Photography by Eric Striffler. as seen on Remodilista

ItSweet Color

How often does your color taste change? Mine is going through a major shift.

Almost 19 years ago when we set up our first apartment it was the a bit overwhelming to go from just decorating your bedroom, that you rented or lived at home, to having many more rooms to claim color ownership of. So I erred on the side of neutral.

I'll never forget someone telling me that the colors I picked on my registry were so boring. I was afraid of color, which is ironic, because I loved to paint and play with color, but not for me.

Actually that bled into my clothes too, afraid of color, I mostly wore black, grey and brown. Again, I can think back to the day when I was walking around in bright lime green and hot pink that someone told my mom my clothes were too loud. So black, brown and grey it was.

So a few years ago when I was going to England, I'd decided to figure out a new color palate for me based on the colors of the season. I knew it was time to add color back in my life. I am a firm believer that what you wear and see everyday has a big affect on your moods. Picking colors from the season, was so fashion forward to me. Probably behind really, but who cares. This way I would know that I could find things during that season in that color palate. I eliminated one color from that original palate, only because every time I tried that color on I looked sad. Then one color I added because my eyes really looked happy when I wore that one.

Now I love color, I have few basic items in black, but the rest is all color all the time. I'm gravitating to color more and more. So today is what has inspired me. Below are a few of the Pinterest pins that I love. And now that I pulled them, I can see Pink, Green and Yellow are in them all.

I've recently started adding yellow into my wardrobe, so afraid of that color on me. But I bought some yellow and grey shoes so I knew I had to get over it.

And then I find that color bleeds into my food, I've been buying foods at the markets purely because they are colorful, then I need to figure out what to do with them. What fun!

Michelle Armas painting as seen on Oncewed.com

Has art inspired you? I've been inspired by a few pieces of stationary to create great recipes and write them down on, or send my food with little splashes of color on the packaging. Really anything can inspire you.

I am loving the pops of color in a room. I can't wait to show the dramatic change in my bedroom, from dark and cozy to bright, light and airy.

This makes me incredibly hungry for something PINK.

Natasha Poly by Patrick Demarchelier for Vogue China January 2014 — Natasha Poly by Patrick Demarchelier for Vogue China January 2014

I'm in the process of spray painting just about anything I can get my hands on. I love the splashes of muted color on these pots. What colors are you gravitating towards?

Mindless Monday

I have to say my brain has been on serious vacation mode. I am dreaming of being out in the Barrier Reef, isn't is just so peaceful looking? I'm slowly trying to get myself back into a routine. I fear this won't happen till September. Still lots going on. May is shaping up to be a roller coaster, but I'll find a way to manage. I've been testing recipes, finalizing our bedroom makeover, fixing our new pimped out dresser and clearing the DVR of about 2 months worth of shows. I hardly watch live TV anymore. Today I am in cleaning mode, which includes the physical cleaning of the apartment and my email inbox. I am so wishing I had joined this program 4 0 bags in 40 days . Seriously how is it we accumulate so much stuff that quickly. But we do. So time to shred, bag, and get rid of it. So I start my own little challenge at my apartment before I start this project with my grandmother's house. Yep that's coming in May. Stay tuned for more road trip madness. Eventually I'll get my Belize post up. Have a great week all.

Perfect Party Bar Setup

While I was traveling through Belize I guest posted on The Hip Soiree about how to set up the perfect party bar. I'm currently trying to figure out how to replicate this at home, much more scaled down, of course. This party gave me a chance to figure this out. Take a look at the post here. I loved this project and Lizzie's blog is fantastic.

Cookbooks

Did I ever tell you I have a nice collection of signed cookbooks. My friends know because they helped me move boxes of them when we got our floors redone. I don't have too many, but a few apparently very heavy ones.

My love for cooking and cookbooks happened nearly 19 years ago. My boss was a foodie. He had quite a collection of cookbooks. I was newly married, and really didn't know how to cook much. Pasta was my go to meal. I asked his advice on what cookbooks I should invest in. I'd joined a cookbook club. Then, started the book signings. He'd send me to get a cookbook signed by Julia Child or some other great chef, and would kindly purchase one for me. Thus my love for the cookbook and meeting the author started.

