Happy Birthday Gramma!

Yes, today is my mom's birthday. It is also my friend Nina's birthday and Regina's wedding anniversary. Its a big day.

For Nina, I left voicemail; for Regina I shouted Happy Anniversary as she walked into her office and for mom, we went to the Peninsula last night for dinner. I have three words for you to sum up our dinner, the new chef and the new menu: Tofu Tasting Menu.

Seriously.

Tofu.
Tasting.
Menu.

Dude, I understand you're trying to capture a younger crowd. I get that. And you should. When my mom and her best friend are younger than everyone else in the room (except me) by 30 years, you've got an old crowd. But, tofu tasting? Yeah, not so much.

I had the scallops, mom had the salmon and Eleanor had...what did she have...some small bird off the side dish section of the menu. And, don't get me wrong, it was all quite tasty and the portions were perfect. But, here was the conversation over our desert to sort of help you with the tone of the food for dinner:

Waiter: How do you like your desert?
Eleanor: Its different. I've never had a carrot cake like this before.
Waiter: Its organic.
Eleanor: Oh.

When we ordered the cake, it said organic carrot cake. When the cake came, it was a very different consistency than other carrot cakes. I liked it, mom didn't and Eleanor was sort of lukewarm. But, here's the thing. I understand the importance of organic but really, "organic" is not impacting my cake. The recipe and the time it cooked impacted the cake...not that the carrots were grown by a loving farmer that read poetry to his crops every day. I know what goes into a carrot cake and if mom used all organic ingredients in her cake, it would not taste like that did. It would be carrot cake and it would rock you. It wouldn't be a carrot cake with an odd consistency.

I'm just sayin.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday

Seriously, the yarn doGs are taunting me. Here I am, spinning and/or dying my own yarn, all proud of myself that I haven't bought any (already dyed) yarn in ages and not one but two (!) sales are happening on the same day which happen to be either near or on the way to a new SnB meeting that's happening that same day which I was thinking about going to because I've always wanted to go to HomeGirl Cafe and this gives me the perfect excuse. (Wow, run on sentence much.)

Here are the details of all three so I can pass my torment on to you.

1. SUSS DESIGN Backroom Sample Sale
Saturday May 17th
11am-6pm
ONE DAY ONLY!

Womens & Baby Knitwear
$10 $20 $40 $60

Closeout Grab Bag Yarn Sale
$10 per Bag
7352 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90036
323.954.9637


2. Hissy Knits

This is a reminder that HISSY KNITS is having a CLOSEOUT SALE on May 17th and18th. You don't want to miss these bargains on quality yarns like Noro, Katia, Lousia Harding and more.

Everything is going for wholesale - 50% OFF all yarns, (except Bungee's Best Hand dyes) tools, needles and books. Hours Saturday are 11am to 8pm and Sunday Noon to 6:00pm. For any questions, or directions, check hissyknits.com or call Annie at 323 804-0479


3. SnB - HomeGirl Cafe Knit/Crochet Group

This SATURDAY, May 17, 2008
2-5 pm
HomeGirl Cafe
Knit and Crochet Group
Homeboy Industries
130 W. Bruno Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

File this away in the did you know category

050708coroner.jpg
Originally uploaded by radomile

Did you know that the L.A. County Coroner's office has a gift shop? And its open to the public?

Well, now you know.

They were Station

Ok, for all y'all who had lives on Saturday night and didn't join me to see Station I say pashaw!

The band was great, the lead singer was great and really, if you've ever been to a show with me, I'm not an easy date. I hate everyone and everything. Kind of like my food reviews...I can find a problem with anything. And yet, the guys were good, the venue was cute and a good time was had by all.

Seriously, next time I post about these crazy kids playing you really should join me. I mean, when I invited you last week, I was hoping they'd be good, but I really didn't know what to expect and braced myself for the worst. I even told that to the bass playing dude that invited me. He's a good guy with a great sense of humor so he gets it when I say things like "I'm so surprised. You guys are really good. We're having a great time! I mean, we had an exit strategy and everything and we don't even have to use it!"

If any of you are curious about venue, the Santa Monica Bar & Grill, wonder no more. Its right across the street from Stitches from the Heart, and 1/2 block east of Trader Joe's (for those of you not familiar with Stitches from the Heart) on Pico. The outside isn't much as every one of us at our table had passed it about a thousand times in our travels and never noticed it. But, the inside is oddly nice...high ceilings, wood bar, booths around the sides, tables in the middle and high bar tables, well, by the bar. In addition, they have a room to the side where you can easily hear the music but can seat a party of at least 20 for appetisers and drinks. (A mental note I took and oddly still remember.)

The food was good (we ordered various appetisers) and well-priced. The drinks...well...they were a little on the light side. Of course they were reasonably priced but still, they were not poured, ehm, liberally shall we say. They were about as weak as I've had in years. And, I don't mean to complain, but I don't want to send all of you over there to come back and complain that the drinks are suitable for the 4 year olds running around the place. Speaking of, this show lived up to the "all ages" advertisement. We had a wee baby in the audience, a few 3 year olds, the majority of kids at my age and then a few a bit older. Good people watching as the night wore on.

But yeah, they were Station and they were good.

Taco Truck Day!

