Friday Finds: Artsy Fartsy Edition

Don’t hate me but I’m about to mention the dreaded P-word again…yep, Pokémon. I know, I know…silly fad, annoying players, ruining the world. Yadda yadda. But, I’m bringing it up because , beyond appealing to my box-checking compulsion, I discovered yet another unexpected benefit – finding and photographing public art. Pokéstops have led me to so many hidden gems around town! The mural above is just blocks from my house. I have passed by many times, but have never stopped to admire it anywhere near as up close and personally as when it was in the shadow of a lure. I’m sure you’re “aww”-ing at me right now. I know it’s pitiful, but it’s also just true. I know I’m not alone in my tendency to find my routes and stick to them – focused on destinations not journeys. I realize now that there are things I pass right by without noticing because they’re a block out of my way, or even behind me when I walk one direction, and across the street when I return. Have your opinions, but I’ve been having fun finding these things, really taking the time to notice then, even if it’s the process of playing a “silly” game. And, I guess it’s got me feeling a little artsy fartsy, as reflected in this week’s finds…

 

I wasn’t at all familiar with L.A.’s Underground Museum until I recently read about the untimely passing of its founder, painter Noah Davis. An alternative art space in the Arlington Heights neighborhood, UM serves low-to-moderate income residents and “cultivates the hope that increasing access to art will inspire, educate, and transform lives.” In collaboration with MOCA, their current exhibition, Non-fiction, features art by Kara Walker, Henry Taylor, Marion Palfi, and more that “investigates, either explicitly or implicitly, the culture of violence perpetrated on black citizens.” The exhibition images are intense. Hoping we can make it down between now and next March to see it in person.

 

photo: @erinadelaneyphoto

Trees that Tweet?! In Jersey City, even the woods have wisdom. #treespeech is a collaboration between environmental artist Anne Percoco and Sustainable Jersey City promotes education, environmentalism, and community engagement by recruiting residents to tweet from the trees’ perspectives. Word on the street is that it’s even some people’s Pokémon GO! Here are a few tree follows to get you looped into the conversation: Gabriel, Faith, Reginald, and Junebug.

 

I’m an instant Insta fan of Adriana Napolitano. This photographer/set designer’s stylized selfies are unreal. I want to write a story about this egg person. Read more about Adriana, her process, and inspirations here. And, check out a few more faves.

 

BONUS: A little art history humor to bring the lolz.

 

Quote of the Week:

A [wo]man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of [her] life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

What I’m Reading:

Understanding Hillary: Why the Clinton America Sees Isn’t the Clinton Colleagues Know – Regardless of political leanings, I enjoyed this article because it contains an interesting linguistic analysis from Deborah Tannen, an expert in gender-based communication.

What I’m Watching:

Not Dead Yet (Op Docs) – At the age of 93, Norman Lear is still entertaining America. What’s his secret?

What I’m Listening to:

Creative Flow (Spotify Playlist) – Our office instituted new music hours recently and it got me wondering what other agencies are listening to. This one was created by Lauren Hudac, an account manager at Cleveland agency Go Media as part of their series Best Spotify Playlists for Getting Sh*t Done.

States of Undress

Back in May, buried in the What I’m Watching section of a Friday Finds post, I gave brief mention of a show that I had, at the time, only seen once or twice. I posted the title with a link but no description of what it’s about or just how great it is; so, I’m certain that very few of you followed through on finding out more. Which, is really a shame, because this show is pretty effing awesome. So, I’m bringing it up again. States of Undress. Go watch it!

Hosted by slash artist Hailey Gates – model/actress/journalist/former editor of the Paris Review/seventh generation Los Angelino – the show explores politics, culture, activism, conflict, human rights, day-to-day life, and more through the lens of fashion. Though fashion alone is enough for me to tune, it’s about so much more. Trust me, watch just one preview and you’ll quickly see it goes well beyond glitter and gowns. Not that those aren’t also part of the show. But, any possible presumption of this being fluff tv will quickly be distinguished when you watch her sit face-to-face with Abdul Aziz, an Islamic cleric at the Red Mosque in Islamabad known to be strongly aligned with Al Qaeda.

