I found one! A teapot, that is. And it was just $5 from a local thrift store.
The title of this post is one of my favorite quotes from my favorite childhood book, Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye. It alludes to the unifying power of tea across cultures. It’s a sweet sentiment, I think.
I found this photo on Tumblr and traced it back to here. I just love it. I can’t stop looking at it. It encompasses everything I’ve been trying to achieve lately.
Peace.
Serenity.
Quiet.
Calm.
Minimalism.
Introspection.
Clarity.
The tones, the colors, the setting. The mix of industrial and natural textures. The framing, how the wall is blocking part of the table and the viewer doesn’t know who or what is around the corner.
The teapot. I love that damn teapot. I’ve been indulging in a lot of tea lately and it’s seriously been helping me balance my life. And I’m not much of a New Age-y person (not that there’s anything wrong with that, I’m just much more of a skeptic) but the ritual of making, drinking and savoring tea has profoundly impacted my day-to-day life.
Places like these keep popping up in my imagination and then I find actual photos of real places and I know it’s possible to make this kind of space for myself.
I’ve never really understood the whole Tumblr and Pinterest phenomenons until recently. I didn’t really get how saving these images and GIFs from around the web were important. But both resources have been monumental in helping me see the potential for quality of life–improving it in simple ways, like putting a pretty teapot on a pretty table. It’s inspiring in a straight-forward, no-nonsense way, like, you’ll either find this beautiful or you won’t. I love going back to my profiles to find themes and connections between the images I find moving. Sometimes I don’t remember finding certain things and it’s like a nice note to myself. This image is one of those–I’d completely forgotten about it until this week. I love the internet and I love the many ways it inspires me often.
I updated my EDC recently and I’m finally really happy with my lot. One of my goals was to minimalize. While I generally have a few extra items that aren’t pictured here, this really is an accurate representation of what I have in my bag at all times. (Now, if I could accomplish this in other aspects of my life, that would be great. 
)
Here’s what I have now:
I feel like I’ve finally accomplished a streamlined EDC with sturdy, neutral gear and a few fun, colorful accessories. I especially love my new Timex which I’ve worn pretty much non-stop since I’ve gotten it.
Once again, I’ve been needing to re-evaluate my EDC gear. Lately, my bag has been a disaster, and have discovered a need for particular items. Using everyday-carry.com and the Reddit EDC forums for inspiration, here are some items on my wishlist.
1. Moleskine Notebook. I’ve always loved how versatile, iconic and minimal Moleskine notebooks are. I always have a reporter’s notepad in my bag for work, but in an effort to rekindle my love for personal journaling, I really need a good quality but small book to keep with me at all times.
2. Gal Spanish Lip Balm. Currently I have a lip balm tin in my bag that I love, but the label wore off and I don’t remember where it was from because my grandmother gave it to me. I like having a tin rather than a tube of lip balm because I can use the tins once they’re empty. Also, I think this tin is really pretty and provides a pop of color in my otherwise uniform EDC.
3. Kaufmann Mercantile EDC Tool Kit. I really like this little tool kit because it means I don’t need to carry these items separately. Plus the titanium finish is a nice touch. I just really love titanium.
4. Pilot Choose Gel Ink Pen. These kinds of pens used to be really popular when I was a kid (is that weird?) and I’ve always liked them because they write well, they feel nice and they look pretty.
5. Super Talent 16 GB USB Drive. For a while I’ve wanted an external hard drive so that I have my work and school files with me on all times, but I think a flash drive is much easier to transport and just as effective. I like how small this one is because I could keep it on my keychain.
6. Vintage Revival Crossbody. I’ve been in need of a good, sturdy but small bag for a while. I love Fossil bags for their quality and their style (although they are often far out of my price range). I did find one at Marshall’s last week with a huge discount… buuut I didn’t buy it because I was getting Christmas presents for my family. Sigh.
7. Fossil Georgia Leather Watch. Since I have a smartphone, I use it to check the time, but I think there’s something classy and timeless (no pun intended) about wearing a watch. I love this watch from Fossil (can you tell I love that brand?) because it’s a little rugged but it’s very easy to dress up or dress down.
Hey, guess what? I made my first knife this weekend! I posted about the process at Wildflower Magazine for my Girlhacker column, but I wanted to share photos here, too.
