this artist is awesome - ethan cook

i'm totally digging the works of Ethan Cook. he's based in rome (italy, not georgia), which is about all i can gather from his website, though a quick google search tells me he used to be based in new york. little paper planes wrote a post about him a few years ago, which included his own words; 

"central to my work is the idea of canvas being a material to work with, not on. through an additive and reductive process including dyeing, bleaching, painting, folding and staining, the materials become a part of the canvas' weave. the canvases are worked, dried and reworked again and again to completion."

beautiful.

room + playlist - dinner party edition

ah, summer. you sneaky little minx. you wake up one morning and it's may 28th and you blink and it's labor day. every weekend seems to slip away in a mix of sweat and drinks and hot dogs off the grill. everyone is busy, and group plans seem harder to make. but, alas, fall is on the horizon. and fall is the perfect time for dinner parties. people are back in town, bored, and scared of winter. the antidote to winter is most definitely social gatherings. anyways, i'm ready for some cooler weather and a good ole' fashioned gathering complete with all the booze my friends decide to bring, plus some fancy food and a smashing playlist. and maybe a rousing game of clue or scrabble. 

so with a party on my mind, i put together a little playlist of songs i've been digging lately. you can listen after the jump...

the socialite family archives

sometimes a small scene captured in an interior photograph has more impact than a whole room. these are a few shots that particularly caught my eye while browsing the socialite family archives. it is one of my favorite websites, and if you've never clicked through it before, i highly recommend it. every image is full of inspiration!

book club - july 2015 issue

oh, june was a busy month for reading! i read the silence of the lambs and the girl on the train. the silence of the lambs was so thrilling - even though i've seen the movie a million times, i still found myself reading the last 50 pages at warp speed because i just wanted them to find her! spoiler alert: the ending is brilliant. same goes for the girl on the train - definitely an amazing book that i didn't want to put down. i even found myself reading it at the bar at my friends birthday party. oops, that's pretty bad. but that's how gripping the book is! better than gone girl if i do say so myself. i do say!

i also snuck in various chapters from bossypants. the chapter all girls must be everything had me laughing like a crazy person on the subway platform. and this is like, the 100th time i've reread it. or fourth. who's counting? my favorite part is, "And if I ever meet Joyce DeWitt, I will first apologize for having immediately punched her in the face, and then I will thank her. For while she looked like a Liza Minnelli doll that had been damaged in a fire, at least she didn’t look like everybody else on TV."

so, for july, i'm reading hannibal. can't stop, won't stop! i'd also like to read something nice. i think judd apatow's new book would balance out the whole face eating, brain feeding thing in hannibal. 

image via: oscar properties

five a.m. level good

i just discovered this site yesterday, and it's basically what my dreams are made of. i honest to god was scrolling through page after page at 5 o'clock this morning when i couldn't sleep (and didn't want to follow my boyfriend's suggestion of going for a run). these images are a few of my favorites - nothing is too precious, trendy, or perfect, and everything seems so personal yet stylish. of course it's a french blog - i think they are a superior species or maybe just aliens. i also just had three glasses of lemonade sangria before writing this. so keep the french-alien connection in perspective. 

images via insidecloset.com

latest podcast addiction

yikes - april came and went huh? i haven't finished just kids, so i guess my april book became my may book. my excuse is my discovery of the podcast design matters with debbie millman. it's been around for ten years, which makes me wish i had an awareness of podcasts ten years ago when i was graduating high school. better late than never, i suppose. i've gobbled up as many as i've been able to squeeze into my commute over the past few days. in each episode, debbie interviews a creative and digs deep into their past to find how they reached the place they are in today. since it's been around for a decade, "today" is oftentimes 2007. but no matter, they are each inspiring and soothing and wonderful. here are my five favorites so far:

-jessica walsh + timothy goodman (on their online diary of dating for forty days as a social experiment)
-isaac mizrahi (on life. that man is my hero. i met him in real life once and i had a really difficult time playing it cool. i was helping him at work, and after he left, i asked another client who was nearby if i seemed normal, and he said, "well, you were a lot nicer to him than you are to me." eep.)
-elle luna (on her book the crossroads of should and must: find and follow your passion. life changing!)
-julia turshen (on her culinary yellow brick road. i knew of her before as the wife of grace bonney - i had goosebumps when she spoke about the food served at their wedding. and tummy rumblings.)
-liz danzico (you just need to listen to it. the last ten minutes are brilliant.)

image via elle's book - you can get it here

book club - april 2015 issue

so last month, the books on the line up were she's come undone and the 4 percent universe. guess which one i finished....

bonus points if you guessed the one that doesn't involve dark matter. i'm still making progress on that one. as i promised, here is a recap of last month's lineup. she's come undone was brilliant. i laughed, i was horrified, i cried, and let me tell you, if the book wasn't enough of an emotional roller coaster, the authors opening letter detailing the success of the book (from oprah calling him to tell him he owed her three nights sleep to helping a young man with mental health issues work through them and come out the other side) was the icing on the cake. i really recommend reading this book, and in the off chance that you're reading this, and you've also read it, i'd die to hear what you thought. my personal favorite part was when she totally unraveled and came clean to her jerky husband in the fast food joint. perfection. i also love when her high school counselor tells her, "i'll give you what i learned from all this. accept what people offer. drink their milkshakes. take their love." in context, that line will give you goosebumps, trust me.

i'm not even going to comment on 4 percent. maybe next month. 

i've decided the line up for april is just kids by patti smith. my roommate lent it to me, and i don't live under a rock so i've obviously also heard great things on the street. 

stay tuned book worms!

image via: the socialite family books: shes come undone, the 4 percent universe, just kids