NIMO.

Life

2011-06-08T05:24:00.000-07:00

Hello.

I wanted to apologize for not posting for such a long time.
I was busy "creating life".
During the last few months I just didn't have the brains to take pictures and write blog posts.
All I had on my mind was the baby and how my life was changing.
Now she's finally here.
It's impossible to describe how she makes me feel. It's amazing.
I can spend hours (read: days and nights) watching her sleep.
Every day is a new adventure and it's almost as if time had stopped.
Happy two-week birthday, my little princess!

I'll probably keep uploading and updating my baby-blog more often. So if you're curious just head over there: 1+1=3

As soon as I feel ready for "normal" life I'll take some shots of my new studio space and I'll share some new projects I have in mind...

Simple Pleasures

2011-03-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

Without my equipment and a growing baby belly to attend to (exercise, childbirth classes, buying all the supplies a baby needs, etc) there's not much exciting content I can offer you. So today's post is all about the simple pleasures, the tiny things that brighten up your day. In my case, it's mainly bright, colorful, fresh food :)
So there you go: a bunch of food pics to put some color in your day!
xx

A few colorful shots from the weekly "rastro" or farmer's market.
And yes, those are oranges on the piles of undies - just to prevent them from flying away in a gust of wind!

Perfect dinner: oven baked potatoes with cumin and fresh tomatoes with basil from the garden and
roughly chopped garlic - yum!

Fixing a quick lunch: pasta with a broccoli-mushroom sauce

Our staple snack and dessert: fresh strawberries from Huelva (known for its strawberry crops)

And another spanish staple: churros with hot chocolate and coffee with my oldest friend Laura,
who came to visit me and see my expanding belly! Can you believe we've been friends for just
about 20 years by now!?!?

I hope you enjoyed the pics, and if you're curious and feel like taking a peek at my baby blog, head over to 1+1=3 to see some belly shots. Have a great weekend, xx

Inspiring Work Spaces

2011-03-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

via nice*room

It is pouring outside, has been for the last few days. As I find myself forced to stay in (here's not much to do when it's this rainy around here, trust me), I find myself yearning to get back to work, checking my email for any updates on the shipment of our belongings (including all my metalsmithing tools and supplies) and brainstorming about how to decorate the new NIMO. work space.
The studio is a closed garage space, completely separate from the rest of the house. It has a gorgeous wide glass door facing a tiny pond and the most amazing rustic tiled floor: alternate terra cota and white marble tiles, a bit like a giant chess board. This space has gone through a whole lot of transitions: a guest bedroom, my mom's painting studio, storage space, my studio when I decided to venture in the world of graphic design, back to storage space (when we moved to the US in late 2007). Now I'm visualizing a creative haven, the new NIMO. headquarters so to speak but I also want to dedicate a chunk of space for my mom's painting endeavors.
The room has a built in white table, that goes along the walls in a u-shape and a big bookcase, filled with books, old records and my photography and graphic design files.
I can't wait for the rain to stop for good this year, so we can get started on repainting (now 2 of the three outside walls are wet), putting up some more shelving and getting all our tools in place.
I have been using pinterest as a tool to keep track of all the amazing work spaces people have found on the web and I can't wait to add a little vintage feel and lots of metalsmithing tools and paint brushes to the blank white space. Here are a few of my favorite spaces so far. If you feel like seeing more or if you want to take a peek at what other inspiring images I have found on the web, click on this link to see my other boards.

via interiors porn

via WORKSPACES

via HOUSE & HOME

via Aubrey Road

via oh, hello friend

Highlights of our Daily Lives

2011-03-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

Istán reservoir. After the first heavy rains of the winter, we ventured to a good lookout spot to see the excesss
water being released.

Wild lavender.

Black spaghetti. No taste difference, just a feast for the eye.

Mikki is renovating his recording studio, while we wait for all our belongings to arrive.
The whole place had to be rewired, tiles knocked off the walls, floors need to be replaced and walls need to be painted.
Can't wait for the decorating part :)

I've been told that walking is a great exercise for my growing belly. So I try to do it along the beach. So far I haven't done it often enough though...

When running errands in the morning Mikki and I always try to sneak in a breakfast stop.
This simple "pan tumaca" (toasted bread sprinkled with delicious olive oil and freshly blended tomatoes)
is one of our favorite choices.

Last time I stayed inside the car, while Mikki washed it. Ohhh, the advantages of being pregnant!

Happy weekend everybody! The weather here has suddenly turned cold, windy and rainy again. So I'll probably spend the next few days inside, browsing through pinterest for wall color and jewelry inspiration. I'm having serious withdrawal symptoms after waiting for over two month for all my jewelry tools and supplies to arrive from LA. I hope my belly still lets me get close enough to the bench, by the time everything gets here!

Little Glimpses into our new/old Home

2011-03-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

When we decided to move back to Spain in mid July last year, little did we know of the life changing things that were going to happen in the next few months - I found out I was pregnant in mid September.

So once we got the news, we decided that moving back in with my mom was the smartest move to make (instead of jumping head over heals into a house search). My mom lives in a beautiful old house with a huge garden overlooking a little reservoir just about 10 minutes out of town. This is the house I grew up in, and it feels amazing to know, that this is where our little girl will spend the first part of her life, too.

The layout of the house is great for cohabiting - with bedrooms and bathrooms on both ends, enclosing the common areas such as the living room, the kitchen and the dining room. My mom was generous (or crazy) enough to move out of her quarters and to let the our little growing family use the two back bedrooms, the big bathroom and the walk in closet (a dream come true!). The second bedroom used to be my bedroom as a kid and has now the functions of a guest bedroom, living room, baby room, and yoga room :)

Anyways, today I thought I'd share a glimpse into some corners of our new-old home.

Bedroom: antique chest of drawers, the pictures are a limited edition print of one of my teachers in
photography school, a small pic of my grandfather and a poster of the Godot Art Gallery in Prague.
The lamp is from Ikea.

Bedroom: my side of the bed. An old photograph of my great grandmother and her kids, a "photographer"
snoopy, a love letter on a piece of wood, a vintage looking tin of Droste Cocoa, books, my beloved
macbook and a lamp from Ikea.

Bedroom: the only downside of my love of books is that I need to put a bookshelf against each inch
of free wall space. On top is another limited edition photo a teacher of mine took, a candle, an empty
box and the cutest pair of baby shoes, passed on from my little nephew.

The hallway: more bookshelves!!! One of my last screen prints based on a photo I took of Mikki
on our way to San Diego, a photo collage I made when I first started photography just out of
high school and the african version of the "matryoshka" my dad brought me from Ruanda.

Hallway: more of the same and a print I got at the Renegade Craft Fair in Los Angeles.

Hallway: my parents.