My friend Bekah and I have stood in line more then once to meet Ina Garten and get a few signed cookbooks from her, plus a sampling of recipes from the cookbook. We love these moments.

All of a sudden there are three cookbooks and great stories on sale. Here's what I'm looking forward to reading and cooking from.

First up is David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen. If you haven't check out his blog your missing something. Seriously his first book My Sweet Life, made me laugh out loud. His tweets are even hilarious. This book released today. Go get it now at Amazon, I sure will be.

Next up is Molly Wizenberg's book about her restaurant, Delancey that she opened up with her husband. She is also hilarious, have you ever heard her on the podcast Spilled Milk? I literally laugh out loud listening while sitting in the endless traffic on L.A. freeways, and let me tell laughing in that mess is super hard to do.

Zoe Nathan, Josh Loeb - Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets and Recipes from our Kitchen

Last up is one I've been anticipating. Huckleberry: Stories, Secrets and Recipes From Our Kitchen. I literally live 4 blocks from Huckleberry's in Santa Monica. I frequently walk there for a quick lunch or sweet treat. Seriously when she posts on Instagram what she baked that day I drop everything and walk up the street to try it out. I can't wait to read this book. Right now you can pre-order it and I know they'll be doing a book signing soon, I so can't wait to meet these people in person. They own at least four restaurants and an ice cream parlor here in Santa Monica. You can't be more invested in your community then that.

What are your favorite cookbooks?

Mindless Monday

Well I'm back to the daily grind, still talking about our trip to Belize, I'll have plenty to share about that in the days to come. I think I've sort of set reset, but really i'm just moving at a slower pace right now. I know I have lots of creative ideas, recipes, travel and to do's to share, lots coming your way.

In my mind I'm sitting in the chair above, enjoying the cool Caribbean breeze with my Pina Colada. Reality is I'm sitting at my desk with 2 computers (Mac and PC), an iPad, iPhone, Camera, wires and plugs, all while I'm eating my food and typing this. Oh Reality….BOO! As Da La Soul sang "Back to Life, Back to Reality."

Hope you all have a wonderful week. I still have lots of catching up to do.

Belize Part I

We are in Belize. Why did we pick this country to travel to, you may ask? For a few reason, we have good friends who live here and have asked us to come many times. Also we wanted to do a little volunteer work and put forth a few goals to a some young girls about moving where there is a greater need and helping out. So we are here in Belize. I'll share more of my adventures when I return, but see a few images from the variety of things we've already seen and done.

Mindless Monday

Yes like the rest of those of us who live in L.A. we were woken up at 6:36AM (its still dark at that hour) and we jolted out of bed. I followed SB out of the bed, only it wasn't the way I usually get out of the bed so I proceeded to bang my shin and then we just stopped in the hallway, be holding my shin asking, "where we going" and SB saying "i have no idea." Lets just say our vacation cannot start soon enough.

With that said this space may be very quiet for a few days/weeks. We're off to Belize for a much needed vacation and some fun volunteer work. We're going with another family of 5. I'll try to post pictures on Instagram and maybe get a post in here, but I'm really trying to disconnect as much as possible. I am virtually on my electronic devices 24/7 these days and need to step away and reset my focus. I have a feeling my life will change drastically in the months to year to come. It needs to, and we will totally embrace it. For now enjoy the rest of March and early April.

Pi 3.14 PieVenture

In honor of Pi day 3.14, I think you all need to take a look at our recent PieVenture.

Party Decorations from The Hip Soiree

Hey everyone! I’m Lizzie from The Hip Soiree and I’m visiting today to talk to you about party decorations. YAY! I’m so glad to be here!

Ahhhhh…party decorations. I think I can safely say they are one of my most favoritest things in the world. I’m pretty sure it comes from my love of making DIY projects and the lack of space I have to display them. Party decorations are a way to make something grandiose. I mean, you don’t want it to look like Party City just barfed all over your house. You just want to pick a few things to really wow them. Who doesn’t like to knock some socks off? No one, that’s who.