I haven't done enough research to be for or against the actions of the Los Angeles County supervisors. I mean, I see the restaurant's gripe and I understand the Taco Trucks need to make a living.

But seriously, there's an organized Taco Truck Day. That's pretty cool. That I can get behind.

Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

So I have this friend and he has this band, Station. Wanna go? Its free. All the cool people will be there.

Saturday May 3 -- 8 - 10 pm -- NO COVER CHARGE -- Santa Monica Bar and Grill 3321 Pico Blvd (near the 10 overpass) All ages

Walk for the Animals!

Or jog, whatever, I'm not judging.

I've been to this event before and its quite fun. It raises money for all sorts of pup rescues, which is always good. I even brought the kids with me a few years ago and they were oddly well-behaved. I think Dick understood that *all* the dogs there were rescues like him so there was no reason to bark. And really, Jane just likes people, and dogs and good things to smell so she was happy.

Todd & I will be there....join us? Ain't no party like a dog party.*

*Whatever, it sounded good in my head.

Best Intentions

I'm in no way an expert knitter. People tend to like what I do and although I'm often my own worst critic I can usually live with what I've created. But, here's the problem with the experience level to which I've graduated: I think anything I'm going to make will just take a little while. Two weeks to k8's birthday? No problem! I can whip something up in two weeks.

Well, I can knit it in two weeks, but I always forget about the finishing. Its sort of like projects at work. I will tell you, dead serious, with nothing but love in my heart, I'll be done in two hours. I'm convinced everything work-related takes two hours. And, after doing what I do for 7 years now, you'd think I'd have learn this isn't true. Nope, I still believe, deep-down, that everything takes two hours. Luckily, I work for guys who are never ready for projects in two hours. Kind of like everything in L.A. is twenty minutes away.

Ok, back to the knitting...two weeks to birthday, no problem!

As we've talked about before, Regina & I dye a lot of yarn. Its fun. It amuses us. And, we make darn pretty colors. But, here's the thing, we have to start using all this pretty stuff. I'm staring at the bin' o dyed yarn in my bedroom (yes, until recently, I kept my special dyed yarn close, whatever, shut up)...what to do, what to do...k8's birthday, what to do.

So, I go to my library o' felting books.

Bingo!


See that backpack on the left...that's my girl. Of course I'm not doing those odd little squiggles or fair-isle. I'll let the yarn speak for itself. I gathered all the blues I've dyed, and off we went. Some yarn was dyed with Kool-Aid, some was dyed with jacquard, and some was redyed Kool-Aid with jacquard 1.5 weeks before our deadline when I decided that I just HATED the yarn I was about to work with so obviously, something needed to be done. Here are the colors we ended up with:


I was quite pleased. Regina was quite pleased. Gramma was quite pleased until she learned the bag wasn't for her.

Four days before the deadline, the bag and strap were felted. I'm feeling pretty good about myself. All I have to do is enclose the top for the drawstring straps, feed the strap through, sew the straps down and buy & sew in lining. And all of this is going to happen with Todd in town. Ok, for future reference, maybe I should write all of this down 'cause when its all in my head, it doesn't seem like much.

Ok, 2.5 days to go and Todd happily escorts me to Michael Levine's. He and I walk around the store together pulling out various bolts of fabric. We have slightly heated discussions involving polka-dots and Hawaiian prints and why we don't line bags in dark colors. I'll spare you the details but I will tell you it was nice having somewhere there who had a strong opinion and would actually listen when I would say things like "No, remember, nothing dark, she'll lose everything in there." 'cause then I'd pull a bolt out with some dark color and he would scold me ant tell me that she won't be able to find anything.

Here's what we both decided would be perfect:


I didn't mean to buy Amy Butler. I don't want to be one of those crafters who just waxes on and on about her like there are no other cute fabrics out there...but it matched perfectly and I swear I didn't realize that it was Amy Butler for Rowan until I got it home. Kinda funny it worked out that way...sort of like making fun of the "flyover" states my entire life and then spending all of my vacation time in those states for the last two years, but I digress...

Here's the bag, done at 6:22pm, in time for our 7pm birthday dinner. (Thank you 405 traffic doG for ONCE letting me run down the freeway at rushhour at 65 miles per hour.)



















Yeah, I know the pictures aren't the most even, but seriously, it was 6:23pm and I had to be in Marina del Rey at 7pm. I was pushing it even taking pictures.

Woo! At the restaurant at 6:50! I made it to the birthday dinner with wrapped gift in hand on time. Of course, I got work an hour early, didn't feed the dogs that day* and wasn't accepting personal phone calls until I went to dinner, but damn it, I finished that bag in two weeks.

Just like I planned.

Happy Birthday Kate!




*no skinny dogs starved in the making of this bag; gramma fed them.

Thrill A Minute

Not only does Gelson's have fabulous honey bran muffins for breakfast, but you can see celebrities in their sweats doing their grocery shopping. (And, if I may add, she looked quite fetching in her sweats.)

Seriously, who's with me?

Insanity, partially explained.

If someone could explain to me how to craft and work and have enough time for blogging, I'm all ears. I can't seem to do all three. Lets go on a narrative of my latest project which I think illustrates why I can't do all there.

