Venice Beach

Spent some time in the Venice Beach area this weekend. Quintessential Venice sunglasses, the skate park on the boardwalk, my favorite - the guys who fly the gianormous kites, a nightime shot from the balcony, yellow powder coated table here and this awesome watercolor poster by David Hockney from the window of a shop on Abbot Kinney. Too cold for May, but being by the ocean is good r & r no matter what. Will be back for warmer temps when it's really summer...

photo album and box kits

These last few months, Yuka and I have successfully carved out some "crafternoon" time on Fridays for making these photo album and box kits from Paper-Source. We both realized that we hoarded them (I actually made 2 of those pink boxes a la Lily Pulitzer) way back and needed to bring them to life. The instructions need a little help and it takes some time getting used to the cutting and gluing, but we're seriously pro now. Hoorah!

more around Manila

Picture of my Lola (my grandmother), grade school classroom in Liliw, handwoven paymapay (fan) in Greenhills, hot pan de sal and queso (hot bread and cheese) before breakfast, my uncle's collection of chinese miniature statues, election time banners (update: Nonoy Aquino wins presidency).

around town...

Doug Wheeler's Rm 669 during one of several jury duty lunch breaks to MOCA, learning to transplant plants from Adam, light fixture made from pieces of a vintage sewing machine at Terroni, photos of tree shadows by Donna Wong at Euro Pan Bakery, and then spotting the Neutra font on the P7 parking structure at LAX, and this beauty on Mother's Day morning at Bottega Louie's cafe.

Alicia

After trying to resusitate her twice, her son said no more.. but right when they stopped her heartbeat came back. It came back just as all seven of her sisters arrived. It was if she knew they were on their way and she wanted to say good bye before she left. Her body could no longer move, but her heart beat grew faster on the monitor as the voices got louder. Still, they all knew it was too late. Her body had already given in to the infection. Only her eyes remained slightly opened. Days before she told them that her mama and papa were at foot of her bed but not her late husband who she was always missing. She was also looking for her new shoes telling them she had to go out. It was just a matter of time. The spirits of her mother and father were there waiting to bring her to the other side. So they reassured her that it was okay and that she could go. You don't have to stay, go be with them. We love you and will miss you so much they said as their hearts broke deep inside. And just then, tears began streaming from her eyes. She became sad... and aware... that they were right. She too, would miss us terribly. They all cried now weeping for themselves and for what was to come. After a few more minutes the monitor flatlined. They say your hearing is the last thing to go. Lucky for us.

kiput hike

When we visit my mom's provincial hometown, we always have a big lunch and eat with our hands off big banana leaves at the farm. The farm was developed on the land my mom and her siblings inherited from my grandfather. He loved to hike this land. When we were young, he would lead all of us down to the river for swimming and eventually a bath at the end. Good times. These days, we all hike down to an area called the kiput were there is a narrow but deep stream. I love this hike. It's so green and lush. My aunt added steps to the path so that the elders could get down to the quiput too.

Philippines 2010

Just got back from a 10 day trip to the Philippines. Caught some spectacular views. The last mystic photo is from the airplane window over Incheon Airport in Seoul.

Nick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth

Finally got a chance to visit Nick Cave's Soundsuits at the UCLA Fowler Museum this past weekend. These suits are full body collages of mostly from the fiber arts world which includes crocheted hats and doilies, colorful gap sweaters, and all the glory of sequenced applique. The most famous are the performing Soundsuit Invasions some of which are made with real dyed human hair. They are bold and exhilarating as they tower over you and then at the same time so innocent, playful and free spirited, strands flowing, as they jump around and dance in the videos.


Nick Cave's Soundsuit Invasion No. 1 in LA, courtesy Fowler Museum at UCLA from Fowler Museum on Vimeo.

"With this exhibition, I hope to provide a place for dreaming - a public incubator. I hope that people walking into the gallery will be transported into another world where they can find hope, inspiration, and empowerment. I hope they will find themselves in another universe and also find a few moments to imagine, reflect and feel nourished. I see the work - especially at this particular time - as a catalyst for change and I hope the people who see it will be fueled by their experience with it."

Cave did his Masters in Fiber Art at Cranbrook where he met Gerhardt Knodel, who he says "gave him the courage and ability to be fearless."

I hope to catch one of these invasions at the museum in May.

:: photo by James Prinz/UCLA

welcome to the slighlty new and improved

I finally upgraded the blog. This meant moving to the blogspot url... http://supercozy.blogspot.com/. No biggee. Welcome.

80's dessert

My dessert last night at the new Elements Restaurant in Pasadena was this fantastic 80's explosion. The splatter of colors was awesome! Passion fruit panna cotta and a berry sorbet with a sprinkling of edible flowers, red stemmed microgreens, pink foam and hot pink broken meringues type things. My photo is not that good because I did not want to disturb the romance with a sudden flash, but just imagine. The rest of the meal was equally gorgeous as it was delicious and amazing - an amuse with pink noodles and a little heart shaped piece of tofu, this gorgeous red borscht soup which they should definitely add to the menu (!), and the a perfectly cooked sea bass with a red sofrito. Best Valentines Day meal I've had and clearly the chefs are having a really good time.

Biodegradable Dishware by Wasara

This makes me smile. Via Re-Nest.

Collections A Day

There is something about seeing things in a group. I absolutely love Lisa Congdon's new year long blog Collections a Day Project documenting her collections. These are her vintage price tags. Photo by Lisa Congdon.

cherished words

i miss you and think of you often with all the fondness in the world. ~kai

double weave blanket

Finished setting up the warp yesterday and finally started weaving a queen size blanket using a technique called double weave. Double weave means I can weave 2 layers at the same time making the width of the blanket twice that of the warp. My warp is 40" wide, but my final blanket will be 80" wide! In the second pic, the fold will be on the left side which means the vertical stripe on the right side, will end up on both the left and right of the blanket.

I had time to weave 5" of weft (the horizontal yarns), so I could see the double weave in action. It's pretty amazing. The last pic is a view in between the 2 layers that are forming. Exciting!

rainy morning breakfast

it's been raining for 4 days straight here in LA. kinda unheard of these last drought filled years. love it. a big hearty meal to last me the day.

the desert

A good friend wished us much peace before leaving for the desert this weekend. I think we found it. Enjoyed a little spa action, stood amidst nature, lunched with these cool kids and these, and ended up at the photo booth ... maybe a little too relaxed :)

origami heart

An origami heart from this older lady at the last family party. She makes these amazing little treasures every holiday and passes them out to the girls mainly. Her English is not very good, nor my Japanese, so we just exchange with two hand offerings, bended bow, and big warm smiles. I think I let out a tiny shreek of excitement and she a laugh because we both knew this was a good one!

baby's leopard sweater

I want baby's Stella McCartney for Gap sweater!

happy *2010*

my mother-in-law's beautiful new years day spread.