what i'm loving right now: nature-inspired modern

resin tree stump side table - satisfies my desire for natural elements in the house without harboring spiders, dirt and other less desirable tag-a-longs.





















sea urchin floor lamp- made from coconut shells!






















zebra print burnout panels- a hint of exotic subtle enough not to hate in a couple months when the safari fad fades.


























just adorable.

let your troubles roll by - carbon leaf

so of course i'm writing now that it's nearly final time and i have papers to write. i'm sitting on the second floor of wurster between 100b pinups for tomorrow's review. i didn't plan to be here, i went to strada but with finals looming, every seat was taken. and i hate sharing tables with someone i don't know. so instead i got my usual chai latte and came here. new dividing walls are up to make more space for reviews and it created a little cubicle for me and my table. the door is open and a breeze is flowing in. it is so warm today.
i haven't written in a long time, nearly a semester i guess. things are almost over and i'm getting nostalgic. my last final is on tuesday and then i'm done with college. how strange. i am vaguely enjoying my last days of studying and writing papers but i'm starting to get antsy. i want to be done but once i am i know i will miss it.
my last final is horribly early and then i will have nearly two weeks to goof off before graduation. i plan to waste my time in the pottery studio, making teacups for my grandma as a belated 80th birthday present. i am going to miss berkeley.
i have a job set up now, with an arch firm in downtown seattle. i hadn't heard of them prior to my job search but their office really sold it to me. there were study models of every material possible on desks, it was messy, there were old critiques on the walls, everything just seemed like design. the other offices i visited were surprisingly clean and ordered. models were produced out of house and shipped in for client meetings. this office felt more like the studio i was used to.
i leave for seattle at the end of june. but first i will (hopefully) take a trip with brendan, and visit my older sister and some friends in DC for my sisters last symphony concert in the Kennedy Center.
need to focus.

i just feel strange.

come on - JAMC

i can't believe i go home so soon. it seems i have just arrived and now things are beginning to fit into boxes again. my family is here. they went to florence to give me some time alone to finish up and takes finals finals finals. one is done, theory of restoration. definitely one of the most nerve-wracking tests i've ever taken. THEORY. in ITALIAN. ORAL. i'm so glad that's done. one more though. and now that i know what orals are like i don't think i can take another one! urbanism friday. then i'll start to relax a bit more, head down to Rome to meet my mom, aunt, and sister. hopefully work a lot on the train on my allestimento project. done completely in one week. wow.
one final push.
and people start leaving the 19th. . sigh.

recomendation - mirah

i think i could do seattle for a couple years. i've always wanted to live there, and isn't now as good a time as ever, perhaps better?

if anything it will give me more reason to wear my new jackets and perhaps by some new boots...

god rest you merry gentlemen

it is natale in italy. and i wish i could always be here for this season. last night was the christmas tree lighting ceremony. the choir sang and during "silent night" they set off blue and gold streamers and turned on all the lights. it was all so lovely. the christmas market is set up now in the center. candy stands are all over the square. caroling and babies bundled like snowmen. i love the atmosphere.

we went to the ceremony and then followed the choir as the went caroling to listen to jeremiah's gospel solos. afterwards we went to maracaibo's for aperitivo, and il ciclone for dinner. arranged our secret santa. and then biked home for a movie night.

today we're going with the choir to Modena for a queen concert. should be a fun spectacular. i feel like such a choir groupie. but who says no to a free ride and the chance to hear queen sung with an italian accent?

a picture of the ceremony. (i got one crappy shot. my camera immediately died. sigh.)

if looks could kill - camera obscura

i never wrote about paris. and now it is too far gone to do properly. instead. just an insert from an email.

"hi grandma,

Paris was amazing.  I knew it was supposed to be beautiful but I was still
very surprised.  We had gorgeous (albiet freezing) weather and the sky
always looked liked watercolor to me. i really enjoyed the louve (although
i was lost the whole time, that place is like a maze!) and the notre dame.
We were lucky enough to be at the Notre Dame during a mass for All Saints
Day, which was lovely: so many candles and beautiful choral music.

Ferrara is starting to get decorated for christmas; window displays are
festive and christmas lights are hung across the major shopping streets.
today i went to the craft market and the town square smelt like roasted
chestnuts and sweets (they have a huge candy vender every sunday).  it all
felt so wintery and european! -- a perfect afternoon."

lovely lovely lovely.

suddenly time is getting short. i am alternately homesick and prematurely nostalgic
for Ferrara days.

brendan came for a week.  picked up him up in bologna on a cold wintery morning.  two
days in florence (the duomo. palazzo pitti. the david. palazzo vecchio. etc.)  thanksgiving
dinner in the apartment.  venice during the La Festa Della Salute.  candles and singing.
streets filled with candy and balloon venders.  fried dough and cotton candy.  a tour
of ferrara. visit to my favorite cathedral.  the sunday food market and un giro on the old
city walls.  the whole time was so surreal.  lost it a bit at the airport.  i know i will
see him in a month. but i hated standing there watching him go through the security line.
seeing someone you love go somewhere you can't follow is just the worst feeling.

better now.

finally working! project! urbanistica! allestimento! i. missed. work. 

more to come.

ps. discovery: http://www.last.fm/listen/
amazing!

everything is prettier in paris- 2

everything is prettier in paris.

ti prendo e ti porto via - vasco rossi

i feel like i haven't written in years. and so much has been going on. i feel a bit as though my attention span has been waning. paris! switzerland! italian blues jam sessions! but i don't want to write about anything until i feel like it.

today i loved italy. i loved ferrara. worked on project for a couple hours with lau and manon. manon and i made some pasta soup for lunch and ate some cookies with espresso. chatted a bit about the universal overworked architecture student life. and then packed up and biked into town. there was a craft/food/ candy stand fair set up so we parked our bikes and wandered a bit. the air is finally crisp and wintery, christmas lights are strung across via mazzini and it smelled like sweets and roasted chestnuts. couples waked their baby prams and old men held their fragile wives' elbows. it was beautiful and i could think was. i cannot believe that i am here right now. i didn't buy anything but the market will be there next sunday. so we shopped a bit and i tried on my first pair of boots. no luck. but we are heading to bologna tomorrow after her class so there is still hope.

going to (finally) officially enroll in school/classes. sigh. why are we three so bootleg?

ps. finally found some italian music i can sing to. and had an italian dinner with actual italian friends. how exciting.