abby try again

vacation post: fernhill forgot

Here are some leftover shots from the Fernhill shoot.

See more here.

We are enjoying our vacation...more soon.

au courant

Two comfort foods...

I have a book, many gifts, not enough clean clothes and way too much to do-but we're leaving!

I hope there's sunshine.

Here we come, family!

getting ready

James and I are headed back to our hometown, but I'm not going to drop the ball here! I've got posts lined up for, mostly sharing the backlog of photos I've accumulated. I hope you don't mind.

The photos of above are more outakes from the Tumbleweed shoot. That shoot produced this photo, which was on Amy's blog today, thanks for the mention, Amy!

As for a book to take with me, I think I'm going to have to run around tomorrow and try to find a copy of Kitchen Diaries. I've got it from the library before, but Brian's posts are reminding me how good it is.

Well, a good bye of sorts to you all, I hope to return refreshed and with many new photos and stories to share. See you soon!

amaranth

Not much to say today...

But the lovely Amy posted this sweet little post the other day. Please watch the whole cupcake video, it will make your day! Thank you, Amy!

hm...

(above are Polaroids I didn't care for, but are now growing on me...)

So, remember how I told you I was reading this book?

There is so much I want to share; so much I agree with, some that I disagree with, some that is out of date in this digital age and some that is just plain well written and beautiful.

It's funny though, I have about 20 passages from the first essay that I love so maybe I should just say-read this book!

Here are some that I am lingering on today:

"...the most grandiose result of the photographic enterprise is to give us the sense that we can hold the whole world in our heads-as an anthology of images."

"In deciding how a picture should look, in preferring one exposure to another, photographers are always imposing standards on their subjects."

"Using a camera appeases the anxiety which the work driven feel about not working when they are on vacation and supposed to be having fun."

These three passages are very different, but are all very honest to me. Perhaps you could say I am imposing my standards as I pick the passages which I prefer! ;)

 What do you think?

the weather outisde...

I guess you could say I was a bit premature on the "spring" front. Yes, it's snowy and icy in Portland once again. That's okay for me, I feel as though I can post the backlog of snowy pics I've been saving...

Since we've been ill twice in the past month, we've had a lot of down time here at the "Trysagain" household and one thing I've done is watch the entire miniseries of Bleak House. I fell in love with it. I'm telling you, it is so good. Of course, James couldn't stand to look at the screen for more than five minutes-but I'm telling you, the costumes, the sets, the acting-so good.

James and I leave next week for home and I'm in desperate need of a book to take on my travels. Any suggestions? I'd like a good piece of fiction, I'm slowly working my way through this but it would be nice to have something lighter to balance it out.

Just a short post today, I've got lots on my to-do list...

Thanks for all of the comments lately, I love them all! I can't answer each one directly but thank you for them.

And one last little photo to leave you with:

:)

history of place

The history of a place is always very interesting to me.

I've never lived in a new apartment or home, I don't know if I ever will.

Of course it would be nice to have all the modern conveniences and everything in working order, but I think the lack of character would bore me.

I don't believe in ghosts per se, but I love the idea of what may have gone on before you. This abandoned home above seems full of stories.  I'm sure it was grand in it's day, the ornate gingerbread and hefty size tells us that, but there is damage from a fire and years of neglect. What happened here?

When I studied abroad in France, I lived with a few different families. One of them lived in what was once the quarters of nuns. It was a large stone house still connected to an old chapel. It was built in the sixteenth century and totally gorgeous. The steps on the gigantic stone staircase were worn smooth and low in the middle. There were secret tunnels in the basement that led to the chapel and beyond. Oh to have grown up in such a house! Can you imagine what fun?

The place we live in now is about 100 years old, which is old for Portland. Our landlord says it was owned by the first woman doctor in town and she made it into these few apartments to house women with TB. I wonder if this is true. How could I find out?

***********************************************

Anyway, I am blabbering. So glad you all enjoyed the cupcake photo. It's nice to provide a laugh :)
Happy Saturday!

looking forward

Remember these daisies?

Here they are again, only covered in ice.

I feel like spring is closer rather than farther away. For us here in Portland, that means a lot of misty rain. Boy am I ready for the misty rain-bring it on! All this wind and ice can go somewhere else...

I noticed the garden shop in my neighborhood reopens on Monday. That's a good sign spring is close, right? I suspect I'll go and poke around. After all, I am going to at least try and grow a few things this year.

Spring things I am looking forward to:

-the first little stems of local asparagus

-the euphorbia in bloom

-Portland's dogwood

-daffodils

What are you looking forward to?

***********************************************

Totally unrelated note***

this is why people use cupcake pans and not cookie sheets to bake cupcakes:

Ha! I am an idiot.

Happy Friday!

the best kind of work

When I was a child, I thought dolls and stuffed animals were real.

I thought this for a very long time.

Probably a little too long, but I like to think of myself as an imaginative person.

I would talk to them, make sure they knew that I knew they were real and would never intentionally hurt them. It made getting rid of them really difficult.

As many of you know, I work in a children's shop. While I was doing the window display (seen above) I found myself trying to make sure all of the dolls were "comfortable" and didn't look too squished. I guess old habits die hard. I'm a nut...

If you are interested, the bird rattles and stuffed animals are available here.

*********************************************************************************
Thank you for all of the kind words about print+press!

We are so excited to share a year of projects with you all.

There are still a few left...

Also, my personal shop will shut down tomorrow as I prepare to stock it full of new goodies. I am going back home to visit family soon so it seems like the right time to take a shop break. Thanks!

print + press, 01

It's here!

Today is the debut of print + press !

I am thrilled to finally be able to share this with you. Above you will see this month's pair; a beautiful letterpress piece by Chelsea and my photograph that was taken at her home.

Here's a little background in case you are confused:
 this year I am working on a very special collaboration with Chelsea Parker Guidry of Arugula Press. Each month we will create a duo of art pieces; Chelsea will create either a letterpress or screen printed piece and I will create a photographic print. The two pieces will compliment one another and be available for purchase as a set. Each month will produce only a very small edition (25 the first month..) and at the end of the year we plan on having a show with all twelve pairs displayed as well as some possible other items.  The pairs will be sold for only $20, as we'd like to keep it as affordable as possible. The pairings will be debuted on the third Wednesday of each month.

Chelsea printed up some beautiful packaging, don't you just love a pretty package?

If you'd like to find out more, or purchase a set, visit our shop here.

If you don't want to buy one, I totally understand-but you should still go poke around the shop. There is a page where we share a bit about our process...

I'd like to write a bit more about my personal experiences thus far here.

I have to start by letting you all know that I was the kid in school who dreaded group projects. I would either take over the project, do everything my way or just kinda fall behind and drop out of it. I was the all or nothing kid. I'm sure you can imagine, this made a lot of other kids not like me. Such is life, right? But I really do try, try to be better at working with others. And I figured this would be a great chance.

As a total control freak, it is difficult to work on a collaboration, but really great to. It is so nice to be paired with some one like Chelsea, whose eye is well trained and whose work is gorgeous. I find myself letting go-while at the same time-trying not to let too much go.

I think it will be a fun journey for us. I am so sensitive about "art" or "creating" in general, it is nice to have someone to throw ideas to. I look forward to seeing all of our creations together-but for now must focus on the next month....

Thank you, Chelsea.

Thanks to all of you for being here and reading-happy Tuesday!

Thank you for all your support about this project. I am so happy to be working on a project with some one who's work I admire as much as Chelsea's. I am lucky.