Tag: autumn

Life in Photos

LIFE IN PHOTOS :: October

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Aveline_illuminated_letter_2015Lizard_cactus_2015
Aveline_painted_pumpkin_2015Aveline_window_2015Aveline_pebbles_hand_2015
Aveline_school_denim_2015

“Something I constantly notice is that unembarrassed joy has become rarer. Joy today is increasingly saddled with moral and ideological burdens, so to speak. When someone rejoices, he is afraid of offending against solidarity with the many people who suffer. I don’t have any right to rejoice, people think, in a world where there is so much misery, so much injustice.

I can understand that…But this attitude is nonetheless wrong. The loss of joy does not make the world better — and, conversely, refusing joy for the sake of suffering does not help those who suffer. The contrary is true. The world needs people who discover the good, who rejoice in it and thereby derive the impetus and courage to do good. Joy, then, does not break with solidarity. …This results, then, in the courage to rejoice.” -Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger

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Inspiration

INSPIRATION :: Japanese Fashion Label FRAPBOIS (and a Music Video!)

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Frapbois Japanese Fashion - The Creation Story Music Video with SHUGO TOKUMARU for Frapbois AW13-14 Collection

Maybe I’m a little behind the times, but I’d never heard of the Japanese fashion label FRAPBOIS. Have you? I saw one of their lookbook photos from a previous season and was intrigued. A little googling led me to their website, and this absolutely charming music video — so creative!

And all this wonderful autumnal pattern mixing? Count me in! (I’m purely dreaming…the air conditioner is running around the clock and I’m in a tank-top and shorts. Also, I get cold easily. Shhh, just let me think the grass is greener.)

Japanese fashion lable Frapbois - Autumn Winter 13 14

4 - Japanese fashion label Frapbois - Autumn Winter 13 14 3 - Japanese fashion label Frapbois - Autumn Winter 13 14 Japanese fashion label Frapbois - Autumn Winter 13 14

5 - Japanese fashion label Frapbois - Autumn Winter 13 14

See the entire FRAPBOIS AW13-14 collection here.

Monday's Pretty Things

MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Earthy Autumn Blues

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

There’s a hint of fall in the air. When I say “hint”, I really mean that — a nearly imperceptible nudge that’s just barely recognizable as autumn. This is Florida, after all. There’s no crisp air, no falling leaves, nothing to quiet the around-the-clock hum of the air conditioner. But it’s there on the calendar — September — and today, I’m picturing September in minty blues and earthy browns.

Ferm Living Harlequin Mug via Decorate Shop DKHarlequin Mug from Ferm Living, via DecorateShop.dk

Autumn Field and Mountains, via FjellbyAutumn Field and Mountains, vie Fjellby

Striped Cardigan Pattern on Ravelry by PinneguriStriped Cardigan Pattern, via Pinneguri on Ravelry

Étretat, Haute-Normandie, France via Kostyasticky on FlickrÉtretat, Haute-Normandie, France via Kostyasticky on Flickr

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P.S. In the mood for even more pretty things? Here are some previous installments:

Christmas, Poetry & Words

Published in Babiekins Magazine!

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Christmas Underwraps by Gina Munsey Illustrated by Munieca in Babiekins Magazine Issue 7

November started off with a bang — getting published in Babiekins Magazine! I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of such an amazing issue. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? The blog was recently named to Babble.com’s Top 50 Best Design Blogs for Moms, in the fashion category.

The newest issue is full of wintery goodness. My story, which is on pages 221-224, (Click on Table of Contents, then choose “Christmas Underwraps” from the third column) was delightfully illustrated by the talented Andrea Sardo of Munieca.

I hope you’ll check out this issue — it’s so fun!

November Photo a Day - Monthly Photography Challenge - Pear

Another fun thing this November — the Monthly Photo Challenge is in full swing again! Here’s the full list of November’s photography topics so you can jump in. During the last two challenges — June and August — I only managed 16 and 22 pictures. So maybe the third time’s a charm?

Life in Photos

My baby is ready to run

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Baby in handmade sweater and handmade pixie hat

It’s sweater weather, finally. The air conditioner is switched off, and in the evenings when the windows are open, the curtains float up off the ground.

Aveline is getting reacquainted with hats, long sleeves, socks and shoes.

She is a tropical baby. She barely knows what these things are.

For the longest time yesterday, she curiously pulled at her sleeves. She looks upward, tilting her head back as far as it will go, trying to understand what a hat is. This morning she kept turning the ties of my hoodie over and over in her little hands.

