CHILDHOOD FLAMES

SOMETHING NEW

2016-12-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

MAY

2016-05-23T08:46:00.001-07:00

Up until this past week this year has felt wildly out of control. Not for any particular reason that I can figure, but I'm chalking it up to the year of the Monkey. Still seeking a sense of harmony between work life, social life, and creative life.

This month I've been making a conscious effort to regain a feeling of control, of balance. I've been waking up before the sun and taking the extra one or two hours to right myself in the world – walk my dog, prepare breakfast, tidy the apartment, read. It's a tiny thing but has helped enormously. I got rid of the clock in my room and try to leave my computer at work and phone at home when I can. Feels good to remove myself from time.

MÉRIDA

2016-05-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Spent 5 days in Mérida with some of my favorite ladies in April. Many bottles of white wine and tortilla chips consumed.

ONE HANDED

2015-12-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

Mirror selfies.

FOOD THINGS

2015-12-05T22:19:00.001-08:00

This recipe for the thinnest oatmeal cookies reminded me of my favorite herb that I never cook with: fennel.
I've been adding it to my avocado sandwiches lately and am planning to make a batch of granola with fennel, crystalized ginger and walnuts.

@foodblogdotcom

Speaking of, I started a new Instagram as a dumping ground for all the miscellaneous food photos accumulated on my phone.
Fall (and I guess it's winter now?) has been full of barbecues, cookie recipe testing, and dinners with friends.

And lastly, a beautiful London kitchen on Remodelista. I recently moved into a new apartment and am slowly working
on accumulating all my ideal kitchenware.

ENDURANCE

2015-12-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

From a Paris Review interview with James Baldwin.

SUMMER

2015-08-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Home for a spell. Things I'm into these days: smock tops and tube bras

CLAY BODIES

2015-05-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

New ceramic works.

CONVERSATIONS ON SLOWNESS

2015-05-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from a Vestoj interview with Dries Van Noten:

Do you ever have doubts?
Everyday. I never stop questioning what I do. Before a fashion show I might get nervous and start thinking, ‘Maybe we should have chosen different music, or maybe those shoes aren’t quite right’. But at the same time, if you’re perfectly sure of everything you do, then what’s the point?

What is success to you?
Success and happiness are intertwined. To me success is not about scoring, as it is to a lot of people. It’s about feeling good about things, it’s about living a good life.

GREENS

2015-04-17T07:35:00.004-07:00

Dreaming of a vegetable garden this summer.

I recently started feeling nostalgic for a house with a yard after I dug up this photo of the leafy greens and herbs I planted several years ago in the backyard of my parent's house in Portland. Living in a converted warehouse apartment on Skid Row doesn't have quite the same charms. But these photos below of Edible Gardens LA's vegetable gardens are motivating me to start working on a small plot up on the roof. There is something so gratifying about working in the dirt, watching your plants grow, and being able to pluck some lettuce leaves and make a salad on the spot. Maybe next year I'll join a community garden.

More inspiring edible gardens: Lucy Vincent's on Freunde von Freunden and Lotte and Claudia's on Flickr.

STAY WITH ME FOREVER

2015-04-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

New season, new fits. Testing out a few looks on The Fashion Club Instagram. Lookbook soon.

ESPADRILLES

2015-04-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

A.P.C. x Ball Pagés espadrilles

My wardrobe has reached a very static point in the past couple of years. Occasionally new pieces come into my possession (an old TFC sample here or a 50¢ Joshua Tree thrift store sweater there), but I can't remember the last time I went shopping with the intent of purchasing something new or coveted something in that way. If anything I want even less clothing. But wear and tear from months and in some cases, years of use on the same few items does take its toll and after a while buying new clothes and shoes becomes necessary.

So this morning, when during my usual pre-rolling out of bed Instagram scrolling the new A.P.C. x Ball Pagés sandals caught my eye and I felt a deliberate urge to go to the A.P.C. store to try them on, I did so. I've been schlepping around in my weathered navy Riudavets for about a year too long and every other sandal I'd seen looked tired or simply not "me". So I went, spent a good hour trying on the white pair, then the black, then the white, then one each foot, then the black again and came home with new shoes. I still kind of want the white pair.

NATSUKI KURACHI

2015-04-01T07:43:00.001-07:00

Came across the illustrations of Natsuki Kurachi via Instagram several months ago and was (of course) instantly attracted to the clothing her figures were outfitted in. Her women look so cozy and something about their proportions paired with sparse, flat back drops feels primitive yet futuristic.

