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Neon String Necklace- February Challenge Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:20:00 +0000

Happy Groundhog's Day! (And happy birthday to my big brother.) Apparently we're getting six more weeks of winter. If this makes you crave something bright, today's necklace is for you!

[Wire wrapping]

A bright pink neon string has been repurposed to replace my usual gold chains. Neon is everywhere (including my purse) so why not around your neck? On the string is a big bright orange wood bead with three light blue clay beads on one side and six on the other. The blue beads have a great variegated color that adds texture and interest. Hangs perfectly offcenter just below your collarbone. This piece is finished with wire wrapped ends that keep the string secure and let it lay smoothly on your neck. The Neon String Necklace is now on Etsy, get it before it's gone!

[Necklace two]

A Necklace A Day will continue all of February. See all the daily necklaces here. I'm joined in this challenge by a fellow East Bay Arts Collective member, Gwen of Gwen Harlow Design who will be crafting and blogging as well. If you'd like to join the challenge, email me at kat.mceachern (at) gmail dot com.

Colorblock Necklace- February Challenge Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:25:00 +0000

[Colorblock Necklace]

Necklace One is complete! I'm so excited about this piece. When collecting vintage jewelry and bits and pieces, sometimes I buy something I like but don't have any clue what to do with. Other times, I find something and know immediately what I want to make. This necklace started as one and ended as the latter.

I recently bought a strand of multicolored vintage lucite beads, unsure of how to use them but I never pass up gorgeous lucite beads. Then a friend who also makes jewelry (check out her work!) gave me this necklace to cut up and remake.

[Okay, I didn't take a picture before I cut it open. You get the general idea.]

Pretty cool, right? But also a little boring. I knew it needed more color and less symmetry. I love the colorblocking trend that is going on so I made a colorblock necklace. I used the vintage lucite beads, the necklace from Sydney and one extra awesome rock shaped teal bead that I found long long ago (it's the awesome rock shaped teal one below.)

[Random rock shaped bead really makes this necklace]

Oh, what's that, you ask? Did I overachieve and make earrings too? Yes. Yes, I did. Both the earrings and the necklace are listed on Etsy. Perfect to add color to any outfit you wear on a rainy day like we're having here.

A Necklace A Day will continue all of February. See all the daily necklaces here. I'm joined in this challenge by a fellow East Bay Arts Collective member, Gwen of Gwen Harlow Design who will be crafting and blogging as well. If you'd like to join the challenge, email me at kat.mceachern (at) gmail dot com.

February Challenge- A Necklace a Day

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:55:00 +0000

[Champagne cupcakes from Some Kitchen Stories]

Happy February! In my family, February is a month of celebrations because of the many family members with birthdays. My sister just escaped being a February baby by one day and was born on March 1- of a leap year! My brother and I still lament not being able to constantly tease her about being four years old on her sixteenth birthday.

This February I won't get to celebrate with any family members in person, but we'll be celebrating everyday on the blog with a new necklace every day! I'll share a bit of a story of the necklace and it will be up on Etsy for puchase. Making, blogging about and listing on Etsy is a big task to undertake daily but I'm excited to both spend more time on my craft AND more time sharing it with you!

Plus, all Necklace a Day necklaces will be 20% for the month of February with the code (what else?) FEBRUARY.

To make this even more exciting, I'm joined in this challenge by a fellow East Bay Arts Collective member, Gwen of Gwen Harlow Design who will be crafting and blogging as well. If you'd like to join the challenge, email me at kat.mceachern (at) gmail dot com. See you tomorrow with the first Necklace a Day jewels.

tumblights 1/29

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:49:00 +0000

It was a scary week. Little Gracie got into some raisins, which are toxic for puppies, and spent the last two days in the pet hospital being observed. I'm happy to say they treated her quickly, and she was never in pain. We picked her up last night and are so glad to have her home, safe and sound. She's curently snoozing away next to an also-sleeping Partner-in-Crime.

