everything is borrowed

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light Cause oh they gave me such a fright And I will hold on with all of my might Just promise me that we’ll be alright But the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view And we’ll live a long life

"Still prefer the company of animals to people, I see" "Easier to understand and considerably less backchat."

Siegfried and animals (a selection) for @anoninlondon

Kate & Sawyer + first kiss

LOST, 1x04 "Confidence Man"

I heard it said a kiss from a mermaid protects a sailor from drowning.

2002: I'm living in Chicago, working at Booklist Magazine. I've just begun to recover from what used to be called a nervous breakdown. I was out of the hospital, living on my own in a furnished studio apartment that my parents had found. I only had one bill to pay every month--it included my phone (landline), utilities, and rent.

I was paying that bill. I was beginning to feel for the first time like I might be able to survive adulthood--despite the heartbreak and my overall low level of functioning.

I woke up at 2 or 3 AM to watch the World Cup each day. I've loved the World Cup ever since 1994, when my dad took me to a game the first time the tournament was hosted by the U.S. I remember watching alone in the middle of the night as we beat Mexico to make the quarterfinals. I was ecstatic. That team wasn't particularly fun to watch, but we ground out results.

Today, 24 years later, the USMNT won a knockout game again, and this team IS fun to watch. They play with speed and heart.

My life is very different. I have more than one bill each month. My house has more than one room. I have a spouse and kids and work I love. The days now can be very hard, too, but in a different way.

The Fall Tarsem Singh. 2006

Island Palace Jagmandir Island Palace, Pichola, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313001, India See in map

See on Letterboxd

and EVEN WHEN things were more muted/neutral, the neutrality was OFFSET by ACCENT COLORS and HIGH CONTRAST between the wood tones and everything ELSE

ALSO AMERICAN COLONIAL INTERIORS POPPED OFF, Y'ALL (IN TERMS OF COLOR/COZINESS)

PEOPLE USED WHITEWASH AND COLORFUL TRIM OR EVEN JUST COLORFUL FURNITURE IF THEY COULD AFFORD TO DO SO

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON FRENCH AND BRITISH AND AMERICAN WALLPAPERS

"ELIZABETH" YOU CRY, "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO EXTRA THIS MORNING?! IT'S MONDAY"

Because, my friend, my war on GREIGE will NEVER end.

Historic interiors were filled with LIFE and LIGHT and COLOR. ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.

Part of the reason we don't see a lot of textile art is because, frankly, textiles tend to degrade over time - especially ones that had utility! And yes, pigments and weaving and dying all boosted the expense of things, when we were finally reliably block-printing fabrics and broad reams of paper, it was no longer just the wealthy who could afford pretty patterns!

In the Americas, a far wider variety of pigments also became available because of the abundance of... well, a shitton of flora and minerals, some of which weren't as common in Europe.

WHY THE HIGHLIGHTER COLORS? you ask.

CANDLES.

Those colors reflect candlelight and natural sunlight REALLY WELL.

Humans LOVE bright colors, it's NOT just a thing for kids. We live in a brilliant, vibrant, multifaceted world. We ALWAYS have.

(If ever you have the opportunity to visit the Stencil House at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont (pictured above at 3, 4, and 5), I highly recommend.)

And that's before you get into American painted murals: