quit your sobbing and call me in the afternoon

My friend Kristen is expecting her first child soon. She's my first friend to have a baby so I'm trying to resist buying baby gifts left and right. These though, could not be resisted:

Sock Monkey Slippers! The ultimate in kid cuteness and coolness. For all your sock animal needs, click here or here. :)

spit it through the wire

It's not like we EVER put them away in southern California, but as the temp. rose to 97 degrees yesterday at my house, I was especially motivated to pick up a new pair of sandals:

start a love train

Cavs fever is running full force in my household right now! Scott is shouting so loud I am afraid he is going to startle our elderly neighbors.

4.21.08 PotD

At work last week I was talking to my coworker, Brian, who is also from Cleveland (like Scott) about the Cavs first 2 wins over Washington. Our other coworker Jackie overheard and said, "Whaaat? Who is a Cavs fan?" and I said, "Helloooo! Me!!!!" and surprised he said, "Really? Why?" and without a seconds hesitation I said, "Because Lebron James is my future husband!"

Hmmm... maybe not the most professional move at work....

handful of bullets she's bitten

I'm just catching up on some old The Hills episodes...

ummm, can someone clarify if Whitney- a girl who has interned for W and Teen Vogue for years, who wants to work in the fashion industry, who is on a TV show about young fashionistas- just pronounced Givenchy as "Gah-vin-chee"?!?!? (FYI, it's "Zhee-von-she") Because seriously, I just barfed in my mouth a little...

june hanging over july

Target's new Go International Collection (no, not one of the designer collaborations... are they even called part of the Go International line anymore? who knows....) has some cute pieces.

Headed over there on Sunday so Scott could get a wireless router and ended up with this:
The Small was ridiculously huge, so I ordered an XS online. Regardless of which I keep, I'm going to take it to my tailor to perfect the fit because with no shape to the garment, it really should fit impeccably to look chic and expensive.

For work, I'll pair it with my high, patent black pumps (Max Studio) and slim, black blazer (H&M). For fun, I'll throw on some flat black sandals and a cool necklace. I think I'll cinch it up with a slim, slim belt too.

These were cute too:

Colorblock Abstract Stripe T-Back Dress and Satin Paperbag-Waist skirt

but the first did nothing for my shape and the second I didn't really need.

orange you glad to see me?

Because it made me giggle, I present a list by Scott:

"Love & Hate" (click to see larger)

I made him do the "Love" column to balance out the bad energy of actually sitting down to write a "Hate" list.

I think I win because the "Love" column made it to the bottom about 5 items ahead of "Hate". Points off however for coming in second to avocados.

if your body matches what your eyes can do

new music loves:

Lykke Li's "Youth Novels"
favorites: "Little Bit" & "Dance, Dance, Dance"


The Heavy's "Great Vengeance and Furious Fire"
favorites: "Coleen" & "Set Me Free"


The Notwist's "The Devil, You + Me"
favorites: "Good Lies" & "Solitaire Live"


The Black Keys' "Attack & Release"
favorites: "Strange Times" & "I Got Mine"

[enjoy]

why they always choose door #3

I've been talking forever about the wall above my bed. I love clusters of frames (like in this post) and that wall has been a long time coming.

It seems like an easy decorating project. Buy some art. Buy some frames. Whip it up. Problem was, I'd get a piece to add to the collection and it would throw off the balance of the wall as a whole. One photograph alone looked weird and I wanted 1-2 more. A new red-heavy piece would make it look like I was going for a red color scheme. So constantly frames were up, down, empty, filled... in transition.

So finally, I decided to do the wall all at once. It goes against my love of collecting special pieces over time, but it worked!

I browsed allposters.com, Etsy, ebay, Heads of State, Thumbtack Press, gigposters.com and every other cheap-art website. I saved thumbnails of any and all pieces I was interested in, then pasted them into Microsoft Word. I also put it the images of pieces we already had. A blank Word template essentially acted as as my white wall. I could instantly see if a new piece threw off the balance of the look as a whole. I added and deleted as necessary until I came to a look that I felt struck the right balance.