Here's this week's tumblights:

Test tube chandelier can be a hanging garden, rainbow via Design*Sponge

‘Billboard House’, a residential prototype that combines the concept of outdoor media with housing via designboom

Andy Goldsworthy’s newest installation in the Presidio via inhabitat

Noemie Goudal’s site-specific sculptural installation photography via designboom

Pep Ventosa takes hundred of photographs of one subject then re-constructs them into one image via Honestly WTF

Enjoy these? Find more daily at percentblog.tumblr.com. And even more stunning images on my pintrest.

how to: spray painting leather

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:33:00 +0000

Sometimes I have pieces on my closet that I love, but over time I come to love more out of sentiment than the style itself. A purse I bought on a trip in early high school to El Salvador is one of those favored items. I love (most) the memories of the trip, but haven't actually carried the bag in many years. On the style and DIY blogs I read, I've been seeing lots of neon and spray paint and a jolt of color is just what this bag needs to wake it up. So thanks to Geneva of A Pair and a Spare for the many neon inspirations, including a market bag, and to Kristen of Glitter and Glue for helping me be brave enough to spray paint a leather purse.

I mentioned on twitter that I painted another bag that didn't turn out so well. It was a canvas tote with writing so be sure to use primer if you need to cover up a design first. If you can find the color you want, I'd definitely recommend using fabric paint on canvas instead of spray paint. Additionally, make sure you have that tape down securely at the edges!

This how-to is for spray painting leather though, so follow the simple steps below!

[The purse originally]

[Taping off the area to be painted. Prime first if you need to.]

[After one coat, a little splotchy]

[Two coats, a little bleeding but luckily on the hidden area]


[Done!]

I have thought about making the design highlight the embossed leaf/feather design more, but I like the simplicity of stripe of neon showing through. What do you think- did I make the right call?

recipe: lemon squares

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:25:00 +0000

I'm posting this with a disclaimer: making this recipe may ruin all other lemon squares for you. Ever. You know a recipe is going to be great when it comes from a Junior League cookbook. Okay, another disclaimer: this does not apply to anything molded out of jello that contains fruit or cottage cheese. However, lemon squares? Those ladies have it perfected.

I grew up eating these lemon bars on special occasions. They are not overly time consuming but do require three steps and a long time chilling, so you cannot whip them up right before your luncheon. Luncheons being what I assume they originated for. The ladies of the Junior League of Cincinnati are still hawking cookbooks, but neither on sale is the one to originally contain these so I will share it with you. In fact, when I google searched "junior league of cincinnati cookbook lemon squares" they were sharing a recipe with no cream cheese icing! Cue pearl clutching. Enjoy the icing loaded version here.

Frosted Lemon Squares
2 cups flour
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 whole eggs
Juice of two lemons
4 Tablespoons flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces cream cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream together the flour, butter and powdered sugar, either with a mixer or food processor. It will be quite crumbly. Press into ungreased 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes until a light golden color.

Beat the eggs. Add juice of two lemons, flour, sugar and salt. Mix together. Pour over baked crust. Bake for 22-25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely before icing, 2+ hours or overnight.

For the icing, cream together the butter and sugar in mixer or food processor. Add whipping cream and vanilla and mix. Add the cream cheese in pieces into this mixture. Spread icing on cooled lemon layer. Chill and then cut into small squares. Store in the refrigerator. Freezes well.

If nice presentation is desired, partially freeze before cutting as icing remains soft at room temperature. But if the Junior League ladies thought they looked fine, they look fine. And I can promise you, they taste great.

tumblights 1/22

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:25:00 +0000

Hello, dears. As you've seen, it's been an exciting week. The weekend rounded out with a homemade pizza party with friends and a rainy night in. Now it's a rainy Sunday, perfect for a football game (go 49ers!) Happy Lunar New Year- it's the year of the dragon!

