Author: cdelacuadra

Always a reader. Sometimes a traveler. Usually an archivist. Often a writer. Frequently a musician. Constantly a student of life.

Blue and rust

~ cdelacuadra ~ Leave a comment

Some time ago I helped a friend pull together some inspiration for his new studio apartment.  I love the color combo even though it is a bit of a departure from my own home — it is fun and eclectic with the blues and rusty tan hues in a mix of patterns.

 

For a cleaner, more streamlined vibe, just swap out the pillows and the rug.  There is still a lot of visual interest with the combination of textures and materials, but less pattern and a tighter color palette give it a quieter overall feel.

 

Which do you prefer?  Either way, that sofa and leather chair have my heart!

dhurrie tassel pillow  blue velvet pillow  rust embroidered pillow  turquoise medallion rug
leather accent chair  faux sheepskin  copper end table  live edge wood tray  marbled glass lamp  acrylic nesting tables  faux snake plant  midcentury sofa
rust pillow  ink wash pillow  knotted pillow  erased lines rug

 

On goals…

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Me and my scuffed sneakers on a gorgeous tile floor — Barcelona, Spain.

A chat with a friend last month got me thinking long and hard about goals.  Goals — those things we had all throughout our growing-up years, shimmering ahead to work towards, keeping us moving ever-forward.  A week or so prior to our talk, I realized that hovering here in my mid-thirties, goals are conspicuously absent.  I mean, I have the vague desire to travel as much as possible, to succeed at work, to surround myself with people I love and trust… but those big goals I had outlining my paths over the last three+ decades?  Conspicuously.  Absent.

This worried me.  My school years were full of both immediate and longer-term goals.  Learn to ride my bike.  Get straight A’s.  Become section leader in band.  Pass that year’s Advanced Placement exams.  Get into a good college.  Graduate with honors.  Get into a good grad school.  Get an advanced degree.  Get married after getting my degree.  Find a job.  Find a job in my field.  Find a full-time job in my field that would allow me to do the very adult thing of saving for retirement.  The realization that I didn’t have an immediate goal hovering out there… bothered me.  I wondered if I had gotten less ambitious.  If perhaps I was less driven than I had been.  That possibility rattled me as much as the lack of a goal, to be honest.  Being smart and driven were things I felt were part of my identity.  If I wasn’t, then what was I?

(To be clear, I do have some “goals” in the back of my mind, but they are the kind that are on autopilot.  Pay off my student loans in X number of years.  Keep saving for retirement, that pie-in-the-sky happening that may not ever materialize for my generation.)

As my friend and I chatted, she reminded me of the plethora of things I am doing right now that I should be proud of, and I am so immensely grateful for her reminders.  It helped me find a little perspective, but it also made me wonder: are we focusing so hard on setting goals that we are missing the joys of those we have successfully achieved?  To be honest, I am not sure I ever have stopped to enjoy mine.  What a sobering realization.

This past weekend I had very little desire to do much of anything.  I felt guilty napping the hours away, but a small part of me did realize that there is a season for everything, and there is an ebb and flow to life.  We need idle times to give productive ones their verve and satisfaction, just like we need seasons of striving and seasons of reaping what we’ve sown.  That seems to be my big lesson recently in terms of goals: that I can be a person rather than a perpetual motion machine, and that I can (and should!) enjoy the fruits of my labors from time to time.  Otherwise, what is the point?

Fates, Furies, and Florida

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A couple weeks ago I had the immense pleasure of attending a book talk by none other than the amazing Lauren Groff.  She was at Vroman’s in Pasadena promoting her new book Florida with grace, poise, and temporary tattoos (!) for all of us in attendance.  As a huge fan of both Fates and Furies and Arcadia, it was a delight to hear her speak about reading, writing, politics, and a love/hate relationship with Guy de Maupassant.

