Pretty Bird

Anna Beard — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:47:16 -0800

Amsterdam, 2012

Okay, so its not Wednesday. For some reason, this didn't post on Wednesday, so I'm going to just pretend it did and leave it at that. Ciao! Anna

Anna Beard — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:46:00 -0800

Music: While I'm at the gym

Composer: Tobias Picker

Food: Alexandra's Kitchen

Blog: Lace and Tea

Steal: When in London...

Want: for cabaret of course. :-)

Reading: A favorite love story (Tender is the Night)

Making: Could do this for any continent!

This: Possibilities

Heart: Emilie from Paris

I have the great pleasure of visiting a sweet friend in London for the rest of the week, so pardon my absence while I explore a place I've always longed to go, but never had the chance. I'm feeling a bit overcome with blessing right now. See you next week!! Ciao! Anna

Anna Beard — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:05:00 -0800

One of my favorite places in Turkey so far is Elysee Belvedere. A little B&B tucked away in the village hills of Goreme. The proprietor is apparently friends with a great deal of European expats which can be found on the rooftop most evenings over the summer and fall months. On my most recent trip, I had the fortune of getting to know a few of them and its one of the best experiences I can think of - connecting with people from other parts of the world. If you ever have a chance to visit Cappadoccia, I highly recommend this place. Have a beautiful week, all! Ciao! Anna

Anna Beard — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:21:00 -0800

I've been listening all week, you should to. Ciao! Anna

Anna Beard — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:07:00 -0800

I'm pressed for time this week! So, I'm going to cheat and give you a little link to my pinterest page. Or, you can just click on the left sidebar link. <---- These are my favorites in many spaces. Oh! And, just so you know. I've not scraped the blogroll, it just moved to the sidebar under 'Otherwhere' :-) Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend! Ciao! Anna

Anna Beard — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:55:16 -0800

A set of Holga prints from a very old spool of film. Light leaks and all. Circa summer last year on our trip to Florida. I sent off a few rolls of film for development including a lomography roll that I was dying to try out. We'll see if its as great as I was hoping. (Most of them are from Germany, so I can't wait!) I hope this week has been lovely for you all. Ciao! Anna

Anna Beard — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:16:05 -0800

Music: Newest Interpol Album

Composer: Lots of Yann this week

Food: What Katie Ate

Blog: Oh Happy Day

Steal: UNG drill mirror

Want: Birdcage Lamp

Reading: Count me the Stars

Making: Mason Jar Herb garden

This: Madwell outfit and H&M tunic

Heart: IJM

Anna Beard — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:17:45 -0800

In Adana, there is a placed We love to go for Turkish Delight and all sorts of Turkish confections. The people working there are wonderfully hospitable. When I take the boys, they get spoiled with being offered sample after sample. Its truly a wonderful experience. One of my favorite things is watching them cut the long rolls or make the squares...its such a work of art. I love those moments of beauty that really make life feel so rich.

Speaking of, I'm starting something a bit new for me...blogging more regularly. I'm not a creature of routine or habit, so its something I'm looking forward to. I've also decided to pull away from the typical post-new years eve tradition and not post any resolutions...I don't make those because it seems I'm doing things like that all the time. Did any of you see the movie "I don't know how she does it?" (Sorry, I just love Sarah Jessica Parker - a true New Yorker). In that movie, she lays in bed doing 'the list'...a very scrambled collage of all the things she has swirling in her head. I do that...constantly. I make lists of favorite places, sites, music, wine, links, labels, workouts, cities - you name it...if its an interest, I have a list. Its driven by a very natural and intense urge to network and dive in fully. I come by it honestly, because I can't remember being without that zest and passion. I love that in life, there are so many amazing and fascinating things to discover and don't want to forget things once I do discover them in the event I may someday need to remember. Okay, now you are picturing my house, right? Packed with nick-nacks, stuffed cabinets and closets....all the surfaces completely covered? Hmm, no. I'm not a pack rat. I've been called an 'information pack rat' but thank GOD that isn't something that shows up on the counter tops or corners of your home! I'm sure these lists would be better stored on laptops, ipods and blackberries, but I prefer journals and neatly organized business card files. (Well, I do have a rather extensive bookmark network on my computer....and files and files of images and music...lets not start.)

