DIIV – Doused

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Greetings from San Francisco . . . my new home! The blog has been neglected for far too long, but I have been packing up my life to move across country to start an MFA in Design at California College of the Arts. Is that enough of an excuse?

Three weeks ago I landed in SFO and the July “winter” I was expecting wasn’t too bad. Having stayed in the eastern and central parts of the city, it’s nice to have sunny days and watch the fog roll in over the hills. I hope this never gets old.

I have to keep a blog for school and hope to be able to post more consistently once I get myself settled in a little more. In the meantime, here is a pickle in a sombrero . . . and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Mucca Pazza – Boss Taurus

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Back in May, a robin decided that she would build her nest in my mother’s patio umbrella. When my mother noticed this, she took down the nest (there were no eggs yet) and thought that was that. A few days later the nest reappeared and so my mother let the robin have the nest rent-free since she was so determined. Once the baby robins were born I wanted to get some photos of their growth, since it’s not everyday you get “nature” in your face. Who knew it would only take around nine days for them to grow and leave the nest? During their later days, the mother and father robins were insanely protective and it was impossible to go out on the patio without one or both of them dive-bombing us, so I had to keep my distance.

A week or so after the birds had all left the nest, my mother took it down so she could use the umbrella and the patio again. A couple weeks later what should appear? A new nest. That mother robin is one smart cookie and she might have the only nest that survived the crazy storm that tore through the area last night.

Deerhunter – Desire Lines

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I am in love with the Yashica Mat 124G. The meter appears to be a stop or so off, so I have had a couple rolls that ended up too dark, but I think I am figuring out the quirks. If you get the chance, Harper’s Ferry has quite a nice old cemetery on a hill with a lovely view.

Shigeto – Eternal Life

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These photos are from a few months back when I was taken to Cape May as a surprise in the middle of winter. There is something really lovely about a beach town during a cold and snowy winter day (except the lack of many good places open to eat). I probably wouldn’t go to Cape May in the middle of the tourist season, but it was great to walk around for the little bits that we could until we froze from the intense chilling winds.

Orcas – Arrow Drawn

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One of the first shots on my Christmas gift . . . a Yashica Mat 124G medium format twin-lens reflex film camera. It’s taken some getting used to looking through a waist-level viewfinder, but I like slowing down and taking the time to frame each photo. Plus, I love square format.

Note: If you like Benoît Pioulard, you may like this new Orcas track . . . I sure do.

John Maus – Keep Pushing On

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The other week I was invited to a friend’s place for lamb vindaloo. I decided to make a dessert and the first thing that came to my mind was mango curry ice cream, and was there such a thing? If there wasn’t, could I figure out how to make it? Thanks to the internets, I found a few different recipes that all had elements I liked. Instead of going with one, I decided to combine elements from two recipes to achieve what I wanted. Luckily it turned out well and they were a hit at the dinner party.

Ingredients

Directions

If you’re interested in the original recipes, they can be found here:
GLOW Mango Curry Gingersnap Ice Cream Sammiches
Mango Curry Cardamom Ice Cream

Bear in Heaven – Sinful Nature

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I realize owls have been “hip” lately and it’s hard to go into a Paper Source without tripping all over the owl salt shakers, aprons, thumb tacks and stationery. As tired as I am of the over-saturation of all the owl paraphernalia, I cannot deny that owls are pretty swell creatures and I like drawing them, so here it is . . . an owl birthday card I made for someone who also likes owls.

This year my Easter eggs were not quite as dramatic as past years, but here are three of my favorites. I didn’t do an ostrich egg this year, but my brother did and I’ve included a photo of his “Hokusai” egg at the end.

My brother’s ostrich egg margutis.

Clark – Secret (featuring Martina Topley-Bird)

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While in San Francisco earlier this week I saw the amazing Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the de Young Museum. It is one of the best exhibits I have seen in a while and makes up ever so slightly for the fact that I missed the Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Met last year. I feel like I should not be posting photos and videos since if you see it in person you may not have the same surprised reaction I had, but I am posting them anyway for those who can’t make it to San Francisco before the exhibit ends on August 19th. More photos can be seen here.

Note: Clark + Martina Topley-Bird makes me a happy camper.

Loscil – Union Dusk

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This past weekend I flew to San Francisco for a quick trip and could not sleep at all on the flight. My attempts were futile because every time I closed my eyes I thought I was missing some amazing views and would have to open them. I have spent a good deal of time on the East Coast and have taken a number of trips to the West Coast, but most of the middle remains unexplored territory (hopefully not for too much longer).

While on the flight, I listened almost solely to Loscil and it has become my favorite music to listen to while flying, especially over deserts, canyons and mountains. It felt like I was in the middle of some Koyaanisqatsi meets Planet Earth film, learning about drying up rivers and water cutting through rock to create various formations.