Category Archives: art

Reminders Especially Needed On This Day…

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Pointing the way

“What seems to be standing in your way is not really standing in your way. It’s pointing the way. What looks like it’s holding you back is not really holding you back. It’s building your determination to move forward.

The mountain is steep and treacherous, yet it gives you a pathway to get to the top. The work is challenging and complicated, and yet it gives you a way to create achievement.

Don’t you dare despair when things get tough. Rejoice in knowing that the reason you’re encountering so much resistance is because you’re moving so powerfully ahead.

Look in the direction from where the resistance is coming. That’s where value lives.

Feel your determination as it grows stronger each time you push forward. Now you have what it takes to bring great things to life.”

Ralph Marston

Also, this makes me happy:
things i'm thankful for
Because on sucky days we all need to be reminded of the nice things in life that keep us going and cultivate gratitude.

Currently.

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Currently baking: a persimmon cream pie with a graham cracker gingersnap crust.

Currently wishing: I could stay in my pajamas all day. And that I had an ice cream maker to enable me to make this.
Currently hoping: I’m not getting this sicky bug floating around.
Currently curing: an herbal apple cider vinegar with basil and mint.
Currently loving and devouring: this persian rose petal cardamom tea concoction.
And streaming the new Iron & Wine, Kiss Each Other Clean.


Currently waiting on: a few pairs (5) of these glasses to arrive in the mail to try on (for free!)




This company rocks. All frames are no more than $95, free shipping, lenses included, and they give a pair to someone in need whenever a pair is purchased (similar to the Tom’s thing…). I’m sold.
Currently intrigued by: these goat milk caramels. Flavors like vanilla bean, coconut & lime, honey, and chocolate sea salt. Genius.
Currently reading: these inspiring words. Daily.
Currently craving: these gluten-free cherry walnut oatmeal cookies.
Currently inspired: by this Food Swap! Another reason why Portland is genius. I want in on this next time… more of the inside scoop here.
Currently digging: these nesting, feather, and musician calendars by the Wild Unknown.
Currently enjoying: my new Keep Calm posters. Unfortunately it seems I somehow skipped the “floss on” and “curry on” posters… too bad, I’ll have to make another order.


Currently curious about: Root, an organic Pennsylvanian made spirit consisting of some wonderfully-sounding herbs and spices–birch bark, smoked black tea, sugarcane, sassafras, orange & lemon peel, allspice, anise, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Holy moly.
A few recipes that caught my eye: autumn leaves (the name in itself, obviously), making caramels, raisin creme brulee, willow (one of my favorite names ever), mango lassi (!), ginger root sling, etc. I just might have to get me some of this.
More later.

"Back To School Shopping"

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School starts in less than 5 days.

I’ll be taking 15 units = full time to the max.

I quit my job (of 5 years) in less than 3 days.
Which means… cash flow? Non existent, pretty much.
Big changes.
But that isn’t stopping me at all from splurging on “back to school” items that will help get me through the year.
Seriously. It’s ridiculous. I need to stop. There are times when I can go a little crazy, I’ll admit, but I’m good 99.9% the rest of the time. I swear I’ve been to every office supply store in town (and out of town) just to stock up on notebooks, pens, highlighters, organizing boxes, and binders (why are these stupid pieces of plastic $10 a piece?!? it’s just PLASTIC for crying out loud… these corporations are getting away with MURDER!) and then of course I take myself to the locally owned bookstore to see all the cute supplies they have available and I end up with this:

Yes. OWL TEA.
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Organic classic bergamot Earl Grey with fragrant Jasmine floral notes.
Yep.
And that’s not all…
A retro inspired blue diamond tea tumbler.
Doubled glass walls.
For owl tea to take with me and get me through dental hygiene school.
I needed it, really…
BlueQ, you are extremely dangerous and threatening the life of my check book.
But I love you.
They even have teas to help you be a better parent, erase your past, and live forever…


Sounds good to me.
Check out the rest of their (genius) tea collection here.
Let’s see, I also picked up the Indie Rock Coloring Book.
And Urban Outfitters taunted me with this new cupcake book.

