um

Yup. Another post about clogs.

alarm clocks

We are now in our fifth temporary housing location and all this moving around has really messed with my sleeping schedule. It also doesn't help that we have one key between the two of us, and one of us doesn't get home from work until midnight. We waver between alarm noises - the blaring one is so unpleasant, but the melodic one doesn't always wake me up! This silent bracelet alarm wakes you up by vibration - to snooze you simply shake your hand, but the longer you snooze the more shaking is required to snooze again. However, I'm not positive that shaking is the best way to wake up someone who grew up with earthquakes...

There's also Clocky, which rolls away from you after you hit the snooze, forcing you to get up to turn it off. One of my friends swears by her dawn simulation alarm clock, which triggers your internal alarm clock by mimicking the gradual brightness of the sun rising.

backpacks, part two

Having a bit of an OCD moment with this backpack decision. My current front runner is the above, but I also am liking this one too:

and these fleece ones:

and this plaid one:

american museum of natural history

The American Museum of Natural History is partly under construction, but nevertheless, it's a pretty incredible place. The dioramas are always my favorite.

Also: related scenes from the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, and the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

a pop of color

I shot this at the Highline at dusk the other day. I don't normally pat myself on the back quite so much, but I think the colors just look amazing.
It would make a lovely drawing, don't you think?

backpacks

As part of my cross country move, I traded in my desktop for a laptop (which I love!), but have been schlepping it all over New York in my Hable Construction tote (which I do not love. The schlepping that is, still love the tote). The sad conclusion is that I think I need a backpack. Can women in their 30's wear a backpack? Are any of these options (above from here) acceptable? Be honest.

From here.

From here.

From here.

From here.

Please help - my shoulders will thank you.

travel the world

While I was out picking up dinner last night, I walked by the Monocle store and noticed these travel posters in their shop. Aren't they great?

productivity hits a low

To be perfectly honest, I don't really have a hard time staying focused during the day, but sometimes I do end up sitting at the computer much longer than necessary - just replace "twitter" with "g-chat to co-workers" and "facebook" with "google reader" and this is pretty much how I spend the majority of my non-working hours.

Oh, and for those who keep harassing me to join Facebook - this is why I can't!
Via Bedlam of Beefy.

a dinosaur on the wall and other things I took pictures of recently

his and hers

On my first free Saturday in New York, I visited the museum at FIT to see two exhibits - His and Hers and a Vivianne Westwood retrospective. The Westwood exhibit really paled in comparison to the one I saw at the DeYoung years ago, but I thoroughly enjoyed the His and Hers collection. The exhibit compared the perceptions of what "masculine" and "feminine" represent in fasion and features some beautiful pieces from Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent.

bedding

It's still nearly six weeks until I can move into our new apartment but one of the first things I am buying in new bedding. These new designs from Dwell are nice.

Via Apt Therapy.

travel envy: china

My friend Anna is in China this week....she said it's like Chinatown on crack(!).

city

Just some pictures I took during our first week here in New York.

More here.

brooklyn bound

We're {going to be} Brooklynites! Hipster-ville, here I come....

On the plus side, our new apartment is super close to the train, in our budget and even has a very small office! The downside is that we can't move in until May 1st, so if you know of a sublet, please email me!

Image from here.

welcome to new york

We've seen twenty-four apartments, eaten pizza, biscuits and coffee cake, walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, and gotten lost more times than I can count but we found a place to live, so I guess it was all worth it (and the coffee cake was pretty delicious!).

moving day!

It's moving day! I'll be taking a few days off to change coasts....see you in New York!

a still life (in two dimensional form only)

Jeff's co-worker made him this painting as a going away gift (isn't that nice?). At first I hated it, but now it's really growing on me.

Oh, and the movers are coming tomorrow.

los angeles favorites: outdoors

The ability to hike outdoors nearly 365 days a year is going to be one of the many things I will miss about living in southern California....Griffith Park and Temescal are both great spots, but the Hollyridge trail is really spectacular.

All photos by me.

los angeles favorites: shopping

Since I still don't buy anything new, I'm limiting my shopping picks to vintage, used and thrift stores solely. Los Angeles has a pretty fantastic selection of vintage clothes - Jet Rag and Shareens are my favorites. As for flea markets, I think PCC is the best...not in terms of selection per se, more in terms of value and manageability. I've had some great luck at the Goodwill on La Brea, and Out of the Closet and Ladies Council on Fairfax. Lastly, the lamp store on La Brea is pretty incredible.

los angeles favorites: food (fancier edition)

Obviously, this is somewhat biased, but I really think that Mozza is the best restaurant that I have been to in LA (granted I get treated pretty well since my husband works there) - it's a bold statement, but I'm sticking to it. I've been pretty lucky to eat at a ton of amazing places this year and I also count Animal, Tasting Kitchen and Lou among my favorites.
Image from here.

los angeles favorites: food (cheaper edition)

Another easy category: food! For cheap eats, I love Tinga for slightly fancier Mexican and the El Chato truck for bargain basement $1 tacos. Another favorite is the tofu soup from So Kong Dong, and burgers from Golden State. As for farmer's markets, you really can't beat the selection at Hollywood, but due to the annoying factor of going there, I'm partial to my CSA.

los angeles favorites: buildings

I didn't even have to think twice about this one. The Bradbury building is my all-time, most-favorite building in LA.

 

I also like the library and the Griffith Observatory.

All photos by me.