For Christmas I got a gift certificate to a local bookshop, which I decided to spend on books (and her new obsession, sticker books) for Mycelia. She and I spent a good afternoon browsing through the selection and reading in the cozy little book cave, complete with glowing fish tank. I wanted to be really thorough in looking through the books and choose ones that we would love forever.

But all that thoroughness flew out the window the second I laid eyes on Amos & Boris. I loved it at first sight, for three reasons. One, the names (especially Amos, I don’t know why but I love that name). Two, the fact that it is about one of my favorite animals, the whale (I am especially fond of blue whales and I think I could make a strong argument that Boris belongs to the species balaenoptera musculus). And three, the obvious 70s styling of the drawings and book design.

And when we cozied up next to the brightly hued fishies in the darkly lit cave to read through it, I realized that the 4th reason I love this book is the best of all. It is a beautiful, touching story told in expansive, almost cosmic, wording. I often choose children’s books that are just a tad above my daughter’s reading level, just to add that extra challenge and stretch her mind and vocabulary a bit. And it has worked, the girl has a killer vocabulary and understanding of subjects I didn’t even know about until I was years older than her. This book is actually way beyond her official comprehension level, but she loves it and certainly understands what’s happening.  Continue Reading... (555 words + 4 images, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)

Something that I have wanted to do with Violet Folklore for a long time now is to post about the amazing vintage children’s books I find in my thrifting adventures. As an avid reader and someone who always wanted to be a mama, I have been into kid’s books and literacy since well before I had Mycelia. In fact, I am embarrassingly proud of the “Bookworm Award” I won at my job at an upper crust Child Development Center back in my college days. The awards were tailored to each individual for one area that they excelled in, and for me my bosses recognized my love and knack for reading to the children.

And, not surprisingly, I love vintagey, kitschy, and beautifully done children’s books best of all. The first book I am going to review for this new series of blogs fulfills another role I greatly appreciate in the books I read to my daughter- it helps her fall asleep :-)

First printed in Germany in 1968, this is the story of Tim and the whimsical thoughts he has while falling asleep at night. From his pets to his toys to the animals in the zoo to the organ grinder with his monkey at the fair to the Sandman himself, Tim’s dreamy imagination takes my girl’s sleepy little mind on beautifully rendered, fantastical adventures.

Here are the text and illustrations from two of my favorite pages:

 Continue Reading... (333 words + 4 images, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

(Okay not to harp on my birthday here but it’s all related, and Aquarius is still ruling right now so indulge me…)

Yesterday I received a birthday package from my dear internet friend Milla of The Girl Who Married A Bear. I certainly expected it to contain some lovely items (I mean, have you seen the girl’s blog? Her wardrobe?), but I was in no way expecting an actual GUNNE SAX dress, complete with green velvet, a corset bodice, and a lovely layered skirt.

Thing is, I once sold Milla this Gunne Sax dress (which I absolutely adored modeling for my blog Ghosts, Miners, and Mandolins) for like $50 or something, and here she is gifting me one! What a sweetheart! Especially since Milla is such a Gunne lover herself. Check out this awesome blog she posted all about the history of the label.

I am wearing the dress right now as I type this at a little cafe in Nevada City, listening to one of the already released songs from Joanna Newsom’s forthcoming album Have One On Me (inspired by Milla’s mention of it on Facebook today).

And here is another pre release:

Last week Graham, Mycelia, and I went out to visit a friend’s property for the first time. It was an absolutely gorgeous, early early spring day. And I was stoked to have my camera with me.

The kids had a great time playing, skipping stones, jumping off ledges, and walking backwards together.

The wild mountain sage grew in abundance and smelled incredible. A little taste of the warmer weather and more vibrant plant life that is just around the corner…