Knifemaking is a fascinating, but difficult, process. Now that I’ve made one, I’m excited and inspired to make more, but I have a lot of practicing to do!
I haven’t decided what I’m naming this one yet. I’ve been envisioning a collection based on fantasy archetypes. This one feels like a ranger’s knife–at least, that was kind of what I was thinking about when I made it.
The more I think about it, the more I think my life goal is to become a blacksmith. You know, disregarding the time and energy I’ve spent to become a writer, but who cares about things like existing career goals? I keep daydreaming about living in a little stone house in a little mountain town like Truckee and starting an armory with Andrew. And we could go hiking every day and plant a garden and be epic mountain folk. Ahhh… dreams. Maybe someday.
I think there’s something totally awesome about making beautiful tools and weapons by hand. I admire people whose jobs require labor and handiwork–probably since so much of my work takes place at a desk or on a computer.
Knifemaking has been on my mind nonstop lately. After loving knives, swords and other pointy objects (not like that, you pervs) for many years, it’s time to start making my own. I’ve had lots of ideas for blade shapes and styles, so I’ve been researching knifemaking and I recently ordered a grinder and some D2 flat stock so I can start making these ideas come to life! You’ll definitely see my creations–and failures, most likely–here in the near future.
This photoset by jarkko1 on DeviantArt was on Reddit today and I found it really inspiring. I’ve been researching different smithing processes and it’s all really fascinating.
Here are his instructions that correspond with the numbers on the photoset:
Making of the iron old school way and forging the knife from it.
- 1-2. Searching and collecting the bog iron ore from the bottom of the river.
- 3. Cleaning the iron ore by burning it.
- 4. Burned iron ore, there’s about 4 kg of it.
- 5-6. Materials needed in the melting: iron ore, lime and wood charcoal.
- 7. Melting ongoing. Furnace is made mostly from soapstone blocks and clay.
- 8. View to the furnace at end of the melting.
- 9. Decrypted furnace.
- 10. Lump that contains slag and iron. Something gone bit wrong in melting as the iron and slag were mixed in one lump, instead of two lumps where one contains mainly iron and another the slag.
- 11. Iron (on the left) separated from slag.
- 12. Crosscut of the iron piece.
- 13. Iron pieces that are forged flatter. These are put together by forge welding.
- 14. Folded piece of iron. The iron piece must be folded and forge welded solid again many times. That makes the iron piece more homogeneous and condensed.
- 15. Chiseling the iron piece, so that it can be folded again.
- 16. Knife blade is starting to take shape.
- 17-18. After three days of work: finished knife blade made from the local iron ore.
My ultimate goal is to build a forge. Hopefully I’ll get to do that sometime in the next couple months. In any case, I love that he just plucked material from nature and turned it into a totally sexy knife. It feels like such an ancient ritual, forging a tool out of found metal. I might need to get a Viking helmet or something. This dude is Finnish, by the way. You have to check out the rest of his gallery. It’s seriously drool-worthy.
Why are Scandinavians so fucking cool? My last name is Danish, so maybe I should start playing that up. Eh? Eh?
Could I pass for a Viking? And that’s totally not a crudely GIMPed image (that’s right, I used GIMP instead of Photoshop like a bo$$) of me wearing a Halloween Viking hat in front of a Norwegian mountain range!
Scandinavians probably find that offensive. Sorry. Maybe I should brush up on my knowledge of Scandinavian culture. Word is that Vikings didn’t even wear those horned hats. Damn you, accurate history scholars!
photo via The Bohemian Collective
I know I tend to snark about fashion a lot. I only dislike fashion when it promotes cultural appropriation or negative attitudes about class status or body image. That said, I think having a personal style is important for everyone. Lately, I’ve been making more of an effort to develop my own style. Ultimately, I’m incredibly inspired by clothes in fantasy and science fiction–outfits worn to participate in rituals or battles. In that sense, my clothes are like my armor. I love clothes that are practical, uniform but organic, with feminine touches. Honestly, my style icons are Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica and Alice from Resident Evil. Basically, anything that will look good accompanied by a weapon like a sword, knife, bow or gun is what I like.
I also really like war paint, but, you know, there’s a time and a place for that, unfortunately.
