kings of pastry

Kings of Pastry follows the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition, held once every four years. This grueling three day event crowns four winners of the sixteen contestants to be the "best craftsman in France" and includes six foot sugar sculptures, wedding cakes and countless petit fours. It's emotional and intense - a really fascinating look into another world.

Don't forget to enter the 1000th post giveaway! More info here.

brooklyn museum

It's pretty dumb that I haven't visited the Brooklyn Museum until now (and by "pretty dumb" I really mean "downright idiotic"). My mom and I went to see the final show from the winner of Work of Art (I think we might be the only people that actually watch this show) which was by far the the least interesting thing there. The museum was amazing - from the temporary installation by Situ Studio (below) to the incredible, super famous Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, we were blown away. If you've never seen The Dinner Party in person, it's truly one of the most special pieces I've ever seen.

All photos by me.

casa de nardini

We stayed with friends in Albuquerque; I learned how to make sushi and travel to foreign lands.

 More photos here.

herb & dorothy

Herb & Dorothy is a documentary chronicling the inspirational life of the Vogels, who collected one of the most important collections of minimal and conceptual art. Of meager means, they lived on Dorothy's salary (a librarian) while using Herb's income (a postal worker) to purchase work. They had two rules - the piece had to be affordable, and it had to fit into their one bedroom Manhattan apartment. By the time the documentary was made in 2008, their collection had grown to over four thousand works. In 1992, they donated their entire collection to the National Gallery.

pictures of the year

Pictures of the Year, International is the current exhibit at the Annenberg Space for Photography. It's an incredibly moving and inspiring exhibit that truly showcases the power of photography. If you live in Los Angeles and haven't been the Annenberg space yet, I recommend you go at once!

gifts from my grandparents

My grandmother recently gave me this beautiful pot and plant (thanks Grandma!). It reminded me that all my most favorite things in my apartment were gifts or hand-me-downs from one of my grandparents....like this brass bar cart, once belonging to my great-grandmother.

Or this vase, one of two given to my grandparents as a wedding gift (my sister has the other one).

And this coffee table and rug, found in near perfect condition in my grandfathers garage.

Oh! And this orange serving tray, which is awesome in its groovy-ness.

Don't forget to enter the 528th post giveaway! Just tell me something you like, dislike or want to see more or less of, or just something random! Giveaway ends Friday - click here for details.

watts towers

Having grown up in Los Angeles I'm embarrassed to admit that this weekend was my virgin visit to the Watts Towers. But it won't be my last. The experience was truly fascinating and inspiring - the entire structure was build by one man over a 34 year period using only found objects and no machinery - simply his own imagination.

More photos here.

avedon at moma

Some of my most favorite images from the excellent Richard Avedon exhibit at MoMa included his early photos for Harper's Bazaar....


...as well as his work for In the American West...

there is nothing wrong with you

From here.

green gulch

I ate dinner and visited the grounds of Green Gulch this week. Located in Marin county, the zen center serves as a Buddhist practice center as well as a working farm. Although it was pretty overcast, I really enjoyed the beauty of the gardens.

chez spencer

I was totally blown away by my friend Sara's gorgeous handmade knitted dress (affectionately named "Chez Spencer" in honor of the restaurant where she spent her second anniversary). Amazing, right?

the uniform project

The proprietress of The Uniform Project pledges to wear the same dress for one year (she does have seven of them) in order to raise money for uniforms for schoolchildren in India. Her exercise in sustainable fashion is documented daily.

potato salad

I don't know what's in their potato salad, but I need to get me some of it.

beware

From here (thanks Gail!).

op shop

Sometime last summer I decided to stop buying new things, or things made new. The idea was to cut down on the amount of stuff in the world, and therefore not encourage, support or contribute to the creation of disposable merchandise (think Ikea furniture, Forever 21, new cell phones every few months). If I want something, I try to find it used or vintage, and most of the time, I find that I didn't really need it in the first place. It's surprisingly easy (well, for someone who likes thrift stores and flea markets anyway) and I'm not a hundred percent strict about it (underwear, yarn and gifts seem to be my major weeknesses).

Through Lobster and Swan, I found KatieCrackernuts, an Australian journalist who has taken a pledge to only wear secondhand clothing for two weeks to possibly win a new Prius. Although I wish the time frame was a little more substantial, I totally get behind the idea of op shopping, as she calls it. Here in the bay area, there are some fantastic thrift, vintage, used and consignment stores where you have a bevy of great options that fit the bill of op shopping. Besides, the flea is this weekend!

windows & light

I visited the Emeryville studio of photographer Sara Remington this week to help out with a photo shoot for work. Even on a rainy day, the space was full of light - incredibly luminous and brilliant.