Here is the final wall:

I can add and remove over time, but at least it has a foundation started! :) I am noticing that the layout looks like two peaks (rainbow arc) and I don't like that, but Scott will kill me if I put any more holes in the wall!

Wanna know about what's up? (L to R)

1. Antenna print by Wilson Hsu from Thumbtack Press. His other stuff is so colorful and whimsical but with an edge- I'd totally cluster a bunch of his together for a baby or kids room!
2. My photograph. I took this shot of our vinyl record shelves. I love the vintage look and obviously the musical connection.
3. Devil print: Scott bought this off of eBay I believe. It's by Rob Bob, a San Diego based artist who does Mexican and Dia de Los Muertos art. It has great detail and is a nice masculine touch for Scott.

4. Fish rubbing by Fishfanatic on Etsy. He actually catches fish, covers them with ink, and presses them onto paper. This one lends a nice textured and natural element to the wall. About this piece, the artist said, "Although it is small, it is one of my favorites. I call this "coming and going". Both images were made from the same fish and I always think of the quote "life is a series of arrivals and departures" I loved that.
5. Marilyn Monroe Warhol Print: I've had it forever and while I may not buy it now, I seem to just keep holding onto it. Not a Marilyn fan, but yes a big Warhol fan.
6. Red dancer postcard: This too is something I've had for a long time. I found that frame, had nothing to fill it with at the moment other than a random postcard and it has just happened to stay as is forever.

7. Roy Lichtenstein Ball of Twine. Love the black & white, graphic look.
8. a Flickr find: "And all the things I used to see" by mikecole. I stumbled upon his Flickr and love his stuff. This was downloaded and developed right off Flickr. If you can't see it well- it is tree branches / leaves overlapping a building.
9. A few weeks ago there was a garage sale down the street. I stumbled upon this thin line drawing and loved it. My grandma had a lot of African art and it reminded me of her. At 50 cents, I couldn't resist. The triple mat is all connected, so I just left as is and only reframed it.

we tell ourselves stories in order to live

Just a one day weekend.
14 hour outdoor photo shoot on Sunday.
97 degree weather.
4 trips of lugging supplies.
Standing in the sun all day.
Managing thousands of dollars of merchandise and a crew of 15.
Being asked to stand in as a model (awkward!).

Yup, it hurt getting up today. The only thing to blast me into consciousness was this:

Eucalyptus Spearmint Shower Gel and Body Lotion. A Christmas gift I am loving these days.

Well, let's be honest. This scent and 3 cups of cofffee ;)

done and done

i so loooove rachel bilson's style.
supa supa supa cute.

leaps and bounds for a simple feat

I'm a cheap jewelry lover. Forever 21, Target, Brass Plum, Claire's, you name it... if I can get trendy earrings for $4 and awesome bangles for $2, I'm in. Problem lately has been that they were all getting dull. The silver lost its luster and looked scratched, the gold got muted and even looked like a gold coating was wearing off to reveal a silver center. They're cheap, but I still loved them so I went on a hunt of how to clean jewelry.

Websites have direction for real gold and silver, so I was weary of how the methods would work on fakes. Tried one test and it was AMAZING. Of course I had to share with all of you on here :)

1) Get out a glass dish, like a casserole or brownie dish.
2) Line with clean, dry aluminum foil.
3) Lay jewelery flat on the foil.
4) Pour hot (almost boiling) water over the jewelry. Make sure all items are completely under water.
5) Sprinkle (or in my case, dump) baking soda into the water. The soda / water mix with froth.
6) Use a wooden or plastic stick to move the jewelry around, making sure all areas touch the foil.
Apparently the tarnish transfers from the jewelry to the foil... I let my pieces sit for awhile and I kept adding baking soda.
7) Rinse in lukewarm water. Lay flat on a cloth or paper towel to dry. Do not rub.
8) Repeat if needed.
I let mine dry and only 2 of 8 pieces needed to go another round.