Groff treated us first to a reading from the first story in Florida, “Ghosts and Empties,” followed by a refreshingly direct Q&A session.  When asked about a writer’s responsibility and political engagement, for example, Groff deftly explained how she abandoned a recently finished draft just after the 2016 U.S. elections — that it was a kind of book we could no longer afford to indulge in.  She does not write overtly politically, but rather tries to work sideways to get to the things that really matter right now.  She finds she is writing less and throwing more away, as I am, so I found immense comfort in her assurances that it is okay to admit we are struggling as writers in the current environment.  I was likewise pleased by her encouragement to spread empathy and be kind to each other.

Groff’s writing shows great consideration for words, so I was intrigued but not surprised by her ability with languages.  She spent time in France as a teenager where she discovered and loved the work of Guy de Maupassant, that master of the short story form, before beginning to hate him as an avatar of toxic masculinity.  To this day she tries to read in French at least once a week, and admits that French has deeply affected her English.  She self-deprecatingly says she is terrible at writing in French, although she she’d love to do so.  Or Italian.  Or German.  (I find written German to be deeply satisfying from a grammatical perspective because I am such a nerd, so I can relate.)

An anecdote about reading to her son, and how it created a special bond between them, really resonated with me.  It is amazing how reading together gives you the same points of reference.  You share and can understand each others’ canon.  It crystallized for me how much I enjoy reading the same books as a close friend, or watching a show with someone dear.  It enhances your ability to speak each others’ language.

As far as her new work, Florida is where she calls home, so the stories she weaves in this collection are steeped in a sense of place all the more authentically.  The women she writes about are her but not her.  And while she lives with her novels every day, her short stories orbit in the back of her mind until they demand to be written.  Personally, I can’t wait to see what comes out of her orbit.

Thank you, Lauren Groff!

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I ❤️ Zuri

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zuri_SOKO_production
Zuri is working to create sustainable livelihoods with a focus on women’s empowerment.

Next up is a maker a could not be more tickled about: meet Zuri, a company striving to embody good in everything they do.  Zuri offers a streamlined product lineup that includes dresses, shirts, bags and baskets that come in tons of amazing prints and colorways, all inspired by kitenge and ankara, the traditional wax print fabrics of east and west Africa.

“The history of African textiles is a global story, both ancient and modern, and a powerful symbol of the changing tides of culture, politics, and trade. While we are continuously inspired by the beauty of these textiles, we’re also motivated by the history that they represent and the opportunity they offer to create social and economic change.”

shopzuri.com

Founders Sandra and Ashleigh spent a combined 8 years in Nairobi, and saw firsthand how both corruption and aid can distort markets.  It is their hope “that by paying fair wages, sourcing locally, and making a product that our customers truly love, we will be helping to support a long-term, sustainable economy in Kenya.”  Zuri’s production partners SOKO and Tushone in Kenya are focused on ethical and sustainable practices, and also on building and supporting communities.  Their clothing is wax-print cotton, and their totes are crafted with all-natural fiber Kenyan sisal.

Not only do they do well by their production and suppliers, but they offer a more inclusive size range than many brands out there.  Many of their items are available from size XS through to 2XL, with styles that are made to flatter most body types.  Sustainable, ethically produced, community-oriented, AND size-inclusive?  I am sold.

I purchased the Nuclear print dress and loved it so much that I purchased the Trivial Pursuit version a few weeks later.  I don’t think I have ever gotten as many compliments on a single item of clothing.  And as a delightful extra touch, each was shipped in a surprise printed tote bag.

Their name is inspired by the Swahili word mzuri, which means good.  And their tagline?  “Look good. Feel good. Do good.”  I feel great in my dresses, and I feel even better knowing what a difference you are making in so many people’s lives.  Bravo, Zuri!

Via shopzuri.com

Just for fun

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Recently I stumbled upon quite possibly my new favorite sandals.  They are fuzzy and striped and “a lot of look,” but I love them both in spite of and because they are zany and oh-so-much-fun.  Furry teal sandals?  Um, yes and please.  Thanks, Prada — you’ve officially made me smile every time I look down at my feet.

