Friday, November 23, 2007

seventy degrees of separation -

these days, the best kind of days are:






seventy degrees.
sunny.
puppy power down the hill.
walking along the marina to see alcatraz and the golden gate bridge.
pecan pie outside.

after china, we came home to our old life, and found it filled with things we struggled with. thanks alot, fabulous travel. i HATE "lessons". almost as much as i HATE CHANGE.

so we walked around a home that was far too big for just two people. we thought about a city we had been in two years, but didn't truly feel like home. we wondered why our pups were so poorly trained. we asked where we were going, not just where we were going to dinner.

i realized that blogging like this is a combination of two of my favorite things: talking with friends and sharing pictures, things i used to only do in a letter once every four months, or with an ofoto album after a shoot.

i realized that i had new friends out there, people i never would have met, people who laughed with me, made me chuckle EVERY DAY, people who made me think.

people who i could be honest with.

we're going to go through some tough times in the next couple of months. we're going to reset our lives. so thank you, all of you out there, for reading, commenting, laughing, and generally letting me talk. i hope you understand how "the comfort of strangers" has been a gift for me.

i'll keep posting, but my most recent change is going to seem kind of superficial. all weekend, i did not enter a store.

i spent it with my family.

16 comments:

stacy said...

Beautiful post Landis.

Consider yourself lucky that you are able to recognize that you want to make changes and that you are willing to put in the effort to follow through on them.

Many people simply live with a slightly uncomfortable feeling, never taking the time to figure out what it is or how to change it.

Looking forward to reading about your challenges and successes.

CCC said...

already addicted to your life/pups/career displayed here. Hurray for change! Mind if I join you...

~lurk

Jennifer said...

if you are making changes you desire, and that make you happy, maybe they won't be so tough.
i don't want to see "sad landis." :(

you didn't enter a store, eh?
hmmmm, my eeeeeeevilll plot is working.

Anonymous said...

hope you can feel my support coming your way as you steer a new course. i've had my share of reflective moments between getting where i am now versus where i was when you knew me best. sometimes we stay on the same course but with a new attitude. (sometimes we think pink but wear black) if you want to compare notes, i am here for you both.

...and just for the record, i don't think an un-shopping weekend was a minor or superficial change.

- said...

what a sweet post :) it seems like you have things in order already. good jobs that clearly make you happy, a passion [for fashion ... i'm very sorry about the rhyme], and you have the love and support of each other, AND those cute dogs to love.

The Spicers said...

Hmmmm....I can relate to your pensive mood. Big changes are afoot in my house too.
And it's amazing the support you can feel from (sounds dorky, but for want of a better word) "online friends." Keep us posted!

Gretta said...

NO! No tough times for Landis, Tim and the girls! I have a couple of solutions:

#1 - your place is too big for just you guys. I will graciously move in.

#2 - you do not feel at home in SF. I have felt that way about Seattle for the past 10.5 years. Come and move to Austin. Who doesn't love cowboys?

#3 - puppies, poorly trained? I have a fat, furry kitty cat who craps on the floor whenever I spend too much time away from the apartment. He's teaching ME lessons. I hate lessons, particularly when they are poo.

#4 - you may thank me for my amazing solutions, in Vosges.

Anonymous said...

For a city change, I was going to suggest Portland. Then I looked out the window. Then I looked again at your photos. Hmmm...maybe not.
I sincerely hope that the next few months are not as "tough" as you anticipate. You deserve only good things!
Sending you good vibes.

moi said...

I hope I'm not being too presumptuous by saying, if I loved Old Navy before, I love, love it now. Because its creative director shares his home with two pit bulls. How awesome is that? Totally awesome!

Landis said...

thanks for the love, kidlets.

it means more than you could know.

and moi. . there is no presumption here. just new people meeting, sharing, and occasionally recommending ridiculous chocolate confections (holla gretta!)

and cool you're into the pitties. avec is passed out on my foot right now.

Xombie said...

Hi fellow pittie lover!

I am super amazed at your Old Navy work and was wondering two things.

1. Is Avec in the recently shown Old Navy commercial.
2. Is she a pit bull.

We on our local pet forum were debating and half of us said pittie (I have a blue and he looks a bit like Avec..his name is Xombie) and the other half said Weimeraner. Well one person called Old Navy corporate and asked them and they said the puppy used was a weimeraner.

Anyway..

Keep up the good work in Old Navy and snuggling on your pit bulls <3<3<3!!

Jaci

Michael said...

I'll echo Stacy's comment. Some people are never self-aware enough to take time to reflect and assess and make changes. And change is hard, yo. I've been molasses slow at distilling my life down to what is important, but slow is better than no, right?

Landis said...

hey jaci!

avec came off the denim shoot this spring, if you scroll back through the blog to almost the beginning you can see pics of her on set and where i adopted her.

the new dogs in the holiday spots are pitts too, we are all pits all the time this year!

Whiskeymarie said...

As someone who is feeling the need for change too- I get it, sweets. I hate change too, and fight it with every fiber of my being.
But now I know it's for the best, but I'm not really sure what changes to make.
Damn.
You live in an AMAZING city, but I get how one could feel "not settled" there.
How about I move there and we don't shop together? (I too think all of life's problems can be solved with something scrumptious bought on sale)
Looking forward to getting "there" with you-
XO

Gervy said...

Oh Landis, this post really struck a chord with me. My husband and I have returned to Australia after 3 years overseas - 2.5 in London, 0.6in New York. We're both from Melbourne, but have been living in Sydney since we got back in August. We moved back because my boy got offered big bucks for a job here, and because I couldn't imagine having a baby overseas. And now we are here, and life is going well, and this is a beautiful city... but, it feels like life is over. My family is in this country but I feel like I've left my heart in London. How do we make a life here now?

Maybe it would be easier if we had two cute puppies.

Sez said...

Found your blog through Gervy and am addicted already!

Regarding the changes, I know I'm several posts behind commenting here, but totally hear what you're saying. I made a big change last month and quit my job! The focus on what I really wanted was incredible and I've just accepted an awesome job with an awesome company.