The show is on Vice, so I expected an edgy component from the start. Though, even I didn’t expect it to be quite so hard-hitting. The first six episodes cover fashion weeks in China, Palestine, Russia, Venezuela, Congo, and Pakistan. The most stark realization I had in watching them was just how little global news is reported in our country. There are certainly sources, if you seek them out. But our daily news cycles focus far more on our most raucous political candidate and Kim Kardashian’s ass than Venezuela’s murder epidemic or the polarized politics of Putin Youth.

Fashion is explored on commercial, community, and underground levels. Two episodes feature segments on designers of found material clothing – Congo and China – both very different but equally interesting takes on designing with what you have to design with.

The hunt for “what’s beautiful” takes Hailey to a manufacturer of “ideal” mannequins in Venezuela, where she also highlights a cultural obsession with plastic surgery stemming from the quest for pageant gold. Pageants, considered the country’s unofficial lottery, breed generation after generation of desperate contenders literally willing to risk their lives for success.

In the Congo, where shapely figures are the rage, women can’t resist the lure of homemade injections to prevent them from being too skinny. Of course, as with many quick fixes, there’s a dark side to this industry that leaves many disfigured.

Each episode comes with its dangers. Some medical, others environmental – some to the locals, others to Hailey. But she takes them all in stride in search of the riveting and revealing stories behind the, often rogue, runway. Believe me when I tell you that I haven’t even scratched the surface on telling you the storylines. Seriously… Go. Watch. It. I’ll just be here crossing my fingers for a season 2.

 

Happy Blogiversary!!

I very honestly can’t believe it’s been A WHOLE YEAR since my First Post! Whew, that flew right on by. Wasn’t this blog supposed to help me focus and take in life as it zips by, not speed it up even more?! Well, at least I have something to show for the whoosh.

For the launch, I quoted Leonard Bernstein, as quoted to me by my barista –  who, btw, for those of you who live outside of the Pacific Northwest, are kind of like our gurus. Anyway, Leonard said, “To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” I’m certain that I had no idea then just how little time this blogging plan would leave me! In essence, it was the perfect storm for achieving greatness.

Of course, it would be a little presumptuous to call this little corner of the blogosphere great. Far from it, I know. I still have many dreams about what this blog can become, but I had to start somewhere. And, I’m feeling pretty darn great about (mostly) keeping pace with my goal of daily posts, and jumping across the year mark with (again, mostly – at least, as much as it could ever be) my sanity intact. There have been many nights when I didn’t wanna. There have been days when I begged RF to fill in for me so that I could finish “work work” and still get a few winks, and he gladly stepped up. Thankfully, you seem to like his ramblings and musings too!

I’ve mostly adhered to my original plan of daily themes. I still have Monday Meals, Wanderlust Wednesdays, and Friday Finds. Tiny House Tuesdays have extended on more than one occasion to general shelter topics. Thursday Throw of the Dice has morphed into Thursday Style, typically fashion-themed posts. I’ve tried out various post formats: This or That, Do or Don’t, Tracy’s Take. It all continues to be a work in progress…but, most importantly, it continues. Though I have plenty of moments of doubt, and days when I just want to quit it all and move to an island (don’t we all?!), I haven’t thrown up my arms and run screaming just yet.

Stats can be the death of any blogger. They can build you up – Whoa! Did you see how many hits that one got?! – and they can shut you down – Wait, where is everyone?! I thought that topic would be so popular. In general, I try not to pay too much attention, lest I spend more time obsessing over the blog than enjoying creating it. But, here are a few stats to give you an idea about how the year progressed.

Top 3 Posts:

Outstanding Experience … just barely edged out a win, but continues to go strong. I have no doubt that it will continue to surge as the OITF season goes on, and more folks are looking for info about the experience. I can’t recommend it enough. Even if it’s not this particular event, please go out there and support farm-to-table dining in your community!

