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A girl living, loving and writing in Los Angeles.
August Listening
August Reading
Favorite Places
Copyright 2001 - 2008 by Ann, unless otherwise noted.
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Sunday, December 30, 2007
Top 50 of 2007
(in no particular order, the top 50 things that made my 2007)
1. a new apartment with my boy & sweet dog
2. Waitress
3. finding amazing restaurants in LA (Luna Park & The Alcove, to name a few)
4. switching jobs 3 times, finally finding one that fit
5. Etsy.com
6. Blueprint magazine (R.I.P.)
7. painting again - finishing 12 this year!
8. Dita Von Teese
9. learning to use my new sewing machine
10. Floyd's Barbershop
11. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
12. the release of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
13. learning Illustrator
14. Paperbackswap.com
15. Pan's Labyrinth
16. life drawing classes
17. Lucy dog surviving her scary health bout in April
18. road trips with Ryan
19. Wicked
20. new friends that came with switching jobs
21. Avenue Q
22. My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living by Jonathan Adler
23. health insurance
24. handwritten letters and postcards
25. handmade swaps (valentine & otherwise)
26. NaNoWriMo, finding that writing spark again
27. Zen & the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury
28. Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World
29. Summer Pierre's Artist in the Office zine
30. inspiring blogs; i.e. m. writes, inside a black apple, Pink of Perfection, The Sartorialist, 52 Projects, Orangette, to name a few.
31. Starting Things We Wore with Annie; staying in touch even when she moves away (sniff)
32. PCC & Fairfax flea markets
33. brussel sprouts & my burgeoning love for them
34. TV on DVD (Heroes season 1, Gilmore Girls season 7, Arrested Development, The Office, Carnivale, Freaks & Geeks)
35. friends, in person, in blogs, in phone calls, in emails
36. no one dying in my family
37. Illustration Friday
38. marthastewart.com
39. Rilo Kiley's album Under the Blacklight
40. working half a block from Anthropologie & all their sales
41. Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black
42. really good girl driven cheesy pop: 1234 by Feist, Misery Business by Paramour, Britney's album (YES I SAID IT)
43. Nigella Lawson, her feisty attitude about curvy females, and How To Be A Domestic Goddess & Nigella Express
44. Gina's visit, and her ongoing support and inspiration in writing
45. Juno
46. LA Public Library
47. becoming a FlickrPro; totally.worth.it.
48. becoming a domestic goddess
49. Paris, Je T'aime
50. and lastly, but certain not least, the best partner-in-crime a girl could ever dare to ask for, Ryan.
I certainly don't mean to miss anybody/thing, but these were the things that came to mind in the last two hours that was spent composing this. At first it seems rather hard to think of anything, but once you get to 30, you realize how much can happen in a year and how good you really have it.
*And for really careful readers, you might notice that this list is constantly being revised and updated. At least for the first week of January...Labels: lists, top 50
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Crafty in the New Year
I got this lovely book at MOCA yesterday, which you can actually find on Amazon. What really sold me were the fantastic shot-by-shot instructions -- I can't wait to get started on all the warm and cozy crochet projects in yummy yarns. Yes, I'm 60.Labels: arts+crafts
Friday, December 28, 2007
Lingering
The break with family was nice, with presents still to be photographed, but even better is this week without work. I'm hanging onto a little bit of holiday spirit with the soft tree & glittered candle still life on top of the television.
Russian tea cakes, an armload of books, and a freshly groomed pup. Sleeping in, a new-to-me couch, and watching the complete series of Roswell from the beginning. Best friend visiting, MOCA, new craft book, oyster happy hour by the sea. Cooking my way through Nigella Express (a Christmas present from my mum), finishing The Golden Compass.
So much to fill my cup with. Reflecting, strategizing, writing, refining my new years' resolutions. Looking forward to 2008. Looking back to savor the dregs of 2007.Labels: growing up
Friday, December 21, 2007
Last Night
So I decided that I wasn't doing enough, what with the baking and the paintings to finish and the sewing and decorating and party prepping and cleaning and packing for going away, so I did it all at once.
It started with some amazing ginger cookies (recipe below, adapted from Emily's), which some ferocious creatures enjoyed. Not these monsters, but we looked similar in jubilant celebration upon first bite of these.
Then came this:
Even though I should have been working on this:
I started the knitting while sitting in bed, waiting for my laptop to recharge (poor thing had been churning out cookie recipes all night) so that I could find Hillary's bunny pattern so I could make this little guy for Ryan's 1 year old nephew:
I had originally intended to just get the bunny started, cutting and pinning the pieces. But suddenly, the lure of my already-set-up sewing machine hummed to me, and before I knew it, I was stuffing said bunny to the gills and embroidering his little pink nose on.