When I'm starting a project, I'm easily distracted. The project is shiny and new and there's no end in sight. I can pick it up, put it down, not even really think about it or its finish time. However, once I turn a corner and I'm on the back end of the project, I turn into a woman possessed. I stay up later. I knit longer. I. just. want. to. finish. So I work and work and work and work and then sleep. And then I go to work. That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for ye old blog. Hmmm.

That brings us to last night. I was at the very end of a project, a wee tote designed from corn yarn (yes, corn, how cool is that?!?) because corn is cool and its soft and the sig. other's mom lives in place where they grow corn and I knew she'd get a kick out of a bag made out of corn. Its an easy little project. Regina taught me how to crochet in the round and change colors in a pretty way so off I went striping to my hearts content.

I let the bag tell me where it was going and what it needed. (Yes, yarn talks to me. You want to make something of it punk?) So, it finished itself and declared itself to be a wee bag to be used for garage sale forays or bake sale volunteering, small enough to wear on the hip and big enough for money and keys. Sounds good to me! But it needed to be lined.

Off to Michael Levine on Sunday, my first time by the way. I'll be honest. I expected it to be bigger. But once I started to look at the fabrics, my head almost exploded. Everything was fabulous. They even had yarn I needed that I had no intention of buying there. So that was a plus and saved me another stop or two to find the yarn. Another bonus was Santino. That sighting can only be appreciated by the true Project Runway fans out there. He's even taller and skinnier in person than on the show. But, he looked the same otherwise, hanging at the button counter.

Everyone at Michael Levine was fabulous and helpful and I left with everything I needed for the wee bag as well as Mom's Mother's Day project.

Last night I sewed the lining for the purse. Now, I've sewn exactly three things, all for me, none of which had to be perfect. But, this is a gift so I wanted it to be nice. Needless to say, I did the lining and redid the lining and then the iron burped on the lining so I did it again.

Finally.

I was done.

I put the purse down.

I turned to grab something.

I knocked the iron over.

Are you gasping?

Gasping now would be a good thing.

Yup.

Hot iron + corn yarn = melted purse.

At 11pm.

sigh.

As "luck" would have it, it fell on the top of the purse. And as any crocheter will tell you, one of the many nice things about crochet is that its damn easy to frog and put back together. So I cut out the burned portion, saved the lining (!), crocheted the top again, affixed the closures again and promptly collapsed at 2am.

Now, any rational sane person would have just turned the iron off, cursed the iron (because its obviously not your fault for being a klutzy moron) and gone to sleep...I mean....someone rational would know that they're not leaving for Minnesota until Friday so they could have spent copious amounts of time during the rest of the week fixing the purse.

Yeah, rational doesn't live here.

The blog doesn't get updated. I post a month's worth of 366 at one sitting. I crazy. But, on the plus side, since my last blog entry I've finished 2 purses both fully lined. I'm even using one as my daily purse. I'll post pictures as soon as I find the time to upload them.

After I finish this purse.

heh.

The Cookie Puff will Change your Life

Seriously. I can't make this up. Go to Beard Papa. Have a Cookie Puff. Personally I'd recommend the vanilla filling, but ya know, go with whichever you love.

Let me know if you're not hooked.

I can't do the regular cream puffs anymore.

I can't even think about the regular cream puffs anymore.

Cupcake War 2008 - Week 2

The site of the second battle: Eagle Rock, CA

The second victim: Auntie Em's.

Battle Recap:

As Auntie Em's is a restaurant as well as a bakery, I wasn't too sure what to expect. I mean, usually you have a really good restaurant or you have a really good bakery. Oddly enough Autie Em's was able to pull off both beautifully.

Now, don't get me wrong. This isn't "fine dining." The tables don't match, the chairs don't match, the waitstaff is, ahem, very friendly and the odds are good that you're going to have to wait for a table. But the vibe, man, the vibe is fabulous.

This place is friendly and fun and yummy...so very yummy. All of us ordered different food and every damn one of us was pleased.

And then we come to the cupcakes.

I'll be honest. I'm not a fan of red velvet. Mom made them on a lark and they were fine. But Auntie Em's...she provides one fine looking cupcake. (Of course Heather has mad photo skills but still, a fine looking cupcake nonetheless.) And then Steve was kind enough to share.

Do we start with the cream cheese frosting or the moist happy red velvet cake? I have no idea because they both rocked. I am now a Red Velvet fan.

And then the chocolate.

Why doG, why did I not buy one to take home?

After a full meal of half of my tuna sandwich (for the record it was huge) and Todd's Cobb salad (again amply endowed) I could only vanquish one fourth of the cupcake. One fourth went in trade to Steve and the other half went home for gramma's evaluation. She categorized the frosting as fudge...a compliment of the highest order. And, not only was she happy with what I brought home, but she saved half of what I brought her for later. Now, that is saying something.

Out of all of cupcakes bought before this one, no solid chocolate compares. This is in the land of gramma-baking. The frosting was fabulous and the cake was moist and fresh and happy.

Seriously people. I'm not really in favor of driving this far east without a good reason. Autie Em's is a damn good reason.

Inspired!

