ONE HANDED

Mirror selfies.

FOOD THINGS

This recipe for the thinnest oatmeal cookies reminded me of my favorite herb that I never cook with: fennel.
I've been adding it to my avocado sandwiches lately and am planning to make a batch of granola with fennel, crystalized ginger and walnuts.

@foodblogdotcom

Speaking of, I started a new Instagram as a dumping ground for all the miscellaneous food photos accumulated on my phone.
Fall (and I guess it's winter now?) has been full of barbecues, cookie recipe testing, and dinners with friends.

And lastly, a beautiful London kitchen on Remodelista.  I recently moved into a new apartment and am slowly working
on accumulating all my ideal kitchenware.

ENDURANCE

From a Paris Review interview with James Baldwin.

SUMMER

Home for a spell.  Things I'm into these days: smock tops and tube bras

CLAY BODIES

New ceramic works.

CONVERSATIONS ON SLOWNESS

Excerpt from a Vestoj interview with Dries Van Noten:

Do you ever have doubts?
Everyday. I never stop questioning what I do. Before a fashion show I might get nervous and start thinking, ‘Maybe we should have chosen different music, or maybe those shoes aren’t quite right’. But at the same time, if you’re perfectly sure of everything you do, then what’s the point?

What is success to you?
Success and happiness are intertwined. To me success is not about scoring, as it is to a lot of people. It’s about feeling good about things, it’s about living a good life.

GREENS

Dreaming of a vegetable garden this summer.

I recently started feeling nostalgic for a house with a yard after I dug up this photo of the leafy greens and herbs I planted several years ago in the backyard of my parent's house in Portland. Living in a converted warehouse apartment on Skid Row doesn't have quite the same charms. But these photos below of Edible Gardens LA's vegetable gardens are motivating me to start working on a small plot up on the roof. There is something so gratifying about working in the dirt, watching your plants grow, and being able to pluck some lettuce leaves and make a salad on the spot. Maybe next year I'll join a community garden. 

More inspiring edible gardens: Lucy Vincent's on Freunde von Freunden and Lotte and Claudia's on Flickr.

STAY WITH ME FOREVER

New season, new fits. Testing out a few looks on The Fashion Club Instagram. Lookbook soon.

ESPADRILLES

A.P.C. x Ball Pagés espadrilles

My wardrobe has reached a very static point in the past couple of years. Occasionally new pieces come into my possession (an old TFC sample here or a 50¢ Joshua Tree thrift store sweater there), but I can't remember the last time I went shopping with the intent of purchasing something new or coveted something in that way. If anything I want even less clothing. But wear and tear from months and in some cases, years of use on the same few items does take its toll and after a while buying new clothes and shoes becomes necessary.

So this morning, when during my usual pre-rolling out of bed Instagram scrolling the new A.P.C. x Ball Pagés sandals caught my eye and I felt a deliberate urge to go to the A.P.C. store to try them on, I did so. I've been schlepping around in my weathered navy Riudavets for about a year too long and every other sandal I'd seen looked tired or simply not "me". So I went, spent a good hour trying on the white pair, then the black, then the white, then one each foot, then the black again and came home with new shoes. I still kind of want the white pair.

NATSUKI KURACHI

Came across the illustrations of Natsuki Kurachi via Instagram several months ago and was (of course) instantly attracted to the clothing her figures were outfitted in. Her women look so cozy and something about their proportions paired with sparse, flat back drops feels primitive yet futuristic.

A FEW THINGS

I don't often have much time to think about this small bit of internet realty I staked out and once zealously updated but occasionally I do miss this blog as a dumping ground for all the fun and interesting things I've discovered and/or made. Even though most of my internet-ing is now done on social media platforms, it's still nice to have a space that feels like your own.

On the left, a pre-slicing frenzy shot of a freshly baked lemon poppyseed loaf with earl grey glaze shared with friends on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. On the right, new vessels. Pilar Wiley vase and Akihiro Nikarido and Sottsass-Marutomi bowls.

I made this dried flower arrangement at a workshop a pop-up in Glendale for Tokyo-based The Little Shop of Flowers and will probably gift it to my mom. I picked up the beautiful black clay bowl in the photo above while I was there too. Such thin and delicate wheel thrown pieces always amaze me.

It already feels like summer in LA which has me dreaming of this linen convertible tie-skirt from Rowena Sartin. Kristin is very kind to let me play model every once in a while. :)

Reading The Street of Crocodiles and other stories by Bruno Schulz. Ordered it from Powell's on a whim with some leftover store credit and am so, so pleased. Highly recommended.

I spent Christmas and New Years in Indonesia with my dad and sister and finally got around to developing photos. Going through them feels a bit like reliving the trip and now I'm nostalgic for the lush flora and fauna around Bali and Gadog.

TOUCHING TREES

Maya Handley, 2014

"I want to protect myself. I want not to experience many, many different things, but to experience the things I choose to experience well, and deeply." - Mark Strand in The Paris Review

Thoughts for the new year.