Pitter Patterns

We hung out on a few rooftops this past weekend. Big Bambú at the Met roof terrace was packed in more ways than one on Friday night. Photo by Jon Freeland.

(I know, terrible iphone picture, so let’s pretend it’s vintage). Last night, we went to a volunteer dinner by HFNY and all the hand-crafted details really made the volunteers feel special. I love the way they dressed up a drab, fluorescent-lit church hall with these paper puffs. The colors were just perfect against the light turquoise walls. Pom poms can be totally over-played as party decoration, but they work every time.

“Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle!” – Lewis Carroll.

These and other fun quotes pepper the pages of Urban Outfitters/Free People/Anthropologie 2002 Annual Report, found in a used book store on the Upper West Side. Everything about it- the staggered pages, the mismatched patterns, the bare thread binding is so warm and inviting like a childhood bedtime story. It’s right brain meet left brain and currently my favorite coffee table topping.

I stumbled upon LentSpace while traveling around lower Manhattan yesterday. I love that a lot of Brooklyn firms are involved in creating this public space, nursery, and art exhibit. The blue aluminum discs are patterned to align with the four main paths running through the park. They also make a pleasant sound in the wind, which you can surprisingly hear over all the traffic going toward the Holland Tunnel.

It’s amazing how nature can grow in predictable patterns and be so lovely in unpredictable ways, like the spider webbing along the leaves of this monkey puzzle plant. Photo by Jon Freeland.

So out of the 300+ pictures between my iPhone and SLR, I collaged a visual summary of our trip.

Oak Bluff’s Inn (room #4), biking, fish tacos and sunset at Sand Bar & Grille, couples massage at Conscious Massage with joyful proverbs, Gay Head Lighthouse, Menemsha, rhodendrums at The Arboretum, dinner at The Sweet Life Cafe, Ben & Bill’s Chocolate Emporium, the colorful homes surrounding the Tabernacle, and the MV Gourmet Cafe and Bakery who sells fresh donuts from the back door starting at 7 pm.

The highlight of the trip was being with my Jon. Today marks our 1st wedding anniversary.

A New York City sunset greeted us as we returned from our trip to Martha’s Vineyard. Home.

Last Saturday was the perfect day for browsing through outdoor flea markets; sunny 70′s. So after having lunch with our good friends we walked through the Fort Greene market. However, my latest find came while on our walk home. A man from Peru sold us these Greek tea cups and I think something about them appealed to my Indian side;  must be the 24K gold plated details. They are so small and intricate I just had to have them. They are combined here with some thrifted plates (ceramic + wood) I found in a consignment shop on Roosevelt Island last summer. It was actually the same night that I found two vintage Eames chairs in the trash. I feel like I struck gold that day too.

…and everyone needs a cupcake by now. These are just your basic, vanilla cupcakes with chocolate and vanilla frosting, because I suddenly got in the mood to make cupcakes last night and had to use whatever we had here. But Ming’s cupcakes are quite creative and beautiful. I have my eye on #9- Mango Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting and Coconut because it just sounds like a tropical vacation.

**Also, pitter-patterns is on Poppytalk’s stationery guide today. Check it out and the store.

I’m not sure if the Guggenheim is always dark inside (my first time), but when we visited the Haunted exhibit over the weekend, the low lights really set the tone for the work. Unfortunately, they don’t allow you to take pictures inside, but the website does a great job of summarizing the major themes. I particularly liked the appropriation section, which brings me to the image on the right that I took a few months ago. I don’t remember the magazine that I snapped it from, only that I really liked the dress and the way the model looked so small and ethereal in it. The image is mine even though I cannot take any credit for its artistic qualities. Jon, however, gets full kudos for the awesome picture to the left.