The Pop Five
I know it feels stale to talk about things like the weather and just how fast time is moving, but seriously, it’s already February and Topeka, Kansas had a record high of 77° on Monday—whoa to both. This week’s pop five images are captured in my favorite form … Instagram.
Last Saturday, we walked a chunk of the Beltline in Atlanta. It makes me so proud of this city. The project is amazing. In a nutshell, it connects intown neighborhoods with each other through a paved path. It’s awesome for biking, running, walking, skating. There’s even a killer skatepark (which Tony Hawk’s foundation helped fund), and public artwork throughout. It’s exactly the sort of spot every major city needs to link its community together.
I feel like I want to spend time in the kitchen again. After Margaret was born, Dan and I were eating purely for sustenance, and I’m back to cooking meals we enjoy that take a bit more prep work than say grilled chicken over a bed of greens. We tag-teamed shrimp and grits on Sunday night. I prepped everything, Dan put it all together as I fed Margaret, and by the time we ate she was out like a light. I have so missed grown up dinners.
These days, Mother Goose rules the roost in our house. I’d forgotten how great nursery rhymes are. Well, almost all—Wee Willie Winkie is totally crepy. What’s up with him running through town in his nightgown? Yeah—a grown man running around in bedtime attire, that sounds totally normal.
#throwbackthursday and #flashbackfriday are a fun excuse to rummage through iPhoto images. I posted this gem from our wedding day. #firstdance
I’m not exactly into sports, especially football, but I love game day eats. Can’t wait for Sunday’s spread. #nomnom
SCICA
Last year was a biggie for the Hazels twins. I got pregnant and had baby Margaret in November and that same month Ann opened her own art gallery. Ann and her business partner, Kirby Scudder, are the duo behind the Institute of Contemporary Art, Santa Cruz.
SCICA opens its second show titled, Alter Eco: Exploring the Landscape of Change after closing a very successful run of Steampunk: Art & Technology. Running February 1 through March 31, Alter Eco wholly captures the feeling of transition through the work of eight artists. Since I’m dying to see the space, but cannot make it out that way at the moment, the co-directors were kind enough to walk danapop readers around the gallery with a video tour, which is the next best thing to being there. From where I sit, it all looks amazing, but I so wish I could be toasting with them at the public reception tomorrow night. Plus, my chair isn’t as cool as the ones on display in the gallery.
Image: Crystal Kamoroff “Gonna Roll In and Float Away” installation and Jody Alexander “Sedimentals” installation
The Pop Five
Ever feel like the weeks with a national holiday on the front of it are the toughest? The past four days moved at a molasses pace, I thought. This weekend, I have plans to walk a part of this and try to stop by this fun fete. Until then, here’s a roundup of things I’ve stumbled upon.
Not only have I’ve written about Courtney Khail’s gorgeous stationery here and here, but I also love her work. I’m excited to hear that Khail is now selling her lovely watercolors as affordable original prints in addition to her successful design business.
I cannot wait for The Great Gatsby, directed by Baz Luhrmann, to come out in May. I’ve been a fan of Luhrmann from way back when he recorded, Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen, based off the Mary Schmich essay published in the Chicago Tribune. At least once a year I like to listen that song to remind me of what’s actually important.
On Monday night, I had my first solo night out with my best friend post-pregnancy. I drank my first cocktail in about a year. It was called The Other Shore, and it was delicious.
While researching an article I wrote this week I read the below about Diego Rivera, one of the most famous (second to only his ex-wife, Frida Kahlo) artists of Mexican Modernism.
Rivera began drawing when he was only three, just a year after his twin brother’s death. He had been caught drawing on the walls. His parents, rather than punishing him, installed chalkboards and canvas on the walls for the young painter to make use of.
This is what kind of parent I would like to be. Just think if Rivera’s parents were not so encouraging. My guess is he would’ve been a brooding writer.
Image: Diego Rivera (Mexican, 1886 –1957), Retrato De Natasha Gelman (Portrait of Natasha Gelman), 1943, oil on canvas, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Art. © 2012 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D. F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
This week we firmed up Spring dates to head to Siesta Key for about five days. The thought of a breather at the beach in a few months makes the current winter weather palatable. Plus, I’m dying to see little Margaret in a swimsuit!