Voila! Brighter, prettier, tarnish free pieces! :)

gonna get me a little oblivion

my photo, Venice Beach

Scott & I love the KROQ morning show, "Kevin & Bean." Scott so much so that he started downloading their podcasts to listen to at home and in his car in the evening. I can only handle so much of segments like, "Ask a Dominatrix" and an advice show mocking Spencer of The Hills in "Spencer, The Love Dispenser," so I kept to my morning-only routine.

However, Scott's new podcast fascination led us to the KEXP Song of the Day podcast. KEXP's Song of the Day podcast features exclusive in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent musicians that KEXP thinks listeners should hear along with songs from more well-known artists. Rock, indie, mellow hip-hop and all FREE! To subscribe, search "KEXP" in the top right corner of your iTunes and then click on which songs you want.

I told Scott we need to load up a playlist of these new songs and drive up the coast listening to them. A little 2-day impromptu getaway to Santa Barbara. When music makes you want to have an adventure like that, you know its good ;)

champagne and reefer

Shine a Light is a Scorsese directed movie showcasing 2 Rolling Stones concerts from 2006 at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre. Scott & I checked it out last night for date night.

It's not a documentary about the band or their history. As Martin Scorsese said in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, "The Stones are the most documented band in history — what more do we need to know about them? I had to keep telling everybody, "The history of the Rolling Stones is right there onstage in their faces, in the way Mick is moving and the way Keith is handling that guitar and the way Charlie Watts plays the drums and the way Ronnie Wood is working. So why don't we see how they work with each other onstage? Maybe we get caught up in that very primal euphoria."

Beautifully done, full of energy- it felt like you were at the concert. May be boring for those not already huge fans of The Stones, but otherwise I highly recommend it.

The review from Rolling Stone Magazine: If you're expecting Martin Scorsese to do a Last Waltz number on the Rolling Stones, snap out of it. No way are the Stones the departed. No way are they ready for a farewell concert like the classic 1978 elegy Scorsese did for the Band. In Shine a Light, the Stones defy you to wave them off. The music is full-out, in-your-face, viscera-twisting rock & roll. Because the film was shot in 2006 at New York's Beacon Theater at a benefit for the Clinton Foundation, you might think Scorsese had limited access. There's a dishy bit with Mick Jagger having a snit about all those distracting cameras and cranes. Scorsese doesn't budge. In fact, eighteen cameras — manned by the Oscar-winning likes of Robert Richardson, John Toll and Robert Elswit — zoom around the stage like flies on honey, catching Jagger turning on the heat with a backup singer in "She Was Hot," Keith Richards pouring his lived-in voice into "You Got the Silver," Ron Wood showing even Keith what a guitar can do and the ever-stoic Charlie Watts bringing his drums to orgasm. The archival interviews are a shock — time has lined their faces, but their energy remains explosive. The guest shots pay off in different ways. Jack White looks agog being with his idols on "Loving Cup," and Christina Aguilera meets Jagger on her own sexual highway on "Live With Me." The killer is blues legend Buddy Guy on "Champagne & Reefer," taking on the Stones and making their jaws drop. The Stones play to the audience, not the camera, but the setting is so intimate and Scorsese's focus is so intense that you seem to experience the concert in three dimensions. This you-are-there spellbinder is a master director shining his light on the best rock band on the planet. Get busy.

a history of legal troubles

Yesterday, my work consisted of this:

We produced a Counting Crows concert so in between saying, "Keep this area moving," "I'm sorry but there is no standing in this walkway," "One picture ONLY then I'm going to need you to move," and "No. No. No, not there either," I got to stroll around and snap a few shots.

My back and feet were aching and they didn't play Holiday in Spain, but it's not a bad deal for a Thursday afternoon... :)