Yesterday, as I was leaving the taco shop, somebody spotted me in the rain and held their umbrella over my head until we reached the subway station. The whole time, I was like 🥺. I never got their name. Thank you, nameless kind stranger!
In the afternoon, I explored Midtown, visiting Grand Central and Bryant Park and the New York Public Library. The sun was out in full force. A pleasant surprise. The weather reports had anticipated rain for weeks. I was a little startled by how quickly everybody walked. People moved with extreme speed in Grand Central. Extreme. … More Afternoon in Midtown
I’ll admit it. I feel like a princess in Manhattan. I really do. There is simply no way around it. As I sampled the various hotel body washes, I suddenly had an epiphany. Oh, this is what they meant in Parks and Rec. Look at me. I’m even drinking Fiji water. I never drink fancy artesian … More Treat Yo’Self
1. Sometimes I look back and wish I had done something differently. Sometimes it is inconsequential. Other times it is very much consequential. This is a reminder to myself that, in that moment, I made the decision for a reason. I made that choice based on all the information I had had. I should trust … More Several Things
A few days before, I plugged in a Fujifilm recipe reminiscent of Kodak Tri-X 400 film stock. Black and white, heavy contrast, grainy. I went for a walk by the lake. I had walked this very path several years ago. I had brought along my iPad and read The Power of Now while sitting underneath … More Simulating Kodak Tri-X 400 on Fujifilm
Can’t believe I’ll be in New York next week. I felt like going, so now I am. Visiting The Met for an art project seems perfectly justified. Mostly I want to loiter and go to the library and see what Little Italy looks like (do they sell olives?) and maybe visit the Tenement Museum. I … More The One Where My Tarot Cards Told Me To Grow Up
After a wonderfully raucous meeting with my new art group – a story I’ll save for later – I went ice skating with an old friend. I also ended up befriending two little girls who asked if I could teach them to skate. One thought I was 15 years old – turns out I was … More Figure Eight
Looking ahead, I wanted to note some changes to coolpeppermint moving forward. The first big change is that I finally went ahead and upgraded my Wordpress. The pesky ads are gone. And I have a domain: coolpeppermint.blog! … More Changes
Lately I have been feeling like a creative spigot. Unsaid poems are tumbling thru my fingers – sketchbooks are beckoning, whispering. Whereas I once made excuses not to draw, I find myself drawn to art again. I’ve been reading and writing, too. Truth be told, I don’t feel like I ever lost myself. I think … More Stories
It’s a bizarre and paradoxical, growing up. Here I am, looking ten years my junior while planning to attend the university reunion with my best friend, because we’re at that age where our class starts to, like, have reunions. I’ve honestly never been much of a rah-rah reunion person, but I do have more attachment to my alma mater than other institution I’ve been a part of. My best friend will be there and hopefully it will be nostalgic and magical. … More That my Best Friend
I have been reading the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. It’s like Drawing 101, but now I’m putting theory to practice. I would find myself using these art tactics without fully understanding why. Instead of doing all the activities at once, I’m taking my time, absorbing the concepts and following the … More Sketchbook Challenge
I’ve been having those moments where everything goes tunnel vision, the person in front of me is glowing, I’m entering a strange dimension where everything is surreally unreal. It’s the most beautiful space in the world and it lasts only a minute or forty five or however long the conversation goes. … More Until You Aren’t
We took the ferry to Cernobbio, a quiet town on Lake Como. Beforehand, we had a leisurely breakfast overlooking the lake. Every morning, our kind waitress set up the table with an obscene amount of food: fruits, bread, cereals, salami, cheese, croissants, cucumbers, and more. Because it was a small hotel, we felt guilty about … More A Day in Cernobbio, Italy
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We hopped on the RATP metro towards the Eiffel Tower. This was when a loud Frenchman made sweet love to le beau’s left ear, yelling rapid-fire French, so indignant it sounded holy. After 5 solid minutes of this, we got up and moved. 10 stops later, we were at le Eiffel Tower. My first … More The Eiffel A
We spent a cozy, drizzly day at Albert Cuypmarkt, The Netherlands’s largest outdoor market. As we walked towards the market, we lollygagged at Museumplein, eating banana-stuffed oliebollen and drinking macchiatos. We watched the local children shriek and dance in the square. I squinted: there was a rainbow beside Rijksmuesum! As it faded, it began … More Street Finds at Albert Cuypmarkt
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Near the end of the pass, we noticed a herd of cows. We stopped to say hi. One chocolatey cow in particular stared at us. She would dip her head to eat grass, then quickly raise it to watch us. She stared, curious, while the other cows continued their business. I named her Bessie. … More Beso: Kisses
On Wednesday, after leaving the crockpot on overnight, I woke up to some of the best stew I had ever had in my life. After eating several helpings, I turned off my out-of-office message and attended a few calls on the balcony. Then we went for a drive on S. Pass. We drove through the … More What if the Sky and the Stars Are for Show?
In the morning, we stopped by a coffeeshop and grabbed almondy lattes. It had been filled with chattering locals. Warming our hands on the cups, we stood by the creek and talked. Yesterday we had also checked out another café. It had a tarot card vending machine and homemade syrups. We agreed the drinks there … More Morning Views and Afternoon Hikes
Our first morning, we woke up to the sun rising behind the mountains. The living room flooded with light. Walking over carpet and oak wood felt nostalgic. Christmassy. It reminded me of the house I grew up in. I played Fleet Foxes, then made pumpkin coffee and maple oatmeal. As I waited for le beau, … More Snowcapped
This is how we live. Day to day. In the present. Carpe diem and all that. I used to live in the future, I used to plan my life, and then I got there, and I was like, you know what? This is underwhelming. I spent so much time fixated on the destination that I entirely forgot about the journey. I listened to a song waiting for it to end, and when it ended, it was quiet, and I was like, goddamn. In a similar vein, I can’t look to what other people are doing, feeling, or saying, and I can’t treat life like a song that I’m waiting to end. … More Carpe Diem and All That
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