Beautiful Curtains!!

This Marimekko fabric comes from Finland & is designed by Erja Hirvi. It's 54"/55" wide - and I would love to make big curtains out of it! The only thing is, each piece is about $45, so those is some expensive curtains. But I will dream it anyway. I made a skirt last night, the first article of clothing I can really wear that fits me and I altered the pattern to make it my size! It needed to be shortened, as most people are normal size but I am small. So I shortened it and flared the bottom a little more, and I put in the zipper and everything. Pictures to come!

Body Whirl

This weekend was fun because we had Ashley visit us the whole time. We picked her up Friday night and played Scrabble, and Saturday was spend at the Bodyworlds exhibit at the California Science Center. If you've never been to see it I HIGHLY reccomend going because it is facinating and a rare experience. I saw one of the exhibits last time it came around and was amazed. This show is themed around the heart, and there was a recorded loop of a heartbeat playing constantly in the background, which was creepy and cool. If you've never heard of it, it's a show real human bodies that have been through a Plastination proccess which preserves them for display. The bodies are opened so you can view the muscles, neves, veins and bones like you'd never imagine. While this is simply facinating to me in a scientific way, it also brings up tons of other questions and ideas. I was particularily struck by a pair of lungs sitting in a glass case of water. The large mass of them speckled white and pink and gray looked just like rocks in a tidal zone, covered with moss and shells and creatures, while all the feathery veins and blood vessels attached to them seemed like coral and fine fluffy seaweed. I stood there amazed as it all came together to me, how most of our body is made of water and on the inside we even look like we came from the sea. It made me happy.

After, we wandered in the Exposition Park Rose Garden and smelled the lovely flowers for a bit before heading back to Culver City for delicious pizza at Victor Jr.'s It was so cheezy and delicious, and after we all had to take naps at home. On Sunday, I got up and baked blueberry muffins from scratch, which came out so fluffy and delicious! However, I didn't kow our guest is not a blueberry eater, so most of them ended up on the side of her plate. She was happy though after we Metro-ed over to the Universal Citywalk so Ashley could fullfill her heart's desire to see The Ruins. I planned on camping out in a cafe with a book (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle) but ended up joining them for blood and vines and yuckiness. Sometimes you just have to do things you don't want to to make someone else happy, so I squirmed my way though it with eyes shut half the time. It was not a scary movie, it was a bloodandguts gross-out. A first and last for me! We ended the day at Amoeba, then took her home to contemplate all the bodies and blood she got to see, educational and non.

Eats, Eats, Eats!

I just went to the grocery store and spent a ka-jillion fa-fillion dollars. I was starving. I just got the latest issue of Everyday Foods in the mail, and this one is positively LOADED with yummy sounding meals, and I went crazy. I have a log of fresh mozzarilla cheese that I could eat all in one sitting. Torilla chips and stuff for homeade guacamole, green olives, Kalamata olives, red and white wine, cherry tomatoes, apple juice, white wine vinegar, golden potatoes, celery, yellow bell pepper, spinich, blue cheese, blueberries for this weekends breakfast muffins, and to the soon-to-be-delight of David Michael, one pork shoulder - it looks disgusting but it's going to be delicious. I will end up as fat as the fattest cat in china.

Eat A Lot, Very Crusty

Man, there are so many gems in here, it's hard to know which I like the best. His Personal Problem? Maybe that's it. Fat China Cat, you are well loved the world over. Especially by me. You truly are better looking in your fattness. Like a big penguin. A big, virgin penguin.

On Saturday, Christine and Lindsay and I went to the Hammer Museum to see the Kara Walker exhibition. Most of her work is done by drawing images from ye olden slave days onto large black sheets of paper and cutting them out with an exacto knife, then adhearing them to the walls to make life size panoramic scenes. This piece here is called Darkytown Rebellion. They are so impressive to walk up next to and experience. It's also a lot to take in, as it dwells in the ugliness of racisim and brutality to black women. After dinner we went to a housewarming party at Hazel's loft to finish the night and engaged in many conversations about cats, obese animals, tapeworms, and Trannys as seen on Cops.

Sunday was more of a relaxation day. I finally finished an apron for me :) and also I baked a cinnamon apple upside down cake. David was able to enjoy it because it's so moist and smooth, it's more like pie than cake. We tried to do yoga in the living room in the afternoon for fun, but we were not all too successful.

Baby Munchkin Baby

This video makes me want to cry. I am crying right now. This is a baby-cat-baby. Baby-headed-baby-head. I made Elwood watch it and he was pretty transfixed for a while. I wish I got him when he was a tiny baby-head! Baby Elwood Baby!

Crafty Wine

Last night Agata and Lindsay and Misti came over for Craftable Thrusday. We ended up eating tons of Thai food and drinking wine, and soon I didn't feel like crafting at all - I just wanted to open more bottles of wine! The girls got a little stitchery in, and I drew in my sketchbook, but the fabric I laid out to make my apron just laid there unmeasured uncut. Maybe I'll get to it this weekend. I am looking forward to the pear & salmon salad at the french restraunt on Overland today, and the back garden patio that will make lunch seem like vacation and not a work day at all :) This weekend holds the promise of a party at Hazels' new loft, and going to see the Kara Walker show at the Hammer Museum.

Wonder Wheel

The Ferris Wheel at Santa Monica Pier is for sale.
On Ebay.

Please, please, please, I really want this. I want to take Elwood on it. High in the sky up up up way far away from the shore. When you go to the auction, you see the minium starting bid is $50,000. Maybe we could buy this instead of a house. House or Wheel? It's a tough call. I will be very interested to see who ends up buying. As of yet, I see there are no bids.