The multi-function room: has this wonderful vintage wood sink in a corner.

The multi-function room: with a pretty empty book shelf (we're still waiting for our
belongings to arrive, they're going through customs these days). The wonderful thing about moving
back in to your childhood home, is finding old toys. Like this cute baby and mommy bears.

The multi-function room: this will eventually become the changing station, for now I parked
this woven crib here. We have been so lucky to get so many things passed along from
my sister in law and our nephew!

The muli-function room: between the sink and the future changing station a wooden guardian and
old toy of mine: the elephant on wheels.

The multi-function room: last but not least a huge teddy bear sitting on the bookshelf, a sake bottle
I took home after a sushi dinner in Germany and beautiful pieces of drift wood my mom brought home.

Day Trip to Tarifa and Bolonia

2011-02-20T12:04:00.000-08:00

Tarifa, the southernmost point of Spain and Europe, is a small town in an area famous for wind- and kitesurfing. Like most places in Southern Spain, it is mostly visited in the summer months. But I absolutely love visiting during winter, when 99% of the people on the streets are locals and the climate is nice enough to enjoy a coffe and lunch in the sun, but wearing a jacket or at least a jumper.

Bolonia is a minute beach town, famous for its roman ruins, and it's beautiful beach.

The most striking thing about the area are the white sand beaches, the turquoise or intense blue colored Atlantic ocean and on a clear day, the breathtaking views of Morocco (which is a mere 8.9 miles (14.3km) away).

So today, a mild sunday, my mom and I decided it was time for our first visit to the towns of Tarifa and Bolonia this year.

First we walked through the old part of Tarifa, stopped for coffee in the sun and then headed over to nearby Bolonia for lunch and a quick stroll at the beach.

Can I move in? Apparently behind the door there's a huge patio surrounded by antique furniture. Sigh!

Tarifa. Old moorish city wall.

Old town Tarifa.

The sign says "zapateria" (shoe repairs)

Door to the town market.

Coffe in the sun - yum!

Funky street name

View of the Estrecho (Straight of Gibraltar) with Morocco in the background

Old ruins. As close as it gets to the ocean. I would have loved to see this building in its full glory.

Empty coke bottles. Remnants of a busy summer. (Backyard of a restaurant in Bolonia)

Delicious olives to ease the wait for the food.

Pan de pueblo (town bread made with corn)

Our friendly lunch companion.

Beach of Bolonia

Footprint and marks of early morning rain.

Broken glass.

This cute house is right at the beach. In the garden there were girls in a swing and playing badminton. Oh, and a donkey!!! Can I move in here instead?

Actually I wouldn't mind any of these options either. Especially with those nice neighbors :)

A big Sorry and a Good Excuse

2011-02-17T06:55:00.000-08:00

Wow. I knew I had been slacking off with the posting, but when I just looked at the day of my last post, I couldn't believe it! Over a month without posting! What a messy beginning of the year.
I have had a lot on my mind lately, and time has been "swooshing" by me like crazy. Ever since the beginning of january we have been settling down here after our big move from LA. Rooms had to be re-decorated, a new car needed to be bought, bank accounts closed, others opened, etc. Even though we grew up here in Spain, it's taking some time to get used to how everything is done over here. Especially after living in the US for over three years. Not only the big picture: especially dealing with missing our very dear friends and the fact that skyping with a 9 hour time difference isn't as easy as it looks at first. But also tiny details, like shops closing from 2pm to 5pm for their lunchbreak, malls closing on sundays, dealing with the strange spanish voice overs at the movies, no starbucks or peet's in our little town, hell - I even miss shopping at trader joe's (more than I can officially admit!).
But anyways, all those thing's havent kept me from blogging. My biggest excuse is also the most amazing one. More life changing than moving halfway across the world. So, what has kept me from blogging you may ask? Well, it's more of a "who" has kept me from blogging! Well it's a little baby girl that has been steadily growing in my ever expanding belly for the last 6 months! She'll be arriving in mid May, and Mikki and I couldn't be more excited! So far I have had a super smooth pregnancy - and I'm already in the last trimester. The baby girl, Liv Nilsen Plange, has been kicking and turning ever since Christmas and it feels great to be surrounded by old friends and family, knowing how everybody is awaiting so anxiously her arrival.
Anyways here a a few highlights of the last month here in Marbella, Spain. I hope you enjoy them and I'll do my best to keep posting on a regular basis again. Maybe I'll share a few snapshots of the interior of our "new" old home.

Ta-dah! Lates belly shot (from last week) :)

The beach on a sunny sunday afternoon. On the horizon you can see Morocco, Gibraltar and Spain.

Snow on the closest mountains

breakfast in town with my Mikki :)

Look at that tiny dog riding on the back of the bike!

A tasty refreshment after morning pilates

Lately I've been baking like crazy: here a chocolate version of the classic "bizcocho"

first roses in the garden

Finca

2011-01-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

1. naked tree with dry red berries of some sort

2. orange tree bursting with fruit

3. persimmon

4. orange tree closeup

5 & 6. beautifully feathered creatures

So yesterday we decided that the weather was nice and dry enough to venture out to a friends finca. A finca is a spanish word for a rural piece of land, usually with some sort of building on it.
We spent the better part of the time picking bag fulls of oranges and clementines, marveling over the quantities of fruit, the smell and the taste, while having the juices dribbling over our chins and fingers.
We also scored some persimmons and some tiny little chirimoyas. Yum!
After we admired the feathers of the chickens, we headed to the small hill town of Istán, where we filled a bunch of water bottles with fresh spring water and headed into town to fill our orange filled bellies with something more substantial.
Oh, how I had missed these improvised day trips!

Home Sweet Home

2010-12-30T04:13:00.000-08:00

So this is my first post from my new residence in Southern Spain. We survived the long travels, the moving stress, the sadness of saying goodbye to friends and the Christmas craze. Tomorrow is the last day of 2010. What a year it has been. Not a bad one, but definitely one of great changes and lots of endings. 2011 will be a life changing year for me, on many different levels, but more on that on a future post.
I thought it might be nice to show you a little of where I will start the new year. Mostly exteriors of the garden, I'll post some interior pics as soon as I'm done redecorating.
Hope you have a great and memorable transition into the new year, may it bring you joy and fill you with happiness, xx

View from the garden onto the Concha mountain (concha means sea shell)

Flowers blooming when in other places in the world all you can see is snow

My shadow in the pool

View from the garden onto town, we have our own oranges (and avocados!!!)

Some of our cohabitants bathing in the sun...

...others prefer the shade

some details of my new NIMO. headquarters

More details of the garden

Sunlight on the dishes in the kitchen (courtesy of Mikki)

This is what happens when my mom "improvises" a quick dinner - wow!

