Nice evening jog (or better yet, scenic walk) at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. What a nice little oasis near Downtown ... planning on having plenty of picnics here in the summer. More photos --->
Weekend Tidbits
Played with placing the striped cotton throw I bought in Ethiopia...I think I'll keep it like this for a while.
Pamper Me Fabulous event with gal pals at Vibiana, the first church in Los Angeles. The LA Conservancy saved it from demo years ago. Thank goodness because it is simply beautiful.
Cupcakes by My Sweet Cupcakes and champagne by Barefoot Bubbly...could a girl ask for anything more?
Make your own business card holder courtesy of Common Thread Studio. CTStudio's owner Jin was great at reminding me how to blanket stitch. Couldn't believe my years of sewing classes drew such a big blank!
Friend Vikki going through the swag bag as soon as we left. Too good to wait to go through until we got home. Goodies included products from Philosophy, O.P.I. and local salons and spas.
Drive over Colorado St. Bridge in Pasadena to eat pizza in Eagle Rock. Pizza place was closed but at least we got to drive over the bridge...it always makes me smile.
2 nights of fashion
A bit overdue but here we go!
Night 1: had the pleasure of meeting some rad gals at LAFW 2.0, a gathering of LA fashion bloggers at the beautiful Broadway Bar.
Hosted by Dedicated Follower of Fashion and the lovely Kelsi Smith of Stylesmith, the night consisted of fashion talk, industry tips, and just good ol' mingling. We all left with a swag bag full of goodies, purses stuffed with business cards, and new friends. View photos of the night here.
Night 2: Stopped by the grand opening of EPIC, a new fashion c0-op in Echo Park that is for LA local designers only. LOVED IT! The space was huge, perfect to fit their 400+ turn out who donned some of the most stylish (and interesting) outfits I've seen in a while. Only fail for the night was the long line for the photo booth...no silly b&w photos of Joe & I to share this time, but above is a great overview shot from Expensive Deathstyle. Can you spot me in my colorful vintage dress?
All Growns Up: Birthday
25 got off to a great start. Pre-birthday festivities with best friends and a shopping and lounging day with the boyfriend...
Remnants of birthday eve
Lemon ricotta pancakes in the making
Flowers from beautiful people
Lamp hunting
Birthday lunch in Silver Lake.
Typical Colombian dish, Bandeja Paisa = perfect cure for birthday eve
Shopping at friend's boutique, Samira's Closet
View of Pershing Square from Samira's
Birthday cupcakes from BIGMANbakes. So moist, so good.
R+R the rest of the evening. My pick on TV: Thoroughly Modern Millie.
And it's only Saturday afternoon :)
Fave Creative Space: Common Thread Studio
My home sewing machine was acting up so I decided it was the perfect excuse to do some work at Common Thread Studio in my hometown, South Pasadena.
It was my first time using the work spaces and I will definitely be going back. Seriously fell in love with the character of the place: creative, hip, clean, stylish, personal, and fun.
The owner, Jin, was awesome and brings a lot of design experience and enthusiasm to her space. I spent a good three hours there so I was thankful that she was blasting the likes of Beck, Kings of Leon (their old stuff), and Arcade Fire on the iPod. Made me feel like I was working from home.
If only this place had been around when I was in High School! She has classes for all levels of sewing and also offers a screen printing area, how cool is that?
WARNING: chances are that you WILL buy something from her shop area. It's curated with great gift items for babies, crafters, and even the most discerning creative and stylish people in your life.
Getaway: Seattle Valentine's Weekend
Lucky girl!
New Doc Film: Teenage Paparazzo
Sundance USA screened the new documentary film by Adrian Grenier, of HBO's Entourage, at Downtown Independent tonight. Found out about it through the theater's weekly emails and was intrigued by the subject of the film: a teenage paparazzo.
