How do you pronounce “peonies”?

OKay, so spill it: pee-OWN-nees or PEE-un-nees?

Personally, I am a PEE-un-nees girl. But I'd consider switching to pee-OWN-nees if it meant I could have peonies in my home every day.

I was so excited to find them for this week's One-Bouquet-a-Week Challenge--it's the first time I've seen them all year. To me, peonies are a combination of everything that's amazing about the flower world: the fullness of hydrangea, the sweet scent of roses, the quick-opening-up-just-after-you-place-them-in-water entertainment value of daffodils, the spring/summer happiness of hyacinth, and the showiness of poppies.

(And after all that, I guess I'm saying that they might just be the perfect flower.) (So is that why the shop down the street charges about $4 a pop?)

P.S. Oh, hey! My little challenge got a little attention on RealSimple.com this week. Pop over and take a look here. (Thanks, Kristen!) 

I’ve I mean you’ve got mail.

I tend to have several birthday/special occasion/Mother's Day situations around this time of year, so I recently spent a small fortune at what's quickly becoming my go-to stationery shop on the block: Papél New York. They've got great taste, and I was even excited to see that they stock cards by Andy Pratt, one of my favorite design discoveries on Supermarket.com (which, to me, really gave Papél some instant cred).

Here are some pics of my latest loot, pre-post. (I almost hated to have to send them off.) (I mean, you know what I mean...)

Always-cute cards by Snow & Graham

"T.Hanks" letterpressed card by Blue Barnhouse

"Manhattan" blank card by Andy Pratt

More yummy-ness by Snow & Graham

Papél New York, 225 Court Street (between Warren St & Baltic St), Brooklyn, NY

We've got chemistry.

Cute + Science = These nerdy-fun picks.

Molecule Building Set from ferm LIVING

Molecule Dish from Merchant no. 4

Periodic Table Original Art by Brooklyn artist kipi at etsy.com (my latest purchase!)

Wall Mount Test Tube Vase by Pigeon Toe Ceramics

PYREX / KIMAX glass laboratory graduated cylinder / chemistry flask / vases by jennypennyvintage at etsy.com

Love Molecule - Embroidered Wall Art by itsastitch at etsy.com

Images linked to their sources

Meeting Agnes Martin

So I had one of the most enjoyable museum experiences I've had in years last Saturday at the Dia:Beacon.

First of all, the train ride there from Manhattan along the Hudson River (about an hour and a half north) is breathtaking, which quickly eases you into a Oh-Thank-God-I'm-Out-Of-The-City-For-A-Day frame of mind. Second of all, I didn't know totally what to expect; I only knew that I had read great things about the space, and that it was high on my NYC-Area To-Do List.

The museum is quiet, even peaceful; no photographs are allowed, and cell phones have to remain off. It's not a large venue overall, but the spaces that contain the art are--it really gives you breathing room to take in each artist on display.

And although I was especially delighted (seriously--delighted is the correct word to use here) with the wall drawings exhibit by Sol LeWitt, I really had a Ooooh-Yeah-THIS-Is-Why-I-Love-Art moment with the work by minimalist painter Agnes Martin.

Her paintings were soft, almost linen-like. The collection contained a lot of grays and whites and pastels with light washes over them. Some of the paintings had titles like Love, Contentment, Innocent Living, and Where Babies Come From. And on top of the stillness of the museum itself, discovering her work for the first time was both Zen-like and exciting for me.

Pictures can't do it justice. In fact, the website where I got the below images even states, "Due to the delicate nature of Martin prints, they are nearly impossible to photograph." Nevertheless, here's a taste of what I saw (if you can see them!).

Get up there for yourself when you can, though. And give ole Agnes a big Holy-Crap-Amy-Was-Totally-Right hello for me.

Images via ArtRiver.com