one of a kind

{trent gudmundsen}

I got on Facebook this morning to tell my friend and bunk mate from the USNS Comfort a happy birthday and found this painting posted on her wall.  Isn't it beautiful?  Just like the real girl.  Sweet, genuine and uses words like 'hot dog' and 'abomination' in every day conversation, Rachel is one of a kind.

Ang, me, Sloane and Rachel at the LDS Temple in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 

change

{photo from my garden this morning.  Those juicy grapes were a tasty pre breakfast treat.}

If you're a regular visitor to my corner of the blogosphere you've probably noticed a decline in posts.
{Maybe I'm the only one who has noticed?} 

I think about writing, but my interest has wandered and while I know it's my space to do with what I may I don't want to stray from design related topics.  Though when it comes down to it I don't have much to say at the moment.  I'm not bored with design, far from it.  I've never been happier with my work and I'm still reading a few of my favorite design blogs, but my blog hopping has taken a different direction lately as my focus has changed.  

I don't think I'm ready to give up on writing completely,  I love the community and comradery, but for now I'm taking the pressure off myself to write regularly in hopes that I'll feel more inspired by doing so.  

Until then, I'll enjoy my hopping around new sites {to me} like this, and over here, and a smattering of my favorites.

 I've enjoyed the nostalgia this week as I'm reminded of how I spent Chuseok {Korean Thanksgiving} last year with my family in Daegu and surrounding areas.

 I went back and read about climbing mountains, wandering the markets and open roads on my brother's hog cruiser, and playing on the beach.  It was almost like being there, minus the hugs and teasing.

Please keep checking in to see where this change takes design sparrow.  I hope for a post a week for now while I figure things out.
I'd love your help.  What brings you to design sparrow?

my adventure in Dubai

Did I tell you about that time I went to Dubai?

It all started when I found what seemed to be the perfect flight to Africa to visit my parents with two layovers in Dubai.  After hunting the web over for the perfect layover either in London or New York, having Dubai pop up in the search was a pleasant surprise.  The only downside was seriously silly amounts of time trapped in the airport.  I spent a total of 20 hours in the United Emirates although only a small fraction of that time was useable adventure hours due to overnight layovers.

 I started out my adventure by breaking the number one cardinal rule for single female travelers the world over. Warning bells and an inflatable 'idiot' sign should have bounced into position over my head as I followed a stranger into the parking structure and got into the back seat of his unmarked taxi cab.  I'd read online these guys were plentiful and harmless, but would charge much more than a regular taxi.  He did seem harmless and my gut instinct wasn't going into a state of panic so I threw caution to the fragrant jasmine wind, finagled a deal then set off with a very enthusiastic tour guide with great taste in music and a trunk to store my carry on.

My one thought for safety sake as I hopped into his car with all my pent up energy from the long flight was to stop and look directly into a security camera as if to say, 'Remember my face when they realize I've gone missing.'  Then I said a little prayer that I wouldn't end up in the trunk with my carry on and we were off.

We went to the Spice Souk first where the aromas of all the wonderful things for sale mixed with the local music blasting from the shops set the mood for the rest of the night.  We then drove a short distance along the creek to the Gold Souk neighborhood.

I could have stopped the tour right then and there to watch the restaurant boats on the Dubai Creek, but we had lots to see.

We went to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and watched a water show set to more really great music.  Then we went to the largest mall in the world next door and looked at the massive shark tank.  I was quickly seeing firsthand how everything in Dubai seems to be out to be the biggest and greatest.

Next up, all the outrageous hotels, including Burj Al Arab {the 7 star hotel I'm standing in front of in the one photo I have of myself in Dubai}, The Atlantis and a few others that blend together in my memory filed under excessively expensive, rolled in extravagant and dipped in over the top opulence.

Burj Al Arab above, Atlantis below.

Was an evening wandering this beautiful city with an excitable Indian man worth the unshakeable feeling of suspended animation that comes with hours spent in an airport?  An enthusiastic heck yes!!  I've learned you have to make sacrifices for adventure.


And besides, the Dubai airport has showers and recliners so it wasn't all that bad.
 {photos borrowed from here, here, here, here}

visual rewind

Poking around in my image files I've decided to start sharing some of them sporadically with the stories that go along with them.  A visual rewind?

There isn't a specific story that goes along with these images, I just liked them today because they remind me of a time in my life when I was figuring out what was most important to me.  Far from home and feeling very spoiled for my secure place in the world, I was struggling with my career choice.  How could I feel good about going home after seeing so much need in the world and doing something so frivolous?

I've fought that inner battle with myself ever since then and do my best to not get caught up in the materialistic side of the industry and keep my intentions as pure as possible.  On the wonderful flip side there is the satisfaction of making a space feel comfortable and safe.  Creating something that can be called home is much more than frivolous.  It makes my soul smile.  We all need that feeling of coming home.  

Seeing these people with furniture on their scooter gave me the idea that no matter where we are we need beauty in our lives, and that's what I do.  A tiny contribution, but it's what I can do right now.

...an unfinished thought because I could ramble in this vein awhile.

{Colombia 2009}

Zenzele: A letter for My Daughter

I've been watching the BBC's The Number One Ladies Detective Agency and reading Zenzele: A letter for My Daughter and have really enjoyed getting a glimpse of day to day life in Botswana on Zimbabwe, resp.

Pretty much everything the BBC does, I like.  So I wasn't surprised that I got sucked into the show.  The first episode of season one was my favorite because it is setting the scene for the story and shows the main character as a child growing up and learning from her father to love and appreciate her country. The music and scenery are beautiful and the characters are easy to love.  I can't wait for the second season.

Zenzele is a wonderful book written by a mother to her daughter as the daughter goes off to college in Europe.  The mother is fearful that her daughter will lose herself in the Western world and become embarrassed by her African heritage. 
I wish I could describe how reading her thoughts makes me feel.  I know it is fiction, but based on what I'm sure are real feelings because it strikes me as truth.  It makes me feel inadequate and fired up all at once. I've edited my rambling down to these few sentences because paragraphs later I was still trying to get to the point.  What I do know: Africa captured my imagination and a chunk of my heart and finding great literature and movies that let me get lost in a different place is so fun.  What it'd be like to be from such a great continent I'll never know, but I envy them in a way I can't explain.

See the goat on the back of this motorcycle?  Dinner perhaps?  I decided instead of some savory demise, he was just out for a nice ride with his family.

{all images taken May 2011}

from my window

today as I flew home from Phoenix.

Murchison Falls National Park

 Murchison Falls, a national park in Uganda on the Nile.
May 2011

We saw bazillions of DLT's - Deer Like Things {not their official name, but it worked for us}, monkeys, lizards, gorgeous birds of every color and size, elephants, a mamma lion and her cubs, a super poisonous puff adder {a snake that moves like a caterpillar}, hippos, crocodiles, and lots of other creatures.

But my all time favorite is still the giraffe.

We went on a game drive after dinner the first night we were there and it was absolutely perfect weather for it.  A storm way off in one direction was creating a cool breeze and all those moody dark clouds I love with lots of sunshine.  My big brother Ben, nephew Devin and I stood up in our the third row sunroof the full 3 hours we were out exploring so we could enjoy everything in 360.  Ben and I kept saying, "I can't believe we are here right now doing this!"  It was a fun balancing act going over all the ruts and pot holes and we laughed a lot. 
{I love laughing, who doesn't?}

The experience in itself was better than I could have imagined.

Then it got better, if that is at all possible.

Our driver, Eamon, stopped the truck where a bunch of DLT's and other animals were all standing completely still.  A contrast from all the frolicking and racing we were seeing in every direction.  Something in the bushes was making them hold their ground and stay very alert.  An unseen big cat was our guess.

Among all the animals was a herd of giraffes.  We counted at least 20 standing along the ridge.  It isn't typical to see so many together like that.

When we started down the trail again we came around some trees and found ourselves in the middle of even more giraffes.  20 more easy.  Then 20 more!  Then 20 more a little ways after that!!!  Eamon said he'd never seen anything like it in all his years as a guide.

And they were just as curious about us as we were about them.

That experience goes down in my life as book as truly magical.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West

I was in Arizona last weekend and when my great aunt asked if there was anything I especially wanted to do I didn't even have to think about it.  We went and took a tour of Taliesin West in Scottsdale.  

Built by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930's.

Known for his organic architecture, he used a lot of triangles in his design because he saw them occurring in the desert landscape and also liked the shadows they cast. 

 "Whether people are fully conscious of this or not, they actually derive countenance and sustenance from the 'atmosphere' of the things they live in or with.  They are rooted in them just as a plant is in the soil in which it is planted." - FLW

I was surprised by his use of Asian ceramics in almost every building and outside as well cemented right in with the desert rocks in the walls as points of interest.  I loved learning that he bought a lot of the ceramics in bulk from a store at a large discount because they was damaged.  A bargain hunter!

It wasn't a stretch of imagination to envision life at Taliesin when Wright was there with his third wife and his apprentices creating an oasis among the cactus and enjoying the beautiful landscape.   The 1920's - 30's seemed to have been such a glamorous time to live.

Read more about Taliesin and "the greatest American architect of all time" here.

Travel Treasurs {cont.}: Arica from AY

I'm going to sneak in one last guest blogger for the Travel Treasure series I did a couple of weeks ago while I was away because I didn't get the chance to post the entry Arica sent me and she is just too great not to introduce you to her. {That is if you haven't already found her beautiful blog.}  

It is like a breath of fresh California air.  For sure go check AY out right after you read about her fun travel treasures.

For me, my travel treasures are always JEWELRY! It's what catches my eye wherever I go. I usually have on a necklace or two, a couple of rings, and some bracelets to give my watch company. Really, I'm a hoarder, and might look a touch ridiculous, but I'm alright with that. I haven't traveled too many places in life, but my usual stops have been Mexico, Hawaii, and a touch of the Caribbean (Tropical much? I'm also addicted to the ocean, but that's another story). Talking about rings, I have two favorites from trips that I will own so long as I live. My first is from the left: 5th row, 2nd ring down. It's a hollow kukui nut ring I FOUND in Hawaii. Yes found. Just magically in my car as if it was from heaven above. I've worn it hundreds of times since. The second is the first row on the right, at the very bottom. We recently took a trip to LA and while browsing the old antique shops on Magnolia, I found this gem, and have been obsessed with this turquoise infused Native American ring ever since!

I'm headed to Palm Springs in a week, and while I'm there you can guarantee I'll find whatever jewelry stand I can to take a treasure home with me.

Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful treasures Arica!