J. Christina Huh

Recognizing Zooey in...

2011-06-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

[via gofugyourself]
It's been a few months since I've started working at Mood, and I'm now starting to recognize fabrics from the store out in the real world. We still have this fabric in stock, although I'm not sure it's re-orderable. I think it's about $12 a yard. OK, so Zooey Deschanel is not looking her best here* -- and can I mention that I HATE how she always wears tights with everything? -- but I do adore that cotton print. I think we still have the same print in a pink and yellow color scheme too.
Since working there, I've learned how much of what celebrities wear are custom-made, even down to basics, like tees and button-downs.
*Also, is it just me, or does Real Zooey look nothing like Magazine Cover Zooey?

Fred and Ginger

2011-04-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

The boy showed me a beautiful fashion shoot in the March 2011 issue of Vogue Nippon.See the rest of this incredible shoot at Fashion Gone Rogue. Also, I would appreciate it if someone could track down a copy of this issue for me! None of the Japanese bookstores I call had it anymore!

Shooter sandwiches

2011-04-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

[by Tim Hayward, via here]
This weekend, the boy and I made shooter sandwiches, with the recipe accompanying this Guardian column, which is an ode to sandwiches.

It's an incredibly British sandwich: Hollow out bread loaf, stuff with a layer of steak, sauteed mushrooms and onions and another steak and top off with a bread hat. Smush down for at least six hours under heavy weight. The result is condensed carbs and meats. Who can deny that kind of deliciousness?*

Our first one turned out OK, except the bottom got a bit soggy. It was still delicious, but we couldn't slice it up like cake, as shown above. The boy pinpointed the culprit as an overly crisped loaf that we took out too much bread innards out of.

After our initial delicious failure, we also enlisted the help of Two Fat Ladies:
As you can see, they were much more casual about the whole shooter business and wholly support the liberal absorption of juices. So as the boy figured out, don't hollow your bread bowl *too* much, as you will want some bread to absorb the juices, instead of the outer crust.

I think in future incarnations of this sandwich, I'll try splashing some red wine into the onion and mushroom sautee. And perhaps spreading some Dijon mustard on the steaks before layering them into the hollow loaf (we did spread some mustard in the bread hat at the second go around).

My half of the shooter bread will be lunch for a few days this week. I may be working two jobs and going to school four nights a week, but I refuse to eat poorly because of lack of time!

*Well, tortured vegans and vegetarians.

Green light

2011-03-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

[via roblisameehan's flickr]
My mom would tell me is that sometimes life is like driving: Sometimes you want to get somewhere really really fast, but you just keep hitting every red light. And then there are those leisurely mornings, when you just want a pause to take a sip of your coffee, but it's all greens straight way through, so you have to go.

Right now, I'm in the latter category. After months of fluctuating hours, I'm now at 44 hours a week between two jobs, plus 12 hours of classes a week. Needless to say, I'm feeling a bit busy, but fortunately I am enjoying all the pieces of my new schedule. Unfortunately, blogging regularly is not part of that sked. There will be posts here and there, but I probably won't be able to do much until June, when summer break starts. Catch you on the other side!

Indeed, let's

2011-02-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is the card my boyfriend got me. Ha! This was accompanied with bags of Hot Cheetos con Limon (which for some reason have been pretty really hard to find lately!) and rolls of Sweetarts. I'm touched that he put aside the fact that he thinks I'm completely crazy for popping Sweetarts even when I'm weeping from the pain and the fact that I'm willing to put up with awful stomachaches* to enjoy a big bag of Hot Cheetos. Thoughtful Valentine's Day gifts indeed.

*Even worse is driving home on Thanksgiving from LA in major traffic with a bag of Cheetos, no water and no exit. True story.

2011-02-14T16:33:00.000-08:00

[via Elise Blaha's flickr]
Last week I talked about being in a bad place and I think I've shaken out of it with much help from friends and a restful weekend home. So perhaps it was best that my boss told me today -- in my better state -- that he's cutting my hours considerably.

Anyways, I started this post before my boss told me the news, when I saw this card in Elise's shop. I usually find posters and cards with inspirational sayings and maxims hokey and saccharine sweet, but when I saw it, it really resonated with me. I'm living a pretty full life right now -- imperfect and occasionally shitty as it may be. And even with a soon-to-be eensier paycheck, I'm seeing more possibilities rather than limitations.

If you or anyone knows of a gig in the Los Angeles area, let me know. :)

[I'm not in a money-spending sort of mood (I'll probably stick with writing that statement on a post-it and slapping it on the wall somewhere), but if you're into it, she's having a 15 percent off sale in her store that ends tonight if you want to grab it! Use the code "heart."]

Braided

2011-02-10T06:00:00.001-08:00

My friend Dani is a hair and make-up artist and she offered to do my hair for a night with the Bolshoi Ballet. Here are the results:

[Photos by Dani]
Lovely, no? And it lasted all night. Also, I feel very smug in saying that no extensions were necessary, as my hair is so luxuriously long and thick and BEAUTIFUL.

The PSAs in Brazil

2011-02-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well, if anyone country was going to have a PSA on peeing in the shower, it'd be the Brazilians, what with their lack of inhibitions and all.

For those who think Asian parents can't be encouraging or positive

2011-02-04T17:18:00.001-08:00

New Year's resolutions check-in

2011-02-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

The lunar new year has started. So it's a good time to check-in on how I'm progressing on my white people* new year's resolutions:
1. Write thank you cards. It's on my calendar to start making these guys. Shooting to at least get paper cut this weekend. Then fill out and address during the first week of school when the teachers manage to stretch roll call and add/drops over the entire three hours alloted for class. I'm pretty embarrassed these are not done, as there is much thanking to be done.

2. Employ a "one-touch" policy with as much as possible. Sometimes my inbox goes over to 80-ish, but I've been pretty conscientious about keeping my messages at bay. Been better about folding clothes and putting them away properly. Still struggling with employing this policy on my work table, which serves as my craft table, my sewing table (yes, the two are separate), eventually my drafting table, my computer table, my dining table. It's a massive pain in the ass to clear up, say, a sewing project, so I can work on flowers or eat. Any suggestions???

3. When feeling overwhelmed or frustrated, write a list. I've been keeping to-do lists more often, even listing the tiniest of duties.** It's helped me keep on track, although I'm struggling with executing them completely.

Lunar new year's resolutions to come...

*How did Jan. 1 become New Year's? For some reason I assume it's some Greek or Roman ruler who decided this after stuffing the calendar with months named after themselves. Hence, the totally informed, kosher designation.

**I have to write these little things, because I'm convinced my brain is turning into a marble, aka early on-set Alzheimer's. Latest evidence of this: I was microwaving lunch at work. It was taking a long time, so I decided to open the office fridge to amuse myself. I look down, and in the bottom-most shelf that holds ketchup and such... There are the glasses I thought I'd lost months and months ago. There is just no explanation -- well, early on-set Alzheimer's. Or the evil receptionist (or more accurately, the always-in-a-foul-mood receptionist).

[Photo via avirus' Flickr]

On comfort

2011-02-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

[via John Read's flickr]
I have to confess I've been feeling really unhappy with where I am in my life lately. I am nowhere near where I thought I'd be at 25. I've just been stewing in my own bitterness and anger over this a lot: I'm sick of my noisy neighborhood with the gross Latino guys, having to share a living space, worrying about whether I'll find parking within walking distance to my apartment... The list goes on.

When I visited my parents' house last weekend, I caught myself thinking, "Wow, this big clean house, the quiet, the infinite amounts of parking, Target..." I mean, Target? Really? Do I really want to move back to the boring-ass suburbs for the sake of Target and other accessible-but-mediocre franchises? The whole point of constantly stretching out to, and then finally being in LA was so I could escape the monotony, to work towards my goals, to avoid being in my twenties and thinking that the Loco Cantina* on a Friday night is the pinnacle of my week.

My friend sent me a link to this blog post on comfort. It made me more accepting, more positive about the seemingly-large-but-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things-small discomforts I'm dealing with right now. Here's the bit that got me:

“We live in a society where comfort has become a value and a life goal. But comfort reduces our motivation for introducing important transformations in our lives. Sadly, being comfortable often prohibits us from chasing our dreams. Many of us are like lions in the zoo: well-fed but sit around passively stuck in a reactive rut. Comfort equals boring shortsightedness, and a belief that things cannot change. Your comfort zone is your home base, a safe place not to stay in, but to return to, after each exhausting and exhilarating expedition through the wilderness of life. Take a look at your life today, if you are enjoying a shelter of comfort, break through it and go outside where life awaits.”

I hope you guys feel at least a little bit encouraged by that quote or feel my judgmental eyes burning on your comfortable, lazy ass.

One more thing: After reading that post, I revisited a "This I Believe" essay I heard a couple years ago by movie producer Brian Grazer, titled "Disrupting my comfort zone." As the title suggests, Grazer discusses the perks of discomfort.

*Nightlife in Rancho Cucamonga? Ha!

Crossing my fingers

2011-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

[via monasosh's Flickr]
I've been obsessively checking up on news about the protests in Egypt and in the Middle East (the BBC has a great feed and Al-Jazeera is a good source too). I have two friends who are over there, one whose last e-mail mentioned he smelled tear gas for the first time. Not really confidence inspiring. It's a bit naive to hope for a peaceful resolution to this, but I still hope this revolution happens with a minimal number of injuries and damage (too late) and the move towards a new government isn't too chaotic and ridiculous (again, naive).

Anyways, join me in crossing my fingers for the safety of everyone -- Egyptians and expats alike -- and for a better Egypt.

