Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Lead the Way.


It is an unbelievably gorgeous day in San Francisco and I am very tempted to trade the office for an afternoon in the sunshine... We'll see. In the meantime, I came across this stunning snow drawing by artist Sonja Hinrichsen at Rabbit Ears Pass in Colorado (photos by Cedar Beauregard). I just love it! Maybe because it reminds me of the squiggles I doodle during meetings on days like this... I wonder what was playing through her mind as she created these paths step by step. It seems like it would be very meditative work.

Birthday Adventures.


Did you all have a relaxing and adventurous holiday weekend?  I spent it with friends celebrating my upcoming 28th year and gallivanting about the city, it was wonderful! (...Any birthday weekend that begins with getting the very last ham and gruyere annual birthday croissant at Tartine is bound to be fabulous!) 

Tartine. Walk in the Mission. An impromptu dinner party. Tony's. Southern Pacific Brewery. Taqueria Cancun. Lazy mornings. Suzu Ramen. Spa date. Sunday night dinner. Sonoma. El Dorado Kitchen. Wine Tasting. Oxbow market. Warriors game... Thank you friends!

I look forward to what this year has in store.  XOXO


Thursday, February 16, 2012

Love Ever After.

After her grandfather's death, Laura Fleishman found a series of love letters that he had written to her grandmother in a book next to his bed. The letter spoke of a young love, the type of love filled with joy and hopeful expectations for the life they were about to embark on together. They had been married for more than 50 years when he passed.

Since, she has embarked on a three year photographic series of "love letters." The dominant portraiture of her series consists of New York couples who have been together for more than 50 years.

She notes, "I photograph these couples as a way to preserve their stories and to illuminate our universal experience of love. From the very beginnings of my career, I've sought out society's unseen population as a way to break down our own perceptions. I learned that photography, with it's unique ability to capture very intimate moments and details, could allow me to challenge perceived barriers between the viewer and the subject.

Most of the couples in my project were photographed in their own homes. They were asked questions like, Where was your first date? When did you know you were in love? Does love change over the years? You see them in their mirrors, standing in their living room, sitting on the antique couches that have been in the family for decades. The environment establishes a connection to the story."

I think these stories and snapshots are unbelievably romantic.

"My wife is 85, and I am 88. I'm only wishing for another 5 or 6 years of life. This is all we want. As a matter of fact, I always say to my wife, I wish I could reach 94. This is the aim of my existence. I'd like to see my grandson earn a living and my grand daughter get married. We want them to be happy the way we were." - Moses Rubenstein
 "What is the secret to love? A secret is a secret and I don't ever reveal my secrets!" - Ykov Shapirshteyn
 "Everyday my wife expresses her love for me. She says, did I tell you how much I love you today? Everyday. Everyday she says that." - Moe Rubenstein
 "You have to remember the times were different. We met in the 1939 and we didn't have money. So our group of friends always met at our friend Betty's basement. There weren't things like dates and going out to dinner. We didn't know from those things because we didn't have money. So we enjoyed each others' company. " - Fran Futterman

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Love.


"The greatest thing you'll ever learn
is just to love and be loved in return."

I find myself awestruck by the beautiful truth of these words sometimes...

My Valentine's Day was simply lovely. I'm literally still smiling ear to ear... I have the most wonderful partner, he amazes me every day. 

Monday, February 13, 2012

Scenes from the Weekend: SF Beer Week.


In a last minute change of plans, I ended up staying in the city this weekend and doing my part to kick off SF Beer Week right. And if for no other reason, I'm glad we did because we wandered on over to the Mission to try out the new Southern Pacific Brewery. This place is truly a gem. Good beer, spacious modern digs, tasty bites and a laid back, friendly atmosphere. I'm a huge fan. It's the city's version on Lagunitas' tap room, and that's sayin' something! It's the perfect place for an afternoon of brews while the weather is still too shoddy outside to brave Biergarten and Zietgeist's outdoor patios (not that it's stopped us before!).

Also on the weekend circuit: City sunscapes from atop Twin Peaks, experimenting with my new Holga, whipping up some homemade ricotta (crostini with ricotta and spicy broccoli rabe is undoubtedly my new party trick - watch out friends!), and [more] beers at Social in the Sunset (Rapscallion or Big Lebowski anyone?).


Friday, February 10, 2012

Dodged.

Let the weekend games begin, friends!!


For the third time in as many years the University of Alberta set a world record last week for the largest dodgeball game, pitting 4,979 ball-hurling competitors against one another in a chaotic, hour-long hailstorm of giant, spongy red balls.

(I feel like I'm in the middle of this crazy game right now, Friday has come after me with a vengence!)
Photos by Gateway Photography.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Designed for Health.

