A few weeks back I had asked for suggestions on hobbies having enjoyed our embroidery workshop. I've continued to practice and my mother, who is currently in town, taught me a new stitch!
But I realized that I want to pick up photography. Years ago, I used to always carry around my little point and shoot. I bought a Canon G10 before moving to India in 2009 and I love looking back at all the photos I took around that time.
I managed to find 2 old digital cameras and a polaroid camera which will be accompanying me on my daily outings! I'd love to buy an old 35mm film camera as well because it makes me sad to think all my recent photos are on my laptop or hard drive.
Anyways, just wanted to update y'all on my new/old pastime in case it inspires anyone to pick up a camera as well! 📷
Shoes On. Eyes Open.
-Sarah
weekly highlight—
A Drive through Upstate New York
I love a good drive to clear my mind. I'm known to drive to a very far Trader Joe's to do my grocery shopping on the weekends to avoid the madness, particularly the ill designed parking lot of the Trader Joe's in Queens.
So when a friend suggested a day trip out of town, I obliged, especially knowing I'd have the chance to connect with friends now staying in New Paltz and Accord. While I tend to stay within city limits, some days the Hudson Valley calls my name—I've been to Beacon, Kingston, New Paltz, Saugerties, Accord, Newburgh. I've shared with friends and perhaps even in this newsletter that city life has felt so draining as of late. But there's nothing like a quick trip out of the city to bring you back to life.
A winding, scenic drive uphill, with mountain range backdrops, and a quick stop for lavender flavored ice cream made everything a bit better. 🍦
In this interview, Sarah Len poses the question, “What do you think makes architecture emotional architecture? What creates that magic or that emotional response to architecture?”
Villaseñor responds, "Well, I can tell you one way is architecture without architects. A forgotten book called Architecture without Architects by Bernard Rudofsky, which they made a wonderful exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Not recorded architects but the people who have done many things in architecture. Who was the architect of the pyramids of Egypt? I don’t know. Who made Venice as the concept, who made all these white towns in the south of Spain, all the hill towns of Italy. Who made these incredible towns that are underground in China? Or these incredible cities in Yemen. They make buildings of seven stories made of mud.
That architecture brings out the magic and mystery. One of my influences was Luis Barragán, he was not even an architect. His diploma from university is from engineering, then there was no architectural profession."
You can immediately see Barragán's influence in Villaseñor's work. Years ago, as I was researching architectural styles in preparation to renovate my mother's home in Nainativu, I dove deep into Barragán's work alongside Bawa's and de Silva's. While Barragan and Bawa are contemporaries, I don't believe their paths ever crossed but I've always been curious about the parallels in their work and personal lives. Both pursued different degrees before their architectural practices—Bawa studied law and as Villaseñor shared, Barragán had an engineering degree. Both are considered to be queer but were never open about their sexuality. And this quote (by Barragán) in particular, could easily have been said by either party—"architects should make houses into gardens, and gardens into houses.”
Including some photos below that I took at Barragán's properties during my 2018 trip to CDMX. I highly, highly recommend touring the properties if you ever make a trip out including the private horse stables, which are located about an hour outside of the city. If you need recommendations & tips, email me! I think it's also time for me to book another trip soon!
The military leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have all been critical of Western powers in the region and have expelled French soldiers from the region. 🇧🇫🇲🇱🇳🇪
This is last month's news but I thought their initial IPO offering was ridiculous, especially on the heels of failed footwear IPOs including Birkenstock and Doc Martens. 👟👟👟
I think my love language is sharing music with the person I'm talking to/dating. Perhaps, it's 90s nostalgia of mixtapes but I really do think it's a window into someone's soul. I was looking back at messages and playlists from months ago and I forgot how much I enjoyed this album that was shared with me.
You can easily listen to the album end to end but below are my favorite tracks if you want a taste!