Brian Dettmer creatively destroys solely vintage non-fiction books via design boom

This bike would be designed in SF via Design Milk

Steven Spazuk creates art with flames, allowing the images to emerge naturally via Design Milk

Maybe not sexy, but necessary and, in this case, attractive. Fuseproject (yves behar) newest health and wellness brand ‘sabi’ via design boom

Eat Me: Appetite For Design book via MocoLoco

Enjoy these? Find more daily at percentblog.tumblr.com. And even more stunning images on my pintrest.

the magic of twitter

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, you may have seen me post something on twitter that looked like this:

If you were confused, it was in response to this:

Which resulted in this:

Yes. Those are my fingers. No. I have not become a hand model (the current burn from the oven on my right hand should prevent that.) Instead, I have started an internship for Anne Sage, a wonderful blogger, stylist, and Executive Editor of Rue Magazine. Last Friday we had a wonderful time shooting the Valentine's Survival Guide that is featured on pages 34-36 of the just released issue of Rue Magazine. Our photographer, Molly DeCoudreaux, was a trooper, making our shoot super fun even while she felt under the weather. Check out the rest of the shoot!

what the world needs is people who have come alive

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:59:00 +0000

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr Day. A day named for a specific great leader, but one who worked with countless other leaders, some who we have heard of and some whose names are not transcribed in history books. Today I want to share a poster I created, because it was inspired by the words of another civil rights leader, Dr. Howard Thurman. A friend from high school had posted the following quote as her Facebook status and I immediately was struck by it. Learning more about Dr. Thurman I was even more inspired.

The quote attributed to Dr. Thurman in whole reads: Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

I am learning to balance what I feel the world needs with asking myself what makes me come alive. Do you know what makes you come alive?

You can download the posters as pdfs here, posters are 11x17 prints. I'm sharing them freely, so feel free to use them in any non-commercial use.

tumblights 1/15/12

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:13:00 +0000

Sunday again and a holiday tomorrow. Partner-in-Crime is taking off work which makes up for me working both days this weekend. Tonight we're having a cozy night in with pizza and beer. Here's a bit of design goodness for you to cozy up to. Exciting news coming early this week.

Fuck design, let’s set the world on fire via The Fox Is Black

Fighting Global Injustices and Poverty…With Crafts: Meet the Craftivists via TreeHugger

elisa strozyk’s wooden textiles via Design For Mankind

Marianne Breslauer's photography via Miss Moss

Knitted yarn filling potholes along Paris roads via alec shao

Enjoy these? Find more daily at percentblog.tumblr.com. And even more stunning images on my pintrest.

architectural history and preservation

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:25:00 +0000

I just read on The Fox is Black that one of architect Richard Nuetra's buildings is currently empty and possibly to be demolished. I spent a semester analyzing every aspect of Nuetra's VDL House, even exchanging emails with Nuetra's son and architect in his own right, Dion, but hadn't learned of the Cyclorama. In fact, this style of building is one I missed completely despite History of the Interior and the many lessons on architecture I had in school. According to the Alex from The Fox is Black, "Built to display 360-degree paintings, Cycloramas were popular in the 19th century when hundreds of looped paintings traveled through dozens of cycloramas across the States."

Because the building is adjacent to Gettysburg, and even blocks the view of the battlefield, its fate is uncertain. The park service would like the Cyclorama removed to restore the view, architecture lovers want to preserve Nuetra's work. I lean toward preserving the building, either by allowing it to stand where it is or by moving it, if necessary. I am a architecture lover, but also a history lover and I think Alex put it well when he wrote:

Cycloramas do not carry the same historical weight as the Civil War, nor does any single architect. But we aren’t going to forget the Civil War anytime soon. Cycloramas and legacies of modern architects are much more fragile; when they intertwine with such a historical behemoth, it’s strange to think that agencies interested in historical preservation would fight for their erasure. History might be inconveniently located, but it’s history nonetheless.

Perhaps by keeping the building where it was intended will serve the original purpose of a building built to hold a 365 painting of Gettysburg- to teach history lovers a little something about architecture, and to remind architecture lovers that our history is what allows us to create today.

Images from The Fox is Black.

tumblights 1/8/12

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:43:00 +0000

The holidays are over and tumblights are back! This encompasses the last few weeks of the best of design, food and culture images and stories that I've stumbled across.

Chris Palmer's furniture design builds in storage via Design*Sponge

Art Heist makes great art accessible- for free via Honestly WTF

Video: Ben Chestnut of MailChimp delivers powerful address on workplace creativity via SwissMiss

Form follows manufacturing: “the Gravity Stool gets its unique shape from magnetic fields and the power of gravity” via Mocoloco

An exploration of culture through photographs of hanging laundry via Design Milk

Advice to Sink in Slowly: Designers Share Wisdom with First-Year Students in Poster Series via Brain Pickings

Enjoy these? Find more daily at percentblog.tumblr.com. And even more stunning images on my pintrest.

harry potter love

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:04:00 +0000

One reason I shared few Christmas projects is that projects I did make this season were very personal and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. For my younger sister, I made a set of Harry Potter quote posters. We are both big fans of the books (and lesser fans of the movies, though one of these quotes is actually from the movie. It's a good quote, though.)

