Artwork of the Week: Thumbs Up

Thumb by Marcus Oakley

As a rounder faced preteen, I was notorious for flashing thumbs up in photos. I was never much for the peace sign. Nor was I ever edgy enough to go for the bird. It was the thumb for me all the way. Those pictures are now a terribly embarrassing reminder of how totally radical I thought I was. 

[Speaking of which, The Awkward Years Project deals in just this sort of thing.] 

This thumb and eleven finger salute is a square drawing by London artist Marcus Oakley that a professional thumb gesticulator like myself can fully endorse. 

- Cathleen 

Finds and Treasures

Currently lusting after these whale bookends from Anthropologie! 

So cute, and so nautical!

- Grace

Artwork of the Week: Vintage Pyrex

Vintage Pyrex Poster created by Pocono Modern

100# coated stock, 11 x 17 in

$16 via Etsy

Still in nesting mode! There is something so satisfying about finding a rightful place for all of your belongings in a new home. 

- Cathleen 

Let's Talk About Jeans

I hate jeans. Hate, hate, hate jeans! I find them stiff and uncomfortable. This is not a new occurrence, I have always hated jeans. For the most part I have always worn whatever "other" pant has been in style ie leggings or chinos. However sometimes you just gotta wear jeans! I have a ton of shirts that are too short to wear with leggings and that would just look best paired with a great jean.

I received an email in the mail from Madewell - owned by J.Crew (by the way, I did not know that until like a month ago). They say they have created an awesome comfortable jean and now I'm wondering... should I drop the $120 to try their jeans?

Please note, I don't look anything like this in jeans. Add about 20 lbs and a lot more "Mom" and you've got me.

So readers....thoughts? Have you tried Madewell's jeans before?

- Grace

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

If You Can...

Hit this estate sale this weekend:

A lot of the items pictured look like crap but these four items caught my eye. Love the Scandinavian desk and chair as well as the easy chair. Also am loving these Eames rockers! I am in need of one of those Christmas candle whirly things- no clue what they're called but I do know this- new, they're VERY expensive. 

Sale is in Potomac MD and opens today at 11am. I may try and pop by tomorrow. My days of lining up, pushing, and getting squished are over.

Happy Friday!

-Grace

The Line: Fine Art & Craft

Since as recently as the mid-1500s fine art was placed higher than craft in the art hierarchy. This has been problematic and disrespectful to the intense labor and beauty that craft consists of. A bare bones definition to explain art is: something that is useless- without function, while the definition for craft has always been: something that is useful - something that has a function that may also happen to be beautiful. But this gets messy, take for instance Necklace designed and made by Tone Vigeland:

Using a strict matrix by which to judge this piece one would say it's craft, it's a necklace after all and can be worn. However here's the problem, it can't actually be worn. It's made of hand forged and flattened steel to ultimately achieve a feather-like look. Because of  its construction it loses its function. So, is it craft or fine art? Should there even be a distinction? Or should we simply allow craft to stand side-by-side with painting in the hierarchy of the arts? 

- Grace