HURRICANE SANDY

HURRICANE SANDY

Hello friends! I am writing from water-logged Manhattan where, as you may already know, we were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy this week. My hubby and I have had work canceled for the past three days, the subway system is still shut down, and many people living downtown are still without power or water. It is crazy!

Luckily, since we live uptown, we have maintained power, water and fairly regular internet and cell service. Still, I have seen this as an opportunity to catch up on my schoolwork and haven't managed to put together much inspiration for you here at the O.I. It's times like these, when over 8 million people on the East Coast are without power and many more have been affected by this once in a lifetime storm, that art, design, clothing and all the things I talk about here just don't seem that important and don't particularly hold my attention.

Still, this afternoon, in an effort to get into the Halloween spirit a bit, I will be putting together a special batch of baked goods, which I will post about tomorrow. In the meantime, you can read more about the storm (and see amazing pictures like the taxi lot above) here. Please send all your best thoughts our way for the epic clean up to come.


FROM THE DESK OF . . .

OFFICE SUPPLY ROUND UP

With the impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy—or Frankenstorm, as it has come to be called—my office is closed for the day and I am forced (totally disappointed of course, ha!) to stay home in my pjs today and catch up on schoolwork. In tribute to this surprise day off, I thought it would be a fabulous time to share some of my favorite office and desktop accessories. These are sure to brighten up any work (or home-bound) day!

one.
fluorescent colored pencil set, $25

two.
rotating stamp, $12

three.
black dot paperboard letter sorter, $7.99

four.
cavallini eraser, $4

five.
medium fermagli paper clips, $6.99

six.
accordion document holder, $40

seven.
large cloud cork board, $19.95

eight.
color blocked postcards, $17


LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A FAIRY TALE

House 1House 2 House 3House 7   House 5House 6 House 8House 9

How crazy is this? One day architect Jakub Szczesny was walking through an old neighborhood in Warsaw when he stumbled upon what he called "an appealing cushion of air" between two buildings from different eras. It got him to thinking . . . could he possibly design a building to fit in that slim space? The experimental architect got to work designing the house you see above, measuring 48 inches at its widest and a mere 28 inches at its narrowest point.

The major size restraints meant that Szczesny had to get creative: the desk in the bedroom folds up, the entire bathroom floor becomes the shower (using special highly waterproof tiles), all of the kitchen appliances are under 12 inches deep, and the main entrance is actually a trap door in the floor of the entryway. Amazing, right?

See more photos and learn more about the impressively creative project here. Could you live in a place like this? I think it would pose major problems for diagonal sleepers like me!


ELLSWORTH KELLY SPECTRAL COLORS

Ellsworth Kelly_Dartmouth_2011 Ellsworth Kelly_Color Squares 4_2012 Ellsworth Kelly_Color Over Black_2012 Ellsworth Kelly_Color Panels_2011


Oh my, I love Ellsworth Kelly. A master modern artist, whose color sense is off the charts (get it? color chart?! ha!), he has a show coming up at the print gallery Gemini G. E. L. later this month, with all of these Spectral Color works being included. Lovely, right? I'll just take one or two home with me, thank you!


See more at Gemini's website here.


LOTTA JANSDOTTER: GONE FISHIN'

LOTTA JANSDOTTER AT FISHS EDDY    LOTTA JANSDOTTER AT FISHS EDDY LOTTA JANSDOTTER AT FISHS EDDY    LOTTA JANSDOTTER AT FISHS EDDY LOTTA JANSDOTTER AT FISHS EDDY LOTTA JANSDOTTER AT FISHS EDDY    LOTTA JANSDOTTER AT FISHS EDDY


I have written about Fishs Eddy before—its a fabulous store filled, literally from floor to ceiling, with fun and practical dishes and serveware—and thought we were overdue for an update. I popped into the store a couple weeks ago only to discover, to my delight, that they have a new line of products out. Namely cups, mugs, and linens designed by the wonderful Lotta Jansdotter. Who is Lotta Jansdotter you say? She is an incredibly talented (and beautiful!) designer whose creativity (and book production) knows no bounds. I have had this book on my shelf for a while now and anytime I need a jolt of inspiration I flip through it; it hasn't failed to get my creative juices flowing yet.

Check out the full line of products by Lotta at Fishs Eddy here and check out her full website here.


JUST BREATHE

DEEP BREATH DEEP BREATH DEEP BREATH DEEP BREATH

Have you ever gone running in water? It feels like a normal run, only painfully, laboriously slow. You keep pushing ahead but it only feels like you are making infinitesimal progress. In fact, you have to keep your eye on the horizon to even know where you are going or where you have been.

Well my life for the last couple weeks has felt like one long water-logged marathon and it ain't over yet.   I have to continue reminding myself of the epic goal ahead (becoming ABD in my PhD program, helping to put together some wonderful exhibitions at work), and sometimes the only thing that doesn't make that goal seem overwhelming and exhausting is just taking a deep breath and taking a break.

