The STUFF Sisters

Tentacles

The holiday season brings out the best in me. Well, in my ability to handle many, many things.

The holiday season brings out the best in me. Well, in my ability to handle many, many things. As a self diagnosed “Type A Control Freak”, I enjoy this time of year. My only regret is that, with so many places to be and things to get done, I feel like I need more arms to hold it all together.

Which brings me to this photo:

I have very little time to read when my day ends, and reading is one of my favorite things in the world. My husband will account for the fact that, right now, there are very few minutes between the shower, me hitting the sheets, and me closing my eyes. Like everyone I know, my days in December are long, multi-faceted and demanding.

Two days ago, I found time to look through one of my favorite monthly treasures – National Geographic – and found this photo. It left me mesmerized and silent. Look at all the subtle colors. Look at the peacefulness.

I hope to feel like this in January. Contained. With all my tentacles in tact.

p.s. This photo must be credited to Jeffrey de Guzman. He captured it on a nightime dive in the Philippines. The octopus has found a place of rest inside a broken bottle. This little bit of magic was not part of an article but merely a favorite of the editors from photos received from readers. Check out December’s National Geographic Magazine here.

Indian Love Affair

I have loved saris for years. I’ve even wanted to own one …

I have loved saris for years. I’ve even wanted to own one and wear it. And for more than costume parties. I think this may be my true style. The authentic Sloane.

Tonight I went trolling on Google and Pinterest for images and was befuddled. All the women shown looked like hoochie mamas.

The woman to your left has not spent day one in India, I’m pretty sure. She’d be laughed off the continent.

Where’s the woman who was at Costco a few days ago that I followed down the main aisle totally mesmerized by her grace?

She walked at a full stride – on shorter legs than mine, which made my gait a bit crumpled as I walked behind her – and never once fussed with her clothes. She was older than me, darker skinned than me, sporting the most amazingly mixed shades of watermelon and salmon, and wearing not very attractive sandals, but I was in the throws of a full-on girl crush. I was a stalker, if only for a few minutes.

And then, tonight I found her again as she lives in my mind’s eye. Right here on my screen:

Isn’t she incredible? What’s not to love?

p.s. “Hoochie mama” is a coined phrase I lifted from my sister Casey. Make of it what you will, but know that she cracks me up. Here are a few more hoochie mamas.

Days of Abstraction

I think it is human nature to believe that you can understand other people. We seek to “know” people. We are constantly making assumptions about others. “She is….” “He is….”

I am a visual person. For me, it is like I begin to paint a portrait of a person, and I add paint strokes to the image as I learn more about them. I hope to define or decode them and bring them into focus.

But I am always looking at my imaginary paintings and feeling like I am missing something. I wish could put my finger on what I missed. It is terribly confusing to discover that my imagination has led me astray – to discover my portraits are not accurate.

Maybe this is why I am drawn to abstract art. It strips the imagery completely away, and only focuses on feeling, emotion, essence, and even the void.

Some days I am more comfortable with abstraction. I am able to be less critical. I am more open. My mind is free. I am able to avoid assumptions.

A day of abstraction often helps me see what is really there.

Bohemian Rhapsody

How extravagantly Bohemian eclectic.

I envision myself traveling by ocean liner to buy a huge collection of these pieces and then return home. On the way back “across the pond”, my traveling companions and I will sit in a small grouping of the furniture on the covered deck of the ship which was made by Dumond’s designs. We will smoke, drink, discuss literature, argue about politics, and remarkably discover the meaning of life.

PS…Find this incredible collection online at http://www.squintlimited.com/.

PSS…I couldn’t resist watching this video on youtube before I wrote this blog.

Stay Sharp

We are working on updating our website this week, and I just wanted to give a big SHOUT OUT to the black Sharpie marker. Without this iconic marker, our website would be quite dull indeed.

See for yourself…start here.

PS…Stay tuned for the new website design. I promise it will be fantastic.

Summer Blues

I am on “re-entry” from vacation. I was missing the bright blues of Florida today. I found them cheering me along from all over the store. Here are few.

: Summer blues surround me at work.

Fed Up

I’m breaking down. I’m worn slick. I can’t take another minute. I’m fed up. The sun needs to come out now and stay out for more than 5 minutes. My vitamin D is lacking, and I am a shade of pale I have never been before.

llbean bags — The large long handle would be my choice today.

When I start to feel this way, my mind turns to blue. The color, not the emotion. So today I visited a place that always makes me happy – the LL Bean Boat & Tote page on their website. I seldom buy bags that I design, but I do enjoy the process and their blues make me very happy. I won’t be buying a bag anytime soon. Just knowing that I had so many blues to choose from calmed me down.

I have written about blue before. My previous musings can be found here.

Sloane

Books by Color

I am in desperate need of bookshelves. My daughter and I have stacks of books everywhere. You can’t pass through the house with your arms full because you are guaranteed to fall over a stack of books. (Of course, if you did, you would at least have something to read while you waited for the ambulance.)

I have been searching for bookshelves I like AND can afford. This is the real challenge, since I have very expensive taste. I came across these images of color sorted bookshelves and love them.

I like the objects and CDs…looks like a “real” house – by Hinke

“Wow factor” is off-the-charts – by Chota



Artist Chris Cobb and helpers reshelved all the books in the San Francisco shop Adobe Books according to color for his work “There is Nothing Wrong in this Whole Wide World”. Shop by color? Hmmm.

Maybe I could start by color sorting the piles in my house?

Casey

Blue Sofa

I have been fantasizing about blue sofas lately. After this admission, you may want to tell me to “get a life”. But let’s push on….

I have this overwhelming desire to donate my sofa and replace it with a blue sofa. I feed this desire occasionally by “Googling” the words “blue sofa” to look at all my choices.

This afternoon I am trying really hard to sit still – which is not easy for me (actually damned near impossible) – because I have a pesky and pretty debilitating head cold. And everyone has said, “You need to rest.” So…I grabbed my laptop and headed to the sofa. Meanwhile, my amazingly wonderful daughter is covering every surface in our house with Playmobil (thanks to my nephew’s recent hand-me-downs) and running around in her new blue striped dress from Boden (tags still on).

And this is how my mind works: blue dress running by + my butt on the sofa = blue sofa. I hit Google with my “blue sofa” request, and I have been window shopping ever since. Here are today’s picks.


Peacock sofa.		Le Corbusier Grande Sofa in blue.		Andre’ from Room and Board.