the looms in our bones.

Hello, and welcome to the weekend!

Let's all celebrate a week of hard work with the lovely embroidered illustrations of Singapore-based artist Izziyana Suhami. Seriously, how utterly delightful are these? I love them for a few reasons: the subversion of traditional women's craft into art, the tapestry-like beauty of the pieces and how the colorful embroidery seems to almost leap off the page. So cool. Via This is Colossal.

All art © Izziyana Suhami

Just one more thing to love today, but it's a big one.

I was so disappointed to miss The Jealous Curator's show at Saatchi Art in Culver City on Thursday. But guess what? She's back this Saturday! Same show--California Girls. And it's being hosted with Malibu magazine to benefit TheraSurf, an organization that works with special needs children by helping them to experience the ocean and surfing. Saturday, September 26th, 6-9. 8745 W. Washington Boulevard in Culver City.

 All photos © Stephanie Vovas via The Jealous Curator

That's all for now. I'll be back soon with more to love. xoL

interlude: road trip.

So, I just opened an e-mail with the subject line "NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR VACATION PHOTOS." And guess what this post is about? Ha, ha...I love a bit of harmonic convergence.

Anyway, just wanted to tell you a little about last week's road trip to the Bay Area. I always think I'm going to have this incredible adventure on one of the world's most beautiful coastal routes--all in one day. Then I'm overwhelmed by everything there is to see and do, and how it takes at least a few days to a week to explore just a portion of it.

Sometimes pictures do a better job of telling the story, so here they are. And hopefully there will be lots more to come.

Started the coastal portion of the drive in Cambria

It's been so long since I've passed through Big Sur, I forget how the steep windy roads can make you nauseous. But it's totally worth it. It's just miles and miles of the most breathtaking scenery--ocean and bluffs and green, green trees. My future Big Sur goals include: camping, attending a workshop at the Esalen Institute and visiting the Henry Miller Library.

Of course, I had to stop at McWay Falls and take the de rigeur Big Sur shot.

I mean, come on

I saw some beautiful flowers along the way.

Once I met up with my family in San Jose, we took a trip to Monterey. I reminds me a lot of where I grew up in Annapolis, MD--only with a less colonial and more of a sleepy West Coast vibe.

A stroll down Cannery Row

The reason for our jaunt was to show me the wonderful Monterey Bay Aquarium. My sister's family loves this place so much, she got a job there!

25,000 sardines and one very happy mahi mahi

On Sunday, we stopped at the Campbell Farmers Market. I'm happy to report it was just as wonderful as L.A.'s markets.

One day, my sister and I visited the Montalvo Arts Center and Hiking Trail. We trekked up (the equivalent of 47 flights of stairs) to an overlook with a breathtaking view of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay.

 Behold the mighty, mighty redwoods (and these are just the baby ones)

Driving home, we stopped for ceviche in Santa Barbara and played on the beach at the Ventura County line.

Rush hour, Malibu style

Have a a wonderful week. I'll be back with more to love. xoL.

holiday road trip.

So, I wanted to tell you a little about the road trip I took over Christmas. My sister and her husband and daughter recently relocated to San Jose from Providence, and I've been looking forward to taking languorous road trips up the 1 highway with my dog, stopping at as many places as I can. This was to be the inaugural trip.

Of course, it did not go as planned.

After a late start, our first stop was Malibu. I had to try out the Breakfast Burrito at Lily's that I've heard so much about. Afterwards, Isabel and I hit our tried-and-true favorite spot--Lechuza Beach.

The tide was the highest I've ever seen it, covering every inch of beach. We walked south a little ways and found a pocket of sand. I set down my bag and turned to find my Isabel had made friends with a sea lion (or is it a sea otter?)! It was quite a sight--they both seemed happy to meet each other.

We played for a little bit, the neighborhood yellow lab Luke came down to say hi, and then we were back on the road.

Unfortunately, the PCH was shut down at the Ventura County line, so we had to turn back and cut across the mountains to the 101. That, combined with lots of traffic into Santa Barbara, slowed us down.

We stopped for lunch, a walk and coffee in Santa Barbara. I happened to spot a lovely taco joint, Taqueria Pastorcito. They did not serve chips, but they did have an amazing salsa bar which included Tlatonile, a lightly burning sesame seed concoction (like a Mexican tahini), and a wonderful veggie burrito.

Two burritos down, and we still had dinner to go.

Since it was already 3 p.m., by the time we left Santa Barbara and we only had a couple hours of daylight left, I decided to take the most direct route to San Jose and Wazed it. It veered me off the 101 and on the 154 through the westernmost tip of the Los Padres Forest--which is gigantic. An unexpected and breathtaking detour that once again reminded me that most of California is rural and gorgeous.

The rest of drive was dark and mostly uneventful--San Luis Obispo was sweet, and I'd like to explore it more in the future. I wish I had taken some pics.

I finally made it to San Jose by 8 p.m., and we had a lovely Christmas.

Despite the fact that it was in the 30s at night, the citrus trees still bloomed.

West San Jose featured many lit up houses, and it was fun to walk the dogs and check them all out.

 
My sister's cinnamon rolls--sugar, butter, eggs (and cinnamon) literally melted in my mouth. 

We spend the day after Christmas on the beach in Santa Cruz. It was lots of fun.

 
On the way home, I considered taking Highway 1 again and going through Big Sur, but I opted for the quicker route down the 5. Again, I was reminded how vast and rural most of California is. The ride was calm and uneventful, except for two highlights:

1. The San Luis Reservoir, which was breathtaking.

And 2. Just outside of Bakersfield, there's a rest stop area with an Indian restaurant featuring many vegan options and mostly Indians eating there. I kid you not. It's a godsend out in a middle-of-nowhere sea of fast food, gas stations and motels. I highly recommend it.

