Design for the other 90%

Lately I have been in an architecture rut.  I am found myself becomming dis-engaged with projects and it is time to step back and look at the bigger picture. While reading an email from the Young Architects Forum (YAF)  I came a cross a link to this blog on the Architectural Record site.  A very interesting review of the Design for the other 90% exhibit, that is soon to close, at the National Design Museum in New York.

Another organization this blog also highlighted is Designers without Borders…. a very interesting organization that actually highlights working in Uganda.

Aloha- great vacation read(s)

The time for James and I to leave for Hawaii for our honeymoon  is quickly approaching.  10 days to be exact.  I am pretty darn excited.  This week I have been contemplating what books I need to gather for the trip.  I posed this question of a few friends and these are some of the answers I recieved.

I love the old “trashy” novels like Valley of the Dolls.

If you haven’t read “My Sister’s Keeper” that one is fantastic. I liked “Vanishing Acts” too. And I’m dying to read “Nineteen Minutes”

Also if you haven’t read Kaled Hosseini’s (sp?) books, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid suns, I would definitely say those are good reads (I haven’t read Splendid Suns yet, but I hear only good things!)

Jennifer Weiner (Good in Bed) has written several other books. They’re probably all good light vacation reads, too.
A lot of the chick lit lovers also love Phillipa Gregory’s books (The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen’s Fool, The Constant Princess). I haven’t had a chance to read any of her stuff, but I have several on my PBS wish list.
You also might like Emilie Richard’s Whiskey Island series. They are about a group of sisters and one of them has a relationship (won’t tell more b/c that might be a spoiler) with a guy that fixes up old houses as a job. Since you’re in a kinda related field, it might be a sort of fun little extra to have in a book.

• Julie & Julia by Julie Powell – its a true story about her cooking every recipe in Julia Childs’ Mastering the Art of French Cooking w/in a year. Very funny and cute, especially if you’re into cooking
  
• Time Traveller’s Wife – can’t remember the author. Its about a man who inadvertently travels through time, and his relationship with his wife as he visits her in different stages of her life
  
• Anything by Marian Keyes. Its chick lit, but not really as light. Love all her books
  
• I haven’t read it, but next on my list is Bitter is the New Black by jen Lancaster. I’ve heard that its really funny.

Books – Janet Evanovich series (One for the money, two for the dough, etc) is good stuff…I usually laugh out loud while reading them…

These all seem like great suggestions to me.  I am very interested in Julia and Julie…or is it Julie and Julia?  It is available in both  hard cover and paperback. 

Book Description
Nearing 30 and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, Julie Powell resolved to reclaim her life by cooking, in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves’ livers and aspic, but a new life–lived with gusto.
Another beach read I have been recently introduced to”Lifes a Beach”

About the Author
Claire Cook is the author of Must Love Dogs, Multiple Choice, and Ready to Fall. She lives in Scituate, Massachusetts, with her husband, were they are occasionally visited by their borderline adult children and their laundry.

Redbook Review
“Dive into this gleefully quirky coming-of-age story centered on . . . a 41-year-old. With the help of her hippie parents, Boyfriend the cat, and a shark-crazy movie crew, Ginger Walsh is finally growing up — and there’s no escaping a few growing pains.”

Architecture- the old and the new

Recently I went to a panel discussion held by the AIA Atlanta.  It featured Educators from the three accredited architecture schools here in GA( including SCAD’s own Crystal Weaver)  as well as the President Elect Elect of AIA national, Marvin Malecha.  I throughly enjoyed the moderator Jim Cramer.   Thinking of this lecture has me writing a list of books pertaining to architecture that I have always admired and never purchased.  I do love books.  Why you ask would this lecture have me thinking of books……………….Marvin Malecha and Jim Cramer had their new books for sale and also did a book signing.  Both books look like great resources for the young Architect, intern, or architecture student.

Another fairly new book that is on my list of wants

and an oldie but goodie that I have read and poured over numerous time but have never purchased.  I think I had a copy checked out from the library my entire last year of school.

Bon voyage…Buon viaggio…Safari njema!

Have a great trip oyster girl!

7 syllables (syl · la · bles)

2007 has been a big year for me. In December James and I purchased a condo.  My stuff was moved in on new years eve and it became my permanent residence.  Because of the move I switched gyms and my commute route changed but I can still walk to work.  James finished grad school in May and now we are officially both out of school.  This is the first time in our relationship that one of us hasn’t been in college or gradschool.  James and I were married on June 29th and two days ago we just adopted a dog.  His name is Rocky.  Most of the things I have done thus far in 2007 I have adjusted easily too.  After all, I am a go with the flow kind of girl. 

Now we come to the entire point of this post……syl·la·bles and my new hyphenated name.  For some reason when deciding to hyphenate my name I think I was only saying the two last names together.  Now when I have to call people from work and tell them my name it sure seems like a mouthfull.  My name is now 7, count them 7 syllables   l o n g. . . . . . . . . firstname= 2 Old last name=2 new last name = 3   for a total of 7.  I’ve always thought I was a patient person but I am now getting impatient just telling people my own name.