{quotable thursdays}

I just started reading Verghese's Cutting for Stone and found this great excerpt within the first few pages. The boy is asking what he should choose to do in life and his mentor responds "What is the hardest thing you can possibly do?" & the boy says "Why must I do what is hardest?" & then the mentor gives a good piece of advice:
"Because, Marion, you are an instrument of God. Don't leave the instrument sitting in its case, my son. Play! Leave no part of your instrument unexplored. Why settle for 'Three Blind Mice' when you can play the 'Gloria'?"
I think we often shy away from doing things that are hard. I see it more & more in the generation of kids growing up--parents don't want to see their kids suffer, so they give them everything they think their kids need, when all that the kids actually need is to learn the facts of life and to face a few hard things once in a while. I think it's important to learn how to succeed, but more importantly, how to handle failure or how to struggle. I think back on the times in my life when I've felt the biggest sense of accomplishment, and it's always after making it through the tough times that I have learned the most--about myself, about life--& it's those challenges that inevitably have made me who I am.
I think we rarely live up to our potential--that's not to say that we shouldn't enjoy life, or that we should make life harder than it should be. But I do think we need to change our priorities. Hard doesn't mean doing the 'regular' things that people expect from us--working long hours for the sake of working long hours, or to make loads of money... sometimes hard means not taking the path expected...All I know is that working hard for something you really want can be the most frustrating, maddening, and tiring thing, but it's also the most rewarding. Don't sell yourself short and make sure you're in tune with yourself enough to know how you can work hard to maximise your strengths. Now go out there & be the most amazing you!
Happy Thursday!
xo
L

{make wishes, try hard}

{no matter how small or tall aim high}

{don't be lazy, study hard}

{take risks, maybe move or choose the path less travelled}

{Why settle for 'Three Blind Mice' when you can play the 'Gloria'?}

{reminds me of me as a kid with our siamese cat practising at the piano}

{me & my nephew, Christmas 2005}

{quotable thursdays}

{spring blossoms}

"There is no end, indeed, to making books or experiments, or to travel, or to gathering wealth[...] We may study for ever, and we are never as learned as we would. We have never made a statue worthy of our dreams. And when we have discovered a continent, or crossed a chain of mountains, it is only to find another ocean or another plain upon the further side. In the infinite universe there is room for our swiftest diligence and to spare[...] Even in a corner of it, in a private park, or in the neighbourhood of a single hamlet, the weather and the seasons keep so deftly changing that although we walk there for a lifetime there will be always something new to startle and delight us."

-Robert Louis Stevenson, virginibus puerisque, 1881

Life has its ups & downs...but if we remember that things always change and are always changing, we know that we can make it through. I'm done with winter. I want sunshine & warmth. I want spring. Big changes are afoot for me this spring. While I'm super excited, change also means new unknown things...but I know myself & I know I need change to make my life feel worthwhile...to not feel stagnant. Perhaps it's due to growing up on a boat where things are constantly in motion (including your soup on the table!)...new breezes, smells, & winds...tides change, life changes. Remember, that even if we remain in the same spot, the seasons change around us...& so do people. This life is about adapting as much as it is about building roots.

{statues}

{a walk in the park can delight us}

{crossing a chain of mountains (above & below)}

{me & my little niece in the middle of the world in Quito, Ecuador, 2010}

{zsa zsa bellagio}

{even in the pouring rain we can appreciate the change from the warm sun}

{flowers of spring}

{spring flowers a la Cath Kidston}

{spring florals}

{a simple drive can bring us upon new things}

{travel by boat}

cheers to life always giving us new challenges,

xo

L

{off to nyc}

{gorgeous skyline}

{NY NY}

I'm off to a conference (CAA) in the city that never sleeps. Looking forward to life in the big city, seeing old friends & colleagues, chairing a (hopefully) stimulating panel, Courtauld alumni reception at Pace, yummy food & vino & everything else NYC has to offer...

{liberty}

{NY towers}

{manhattan}

{the land of SATC}

{times square}

memories of NYC in the past couple of years...

{trying on glasses at the Brooklyn Flea}

{my sis, preggled with Hugo shopping at ABC}

{NYC by night}

{Grand Central}

& off I go...

{taxi waiting...}

{Newark (a snap I took waiting for a flight to New Orleans in the autumn)}

{MRS LILIEN says it best}

{happy valentine's!}

oh NYC, you're the apple of my eye--Happy Valentine's to all my readers too! And a BIG Happy Birthday to my darling niece Anahita!
xo,
L

{musings from the little red book-work spaces}

Today's musings from the little red book takes the theme of home work spaces.

1) what's to go on the walls? As an Art Historian, I'm always changing what images I'm working on, so having a space where I can tack up new images when I want is useful (think a Warburg wall for those of you familiar with that cultural art historian). One way of not making this look messy is having pretty cloth panels on top of cork board that you can pin different pictures on:

Here are some examples: 

{image wall via design*sponge

or one large frame--this is particularly useful if you're going to have to put your workspace in a more public room, like  if you only have a one bedroom apartment: 

{via decor8}

Alternatives to fabric:

{framed chicken wire}

{shutters}

{diy painted baking tins}

2) How to organise library books? As an academic, I'm forever taking out library books that I need while I'm writing an article. These are usually sources I'm using all the time for a limited amount of time, and everyone works differently, but I'm the type of person that while I'm writing, my desk is a mess, full of pieces of paper--notes, archival research transcriptions etc...and books. I have to have everything at my fingertips. While it looks like a mess to everybody else, it's actually my brain turned inside out. All of the pieces of paper are laid out according to how I'm approaching the essay/paper/book chapter and I need space for all this visible manifestation of the inner workings of my mind. A useful way to keep this 'organised' would be to have a small shelf reserved for library books (lower left)... and a separate little table for my tea & cookies, so that if I accidentally 'spill' my tea, it doesn't go all over my papers or books!

{use old crates}

{something simple like this would be perfect}

{this simple nightstand from ikea might actually do the trick}

{a perfect little table for a tea break}

3) how to keep loose journal articles organised? I have tons of journal articles & notes, that I often keep in binders, or organise into magazine holders.

Here are some good examples of how to use a bookshelf nearby to keep these sorts of things close at hand, but organised and not too messy:

{big square bookshelves allow for a number of different kinds of stuff--baskets, magazine holders & books}

{simply stunning!}

{I like this plate rack}

{I label my magazine holders so I immediately know what the contents are}

{simply divine file folder holders}

or apothecary-like organisation...

I also like to get crafty sometimes and surrounding myself with beautiful paints & colourful crayons can inspire:

These darling little tins would prettify any work space:

{brilliant martha stewart diy idea}

Finally, some just simply gorgeous work spaces that would inspired any mind to work!

{I think this is one of my all time favourites (including a pink typewriter!!)}

{love the frames}

{I love the book cases and the old world charm}

{serene palette}

{if you have a workspace in a public room, such as the living room, what better way to make it a separate space than  a gorgeous curtain separation?}

{my dream work space would be inspired by a Renaissance studiolo. For an explanation of a studiolo, see my article here}

{here's a real work space with Indian carpets, leather & books--reminds me of my Dad's library}

my dream work space would have a comfy corner to read delightful books..Ok, I could go on & on...for more inspiration check out my work spaces & on books & things boards on pinterest.

Happy Work Space Productivity!!

xo, 

L