I'll leave out all the gruesome details involving sudden bursts of tears, unpleasant bloody pinpricks and the freshly painted (read: wet) bookshelf that sat in the middle of the living room the whole night.
Now my gift to you, since you may not all experience these cookies because (a) you are not in our immediate family, (b) we will not see you in the next week, or (c) we ate them all before we saw anyone.
Ginger Sugar Cookies
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I got this from Trader Joe's, it includes things like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, etc. which you can substitute for this)
1 1/2 cups of shortening (I used EarthBalance, since it's non-hydrogenated)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsulfered molasses
3/4 cup of sugar (keep separate in a bowl)
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
2. With an electric hand mixer, cream shortening and sugar, then add eggs, vanilla and molasses until combined. Slowly add in flour until completely integrated. It will be a bit dry and piece-y.
3. Scoop out about 1/4 cupful of dough and roll into a ball in your hands. Then roll the dough around in the separate bowl of sugar (I just rolled it once so there was sugar along the sides). Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake each sheet of cookies for 15 minutes -- it will look puffy and light brown. Do not overcook! Set aside to cool, they will fall into more cookie-esque shape.
*Note: I only added the vanilla so that it would smell better, if you don't have any on hand you can leave it out.
Tonight I'm looking forward to making & decorating a gingerbread house, wrapping up and finishing final presents, watching more holiday films, and preparing the house for tomorrow's party and Sunday's departure.
Hope your holidays are cozy and full of love & peace. May the most you ask for be the least you receive.Labels: holidays
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Greta
Greta, 10"x10", acrylic on canvas
One of my finished handmade Christmas presents -- a painting for my grandma. I can imagine her as a dapper little lady in the 20s, going to dances with dance cards at night while going to school under Japanese rule. Wow, I just totally ruined the mood. Thanks, World War 2.
I'm fast transforming from a holiday cup o' cheer to the Grinch. On the positive side, only four more days of work and I get to take a week and a half off!
Happy Tuesday, friends!Labels: artsy girl
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Holiday Cards!
So the holiday cards have been written, addressed, stamped and sent as of last Saturday. I realized I never mentioned them again after the initial post in November, so I wanted to address the questions about where I got them made now that I know the quality. I used Overnight Prints, and they were fast, reasonable, fairly simple and reliable in quality. I would use them again if I ever decide to release a small series of birthday cards, or for next year's holiday cards!
As for Project Runway recaps, I'll let Fashionista speak for us all this week.Labels: arts+crafts
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
+/-
It's been one of those days that I just want to listen to Belle & Sebastian's Don't Leave The Light On Baby on repeat while curled up in bed by 8pm. I need to be shaken up in a good way, or learn to shake it off. Like a cat, baby, like a cat. In addition to personal enraging issues, I'm totally bummed that Blueprint has been axed.
The vintage button wreath I made yesterday as a nod to macabre, Nightmare Before Christmas-style holiday decorations seems to fit the mood. Hope your end of the wires are doing much better than mine.Labels: the blahs
Monday, December 10, 2007
Home & Made
I'm trying not to get lost in the midst of holiday consumerism madness, no matter how much I want to get every glittered hedgehog and windmill ornaments at Anthropologie or all of Martha Stewart's Kmart holiday collection. Instead, I'm focusing on creating ornaments and overall holiday-ness as much as possible from what I already have. That's the spirit of the Handmade Pledge, after all. In that vein, I created a holiday-ish installation in our living room with some branches I found while on a walk, and some white balls of yarn made into hanging ornaments.
Now to work on some more paintings that are to be Christmas presents for friends and family. It's been a wonderful year for the development of my art and painting style, and I'm looking forward to sharing it with the people who have supported me the most in it. I'm also looking forward to doing more next year -- I can't wait to see what things will look like a year from now. It's amazing how you can think something you did was wonderful, and look back a year later to see how far you've come. It's a good thing to always be pushing through your own glass ceilings.
Before I go get crafty while watching Mary Poppins on tv (how incredible is the costume design for this film?), I wanted to share one more easy-peasy homemade ornament. Here's my own version of Hillary of Wee Wonderfuls' Felt Pig Ornament. I didn't include a box for my version since I didn't have one around, but I did add a little button nose for extra piggish-ness.
Thank you for always reading. You're wonderful, just as you are.Labels: holidays
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Pho Winter.