When someone asks me to help plan a party, the first thing I do is talk to them about a theme and color scheme. And by “theme,” I don’t necessarily mean an overt theme like “I want a PRINCESS party!” (I don’t get that request very often, although I kinda hope I do because I AM A PRINCESS!) Mostly it’s a vibe. Believe it or not, not everyone wants a baby shower to have pink or blue crepe paper streamers everywhere or baby circus animals. Some people just want a relaxing party with their friends before their life turns to chaos. With gifts, of course. They’re not crazy.

After we settle on a color scheme and vibe…I hit Pinterest and start a board. Let’s pull some ideas together and see what we come up with! For example, the party I helped Tanya with was a gold, modern cocktail party. (Side note - I honestly don’t remember what we did before Pinterest. Did people use real bulletin boards for stuff like this? Or did they print things out and put them in a folder? That sounds HORRIFIC!)

Once some things have been pinned to the board, I pick my favorite concepts and run with them. For example, I found a tutorial on how to make a 4” ornament, but figured out a way to make it a 24” hanging centerpiece I call an Atomic Star (Tanya calls it “The Disco Deathstar.” Everyone better hope that thing doesn’t explode because it was basically a glitter bomb just WAITING for an excuse to blow.)

Here are some examples of things I’ve made out of plain, old paper:

I also like to jazz up things that can be kinda boring. Like table centerpieces. Don’t get me wrong, I love flowers, but they’re expensive! I’ve made things like paper peonies, felt billy buttons and origami flowers. Or how about embroidered tablecloths or table runners (like the gold sequined one pictured above)? Simple and different.

And then there are decorations like these super spikey (read: deadly to the touch) modern sea urchin orbs.

It doesn’t have to specifically scream party, just amp it up a bit! And, to me, it’s touches like these that makes a good party into an awesome party. My two cents.

Now if I could just cook, I’d be an unstoppable force. Oh, Tanya….

Itsweet and Stylish on the go with Kleenex

Can I just say I had a blast with this project for Kleenex. For one I am in love with these little packages and have been taking them all around Los Angeles. These on-the-go packages have seen some of the major sites in L.A.. I had one design to take me around and it just happened to SOOO be me, and my friends for that matter. They just complemented every purse, jacket and outfit we had on. You can seriously have your pick of multiple designs that fit in with your personal style. Take a look at www.Kleenex.com/style to find the ones that are so YOU.

We took this package with us to the LaBrea Bakery, Griffith Observatory, the Gamble House in Pasadena and even up to the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. Even the men can rock the Kleenex on-the-go packages with serious style.

My orange purse just made this package pop out, I really loved it and take a look at the inside to, even that has style.

I just so happen to love Raymond Chandler novels and he writes L.A. Crime Noir so well. Ieuan below just pulled this mood off to a tee.

Kleenex will be hosting a reveal event on March 17 at Grand Central Station in NYC where they will be unveiling the new Kleenex brand designs live with Isaac Mizrahi. Anyone can stop by the event to learn more about Kleenex brand’s 90 years of Kleenex Style, be the first to see the designs and have a chance to win some cool prizes.

This is a sponsored post by Kleenex Brand. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Mindless Monday

The past two weeks have been a bit of blur, but also amazingly eventful. We had guests for two weeks visiting from the UK. It's a friend I've had since we were 12. Penpals, do you even know what that is? Before the days of email, texting, skype, facetime, we wrote letters and lots of them. We'll she and her husband haven't been in L.A. for over 11 years, so they were due for a visit. Over the next couple of weeks, maybe even one post before we are off to Belize, I'll share a few of the sprinklings of what we've been up to and where we went.

In the meantime, we are up for a serious vacation of our own. With a complete overhaul of our bedroom, a party thrown on one of the rainiest weekends we've ever had in L.A., working, posting, and being a full tour guide, we are ready for a vacation. Which is sort of what we'll be doing starting next week in Belize. I kind of feel like I'm at a crossroads, which that picture kind of conveys. I seriously need to set a reset button on my life. Which I hope unplugging for two weeks we'll allow me to do. Thanks to all my readers for sticking around while I try to catch up on life.

