HOME.

home is such an important thing. and i have been blessed to have many. life takes us on new adventures all the time, doesn't it. i think where you live, and what you make out of each place, defines you, adds another layer to your being, another life experience, another self-definition. i wonder if its this way for most everyone. but my first home (alaska) will always be my home home. like, my HOME. always. going back there re-connects me instantly to my deepest self - my truest being.



my second home @ wildgoose lane, in olympia washington, RIGHT on the puget sound, was my home of joy and laughter, happiness and melancholy. some of my best friends were made here, and some of my happiest memories. we were blessed to live on the water with acres to run around in, bonfire in, swim in...

[this was the view from my porch ^]

[me with my house in the background ^]

[bedroom view at night^]

haifa, israel, where my parents moved two months after i graduated high school, is the Baha'i Holy Land and also what i consider my second home. the beautiful sea, the Baha'i Holy Sites, the amazing food, the delectable coffee, the hilarious israelis, the love of my family, the memories, the memories. haifa never disappoints, always bringing me clarity, rejuvenation and love [The Shrine of the Bab is the golden domed structure, one of the Holiest sites for Baha'is]:

enter southeast portland where [most of] the wildgeese crew were able to reunite. continued laughter, a bleak unemployment, spending all my money on expensive amazing lattes at stumptown, wearing hoodies was our dress code, it rained for FORTY THREE DAYS STRAIGHT one fall...
enter brattleboro, vermont, some time later (with a brief stint in minneapolis/st. paul, which i never really considered my home) whereupon i went to graduate school, made some of the most amazing friends, filled my brain with all things pertaining to conflict transformation and peacebuilding, filled up on all things maple, ate the most amazing ice creams, swam in the most amazing rivers and did some serious leaf peeping:

enter rapid city, south dakota. our home for two years. neighboring the pine ridge indian reservation and badlands national park, which i frequented at every chance possible, this city became my serious home where i developed some extremely meaningful relationships, was able to serve the Lakota community seriously for the entire time, acquired some new family members, fell in love with clouds on a whole new level, and learned how to transport to my center when walking & praying in the golden fields:
now, dear readers, we are off, on a new adventure, to a new place to make a home. we are moving to southern california in a couple of days. we are landing in LA, but not quite sure where in socal we'll be calling home just yet. but i assure you, it will be amazing, it will be filled with heaps of photos, hilarious stories and new adventures. i am so thankful for my time in sodak, and all of the places that i have been able to call home.

wish us luck, and i'll keep you posted.
may the force be with us. if i have my baybee, i have home no matter where i am though, so its all splendid.
xxx.

here is the original song of the duet of little wings and feist (previous post - below), i feel this song is perfect for the mood i am in. grateful, peaceful, bittersweet.

LITTLE WINGS + MY GRRL FEIST

one of my dearest friends, jesse and i loved and listened to little wings 'light green leaves' on repeat in college at evergreen. little wings is a band i still listen to, reminding me of home, of cozy days when its raining outside, sitting on the damp beach with your warm cup of coffee...we loved them so much. and it seems, we're not the only ones. feist recently covered their song, 'look at what the light did', and here is their duet. she's touring some sort of film she made right now as well. i hope i get to see it. i've missed here, and i am sure i'm not the only one!

pretty cute:

my brand new LISH line!!

i am so excited to share with you my newest LISH line = PRAIRIE RIDER !

inspired by my two years on the prairie, "cowgirling up", these earrings are the perfect expression of my time here in south dakota - minimal landscape, though striking and breath taking. i have been wanting to make a very different looking line, using different materials. i am very drawn to the suede leather because it is so bold, yet so lightweight and awesome - i seriously forget they are one when i am wearing them...except for all the compliments i get. ;)

no, but seriously, you can purchase these earrings - BADDLANDS - right here, right now.

what do you think of the new design?

