Summer Playlist

photos of our home and favorite songs for this summer so far.

Download summer playlist here

1. New Mexico's No Breeze, Iron & Wine
2. Eyes Wider Than Before, Scott Matthews
3. Cayucos, Cayucas
4. I'll get Along, Michael Kiwanuka
5. Joy, Iron & Wine
6. Drakkar Noir, Phoenix
7. Resolution, Matt Corby
8. Ivory Road, King Charles
9. Ayawa 'kya, Cayucas
10. Line of Fire, Junip
11. Made of Stone, Matt Corby
12. The Salt, Small Sur
13. How to Build A Clock, Sam Owens
14. Untitled, Matt Corby
15. A Summer Thing, Cayucas
16. Retrograde, James Blake
17. Hold on (feat. Sampha), Sbtrkt
18. Brother, Matt Corby
19. Little Notes, Tiny Ruins
20. The Lion's Roar, First Aid Kit
21. This is Love (Feels Alright), Camera Obscura

Photos: Parker Fitzgerald

12.01.12

11.14.12

Brunch on the coast with friends - Anne Sage, Caroline & Jayden.

Photos Woodnote

08.05.12

A couple more photos from Canada and a shot of us working on a recent renaissance-themed juicing story for volume four.

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Stephanie Di Giusto's films for Vanessa Bruno (incredible - watch them all)
"Be Linen" by Benoit Milot (has me dreaming about a linen company)

Photos Leo Patrone & Parker Fitzgerald

07.22.12

We made a quick trip up to Canada to fill gaps in our winter issue. It was busy but we pulled off the road each time we saw a swimmable lake for a quick break. The water up there doesn't feel like summer (muscles seize and it's hard to breathe) but I guess I'll take what I can get.

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Sam Owens
Fishmonger Hansen & Lydersen
Tarafirma

Photo Leo Patrone

07.14.12

Summer Film Sea Chant

06.07.12

"For the love of pie" series over at Nikole's blog Forty-sixth at Grace.
Baking apple pie. Pretending to read the recipe from the wrong cookbook.

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Collin Hughes
Step inside with..

06.06.12

Our Kinfolk dinner for May was at Terrain near Philadelphia. I'd heard a lot about this place before we arrived, and all the hype was well deserved.

Photo Parker Fitzgerald

05.18.12

We're stepping away from our computers and home for an eccentric weekend including a UFO Festival tomorrow, Alien Parade, and an elaborate alien-themed barbecue with our family. Strange tradition, right? Oh, and Katie just discovered Rihanna this morning which has proven to be an extra kooky way to begin this already abnormal weekend. Wish I had a photo of the dance moves she has been busting out while she cleans...

Food we've been enjoying:

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German Pancake, David Eyres

Everyday Chocolate Cake, Smitten Kitchen

Lentil and Beet Salad, Pennyweight

05.15.12

Shooting in the trees. We had a full house a couple weeks ago with friends helping us work on a new manifesto film (old here).

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The upside of being an introvert
Stay married for 15 years

Photo Carissa Gallo

05.07.12

It was a baking weekend over here. Bread, tart, rolls and scones. We decided to try out a few of your suggestions (thanks, by the way) and mix up our work routine. I'll share some updates here as we go, so I've warned you in case this starts to feel like a work-life balance therapy group.

I'd work for an hour or two, then get up to knead dough for 10 mins, work for another hour then get up and shape the bread, back to work, etc. I'd usually hate those lengthy recipes, but they're awesome for a keeping me in a routine and kept me feeling productive with some tangible results in between emails and computer work. Baking to stay focused - who would have known?

Photo Parker Fitzgerald

05.03.12

Katie and I each collected ten favorite songs and mashed them together for a light, cheery playlist. The sounds of spring, to us anyway.

Download spring playlist here.

1. Sugo Tokumaru - Rum Hee
2. Kings of Convenience - Me in You
3. The Paper Kites - Woodland
4. Joni Mitchell - Chelsea Morning
5. James Wincent McMorrow - If I Had a Boat
6. Fiona Apple, The Punch Bros & Jon Brion - So Sleepy
7. Joanna Newsome - Sprout and the Bean
8. The Paper Kites - Featherstone
9. Obra Squara - Stay Around
10. Midlake - In the Ground
11. Kings of Convenience - Mrs. Cold
12. Phoenix - Rome
13. Bon Iver - Come Talk to Me
14. Jonsi - Sinking Friendships
15. Small Sur - The Sand
16. Mountain Man - Sewee Sewee
17. Cat Stevens - If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
18. Johnn Flynn & Laura Marling - The Water
19. Emiliana Torrini - Sunny Road
20. Aloe Blacc - I Need a Dollar

Did we miss any of your favorites?

Photo Parker Fitzgerald

05.01.12

We just got home from a trip to San Francisco for our Kinfolk brunch. It was relaxing this time (basking in the sun at Victoria's house, who was nice enough to let us stay there), mostly because of all the local help we had putting the event together. It blows me away how willing and eager people are to contribute to these dinners for nothing in return. I'm still trying to figure it out.

San Francisco favorites from this visit...
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Gracias Madre - vegan mexican food, there is no way to make this sound good but please trust me.
Delphina - thin crust pizza like it should be.
Batter Bakery - they made sea salt and lavender short bread cookies for the brunch that were incredible.
Paxton Gate - bones, air plants, taxidermy, skeletons, science beakers - collector's paradise.

Photo Laura. More from the brunch here.

155 Comments

04.23.12

"Because we're all so busy in our day-to-day, it can be difficult to stop, take a step back, and really evaluate where we want our brand to go. But take the time to do so. Figure out what makes you different, how you can be strategically authentic, and use it to build a stronger brand and connect with customers on a deeper level. It's not enough to simply sell a great product anymore; you also need to provide a great experience. Your customers need to associate you with something way larger than just the dishwasher they bought from you if you want to develop a sense of loyalty." - Lisa Barone

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Quick trip to Canada this last weekend
We're addicted to these morning scones: recipe 1 & 2

Photo Parker Fitzgerald while he was staying with us last week.

9 Comments

03.21.12

Does anyone have a good routine for keeping days balanced? Seems like a common question -- how to balance work with leisure, online with offline, and managing time properly to get things done. I won't ramble about it here, but it has been on my mind a lot lately.

A few things I've been enjoying..

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Urnatur

Edits Quarterly

Flight of the Frenchies

Unplugged in Newkirk

03.09.12

The coastal oregon fog will never get old.

01.01.12

Andrew, Carissa, and Rinah came to visit.

12.21.11

Yes, we change our plans often.

What seems fickle feels just fine to us.

We've been learning to roll with the punches and go with what feels right.

Lately, that meant leaving a career path I thought (past tense) was right for me, and moving from a place we enjoyed to a place we'd like to call home for a long time.

We've settle just outside Portland, Oregon on the coast and we've both commented on how the ocean has somehow energized us. Like we've been gone for months, living in someone else's beautiful and inspiring space that just didn't have the same effect as our own. It's hard to explain.

Feels like we're back to something we've been missing.

Photos by Laura Dart

07.12.11

Our first batch is done.

Everything looks so much better in print, doesn't it?

I'm off to New York tomorrow for the next ten days (work training) and couldn't be more excited to spend some time with friends in the area.

06.07.11

I love how this turned out.

I've been so impressed with the quality of work coming in for this project. It really makes the whole process a lot of fun. Thanks for all the support, by the way.

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anothersomething

hunt/gather with brian ferry

seaweed (thanks again, andrew)

06.29.11

I've really enjoyed working with such a fun and creative group as we put things together for Kinfolk next month. This was a promo shoot last weekend over in DC that we're excited to share this Friday.

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photos by carissa gallo

06.26.11

Sunday morning.

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kinfolk is off to print

everything is a remix video on creativity. Dry and brilliant. Thanks Andrew

bon iver - calgary and the rest of his new album

tartine bread documentary - reading his book right now, and couldn't be more inspired to master the art of bread making.

06.14.11

We've been visiting friends for a few days on Lake Coeur d'Alene.

It's our first time here and we love it!

Back on the road soon for a wedding in Oregon... Does anyone have any good road trip songs?

05.30.11

Our sunday drive to the great salt lake.

05.26.11

So we moved to Salt Lake City.

Just as we were packing our bags and finalizing our move to the UK for grad school I got a call from a company I interviewed with over 6 months ago. They offered me a full-time position here and we decided it would be a smart choice to take it.

Anyway, we got that phone call and now we're in Salt Lake City playing house and getting settled in here. I'll admit that it feels pretty good to have a place and settled in for a bit.

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Photo from our road trip: Canada to Utah.

Our cheesy idea of a "rest stop" was to pull over at interesting fields every couple hours and make the passenger do sprints while the driver shot photos.

05.21.11

We left Oregon a few weeks ago via train to Canada and then moved on last weekend for Minnesota, Connecticut, and New York. Our good friend Michael met up with us in Brooklyn to give us the grand tour.

We loved it.