It's raining and winter-like here in Los Angeles. Which calls for cozy weekends in, making soups, baking pies, and watching those quiet, serious indie films that I'm never in the mood for during summer & spring. Tonight called for trying a vegetarian pho recipe (it was wonderful), an amazing pecan pie, and watching Winter Passing & season 7 of Gilmore Girls. Tomorrow, I'm going to a few flea markets in hopes of finding some fun clothes, such as an extra long grey cardigan a la Carrie Bradshaw in the new SATC film.
Hope you're having a wonderful weekend, I can't wait to show you all the work and crafts I've been working on for the holidays. We're cozying up here.Labels: daily
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Feast
Even if I don't go to the grocery store once a week, I am fortunate enough to have an amazing farmer's market half a block from work every Wednesday. Today I managed to pick up parsnips, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, and a bundle of thyme all for exactly $6. The best thing about the farmers' market, besides the obvious fresh abundance of organic vegetables and fruit at your fingertips, is that I get introduced to so many new things. While exotic produce like Japanese pumpkin and persimmons were part of my first generation asian family childhood, things like brussel sprouts and parsnips are completely foreign to me. And with the bad rep that brussel sprouts have, why would I ever want to try it?
Then I came across Orangette, which is easily one of my new favorite blogs. I tried Molly's recipe for pasta with hashed brussel sprouts and pine nuts last week, and it was simply wonderful. Brussel sprouts might very well start topping my list of favorite vegetables (which is ironically short, considering I'm a vegetarian). Tonight I'm going to try out another Orangette recipe of Braised Brussel Sprouts, possibly just by itself with a nice warm crusty bread smeared with a little garlic butter. The chill that now underlines daily life makes me just want to flit around in my warm apartment, making creamy soups and baking warm breads. Oh and sewing felt. By candlelight. Why not.
I also found this recipe for "Chicken" & Dumplings on a veggie message board, which looks really promising for Saturday night dinner. Part of the weekend (the parts that aren't spent flea market hunting) will also be devoted to cozying up with Nigella's How To Be A Domestic Goddess and designing a menu for the holiday get-together to come.
Cozy up tonight, friends.Labels: domestic goddess
Monday, December 03, 2007
Some people do arts & crafts. We judge.
Ironically on the coattails of my last entry, I'm already overwhelmed by the holidays. Among all the wonderful tutorial and crafty idea websites (i.e. Craftzine's blog & burdastyle.com), I'm already feeling behind and it's December 4. So I think it's time to prioritize crafting, painting, and writing duties for December (are you smelling another list? Because here it comes). Realistically, there is only so much time & energy I have after a full time job to focus on all the crafting & art-making I'd like to do.
For the season:
1. Write & send out holiday cards.
2. Make/find a garland.
3. Buy a tree skirt.
4. Buy stockings.
5. Spend a weekend decorating a gingerbread house.
6. Spend time drinking cocoa and/or eggnog while curling up with good books -- or guilty pleasure style books.
7. Finish online shopping for presents.
8. Design & send holiday party invites, plan menu.
9. Finished Top Secret planned paintings.
10. Finish NaNoWriMo novel, 1,379 words a day.
11. Prepare submissions to literary magazines (far & wide).
Must find inspiration again. Inspiration I can feel in my hands or see my impact. Let me take this moment to proudly announce that the wardrobe/clothing blog I'm co-authoring with the impeccable Miss Annie has gone live! You can follow our (almost) daily wardrobe posts at Things We Wore. (It works best on Firefox, and c'mon why are you on IE still?) This is helping me rediscover my closet and curb my clothing addiction, though I must confess that I can't help meandering over to Anthropologie daily.
Happy December, friends. Be decadent.Labels: arts+crafts, lists
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Fairytales Are True
The ornament swaps have been dropped off in the mailbox; a Christmas tree has been chosen and decorated; and presents are slowly coming together. I made spritz cookies from the cookie press (birthday present from a sweet boy) for the first time, a test run for the little holiday party I'll be having in a couple weeks. For decoration, I used some of this month's Blueprint ideas. Is there anything Martha's staff can't make adorable and hip? I would show you a picture of the 4 dozen confectioner's sugar-glazed cookies, but I must admit that they have all been practically inhaled by our little household.
I do love all the holiday ideas coming across the blogosphere, I'm bookmarking my way through the days! Despite the mounting commercialism this season has evoked the past few decades, there's a sense that the handmade movement has reclaimed the spirit of the winter holidays. With each hand-sewn soft tree made and holiday gift purchased off etsy, tiny steps are backtracking to the idea of showing care to the people you love and celebrating life's little accomplishments through the past year.
Alright, done with my mushy-pants, misty-eyed cheer, and back to reading and writing. I have some serious writing to do as I've extended my NaNoWriMo novel through December, for what Ryan likes to call "Ann's Novel Writing Month". Hope you all had a lovely weekend!Labels: holidays
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