vacation hangover (and some pics!)

 {view from the top of notre-dame, paris}

so, i'm back from europe... and what an amazing trip it was (if a bit too short)!  

i fell in love with amsterdam's winding canals and technicolor flower fields, and discovered tons of new favorite places in my old favorite city (paris!)

the only problem?  i've been back home for two weeks, and i still can't seem to get myself back to reality.  it's been far too long for me to blame my inactivity on jetlag, so i have another name for it.  i call it a vacation hangover.

 {LEFT: houseboats on the brouwersgracht, amsterdam   RIGHT: flower fields in lisse, holland}

just what exactly is a vacation hangover?  for me, it's a sense of denial that my vacation is, in fact, over and it's time to resume my normal, day-to-day routine.

i'm trying to be productive (i swear!), but all i can seem to do is daydream about strolling around the canal belt in amsterdam or sipping wine at a sidewalk cafe in paris, watching the world go by.  

{"love locks" on the pont des arts, paris}

it goes deeper than you think: i spent a few hours one day looking at paris apartment rental websites, imagining myself catching a last-minute flight and spending a few months holed up in a studio in the marais.  another morning i went on amsterdam’s craigslist and searched for temporary job openings.

(note to self: you can't afford the flight to paris, let alone a few months’ rent... and your complete lack of dutch language skills might present a tiny barrier to getting a job in the netherlands)

 {banks of the seine at sunset, paris}

so... anybody have any tips on how i can get over my vacation hangover and start getting stuff done?  i clearly need help, so feel free to leave me a reality check in the comments :)

p.s. i hope you like my photos... just thought i'd give you a taste of what i've been daydreaming about!

paris then & now(ish)

one of the reasons i love european cities so much is because there is a sense of permanence to them.  things don't just change overnight like here, in new york city or los angeles.

on my last trip to paris, i thought it would be fun to revisit a few spots where i took some of my favorite photos in 2009.  the places stayed the same, but some of the details had changed...

i'm lucky enough to be traveling back to paris in a couple of weeks... i wonder what my favorite spots will have in store for me this time around!

art imitating art . . . de kooning//stuart

inspiration comes in many forms.

it's no surprise that fashion and product designers "borrow" from fine artists when coming up with new designs... but sometimes i'm struck by just how much an every day object reminds me of a work of art i've seen in a museum or book.

maybe it's because i'm an art history nerd, but i love these little moments where you can almost see the creative process and how a designer gets from point a to point b... from inspiration to product.

dress by jill stuart; painting by willem de kooning

when i saw this dress on the outnet, i immediately thought of de kooning.  i mean, how often do you see that jarring peach-yellow-beige color combo?  i don't know for sure if stuart was inspired by de kooning, but in this case, i think a picture is worth a thousand words :)

what's your take?  do you like the dress?  the painting?  can you see the connection?

dear readers,

wow.  i can't believe it's been almost a year since my last blog post.

i seem to have been having some kind of creative dry spell for the past several months... and it hit me recently that returning to blogging might just give me the boost i need.  i do hope you'll come along!

for now, let me share a little special i have going on in my etsy photography shop from now til mid-april (when i leave for a trip to europe... sure to be a major source of fresh inspiration!)

i hope to be back later this week with another post... stay tuned, and give me a nudge if you don't see me back here soon!

flickr favorites . . . misspaq

click here to visit misspaq's flickr stream.

markus linnenbrink.

german artist markus linnenbrink is famous for his wildly colorful, psychedelic installations, sculptures, and paintings. i don't know about you, but if i had the money i would totally commission him to paint a hallway in my house!

a dreamer woman.

loving this dreamy aqua and yellow treasury curated by virginia of bw photo studio... featuring my photo, the po in portland :)

oreo cookie cameos by judith g. klausner.

seriously? wow.

manish arora fall 2012.

fluorescent, graffiti-inspired designs by manish arora.

textile designs by holli zollinger.

if you haven't discovered spoonflower yet, it's time to jump on the fabric designing bandwagon!

not only can you design your own fabrics using designs you've created on your computer, but you can also browse through thousands of user-created designs to find the perfect fabric for your next project.

holli zollinger is one of my favorite designers on the site. i am enamored with her use of fun colors and geometric patterns mixed with organic shapes.

these are some of my favorites... don't you think they'd be perfect for a modern patchwork quilt?