I used the same font as the books and left the posters in black and white, to look most similiar to the books. It's been a while since I've played around on illustrator or any Adobe CS products, but since making these I've done a few more projects that I'll be slowly sharing.

You can download the posters as pdfs here, posters are 11x17 prints. I'm sharing them freely, so feel free to use them in any non-commercial use.

Happy 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:10:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

This year was a big one, involving many big changes including leaving my job and moving across the country. There have been setbacks and challenges but I have been moving forward and have big goals for 2012, especially for my design work and this blog. I'm excited to continue exploring what community based design means to me and how design can make a difference. There will be more learning sf posts as I explore my adopted home, more recipes, more tumblights and, I truly hope, more conversations.

Looking forward to sharing 2012.

tumblights 12/28

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:28:00 +0000

Here is this week's collection of interesting design, intriguing concepts and delightful images.

Cinemascapes: The Google Street View Edition. “Photographs” created online via The Fox Is Black

Scenes of Life by Lucie & Simon via Miss Moss

Map Sculptures of Cities Made from Books About Each City via Brain Pickings

Instead of using wood as a source to make paper, NewspaperWood uses the paper to make wood via Design Milk

Pine cone structure plays with line between nature and architecture via design boom

Enjoy these? Find more daily at percentblog.tumblr.com. And even more stunning images on my pintrest.

design intervention: doing it right

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:29:00 +0000

[Santa Marta community, Rio de Janeiro, image from Favela Painting]

I love the colorful buildings of artistic team Haas & Hann's projects. The duo's favela project, originally conceived in Brazil, pays local youth to paint buildings vivid shades. I love that the project is "not about cosmetically 'camouflaging' an area, but rather rejuvenating deprived areas of a city and creating a positive social effect on the general district at hand." I was first introduced to the pair's work on Apartment Therapy when in an article titled "Should New York Go Neon?" The proposed images of New York were thrilling to me, but the article and the idea struck me as misguided. The proposal of an unsolicited "intervention" in lower Manhattan from a pair of designers from outside the United States lacked the community input I think is necessary for a project to be truly uplifting instead of just aesthetically pleasing. And while they certainty are pleasing to me, many may find the colors an eyesore especially without community consultation and buy-in.

[Proposed NYC project, image from Apartment Therapy]

Tonight I took the time to look at the Favela Painting website in more depth. There were things that heartened me, such as the education in painting skills and safety the local youth received, which can serve as job training. Additionally, "inside of the sambaschool was painted in [the area's] traditional colors"

While of course there are many other improvements that could be made to those communities (either in Brazil or New York,) even small physical appearance changes can have a very positive affect. The Favela Project was started in 2006 in Brazil where the Dutch team works and lives, and the New York proposal was more of a creative design exercise than true proposal. I would hope a team that has had such successful projects in the past understand the important of community in the design process should such a project actually move forward. What works in one community does not translate to all communities, especially if the similarity in the communities is largely on of economic status or political power instead of culture and identity. I encourage Haas & Haan to continue the painting project in Brazil if it as welcome in the community as my google-ing suggests but to think deeper about ways to bring the same joy to other cities.

What do you think are best practices for community-based design?

[Painters at work in Rio, image from Favela Painting]

belated tumblights 12/12

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:22:00 +0000

A quick post of tumblights and then back to your regularly scheduled holiday programming...

I Love Stripes by Daphne van den Heuvel via Mocoloco

St Petersburg pier nominee designed to weather storm surges, climate change via design boom

Temporary Trees- performance photography by Raw Color and MKGKvia Inhabitat

Tantra Song: Rare 17th-Century Indian Paintings That Look Like 20th-Century Western Art via Brain Pickings

Enjoy these? Find more daily at percentblog.tumblr.com. And even more stunning images on my pintrest.

bake it, gift it: snowball cookie recipe

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:07:00 +0000

Yesterday I posted my "make it, gift it" DIY button rings that I made for a Holiday Gift Swap. Today I am sharing my recipe for the The Great Food Blogger's Cookie Swap from Love and Olive Oil and The Little Kitchen.

