Off to Florida

I'm all packed and ready to fly to South Florida to visit my Mom and celebrate her birthday.  I will be eating freshly baked brownies and hanging out with her 3 cats and taking photos of her orchid collection.  In addition to making seductively rich brownies, Mom makes gorgeous quilts.  I will take photos of some of them and post them when I return from my travels.  In the mean time, here are a few pictures.

Matty hanging out by the pool.  Funny story about her...she was originally named "Matthew" until she went to the vet to get neutered.  Turns out she was a Margaret instead.

It's impossible to have too many orchids by your pool in South Florida.

Living in the desert climate of Los Angeles, it's always amazing to see such lush greenery.

 

Kimchi

I haven't posted much lately as I've been traveling for work (did a stint at Comic Con--and wasn't taken over with the urge to dress like Princess Leia.  Whew.) and now the in-laws are visiting.  We spent the weekend at a Korean family reunion.  Which means we ate a lot of Kimchi.  Kimchi is essentially the national dish of Korea.  Anyone who has ever eaten at a Korean restuarant has had a plate set in front of them.  It's not easy on the Western palette and Korean's are very protective of it.  They are always surprised when this white chick piles it on her plate.  But I love it and believe it enhances many a dish.

There are countless varieties of Kimchi made of any number of vegetables.  The most popular is made of napa cabbage, red pepper and garlic.  Most kimchi is fermented which enhances the health benefits (think probiotics).  I found this recipe and this info on the health benefits.

So, go out and try some delicious Korean food!

I'll try and get my husband to create some Americanized Korean dishes (in other words, easy-to-make) and post them.

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The Fashion Files: Christian Dior Fall 2010 Couture Show

The Christian Dior Fall 2010 Couture show was some kind of delicious!  Fashion as art and theater.  Couture fashions set the stage for pushing the limits of creativity and setting trends.  Simply put, they inspire me.  And at the very least make me happy.

 

What I love most about this collection is that it is for Fall.  Fall fashion tends to have a more "serious" feel to it with it's dark colors and focus on heavier fabrics.  This breaks away from that and brings a fresh, fun approach to the season.

Since, unfortunately, I wasn't there to take the pictures myself, all photos are from Style.com (fabulous site for fashion!)

Mewses: the Comfort Files

We all have bad days.  They seem to come often for me recently.  There comes a time, though, when I'm driving home that I see something that reminds me of my "girls".  They always put a smile on my face and offer a perspective change and a reminder that life is more than meetings, deadlines and difficult people who will never be pleased.  So, meet my girls--in all their catiness and attitude, and most importantly their unconditional love.

Mandu.  I originally named her Cat-Mandu, but she took on the Korean name Mandu for dumpling because her belly looked like a stuffed dumpling.

She likes to lay on my table on top of my different water color papers.  This is my scrap sheet where I mix colors and test the brush.

Poe.  As in Edgar Allen.  Because she's Raven black.  This picture shows her belief in her superiority over mere humans.  She is also the one totally connected to me.  I wake up during the night to find her sleeping across my belly.  Which always puts a smile on my face.

I love how this picture works with the painting in the background (I'll have more on the artist Dienzo in another post).  The reason why I call her the Poe-ser.

Oh, and yes, they are sisters--litter mates.  I would think they were twins but their markings differ slightly.  They are totally in synch.  When I took these pictures, they had been sleeping in different places in the same exact position facing the same direction.

Garden Vignettes--Vintage Pins on Watercolor

I was looking through this great site for vintage clothing and jewelry called Archive Vintage and was inspired by these colorful vintage pins.  I decided to create little compositions with the pins on my watercolor backgrounds.

Buggin' Out.

Tiger Lilly.

Garden of Good and Evil (or Let Sleeping Snakes Lie).

LA Stories: Melrose Murals part II

When I first started my blog,  I posted some photos of this beautiful mural art (or graffiti?) that is painted on the buildings in an alleyway parallel to Melrose Avenue between Fairfax and La Brea in LA.  Here is my second installment.  If you're ever in the area, you must take a look!

Mad dog.

Close up detail.  I love how they took an irregularity in the wall and made it into a design element.  Maybe that can be a life lesson.

I like the juxtaposition of the No parking sign and the painted, and parked cars.

Even the stairs are painted.

It's like an updated skulls and camo trend.

This is cool, but I also love the face on the black ground to the left.

I see some Wild Things.

 

Imagine.

 

Inspiration: Jellyfish

There's something about the colors and moods of the ocean and it's inhabitants that provides endless fascination and inspiration.  Today, I needed the beauty and fluid grace of the jellyfish to help guide me to what's important.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Man-o-War being the granddaddy of all.  I wouldn't want to tangle with him, but he sure is beautiful.  I'm going to see about doing some sketches and maybe some watercolors.

I must confess, I pulled these images from Google Images and do not know who to give credit to for any of them.  Please let me know if I need to give anybody credit.

LA Stories: Anime Expo--Bag People

What inspired me most at the Anime Expo in LA was all these great backpacks people were wearing.  They came in all different fantastical shapes and fabrications--from bat wings to Yoda.
  

The bat wings are perfect with her fuschia and black lace combo.

  

This looks very Japanese-y.
  

Between the pink bunny and the gray tiered dress, I can't decide which is more cute!

 

This "radio" bag has such a '90's music vibe.

 

Not sure what the bag is supposed to be, but I love his artwork.

 

Not as cute as the "Misty of Chic-oteague" bag that I posted last week, but he reminds me of my old stuffed Eeyore.

 

 

School girl outfit with penguin.

 

Perhaps the coolest of all, the Yoda backpack.

 

I think I need to use my kitties as inspiration to have a tuxedo bag made up.

What do you think?  Would they make a good Cat-Mandu or Poe-ser bag?