Breakfast

...and my breakfast companion ;)

Wrapping it up in LA

2010-12-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

Well, this is a short summary of what my last weeks consisted of. Literally wrapping it up in LA.
Constant trips to the shipping supply store to get seemingly endless rolls of bubble wrap, tape and the occasional box. In between all the packing and selling madness (whoever came up with craigslist is a genius and a live saver) we managed to squeeze in as much fun stuff as possible. So today my pictures are a mix of packing and a great trip to the Queen Mary, which is docked permanently in Long Beach.
The next post will contain more fun images of the amazing weekend I've been having with my dear friends from LA. Have a great week, xx

Heart shaped leaves everywhere

The majestic Queen Mary

Snow flake projections in old town Pasadena

Bon apétit! Improvised dining table amidst boxes

Christmas shadow and giving our Cruiser the last car wash

This box contains all my jewelry tools and supplies

Our belongings, just before pick up

The Crafty Holiday Blog Hop

2010-12-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

Today it is my turn to post in the Crafty Blog Hop, which was organized by the lovely Angela Flicker over at The Artists' House.

The blog hop is a chain-event, in which a bunch of bloggers post their selection of crafty gifts for the holidays and write about their commitment to buy hand made. [Click here to see the full list of participating bloggers]

So why do I commit to buying hand made gifts this Christmas?

Because I truly believe that hand made gifts really reflect this season of giving and celebrating with family and friends. I can’t think of a more personal way of giving: you are choosing something special, for someone special made by somebody special.

I also believe that during these dire economic times it is our duty (and joy) to support small businesses and people who pursue their passion of creating things. Some are fortunate enough to have their own shops or to be represented in small boutiques, others participate in local market events and all of them sell online. - Yeay for the web!

The selection of crafters whose products I’d like to give (and receive) this Christmas, are all available on etsy, although I strongly encourage you to visit local events. Here in the LA area I can recommend Unique LA and Renegade Craft, which will both take place on December 11th & 12th.

For Her

1. Woven Cowl by Celapiu

2. Herringbone Gigi Purse by Bagatelles & Co

3. Hand screen printed Hoodie Dress by New Extrave Fashion Studio

4. Pocket Planner 2011 by Dozi

5. Johnny Head Skulpture by Mud

For Him

1. Godet Tee by Take Off Your Clothes

2. Penguin Print by E. Soule

3. Shadow Boxer Pullover by Hackwith Design

4. Ipad Mix Tape Case by Brave Moonman

5. Antlers Poster by Debie Carlos

For the Little One

1. Sylverster the Sneak Tee by B Childrens Wear

2. Dog Wool Slippers by Little Friend

3. Baby Racoon No. 1 Print by Sharon Montrose

4. Wool Monster Slippers by Handknit Hugs

5. Boom Box Bib Set by Burkeheart Baby

Feel like getting more insider tips on crafty presents? Make sure to visit creative stash on monday!

Happy Holidays, xx

Bits and pieces of last week

2010-11-21T10:36:00.000-08:00

Well hello again. Sorry for my messy posting schedule. The thing is that we're in the middle of moving. And not just from one street to the next, but across the world. Yep. Back to Spain with us two Europeans! Living in Los Angeles the past three years was the best decision we could have ever made, but now it's time to head back to Europe and continue with our adventures on the Old Continent. So moving across the Atlantic involves, not only packing the essentials and getting the best (cheapest and most reliable) shipping company, but getting rid of an entire household: furniture, the car, kitchen utensils... everything!
Anyways, I hope you understand where I'm coming from: craigslist has taken over my brain!
We leave on December 14th, so by then our belongings need to be either shipped, sold or donated. Oh, and did I mention we want to have some fun with friends, too?
Anyways, here is a glimpse on what my past week looked like.
Have a great week everybody, xx

Typical american goodies: breakfast bagel and cupcakes

Praying Mantis at the Huntington Gardens

My last sewing project in the US: reversible harem pants
(the essential piece of clothing in my wardrobe)

View over LA and the ocean from the Getty Center // Christmas decor in Pasadena

My favorite snack at the moment: clementines

LA Auto Show. Mikki and me posing for the VW screen and a gorgeous Morgan.

Hawaii

2010-11-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

Last weekend it was finally time for my best birthday gift so far: a long weekend trip to Hawaii. It just happened to be right the weekend after our 13th anniversary - which gave us even more reasons to indulge and celebrate.

Some of you might not be fully aware of just how "in the middle of nowhere" Hawaii is: it's a 5 hour flight from LAX, that's how far out there it is!

We decided to visit the Big Island, and stayed just north of Kona. We arrived at night time, so we woke up the next day to all the amazingness of Hawaii: palm trees, breakfast right next to the ocean and the pool. We spent our days exploring the island and being lazy - a great combo.

The Big Island is divided very clearly into to landscapes and climates. One side (where our hotel was at) is completely covered by black rough looking lava, the sun shines 99% of the time and there are some amazing beaches. The other side is lush and green, very tropical and rainy.

To give you an idea how crazy the weather changes can be I'll tell you what we did just on the first day. We had breakfast in the sun by the beach, at noon we were walking through tropical plants, getting completely drenched to see an amazing waterfall. Later on that day we visited the active (yesss! active!) volcano in windy cold conditions, stopped at a warm black sand beach just before sunset and headed to the hot tub right next to the ocean after dinner!

The great thing is that the weather in Hawaii stays pretty much the same all year round, so it's the perfect destination if you can travel while nobody else is on vacation.

Frangipani (Plumeria) Trees everywhere

Hotel Beach

Turtles taking a nap at the hotel beach

Snorkeling with turtles

Banyan Trees

Akaka Falls

Natural hot steam vents

The active volcano!

Rainbow

Valley covered by lava

Black sand beach

Better run if a tsunami comes

Landscapes

Waipi'o Valley

Sunset

Last Week of October

2010-11-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know how the weather has been wherever you are currently located, but here in Los Angeles, we've had some pretty amazing weeks. The sun is shining, but even here you can tell that it's fall: the air is way crispier than usual. So in order to fully take advantage of the sun before we have to pull out our jackets of the closet, we've enjoyed a few lunches sitting outside, and even spent some time sitting in the sun just outside our little house.

I can't believe it's November already! We're starting this month just right: today, we're celebrating our 13th anniversary and on thursday we're heading to Hawaii (yesss!!! Hawaii!!!!) for a long weekend. It's my birthday-anniversary present! Yeay for having the best boyfriend on the planet :)

So by next week you can expect a post of island scenery! Hope you all have a great November!

Our neighboring palm trees

Sitting in the sun right outside our house

I took advantage of the great weather to shoot all my NIMO. jewelry for the new web
and a major overdue shop update (both will have to wait till after Hawaii, I guess)

Props for the photo shoot

I went for a walk around the Rose Bowl Stadium (here in Pasadena). It a pretty long walk, at least it took me an hour to make the full round!