Having grown up in LA, I just don't care too much about celebrities to be honest - they're "just like us" right...according to Us Weekly or something? Sure, I admire their work and love seeing what they wear on the red carpet but photos of them grocery shopping or playing with their kids is something the world could do without.
Teenage Paparazzo was done from Grenier's desire to understand what makes a teenager, and paparazzi in general, turn to a career of capturing people's personal lives - including his - in the most public of ways.
The kid, Austin, to his credit is very smart. It was extremely enjoyable to see him evolve from an overly confident tween paparazzo to a more humble and respectful celebrity photographer, as I think he put it.
Through celebrity interviews and participatory research (Grenier at one point tries his hand at snapping the photos), the film took on a social anthropological angle by dissecting the why's and the how's of our society's current obsession and sense of personal connection with the people we see on our TV's and glossy magazines. It then ties it back into how it all relates to Austin and his obsession with his job. Just like any good documentary should.
I got some good laughs out of this one and was glad that it came from a celebrity's vantage point rather than an outsider's looking in. Highly recommend it.
Radiohead for Haiti
Impromptu benefit show by Radiohead at the Henry Fonda Music Box. Raised nearly $600,000 for Oxfam's Haiti relief! They are truly a.ma.zing.
Standing next to Justin Timberlake throughout the whole show wasn't bad either.
::
Furniture Design: The Originators
As I sit on my IKEA chair I'm reminded of an exhibit I visited in NYC last weekend, The Future at Home: American Furniture, 1940-1955, at the Museum of the City of New York. I expected to see some great mid-century modern pieces, and that I did, but I didnt expect to learn exactly how modern this stuff really was.
We talk about pre-fab designs today as if they are something revolutionary and about how modern and affordable IKEA is. Yet the featured designers were creating furniture that really was forward and fresh thinking. Furniture and fashion designs do not follow the same credit today: styles are hardly ever new and original, rather they are recycled silhouettes, textures, and color pallets based on what was once new and original.
Now, I'm okay with that since there were some beautiful things that came out of the twentieth century. What shocked me was that the high-priced and coveted mid-century furniture we find today, were originally designed and produced with an IKEA type philosophy: simple, flexible, cost-effective, and good design for all.
The photo below is of a TIMES article on a DIY living room set that I would love to find today.
I wonder if 60 years from now my plastic Oleby chair will sell for $2,000 at a vintage store....
Back from Africa: mini-recap
Hello, hello! Back from the amazing whirlwind that was Africa! I've spent the last week playing catch up with work, life, and trying to feel normal again. Being nine and ten hours ahead for nearly one month really kills upon return!
Ethiopia was unreal. I spent a few days in the Wolaita region where Podoconiosis is prevalent, more so than HIV and AIDS. Met some incredible people, aid workers and patients, and saw how our work is making a difference there. It was so moving to meet parents, who are afflicted with Podo, bring their little ones to receive shoes so that they may never suffer from the disease.
I've never seen anything like the inflammation and boils on patients feet and legs. Thank goodness I'm not faint of heart or otherwise it would have been physically difficult to be around. The good news is that they can be treated and we're making strides to provide funding for more medical kits. Check out the CBS piece from out trip they just aired last week!
Podo aside, I was surprised at how beautiful the landscape was. We were there just after the rainy season so everything was super green and lush. The food was great and I fell in love with their injera bread that you use to scoop up lentils, beans, meat, etc. Will have to hit up Little Ethiopia on Fairfax real soon! Their textiles were AMAZING too but I could go on for days about that so I'll stop while I'm ahead...or save it for another post :)
After one week there I headed to South Africa for volunteer Shoe Drops and then vacation in Cape Town.
We had a group of 25 volunteers, 6 South Africa Element crew peeps, and we gave away over 2,500 pairs of shoes! The kids were so adorable and it was awesome to see all of the volunteers jump right into the Shoe Drop craziness and make it all happen. What an amazing group of people...loved them all!