Portland ADU Tour – Part 2 … I can’t for the life of me figure out why 2 is more popular than 1 and 3 – ok, I’m sure it’s in the reference, but WordPress analytics suck and I have no clue where the traffic is coming from. Thank you, whoever you are!

Portland ADU Tour – Part 1 … Also strong, sending me a clear message that I need to take more field trips and report from out in the wild. Hoping to find more Seattle-based ADU activities in the coming year. They just don’t seem to be as popular, despite the fact that housing density legislation is a very hot topic here.

If You Build It…

Early on, I gave monthly updates about where visitors were coming from. At the time, it was more encouraging to think less about how many (or few) people were reading along, and how far away people were seeing my words. I was pretty stoked back at the two month mark to have hit 10 countries! Here’s where I am today:

2015:  33 countries

2016:  47 countries

Overall:  52 countries

Top 5 (outside the US):  Canada, Spain, UK, New Zealand, Germany

Most Surprising: Guernsey. It mostly surprised me that Guernsey popped up as a country. I didn’t realize that it’s a “British Crown dependency” – one of the Channel Islands. More importantly, they have really cute cows. Probably need to add this to the Wanderlust List.

Top Referrer: By far, Facebook. So, I hate to break it to you, but I’m going to keep harassing you with “please read my blog” social posts.

Can You See the Future?

I can’t. But the one thing I know is that, as much as I’m able, I’m going to keep showing up here. There are plenty of things I still want to try – new topics, updated formats, more field trips, maybe videos. Better analytics! (WAY better analytics.) Oh, and maybe some personal essays. Many of my first iteration YoM posts were in the essay style, and I not only really liked those posts, I also miss writing them. So, look out!

Also, if I had my way, I’d be rolling out a fancy new site design at this juncture. Alas, best laid plans. New goal: 2017. Hopefully, for New Years. But, if not the new calendar year, the new blogging year. I promise that I will get more professional up in here one of these days! When I’m not churning out posts while hatching last-minute remote work schemes, managing unexpected family obligations, and trying to convince my friends that I still exist, so yes, please do invite me out for that drink. I neeeeed it!!!

Of course, above all – above developing a writing habit, above being more creative, above preventing life from completely slipping through my fingertips with nothing to show for it – I’m here to have fun. So, until I go completely mad, there will be Year of Months. Here’s to seeing what Year 2 brings!!

New Project Inspiration

On Friday, I alluded to a new project, and mentioned that these colors are weighing heavily in the inspiration.

Indi Go Go | Cumulus Cotton | Springy Peach | Hot Lips | Peachy Keen

 

Here are a few more hints…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Started a new Pinterest Board to help me collect my thoughts, but more posts to come as this project gets underway…

Monday Meals: Pesto Salmon

Summer is the perfect time for salmon. We usually toss it on the grill, but I’ve seen a lot of posts about cooking in foil lately and thought I would try out this (purportedly) quick method with a super easy cleanup. Per usual, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration, and landed on Cooking Classy’s Pesto Salmon and Italian Veggies in Foil.

RF and I are both huge fans of pesto. It’s very easy to make, especially in the summer when basil is plentiful. Perhaps I’ll get my act together one of these days and make a double-batch to freeze. But, when I’m squeezed for time, packaged pesto is just as delicious.

OK, so I goofed just a bit on the salmon by forgetting to ask the fishmonger if he would slice off the skin. Our knives are long overdue for a trip to the sharpener, so that just wasn’t going to happen once I got them home. Oops. No worry – I just went ahead with the recipe as is, and everything turned out quite fine.

I would, however, make a change where the green beans were concerned. We prefer ours on the al dente side. After blanching them for a few minutes, they were already perfect – to us. I could have left them out of the foil, but in keeping with trying something new, I followed the directions. After boiling and tossing them with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, the stacking began…

Our filets were generous, so I freehanded the pesto. I doubt you can overdo it too badly.

After spreading it out, I squeezed a little lemon over each…

…then added some fresh tomatoes. I like mine quartered for a more relish-y sensation, but halving would save a little extra time and surely work just as well.

