Thursday, April 30, 2009

A homemade life

Finally reading it.



I'm notorious for saving things like books and gift cards and special jams and oils until the perfect moment. For instance, Harry Potter 7? Still on my bookshelf waiting. I'm terrified for the series to be over, so I'm just not reading the last book. NERD.

And Molly's book. I'm only just beginning, but I'm forcing myself to read slowly, maybe only one chapter per night. And already it has reduced me to tears on multiple occasions. Such a sap I've become in my advancing age. Anyway, it's beautiful and makes me feel like I have no purpose in life. Only scattered hobbies and a job. Le sigh.

But it's softly, passionately inspiring. Maybe I need a trip to Paris to fully understand my calling? Yes. Mostly likely that is it. Looking at tickets now...

(I'm labeling this as "buy handmade." Even though she didn't technically make the book herself, she did make all the lovely words and I think that's just as good).

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

MOMA is free on friday eves

And by some strange coincidence, every time I come to New York I happen by MOMA at the perfect time. Which means I haven't enjoyed an uncrowded gallery in many moons, but I don't mind the people so much.

There's a neat works on paper exhibit on right now.





I love art that is meticulous and organized... because I could never have the patience to make such a thing myself.



But I also adore things like RR's huge mixed media pieces



and quilts made from little pattened paper



and elizabeth peyton's dreamy portraits

And just going to see art in general. Which we have lots of here in LA, but I never seem to leave my backyard on the weekends... must do something about that.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

new york in the spring

Is pretty amazingly beautiful. Just the daffodils popping up all over the city are exciting. And the flowering trees. And running in the park. And eating at cafes on the sidewalk. And getting swept up in the throngs of people in the streets at midnight.






Never get tired of the people.

When it's warm. I do not enjoy it so much when it's cold and I have to wear things other than sandals.

It was so perfectly sweaty I lost track of time and missed my flight. And now I am blogging in the airport waiting for the next one. So yeah, lesson learned. Apparently you CAN miss your flight. I didn't think that really happened.

Also, when are they giving us internet on the plane? So many hours to catch up gone to waste. Or I could be thankful that I have a mandatory break...

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

this is a rad idea

and I'm probably the last person in blogland to see these, but i've been off the blogs lately, people! If I even allow myself to visit one, it will spiral into an hour of clicking and staring and commenting. and we can't have that right now. too much going on and not enough time to sleep as it is.

which is why i just found sleeveface.





Pretty great. I want to make one.

found on Feather Love, (who has some great new work up right now).

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

our cute modern hen house

There seems to be some interest in the hen house I mentioned a few posts ago, so I thought I'd share the house and the story that goes along with it.

My friends are the most amazing people in the whole universe. I've been talking idly of getting chickens for years, but I talk idly of many things and shouldn't be taken entirely seriously about any of them. Except the chickens. I really do want chickens (and bees). However they probably wouldn't be coming to live with us in the next few weeks if it weren't for those friends I mentioned above. See, they gave them to us for our wedding.

BEST WEDDING PRESENT EVER!!

Right? I was in tears I was laughing so hard when we opened their present wrapped in an egg carton and full of pretty dried weeds and a book on raising chickens. Brock was pretty much horrified, but he's warmed up nicely to our new family members. My friends actually gave us a check to buy an Eglu and a handful of feathery friends. So we've been waiting for it to warm up a bit before we ordered the house and brought the chooks home.

Here's what it looks like:





Neat, right? I love that it's mobile (see the wheels in the back?) so we can push it around the yard to let the chickens have fresh grass in their run on a regular basis. I found a few farms on craigslist that are selling pretty laying hens so once the house comes, I think we'll take a trip out to Riverside to pick up our friends. While we'd love to get little baby chicks, our house is way too small to keep a box full of them inside until they're old enough to live in the Eglu. And honestly, not sure we want to wait 5 -6 months until they're ready to lay! Baby chicks will come later, when we have kids to join in the excitement of raising them.

So Sara, this probably doesn't help you with your plans to build a coop! Sorry! But if you go to Diggin' Food, she posts a round up of coops around Seattle that might provide some inspiration.

Omlet also makes a smaller Eglu that would probably fit in ANY backyard. Plus the smaller, original Eglu is ready to ship from the US. The cube has to come from the UK and seems to be limited in availability. We almost had to wait until June for ours, but we got a cancellation spot just before the shipment left. Close one.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Fresh 365

Whoa. This is a GOOD food blog.
I'm not sure who the author is, but thank you so much for commenting on my blog and leading me to yours!



papaya lime sorbet




mango avocado salsa with black beans and lime



harissa chickpea salad with spiced pitas



meyer lemon pizza with goat cheese and olives

Seriously peeps. You need to check out Fresh 365. She has beautiful pictures and what look like yummy, simple, delicious recipes. I am definitely trying something this weekend.

