64 Colors in 64 Weeks

Posted on April 11, 2011 by elizabeth

Jodi and Dani’s sixty-four colors project has been one of the most inspiring projects I’ve seen in a long time. The fact that they invited us to participate alongside them was so great, and I have had the BEST time with this project. It has inspired me to see things differently, to look for colors everywhere, and satisfies my perfectionist side at the same time. While some of the colors were duds, so to speak, and I got reeeeally tired of dark purples and how purples never look on the computer screen like they did in real life, I am so glad that I followed this project through from start to finish. I’m sad it’s over, but I have a feeling that I will keep adding shots to my sixty-four colors set for a long time.

Here are all of my “official” sixty-four colors shots. I love seeing them all together like this!

Week 13: Kickstart

Posted on April 3, 2011 by elizabeth

Back when I came up with this whole Handmade52 project idea, I intended to make myself create something (food or otherwise) each week. I gave myself the option of taking a photo as a backup in a week when I needed some help, or got busy, but the truth is that I never really intended to let a photo count. I didn’t really realize how I’d be feeling about life this winter, though, and while having the project to force me to be more crafty and to cook more has been a lifesaver, in the past few weeks I just haven’t been feeling it. I haven’t taken any photos, nor have I felt like it, I haven’t been as jazzed about crocheting or knitting, and my schedule has been so nutty that I haven’t been home many evenings to cook. It was starting to feel like work, and that was not something I was happy about at all. (Because giving up is allowed, but I really just don’t want to.)

The good news is that I found some inspiration for knitting and crochet projects in the past few days (wait until you see what I finished on Friday!), and I actually took photos that I’m happy about three days in a row. I suppose in a way that returning to such overdone subjects (bokeh and the Asbury Park boardwalk) might be too obvious, but I’ve been in such a creativity rut lately that perhaps I needed to ease back into things with something obvious. And the extra side bonus? “Revisiting something you’ve photographed more than three times” is an item on the Super Mega Exciting Radical Scavenger Hunt, which I have been meaning to start for three months now.

So things are feeling a little better, and that’s emphatically a good thing.

Old and Busted vs. the New Hotness

Posted on April 1, 2011 by elizabeth

I’m a librarian. I read a lot. And I have now had my Nook for a little more than three months, and since people keep asking me about ebooks vs. “real books”, I thought it would be worthwhile to write a bit about how I feel about the whole situation.

I never wanted an ereader. I have been a book lover as long as I can remember. And then the Borders year happened, and I was briefly a book snob, too. (I still haven’t read the Da Vinci Code, and I won’t. Period.) I go through phases with reading, but for the last two years, it has been a very heavy “reading a lot” time for me. And I love it. And ever since the Kindle first became big, I was pretty adamantly against it, and ebooks, too. Books were made to be displayed on shelves. (Rainbow order, optional, of course.) They were meant to have texture and a smell and a pretty cover. Who needs portability? Books are portable, too. I don’t need to carry around my entire library with me. Perhaps it was the preventative cost, but I wasn’t interested.

I read a lot of articles about ebooks, and I couldn’t argue how much easier traveling would be with an ereader. (Every single time I go away, even for a weekend, I pack a significantly larger number of books than I could ever read. Because the idea of running out of things to read? Is unimaginable.) And they did look kind of cool. But I didn’t want one.

Things changed a little this past fall, when we hosted an ereader expo at the library, and I spent an evening explaining the different models to the library customers, seeing them in person, reading a few pages, imagining what it would be like to have one. And realizing that reading on a screen wasn’t anywhere near as jarring or unnatural as I had always thought. And I guess I started talking about them a LOT, because although I gave Dan a few different ideas for a Christmas present, he knew he wanted to get me a Nook because I wouldn’t stop talking about it.

And, well, I never expected to like it this much. The e-ink display feels as natural as reading on paper, and although there is a subtle flash as you turn the page, I stopped noticing that very quickly. I have the black and white (classic) Nook, and although I suppose a color display like the Nook Color or the iPad is where technology is headed, I didn’t want that. I find that even my smartphone’s vivid display hurts my eyes after a while, and I mean, I read real books with the light on, so needing to have the light on while reading my Nook is not exactly a hardship. Plus, I just like the black and white e-ink. (It was a close race between the Kindle and the classic Nook; the tipping point was the ability to download free ebooks from the library – which do not work on the Kindle at all. And since I’m, you know, a librarian, I felt like I should be able to use our services.)

