Pioneer Square

The new Seattle Streetcar line opened in our Capitol Hill neighborhood recently. The streetcar is kind of fun to ride, and it takes us from about a block away from our house, all the way through First Hill, Chinatown, Japantown, and to Pioneer Square. Pioneer Square is the oldest part of Seattle, even though all of Pioneer Square burnt to the ground in 1889. These are all the building that were rebuilt after that. 

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

There must just be something about the month of March that keeps me too busy to blog. I didn't blog once during the month of March this year, and I didn't post anything during March last year either. But anyway, I'm back from my little break and I have lots to share with you.

First up, my favorite! Rand and I went to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival on Wednesday this week. We're both off work for Spring Break, so we drove about an hour north of Seattle to Mount Vernon, WA to see the tulip fields in bloom. The festival runs all through April and it was well worth the drive. It was breathtaking.

It also didn't hurt that it was near an adorable little town with mountains in the distance. It looked like a beautiful place to live. We stopped into a yummy Mexican restaurant called CALLE afterwards for lunch and margaritas. There were other fields we could have wandered around in, but we tried to plan our trip around rush hour times to avoid heavy traffic. I have to say, though, the drive there was also pretty gorgeous. Washington, you are a winner.

Lake Washington Boulevard

Outdoorsy

There were plenty of beautiful trails, places to hike, and waterfront areas in Missouri where I could have gone, but for some reason, I never got very outdoorsy back home. When we moved here, maybe it was just that we couldn't afford much else (and still can't), but we started spending waaaay more time outside than we ever have before. I've been on some serious hikes lately, serious for me anyway. Here's another beautiful trail through Discovery Park we took the other day.

Volunteer Park

Oh hey there! I've been away from the blog for a while because we don't have internet at our apartment. Oy. I'm so mad at AT&T. Valued customer, my butt.

If you follow me on Instagram (and I hope you do), you may have noticed me hinting that I've been a bit stressed lately. More than a bit. I've been extremely stressed, and it's been wearing me down. I keep thinking I'm getting sick. Or maybe I am sick. I can't even tell.

Ch-ch-changes for the Etsy Shop

Good morning! I'm trying out a new idea with my Etsy shop. I can't say yet if it will stay, since I'm not completely sure if I like it. But I kind of do.

Anyway.

I've added vintage items to my Etsy shop. I also playing around with adding the words "& Vintage" to my Eck Art shop name, although I'm not loving that name part now that I've tried it. I think I just want Eck Art, but I like the idea of putting my vintage finds in the shop, since I just don't have room to keep it all. And believe it or not, I sometimes find good stuff.

I closed up my flea market booth, by the way. Not only was it too much work hauling stuff over to the booth and dealing with broken or misplaced items, but it also just didn't match my goal. I don't want to be a junk dealer. I want to sell art and vintage items to make homes prettier and more interesting. The booth wasn't supporting that dream, so it's done.

So I stuck in a few items that I'm ready to part with. Just a few random home goods that would look nice in the same home where a tapestry would fit in. Maybe someone out there has the same taste as I do!

All this really brings attention to what I consider my biggest weakness: photography. Especially product photography. It's hard!

I spent all last weekend playing around with a white background  I did a little staging by removing the dust covers from some books and using them as props. I also tried using a falsa blanket as a background, but I think it ended up being too busy. Next, I want to try just photographing the items in my home, where I would put them, but that requires a lot of light and a clean house.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my inventory so far. And I've got a lot more to add. I just need to get up the courage to try photographing them again.

NYC 3 // The Subway

No contest: My favorite thing about NYC was the subway system. Once you get a sense of how to get around, it is incredible to be able to hop on the subway and make your way around town. No warming up a cold car, or cooling down a hot car, or anxiety about parking, or always thinking your car is making funny noise, or making right turns over and over and over just to avoid making a left hand turn (is this just me?). I hate driving.

But it's not just the convenience of the subways that I love. This Time article on Christopher Morris' photos of graffiti-covered New York subways in 1981 was really fascinating. The photo collection shows ordinary New Yorkers on the subway trains; reading, sleeping, pushing their way through crowds or waiting for a train. There are so many unique faces, but shortly after each photo was taken, everyone went their separate ways, back to their lives, and we'll never know who any of them were or what became of them. Aren't we so little and insignificant in the world?

It's the anonymity of life in New York that I love. There are many, many people in the city, and everyone is so busy that no one really notices you. Being from southwest Missouri, where every stranger in the checkout line wants to strike up a conversation, I was really grateful to just feel invisible. I wore all the clothes I don't have the courage to wear back home, and I was able to recover from public displays of clumsiness and cluelessness instantly (like getting my arm caught in the train doors... eye dart). Existing was easier.

As a result, you see some strange people on the subways. Never a dull moment. 

New York City 2 // The Highline

If you're looking for ideas for what to do in NYC, I recommend that A Cup of Jo should be one of your first stops. I've learned so many fun things about the city, and it was in this article that I first learned about the Highline. The Highline is a park that has been built on an old elevated freight line. It's lush and green, with seating, food vendors, a splash pad, and incredible views of Manhattan. Since I was by myself during the day, this was the perfect place to just wander around and watch the people.

Seating was available all over the place, and I wondered what all of these people were doing with this kind of time on their hands. How do you afford to live in New York and spend a Monday afternoon napping in the sun on the Highline? Or maybe they were all just tired tourists. I liked it though, since I like to watch people and I don't mind being around lots of strangers who don't try to talk to me,

I didn't have any cash on me, plus I was a little overwhelmed, trying to follow the flow of traffic as I entered the Highline, so I missed my chance to hear this guy (turns out his name is Will Barnet) perform a bit of Shakespeare. I have made it my mission to hunt this guy down and hear a performance the next time I visit the City. I'll find you, Will! And I will request the prologue of Romeo and Juliet. :)

Of course, the views of Manhattan, the Hudson River and New Jersey were the greatest treat for me. I walked the entire length of the park twice and discovered that if you put in headphones and listen to music as you walk around this city, you'll feel just like you're in a movie. :)

More photos coming soon!