So I'm reading Eating L.A., a blog I visit about three times a year. Its not that I don't dig Pat Saperstein's blog....just the opposite, I always enjoy it. It just isn't on my usual radar. And no, I don't need to add to the list of blogs I check every day. Seriously, that list both for work and for personal is out of control as it is. So, on a day like today when I have a few extra minutes, I read the whole thing at once. Her blog is just full of useful information. And you know, I'm all about blogs giving useful information.


Inspiration No. 1:

A cupcake map. That's right, I said it. I even linked it. (Thanks to the L.A. times for creating the map and thanks to Pat for tossing it onto her blog.) How cool is that? Most of the westside shops I've hit and blogged about. But there are more still waiting for me. In fact, I think I need to hit one new cupcake shop per week until they are all conquered. This will be a stretch as several of them are in the *gasp* valley as well as Torrance and Pasadena. But, I'm guessing I can find the will to drive.


Inspiration No. 2

Lately I've been in a bit of a rut...no fault of anyone except myself. I just haven't put the time into finding new places. Half of that is based on my new mission to save money and cook more when Todd is in town and half of that is sheer unadulterated laziness.

Last night Steve & I ventured out for chow and ended up at one of my all time favorites, Ramenya. (Don't worry, we're getting to the inspiration...) They had a sign on the wall as well as a menu for Asian-ya. Dude, its called Asian-ya. And its owned by the Ramenya kids. Seriously, how do you go wrong with a restaurant that hyphenates a "ya" in their title? The reviews aren't too promising yet but I'm still trying it. You can't stop me.

Trying new things

We all have our comfort zone. I know I do. When I go to the mall, I park in the same area so I can always find my car. You know, that sort of thing. So, since I'm getting out of the house again, I wanted to try a few new things, and try not to stick to the same things I always do/eat/whatever.

Miyako: Brigitta and I finally had dinner on Thursday. (My fault, not hers). She was tossing out various places to eat (one of the perks of Culver City living) and we both agreed on Miyako. It was the one place in that minimall I hadn't been yet. Despite the casual look of the place, the service couldn't be better. The ladies were just lovely. The food was quick, inexpensive and quite tasty. One word of advice, try to order what you can eat. I brought my extra tempura home and tried to eat it as leftovers. Yeah, that didn't work too well. But, I think if I was more careful to order only what I could eat, I would have been a perfect inexpensive meal.

Dupars: k8 and I finally had lunch on Saturday. (My fault, not hers). We were tossing out various places to push around the baby and we both agreed on Farmer's Market (one of the perks of Westside living). Upon wandering around Farmer's Market we decided Dupars would be a good place to try. Neither of us had been and there were waitresses to bring us our food...a definite perk considering the crowds at The Grove/Farmer's Market on a Saturday. Despite the casual look of the place, the service was quite good. Our waitress was lovely. The food was quick, inexpensive and quite tasty. We sat outside on the patio and watched the cars go by and gave us some room and an easy exit for when our guest of honor needed to move around. If you're looking for a reasonably priced place to sit and eat at the Grove/Farmer's Market, I'd definitely recommend Dupars.

Guelaguetza: Ok, this is the inspiration for this post. I had been to Guelaguetza years ago. I really didn't like it. I couldn't even eat the food I ordered. And I was hungry. And it just sat there. And I was sad. But, its been a few years and those wounds have healed. So, when famished and facing the decision on where to eat, with Guelaguetza's Venice Blvd. outpost staring at me, I thought how better to try to step outside myself than to give a second chance to a place I know is good but I didn't like the first time. If you're not familiar with Oaxaquenan food, read the website or go to Wikipedia or something. This ain't your Taco Bell Mexican. This is something completely different. And inexpensive. And they have Mexican Coke. And it was all good. I think if I were to go again I would like to go with someone who really understands mole and Oaxaquenan food. I think that would make all the difference.

Guilt and then some

So I took this amazing class at the Urban Craft Center on Sunday. It was their yarn dying/painting class with John Pitblado. The class was fabulous. John was fabulous. The students were fabulous. My newly dyed and painted yarn is fabulous. But I haven't had time to upload my pictures or really review my notes to give you a good description about the class and how, well, fabulous it all was.

And I feel poorly for that.

So yeah.

My bad.

If you get the chance to take a class with John, please take that class; it'll change your life.

Seriously.

But lets talk about Craft. I had the good fortune to eat at Craft in Century City today. We were part of a 45 person private party so I'm not sure if my experience is typical but I really liked it. We had this super cute room at the back that sat all of us quite comfortably. Despite all the chatting, it wasn't too noisy. The staff inside the room was friendly. The food was good. And, best of all, someone else was paying. So, if you get a chance to eat there for free, I say go for it.

Next up: Il Moro

Anyone looking for a 40 year old virgin?

He was at the Tiffany's at the Century City mall, in case you were looking for him. And yes, he looks *exactly* like he does on TV.

Crumbs

Ah, the beginning of a new blogging era. I'm so excited I could almost explode. I'm sorry for my absence last week. I didn't blow up the internet but I did blow up any desire to blog after forcing myself for 30 days. But today, today is a new day people. We have cupcakes and porta-potties and captive animals and Christmas, oh my!

We'll start with the cupcakes.

