Nosy Animals.

I posted an image by Stoic Mike a couple of weeks ago as part of an Equals Record teaser; since then, I've had the opportunity to scroll through the rest of his delightful Tumblr, which features artwork that combines words and pictures in curious, quirky ways. A few favorites:

Especially love that jackrabbit - what a wise little guy. See more at Stoic Mike, here. Thanks again to Maya for the introduction!

Ears, Embellished.

Below, three cures for the common costume jewel. (I've been toying with the idea of getting some sort of interesting ear piercing lately, but perhaps these negate the need for needles?) 

Chain earring by faff. Ear cuff via Alibaba. (Similar earrings here and here.)  Constellation earrings by NOJESS.

Happy Wednesday! (Oh, and a new Equals Record post will be up next week - in the meantime, you can find my past columns archived here.)

Time Wasting.

Alyson Provax's "Time Wasting Experiment" chronicles - in letterpress - time the printmaker has spent procrastinating. "This series is a sort of audit of how I spend my time," she writes, "but the prints could also be thought of as permission slips allowing you to spend a period of time in a wasteful way." 

How refreshing. See more at Alyson's website, here, and Etsy shop, here.

Magical Mystery Tour.

Belgian artist Fia Cielen's treasure trove of a studio space has me spellbound. Plants, animals, a tomato-red bed - it's wild and wonderful and weird in ways that I love, but have never been able to make work for myself. (I'm easily distracted by things - see my infinitely less-interesting work space at the bottom of this post.) 

Fia's home was photographed as part of a fascinating project by Eefje de Coninck, showcasing the living spaces of female artists. See more on her blog, here, and website, here. And have a lovely Monday!

Rainbows, Stripes, Seashore Honey.

Three things before the weekend: a free spirit in two very inspiring outfits (expertly captured by Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York),

psychedelic watercolor nails,

and photos of Max and Margaux's baby shower (see more by Jenn of Our Labor Of Love on 100 Layer Cakelet, here) - as you can see, they're still on the hunt for names...

And a handful more, just for fun:
-"Seashore honey" just sounds like a wonderful thing.
-A fascinating little tidbit on the end titles in old movies.
-For my fellow lovers of GIRLS.

Have a wonderful weekend! Any exciting plans? I'll be visiting the Met (for the first time!), catching up with my old friend, Alex, and my new pal, Samm (check out her stunning photographic round-up of 2012, here).  See you Monday!

Tunes & Tomes.

As part of a series he calls "The Record Books", designer and art director Christophe Gowans re-imagines popular albums as books. So clever. (For obvious reasons, Pet Sounds is my favorite.)

See more at Christophe's website, here. Prints are available for purchase here, at the Rockpot.

Truths.

This week on the Equals Record: things I believed as a child that I now know aren't true. It's one of the sadder posts I've written thus far, but sadness, I've learned, often opens doors to understanding.

An excerpt from the post: "When I was little, I thought hiccups could be captured in a tiny invisible box. I believed that if I thought hard enough—imagined myself sitting on the box, and nailing it shut, and applying a layer of glue, and locking it tight—they could be smothered, extinguished, conquered. I also believed that the food on my plate had feelings, and would be hurt if I didn’t eat it. And that somewhere in the world, dinosaurs still existed. And that one day, I might grow up to be a mermaid."

Read the rest, here. You can find the archive for my weekly column, Looking Forward (about the ups and downs of "growing up" in my twenties), here. Thanks so much for your support!

Bottom image via I Am Glad To Be Your Nightmare.

Girls, Etc.

GIRLS is the only show I watch on TV, and I have to say - as much as I wanted to dislike it at the beginning, I'm now convinced I'm its biggest fan. There's so much that I relate to (whether that's a good or bad thing is up for debate), and often, in life's more ridiculous or challenging or painful moments, I find myself thinking, if this were on an episode of GIRLS, I'd be laughing right now.

So, naturally, I love these illustrated posters by artist Mia Nolting, creator of these thought-provoking lists featured last year. The colors are perfect - and so is that tag line.

As it happens, I'm also a big fan of Mia's non-GIRLS-related work, and this weekly checklist is no exception. I'd keep one in a lieu of a diary. 

