tuna canyon

it was almost 80 degrees here all weekend. gorgeous and sunny and as smog and haze free and clear as i've ever seen. i took a lazy afternoon drive up to malibu for amazing grom gelato and then drove back via a new scenic route through gorgeous canyon roads that always reaffirm one of the reasons why i love living here so much. 
on the way home, we pulled over to the side of the road, turned off the car, sat in awe of the amazing rare compete silence and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets i've seen here. 
my phone camera couldn't do it justice, but we tried.

music monday - mermaid avenue

i'm a latecomer to the lovely wilco and billy bragg collaboration 'mermaid avenue'. all the lyrics on their 1998 album were written by woody guthrie sometime before his death in 1967 - lyrics he wrote music to, but never published.
i've had the second track on the album, 'california stars', swimming in my head the past few perfectly warm and sunny california days, but wanted to share this especially beautiful song featuring natalie merchant. 

bedroom art

this made me chuckle - perfect art for your bedroom (or kitchen, or living room, or garage...you get the point)!
have a fun and frisky weekend!

i ouch

my iphone fell out of my hand this week and bounced three times down the sidewalk. the whole thing happened in slow motion, bounced on one corner, flipped to the other edge and came crashing face down on the glass front. well, needless to say the glass was completely shattered - windshield - spider web - cracked boiled egg -  shattered! for a few long minutes there, the world was in complete disarray, my constant companion disfigured and me standing there like i had just lost a puppy.
apple charges $199 to replace the glass (it's $399 for a new phone unless your 2 year contract is up), so i stopped at an iphone repair shop i've walked and driven by dozens of times and 20 minutes and 99 (kick myself) dollars later, i walked out with a shiny new glass front. all u break i fix repairs come with a 90 day warranty and they even threw in a free fonut!
all is right with the universe again and all my phone needs now is a nice new cover to (barely) protect her from her next stumble.

font fondue

is calaveras a cheese? is feta a font? well, now you can test your font and stinky cheese saviness on this clever little site.

wonder whales

here are some breathtaking images taken by photographer bryant austin for his marine mammal conservation through the arts project. i would love love love to see these life size prints in person (some are over 20 feet long and part of the permanent collection at the monterey bay aquarium). 
the story featured in the new york times about his first eye to eye encounter with a whale gave me goosebumps (and made me extremely envious)!

music (rainy) monday - bebe

nieves rebolledo vila has a gorgeous voice, hails from valencia spain, is better known as bebe, named her last album "y." and has been playing on my itunes and in my car on repeat the past few days.

i think i'm addicted.

aloha

this past new years, a holiday week on the big island was just what the doctor ordered. 
if you need a not too far (from the west coast) quiet, relaxing, warm and lazy getaway, the lovely turtles, fresh lilikoi, 4 wheel drive required dirt roads leading to secluded beaches, and gorgeous solitary sunsets on hawaii's volcanic kona coast await.
have a great weekend - wherever the off the beaten track road takes you.

a separation

asghar farhadi's film, a separation, won the golden globe for best foreign movie sunday night. it has also won the best picture, actor and actress awards at the berlin film festival and is the official iranian selection for a foreign film oscar. it has received amazing critics accolades including 'the best picture of the year' nod by the chicago sun times.
a separation debuted in los angeles a couple of weeks ago and is now number one on my must watch list.

stop sopa

all the news this morning is about sopa (stop on-line piracy act) and pipa (protect intellectual property act) - two bills heading for congressional vote. wikipedia has shut its site down for the day in protest, and sites like google, craigslist, and wired have blanketed their sites today with information about sopa. the bills are backed by big media companies and are meant to help stop the illegal downloading and streaming of tv shows, movies and music. the tech companies fear however, that they will give media companies too much power to shut down any site that they say is abusing copyright. 
no one wants to start down the road to censoring the web and these 2 pieces of legislation, fears are, may do just that.

james perse

every winter there is one james perse soft, cozy and comfy warm sweater i drool about - this year, it's this soft merino wool bundle of socal winter warmth.

english rib open cardigan

i have a dream

they aired mlk's entire i have a dream speech this morning and though i think i've seen it and heard it and read it over a dozen times, i was transfixed - glued.
over 40 years on, the struggle for the dream has come true for some, and continues for others and 40 years on, i am once again reminded of the rare life affirming powers of the preacher of peace and poetry.
no greater speech has ever been given- no words strung together more eloquently. 

this moment

i was thinking about these lines all yesterday  - about being happy in the moment and enjoying the now and all the sentimental crap that pops up when the wine and roses dance around long enough. 
the playlist is endless, but the poets always said it best.

"drink wine. 

this is life eternal. 

this is all that youth will give you. 

it is the season for wine, roses and drunken friends. 

be happy for this moment. 

this moment is your life." 

- Omar Khayyám 

have a brilliant wine, roses and friends filled weekend and take a deep, deep breath before making a wish.

ink.

2009 top chef winner michael voltaggio opened his much anticipated "modern los angeles cuisine" restaurant, ink, a few months ago and reservations have been gobbled up 30 days in advance ever since. we somehow managed to land a table a few weeks ago - an anticipated meal in a beautiful dining room that did not disappoint with great service, perfect cocktails, beautiful presentation and a well thought out menu. 
everything was as good as it gets for a celebrity chef owned experience, yet, somehow the food did not blow me away with any singular, memorable dish or a desire to elbow for another hard to get reservation. a definite must try, just not so much of a must return.
here is a sample of what we ordered - as usual the dim (but perfectly lit) dining room was not forgiving to an iphone camera.

gin, house (grapefruit infused) tonic

bigeye tuna, parsnip-sesame cream, grapefruit, soy gel 

charred avocado, hen of the woods, whipped fish sauce, mushroom chicharrón 

spaghetti, giant squid, squash, hazelnut-ink pesto, piment d’espelette 

jidori chicken, waffles, smoked maple, hot sauce

beef short rib, tamarind bbq, turnips, potato

pork cheeks, charcoal oil, macaroni and cheese, leeks

apple, crème caramel, burnt wood sabayon, walnut

chocolate, in various textures, coffee sabayon, pears

carnage

we saw roman polanski's film adaptation of yasmina reza's play god of carnage last night. a brilliantly crafted social satire, the film is a claustrophobic polanski meditation on responsibility and guilt wrapped in an impeccable cast. 
if like me, you love movies (and stories) where people's masked polite veneer's are stripped away and presented with all guts and no glory, then i think, like me, you will absolutely love this short, 80 minute all purpose nihilistic gem. 

la bouche rouge

i've been kicking around the idea that it is time to embrace some red lip color - and here are a couple of shades i love - not too blue, not too orange, not too pink - simply red.
the trick however, is to apply without exhibiting my drawing outside the line skills and this awesome video, by the guardian's sali hughes is the perfect must watch beginners lesson!

nars wonder

mac ruby woo

music monday - tiger mountain peasant song

happy new year! 
this little blog and i took a lovely tropical island paradise break last week (some pics to come) and hope you had a lovely, relaxing, food and friends filled holiday season as well. 
i want to start the new year with this song which has been swimming in my head since i got back yesterday. a perfectly quiet winter melody to ease you into a sunny winter week.
 i'm ready for you, 2012!