Because our filets were kinda fat (wide), I wasn’t able to achieve Cooking Classy’s perfectly folded packets. Didn’t matter. I think the most important instruction is to not over-seal them. Leave them a little room to steam.

The original recipe indicated a cooking time of 20-28 minutes. That’s a pretty broad estimate, especially since you really don’t want to be opening and closing the little cooking pouches. I knew that ours would likely be on the longer end, since they were so large, but still opened them a couple of times to make sure. Unfortunately, most of the online cooking guides refer to thickness – 10 minutes per one inch thickness. Our filets were nowhere near 3″ thick, but cooked for close to 30 mins. So, some checking is probably necessary.

I let them have a little rest at the end, and they were perfect! Salmon skin does not have scales, and the fatty layer between the skin and the fish is where all of the terrific essential fatty acids (EFA) live. Those EFA’s get absorbed into the skin during cooking, so it’s actually quite nutritious. That said, I don’t care for the texture all that much. I ended up unstacking these when serving, so that I could eat around the skin, but you certainly don’t have to.

The fish was moist and rich, the tomato and citrus flavors were bright. The beans…again, softer than my personal preference. If you like them that way, take the time to pre-blanch. If, like us, you prefer crispier veg, don’t bother with boiling. Just give ’em a quick rinse and toss them right onto the foil.

Oh, and clean up? A total breeze!! No fishy residue on your pan – just crumple up that foil and toss. We will definitely have this one again.

Friday Finds: Birthday Edition

Image: Sugar and Cloth

It’s my birthday, y’all! OK, technically, it’s not until Sunday. But, I’m a big fan of celebrating another year of wisdom for at least a week. So, let’s get this party started!! I think this is the first time I’ve used a header picture for Friday Finds that’s not my own – but everything about this photo is kind of my birthday dream! It was actually created for a baby shower, but eh. I’m taking it over as my inspiration for a little project that RF started for me for my birthday. Gold, navy, and peach? Love it. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out…and will, of course, share pics when it’s done. For now, a little party inspiration.

 

I know that I am fully stressing out my friend KDub with all of these balloons, but I’m a Leo and I’ve been told that means I adore magnificence. (The Cancer cusp in me does not always agree, but I definitely have my moments.) This How to Make a Balloon Arch tutorial from The House that Lars Built ranks highly on the magnificence scale! I’m ready to get out the glue gun…

 

 

Fairy lights are so romantic, but these lantern columns speak to my flair for the dramatic. Leave it to fellow Leo, Martha Stewart to come up with this one. I love the way they reflect in the pool, but I think they would be equally stunning edging a yard or surrounding the buffet or dessert table.

 

 

I love cake. I still dream of Strawberry White Chocolate cake from Simply Desserts. Sadly, it doesn’t come in a gluten-free version. Though gf options are expanding, and I’ve found plenty of sweet sweet love at Trophy cupcakes, most my favorites are still full of wheaty evil. I’ve dropped a couple of hints for this Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Cake as this year’s birthday substitution. Peanut buttery krispies layered with chocolate ganache?! Yes, please!

 

 

No birthday would be complete without a cocktail…or 12…to make the years go down smoothly. Lemonade is my ultimate summertime beverage. You know how I love my whiskied up Arnold Palmers. But here are 7 Spiked Lemonades to Sip On this Weekend. The Boozy Clementine Lemonade with Bruleed Citrus & Mint looks particularly tempting.

 

What was the Trendiest Hairstyle the Year You Were Born?

Quote of the Week:

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”
-John Lennon

What I’m Reading:

Dave’s Coworkers Attempt to Figure Out What He’d Like for His Birthday

What I’m Watching:

Sixteen Candles – Or maybe a full on John Hughes marathon! Most were filmed in the area where I went to high school. So, on top of being great teen flicks, the scenery is fun to watch too!

What I’m Listening To:

All the birthday music!

 

Do or Don’t: Flip-Flops

I know very few people who won’t wear flip-flops at all, but RF and I have an ongoing debate about wearing them anywhere but the beach. Surprisingly, I’m on the side of anywhere, anytime – especially in the summer! RF, however, is shocked that I would wear flip-flops on NYC subways and, well, anywhere that isn’t sandy. Who’s the bigger weirdo?

