Happy Halloween

I don't tire of showing this commercial to people.

Tagged: California Lovin'

Tag, I'm it. I've been tagged by a fellow blogger with the question, "Why do you love your state?" In addition to answering, I'm supposed to link back to the blogger who tagged me; that's the lovely and amazing WendyB. I'm also supposed to link to Caz and Cheap Thrills. Finally, I have to tag five others, but I need to get to that later.

Why do I love my state?
Sun & surf
PCH
Jasmine and poppies
Farm-fresh everything
Duh, it's freakin’ California

On the same subject, here's an iTunes playlist I made of some California-themed songs.

Here's Wilco performing "California Stars"


Here's Led Zeppelin performing "Going to California"

The Perfect Grilled Artichoke

I went to an excellent restaurant last night to catch up with a friend and we started by ordering the grilled artichoke appetizer. I rarely pass up anything with artichoke on a menu and I always get them when they're in season and available at my farmers' market. This one we ordered was very good—but not nearly as good as the ones that Mr. MVP and I grill at home. That sounds like a big boast, but we give credit to the Hitching Post restaurant in Buellton for the grilling technique. Mr. MVP met the chef from the restaurant (yes, it's the one from "Sideways") and asked about how they grill the artichokes so that they've got that great smokiness but still remain tender. The trick: Steaming them first, then chilling them before you halve them and put them on the grill with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Ours are so good I don't even bother with dipping the leaves.

More Halloween Graffiti

Photo taken this morning at the Venice Beach graffiti wall.

Becoming a Bird Watcher

There are hummingbirds that visit our yard but my camera is never handy when they're darting around. Or, they're too fast for me. This weekend we're putting out a hummingbird feeder and I'll be stalking them more regularly.

Here's one from Morro Bay, CA earlier this year.

Here's Wilco's "Hummingbird."

Bob Without the Blowdry

I believe in taking time to smell the roses (that's a rose bush by our fence, above) and I am an advocate of good grooming. I will be always apply lip gloss before leaving the house, but I can't be bothered to blowdry my hair. With a bob, that's a challenge. But I've found a suitable workaround—and it's all about using the right product. What's working for me now is the Bourbon Vanilla & Tangerine hair texturizer by John Masters Organics. Yes, it smells as good as it sounds, and I love that it's made with nurturing and natural (really) ingredients. I take a very small amount and apply it to the ends of my hair while it's wet then comb it under at the ends and it holds, allowing my hair to dry straight and sleek. Voila.

BBQ Staples

For her recent birthday party barbecue, Kristine (that's her, above) asked friends to bring her favorite dishes to the party. She told me she couldn't choose between my guacamole (the award-winning guac, I am proud to admit) and the pesto. So I made both.

Sweet Guacamole
3 avocados
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
1 Tbsp. crushed garlic
1 Tbsp. yellow onion, chopped finely
1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime
Juice of half an orange
Salt and pepper

Mix two avocados with the yogurt in a food processor to a smooth consistency. Chop the remaining avocado and mash it with a fork. Add the smooth avocado-yogurt mixture to the remaining ingredients and mix. Serve with avocado pit in the center of the bowl and lime wedges. Serve with tortilla chips; I love Have ‘A Corn Chips and the multigrain chips from Food That Should Taste Good.


Wild Arugula Pesto

This couldn’t be more simple and I give credit to a guy from the Farmers’ Market for suggesting I use the arugula in place of basil.

4 cups wild arugula
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Handful of lemon verbena leaves
1 cup raw walnuts
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup parmesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper
Extra parmesan for serving

Blend it all in a food processor and toss with penne pasta. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and garnish with a few leaves of wild argula, basil and lemon verbena.

Graffiti: Happy Halloween

Photo taken at the Venice Beach graffiti wall this morning.

Fit to be Tied: Silver Bows

The super-stylish WendyB has posted about her love of bows in fashion and noted that others are picking up on bows as a style trend. I don't know if I am personally keen on wearing bows on clothing, but I am sure I like bows on jewelry. Here's a pin/pendant I got on eBay, along with a ring I picked up at a favorite thrift store; I paid the cost of a sandwich for both of them.

Style & Support

If you're going to be political, why not be stylish about it? I pinned my Obama button to one of the gazillion scarves from my collection and tied it around the strap of my bag. (This scarf is a cute cotton Pucci.)

...And It's Friday

Perfect way to end the week.

Charmed, I'm Sure

I go through fashion phases and one involves wearing a plain black T-shirt or tank with a cardigan or jacket—complimented by a bold necklace. Perfect for this: some fun charms given to me by my mom, which I wear on roped chains or leather cords. Here's a typewriter charm from mom I recently found at the bottom of my jewelry box. A friend told me that her son saw a typewriter in a shop window and asked about what it was. Before computers, kiddo. I'm sure he's asked her about record players, too. To add to my collection, I'm searching on eBay for an old record player charm and found some adorable boom box ones. I see a boom box and I think of sitting on the front stoop at my friend Lisa's house, blasting "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett until Lisa's mother shouted from inside the house that we needed to turn down the volume. Oh, the good old days. I'm bidding on boom box and jukebox charms now...