ItSweet and Stylish at Home with Kleenex

I was invited by Kleenex to celebrate their 90th anniversary, which means they've been around since the 20's, as in 1920, so this is ItSweet and Stylish look at how their cool designs work fabulousely in my humble home. I've been using Kleenex for most of my life. Their brand has become synonymous with facial tissue. We don't ask "do you have a tissue," but we do ask "do you have any Kleenex" and we automatically know what we want, they are clearly an industry leader.

Kleenex continues to show their innovations by partnering with Isaac Mizrahi, whom I adore, so this is naturally a no-brainer for me to talk about. He's got personality and style up the wazoo. Together they will introduce four new and unique designs to the Kleenex Expressions line of products, these are affordable and high-quality designs that will complete your home.

Most of the time we think of Kleenex only when we're sick, which incidentally I did this week, while writing this post, and let's just say my Kleenex came in handy. But seriously don't you always have these on hand. Now you can add these stylish boxes to any room decor.

My bedroom was dark and cozy to start off with and this particular box went perfect in the room with all my personal accessories.

Then we painted and brightened the room up, incidentally not for this post, and now look, this amazing design goes fantastic in the room. Seriously there are so many great designs for just about any decor. My side of the bed and the other more masculine side of the bed.

And finally this box looks fantastic in my office, right next to Mr. Hamatoro.

Additionally, Kleenex is hosting a sweepstakes on the website through March 7th, 2014 called, “Catwalk or Kleenex?” You can win a trip for to to NYC and $5K spending, seriously, can I go with you? Oh and you might get to meet Isaac. I die!

To enter, visit www.kleenex.com/style and answer a series of questions asking you to identify which design is Kleenex brand and which design is from the catwalk. By taking the short quiz, consumers are automatically entered to win an all-expense paid trip for two to New York City to find his/her Kleenex brand style with a famous designer. The winner will also receive $5,000 spending money for a NYC shopping spree. Entry is open January 13, 2014 through March 7th and limited to once per promotion period.

This is a sponsored post by Kleenex Brand. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Mindless Monday

Are you more productive when your busy? I am. On this Mindless Monday, I realized while my mom was visiting how busy I really am. She said to me "when I was younger I could do all the things you are doing." I was thinking am I young enough to be doing all the things I'm doing? Let's just say, I'm enjoying the chaos and loving the creativity. Above is a look back of my adventures via Instagram from January, I'm a bit late posting it, but like seeing each month what I've done, it makes me appreciate the 30 or so days that wiz by.

This month and next are really going to push me creatively Watch out for a contributing post to another site, maybe a story of making chocolate truffles for a photo shoot my friend is styling and a sponsored post or two by some brands I met up with last month. I'm excited about them all for different reasons. It's the next step in my blog journey and will help me maintain this little creative space I enjoy so much. Happy Monday my friends!

Photography Food Styling

Do you take notes? I do, just about every week. I find that my attention span is smaller and smaller, ant-like. My note books are a combination of images and text. I create word pictures from what I'm hearing and I draw the speaker, all this helps me concentrate on what is being said. I saw a woman do this next to me at Alt, so I know I'm not alone. Sometimes when it's a really good story, I'm fully engaged watching, listening, I want to take the journey with the speaker, and then I put pen to paper and start to draw the story. These days, with my camera in hand on my phone, I find taking pictures works the best. During our Food Styling photography class at Alt, it was all about the pictures.

What did we learn? We could have made this an all day class. But it was only a few hours at the most. Our two photographers, J oy Uyeno and Lindsey Johnson suggested only using things that make the food look good, but still edible (i.e. spritz of water on salads, no unnatural glazes.) We know we all want to eat this food after we shoot it.

Styling. Some great suggestions on props, antique stores are a good start or do you buy one napkin, one bowl, one fork at places like West Elm? I do. Texture matters, cloth napkins are best. How about showing the ingredients you used in the food. Make the picture live, like you just ate it, or are about to. Don't be afraid to take a bite and then take a picture, it can be a little messy, this makes it real.

