prattle

"01. Keep good company 02. Notice the ordinary 03. Preserve the ephemeral 04. Design not for the..."

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:48:18 -0400

“01. Keep good company
02. Notice the ordinary
03. Preserve the ephemeral
04. Design not for the elite but for the masses
05. Explain it to a child
06. Get lost in the content
07. Get to the heart of the matter
08. Never tolerate “O.K. anything.”
09. Remember your responsibility as a storyteller
10. Zoom out
11. Switch
12. Prototype it
13. Pun
14. Make design your life… and life, your design.
15. Leave something behind.”

- Keith Yamashita on the 15 things Charles and Ray Eames teach us.

Or, hear it from the horse’s mouth – 15 timeless quotes by Charles Eames.

(via explore-blog)

Spending my afternoon in one of my favorite places- the history...

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:16:25 -0400

Spending my afternoon in one of my favorite places- the history section of Barnes & Noble. (Taken with instagram)

Would you just look at this little guy! (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:52:25 -0400

Would you just look at this little guy! (Taken with instagram)

Never get tired of this view!

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:06:34 -0400

Never get tired of this view!

Duke in the spring is so pretty! (Taken with Instagram at Duke...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:49:24 -0400

Duke in the spring is so pretty! (Taken with Instagram at Duke University Chapel)

Taken with instagram

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:19:56 -0400

Taken with instagram

beautiful spring day! (Taken with Instagram at International...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:10:21 -0400

beautiful spring day! (Taken with Instagram at International House)

I never tire of this place! Beautiful! (Taken with Instagram at...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:44:52 -0400

I never tire of this place! Beautiful! (Taken with Instagram at Duke University Chapel)

An old post from this summer. I was discussing this with someone yesterday and realized I miss...

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:16:44 -0400

An old post from this summer. I was discussing this with someone yesterday and realized I miss writing about things other than what school requires. Summer goal: get back in to actually blogging (not just photos). Thank goodness I’ll actually have time!

From Summer 2011—

The other day I was talking to someone about how we’re all presumably addicted to caffeine and how we need to cut back, not only because too much caffeine can be bad for our health, but because it functions like any other addiction—our life starts to revolve around it and we cannot function without it. After some contemplating, I came to the following conclusion: coffee has served as a way to bring me and the ones I love together for as long as I can remember.

I recall when I was really little—my mom says I was probably around two—I wanted to be just like “Grandpa Bud,” because he was an infamous coffee drinker and he meant the world to me. Everyone always made jokes about him and his obscenely strong “jet fuel” and how he went through about two giant Stanley thermoses a day. I remember sitting at their kitchen table with “coffee milk”—the only way you can get a two year old to drink coffee is to copiously dilute it with milk. I would drink it every day with him when I went over to my grandparents’ house, and ever since it has served a very important purpose in our family.

Now, every time I come home to visit my parents, the thing I look forward to the most is waking up really early so we all have time to have a few cups of coffee together before we all go our separate ways for the day. It’s where I have so many fond memories; where my family and I have our most memorable discussions. This tradition has extended to my new friendships, as well—there’s nothing I value more than good conversation with great people over a steaming hot cup of coffee. It can be a way to welcome people into my home, a way for me to have a quiet moment with myself, or a way to go out and meet new people.

As I was thinking, I also noticed it’s a way we can show people we care. This is a little trick I learned from my dad. Every day he wakes up earlier than my mom to put on a pot of coffee so she has a fresh cup when she wakes up. And then he brings it to her in the bathroom while she gets ready for work. Every single day.

I decided that it’s actually a blessing that my life has come to nearly revolve around this seemingly unimportant, commonplace drink because it’s served as a medium to spend time with the people that mean the most to me. I don’t anticipate this changing anytime soon, either, so I suppose I don’t really have any hope of curing my addiction. Coffee and I will continue our love affair far into the future, and I’m fairly certain it’s nothing but good for the health of my soul :)

ain’t that the truth? (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:45:09 -0400

ain’t that the truth? (Taken with instagram)

kitchen snapshots (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:33:28 -0400

kitchen snapshots (Taken with instagram)

starting to look like spring around here! (Taken with Instagram...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 11:50:40 -0400

starting to look like spring around here! (Taken with Instagram at Duke Univ West Campus)

starting game day off right! #marchmadness (Taken with...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:10:38 -0400

starting game day off right! #marchmadness (Taken with instagram)

#marchphotoaday window (Taken with Instagram at Social Sciences...

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:56:09 -0500

#marchphotoaday window (Taken with Instagram at Social Sciences Building)

beautiful! (Taken with Instagram at Duke University)

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:44:14 -0500

beautiful! (Taken with Instagram at Duke University)

lemongrass mint tea before bed in my new giant, gallon sized...

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:23:18 -0500

lemongrass mint tea before bed in my new giant, gallon sized mug. (Taken with instagram)

vino! (Taken with instagram)

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:38:55 -0500

vino! (Taken with instagram)

Tonight I have a wine and cheese date…with myself (Taken...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:14:15 -0500

Tonight I have a wine and cheese date…with myself (Taken with Instagram at Whole Foods)

This stuff is magical! (Taken with instagram)

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:46:56 -0500

This stuff is magical! (Taken with instagram)

#marchphotoaday. Something I wore. Tangerine blazer. (Taken...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:01:22 -0500

#marchphotoaday. Something I wore. Tangerine blazer. (Taken with instagram)