Atherton Lin

2011-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

[both photos from Atherton Lin. Click photos for larger versions. The second photo is particularly stunning!]
The boyfriend was up in Seattle and brought down a gorgeous calendar of watercolors by the duo Atherton Lin. They've sold out of the paper calendars, but they'll be posting desktop wallpaper versions of the calendar each month. Given that my ability to knit words effectively has all but disappeared, here's their description of the calendar in their words:
Geographies real and imagined, collections of small intrigue and landscapes of longing combine to tell stories of travel and wanderlust. ACROSS THE SEA is the new installment of the Atherton Lin narrative, a wall calendar for the year 2011 and a journey of high adventure and perpetual adolescence.
Here's a favorite of the boy and mine:

Black Swan

2011-01-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

[image via Park and Cube]
How awesome are these deco-style posters for "Black Swan"? Park and Cube got invited to a sweet screening of "Black Swan" that included a ballet lesson. Two things:
1. I wish I was a cool enough blogger to get invited to such things.
2. I took my first ballet class in forever last Friday. It was embarrassing and painful. While I will of course continue dancing, I think I will now finally put my ballerina aspirations to rest.
Another thing (01/24/11): I saw the Bolshoi Ballet in Orange County this weekend. Performance further impressed on me that I will probably not ever be a ballerina. But I'm hoping that an incredible ballerina body is still feasible.

Playing with scraps

2011-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Spent some time going through my paper stash -- all the strips and little bits that I hoarded. Love love making those hydrangea/sea flora flowers. They're not as labor intensive, yet just as pretty as a rose or a water lily.

So true!

2011-01-17T11:20:00.001-08:00

[via Gemma Correll's flickr]

Sea flora

2011-01-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

Back on the other job. This is supposedly a hydrangea, but it makes me think of something you'd find in a coral reef. Sort of like this thing below, which was intended to be a chrysanthemum.Hm... imagine the two together...

01/11/11

2011-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Metro decided to commemorate my 25th birthday by coming out with a commemorative bus pass. Thanks Metro, but I still find your service a bit lacking and can't believe you're thinking about cutting even MORE routes

Although the boyfriend is away on a business trip, my parents in the Midwest and most of my friends are out of state/country, I still have a hefty birthday week starting today! Looking forward to much food and libations and merry-making. :)

New Year's resolutions

2011-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

[via Boopsie Daisy's Flickr]
My wild and crazy New Year's involved me falling asleep at 9:30 p.m. Then reading "Happy New Year's" texts the next morning. My mom stayed up till midnight and I imagine partied like mad with the dog and my dad. Clearly, her resolution for 2011 is to be cooler than her daughter. Mission accomplished.***I've been on a resolutions moratorium for a couple years -- the last one being "I will not lose anymore chapsticks" a while back, which I've more or less kept. Well, I did semi-commit to keeping a ledger to track my spending last year, which ended up being a full commitment (which will be flowering into a project TBA).

When I used to consciously make resolutions, they'd be of the grand, sweeping variety -- become perfect, grow a foot tall, etc. -- which inevitably ended in failure by hour one of the new year. It's the resolutions that don't require me to change my character and I'm uncommitted to are the ones that end up winning, apparently.

So here goes for 2011 resolutions that won't change me from a bitter bitch to Glinda the Good Witch and that I may or may not commit to:
1. Write thank you cards (OK, so this is somewhat related to my character). I'm horrible when it comes to these -- the culprit being a combination of laziness and anxiety (which I have about any writing in general), regardless of how amazing the gift is. And oh look! I just found an idiot's guide to writing thank you notes.

2. Employ a "one-touch" policy with as much as possible. After clicking and reviewing an e-mail, make a decision to trash or respond. If I change from PJs to work clothes, fold up those PJs then and there. If I pull out tools and fabric, put them away after I'm done (although, sometimes, leaving mess until the next morning can do wonders for creativity).

3. When feeling overwhelmed or frustrated, write a list. This almost always seems to do the trick.
***Another thing to keep in mind about New Year's resolutions: There are two more New Year holidays after this Jan. 1 one -- Chinese New Year in February and Persian New Year (Norooz) in March. So if you screw up in January, you have two more shots at getting the resolutions thing down. I also suggest you have champagne and a countdown on each of those New Years. If you screw up after Norooz, it probably means you're a sad excuse of a person.

Today's words of wisdom

2011-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

[via Design Crush]
Do the same to people who just walk past you when you trip, sprain your ankle, then fall on your back. And it's not because you frequently shout then sprawl out on the ground. True story.

2011-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

[via Adios LA by Jon Jackson]
I am so over this goddamn cold and rain.

Brown paper packages + washi tape

2010-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

I got this tape last Christmas, a gift from Shawdie. I am still "but I am not worthy" with this tape, and hence the rolls are still nearly full. But as I was wrapping gifts this weekend, I just got the urge to use several luxurious inches of the tape to finish off some of the packages. And I feel zero guilt! I might just get crazy and use up the rolls this week.

Indestructible cuffs

2010-12-17T12:02:00.000-08:00

[from Noir Jewelry]
I think I need these cuffs. They'll be particularly handy when knocking out guys who profess to me that they love "all Asian women." For some reason, guys telling me that I'm exactly like millions of other women who vaguely look like me makes me want to give their brains a good, hard restart.

Inspiration v. Imitation by Jessica Hische

2010-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

[via Jessica Hische's blog. Click to see a larger version]
This "semi-sort-of comic" by Jessica Hische perfectly explains the difference between inspiration v. imitation. So keep your eyes open and keep on experiencing, so you make inspired things!

If I were a super hero...

2010-12-15T06:00:00.001-08:00

I'd wear these rings.

[rings by Wendy Brandes]
And beat the shit out of people.

Then I'd take a swig out of this flask and walk off into the shadows.

[by In God We Trust]
The End.

Oh, just having some lunch

2010-12-14T09:48:00.000-08:00

[From "MICK ROCK EXPOSED: The Faces of Rock n’ Roll" via Style Section LA]
How I should be dressing everyday, regardless of occasion.

Polka dots and lace

2010-12-14T06:00:00.001-08:00

A little peek at my final project! I'm hoping to finish this baby tonight. What's left:
-Sewing on and finishing the sleeves
-Attach the pockets
-Buttons and buttonholes
-The hem

Can you believe that the blue fabric was actually a pine green before? I put it in the wash and it came out that lovely sky blue. Not complaining, but I'm really relieved I washed it separately from my lighter color fabrics!

The white fabric in the back as nothing to do with my final; I just wanted to have a white background for the photo. It's a lucky score from the FIDM scholarship store (along with a couple others). Nine and a half yards of lovely white cotton from the Bebe studios. My summer whites next year are covered!

I DESERVE IT

2010-12-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

[via Frecklewonder's etsy. Unfortunately it's sold!]
OK, so my sked isn't nervous breakdown-inducing. I'm actually doing alright. I've just had a few nights where sleep was hard to come by. Plus on Tuesday, I stayed at school till midnight sewing (enjoyed thoroughly, by the way). So give a sister a break for dropping off the blogging truck, will ya?

Shellie's green bean and potato salad

2010-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

During my week off, I visited Shellie back home. She made this amazing salad and I couldn't get enough of it. The dressing had lime in it, which was unexpected. I've only seen vinegar and lemon as acids for dressings, and associate limes with Mexican food and sweets. The lime is tangy like lemons (I love tangy and sour flavors), but it's more subtle.

Below is a very loose recipe. Adjust the recipe for as little or as much as you'd like.
-Waxy potatoes
-Green beans
-Red onions, finely sliced

Dressing
-Limes, juice and zest too, if you want (it makes the whole dish much more fragrant)
-Clove of garlic
-Squeeze of Dijon mustard
-Olive oil
-Rice wine vinegar
Boil the potatoes until soft and drain. Boil green beans about seven minutes (or so they are cooked but still crunchy) and drain. Mix in the red onion and dressing while the potatoes and beans are still warm.

Notes:
-To give you an idea of yield: I boiled about a pound of potatoes and half a pound of green beans, sliced a quarter of a red onion. It was enough for a bowl for dinner and a square Tupperware for lunch the next day.

-I tried it with both baby red potatoes and fingerlings. I definitely prefer the fingerlings. They have a more creamy texture and absorb the dressing a lot better than the baby reds.

-I made a whole lot last last weekend... After a week, the beans and onion do get limp, but it still tastes good.

Why work doesn’t happen at work

2010-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

SO TRUE!!!
If you can't see the video in your RSS reader, here's a link to it.

Weekend colors

2010-11-30T06:00:00.001-08:00

On Friday, I had afternoon champagne tea with Ms. Teri at the Chado Tea Room at the Japanese American National Museum. I'm so glad I bought a few of those Groupon and LivingSocial deals while I was "rich"! It allows a girl of newly slender means to have a little bit of luxury every so often.

Afterwards, we walked to Raggedy Threads, a vintage store in the Arts District. The store is moving to somewhere in Little Tokyo, so they're having a big big moving sale (details on the sale here0. I gave in and picked up a few scarves at five bucks a pop.

The following day, Sew L.A. had a fabric sample sale. I scoped out this piece ahead of time online. It's "Beach Stripe" by Alexander Henry.

I was thinking about making a full skirt with it, but after staring at it for a while, I wonder if it'll be better off as a jacket lining? It is quite a strong print. The boy suggested that I make a dress out of it as it'll be impossible to find a top to match it. Thoughts?

I didn't take my camera, but I also went to the L.A. Auto Show. For those of you who are interested in making me exceedingly happy on Christmas morning, please get me a Rolls Royce Phantom...[via CLMC's flickr]With a white leather interior and honey wood inlay. And a driver, because that Rolls isn't going to drive itself.

And as these are recessionary times, I understand if you're not able to drop several hundred thousand dollars on me for Christmas. So here's an option for those who can only spare a couple tens of thousands of dollars on me: This Lotus Exiege, which should keep you under $100,000.[via Daniel Willmott's Flickr]
A word of advice: Get all your Fords, Toyotas and Hyundais over with before going to the Lotus/Porsch/Aston Martin/Rolls Royce showrooms. Because you'll end up sitting in a Camaro and just be disappointed.

Friday night dinner

2010-11-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last Friday was the first time it really felt cold in Los Angeles and I wanted something easy, but comforting. So I made pizza. My boyfriend does this all the time, and Shellie recently did it with her nieces.

