Sunroom Wall Planters

We put these up in the sunroom a couple weekends ago. We probably should have painted the wall BEFORE we did that. Oh well.

Pizza! 3.27.2010

F&E whole wheat dough and pizza sauce.

Pizza #1: Tomato, fresh basil, mozzarella
Pizza #2: Grilled eggplant, fresh basil, ricotta and mozzarella

So easy.

Also, pizza just tastes so much healthier when made at home. I used just a little oil. Probably negated any shred of healthy by the sheer quantity we consumed. Still, very happy to have pulled out the pizza stone again.

I'm considering investing in multiple stones and hosting a regular pizza night. I briefly thought I wanted to learn how to make the dough from scratch, but then, came to my senses.

A Bar in the Dining Room

What's that? Is that another piece of furniture? Why, yes ma'am it is.

Spied this on Craigslist early in the week. Met the seller, fellow AT Scavenger stalker named Lisa Maria. She has amazing energy, great decor taste and lives in Hollywood in a fabulous apartment on Vine. She has a crazy friendly dog who is just so adorable.

Funny. She originally purchased this from the same gal I got the Robin's egg blue chair from in Highland Park. The piece didn't quite work in Lisa Maria's space, which is why she was selling it. Lucky for us, it's perfect in ours.

Also very lucky for us, B&J agreed to help us move it in their truck and we are so grateful.




We are so throwing a Mad Men party...

Wild Things Art

I wasn't crazy about the film but I did love the imagery. UO canvas print. Original price: $69.95. Sale: $19.95. I almost bought it but didn't. Then, clearance: $9.95. I made it mine and toted it along to happy hour with some girl friends right after. The next day, I hung it in my bathroom.




It blends into the nearly identical wall color so I had planned to paint a white wall frame around to give it a bit of pop. But then, Betsy said it was cool how it was so matched and subtle.

What do you think?

Robots living in Eagle Rock

Spike Jonze's recent Sundance splash was a short film about robot love called I'm Here. Much of the exteriors were shot in Eagle Rock. This is where Sergio and I hang out. A lot. Too much, probably. The film is 30 minutes. I think that maybe, it's supposed to be a sweet film. However, I find it kind of disturbing in the end. The music was great, par for the course in a Jonze movie. Anyway, always fun to see our local nabes given some love by a location scout.



via

That parking lot scene? It's the Eagle Rock Plaza, which contains stores that cater to the large local Filipino community. There's a Target there, from which I just purchased a bag of Feline Pine kitty litter earlier tonight. We are testing different types/brands. We can't seem to settle on one brand/type.

Slouchy Flower Sweater

It is oversized on purpose and has batwings. I think it only looks good when it lays "just so" -- which is not practical at all. But love it anyway.

La Primavera has arrived!

Photo taken by Sergio of a backyard resident.



More evidence of Spring!


I am blogging from the desk right now, being careful not to lean onto the cheery Liberty of London for Target top still draped over the chair. It is one of the colorful fashion items I mentioned in a previous post. I wore it to my coworker's housewarming.

We purchased the desk this past Saturday at an estate sale. Dangerously, Sergio is on a mailing list and he is mildly addicted. Thankfully, it was the final day of the sale and we showed up an hour before closing -- everything was slashed another 50%! We plan to turn it into my "dressing table" just like in the old-timey days. When not in action, it looks like a four drawer dresser so it's stealthy like James Bond and just as stylish!

Scott's 40th Birthday Party 3.20.2010

We met a ton of wonderful people at our next door neighbor, Scott's, 40th birthday celebration. Lots of wine, insanely good BBQ and Sergio got to flex his native language -- a rare and true treat! Thanks for the invitation Gabriel.

Click here for more photos. Be sure to watch the video all the way to the end for a cool flash of Scott in triumph.

Art Wall 3.20.2010

I love our new art wall. The picture rail will allow us to rotate our budding collection according to our fancy.



P.S. I just made the most TO DIE for White Truffle infused Mac n' Cheese for our neighbor's birthday potluck. Alas, I didn't have milk so I subbed in what I did have: Half and half. Oh, is that why it's so sinfully creamy? Yep, assassins take note, I have quite possibly created the most effective and subtle occupational technique: It's a heart attack in every forkful.

