Bashfully Designed » The Calm

What we ate

ashleyb — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:56:25 +0000

A lobster roll from the Net Result

A lot of shellfish that Will gathered…

Corn that wasn’t this green in real life…

Potato wedges…

Water and (evidence of) roasted beets.

What we saw

ashleyb — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:31:09 +0000

On vacation in Martha’s Vineyard with dear friends from college…

Writing a Letter is Beautiful Too…

ashleyb — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:31:46 +0000

John and Yoko writing letters, a photo by Linda McCartney (via Meet Me at Mikes). The light in this photo is just lovely, like a summer morning (or, what a summer morning looks like in DC).

(My) Jon writing letters in a cafe in East Berlin. I took this photo back in 2007 when we were on a trip and it remains one of my favorite images of him. I was so nervous about being back in Berlin, trying to explain to Jon what that city meant to me and wanting him to really see it. Someday I’ll write about how I can clearly divide my life into before Berlin and after Berlin. I know I’ve alluded to it before. My relationship with that city is… something.

“Bell at Camp Evans Writing a Letter Home” via Val Wuthrich’s website Vietnam 68-69

Untitled image of a sailor writing a letter via Art of Manliness.

Quiet Winter Nights

ashleyb — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:25:05 +0000

The blog will be pretty quiet this week, I’ll be out of town for work and then Jon and I have lots of fun plans: NFL game, decorating for the holidays, and enjoying this dark time of year– perfect for this cocktail and nights on the couch with a book.

(Image via Martha Stewart Living)

Weekending

ashleyb — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:52:11 +0000

This is the kind of weekend I’ve needed: family in town, a very laid back BBQ at a friend’s, and finding the perfect bedside table for less than $40. Yes, summer you’ve come through just in time. I can easily (blog) categorize the weekend as: “just life,” “shopping,” and “the calm.”

I Was Busy… With Mail-Themed Fun

ashleyb — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:53:25 +0000

Thurn & Taxis pieces, detail

Even though I wasn’t blogging, I’d like to pretend it’s because I spent the last few weeks with Jon playing, relaxing… oh, and working. My parents sent me this amazing game, Thurn & Taxis, for my birthday! You compete to build postal routes across Germany! Hello, could this game get any more perfect for me? Germany, the mail, and board games.

Also, I discovered a lovely new corner of the DC-metro area that has a bakery, diner that shows movies, and a toy store with Playmobil. Why yes, this is a Playmobil Deutsche Post/DHL delivery set. I’m probably too old for toys, but I’m not too old to collect mail-themed paraphernalia.

Someday soon I hope to acquire the full-on Deutsche Post Office set set. Even though I don’t self-identify as a crazy doll person. I just feel like it’d be super cute on my bed’s side table– that’s all. It’s decorative.

Everything I like In One Place

ashleyb — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:18:28 +0000

We’ve been going to a lot of movies lately– in part this is because Jon loves movies and will sit through just about anything. Mostly, though, I think Hollywood has finally come out of its slump. For a while there was just nothing I wanted to pay $8 to sit through. That phase seems to be over. This weekend we saw Brothers Bloom (and I ended up buying some sunglasses like one of the character’s) and I am totally embarrassed to admit how excited I am about Away We Go.

Last night we watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and I loved every minute of it. About 10 minutes in I was hooked. Jon pointed out that it is filmed like the kind of photos I like to take (i.e. slightly off center, linger on details) in a color pallet I love (blue-gray and bright gold) and the script sounds a lot like the poetry I enjoy. It’s a long movie, and I don’t know that it’s for everyone– you’ve got to love the 19th century, feel comfortable with long stretches of silence, and really bleak scenes of the American West.

My photo from a drive across Arizona, waiting for a storm. June 2007

Again, all the things I love. Lots of time spent watching clouds come across big American skies, golds and blues lit up by orange sunlight. I’ve only ever seen that kind of light in Texas and occasionally in Arizona and New Mexico– we didn’t even really get it in Los Angeles. Maybe that’s part of what attracted me to this film– I’m a Texan at heart and always will be. Even though I grew up in the 20th century, I still love big skies, orange light, rolling thunder, and quiet men.

I’m thinking of buying this movie to watch when I’m looking for a color pallet or for reassurance that I’m not the only person who likes detail photos.

Poetry Friday: “Mist”

ashleyb — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:15:36 +0000

“Misty road to 2007” from Hans S’ Flickr stream.

Licensed via the Creative Commons.

Mist
by Henry David Thoreau

Low-anchored cloud,
Newfoundland air,
Fountain head and source of rivers,
Dew-cloth, dream drapery,
And napkin spread by fays;
Drifting meadow of the air,
Where bloom the dasied banks and violets,
And in whose fenny labyrinth
The bittern booms and heron wades;
Spirit of the lake and seas and rivers,
Bear only purfumes and the scent
Of healing herbs to just men’s fields!

Available online via Kyphilom

My Still Life

ashleyb — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:07:19 +0000

Long night with Jon, drinking wine and talking about anything from politics to babies to traffic patterns in DC. It was nice, just what I needed at this point in my life.

Lots of rejection and frustration and confusion this week– it’s been rough, no lie. So today, my favorite things in one place: flowers, the mail, milk bottles, toys, and tiny versions of larger things. Easy, but happy works for me this week.

Remember This? Color and Wax and Childhood…

ashleyb — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:58:21 +0000

Just a quick post today as I have got to head to the library for several hours days worth of thesis work. I thought I’d share one of my favorite TV clips from childhood– the Sesame Street crayon factory segment. Have I told you about my big crayon-a-week plan? I want to get a box of 48 crayons and do something with each one during a week. Maybe an art journal or letter or something. Sort of like the Year of Color Flickr pool I used to belong to (until I got too lazy/busy). Maybe I could convince a friend to join me and we could do some colaborative project (ahemArielahemSarahahemEmily). Maybe when we’re all done with school, new jobs, new homes, etc?