Why do hospitals have to look and feel like hospitals?  Good question. They don't and shouldn't.

Design matters, and it has the power to shape the future of health and healthcare. (I could go on for days about design-conscious innovations driven by social media...) As individuals interact in environments and with artifacts, the focus should be kept on creating positive and more engaging healthcare experiences.

Healthcare's effectiveness can be profoundly impacted by something as simple as the physical environments in which we receive care. If eastern facing rooms (with direct morning sunlight) can decrease hospital stays by 3.7 days, just think about the power design such as that in this English hospital might have!

From Fast Co. Design by James Gaddy:

"This was the question that Lucy and Tobie Snowdowne, the duo behind British studio Two Create, wrestled with when they were hired to imagine a new cancer ward in Birmingham, England. After conducting interviews with patients themselves, the Snowdownes diagnosed one potential cure for the common clinic: They made it look like a boutique hotel.


Hired by the Teenage Cancer Trust to create a space for 12 teenage patients in the recently built Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, Two Create focused less on the architecture and product design and instead reimagined the traditional interior design of a hospital. And in addition to iPod docks and furniture from SCP and Vitra, they designed a few bespoke objects: an end table to allow patients to carry IVs easier, a sofa made with the softest anti-microbial fabrics, and die-cut sheet magnets that patients can use to personalize their rooms. And anyone who has seen patients roaming the halls, IVs in tow, trying to avoid the banality of their rooms, can appreciate the three additional rooms designed solely to be social spaces.

Known as the YPU (Young Persons Unit), the suite in Birmingham is one of 17 units that the Teenage Cancer Trust operates throughout England."


Wednesday, February 8, 2012

SleepBox.


From Fast Co Design:
"Being trapped in an airport waiting on a delayed flight can feel like an eternity. After exhausting the overpriced food options and duty-free shops, what else is there to do but fidget in a stiff seat and bemoan air travel’s tragic decline? If only there were a comfortable spot to stretch out and take a nap without worrying about someone swiping your luggage. Meet SleepBox 01, a shoebox-size room designed by Arch Group to give weary travelers a place to rest for anywhere between a half hour to several hours. The first full-scale model has been installed in the Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
The Moscow-based firm has made some radical aesthetic changes to its 2009 proposal, abandoning the white iPod exterior for the warmer look of ash veneer. The inside resembles a boat cabin, with every inch maximized to provide a short-term guest with everything she might need short of a shower: a twin-size bunk bed, a fold-down desk, a nightstand, an LED lamp, a gadget charging station, and electric-drive blinds for privacy."
Pod hotels are nothing new, but I do find the scale and offering of this space intriguing nonetheless.

Namaste.


Stressed out by flying? Travelers at SFO can now find their inner calm in the Yoga Room - the world's first airport studio!

The quiet, dimly lit studio officially opened last week in a former storage room just past security at SFO's Terminal 2 (you'll already have your shoes off, so why not?!). The room is open to all ticketed passengers, contains a few chairs and yoga mats but no instructors or televisions.

I'd say that's an improvement in the passenger experience!

Via Associated Press. 

Let's explore some other innovative spaces shall we?....

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Scenes from the Weekend: Crissy Field.


Friday was too beautiful to spend inside, so I took the afternoon off to walk on down through Crissy Field to the bridge, enjoy the sunshine and get my blood flowing (it's an eight mile loop!). 

This stoic heron and sweet hummingbird took my breath away. I love that this city by the bay can still surprise me! 

Monday, February 6, 2012

Marine Huggonier.


"Marine Hugonnier ...explores the relationship between text and image, between the descriptive and deceptive qualities of visuals and language. For her, the image always carries the promise of an excess of meaning, a resistance to its subjection to a purpose of commerce, propaganda and ideology – in short, the spectacle.

Art for Modern Architecture (2004–ongoing) investigates the role of the image, its abilities and its limitations and reverses the process by obstructing the press images on the front page of a week’s worth of newspapers " [source]

This body of work takes me straight back to dissecting the construction of meaning and value in narratives and art in my undergraduate career as a Peace and Conflict Studies major. I find it incredibly thought provoking, and hope you will too on this Monday morning.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

And It All Adds Up...


....And I'M DONE!!!
(now we wait) 


Thank you friends and family for being so loving and supportive during these past few months, constantly rooting me on, patiently tolerating my stress and cancelled outings (apologies!), sharing meals with me (which you knew were thinly veiled triumphs in procrastination), talking me back from the edge and lending a pair of critical eyes when I needed it, and most of all for believing in me. 

My ability to take this invaluable step forward has in no small way been enabled by you. Thank you. If this happens to not the path I am destined for in 2012, there is an equally exciting adventure awaiting me which I find just as thrilling.... and I can't wait to share it with you.

XOXO