grillin ain't necessary, but it's easy.

so the one true advantage to the uber hot weather is that it's the perfect time of year to be outside grilling!!!! and my only question is, what should i grill next?!

i have some ideas.....

bourbon-glazed baby back ribs

vegetable kebabs

grilled zucchini pizza

grilled sweet potatoes with lime-cilantro vinaigrette










and for dessert.....

grilled pineapple with brown sugar, coconut, & rum

you always need a towel...

10 february 2010

inspiration: yoshitomo nara beach towel

location: nara beach towel

what i love: 

it sounds really stupid, but today's inspiration is in fact a beach towel. yeah that's right...a beach towel. i am so ready for summer...so ready, in fact, i started looking at beach towels and swimsuits online...but i want to go away for the summer...somewhere where i can fall asleep in the sun and read style magazines all day long. isn't that the dream for everyone come summertime?? 

but my dream is my own, i guess, and i would like to have a nice blanket to lay on...and my blanket of choice is definitely this one....she's just so cute. 

when i was working for the modern, we had a show called pretty baby come through the museum, and i was so taken by one of the artists, yoshitomo nara. i thought his paintings and sculptures were so fun, and of all the japanese pop art that i have run across, the most inspiring. so this beach towel, in all it's adorable simplicity, is just my favorite thing today. i'll put it on my wish list, and maybe i'll get it for valentine's day!

pictures? i love pictures!

some of my favorite pictures from the summer here in california....


flip flops on the beach















misty and me at the highlands

















me at griffith observatory

















me at the beatles star on hollywood blvd.
































santa monica cliffs from the PCH
















santa monica sign
















me looking at the hollywood sign

















golden gate

who loves california?? i do!! i do!!

So, I'm going to try to keep up with some blogging now that life is settling down a little more. I think this will help people to keep up with me a little more too, since I've become a bit of a closed book lately.

Living in Los Angeles has been a whole new experience. I have learned a lot about myself and a lot about me. I list those things seperately because I have changed while living here. I can't describe it exactly, but I came into this city one way, and I am leaving a different way. Here's a little bit about what my life has been like though since I moved here....

1. work. I am working in a small office with about 15 other people...I am starting to finish up an internship in the Wine Department of Christie's. It has been a hard/fun process of learning about the auction industry. It's funny, but I have learned more about the client service department than the wine department. I have spent my time working in a freezing cold warehouse, eating mysterious food with Walker at that Thai food place in the Valley, creating endless spreadsheets, laughing endlessly about I Love Lucy and SNL with Naveen, fearing failure, and sending silly emails while sitting next to the recepient at the front desk. I hope that I will leave the office at the end of the summer with some great friends. I have certainly enjoyed my time there, and I can't imagine having spent my summer working anywhere else.

2. my apartment. Finding a place to live in Los Angeles was a bit of a struggle. The girl that hired me at Christie's told me that Craigslist was the best place to look for an apartment, and I didn't know how that was going to work out. Who knows what kind of crazys I was going to find while looking for an apartment?! I was a little nervous. I started looking at ads on Craigslist, and was a bit discouraged at what I had found...or not found rather....but I was hopeful!! So, I kept looking, even after finding several people that discouraged substance abuse problems, but supported occasional use, as long as it was shared! haha...But, nonetheless, I finally found an apartment. I wanted to live in Santa Monica, because I simply love the beach, and it was tricky to find a place, but I hit the jackpot! I love where I live. I can see the pier and the ocean from my living room and my bedroom, and I am high enough off the ground that I get a great breeze all the time. It's just too good! There are a few drawbacks, like the constant sirens on Ocean Avenue, and the overwhelming incense/weed smell coming from neighbor's apartments....but it just adds character I guess...haha. In the end, it is such a fun place to live...I can walk everywhere in the neighborhood (the promenade, the pier, the beach, the library, the movie theater, anthropologie, etc...). And there is always more awaiting me to explore! Who couldn't love that?!!!



3. weather. It doesn't rain here!!! I don't understand that. I know that LA is part of a desert, but this is just silly! I miss the RAIN!!! It's one of my favorite things, and there is none of that here! oh my! But the cooler weather is such a nice change from Texas!!

4. traffic. There is some serious traffic in this city. And when I say that there is traffic, there is TRAFFIC!!! Oh my goodness. While I love the city, it is a real trying thing to get to work in the mornings...it's tough. People are just crazy on the road. And what's worse is that they all drive really nice cars too, which makes it a little tougher, because I don't want to hit a pretty, fancy car with my older clunkier suv! It's a delicate balance to get there everyday! However, I do get to work in one of the prettiest areas in Los Angeles. Every tourist in LA tries to make it to Beverly Hills and walk down Rodeo Drive, and I do it every day. I think I might be starting to take that for granted....uh oh!

5. things that make me laugh. I love seeing things here that are outrageous! It just makes me smile. Sometimes, I'll be at the front desk at work, and some paparazzi will run full speed past the doors and be shooting pictures at the same time. Other times, I'll walk by that big shiny torso on Rodeo and just laugh at the fact that tons of people drive by a big shiny butt everyday....haha! I watched some man take a picture of me and my friend Lindsey the other day from one of those Beverly Hills trolley things...I guess he thought we were famous? Who knows....but it made me laugh. The Bubble Man on the beach here in Santa Monica...he always makes me laugh....but I haven't seen him lately....that doesn't make me laugh. The moon...it moves do quickly at night here...that makes me smile with a bit of confusion.

That's all I have for now, but you just enjoy that for now...it's been a long time coming!