memeandyou

What I’m currently obsessed about!

I recently discovered the most delicious gelato and I’m not only in love with the fresh taste and delicious flavors like toasted almond, but I’m obsessed with the packaging!  I know the old saying, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover’, but I have always judged everything based on how appealing it looked!  I’m usually right, thankfully!  You have to go to Whole Foods and try one of their amazing flavors! http://www.talentigelato.com/gallery.aspx   I’m trying pistachio and chocolate hazelnut next! YUMM-EEEE!!                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                I just polished off the toasted almond which helped me decide to blog about it right this minute! Their gelato has a fresh taste to it.  I am pretty sure it could pass off as homemade, it’s that good!

On the same trip to grocery I discovered Golden Glen Creamery. I love milk products that come in glass bottles, there is something authentic that resonates with me.                                                                                                                       It takes me back to my romantic life that I live in my head, where I would know the the people who own the farm and thru them I would get to be apart of the land to the table. I am not a big milk drinker so I just bought the half and half, and I will tell you, it is definitely not the same as the what you get in the cartons! Whole Foods had chocolate milk and strawberry milk as well.  I was so surprised that the strawberry was made with fresh juices yet was not pink at all!  I am curious as to what it tastes like. I am interested in trying their farmstead butter next. Nothing is better than the creamy, sweet taste of butter on a crusty piece of french bread! I also love that they are based in Washington.  You gotta support the locals you know!                                                                                       http://goldenglencreamery.com/index_files/Page391.htm  

If you are local, then you already know about Beechers and most likely you have gone down to the Pike Place Market to watch them make their cheeses.  I favor their small containers you can get of their cheese curds or my most recent discovery, the Blank Slate Honey.  Their cheeses are delicious and I would love to learn the art of cheese making from them!  This also goes back to my retirement plan of owning a goat farm where we make award winning artisan goat cheeses.  Oh and i get to live in a rad modern house on a huge piece of land!                                                                                   http://www.beechershandmadecheese.com/story_index.php
                                                                                                                                                                               There are so many things happening in this culinary world, so many delicious things to eat and new ways of making the same old thing.  The latest gadget I’ve obsessed with but so far have kept myself from buying, is Zoku Quick Pop maker.  This little machine claims to make a frozen popsicle in as little as seven minutes!  Hello, in seven minutes you could mix and match ingredients and have a delicious cold treat in the middle of summer!  I am so down it’s ridiculous! 

Now, you can’t tell me that that doesn’t look like something you want to have!!  I can’t help but imagine pulling this thing out after a dinner party and everyone gets to make their own dessert!  By the time you’re done with the first glass of Prosecco, your pop would be ready to eat!  I love it!  Uh, oh.  I think I just talked myself back into buying it. Lucky for us, William Sonoma is selling this little gadget.  It’s so cool, even coolhunting.com is blogging about it! I know you want one…. http://www.zokuhome.com/

I’m glad it’s summer and I’m glad I moved close to a farmer’s market that I can walk to!  This will be the second year that Pike Place Market will be doing the Cascade Farmer’s Market.  The end of the month marks the first day for the season and I am very excited!  I am hopeful that there will be lots of good, fresh local fruits, vegetables and other things to tantalize my eyes! Summer at South Lake Union is looking to be just my style! I guess that’s the end of my food obsessions, well, for now. :-)

XOXO

me and you, Baron Margo

This is a photo of artist Baron Margo at his house.  He claims this is a self portrait, so of course I had to take a photo of him sitting next to it!

So last week I was in Newport doing my job and I decided to extend my weekend to hang out in Venice Beach with an old friend that I have recently been reunited with.  While we were deciding on what to do for the two days that I was with her, she mentions this local artist named Baron Morgan  and how I need to see his house and all of the sculptures and cars that he makes.  Fortunately for me, my friend Ciara knows his daughter, who was in town visiting her father, hence why I ended there.  I know, I know, those were so really long sentences.  I am tired but want to post this while it’s still fresh in my mind. 

When we pulled up in front of his house, there were 3 small covered vehicles.  You weren’t really sure what they were.  Too small to be a car, too big to be a bike and definitely not shaped like one.  I would soon find out later that they are cars he builds to look like rockets.  Very cool I must admit.  Very cool.  He told me I needed to go on a ride in one along Mulholland drive, the way he was describing it made me want to jump in one and see for myself!

