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believe it or not, this is how most afternoons (especially sunday afternoons) are like. and it has me wishing that every city had plazas like buenos aires. i might start a plaza campaign when i get home. though i’m not politically pushy (i believe to each his own, thank you very much) maybe you could help sign my imaginary petition to slow down and just enjoy. perhaps it’s not so much the designated spaces as it is the purpose and mentality behind passing the time a plaza.
because at the plaza, everything falls away from the shoulders upon entrance. it can’t be helped, not with the swept lawns and lush trees set up against buildings on all sides, you feel somewhat tucked in, cozy-like. it’s a decompression space where time dissipates and so do any pressing matters. here, you pass time simply to pass time. a strange, strange concept for any north american to grasp. true. i remember my first dinner in south america… where was the check? where was the waitor? soon i learned that it’s not about a time table or turnover rate of customers, not here. it’s about being. i began to really wonder just where, exactly, did i have to be? what was the damn hurry? i wasn’t sure, but it read on the face of every clock, just like it always had. now i just toss my wristwatch in my tote bag just so i won’t be back home too late and have anyone worried. but wearing it has become completely irrelevant. most of the time, i forget that it’s even in the tote.
so it makes sense, to wander to the plaza. to be. and discover all the little hermanitos you never knew you had, kicking a soccer ball to and fro with them, in the city’s family room. then perhaps you are in the mood to lay out on a bench and dream for a while, or chat with others about the awesome weather, or just retreat into your headphones. the common denominator in all your non-activities at the plaza is feeling like you’re at a dog show, since every breed imaginable comes strolling out for some fresh air. their personalities are as colorful and varied as their owners. me? i like catching the sun rays and collecting the freckles on a blanket with a good book. what more is there, really?
and so… it was at this point in the umpteenth magnificent dressing room in buenos aires where i realized, shirt over head and too many good choices surrounding my bare feet on the floor…if i had my own brick n’ mortar, i would be AMAZING! i could go all out, you know? my mind races thinking of how i would create this place. and these are the things that i would allow my customer:
+ as much time as you want, darling, we will not follow you around and adjust the clothes two hangers away from where you are browsing. (as if you had somehow messed up the clothes by looking at them.) i understand that to have a good experience, you want to feel like you are welcome, not being policed or guarded.
+ the best music in constant rotation, so good that you would ask me for the compilation and i would jot it down for you. it would be a nice set, mixed with ambient beats leaning slightly on the techno side, female vocals being the forte.
+ YES, you can absolutely take a picture of any of my displays, anywhere in the store. my feeling is that if a place is going to all lengths to invite me inside, and look and wander…to enjoy myself… then why should i feel an abrupt interruption in my shopping experience with a sudden dash to prohibit a few pictures being snapped? always a turn off. besides, isn’t that such easy free advertising?
+ if i’ve learned one thing from the salespeople in buenos aires, it’s that they are there to assist you. granted, sometimes it’s a little too in your face, but for the most part you don’t ever have to leave the dressing room to find that right fit. most shops have one person per shopper to help you. and then most people just walk into the store without browsing or looking, and just ask exactly what they are looking for, right at the door. (this, i admit, takes out ALL the fun for me, so even if i know just what i’m going for, i immediately explain that i’m just looking. because i’m always looking! haha.) bottom line? we won’t be in your face, but we wouldn’t ignore you, either.
+ refrescos. lovely baked goods and drinks. weekend concerts and shows. nothing wild, but enough to want to pause the conversation for a few moments to catch that beautiful note. okay, maybe i’m going a bit overboard? but i can really see this place more as a special environment to hang with friends, perhaps a special section for events in the back. (have i ever mention my love for open space living? now i’m seeing a redone warehouse….)
some thoughts. i have more, but they are visual. i don’t know. it’s been there, in the back of my mind, since college… there was this magnificent little boutique in lexington, virginia, called pumpkinseeds. (have no idea if it’s still around or if it’s changed.) but it planted that seed in me. to be a shop girl. would be grand, indeed.
look at this splendid machine…put in your money… pull the handle… out comes a miniature book! in their delightful small format, there is an infinite variety to fit in pockets, made for the conditions of the metropolis reader. contemporary and agile, the redeemed publications await without special gestures in the machine with the speakers of the buses and the hurry of the pedestrians all around it. (rough translation from the book intro…)
monday monday, you seem nice this time around. i have spring fever, i think. i woke up to all the roses blooming under our windows and the sunshine was my alarm clock. our weekend was wonderful… it was mother’s day here in argentina, which means that i get to celebrate twice this year! lots of fresh air with my boys and pretty flowers were enjoyed.
i also have some exciting news – natural historie has it’s own home now! come and wander for a bit! i’d love to know what you think… read the design philosophy or see the latest jewelry like the seachime necklace. here’s a peek at the latest market find, brooches that i think would delight the naturalist:
i remember earlier this year, hiking along iguazu falls, all the butterflies landing on my arms, shoulders, hat… we would catch them on our fingers and carry on our merry way, as if wearing butterflies were a completely civilized thing to do. there’s something so whimsical about that.