Bedroom 3.18.2010

Hey, remember when I said I would take a wider shot of the bedside? Well, ta-da! Actually, I already did here. But this includes the bed to give it some context.

We nearly cleaned the room in its entirety last weekend! In honor of this, I broke out the new duvet/sham set I had squirreled away. So clean and serene...

What? Where did I get those rustic yet chic, reclaimed wood, nesting bedside tables you ask? Why, I'll tell you. They are from a CBS prop sale. I know a guy...so we got the set for only $7. Yes I did. We had seen the same tables at the Shabby Chic sale from whence the crochet lamp came (where they were priced at around $200!). The new duvet set is from EQ3's Burbank store closing sale. Gosh, that's an entire corner made from unfortunate retail endings, huh?

If only the other side of the room was so neat and together...

It looks like a thrift store boutique. We really need to reconfigure our closet space to fit everything. I have entirely too many articles of clothing. Yet, I broke my fashion fast last weekend with a new sweater. And today, another three items. I lasted approximately one month. I'm so weak. :(

But, my new purchases make me happy. All four have a flower prints and are bright and cheery. Have I been jonesin' for SPRING or what? Pics of those later!

Saturday Night 3.13.2010

Formula for a Great Saturday Night

Ingredients

• Good GREAT friends
• Stiff drinks
• Local art walk
• Tasty taco trucks

Place all ingredients into one jasmine-scented evening stroll, shake well.

Spring!

Sorry if I'm a bit distracted in the coming days...



My favorite is Friday: "Abundant sunshine."

I hate that we lost an hour this past weekend. But am loving the fact that I will be coming home in the daylight hours for the next several months.

Wild Things Tonight

I'm watching Where the Wild Things Are right now. During the promos, the Arcade Fire song from the trailer sent me and Betsy into spasms of nostaligia and melancholy. We meant to watch it in theatre and never did.

Ok. I better get off the computer and pay attention. Max is scratching his name into his boat now. I'll tell you how it is.

UPDATE: End credits are rolling and I was sorely disappointed. So many beautiful moments, perfect imagery and music...but it just didn't come together well. It was boring and way too long. The wild things were spot on though. I want to sleep in a big monster furry pile after a wild rumpus, like Max did his first night as king.

Babies (the Movie)

I have never made my baby aversion a secret. No, no, no...I don't hate your baby. I LOVE your baby. I will coo and cradle your non-crying, sweet smelling baby 'till the cows come home. I just hate the idea of my OWN baby. shiver. (Yes, I do sometimes actually, physically shiver.)

But for the love of motherf-ing god. This may have just kickstarted my cobwebby baby clock:


http://movies.insidepulse.com/2009/12/02/official-trailer-for-new-documentary-babies/

May have. (brrr.)

Emergence

Sayaka Ganz used mostly reclaimed kitchenware to create these amazing sculptures. I think they are beautiful and magical.



via

http://www.sayakaganz.com

Gray Gruel 3.6.2010

It was more gray in person. It lived up to it's name a little more the next day when the soup had thickened and was very pasty and ... gruel-like. Globular even. (ha. glob. I like that word. It's one of those words that sounds and looks like what it means.)

Oh...it was tasty though. Really, really tasty. Sergio hates soup and he had seconds AND he couldn't wait to eat the globular leftovers the next day. There were many flavor levels, some nicely subtle like the black egg and tarragon. The barley had a nice texture. It took a long time to cook and a lot more chaperoning than I expected. The bare fridge and mostly bare cupboards had me pulling together these misfit ingredients:

• 3 Purple potatoes, cut into medium chunks
• A handful of Pearl Barley
• A smaller handful of Frozen Peas
• 32 ounce carton of low sodium chicken stock
• Large pat of unsalted butter
• A smaller pat of Maple Butter (I happened to have this still from Thanksgiving. I tasted it first - yep, still good.)
  