Monday, April 13, 2009

old paper is real pretty

From Papier Valise. We posted on her shop and flickr stream on 100 Layer Cake this morning, but I couldn't resist posting a few more things.





I want to surround myself in a cloud of vintage paper ephemera and drift off to a land of crafting this afternoon. How cute are those old alka seltzer bottles? They would make an amazing spice rack, me thinks. And Chinese lanterns. Oh I do love those.

Word of warning: be prepared to spend a LONG time looking through her sites. They will suck you in... like cement.

Originally from Uppercase

an urban farmer blog

My mom sent me this awesome blog last week and though I'm not sure how many of you darling readers are actually turning your backyards into vegetable farms this summer, perhaps there are a few who would benefit:

Diggin Food

It's a Seattle-based vegetable garden and food blog written by Willi Galloway, and stuffed full of awesome backyard farming tips. Like:




How to make a super simple and inexpensive squash teepee. Making it this weekend, for sure.



How to grow your beans up the side of a fence.



Plus she posts an excellent backyard chicken resource. Did I mention we're getting chickens? I'm so excited. Sometimes I think we already have them, but really I just have their names picked out. We're actually waiting on our nifty modern henhouse to ship from the UK. Only a few more weeks...

ANYWAY, check out her blog. It makes me want to abandon all professional goals and dedicate my days to growing things up the sides of fences.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Vertical gardens = living patchwork quilts

So, it's QUITE obvious what I've been thinking about as of late. Plants and the yard and what vegetables to grow and anything pretty and green and living. It's spring... clearly not my fault.

And look what I just found to lust after:





Succulent art? I feel faint.

Gianormous concrete soaking tub on the patio under succulent art. I am coveting. Big time.

All from Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco. Gardens being a teasy word. I think they are more like landscaping artists.

new flower to obsess about...

and another flower that is reason alone to be married in the early months of the year.



Hellebores. I am a changed person. I now know that these flowers exist and can't possibly continue with my life in the same way I had before. Must find seeds and plant for next year. Thank you Saipua and Weeder's Digest for giving me yet another thing to occupy my already very limited and very crowded hobbying time.

More from google:



where I learned that these are an essential part of French gardens. Which mean that like striped shirts, I must incorporate them into my life very soon.

Bottom images from here, here, and here.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

spring pizza and molly's dressing


A Bon Appétit inspired Sunday dinner:








Miracle of miracles, I actually made something from one of my numerous magazines. 2 things actually. It started with Molly's version of Chez Panisse's Green Goddess dressing. I'm so lazy with salad dressing. I pretty much exclusively rely on olive oil, salt and lemon, but it was a beautiful Sunday, I was feeling motivated to make something tasty. Plus I was thinking about Jora's post on Design Mom a few weeks ago... good dressing=easy delicious salad for the week. Good point.

I left out the anchovies because of the vegetarian thing, added a little extra salt, and substituted red wine vinegar for the white wine vinegar (because I didn't have the former on hand) and it was still totally delicious. Also, due to aforementioned laziness, I blended the herbs in the food processor instead of finely chopping and whisking by hand. I mean if you have the appliance out, you might as well use it for everything.

And then to go with our friendly new dressing, a pizza serendipitously born from random selections at the Farmer's Market. Mini heirloom potatoes, leeks (just watched the Jamie Oliver leek episode and could not leave the market without them), asparagus... all of which added up to a lovely version of the pizza in this month's issue. I added the buttery leeks as a first layer and left off the goat cheese because we didn't have any, but it still turned out acceptably tasty. The crust wasn't great, but I'm not a whiz with bread so it definitely could have been user error as opposed to a suboptimal recipe. And if I make it again, I think I'll toss the potatoes in a little garlic and olive oil before arranging them on the pizza.

I love making pretty dinners when it's still light out in the evening and we have a kitchen full of new produce. It tricks me into believing that I don't have to go to work the next day. For at least those few hours.

Monday, April 6, 2009

kogi







Friday night, just finished dinner with friends at AK on Abbot Kinney and there, parked in front of the Brig, glowing like a beacon of the promised land, is Kogi. JUST finished dinner, as in stepping out of the restaurant and into line behind a taco truck. We had no choice.

For non-LA residents, Kogi is a Korean taco truck that roams the streets of LA declaring its whereabouts though it's Twitter feed. Which means these tacos can be elusive, especially if you're not on Twitter. Delicious culinary delights I say, that as it turns out are perfectly sized for a post dinner snack. Spicy kimchi topped dessert, if you will.

If you live here, you need to eat these.

(bottom pic from Kogi)

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

pink denim




i need. going to Madewell this weekend. even though their jeans do not fit me at all i'm going to torture myself by trying them again.