redwoods
Two weekends in a row of tiny adventures. I supposed it’s strange to want to spend most of the time outdoors when it’s winter but I prefer cold to sweltering heat any day. (I never understand why people want to be out and about in the summer, I just want to hide in a cold, dark movie theater.)
We spent some time hiking in the snow at Mt. Baldy. It’s still novel for me to be in snow, even though we see it a little more regularly with various holiday travels.
Then we trekked further up north to visit Muir Woods. Can you believe I’ve never been to a redwood forest before? It started raining as soon as we got there but it was beautiful and so nice to walk around anyway (until my fingers turned to icicles). We made a stop in San Jose and visited the Winchester Mystery House which was crazy and wonderful and I wish we could live there, even though not really. Somewhere in there we ate vegan cinnamon buns and had vegan ice cream shakes too.
I’m not usually one to take weekend trips, it always feels like you’re losing valuable time, but I realized that there is real value in getting away from your familiar surroundings into someplace knew. Hopefully this year will be full of more little trips and adventures.
farewell 2012
The end of the year is here and it becomes a time of reflection, looking back on how this year has changed us. This year has been an odd one, with so many great highlights, but also a transitional undercurrent that hasn’t necessarily been the best. Looking back is helpful to focus on what was accomplished and celebrated rather than noticing what is the same.
In January we went to Utah for the Sundance Film Festival and also so I could attend Alt Summit. Both were such great experiences, I was lucky to meet so many great people at Alt and see many of their blogs bloom into great successes. We’ll be attending Sundance again in 2013, and without the the conference at the same time I’m looking forward to seeing even more films (I can’t wait to see Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Upstream Color among others).
In February Cute and Delicious got a huge makeover from the wonderful Anna Dorfman. One of the best things that has ever happened to this blog for sure. Shawn and I celebrated our first anniversary of marriage. We also made a little Valentine’s Day video.
In March we visited Austin for SXSW for the first time. It was tons of fun; we ate at some great restaurants and I fell in love with the airstream where we stayed. Then, when we returned, we had our epic Mad Men Party.
April was a time for making things including ice cream snowballs, a quick(ish) summer dress, refinishing our butcher block, and my favorite, a tiny toast quilt. I also rebound a my deleted livejournal to printed book. Plus I made this list of movies I want to live in.
In May we started filming my first short film which took up most of my time with scouting and planning. I made a striped nightgown (which reminds me it’s time to make a winter version). I also made a fancy brunch for Mother’s day.
In June I gave our kitchen a mini makeover which made my life oh so much brighter. We went to the Los Angeles Film Festival and saw tons of films. We photographed a wedding together. We recreated the Pure Luck menu including the infamous Jackfruit Carnitas. I made two quilts, a queen sized chevron quilt and a mini quilt. I watched the Venus transit from the Griffith Observatory. Last but certainly not least we had an epic Twin Peaks marathon with tons of pie and donuts and good times.
We traveled to the Northeast in July for a friend’s wedding and visited a Shaker village. We celebrated the 4th of July with fireworks and sparklers and chickens. July is also when I first spotted some stray kittens in our neighborhood (that would soon become part of our family).
Finally in August I caught all the kittens, had them fixed & vaccinated and found homes for all of them, including our home for miss Weetzie Cat. There were lots of baby showers to attend so I knit a sweater and cap as presents.
September meant making a ton of bumpers for Fantastic Fest including Doctor Meow which ended up being selected as a finalist and playing before the premiere of Frankenweenie!
We held our annual Halloween Movie Massacre in October and watched 24 hours straight of horror movies. There were lots of treats and craziness and it was a good 5th year. We also carved pumpkins!
November was particularly busy as I started out the month working for AFI Fest, which was loads of fun and also exhausting and challenging and wonderful. We celebrated birthdays at Disneyland and finally released Brainwashed Love online.
And here we are in December. I made some wintery terrariums and even made a vegan Yule log. I even dyed my hair pink and orange.
I’m looking forward to 2013 and all that it might hold. We’ve spent the last day or so reorganizing our apartment, a bi-yearly activity and it feels really good to have things in order and be able to start the year fresh.
I don’t have a resolution but perhaps I’ll come up with one in the next few days. I’m hoping 2012 is full of exciting and wonderful surprises.
new hair
After much deliberation, I dyed my hair this weekend. Orange isn’t new to me, but this time I added a little pink and just dyed the ends. Since I haven’t bleached my hair in about a year and a half, I knew the ends would still take color but the top would turn out muddy, so I just skipped it. The orange is ultra bright, while the pink is not so much. I’m curious how it will all fade. Anyway, it’s not at all permanent, just a fun little thing to do for the winter. I used Special Effects in Napalm Orange and Cupcake Pink.
whirlwind
The past month has been crazy. In all honesty, the past few months have been crazy. I can’t believe it’s moments away from being December and then shortly after 2012 will be over. I feel like I haven’t had a moment to spare in ages. I guess that is just the unavoidable quickening of time and the expansion of space.
I couldn’t let the entire month slip away without mentioning some of the high points.
The month started tremendously with AFI FEST. Shawn’s film, CREEPER, premiered in the midnight shorts section. The whole festival was amazing and we met so many great filmmakers. It felt a little like summer camp.
Obama was re-elected! Old news, but it still feels good.
More recently we went to Disneyland with family and friends. It was nice to spend the day at the park with mostly kids and act extra silly. It was super crowded but at the end of the night we were able to go on the teacups with no line and it was the best.
We celebrated two Thanksgivings this year and lived to tell the tale. We brunched at one of my favorite restaurants, Inn of the Seventh Ray, then had a traditional dinner at a friend’s house. The only thing I had to cook was stuffing, which I made from scratch for the first time and was quite pleased.
Another birthday passed and I am a year older. I’m happy to have an age that is also a prime number again. I’m sure this will bring me good fortune. I am starting to feel like I’m more of an adult these days than not which is strange.
We visited the Stanley Kubrick exhibit at LACMA. It wasn’t as impressive as the Tim Burton show they put on last year but it did have a few details that I quite liked including letters and notes that Kubrick had written. I could have spent hours reading his thoughts.
We watched the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended edition) in one day.
It seems like I am leaving things out although I’m pretty sure that is it. This is why I must write things down. The end of the year always seems exciting to me, like it is filled with possibility.
Oh and little Weetzie Cat is growing up, though she’s still quite small. All the cats still don’t get along but things are slowly improving. There are moments of calm and even a tiny bit of affection.
flesh
This past week I came across this beautiful lace tattoo by Watson Atkinson and sort of fell in love with the idea. I don’t often get tattoo ideas, even though I’m really attracted to the artistry of tattoos. When I do have an idea, I just sort of sit on it for years until I figure it out, decide if it really make sense for me. Other ideas floating around in my brain besides this one: a bright, colorful jellyfish and the Twin Peaks the log lady has.
There’s something about the lace that just makes sense to me though for reasons that are not easy to explain. Something about turning blemishes into design. I know white tattoos don’t stay so clear and I’m fine with that. I actually like how my tattoos have faded over time, which is weird I guess.
This tattoo would definitely be a big step though, as I would want it on my forearm. Despite having nearly my entire back tattooed, it’s easy to cover with just a tee shirt. Since I was young I have thought of my skin as a canvas, but in some way I feel like tattoos as for myself and not necessarily for display.
Anyway, no real plans at the moment (don’t worry mom & dad!). Like I said, I’ll probably just ponder this for awhile.