That's what I ended up doing last night—with my wonderful, thoughtful, amazing husband—and that's what I hope you will all be able to do this weekend.


(beautiful photos above from here, here, here, and here; more on my pinterest board here)


FEELING DOTTY

FEELING DOTTY FEELING DOTTY FEELING DOTTY FEELING DOTTY FEELING DOTTY FEELING DOTTY

This is crazy! Recently a group called Studio Vollaerszwart installed 50,000 fluorescent pink dots on a street in Rotterdam, The Netherlands as part of a big art festival. Can you imagine how cool that would have been to see? It's like something out of a children's book!

The studio has done some other amazing projects too; check out this, this, (holy cow!) this, and (wow!) this.

(thanks to Design Mom for the tip)


HALLOWEEN WRAP UP

WRAPPING PAPER HALLOWEEN WEB DECORATIONS   MARTHA STEWART BAT MOBILE  HALLOWEEN CROSS STITCH
MARTHA STEWART PUMPKIN CARVING    SKULL CUPCAKES

Are you into Halloween? A couple years ago I lived with a friend who was obsessed with Halloween—she would start crafting her costume and decorating our place weeks in advance. I loved her enthusiasm but could never manage to get my act together myself.

So here's a quick little roundup of some fun Halloween projects you could pull off in an evening.

top to bottom, left to right:

Free Halloween Printable Wrapping Paper

Trash Bag Spiderweb Decorations

"Bat Mobile" by Martha Stewart

Stitched Halloween Decorations

Funny Face Pumpkin Carving Tips

Toothy Skull Cupcake Tutorial

What will you be for Halloween this year? Do you go all out decorating or are you more of the stay at home with the lights off type of person?


THE WEDDING FILES: HONEYMOON RECAP, PART ONE


ICELAND WINDOWS ICELAND WINDOWS ICELAND WINDOWS ICELAND WINDOWS ICELAND WINDOWS ICELAND WINDOWS ICELAND WINDOWS ICELAND WINDOWS ICELAND WINDOWS

As you may remember, last month I went on my honeymoon to Iceland. It was one of the most spectacularly beautiful, eerie, and exciting places I have ever seen. As I mentioned here, I somehow managed to take over 3000 photos on the trip and so have been a little slow about sorting and sharing them with you.

Here's my first crack at it: the windows of Iceland. Though most of the houses around Iceland are modest, if not a little rough around the edges, I was amazed at how beautiful the windows were. Without fail, each one boasted either lovely lace curtains or delightful little trinkets, making for wonderful little displays. Combine that with the reflectivity of the glass and the cool, blue light and you have some pretty magical scenes.

Read more about Iceland here and bear with me. More Iceland photos to come!


WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND

EASTERN MARKET

Whoa, where did this week go? I have a theory that short weeks at work are actually the craziest; at least for me, I have less time to cram in more work than usual to make up for my hedonistic laziness over the long weekend. Pair that with a very busy exhibition schedule here at the Whitney Museum and I am wiped!

Do you have anything fun planned this weekend? My in-laws are coming to visit and, given the beautiful weather forecast, I am hoping to take them here and here (maybe with a stop here for a cookie in between). Hope you are going to be taking advantage of the crisp fall air wherever you are!

For those of you who are stuck inside for the next couple days, or just want some procrastination inspiration at work today, here are some fun things to keep you busy:

I don't care that this place is in Minnesota, I want to go there now.

This is hilarious (and kinda disappointing) at the same time.

I need to stockpile this and this in black or red. (Won't they look great together?)

This looks super useful, and I think I would make it my mission to top the Today Show (there version is boring!).

I have been a die-hard reader my whole life and I did not know half of these things.

I need to learn all of these (and these). Now. And I need to try to use them without giggling.

I got in on this (so smart!) and wish I had gotten in on this (cool!).

If only Nemo's Dad had had access to this . . .

Okay, maybe Facebook isn't all evil . . .

Have you seen my friend Lily's blog? It's beautiful! And so is her artwork!

This woman is incredible. We would all be lucky to have even half of her poise, grace and downright awesomeness.

And now for something completely different (only in New York!)


Have a great weekend, all! See you on Monday!


Photo taken by me, last month, at the Eastern Market in D.C. Check out more of my Instagram photos here.


NICK FRANK

NICK FRANK NICK FRANK NICK FRANK NICK FRANK NICK FRANK NICK FRANK

I stumbled across these gorgeous, colorful photographs by German artist Nick Frank this week. I then proceeded down the proverbial rabbit hole, drooling over every photo on his Behance profile, becoming more and more amazed with each passing shot. Then I found his Facebook page and, despite my limited knowledge of german, I was astounded by how much more creativity and artistic excellence was on display there. Does this man's portfolio have no end?

Do yourself a favor and check out all the goodness here.