Baron’s house is like a treasure trove of parts and pieces and sculptures that he has created.  Scouting out various junk yards and garage sales is how he finds things to use for his art.  In fact, when he walked into his dining room he turned to show us his newest pick up from that day.  Smiling, he is holding a crystal bowl and asks us if we know what it is.  I recognized it right away and said,” oh that’s a Tiffany piece.” He seemed so surprised that I knew it.  Hey, I worked there for quite sometime so it wasn’t hard. 

Loved this piece.  It’s hard to see in the shadow, but yes, that’s a vintage mannequin head oh and the she lights up!

This piece is hooked up to his phone line.  Yes, I said his phone line.  He asked me if I had my cell phone on me, I did not so he used his own.  He dials a number and tells me to watch, and watch with fascination I did.  As soon as the phone picked up and Baron started talking, the mouth of the skull begins to come to life.  It was like a hands free ventriloquist.  You talk and the mouth of the skull moves!  I wish I had gotten that on video!

There is so much to look at, and so much to explore, this is just a small portion.  I was wanting to take pictures of everything and he was nice enough to indulge me.  His daughter is clearly proud of him and took me around with so much enthusiasm.  She took me up to the studio where I found a piece I am looking to acquire and add to my collection of art.  Depending on the piece you are looking at, it can have an H.R. Geiger feeling, or Futurama come to real life, or aliens from Men in Black.  Speaking of MIB, Baron had some weapons hanging on a wall and I understand that he made some that were used in the movie. Oh, and then there’s the phallic object d’art and sex toys to throw into the mix! 

This is definitely a place to see and be inspired by.  Baron is a very humble artist who has had his work on album covers and in movies.  The most recent is a student film where the concept is a single actor who is talking to Baron’s sculptures as if they are real.  Sort of like when Tom Hanks makes friends with his volleyball on the deserted island. I tried to get him to give me specifics, but he always remained evasive a true sign of humbleness. 

Baron is a self taught which is pretty amazing considering the breadth of what he creates.  Most of which have some kind of electrical component.  When I asked him what his favorite pieces were, he said his cars because it’s riding around in a piece of art.  So, next time you are in LA, and if you see someone zipping by you in what looks like a rocket, you can be sure it’s Baron Margo, or someone lucky enough to buy one of his drivable pieces of art! 

Check it out: http://baronmargo.com

or google him and see what comes up!  I’ll be seeing him later this summer to pick up my new piece for my new loft!  Exciting!

XOXO

me

love the old sign in the back fence:  Los Angeles Nut House!  see the rocket like object just below it?

me and you, patrick

This is my friend Partrick. So our story starts what feels like a million years ago in Portland, Oregon.  Ah my city of roses! He is a good friend of my bff and for awhile was working on the crew I joined during my brief return to Portland from San Diego.  We didn’t work together for very long, I only stayed for about a month before I realized that I had made a terrible error in returning home and practically ran back to California!  Patrick and I would not see each other again until my bff got married, me a guest, Patrick the best man.  Now remind me again why I did the best man toast dear Patrick??

After a short time in retail display, he went on to do graffiti art and eventually started scaling the side of buildings to paint murals.  Crazy I know!  Yet very impressive.  He has become quite the artist.  He now lives in Brooklyn painting on the sides of buildings all over New York as well as doing large scale paintings.  Here’s a few photos of him in his studio space.

An ode to his dog.  You can see the brush strokes of the fur, it’s very detailed.

A painting he did for a bar give away.  The girl who won hasn’t picked it up yet because it’s so large she doesn’t have a way to get it home!

More recently, Patrick and his friends were commissioned to paint large scale canvases of Dennis Hopper’s work for the Shafrazi Gallery.  Here’s what that looked like.

Yep, that him and his friend Paul (who also painted) with Dennis Hopper in the flesh.

Well, enough of what I have to say, here’s what he has to say. Side note, I emailed him some questions I wanted answered and instead of emailing me back, he decided to text me the answers, notice the time stamp.  Hello, that was 1:20am west coast time not east coast! Anyway, seemed appropriate to use his texts instead of rewriting them.

How did this whole Hopper thing come about:

Does Tristan (his son) show any interest in following in your footsteps?

If you couldn’t paint any more what would you do?

Money or happiness?

So, next time you are in New York and you see an amazing painting on the side of wall, well, there will be a good chance that you are looking at Patrick’s work! Oh and if you need someone to paint the side of a wall, let me know and I’ll hook you up with him!!

Peace out!