The Pop Five
It’s been a cold, rainy, and zero sunshine week in Atlanta with January proving to be one of the few months of the year that the weather is absolutely bleh. But, it’s the perfect excuse stay inside this weekend and finish some projects around the house. Also known as #willweeverfinishpainting?
My aunt gifted Margaret this adorable book about a dog who thinks his name is, “No” because he hears it so often. It’s hilarious and has lovely illustrations by Marta Altés. I first heard about Altés’ gorgeous work here.
I made this coffee toffee for this year’s holiday season and we just finished our last batch of the portions I made for us. It’s addictive, easy to make, and I’m sad to see it go. Speaking of Smitten Kitchen, she just announced a second leg of her book tour and she’s stopping in Atlanta!
I tried to do this glitter mousepad project from brit.co, but alas I’m not exactly a DIY’er. Honestly, I’m awful at stuff like this. Case in point, this photo of my after can only be classified as a disaster. The problem might’ve been because I chose burlap instead of glitter, anyhow, I’ll be ordering something custom on zazzle instead.
Ryan and Jen Hidinger are very well known in the Atlanta restaurant industry and the recent news that Ryan is fighting for his life with stage IV gallbladder cancer that has spread to his liver and lungs has rocked the city. Jake’s Ice Cream created a Team Hidi ice cream flavor contest and is taking submissions through January 22. The winning flavor will be served at the Team Hidi fundraiser on January 27. Read about the grassroots effort here.
Margaret went to Parents’ Morning Out for the first time this week and I survived. She goes two days a week allowing me almost eight hours total of uninterrupted writing time. It was so hard to leave her since we’d never had anyone outside family watch her and I bawled the first day she went. Her teacher sent me a text with this photo on her first day, which made it all a little easier.
Full of Grace
I, like most of the rest of the world, loved Grace Coddington ever since seeing her in The September Issue. She certainly was the standout of the documentary, for me. Her autobiography simply titled, Grace: A Memoir, published November 20, 2012 and I was so excited about its release that I preordered it.
But between skimming the American Academy of Pediatrics guide to my baby’s first year, scouring hundreds of other pages about how to make my kid the happiest around, and breezing through Arrested Development episodes on Netflix, I have yet to read it.
I am so drawn to Coddington’s story (and stories similar to hers) of a life seemingly heading in a certain direction, only to have a monumentally altering experience that changes the course of everything that follows. In Coddington’s case it was a car crash that abruptly ended her modeling career, ultimately leading her to a junior editor position at Vogue, to her current title of creative director.
I must find the time to read this one.
The Pop Five
This week I’ve managed to add work back into the mix of motherhood. It’s been a nice balance of reconnecting with clients and starting new projects, between feedings and naptimes. During the past two months, I missed the creative outlet my job brings, but I wouldn’t trade the bonding between us for anything. We’ve truly gotten to know each other without the distraction of things like deadlines and conference calls. It makes me smile each time I pass my desk and see a pacifier next to my laptop. It reminds me that both are important. This week’s pop five is a reflection of that.
On Wednesday, I interviewed Margaret Cho for a coffee table book I’m writing. She gave incredible insight to the project and I cannot wait to see her how her perspective fits within the rest of the copy and photography.
Image: Courtesy of Zoetica
My twin sister, Ann, met our Margaret for the first time over the holiday. I just love the look on both their faces … pretty special stuff. Also, I adore baby Margaret’s hat. It’s from a local company called B-boxx.
The Motherhood ad from Fiat that’s made the Internet rounds cracks me up. I’m trying to overlook the obvious plot hole that there’s no way her family of three kids and husband can fit comfortably in that car (along with her hose and bitches).
Margaret was an awesome traveler over the holidays. We had three flights and she did fantastic on every one. I even got to read a few chapters of a book!