Have you found that treasure trove of antique mismatched silverware, how about an old wood patina cutting board, these are great pieces to include. It takes a while and some room to build a collection of props. I once had a photography assignment that we had to use 3 objects, metal, paper, texture and fabric. I loved this project, because it made push my creativity and was a nice departure after the Fashion shoot we did. I still own those props from umpteen years ago.

Lighting. Natural all the way, I tend to take my pictures in the morning light and right before sunset, I do get some great light in my kitchen and living room at these times. My bedroom get's some great light mid-day, so once I get a few more surfaces (slate, more wood options) that I can move into there, that might be my mid-day spot. Great tip came from someone that suggested natural daylight bulbs, you can buy and replace in all your lamps. If you happen to only be able to shoot your food when the sun has set, or your space isn't well lit, this is the way to go. If you have the money and space a strobe flash would be great. You'll probably at the very least want to purchase black and white foam core as bounces for light and flash. They really do make a big difference.

Here's Joy getting this amazing Raspberry tart set up for a shot. Love how she should us a simple way to get the napkin in there. Grab it from the middle and just let it naturally fall and lay it down, no fancy folding. Seriously how easy is that, and looks great. Loved this class and all the fun little tidbits. Seriously this needs to be a whole day session, which would include eating everything too. I think this may be another investment that I make this year for myself. Taking another food photography class, investing in the right equipment and of course, all year long I'm on the look-out for props.

And lastly, above is my assignment shot from the 3 objects, paper, fabric, metal and texture. Not bad for my first time, I had to search through my archives to find this image. I think this is the image that made me want to do more of this type of photography. It's not a bad thing to look back at what we've done and critique ourselves. Maybe we realize that wasn't that bad, or maybe we see "man why would I have ever taken that image and posted it."I think I have more of the later these days. Learning a little patience when it comes to content creations is a good thing.

PieVenture

Are you ready for a PieVenture thru a few local L.A. spots? We've been dreaming about doing this for nearly 8 months. Finally while I was off during the winter break we made this little PieVenture happen.

First off, I am super excited to introduce Sara Darouian to my readers. She's the illustrator behind the beautiful map I commissioned for this post. She's a talented graphic designer, who just got what I was looking for after only a few email exchanges. Please contact her for any illustration needs. Here's her site and her contact info: me@saradarouian.com

So SB (Surfer Boy = Husband) and I went on this PieVenture. Let's just say I love the way he says Pie (P-eye). And he knows one of my favorite pie places to go to is Polly's Pie. They use to have one in Santa Monica, but it's gone and replaced by a Panera, so not the same. Twice a year we end up near a Polly's, so I indulge in my favorite burger, the Polly Burger and a piece of cherry pie. This place has special meaning. When I was a kid every Tuesday night my mom and a grandfatherly man named Frank Finnegan (Can you tell he was Irish), would go and eat pie. I loved those moments. He has since passed away and mom lives in New Mexico. So knowing how much I love Pie, SB and I saw the opportunity to go on a local L.A. PieVenture.

First stop was PieHole. I know you just LOVE that name. This place is located in the art district of downtown L.A. and with no traffic is really only 20 minutes away, with, give it an hour.

I asked a few people in line what there favorite pie was, I heard Mexican Chocolate and the Chocolate Crostata, because that one was just all pure chocolate. Second favorite was the Earl Grey Pie, I knew I probably wouldn't get this at the other two places so I choose that one. SB chose the Apple Pie. He said it was too thin of crust and he wasn't a fan of the sprinkles of sugar on top. I kind of liked it myself.

Close up of the flavorful Earl Grey Pie. This was perfect, I'm always worried that the Earl Grey tea leaves will take over the rest of the pie, like the Lavendar Panna cota I had once and tasted like soap. But this pie did not disappoint. And can you see the thin layer of chocolate at the bottom. Bonus! Can you just see the fluffiness in this pie.

Cool minimal decor and I loved their menu. Kraft paper rolled down on the wall. Easy to update and just simple. I would love this my kitchen for menu plans or shopping lists. Average price for piece of pie (PPP) = $6, heftiest of the three pie places we visit.