I wanted to make a family recipe, one given to my grandmother from her friend and my mother's godmother. This recipe goes by many names, but the one most appropriate for the season is Snowballs. They are also called Viennese Crescents when shaped slightly differently and Mexican Wedding Cookies when made with vanilla in place of the almond extract. I think the almond gives them a great not-too-sweet flavor.

[The dough]

It's important to note that the dough is very very crumbly. You will be forming these with your hand and have to really squish the dough together. I was taking a fistful of crumbly dough to end up with the cookies you see below.

[Before baking]

[Cookies just out of the oven]

Snowballs
½ cup butter, softened

¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. almond extract

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup blanched slivered almonds, ground

Mix all ingredients together. Shape into small balls, about 2-4 bites per cookie. These do not rise or change shape, so you can fit about 20 on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees on greased cookie sheet for 20-22 minutes. When mostly cooled, roll in conf. sugar before serving.

Yield:18 cookies

Recipe is easily doubled. Cookie size can also be reduced, decrease baking time accordingly.

[Ready to coat in powdered sugar]

[All done!]

make it, gift it: DIY button ring

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:37:00 +0000

[Vintage button collection]

A few weeks ago I posted my excitement about participating in the Great Food Bloggers Cookie Swap and the Holiday Gift Swap, both organized by some awesome bloggers. The deadline for mailing out treats for both was recently and I wanted to share what I created. Today I have a diy instructional for my gift- button rings.

I knew I wanted to make jewelry and making rings from vintage jewelry and buttons is an easy diy that anyone can do. To start, you need one or more buttons (or other bauble such as a rough gemstone, cocktail earring piece, etc) and a ring blank. Ring blanks are available at craft and bead stores.

[I decided to create a layered look with the large tortoise shell buttons and various small gold and colored buttons.]

[You'll have to remove the back of the button if it doesn't lay flat. Use pliers and just work it back and forth.]

[Use E-600 glue (from a hardware store) to secure the ring blank to the button. I added a strip of fabric, also glued down with E600 to add stability. If your ring blank has a large flat surface then this is not needed, but if your ring is only circular, like mine, then it is helpful. ]


[Your ring is ready! Here is what they looked like before being mailed.]

[I added fun bows to the packaging, just because I love gifts.]

Thank you so much Freshly Picked for putting together this awesome showcase of crafters! Over the past week, I've received adorable notecards, holiday coasters, and a necklace from a repurposed tie. I'm looking forward to the last few arrivals and to sharing my Great Cookie Swap recipe with you tomorrow.

tumblights 12/3

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:10:00 +0000

Happy December, y'all. We had a gorgeously warm weekend here in the Bay, but last night definitely felt like winter. Here's this week's tumblights to warm you up.

Bicycle portraits, a book on the bike culture of South Africa via Design*Sponge

Take-away packaging by Casey Ng combines a paper bag top with a rigid carton for the base via Dezeen

Morse Code Blankets by Holly Berry via Design Milk

Ball point pen paintings by shane mcadams via design boom

Beaded heart- Jan Huling’s Mi Corazo via Lyons Wier Gallery found on pinterest

‘instruments of mass destruction' graffiti- rainbow warrior by akay via design boom

Enjoy these? Find more daily at percentblog.tumblr.com. And even more stunning images on my pintrest.

how to: make a sparkly wreath in 2 minutes

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:50:00 +0000

And for basically $0.

Okay, definitely less than $2.

I started getting warm and fuzzy Christmas feelings, oh, a month ago. This was bad since I have a strict no carols/decorating until after Thanksgiving policy. It is now after Thanksgiving. But unlike my friend Lara and her amazing trove of Christmas treasures, I have no decorations. This is my first Christmas away from home where a) I am not in college or b) my roommates are not (undergrads) in college.

