Daily musings of the creative team of Jack & Ella Designs. Showcasing the talent of other Etsy designers, as well as life according to us. - Enjoy!

http://jackandella.etsy.com

Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts

Monday, August 22, 2011

A Foggy Day




The Journey, 12 x 8 print



In the Fog
by Giovanni Pascoli

I stared into the valley: it was gone—
wholly submerged! A vast flat sea remained,
gray, with no waves, no beaches; all was one.


And here and there I noticed, when I strained,
the alien clamoring of small, wild voices:
birds that had lost their way in that vain land.


And high above, the skeletons of beeches,
as if suspended, and the reveries
of ruins and of the hermit’s hidden reaches.


And a dog yelped and yelped, as if in fear,
I knew not where nor why. Perhaps he heard
strange footsteps, neither far away nor near—


echoing footsteps, neither slow nor quick,
alternating, eternal. Down I stared,
but I saw nothing, no one, looking back.


The reveries of ruins asked: “Will no
one come?” The skeletons of trees inquired:
“And who are you, forever on the go?”


I may have seen a shadow then, an errant
shadow, bearing a bundle on its head.
I saw—and no more saw, in the same instant.


All I could hear were the uneasy screeches
of the lost birds, the yelping of the stray,
and, on that sea that lacked both waves and beaches,


the footsteps, neither near nor far away.



The view from my office window this morning was of the remaining marine layer of fog over downtown San Jose. It seems like it should be fall or even bordering winter here - certainly not what you'd expect for the middle of August. We've had a very unusual summer if you could even call it that - we've had very few days of real California summer weather (which is fine with me, as anyone can tell you, I hate the heat and burn in the sun).


We are apparently due for a minor heat wave toward the end of this week. In the meantime, enjoy these beautiful offerings from our friends at Etsy inspired by the beauty of fog:



Potion Bottle: Swamp Fog
by NchantedForests

Roses in a fog
by 0juracoquet



Ink And Snow-Fine Art Photo Locket Necklace-Grande Edition

by heartworksbylori



The Fog - 8x12 Original Signed Fine Art Photograph

by OreadImages



Lost - 20 x 30 print

by LabyrinthineNature



Balmoral Fog Silky Sock Yarn

by TheKnittedLoop



Moonstone Hoop Earrings





And of course, I would be remiss if I bypassed the opportunity to illustrate fog's beauty on our most beloved (and fog-soaked) of landmarks:



Golden Gate in the Fog


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

How lovely to be a Woman

The Definition of Feminine -- Simple and Sassy Blank Notecards -- Boxed Set of 8

How lovely to be a woman, the wait was well worth while;
How lovely to wear mascara and smile a woman's smile.
How lovely to have a figure, that's round instead of flat;
Whenever you hear boys whistle, you're what they're whistling at.
It's wonderful to feel
the way a woman feels;
It gives you such a glow just to know
You're wearing lipstick and heels!
How lovely to be a woman and have one job to do;
To pick out a boy and train him and then when you are through,
You've made him the man you want him to be!
Life's lovely when you're a woman like me!
How wonderful to know
The things a woman knows;
How marvelous to wait for a date
In simply beautiful clothes!
How lovely to be a woman and change from boys to men,
To go to a fancy nightclub and stay out after ten.
How lovely to be so grown-up and free!
Life's lovely when you're a woman like me!

(Except for when Aunt Flo comes to town, obviously.)

Women are powerful. Women are magnificent. Women are glorious mystical magical people. When you actually stop to think about all the things that women do in their day to day lives without blinking a perfectly coiffed eyelash at, it is truly amazing. The not-as-fair sex has nothing on us!

Celebrate your femininity - all of the items on today's blog are from members of the Etsymom Team. Want to see more? Use the search term "etsymom" on Etsy and behold the magnitude of works that these moms are doin' for themselves!


Garden Fairy Collar / Caplet
by PinkPolishDesign


12k GF Wrapped 3D Cameo Brooch with Two Ladies and a Dove
by rtanza


Ethereal - Original Watercolour Painting
by creativesque


Embrace Self - 3x4 Polaroid Image Transfer ORIGINAL in 8x10 Archival Mat OR 8x10 Enlarged PRINT
by TiffanyTeske


Beauty of Spring

Monday, October 26, 2009

The Food of Love

Goddess with harp Photogaphic Print

“I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.”
George Eliot (1819 - 1880)

I've found lately more and more the need for the solace and soul-centering effect that classical music has on me. Having grown up in a musical family, and spending the majority of my developmental years as an instrumentalist, rather than a singer, I have a fierce love and appreciation for classical music, preferring the styles of music from the late Renaissance, Baroque and Romantic periods.

As we head into the holidays, I will most likely be more and more drawn to the classical CD's on my shelf. Like the sense of smell, music is very strongly linked to my memory, and classical music has the magic of being able to transport me in space and time to a much simpler time in my life. It's a great escape from the day to day frenzy of being a wife, mother, and menagerie owner.

Enjoy these items I found on Etsy using the search term "Classical Music" - I hope they give you a little joy today!

