if i go, i'm goin'

this guy is just one of those guys. he gets into your head, and makes you sad but happy for no reason whatsoever. he makes you want to listen to him on repeat - 18 times in an hour kinda thing.
gregory alan isakov from south africa, who now resides in colorado - what do i have that you want? there can't possibly be another reason for you to write music so compelling... you're a dreamy songwriter, a iron and wine-esque singer, and one hell of a guitarist. i love what you do, and you do it well. i could use the term soulful - and it would be accurate - but it seems far too cliche and standardized for what you create. more like the music that would be playing, if i were travelling through a vintage shop filled with memories of summer days and cold nights by the fire. tones of off white and taupe, and tired eyes, but loving hearts. old faded photographs with yellowed faces, alongside cracked pieces of well used furniture and beautiful crystals all telling stories of the homes they grew up in. THAT'S what your music sounds like. like laughing, crying and loving, all at the same time. 
ya hear that gregory? you make me act/feel like a 13 year old girl with her first bout of PMS. moody, lovey emotional, and like crying at the drop of a hat. and really excitable too.
(gross. what a horrendous comparison. however, in true jamie style, i'm not going to delete - i'm going to let that one ride)
when i found out he toured with fiona apple - uh, i know, right? - i was spellbound. this guy is the real deal. and i need to see him. live. or else my life won't be complete. but for now - until his new album comes out in late 2012, or early 2013 - i'll have to be happy ogling his lyrical genius on the interweb. but listen here gregory - you owe me big for sticking around.
one of my fave songs by gregory - if i'm goin, from the album 'this empty northern hemisphere'...  the album has most of my fave songs by him, including idaho... and it's a dime. 
this house | she’s holding secrets | i got my change behind the bed | in a coffee can | i throw my nickels in | just in case i have to leave | and i will go if you ask me to | i will stay if you dare | and if i go i’m goin shameless | i’ll let my hunger take me there | this house | she’s quite the talker | she creeks and moans | she keeps me up | and the photographs | know i’m a liar | they just laugh as i burn her down | and i will go if you ask me to | i will stay if you dare | and if i go i’m goin on fire | let my anger take me there | the shingles man they’re shaking | the back door’s burning through | this house she’s quite the keeper | quite the keeper of you | i will go if you ask me to | i will stay if you dare | and if i go, i’m goin crazy | i’ll let my darlin take me there
listen to more of gregory's music here   //   find out how you can stalk him when he plays here
he's playing with brandi carlile and ingrid michaelson in colorado in july. how much do you think i want to be there (hint: more than anything in the world).AND. just because i can't help myself.... here are a few of my faves by him....
and once more for good measure. 
photos from kristine ridley

uhhhhh - hello erin. thank you for your jewelry.

ohmygoodnessi'msoinlovewith erin considine.
she takes the most simple designs, and implicates them withthe most subtle and complex weaving. i'm so appreciative of ANYONE who can take the simple, and make it far too complex for recreation. who takes something so intertwined in our daily life, and instils beauty and artistic compromise into it's nooks and crannies. who takes accessories to life, and make them accessories to art.

so hence. when i fell upon erin's pieces in a showcase of a store in portland (which i can no longer - for the life of me - recall), i had to pick my jaw up off the floor, peel my eyes off my computer screen, and continue to pour over every photo i could find of her work.
as the fader said, she makes statement jewelry, for the understated. she works out of new york, and after attention north carolina's penland school of craft, she went on to follow her interest in metal work in washington at the evergreen state college. she then ventured back across the country to new york, where she focused on sustainability in her (then) new line.... combining fibrework and metal.
she dyes her own textiles with things like turmeric, logwood, onion skin - all natural ingredients. she reuses vintage metals to repurpose into shapes to be incoporated into her pieces.
beauty. sheer perfection. erin - i think i may be in love with you.
check this shit out. some of my faves. 

check erin out. please. you won't regret it.
shop   //   blog   //   website

cabins are my fave

recently i came upon this site... not sure how it happened, but then, there i was. dangerous stuff we have here - dangerous to my wanderlust. i have never been more tempted to run out into the middle of a forest, build a cabin, and live there forever. these spaces may be speaking to the part of me that currently wants nothing more than to pick up, move away, and start again. but even if that's the case, it does not take away from the fact that sometimes we all need a space that we can relax in - a wooden haven.
a quiet wonderland. a small piece of heaven.
whether it be the inside of a cabin (like this beauty above), or the sheer magnificence of a small space that simply exists within a huge outdoor playground. either way, i want all of them.
it's as though we all need to remove our minds, bodies, hearts, limbs, and brains from the rush we encounter daily. to submit ourselves wholly to a space where we need to be with ourselves - and only ourselves - takes a huge leap. a lot of comfort in oneself, a lot of comfort in silence, and in the magnitude of solitude. and yet, this - to me - is a requirement of humanity. if you cannot be alone, what can you be?
perhaps that's what it is about these stunningly beautiful spaces that i ogle over - nose to computer screen, eyes wide, drool falling from mouth ogle. perhaps it is not just the environment and the structures themselves, but the idea of lonliness and solitude (in the best way) that comes along with these spaces. the alone time i crave - i have always craved.
to breathe fresh air. to walk uninhibited through rocks, trees, water - without the rush of the traffic, the people around you and the ticking hands of a clock to guide you. to simply walk - with no intention. to gather with your vision the landscape. to ride, swim or transcend the earth's space surrounding you....
.... all of these things speak to me like porn. straight up, weirdo, wilderness loving porn.
CABIN PORN. this is not a joke people. cabin porn is no more a joke than other weird fetish porn (ok... for record, that is sort of a joke, and i'm NOT into weird porn. not that weird porn is bad, i'm just not into it... oh gosh). whether it be on a mountain, on a lake, in a forest, through a rock cliff... all spaces devoid of the rush of our common current lifestyles - and what a spot of silence wouldr do for you - if not refresh your mind, body and soul.