Because I am so into making weird cupcakes.
Rosewater Champagne, Surly Temple, Lemongrass, Tandoori, Curry Cardamom, Pancakes and Bacon, Avocado and Black Pepper, Thanksgiving, and the Punkin Donut are all flavors I can’t wait to try.
I will need to bust this out for the fundraising bake sales, I know it…
And then I figured a few motivational mantra magnets would be needed to look at in my locker on a daily basis to get me through the next 2 years (and the rest of my life, for that matter) whenever I have weak moments and tend to doubt myself…

That is all. For now.

And Never Resign To a Typical Life

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It’s a wonderful rainy Tuesday as I’m sitting here dreaming and wishing I were in Portland, listening to the wonderful jazz of Bill Evans and Duke Ellington and I finally feel as though I have a little luxury free time now that the school semester is one week away from being over! Thank goodness. I still have to draw up a design for my cake decorating final and I have no idea where to start but I’ll get to that eventually. I’m finding way too many great things all over the net that are getting me inspired, like some of this stuff, for example…

-These great prints by Eva Juliet (Art Culinaire & Parsley) and her amazing beet chip snack bag art that is absolutely genius
(Photo and recipe for Beet Chips from Sunday Suppers)
plus this is really cute
-These wonderful watercolors by unitedthread on Etsy
-This owl music mobile on Ferm Living
-DesignSponge’s Orlando, FL city guide is pretty comprehensive compiled list of great sounding boutiques and shops, restaurants, and places that make me want to book a ticket to go there right now! These places especially: Stardust, Blue Bird Bake Shop, Ethos Vegan Kitchen, Etoile Boutique, Pom Pom’s Tea House, Raphsodic Coop Company, etc, etc. WOW. I could go on and on! Who knew Orlando was such a hoppin’ place?
-All of these products from Fine Little Day have made me fall in love…


-This cast iron bathtub couch on Etsy is pretty genius
Ferm Living pretty much has all of my dream home decor
Indian “indie” music = my new favorite
-And I’ve also discovered some pretty great photographers lately that make me want to drop everything and enroll in the Brooks Institute ASAP. One of these days.
THXTHXTHX, a genius blog that posts a ‘thank you’ note a day. A wonderful reminder to be grateful for the small and quirky things in life.
-This cupcake (and cookie) website with great cupcake recipes and photos… I love getting new ideas! Flourless Beet Chocolate Cupcakes, Sour Cream Fig Cupcakes, Parsnip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting?!? I am in love.
-This great Australian mag, Frankie, has quite a lovely blog that I will now frequent very often
-Shutterbean’s Peanut Butter Bacon cookies! WHATT?! Yes. Oh yes. I do think I will have to make these soon.
-And I ordered used copies of each of these (both for under $20) although I rarely EVER buy movies on DVD after I see them but this is a special case because they are two of my favorite movies EVER and I will never get sick of their awe factor

-Oh yes, and I saw Broken Bells (and the Morning Benders) last Friday. Okay show–James wasn’t as cool as he used to be back in the day, 6 years ago, in The Shins age. He seemed a bit PO’ed but I would’ve been too if my microphone wasn’t working 10 seconds into the first song after a 45 MINUTE SOUND CHECK. Idiots. They sounded great though and Brian Burton’s fro was distractingly beautiful.


Check out this video by the Morning Benders. It’s my current favorite song and this version of it just gives me the chills and I love it a million times more. How I would give my left foot to have been in that orchestra. Holy moley.
-Aaaand I will also see She & Him this Friday! I’m way more excited for M. Ward than Zooey although it will definitely be a treat regardless. I’m glad I liked their 2nd volume better because the 1st didn’t do much for me. And the best part is that they will be playing at a venue less than 5 minutes away from my house. It’s a little mind blowing.
That’s all for now.

Don’t Blame It On Me…

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They really do.
The werewolves have taken me on some pretty good adventures though.
For example…
Going up to the mountains to study alternative medicine, learn tongue diagnosis, sanskrit, meeting the best Ayurvedic Indian guru’s.