MY OH MY

what a radiant & beautiful little bug. she's becoming such the pretty little one this niece of mine:

THIS IS WHY AMERICA IS FAT

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE.

hey oblivious, ignorant posuers

please stop.
i'm begging you.
how terribly unconscious can you make the human race look?? with your war paint and fake headdresses, running around with your leather moccasins on, and your PBR & american spirit smokes in the other.

how do these women take themselves seriously, thinking they're fashion forward???









this is not only a "fashion faux pas" as many say, it is a social, intellectual and mental faux pas as well. yeah, just what we need, more people to perpetuate the stereotype that Native Americans only exist in "cowboy and indian" movies.

some of us actually respect and honor Native American culture. and some of us actually know that Native Americans exist, and are alive and flourishing - they are not some hollywood "injun" that runs around saying "how" or poses on your terrible indie band album as cover art.

and please don't tell me that you are honoring your 1/84th part cherokee heritage.

--> word to the uneducated - please get schooled.

excerpt from a great post about this issue:

Headdresses promote stereotyping of Native cultures.

The image of a warbonnet and warpaint wearing Indian is one that has been created and perpetuated by Hollywood and only bears minimal resemblance to traditional regalia of Plains tribes. It furthers the stereotype that Native peoples are one monolithic culture, when in fact there are 500+ distinct tribes with their own cultures. It also places Native people in the historic past, as something that cannot exist in modern society. We don't walk around in ceremonial attire everyday, but we still exist and are still Native.

Headdresses, feathers, and warbonnets have deep spiritual significance. The wearing of feathers and warbonnets in Native communities is not a fashion choice. Eagle feathers are presented as symbols of honor and respect and have to be earned. Some communities give them to children when they become adults through special ceremonies, others present the feathers as a way of commemorating an act or event of deep significance. Warbonnets especially are reserved for respected figures of power. The other issue is that warbonnets are reserved for men in Native communities, and nearly all of these pictures show women sporting the headdresses.

the badlands are radlands and gladlands.

my baybee and i observed native american day by visiting our favorite place in sodak: the radlands national park. it is my favorite and the light was so golden pure.

OCTOBER 12th

have a wonderful day off tomorrow.

but i ask you to please honor those that have been here wayyyyy before columbus, the Indigenous People of our country, as they are the real "Founding Fathers", they are the ones that deserve our respect.



honor the Indigenous Peoples for their youth and children that are struggling to preserve their culture, that in order to survive, have to be able to successfully walk in two worlds.

To me, October 12th is Native American Day, always was, always will be.
spread the consciousness, acknowledge the facts, support the awareness and help to create a world that works for, & is welcome to ALL.

peace & mad respect.

CHRONICLES OF NEVER = BEST SUNGLASSES WITHOUT A DOUBT

are you kidding me?? there glasses are without fail THE coolest glasses out there. i've been drooling over their designs for about two years now...but they are always sold out!!! man oh man, life IS rough! ;)

"I PROMISE I SHALL NEVER GIVE UP, AND THAT I'LL DIE YELLING AND LAUGHING"
- jack kerouac

i can have my purse and eat it too??

go creativity.
this is rad.
i love smart people.
AND that watermelon helmet might actually work, come on, think about it!

[delightful images by FULVIO BONAVIA in their book, "a matter of taste"]

which one is your fave?

i just have to say, i think that the "turban" for fashion's sake - craze is COMPLETELY WHACK...if i don't stop there, i'll never stop my rant about why its whack. so that's it. plain and simple. WHACK WHACK WHACKKKKK.

MRS. GRACE WICK

baktash and i were on a road trip to minneapolis to see my parents before they moved back to haifa, israel after living back in the states for only shy of nine months. the drive is long (9 hours, to be exact) from rapid city to the twin cities, and mitchell, south dakota is kind of in the middle of the drive, a place where one inevitably has to stop to grab a snack or a coffee in order to keep trucking along.

mitchell is a small town with the best coffee being served at a mcdonalds or a gas station. and forget it, i cannot drink coffee from a gas station if i know its been sitting there 10 hours or has been reheated from the week before. so we decided to go high class. and went to mcdonalds. okay, so the entire trip up until mitchell, every place we stopped to use the restroom, get gas, etc., i had this OVERWHELMING feeling that i was going to see someone that was interviewed from David Lynch's Interview Project. having just weeks before, watch nearly 60 episodes, (they are fascinating, so shoot me), it was fresh in my mind and i don't know how to explain it. I JUST FELT LIKE I WAS GOING TO SEE SOMEONE FROM THE INTERVIEW PROJECT. seeing as how they only interviewed i think 4 people in sodak total, i knew that this was a little far fetched and my odds were basically next to nil. nonetheless, i kept getting this nagging feeling; every gas station, i'd scan the cars, or the people walking about to see if i recognized anyone. it was REALLY FREAKIN' BIZARRE.

