Sightseeing #1

As I'm sure everybody knows, when a computer dies, it is a bit of a disaster. My laptop took a bit of a dive this week, selfishly taking with it all of my pictures and two posts in progress. But, every cloud has a silver lining, and as I've been miserably clicking through the internet on Benjamin's work computer over the last few days, I've come across some really cheering posts and bits and pieces that I'd like to share here.

1. Kinfolk Magazine, Issue #1
I'm so delighted that I came across this beautiful e-zine (via Miss Moss on twitter) - I've heard a lot of negative things about e-zines in the past, but I'm fairly certain that Kinfolk skilfully avoids most of the common pitfalls. I'm not even halfway through it yet, but I'm hooked already. The magazine's ethos is that it is:

'a growing community of artists with a shared interest in small gatherings... [kinsfolk is] consistent with the way we feel entertaining should be: simple uncomplicated and less contrived.'

As a long-term enemy of the contrived, and yet still loving little candle-lit dinner parties as I do, I feel quite sure that this is the perfect e-zine for me. So far there have been articles on the artistry of a London cafe, an attempt to appreciate quiet solitude by a man who can't sit still, and two friends' ritual of catching up over a weekly meal. It's understated and calm, and so nicely designed.

2. Love/Neon: Miss Moss/Fieldguided/Wear Colour
Lately, in the midst of the greyest summer I have ever had the misfortune to be involved in, a little bit of neon wouldn't go amiss. Anabela of Fieldguided started my neon curiosity last week with a reminder of the pop of a neon Swatch watch, while Diana's neon colour comparisons, compared to the brightest of paintings by Yago Hortal, properly brightened things up. I don't expect I'll be revisiting my 1990s wardrobe in any great detail, but, with the help of Mallory of Where the Lovely Things Are's 'Wear Colour' tumblr, perhaps I can begin to appreciate the benefits of a bit of bright.

3. Not So Good Times: Where the Lovely Things Are

I really liked this refreshingly unusual post of images of the beautiful melancholic. Melancholy is not something I see on blogs very often, so, conversely, I found this post quite cheering, in a way.

4. The Morning News: Here is Everything I Learned in New York City
Even if you have never been to New York City and have no plans ever to go, you should read this article. Advice such as why it is important to order what you really want in a sandwich shop, instead of what you think people think you should be ordering, is advice I will certainly be taking, given that I am constantly worrying about what my sandwich-order/sentence/email/dress say about me (answer: nothing of any import). If you're pushed for time, the first half is the best half.