A while back I bought a nice little bundle of antique carte de vista photo cards. I love old photographs, but I also love old calligraphy and type--and that's precisely why I got these. So I can stare and then promptly nerd out at the simplistic layouts and lettering designs.
The portraits on the fronts are fine, albeit common and nothing spectacular. But I think the backs are even better. In my studio there's whole pile of them arranged on a board for design inspiration. It's really amazing how many different carte de vista designs there are out there--thousands upon thousands!
And my favorite one is nestled on the wall above my painting table, perfectly at home with other antique ephemera scraps...
Le sigh...Some times I really do feel like I was born in the wrong era.
Fall is my favorite time of year and I just can't get enough of it. Unfortunately, in the Pacific Northwest it lasts a very short few weeks (if that) before the gray and gloom and drizzle of Winter sets in. The trees right now are alive and vibrant in shades of red, magenta, and electric yellow.
All of these pictures were taken earlier in the week right in my own backyard. The Japanese Maple looked like a flaming ball of red leaves, all a'glow even at night.
And the cherry tree was a massive trunk of golden yellow. 
A few windy days later and now most of the leaves are on the ground, leaving me with a view of bare branches for the next 6 months...
In-between admiring the trees, I've been adding bits and bobs to my curiosity cabinet. This small rock crab shell spent an hour at my work table for some TLC and varnishing to fix some cracking issues. He's all better now and living it up with his (dead) shellfish friends on my mantle.
*Collected acorns, the start of a wasp's nest, and a most wonderful twin oyster shell for my "Cabinet of Curiosities"
*Started a new painting and made lots of sketches/plans for a Seattle show I'll have in early January
*Visited my favorite local seashell/natural history museum (I see many days of sketching there in my near future) {above pics from 
*And read like a fool: Wind in the Willows, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Interview With A Vampire, the Twilight saga, Water for Elephants (absolutely *loved* this one!), and am currently enjoying my way through Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
I've become a bit of a picky stickler when it comes to collecting beach agates. They have to be really, really worn down and polished by the waves.
They have to "glow" when you hold them in your palm.
And if they have a rare hue, all the better...
This is my favorite. At first glance, it's weathered and opaque from the rough and tumble of the salty sea. But hold it up to the light, and secret spiderweb red veins are revealed from within.
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