{numbers}

What's in a number?

Next weekend I'm celebrating my birthday in NYC. My eldest sis is flying into the city & we're going to spend some awesome sisterly time together exploring the city & fitting in our respective (but also shared) interests (design stuff on her part, museum stuff on my part).

{my fabulous sis & me before an exclusive Sex&theCity II Party at Opus, Vancouver}

{very neat vintage birthday card} 

As I'm nearing the end of my 20s I've begun feeling older. Funny how we think we'll always stay young. I suppose as the youngest of 5 girls, I was always the 'youngest' and even my nickname "tiny" denotes little &, in some ways, young. But I think when we near the end of our 20s we realise that we have chosen some paths in life, which means others are no longer open to us. Age--or our understanding of it--is a cultural thing. One of my sisters is an expert on this--a PhD at Oxford, a proliferation of articles & a book coming out on the idea of 'social age.'

Growing up on a boat with around twenty 18-25 year-olds I was never 'of age.' I longed most of my life to seem older, to act older, and to be older. I hated revealing my age to anyone, because I didn't want to be judged on age alone. Always being younger than everyone else around you, makes you think you'll always be younger forever. I always prided myself on doing things at a young age, others hadn't done yet who were older than me-sailing around the world three times by the age of 13, I think, is something most people don't get the opportunity to do. But having so much excitement when you're young makes the rest of life seem a little dull. You can't necessarily keep up that momentum.
That's not to say I haven't tried. But there comes a point in our lives when we realise we will no longer be able to fulfill every dream we had. I pursued my love of art history (which was fostered at a very young age on these trips) and managed to meet my goal of getting a PhD before 30, but that does mean that the dreams of becoming a singer, an illustrator, a princess...or what-have-you have been pushed aside; they've been dropped while one goal was pursued... & I have to admit that life has been a bit on hold during- and post- doctoral degree.

As a professor I'm now the one in authority & to my students, I know I seem 'old.' I particularly notice it with the generation gap between those who grew up with computer & the internet and those who didn't--& it can hardly be called a generational gap since these kids are really only a few years my junior. I must seem archaic, though, because I went through my Art History degree with slides. Now it's powerpoints and digital images...students don't care about libraries or books & you're lucky if they read a whole article from start to finish. I could go on... but it's not the sense of responsibility that I fear, I fear losing the excitement of life & the 'unknown' of being young... and yes, I know many of you who read this are going to say 'you are young'...and I am, relatively. We can do anything at any age, if we set our mind to it. But at the same time, there is a certain amount of energy that begins to run out. Yes, I could suddenly decide to pursue another field, or another career, but I have to admit, I'm still a little burned out at the one I'm pursuing!
That said, I think the greatest thing about getting older is learning from your mistakes...they say the 30s are your new 20s, so we get to experience our 20s again, but just with a little more smarts. Growing old isn't so bad if you've got people to grow older with.
So to that, NYC here I come with my darling sister--10 years my senior, and still fabulous, gorgeous & incredible--to drink up all that life has to offer. have no fear, blogs will follow, telling you about the ball we had, but until then, here are some number inspirations:

{vintage playing cards available on Etsy}



{great number posters (above & below) from Sugarfreshshop on Etsy}



{aren't these beautiful vintage french table number cards?}



{I like this pillow from wordgarden. It particularly speaks to me, seeing as I am #5 in my family}



{LOVE these numbers for decoration, from the design files}

{these vintage table numbers are fantastic from bridalcookie}



{great trunks with numbers from Vagabond Vintage}

{love the look of these vintage letters & numbers. from KB & Friends}





{to keep track of the year & to plan for the year ahead, how about these fantastic calendars from  icanoe2?}



{or this from Kauniste}

{I simply love these chairs!}

{how about these cool numbered vases from Letterbox?}

{how cool is this from the dainty woods?}

{how about numbers on the stairs?}

And finally...to keep track of time, some lovely clocks:

{Diamantini Domeniconi - cuckoo clock by pascal tarabay. Available here}

{a play on the cuckoo clock from design flow}

{from jayjayfashion}

{DIY cuckoo from BlueBird Hill}