Next up was House of Pie. Not to far away from DTLA in the city of Los Feliz. This is the place that started the idea of the PieVenture, when we were on our way to Griffith Park here, we saw this and said, "we need to go there and have some P-eye!" This is the day that SB named it our "PieVenture" he owns the copyright to that term!

SB had the Bavarian Chocolate Pie. This was a big piece of pie, tall and lightly whipped with drizzles of chocolate. We about got into a PieFIght at this place. I wanted to take the picture of SB's fork going into the pie, but his hand kept getting in the way, so I had to art direct. He wanted to eat the pie, it was about to be a Pie Smack down. The waiter told me "let the man eat his Pie." I told him, hey this is part of the PieVenture, taking the pictures along the way. This got everyone talking about what we were calling this escapade, they all agree and PieVenture was the right call and wanted to know where we were going next. Can we say we might have to have PieVenture meet-up next?

You must know that Cherry Pie is my favorite pie EVER. My friend Carolyn makes a mean, [which = GOOD] Cherry Pie and Polly's Pie has a really good one. But this is now top of my list of REALLY good Cherry Pie. Do you see the sugar crystals on top of the basket weave crust, yum. They warmed this up without me even asking. I declined the a la mode part. And glad I did, it was a MOUNTAIN of ice cream that they were serving. So if you like your pie that way, which I don't, this is the place for a generous serving of a la mode! PPP = $4.50. Cheapest of the three.

Last stop for the day was Republic of Pie. This is in North Hollywood. This wasn't to far from House of Pie and a natural stop in our circular adventure, from the Westside. This place is really cute inside, and bigger than you think. There are about three sections to the area. This is also the only of the three that has live music and you can apply to play live on Music Mondays. Incidentally we ran into some friends who live in the area and love coming here for breakfast. Our trip was only a sweet pie adventure, no food or savory pies, which only means we'll need to go back to try those ones.

So Republic of Pie is known for their Chocolate Bread Banana Pie. But this pie was HUGE, and we were on our third stop, I could barely fathom it. So I decided to get the smaller Chocolate Cream Pie, this was a rich thick dark chocolate pie, very dense and very good. I could barely eat much, so I took this home and enjoyed it the next day while watching Downton Abbey.

SB chose the Peach Pie, although I tried to talk him out of it since January is hardly a time for in season peaches. However, he liked the glutinous texture, I didn't like this at all, but I'm a snob for making these type of pies when the fruit is in the peak of their season. Presentation was great for both these pies with twirls of caramel and chocolate. PPP = $5.25.

Piehole. 714 Traction Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90013

House of Pie. 869 N Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Republic of Pie. 11118 Magnolia Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601

We ate a lot of pie, but I have my limits, so you see above the variety of to go boxes of pie. Next time your in L.A., or if you live here, why not go on a little PieVenture, take some friends, order some sweet and savory pies, enjoy the people watching and conversation, and be ready to take a few home while your at it. Enjoy!

Technorati. GB587T4BYJBX

Tech Tuesday - Snapchat

What do you know about Snapchat? I've barely paid attention to this app, but have heard that loads of teenagers love it, so I've kind of steered clear. After having my share of selfies from ALT it's hardly something I see myself using. So what is this app? You take a picture, draw whatever you want on it, send it to a friend and voila, they have 10 seconds to view "before this picture will self destruct."

So why the appeal of Snapchat? I like the Fly or Die segment on Techcrunch about this app. As they said, teenagers are separating their Virtual and Real selves. These kids have grown up on Facebook, their Virtual self. Images here are permanent, so the pressure to look cool and really care about every image is high, same goes with liking things that you really don't necessarily like, but you do it to look cool. I know you have teenagers following you on Instagram and they will like ANYTHING you post.

As for Snapchat, this is the Real self. With the less pressure to create a lasting image, Snapchat images apparently disappear in 10 seconds. You can snap your everyday life, with seemingly no consequences. Call me a skeptic, but do we remember Monica Lewinsky and her emails, nothing really EVER disappears online. Plus with all the recent problems, even today with snapchat going down for 30 minutes, and images sent out, but never received by user, then WHERE ARE THEY GOING? Also mentioned over and over again is there truly concern that sexting will be an issue on Snapchat with this 10 second "destructable" image?