my weekend in summary

this weekend was filled with napping, jewelry, napping, dancing, napping, friends, and more napping. was a ton of fun... and fun on a friday means 2 more whole days of weekend to enjoy the sun!
Though I was almost near the end, I needed to go for a walk Friday afternoon – because of THIS; starbucks stop, and a new watch; my Friday night – with my cardboard cutout; Sunday morning photoshoots – making wedding shower gifts; productphotography for thackeray’s vanity summer 2012 line; gifts, gifts and more gifts; goodies for Emily; spice and herb recipes stolen from back of spice packages, to make veganized version of things; wedding shower and Emily; making pieces for fun; one of the final pieces for summer 2012; my first foray into polenta; the final summer 2012 piece for the line…. Still being dreamed up; feather earring for baby sister
friday: after a torturous afternoon (while observing the sun outside), 4:45 finally came, and I made a quick exit to my friend's car, and we got on the road for london. three of us short-term-road tripped, stopping only to drool over a friend's new motorcycle (i wish i was exaggerating about the drool), coordinate timing and pickups with the remaining group, and a dinner stop in brantford. we arrived in london, dropped off our 3rd party, picked up some mill street organic (to make us feel more at home - away from toronto) and heady to josh's place to drop our stuff, and make our plans. through some texts, phone calls, etc. we determined where we needed to be, changed, and dropped josh off. then, we met another group at their apartment, where we all headed out for the bar together. the rest of the night was filled with new meetings, birthday celebrations, dancing on the patio, heart-to-heart's, another reappearance of josh and friend, and finally a late night trek home.
saturday: woke up, and after packing quickly, took a great long walk back to where the car was parked in the amazing saturday morning/afternoon weather, through the streets of london. then, grabbed a quick bite to eat, before stopping at a market for a more extensive afternoon snack/meal. went back to josh's, for a feast of hummus, veggies, fruit, crackers, chips, and juice. enjoyed the sun for as long as possible, before packing up, and heading out back to the city. stopped briefly for gas, and then headed straight for home. stopped to hang out, eat, have a quick swim, and what was anticipated as a short nap (which turned into 5 hours of napping - including a little cuddle with the cat). then, on the way back to toronto, stopped for some thai dinner of curry and phad thai. upon arriving back in toronto did a car switch and baggage unpack, and headed home to my apt where i watched game of thrones and californication in bed. despite the 5 hours of napping, my body - clearly fighting something off - was ready for sleep before midnight.
sunday: woke up fairly early (10:30) to prep for the wedding shower. finished emily's gift, and took full advantage of the amazing sunny day outside to also get some product photography in before i headed to missisauga. ventured to the depths of missisauga suburbia to attend the bridal shower for one of my favourite people in the world - who is getting married over the july long weekend - with gifts in hand. enjoyed the EXTREMELY kindly prepared vegan food in my honour, and got to chat with some of her other friends who will be flying down to florida for the wedding also. opened gifts, drank wine, ate and laughed, and then left when her fiancee showed up ready to hit the road back to ottawa. stopped to do some grocery shopping along the way - including a pick up of cornmeal, to try my hand at homemade polenta - and arrived home to spend my afternoon to myself. with lofty goals of getting to the gym, and spending the evening outside, my body was still telling me i wasn't 100% - so instead, i made my week's meals, including homemade polenta, marinated tofu, homemade dips (made daily at the grocery store in london), and edamame. i also worked hard to finish off design work for the summer 2012 thackeray's vanity line... and almost accomplished it. watched californication, and spent the evening drifting in and out of nap/sleep - apparently my body needed a lot of sleep this weekend. finally gave up on trying to convince myself i could stay up, accepted sickly body defeat, and got into bed.... ignoring the majority of the things that i was supposed to do that evening.
hope everyone had a fantastically warm, sunny and productive weekend. i am loving the weather - though fearing what it means for august! booking my vancouver trip made me happy that i will be able to escape it for almost 2 weeks at the end of july.