As much as I'd love to make my own pizza dough, my kitchen just isn't large enough to accommodate that kind of baking prep. Ready-made pizza dough from Fresh & Easy makes it so much easier to do this pizza thing. I topped mine with caramelized red onions, sliced garlic, mozzarella and grated parmaggiano-reggiano, per recommendation of another friend. I'm completely obsessed with that combo; I may just have that pizza all next week.

But just so I don't get into a rut (albeit a delicious one), any tips on future pizza toppings?

P.S. Where's the Thanksgiving post you ask? Yours truly is working on this day of thanks. Granted, thanks to lowered hours, I'll be heading home after 3 p.m. for a Thanksgiving dinner of presumably pork ribs (get over turkey people!) and other home-cooked Korean food. But it is also due to said lowered hours that I am working holidays. But I requested the lower hours, as There Are Bigger Things To Come. So that's what I'm thankful for -- to work lower hours but still be able to pay rent and work towards bigger things.

Sewing finesse

2010-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

A classmate shared this video documenting how Roy of Roy Denim makes his jeans. The guy makes every single pair of jeans he sells all by himself. Sure, the video is edited and parts of it sped up, but you can still see how skilled he is. The way he zips through curves at around 1:23? And all those toys? Be still my heart.

Roy's Jeans - Video by Self Edge from Self Edge on Vimeo.

Here's Roy's story on how he got into making jeans.

And just to toot my own sewing horn: I pulled out my sewing machine to work on a skirt I started an embarrassingly long time ago and it was so easy! I remember being so freaked out about how fast the machine would run, and now I'm like, "WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY MACHINE."

(Sorry, the skirt isn't quite done yet, as I'm dependent on the overlock machines that are at school. But I'm hoping to be able to debut by next Thursday!)

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet

2010-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

I listened to a Fresh Air interview with David Mitchell, the author of "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet." Fortunately, I heard it while en route to the library, so I promptly borrowed it.

And as an extra bonus, the book cover is lovely.
I also love this font. It's very art deco.
The book is a historical fiction based on the Japanese island of Dejima. It's a tiny tiny manmade island off of Nagasaki. Japan was famously closed off to foreigners for a long time, but allowed this one outpost for Dutch tradesmen to come to (it started as a Portuguese trading post). In order to prevent unseemly influence onto the Japanese people -- Christianity, weird body odors -- foreigners were only allowed on this island. In rare instances, a top administrator or two would be allowed to cross into the Japanese mainland to meet with a shogun.

I enjoyed this book very much. David Mitchell did a good job of describing how the Dutch viewed the Japanese and vice versa, without falling into the trap of "GOD THOSE JAPANESE PEOPLE ARE WEIRD," which is so easy to do. That isn't to say everyone on either side was courteous to each other, but Mitchell did a good job of balancing the views of both sides.

Color in Death Valley

2010-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

There will probably more posts about my trip to Death Valley during my week off a while back. It was my first time there and I am absolutely in love with it. I'm hoping to squeeze in a trip between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

That name really does the park a disservice, especially because only ONE person died in the group that gave the park its name. But then again, I get really protective of places I really like, so I'm glad the name is such a turn-off for people.

Death Valley is a lot of desert, but it's also a whole lot of mountains and flatlands too. Sure, the desert is a lot of nothing (which is its own special kind of beauty), but go up just a thousand feet up in elevation and you start to see a little life.

How cool is this flower? The blossoms split like amoebas.

I realized on this trip that my replacement camera is pretty crappy. So I didn't take a lot of photos. But up in the flatlands, you'll find a lot of abandoned mines and the remnants of the towns that used to be there (a lot of rusty cans and frames). I wouldn't say it feels like romance or an eerieness, but I love that you find these hints of human existence, particularly in the flatlands.

(Slightly haute) quesadillas

2010-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've been making quesadillas stuffed with goat cheese and mushrooms for a quick meal+the next day's lunch. It's slightly haute, because the mushrooms, goat cheese and mint take it a few steps above your standard quesadilla.

Ingredients
-2 tablespoons butter
-1 pound sliced or quartered mushrooms
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/4 cup minced shallots
-1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
-1/4 cup fresh goat cheese
-1/2 pound low-moisture mozzarella, cut in small dice
-2 teaspoons oil
-12 corn tortillas

Here's the original recipe again, but below is an even reduced version. Seriously, it's so easy.

1. Melt the butter and throw in your mushrooms and shallots. A pound of raw mushrooms may seem like a lot, but they end up shrinking down.

Sautee, let the mushrooms give out moisture and let that moisture evaporate

2. While you wait for the mushrooms to cook down, mix the goat cheese and the mint.

3. Once the mushrooms and shallots have reduced and dried out a bit, mix them with the goat cheese and mint while still warm.

4. Warm a tortilla and then top with mozz on one side then put some of the mushroom mix on top and then another helping of mozz. Then fold over the tortilla, continue heating to make sure the mozz gets gluey enough to hold everything together.

5. And enjoy!

I'm not sure how long it'll keep, but I did refrigerate some of the mushroom-goat cheese mix for a day or so, because I didn't have enough mozzarella and tortillas. Presumably you can make the mix ahead of time and whip some of these quesadillas up in a pinch.

And because it's so basic, I figure you can make this with different twists -- i.e. different mushroom and cheese pairings, sautee the mushrooms in wine perhaps?

Let me know any ideas or other good mushroom recipes!

J'adore

2010-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

[via Fashion Gone Rogue]
Given my newly poor(er) state and the fact that Christina Huh just doesn't do lines (beggars can be choosers. Sort of), I don't think I'll be waiting overnight to drop $200 on an H&M dress. But this dress is super cute. Christmas is just around the corner people. Just sayin'.

She's alive!!!!

2010-11-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yes. I'm still kicking. And attempted my first paper orchid, which isn't bad for a first try (and also, if I may add, quite Freudian).

An update:
Still taking my fashion class, Samplemaking I. There are definitely some frustrations I have with the class, but I'm learning a lot and really enjoying myself. The last time I ironed clothes, it was incredible -- being able to look at pieces of clothing and understand so much better how it was constructed. Next semester, I'm planning on taking Samplemaking II and Pattern drafting I, which I'm really really looking forward to. After that semester, I'll have to make a decision of whether to stick with the night program or finangle my way into the day program.

My work hours got reduced, per my request. Of course it means less money -- a good chunk out of what was an already small paycheck -- but I feel less tired and anxious, while still being able to pay the rent.

For better or for worse, this recession has me convinced that I may never get that full-time job with benefits. It also made me realize that maybe I don't want that nine-to-five -- ever. A colleague of mine who's "living the dream" of making money from what she makes with her two hands, freelancing whatever abilities she has (that sounds like a very very sterile way to refer to prostitution, which she most definitely is not doing). She told me a good dose of desperation forces you to expand your abilities and grow to your potential. I am looking at this time as the fire under my ass that'll get me where I want to be.

That being said, the biggest hurdle I'll have to overcome is discipline, which I have very little of. I noticed that I'm at around 700 or so posts on this blog. So a goal: Have a blog with a nice following (100 sounds like a nice number) by the thousandth post. I'll be starting with two posts a week -- maybe more -- but a guaranteed two posts, and we'll move on from there.

I'll leave you with two relevant posts I really enjoyed by Elise: On motivation and on self-employment.

Sequins and silk

2010-09-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

Forgot to add these in the previous post!

One of my favorite purchases during my jaunt around LA with Dani and Shawdie a few weeks ago:Six bucks for a whole roll of this shininess! I stared longingly at these sequins -- I knew I had no idea what I'd use it for, so I shouldn't get it -- but Shawdie said I should just buy it, seeing how I was so smitten by them. I may trim everything with it!

And here's some gray silk I got from the "silk sale" area at Michael Levine's. It may be turned into Colette Patterns' Rooibos dress or into Sencha blouse.

And yellow lillies from the boy!

Fabric haul

2010-09-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Still alive, promise. Work, class, people, three excruciatingly hot days -- that's what happened.

This stripe-y fabric is a fabric remanent I scored at the FIDM scholarship store. I had decided to stop adding to my fabric pile and then this pretty little thing caught my eye. Not sure what the fabric content is, although I'm pretty sure it's a synthetic (should try a burn test, although I doubt this is real silk). The color combinations remind me of the stripes on Korean traditional dresses. The selvedge edge says this fabric is from some subsidiary of Samsung, so perhaps it really was inspired by Korean dresses.
The edges are still raw and I like it like that, but I'll have to finish the edges if I want this scarf to last me a good long time.

From top to bottom:
-Gorgeous cotton-silk blend I got for Teri's Sencha top. I spent a long time at Michael Levine's trying to pick the perfect color. I think I did right by choosing this one. I find it very unique and sophisticated.
-Yellow polka dot cotton: I find Michael Levine's a wee bit pricey, but if you look in their clearance section, you can score lovely finds like this. Two dollars a yard!
-Midnight blue satin: Probably my best find yet from the FIDM scholarship store. Gorgeous satin from Bebe! The fabric area in the back has a lot of crap polyester, but a good portion of it is quality fabrics like this one. And fabrics -- crappy or solid -- are max $2 a yard.
-Dark purple fabric: Of unknown provenance, but I suspect it's a cotton-silk blend. One of my favorite button-downs of my dad is in this color.

From left to right:
-Yellow and green polka dots: Another $2 a yard score from Michael Levine's. Not sure what it is, but it feels like it has some synthetic fiber in it. I'm usually pretty strict about not buying synthetics, but they were so preeeeeeetttttttyyyyy!
-Blue polka dots: This is actually a dress from Urchin Merchant in Highland Park. Off the $2 rack. The fit isn't right, but it has potential. I figure now that I'm learning how to sew for reals, I can tackle refashioning clothes. I've also been keeping up with New Dress a Day. Marisa spends $1 a day on a piece of clothing (a lot of muumuus) and refashions it into a fabulous dress (or top). It's totally inspired me!

