{film} fictional flamingo pink

on a recent adventure, i captured the mesmerizing vintage flamingo hotel sign on video. while i was filming, my magical friend bekah and i had a brief chat about the color pink...


several days later i found this explanation via brainpicker...

{video} sexy specs circa nineteen fifty

due to a temporarily wonky eyeball, i have foregone contacts and am instead wearing glasses every day this week...

{peculiar momma}

as a tribute to my favorite frames, i present you with this classic film...

{visit} analog memories

{step inside to step back in time}

{off} three minutes

{steven bonner}

yesterday, while sitting in a coffee shop, i entertained the infinite by getting lost amidst fluffy clouds which hovered above the train station...

{music} pretty lights

on constant repeat in my world lately: the music of pretty lights.

in love with this video...

{dewdroplets} six

a cabinet of curiosities for your enjoyment...

{aurora borealis via nasa}

{video: how the aurora borealis works via brainpickings}

{monthly delivery of artisinal sweets via black box dessert club}

{waterless snow globe tutorial via sweet something designs}

{dance vs. powerpoint via john bohannon at tedx brussels}

{vintage holiday illustration via jill clark}

sent with love from your innkeeper!

{story} hearty

ten years ago, at a gathering in the mountains of montana, i sat by a flickering campfire with a group of new friends.

we had all set up camp in the same part of the woods and ended up becoming a neighborhood of kindred spirits who often ate dinner together.

after our meal one night, everyone spontaneously started exchanging little gifts. bars of chocolate, jewelry, postcards, tools, tea, candles, and other heartfelt offerings were pulled out of backpacks and shared freely.

i was sitting next to an older gentleman who we affectionately called "hearty." he was a wandering fisherman from alaska who was the human embodiment of pure love.

as the exchange gained momentum, i leaned over to hearty and said:

i'll be right back - my gifts are in my tent.

quickly i dashed through the woods to get the vintage cigar tin i had carried with me from home.

it contained "wood fairies," creations i had made which were delicate painted sticks adorned with shimmery stones and feathers for wings.

the box full of fairies was easy to find in my stash of stuff, but as i walked back to the fire my confidence diminished.

i thought:

everyone else has shared things

that are practical, edible, useful.

my creations aren't any of those things.

by the time i sat down next to hearty again, my resolve to share the fairies was wavering. i shyly opened the rusty box, handed him one, and said:

it's...it's a...i call it a wood fairy.

i made it from sticks and feathers and stones.

he examined it in the firelight for a moment. during his brief silence, my insecurity caused me to blurt out a disclaimer:

it...doesn't really have a purpose. it's just...pretty.

he looked up to see my befuddled expression, put his hand firmly on my shoulder, and said:

oh my.

oh, my dear friend.

PRETTY has a PURPOSE.

he said it with conviction, strength, and truth. he said it with complete clarity. he held my gaze and did not look away.

and then we both smiled.

and my world shifted.

because until that moment in the woods, i had lived in a very pragmatic world.

i came from a place that considered ART and everything related to ART to be LOVELY but NONESSENTIAL.

this idea had been painful for me for a quarter of a century because i was born an ARTIST.

i loved ART. i loved to look at ART. i loved to make ART.

however, i had always been given the message that this LOVE was fun but frivolous. over the years i had grown to believe that ART was not practical, edible, or useful.

hearty looked me deeply in the eye and told me in no uncertain terms that what i loved to do was meaningful.

that making ART has a PURPOSE.

everything cracked wide open for me by the campfire that night.

thank you, hearty.

**********

{photography: lance fuller}

{music: "no poetry" by gary jules}

{dewdroplets} five

a cabinet of curiosities for your enjoyment...

{hansel + gretel via annie leibovitz}

{oh land "rainbow" via big ugly yellow couch}

{curried sweet potato farro salad via always order dessert}

{folklore mythology fairy tales + magic via betty lou spence}

{official trailer for press pause play}

sent with love from your innkeeper!

{dewdroplets} four

a cabinet of curiosities for your enjoyment...

{speulder forest via lars van de goor}

{house party with zee avi}

{honey walnut cake + reisling sabayon via tartelette}

{connection via storypeople}

{marquese scott in pumped up kicks dubstep}

sent with love from your innkeeper!

weeds + water: as the garden grows...

one month ago, i shared a glimpse of the first strawberry from the amazing new garden on the hill.

my dear friend miles, designer and creator of the garden, worked incredibly hard to manifest a beautiful space for many delicious things to grow.

observing his work was poetry in motion, so i asked my creative companion lance to collaborate with me on a tiny film intended to capture how the garden felt at the very beginning... 

{photography by lance fuller}

{styling by diane reid}

{music by zoe keating}

{dewdroplets} three

a cabinet of curiosities for your enjoyment...

{national geographic photo circa 1938 via the style rookie}

{finding joe: a film about joseph campbell and the hero's journey}

{red wine chocolate cake via smitten kitchen}

{you have nothing*you have everything via a big creative yes}

{the legion of extraordinary dancers via the wrex files}

sent with love from your innkeeper!

{words} you are marvelous

p.s. i adore tom waits. he lives in my lovely little town. have you ever listened to nighthawks at the diner? it's one of my favorites. xo

music crush: you will never know

the story and styling in this video are so very lovely...

via yes and yes

{love} roll with it

as is sometimes the case in the life of an artist, i am currently navigating the exhilarating highs and deep dark lows of being a sensitive soul.

when i am murking around in the muck of existential angst, i focus on little acts of love for myself.

like going roller skating...

{resting on the side of the trail in my sparkle skates}

or wandering around in the used book store dreaming of paris...

{from the beautiful blog chocolate + zucchini}

or watching cool videos with big thumpy expansive music...

{sent by my beloved friend ami}

just a few teeny tiny ways i metaphorically hug myself and say: sweet lifelong friend, i adore you. let's have some fun together, shall we?

dear guests, you deserve these acts of kindness. have you gone on a fun little date with yourself lately?

{dewdroplets} two

a cabinet of curiosities for your enjoyment...

kinfolk magazine via coffee and stilettos

vintage vamps via betty lou spence

hand painted chalkboards via mary kate mcdevitt

an ethereal circus via tyce diorio on so you think you can dance

sending you lots of love from the inn!

{dewdroplets} one

a cabinet of curiosities for your enjoyment...

eleanor by tuesday mourning

spicy dark chocolate coconut smoothie via always order dessert

life as a creative person is a constant dance between structure and flow. 

keep listening to when the music changes, and you'll be just fine.

via have fun * do good

a heartfelt collection of female experience via roots of she

the prague astronomical clock six hundredth anniversary show via six giraffes

wishing you a splendid weekend, my dear friends!