Artwork of the Week: My Library

My Library by Carine Brancowitz

Nothing makes you step back and assess your lot in life quite like a move. (Or an episode of Hoarders.) And by "lot" I mean "possessions" --- as in, we've got quite a lot of them. And by "them" I mean specifically "books" --- as in, why do we keep books at all? After you've read them, even if you absolutely loved the narrative, are you ever really going to read through it a second time? I know some people do, but I am not one of them. And yet! I'm saving (and moving) all of these books. For what? To pass onto my future literate children who will probably only skim stories on screens by then?

These are the thoughts that roll over me when I sit here walled in by heavy cartons. With, if I'm being honest here, no deep intention of changing my pack ratting ways. But I'm thinking about thinking about it. 

This drawing by French illustrator Carine Brancowitz made me think about it some more. She does very detailed and finely patterned work in ballpoint pen mostly. You can see more of her art on her website: www.carinebrancowitz.com

- Cathleen 

[Image via bibliolectors.tumblr.com]

Floored

We landed in Durham exactly one week ago today and have been unpacking and settling into our new home every waking moment since. I can't wait to share photos of the place once we have painted the walls and battled the massive heap of empty cardboard boxes that has taken over the back porch. Even though we filled a 16-foot moving truck to the brim with all of our worldly possessions (ok, mostly MY worldly possessions), now that we have a bit more room to spread out, I'm noticing some holes around the place. Specifically in the living room. I have spent every relaxing-post-unpacking minute searching online for something to soften up these hardwood floors. Especially with Graham on the verge of crawling any day now(!!!), we need something to protect those little knees STAT.

I've torn through West Elm, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel, CB2, The Land of Nod, Pottery Barn, Target, Home Depot, Macy's, Sears, Amazon, Craigslist, Ebay, and something called RugStudio.com, all to no avail. Everything is beige or floral or Persian, and we are having none of that. Oh! We also don't want to spend more than 150 bucks since Graham will probably be staining it up like WHAT, so that too has narrowed the carpeted field significantly.

And then IKEA rugged up and totally blew everybody else off the floor:

It's colorful! It's geometric! It's got a high pile! And selling for $129!??! You really cannot beat it. Only problem is the nearest Swedish purveyor of particleboard furniture is over 2 hours away! Long gone are the days of hopping on a quick bus to Red Hook for cheap home goods in Brooklyn, I suppose. Sigh.


- Cathleen

Artwork of the Week: In the Middle of the Night

Illustration by Adrienne Adams

from In the Middle of the Night by Aileen Fisher

It's official: we are moving to Durham, NC THIS Friday! So while my guys and I are busy packing up and heading down south this week, I thought I'd post some art that really resonates with one of the reasons why we chose to move out of the great big (New York) city: a yard! 

I cannot wait to finally have a yard of our very own. Where we can plant rosemary and tomatoes and blueberries. Where we can go hunting for fireflies at dusk. Where we can tromp barefoot through the grass without any fears of stepping on broken bottles or possibly human turds. 

It's going to be awesome! 

- Cathleen 

Read Your Bookcase

We have just begun the packing process for our big move that is scheduled at the end of July. Right now we are in the accumulating boxes stage, hitting up area liquor stores and new neighbors in the building for their cardboard cast offs. First items to be wrestled into said boxes will be the books. Of which there are quite a lot! Going through our collection I have been reluctantly reminded of all the books I have accumulated over the years with the best of intentions to read every one. There are way too many that I was once SO excited to get into that still sit languishing on our dusty shelves. For shame. 

This wooden modular bookcase would be the perfect direct reminder to read what I sew. Read Your Bookcase was designed by Italian furniture company Saporiti and has seriously motivated me to shop my own shelves for a change. Seriously. What if I never bought a new book until all of the books I already owned had been read? I should just do it. Yes. I'M GOING TO DO IT!** 

- Cathleen 

**Disclaimer: Ok, I will absolutely refrain from purchasing any more new or used books for myself, but that does not preclude me from snagging a free book on a Park Slope stoop here and there or Christmas/birthday Amazon wish-listing. Because it's really HARD to come up with wish list stuff, you guys! Seriously. 

[Images via The Meta Picture and Selectism]