Some trends I’m enjoying lately are cool headwear (circlets, chains, scarves), nature-inspired imagery like antlers or skulls, astrological and astronomical symbols, boots, patterned tights, beaten metal, and buckles. The fall season makes me feel like a hippie. I like having items that I can wear every day that go with everything. So I was pretty much gushing while looking at the new lookbook by the Bohemian Collective.
Click image to view lookbook:
I love that it has a mix of funky and tailored clothing, and also evokes a sense of wanderlust. It feels very Western, too. Hey, Burning Man takes place close to where I live, so I’d like to think I understand bohemian style pretty well by now. And I was born in Berkeley, so there you go.
I love the photography and outfits in this lookbook, and it’s been a big inspiration for parts of my in-progress NaNoWriMo project. Check out more at the Bohemian Collective website.
I’ve been having car trouble lately, so I’ve started looking into getting a new one in the next year or so. While I’d love another Volkswagen, since they are my favorite, I’m kind of interested in trying something new. I love anything small and Euro with some great design details. Good gas mileage and good handling are also a must. Given that, I’m pretty much in love with the Fiat 500 Abarth. It’s compact, sleek, sporty and modern–and not too expensive, either. Reno is getting a Fiat dealership soon so I’m hoping to go test drive one.
Somehow this car has a way of looking really cute and also pretty badass.
I’ve got automobiles on the brain since I’m going to a car show tomorrow with my brother and boyfriend. Andrew has worked on classic cars since he was a little kid, and has several of his cars entered into the show tomorrow. One of his cars just got second place at Hot August Nights in Reno which is a pretty big deal! I’ll take some photos tomorrow at the show.
For a while, my home office–a.k.a. the Battleroom, just to make life interesting–was not turning out how I wanted it to look. There were a few things I liked about it, like my little hackerspace and my wall color, but the desk I had bought from Target was way too small, and the flow of the room was not working at all. So I decided that I wanted to invest in changing it to make it exactly what I wanted, which meant getting rid of the desk, which I just bought. Luckily, my boyfriend and I decided to turn it into a minibar in our living room and it couldn’t be more perfect. I also managed to find an amazing desk on Craigslist for $40!
This is a picture I had pinned on Pinterest a looong time ago as one of the inspirations for my office:
I loved the white tabletop against the dark grey wall, and I loved the filing cabinets underneath. I’ve been going for a softened industrial look, so that kind of desk really appealed to me. And, to my luck, I found one almost exactly like it. It originally had a plywood top, so I decided to paint it white instead.
This desk was incredibly heavy, since it’s all made out of metal, so we took it apart to bring it upstairs. I’m so happy with how it turned out!
(That’s my map of Skyrim hung above my desk, but the glare from the window made it hard to see.)
I love the color and texture of the cabinets on the desk. I think it compliments my lamp and the grey wall, and it will go well with my lockers that will soon be going against the opposite wall.
It’s great to have such a large, clean surface to work on.
By the way, my desktop wallpapers are from this post. Feel free to use them!
Originally, my old desk was situated in the middle of the room, kind of like an island, because it was so small. Now that my desk is against the grey wall, it leaves room to show off some of my favorite items under the window.
I got some new plants, too.
I feel like these changes are making my room into what I had originally intended for it to look like. I’m finishing up my lockers this week, and I’m looking for some more wall art, but overall it’s almost finished!
I’ve been a diehard Volkswagen fan since I was a little kid. My family used to have an old VW Bug, and my uncle would drive my cousin and me around in it. It’s one of my first memories of being in a car. Then, the first car I got after I got my license was a black 1999 Jetta, which I christened Sebastian the Batmobile (after Sebastian Bach, because my car was flamboyant, according to my friends). Last year, I traded my Jetta in for a silver 2008 New Beetle, which I refer to as the bubble. Someday, I’ll get a 1972 orange Karmann Ghia and drive it across Nevada with a Derringer on the next seat (that’s one of my bucket list items). More realistically, I’ll probably get a GTI next.
Anyway, that’s a little about my love for VWs. I just started watching Mad Men, and they were talking about these early VW ads. One of the things I love most about VW is their originality. These vintage ads were so before their time–so modern, using a lot of negative space and clean, bold typography. I love that VW hasn’t changed their style much in the past fifty years or so.