I have read both “real books” and ebooks since owning the Nook, and there’s a big difference. Perhaps it’s because most of my reading is on my lunch hour or in bed, but holding and turning Nook pages while eating or curled up is a lot easier than doing so with a hardcover book. (Those 900 page monstrosities I’ve been reading are not so cuddly, let’s be honest. I have dropped them on my face before.) And what I noticed this week is that having the time displayed on the screen while I’m reading the Nook is kind of convenient, as it means I never get so lost in the story that I’m late going back to work. (First world problems, I’m sure.)

The issue I don’t know that I’ll ever get past is needing to buy (almost all of) the books I read. I’m inside a library every day. Where the books are free. All of them. Yes, I can get some free ebooks through ListenNJ. (Why do you think I’ve been reading so many Nora Roberts books lately? They have a big selection! And no one can see the cover. Except everyone on the internet. Ahem.) And I can download free classics from Project Gutenberg. But at the rate I go through books, it would get really expensive to have to buy every one. Yes, it’s convenient. Yes, it’s fast. Yes, I still have gift cards from Christmas, and will ask for more at every holiday from now until forever. But. I haven’t ever been and won’t become the type to pay for every book I read.

Nor will I ever stop buying books. I cannot imagine living in a house without a LOT of books inside it.

I guess what I realized (and what changed my mind) was that I can read ebooks, but that doesn’t mean I have to stop being a “real book” lover, either. I can love the technology and still be a book purist. And I love that.

PS. The post’s title is, of course, tongue in cheek. But it is alarming how we have to retrofit our vocabulary to apply to things that have been around for hundreds of years. “Paper” books. “Real” books. As opposed to ebooks. They’re still just books.

I’m Indecisive and I Need Your Help

Posted on March 14, 2011 by elizabeth

So I realized recently that when I wrote my 30 Before 30 list, I intended to add colors to my Converse collection, and take pictures of my adventures in them. Since my birthday last summer, I have bought royal blue chucks, and I wear them all the time. But since we’re nitpicking rule-followers here at she likes stripes, and my original list item said to add colorS to my collection, I think it’s about time to add to the family. And since I can’t make decisions on my own, I need you to help.

Here’s a reminder photo of the colors I already own: black, white, maroon, orange, and royal blue.

Now keep in mind – the eventual goal (because I dream BIG) is to own all the colors, no matter what my boyfriend thinks. (He previously vetoed turquoise chucks because he didn’t want to date someone who wore Smurf-colored shoes. Tough luck, buddy!) It seems like Delias of all places has the best, cheapest variety, so first, click over there to see all of the colors they have.

(image from delias.com)

Now! I promise to buy the color that wins this vote. I’ve narrowed it down to six finalists. Which color should I get?

Week Nine: Chili

Posted on March 7, 2011 by elizabeth

While this week’s Handmade52 project isn’t something new to me, it was a special request, and something that I haven’t made since August (really?!) (sidenote: having now been posting regularly on flickr since the fall of 2006, it sure does make looking back in time for tidbits like “when did I last make chili?” much easier!).

This recipe originally came from my friends at IBP manor, and I first made it myself in 2008. I made it on Friday night because Dan asked me specially to make it for him… and since he’d had unexpected and intense eye surgery on Monday (for a torn and detached retina… if you start seeing things floating in your vision that weren’t there before, go to the eye doctor, for real) and has spent the week recovering, I was obviously more than happy to do whatever he asked. (Turns out? It’s really freaking difficult when someone you love goes through something like this and you’re an hour away and can’t do much to help. He’s doing better now, but the recovery process isn’t quick, and he’s been pretty uncomfortable. Playing video games by now, but still, not a happy camper. Also: eye surgery is GROSS and one’s eye after eye surgery? GROSS.)

Anyway! I made chili and a double batch of corn bread and it tasted better than I remember. (I made it spicier than I would normally for Dan, and I liked it more than I expected to.) Here’s my version of the recipe, just for my own records.

IPB Chili, ET Style

Makes about six servings
1 large onion
3 cloves of garlic
3 bell peppers
1 habanero pepper (I used a little less than 2 on Friday)
2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1.5 pounds ground turkey
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 bottle of dark beer
3 15 oz cans of beans (I use kidney, light kidney, and black)
cilantro

Start by cooking the onions, garlic, bell peppers, and hot peppers in a few tablespoons of oil. Once things start to soften, stir in cocoa powder, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook for a minute or two, then add in ground turkey. Stir regularly while the turkey browns to make sure it’s cooking evenly. Once the turkey is evenly cooked, stir in diced tomatoes and a half a bottle of beer. Let that come to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes or so. Once the flavors have all combined, stir in the beans (drained and rinsed), and a handful of chopped cilantro. Heat until the beans are hot. Top with grated cheddar, unless you are a cheese-hater.