+ the promise of a white christmas in the northern hemisphere with my loved ones this december. can’t hardly wait.
+ a new camera (digital SLR porfa) because tragically, mine has developed a dark shadow right in the center of my lens, which is so hard to shoot with, blast! time to start saving the pennies…
+ the golden compass… lyra and her arctic quest to save the world where souls manifest themselves as animals just sparks something in me.
+ the instant we’re staying put i’m adopting a kitten. i just miss having one around!
+ and on that thought, getting some dirt underneath my fingernails again. window box flowers in the city have been lovely, but i miss my own plot of vegetable + herb paradise and the quiet mornings tending it. pouring over gardening books and planning is just as much fun. gayla keeps me tempted with her luscious photography.
landscape brooch featuring one of my favorite gemstones!
vine bracelet
glossy black onyx + turquoise drop earrings
modern talon necklace
pollock necklace -named so because the spotted jasper stone reminds me of jackson pollock’s action paintings, particularly lavendar mist. layered chain, dripping pearl and turquoise nuggets behave a bit like paint dripping off a canvas. okay, now where are my brushes?
secret tip: replace the fulfilled dream with a new one as quickly as possible, before losing momentum.
the key to planning this dream sequence is lining it all up, with just a little space in between to feel the jump. as soon as satisfaction with my life kicks in, it’s on. i know i’m going to miss buenos aires, but that can’t be IT. there has to be something else to look forward to, some after party. i’m so determined not to lose this force that has crystallized since buying that plane ticket to south america. the continuous movement is a vital force, drop kicking complacency, it serves to prevent any possible chance of living in yesterday’s glory.
i just want to keep a chain of lovely all composed, with each dream falling down like domino tiles, just a tiny moment between one to the next. the moment one piece clinks against the other is such a thrill -that is the eclipse of bravery. this is the new structure of my life being lived, forget the rest. forget finishing the terribly uninteresting novel just to finish it, or the waiting till the kids are grown. forget needing a phd or a million dollars. this is it!
if my life was strung like a necklace (gold please) it would have such pretty parts here, here and there. nuggets and gems. just have to decide which jewel to arrange next and in the meantime, try not to adjust to the momentum so that the pleasure no longer registers.
naming all the events of this past year in my leather bound journal, i found my trip to gorgeous rio de janeiro the absolute highlight. i never did finish sharing all my photos… my heart bursts thinking of the day when we journeyed to a nearby city called niteroi so that i could see the contemporary museum of art designed by oscar niemeyer. you know that one special place in your daydreams you go back to revisit, that one memory of the perfect day? this is the one.
the sun was shining with a breeze that made light waves in the water and forced my skirt to whip all around my knees. the day was mine, just to photograph this amazing work of art that stands all alone even without the works on display inside of it. brazil’s natural beauty as a frame and the views from the futuristic windows are super. i remember sitting on the beach just down the road from the museum, looking up as clouds moved behind it…..digging my toes in the sand, feeling surreal definitions affirming that this was what life was all about. travel, good art, being with my family. i remember the ferry ride over to the town from rio, the anticipation of coming matched the contentment in leaving as the sun set, knowing that there was nothing that could be added to that day to make it any more perfect.
the museum is set on the cliff, shaped like a 60s cinematic UFO. the bright wide slope painted red gives two entrances into the museum but we soon found out what it was to max: a car ramp, naturally. he just happens to have a few tiny cars in pockets and hand, for such occasions.
AYRES, one of my favorite shops in buenos aires, used the MAC as a backdrop for their spring/summer fashion campaign – click through all the links on their site for some flash animation that will give you a sense of standing in my perfect day.
i’m back, unpacked and settled into our cozy apartment again after a small celebration of sorts. we just passed our year mark of following our dreams and i’m feeling so reflective about it all. in other words, IT’S BEEN AWESOME! sometimes, i try to rewind my life a la VHS to see what i would think of my life presently. try to get some perspective and see where i’ve been. if maybe those humdrum days would have been a bit easier knowing that i would be where i am right now…
so much has changed, so many things that i used to just wish for have happened. the stuff that only existed in my lists on notebook paper have come alive. i’m sharing this photo because it’s what i’m phasing out to when i’m in my favorite plaza, getting some fresh air… thinking of where i will next and what is to come. i feel so content that even if i have to wake up tomorrow and return to my life as i used to know it, i have enough to daydream about for quite a while.
but the incredible thing about coming this far, taking these risks, doing something so seemingly daring… is that i don’t think i ever will figuratively “go back,” at least to that place where things remain on lined paper. i’m just feeling like anything or anyplace is possible these days.
