march photo challenge: march 30

march 30: TOY

i love this picture. it is a 2010 magnadoodle portrait of uncle kp by our nephew, walt. he's good, no? we added the glasses for effect. based on this image, i'm guessing that if you were to ask the boys what word best describes uncle kp's appearance, they'd say, "hairy." (perhaps followed by "big head", "big mouth", or "no torso").

march photo challenge: march 29

march 29: FEET

i remember being a freshman in high school and sitting on my porch one afternoon in the spring of 1991 with a handsome upperclassman (well, as handsome as a 17-yr-old with braces can be). i remember he told me i had pretty feet and then asked if he could take me for cheese fries that friday night. not in the same breath, of course, but still. and i remember thinking, "wait, did he just compliment my feet? not my smile or my hair or my charming wit... but my feet???" odd, no? and yet, still sort of sweet.

march photo challenge: march 28

march 28: TRASH

you know what they say - one woman's trash pile is another kitty's afternoon nap spot.

march photo challenge: march 27

march 27: YOUR NAME

my office door... i'm not sure why they put the last name first, but whatever. i lean toward minimalism in my office decor, so on my door you'll usually only find my name, the little card with office hours written on it, and that amazing provence postcard. but i couldn't resist showing off this bad*ss poster for my francophone lit course designed by my friend, julin. she's got skills!

march photo challenge: march 26

march 26: KEY(s)

if i don't keep my keys right next to the front door, i lose them. period. so i bought this pretty wooden plate at a thrift store here in town to hold my three sets of keys: office, pathfinder, pathfinder spare. it has also recently become home to my high school keychain, which my dad saved all these years (hello, 1991 jv cheerleading squad!), and a hacky sack that my college beau crocheted! sometimes - when i'm all alone and have tired of dancing around the room to steely dan's *peg* - i practice hacky sack. i'm pretty terrible... but it's still fun.

march photo challenge: march 25

march 25: BREAKFAST

sunday brunch in honor of café fanny (RIP): poached and prosciutto, angelo's style - with a sprinkle of oregano and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar on top - and french-press coffee. bon appétit.

march photo challenge: march 24

march 24: ANIMAL

you were expecting a pic of bob, weren't you? instead: erin and me, circa 1980. because one can only post so many pictures of one's cat on one's blog.

march photo challenge: march 23

march 23: MOON

moon over pantheon, paris, 2007. i took this from the patio of a british pub in the 5th called the bombardier. looking at it gives me an achy i-miss-paris feeling... this was our hood back in 06-07. in fact, we bought our frozen dinners right next door (in france they have entire stores dedicated to frozen food - it's very strange). oh yes, and that little blip up in the left corner -that's the moon, waxing poetic about english ale, i'm sure.

march photo challenge: march 22

march 22: KITCHEN SINK

aka, what i like least about our place. do you see how short that spout is?? can you imagine cleaning a big ol' dutch oven here, when your spout is all of 6 inches long?? water goes e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. and as you may have guessed, the sealing is pretty shoddy, which means we have regular leakage issues under the sink. grr. also, the hot water knob makes terrible squeaky noises every time you turn it on and off. these are the joys of renting, my friends. that said, this is not a bad pic.

march photo challenge: march 21

march 21: DELICIOUS

straight from the heavens... rice krispy treats! oh lord, i love me some rice krispy treats!! i'm not lying. i have eaten a couple dozen of these - easy - over the last few months. i've always been a fan, but just before mardi gras i found a recipe for a slightly fancier version (we're talking a stick of butter, browned, and a hint of salt)... i tried it, and now i'm hooked. HOOKED. this was another situation where i probably should have worked a little harder for a better shot (food photography is kind of tricky), but couldn't. too delicious to photograph - must. eat. now!!

