TLP Loves: Little Brown Pen

When I first started reading blogs, I focused on food. I still read The Wednesday Chef and Orangette regularly, but last year, I discovered some new ones that focus on fashion, home design, parenthood and travel.

Little Brown Pen is full of pretty Paris photos—but not the city's usual sights and scenes—and has quickly become one of my favorites. As Nichole Robertson, the woman behind the blog (and camera) explains it, she tells stories of color in the city of light. In many of her posts, she strings together photos of seemingly unrelated things—think subway seats, cafe chairs, flower boxes—that share similar shades, like perfect purples, sage greens and weathered blues. Because of her, I find myself looking for similar color stories in Brooklyn and other places I visit. I love Nichole's creative view of Paris. I spent close to a year there when I was 20. Seeing the city with fresh eyes is such a treat and a reminder that inspiration is everywhere.

Nichole and her family moved to Paris in 2009 and her photos are a visual record of the things they'd discover during long walks. Though they now live in New Jersey, she and her husband go back every 6-8 weeks since they run an online store and Etsy shop where they sell a selection of her shots. It's affordable art at its finest. I have my eye on more than a few photos, but am forcing myself to not place an order until we're settled in our new apartment.

The funny thing is that I happened to work with Nichole at my first web job. She and I lost touch after the company laid off our entire editorial staff and it was so cool to find her via her blog a decade later. During our About.com days, we would sometimes meet at Amy's Bread before work for big bowls of cafe au lait and buttered baguettes with Bon Maman jam. Finding her by chance because she now spends a lot of time photographing a French city seemed fitting. 

Nichole's blog also has an occasional recipe (I can't wait to try this sangria) and a new post about cheese every week, but if you have time, check out her entire color series. It'll be hard to stop scrolling, and yes, you'll wish you could whisk yourself away to Paris tout de suite.