Regardless of your answer, here are some fun pairs from a few of my favorite brands…for wherever you’re willing to wear them. I mean, at the very least, you should have something cute when you get a pedicure. Right?!

Havaianas

Havaianas are my fave. A Brazilian brand, “havaiana” is Portuguese for Hawaiian. They have a pretty interesting history, but all you need to know is that their rubbery soles are super cushy. Not supportive in the slightest, but the best basic flip-flop out there…IMO.

 

Slim Rio 2016 – Tradicional – You Metallic – Wonder Woman!!

 

OluKai

OluKai makes more supportive, but still pretty options. A Hawaiian company (I think I’m spotting a trend…), OluKai believes in combining durability with style, comfort, and craftsmanship.

U’I –LOEA
HO’OPIO – PUKA

Reef

Reef is a bit of a crossover of sporty and stylish. Based in California, but made in Brazil, their shoes epitomize the surf lifestyle. Reef also has a strong philanthropic program to support coastal communities around the world.

Mallory Scrunch – O’Contrare – Leather Uptown Braid – Stargazer Prints

Kakslauttanen

Have you ever stopped to think about how awesome cut and paste is? Seriously. Without it, I’d have had to attempt to recreate the spelling of the place in the title. Multiple times. I mean, even though the word is in the header, I have to mention it in the body of the post, since that’s the subject of my #wanderlustwednesday, right? And it’s in the url of the website. Can’t post about an awesome place without linking to their website. That’s at least 3 instances where I’d have to try to correctly spell “Kakslauttanen” by hand if copy/paste had never been invented. Though one could argue that perhaps the internet might not have been invented if we’d never conquered that simple convenience. That’s four times now , since I just used it again there. Possibly unnecessary, but since I already had it copied, why not. See how technology makes lives better?

But to get back to my point, Kakslauttanen. It’s a place where you can supposedly see the Northern Lights up to eight months per year. From a high-tech IGLOO! An igloo is essentially a snow cave, and if you happened to read my post about the Cuevas in Guadix, Spain, you’ll remember that I can hardly contain myself in the presence of caves. So, imagine my excitement when finding out that there’s a place where you can lie in a glass igloo, and watch one of the most amazing sights the earth has to offer. It was intense, but this was more the introspective, “the world is so amazing, and I want to see all of it!” kind of excitement, and less the shouting at the top of my lungs and bouncing around like a 4 year old kind that sometimes overtakes me.

The fact that the Northern Lights exists fascinates me, and I very much want to see it in person. I picture watching the colors, and contemplating our place in the vastness of the universe…

So, I came upon this video one day, which I immediately sent to Tracy.

It’s not even quite a month since we settled on our Travel Top Ten, and I’m already lobbying  to revise it. Tracy did select something in the area as one of her original places, Iceland’s Ring Road , but it didn’t make our final cut. Well, I now this place in Finland has to go to the top of the list. I’d make the case that we could kill 2-birds: maybe after a few days in Finland, we could pop over to Iceland and see both.

Full disclosure, I’m listening to Sigur Ros while writing this. And though they’re from Iceland, and just released a soundtrack for traversing the Ring Road in real time, I think the tone of their music fits the beauty and mystery of Kakslauttanen as well.

From late August until April, the lights are visible, and it’s reportedly one of the best places on earth to witness them. And you don’t have to camp out in the frozen north to do it. While you can choose to stay in a log cabin, or even Santa’s House, I’m 100% on board with the glass igloos.

I just think this would be one of the most unique and amazing experiences to have. Sure, campers would probably tell me that it’d be way better to brave the cold and see the Aurora from an even more remote location, but if you know anything about Tracy’s and my feelings about camping…you know that’d never happen. And to us, the mixture of feeling remote, yet having the comforts of a hotel is pretty much perfect.