march photo challenge: march 20

march 20: BEFORE AND AFTER

i bought these duncan phyfe chairs off craigslist last year, and while the upholstery that came with them wasn't bad, i wanted something a little more graphic, something deco and fun to play off the mid-century formal feel of these chairs (i don't know, i'm just making this up as i go along), so i bought this fabric on etsy from a gal in south africa (i want this bag next - love!!)

i think they turned out pretty well for a first go at reupholstering. the lines are just a wee crooked, but no biggie. nobody cares but me anyway. and i get so happy every time i see this fabric that i don't even notice!

march photo challenge: march 19

march 19: FUNNY

dig the earrings!, circa 1980

wwhs musical stud, circa 1996

mask and wig, upenn, circa 2000

now, these guys are funny...

and i should know - i've seen most of their old shows. this is one of my favorite pics, not because my husband is dressed in drag (although that is pretty awesome), but because i see some very dear friends here: back row, far left - he married us! front row, far left drove our 'just married' getaway car. and part of why our time in l.a. was so great was how much QT we got to spend with front row, second from left and his wife. awesome friends. also, very funny.

i always wanted to marry a funny guy. a good sense of humor is second on my list after smart. and i guess i don't have to tell you that with kp i hit the jack pot.

march photo challenge: march 18

march 18: A CORNER OF YOUR HOME

this is the dresser we got for christmas last year from a guy in dallas who sells eames era stuff for ridiculously great prices. i LOVE it. i just bought the curtains this christmas, and the beveled mirror was a bday gift from kp. i've been wanting a beveled mirror for ages. i love the pear green curtains in our otherwise brown bedroom, but i'm not sure about the way the mirror is hung. i didn't want to hang it on some funky old nail, so i bought that hook at pottery barn... but it's kind of huge. and i don't know about the ribbon. i think a smaller hook with some kind of rope would be better. it'll do for now, but i'll probably change it up in australia.

march photo challenge: march 17

march 17: GREEN jeans and bob

(our very own dr. seuss story)

happy st. patrick's day! (and happy birthday to some special people!) the rest of the city is out drinking green beer and dodging flying cabbages and root vegetables at the st. patty's day parade. i know... another parade?? ugh. i'm still getting over mardi gras. bob and i have opted to stay home instead, listening to the beatles and doing some spring cleaning. after that, we're hoping to get a bit of work done. bob's got a lot of deadlines coming up...

march photo challenge: march 16

march 16: SUNGLASSES

kp looking super bad*ss in line for falafel - paris 2008. i love this shot... and those smokin' hot ray-bans! he looks so tough here, but really, i bet he's just worrying i won't get my camera put away before they hand him our sandwiches!

march photo challenge: march 15

march 15: CAR

kp took this one in zagreb a few years ago. i think it would make the perfect ride for a young french prof., don't you? can't you just see me driving around australia in this beauty, wearing stripes and listening to georges brassens?? i sure can! of course, it wouldn't last 10 minutes in the outback... and there doesn't look to be much room for bob... better opt for something more practical.

march photo challenge: march 14

march 14: CLOUDS

or, "c'est le mékong qui parle"

i've probably posted this pic before... i took it on the mekong river in 2008, then suped it up with iphoto's sepia button (i almost typed, "supia" button - hey, that works too). i can see the stylized images of clouds in asian art floating through this image. the only thing missing is the dragon!

and it's a fitting image for today because it's also the first image on a powerpoint i created for a presentation i'm giving tomorrow about marguerite duras, a french author born in colonial indochina in 1914, in whose writing - if you listen carefully - you can hear the murmur of the mekong. have you read the lover? if you haven't, put it on your list.

march photo challenge: march 13

march 13: SIGN

sua xe: auto repair

i have no idea what this contraption is (it sort of reminds me of a one-man band setup), but i do know that these guys can get your bicycle or motorbike back on the road in 5min or less. i remember having to pump up the tires on my bicycle all the time in hanoi (before i traded it in for my sweet russian motorbike, which required even more roadside maintenance), and they were life savers!