What I mean is there is something about organic, i-can-touch-it-with-my-hand organization that I can't let go of. Sort of like I can't trade in my books for a, what are they...'kindle' (sorry-yuck!), or pour over a favorite magazine during a bath. Try doing that with your favorite online magazine IN the bath on something like a blackberry - whoops, just dropped 250 dollars into the water! I would rather get the pages of a $4 magazine wet. And, I would rather feel paper. I'm just clearly not ultra hip, I guess. Don't get me wrong, I love Ipods (I can't live without my clip on at the gym) and Iphones, etc, but I'm just so tied to organic. My heart sings when I walk into a room where there is a working victrola vs an ipod docking station (hey, I love those, too!) and when I see a fellow photographer winding up his roll of film instead of photo-shopping images from his digital (not slamming digital, its are great!)...its just how I'm wired. I feel more artful and awake doing something organic. That being said, I'm trying to catalog something new (for me) here....bringing my organic life into this space - good music, great photos...maybe a 'diy' or two I've picked up. Who knows, maybe I'll start posting some music I've been working on. Either way, its something new and happens to fall after New years...imagine, its almost close to a resolution even for this girl. Have a lovely next few days....Ciao, Anna.

Anna Beard — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:29:50 -0800

This week I was reminded that life is very, very fragile. Its not just a cliche. The short is that my son had an accident and had to visit the ER. It turned out he just needed some serious stitching up, but all is well. It made me take serious inventory of my fast pace and how I can't miss a moment that could be cherished instead of passed up because of a busy schedule. I think the word is savor. :) I want to savor this season and all the come after. To pull my kids close and genuinely make the world wait while I give more of my heart to my relationships. I love this season...there is something about a blanket of white on the earth that makes me feel like pulling out big chunky sweaters and sipping good tea. I don't live around snow anymore, but this week we pack up and leave for Germany to celebrate Christmas in a place where it seems to have been born. "Weihnachtsmarkt" or Christmas Markets, are spread out all over the country and all offering something unique and different. It will be nice to feel the cold of winter on my cheeks and see snowfall. And more, it will be wonderful to be there under the sparkling lights with my son, who I can't imagine life without.

I wish you all to have savored moments of warmth and thankfullness this season...And, to lighten up, my holiday 'what I wish I was wearing to Germany' wishlist. Enjoy! Ciao...Anna

1. Le Labo frangrance in Chant de Bols (very deep and spicey) 2. Rose Quartz necklace from Dinosaur Toes 3. Rally flat knee boot by Betsey Johnson 4. Buttoned Berm pullover - Anthropologie 5. Longing for snow gloves - mod cloth 6. Hobo- Kenneth Cole 7. Puik Hand knit on etsy 8. Skinny Cord by MadeWell 9. Ruffled Tapestry Coat - anthropologie)

Anna Beard — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:42:45 -0800

Happy post holidays! Wait for it........I joined Pinterest recently. Do they go hand in hand? Not really. I have, however, found a few things to make for the Christmas season via that website and its pretty cool. I can't decide, as a photographer, what I think about it. Repinning someone's work without their knowledge even though linking them...hmmm. Then again, many photographers use this and it has me a bit confused on web sensitivity. Any thoughts? Either way, I may be here for a while....its fun! And, helps me catalog things I don't want to forget. Inpiration abounds!

Now, how quickly the holidays have come upon us and how quickly they will go. I'm reminded of the first time my son saw snowfall as a toddler - looking out the window of my living room, touching the glass with his fingertips. He was silent. We walked outside and as the snow fell on his hands, he simply looked up, closed his eyes and smiled. No matter where I'm at, what I'm doing, who I'm with...how wonderful or stressful my moment is, I wish for that heart to be behind it all. And, I am savoring every moment of this holiday season, even though its so far away from home. Enjoy the moments. I hope you've all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ciao...Anna