In addition to light-watching, there are lots of other activities that the hotel and the area have to offer in both winter and summer, but I’ll take the winter wonderland experience. I don’t even mind if we just spend a few days holed up in our own private igloo, and watch the sky go by. That sounds pretty amazing right about now. So, at least in my opinion, the Top Ten list is officially revised, and this is on it. I hope Tracy agrees!

Robot Furniture!

If, like us, you’re a fan of small house living, you need to know about this new robot furniture!

OK, it might seem like a little bit of a stretch to call it robot furniture. I think the technical term is modular and scalable mechatronics, but that’s a little unwieldy and way less glamorous!

Called Ori, because of its similarity to the folding concepts of origami, this pairing of technology and design solves problems created by urban density and makes spaces live much larger. The architectural robotic technology is the work of MIT Media Lab’s CityHome project, “focused on utilizing technology to respond to the challenges of global urbanization.” It’s also capable of connecting to other smart devices, and you can apply pre-sets for different configurations.

I’m not sure that I see an application in our house, but I can definitely imagine Ori Systems being a smart choice for the DADU.

What about you? Would you use robotic furniture? Or, would you worry about it taking over your house while you sleep??

 

Tracy’s Take: Tuscan White Bean & Quinoa Salad

RF’s dad is staying with us for awhile, so we’re trying to be better about cooking at home. He’s a terrific sport, but I know that he doesn’t have quite the same global tastes that we do. So, we’re doing our best to balance every dinner of gyros, chilaquiles, or saag paneer with something a little more…American. Alas, I can only tolerate grilled chicken, or made with grilled chicken, so many nights in a row.

I’ve been on the hunt for new recipes to try; which, of course, means that I’m hitting up Pinterest…a lot. I came across a recipe that I had pinned awhile back: Tuscan White Bean & Quinoa Salad. Well, if you know me, I just can’t seem to leave recipes well enough alone. AND, I love a one-pot meal. This seemed perfect for attacking from both directions. Hence, the creation of…drum roll, please…Tracy’s Wild Rice, White Bean & Tuna Salad.

Not that the original recipe wouldn’t have been hearty and delicious on its own. I’m certain it’s delicious, and I will likely make it just as its written another time. Not today. Today, I played. Though not far off from the original recipe, these are the ingredients I used:

Dish:

• 1 cup uncooked wild rice (not shown – I chose Lundberg Sprouted Tri-Color Blend)
• 2 cans chunk light tuna (I would normally use albacore, but this is what I had)
• 1 container white beans
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ¼ cup sweet red pepper, diced
• ¼ cup red onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped fine

Dressing:

• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoons of salt
• ¼ teaspoon of pepper

Garnish:

• salt & pepper (to taste)
• balsamic reduction

While the rice cooked, I chopped the tomatoes, red peppers, red onion, and basil.

Rinsed the beans thoroughly and let the water drain while I mixed the dressing.

Such a simple vinaigrette, but fresh lemon gives it a nice tartness. The original recipe suggested using a small blender to mix. So not necessary! This is a small amount of dressing – it needs nothing more than a good shake. I annoy RF by holding onto little jars like this one, but they really come in handy for making/shaking dressing! Mmm…look at the lemony goodness.

Once the rice was cooked, I added the tuna and gave it a good mix. I stirred in half of the dressing to help it absorb into the base. Then, I tossed everything else – tomatoes, peppers, onion, basil, beans, and remaining dressing – right on top and stirred…

…creating a big delicious mishmash! So tasty, but not quite done.

When we were in Spain, one of my favorite things was that almost every restaurant had olive oil and a squeezy container of balsamic reduction on the table. I LOVE balsamic. So, I put it on just about everything! When we got back, I ordered a couple of bottles, trying to find a good one, and have finally settled on Roland. It’s fantastic with caprese.

And, on this dish! I topped each serving with an extra dash of salt and pepper, plus a few extra shreds of basil, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Loved. It.

I served it sort of medium warm off the stove, which RF and I were happy with. RFSr popped his in the microwave for a little more warmth. I suspect I’ll like the leftovers straight from the fridge just as well. In fact, it’s a perfect dish for work lunches. The moral is: don’t be afraid to mess with recipes! Playing with your food is good from time to time.