2012 Begins

Happy New Year, y'all! Here's to hoping for fun, excitement, and positive changes in 2012. Here's a look at how I kicked off the festivities-tying the ends of a million balloons. Now it's time for my once yearly pizza binge to ward off this hangover...

Let It Shine

The holidays and holiday parties call for glam, merriment, and the wearing of multiple shiny, glittery articles of clothing. Sorry, subtlety and demureness are obviously not my forte. These newest light-bending items are souvenirs from my recent trip to London. Topshop...man, does that store own me. It's a good thing for my closet there isn't one in LA yet. Though, seriously, when is Topshop coming to LA!?!

The Longest Night

Today is the Winter Solstice (i.e. the shortest day of the year). I have to be honest-while I love cooler weather, I hate the short days that winter brings, and the lack of energy I feel to do much once the sun sets, so I am not exactly celebrating today so much as acknowledging it begrudgingly. I suppose thinking of it as the longest night is one way to make it worth celebrating, though. Especially when it means more time to celebrate!


Image by Paul Moody via Flickr

Chappy Chanukkah

What is up, my Jews? Who's ready to spin your dreidels?

For those of you who are gentiles and don't know, Hanukkah starts tomorrow. While everyone in America basically thinks Hanukkah is the Jewish Christmas, it's really not, and actually isn't even all that important in the almost unending procession of major Jewish holidays. But when you're a kid and collecting presents each night of the eight- or want to fit in with all of your tree-decorating, Santa's lap-sitting friends- who is going to complain about the semantics? Hanukkah to Jewish kids is the most important holiday in that sense, so I'm going to continue to celebrate it even though now I know better than to make it a big deal. After all, it's a lot harder to whip up a guide for that rollicking good time known as Yom Kippur anyway...

Right now I'm using an old menorah from my dad's house, but I don't love it. In fact, I hate it. I don't know that I've ever seen one I truly love 100%, but this menorah would probably be in my home if I had major funds to throw around right now.

I do have this collection of antique hanging oil menorahs that I display year-round and which are pretty special to me. Mark's inner pyromaniac wants to light them, but I'd rather not burn down the apartment building.

The most beautiful dreidel I've ever seen, available here in blue, clear, and orange. I would love to buy a few of these and scatter them across a mantle full of various decorations and menorah. 

The all important sufganiyot (jelly doughnut). So much better when homemade and eaten warm, here's a recipe to try if you're feeling ambitious. After growing up with a mom who would make them for us, I can't even bother with bakery versions.




Menorah via DesignSponge

Dreaming of A Multicolored Christmas

After a debacle last year in which opting to flock our Christmas tree pink (yes, my boyfriend is beyond accepting of my nonsense) resulted in a more than week long wait for the tree to be delivered and Mark finally having to go pick it up at midnight, we decided to go simple and get a natural little tree that we could immediately haul away ourselves this year. I can't say the black flocked tree topped with iridescent sparkles wasn't calling my name, though...

Trees from the lot in the Vons Supermarket parking lot on Hoover St. and Sunset Blvd.

Merry Happy Whatever

Growing up Jewish but with a mom who converted from Christianity (with her own mom and grandma who wanted to bake their grandchildren gingerbread men, buy them stocking stuffers, and show them how to drape tinsel on a tree), I have always celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas. It was definitely great in terms of fun and presents, but stressful because my dad was uber-paranoid my brother and I would get "confused" and forget we were Jewish. If only he knew I didn't believe in the message of either religion and only care about the traditions...

When I moved out on my own for the first time a month before the holiday season, I wanted to show how mature and together I was by sending out holiday cards. Because apparently I'm an old lady like that. But which holiday? I'm not looking to offend peeps when all I'm trying to do is tell them I care about them, so to keep things simple I go the P.C. season's greeting/peace on earth route, focusing on the design of my cards and the messages I write inside rather than on which holiday each recipient is actually celebrating. And let's be honest-I don't really know enough people to buy a pack for each holiday anyway.


Rifle Paper Co. card

Pumpkin Adventures

While I still haven't gotten my costume sorted (yes, Halloween is just two days away...) I made sure to get a carving pumpkin from the adorable Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in West Hollywood. Mr. Jack O'Lantern may look a little sinister here but on the 31st he'll be nothing but good when I fill his mouth with candy for our neighbors to grab on their way to parties, parades, and other festivities. I also started a new little tradition of roasting his innards. I saved and washed the seeds, let them dry on a baking sheet, sprinkled them with a little melted butter, seasoning salt, paprika, and garlic powder and baked them in the oven for about ten minutes at 350 degrees. Pumpkin seeds are actually really healthy and once they are roasted up with seasonings, are sort of like crack. I've almost decimated the entire batch!

So while I may be going naked a la The Emperor's New Clothes, at least I've had some Halloween fun.