We fit in a stay at a safari lodge (you have to if you're in Africa!) and did three game drives. Saw all of the game animals you can imagine except for lions but I was okay with that. My faves are the giraffes...they are so majestic, confident, and have a design unlike any other animal....
After the week of Shoe Drops was complete a group of us headed to Cape Town for some R+R. Our beach rental ended up being in THE best beach neighborhood in the area, Clifton. It's basically their Malibu equivalent with great beaches, restaurants, and shopping all within a 5 minute walk.
I had no idea what to expect from Cape Town but it offers so much: hiking (picture on the left is from Lions Head...more of a rock climb than hike!), scenic drives, vineyards....and all for so cheap when there on the US dollar. It is difficult to vacation in a place where you know there are tons of townships (shanty towns) just in the outskirts. Many of those dwellers work in the service industry so you at least hope that your holiday spending is in some way supporting their continuous employment.
There's so much to reflect on but its great to be home. Excited to be with friends, family, and to resume creating with ANAMU...
Happy Halloween!!!
Ace Hotel: A+ in style all the way
It seems that every time I go somewhere new I end up wanting to live there but this time I really mean it. Spent the weekend at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs and I fell in love. Dont necessarily need to live in sleepy Palm Springs but definitely want to make a home at the little stylish utopia that is the Ace.
Formerly a run-down Howard Johnson hotel, the Ace exemplifies laid back So Cal with a vintage edge. Every detail in this place is thoughtfully executed with a cool casualness and minimalistic yet functional approach. Nothing feels overdone or under appreciated...every item throughout the hotel gets to shine on its own.
Top top things off, the design and decor not only looks good but it oozes eco-friendliness. The only trace of plastic we saw all weekend was in the cups at pool-side (no glass by the pool rule always wins) and in the spa. Everything else seems to either use wood or natural fibers; signs are hand-painted slabs of wood (hopefully reclaimed) and lawn chairs feature cotton rope suspensions (sounds strange but its super comfy). Even the room key is biodegradable paper!
The landscaping is everything you would expect in the desert and hope to see everywhere else too. Native plants, trees, and raked dirt look clean and simple and when facing west, mirror the colors of the rocky mountains in the background.
As for the accommodations: imagine scoring big at the flea market or antique shop and then getting custom carpentry done to compliment the whole look. It was a perfect cross between Americana and mid-century modern, both new and old pieces, that felt like a familiar friend welcoming you home. I would have taken photos while the room was tidy but we were too in awe when we got in (and late for the surprise massage session the boyfriend booked!).
We did more than just drool over the decor and design, too. We drooled over the food... the spa... sweet tunes blasting at the pools...and imagined what it would be like to have a big party there. The entire weekend was exactly what I needed to re-charge before upcoming work travels.
Needless to say we will be going back soon but not soon enough!
Sunday: heaven on earth and high above LA
ANAMUonline.com launched yesterday and to celebrate, my friend Caitlin helped host a little get together with family and friends. Thank you to those that came, it was so fun to share everything with you in person! All of the online/email love from those not present has been amazing too - thank you! With the site up and the party in the bag, today was a day of rest. Well, its rest in my book :)
Began with the second Sunday of the month ritual, attending the Rose Bowl flea market, AKA heaven on earth. Bought several scarves for new bags and also left with some items for my niece-to-be, Juliana. Since my sister and brother in law just got back from Hawaii (very smart before Juliana arrives in December!), I wanted to commemorate her first vacation. Scored this great hand-painted, porcelain hula girl with a real grass skirt - you dont see them like this anymore- and picked up an old Mason Jar to put sea shells in. I cant' wait to go to the beach and collect them with her...she's not even born yet and I'm already the biggest sucker!
Post flea market activities took us to the skies above El Monte for an afternoon flight. Joe has been flying for years and today I got to be co-pilot! I got the hang of it right away but did have some hesitations with turning left for some reason. Regardless, it was seriously a cool feeling to hover above with no one else around but us. A few more times and I think I may just get my wings!
