dress up

It was a bizarre weekend, in the best of ways. Somehow, we ended up wearing Lost in Translation / Closer style fluorescent wigs, oversized sombreros, and more makeup than I've had on my mug in a while. Add a bottle of Patron and a private karaoke room...well, you get the picture (if not, see reference above).

paradise in solvang

Just past Santa Barbara, through the mountains, there's a little town called Solvang. We took a little jaunt up the coast (and over the river and through the woods) for a quick visit this weekend, mostly to drop Emma and Bryan at their vacation spot after they stayed with us in Los Angeles on Saturday. It was a whirlwind of good times, and here are some photo snippets, arranged in diptych form for your viewing pleasure.

Paradise (in the form of a weird truck stop off Highway 154)

Paradise (in the more traditional form of my poolside view at the vacation destination of Solvang)

Scott with the tiniest kitten, who was being "socialized" on the patio where we spent most of Saturday
Emma being adorable in Los Feliz

Bryan soaked in sunlight, with his new shades
Margs, as per usual

Sunset on the drive home
Afternoon laziness leads to creating a braid maze on Emma's head

new things

As a person who works from home, I have a special interest in keeping our apartment nice. Since we moved to LA from Minnesota (almost exactly a year ago) we've had a lot of little projects that finally came together into something pretty this last week. Scott built and installed my new bookshelves in the studio, which freed up a lot of closet space for Dude and Chick inventory and moved the pretty rainbow of envelopes into the light of day. Also, we have little green things hiding around the house now - in addition to these cute jar planters (which may mold/kill them, but they sure look adorable, amiright) we acquired a big plant for the bedroom. Feels like home.

four somethings

I meant to share this earlier, but it slipped through the cracks of my tiny blog-life. These illustrations were created for a project called Four Somethings, by Ally Haigh. It was a good excuse to think about some of my favorite pieces of stuff, and to refresh my studio with the scent of my grandmother. Lose a little while scrolling through the tumblr here.

sangria saturday

Summertime weather has arrived in Los Angeles, and with it came a craving for some fruit-laden, sparkling drinks. And so Sangria Saturday was born. We spent the afternoon outside, sipping at homemade red and white sangria - delicious (and cut with sparkling water so we could still stand come evening).
We were responsible for the white sangria, which I've never attempted before, so I thought I'd share my recipe here. That's my presentation on the lower right - my knife skills (not to mention patience) leave a bit to be desired, so I opted for chunkier fruit, but you can see the advanced version of slice and dice to the left (Greg's red version). Both turned out great, but my favorite mixed both with a healthy slug of ginger ale.
White Sangria
1 large bottle of white (I used Yellow Tail chardonnay)
6 mid sized oranges, sliced and seeded
2 large lemons, sliced and seeded
2 large limes, sliced and seeded
1/2 cup raw sugar
Large pitcher or jar (this needs to be super big - we split ours into 2 batches so the jars could fit in my bicycle basket)
Divide wine if needed. Add the fruit in layers, with a little slosh of sugar with each type. Mix with a wooden spoon (or a long chopstick if you can't find your wooden spoon, oops) and leave refrigerated overnight. Cut with ginger ale or sparkling water to taste.
More awesome sangria recipes, courtesy of my lovely mama (HMD!)

vivian maier

 Last night Jeremy and I biked downtown to go see the This American Life live show, beamed by Technology into our Los Angeles theater. It was magical and fantastic and everything I'd hoped for - two hours of well-produced audio and visual sweetness. The hundreds of other NPR listeners that flocked to the show apparently felt the same way. There were many lovely moments, but one of the most visually striking segments showcased the photographs of Vivian Maier, a nanny that obsessively shot photos throughout Chicago from 1950-1990. John Maloof was lucky enough to happen upon a huge collection of her unshared, unpublished work at one of those nifty storage locker options, and he's been displaying it in shows and on the internet. The images are haunting and interesting and serve as a sort of visual diary of Maier's life as she moved through the city with her little charges in tow. Sifting through the archives is enough to make you throw your iPhone out the window (well, almost).
Also: as requested (because I know you were speaking directly to me, Ira Glass), I will instruct you to go view Mike Birbiglia's short film. Thank you so very much for joining us.

food with friends

The last few weeks have been stuffed (literally - HA) with delicious food and extra adventures. See the photo dump above for documentation of good times....
1. succulents abound in gardens found tucked away in Los Feliz
2. on the street in Silverlake
3. jean twins / BB tribute
4. beautiful tile at Intelligentsia
5. frolicking in the waves at the coast
6. best shrimp tacos
7. fashionastyjake made an appearance to steal our hearts as usual
8. two words: fried. avocado.
9. photobooth finds
10. allison doing her thing
11. another sighting of the caped wonder of hermosa beach
12. griffith park

current culture

 I've got my brain wrapped up in quite a few cultural quagmires right now (qultural quagmires? alliteration!) and having all these crazy plotlines running simultaneously through my head is fascinating.

Twin Peaks has been on my list forever, of course - and now that I'm slowly working my way through it, I understand why. David Lynch mystifies me, and I often feel like I'm hanging on for dear life throughout an episode, but savoring the spooky aftertaste of the intro alone leaves me satisfied (and missing my native Northwest). Related: obviously Audrey Horne is my new fashion icon.

Mad Men continues to bring the quiet genius in Season 5. The development of Megan (and, for that matter, this new side of Don) is excellent. I never dreamed I'd see the writers able to flesh her out into a realistic, likeable woman. Matthew Weiner has said he likes to think each episode could hold up as a self contained short film, and though I've always loved the show, I never really felt that until this season.

The Killing is my newest television addiction. Unfortunately, since I love quality TV criticism and writing, I know a bit too much about the show going in (actually, I suppose all I know is that at the end of the season I will know too little - mind twist) but the quality acting and slow-burn style of The Killing is superb and painful to watch.

This series threesome is a weird one, since each revels in its ability to withhold information and extend stories for an unusual amount of time - you'd think I'd crave immediate answers somewhere. I credit my love for crime and mystery novels for conditioning my mind to delayed gratification. Thanks, John Grisham!