Rima Suqi

Nobody believed me when I got back but it’s true. I sent an email about the experience to a friend of mine who has very cool travel website called Fathom. She decided to run it word for word. You can read it here.

I recently did a story with Tyler Hays from BDDW, which meant a few visits to the store. I totally forgot they’ve got an archery thing going. Someone had talked to me about being on a team, and which I also forgot. Maybe it’s better I did – it’s a little intimidating:

I was at a friend’s house the other day, and hanging in her bathroom was a note she wrote to one of her teachers when she was in grammar school. Apparently, at her school, if you were too embarrassed to ask a question during health class, you could write a note to the teacher, who would then address the issue. (So not the case at my school).  I thought this note was so adorable/innocent/funny (especially the part about it being “sick to inercorse”), I had to post it.

… in Vancouver. All around Stanley Park, etc.

On Father’s Day, one of my favorite photos of my dad, circa 1956.

One of my favorite stores ever. Here are some reasons why -

Owls with heads that spin -

Hamster wheel:

Seems to suggest that you plant seeds and they sprout up looking just like the picture:

Fire starter in fishing rod motif:

Who needs Legos?

I happen to love homemade jerky (but have never tried making it):

Speaks for itself (this place is like Target for farmers. You can get pig harnesses, cow bells, and lots more):

…and believe me, I’ve killed them all. Never on purpose, I swear. I was in Chicago last weekend and saw this at the Museum of Contemporary Art gift shop:

A knit cactus! Could you die? It’s adorable, and I’m so not into adorable design (usually). They’re by Buenos Aires-based designers Paula Yacub and Leonel Halpern (who have a company called Colombas), made  of yarn and polyfoam with terra-cotta pots and no two are alike.

$23 and $29, here.

Via boat of course. Check out the photos below. As someone obsessed w/Africa and all things safari I am DYING over this – I wish the photos were much much bigger -

From the release:

Samatian Island Lodge, a part of The Safari and Conservation Company, The Kenya Wildlife Service and The Northern Rangelands Trust today announce a first for conservation in Kenya as eight Baringo Giraffe, a sub-species that have not existed in their native area of Lake Baringo for over 70 years, were  finally brought home.
Through the combined efforts of the NRT, Samatian Island Lodge and local Pokot and Njemps communities, these endangered Rothschild giraffe, originally named Baringo giraffe, were trans-located to Ruko Game Conservancy by barge, making this the first ever attempt to carry giraffe across water in Kenya.

The project, supported and executed by The Northern Rangelands Trust and Samatian Island Lodge (a luxury camp situated on a private island in Lake Baringo,), took four years to plan as, according to NRT director Ian Craig, giraffe are some of the most difficult animals to move.

Prior to the translocation, the giraffe were captured and spent weeks in a holding pen at Soysambu Conservancy in the Great Rift Valley in order that they would be calm enough to make the journey across the water. They left a frosty Soysambu at midnight and arrived on the lakes shore as the sun was rising over the Lakipia escarpment. The eight giraffe were loaded onto a boat, a restored landing craft, in two groups and were ferried across the lake, a journey of an hour and a half, to their new home. They have been released into a holding pen for one week to allow them to adjust to their new environment.
The giraffe joined a herd of 30 impala already successfully relocated to Ruko in 2010. Ruko has long been an ideal habitat for giraffe with a large number of acacia tortillas for the giraffe to eat. The core area of the conservancy is a seasonal island, therefore as the population expands it will be possible to extend their habitat (as the lake goes down) into the larger conservation area of 19,000 acres.
The project has been a collaboration with the local community who own the conservancy and whose rangers have helped out with the capture.  The community already receives $60 per head in conservation fees from each Samatian guest, which goes towards educating their children.

Lake Baringo is one of Kenya’s major lakes. Famous for its incredible bird life, which attracts thousands of ornithologists a year, Lake Baringo is a popular tourist destination for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit Kenya every year on safari.

I’m a big note writer. Real, fountain-pen-on-card-stock notes. As such I am always on the lookout for cards. Smythson and Thornwillow have traditionally been my favorites, but I’m really loving these from Dempsey & Carroll.

They call them Valentine’s Day cards but I could see using them all year long.

$50 for a box of 10, here.