Thursday, February 28, 2008

cool kitchen


i love this kitchen because it looks happy. i love the complimenting colors combined w/ the black and white checkered floor. hooray for great design and unexpected choices!

photo of the day

alex's parent's front yard.
i miss spring. (sigh.)
may 2005.

munny maker



as some of you may know, i'm a big fan of toys. (not barbies, although my six year-old self would argue that.) if you go to kidrobot.com, you'll see why i love them. kidrobot's most popular product is something called munny. it's a do it yourself plastic toy that's about four inches tall. i received one from alex last year and another just recently from my friend joey (eat at the shangri-la at the orchard mall...he runs it. it's yummy.) anyway, i finally painted the one that alex gave me and i gave it back to him as a gift! it's a superhero version of myself. she spreads love. she is also nameless. any good name ideas?



Wednesday, February 27, 2008

the wondrous egg

my favorite meal is breakfast. you can have it in the morning, in the afternoon or even for dinner. i love eggs and toast or pancakes instead of a regular suppertime meal. i love the simplicity of the egg. its shape, its basic color, its fragility. and its surprise inside is not only tasty but beautiful. the bright yellow yolk inside the white halo always reminds me of sunshine. anyway, the other night i wanted to make something different for dinner and this is what i came up with: puff pastry breakfast pizza! i always have trader joe's puff pastry in the freezer because you can make a delicious gourmet meal in less than 30 minutes. all i did to make this pizza was thaw out the puff pastry sheet, spread marinara sauce all over it (leaving the edges for a crust) and topped it with sliced shallots, sliced mushrooms, crumbled cheddar cheese, meatless sausage bits (gimme lean soy protein sausage) and fried eggs. i sprinkled salt and pepper and drizzled olive oil on top. the puff pastry only takes 15 minutes to bake, so in less than a half hour, my mom and i were enjoying a scrumptious meal!

photo of the day

ikea. february 2008.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

a little pathetic and a lot creepy


the hug me pillow.
available at overstock.com for $29.99.

photo of the day

something i sketched. june 2007.

plastic pictures

here's a link my friend matt sent me of this guy's photographs. he uses polaroid and plastic toy cameras to take dreamy pictures. take a look: www.theplasticlens.com

Monday, February 25, 2008

sparkle & shine

i know it may seem like all i've been posting about are things i covet, but i can't help it. i am inspired by unusual things, whether it's jewelry, clothing, artwork, pictures, etc. 
look at these fantastic pieces:

i would rather have a ring like this instead of a diamond if i get married:

ooh, or these:

lately i've been into neck jewelry that looks regal and from another time:

       

vintage glass beads are so beautiful:

                     

sighhh...don't get me started on chanel jewelry.  

link addition



i just found an awesome site for a company out of berlin that makes ceramics and such. it's called kuehn-keramik. check out their site..it's on the list of links on my page. 

photo of the day

giving penelope some love. april 2007.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

extreme


last night i saw a documentary at the dft by mark obenhaus called "steep" about big mountain skiing. while i'm not a regular skiier (i've done it a few times, liked it, but hated being cold) it was still fascinating to see these human beings doing things our bodies aren't used to doing! these men and women search all over the world for the highest peaks, the most challenging mountainsides, and the best powdery snow. when their search has temporarily ended, they climb to the peak, ski down the mountain and revel in the feel of the powder hitting their legs as they perform a near supernatural feat. 
the most amazing stunt was done by shane mcconkey who was dropped off onto a peak, skiied down the 50 degree angled slope and flew off the cliff while doing a somersault. he had a parachute on his back which he enabled and floated to the base of the mountain, 500 feet below the cliff. can you imagine the feeling of flying?
this is clearly a dangerous sport and many have died doing it, including doug coombs who was a main participant in the documentary. he died days after the completion of the movie. he is on film saying that he wouldn't want to die any other way. 

photo of the day

hilarious. as soon as we arrived at the arizona house, we realized we needed to change all the smoke detectors because they were beeping REALLY LOUD. it was unavoidable. this is me and nickole in the truck we had to rent from home depot in order to use a ladder high enough to reach the ceilings. farah took the picture. we were not in the mood, but thought this was quite a funny sight. april 2007.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

photo of the day

an old photograph i love.
i don't remember who the photographer was or what year.
but, i do know that it's haunting.

