I used to read Design*Sponge mostly for its Sneak Peeks, that is, until I stumbled upon Stephanie Todaro’s D*S column,Human/House/Harvey, in which the L.A. blogger and creative director selects three items under one theme: for herself, her home and her adorable Sharperrier (Sharpei + terrier). Such a cute idea, no? Even more charming, I soon discovered, was her dog-focused blog, House of Harvey. It’s a blend of great design, crisp photos, and sweet stories about the beautiful and symbiotic relationship between dog and owner. Today Stephanie tells us about starting each morning with The Help and the power of Popsicle sticks.
During my junior year at college, while I heated up frozen Boca Burgers and cooked frozen veggies in tabasco sauce nearly every day — don’t ask — my then-roommate was making Indian food, crepes and homemade yogurt in our meager kitchen. I was always blown away by what she’d whip up, but nothing lured me quite like the granola she made. Oh, that granola. I could eat it by the bowlfuls — with milk, without milk, when hungry, when not hungry.
Seeing as how I’m not a big drinker, I’m not one to get excited about a pub crawl. But a food crawl — where you hop from restaurant to restaurant with a group of strangers-turned-friends — that’s something I could get excited about. So when Dishcrawl invited me to participate in one of their events, which takes diners to four different restaurants in one night, I said, “Yes, please!”
The restaurants are kept secret until the first location is revealed 48 hours before the event; the rest of the food spots are revealed as the night goes on. In the meantime, meals are eaten, connections are made and friendships are formed. I believe wholeheartedly that food is what brings people together best and during Dishcrawl, Eaman and I made some great connections and new friends. Seeing as how we’re still new to the city, it was a wonderful way to meet locals.
Today we meet Vanessa Gonzales, a pastry chef-turned-graphic designer, who spends her days creating beautiful work for a media agency in downtown San Diego and her nights maintaining her own freelance business and a beautiful blog.
Let’s break bread, yes?
Age: 24 Hometown: Reno, NV Current City: San Diego, CA Professional Title: Visual Designer
Somewhere between a freelance writing career, social media position, this blog, puppy-rearing, friends-making, relationship-nurturing and home decorating, I gave up on me time and the things outside of the home that make me happy. But with summer upon us and a 6-month San Diego-versy looming, I thought, what better time than a new season to get back on track?
I very much thrive on lists, so I thought I’d share the 15 things on my summer checklist. They’re not ground-breaking activities, but they are the things that make me happiest. When life gets in the way, you sometimes have to put the fun stuff on a to-do list.
Avocados. Never have I eaten so many since moving to California. But after making bowls upon bowls of guacamole and adding sliced avos to sandwiches for lunches until the end of time, I realized I needed to find new ways to make use of this superfood.
Today I’m sharing with you the fruits of my research labor. We’ve got hors d’oeuvres, breakfast, a face mask and even dessert! Check out five new ways to use an avocado:
my rituals is taking the day off. Today I’m instead sharing with you some fun web reads for the weekend. Have a good one!
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I, for one, really like this new season of Arrested Development. (The GOB, Lucille and Tobias subplots are particularly great.) So of course I love this NPR interview with show creator Mitch Hurwitz. Genius guy. Genius show.
A news anchor and weather woman despise each other. Three cheers for my hometown news station!
The New York Times reveals that physical blockers are key to a good sunscreen. That means my beloved Neutrogena Sheer-Touch isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sadness.
I grew up on the East Coast, went to college in the Midwest and have been dating an Oklahoman for 7 years, so I’m familiar with accents, but this study about pronunciation differences within America blows me away. Who knew the word pecan could be so divisive?
For me, Buona Forchetta was love at first Instagram. I had seen the new Neapolitan pizzeria shared on Instagram by some San Diego locals, and I think it was the combination of twinkling string lights and location that got me. The restaurant is located on a quiet stretch of South Park and boasts a minimal, but authentic menu and a fresh-off-the-Italian-boat staff. In fact, the night we were there last week, the owner’s mother was in town from Italy, serving up her own dessert menu. That was our first hint at the deliciousness to come.