#11: Get New Glasses

Posted on March 2, 2011 by elizabeth

I have had my current glasses since February 2007, almost exactly four years now. And at this point, I wear them almost every day, just because I have never been able to see as well with contacts as I do with glasses. I added this to my 30 Before 30 list mostly because I’ve had these glasses for a while now, and I’m a little bored with them.

That being said, I still really love them, and I get compliments all the time. (Even the eye doctor told me not to get new frames.)

So I came up with a master plan: to update my prescription in my current glasses, but also buy a new pair of fun, crazier glasses. I have wanted a “fun” pair of glasses ever since my grandmother’s giant red 80s Sally Jesse Raphael ones, but they aren’t really the most practical for every day. So the perfect solution? To have normal, respectable black frames, AND a pair of crazy shaped or colored ones. (Ideally, like whoorl’s pink ones, because seriously.)

So this past Friday, my mom and I went to the optician, where I swear I tried on every damn pair they had in stock. I was really disappointed, though, because the colored frames they had? Were dark or subtle enough to look brown or black or, you know, subtle, from far away. And that really wasn’t what I was imagining. The optician seemed to get what I was going for, and started to have a lot of fun trying to find the funnest pairs he had…. and struck gold by taking a pair of sunglasses, removing the tinted lenses, and letting me try them on.

They’re half light tortoise and half pink, and they’re kind of perfect. (Although I have to admit, they’re a little more subtle, and less wacky, than I remember.) And they’re different enough from my black frames that I can justify having two pairs. The optician actually had these in a darker brown with purple, but the darkness was too close to my black ones, and he offered to order the fuschia and lime green ones for me to test out… but even I have limits.

Now if only I could get used to my new prescription (which has gotten worse in the four years since I’ve gotten it updated)…

#7: Visit the Baseball Hall of Fame

Posted on February 21, 2011 by elizabeth

It is hard to know where to start with this story, so bear with me if it gets a little long. I like baseball, and one of the things I love about Dan is that he likes baseball as much (okay, probably a little bit more, when it comes to the history of it) as I do. Even though our teams are not the same, it’s the crazy love of the game that we share. And that’s really something. So last summer, we planned to drive up to Cooperstown, NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame during our Birthday Week Extravaganza. We didn’t realize at first how much going in peak season would impact the cost and convenience of the trip, so we decided then that we’d just have to wait and go during the off season.

I added it to my 30 before 30 list because I was secretly afraid that if we didn’t make this trip a priority, it would easily fall by the wayside and years would pass and we’d still be wistfully saying, “We should really visit Cooperstown.” I went to Cooperstown to see the Hall of Fame game in 1992 when Tom Seaver was inducted, but I never visited the museum, and despite being a member of a pretty baseball-oriented family (of Yankee fans, AHEM), Dan had never been at all.

I can’t remember when we decided to just go, but we picked Presidents Day weekend and I’m writing this a few hours after getting home. We knew upstate New York wouldn’t be a super popular destination in the middle of winter, and let’s face it, only crazy baseball people are thinking about baseball in late February. And while there were some drawbacks to our winter visit, overall I’d do it this way again in a heartbeat.

We left New Jersey in the late morning on Friday, and the trip took a little less than five hours. We stayed at the Inn at Cooperstown, and honestly? Staying at a Bed and Breakfast seemed so… adult to me. But the Inn is within walking distance of the museum, and that was a big priority for us. We knew going in that we’d need at least a full day at the museum, and we didn’t want to have to commute on our weekend away. The Inn was really beautiful, the people were friendly, and the whole experience was just completely charming. And yes, kind of grown-up-ish. Right down to the no tv in the rooms. And the key to the outside door, since they lock everything up at 10:30 each night.

A few friends told us to do everything we could to go out to Brewery Ommegang during our visit, so we drove out after we got settled on Friday afternoon. It seemed a little deserted, and for good reason, because one of the staff members told us that the brewery was, in fact, closed. Not just Friday, but all weekend. And that was a complete and total bummer. We drove back to the Inn and hung around for a while reading (and/or napping, depending on who we’re talking about here) before taking a walk into the village proper to find somewhere to eat. The downtown area is really only two blocks, and it was both completely charming and oddly deserted. You could cross the street without really looking, half of the stores and restaurants had hand-written signs that said “closed for season” and it was really a very eerie feeling. It honestly felt a bit like walking through an empty movie set. (It was, however, really insanely fun to see the baseball-related signs in every store. Even the CVS had a giant sign assuring us that baseball fans were welcome.) We found a small pub-type place and had a few beers (Dan had one of the Ommegang beers, and I had one from another Cooperstown brewery, which were both pretty fantastic) which was a relief after both the long drive and the disappointing brewery trip. We stopped at a liquor store on the walk back, hoping to pick up a six pack to enjoy back at the Inn, but alas, the liquor store? Only sold wine and liquor. (I am still having trouble getting my head around that notion.) So that’s how Dan and I came to spend our Friday evening drinking wine, eating cookies, and playing board games in the Inn’s common room. (I kicked his ass twice in Battleship, furrowed my brow through an attempt to teach me how to play chess, and then got beat pretty solidly in Parcheesi.)