Friday, February 22, 2008

occultation (photo of the day)

wednesday night's eclipse.
just beautiful.
photo by eugene wicke.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

i heart my new shoes!

i intended on just running into the mall to get a belt from nordstroms. well, i did. but i also bought a pair of (awesome) shoes from marilyn AND opening a nordstroms charge card. 

photo of the day

13 mile road. farmington hills, mi. 2005.
oh, how i miss that lush green foliage.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

sweet.

a great way to display a collection.
(this is not my wall, although i wish it were!)

photo of the day

mexican restaurant. old cave creek, arizona. 2006.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

life is fragile



photo of the day

christopher pierre. d'amato's. royal oak, mi. june 2005.

Monday, February 18, 2008

photo of the day

lonesome guitarist. st. augustine, florida. 2006.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

pretty things

wow. i want natalie portman's dress! anything she puts on looks instantly amazing, but this dress is fantastic. (btw, i love these two, scarlett & natalie. yeah, they're my friends.)
can we talk about how adorable this girl is? 
come on girls and boys, channel your inner minnie mouse bordello girl and rock these crazy shoes. (from zappos.com.)

photo of the day

store window. birmingham, michigan. 2005.
photo taken by reina ajluni. 

Saturday, February 16, 2008

photo of the day

passenger seat. summer. 2006.

Friday, February 15, 2008

MMMmmmm....!!!


hey people! okay so i just made an amazing sweet treat. i made it for the first time the other night and have been craving more since. i made fried nutella ravioli. i saw giada delaurentiis (my favorite chef) make it on everyday italian and decided i needed to try it myself. it's very simple. all you need are wonton wrappers, a lightly beaten egg, nutella and powdered sugar (plus vegetable oil for frying.) you take the wonton wrapper, brush the egg on the edge of all four sides, put a little less than a spoonful of nutella in the middle and fold the wonton over so it makes a triangle. press the edges down so they seal shut. make sure none of the nutella oozes out. (if it does, you've put way too much.) then you fry it for about 30-45 seconds. let it cool off just a little on a paper towel (to absorb some of the excess oil) and sprinkle powdered sugar on top. that's all you do! it's absolutely delicious, hits the spot and is very filling! 

photo of the day

hazy. my room. 2005.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

photo of the day

my closet. 2005.

nice.

i'm notorious for somehow finding the most expensive pieces when i'm out shopping. don't get me wrong, i'm pretty good at finding bargains as well, but i usually fall in love with things i can't have. take for example this globe..beautiful. then i find out it's murano glass. from italy. from the 1950's. and it costs $8,500. 

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

the art of happiness


i'm currently reading "the art of happiness" by the dalai lama and howard c. cutler, m.d. 
i read a paragraph of the book that i want to share with you because i think it's something we should all try to keep in mind. the dalai lama is talking about how to be happy basically...it sounds like a simple concept. but we all know there are a million things in our lives that prohibit that simple state of mind. here's an excerpt of the book..these are the dalai lama's words:


"sometimes when i meet old friends, it reminds me how quickly time passes. and it makes me wonder if we've utilized our time properly or not. proper utilization of time is so important. while we have this body, and especially this amazing human brain, i think every minute is something precious. our day-to-day existence is very much alive with hope, although there is no guarantee of our future. there is no guarantee that tomorrow at this time we will be here. but still we are working for that purely on the basis of hope. so, we need to make the best use of our time. i believe that the proper utilization of time is this: if you can, serve other people, other sentient beings. if not, at least refrain from harming them. i think that is the whole basis of my philosophy. 

so, let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that. the purpose of our life needs to be positive. we weren't born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. for our life to be of value, i think we must develop basic good human qualities--warmth, kindness, compassion. then our life becomes meaningful and more peaceful--happier."


words to live by. : )

photo of the day

five points (an area in jacksonville, florida)
june 2006.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

poised & polished

i've been in such a shopping mood lately, but i've been staying away from my favorite stores (loehmann's, incognito, target, forever 21, nine west for shoes..) because i know i can easily find things i'd spend money on. 
here are some chic women on the streets of new york. i love the simple, easy style and great classic pieces. i want the blonde girl's shoes!!!