Photographs of dancers. And of dandies. And dogs.
Abraham Lincoln’s Pocket Watch.
Naps. Breaths. Trees.
Ingo Maurer’s lamp.
BUTTONS. LISTS. These are some of my favourite things.
BOOKS. FISH. SUIT. TIME. MOTHER. FATHER. LIFE.
Everything is part of everything.
We live, We blunder.
LOVE UNITES US.
~Maira Kalman, My favorite things, 2014
Last Christmas, my sister gave me a copy of Maira Kalman’s My Favorite Things and a vintage “Coffee Hound” mug. Seeing as my sister, Maira Kalman, books and coffee are amongst my favourite things, it was a win-win-win-win situation.
My Favorite Things documents the significance of objects in our lives, drawn from Maira’s personal artifacts, memories, and selections from the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City.
Some of her favourite things….
…picnics, egg salad sandwiches, books, lists, buttons, letters, spoons, eccentric relations, walking, New York City, tickets, getting into bed, getting out of bed, spoons, broken chairs (and I thought my sister was the only one!), complaints, fruit bowls, packages, ladders, and…
I have read and reread this picture book. Easy on the eyes, good for the soul. It’s one of my favourite things.
In this beautiful video, Maira talks about the exhibit Selects, which she curated using the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt.
What are some of your favourite things?
Lost and Found Books 
beautiful post. Thanks for the link to Maira Kalman – real insight into curating. Loved all the samplers and embroidery.
Thank you — I write about her a lot. She is so inspiring to me. I love your blog. I look forward to seeing more of it. Cheers!
Your sister is very lucky to have a neat sister like you.
What a delightful book this is, I am so happy you brought Maria Kalman to my attention!!! I covet that vintage mug too ;o) Hmmm favorite things, oh I am affraid so many things: a teapot, sweater, that one photo, yarns, etc etc. Good thing I can let go easily too ;0) Thank you for this delightful post, xo Johanna
Yes, you can have too much stuff. I am not good at letting go, but I am learning. Teapots are one of my favourite things too!
What a fun post! I enjoyed the illustrations. The song, My Favourite Things, is going round my head today as I watched the live production of The Sound of Music on TV last night. I don’t know if it was shown in the US, probably just in the UK. It was very good and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 🙂
Some of my favourite things: books, spending quiet time relaxing, walking outdoors in the crisp air, writing, dancing, my cat curled up snugly on my lap and the little noises she makes when she dreams…
That is a wonderful list of favourite things! Merry Christmas!
Thanks for intro me to Maria Kalman! What a beautiful post! And yes, The Sound of Music for me is one of the best festive movies of all times. Have a Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you too!
I love this post. Clever, fun with bits of wisdom too. Wishing a Merry Christmas to you and yours.
You are so kind! Merry Christmas to you too!