I'd rather eat smores.

I'm not a big fan of camping, although I am a big fan of fashionable camping gear (see my previous camping post). One of several reasons that I am not the outdoorsy type is the lack of good food options that you can take with you into the wilderness (not to mention the absence of indoor plumbing and my pillow top bed). Well, there is a company that is trying to change all that, but to be honest, I'm not sold. Katadyn is based in Switzerland and has developed 3 unique food items that can be thrown in your Patagonia backpack for a fine dining experience at 3000 feet. For the main course, how about a cheeseburger? OUT OF A CAN!!!

Just add the can to boiling water and voila...who's the Burger King now?

Then for dessert, how about a little chocolate mousse?

Delicious, right?

And to wash it all down? A glass of powdered red wine.

Classy.

Since these items won't take up much room in your pack, you should have space for the fine china. If you're gonna do it, you oughta do it right. Right?

Those were the days...

I love old photos...people, places...anything that is a reminder of days gone by. Now that I have a scanner (which I promise to stop talking about soon), I thought I would share some pictures of my family. These were taken before I was even a glimmer in my mom's eye...


Speaking of mom...here she is playing the one song she knows on the guitar...but doesn't she look awesome doing it?


Mom again...look at the sofa, the lamp, her slippers! The 60's were awesome.


This is my grandmother (my mom's mom), my dad and my mom. I swear my dad got that sweater from Urban Outfitters!


And last, but certainly not least, my grandma again. How cool is she? Seriously. I think we would have been friends...if I were hip enough...I would have WANTED to be friends with her anyway.

Artsy fartsy

I've always enjoyed creating things, whether it be music, art or photography. Drawing has been something that I have loved for years, although I've never thought that I am particularly good at it. Lately, I've been trying my hand at creating objects on paper that may or may not be considered art (depending on who you ask!). I am certainly no Monet or Van Gogh, but I am beginning to think that art is in the eye of the beholder anyway. I am happy with what I am creating and feel like other people may find something that they like about it as well. Eventually, I am going to set up an Etsy store where I can display what I have been working on. For now, here is a bit of a sneak preview.

These are from my "Circles" collection:





And these are my 'birdies". I just love them!



None of these pieces are completely finished yet, but I am so excited to have a scanner. Now I can share my progress with you!

Coast to coast

Hello all!

I've made it back from my vacation and had a wonderful time. Here are a few pictures from my get away.

First, we spent a beautiful day in Watsonville, where Joel grew up.

Can you imagine growing up with this view?

Then I got to spend lots of time with the world's cutest 2 year old.

I spent a couple of evenings with the fine gentlemen of Pansy Division.

Later in the week, I got to see the sights of the city with my Mom and Step-dad.

It was wonderful. If you haven't been to San Fran, book your trip now! In the meantime, you can see my other photos here...

San Francisco pics

Paper, paper on the wall...

Most of you may not know this, but I have had a love-hate relationship with wall paper for many years. When I was a young child, my maternal grandparents had a really cool, Frank Lloyd Wright-type house that my grandfather designed and built. I loved this house for many reasons...1) it was octagonal (!), 2) the entire back side of the house was glass and looked out over a gorgeous tree-lined bluff and 3) the bathrooms had beautiful foil wallpaper.



(It was something like this, but MUCH more stunning)

I was young and it was the 70's, but I honestly thought it was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my love affair with interior design was beginning.

When I became a teenager and a little boy crazy (ok, a LOT boy crazy), the paper on my walls was made up of the centerfolds from BOP and Tiger Beat magazines. John Taylor of Duran Duran, C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe. There may have even been a Ricky Schroder in there somewhere.



But as far as actual wallpaper in our home, it was an unfortunate combination of culinary utensils in the kitchen and frightful floral patterns in the bathrooms. Thus beginning the "hate" portion of our program.

For example:



or...



Soon, it became clear that wallpaper was a dated trend and for all of the homeowners that had super-glued obnoxious patterns to their drywall, it became a serious no-no for the future.

But we are in a new era of wall decor. Wallpaper is back in a big way and I must admit I really like some of it. I am sure there is still a plethora of chicken and grape borders out there, but for the design-minded there are some truly gorgeous options.

For your viewing pleasure:



This wallpaper studio is based out of North Adams, MA and all of their papers are hand painted and absolutely gorgeous. You can buy this paper by the sheet, which is great for framing and also more reasonably priced for the budget conscious.

Nama Rococo

There is a great studio out of New Orleans, that not only creates visually stunning wallpapers, but some of them are even scratch-n-sniff. For real!





The cherry flavor and the tutti-frutti remind me of something you would see in one of Betsey Johnson's boutiques, don't cha think? But as delicious as I'm sure these smell, there are several other options that I find a bit more enticing (in small doses, mind you)...





Check out all of their great options at Flavor Paper

I really need to buy that condo!

The Japanese think of everything....

and make it super cute, too!

This is an autonomous snowplow named Yuki-taro.

He will scoop up your snow...



And make it into tidy blocks of ice for easy removal.

Isn't that so adorable? and handy? I would much rather see these little guys tooling around the streets of Boston after a snowstorm than those grumpy plow drivers. I vote yay for Yuki-taro!