march photo challenge: march 12

march 12: FORK

who needs a fork when you've got a spoon this awesome? (apologies for the blurry photo - there's never enough light at nap time).

march photo challenge: march 11

march 10: SOMEONE YOU TALKED TO TODAY

he's a good listener when i can get him to pay attention. at least he doesn't talk back.

march photo challenge: march 10

march 10: LOUD

little boys are loud, and my nephews are no exception to that rule. and this isn't even the whole bunch - wait till baby C really gets into the mix. but i must say, i'd give a million bucks to be that excited about something - look at the energy! the enthusiasm! the joy! you'd think we'd just told them they were going to disneyland or that they were moving into a house made entirely of legos. but no, they were just that stoked to be celebrating granddaddy's 70th (it was a great party).

i love, by the way, the hawaiian shirt tradition in this family. granddaddy hits up the hawaiian shirt shop every time he comes to nola and has quite the collection. if you know my husband (or have ever been to a party with him in the spring or summer), you know he's no stranger to the look. and now the youngins'. i love it. p.s., it just occurred to me that the "loud" here could also refer to these shirts! either way, i love it.

and here are some bonus pics from the same party. the concept was simple: silliest face wins.

march photo challenge: march 9

march 9: RED

i was only bold enough to wear these once, but i saved them in case i have another brave fashion day.... or dress as a super hero for halloween!

march photo challenge: march 8

march 8: WINDOW

back to fort worth, and to the museum of modern art, for this one. what to admire most? the collection or the site itself? what a pleasant dilemma!

addendum to yesterday's post: a certain dr. jkl has asked that i specify that we stopped to take this photo (in which we attempt our best vietnamese squat) because our drivers thought we'd want to remember the leper village below. i know - very awkward indeed. she would also like me to clarify that she was not a part of the lesbian buddhist cult to which i referred. just wasn't her thing.

march photo challenge: march 7

march 7: SOMETHING YOU WORE

this was a tough one: do i go with the wedding dress, my most favorite something i wore ever? the latest pair of my blue chuck taylors, which i've been wearing since i was 17? the black wool turtleneck that i wore 3-4 times a week when kp and i were in paris? so many choices! but when i saw this one, i knew i'd found it. what, you ask? those shades! those cheap-ass, barely darker than regular lenses, sorry-imitation-john-lenin shades that i. absolutely. loved. in fact, this may have been my favorite outfit in 2001: those fancy navy blue chucks, the black vietnamese-grandfather-pants i had made in hanoi, that vintage northside track shirt i got in a bin somewhere, the scarf, and those shades. top it all off with a disastrous pixie haircut that i insisted on getting in hanoi (and in vietnamese) and that was - believe it or not - *past* the really awkward stage here... and, well, i was rocking it. i have to laugh - it is so awesomely awful. andro-genius, if i do say so myself.

apparently there was a rumor back in big d that i'd joined a lesbian buddhist cult in vietnam - i know this image didn't do anything to assure the neighbors that i hadn't. i know it's wrong, but i sort of wish i had those glasses back (hey, at least i'm not wishing for that haircut!)

march photo challenge: march 6

march 6: 5PM

even though i walk to work and, in fact, spend very little time in my car, i can't help but associate 5pm with the workweek commute. and since i'm on a video kick, i thought i'd post two very different commuter experiences: 5pm in hanoi, vietnam (with commentary by kp, who filmed as he rode "shotgun" on my honda motorbike) and 5pm in paris, france (métro chatelet, i think. worst station in the city, even with the music!)

march photo challenge: march 5

march 5: SMILE

okay, this is cheating - it's not a photo, and i didn't shoot the video. but who cares? and anyway, why stop with a smile when you could have a laugh like this?? i wish this were my morning alarm...

march photo challenge: march 4

march 4: BEDSIDE

this is kp's side of the bed, the side i sleep on when he's not here (bob takes my side). i started doing it immediately upon my return to new orleans last summer. i didn't think about it, i just got in on his side of the bed my first night home. and stayed there. somehow the bed feels less empty over there...

