Thursday...it always feels like Friday

I know, I know...I have been a really terrible blogger lately. Actually, I kind of can't believe it's been almost a week since I last updated...I feel really awful about that, sorry. What that means, though, is that I now have loads and loads to share with you. Like the photo above? That's from a new notebook I made that I'm pretty excited about. I'd love for you to check it out right here.

Besides making a bunch of books (that you can see in my flickr stream if you so desire), I went to Oakland last Sunday to check out the Birth of the Cool exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California. The exhibit focused on midcentury modern design in a wide variety of mediums; architecture, painting, animation, music. And of course lots of Eames designed furniture. We went on the very last day of the run, so you can no longer catch it in Oakland, but if it comes to your town I highly recommend stopping by.

We walked around a bit in Oakland, through Chinatown to the downtown business area. Before I had never had an opportunity to spend any time exploring Oakland, and it was a lot different than what I expected. I guess I thought it would be more like San Francisco, but more industrial. Really, it was like San Francisco but sleepier and quainter without that stress that sometimes hangs in the air in San Francisco. The Chinatown there is so different from the Chinatown here in San Francisco! The streets were so quiet...and there are a lot of really gorgeous little houses in that area. Oh, and I can't forget the school playground with a pirate ship! So awesome. Yep, Oakland is ok with me.

mel

PS - If you are in Oakland in the Chinatown area and you are hungry for some tasty vegetarian Vietnamese food, Golden Lotus is super delish.

SuperOrange

All right, I think I am seriously addicted to Orange-Carrot Juice. For a while I was having it everyday for breakfast. Then I stopped for a while, because I am lazy to walk to Jamba Juice from my office, but I was thinking about it ALL THE TIME. Now I'm back. It's just soooo good. I don't know what it is, there's just something so refreshing, yet slightly creamy about it...it's really flavorful and satiating. The way they make it at Jamba Juice it gets all frothy....yum, just thinking about it is making me salivate. Anyway, the point is that I'm a little worried that having the same thing for breakfast everyday is not good for me. Also, I am a little worried that I might turn a little orange, even though, really, I know that won't happen. But still. So I tried having yogurt and an apple for breakfast but it's just not the same! I'm going to try the yogurt thing for a while though, because I bought a TON of yogurt, and maybe eventually I'll be as obsessed with yogurt as I am now with Orange-Carrot juice. It could happen.

It seems like I am finally starting to feel creative again. Unfortunately, so far it seems like I'm feeling most creative while I'm at work, where there is nothing creative to do but doodle. Like I've mentioned before, I've really been inspired by this collage project we're doing in my drawing class, and by the Joseph Cornell exhibit at the SFMOMA. In fact, I went to see the Cornell exhibit again last night, with my boyfriend, and I feel like I wouldn't mind at all if I were going to see it again. I loved it so much. Last night I wanted to walk across the scary bridge they have on the top floor of the museum. The walkway is metal, but the floor is kind of a grid (they call it steel truss), so you can see through it. The walkway is on the fourth floor of the museum, and you can see all the way to the ground floor. And these are gallery floors so I they're a bit taller than normal floors I think. If you get a chance to go to the SFMOMA and you are not too scared of heights, you should definitely do the walkway. It is so incredibly terrifying. But fun! Really! It's indescribable. I was giggling in terror for like five minutes after. But I did it twice! The real point is that on the other side of the bridge was the Olafur Eliasson exhibition, which was also super cool. It was all about geometry and it was organic, but it had elements of collage as well, but used in a totally different way than Cornell used them. It was a really interesting contrast.

The museum lobby and the bridge with Eliasson's work "One Way Color Tunnel." Unfortunately, it doesn't make the bridge look very scary. Sorry.

So, yes, very inspiring. But it doesn't really mean anything unless I make myself sit down and get to work. And now I'm thinking about doing the Holiday Shopping Fair at my work. My coworkers have been on me about it all year, asking me if I'm going to sell my scarves and hats. I want to because then I would get to basically take a half day off work, which is always awesome. But it also means that I would need to start cranking out the knitwear like NOW. So, I guess I'll have to see what happens.