THEN, AS WE PULL UP TO PARK @ MCDONALDS, GRACE WICK GETS OUT OF THE PASSENGER DOOR THAT PARKED FOUR CARS AWAY FROM US AT THE SAME EXACT TIME. IT WAS HER. and i knew it immediately (and how strange is THAT??). i GRABBED my husband and tried to control my excitement. "ITS HER!! IT'S HER, BAK!! ITS THE WOMAN FROM THE INTERVIEW PROJECT!! I TOLD YOU I WAS GOING TO SEE SOMEONE! I KNEW IT!" i continued to strangle his arm while trying to contain myself from running up to this near 90 year old woman and startling her like crazy. she looked the same as she did on the Interview Project, just a bit older and more frail.
this is what the Interview Project summarized of their visit with her:

"We met Grace Wick at the Post Office in Mitchell, South Dakota. Since she had some more errands to run, she suggested that we meet at her house later on to conduct the interview. Once we reconvened, Grace told us about her childhood on a farm in Lyman County, South Dakota and how she met her husband. Since his death a year and a half ago, Grace has lived alone in Mitchell. She plans to sell their home and counts church and her family as the most important things in her life today."

and i strongly urge you to watch the entire interview (its about 3 minutes). click here for her entire interview


------
i stood in line, just studying her face -- there was NO way that this wasn't the woman i had seen a week ago online. there is no way. i was convinced. then Bak was like, "layli, a lot of old ladies look alike, i wouldn't be so sure". yeah whatever, i thought. i approached her and introduced myself and said, "excuse me, miss, i am sure this will sound very strange to you, but i just saw you on the internet, it was a short interview about your life and i am blown away to see you in real life, right now!". grace kindly replied, "i'm sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone else". "are you sure??" i asked, convinced it was her. she said yes, it wasn't true. so i apologized and excused myself while what i assumed was her daughter and her ordered ice cream sundaes. when grace was getting her treat, i approached the daughter: "i am so sorry to bother you, but i am sure i saw your mother on the internet. she was talking about how she had a painting business with her husband and she was trying to sell her house"

daughter: oh my gosh, you are right!! that was a couple of years ago though!
me: wowww, i had no idea it was that long ago!
daughter: mom! don't you remember a film crew coming to your house and interviewing you about your life?
grace: not sure. what did i talk about?
me: you spoke of your husband and the farm and how his family thought they were better than everyone else.
laughter ensues
grace: oh my goodness! i had forgotten all about that!
me: i KNEW it!
daughter - in shock
baktash - in awe

as i approached grace and her daughter to say goodbye after we sat a bit and drank our coffee, i felt myself so moved and almost even emotional. like we had a strong connection. it was really quite beautiful. we chatted a bit more and i told her how my family was moving back to israel, and that is why we are on the road trip from Rapid to Minneapolis. i think she could sense that i was having a hard time with it, she said she was so sorry to hear that, and she was so sorry that we won't be as close anymore, and that distance can make families even closer. it really soothed me actually. i then told her how amazing and blown away i was that i had met her that night, knowing that i was going to meet someone that i had seen on the Interview Project. i told her i had had this overwhelming feeling the entire road trip up until mitchell, sodak, that i was going to meet someone from that project. and then i met grace. interestingly, she was the one that stuck with me the most. out of the 50 some interviews i'd watched. i told her how amazing it was, even somewhat "magical/other worldly". and she replied by saying so matter of fact, "when something like this happens, it's so hard to not believe in something bigger than ourselves. we were meant to meet, i am sure of that". grace said all of that so matter-of-fact. it was so cool, because i felt it so definitely too. at this point, i didn't even want to leave her, as i felt like we were such dear friends. really, like kindred spirits. i could have stayed and listen to ronald mcdonald singing a terrible song, looping over and over for hours. for her, i would have.

