chicken soup, kleenex, and trolling the internet…in that order

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Cold and Flu Season is here!  The virus I was lucky enough to incubate for three weeks is a beast. I barely survived. It’s all been a foggy haze of Mom’s Chicken Soup and Kleenex and not changing out of my pj’s. It’s a sneaky virus too; you think its gone then BAM! It kicks you in the butt and you’re back to chicken soup and Kleenex and not changing out of your pj’s - again.  But if a girl is going to be fevered, exhausted, and loopy on cold medicine the least she can do is troll the internet for fun ridiculousness.

For example:

 SoulPancake - an interactive website from Rainn Wilson (and friends) which helps “explore the human experience.” He’s got activities and perspectives all done to evoke creativity and wonder.

Pintrest – a total time sink! Loads of photos from art to food to crafts to photography, graphics, health and ridiculously cute puppy pictures. The perfect way to waste time. Plus each “pin” includes the original website for the photo so if you come across a food photo that looks really tasty, the original website with recipe is just a click away.

Colossal: an art and design blog – one of the best curated art blogs out there.

Design*Sponge – my mecca. I make a point to stop by daily to see whats new on the D*S homefront.

Cannelle et Vanille – gorgeous food photography. If you weren’t hungry before entering this site…you will be. Just lovely.

And if you’re really under quarantine Etsy will lift your spirits. They have everything you can think of (and then some) all by independent artist and craftsman. Which is so very “99%”

I should have warned you that my “fun ridiculousness” usually involves crafts, food and Rainn Wilson…oops.

And if any of you are currently in need of a chicken soup recipe, my mom’s version is simply awesome. I swear it’s the best cold remedy there is!

Mom’s Awesome Chicken Soup – serves 4-6

2 chicken breasts bone-in with skin

5 carrots, peeled, cut into 1 inch pieces

5 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large onion, diced large

1 cup barley (or substitute rice, dry lentils, pasta or 2 potatoes peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces)

1 (10oz) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained

6 cups water

1 heaping tablespoon dried oregano

heavy dash of salt and pepper

2 bay leaves

Throw everything into a large pot on medium-low heat. Simmer for about an hour, or until chicken is fully cooked and falling off the bone. Remove chicken from pot, discard all bones and skin, roughly chop meat and add back to soup. Stir, taste for seasoning and serve with crusty fresh bread. The crusty-er the better.

♥

Reach

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As a kid I was never flexible. The simplest act of bending at the waist to touch my toes never happened. Even now as an adult people are in disbelief of my deepest toe-reaching stretch only hitting my knees…on a good day I can reach my shins. Its bad. Real bad. So bad that issues with my knees and lower back flared up when I was in my twenties. But I ignored the pain (because that is what 20 year olds are good at) and kept on running or dancing or whatever else was my favorite workout at the time. It wasn’t until being 32 with two bum knees that I now understand the power behind stretching. And not just before/during/after a workout. I mean a stretch routine everyday, maybe twice a day. Now, twice a day is pretty extreme but so is being only 32 with two bum knees. All of the stretches are gentle and basic movements held in position for maybe 5 seconds. I’d like to think I look graceful and long and lean, like these women:

One day…I’ll get there. Or at least be able to touch my toes ♥

Crochet Throwback

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“Forever Favorite Crochet” by Better Homes and Gardens sat on my grandma’s book shelf for as long as I can remember. She never crocheted. I imagine that she always meant to pick it up though. A couple of years ago I packed up all of her sewing and craft books and shipped them all back to California where they now sit pretty on my bookshelves. The last couple weeks I’ve been thumbing through them for inspiration and by far the best pictures have been from the aforementioned BH&G crochet book:

Best-Loved Endings

 You got scraps of yarn? Create an edge for your skirt, scarf or napkins! (In this case, men’s handkerchiefs are pictured for napkins.) Everyone loves a little extra embellishment in their day. And I love their title “best-loved endings.” It feels super cheeky.

A Spicy Patchwork

Why am I suddenly craving a Mickey D’s burger? (Oh, yeah. I said Mickey D’s. If I’m going to throwback, I go all the way.)

Pleasure to Stitch

And lastly, the picture of elegant doilies. All laid out. At once.

And what pray tell inspiration did I get from all of this, you ask?

just the beginnings

Crocheted copper wire rusted with vinegar and salt. These are just test pieces but so far I’ve been having good luck with the rust effects. Now, to figure out how to preserve the patina so it doesn’t rub/flake off every time I pick one of these beauties up.

If any of you dear readers are crochet enthusiasts, I’d totally recommend using BH&G for patterns. They’re basic, easy to understand and meant for all levels. For all of you other awesome readers out there who are not so interested in crochet craftiness, well…at least you can get a giggle from all of crazy-styled photos. I sure did. ♥

Beautiful Losers

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A couple of weeks ago I watched ‘Beautiful Losers,’ an awesome art documentary on street artists who made it into the main stream art world. I watched it twice in two days. It was that good.