Eating tons of kitchari.

And indian food.

And oatmeal and tea.

Dr. Vasant Lad is such an inspiration.
Having a pulse and tongue diagnosis on my birthday was the best gift ever.
I’ve literally been above the clouds…

Then went to the complete opposite spectrum to celebrate my 21st birthday.This almost made me cry: Vegan chocolate peanut butter owl cake. Enough said.
Yay! I can buy Hitachino Nest Beer now! But it’s not like I will because I really don’t like to drink.I just can’t get over their geniusness. I mean, c’mon, look at those labels!I pretty much die a little inside every time I look at them.

And went to Vegas. Two days was plenty.Don’t think I’ll be going back for quite a while…

So yeah, and that’s only half of why I’ve been a little MIA lately. Starting school and figuring out that balance again. There hasn’t been much time for cooking or baking. Like tonight, for example. I purchased this awesome new (well, used but in great condition) Martha Stewart Living cookbook yesterday for just $6 and had the greatest ambition to make this moroccan glazed squash recipe tonight but didn’t feel into it at all once 7PM rolled around, post-studying. And then I can’t help but feel a little guilty but I just have to let it go. Sometimes spending two hours in the kitchen to make one thing isn’t always appropriate. Time is really precious right now. So instead I’ll probably just keep on making huge batches of kitchari and eating it throughout the week. Cost effective, healthy, and delicious.
In the meantime, I’ll be out with the werewolves again but hopefully they’ll return me back here soon to finally report on some baking action.
By the way, I love this illustrator Laura George so much (who the top illustration is done by).Met her at the Renegade Craft Fair and purchased a few of her prints and I can’t get over her clever artistry.Check out her Etsy store and you’ll be in awe.

Excuse me now while I venture out into the woods with the wolves to go and hug some more trees… you know where I’ll be.

Dream Space & Design Sponge

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Designed by Piet Hein Eek.
(More pics available here.)

Get a load of this log cabin designed into a recording studio! Out in the middle of the woods! What a location. Looks like it could fit into the Where The Wild Things Are movie set perfectly (the backdrop of the trees and light leeks peeking through). Sleek, stylish, modern, and simple. Genius. My dream is to take this idea and make it into a slightly bigger house. I love the rustic and natural look of the stacked logs. Now this is bringing back memories of how I used to play around with log cabin kits back when I was young. Subliminal messages creeping into my conscience? Either way, it is simply gorgeous to me and I am definitely saving this beauty of an inspiration for future reference.

Speaking of movie sets and design as inspiration fusing into daily living, art, and decor, Fantastic Mr. Fox has been showcased on Design Sponge for the warm, homey feeling it vibrates in the miniature dollhouses and holes the foxes and other animals live in. What they’ve done is genius. I don’t know how they found all of these great items (thank you Amy M.), but they match perfectly. Especially since I would kill to live a (semi) simple life like those foxes in their awesome tree house. I want to live in that movie. Maybe if I had a million dollars and could afford all of this awesome stuff, I would be able to create a sequel/a real life human version. I’ll take one of everything below, in addition to the log cabin, thanks. In the meantime, I’ll just drool over the pictures everyday and smile.





Check out that bandit mask, turntable, coffee table, gold ring, and earrings! Holy crap!
All you need now is some of that spiced cider and a roasted chicken...

SF Renegade Craft Fair 2009

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Man oh man, have I been meaning to talk about this forever! The Renegade Craft Fair happened back in July (18th and 19th)! And although it’s four months later, I still have to mention it, because it’s pretty much one of the best things on earth I have ever experienced. So, yes, I was quite excited and so happy to have made it there!