Spirito ring
by pookeh


Mozart - Beautiful Handmade Gallery Wrapped Canvas Print - Large
by fingertipsaint



I heart classical music
by cocoachuchu



Beethoven Amigurumi
by BoobiKitti



A 5th dundundunDUN button (Beethoven)
by beanforest



Etched Classical Parlor Guitar

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Nevermore


Poe's Raven


The Raven
Edgar Allen Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore -
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visiter," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door -
Only this and nothing more."
...

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
...

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, withing the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
...

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming
and the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my sould from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

This poem has always been a favorite of mine - so dark and Sartre-esque. It seems like the worst kind of personal hell to be trapped in that deep of despair with no way out and the very devil himself unwaveringly watching... watching...

(Incidentally, the opening lines of this poem have forever been ruined for me by Blues Traveler. Thanks HEAPS, guys!)

Enjoy these items inspired by Poe and The Raven from our friends at Etsy:

crow graveyard raven photograph
The Raven Clutch in Silk Nevermore by Edgar Allan Poe


Nevermore


RAVEN and POE dark art articulating mechanical paper doll toy ornament


Quothe the Raven.......Laptop Bag
by queenbee55

Edgar Alan Poe Gothic Poetry Necklace
by HeadlessTessDIY

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Days of Wine and Chocolate...


LUMINOUS CHERRY BARK note cards set of 6


Some days, there just aren't enough of either...

(...and that's all I have to say about that.)

Alas, there is no wine in the house, and only M&M's as far as chocolate goes. So I did my own search on Etsy to see if I could find something to give me a "fix."

Somehow, these lovely offerings from our friends at Etsy aren't giving me the heady intoxication I was hoping for, but they sure got my mouth watering - ENJOY!!!


Leather pin/ brooch ChocoRed flower
by VitalTemptation

Burgundy Brown Ruffled Restyled Leather Jacket Size 8 to 10
by stacyleigh



Dark Chocolate Covered Cherry Beaded Handwoven Gold filled Earrings
by PookieandPierre



ORCHIDEA leather bag
by FERUTOBags



Honey Floret - Vintage Steampunk Necklace Copper Enamel Flower
by bionicunicorn




Demi-Sec - champagne citrine, smoky quartz and crimson garnet cascade earrings
by beakee



BITTER CHOCOLATE WITH CHERRY SHORT SCARF
by UnderReconstruction

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Jane Austen Day


Jane's Dames - Mrs. Darcy Bracelet, by jackandella

Jane Austen Day
(with apologies to Oliver Wendell Holmes)
by Annmarie Martin Symons

It chanced to be Jane Austen day
on the Sunday movie station
with Sense and Sensibility,
Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasion.
I abandoned all my housework –
left a sink of dirty dishes
to pine, ah! bitterly I wept –
for a man in knee-length breeches.

I watched him striding ‘cross the glade,
Alas! Too late my birth
for my own Mr. Darcy as portrayed
by that devil, Colin Firth
in a sopping shirt – I nearly died!
Soaked clean through to the stitches
“Take me, take ME!!” I faintly cried
(Those breeches, oh those BREECHES!)

That night I saw him in my dreams –
How changed from on the TV!
The rift of space and time collapsed
to bring my Darcy to me;
That handsome rake was mine, all mine,
no hint of Liz in sight –
and so, alone, sufficed to say
we spent a lovely night.

By morning light, two hundred years
flashed forward in a blink,
and I awoke a modern wife
with dishes in the sink.
But though my fate is here and now
my aching heart still twitches –
and I’ll search for Darcy in my dreams,
my love, in knee-length breeches.


Mr. Darcy (The place where Mr. Darcy proposed to Elizabeth, Stourhead), by marymaephotography



Mr Darcy cross stitch wall art, by thetimeisnow



Jane - an art doll with handmade leatherbound book Pride and Prejiduce, by MothtoaFlameStudio



Jane Austen-1 Inch Button, by Goobeetsa



Mr. Darcy Proposal Mug, by Brookish



Saucy Riding Boots and Mr Darcy Pride and Prejudice Locket Charm Necklace , by hoolala


Jane Austen Wine Charm Set - Jane, Bingley, Lizzy, Darcy, by ripka

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Soon it's gonna rain...

STORM WATCHER, by lewfoster

What a storm, eh folks? You know, I don't think I've seen this much wind and rain since December 14th, 2002. Know how I know the date so precisely? It was the very day of my wedding to my dear husband Mark. The rain and wind started first thing in the morning, and was so furious that it was actually raining sideways. SIDEWAYS. The storm caused such a hardship for some of our family members that they were unable to attend, as they had to travel so far. Some folks barely made it to the end of the ceremony. Our reception hall was without power for most of the afternoon, and they had to set up in the dark (which fouled up the seating arrangements, which is a fiasco I care not to expound upon).

There is an Irish superstition that rain is lucky on your wedding day. If that's the case, then Mark and I should be set for LIFE. Seven years - so far so good!

Days like this make me want to curl up on the couch and watch Merchant Ivory films (hopefully the power will stay on through all this wind!). Enjoy these items from our friends at Etsy, inspired by "rain"...



Why does it always rain on me
by lunetmuse

get off my cloud earring
by sirenjewels



PDF-Amigurumi Happy Weather Mobile Pattern
by AmyGaines

Crystal Rain Earrings


Raindrop - silk-lined clutch bag
by redrubyrose

The day It Rained For Romance Art Deco


RAINY DAY WITH MY UMBRELLA silver necklace
by LycheeKiss