Mayer Hawthorne

2010-09-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

I downloaded the Kate Spade twirl mix (you can do that here for free). It's twee-ness galore, but that's Kate Space for ya. Yes, I am embarrassed to say that I listen to twee to music, but I'm admitting it, because one song really stuck out from the mix, "Make Her Mine" byMayer Hawthorne. His voice is a retro falsetto and I love it! It's completely unexpected too, given that he looks like a slightly chubby Ira Glass.

Pictograms

2010-09-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

I saw this fun poster on a post on how to learn a language over at Marta Writes. As challenging as Chinese script is, it lends itself to a more visually creative way of looking at language. I wish I knew where this photo came from -- doesn't say on the website (just flickr) -- I'd love to have a print of this poster!

Konapun!

2010-09-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

The plate the fried shrimp are on is probably about the size of a quarter.
[All photos are screenshots from RRcherrypie's videos]
I learned how the Japanese are making leaps and bounds in all things tiny through this Bon Appetit article. Konapun is "a highly sophisticated Play-Doh made from sodium alginate," and it is something I probably would've gone crazy for as a little kid... Or let's not kid myself, I'd thoroughly enjoy this at 24 years old.

Learn more, after the jump!

I watched all of RRcherrypie's Konapun videos (she also makes stuff with something called whipple), and it's amazing! There are several different types of Konapun powders -- powders for cake, powders for meats, powders for crepes... And probably the coolest powder? The one used to make little fish roe pearls to top your Konapun sushi with!

There's a powder specifically used to "fry" things too. I found this really fascinating. The little kitchen set-ups that the Konapun powders appear to come up with don't actual work -- so no heat. But you stir the Konapun "oil" powder and then put in your Konapun donut or tempura, and the "oil" starts to bubble and the food actually floats up, just like in real frying!
[Watch the donuts video here]
Also, apparently, die-hard Konapuners only use the teeny utensils provided to whip up their Konapun delicacies -- like teeny tongs to push your potato sticks into your teeny fry basket.
[the burgers and fries video]
Anyone going to Japan any time soon?

'Being married is like having a color television set, you never want to go back to black and white"

2010-09-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

[via A Cup of Jo]
You can only share this kind of story in public if you're old. Otherwise, I'll roll my eyes and think, "Well, of course, you're in love with her, because you're both still attractive and presumably having lots of hot sex." You can only say such things when your loved one is verging on Jabba the Hutt pudge or turning into a freaky skin bag of bones.

I'll get the ice creams...

2010-08-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Saw this over at Swiss Miss. Ha!

Arabic calligraphy

2010-08-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

[I wrote this post ages ago as a guest post for another blog... And well, after initial confirmation, nothing happened. So here you go!]
***
I studied Arabic when I was in college and fell in love with the language. I probably have the same level of fluency as a five-year-old Arabic kid, but the script makes even the most mundane, simple statements -- "I went to the movies today" -- beautiful. But the calligraphy in the hands of a master, can turn into true art.

Many people are familiar with the more traditional, ornate Arabic calligraphy, like the one below.Always trust in yourself[by Josh Berer]
While this style is very beautiful, there are a few Arabic calligraphers who are breaking from this style and putting their own unique twists to the art.Haji Noor Deen is a Chinese Muslim, and he combines Chinese and Arabic calligraphy beautifully.[by Haji Noor Deen]***Another of my favorite calligraphers is Nihad Dukhan. He really breaks from tradition with his very modern interpretation of Arabic calligraphy.[Pen, left. Soul, right. By Nihad Dukhan]
Here is an interview he did, where he explains his artistic process. Here is his explanation behind the Pen piece:

"In pen, you also have a sharp writing tip. Also, the two vertical dots represent air bubbles in the reservoir of fountain pens."

***One of my favorite places to learn about Arabic calligraphy is my friend Josh Berer's blog. The first piece above is by Josh. Below is one of his latest commissions. The shape of the piece is a Lebanese cedar.Along with sharing photos of commissions he's working on on his blog, he also gives insight on how the script evolved and also how to make your own ink and reed pen. Also, he has a funny, but very helpful post on how to avoid getting a nonsensical Arabic tattoo. He's also well-traveled -- Jordan, Yemen, Turkey -- and wrote great posts about his travels.

The weekend, in brief

2010-08-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Had a particularly fun weekend this week, so I thought I'd share.[Apparently, these cookies are for twenty-somethings only]
The boy and I spent most of Saturday morning and afternoon tracking down the best tamales, prepared carne asada meat and tortillas in East LA in preparation for his family camping trip. I don't remember any of the names of the places, only that a few were in Boyle Heights and one was in Lincoln Heights. If I do learn them... I'll consider sharing that information. :P

Then, we caught the last day of the Ed Emberley exhibit at the Scion Gallery in Culver City. Do you remember this guy? Huge part of my childhood, what with his easy peasy, word-less directions to draw people, monsters, animals, EVERYTHING, and also whole books dedicated to drawings just around your thumbprints!

My camera was being wonky, so I couldn't take any photos. Fortunately, there is a virtual version of the gallery here, for those who missed it. There was a big wall of Ed Emberley animals, faces and monsters, which was my favorite (picture 5). I also loved the mock-ups of his books (starts at picture 18). Also at the exhibit were works by artists who were inspired by Ed Emberley -- including personal favorites Saelee Oh and Seonna Hong.

There were tables with markers and paper to make your own Ed Emberley masterpiece and here are ours:
[The boy's. He copied his monster and UFO+aliens from works painted on the walls]
[Mine. I used instrux from Ed Emberley's Big Purple Drawing Book. No purple markers in my box, so teal had to do.]
I get the feeling we won't be able to sell these for $300 a pop, like the original Ed Emberley pieces that were up for sale. They'll most likely go up on my wall, but I will entertain any $300 offers for our lovely artwork.

We also went to the Korean market so he could pick up more provisions for his trip to Tahoe. I picked up two boxes of these cookies, mostly based on the fact that the package says it's...

I think this designation is kind of in line with the "men's" Pocky sticks, which are called "men's" because the cookie sticks are a darker chocolate... which I guess men like more? These kancho cookies are less sweet than the usual straight-up chocolate kancho cookies, which supposedly adults prefer. These were good, but I prefer the sweeter ones.[Really mature designs stamped on the cookies
We ended the evening at Angeli Caffe with friends, to enjoy wine good food (and make use of my 30% off Blackboard code).

Couscous salad

2010-07-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

The one downside about living out in LA is that I now have to pay rent, which means less money for eating out. I meant to cook more anyways once I got out of the house (I'm one of those people who needs MY kitchen, not my mom's kitchen). I'm also transitioning into a more vegetarian diet, because I'm going to be buying organic meat (factory farm meats are really freaking me out).

Fittingly, whole grains and beans are good sources for protein for poor people. Splendid Table did a segment on how to use grains, and it really inspired me. I don't like leafy salads, not because I don't like lettuce or arugula and such, but because it's salad. I find them terribly boring and I can't imagine eating one for a meal. Grain salads on the other hand, feel more substantial and more exciting.

[photo by me]
The recipe after the jump!

My first foray into grain salads is this recipe from Run Girl Run. You can eyeball the amounts for this salad to what you wish and swap in and out ingredients to your liking. The way I made it:
-Israeli couscous (larger "pearls" than normal cousous) or grain of your choice
-Vegetable broth
-Red onions
-Chipotle
-Chick peas
-Spinach
-Chicken
-Garlic
-Lemon juice
-Olive oil
-Salt, black pepper
-Red pepper flakes to taste

1. Prepare the couscous as indicated on the box. I used vegetable broth for more flavorful couscous. You can of course use just water or a meat-based broth. Also, I toasted the couscous with a little olive oil beforehand -- toasting always makes for more flavorful grains!
2. You can buy ready-made rotisserie chicken, but I sauteed chicken chunks with a little garlic.
3. While your couscous is cooking, chop red onions, chipotle, and spinach. I sauteed the red onions a little bit, because the raw red onions had too much bite and I spent most of the afternoon avoiding people at work.
4. Once your couscous is done, mix in the ingredients you just chopped plus the chicken and chickpeas.
5. Make a vinaigrette with the lemon juice, olive oil and season it to your liking. Pour over salad and toss. Add red pepper flakes if you fancy a little spice.
6. Chill, then enjoy.

Just to give you an idea of ingredient amounts... One box of couscous (~~16 oz I think?~~ 8/02/10: 8 oz. actually) + three cups of loosely packed spinach + handful of chipotle + can of chick peas + two chicken breasts = yields about four packed square sandwich Tupperwares (according to the website, each sandwich box hold about three cups, but I don't think I made 12 cups worth...).

I was concerned about the spinach getting wilted and slimy, but I usually end up eating the salad within two days, and it’s fine. But Jess of Run Girl Run said she ate the salad throughout the week and the lemons keep everything fresh. Also, I think it's good to make this ahead of time, so the vinaigrette can really soak into the salad.

This is By The Grace of My Lord

2010-07-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a beautiful video of my friend Josh writing in Arabic calligraphy "This is by The Grace of My Lord," with ink he made and paper he dyed. Typical, amazing Josh.

The writing is so sensual -- the black of the ink against the creaminess of the paper and the curves and waves of the letters.

This Is For The Grace Of God from Josh Berer on Vimeo.

Caramelized onions

2010-07-26T06:00:00.001-07:00

[All photos by me]
Deeply caramelized onions. Just do it.

It's so easy. Throw a pile of sliced onions tossed in a little oil into a pot. Salt and pepper to taste, though I find that completely unnecessary. Cover and put over medium high heat. Give them a stir every so often to keep them from sticking and burning.
Once the onions soften and release a ton of liquid, lower the heat and uncover, so the liquid can evaporate and caramelization can begin.
Stir every 10-15 minutes. The caramelization process takes a while -- for my five onions, it took about two hours to get really caramelized. Do what you need to do -- clean the house, write a blog post -- but keep your nose on alert.
Be careful to not burn the onions, because it'll leave a bitter taste in the onions and you'll have to start over.

