fleet foxes

my favorite things – patterned fabric

introducing a new feature today to this blog  – my favorite things –

every once in a while i’m going to highlight a few of my favorite things in this world with either photos or stories or something along those lines. . .

this week, it’s my love for patterned fabrics.

ever since i was a little kid, i have been a sucker for pattern. i still dream of working in the textile industry and one day creating my own. . . but for now, i can only appreciate the beauty of the ones already created.

i think one of the reasons i am so attracted to regions of the world like india and nepal is because of the fabrics you see every second of everyday. life revolves around color, pattern, and texture there.

. . .

“what do i make of all this texture? what does it mean about the kind of world in which i have been set down? the texture of the world, its filigree and scrollwork, means that there is the possibility for beauty here, a beauty inexhaustible in its complexity, which opens to my knock, which answers in me a call i do not remember calling, and which trains me to the wild and extravagant nature of the spirit i seek.”

– annie dillard

. . .

friends often ask me how/what i pack when i go places, but to be perfectly honest, i’m not the best at packing. i love it, yes, but am i good at it? nah. . . not really.  i over-pack like a person who has never traveled before. i still bring too much stuff with me, but i have learned some things a long the way. . . take, for example, the wonderful sarong/pagne/lungi/whatever you want to call it, pictured in all the images above. this lovely bolt of fabric was a gift to my sister abby’s from her friend catherine. i fell in love instantly with this patterned piece from benin and . . . uh. . . i sorta took it. . . it was the best thing i brought with me while backpacking through europe.

there are endless possibilities and that’s one of the things i admire most about this light weight, rectangular fabric. it serves as a:

1.) a skirt . . . short or long . . . {*see first image. this was taken varanasi. i think that chai in terracotta cups on the ganges river should also be added to my favorite things list too. . . that, or, irish chai. either one. . .}

2.) a scarf {*second image. this one was taken on a trek in nepal. you might need to click the picture and see the image  closer up to actually see the scarf. i just couldn’t bear to crop out the mountains in the image. they look a whole lot better than me! himalayas – another things to add to my favorite things list}

3.) multiple different dresses {*third image. a belted dress on a boat in pokhara, nepal. i don’t remember what i was laughing about in this pic, but i found it the other day and it made me smile. i wish i remembered what it was. . . another sarong/dress/ bathing suit cover-up here}

4.) a towel {basically, it’s the only thing you need with you when you travel}

. . .

+ my what i wore wednesday post coming soon

+ nothing quite like dancing in the fleet foxes’ “liquid laser” show last night.  it was incredible. cold, crazy rain, lightning, thunder + fleet foxes + skipping with hipsters = happy grace. i honestly don’t know if i have ever been more soaked. i was real smart and went to an outdoor concert without a raincoat!{*sad the concert ended early b/c the rain damaged the equipment and the show ended early}. the walkmen were also great live {plus, the walkmen video was filmed in nepal! looks like mustang}.

+ astro homework, here i come! {oohh. also, want to see something crazy? check this out! or any of these from this gallery. ssro uses the same telescopes unc uses in the chilean andes. cool? i can’t get over them!}