• A few cloves of Garlic, small bits
  
• 1 1000 Year Old Egg, cut into small chunks
• 2 Eggs
• Dried Tarragon (I'm not experienced to know if the fresh kind would have made a difference. Though, I bet fresh would have to be added way later in the process.)
  
• Dried Parsley
  

I apologize but I don't have any real cook times or accurate heat levels...and yes, salt was omitted on purpose. I'm consciously cooking with less salt these days. It was a perfect one-pot meat. Less pans to wash is a good thing, right? I used a deep, medium sized saucepan/pot.

1. Saute barley in butter with garlic - medium heat.
2. Add potatoes.
3. Tarragon and parsley. I like tarragon so I added a lot.
   
4. Maple butter.
5. Chicken stock.
6. Bubble until barley is not crunchy -- stir! Potatoes and barley will stick. This took forever. Damn that barley. I suppose cous cous or even rice would have been faster. But I like barely. You'll want to add about a cup of water, maybe more as you stir and it starts to thicken.
   
7. Peas. Turn down heat a notch.
   
8. 1000 Year old Egg. :)
   
9. Break in two eggs. It will just sit on top of the thick soup. Break the yolk, stir but don't fully incorporate. Keep the heat low until most of the egg is cooked.
   
10. Turn off heat but leave covered - the residual heat should cook the rest of the egg.
    

Yuuummmmy. I don't know if I'll ever recreate this meal. I sure hope so.

Micio pumps it up

Sergio thought it would be really funny to hang Micio up on the pull-up bar. And it was. Micio did not care for the shenanigans though. Check that face. I don't know if she's mortified or angry or surprised. All three probably.

Kyushu Ramen 2.27.2010

I heart ramen. Sergio hearts sushi. Kyushu serves both. We had been there once before when I ordered their special namesake Kyushu ramen that is made with tonkotsu style broth. It was love at first sip. Honestly, the best bowl of ramen I've had, maybe ever. This second visit, I struggled not to make the same selection. I really, really wanted that Kyushu ramen bowl again. But I try to branch out when it comes to new to us restaurants and when the waitress came by, I managed to say, "Mabo (or Ma-po) ramen please." I was not disappointed. I would have preferred a little more heat for Mabo -- but the menu didn't specify it was spicy Mabo so it was exactly what it was supposed to be. The teeny tiny space has five cozy booths along one wall, a tight row of tables along the other, and a double counter set up in the center - 4 chairs on each side. This is where we sat. Bossman came out from the kitchen every once in a while to direct the hustle and bustle eatery. Maybe it was Shuchan himself?

Sergio vs. The Yard

Remember our personal meadow? Well...we really do need to get the weeds, well, weeded.

Here Sergio shows off a particularly big plant. Some of them were waist high!

We did the parkway, the front yard, and the back. Sergio was getting a bit embarrassed by our parkway. Ours, one of the largest on the block, is the worst looking one on the block. It's not quite neat yet but at least it's no longer jungle like. We found beer bottles hidden the the brush out front. I finally also put the two red kangaroo paw in the ground. The poor things were a bit shriveled from having the exist in the tiny plastic store pots for so long. I'm really hoping they don't expire.




I had insisted we start the day it stopped raining. After weeks of it, the ground was still wet -- which made it easier to yank those tap roots out. A few of the larger ones put up a fight but we won. I helped but Sergio did most of it. We left all the short "grassy" plants and targeted the tall ones. We might have to put down some sort of weed killer for the rest...

We were sore for days. I also did five loads of laundry that same day. We sure felt productive.

Happy Birthday Marco!

Marco threw his first loft party in ... maybe...2 years? 3? It was an early birthday party and when we got there, his super sweet Mom and Dad were still helping set up! They made nearly all the savories--there was so much. Linguine, eggroll, lumpia, salad....wow. Marco ordered a couple platters of sushi too.

One of his friends was graciously making yummy and potent apple martinis. Marco made sangria and his parents made this creamsicle non-alcoholic punch -- it had ice cream!

The birthday cakes (one chocolate, one orange) were both about 7 layers tall! Someone brought cupcakes from Sprinkles and someone else made these AMAZING ganache covered cake bites. Yes, as you can see from the photos, I had both. Oh yeah.