(similar)

Trauma and aid

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I am full of anger and despair today, moved to tears by the inhumane policies that are tearing children from their parent sat the U.S. border.  Men and women are fleeing fatally dangerous gang violence in their home countries to seek asylum in our country, braving dangerous journeys that seem better that sure death or sexual slavery.  And yet, they are unknowingly walking into more cruelty, and it is breaking my heart.  These families do not have up-to-the-minute news coverage to know what is awaiting them.  They do not know that their children will be wrenched from them and left in “detention centers” where they will be refused even the most basic of human comfort.  They only know they will die if they stay in their home country.

Entering at the legal ports of entry is becoming difficult or impossible. U.S. border protection agents are physically preventing families from entering the country. They’re telling people at the borders that there is no room. “They are systematically violating U.S. and international law by blocking immigrants at international ports of entry on the southern border from entering the country so they can claim asylum,” writes Texas-based immigration writer Debbie Nathan.

Plus, it’s important to note that agents are also separating some families at the legal ports of entry. “They are turning people away at the bridges, they are holding people indefinitely in prisons, they are neglecting medical needs, and yes, they are even separating parents and children at the ports (especially dads and their kids),” says Allegra Love, director of Santa Fe Dreamers Project.

via Cup of Jo

People cannot seek asylum if they are prevented from entering through legal points of entry.  The argument that these families are “illegals” only serves to dehumanize them enough that this cruelty seems justifiable.  But these are human beings — with dreams and rights and families.  Crossing the border illegally is a misdemeanor, so unless you think petty theft or jaywalking also warrant confiscation of one’s children and what amounts to a death sentence, I’d urge you to think again. There is no law that requires families to be separated.  This is a Trump administration policy.

Here are some ways to help.  These families need aid, they need hope, and they need justice.

Donate or volunteer with RAICES

Support kids at the border with ActBlue

Support the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights as they champion unaccompanied immigrant children

Find a demonstration or protest near you with Families Belong Together

photo via John Moore

Lighter

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Yesterday, inspired by all those brave souls who have KonMari’ed their way to organized bliss, I decided to tackle my closet and really declutter.  Every so often I will do a cursory purge of worn or ill-fitting items, but this time, I was determined to embrace the “spark joy” mantra and really go at it.  While I didn’t physically pull everything out of my closet and drawers the way Marie Kondo advises, I did review everything in my closet, drawers, and storage — all of my clothes, shoes, and (perhaps most overwhelmingly) handbags.  I was much more ruthless discerning than in the past, and a lot more items wound up on the bed as a result.  The leather jacket I wore not-quite-often-enough that is a little too snug now?  Out.  The dress that proved to be way too fiddle-y to wear a bra under?  Out.  The bag(s) I bought because they were pretty and on sale even though they were a little too small for everyday?  Out.  The cute shoes that I figured would “break in nicely” that hurt my feet all whopping two times I wore them?  Out!  I realized that many items I was holding onto were things I wouldn’t use much, if ever, but that I couldn’t get my mind around being a sunk cost.  And I had no idea how much lighter I’d feel until I got into bed last night!  Freshly laundered sheets, a no-longer-crammed closet, a successful drop off to charity, and many tiny psychological weights lifted?  Yes to all of the above.

img_6864I’m hoping I’ll get more use out of the things I do love now that I can find them easier.  This also reaffirmed the concerted effort I’ve been making to only buy things I love rather than getting an item because it is a good deal (and boy, do I love a good deal — just ask my mom!).  Plus, it feels good to know that some things will be going to friends and family who will get use and enjoyment out of them — certainly more I would having them take up space in our little house.  Perhaps I was a little late to the gate on spring cleaning, but it sure feels good to start my summer with a clean(er) slate.

Sources: green lamps, black shades, and gold pillow from Target; Klimt canvas from Ikea, upholstered bed frame from Cost Plus World Market, patterned pillow from Cupcakes and Cashmere Home, linens from Matteo LA