So I'm watching Access Hollywood last week (shut up) and they're talking about Crumbs in Beverly Hills. Well, its a good thing I drove by it later that week and saw it with my own two eyes, because according to their website, there is no Beverly Hills location. But, that was a petty annoyance from this morning...moving on...

After visiting Chroma and Arturo, I walked the two blocks to Crumbs to sample their wares. Let me tell you, its overwhelming in there. This is the anti-Sprinkles. Its bright, its crowded with merchandise, its colorful...I felt so at home. The nice girl behind the counter was well, nice and helpful.

I picked the obvious chocolate ding-dong looking cupcake that everyone photographs as well as the Carmel Apple. Ok, the chocolate was good but the Carmel Apple made me not want to share. And I don't love carmel, but I love this cupcake.

So, next time you find yourself in Beverly Hills desperately in need of a cupcake, I would suggest Crumbs. While you're there, please pick up a Carmel Apple and surprise me with whatever else looks good. You know where to find me.

I understand the Boy Scouts a little more now.

Dude, I so earned that badge. Its mine. That's right. I did that. You have to look at it. Even if I did a mediocre job of blogging everyday, I still did it.

Ok, now that I'm done basking in my own glory, a brief wrap-up on the NaBloPoMo thang.

I agree its a great writing exercise. But, here's the thing, like any exercise, you shouldn't have to subject the outside world to your pain. Writing everyday is good. Having me share what I write everyday is bad. And that's really what I learned from this. For me, blogging for the sake of blogging is a really bad plan. Blogging when I have something amusing or useful to say is a really good plan.

For example, dim sum at CBS Seafood in downtown L.A. is a really good idea. And the kids on Chowhound were right. The larger your group, the faster you're seated. See, that's useful information. If you're looking for good, solid dim sum in downtown L.A. and you have a boatload of people to please, you just learned where to find it.

A few gift ideas

I know its tough to know what to get that certain special someone (me) on your wish list. Well, thanks to the L.A. Auto Show, I'm happy to provide some ideas.

Here's the new BMW 1 series. Isn't it fabulous? Its like the BMW version of my Civic. Its a BMW, got the whole safety and luxury thing going for it at a reasonable price. I even like the color. Please deliver it to my driveway. I don't need a bow or anything.

For the green gift givers out there, here's the new Smart Car. Isn't it cute? I love the fact that its so small you don't have to parallel park. You just drive straight in and whomp, you're parked. It would be perfect for my 2 mile commute and any local errand running. Besides, they just announced "hybrid parking spots" at work. I totally need a better parking spot. That would be like two gifts in one. I'd even go so far as to say that this would cover gift giving for a couple of years as I'd be getting not only the car but parking benefits as well. Definitely the best bang for your gift giving buck.


I know a few of you like "fun" cars. Since the Mini Cooper is essentially a grown up's go cart, I think that would fit the bill. I've wanted one of these for years. This particular one would force me to learn how to drive one of those odd little, what are they called, manual transmissions? There are a few of you out there who have been after me to acquire this knowledge. This would force me to attain it. So really, it would be a gift for the both of us. I'm a giver too you know.

And last but certainly not least, is the badda bling. For those of you who feel the civic needs spinners, I think this would be the ultimate in blinged out gift giving. I like to think of it as Barbie's Dream Mercedes. Besides, I'm the girl who favors doll's clothes so why not drive a doll's car?

Let me know if you need any other ideas!

Something for new parents to consider

So you think gymnastics would be a good sport for your precious little girl? I agree. Its great training for that pole dancing class she'll take 15 years later.

You're welcome.

Since we're 15 minutes away from Sunday, here's a few bright spots to fill your day:
Erin Fetherston for Target's Go International launches. And we have Felt Club. So little time, so much money to spend!

Other People's Opinions

Not that I really care what other people think, but here were a few votes on favorites in L.A.:

Tito's Tacos: The received two HUGE votes. (Warning, the website opens with a very, uhm, interesting theme song. So if you're reading from work or with a sleeping baby, you're warned.)

Gelson's Spinach Artichoke dip: You get no link because I can't even believe I'm telling you about it. Its the best Spinach Artichoke dip out there. Hands down. Chips down. Every other Spinach artichoke dip must bow in reverence. Best. Ever.

Have a Corn Chip: Love these. Like Pinkberry, they have a taste that's slightly different than what you're used to with your corn chips. And, like Pinkberry, they're vaguely addicting. But, yummy nonetheless.

Phoenix Bakery: Best bang for your cake buck. Super affordable, super yummy and a great excuse to run downtown for some art and some lunch.

Sugar cookies (with different kinds of sprinkles) from this bakery in the South Bay but I can't tell you the name because I tossed the box. (k8, could you comment or email me the name of the bakery? thanks. and, uhm, B could you send me the name of your Indian place. I forgot to ask about that.) Yeah, the cookies are freakin' spectacular. And I'm a sugar cookie connoisseur.

Nettie's Neddlecraft: The End of an Era

Nettie has had her lease on Wilshire Blvd. longer than I've been alive. Seriously. Since I was a kid I remember driving by Nettie's Neddlecraft. Its a block west of Neimans in prime Beverly Hills retail real estate. Driving to Bonwitt Teller I remember passing that burgundy awning. So, it was surreal to go today knowing that Nettie will only be there a few more weeks.