"I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts:

Wilco Rocks: A Good Release

There are numerous public service announcements and other initiatives to remind Americans of our right to vote. But I particularly like Wilco's effort: Simply promise to vote on their website and they'll let you download a free MP3 of their cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released." I'd promise much more for Wilco tunes; this was a no-brainer and totally worth the effort.

Wedding Tables

Tables from recent weddings of friends.

Morning Walk

Morning walk to get coffee.

The Brides Wore Green (Makeup)

Here is my beautiful friend Rebecca on her wedding day, applying her makeup. And that's her looking picture-perfect with our friend Kristine, a photographer who shot the wedding in sunny Mexico this summer. My friend Dara was married the following month and both she and Rebecca came to me for advice as they looked for greener alternatives to the not-so-good-for you (or the environment) makeup found in most drugstore and department stores.

In the last few years, I went green with my own beauty routine. I gave up products that contain artificial colors, fragrances and preservatives—and petroleum byproducts. For me, this meant emptying my makeup bag and starting from scratch, along the way spending a lot of time on the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and Skin Deep websites to look up specific products (check it out, but be warned that it's frightening to find out about all the chemical toxins in most products). To replace the products I had used, I sought out mineral and other more natural makeup options that are free of the toxins—and I was surprised to find so many choices.

At the time I was working for a green lifestyle website and I wrote about my quest to find healthier and more eco-friendly beauty products. I also shared news of my discoveries with anyone who would listen, which brings me back to the lovely brides looking for advice. I directed both to try the eco-friendly selection at Vert, a shop in Venice that bills itself as an "eco-chic beauty boutique." They chose a combination of mineral makeup from Jane Iredale, who's been providing truly natural makeup for years and Josie Maran, the model who recently launched her own line. I accompanied Rebecca to Vert to survey the selection and make her choices and we went with Kristine (she shot the photo of Rebecca applying her makeup). Rebecca's the kind of girl who can go out without a spot of makeup and look gorgeous but she wanted some basic coverage for her big day, especially for the photos. She chose wisely. While there, I also picked up the Josie Maran gloss Rebecca found, named "Happiness." Perfect for happily ever after, right?

Organic Spam

Even spam senders are jumping on the green bandwagon. A fully organic enlargement? Talk about green-washing.

A Dream House

Day dreaming. There would be goats and I would learn to make goat cheese. And there would also be a walk-in closet.

Good Word: Tom's Shoes

I picked up a pair of Tom's shoes after seeing someone at my local coffee shop wearing a style with words printed on the canvas. It could have been gibberish on the print and I'd still like the style, but it turned out to be a Gandhi quote: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." (Nice to know you can wear your heart on your foot instead of your sleeve.) The guy who launched the line of shoes (trivia: he's not named Tom) has pledged to donate one pair to a child in need for each pair he sells so there's a built-in feel-good factor—and there's an actual feel-good factor to the shoe itself, which is sorta like a slipper and sorta like an espadrille.

The song I'm singing in my head: "Words" by Missing Persons (watch the whole clip to also see them perform "Walking in LA"):

Miscellaneous Food Shopping Photos

The Roach Return

During a friend’s visit, I pulled out my memory box and found my collection of buttons (R.E.M.! U2! The Stranglers! The Pixies!). I am tempted to put them back into rotation on my denim jacket or on one of my canvas market bags, maybe one at a time instead of crowding them in a cluster like I once did. I also pulled out some hair clips (rainbow-striped and star-shaped!). What I didn’t find in the box: my lavender feather roach clip. I remember taking a trip to Florida to visit my grandparents and buying one at the mall. My grandmother had no idea what she was paying for and I was far too young and innocent to understand what a roach clip was used for—I simply liked the purple feathers and knew girls back home who were older than me and wore them clipped to their glamorous, permed locks. Soon I, too, would have a perm and I would clip the long, feather and leather piece to the back of my hair. This was a few years before I grew a "tail" of hair longer than the rest and braided the piece like Aimee Mann in the band ‘Til Tuesday. Yes, it was a time of taking risks with style. Now I have a notion to attach a roach clip to a handbag or a belt loop on my jeans, and while I would have loved to open my memory box to find the roach clip at the bottom, I am comforted by the fact that you can (almost) always replace what was once lost. What you can’t find on eBay, you can get on Etsy and here are two I might just have to buy.

Spam Report: Britney News

I'm compelled to check my spam folder for those "not spam" messages that should make it to my inbox—and to amuse myself. The subject lines of the barely readable spam messages above read: "Britney Spears is Actually a Piece of Broccoli" and "Britney did it again! Really funny." That's right.