The other day I openen my jacket closet to find a mic stand in it and post its pasted to my jackets!
Surprise! That's what you get if your boyfriend is a musician and has to improvise a vocal booth :)

And to finish the month off: Halloween! (Top ltr Mikki, me & Mel. Bottom ltr Me, Mel & Ira)

Highlights of the last few days

2010-10-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

Kitchen window in the afternoon sun.

Neighborhood

Freshly steamed artichokes. Yum!

Fabric shopping: total spent $18! Yeay for downtown LA. (All knits, average of two yards per fabric)

New beads for NIMO. (Green aventurine, white onyx and turquoise howlite) & my beloved old boots with absolute favorite stockings (H&M)

This poor little monster was a present from a friend.
I gladly adopted him, but due to some leakage he has to protect our house from the outside.

You just have to love living in the US: cup holders in shopping carts. How cool is that!?

What I've been up to

2010-10-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hi there!
What a blogging mess I've been. I hereby officially apologize.
I've been pretty busy working on new designs and trying to decide which ones will be true one of a kind pieces and which ones are going to become part of the "regular" line.
Bare with me, please, as I try to name them, price them, and provide each little (or big) item with it's little history. Only then will I upload them to my (now very sad looking) etsy store.
I'm also psyched about a little holiday project I will be participating in. It's a "blog hop event" about committing to buying crafty presents this Christmas. Angela Flicker had the lovely idea of recruiting bloggers who will each be assigned one day, starting in November, to blog about buying hand-made presents and supplying a shopping list of their favorite items. Head over to her blog to see the list of participants and the scheduled posting.
On the side I'm also working on the design of my webpage, which beginning to take a shape I like. I can't wait to have it up and running (nothing worse than handing out business cards with a web that's under construction - yikes!)
Here are a few pictures of my last weeks.

Vintage Bohemian Glass (1900-1940) - used as barter in Africa

Repurposed vintage bone brooch

Legion Necklace (unisex)

Sterling Silver Rococo Pendant

Squared Necklace (brass and copper)

The Key

My last "Open Desing Market" in Pasadena, a free event for alumni of the City College and Art Center of Design

Too bad this was the weather we had at the event

First weeks of Leisure back in LA

2010-10-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

Rhubarb Lemonade

Chillin' by the pool. What's up with the legs guys?

Abandoned toy frog at the bottom of the pool

Welcome back to the US of A: delicious fries at The Counter

Rainy weather brings rainbows, a not so common sight in LA

Home made AllBran-Banana-Oat muffins

Invention on the go: italian whole wheat pasta with brussel sprouts and onions. Secret ingredient: white truffle oil!

A stroll around Pasadena Art Night with friends

I loved the fact that my birthday was such a big deal this year! I kept bumping into banners and posters.

I decided to celebrate at The Edison in downtown LA. A definite "must see" if you're in the area

On sunday I felt I needed a substitute for a birthday cake, so we got some frozen yogurt. This is Mikki's choice: Butterfinger and gummy worms! Although it was quite tasty I opted for the classic topped with fresh strawberries :)

Back to Work

2010-10-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

After an extremely long summer hiatus I am finally back in my Pasadena workshop (aka garage). I've actually worked on new jewelry pieces for the past three days and let me tell you - it sure does feel good.
The good thing about taking a break from what you do is that it gives you perspective. You can take a few steps back to get a fresh glimpse. Not only at your own creations but also on what's happening around you. If this summer break from being actively creative has provided me with something, that has been time to think about where and how I want to take this NIMO. adventure of mine. So I've decided to truly focus on one of a kind pieces, not only because it's more fun for me, but also because I feel that this is what can set me a bit more a part from big jewelry companies or the real cheap stuff you can buy at your fashion franchise of choice (Zara, H&M, Anthropologie, UrbanOutfitters, etc).
Anyways, here are the first pieces of the Fall/Winter 2010 Collection. I'm still looking for a name, maybe you have some ideas?

Thai Necklace

Art Deco Earrings

Flapper Necklace

Ampersand Necklace

Hope you're having a great Fall start - I personally can't wait for the fall weather to kick in. But I guess that's what you get for living in sunny California :)

On my Way back to LA via Düsseldorf

2010-09-21T03:56:00.000-07:00

So, as we finally got our passports back from the embassy, I decided to spend a few days with my dad in Düsseldorf, before heading back to LA. It was quite a climate change, from still summery Spain to very autumny Germany - but I loved it. I always get so tired of my clothes at the end of each season :) In fact, I enjoyed the rainy weather so much, I even went for walks along the Rhine river, equipped with an umbrella and my ipod. So without any further ado, my impressions of Düsseldorf (all shot with my iPhone).

Letter Chaos on the floor

Raindrops on a fallen leaf

Reflections after the Rain

More Raindrops

Walnuts everywhere

Raindrops on the Grass

My umbrella from the inside. It reads "The german summer is a winter painted in green - Heinrich Heine"

Old tiles in a shop on Hohe Strasse

Missing my Mister

Boy cycling towards the Rhine

The Rhine on a sunny day

Pic your own flowers - and deposit the according money below

Abandoned gummy fish

The Mister

2010-09-19T02:45:00.000-07:00

As most of you already know, I have been nurturing a growing feeling of admiration and good old plain love for my mister. This november Mister M. will have been sharing my life for the past 13 years, and it fills me with pride and pleasure to share these really cool pics with you guys.

Being completely terrified by cameras (video and photo equally) I always watch in wonder and admittedly jealousy, when people feel confident when "watched" through a lens. Mikki is one of those. I guess, growing up with a photographer mom helps... at least that's what I tell myself :)

Anyways, to make a long story short, these are the results of two photo sessions: one by Mikki's brother in law (the genius behind his latest videoclips) and a friend.

all photos above by Ibon A. Totorika

all photos above by Jean Ynomas

Summer Days

2010-09-07T04:20:00.001-07:00

While I'm spending my last few hectic days in Spain, I finally got the chance to post some more pictures of my summer. I can't believe we ended up staying two full months, instead of the one we initially planned! But it was really worth it, a lot of things have kind of naturally shifted into place and it seems like we're heading in the right direction, making way overdue decisions... but more on that on some other day. Here is a roundup of the last 3 weeks or so (I love how you loose track of time in summer). The days are still hot in this part of the world, although the nights keep getting cooler. On tuesday I'm heading north again: Düsseldorf for at least a week - while I (im-)patiently wait for the US Embassy to return my passport. Can't wait for "real" fall weather!