Nonetheless, I am inspired to start decorating. And today I made a wreath practically for free. How? First I started with a set of silver cupcake liners. These come with a silver liner and a white liner inside. At first, I thought, "how ridiculous!" Then I thought, "wonder if that's metal's toxic? yay for white liners!" So to make this wreath, in three easy steps.

Step one: gather your silver liners (before or after use; I went with after.) The number you use changes the size of your wreath, I used 13.

Step two: take one liner and flatten it.

Step three: Assemble in a circle and tape on the back. I just used Scotch tape. Use liberally, it won't be showing.

Okay, I guess there sort of is a step four.
Step four: Hang your wreath!

tumblights 11/27

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:44:00 +0000

Hope you have had a wonderful long weekend, filled with food and relaxation. Just a reminder that the holiday sale in my etsy shop is going on through tomorrow!

Here's your weekly tumblights. Sorry we missed last week due to lack of internet at my house.

Best updated photograph I've seen- Christoph 1990 & 2011 at the Berlin Wall

Energy Harvesting Eco Shade Doubles as a Light Source at Night via Inhabitat

Video: Mesmerizing flock of starlings’ aerial dance via vimeo

Anatomically Incorrect 19th Century Map Of A Woman’s Heart via Jezebel

Thomas Doyle's dioramas feature tiny hand-painted figures surrounded by domesticity and destruction via Mocoloco

2011 Made in the South Winners from Garden and Gun

holiday sale! use coupon code "thanks"

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 02:09:00 +0000

recipe: shrimp scampi with preserved lemon and fennel

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Grocery shopping is a trip typically made together, with a few meals planned and a few thrown together later from whatever we have gathered. Last weekend I worked both days, so Partner-in-Crime set off to procure foodstuffs on his own. On a whim, he picked up a half pound of shrimp. We didn't have a recipe planned, so at 6pm on the night of their consumption (a week ago) we sat down on the computer to find a recipe, ultimately selecting one from Bon Appétit on Epicurious for Shrimp Scampi with Quick Preserved Lemon and Fennel on Polenta.

We lacked some ingredients, including the polenta. Instead of the amount of shallots listed, we used a combination of shallots and white onion that needed to be used quickly. Luckily, we had fennel for another recipe planned for later in the week and I frequently keep preserved lemons in the fridge, made using this method. This cream/fennel/lemon sauce is good enough to eat without the shrimp. I don't know why you would, unless you are serving a vegetarian or keeping kosher. (Which, if you are, cook the shrimp in an entirely separate skillet. Toss a bit of preserved lemon in the olive oil as you cook the shrimp and you are good to go.) Below is our adapted recipe.

Shrimp Scampi with Preserved Lemon and Fennel over Pasta
Ingredients:
1/2 lb pasta
1/2 shrimp
4 shallots, sliced thinly
1/4 white onion, diced
1 medium bulb fennel, halved and sliced thinly (about 1 cup)
1/2 preserved lemon peel, diced (about 4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup half and half (or cream)

[Preserved lemon, onion, shallots, fennel]

Peel and vein the shrimp. Note that prepping the shrimp will take the whole time it takes to cook pasta, so be sure to do this step first instead having your boyfriend do it while you make the pasta. Our pasta sat for a while waiting for the rest to be done. If this does happen to you, toss the pasta with olive oil.

After shrimp are ready, put the pasta on. Go for something long and stringy. We used standard spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine would be great too.

[After adding the cream]

Saute shrimp in olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute per side. Transfer to plate. Saute shallots, onion, fennel and lemon together, until fennel is tender, about 4 minutes. Add cream, bring to a boil briefly. Toss shrimp back in and cook until just opaque in the center. Serve over pasta.

[Tossing the shrimp in]

learning sf: Rachel from Church Street Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (percentblog) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:41:00 +0000

Welcome to the first of an on-going series, learning sf, where I profile a Bay Area local. Today I'm featuring Rachel Pizzica, one of the three owners of Church Street Flower s. I stopped into the small storefront and was lucky enough to grab fifteen minutes with Rachel before a stream of customers flowed in and out, selecting flowers and scheduling delivery of arrangements. Here are some pictures I took in the shop and words of San Fransisco wisdom from Rachel.