I used five medium-size onions, which reduced to about 1.5 cups -- again, onions have a surprising amount of water in them. The onions will be creamy and taste sweet.

I got this idea from an article by Russ Parsons, that gives you a play-by-play on caramelizing onions, along with ideas on how to use the onions. I'm planning on slathering the onion on this week's lunch sandwiches and wraps. That is, if I can resist finishing it off with just a spoon.

Le Petit Elefant

2010-07-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

I stopped by the Renegade Craft Fair on Saturday to check out Genevieve of Le Petit Elefant's table. I picked up an 8" by 11" print of my favorite piece by her. Here are some detail shots:

Her drawings remind me of my favorite children's book author Tomie De Paola, in that her drawings really exude whimsy and child-like joy. Check out her blog to keep up with her latest sketches and work.

I didn't take a photo of it, but she had this really really cute plush mobile of the little black-haired girl sitting on a crescent moon with clouds all around her. I wonder if someone picked it up yet? Whoever gets it is a very lucky person. She also makes plush animals (including les petits elefants). Once my friends start popping out babies, I know her artwork and plushes will be on the top of my baby shower gift list.

Renegade goes on till 7 p.m. tonight in the cornfield park outside of Chinatown... There's still time!

A taste of summer

2010-07-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

[Photo by me]
A few weeks ago, Teri visited and we made ricotta cheese. Here's the recipe we used and it's just as easy as it looks! All you need is whole milk, salt and lemon juice (for cream cheese or marscarpone, fiddle with cream-milk ratios).

The recipe says curds will start forming after one or two minutes of simmering, but it ended up being closer to five minutes for us. I guess "medium heat" is a bit of a subjective term. We simmered the milk for good half hour before the milk stopped "giving" curds.

Drain (or hurry the process along by pressing the excess moisture out of the cheese) and serve with fresh-picked peaches and plums and a little bit of honey.

Making your own ricotta is just too easy. I'll probably never buy ricotta again!

Dead or alive?

2010-06-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

[Photo of the bouquet of lillies someone got me, dying]
Still alive, but just hanging on. Well, that's a bit of a stretch. As stated before, I joined the oh-so lucky folks with a 40-hour work week. Throw in a minimum two-hour daily commute, and basically my life feels consumed by work. I get up (way too early), go to work, bounce between jobs, get on the train, go home, sleep. Repeat.

It's not so much "work" that I dislike, but the idea that my life -- especially my precious twenties -- is going to be mostly sitting on my ass and staring at a screen, my brain going to mush. At least one job requires active thinking and a co-worker who I'm trying to learn as much from.

But at the same time, the increased hours and the slight increase in pay has allowed me to...

* drum roll, please *
MOVE OUT.
I'll be moving to LA probably at the end of the month. I'll have a roommate -- which I'm a bit wary about -- but the place is very affordable, close to Echo Park, Silver Lake and Los Feliz and the westside (relatively)...

The Irishman is in my characterless suburban town for something and I attempted to help him try and find places for him, a food snob, to eat. I pointed out to him that I may live here, but my life was in LA. So yay! I'll be where my life is soon!

So that's the update! Hopefully July -- at least the beginning of it, as I'll be slammed (again) with work (another event!) from mid-July to early August -- will involve more blogging and sharing. Until then... Ciao!

(500) Days of Summer -- The Thiller

2010-05-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

Saw this over on LA Observed. I love how convincingly these trailers make a movie seem like the complete opposite. Tom always seemed a little off, right?

Hello Marimekko

2010-05-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

[via Always Mod]
WANT!!! But of course, as with all things super cool, these phones are only offered in Japan (not even Finland gets these!).

Top Gear freak out

2010-05-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Even if you have zero interest or knowledge about cars, you can't help but love the BBC car show Top Gear.

[from left to right, Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James May]
This show will make anyone into an auto-phile. It kind of makes me want to learn how to drive stick shift so I can drive real cars (and tractors and stuff like that, as the boy pointed out) and become a Formula 1 driver (and perhaps be the anonymous Stig?).

But I think what else makes this show irresistible are the hosts. Jeremy Clarkson, by far, is the most popular. He's so British in his abrasive, sarcastic commentary. And on a more romantic note, he's totally the man who'd be a shitty boyfriend, but you can't resist him (yes, I've thought this scenario through with each man). Richard Hammond is quite excitable and the oh-so cute car munchkin (said in the most loving way possible). James May is probably the only adult in the group -- even-tempered and thoughtful (for the most part. Probably the best, but not necessarily the most exciting, person to spend your life with).

ANYWAYS, I saw this hilarious video of fans who saw the cast in jerry-rigged motorhomes (of course) taping season 15 on the Top Gear blog.***
PS: Yeah, I know. Been MIA to the max, even though the fundraising dinner's come and gone, the story's been reported and postponed. There's no wifi at the place I'm house-sitting and I got loads of extra hours at one of my jobs, which will put me at a 40-hour work week.

Oh Zooey

2010-05-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

[via Fashion Gone Rogue]
Love.This.Girl.

Print sale at My Folk Lover!

2010-05-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

FYI kids, Catherine Campbell of My Folk Lover is having a half off sale on all her prints!* She's raising money for vet care for her pet bunny. I've written about Catherine here and here.

The sale starts on Monday, May 17 and ends the next day. I'm picking out which ones I want right now!

*Except limited edition prints

Attention to detail

2010-05-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Most of the week, I work in an old house in Chinatown... I think it's nearing 100 years old. Sure there are crappy things about it -- it's a little creaky and there's zero insulation, so I'm afraid of what work's going to be like in the summer. But overall, it's a pretty little house with ornate detail in places you'd least expect.

It starts at the entrance. Before you come in, take a look at the door knob.

The whole above is a trick keyhole. You swing the little "door" just below it to get the real keyhole.

And even the side of the door, where NO ONE looks, there are matching, ornate fixtures.

And remember to look up when you walk in. Not sure of the history or provenance of this dragon head, but it's gorgeous.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T14:21:00.001-07:00

To the moon!

2010-05-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

Allow me to geek out for a bit and share this video with you of an incredible slow motion video that stretches the 30 seconds of the July 1969 Apollo 11 lift-off into eight minutes. The space nerd boyfriend showed this to me last night.

Apollo 11 Saturn V Launch (HD) Camera E-8 from Mark Gray on Vimeo.

Here's a link to the HD version (you can only watch on its Vimeo page), which for some reason, I can't embed right now. But I highly highly highly recommend you try and watch it in HD.

It is so visually stunning that even if you have zero interest in science or space, you'll be in awe. My favorite part starts at around 3:30, when the shuttle has disconnected from the base, and all the base apparatuses are on fire and then there's huge, curling plumes of steam that come out as water is poured into the base to cool it down. The film looks like a surreal painting, not a rocket launch.

And if you are even remotely interested in science, I think you'd also appreciate the accompanying play-by-play commentary.

If you want a DVD of this or other rocket launches for yourself or the nerd in your life, check out Space Craft Films. After fretting the boy's June birthday gift, I now know what to get him.

2010-05-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

{from Gemma Correll's flickr}
This cracks me up.

Licorice all-sorts and neapolitan ice cream

2010-05-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

For some reason when I pack, I like to color coordinate the tee and tank "rolls." Why the packing? I'm house and ferret sitting in Little Tokyo all of this month.

Packed the essentials, of course
The best thing about this, is that I don't have to catch the 7:30 a.m. train to get to the office by 9 a.m. Rather, my commute is about 10 minutes driving, and if I don't want to drive, there's a Gold Line station right down the street. I will probably cry when I have to return to the old schedule in June.
***Sunday's Society fundraising dinner was, for the most part, a success. I kept my stress checked, and I enjoyed the evening a lot. The award trophies that my co-worker designed were gorgeous and fitting for the amazing honorees, Chinese banquets are total madness -- nine courses?! -- but delicious and the evening entertainment was great (I had my reservations about Beijing opera, which is already kind of bad in Chinese, in English).

My dinner outfit: Black dress I got for $10 at a Berkeley consignment store in high school and that awesome jacket from Banana Republic. The jacket served more of a utilitarian purpose: I needed pockets and a way for other staffers to find me easily.
I woke up today quite awake and chipper, but the "tired" just hit me now. Just a quick post for now... Now to sort out all the money from the silent auction and the raffles from last night -- keeping large amounts of money always makes me nervous -- and researching the story...
***PS: While flipping through my reader, I was pleasantly surprised that Meylah recognized my yellow-and-gray bouquet, which I submitted for her April "Spring Products" photo contest.

May's photo contest Submit your photos to her flickr group.

Reads and listens -- Crime edition!

2010-04-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yep, the period of little to no posting will be a bit longer than I expected. Sunday is when the Big Fundraising Dinner goes down, but right after, I have to get cracking on a freelance assignment. It's been busy, but I've been able to squeeze in some reading here and there...

-Dropping the Subject: Nancy Rommelman, a freelance reporter, writes about her decision to not pursue a story about a crazy murderer, even though the subject was ready and willing. I can understand why she would drop the story -- but then again, does someone being completely remorseless for their horrific crimes and an utterly disgusting terrible human being means their story shouldn't be told? This piece really made me think.

-Art of the Steal: On the Trail of the World's Most Ingenious Thief: This is one of the most riveting pieces I've ever read! It's a profile of Gerald Blanchard, who is one of the cleverest thieves around. And he doesn't necessarily seem to do it for the cash -- it seems like he does it for the thrills.

The article opens with Blanchard stealing the Sisi star, which was a 10-pointed diamond star with a large pearl for the center. His mind just immediately clicks into gear on how he will take it... The story closes with his eventual arrest -- one that he actually doesn't escape from, like he did in previous ones -- when he made one teeny flaw when robbing the Bank of Nova Scotia.