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Trip to the US Embassy, Madrid

Atocha Renfe Train Station in Madrid

I have this thing for taking pictures of the street whenever I'm on a higher level - I can't help it

Getting up early to head to the Embassy

Maybe you should also watch out about the hight of your vehicle while driving a truck - just saying

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Mikki's Birthday

Donut cake at 12:01 am (the real deal was still baking in the oven)

Boat trip with amazing views on the Marbella shore - amazing how different the city looks from the sea

The "real deal": home made carrot cake - our birthday tradition

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Work and fun

Hard to believe, but this was work: view from the NIMO. table on Cool Beach

Detail of my table

A tiny street in Marbella's old town

The best discovery of the summer: Crusoe's freshly squeezed juices and cocktails on the beach

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Home

"Guinea-perro" (=Guinea Dog) a neighbors dog that looked like cross between a guinea pig and a dog. Although walking seemed hard with those short legs and his fat belly, he always seemed to be smiling

First hints of Fall: color changes in the sky

Quick escape to Portugal

2010-09-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

Last week we went on a quick trip to Portugal's west shore, which is a 5 hour car ride from my home in Marbella, Spain. It was a unplanned adventure. We just knew more or less where we were heading, no hotels booked and no fixed plan as to stay one or two nights. And believe me, booking no hotel is a real adventure in the month of August!

We spent our first beach day at the beach of Amado, right next to Carrapateira. From there we traveled up north, through a gorgeous scenery of dry landscapes and breathtaking beaches.

On the second day we headed further up the coast to Odeceixe. There we were to meet some brand new facebook- friends and a real world friend from the other side of the planet (read: Australia)! To make a long story short: just take my word - there is no such things as coincidence! Some things are just meant to be :)

On this second day in the Algarve, I survived my pathetic little attempt at surfing. I must admit, it was a lot of fun and even though I got salt water in my eyes, ears and mouth and made two involuntary summersaults inside a wave, I could still get why so many people are hooked to this sport!

Luckily we were invited to spend the second night at the place our new friends from Pura Vida Portugal were building (we actually were the first people to sleep in one of the houses!) and so we headed back home on the third day after heaving breakfast in Odeceixe, where we also scored some pretty nice harem pants (which have been part of my "uniform" for the last 4 years!) and some typical queijo (cheese).

Portugal, I can't wait to visit you again!

Cool Beach - Showroom and Mojitos

2010-08-19T02:49:00.000-07:00

Everything from the name of the place, the location, the organizers up to the fashion sounds very promising, if I dare say so myself :)

I am proud to announce yet another Marbella beach night event, where you can see, touch and buy NIMO. items in Southern Spain.

While enjoying the "cool beach" breeze, you could be sipping countless mojitos (at least that's what I intend to do at some point), get the chance to score some of the amazing creations of Salima Abdel-Wahab - and complementing them with some NIMO. jewelry, of course :)

Don't miss out! See you on Saturday, August 21st at Cool Beach, xx

Life is Beachy

2010-08-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

Hotel Dos Mares, Tarifa

Ever since we got back from our norwegian escape, I have spent my days around the pool and at the beach. The perfect locations for summer :) Another summer rite I have acquired is to spend the long summer nights in the garden, talking to my mom and/or Mikki making plans for the future. The future, oh well. I'll keep you updated as to where this adventure that life is, will take us from here. Here are some beachy pictures to keep the summer vibe going a little longer:

Refreshing Sangria at the beach

Moorish Roots at Tarifa, the southernmost city of Europe

Details of the Hurricane Hotel, Tarifa. Where I spent a good deal of my summers while growing up.

A not so sandy beach, the pebbles are small enough not to hurt and big enough to make them easy to clean off. - Bye bye sandy car :)

Detail at the Hotel Dos Mares, Tarifa

El Trocadero, Marbella where I had the first European NIMO. market event

Way up North

2010-08-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well hello there! Still remember me? I haven't forgotten about you, although it may seem so :) My excuse for not stopping by here in so long? I've been busy traveling and doing nothing. My two favorite pass-times ever!
The vacation in Norway was a-mazing. Not only was the landscape breathtaking, but Mikki's family was incredibly welcoming and we had an unforgettable time. The weather was perfect, very much like fall in Los Angeles or Marbella (Spain), where I'm currently at. We had days of sunshine and days of rain but it was never too hot or too cold.
Bodø lies north of the arctic circle, so during summer there is no such thing as "night time". During our stay the sun set for about an hour just to come back up again! It took some getting used to, but it was fun, too. I completely lost my sense of time. The equivalent in winter, when there is months of no real daylight, must be really depressing though.
We left Norway with a huge desire to come back again. I would love to explore the whole coast and spend summers in a little red hytte (a small wooden cottage) next to a lake.
Here are a few pictures, so you can get a glimpse. Enjoy, xx

Dream cottage and dream boy at Nygårdsjøen

Saturated colors on a sunny day on our way to Kjerringøy

Wild flowers on the dinner table and detail of a ship in the Bodø harbor

Open sea in Bodø and the little boat at Soløyvatnet Lake

A beautiful "hytte" (cottage) at Langvatnet and the view from the port of Bodø

Mikki and me posing and a sunset over the woods at Soløyvatnet

Beautiful flowers and amazing landscapes wherever you go

Saltfjorden and the mighty currents and whirlpools in the Saltstraumen

Night time sky and mountains along the horizon

Berries! Solbær, Tyttebær and a strawberry cake

Old Trading Post and a reindeer taking a leisurely stroll at Kjerringøy
Fishing and rowing at Soløyvatnet

Viking museum in Oslo

Sunsets at around 12am.

White sand beaches at Kjerringøy

Lazy days in the Sun

2010-07-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

After all my travels around Germany I was happy to unpack my suitcase for a while and really looking forward to spending my days in the sun, going out with friends and working on my tan. But I ended up getting a silly cold, so I spent my days at home. Sitting in the shade or on the sofa, jumping into the pool for a quick refreshment and playing with my mom's little kitty called... wanna guess??? Nimo! Ha :)

I'm feeling much better by now, finally got my normal voice back and just finished packing - again! This time I'm heading north. Really far north. Destination Bodø, Norway (where Mikki was born).

Hope you're all having a wonderful summer, xx

Detail at my boyfriend's place.

The new family member: Nimo, the crazy little cat.

hmmm... cold melon with jamón serrano (cured ham)...

Berlin, baby!

2010-07-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well hello again. Here's the promised picture section on Berlin, where I was from monday to wednesday last week. I went to meet up with my long time friend Viola. We had such a great time: talking to the wee hours of the morning, exploring her friend's neighborhood "Kreuzberg", eating ice cream and sweating like crazy (it was extremely hot, let me tell 'ya). But we also managed to sneak in an amazing trip to a Frida Kahlo exhibit. I should say "the" instead of "a". Wow, what a breathtaking adventure. Totally worth standing in line for about an hour. Once we had seen all the paintings, photographs, sketches, clothes, etc we were both deeply moved and completely exhausted! We topped off our stay in the capital with a small improvised class reunion: four former classmates reunited in Berlin ten years after graduating!
Here are my impressions of Berlin

Imagine my joy, when the on flight snack turned out to be my all time favorite on my summer trips as a kid. The Austrian "Manner Schnitten". Hmmmm.... sooo good ;)

The pretty view just before landing: Berlin is surrounded by lakes!