To recap: my drive didn't go as planned, the holiday was lovely, and I'm looking forward to more road trips up to the Bay Area an exploring this astoundingly beautiful state.

love #4.

Hello there, and happy Friday! It's time for a Love List. Let's not waste a moment.

1. Love these re-imagined pin-up paintings by artist James Paterson.

Original art via James Paterson.

2. Love these notebooks by Michael Roger. I pick them up at the Hennessey + Ingalls in the Space 15 Twenty in Hollywood. They are my go-to journals these days.

3. Love the Spring Pizza at Pitfire Pizza Co. in NoHo--shaved asparagus, red onion, lemon zest, cream, ricotta, mint, pea puree and asiago. Who knew you could pack all that on a pizza? So good.

4. Love the purple alstromeria I saw at the Farmers Market on Sunday.

5. Love these dresses from the amazing Tavin boutique in Echo Park. I could live in them all year long.

 

6. Love these dishtowels my friend Julie brought back to me from Patina in Minneapolis.

7. Love this stunning blog, The Red Telephone.

Photo by @lisesilva via The Red Telephone.

8. Love the views both big and small at Point Dume, Malibu.

9. Love the beautiful harmonies of the Haden Triplets.

10. Love The Way Way Back. Such a sweet, little movie, and it's getting me in the mood for summer.

That's all for now...wait! One more thing. Don't miss the Echo Park Craft Fair this weekend. It looks like lots of fun.

Photo via echoparkcraftfair.com

 

double feature #1.

If I could be anywhere right now, it would be here.

Dreaming of Malibu.

Alas, I am couch bound for the next few weeks, and can't stray too far from...my couch. Since I have a lot of time on the couch, I thought I would start a new feature called "Double Feature." So, let's all settle into couch potato mode and catch up on some of the films I've wanted to see.

First up: The Awakening and The Woman in Black.

I'm a sucker for good old fashioned, Gothic ghost stories. Throw in some English accents, and I'm an even bigger sucker. I just can't resist.

Luckily, I found two recent entries into the genre: The Awakening, starring the wonderful Rebecca Hall and The Woman in Black with a post-Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe.

The movies feature similar plots-- small, English countryside towns terrorized by ghosts. They both feature the amazing British character actors I love--Dominic West and Imelda Staunton in The Awakening, Ciaran Hinds and Janet McTeer in The Woman in Black.

The Awakening is the superior film, with a far more complex story, where the haunting arises from buried guilt and emotions of the protagonist, and a nifty double twist at the end. The Woman in Black, while gorgeously shot (reminding a lot of True Detective), features a deathly slow, hackneyed plot--the revenge of The Mother--that's rife with empty scares.

So, see The Awakening--a stunningly-acted ghost story for adults, but pass on The Woman in Black.

While I'm a little bummed that I'm housebound and not operating at full capacity, it doesn't mean I can't do and find fabulous--on the internet and out in the world. Here are a few I would like to share with you.

M Café's Macro Meal

I've been really wanting to step up my diet--go seriously vegan, at least during the week. And there's no better place to kick off that resolution than M Café in Hollywood. On the way back from the hospital, I stopped in for their Macrobiotic Bowl, filled with veggies, adzuki beans, seaweed and brown rice. My commitment has to a new way of living has begun.

I also picked up a couple of new items at Trader Joe's--the Melodious Blend of green garbanzos, red and green lentils, in the freezer section and a bag of the new black rice. WARNING: the black rice is a bit messy. But put these two together with some lemon and herbs, and you've got yourself a satisfying weekday lunch.

I also came upon this great, new blog: Running with Tweezers. Check out these recipes for green gazpacho and a roasted eggplant and white bean dip. I will be whipping these up in the near future.

I don't generally like to use this blog to post what's wildly popular on the internet. I prefer the undiscovered, the gems yet to be mined. However, I couldn't resist this one: photographer Andrew Knapp travels everywhere, placing his border collie Momo in "Where's Waldo" type scenarios and then Instagrams it all. Bonus: it's a book, Find Momo.

So much fun, and I haven't even gotten them all yet.

Photos via @AndrewKnapp

So, if I were able to get out and about, here's what I would be doing:

The L.A. Chamber Orchestra is throwing a Strad Fest! Why didn't somebody think of this sooner? It's a two-night extravaganza featuring more Strads than you can shake a horsehair bow at. The Stradosphere gala takes place on March 29th at the very exclusive California Club and tickets are a cool $750. But on the night before, there's the Strad Fiddlefest at the Broad Stage, and the program looks pretty incredible.

  The Da Vinci Stradivarius, 1725

Another not-to-be-missed music series that kicked off this weekend is Minimalist Jukebox, hosted by L.A. Philharmonic and Disney Hall, but also featuring artists and chamber groups from around the city.

The stars of the program are the Kraftwerk 3-D concerts, and tickets are going fast. But if I had my choice, I would opt to see the incredible Calder Quartet perform in the Green Umbrella Series, the equally awesome Lyris Quartet perform Philip Glass in the Jacaranda Series and John Adams conduct the Colburn School Orchestra in his own pieces, Hallelujah Junction and Gnarly Buttons.

AND there's a good chance that I'll be recovered enough to attend these events, so I just may report back to you on them.

I'm also playing with Mextures these days, the next wave in filtered photos. It's pretty sophisticated, a step up from Instagram, Pixlromatic, Picstitch and the like. The effects are more refined, and to blend the right ones together is a bit of a learning process. But I am having fun with it.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for my next Double Feature.