-The Pink Panthers: [This is only an abstract of the article -- which is why you should get a New Yorker subscription, stat.] Daniel Samuels tries to understand the Pink Panthers, a collective of jewel thieves across Europe, mainly made up of men from the Balkans. While clever, these guys are more stereotypical jewel thieves: Disguises, smashed glass jewelry cases, bags of diamonds and pearls. Here's a video of members of the Pink Panthers robbing a jewelry store in Dubai by crashing Audis, seemingly their automobile of choice, into a mall. While police across Europe have a good idea as to who many of the men are -- and have arrested them -- it's very unclear who they're getting their orders from.

The article also breaks down the motivations of these men. Given that most of them have lived their lives under oppressive regimes -- i.e. Slobodan Milosevic -- and have only seen black market methods for survival, it's pretty understandable why these guys choose to do what they do.

-The Chameleon: Profile of a French man who has an incredible talent of disguising himself as many different people. It includes a story about the man when he tricks into believing he is an American boy who went missing, which sheds some twisted light on what really happened to the missing boy.

-This Month's Playboy: A Little More Feminist Than Usual?: Not crime-related, but... This is a smartly written article about the difference between Ashley Dupre's nude photos in Playboy v. Ashley Dupre's nude cell phone photos that were published everywhere after the Spitzer scandal broke out. Basically, perceived sluttiness, provocative clothes, marriage, job in the sex industry -- none are consent to have sex or have sexual photos disseminated whenever, wherever, however.

Just kidding

2010-04-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Secret (well, actually not-so-secret) fabric store reveal? Probably won't be happening until the weekend. I knew the next few weeks were going to be crazy, but I completely underestimated HOW crazy things were going to be!

But anyways, here's a sneak peek of the fabric loot:

This isn't part of the eight yards I got. I got this quarter yard or so for free. I spotted a thinning bolt of this same fabric on the cutting counter, in the hands of another. I spent most of my time at the store trying to coerce this lady into giving ME the bolt of this gorgeous green sateen, but she wouldn't budge. * un grand sigh * Well, at least I have a piece, and I see maybe one or two clutches coming out of this.

Mom also came back home today, after a few weeks in Korea. This meant gifts! She brought me one of the intense Korean skin care sets that have all kinds of stuff to put on your face, a tube of BB cream (this foundation is all the rage across Asia; we'll see if it lives up to the hype) and some checkbooks.

As a sort of, kind of, not really New Year's resolution (because I don't really make them!), I said I'd actually use a checkbook I got a few years ago in Korea to record my spendings. And I've kept up with it and found it to be really helpful! Unfortunately, in the U.S., it's hard to find functional AND cute ledger books. You can't find American ledgers that'll shout this at you:

Indeed. Let's.
And one more thing... I'm joining Grosgrain's "Frock by Friday" sew-a-long! Click on the photo below to find out more. It'll kick off on Monday, April 26.

We're back in business!

2010-04-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

I got my new camera! Well, new used. Same model as my old one, a little bit beat up, but in much better condition than the previous. And I scored it for $31 off of eBay. Granted it didn't come with a battery, charger or a data card, but I already have all that from my old one, so no problemo.

Below is one of the last photos I took before I fell over and broke the camera lens.

The puppy. Of course.

I'll still be MIA for a while, but with the camera, there may be some few short photo posts here and there (and of course, there's always twitter) -- starting with the fabric loot I got this weekend! Eight gorgeous yards of large-print cotton sateen for only a buck a yard! Minimum, you'd need to shell out $8 a yard. Will share the secret fabric store... tomorrow.

Well maybe not completely MIA...

2010-04-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Follow me on twitter! :)

MIA

2010-04-15T14:02:00.001-07:00

Is what I'll probably be for the next two weeks or so... Sorry kids. :(

Like, do you ride camels?

2010-04-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

I listened to an interview on The World about these Arab Burger King commercials on The World while driving to work a few days ago. Good to know that Saudis have a sense of humor, but a bit sad that I can't really argue against the "dumb American" stereotype.

They're not on-air yet, but they're being tested on YouTube:

Heather Ross Keds

2010-04-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

[via Heather Ross' blog]
Love! You can get 'em here. They have shoes in women's and children's sizes and are $60 for women's shoes and $50 for kiddie shoes.

* Wolf Whistle *

2010-04-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

[via Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing]
Wow. How gorgeous is this dress that Gertie sewed up? She calls it the "Ceil Chapman Tribute Dress," Ceil Chapman being the designer of gorgeous mid-century clothing confections. For a bio on her click here.

It's based on a Vogue Michael Kors pattern... I'm turning into a complete pattern whore to the point that I'll drive to several Joann's to find what I want! Ooooh... Pattern loot, potential post?

Julia Sweeney on sex ed.

2010-04-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Nothing like sex to start you up on this fine Monday morning! My sex talk largely consisted of "don't do it" and "don't do it." But maybe I should've been a more inquisitive child, like Julia Sweeney's eight-year-old daughter.Happy Monday!

It's Friday!

2010-04-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

[via Fashion Gone Rogue]
I feel like jumping around with a bunch of balloons in fabulous clothes and shoes on Fridays, like Coco Rocha is. Don't you?

But especially so this Friday. The end of this week is the beginning of a very busy period for me, in a good way. Lots of new jobs to apply for, prepping for the Society's fundraising dinner (in less than a month!) and researching a freelance radio gig (from just being asked to help with tape syncs to doing real stories!). I haven't felt this busy in a long long time. It's sometimes a little overwhelming, but really exciting (and mo' money doesn't hurt either).

Oh yeah, I'm take the first part of a pattern-drafting class at Home Ec on Friday night. Sooooooooooo excited!!!

Hope your Friday and weekend is as swell as mine will be!

Pick a card, any card

2010-04-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

I can't keep a poker face, so gambling is out of the question. But, that doesn't prevent me from wanting some of these pretty decks of cards:

[via Hello! Lucky]
[4/9/10: Oops forgot the details above the deck above! Here it is] The cards above were part of Hello!Lucky's creative director's wedding. You can get your very own set here. Check out the wedding; so many thoughtful details!

I saw the cards below over at the mint blog. Aside from me being abysmally bad at poker, these cards too pretty to be left in a box, only to be pulled out for a random game of speed. I think I'd frame sets of them and put them up around the house.

[via Pagnedemek store]
You can buy two decks for 22 euros here (for some reason, there's no option to buy just one deck).

Also, while looking for more fun playing cards, I saw that Bicycle -- the brand of cards you usually see -- is getting into the visually exciting decks of cards business too. Below are two of my favorites:

[via Amazon]
On the left is the Tragic Royalty deck and on the right is one of the Fashion decks, which come in all kinds of lovely colors like lavender, pink and pastel blue.

[via Elise's blog]
And last but not least... Ms. Elise a few years ago did a daily card project. She took several decks of cards and decorated one a day to work herself creatively. She didn't quite make a year, but she made over 200 the cards. I loved waking up and seeing the latest card.

So there we are! Pick a card, any card and go!

2010-04-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

I learned about this list over at oh hello friend. Rachel of Lovely Clusters is compiling a list of creative bloggers. Want to check out bloggers and join in on the fun? Click here for the list and instructions (scroll down). Here we go with mine!*** Hei! My name is Christina and I live in southern California. Although I live in an inland suburb, I consider Los Angeles my home. I work part-time for local history society -- I love Los Angeles history! -- and do a bit of web work for a radio show, along with freelancing stories here and there. I'm not sure what the future holds for me, but I hope it will include traveling and eating a lot of unpasteurized cheese in France, rosewater ice cream in Iran and fat steaks in Texas.

In between, I love working with my hands -- making paper flowers, baking/cooking (although lately, it's been more just eating) and sewing. The latter two I'm still learning, but I sell my paper flowers at my store, Pooky Butt. Eventually, I'd like to support myself entirely with what I can make with my own two hands.
[some pretty in pink roses]

[some poppy poppies]
What inspires me? Everything. Cliche, I know. But I truly believe that everything I see, listen to, read, experience will somehow contribute to my life -- creatively and otherwise. A more local inspiration? Probably my dad, who tends the most wonderful garden in the backyard. I'm pretty sure I got my DIY spirit from him.

My web vitals: [blog] [store] [flickr] [twitter]

Sunday brunch

2010-04-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to the Sunday Brunch Dress Shop through Caroline of It Looks Good To Me. She is Sunday Brunch's April featured artist. Check out her lovely watercolor and ink fashion sketches here.

The dresses themselves are absolutely lovely. Elegant but quirky, sumptuous but sometimes edgy. I hope to have some of these dresses, particularly that drapey one on the upper right hand corner, when I become a real lady (if ever)!

[via Sunday Brunch Dress Shop]
Clockwise, from the upper left hand corner:1.
Lorick Peek Dress in Steve's Prairie 2.
McGinn Folded Corsage Dress 3. Graey Silk Jersey Dress 4. McGinn Dizzie Lizzie Dress 5. BGN Lemon Drop Dress 6. Lorick New Villager Dress

Golden eggs! And tomatoes! And egg plants!

2010-04-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

[via Design of Mankind]
Shawdie pointed out this amazing edible food spray. It's from The Deli Garage, a German food label. Unfortunately, they are sold out.

But that gives me time to dream up possibilities for the sprays:
-A golden goose, with golden eggs of course.
-Really perk up your Thanksgiving cornucopia with golden vegetables and wheat.
-And you know you'd be extra thankful if a big huge golden turkey was set in the middle of the Thanksgiving feast.
-Add some affordable luxury into your life -- golden sandwich.

I hope they come out with other edible sprays in different metallic colors. Imagine metallic green paint for cucumbers and purple for eggplants? I bet they'd look like those aluminum Christmas ornaments.

As they are sold out of these sprays, I'd still go to the Deli Garage store and check out their other products. They really have fun with their food packaging, keeping with an auto garage theme -- olive oil change, grape battery anyone?