The modern train station

When it's almost 40C in a german city (read: no a.c.), people have to head out: either sitting in the local beer garden, or seeking the shade of the trees in a park.

I was absolutely baffled by this daring (crazy, if you ask me) girl! She opted for relaxing on the top of the building, look at the first picture to see how high up she wasYeay, we made it to the Frida Kahlo Retrospective!!!!

Bikes. Everywhere.

"Corpus for all Delicti" a very creative way of saying that you can throw all kinds of trash in this trashcan ;)

One of the old border posts.

Artificial beach.

Nighttime refreshments :)

Munich in Pics

2010-07-18T03:26:00.000-07:00

After spending a few days with my dad in Düsseldorf, getting over the slight culture shock and acclimatizing to the heat wave, it was time to move on to Munich. There, I spent a long weekend with one of my dearest friends and helped her move to a new apartment. I had a great time, even though we we're moving stuff from a 5th (american 6th!) floor with no elevator (I was so thankful that she was moving out of there, at least that way we only had to carry stuff down, not up!). We managed to sneak in some jewelry shop scouting, refreshing drinks, watching some soccer games and a whole day at a local lake!
I really liked the jewelry shop Patrik Muff. The jewelry is quite pricey, but the whole store and their catalogs have an crazy cool vibe. I wish I could just take all their props and use them forNIMO.Click here to get a glimpse of the shop.

This is where I had some of my german breakfasts :) First at my friend's mom's place, then at in the Glockenbach district.

My friend Laura taking possession of her new apartment.

The "pay" for the friends who helped her move Details of the super cute Schneewittchen Café (Snow-white) in her block.
New neighbors. View onto the street from her new french balcony.
The living room, before filling it up with boxes and furniture.

Orchids on the windowsill.

"Special" Tablenumbers. Don't you love little details that remind you of special dates, birthdays of special people, etc? I do.

Ginourmous "Bretzel"

The neighborhood at night. Munich

On Sunday we spent the day at one of the lakes in Munich's surroundings: the Ammersee. It was a perfect day for relaxing in the sun, going for a swim and a stroll along the lake. Monday I packed my things and left for Berlin, so make sure to come back to see the pictures of Germany's capital some time next week, xx

Summer in Düsseldorf

2010-07-15T03:34:00.000-07:00

Well hello everybody! I haven't forgotten about you, I swear. I've just been busy travelling around Germany the last week and let's just say the world wide web wasn't one of my companions. My few encounters with the net we're of the quick email checking kind.
As you can tell from the title of this post, I spent a few days in Düsseldorf with my dad. And without further ado, here are the pictures

Taking a stroll along the Rhine

Street art everywhere

Mapplethorpe exhibit

Football/Soccer crazy. We watched the Spain-Germany game on a "City Beach" on a rooftop terrace.

Detail of a vintage accessory store window display

My dad's summer hat.

Almost around every street corner people were sitting outside on the curbs, having breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a cold beer

My summer travel companions: sunglasses, a good read ( Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) and my sketchbook with a MUJI pen.

Beautiful old buildings

A stroll through the park

Nice store decor. I love the word "Demut", which means "humbleness" on top of the mirror :)

A nice little villa next to the Rhine river.

Food details.

A cozy corner at a friend's house.

Bookstore. I absolutely dig the words on the ceiling!

Detail of the summer dress I made before my trip. Too bad the black tulle is quite rough and scratching my legs :)

By now I am in Spain, with a steady interent connection. So I'll be uploading my pics from Munich and Berlin soon and posting on a more regular basis again.

Hope you're all having a great summer so far, xx

Europe in Pics

2010-07-04T14:23:00.001-07:00

Hello everybody! Today is the first day of my summer vacation, so over the next month or so I'll be sharing some pics of my travels through Europe. As I don't know if I'll be able to post on sundays, I decided to rename this section for the time being. That way I'll be uploading pictures on the go, whenever I feel like it and the wifi situation is sorted out.

I just arrived in Düsseldorf today, so most of my pics this week are still of good old California:

Yes, you're guessing just right: we (Mikki and I) stood in line to get the iPhone4 this week! And yes again: it was worth it. The night before att started selling them, Mikki sold his old iPhone and we decided to get up 5:30 am to stand in line till 7:30 am to get our new toys! The streets in the usually busy Oldtown Pasadena were completely empty, except for the line in front of the att store :)

Weathered sign in old town Pasadena.

This is one of my very first shots with the phone: amazing image quality! Depicted are my legs in a very colorful dressing room.

Oh, my frist (and hopefully not last) California Drivers License, expired on the 30th.

We had a visit from Spain just the day before I left, so we drove to Venice and Santa Monica. These are pictures of the sunset from the Santa Monica Pier.
The gorgeous mister in the fading sunlight. Can't wait to see him again in 10 days in Spain!
The tail of "my" plain. If you ever plan on traveling USA-EU or vice versa between the months of may and october, you have to check out this airline: airberlin

The flowers on both sides of my dad's doorstep: they reach all the way up to my shoulder!

First european meal: dark bread with goat cheese and fresh tomato - yummy!

A corner in the guest room at my dad's place

Whenever I come and visit my dad always has fresh flowers waiting for me in my room. How cute is that!? This time it's a huge sunflower.

In the afternoon we went for a stroll along the Rhine river. It was a great sunny day and really nice to be surrounded by all the lush green trees and fields.

Have a great week everybody, wish me luck sleeping away the jet lag!

Summer Plans

2010-06-30T20:25:00.001-07:00

As some of you might already know, I'm in the middle of getting everything ready for my summer vacation - I'm leaving this saturday.

What first started off as a forced "vacation" [my student visa expires and I was told I had to leave the US 2 weeks after I was done with school], quickly turned in to what looks like a pretty amazing summer ahead of me.

First I'm heading to Germany. Düsseldorf to visit my dad, followed by Munich and Berlin, to visit some of the most important ladies in my life.

Germany is followed by Spain, so it's back to my roots (this is where I grew up) and spending some time with my mom.

Spain is followed by Norway: back to my boyfriends roots, visiting his extended family.

After Norway we're heading back to Spain, where we have to sort out all our paperwork for the US.