My first foray into the "needle arts," if you will, was needlepoint. It was an easy way to keep me occupied when mom & I would visit family in Pittsburgh. Its like coloring with yarn. I still enjoy it and have an unwritten contract with family that when a baby is born a stocking is stitched. And, I've bought most of my stockings from Nettie.

Every visit to Nettie's was the same. You walk into the store and are completely overwhelmed. She's been in this business for years and her inventory reflects that history. I would only shop in one aisle as most neddlepoint is cost prohibitive; yet that one aisle could keep me occupied for an hour. Then, as Nettie would sit in the back stitching with her other clients, one of her people would help me find something or just ring me up. It was always a unique shopping experience.

Walking into the store today, I don't think I warned Regina well enough and to be honest even I wasn't prepared for the amount of stock she had on hand. Not only did Nettie have her usual overwhelming amount of merchandise but she was also emptying out her warehouse. And, for the first time, I had the pleasure of speaking to this proprietor. As it is rude to ask a lady of her stature her age, I did ask her why close, why now. She didn't answer but we did establish in the course of the conversation that she has a great-grandchild my age. Later we overheard that her landlord is aggressively raising the rent so it was just time to go.

For all of you collectors out there, look at what Regina introduced me to:


And get this, she has a sign that all the magazines are $1.50. But, while we were there assembling our stack Nettie changed her mind and said that she's charging face value for them. McCall's marked it $1 in 1975, you pay one dollar in 2007. That's right, I said it. It reads $1.25, you pay $1.25, no eBay bidding required.

You seriously need to head over there. Rumor has it she'll be there until the 25th, but I'd head over this week. You just never know what you're going to find. She really wants to get rid of those magazines. After all, they're sitting on top of a convection oven still in the box that she hasn't had the opportunity to use and she'd really like to take that home.

Fight Club

Since Ed Norton or Brad Pitt didn't show up, I figure I can talk about Fight Club. Then again, if Ed or Brad had shown up, I would have freakin' broadcast Fight Club. But, more Ed than Brad as I've loved Ed for years. Though if he were standing next to Russell Crowe I'm not sure what I'd do.

*Ahem*

We find ourselves at the Urban Craft Center once again. However, this time we are not arriving to flowers and Kool Aid; this time we're walking into respirators and lye. That's right ladies and gentlemen, its time to make some soap.

This was my first class with Carolyn and let me tell you, she's cool. You ask incredibly inane questions like "When was soap invented?" and she actually answers truthfully and doesn't give the reasonable response of "Obviously you didn't have your respirator on properly when you were mixing that lye."

Here you can see all the materials all neatly laid out, 'cause that's how they roll at UCC. The short white container all by itself is the lye. The two stacked containers are the palm and coconut oil. The longer container that looks like it contains olive oil contains olive oil. Then on the other side you have your directions, safety goggles, respirator and instructions.

All the safety gear is for handling the lye. I used the respirator more than once as the extreme smell of the essential oils heated was a bit more than my delicate form could take. And, because I'm me, I broke the respirator. Its a wonder these girls keep letting back in the front door with the chaos I seem to cause.

I didn't take any during pictures 'cause you have to keep the lid on the crock pot. And you can see the crock pots on the right side of the picture. Imagine some while foamy stuff in there and you have your during picture.

As one of your class given supplies, you get an 8 bar mold that says "HANDMADE." (Do me a favor...look surprised when you get this as a gift, ok?) However, there is enough to make more then the one mold so you can either bring your own (anything flexible) or use the other ones they have. If you use theirs, you just have to let your soap harden there and pick it up later. And, since I figured I wouldn't make soap again on my own, I left my "Handmade" mold there with the borrowed molds. (See, I'm recycling. Check me out. Pay no attention to the individually wrapped containers of food I eat everyday. Focus on the soap mold I left at UCC to be used again, ok?)

Here's one of the other molds. Isn't my monkey cute? He's even cuter in person, I swear. They also have hearts and rocket ships and birds and pigs and all sorts of fun stuff.

If you do the class later this month (the 27th if my memory serves), save me a spot. I think I'm going to take the class again for three reasons:

1. It was fun.
2. I want to make more soap but me + handling lye = bad idea
3. I have my own molds and essential oils I want to use.

Join me!

A View from the Side

9am, Beverly Hills, CA

As you can see, its a bit foggy out. Cool, but not cold, a perfect walking morning. Lisa was kind enough to take me for an early appointment so I was waiting for her to open up. This is my view from my 2 minute wait at the front door of her shop. That's the line for Sprinkles.

At 9am.

Yeah.

Can't not say anything

So I was avoiding the whole fire blogging thing. But, seeing as we're on day three and I have friends and family in harm's way, I can't really post about yarn or decorations in the office before covering this.

As of 6pm last night, all friends and family were accounted for. However, that was over 12 hours ago so now we being the round-up again.

