{ L E O N I E . W I S E }

sometimes all i can think to do is return to the sea.

canon dslr, 50mm f/1.8 II

polaroid spectra. my new love.

wow. thanks. to all of you who ordered a copy of the book.

i sold out of the first print run (20 copies) in three days.

THREE. DAYS.

i am humbled. flabbergasted. spinning.

and just a little worried. whatiftheydon’tlikeitwhenitturnsup?

and… for anyone who would still like to buy a copy – or 2 or 3…. – i have listed another 20 in my etsy store.

from my cracked-wide-open heart to all of yours, thanks just doesn’t seem big enough.

arohanui
x

it’s not about being published;
though that does bring some degree of satisfaction,
feathering my ego’s nest with soft white down.

it’s not a desire to be noticed;
all this visibility often makes me want to hide, sneak away
and pretend it’s someone else that does this.

it’s not about what you think of it,
though i’m glad if it speaks to you, or if you recognise
some of your life in the words.

it is about the overwhelming urge to write, write, write
thoughts scamper about, teasing my pen, mocking my hand
for not being able to keep up.

it’s about the feeling of expressing in short form
a feeling, a snapshot,
a life being lived outside of the page.

© 2010. leonie wise

just cos i’m goin’ thru shit times doesn’t mean i need rescuin’
do you ever stop to think that hugging might make you feel better
but that i just want to be left the fuck alone to deal with this
and that i need to make my way out in my own sweet time?

please stay though, just don’t fucking touch me
whatever i’m feelin’ is likely to discharge
giving us both a shock and breakin’ my concentration
just sit there okay? hold me. but only with your eyes & heart
and not in any kinda physical way.

and don’t say you understand. because how could you?
you’re not me. like i’m not you, so kick me if i ever say
“oh honey, i know how you feel” because how can i?
you have your shit. i have mine. we connect. but our shit doesn’t overlap…

yeah, it might seem like the same shit sometimes (and possibly it is)
but thinking one of us can fix the other is so totally bullshit and all ego.
i can’t fix you any more than you can fix me.
and what if it’s not something that needs fixin’ anyway?

so yeah, stay. i’m just workin’ through my stuff.
it might not look pretty from the outside
but trust me, it makes everything better
and more beautiful. i just have to live through it.

© 2010 leonie wise

dear friends,

so many stories to tell about new jersey… we had an amazing long weekend, staying with kiki and her family in maplewood, new jersey and travelling by train into new york city each day. i am so pleased too that bella’s schedule meant she could come hang out with us for the day on sunday and that we also got to lunch with the lovelies elizabeth and  christine. good times!

marc digs us out from underneath all the snow

there was a LOT of snow in the city

we mostly stayed away from the big attractions. we’d been up the empire state building last time we were in new york and didn’t want to queue for an hour to go up there again. we’d also already seen the statue of liberty, ridden the subway here, there & everywhere and been to times square, so we avoided those too, choosing instead to explore the meatpacking district and greenwich & east villages. here’s [some of] what we found….

what looks to be a banksy rat is blown up by this finely dressed geezer

street art in the meatpacking district

cupcakes from magnolia bakery on bleeker street, greenwich village

pizza in a cone. quite good actually

stumptown in the ace hotel. great coffee, but poorly laid out premises. we’ll forgive them as the ace hotel has an awesome photobooth. i think i have a new addiction – photobooth shots to come in a separate entry

central station

pershing square. i love the colours and lights on this place!

otto’s shrunken head tiki bar & lounge. east village bar with attitude and a rockin’ photobooth

more photos of our trip can be found here on flickr

my first collection of poetry is finished and available for purchase.

am i surprised? more than you could ever know…

now, i’m off to celebrate with a nice cold glass of new zealand pinot gris

new york map mural on w 10th st (cnr 7th ave). polaroid spectra

we are back from new york and i’ve got a backpack full of photos and stories to share with you though it’s going to take a few days to get around to sorting all the pictures i took!

me & kristen. my socks (2 from a set of 3) found at little miss matched. not just for kids!

in the meantime, here’s something i’d always wanted to try just once – bench monday… i always love kristen’s ones, so it was really fun to do this with her yesterday.

we tromped through the snow getting cold wet feet to take this photo. and i love it.

more photos and stories to come…

image source: papermash

i love lists

1. listography … fill-in journals
2. papermash: letterpress i ♥ lists sheets (pictured above)
3. hula’s lists make me happy
4. work. life. play.
5. generate your own lists to look like library cards
6. today i will … hooray!
7. found grocery lists: the site. the book. the top 10

we have decided that tuesdays are not for racing home from work, cooking dinner and slumping, slack-jawed on the couch in front of the telly (not that we have one). tuesdays are for venturing out to see what goodies london has to offer.

tonight, our first successful excursion, began with wine at vinoteca; with me looking totally white middle-class, swilling my wine & sniffing at it looking all fancy & shit after going to a wine tasting course last saturday with husband & friends. it gets really busy in there and there was already a 90-minute wait for a table when we got there at 6.30. we’ll go back there for dinner some other day…

then we wandered up the road to pho, for tasty vietnamese.

clerkenwell, you were a favourite haunt of dickens in his time and i’m sure you’ve got many secrets to share with us.

london, i can’t wait to explore your streets and alleyways more in the weeks to come.

dear friends,

i am super excited to share with you some photos from the english countryside and offer you a delightful giveaway.

– i don’t want to see the postcards, take me straight to the giveaway –

today i spent the day with my dear friend caroline , who loves walking in the countryside as much as more than i do and always obliges me with a walk when i escape to visit her in her slice of english paradise.

today, we were dropped off at west meon and spent a lovely i-have-no-idea-how-long wandering back through quiet country lanes, bridleways and ancient woodlands to her home at brockwood park.

the sun smiled at us through the trees in ancient woodlands,

and watched over us as we wandered quiet bridleways.

hello tree.

we picked snowdrops, marvelling at their tiny beauty

and shared a table of nutritious food

i was so very happy to have this time with caroline; slowing down, catching up on each other’s lives, just happy to be together where words are often unncessary. she is a welcome & essential part of my tribe.

and now to the giveaway
caroline has also recently had a book published (YAY caroline!!!) and i would like to give one of these to YOU.

the book, called A Year of Little Things: 100 Simple Ways to be Happy (also available on amazon.com) is an invitation; to dream, bring nature inside, see, wag your tail, dance, be utterly ridiculous and 94 other simple things.

to enter, please just leave a comment telling me what one of your favourite simple ways to be happy is. entry is open to all, so please do share this with your friends.

entry is open until monday 1st march. winner will be drawn at random on tuesday 2nd march and notified by email.