In my eight years of living in Los Angeles, I have never been on this great wheel. DAVID MICHAEL - THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO TAKE ME ON THE ORIGINAL SANTA MONICA WHEEL! He doesn't even care. Sigh.

Ties!!

Yeah! My guy-ties arrived in the mail today! They are silkscreened with honeycomb/bee art made by Cyberoptics Tie Lab on Etsy. I am so happy, I feel like the wedding suff is coming together.

It was a great weekend too, I had my first beach trip in forever! Tiny and I went to Malibu and baked in the sun all day Sunday. Who knew so many ladies like to go topless in Malibu? I'm all for everyone feeling free in the sunshine, but it seemed strange when families with kids walked by super-oiled up with sunscreen boobs. All my freckles happily emerged on my arms and shoulders and face, and I burned my back some but not too bad. Then Tiny cooked me such a delicious dinner of chicken in creamy-soup-sauce, rice and corn.

This House is Clear!

I want to cry with joy because we cleaned house yesterday! My bedroom is free of all crap, all clothes put away and the floor vacuumed so clean, and the kitchen all scrubbed and the bathroom sanitized. It's so lovely to sit in a fresh clean space, it's hard all week to come home after work and tidy, and now I feel great. We got JR's ribs and beans and potato salad and drove out to share with David and Heather and see baby Lily. She is so small with monkey toes and her baby head is so kissable. It was a lovely Saturday, plus the weather hit 90 degrees, and it truly felt like summer had arrived. Tank tops and sandals, hooray! I am filled with daydreams of upcoming summer events, and dreaming dreaming dreaming of Honduras :)

Honeycomb Print?

I've been hunting online for cute bee or honeycomb pattern prints to made fabric wrap for wine bottles, but so far all that keeps coming up is this Amy Butler Midwest Modern print. It's really cute, but at $8-9/yd it's a little costly ( i need 20X25" squares for each) and I think it's a little too loud. I'd like something more yellow overall. The hunt goes on.

BeeCakes

I like the idea for these bee cupcakes, making the wings out of almond slices! How adorable :)

Moss Panels

Learning a new knitting pattern :) Have to concentrate when I'm doing it.

My Weekend In San Pedro!

Well, I was only there on Sunday, but it was quite a day. It was quite a weekend! On Saturday we made a trip out to buy wedding rings, and felt oh-so-out-of-place in the jewelry store. We picked them in under 15 minutes to the amazement of the ring lady waiting on us. Then she tried to pronounce David's last name with a Mexican accent, and called him mijo. It was hil-arious. Then the rest of the day was spent with lovely Christine, who I've missed the company of, looking at patterns and going to the fabric store, and a trip to Kinsey/DesForges gallery (once known as BlackMarket). She started cutting out pieces to make a summer dress, and I worked on projects. At the gallery we had a great time catching up with Mr. George Trumbull, who is delightful as ever. I feel I haven't seen him for a pretty long time, and we enjoyed the show and chatting with him. He loves working there and is happy to be surrounded by so much inspirational work. P.S. that same night I put Elwood in my bag to see if he'd like to be toted around. The answer is no.All of Sunday I spent visiting Agata in San Pedro, we had such a lovely day of tooting around.First she took me to the exciting fish market, where you can have any and every kind of seafood. You can even pick out your own dead fish and watch them cook it just as you like. Fish scales and bits cover the floor in that room, and it's very very smelly. We got calamari and ate it outside by the water. I love seafood, and I want to go back with my appetite to sample shrip and fish and chips!
After that I got to see the big Korean Friendship Bell on a bluff overlooking the sea, where lots of people were flying kites, and I yearned deeply to fly my kites, at home in a closet. There are old military barracks there that have been converted into art studios and galleries, so hidden away you'd never know they were there. She drove me all about, we saw lots of cool houses, a historic lighthouse, and then went to Torrance for some shopping and crepes! Agata, you're the best! Also, she has painted her kitchen yellow, and I love it. It's so bright, it's like being inside a big lemon :)

We Love Lily!

Lily! She is small, suspicious, and brand new. We love her!!

Yummy Eats Happy Treats

This week I am feeling more recovered from the evil of my cold, and now feel back to normal. I've been cooking, and had success with Shrimp Lo Mein, Beet Satay, Chicken Pot Pie and BBQ Chicken Pizza - improvised.Yes, I know, I'm blogging about what I ate all week, sorry it's boring. But putting aside planning and scheming and just concentrating on something as simple and as making a meal with direct results is so fullfilling sometimes. To my tummy at least :) But also to my mind and spirit I guess. I make a hobo pancake a couple of weekends ago that I was really proud of, it was fluffy and rose up high and crispy and all a-poof, and I supposed I need to post it so someone can share the joy of this success. Tiny joined us for the satay, and she concured that it was pretty good. We baked brownies that night too, unable to stop with the treating. Maybe I'm really just trying to lure David back home with food as he's been so incredibly busy for so long; I have to say it's really a great moment for me now to just find a moment when we can sit and eat together. It's the best part of the day.

Planning

This past weekend I spent in Lompoc, visiting and doing 100 wedding things. I forget how cold it gets there, and the wind didn't help my cold any, but it was wonderful to spend the time with my family. I miss them a lot living in LA, and I like when I get to spend time with my neices. We woke up early on Sunday morning and made a big drawing of a cat birthday party in the park for Ari's bedroom.We did a million errands, flower girl dress, caterer, florist, DJ, measuring areas at the mission, and I was so pooped by the time I got back to LA. I'm not a big event planner, and this is really hard for me, so it's awesome that Laurel & my folks are helping me so much. The Save The Dates have mostly been sent out but I'm still straggling with a few stray addresses. It was so much fun to letterpress them - I'm vowing to use the press more for different projects.