On Saturday we woke up to a pleasant postcard view… of snow. And howling winds. My insistence on wearing Converse all the damn time has never felt so impractical. We had an insanely tasty breakfast at the Inn (I don’t know why I was so enchanted by the color-coordinated plates, mugs, and placemats, and B&B style family breakfast tables, but there it was. I loved it.) and hurried through the wind and snow down to the museum. (Don’t tell Dan I’m telling you this, Internet, but when we were walking around on Friday night, he deliberately decided on a restaurant we saw early on, so that we wouldn’t see the Hall of Fame until our Hall of Fame Day on Saturday. And I think that’s AMAZING.) As picturesque as the snow was, it was just way too damn cold to even appreciate how pretty it was, it was the keep your head down to keep your face from getting frostbite kind of snow, and it was a relief to just get inside.

And then we were there! And we had baseball-shaped stamps on our hands and Tom Seaver souvenir tickets and a map and it was just so great. They advise visitors to start on the second floor, and we started with the Cooperstown history and a multimedia presentation about baseball and its history and how it makes you feel the same as the kids playing in the fields and stuff. And it had me getting a little sniffly until we were supposed to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame collectively right before doing the freaking wave. (But it was still great.)

We spent a looooong time walking through the second floor, which is organized chronologically and includes artifacts from each important moment going back to the late 1800s. Dan’s favorite part all day was the old-timey baseball stuff, and it’s hard to disagree with him. Something about baseball’s beginnings and seeing the old catchers mitts and ticket stubs, seeing the maps and photos from these trips around the world taken in the very early 20th century, it’s just so … I don’t know. I’m clearly running out of adjectives, but it was really something to see it all. I had a hard time getting over all of the trophies and plaques given to the players by all manners of organizations from schools to towns… the bats artfully carved into canes, commemorative pins and fruit bowls… silver season passes to early games. Since I’m a student of history and baseball, the artifacts that have been preserved for more than a hundred years are just so wonderful to see. I loved especially seeing the old uniforms and warm up sweaters (real wool sweaters) and naturally all of the most famous players along the way (Ruth and Gehrig and Paige and on and on). There were more people there than I expected, but few enough that you could read every description of every artifact in each case if you really wanted to.

Seeing it myself was pretty great, and seeing Dan appreciating and marveling over the history of it was really special, too. I didn’t really have a huge need to go to the Hall of Fame until recently, because I knew that I had to get to a certain place, fan-wise, student-of-the-game-wise, before visiting the Hall would really mean as much to me as it should. And we hit that sweet spot, and I suppose this is getting boring for you non-baseball fans out there by now, but just… you know. Or you can imagine.

By the time we got to the 1960s or so, it got a bit more interesting (sort of… the oldest stuff was really the best) just because you’re so much more familiar with what you’re looking at, with the names attached to each exhibit. We saw a full diagram of the expansions of the 60s and 70s, then more Yankees stuff, a few Mets things here and there, the exhibits on women in baseball and the Latin influence on the game… We got through the entire second floor, ending with the modern day exhibits (which frankly really weren’t very impressive to me) right as it got to be about lunchtime. I was starting to feel super bleary-eyed at this point, and my feet hurt in my damn Converse and it was time for a break. How we stumbled through that wind (it was so windy and cold that it almost made me breathless) and into the pizza place, I’m really not sure. But that white pizza? Tasted like heaven.

I was afraid that we’d never, ever get through the whole museum in one day, knowing that we had two more floors to cover before the museum closed at 5pm. We went up to the third floor after lunch, and saw a really interesting exhibit about ballparks (although it hasn’t been updated to include the demolition of the first Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium), which I really enjoyed. I love that aspect of the game, and those early ballparks? Woah. It’s hard to imagine structures like that. There was a special exhibit about Hank Aaron’s legacy, a room full of AP Yankee photos (which, of course, Dan was super into), and an exhibit about the postseason which included copies of each World Series ring since the first one. I could have stayed and pondered the Records Room for quite some time. Seeing the records that Dan is constantly quoting to me written out, and comparing some of the unattainable ones with the active players’ status on the list? Really amazing, especially when you think about how much the game has changed since some of these records were first broken. The wall of game balls from the no hitters was especially impressive. We also got to sit and watch Who’s on First, which is still so damn funny.

