Local Travels: Four Freedoms Park

Well, a trek down to Four Freedoms Park (which is at the southern most point of Roosevelt Island) is about as local as travels can get.  Louis I. Kahn designed the park, which is a monument to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  You can find more information about Four Freedoms Park via their official website.

It’s a stunning space, and I’m looking forward to spending more time there once the weather warms up.  These photos are from a recent (and reasonably nice weather-wise) winter weekend where we enjoyed some family time at the park.

Dogear Press Turns One

Hard to believe, but it’s already been one year since I started this blog adventure.  I’m thankful for everyone that has ever stopped by, and am especially grateful for the people who have chosen to come back.

Here are some favorite moments from the past “blog year.”

(1) Having a Dogear Press design for sale on Minted.  And I recently discovered that my Linear New Year’s card design was a runner-up for the Big Picture award (best use of a full-bleed photo) - via Julep, Minted's blog.

(2) The Friends Who Photograph series.  I love getting to share the work of my talented friends, and am looking forward to having some more of these posts in the future.

(3) A really delicious recipe.

(4) Moody iPhone photos from Jeju Island during our Korea/Hong Kong trip.  I’m embarrassed to say that I still have digital SLR photos from the trip to go through, edit, and eventually post here...

(5) Glimpses from my daily commute.

(6) Beautifully vibrant flowers.

(7) Words to live by. 

Quoted: Chad Harbach (via The Art of Fielding) on the Soul

I grew up loving books, and even though I don’t have as much time for them as I would like, reading remains a great joy for me.  I have a small notebook where (when I remember to actually use it) I keep track of books read, borrowed, lent, and my favorite part – favorite lines and passages.  There are certain moments in books when I have been struck still, left to mull over the perfection of a particular phrase.  I recently finished The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (you may have already seen this book pop up on the blog in previous posts), and fell in love with this line about the soul.  The novel itself is beautiful, well worth reading.

Coffee? Yes, please.

There is something special about a perfect cup of coffee.  I love the anticipation of the first sip, the warmth of the coffee cup in my hands, and when I’m at home, the ritual of preparing coffee myself.  A lazy weekend morning with a cup of coffee and a magazine or book is one of my very favorite things.  Still, as lovely as it is to enjoy a cup at home, I often wish that I were better about venturing out to discover the many amazing coffee shops here in New York City.  (In the meantime I live vicariously through the coffee adventures of one of my favorite photographers, Alice Gao.)  Do you have any great NYC coffee shops to recommend?

Instagram photo taken at Ze Café.

Image source

The coffee and graphic design lover in me can’t get enough of this “Perfect Pour” poster by Plaid (more info here).

Ready for Spring...

It’s been quiet here on the blog – just two brief posts for the whirlwind month that was February!  I’m not quite sure how the second month of 2013 passed so quickly, and I’m still a bit stunned that the calendar is set on March 1st.  It’s been noticeably milder here in New York, and I can say without a doubt that I’m ready for warmer weather.  This iPhone photo of two tulips feels like spring to me.

A Beautiful Birthday

Last week saw my 32nd birthday come and go.  I was fortunate enough to enjoy two fabulous meals during the week.  First, there was a delicious pre-birthday brunch with my entire family at Park Avenue Winter (the housemade ricotta & roasted grapes grilled bread, za’taar was phenomenal).  Second, my husband and I had an incredible dinner at craftbar on my actual birthday (I’ll revisit the meal in a future post).  Below are some iPhone captures of moments small (a treat – yet to be used - from Anthropologie, a mini lemon tart from Le Pain Quotidien) and large (the two birthday week meals) that made my birthday so special.  Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

Snaps: New Jersey Snow

So depending on which forecast you believe, the New York City area may get anywhere from a few inches to over a foot of snow this weekend.  We’ll see whether this storm (apparently dubbed “Nemo” by The Weather Channel) lives up to the severe winter storm advisories that are popping up in my e-mail inbox and iPhone messages.  In the meantime, here are a few iPhone images of snow-covered Paramus, New Jersey from this past December.  The first image is my favorite.  I love the contrast of the tire tracks against the snow.

Wishing you a happy (and safe!) weekend.