Friday Favorites vol. 14

1. pretty flats
Pointy or round, with bows or sparkles, my feet always appreciate alternating flats with heels.






2. argyle socks





3. quilts
Honestly, quilts aren't exactly my or my hubs' style. (We're much more mid-century modern.) That said, these quilts are so warm and homey, what's not to like?




I really love this yo-yo quilt. Yo-yo quilts are the fast and easy way to make a quilt, because they're not quilts at all, more like a coverlet. I'm thinking of making one! Here's a video showing how to make the yo-yos, and here's one of many online guides that explains how to put it all together.


4. homemade cookies



My personal favorite cookie is the much-underrated, and hard-to-find Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.


And although I never make them (who knows why?) I have a special, soft spot in my heart for chocolate chip cookie bars. These were like crack at church potluck dessert tables. Those of you who came into contact with any number of church potluck dessert tables growing up know exactly what I mean.



5. underwater photography

Whether really high-end/couture stuff like this, in a blackened tank


or just for fun, I love underwater photography.


It's so ethereal!
Plus, they did it on America's Next Top Model, so you just know it's a good idea.

"Art is what makes us human."

Yesterday we watched this incredible documentary called The Rape of Europa.


It's an amazing film about the rescue and return of thousands of great works of art stolen by the Nazis. This is a compelling story from World War II that I-- for one-- had never heard before.

Toward the end, a man in the film says,
“Art belongs to humanity. Without it we are savages – we fight, we eat, we sleep. Art is what makes us human.”
I thought about it, nodded to myself, looked over at Nathan, who was editing photos. He said, without looking up, "I believe that." Yes. I couldn't agree more.
Art. Beauty. Expression. That is what makes us human.

I could never choose my most favorite art piece, but I'll share some photos from one of my favorite art installations at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas.



100 untitled mill-aluminum works by Donald Judd. All of the boxes have the same exact dimensions on the outside, but as you get closer, you see that each one has a unique interior, (and I don't care if this is cheesy or not) but it makes me think of how everyone on Earth is different. This picture cannot capture the magnificence.

(Here you can see Nathan walking on the other side of one.)

What are your favorite art pieces?

In a Paris Review interview, William Kennedy says...

Hemingway's line was that everything changes as it moves; and that that is what makes the movement that makes the story. Once you let a character speak or act you now know that he acts this way and no other. You dwell on why this is so and you move forward to the next page. This is my method. I'm not interested in formulating a plot to which characters are added like ribbons on a prize cow. The character is the key and when he does something which is new, something you didn't know about or expect, then the story percolates. If I knew, at the beginning, how the book was going to end, I would probably never finish.

I used to think that 5'5" was the perfect height.

It sounds good, right? Five five.
I'm 5'4".

But I discovered in the meantime that there are a lot of fabulous ladies who share my height.

Queen Elizabeth


Claudette Colbert


Sarah Jessica Parker (She's been my imaginary BFF for years.)


Mae West


Elizabeth Taylor


Ginger Rogers


You can find out who else sees the world from your point of view (quite literally) here and here.
You can also see a visual comparison of your height with others here. Fun!