And then it was time to head down to the Plaque Gallery. The gallery and rotunda have a sacred feel, you’re led naturally to the first and most recent classes at the back of the hall. I have to be honest here and say that this was not my most favorite part of the museum. I have to acknowledge, of course, that knowing all of the Hall of Fame inductees and their accomplishments is one of the most interesting aspects of the game… but half of the names are ones I’m not familiar with, and it would be hard to read every single plaque in there. But we found the noteworthy ones, and being there in that space was the perfect cap to the day. It sort of sealed in the history and impact of the experience, somehow, although I’m sure that sounds weird.

We were exhausted at this point, truly exhausted. We spun through the gift shop briefly and then trudged back to the Inn to put our aching feet up and talk like little kids about how much fun we had, and how we finally saw the Hall of Fame, and to debate over records and statistics and how cool it was to spend the day among other baseball fans, fans who were excitedly pointing out records and bits of history just like we were.

We read and dozed for a while, and then braced ourselves to go back out for dinner. I had expected that we’d be able to get dressed up and go out for a nice dinner, but with the weather and so many of the restaurants being closed, that just didn’t happen. We were just so disappointed with the food options, settling for another mediocre meal of chicken fingers and spaghetti on Saturday night, before settling in at Friday night’s bar for quite a few beers. (We both had Ommegang’s Rare Vos and couldn’t get enough.) And then? We crashed.

On Sunday we expected to walk around town so I could get some non-snowing photos of the Hall and other landmarks, while stopping in a few more souvenir shops along the way. We didn’t bank on the few stores being closed because it was Sunday, or the 11 degree temperatures that had our poor toes frozen and hurting. So we cut our trip shorter than we expected and came home.

But overall? This trip was amazing. It was exactly the escape we both needed, it was relaxing, it was interesting, the Hall of Fame was as awesome as we both knew it would be. It goes without saying – if you’re a baseball fan, you need to get yourself there. Just don’t go in July. There were a few disappointments along the way, but the bottom line? These two baseball fans spent a weekend steeped in love for the game, and it doesn’t get very much better than that, if you ask me.

Stripes in the City

Posted on January 20, 2011 by elizabeth

I had the day off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, and decided to take the opportunity to spend the day in New York City, just because it feels like it has been such a long time since I have been there just to explore. Luckily, Jodi was off, too, and despite the weather and some other circumstances that prevented a few other friends from coming (boo!), we had a great day. Jodi had actually been saving up stripey destinations for the next time I visited, which was AMAZING. (Also amazing: the insane Italian lunch we had, the decorations in Kate’s Paperie, the Impossible Project Space, the tiniest, fattest Moleskine ever, and a superfun dinner with Erin where we bonded mightily over rule-following.)

Anyway, here are my favorite stripes in the wild from the day:

#101 and Done!

Posted on December 31, 2010 by elizabeth

Way back in January, I started a new photo project for the new year (because sixty-four colors and my third year of Project 365 weren’t enough, simultaneously): Scavenger Hunt 101. When Pookie and Schnookie suggested it, I was really skeptical. There were a lot of items on this list (a child crying, someone meditating or praying, a public display of affection… I could go on) that really didn’t inspire me at all. But I went for it anyway, and carried the master list, written in a notebook, in my bag all year. I’m really glad that I did this, now that it’s over. It got me shooting things I probably wouldn’t care so much about normally, and it really challenged me to think outside the box for some of the more pesky scavenger hunt items. I thought it would be fun to feature a few of my favorite shots from the whole set, which you can see over here, in order.

#2, the home of a non-human creature.

#6, winter.

#15, a toy.

#23, a flower.

#45, a fish.

#49, your favorite color.

#79, an exotic animal.

#80, your favorite shade-tree.

#84, the place where you eat most of your meals.

#86, a shadow.

#93, a train.

#101, a self-portrait.

Red

Posted on December 6, 2010 by elizabeth

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a roundup of photos from the archives that match the week’s color for sixty-four colors. I think it’s mostly because there are so many crayons that are so similar, and I may have already posted old shots for those colors. Either way, this week’s color was red, and you know I have a lot of that. The first shot was this week’s photo, and the rest are old favorites.