A FEW THINGS

2015-03-30T14:44:00.002-07:00

I don't often have much time to think about this small bit of internet realty I staked out and once zealously updated but occasionally I do miss this blog as a dumping ground for all the fun and interesting things I've discovered and/or made. Even though most of my internet-ing is now done on social media platforms, it's still nice to have a space that feels like your own.

On the left, a pre-slicing frenzy shot of a freshly baked lemon poppyseed loaf with earl grey glaze shared with friends on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. On the right, new vessels. Pilar Wiley vase and Akihiro Nikarido and Sottsass-Marutomi bowls.

I made this dried flower arrangement at a workshop a pop-up in Glendale for Tokyo-based The Little Shop of Flowers and will probably gift it to my mom. I picked up the beautiful black clay bowl in the photo above while I was there too. Such thin and delicate wheel thrown pieces always amaze me.

It already feels like summer in LA which has me dreaming of this linen convertible tie-skirt from Rowena Sartin. Kristin is very kind to let me play model every once in a while. :)

Reading The Street of Crocodiles and other stories by Bruno Schulz. Ordered it from Powell's on a whim with some leftover store credit and am so, so pleased. Highly recommended.

I spent Christmas and New Years in Indonesia with my dad and sister and finally got around to developing photos. Going through them feels a bit like reliving the trip and now I'm nostalgic for the lush flora and fauna around Bali and Gadog.

TOUCHING TREES

2015-01-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

Maya Handley, 2014

"I want to protect myself. I want not to experience many, many different things, but to experience the things I choose to experience well, and deeply." - Mark Strand in The Paris Review

Thoughts for the new year.

LATELY

2014-12-03T18:57:00.000-08:00

National and international news has been weighing heavily on my mind these days. I find myself receding into quiet domestic pleasures alone. Feels like winter.

Lately:

- making ox tail soup

- spending a few hours at the library, reading things old and new (recently: Wild Fruits, Capital in the Twenty First Century, Paris Review interview with Mark Strand)

- roasted dandelion tea in the morning and before bed

- enjoying views that don't belong to me

- baking cakes to bring to friends (recently: Floriole's lemon olive oil cake and this lime yogurt cake with blackberry sauce)

- exploring the moon

DRIES ALWAYS

2014-11-04T19:58:00.001-08:00

Dries Van Noten SS15

It looks like the work of a simple fabric tie belt, but there's something so fresh and wonderful about the fit and silhouette of these jackets at Dries Van Noten's Spring 15 collection.

CIRCLE

2014-10-29T08:56:00.001-07:00

Rowena Sartin circle top, Acne Studios trousers

SOPHIA

2014-10-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Shot Sophia in some beautiful afternoon light last week.

BOTANICA WORKSHOP

2014-10-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Botanica Workshop SS15

Beautiful, sustainably made underthings from Botanica Workshop.
Precisely what I want to wear when it comes to lounging. Understated designs with delicate details. Unfussy and easy.

LUNCH BREAK

2014-09-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

Cherokee polo, Jil Sander skirt, Nike Lunarglides

Feeling very middle-aged lady who power walks on her lunch break in this formal skirt and sneakers getup and I'm pretty into it. I like the idea of appearing more dedicated to physical fitness than I actually am.

NEW YORK NEW YORK

2014-09-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

Quick & dirty cell phone snap diary from a brief work trip to New York earlier this month.
Highlights include: breakfast at Dimes, Dover Street Market (!!!), Mast Books, a lemon poppyseed donut from Dough, ROLU at Patrick Parrish and cute animals on the street.

BOOK CLUB

2014-09-12T18:31:00.000-07:00

White Noise, Language, Thought, and Reality, Asimov on Science, Pikin Slee & Reading the American Landscape

Trying to make more time to read now that I have a bit more free time on my hands. The only thing that has gripped me enough to read cover to cover recently was White Noise; everything else is being finished peace meal or acting as reference. From Alias Books East, Powell's and Mast Books.

CASE STUDY HOUSE NO. 22

2014-09-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening visit to the Stahl Case House No. 22 with TK and Ken. Best view in town.

A NICE WARM PLACE TO VISIT

2014-09-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

The Fashion Club Spring/Summer 2015

Countless hours and so, so proud.