him. I’d like to call it fate. I feel so fortunate to have been able to see his work in person and to have befriended an installer of the show. I learned so much about the artist that I wouldn’t have found out on my own. El Anatsui intricately repurposes old milk cans, liquor bottle labels, and wood in Africa. For some of the pieces, he hired up to 50 people to work on it at the same time. Even with the help, these pieces took weeks to make.

My favorite part of the show was the way the pieces were installed. El Anatsui has his intricate work shipped to the museum with sufficient padding and protection. The installers spent days unwrapping each individual piece. He leaves very little instruction of how to display his work. Instead, he trusts the installers to use their artistic freedom to present it well. For the big “blanket” pieces, the installers spent half a day in white gloves hanging one piece. They decided how the blanket would fold and bend. They decided if it would drape onto the floor or not. Once El Anatsui arrived to Austin to prepare for the opening, he walked around his exhibit and made  personal touches with his gloveless hands. The exhibit featured a video of the installation process, I highly recommend watching it if you go see this show.

The Blanton has one of El Anatsui’s pieces in it’s personal collection. He had never seen the way it is displayed. One of the Blanton staff members asked him if he wanted to make any changes to the installation or any personal touches to the folds. His reply: “It’s perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Art openings are a funny thing. I think half of the fun for me –besides the wine - is watching people try to care about the work or pretend to have some deep understanding of it. People who studied art years ago and feel they still have some connection to it. Or seasoned show-goers that are comparing it to their last experience. It’s a social experiment. I hadn’t been to an opening in over a year so it was a refreshing to say the least.