Reads and listens

2010-04-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Benja Harvey's paper wings for a holiday Hermes window in Australia[via the Paperform blog]
-Original Ideas, Influences, Copycats, and Cross-Pollination: Sister Diane of Crafty Pod wrote a really thoughtful post on, well, refer to the headline. She really hits the nail on what I think about originality and copying.

-In the Air: Malcolm Gladwell wrote a New Yorker piece a few years ago, challenging the idea that big, and presumably "original," ideas are rare.

-NUMMI: A great This American Life episode that breaks down the problems that General Motors had, particularly focusing on its NUMMI factory. You spend the first part a little bit hopeful, and then the rest of the time wondering how a company could last so long being so illogical and irresponsible.

-An interivew with Benja Harvey of Paperform: Benja Harvey is someone I admire a lot. He's an Australia-based paper artist, or "paper engineer," as he calls himself. His work is amazing -- check out his flickr. I've also had the honor of him complimenting my paper work!

-Losing It: Dominique Brown writes in the NYT magazine about what life was like after House & Garden magazine folded, where she was an editor. This article gives the most accurate play-by-play of what it's like to be unemployed. I'm certainly a lot better (from no jobs to two part-time jobs + random freelancing gigs that are thrown my way), but man, for maybe the first eight months, it was just pure depression.

-The Bag Lady Paper: Alexander Penney, a self-made woman who had it all and then lost it all to Bernie Madoff, wrote a few pieces for the Daily Beast on life post-Madoff. A lot of people accuse her of being a rich bitch, which no doubt, Penney was wealthy and she doesn't deny it, but everything she made was from her own labor and she really lost it all. She's living through something that we all fear and she's pretty honest about the experience -- she refers to Bernie Madoff as "M.F." (mother fucker, and rightly so), she talks about the humiliation and fear that grips her, trying to wrap her brain around what it means to have lost the savings she built up since she was 16.

She also came out with "The Bag Lady Papers: The Priceless Experience of Losing It All", which gives a more in-depth perspective of it all.

Art reinterpreted

2010-04-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

I saw this fun music video by Hold Your Horses over at the Modcloth blog. Some are quite close, some are a bit off and some have a bit too much hairy man in them, but regardless, it's fun watching it and figuring out which piece of art they've reinterpreted. As a self-confessed art history freak, I got all but two. If you need help identifying which works of art they've replicated, Flavorwire has a guide, although they forgot a few, like Edward Munch's "The Scream" and and the Piet Mondrian.

For your yuppy guppy

2010-04-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

[both photos via Unica Home]
I saw these very hip fish bowls in one of the Daily Candy e-mails I get. You can give your fishy a townhouse, or stack them to start an aquatic apartment complex.

You can place an advanced order here. Each bowl is $25 plus shipping.

More Google envelopes

2010-04-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Remember those Google Map envelope liners I blogged about? Well, I saw over at Black Eiffel that some folks are making it easier for you to make your map envelope a reality.

Screen shot of Map Envelopes
The folks behind Map Envelopes were inspired by Beste Miray, the Turkish artist who originally conceived the idea of the map envelope. They've made it extra simple to make your Google Maps envelope liners. Simply put in your location (address or landmark), your message and they'll crunch it all in your very own envelope liner. Hit print and you're golden. :)

Hm... A few people I know are moving away. Printing up a dozen of these or so might make for a fun "bon voyage, and don't forget to write me" gift. Hopefully, in the future, they'll consider different envelope size options too.***The second Google map option was conceived by design students Rahul Mahtani and Yofred Moik of Syracuse University. It's just conceptual for now, but I hope Google actually picks it up!

[via Yanko Design]
Mahtani and Moik's idea is a twist on the one above. Instead of liners, they've designed the outside the envelope to show the two addresses as seen on Google Maps. So what you would do is when you write an e-mail, there'll be an option to send it as a physical letter (for a small fee), along with an option to just send it digitally, per usual.

There are some issues, like what if I send a letter going east to west. But again, hopefully, Google picks this idea up and refine it and make it a reality!

Egyptian national security issue: Heavy metal

2010-04-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Saw this on my buddy Josh's Facebook page. So I can get how heavy metal fans can potentially be confused as Satan worshippers, particularly conservative societies like Egypt. But the next explanation?:

Basically, these heavy metal fans are in cahoots with the Zionists who are trying to poison Egyptians by organizing these heavy metal gatherings, which in turn, they and the Zionists seek out persons of "certain characteristics" and promise them much greatness, and also spread drug trafficking and other abominations so "the societies become enslaved to their desires and urges... that way, the countries will collapse with no need to resort to weapons," which paves the way for Jews to take over the world.

Well, of course.

Triplette crepe paper?

2010-04-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

[via Castle in the Air blog]Castle in the Air added very puzzling triplette crepe paper sheets to their store. How can paper be three-sided? I think perhaps there are more than two sheets of crepe glued together, like in doublette or duplex paper. Hopefully, Karima the Castle in the Air blogger will post an update explaining this new crepe!

[4/12/10: I checked out the Castle in the Air blog again... and the paper was an April Fool's joke. I'm such an easy target!]

Spring Unikko flowers and one shake of sunshine

2010-04-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

[via Always Mod]
Southern California weather has been unusually cool as of late, and today, rain. Oh, and after spending a lovely day spelunking on Portuguese Bend in Palos Verdes yesterday... My body seriously aches. I need all the color I can get!

Download the above Marimekko calendar here. And as for the shake of sunshine...

[via Mrs. Lilien]
Mrs. Lilien has done it again with another sunny yellow collage. I wish I were sipping on some limoncello, while in some gorgeous yellow dress, wearing that necklace and those yellow heels.

While that seems impossible today, I'm going to try to make the most of Monday. I got my work schedule changed, so now I have Mondays off. I realized my daily commute was three hours a day! No wonder I was feeling so worn out at the end of each day!

The Secret of Kells

2010-04-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I watched The Secret of Kells, a beautiful, Irish animated film.While the story is great, many of the critics agreed that it's the stunning animation that really makes the movie. The film apparently even edged out Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo" for an Oscar nomination in the best animated feature film category! And it's done largely in old school, hand drawn animation, which I expected to seem pale compared to all the computer-animated films out there.

Brendan, the hero of the movie [via The Blog of Kells]
But I was literally entranced. There's no effort to make anything or anyone seem realistic; most of the characters break down into a few simple shapes. And yet somehow, the team behind this movie made the movie feel so visually rich. The style of the art reminded me a lot of Genndy Taratovksy's work, particularly "Samurai Jack." The "Kells" team combined traditional Celtic imagery and symbols with their own ingenuity. Many of the scenes looked like panels from a story book, which perhaps plays into the plot of the movie -- developing and protecting the beautiful "Book of Kells."
***And a few words on the story, which I know isn't the biggest draw about the movie, but it's still good: This movie is very much a children's movie -- it's animated and the story line is pretty simple. But it doesn't shy away from the reality that people make mistakes, which have real consequences, or that there's evil out there in the world. For example, the main character's uncle and guardian, the Abbot of Kells, obsessively builds a wall around Kells, convinced that it will protect the town from the invading northerners. He has the best of intentions, but he ends up putting up blinders to anyone who knows better. And ultimately, he has to deal with the consequences of his stubbornness.

The abbot with someone trying to talk sense into him. His room is one of my favorite settings in the movie. [via The Blog of Kells]
I like it when children's movies do this. The kiddies aren't deluded and adults can truly enjoy the movie too.
***I've already signed up on Amazon.com to be notified when the DVD is released (which is saying something, as I'm not really one to watch things). And I'm also hunting for a (more affordable) copy of the graphic novel version of the movie that was done by the "Kells" design team, so the richness of the animation is preserved in the book.

Oh! And Tomm, the director of the film, keeps a blog, The Blog of Kells. Along with posting reviews, if you look into the archives, you'll get a behind-the-scenes peek on how the film was made. And here's the official website. Go watch it! Now!

Broken Threads: The Destruction of the Jewish Fashion Industry in Germany and Austria

2010-04-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

[via Amazon]
The human costs of World War II and the Holocaust are very well-documented, but "Broken Threads" is among the few works out there that discuss the cultural impact of the war that I've encountered. Fashion isn't something you'd think of when you think about the Holocaust -- it may seem frivolous to. But it's important, for lack of better words, to go beyond the human cost, and see the ripple effects of that human cost, which undoubtedly touched every industry, every livelihood. The book does a really good job in laying out the significant contributions of Jews to the German and Austrian fashion industries and the consequences of rapidly eliminating Jews from them.

The book is a compilation of six essays, ranging from the emergence and development of department stores and store architecture in Berlin to the process the Nazis went through to eliminate Jews from the German and Austrian fashion industries, where a significant number of Jews worked at all levels.***I also thought that it was interesting how gender played a role in the propaganda against Jews in fashion. While there really wasn't a "Jewish style" or a "German style," the Nazis tried to force the issue by saying things, like Jewish-designed clothes are a "satanic mockery of womanhood" and epitomized "the stylized costume of the city whore, a specific Jewish invention." (Similar propaganda was distributed about French fashions during World War I... Which if it weren't things people actually believed, they are pretty funny and ridiculous) They tried to develop a German style after the industry was "Aryanized," but that ended up being a fail. You can't just eliminate a bunch of people and expect a new industry to magically pop up and flourish -- and again, there really wasn't a Jewish or German style. Just gorgeous, pretty, decent and fug styles.

Ironically, many of the top Nazi officials wives continued to purchase from Jewish design houses, even after the ban of buying anything from Jews. "Elegance will now disappear from Berlin along with the Jews," said Magda Goebbels, wife of Joseph Goebbels, Nazi minister of propaganda. Also, many of the Jews who worked in fashion houses ended up sewing the clothes of Nazi officials and their families in camp. So much for protecting German women and children from the stylized costumes of city whores.***My one complaint about this book: The grammar in some of the articles isn't perfect. There are a few sentences that have no commas, so you have to pause, re-read slowly and place your own commas. I think this was a bigger problem in the translated essays.***Another great work to check out about the cultural impact of the WWII is the documentary "The Rape of Europa" (it is based on a book of the same title). It talks about what happened to the art in Europe during the war -- how museums mobilized to protect the precious works, the effect of arresting Jewish art dealers, Hitler's grand plan to make Linz, Austria an art capital. It really makes you wonder what would've happened if Hitler just got into that damn art school.

