I remember a few years ago, in New Orleans,
I bought a carton of strawberries at the Farmer’s Market.
I had become somewhat ambivalent about them over the years,
having eaten far too many over-inflated, pale and watery mutants
with no flavor to speak of. They left me disappointed and thinking that
strawberries weren’t really ever as delectable to eat as they appeared to be…

The box I bought on a whim literally brought me to my knees.
I think I might’ve actually cried! I had never in my life really tasted a strawberry before!
I can’t describe how perfect they were, but needless to say I went back
the next week and bought an entire flat. We devoured the juiciest ripe
strawberries on the veranda all summer and our hands and mouths were always
sticky and red. I haven’t had any that good since. We tried our hand at
growing them last summer, and man are they cute! Not so flavorful though, alas.

(Click on this + the one below for a larger view!)
This is one of my favorite summer uniforms:
A printed seersucker sack-dress with a vintage leather belt and
20’s heels. Perfect for extremely hot weather, and making everyone
smile in the grocery store- or so I discovered. I think bright red makes
people feel happy- I know it does for me! I also discovered that wearing
red lipstick helps you concentrate and feel focused! Sounds quite kooky,
but I promise it works! One night we were all playing a hot n’ heavy
round of dominoes, and I felt my clarity waning. I put on some lippy,
and offered it around- everyone’s game improved dramatically.
True story. I wear Ruby Woo by MAC– it’s the perfect red, hands down.

I love this piece by Claire Morgan. It’s called “Fluid”- taxidermied crow
and strawberries collide, fatally + forever. The berries began to blacken
and molder after awhile! I’m not sure how long it was installed for.
I hope eternally, as I like to imagine the shriveled strawberry mummies
swinging on their nylon strings and perplexing people.
Discovered via Lau via Siege via etc.

I recently stumbled upon a wonderful photographer: Séverine Pichon.
Her self-portraits are very moving and mysterious.

I just love these images. They are some of her simpler ones,
more dreamy. I want to walk in those woods and explore
that little cottage. What’s inside there? So curious.

“Strawberry Fields Forever” is still one of my favorite songs.
I have such vivid memories of listening to it as a child,
having elaborate picnics in the living room, drinking pink tea
and wearing heart-shaped sunglasses. Not much has changed, really.

Look at this! Who made it? It reminds me a bit of Katy Horan’s work-
could it be hers? I’ll be writing more about her soonly- she lives here in Austin!

(Photo by Brunifia)
I want to be drinking this right now. In lieu of that, here are some
pretty red songs for your pretty red heart to swoon over:
❦ Red Rain – This Mortal Coil
❦ Deep Red Bells – Neko Case
❦ These Eyes Are Berries – Múm
UPDATE:

I totally forgot about this awesome print by Liza Ferneyhough aka Stellarbaby,
who happens to be one of my favorite illustrators! I am totally addicted
to her sweet gocco prints. She’s going to send me one of the mutant strawberries!
I am so excited- aren’t they bizarre and magical? Are they a result of genetic
tampering, or elfin engineering? I like the one with the thorny green seed spikes.
Oh yeah, and check out her strawberry corset! So jealous- want my torso to be a berry!
Also, y’all- I was just thinking about how I was forbidden to have
Strawberry Shortcake dolls. I don’t know why, but my mom hated them.
I was only allowed to have International Barbie too- so I had
Spanish Barbie and Eskimo Barbie. They were pretty great though.
One time I got to borrow my friend’s Strawberry Shortcake doll
for a weekend. I have a very vivid memory of deeply inhaling
the synthetic strawberry scent from the doll’s glossy hair
while listening to my dad squawking away on his first set of bagpipes.
My mama hated those too, and eventually forbade them as well-
so it was a moment of verboten enjoyment for us both!
xox!