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scar tissue & sapsuckers

scar tissue and sapsuckers... what could these two things possibly have in common? you must be thinking i have gone crazy (well maybe a little lol). so just the other day i was reading "scar tissue" by anthony kiedis. it is a new york times best seller and i think a good read for the summer. if a long battle with drug addiction and the story behind the red hot chili peppers' rise to fame intrigue you than definitely pick it up. anyway, let me get to the story of how a bird could possibly connect with this book. in chapter 11, anthony talks about having experiences with animal spirits. he definitely has an affinity with the native american culture as do i, but who knows if that has anything to do with anything! i thought this was very interesting and made a note of it. the next day as i was returning home, i unintentionally left the door to my house open, while i helped my two year old son micah get into the house. all of a sudden i see out of the corner of my eye a large bird fly in. long story short, the bird turned out to be a yellow bellied sapsucker, aka, a woodpecker.

i was so blown away by this sapsucker experience, and being that i am a spiritual kind of girl, i decided to look up what symbolic meanings this might have. one of the most popular elements of native american culture is the role of animal spirit guides. animals that represent parts of ourselves can teach us to integrate, heal, and develop both our weaknesses and our strengths. below are some of the symbolic meanings of the woodpecker and soooo many seem to pertain to my life right now, and maybe yours:
(illustration by charley harper)


✭ nurture ideas in the womb of our core passions
✭ going back to one's roots
✭ use our intellect to think up innovative solutions to overcome barriers
✭ communicate our ideas in more creative or non-traditional ways
✭ look at projects in unique creative ways to bring new life to an idea

it has been said that a woodpecker's call is like the drum beat of the heart, awakening the spirit into action. this bird guides us to seek our individual way of being, teaching us that it is okay to discover truth in our own way. if you remember i wrote something similar in my first post. i have been wanting to start this blog for sometime, but it wasn't until the woodpecker flew in that i was able to begin. hopefully you too can learn something from this symbolic bird. xo nikki

   ✱ song of the moment

APACHE ROSE PEACOCK

blood sugar sex magik

red hot chili peppers

a saturday in brooklyn

a little over a month ago, i went to a sample sale at LENA CORWIN'S STUDIO in fort greene, brooklyn to see if i could score a dress by one of my favorite designers: MOCIUN. i did get lucky enough to get the dress for more than half-off so i was super psyched! caitlin mociun, the designer behind it all, uses organic materials with bauhaus-inspired prints throughout her clothing line. she also makes beautiful jewelry as well(see my necklaces above). i love the independent feel of what she does. you most definitely know that if you are wearing one of her dresses you WILL NOT be spotting five other clones just like you. that in itself is what draws me to independent, self employed designers.

another designer i stumbled upon at the sample sale was MANU. i instantly fell in love with the raw nature and native american feel of lauren manoogian's jewelry. i snapped up two of her bracelets and the other two were given to me as a birthday gift ♥. i do regret not having purchased one of her necklaces, that believe or not are made of paperclips and tape. i will probably be on an online hunt to find the necklace i should have bought! well that is enough babbling on about my two favorite designers of the moment. i will be posting a few other independent designers that ROCK in some upcoming posts. until then... xo nikki

✱ song of the moment

SATISFY MY SOUL

kaya 1978

bob marley & the wailers

(this entire album

is awesome!)

i am all about vintage

vintage, vintage, vintage! i love owning something that has a history, a past life, a story, a tale. so, i thought i would share a photo of these ceramic vintage vases i purchased on ebay awhile back. i first spotted them on the style files http://style-files.com/2009/09/23/vase-collection-for-sale-on-ebay/ which is a beautiful site full of global international finds. this is my first collection of something and that makes me happy (well besides vintage clothing)! some other things i cherish that have a history: the credenza was my grandmother's (it has been painted the color bon voyage by behr paint), the iron sculpture was given to my parents as a wedding gift in 1970, the driftwood is from beach bungalow in sag harbor, ny, and the portrait is of me at 3 years of age from 1975. i am dating myself here...ooops! keep your eyes out for some vintage clothing posts in the future. xo nikki

✱ song of the moment

SIDEWAYS

 the clarence greenwood recordings

 citizen cope

day one. i ♥ you

hello to all who stumble upon my first-ever blog and post! i started this as an art project of sorts to share ideas, images, design, art, fashion, music, books, places, food and pretty much anything that inspires me. what is life without inspiration?

the middle photo entitled "i ♥ you" was taken by me while walking in a parking lot with one of my oldest friends kristy. i spotted this vine on a black plastic fence and it immediately reminded me of this photography book i recently bought called "FOCUS:LOVE Your World, Your Images." i love that sometimes you can find beauty in the most random places. it makes me think about life and how you can choose to discover TRUTH in your own personal way, or to be a little more enchanting, decide to view life as a FAIRY TALE. please feel free to leave comments or share anything that inspires you. enjoy! xo nikki

✱ song of the moment
I'D RATHER GO BLIND 
etta james

(since i kind of can't
breathe without music
on at all times,
i thought it might
be fun to share what
i am listening to
each time i post)