We all want to be single ladies

2010-03-31T08:54:00.000-07:00

Including this little boy. Too funny.[via Angry Asian Man]

New My Folk Lover prints

2010-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

The lovely Ms. Catherine Campbell of My Folk Lover (who I've written about before) recently listed some limited edition prints. These ships are my favorites.But I also like these 70s style, raven-haired beauties.

They are 30 bucks a pop, a little bit pricey for me. Do feel free to gift them my way. ;)

Reads and Listens

2010-03-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

[by Johnny Ryan. Via Vice]
-Karl Lagerfeld: An interview with the Kaiser in Vice magazine. They cover a range of topics -- gay marriage, materialism, communism, among many other things -- and well, Karl Lagerfeld is Karl Lagerfeld. Interesting guy.

-Hey, it's the Free Credit Report guy!: HE IS NOT WHO YOU THINK HE IS!!!

-And by the way, listen to last week's health care reform Marketplace Money super show. Aside from giving you a comprehensive overview of the new laws, it was really painful for me to edit and format for the web. Appreciate.

-Style by Shirley: An interview with Shirley Kurata, who styles Zooey Deschanel(!) and helps the Rodarte sisters with their runway shows (!!).

-In Search of Lost Sounds: I've played piano for years, so I know there's a big difference in sound between my upright and my piano teacher's grand (like buttah). But this article talks about how much pianos have evolved over the years and how that affects the listening experience of piano pieces, like the "Moonlight Sonata." They have clips of famous works played on the ubiquitous Steinways and also on the vintage pianos the composer most likely played the piece on. It's such a fascinating article and the clips will blow your mind.

-I Hate Your Wedding Web Site: Funny article picking apart the latest share-with-the-world Internet development. This paragraph, I think, sums up the conundrum well:

Show me your rock over coffee, and my delighted exclamations over its beauty will be genuine. Post a jpeg of it on your site, and I'll probably do a quick catalog of the many ways it is gauche, along with a back-of-the-envelope calculation on roughly how much it cost per karat. Let the best man tell the story of the proposal in his toast at the wedding, and I'll beam in the reflected glow. Spill a plodding 2,100 words of questionable grammar about how the groom managed to disguise the ring in your tiramisu, and I'll worry whether your future children will be able to develop writing skills at a state-mandated grade level

For a tastefully done wedding website, I point you to elise and paul, designed by the one and only Ms. Elise for her wedding, which is REALLY SOON. :D

-Why 'Bachelorette' Ali Might Want to Reconsider Her 'Dream Guy': I've never watched the "Bachelorette" or the "Bachelor" -- I'm repulsed by it and think less of people who watch it, for reals or ironically -- but I thought this little bit did a good job of breaking down the "(500) Days" character Tom, who represents all the other dreamy-eyed folks who are more in love with the idea of love than in love with a person.

Snuggly

2010-03-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to the snug shop of Germany through Thea of For the Visionaries and Spoonful zine. They sell a variety of things: wooden brooches, light fixtures, home decorating items. Everything has a clean Scandinavian feel to it. Below is my favorite from the store, Wandbild "Blume" (translated: "wooden board flower").

[via snug]
Snug's web vitals: [website] [store] [blog -- the few words are in German]

Yellow

2010-03-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Oof. Last week... was quite a week. So let's ease into this new one with yellow, my favorite color!

Yellow and navy wedding featured on Style Me Pretty.

A lemony chic collage by Mrs. Lilien. (She just happened to post up a key lime collage on Friday too.)

Black and white and yellow fashion illustrations over at what-i-found:

[all photos via their respective websites, unless otherwise noted]
An aural interpretation of yellow. This song never fails to put a smile on my face.

And what the hell... ME. This is one of the few photos I like of myself and I think the yellow-on-yellow is quite smart and stylish. And I am yellow. Ha!

[one of the people in my Finland program group took this... but I can't remember who. But thanks!]

Samsung Ultra B's "Fake Call" feature

2010-03-28T19:39:00.001-07:00

Genius!

Mutual funds, explained by a Korean

2010-03-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

I reached a financial goal, and I told myself, once I reach it, I'd invest in some mutual funds. I have a basic idea on how mutual funds work, but I wanted to understand it better. So I asked my dad, who's an accounting professor:

Me: Dad, how do mutual funds work?

Dad: It's like a bibimbap of stocks. If the bibimbap is tasty, you can sell it for a profit. If the bibimbap is not tasty, you fire the fund manager and probably lose money.

I doubt there's a better way to explain it. :P

[03/25/10: Score! I submitted this to My dad is a fob and they posted it here]

[03/25/10: For those who don't know... Bibimbap is a Korean dish that literally translates to "mixed rice." Bibimbap usually has shredded carrots, sauteed spinach, little chunks of meat, bean sprouts, sunny-side up egg (extra runny yolk!) and a touch of sesame oil and red pepper paste to taste. Good stuff.]

Spring in an envelope

2010-03-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

[via Essimar's store]
on't you love these "spring tissue" cards by the super talented Esther Ramirez? She comes up with the most creative and lovely cards and other works of art. I linked to all her social networks and I'd check them out. I always love strolling through her Flickr and blog -- girlfriend is always doing interesting things in that studio of hers.

Esther Ramirez's web vitals: [shop] [blog] [flickr] [twitter]

The twenties

2010-03-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Was inspired by yesterday's post on Matou en Peluche and gathered 'round these photos I love that evoke the elegance and sass of the twenties.

Clockwise, starting from the upper-left hand photo:
1. Sasha Pivovarova, Guinevere van Seenus & Coco Rocha by Steven Meisel via Fashion Gone Rogue
2. Sunset Boulevard print by Sam of Matou en Peluche
3. Starlette crown by Giant Dwarf
4. Sarai of Colette Patterns and Sweet Sassafras prepping for her wedding day. Via Sarai's Flickr.
5. Gorgeous Art Deco-inspired wedding on Ruffled

Matou en Peluche

2010-03-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

[all photos via Matou en Pelouche's etsy store]
The print above was on the Etsy front page a few days ago, and I was instantly smitten. Really captures the coy-but-really-sassy attitudes of flappers, don't you think? Matou en Pelouche ("plush tomcat" en francais) is filled with gorgeous prints, many featuring stylish ladies of the twenties and thirties, by Samantha Battersby.

I had a hell of a time trying to narrow down my favorites...

* Un grand sigh * right? I particularly like her profiles best. They are all so coolly elegant.

I discovered there's a MatouenPelouche.com also, which sells different prints from the Etsy store. And well, take a look-see yourself, because having to choose my favorites at the website too was verging on Sophie's choice.

Sam also has has other art work, including these lovely turtle doves...

If you're having as much trouble as me trying to pick and choose, Sam sells sets of prints and at great prices -- I'm eyeing the set of five "gorgeous gal" prints for 22 bucks. Individual prints are are between $6-$16, depending on the size. In addition, she sells original pieces, cards, buttons and a rad-looking zine.

Samantha Battersby's web vitals: [website] [store] [blog]

From sea to shining sea

2010-03-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

I've been obsessed with prints, particularly since I was introduced to Audrey Malo's work (I got my prints from her in the mail today!). I'm trying to control myself and not buy so many prints that I can wallpaper my future place of residence* (...when it happens. * le sigh *) with them. But it's hard when I keep seeing loveliness like this...

[via The Heads of State store]
They remind me of those great colorful, simple-but-makes-a-statement airline posters of the 50s and 60s. Maybe one wall of the casa will be devoted to this series...

So far, there's only eight for sale right now, including the two above. Oh, and no Los Angeles yet (although, I have a sneaking suspicion it'll feature the Hollywood side of LA... I'll take what I can get). They're $30 a pop, so they're within reach, which is always a perk.

The Heads of State's web vitals: [store] [twitter]

*Or do I?

Nadinoo

2010-03-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

adinoo clothing is what I hope to be wearing every day -- to the market, to work, on a date -- once I figure out how to keep myself from becoming dishelved even after a short walk from car to office.

[via Nadinoo's on-line boutique]
The pieces above are part of her spring/summer 2010 collection. They're versatile pieces, and because they're made with such rich prints and fabrics, they'll make even the most casual outfits look more pulled together. A bit pricey for me -- the prices are in British pounds, enough said -- but something to aspire too.

Nadinoo's web vitals: [store] [blog]

2010-03-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

oooooooooo... I think the camera's dead. I would take a photo of it to show you, but... well you know. Some surgery is in order this weekend, but I think bringing it back to life is unlikely.

It was a 21st birthday gift, right on time for my abroady trip to Egypt, followed me through a year and a half of college, the solo Euro trip and all through the glorious unemployment. You will be missed camera.***This gets in the way of taking photos of the curtains, so I can share with you the ALL IMPORTANT TIPS OF CURTAIN MAKING (first tip: don't make your own). But perhaps this is one of those moments where the coolest Texan I've ever met told me at a business writing workshop, "Take chicken shit and make it chicken salad." Look forward to the end results.

Viral Video Film School

2010-03-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

iral Video Film School is the best way to get up to speed on the latest and greatest on YouTube (the latter adjective is a bit subjective). Here's a pop quiz to see how with it you are [Note: If you're reading on a RSS feed, the videos don't show up, so click to the actual post to check out the videos. Worth it, I promise!]:It's really amazing what's out there. Like, small children who remarkably act just like televangelists (definitely more creepy than cute).Or... Well, it's been over 10 years at least since I've really been in snow (snowboarding on "snow" made from shredded ice doesn't count), so this video on sledding (and snowball fights and snowman attacks) is fascinating.And as an extra perk, the host Brett Erlich adds his own witty commentary. It also doesn't hurt that he looks like a poor woman's Jim Krasinski.