I think there is a caution for these kids on social media and their selfies especially when you start hash-tagging the death out of them with things like #amIsexy #doyouwanttodateme, etc. Look at the pool of images your putting yourself in, do you really want to be associated with those people, do you really want that attention? I think it's best to look at the root of the issue with these kids and for parents to be balanced about it. Give them freedom in small doses, slowing release the spring, but be informed and aware of the dangers of social media.

Now enough of that soapbox. What's the deal with the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler joke at the Golden Globes this month?

“A lot of nominated shows this year are actually on Netflix. House of Cards. Orange Is the New Black. Enjoy it while it lasts, Netflix. Because you’re not going to be feeling so smug in a couple of years when Snapchat is up here accepting Best Drama.”

Is it that Hollywood and Silicon Valley are converging? Is it that Netflix won it's first ever Golden Globe? For Netflix they started off delivering content already made, now their in the business of creating original content and getting awarded for it on the way. This is why Netflix will last as opposed to the bygone era of Blockbuster.

Will Snapchat start creating original Emmy/Oscar winning content? Will the movie only be 10 seconds long? Let's watch carefully and see how this convergence works itself out.

So are you Snapchatting, is that even the right word? Or maybe your kids are, what do you think? Would love to hear a dialog about this.

Mindless Monday - Selfies

Today I was motivated, worked thru my lunch, I think I just ate it at 7PM, emailed a few people I met at ALT Summit conference, booked our flights to Belize and pepped my mom up after her trying day as a care-taker. I know you saw Belize in there, more to come on that later as I reflect on that fact that we'll be going in less than 2 months.

People have started to post there reflections on ALT and I'm already loving them. My favorite so far is from This Heart of Mine. Amy was so honest and fully articulated the joy you get with being surround by other creative people, there is nothing like it. And everyone is SOOOO supportive. For this type of business, that is so crucial. We may take that for granted, but we get reminded when we attend this conference.

One of the big things about this conference is all the photo booths. Let's start with, I hardly ever take a selfie [image of myself, usually by myself, with my iPhone or camera]. Don't get me wrong I occasionally take them on purpose to check my hair or make-up, or maybe because I accidentally turned the camera myself, but I rarely post them. The photo booths at ALT make you get out of that self-conscious vibe real quick. If you want to participate in a brands giveaway or just document the fun your having with friends this is what you do.

For the most part it's a camera, you take 3 to 4 poses, it's best to coordinate with your friends on poses. But the one that seriously made Deborah and I laugh the hardest was the shark tank. First off we didn't realize it was a rapid fire of images, to make a video, so for our first intro it was hilarious, her being Tyra Banks "fierce" and me channeling my mother and being silly with the scuba goggles. The second time, I was a bit more obsessed with the wind machine and I have no idea what Deborah is doing with her arms. All I really know is I haven't laughed this hard in a while. Deborah and I were hilarious at 11PM in our hotel room watching these ridiculous videos, but at least we can make fun of ourselves. Maybe comedy is in our future if blogging doesn't work out. Here's to the selfies...ENJOY at our expense.

Always up for a good photobomber @andrea_creates

Creative Business Cards - ALT Summit SLC

This was my second year going to ALT Summit's flagship event in Salt Lake City. This time felt so much different. For one I had a bit more confidence and a better idea of what I wanted to accomplish. Connect with the brands that made sense for me and more importantly connect with the bloggers that I could collaborate with. Last time I made friends but made no connections with other bloggers to collaborate. That is of course besides my Local L.A. friends Deborah, Felicia and Brittany, who I have partnered up with this past year on a few projects and collaborations. This year I was able to join a few Facebook groups (I finally bit that FB bullet and joined, oy vey) with some talented ladies, plus we started an LA blogger group, so we can connect up with us locals. Overall it was a good experience.