After watching both the local and national news I feel like I should say a few things to my non-so-cal friends/readers. The first fires were caused by nature. That's pretty much been established. But, anything caused by nature has to be copied by dumb-ass people so now we're dealing with arson. And no, L.A. is not on fire. I mean, don't get me wrong there are about 15 fires burning up and down southern California, but L.A. itself is not burning. Malibu is. Malibu is not only a beach community but is also filled with pretty canyons and people have horses and stuff. That's what's on fire, at least locally. For the best map I've seen yet, click here. (Thanks to s.ly)

"Ok, so you're in the city, what effects are you feeling?"

So glad you asked. It really depends on where in the city you are. For the valley kids, they're dealing with alot more of the smoke and ash than those of us on the westside are. That doesn't mean that we don't have the particulates running around. In fact, my mom who never gets allergies is suffering right now 'cause she's not in A/C all day.

"Hey, we hear you're pretty sickly. How do you keep out of harm's way?"

Another damn fine question. Those of us with respiratory issues just stay inside. I work in a small 5 story building with A/C for days so I'm really good here. And since I park in the building, I really only have to go outside between my car and my house. And, as Dick will tell you, that's all of the outside world I'm seeing. If I'm not at work, I'm in my room with my air purifier watching the news and knitting.

"So you mentioned local vs. national news, what's the difference?"

The national news is oddly amusing. The say things like "I'm standing in a place known as Canyon Country." Seriously, exact quote from NBC last night. For those of us here, that's like saying "I'm standing in a place known as Cleveland." So yeah, they don't quite understand the communities here.

The local news kids have really stepped it up the last few days. I have mad respect for what they're doing. Granted we had the Chuck Henry "Stupid Truck" incident a few years back, (he didn't leave the scene of a fire when asked and then had to be rescued by the fire department when his news van caught on fire) but the reporters this time around have been super respectful of the firefighters and have really been in the thick of things to bring everyone up to the minute news of where exactly the fires are, what homes and businesses have been lost and really what's going on. Personally, I feel better knowing what's going on rather than just guessing what's on fire and what isn't. But, I'm a little weird.

If any of y'all have any questions, let me know.

Oh. Mi. Gawd.

Its raining.

Alert the media.

Send the weatherman into the valley to interview people "braving the weather."

Everyone drive REALLY FAST.

Except for those of you who need to drive really slow.

To Dye For

If I'm not free on a Wednesday night for dinner, it usually means one thing...I'm hanging at the Urban Craft Center. This week's agenda: dying yarn.

The class was so not what I expected. First of all, the amount of yarn you get for your class dollars is outstanding. Here's on skein of the yarn before:




And for all of you at home playing along who may want to do this, Knit Picks has the best deal going. This costs $3.49. You're looking at like 440 yards of yarn goodness. I have to admit, I'm a bulky kind of girl, so I think if I were to do this at home, I'd buy the bulkier weight yarns. But, for this class, the lighter weight was awesome to work with. And, while we were dying, rinsing and hanging, I was thinking up different projects to do with my newly colored yarn.



Back to the class being not what I expected. Ok, so first we get like skeins and skeins of yarn, which was fabulously surprising. Second, I guess when I think of dye I think of Rit. I had no idea that we'd be using natural sorts of dyes like onions and sunflowers...how cool!

Angharad had all sorts of pots brewing upon our arrival. Since the natural process can be a wee unpredictable, she started without us (she didn't want us to be stuck there staring at pots waiting for the color to leave their natural elements) but explained everything she did so we could repeat it on our own. She also taught us about preparing the yarn prior to dying it and did one dry unprepped skein with the already prepped skeins to illustrate the differences in how the color attaches to the yarns....very cool.

In addition to the four natural dying batches, we each had one Kool-Aid batch. I'm so doing this at home. (Shhh, don't tell gramma, I couldn't imagine she'd enjoy that image.) Now, I had heard some not-so-favorable reviews of Kool Aid dying a few months ago, but after doing this with Angharad and downloading the instructions from the Knit Picks Website I'm super excited to try it with the wool I grabbed from the happy crafty yard sale a few weeks ago.

But, back to the class. Here's all but one batch o' yarn we dyed:




(I really wish I had remembered to grab my real camera as my cel phone doesn't really do this justice.) The row of yarn in the front is mine. All the skeins are there except the brown, which was still cooling. The first yarn in the front (the red one) is the Kool-Aid dye. We did a variegated sort of thing where we chose two colors. I did red and pink. (Mental note for the pink, use SEVERAL packages. Oddly, the end of the yarn sucked up the pink immediately and didn't give the rest of the half a skein a chance to grab any of the color.)

I know the yarn looks odd sitting on the rack but as it dries it looks fabulous. When I wind my skeins into happy yarn cakes, I'll post those pictures for your your (ok, really my) enjoyment.

At the end of class we had the option to let our yarn dry there or take it home. Of course, I'm all about instant gratification so I took mine home. Angharad busted out Ziploc after Ziploc to get our damp (and one wet) skeins home and included a jumbo Ziploc for easy carrying as well as instructions so that we could do this at home.

I mean, that's one of the things that's so cool at this center. They really want to teach you how to do all of this and share the joy that is the creative process. I mean, she was the one telling us how affordable Knit Picks yarn is an how much it cost so we could do this at home. That's just neat to me....that someone genuinely wants to pass on what they know to you so you can have that joy yourself. I was looking at my yarn drying at home last night and I was just pleased as punch with it.

Ok, more classes I'll be taking, please join me!