Our plans for this year have completely changed, by the way. I should really just stop sharing updates because it seems that as soon as we get confident with our plans there's always an unexpected curveball to throw us in a different direction. This latest change was least expected, but we're thrilled about it.

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photo from a SIFE conference in Minneapolis last week

04.29.11

This break has been good for us. Frankly, I feel like a 60 yr old retired man keeping busy with yard work, reading, antique shopping, refinishing an arm chair, wooden high chair, and most recently this sail boat. I love visiting family, but if I don't keep busy with projects my mind gets congested quickly.

Have a great weekend.

04.25.11

We love Oregon.

It usually rains while we visit, but I still consider it one of the best places to live.

Orchards, vineyards, fields of tulips and crisp spring air right now.

04.18.11

I swear Katie rolls her eyes every time we leave an antique or thrift store.

While I'll admit to a few poor choices in the past, this bull horn was definitely a good find.

Thanks for the chocolate, andrew & carissa.

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changing education paradigms, illustrated

04.15.11

We left Hawaii this week, and it was much harder than we expected. Katie and I met there, set up our first little apartment, made friends whom we now consider family, and just graduated last weekend. We finally confirmed our plans for this next year. We'll be bouncing around a lot this summer to visit family, then moving to Lancaster England in August for graduate school. It would have made our planning much easier had we heard back from that school earlier. The program is exactly what I want, and both the school and location are great.

So while we're torn up about leaving friends and memories (cheesy? maybe) in Hawaii, we're also ready for some new adventures. It's time, again, to push ourselves out of our comfortable bubble to enjoy new areas, cultures, and the company of new friends.

We'll be in Oregon for now.

04.07.11

The Tuvalu documentary is finished! Of course I'm biased, but if you have 9 free minutes I recommend you watch it and learn about our project and the people of Tuvalu. This will be a special memory of mine for awhile.

(Thanks Spencer)

04.04.11

These kids are a couple of our favorite people in the neighborhood (along with their parents, and these two from before).

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unquestionable british tradition (interesting shoot)

03.22.11

Katie with a new haircut, and more photos of relatives.

Does anyone have any inside information on moving to and living in the U.K.? Our plans for the fall (grad school) seem to be pulling us in that direction, Wales specifically, and we have our feelers out for any tips and advice for living over there for the next year or two.

We'd appreciate any thoughts

03.17.11

a businessman was at the pier of the small Tuvaluan island when a boat with a fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were fish. The businessman complimented the Tuvaluan on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied only a little while.

The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Tuvaluan said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of you time? The Tuvaluan fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife, Puna, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitars with my friends; I have a full and busy life."

The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. You could sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would need to leave this small fishing island-nation and move to Australia, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."

The Tuvaluan fisherman asked, "But how long will this all take? To which the businessman replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then, sir? The businessman laughed and said, "Thats the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and make millions, flying around on your own corporate jet!" "Millions, sir? Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing island where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a nap with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"

-Author Unknown

Tuvalu is incredible. The families are united and they love their community and island. We thought they needed business skills to emigrate for jobs, and they agreed. After observing the closeness of their island-family and watching grandparents, aunts, mothers, fathers, cousins, brothers and sisters peacefully fall asleep together on floor mats every night, I'll admit that I questioned our purpose in being there. They live in poverty but have so much.

03.10.11

those might be my three favorite photos

katie and i have kept them up in our living room since we got them in the mail

they're my grandparents when they were younger.

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incredible videos

spring, gnarly bay (thanks clark)

send it sistah high line

tuvalu trailer (from our trip last week, via spencer)

03.05.11

Last night I got back from a week-long service trip to the tiny country Tuvalu.

The island is the fourth smallest country in the world (10 sq. miles!) and the people are dealing with a lot of economic problems because of their size, the rising sea level, and emigration. Our team was there to work with the schools and government, offering entrepreneurship workshops while also delivering books, computers, and other supplies. My specific job was to collaborate with the crafters in both Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands to develop products which will be sold to a retailer on the mainland.

I plan to share more photos soon - not a bad place to visit, right?

02.21.11

katie and i graduate in april so we're dealing with the stress of making our next big decision. I assume it's tough for most people around this time, right? Deciding where to live, whether to take a job or continue with grad school, overseas or the mainland, living closer to family, and more.

we're confident that we will end up happy with our decision, but it's a messy process.

our days here in hawaii are limited, that's for sure, so we're making the best of the last stretch.

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thank you, anja, for sharing your beautiful postcards.

(please bear with the newly installed comment system if there are issues!

we wanted something that made it easier for both katie and me to respond to comments here..)