Barry McGee, Untitled 2011

Barry McGee, Untitled 2010

 

Margaret Kilgallen. Untitled, 2000Margaret Kilgallen. Untitled, 2000

All images are from Ratio 3, a super small, unsuspecting San Francisco gallery near 16th and Mission. Ratio 3 wrote a great press release about Kilgallen: “Margaret Kilgallen (1967–2001) is considered by many to be one of the most influential, yet under-recognized, Bay Area artist of her generation. Kilgallen, along with a handful of other artists such as Barry McGee, Chris Johanson, and Alicia McCarthy, came to emergence in the late 1990s, as part of an art movement that is now commonly referred to as the Mission School.”

“Their work is heartfelt, handmade, and deeply observational, and its urban realism is filtered through interests in graffiti, comic books, green culture, and social activism. They’re refreshingly scrappy, modest, hardworking, and community oriented, attributes that resonate in a climate of global uncertainty and palpable physical threat.” Helfand, sfgb.com. I couldn’t have said it better, myself.♥

Word Lurve

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I’m in love with the written word. At one point I gave some serious thought to switching majors to become a writer. And when I say “serious” I mean I weighed out the pros and cons for about a month. I had these very romantic thoughts of sitting at a typewriter (really) creating lovely tales of love and heartbreak, misadventures and heroic deeds. Instead I stuck to my original major, mainly because switching gears meant switching colleges and I didn’t want to go through that. And I can’t spell worth a crap.

But I did write as often as I could, little snippets in book margins, or a page or two in a journal. And I’ve kept everything, every book, every journal, and even some magazines. Some of my most prized possessions are the cookbooks that once belonged to my grandmother, and the one sewing book that belonged to my mom, with her notes scribbled in the pages. However collecting books (especially magazine) can take up a lot of space and there are moments of clarity when I know it’s the right thing to start recycling old mags from 2002…as much as it kills me inside.

typical workspace for my lovelies

Before I toss these lovely magazine straight into the recycling bin, I’ll take one more look through them, ripping out any articles worth keeping or maybe there will be a picture/painting/sketch worth pasting into a journal. In this case I came across an article in a 2009 Real Simple about philosophy. I didn’t read the article, I’m sure it’s awesome since it basically created a cheat sheet (who doesn’t love a cheat sheet!) to “understand the big ideas of some of history’s greatest thinkers” but, for me, these graphics were more exciting:

All illustrations by The Heads of State whose shop is worth checking out if you’re looking to buy a little inspirational word lurve for your home. I’ve got my eye on their Travel Series

And whether or not your love of words runs as ridiculously deep as mine, I appreciate you taking the time to read my little post today ♥

Samplings

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Weaving can be such a therapeutic experience. It takes a while to get to that awesome crafty nirvana, however. The first time I sat at a loom to weave I was so overwhelmed, there were so many pedals, and heddles, and harnesses (oh, my).  Suddenly I was expected to know how to move with the loom. I learned quickly, it’s really not that complicated, but in the beginning the basics of up and down, left and right, became so hard to understand. Something as simple as a piece of string really stressed me out. Given enough time, anything was possible, and once the final piece of fabric was made it all made sense. It wasn’t about a bunch of strings interlocking together, it was about the craft of weaving. My hands carefully and thoughtfully made fabric. To make something so invisible (let’s be honest, when was the last time you really paid any attention to the type of cotton twill you’re wearing) was really exciting…in a geeky crafty way, naturally.

Because the weaving process can be so lengthy, I hated to manipulate my fabrics into functional pieces, so most of my weavings stayed as wall hangings. A twelve-inch wide by two yards piece of cloth could take me 40-45 hours to make. This particular weaving took me a little bit longer because I painted the warp.

cotton warp and weft, 2009

After sitting in a storage bin for two years I figured it would be a good time to test how well handmade fabrics can run through a regular ol’ sewing machine:

about 11in wide by 6in deep clutch

I made two clutches, and not too horribly either! Granted, they look a little wonky, but so does my fabric.

pink cotton lining, magnetic snaps

I found the clutch instructions here.
 
Once I get use to sewing (I’m not proficient at it…at all) I’m sure I’ll find more complicated patterns to try. But for right now I’m pretty happy with these little ladies. Perfect timing for the weekend too! I’m heading to my parent’s house for a couple days; friends of ours are hosting a ‘Jersey Shore’ themed party. Really, any reason to wear too much bronzer and fist pump on the dance floor.
Happy Weekend! 
 

Color Theory

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Staging has always fascinated me. There are so many ways to get it wrong, where the products look silly and the marketing just doesn’t make any sense. Personally, I think color has a lot to do with that. One wrong splash of pink and the whole theme can be lost. So, when I stumble across an Anthropologie catalog with awesome themed stages for the most basic of accessories, I can’t help but swoon, just a little bit. Here are some examples:

These are clippings I’ve pasted into a mini sketch book, that way inspiration is always on hand.