11/28 - Hand Made Soaps
12/12 - Gocco Screen Printing
12/16 - Hand Painted Yarns

Obviously, there are more classes, but those are the ones that float my boat. I'm also playing around with the idea of the sewing classes...I'll have to think more on those. But, one thing I was reminded of last night, for $25/hour (I think that's per person), they'll teach you whatever you want to know. Like, if you want to learn how to sew a skirt, you bring the pattern and fabric and she'll show you. How cool is that?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

That's right, its time to start getting ready for Halloween! So, what says Halloween more than pumpkins?


I will never understand how I lived my entire life in Southern California and never knew about Lombardi's. I've driven on Bouquet Canyon like a thousand times and never knew it was just a few miles from where I was visiting. (Not that I'm blaming a certain un-named-newlywed-red-headed-stepchild. Not at all.)

Needless to say, I'm going every year now. I'm hooked. I'm talking myself out of going next weekend 'cause you know, you always need more pumpkins. (No, you don't need more pumpkins. You need to stay on the westside and stare at the pumpkins you already have.)


Ok, there are scarecrows and hot dogs and music and face painting and fresh corn and wagon rides and pumpkins and gourds and my head is going to explode....its the coolest place in the SCV. Seriously, if you need pumpkins or just a small dose of Halloween goodness, you need to go there. (And you need to take me with you 'cause I need more pumpkins.)



As k8 introduced me to the glory that is DCA, Regina introduced me to Lombardi's.

Chicks rule.

To Ugo we go!

Last night I had dinner with the always charming B. You know you have a true friend when that friend is out running errands only to return to find you in their house, after letting their dog out of the kennel, with your feet up knitting away with the aformentioned dog hanging out by your side and their thinking that's a great way to start an evening.

Off to Ugo we go.

Now, I adore Culver City. I think Westwood could take a cue or two on this little slice of L.A. just improving by the day. Not only does Culver have food, but good food, interesting food. So, any suggestions B makes on a new place, I'm in.

Ugo is just darling with their main restaurant and then their separate gellato/dessert/light menu cafe next door. Because it was a nice evening we opted for the patio. Sadly, we were not informed that this patio is a smoker's paradise. (Note to smokers: This is your place. Anyone who gripes that you have no place to go and smoke, I've just given you a yummy one.) Also we were not informed that the service would be less than acceptable. (sigh) But, I will openly admit that the food was very good.

With the smoke and the level of service, there are just too many places to try in Culver City now to settle for anything less than fabulous. So, I think it'll be awhile before I give Ugo another chance-o. But, if you're a smoker and you want a friendly place to hang out, enjoy!

Today was a good day*

Work was good, got WAY too much accomplished. And then the day really began...

I can't recommend The Urban Craft Center enough. I know I've talked about them before but last night I took my first class. Yes, we've already covered that the chicks there are great. But, they're also great teachers and I was super impressed by the materials they use. Everything was top notch. If you're thinking about taking a class there, you really should. I want to do the Natural Dying class (10/10), the handmade soap class (11/28) and the Gocco Screen Printing class (12/11). Let me know if you'd like to join me!

Ok, so I had no clue that my night would get better after class. Did you catch Bionic Woman or Life last night? Holy wow they were fantastic! I'm so in. C'mon NBC, you're doin' good. Keep it up.

*That's right, I grabbed that lyric from Ice Cube. I can admit that. We're cool.

Un-Raveled

Ok, I admit it I jumped on the Ravelry bandwagon. Now, when I say jumped I really mean I'm walking behind the wagon hoping it stops so I can jump on. Now, I only signed up about an hour ago, here's where we are:

Found you!
You signed up on Today
You are #34712 on the list.
18963 people are ahead of you in line.
23 people are behind you in line.
44% of the list has been invited so far

In other crafty news Yarns Unlimited (828 Pico Blvd., just east of Lincoln) is having their HUGE annual sale...not my favorite kind of sale where you have $1 and $ 3 bins but everything in the store is 25% - 50% off. Now, that's cool. There's some blue wool I've been needing for a few projects so this is the perfect opportunity to stock up on such a basic. Of course, I'm sure I won't be tempted on anything I don't need. Gramma put a ban on bringing any new yarn into the house.

Heh. Yeah.

Reading blogs is an expensive habbit

Seriously.

There are all these people out there who know about all this cool stuff that I've never even heard of. Today's evil influence: Allison. (We've met her before 'cause she owns SuperCrafty and goes to the WeHo Stitch'n'Bitch.) Yeah, she alerted us to the Urban Craft Center.

Ok, I don't know about you, but every now and then (though lately its been daily) I've said to myself, "Gee, it would be nice to learn how to embroider." Or, "Gee, I would love to make soap but I don't want to blow up the house." Well ladies and gentlemen, we have women who have not only thought that, but created a place to make it happen.

Yippee!

Regina and I spent our lunch hour in search of the mythical Urban Craft Center and not only did we find it but found parking as well! After work and on the weekends, you can park in the lot, but during work hours, you're on the meters.

We chatted with the chicks running it about the concept, the marketing, and the classes they're not only having but want to have. I of course was asking stupid questions about some of the classes 'cause they have crafts I've never even heard of.