mel

NaBloPoMo...JoShmoDadeedadowhaddayaknow

So, I am participating in NaBloPoMo....which is National Blog Posting Month....which means I have to post on my blog everyday! For the whole month of November! Even saturday and sunday! This is for sure going to be a challenge for me, because I am one of the laziest bloggers I know. I'm excited though, I hope I find some really cool stuff for y'all to read about.
That being said, I unfortunately have very little to say today. I am sooooo tired. I actually had to do real work at work today (as opposed to every other day, when I don't) and it really tuckered me out! I had this really awesome dinner planned to, but now I'm almost 100% sure that it's not happening. Which is sad, but, whatever. I took a shower though, and I feel fairly refreshed, so don't worry about me.
Oh! I thought of something cool to talk about. On Saturday I went on a little field trip for my drawing class to the SFMoMA to see an exhibit of the work of Joseph Cornell. I wasn't expecting too much, but I was really blown away. I can't believe I had never heard of Cornell before. I was totally entranced by his work. He created amazing, ethereal collages on paper, but what I found most interesting were his "boxes" which were like 3-d collages. He was influenced by movies and starlets and birds and surrealism. His work is so intricate, but they have a childlike feeling of wonder and innocence. I'm not sure if this exhibit is touring, but if it comes to your town you should definitely check it out. I found him to be so inspiring, I'm going back this weekend (maybe). If you live in San Francisco you should FOR SURE go, like right now. The museum is open until 8 or something on thursdays. Click here for more info.
See you tomorrow!

mel

blogs y'all - pt. 1

Well, I haven't been crafty in a while because I have been supa supa busy supastar! And that means no blogging either. Sorry. But whoa, whoa, that just won't do, so here's something fun and easy; riding on the coattails of others' craftiness! This will be a regular feature, popping up whenever I am having a bit of the ol' "crafter's block." So, without further ado, the first six (in no particular order) of my very favoritest blogs!

1. jenslekman.com

This is first on the list because I am sosososososososososo excited about the Jens Lekman show I'm going to next week! I am super psyched about it. Jens Lekman is a totally amazing Swedish popstar singer/songwriter. When you read his blog, you can almost feel what it's like to be Swedish. Also, he talks about music he likes (usually it is awesome; afrobeat or more Swedish pop) and he sometimes puts some rad mp3s up from his EPs or mixtapes that he makes. My favorite thing about the blog is that Jens is not shy about his fondness for Paul Simon, which, hey, that's kind of a brave stance to take! Paul Simon is, I think, generally thought of as not very hip.

2. jezebel.com

Jezebel is my current favorite celeb gossip type blog. I have been reading the gossip blogs for a few years now and I've had my favorites, but Jezebel is, I think, really the best of the lot. They have the most pertinent gossip without going so in depth that it gets boring, but they also have actual news sometimes, and political news and clips from the Tyra Banks show and fashion and it's REALLY funny. And it's pretty rude. Sometimes it may be NSFW, depending on how conservative your office is. My favorite regular feature on Jezebel is the "Crap email from a Dude" which is basically emails guys sent to break up with girls. Oh, they are so cringe-inducingly awesome.

3. gofugyourself

This is my favorite blog of all time, as you may know if you are a regular reader of this blog. It's hard to elaborate on the basic premise: pictures of celebs and wannabe celebs wearing ridiculous clothes with commentary on just how ridiculous the clothes are. Sounds a little dry, but the Fug Girls are probably the funniest girls EVER. I laugh out loud at least once a day at gofugyourself.

4. Ace Jet 170

If you are a typography nut you will looooove this blog. If not, guess what?, you will probably still love it because it is just sooo stylish. The author is British, and that definitely comes across in his writing. It's like he writes with a British accent. It's all about type and design on Ace Jet 170. My favorite feature is the Found Type Friday, where he posts pictures people send in of writing in public places; signs, labels, graffiti, etc. Oh, and he talks about maps a lot. He has some of the neatest things I've ever seen. I am super jealous of him.

5. My Folk Lover

This is the blog of the amazing artist Catherine Campbell. She draws the sweetest pictures of things like bunnies and girls sailing in tea cups. Her blog is just as sweet as her drawings. She posts about works in progress and life in Australia. Often, she features other artists that she likes, and I almost always like them too!

6. Things I've Bought That I Love

The main author of this blog is Mindy Kaling, a writer and actress on the American version of The Office. I have never seen the American Office, but now I may have to watch it because if the show is even half as funny as this blog then it is HILARIOUS. I am seriously in love with Mindy Kaling now. Hello, this is a blog about buying really expensive things! And it's funny! Mindy seems like the coolest girl in the world. Hi Mindy, let's be best friends, ok?

mel