Dinosaur in the museum

Dinosaur in an elevator from miss alix on Vimeo.

So we were visiting the Natural History Museum one night and this dinosaur just got loose. It was crazy. Luckily someone took him back to the dino lab.

I think he’s pretty cute.

Plant Based Parties

This Saturday, Shawn and I attended a launch party for Plant Based Parties, a vegan catering company here in Los Angeles. We knew it would be awesome, because Jennie Cook, the chef behind the event made an amazing feast for our wedding.

We were delighted to find a fantastic tasting menu with a variety of things to sample. I started with a little plate, trying to pace myself.

First up was a beet burger slider, zucchini walnut fritter with avocado crema and a polenta bite. So good. I am officially obsessed with beet burgers, but these had the perfect balance of beety goodness and moist, seasoned filling all wrapped up in an adorable slider package. The zucchini fritter was crunchy and paired perfectly with avocado crema. The polenta bite? Perfect. Plain and simple.

We filled our plates time and time again, as every dish was delightful. Here are a few more samples: Old school ratatouille, onion baghi, asparagus tart and quinoa cake. Each was carefully prepared with a superb balance of flavors and textures. I was a big fan of the quinoa cakes as they were simple but deeply satisfying. I could see myself eating them every day.

We also had zucchini cannelloni, double stuffed potatoes, black bean tempeh piccata and the onion baghi again. The tempeh piccata was definitely a favorite, as it was crispy and just slightly spicy. I loved the fresh taste to the zucchini cannelloni as well. Oh and did you notice that pizza up top? Did I mention there was a giant dragon pizza oven. Delicious thin crusted pesto pizzas baked while we ate. Read More

Renegade Craft Los Angeles

This past Saturday we went to the Renegade Craft Fair for the first time. I’ve only ever heard good things about this fair and was not at all disappointed. It was held in Los Angeles State Historic Park, and despite being rather warm out, it was nice to spend a summer day outside enjoying such great craft work.  It was so inspiring to see all the creative things people are making. Here is just a small fraction of the stuff we saw.

I loved these clocks from Black Forest Clockwork.

These ceramic bowls and jars from Paulova Ceramics were just beautiful. I couldn’t decide which ones I wanted though.

There were lots of lovely terrariums. These hanging ones were from Planted, but there were also some gorgeous ones from Terri Planty with fun little figures in them.

These cross stitches from Kattuna were just too cute.

We saw this screaming bunny when we came in, and later saw a girl walking around with it. Glad he found a home, since he looks pretty grumpy.

If you are ever thinking of getting me a plant, may I recommend one of these? I kill plants like it’s going out of style. These are handmade by Shannon Gerard.

Unicorn coat hook? Amazing. Made by Architecture Jones. They also had some lovely prints and knobs.

I have always admired these paintings by Mincing Mockingbird. I bough an owl print to add to the owl art wall I’m working on.

I also bought an adorable necklace from Made by L’Moore, here modelling one of her creations.

So I possibly spent more than I should have overall but it feels good to support handmade artists (and get original stuff). I’m so glad to be living in a time where there is a resurgence of handmade things and people really value crafted goods. I’m thankful for places that promote crafting with lessons and community as well as these fairs that let so many people make a living from their work.

Afterward we stopped for some beers downtown. Shawn had a full liter of beer. Oh boy.

Me? I had a ginger beer.

 

Perfect way to spend a Saturday.

batman birthday

This weekend we had a birthday party for Shawn’s brother Kyle. He is a regular fixture over at our place and today he turns 20. So of course we had a completely age appropriate party. A Batman party. Oh yes. And not just any Batman party, but what we deemed a “fun food” Batman party. It was pretty sweet.

There was potato salad, shells & chreez bites, and snake dogs. There were balloons, streamers and a few key Batman decorations. We also had one very hastily decorated coconut cake. It was nice to hang out, eat a bunch of yummy stuff and end the night watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight (we already watched the Tim Burton’s Batmans last weekend).

Happy Birthday Kyle! (You folks should probably wish him happy birthday too…)

full of life

It’s times like this weekend when I feel as is my plate is completely full. It’s been a busy week on all fronts. Kim and I held the second dinner for A Moveable Feast. Everything came together smoothly and I feel as if something truly special is just beginning. Of course, while I had my camera on the kitchen counter, ready to photograph the meal we created, in the excitement of it all, I didn’t take a single photo from the night. Perhaps it is for the better, to continue with the mystery.

I couldn’t help but share some of the makings of the feast though, just some tidbits.

Mainly, I am just endlessly happy that I was able to make a vegan bastilla; a dish I enjoyed on special occasions as a child. Such a major accomplishment for me.

I know the next dinner is just around the corner, and we’ve already started planning, but in the mean time I’m trying to focus my attention on the multitude of other projects I have always queued up in my mind.

I feel like there is something just on the horizon that is about to reveal itself.