We've been working our butts off, struggling with papers, contracts, timelines, translations, etc. I don't know if any of you have ever been in a situation where your choices for your future aren't really your choices. It's not much fun, let me tell you. It's been hard enough to try to figure out if we want to spend the next years of our lives in the US (we've been living here for the past 3 years), but even if we had that part clear, it's still not really our decision to make. It's the USCIS, who decides if you can stay or not.

What I'm saying is - I really deserve this vacation :) I earned it.

You might have noticed that I have no return flight. Well, that just sums up how I've been living the past year: going with the flow.

If everything works out, we'll be back in Los Angeles sometime in August. If it doesn't, we'll be back anyways to pick up all our belongings and I'll be offering you my NIMO. jewelry from Europe. A big shout out for the WorldWideWeb!

Life's an adventure - better enjoy the ride!

My Week in Pics

2010-06-27T16:31:00.001-07:00

My first week of vacation and the beginning of summer!

As most of you may already know, last wednesday night, June 23rd, was the beginning of the summer solstice. Back home in Spain it's a big deal (who would have thought: such a pagan rite in such catholic country! Oh, the irony - love it!) and it's celebrated with huge bonfires on the beaches and an assortment of rituals (jumping the fire, walking into the sea, etc).

Pure coincidence had it, that we were to head out to Catalina Island for an overnight camping trip just on that day. As you will see in the pictures, Avalon (the main city on Catalina) is a gorgeous little place and it somehow reminded me a lot of Europe. We went with two friends and two kids and had an amazing time: lot's of walking (cars are extremely restricted on the Island, a cabdriver told us the waiting list is about 30 to 50 years!!!!), we rented tandem bikes, had a bbq (including marshmallows), played tag in the dark armed with flashlights, spent a day at the beach and I event went for a quick swim in the ocean!

View of Avalon from the ferry.

Instead of cars, everybody on the island drives golf carts

a very minty looking house

Dog taking a nap in a golf cart - judging from all the stains on the seats it wasn't the first time ;)

Me, making funny faces on the back of the tandem

Mikki, making funny faces in our tent

Boats on the way to the beach. Who names their boat Huevos (Eggs/ balls, depending on the interpretation)???

Hmmm... iced water with lemon on a hot beach day = perfection

Every summer I face the same issue: finding a summer dress. I either don't like them, or they don't fit. So this time around I decided it was time to sit down and make one. It's a military green knit dress with black trims. I opted for a racerback top and an a-line shape for the skirt. I'll take pics when I wear it!

Then I received the cutest letter from my friend in Japan! I don't know how they do it, but even magazine pages and color swatches look much more special over there.

On saturday I finally finished my latest necklace. It's a one of a kind piece. The pendant is made out of a thick sheet of faux bone, which I then sawed and filed into the shape of a C2 cervical vertebra. To make it more interesting I added a little "spark". Faux bone is a fun material to work with, but it's a lot of work. I'm happy with my result - so worth the infected blister on my finger!

No, I'm not in Germany (yet). This is at a local Biergarten in Silverlake: The Red Lion. Although the name sounds more like an irish pub, they have really good authentic tasting german food. The inside is quite austere, but the outside space is perfect for summer evenings.

Apparently all the soccer/football craze turned this week into an culinary experience, because we watched the Spain-Chile game at Tinto in Hollywood, the day before heading to the the Red Lion. The food was pretty authentic, too. The gazpacho had been made by the owners mother, not the chef! Too bad that it was pretty pricey.

Hope you had a great start into the summer, too.

Have a great week, xx

EAT. {Stink free fish}

2010-06-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

So I'm pretty easy with food. One thing I sometimes have trouble with is fish. I'm not a 100% sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure one important factor is texture. Don't get me wrong, I'll devour tuna sashimi in no time, I just have to feel like it.

The point I'm trying to get to, is that we've been trying to incorporate more fish in our diet, and eating less meat.

One thing that really makes me shudder is the smell of fish in the kitchen, so instead of frying it in the pan, I'd rather put it in the oven!

I found this recipe in the book "Happy Days with the Naked Chef" by Jamie Oliver. Like most of his recipes, this one really lends itself to personal variations: so that's what I did.

You'll need:

White fish fillets (I've used Hoki and Cod - I prefer the first) they can be fresh or thawed.

Cherry tomatoes or chopped normal tomatoes

Mozarella Cheese (I've also used Parmesan - and I liked both variations)

Pesto (my personal touch!)

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

What to do:

Preheat the oven.

Coat an oven dish with a little olive oil.

Put the fish filets on the dish.

Coat them with the pesto.

Chop tomatoes and cheese and put on top of the filets.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake for approx 10 min at 450ºF (230ºC)

Done! Easy or what!?

My Week in Pics

2010-06-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Endings are just Beginnings

This week was the end of my last week at the local college. The end of a chapter in my life, where I'm attending an american college. Over the last three years I attended a selection of jewelry, screen printing and fashion classes. Three certificates later, I feel like I have gained so much more. It has been a fun adventure, submerging myself in american culture. I have finally (after starting off with photography, then switching to graphic design) found what I can see myself doing for the rest of my life (or at least the next decade -ha!) And I have met a handful of very dear friends. So I'm ending this experience with a great feeling of fulfillment on so many different levels! Bring on that summer vacation :)

Drawers at my screen printing class.

I had some really colorful food this week: wild alaskan salmon on a bun for breakfast and a mexican interpretation (hence the avocado and cream!) of the spanish Gazpacho (a cold tomato soup). I must say it was quite good, apart from the fact that the only thing it had in common with the original dish was the tomato ;)

I also got to work on some new pieces of jewelry. I promise I'll update my shop by next weekend. I'll be out of town during the week, so I wont get my etsy-worthy shots done till friday.

Mikki's band is finally complete again. I had the pleasure of witnessing one of their first rehearsals. It was fun hearing the new songs performed live, after listening to bits and pieces in the studio.

The weekend highland was a trip with the girls to Silverlake on Saturday. We had lunch at LAMill Coffee - definitely a must go, if you're in the area. The picture above is their award winning organic iced coffee, and I must say: the award is very deserved!

If you venture to LAMill, just down the street is "lawson-fenning" a interior decor shop with an amazing book section in the back (the books alone are worth the visit: everything on art, fashion and architecture). I want almost all their furniture and their books! Now!

After indulging on the coffee and strolling through the neighboring furniture shops, we headed to the Sunset Junction, for more window shopping!

I have to admit this visit to Silverlake has me yearning for a huge industrial loft, polished concrete floors, bare lightbulbs, nice furniture (I can't wait to replace our Ikea-catalog home with something more personal), and a humongous bookshelf with a ladder. Sigh!

I believe summer is finally here: schools is over, iced coffe, long talks sitting outside at dusk, washing the car by hand :) Can't wait for the beach and pool part!