This was the second year the event occurred, and they only come to select cities. Yeah, it’s a pretty special thing. Hundreds upon hundreds of indie craftsters, artists, bloggers, and other lovely people participate and line up in rows in the Costco-sized Fort Mason Center in San Francisco (here is/was the artist lineup). Tons of Etsy sellers were there, and I recognized more than half of what was sold just from online popularity and purchasing that I have done myself. It was so wonderful to meet all of these famous artists in person! I was dying in happiness! Everyone was so, so sweet and personable and cheerful. I loved everyone I met. The best part is that their mascot is an owl. Yeah, I know, I was going crazy. Not only that, but owls were everywhere. Almost everyone had something owl-related to sell, it was overwhelming. I bought so many great things, it was quite an owl hay-day.
The official poster for this years West Coast event, done by the very talented Mat Daly.
When I first walked in, there was a booth of all things made up of the “Renegade Craft Fair owl” and there were tons of Mat Daly posters. I wanted all of them. Notice the owlage…

Ummhmm.

Very crafty and creative journals made out of old book covers.You can find similar ones here: Ivy Lane Designs.
Hm, wonder which poster I bought…
I love all of this.
You can find tons of these on Etsy.
Pretty much the cutest wedding cake topper I have ever seen in my life!Mosey Handmade.
This lady rocks the planet.
I Heart Guts.

Art Goodies.I was so tempted to buy that owl block print. SO TEMPTED.The cupcake and fawn are pretty darn cute, too!
The infamous Renegade owl. Unfortunately, I spent too much time looking around and the face painting booth (yes, and they had a cupcake booth in the beginning, too!) closed down = major bummer. But at least I got to snap a photo of this cute girl that had it done…
Almost got one of these but had to control myself…
Okay, this guy is definitely one of my favorites. I talked to him for quite a while about owls and going out owling at night, and we could have gone on for hours. He gave me an extra special amazing deal on three owl prints! I purchased the first print on the top left, and the bottom two on the left. He rocks! Please support him!


My favorite famous beard lady, Erin Dollar, who, of course, happens to be from Portland (because everything great comes from Portland). She is incredible. I so admire her and her creativity. I haven’t purchased a beard yet, but one of these days… in the meantime, the 48 beardy stickers will suffice. Etsy shop here.


Arcane Arts. I first encountered this artist in Portland at the Doug Fir Lounge’s Crafty Wonderland. (I purchased the two owl prints next to each other in the center.) It was so cool to encounter her again!






I also met the wonderful Cakespy! That was quite a lovely surprise, since I have been a fan of her blog for years now. She’s rad and makes awesome cupcake art!
Laura George was also a pleasure to meet. I had just seen her art a few days before coming to the fair, and it was awesome to buy her art directly from her instead of through Etsy! Her prints are very clever and cute, such as the one I purchased below:

The aftermath of loot all over my bed.


I love you, Renegade Craft Fair! You made my craft-loving, owl-obsessing, Etsy-fan-admiring dreams come true! And it turns out I won’t have to wait an entire you for you to return: they’re putting on a holiday fair this December! I am SO there!

Some Really Good Things

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First and foremost,


PUMPKINS!
PUMPKIN OATMEAL!I’ve been on a big oatmeal kick lately and this is really simple to make! Just heat up some quick(er) cooking steel cut oats on the stove with pumpkin puree and some Odwalla Pumpkin Protein soy milk (oh yeah!), stir in some cinnamon, cardamom, and top it with some raw mixed nuts, dried fruits, and fresh raspberries. And whatever else suits your fancy (honey, shredded coconut, a big blob of peanut butter, I could go on and on…)

Finds from the weekend: an Ashley G print (on sale!), the new pumpkin pancake/waffle mix from TJ’s, my favorite Yogi ginger tea, some interesting owl “paint-by-numbers” type deal that I couldn’t pass up, and a book of short stories lent from a lovely friend! 😀

The window display at Urban Outfitters of “Where The Wild Things Are” is EXTREMELY dangerous (and amazingly well done). Yeah, they had owl pillows. It roped me in…


The really great weather and sunsets the past few days…
Aaand few of my favorite bands playing shows here this past weekend was a big treat!I saw…
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

(If you haven’t heard of these guys yet, do yourself a favor, please… they’re my new favorite)
Yo La Tengo(I’m going to post the footage I documented once it uploads on YouTube but enjoy this in the meantime…)

And next week I’m seeing Blind Pilot and The Low Anthem in the city! Can’t wait!

Recent Flickr Favorites

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For good inspiration…