See more at Mia Nolting's website, here, and be sure to check out her highly entertaining "365 Gifs" project, here. Hope you had a wonderful long weekend! (I spent part of mine making these, and am only now emerging from the chocolate coma that ensued - it was, of course, totally worth it.)

Ears, Elves, & Illustrated Etiquette.

Three things to share before the weekend: hats with ears (I'd like to find something like the gray hat below and center my entire wardrobe around it for the remainder of winter),

slices of cake the size of thumbprints and doughnuts meant for elves (brilliant creations by the Unconfidential Cook - the doughnuts are actually decorated Cheerios),

                      

and a guide to kissing, written by a seventeen-year-old in 1976, and illustrated nearly forty years later by her daughter, artist Hallie Bateman.

Hope you all enjoy the weekend! What are your plans? I'm going to a friend's apartment tonight for cocktails, catching up with my pal Bekka over pie, and attending a love-themed film festival in Bushwick - why not extend Valentine's Day a few extra days?

Have a wonderful long weekend, and I'll see you Tuesday!

Top images via Arletta Queen and the always-inspiring Le Blog de Betty.

In Your Pocket, In My Locket.

In honor of this special day: beautiful prints from The Wild Unknown, which pay homage in watercolor to some of music's great love-inspired lyrics. At $40 each, they're a steal - and for an extra thirty-five, they'll send your print in a vintage frame. 

See more at The Wild Unknown, here. (I'm also a big fan of this one.)

Wishing you all a happy Valentine's Day! I'm going to spend mine eating leftovers from a cheese party I helped host last night for my friend Lily's birthday (here she is, preparing to blow out the candle on her birthday gouda). How will you spend yours? Whatever your plans, have a great one!

Movement.

This week on the Equals Record: learning to dance, learning to let go.

A snippet from the new post: "We sat in a circle on the first day of ballet class, thirty-or-so adults on the floor. Our teacher was a lovely woman with the sort of soothing presence you’d hope for in an introductory-level dance class meant for grown-ups, and she’d asked each of us to share three things with the group: our name, our level of dance experience, and whether we had any injuries to report. ‘My name is Shoko,’ I said when it was my turn. ‘I was probably in kindergarten the last time I took a dance class. And my body feels fine.’ Next to me sat a man who must have been in his mid-sixties. He had an angular face, a friendly smile, hair that glinted silver. He introduced himself, telling us he was the proud father of two dancers, now grown. ‘Any aches and pains?’ the teacher asked. The man smiled. ‘I’ve lived a colorful life.’"

Find rest of the post on the Equals Record, here. You can also check out the archive for my weekly column, Looking Forward (about the ups and downs of "growing up" in my twenties), here. Thank you so much for your support and kind words each week - I appreciate it more than you know!

Top photo via New York Public Library. Bottom image by Stoic Mike. (Thank you so much, Maya!)

Smoke & Oak.

There may be snow on the ground and slush in the streets, but thanks to this gorgeous - and very intriguing - recipe by Beth Kirby of the blog Local Milk, I'm suddenly dreaming of ice cream. Ice cream flavored with toasted oak chips, smoked sea salt, and a drizzle of black tea caramel, that is.  

Beth originally posted the recipe to Local Milk in late September, writing, "This is a spectral time of year, romantic and eerie and crisp...This ice cream tastes like it." I have a hunch it'd be the perfect treat for the moody-gray days of winter, too. (I'd eat it inside, by the radiator, of course.)

Find the full post at Beth's blog, Local Milk, here. (And be sure to click around while you're there - everything is stunningly beautiful.) See more photos by Beth in her portfolio, here. 

Shots In the Dark.

Thank you to the wonderful Kathy for introducing me to "The Sleep of the Beloved," a series of long-exposure snapshots of slumbering couples, taken by photographer Paul Schneggenburger.  

Schneggenburger, who captured each image over a six-hour period, wonders, "What happens to lovers while they are sleeping?...Is it a nocturnal lovers' dance, maybe a kind of unaware performed tenderness, or does one turn their back on each other?" 

Makes you wonder what your own sleep patterns might look like, partner or no.

See more at Paul Schneggenburger's website, here. Photos via The Atlantic.