Do you have a word of the year? The one word that’ll encapsulates your mantra for 2013? I’m trying to be more open to life’s possibilities this year. Get outside the box a bit. Open. Several words from friends and family – forward, intent, clever, poised, better. Word.
The Pop Five
This week I’m particularly grateful. In keeping with the theme of yesterday’s holiday, here are the things I’m most appreciative of in my life.
My in-laws are celebrating 50 years of marriage tomorrow! Tonight, they are hosting a party for the entire family to mark the milestone. The longevity of their love and guidance on how to make a relationship work for the long haul is admirable.
My mother just spent the last two weeks with us helping in every way possible for us to adjust to our new normal. Grocery store runs, diaper changes, cooking, cleaning, giving great advice, soothing a fussy baby, and just being amazing. All of us are so fortunate that Nana is so giving of herself and of her time.
I feel like I’ve hit the career jackpot of doing what I love, but with a high level of flexibility. I’m fortunate to have dear readers who actually care when I’m going to write next. Because one thing that irks me from sites I enjoy reading is when content is inconsistent. That is why I’m letting you know I’ve decided to take a proper maternity leave and spend some quality time getting to know our gal a bit better. Come January, I’ll be rolling out fresh danapop pieces.
I’m so happy to have this guy in my life! My morning routine has always been to walk Otis and I’ve had to take a breather postpartum. I got to leash him up a couple of times this week and we both had a little bounce in our step.
I’m so blessed to have a good eater, an occasional long-stretch sleeper, and overall healthy baby on my hands. I can’t ask for anything more than that.
Happy holidays, everyone. See you in 2013!
The Pop Five
My week has been quite the whirlwind since the last Pop Five installment. I think today is Friday, but don’t quote me on it. Otis, Dan, and I are all adjusting to our new little family with baby Margaret’s arrival. Here are the highlight’s from the past few days.
Dan gifted me a symbolic necklace after the birth of our sweet baby girl. One diamond each for myself, him, and Margaret. #babybling.
I found something to wear to my in-laws 50th anniversary party next week! In case you were wondering, it is tough (but not impossible) to find a beautiful dress to wear while nursing (without it being dreadfully mom-ish). Zara comes through in the clutch.
I knew I wasn’t going to hang Margaret’s name in her nursery over her crib, but I couldn’t resist my favorite ee Cummings poem framed, which mentions her name (alongside Millie, Molly, and May). I love this custom piece from Raw Letter Press.
To me, there’s something so utterly creepy, yet absolutely adorable about newborn hands. Margaret’s are no different. They look like wrinkled old lady hands at six days old.
I’ve been able to repurpose several pieces of furniture for the nursery that had been living in our attic. My great-grandmother’s bookcase is in the process of getting a facelift courtesy of the fabulous Kristen Davis. And this Ivory soapbox from my father-in-law’s days at Procter & Gamble will transform into the perfect end table.
The Pop Five
I love Instagram, don’t you? This week’s Pop Five installment wraps up my week through its filter.
My view at 10 months.
I cannot wait to cook my way through this book my best friend gifted me from one of my favorite sites.
Trying to induce this tardy baby naturally with Scalini’s famous eggplant parmigiana.
You’re never too young for a pair of 7 For All Mankind jeans. In this case, 0-3 months.
This rose bush is one of my favorite spots on my morning dog walk and it looks especially pretty just after the rain.
The Pop Five
My mom arrives on Sunday for a two week stay. I cannot wait! Here’s what I’ve rustled up this week.
I’m all about a cute dog collar for our boy, but the cause behind the company Satos is as fantastic as it is stylish. One collar gets one stray dog in need a full vaccination.
The ultimate hostess (and fixture on the Atlanta society scene), Danielle Rollins, just launched her first book, Soirée: Entertaining with Style. I cannot wait to read it cover to cover.
After being on backorder for several months, my diaper bag arrived in the nick of time. So cute!
This piece in last Sunday’s NYT magazine profiling the island of Ikaria and its residents is fascinating.
Image: Courtesy of Andrea Frazzetta/LUZphoto for The New York Times
Doesn’t the latest documentary by Warren Miller look awesome?