She laughs when we take her outside and the cooler air hits her face. She laughs, and wriggles and squirms and tries to get down out of our arms.

She can’t wait to walk. Even when she stands on her wobbly legs, she doesn’t stand still. She waves her hands wildly and bounces.

She took her first step the other day. I know she’ll take off soon.

I know she’ll start running and when she does, she is not going to stop.

All I can do is I tie the laces on her teeny-tiny Converse a bit tighter, and hold her hands a bit more loosely.

My baby is ready to run.

Life in Photos, Poetry & Words

The day we opened the windows

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

It rained this weekend — all night Friday, all day Saturday, and right on into Sunday afternoon.

Rain. Lots of rain. Five whole inches of rain, to be exact.

Aveline’s favorite Johnny Cash song seemed appropriate.

How high’s the water, mama? How high’s the water, papa?
Hey, come look through the window pane,
The bus is comin’, gonna take us to the train
Looks like we’ll be blessed with a little more rain,
Four feet high and risin’…

But then, on Sunday afternoon, the clouds thinned. The sun shone down on the brand-new little sparkly rivers that had swollen up alongside all the streets … and the unprecedented happened.

There was a cool breeze.
The air conditioner didn’t turn on.
And we opened the windows.

Aveline stormy october silhouette

For this first time in months, the air outside smelled fresh. Everything seemed different, like we’d suddenly traveled thousands of miles and were somehow suddenly home.

Fresh air changes everything.

People who wax poetic about the Sunshine State have never spent a whole summer here, because the endlessly soggy and static season which stretches from March to October is a lot less like summer and a lot more like being steamed alive. There is no crisp moment before the day starts. There is no pause of cool rest after sunset, no quietly sinking lower into a refreshing overnight calm.

But last night, in that pure grey moment after the light slipped behind the ridge across the road, October finally raised its voice and said, “I’m here. Let me wrap you in this cool breeze like a blanket. Let me welcome you to fall.”

And right then, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the open windows, the slate grey sky never seemed so beautiful.

Inspiration

Autumn 2011 Toast UK House + Home Catalogue

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

This year’s autumn house and home collection from Toast UK certainly doesn’t disappoint! I just love the colors and textures. So incredibly cozy!

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Breakfast Coffee and Crochet Pouf

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Wooden Bowls

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Fur and Wool Plaid Throws

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Stack of Blankets

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Pottery Coffee Mugs

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Nordic Socks

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Textiles - Rugs and Pillow

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Crochet Bedspread and Poufs

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Striped Turkish Linens

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Textiles - Stripes and Plaid

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Textiles Hanging - Stripes and Plaid

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Kitchen Glassware

Toast - House + Home Autumn 2011 - Bookshelf and Suitcases
All images via Toast UK.

You might also like to read my other Toast UK round-ups:

Life in Photos, Little Style, Poetry & Words

Fall

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

It’s a brand-new week; a new dawn, with new mercies. I need that reminder this morning. I need to remember that right here, in Florida, is exactly where we are supposed to be.

I need to remember — “You saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.” (Deut 1:31)

And I need to remember that He never stops leading us. This is not the end of the story (it never is!) He leads us to the green pastures, by the still waters, through shadowy valleys…

Florida feels surreal, sometimes. It feels like another dimension, like there’s no point of reference for me to really grasp the passage of time. I think I feel this especially acutely this time of year, when I the seasons begin to turn every place except here.

I know Fall is descending gently upon the California coast, like it does every September. I know the nights are slowly getting cooler, and I know a leaf or two is now tinged crimson around the edges. I know what it’s like to watch the first raindrops dance down across the dusty Sacramento valley.

I know this, but here, the southern sky has not changed in months. September’s sky sweeps across the canvas above the same now as it did in April, and every day in between the air has been swollen with moisture, spilled over from rain-soaked clouds. Always it’s hot, always it’s humid, and always the temperature of dusk and dawn are indistinguishable from day.

Last night, as a wave of homesickness washed over me and I just wanted to be home, I asked God for peace. God reminded me of Abraham’s sojourning life. God reminded me that no matter what — Egypt, the Red Sea, the wilderness, the promised land, no matter what — He’s always there, in that pillar of fire.

And so here, now, in this new (humid, hot) morning, I know. He’s here. And I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Aveline wearing Reggie White jersey

Aveline wearing Packer clothes - Tie Dyed Onesie

Photos: Aveline learning about a very important Fall tradition. She wore the hat & jersey just so I could snap a photo of her wearing it…then she started to sweat, so I took it off ;-)