productive weekend

this weekend, jeff and i went to his parents house. his mom taught me how to knit and sew (you’re looking at my very first pillow and a future scarf potholder). also, i started reading great expectations. it’s a thrifted copy (20 cents!) that was printed in the 60s and i’m pretty sure it has never been read as the spine isn’t cracked. it also occurred to me that the beginning chapters are a timely read around halloween. 

halloween

this inspiration board from bash eco events is exactly how i want to decorate for halloween once the boy and i have the proper space for it. take note people. it will be glorious. also check out the sister board over at yes, please.

this cat has it made

True to the defining characteristics of a feminist researcher, Makdisi posed a series of pertinent questions that she saw the conference as attempting to answer. Among them are questions like: what is the rightful place for feminism in a part of the world such as ours, where many of our populations have continued to suffer in the face of wars, sieges, violence, security states, debilitating poverty, and overcrowded cities? Where is the place of feminism in societies where radical religious fundamentalisms are making greater advances into the ordinary lives of people, where our land and our culture is continuously under relentless attack and subversion?

Makdisi spoke to the worries and challenges of many of us young feminists when she stated the conventional arguments used to silence us: Can we or should we, as women, make separate women’s rights demands in our societies? “We are often told to wait for the right moment,” she said, “and that now is not our time. We are told to be patient and our moment will come when “this” or “that” crisis ends. We are also constantly told to stop copying the “West.” We are accused of complicity with cultural imperialism or of undermining the family and its warmth. They – and sadly sometimes “they” includes other women – address us feminists as if we were children with no mind of our own, no history or culture of our own.”

Keynote Address of the Arab Feminisms Conference: What do Women Want? « Arab Feminisms Conference via igather

northeast

can someone tell me about northeast minneapolis? like what areas are decent to live in, and what places should i know about? anything to avoid?

cosmos remix

A still more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise
A morning filled with 400 billion suns
The rising of the milky way

The Cosmos is full beyond measure of elegant truths
Of exquisite interrelationships
Of the awesome machinery of nature

I believe our future depends powerfully
On how well we understand this cosmos
In which we float like a mote of dust
In the morning sky

-Carl Sagan - ‘A Glorious Dawn’ ft Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remixed)

winston-salem

just some photos from downtown winston-salem, north carolina. 

dear north carolina

it’s been real fun. i’ll miss you. maybe we’ll reunite again soon? be good while i’m gone and keep close the memories of the blueridge mountains, the lovely time with family, and yes even the bee stings. but right now minnesota is calling my name. don’t you worry, i’ll be sure to wave goodbye as i’m boarding the train. 

xo,

ashlie

baby sister

this is my baby sister playing model for me. i’ve been home for almost 3 weeks now, and i’ve really enjoyed spending so much time with her. i love the little things, like her bouncy energy and the funny/crazy things she says. i also like that she uses my childhood furniture and she sleeps with my minnie mouse blanket, which at this point is probably close to 20 years old. family is becoming ever more important to me these days, so i’m trying to cherish the moments, as they say.  

getting around

some things from around the internets:

+Carson Ellis | Staple Singers, Save My Soul {beautiful songs}

+Pacing The Panic Room: Our Backyard {holy macro!}

+Rae Dunn…clay.: the central valley. {stunning central valley photos}

+Color Me Katie: Park(ing) Day {good times in nyc}

+Kulning | Jonas Peterson {traditional swedish herding calls}

+Loveless Ramblings and Other Cynical Musings - Listen: Thom Yorke´s Hollow Earth/Pulled Apart By Horses {oh yes}