Let's Shine Together Business Card Board

Having designed my own business card with my logo [created by an incredible art director/director Jeff Compton] I was purposeful in who I gave them too. I printed less and gave out all that I took, which was about 50. Most cards I received from others it was because I had meaningful conversations with them. Of course there was the awesome idea from one of the mini-parties that had the Let's Shine Together board above where you could attach your cards on the board in the category that fits you plus take a few for yourself. I grabbed some from people I'd like to follow up with later, especially in the food category. Would love to see more food and travel at these events as opposed to the prevalence of DIY.

As usual there were a combination of handmade cards, with amazing paintings and splashes of colors. Then there were conceptual cards package in vellum, sealed with washi tape, filled with candy, printed with beautiful images or the lovely letter presses. One of them had the brilliant idea of a big ring with a mini hole punch to put all your cards on. I ran into Carly, who created this concept, on the day I was leaving to fly home, I practically hugged her, what an awesome idea to keep them all together. She goes to many more conferences than I do, so this is her amazing way of keeping them all straight.

I have to say meeting Garance Dore (below), was pretty up there on my list of cool things. I've followed this illustrator/fashion blogger for a while and loved hearing her talk. I may not be a fashion blogger, but I love fashion and illustration. I think my Style board on Pinterest has as many or more followers than my Tasty Goodies (food) board. Garance was so approachable and adorable to hear speak with her delightful French accent. I loved her simple illustrated presentation and her honesty about the negative comments and not letting them get to you, much easier said then done. She really is a pioneer in fashion blogging and so unaffected and super cool. Hugable even. Even her hair is cool, disregard my poof, it was early and I had no product to tame the shrew.

Salton Sea

This year I have a goal of doing one photo shoot each month. I prefer to be behind the camera, but we'll see if a reverse of that ever happens. Let's just say taking my About Me portraits nearly sent me over the edge. I do however, have lists of places that I'd like to explore, ideally we get in the car or plane and just make it happen. With my busy schedule this a good challenge, and hopefully doable. Also a good chance for SB and I to have mini-cheap little adventures. With all the construction going on in our city for the Expo line we desperately need to "Get out of Dodge." Hmm there's an idea, maybe a trip to Dodge City.

So January 1st, I talked him to driving me to the Salton Sea. This is a place I've REALLY REALLY, really wanted to go to. I few photographers I follow over the years have been taking some amazing images. So I asked where to go and when. Right now the temperatures are perfect for this part of the desert. It's near Coachella and I knew no one would be out there on New Years day.

If you want to read about this place, check it out here. It's a bizarre little area. I spent most of my day on the western shore at the Salton Sea Beach. This place was super cool, but admittedly after 2 hours you get kind of depressed with all the abandonment of a former sea resort.

Later in March I'll try to explore the Eastern part of the sea, I've heard there are a few abandoned pools, we'll see if can get SB to skate the bowl. Enjoy this first round of images. Yes I know it's image overload, but I had to share. I'll be loading the big lot of them to my flickr account here.

Alt Summit SLC

So I will be off and on this week as I'm attending the Alt Summit in Salt Lake City for a fantastic blogging conference. I hope this year not to be so much a deer in the headlights, but more of a participant.

After last years conference I was motivated, I got my site and branding together, created a beginners editorial calendar and tried to stick to a more regular schedule of posting. I saw what worked and what didn't. I attended a few follow-up classes with Alt that really helped. My fellow bloggers and myself were able to host a really fun event which was spurred on by a class with Natalie Bowman from Bing on "How to Work with Brands." She's repeating this class so if you haven't gone you should, so practical.

My biggest accomplishment was getting my site together, if it's not functional it drives me nutz. Above is what it looked like before, You can see how much cleaner it looks now. While I moonlight as a blogger I also work as a project manager for a tech company on marketing campaign sites, so I have a lot to say about functional nice design.

One thing for sure is my mom said it's easier for her to find things on my new site, and we all know we blog for our mothers, don't we. Even today I told her, "I have a recipe for you, go to my site you'll see the link."

I hope to share some nuggets with you after a week of filling my mind with creative ideas and meeting some amazing people and brands. Enjoy!