Saturday coffee and croissants at Cafe Madeleine in South Park.
weekend recap
November 18, 2013
- Tweet
- Pin
- 4 COMMENTS
reading material
November 15, 2013
In place of my weekly rituals feature — which, full disclosure, I completely failed to get together in time — I’m here with a list of 8 great links to check out as we head into the weekend. I will be spending mine poring over the many magazines on my coffee table — thank you, expiring airline miles! — so I thought it was only fitting to offer you some reading material as well.
***
There is no pumpkin in pumpkin-flavored food and drinks. Discuss.
18 Things You’d Be Surprised Happened on The Simpsons If You Stopped Watching in 2003. (This is a few weeks old, but it still blows my mind as a diehard fan of The Simpsons seasons 3-8.)
Lucky editor in chief Eva Chen shows us her office — and it’s redunkulous.
This is the best, funniest, most adorable gift for a mother.
I’m outraged by the crazy-high cost of rugs, which is why we still don’t have any (minus a very precious Persian rug we’ve tucked away until Teddy earns our trust). I plan to scoop one up during my upcoming India trip for cheap, but if I wasn’t and if this fit with our color scheme, I would totally go for the reasonably priced Asta Rug by Grandiflora, a new home decor site launched by House of Earnest blogger Erin Souder.
Love this post on 12 Habits of Healthy, Happy People Who Don’t Give a S— About Your Inner Peace, which I discovered through Betsy.
There’s a new iOS app that’s being called the “Yelp for men,” as in women can dish anonymous reviews about specific males. Oh, and no guys, you can’t join; the app uses Facebook to detect your sex. And it will know if you all of a sudden change sexes.
Been blasting this song quite a bit lately. To be honest, I mostly like Hollis’ portions and the part from 1:05-2:00. But still.
Happy reading — have a great weekend!
Photo via
4 pinterest-inspired themes for my (future) home
November 13, 2013
Sometimes I get so Pin crazy during a Pinterest spree that nothing seems cohesive. Hot pink chairs? Yes! Muted Scandinavian-style rug? Sure! Mid-century dresser? OK! I wonder how these ideas will ever come together in my future home.
But recently I was looking at my Future Home board, where I pour all my hopes and dreams and Thonet chair wishes, and started to see patterns. Even though there were months between bookmarked images, I’ve been gravitating towards very specific ideas. I just don’t know about them yet. A pink sofa? Apparently I want one.
Here are four decor schemes my subconscious has been (apparently) contemplating:
yellow chairs 1/2/3; pink sofa: 1/2; floor pillows: 1/2/3; copper accents: 1/2
around san diego - San Diego eats + drinks
homestyle thai food at sab-e-lee
November 11, 2013
I’ll be honest: I’ve been a bit underwhelmed by San Diego restaurants. Yes, I’m a total New York snob when it comes to food and yes, I’ve been lucky enough to travel internationally and eat my heart out for a whole year, but I did expect more out of the restaurants here. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found gems like Mama’s Bakery for Lebanese and Buona Forchetta for pizza, and of course the produce and Mexican eats here are way better than anything New York could dream up, but it’s taken work and a lot of trial and error to find my favorites.
That said, when I find something I like, you know that I really dig it. And that’s how I feel about Sab-e-lee a homestyle Thai restaurant low on frills and high on spice. (They offer a spice range of 1 to 10 and, to give you some perspective, when we ordered a 4, I woke up in the middle of the night with heartburn and a stomach ache — and I can handle my spice!)
The setting isn’t anything fancy and the location is completely random (tucked away in Linda Vista), but it feels like a Thai momma’s working in the kitchen. There are a lot of items we love — fried rice, green curry and Thai iced tea to name a few — but last night we shared a trio of tofu pad thai, chicken larb (our favorite dish from our time in Thailand) and beef salad. If you want the best mix of flavors, go for the beef salad, made with lemongrass, Thai eggplant, fresh chili, green onion and spicy lime juice.
Here’s a closer look:
my rituals: photographer tana gandhi
November 8, 2013
I’ve always loved bling, glitter, volume and color of the retina-blinding variety, but recently, I’ve begun to appreciate a simple, streamlined and almost-bare aesthetic. Chalk it up to my pared-down SoCal lifestyle or a new curiosity about photography and graphic design, but I’m glad I did because it’s helped me discover pretty talented people, like Tana Gandhi, an Orange County-based photographer who has an amazing knack for making simple images pop off the screen. Her pictures are crisp, clever and a great reminder that less is more.
Today Tana shares the rituals that motivate her — everything from her Breaking Bad habit to the impressive list of things she does before going to work. Check it out:
5 spray paint ideas for your kitchen, your closet + everything else
November 6, 2013
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I hadn’t really spray painted until very recently. (You may remember that I coated a bunch of stuff in my desk space with a small can of gold spray paint.) But once I lost that V-card, I heard someone caution that once you spray paint, you will find the intense desire to spray-paint things you had no intention of changing.
And that’s where I find myself now. I just finished giving a thrift store frame a gilded update and now I have a whole can at my disposal. (If you can’t already tell, I’m kind of obsessed with gold.) I wanted to share a round-up of ideas I’ve been kicking around — ideas that are a beautiful, easy and a little out-of-the-ordinary. Like using-plastic-animal-figurines out of the ordinary.
india inspired
November 4, 2013
In exactly three weeks, I’ll be forcing Eaman out of bed at 4 a.m. to take me to the airport — because I’ll be going to India! I’m headed to Bangalore for 6 days and Singapore for 2.5 days with my parents, and we’ll be eating, visiting family, eating, shopping, eating and eating. Get the idea? (Why Sing Sing? My parents lived in Singapore right after they got married and are using this visit to see some old friends.)
I was in India in September of last year as part of our ’round-the-world trip, but this visit will be a bit different for a few reasons. 1.) I don’t need any new Indian outfits and that will save a significant amount of time, 2.) I’m much more keen to buy some home goods (a sign I’m getting old?) so I can dedicate the aforementioned saved time to this, and 3.) I will probably get a stomach bug because last year when I went I had an iron gut thanks to a year of traveling on my side. (Hopefully I’m wrong on that last one, but knowing me…)
Anyway, since this past weekend was Diwali (Indian new year) and with my trip coming up, here are some visuals I’ve got on my mind:
video recap: october 2013
November 1, 2013
I admit I didn’t turn on my video setting all that much in October, but I did get the most important stuff: a beautiful hike in Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve, my dad’s recent visit, a fun fall-themed cooking class, the gorgeous Pacific as viewed from La Jolla, the pumpkin patch and a touch of Halloween. And tacos! Always tacos.
If you notice closely, when we offer Teddy a pumpkin of his own back home, he very gingerly takes it in his mouth, looks back to see if I’ll tell him to “LEAVE IT!” and then seeks sanctuary in his bed. When I bought that bed, I was afraid he’d prefer the cold tile floor and never touch the bed. As it turns out, he takes his most prized possessions — frozen blueberries, carrots, new toys — there to investigate further.
Take a look:
Music: “Go Outside” by The Cults