Freaks Come Out At Night

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday so I'm thrilled it's almost here. It's just the most carefree, liberating holiday there is, with none of the pressure associated with those like Valentine's, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. You can whip some felt into puppy ears and tail, put your blue eyeshadow on your lips and throw on some tin foil to go for a futuristic vibe, or do a million other painless, last-minute, half-assed things and you're participating with little effort or money expended. And as dark and scary as the connotations of Halloween may suggest, it's got to be the most upbeat, feel-good one of them all. I mean, when else can you consume your weight in candy, dress up as whatever fantasy character your heart desires, or ask your neighbors to feed you without people looking at you funny?

There's no threat of getting coal in your stocking, and even if you hate children and refuse to rot their teeth with candy or dress up, good luck not even cracking a grin seeing just how creative and smart some people can get with their costumes. I mean, look that this picture of someone who made herself into a low-resolution pixelated image:

Homegirl's a genius.

Two years ago I was on a major Hitchcock kick, watching Vertigo enough times to give me vertigo. I found this amazeballs costume of the Melanie Daniels character from The Birds and had to get it-I mean it had a giant crow pecking your head on a headband. I'm a fail though, because this is my only picture. Mark got his not very P.C. costume because the gun holster was replaced with a tequila bottle holster, with shot glasses held in the belt instead of  bullets. Working in a bar, it was the most apropos choice that wasn't bulky and was (shockingly, haha) still available on October 28th.

Last year was the first time since the first night we ever talked (on Halloween!) that Mark's had the holiday off of work so I wanted us to dress as a couple since it's such a rarity. I was still on that Hitchcock kick so we went as Marion Crane and Norman Bates as his mother from Psycho. I had Mark shave his beard to look more baby-faced (so freaky-who knew he looked like Michael Douglas with a little chin cleft under there?) and made our costumes, of which mine promptly fell apart as soon as we started dancing at Micky's. Thankfully we had plenty of time to wade through the Santa Monica Blvd. parade beforehand and see all of the crazy costumes, so it wasn't a total nightmare-even if I almost showed my boobs to an apathetic male crowd at a gay club about forty times.

This year, the mister has the night off again, for the last time in years, so I want us to go the couples thing again while we can but am totally lost for inspiration. Bonnie and Clyde? 80's prom dates? Tobias and Lindsay Funke?

I'm also thinking about forgoing the couples crap and going as a Lichtenstein painting since I think the makeup would be fun as hell and I already own the whole early 60's pencil skirt, secretaryish clothes needed. Really it's just because I don't really want to buy anything and Mark doesn't seem to want to dress up at all. Whomp whomp. Help!


First image from the now-defuct blog at kindacarsick.com

Pet Pride Be Darned!

I'm not sure that I really love the idea of dressing up cats and dogs regularly, but every once in a while they just lend themselves so well to wearing a particular costume. I'm not talking about giving your pooch his own walk-in closet or carrying him around in your purse so his Gucci loafers don't get scuffed while you restrict him from exercise, or any of than nonsense; but with Halloween around the corner, there are so many cute outfits that allow you to celebrate with your pet as much as with those fun size Snickers "for the neighborhood kids." So long as you still let them sniff their bums, give them treats, and let them do their exploring thing, is it so wrong to stick a plaid sweater on a Scottie or vampire cape on a cat whose fangs stick out of its mouth? Do they really care? I think not. 

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Any Excuse For Ice Cream

Today was a scorcher. The kind of day where if I were still a kid, I'd be scoping out the street for the ice cream truck, dreaming of frozen treats. It also happened to be National Ice Cream Day, a day that must be celebrated (like all holidays devoted to sweets). Thankfully, being an adult means I could both drive to get instant ice cream gratification and decide to have it for dinner. I did just that at Pazzo Gelato in Silverlake.

They are practically always open and have a constantly rotating selection of unique flavors like pineapple thyme, strawberry mint, and cantaloupe for those who like their sweets refreshing; and more creamy varieties like Mexican chocolate, Thai tea, and espresso toffee for those looking to go all-out in their dessert indulgences. I tried espresso chip and almond fig, since even their smallest cups allow you to try two flavors-love that! The espresso chip had a deep, rich flavor that perked open my eyelids just like that first sip of morning coffee does, while the almond fig was a knock out with it's bits of what I'm guessing was Calimyrna figs and luscious almond milk flavor. I could hardly have celebrated any better.

Some visual treats:

One of Wayne Thiebaud's magical sweets paintings

Watermelon slice popsicle. Of course this is from Japan.

Cupcake wearing an ice cream cone costume, from Milk.

Watermelon image via roboppy on Flickr.

Stars, Stripes, and Rainbows

As a kid, I used to call fireworks "yummy balloons." All these years later, I think the term still applies- it's full of the wonder and nostalgia that fireworks continue to have on people year after year, or at least on me. And as I joked to my boyfriend, there's something about explosives that just makes me feel patriotic. After watching the Hollywood Bowl fireworks through the distance and a hazy night sky from my apartment balcony last year, this year I got to see them up close. The Bowl orchestra and Hall & Oates performed on a gorgeous night; the type of night that makes it feel so luxurious to be sipping on wine and picnicking surrounded by greenery under a pink sunset. What better environment to muse on how lucky we are to be Americans, for all our country's faults and current shortcomings?