[Our learning sf guide, Rachel]

I noticed you, Stephanie and Brianna [the other owners] are all from different areas of the country- what brought you to the Bay Area?

My husband, then boyfriend, was in culinary school here, but I’ve been in love with San Francisco since visiting with family in seventh grade. So I just happened to fall in love with a guy who was in school out here and after college moved out and got a job.

Were you already working for flower shops? What drew you to be involved with flowers?

I used to think that in college was when I decided. I liked that I would get to be artistic and work with people. But friends remember, when I was in fourth grade, I used to say I wanted to own a flower shop. When I moved to San Francisco, I interned at another flower shop and was a hostess. I’ve worked in several flower shops but this [Church Street Flowers] was my first design job.

When you became owners, Church Street Flowers had been open for a decade and you were all employees. Tell me about how that happened.

It had been a flower shop for over 20 years, we all worked for the shop and took over almost three years ago. Wow, almost three years ago!

What do you think sets Church Street Flowers apart?

This is an (almost) all-women shop and we’re all young. We’re involved in the scene in San Francisco so we have our ear to the ground. We go to the flower market ourselves at 3am and get the flowers ourselves. We’re the ones talking to the customers and designing the arrangements. Because the process is so fluid, we’re able to really create something unique for the customer.

[Church Streets Flowers has won many awards, including Best Flower Shop multiple times from the Guardian]

What is your favorite thing about your flower shop?

I get to work alongside my best friends, designing fresh floral arrangements that make people happy. It’s the coolest job ever- a lot of hard work, though. But really making people happy, being able to create something that is really stunning and beautiful. It’s a living medium, I’m not just painting and hoping someone likes it, I get to use nature to make something even more beautiful.

Where do you go for inspiration?

The flower market is inspiring because you get to see the seasons changing and new products coming in. I love going to Golden Gate Park and seeing all the horticulture gardens there, I try to go three or four times a year. My fellow designers here definitely inspire me.

What advice would you give other young people looking to start a business, especially in a similarly creative field?

You better be able to work really hard, nonstop. You have to be able to live and breathe it, and love doing that. I live and breathe this place but I love it. The place looks different than it did when we got it because we wanted to create a space we wanted to be in. Create a space you will love.

Have a tough skin, people can be rough in San Francisco. Have a balance between business savvy and having the creative side. Even though all we want to do is play with flowers, I sit up there doing billing for hours. And on the other side, if you are just business savvy, you may miss the pure art of it all.

Awesome, this is definitely a incredible shop. Now, onto San Francisco. Describe your perfect Bay Area day:

I would want to go out to breakfast at one of the old school dinners- I love It’s Tops- for some yummy breakfast. I love that place, you feel like you stepped into the 50s. Then I’d transport to Baker Beach because it’s 80 degrees and sunny (and I’d have a transporter to get around.) Then I’d go to Golden Produce on Church Street for an awesome picnic at Dolores Park and would go to Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack for dinner for spaghetti and meatballs. At night, I would go dancing at the Elbo Room for Soul Night.

What places would you recommend to someone visiting or just relocating to the Bay Area?

I love the Citrus Club on Haight Street, it’s one of my all time favorites. The Sushi Boat- Warakubune- on 15^th and Church. The 500 Club bar.

Golden Gate Park- the de Young Museum, Academy of Sciences, and the gardens are all really great, especially if you are visiting.

I love Aardvark Books right across the street, it’s where I get all my books. The best second hand clothes store is Wasteland on Haight. Probably the coolest place I’ve seen a move in San Francisco is the Castro Theater, they raise the curtain and there was a piano player when I saw Milk.

My friend Sam works at an art gallery slash dance hall (Project 1 Art Gallery), it’s really cool because they always openings for new art but also have a dj for you to dance to.

For hella good Italian food, my favorite pizza places- Arinell’s is traditional, and you just go up to the counter and order, it’s really greasy and old school (I will go on record that there is not nearly as good pizza out here as there is back east.) For more gourmet pizza, go to Regazza, fairly new but really good.

Oh, and The Mint Karaoke Bar, I don’t know how I forgot about that place, I’m there all the time.

Thanks so much, Rachel! And I may be still learning sf, but I can second Regazza for delicious gourmet pizza. Try the potato pizza!