and when it's not covered in receipts and "runner's world" magazines, i think his side of the bed is very chic. i bought the asian-style tables in berkeley for our first christmas together - i think they were the first pieces of furniture i ever purchased (i was 27!). i scored the groovy faux bois lampshade for $5 at urban outfitters that same year. the coaster is also a faux bois design (i guess i have a thing for it). the alarm clock may have come out of his room from home - it's old and dirty, but with a name like "dream machine," we'll probably never get rid of it. a happy buddha sits on top. behind the alarm clock is a jack unruh illustration of louisiana and mississippi that i picked up last summer at his annual art sale in dallas (he is an amaaaazing illustrator, and when i hit the lottery, i'm going to buy this for our cabin in montana). the lonely planet australia was a bday gift from kp. at night, before bed, i plan our adventures down under.

march photo challenge: march 3

march 3: YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

our neighborhood - shoot, our whole city - is perpetually marred by terrible light. it's life in the swamp, i guess. all this to say that i have jacked up this photo trying to make the details clear. if i had time i guess i could wait for decent light, but hélas, today is "your neighborhood" day. no time to wait for ideal conditions.

anyway, this is snake & jake's christmas club lounge. it's a new orleans classic and has been named one of playboy's top ten american dive bars (quite the honor). and it's right around the corner from our house! a little history behind the name: the bar was originally called the christmas club lounge, and at some point it was purchased by jake, and it then became jake's christmas club lounge (think ruth's chris - same idea). then snake bought it from jake, hence snake and jake's.

it's a great place early in the evening - great music, super cheap beer, small crowds - and the guy next door (the rest of the block is residential) grills brats and burgers on thursday and friday nights for $5! but late night it turns into a tulane haunt. lots of drunk undergrads, and - horror of all horrors - lots of smoke. we don't spend much time there anymore.

march photo challenge: MARCH 1 & 2

we're only a few days into march, so i guess it's not officially spring yet... but that doesn't really matter here in new orleans since it was never actually winter. i know the warm temps and relentless humidity are probably doing great things for my poor little face, but i don't care. i'm over swamp life! seriously, i have never been so disappointed in a season in all my 36 (eek) years. it truly was a pathetic showing this year - i barely even got to wear my trench coat!

enough complaining though. i've decided to bid "winter" (ie, hoping for cool temps) good riddance with a new blog project. a friend of mine discovered this photo challenge designed by @fatmumslim and posts pics on facebook every day. it's such fun to see her creativity and perspective, i thought i'd give it a try.

so without further ado, it's the march photo challenge! (p.s., i'm already a few days behind...)

march 1: UP

this is a shot taken inside richard serra's vortex (2002) at the fort worth museum of modern art last christmas. kp and i go to fort worth a lot when we're in texas and we recently decided to start taking advantage of its exquisite collections (the stock yards AND the kimball - why would anyone even bother with dallas?). it's a treasure chest, a beautifully designed one at that!

march 2: FRUIT

another image from fort fun, this one of a favorite summer cocktail, "the lafayette." its brilliance lies in its simplicity: vodka, blood orange soda, lime. et voilà - to summer!

happy mardi gras!

"solid gold" and "savage" unicorn

well, it's our second (and final) mardi gras in new orleans, so we knew we had to do it right. and by do it right, i don't mean drink ourselves into oblivion (we stopped shy of oblivion, thank god) - i mean COSTUMES! kp and i are definitely not costume-lovers, but the mardi gras st. anne's parade is sacred. you either get dressed or you stay home.

the unicorn collective

he's a noise musician and she's a philosophy professor... only in new orleans

rainbow bright unicorn takes a pat o's hurricane break

a st. anne's giraffe!

stilettos on wheels. nice.

lamp shade on the head!

a yellow submarine?

the traveling drum circle

wow.

a friendly game of twister... why not?