Good morning, universe. In just four short days I’ll be cramming my cargo into a little rocket and zooming off to Yantaló. The pile of books and supplies at my front door has gone from this: …to this: On Monday, I’ll do my best to post photos of the contents. it’s time for some serious suitcase Tetris! And maybe more prickly pear juice. LA is filled with all manner of cactus and this fruit is fairly easy to find in parks …
Can you believe this is the 80th Photo Flurry already? Full D4RT Mode is now engaged and my itinerary is making me giddy: I’m flying to Lima on September 13th, then from Lima, I’ll fly to Moyobambo and Yantaló is a short-ish drive from there. Mostly I’m making supply shopping lists, laying down a lesson plan, figuring out how to fit everything into two 50-pound suitcases and commencing the student-wrangling process. The D4RT Kickstarter has a little over a week to …
Over the past month I’ve been busy working on D4RT and trying to keep up with commissions, so it’s been a challenge to stay on track with my streamlined routine – I can’t say that there haven’t been days of slipping into the over-caffeinated, under-hydrated work mode, but I’m adapting and managing to squeeze some life and fun in between all that work. Let’s play a game of breakneck catch-up, shall we? THIS WEEK On Monday, Cris and I went out to the …
Last week, Lumi and I wandered around a secret ghost town, peeking into dusty windows, twisting rusted doorknobs and climbing crumbling rooftops. We sat under an ancient tree and talked about Buddhism, among other things. We also rolled down a grassy hill, microscopic cuts reminding us of our indiscretion for the rest of the day – a perfect day of stillness and awe. And itchy arms.
This year, I decided to keep birthday stuff low-key, asking friends to contribute to the D4RT Kickstarter instead of gifts. 2011 has been strange and amazing and, at times, very overwhelming – so on my birthday I wanted to do something that would inspire and recharge me. This might become a new tradition. The Getty center has a few temporary exhibits closing in a few days: Paris: Life & Luxury [closing on the 7th], Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of …
Me, running on wet sand in Malibu. Photo by Stephanie Inagaki. My purple make up brushes. Photo by Stephanie Inagaki.
Los Angeles, summer 2011 Models: Michael Hans Schelb and Mark Splatter
Last weekend, a bunch of friends and I packed our finest bikinis, meats and libations to spend a weekend in Hicksville – a desert “trailer palace” in Joshua Tree. Now, Hicksville is my new favorite place for glamping – that’s glamour-camping to you. Why glamping at Hicksville is good: you get the desert, a fire pit, s’mores and cooking under the infinite stars, but you also get a salt water swimming pool, a rooftop jacuzzi, WiFi, plumbing and adorable themed …
Two weekends ago, my friends Marz and Adria had a double birthday/housewarming party. The theme was a fancy, multi-referential shipwreck, with tropical drinks, all manner of costumes, grillin’, oysters, water fun and, eventually, dancing – all against a backdrop of a perfect Woodland Hills view. I only took pictures in the first hour or two and hid my camera away for safety when more peeps started to show up. Our hostess, Marz Rickie, Marz and I playing dress-up Adrianne enjoyed …
All of my Europe-related articles from the April supertrip have gone live. To save you the trouble of combing through the Chinashop archives, I’ve created this handy chronological post. Pretend I’m your tour guide, and get ready to marvel, drool, absorb and above all, walk. I walked everywhere on this trip and loved it! Click the images below to see the articles. Rome – Tastes Like Ice Cream Gods and Gladiators – a Brief, Sticky Tour of Rome’s Top Attractions …
Ever feel like almost everyone you know is born in May? I do, and am sitting on a ton of hilarious photos from this weekend’s parties as a result. Coincidentally, my card reader broke. While I wait for a replacement, here are someone else’s pictures to temporarily fill the void. My friend Lou O’Bedlam came over the other day and took some pre-dinner photos of me in front of our house. That day, my hair was clipped up and all …
A few quick snaps from my recent euro-travels, before the weekend hits. We’ll start with Francesco. Here, he’s standing in the middle of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, under the statue of Cosimo I de Medici, and making restaurant suggestions. That’s just how he looks, all the time. I suspect that sugary eye-glint is something Italian men are either born with or trained in, and wear like a uniform. Can anyone confirm or deny? Jake, at the Paris train …
On Saturday, we went to check out the Echo Park art walk. I was perplexed while looking over the event map: it pointed to shops, bakeries, pet stores, restaurants, and just a couple of art studios in between, sprinkled over three+ miles of Echo Park Boulevard. The “walk” aspect was clear enough, but what of the art? A and I never quite figured out why the happening wasn’t simply called, “Get to Know Your Local Businesses”, but that’s exactly what …
I’ve been craving remote nature. Lately, all I want to do is read, paint, and be far from civilized society, out amidst trees and rocks and open sky. Driving through the Italian, and then French, countryside last month drove this notion further out to the top layers of my brain box, and I’m not sure whether it’s a new wave of misanthropy or a side effect of summertime. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent my entire life in big cities [Moscow, …