grace had shared with me that she had sold her house and now was in a smaller apartment in town, she said she goes back to the farm to be close to her children. she asked me more about what she shared in the interview, as she couldn't remember. i told her that she had said that the "two most important things in her life were her faith and her family". she said, that hasn't changed with a very warm smile.

i left that evening feeling so full and blessed with life. the mysteries we experience, the magic and beauty in "chance" encounters and deep heartfelt, sincere connections with near strangers.

oh yeah, one more thing before i forget.

[ spotted here ]

don't waste my mother loving time. i got a train to catch. or a coffee to make. or a kale chip to eat. or a photograph to shoot. or a nap to take. or a dear friend to talk about really big ideas with - until our brains become one then explode. give me the ideas; go big or go home.

i got elsa some dinosaurs

don't ask me why this video is so small. maybe because my niece is. this is really cute. and who doesn't love those dinosaur capsules that turn into shapes once they touch water???


she is saying, "ready yet?" to her mom. then she says "more put in there...yeah.. pink"...then she says, "see, dinosaur?"
so yeah, basically TOO MUCH CUTENESS FOR ME TO HANDLE.

inspiration, creativity and connection.

"Man is not intended to see through the eyes of another, hear through another’s ears nor comprehend with another’s brain. Each human creature has individual endowment, power and responsibility in the creative plan of God."

~ Writings from the Baha'i Faith by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

being unemployed has been an very interesting experience. i kinda really love it and i kinda really don't love it. its forced me to be in a new mental space. one where i'm able to reassess my life, the opportunity to re-direct my life and re-align myself with that which i feel most passionate about. and as we all know, our passions change and evolve with time. i am in a new place now. it's funny i cannot muster up energy to do anything professionally that is emotionally taxing. the work i have been doing for the last two years in sodak working with the Native American population has been EXTREMELY rewarding and huge for my career, but ask any individual who works with communities in conflict, and THEY NEED A DAMN BREAK. a time to re-focus and decompress. that is me right now. that is why my blog has been lagging as of late...i've been in a cocoon of sorts...

but what has been really popping up for me lately is inspiration, creativity and connection. and how important it is that we seek out these things in order to live a fulfilling life on this here planet - these are the things that energize us, motivate us. i love to see what others are doing, how they are stretching themselves to seek a deeper connection with others, through service projects, creating amazing pieces of art, or by merely asking a stranger something that cuts right to their heart, inviting for a meaningful dialogue. i am fascinated by projects and endeavors where the only purpose of the project is to connect at the heart of others...it makes life so much better, doesn't it? i don't recall if i shared this on my blog here before or not. but this is a sweet story of an experience i had with this special gentlemen:

mr. larry robinson @ morro bay.

baktash and i were running down the beach, chasing waves and i saw this gentleman standing so peacefully and watching the waves and taking it all in. my heart kind of sank, because i wondered if he was lonely and wishes he had someone to share the moment with. so i ran up to him and asked if i could take his portrait as a way of talking to him. he was so so so wonderful and we talked for 20 minutes while baktash beachcombed. we began to discuss the importance of nature and how wonderfully at peace your heart feels when you can stand and listen to the waves; he spoke about how he missed his wife who had passed away a year ago, but how coming to the sea always makes him feel better. i told him how much he made my day, and how much joy he brought me, just in our 20 minute conversation, i made him laugh and he made me smile...i need to do things like that more often. it made my heart feel good.
♥

"50 people one question" is a pretty cool project - this is so touching and sweet. maybe you have seen it before, but i hadn't, though i have heard of such projects. i found this clip on my girl shaadee's tumblr.

Fifty People, One Question: Brooklyn from Fifty People, One Question on Vimeo.

i just found this photographer. i especially adore his series at rockaway beach with the confetti blowing in the wind:
this is an amazing project that took place in a favela in rio. to check out the entire project, go here.

what are you doing to feed yourself creatively?