A place to lay your head

Home is the place you lay your head, relax and seek solace. I love to see the small details of a persons home that hint at an unknown part of their personality - whether it be a plastic cat on a mantelpiece, a post it reminder on the mirror, or a hand knitted collection of coat-hangers hanging in the wardrobe. Such small things make you feel honoured to enter a private space. Here you experience the intimate nooks and crannies, certain ways in which the light falls and of course, the individual smell of a dwelling. My friends apartment smells like chutney, hair shampoo, fabric softener and paint. It's a wonderful smell I associate with her alone, and nowhere else have I sniffed it. Seeing Mieke Ven Verbijlen's photographs is such a charming experience, and allows you to experience the intimacy of many a stranger's home and explore all their nooks and crannies. 

Pretty neat

Leah Reena

Carla Fuentes

Ran Flygenring

I have been trying to draw more recently, and these ladies have been inspiring me greatly. I randomly met Ran in Seoul and she was the loveliest lady ever! Some days it's a challenge to draw, but it's great to be reminded there are little pockets of inspiration everywhere - nasal spray included!

Cheeky dance moves

One of my not so guilty pleasures is watching songs from Indian movies of the 60's and 70's. They're the perfect amount of cheesiness, cheekiness and romance. The boys and the girls never kiss, the dance moves are ridiculous and the fashion is so so good! Dhadkan Har Dil Ki is a perfect example and the good news is there's an abundance floating around on YouTube. 

Nice things for your Monday

Amy Merrick is such an amazing florist.

Joy posted some great Mad Men photos I'd never seen here.

A visit to Jeff Luker's website served as a great reminder to never stop hunting for adventure.

And... the lovely Prudence Lansell shared her wedding shots here. It looked like one hell of a party!

The drawings of Mike Mills

I watched the movie the Beginners in the weekend and it was just so lovely. Written and directed by Mike Mills, it is  based very heavily on his life and his amazing drawings popped up throughout the film. It really was so lovely so if you haven't see it I recommend you do. I was mostly smiling but there was the occasional tear too. Luckily I was by myself, haha. Watching it made me feel a lot better about feeling human and all the mistakes I've made. It's never to late for a new beginning!

AND I didn't even know it but he's married to Miranda July. Dream team!

Hello stranger (s)

A cute wee father daughter moment I saw on the street.

Happy 2012! I'm back, after a rather long blogging break. I took off to Europe and saw London, Lisbon, Paris and Amsterdam. It was amazing, I ate my weight in croissants, snapped pictures, petted cats, fell off bicycles repeatedly, shopped at markets and wandered down many a cobblestoned street. I have lots of film to develop! One of the best things was arriving back in Japan. I realised I really missed it, and was so happy to be back. It feels like home. I hope you had an amazing start to the year! I can't wait to share inspiring things with you in 2012, and see all that inspires you. x

Ku:nel vol 51 part 2

As promised, more images from Ku:nel volume 51. The bottom two are making my mouth salivate!