New York City 1 // Brooklyn

Big news! I had a very exciting "first" this summer- I traveled all by myself. And the destination I chose was my favorite city in the whole world. The entire thing was an incredible experience, including the good and the bad (I missed a plane...but we'll talk about that later).  First, let's start with some adventures I had in Brooklyn the first couple days I was there.

I arrived in New York on a Friday. Flying into Newark International Airport was quite a bit cheaper than La Guardia or JFK, so that's where I went, even though I knew I would have to travel farther across the city to Brooklyn, where I was staying. From the airport, I took the New Jersey Transit Train to Penn Station, where I transferred to a subway train, and then another and another until I made it to Sunset Park, where I stayed for the first half of my trip. On Saturday, I met up with my friends Nick and Abby for lunch and exploring their part of Brooklyn.

The little boy above was sitting on that plastic chair on the patio of a restaurant called S'Nice on 5th Street. I was amazed at how he must be a NYC kiddo, because even though there were so many exciting things happening all around him, he was mostly just focused on balancing on that chair. He fell over the second after I snapped this photo, poor guy.

The City features some eclectic boutiques, including one that sells nothing but superhero supplies. Yes, that's a gallon of vengeance in the photo. It would have made a great souvenir if I could have fit it in my suitcase to fly home.

The food and drink in Brooklyn was excellent, and it was not nearly at pricey as I had expected. Most meals out ended up costing me around ten dollars. The meal in the photo was at a beautiful little place called S'Nice in Park Slope. They actually had vegan options on their menu and the one I had was delicious. And then there was this little place, the Savoy Bakery in Sunset Park.  The most incredible iced coffee of my life for $2.50.

On Sunday, Abby and I went to Coney Island. I love that this city has everything, including access to the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn't too busy that day, because although it was warm and beautiful, it was crazy windy! Abby and I got some great exfoliation thanks to the sandstorm we laid out in.

Abby wasn't afraid to try out this funky bench on the pier, where several people were sleeping. Seriously, do you think there's any way I could build one of these for my backyard?!

Those were just my first couple of days in Brooklyn, so I've still got to much to share with you! Stay tuned!

Snapshots from Downtown Springfield

You know what I’ve learned about DSLR cameras? They can take great photos, but only if you learn how to use them. I admit that I seriously thought if I could just save up enough to buy a nice camera, suddenly my photos would look amazing. Not true. My first few shots from my Canon Rebel were horrible.

Even with a high-quality camera, one must practice. And for me, that’s not just practicing with the manual settings on my camera. I want to get better at finding things to photograph, and photographing them in interesting ways. It doesn't come easy for me, but Steve Martin says that perseverance is an excellent substitute for talent. That’s pretty much my motto in life.

Lately I’ve had the pleasure of spending some time with Jessica. She blogs at (More or Less) Jess, and not only is she incredibly nice and interesting, but the girl’s got talent. She’s got a great eye for photography, and she’s good with, um, the words? I think you know what I'm trying to say.

Anyway, my point is, I enjoy this lady. On Saturday, we both agreed we wanted to get some practice with our fancy cameras, so we went out walking around downtown Springfield. We talked ISO settings and white balance and such, and I finally had someone to photograph who didn’t make stupid faces at me! What a luxury.

As we made our way down Walnut Street, we discovered a new little used bookstore called BookMarx. Jessica picked up a few books and introduced me to the poetry of Billy Collins. She opened to a random page and I read "I Chop Some Parsley While Listening to Art Blakey's Version of Three Blind Mice." I liked it.

Jessica and I share a love for seedy looking alleys, the tops of old buildings, and colorful murals. The weather kept jumping back and forth between rainy/cold and hot/humid, so when I got too hot to think clearly we stopped for iced coffee. Just like Nancy Botwin, I need an iced coffee straw in my mouth at all times to help me focus.

Our route took us down through the square, to Founder's Park, and to the top of the College Station parking garage. Being on foot is such a great way to explore your city and discover things you never knew were there before. Did you know there are fitness classes on the square? There's also a new European-style cafe appropriately titled European Cafe on Park Central. I glanced in and saw delicious coffees and pastries on the menu, so I'll need to get in there soon. 311 and Kevin Nealon are coming to the Gillioz Theatre soon, and the mural across from the Gillioz has been painted over, which killed me a little. I must always look like a tourist when I go out walking, because there's so much all around me to take in. I highly recommend taking your camera for a walk.

My Mom's Garden Tour

For Father's Day weekend Rand and I drove down to see my parents. They live about an hour away from us, in a little cabin in the big woods. While I was there, I snapped a few photos of my mom's garden.

My mom has an amazing garden full of a huge variety of interesting plants. I love looking through her garden and greenhouse each time I visit and noticing the new blooms. Plants can be so beautiful and weird.

Aren't these little heart-shaped leaves sweet? My parents broke up an old sidewalk to create the little path below.

This garden has taken years to get to this point. She has some of the most massive Aloe plants and Hastas I've ever seen. She also some plants that only bloom occasionally, so you have to catch them at just the perfect time.

Little by little, I'm learning what I can and can't grow and how to make it all work. This summer has been insanely rainy, so even my plants are looking pretty good this year. I still have a long way to go to catch up with the variety and size of my mom's garden, though.

Do you have a garden? Flowers, herbs, or vegetables? 

How long have you been gardening?

Has it been rainy where you live? Are the bugs eating you alive, like they are me??