nyc | elevated subway

if i ever start a new blog it should certainly be called 'the pretty & the gritty' because i love both - flowers, graffiti, vintage, decay, beach towns. i found myself in the first car of an elevated subway car yesterday and couldn't resist taking some photos because it wasn't crowded. i'm not one for roller coasters, but who needs one when you can take the subway?

the window was kind of dirty and that seems like it was a good thing as it softened the images, naturally. i'm still working on the high line photos, which is also an elevated train track come to think of it.

xo, cindy

ps i really love the new song from incubus - promises, promises. hope the rest of the album is just as good.

home | ironing

i don't know why, but we sure have a lot of laundry for two people, which leads to a lot of ironing. my mother loved to iron. i don't mind it, but don't love it, either. the result is the best part. the process - eh.

we visited the new extension to the high line this weekend and i'll have some photos coming up later in the week, including a marriage proposal. have a good one!

xo, cindy

ps yesterday, i received an email from rachael of the beautiful blog made from scratch regarding a feature on our shop, which was exciting. based out of new zealand, she compiles the most wonderful finds with lovely mosaics to go with them. thank you, rachael!

fun | this & that

i used to put our photos in these mosaics, but then stopped and went with simpler frames. now that we have the vintage shop i want to send some emails to magazines/blogs and these types of layouts might come in handy.

for the photos, i use a folding table and set-up the shot in our living room by the window. sometimes, i leave it overnight, which is interesting since that's where we spend most of our time. there's a lot of nudging involved and i spent most of the time on an overhead view that will probably never be used because i missed one nudge!

but, enough about me. there's been a lot of goodness passing through my desk that might be interesting to check out if you have a chance -

• meg's son davy and his band, a basement rendezvous, have issued their first ep & it sounds great!
• great advice for photographers from jpg - i like no. 3 & must do it.
• mowielicious magazine - double gah!
• scientific social networking tips about best time to post & tweet.
• my first etsy treasury is all pink.

thank you for all your support regarding the photography credit issue. i'll be less accommodating in the future. i never really thought of it as stealing when it came to my photos, but now i see the light :). have a nice weekend!

xo, cindy

ps i enlarged my photos. did you notice? they're now 425 wide vs. 400. baby steps.

work | break-time

i've been working on some photo-styling for a marketing piece for our vintage shop. it's pretty. pretty hard! so in the meantime, please join me for a break and let's step outside to enjoy some early summer color, virtually.

xo, cindy

ps remember those photos i took a few weeks ago of the chance shop? well, tablet talk did a feature on founder julia leach & the shop and used a couple of my photos. the set with the bicycle. they didn't credit me, but it's cool anyway.

fun | for the boys

a brief interlude from the tranquility found in beautiful gardens for some vroom, vrooms for all the fathers & father figures. although traditionally boys are supposed to like cars, girls like them too, including this one. enjoy your father's day weekend!

xo, cindy

ps a photo of our charlie boy & a little update can be found here.

garden | roses galore

the day we visited the new york botanical garden, which we seem to do when we don't know what to do, everything was in bloom. it was a sunny day and the bright mid-day light can be harsh, but there were no other options. flowers don't wait for perfect lighting.

i honestly thought i had a terrible day when it came to picture-taking. i just couldn't get my camera settings right and wouldn't be surprised if all of these photos were shot on automatic and at this moment i don't care.

many people preach to only use your camera on manual and it is good to know what all the dials mean. but, you know what? sometimes, you just need a little jump start from the computer within the camera instead of the one within your head, especially if you're with someone else who is waiting, patiently.

xo, cindy

ps have you seen l'atelier's iphone photos? they are fantastic!

garden | spanish paradise

i have a few posts worth of photos from a recent trip to the new york botanical garden, but i will try to be a good editor. these are from the spanish paradise - gardens of the alhambra display in the conservatory. i liked the citrus and that last plant looks like a dragon to me. i should have written down the name, but i forgot and didn't really care until right about, now. i wonder if jane knows :)?

xo, cindy

ps we saw super 8 this weekend and really enjoyed it. lots of explosions and the kids are great. steven spielberg also always has the best musical scores in his movies to accompany the action and bring a tear to your eye at just the right time.

people | in chapeaus

relaxing at the new york botanical garden.


these folks were getting a tour by a mast brother (rick?) at mast brothers chocolate. at this point, they kind of look like they want to eat the candy already or sing.


this artist is not painting the guy on the bench, but the giant sculpture echo by jauma plensa in madison square park. i thought father's day was this weekend, so i had to go with a plan b. people in hats seemed logical. enjoy your weekend!

xo, cindy

ps some new tunes via chelsea - acid house kings. so smooth and cool.

people | seeing is believing

jamie mentioned how much she enjoyed the documentary about bill cunningham, the legendary bicycle-riding fashion photographer for the new york times, so i put it on our list. ultimately, we went to see it in the sag harbor cinema on a rainy afternoon and it was great. the theater is classic, old school in design (chandeliers!) and the two just seemed to go perfectly together.

i really hoped to spot bill, i mean mr. cunningham, in his blue smock in the city sometime and was thrilled when he appeared right in front of us on his way to work this weekend. he's in his 80s and seems to have endless energy & bicycles. i think he's had 28 stolen, so far.

xo, cindy

ps we haven't been very diligent about making vacation plans this summer, but have been getting around. recently, i've been over to visit lenore, deb, jen and aimee w/jen. thank you ladies; i love your neck of the woods!

pics | patterns

benches.



globes.



window dressings.



metalwork.

sometimes, i think my 365-photo project looks a little bit erratic, but if i look closely, there do seem to be patterns.

xo, cindy

nyc | greenpoint

sometimes, we get stuck in a rut and go to the same places over and over again. we always pass through greenpoint, brooklyn on the way to williamsburg, but don't really stop. when jen mentioned she wanted to visit vintage modern during her recent visit i figured i better check it out first, plus deb & her wonderful bonbons are based in greenpoint. although considered to be an up and coming neighborhood, it still has plenty of old world charm with a healthy dose of grit. we'll be back if only to see if there's more to come about dave :).

xo, cindy

ps have you guys heard about the original 365 grateful project? it looks pretty great.