Have a great week everybody,

Step by Step: the Crossroads Pendant

2010-06-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

So finally I have had the discipline to take pictures of my working process. I have been toying with the idea for some time now to show you, my dear blog readers, how I work.

So without further ado, here comes the photographic documentation of the making of the Crossroads Pendant. (I only realized while gathering the pics for this post that it's not a complete 'step-by-step guide', because at some point it looks like I got carried away an forgot to take more pictures!).

I usually start my design process with a simple drawing in my sketch book or on a piece of paper. I then scan the image and work on it in Illustrator. However this piece emerged from rearranging bits and pieces of my Peggy Pendant.

Then I print out the outlines and glue the paper to my metal of choice. This time it was a sterling silver. Once the glue is dry I cut out the piece with a really tiny jewelers saw blade.

When cutting out inside shapes, I drill a tiny hole in the shape I want to cut out...

...and insert the saw blade in it to proceed to pierce out the shape.

Once I'm done with the sawing, I peel off the paper and file the edges, getting rid of imperfections and making them smoother (so they feel nicer to the touch).

I cut out a round shape of sheet brass and looked for a bezel that would fit my cabochon: Lapis Howlite.

After sanding the areas to solder (to make sure they're clean) it's time to fire things up. I first soldered the sterling silver shape to the brass circle using medium solder (a metal alloy that acts like a glue, fusing metals together. Hard, medium and soft/easy describe how quick it melts). Once this is done I soldered the bezel onto the center of the piece with easy solder.

Time to clean things up a little. I used my cheapo flexible shaft with a new set of "Advant Edge" polishing kit, that I purchased at riogrande.

And apparently at this stage I got too carried away to take pictures in between each step :)

Once the surfaces were clean and I decided from where to hang the pendant from a chain, I drilled two holes for the jumprings. I oxidized the silver, using black max, making it completely black (as the name indicates). Then I carefully sanded the piece a little, taking away any excess blackness and giving the piece a matte, aged finish. I placed the cabochon in it's bezel and pushed the frame around the stone to secure it. After attaching different chains, I finally settled for this copper ball chain, because I think it goes well with the color palette and it's not overwhelming - making the pendant truly the center piece.

So, what do you think? Did you enjoy this look "behind the scenes"? Let me know. Have a great rest of the week,

Summer 2010 Trade

2010-06-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

I'm super stoked to participate over at oh, hello friend's summer '10 Trade. I jumped at the opportunity to take part in this very cute idea Danni had to encourage a little fellow shop support.

It's not too late to take part in this little trading adventure, just head over to Danni's original post and comment with your shop link.

But even if you don't have a shop, "Oh, hello friend" is definitely worth a visit. So head over there to get a peek at all the goodies Danni so generously shares with the blogworld.

Hope you're having a great day,

Yep, that's the little NIMO. Phoenix necklace over there at #5.

My Week in Pics

2010-06-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Let's start my weekly roundup with this new NIMO. prototype: the Crossroads pendant. To me it looks a bit like a fusion of some type of cross, a pagan symbol and a compass. What do you think?

We spent most of our weekend hanging out with friends and one of the highlights was this game of monopoly. Needless to say, Mikki won (as always) and kept having doubles - all the time!

I picked up this book last week: 'blink' by Malcom Gladwell. A book about how reliable intuitive decisionmaking is - quite fascinating. It's not the type of book that I usually read (I'm more of the novel type) but it's so well written af full of short example stories, that it really pulls you in.

This is a shot of the really nice Novel Café, around the corner from our house. They have really nice sandwiches, salads, smoothies and the like. I love the tiny (mostly empty) frames against the red brick wall.

This is a shot of my last print in progress. Here I am just about to lay down the yellow. Already printed are cyan and magenta. Still to print is the black for this halftone CMYK print.

While I was waiting for the ink to dry in between colors I sat outside and a pipe broke right next to me. Quite strange.

My first coffee cake in progress, just before covering the fruit with a layer of crumbs. We've had so many stone fruits in our weekly organic boxes, that I was running out of ideas as to what to do with them. The coffe cake seemed like an ok thing to do. It turned out pretty nice. The peaches and plums gave the buttery tasting cake a nice touch of tartness.

Here are some shots I took while working on the Crossroads prototype. I'll upload a full step by step post some time next week. I also plan on working on the round Amulet pendant next week. It's a variation on a one of a kind piece I made in jewelry class in 2008 and I've gotten so many nice compliments on it, that I decided to add a version of it to the shop.

I love stumbling across textures and stickers on the street. This little pink cross on campus made me smile. I really like the combination of the cracks in the asphalt, the striped pattern of the bricks and the green grass, too. The little cross just topps it off.

Sunday ended by watching the Germany- Australia soccer game and heading to Griffith Park for a double kids Birthday party (both my friends kids have very close birthdays). The pics are of the presents, a detail shot of the cutest skirt of the now 2 year old birthday girl, and some signage of the trains in Travel Town, where the party was at.

Hope you all had a great week,

EAT.

2010-06-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

{Ruth's Curry Garbanzo Salad}

Remember how I said I loved summer food? Well, here is another reason: my mom's curry chickpea salad - yum!

It's really easy to make and it tastes absolutely delicious. It's best after a couple of hours in the fridge, somehow that gives it time for the curry flavor to unfold.

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna

1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

2 tablespoons of greek nonfat plain yogurt

2 tablespoons of light mayonaise

juice of half a lemon

curry powder, salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Mix the yogurt and mayonaise in a large salad bowl. Add curry powder (about a teaspoon), lemon juice and salt and pepper. Mix.

Stir in the tuna.

Drain and wash the garbanzo beans with a lot of water (so you get rid of the can flavor - yuck!).

Add them to the mix and that's it!

(I had some organic cauliflower that needed to be eaten asap, so I just steamed it, drained it under cold water and added it to the mix, too).

Put the salad in the fridge and be ready for a feast in a couple of hours.

Tip: I made way too much dressing, so I saved some and used it as a curry spread for sandwiches - it adds a great kick to turkey or chicken sandwiches!

My Week in Pics

2010-06-06T17:42:00.001-07:00

This week truly felt like the first week of summer, no wonder americans decided that Memorial day weekend is the unofficial start of summer! Summer started the best way possible: celebrating! Three of my favorite girls were born on May 31 and June 1, isn't that crazy? Stuff like that makes me believe in astrology!

On Monday we celebrated my friend Mel's birthday with an amazing greek lunch in Malibu, followed by an afternoon by the pool and a bbq dinner! I was so relaxed that I had completely forgotten about having to go back to class the next day! Luckily I remembered in time, so I could expose the screens for my last screen printing project.

Then I finally decided it was time to hit the workshop again, rework some old projects and start some new ones. Here is one of the new pieces: The Tibet Statement Necklace. Click on this link to my shop to see some of the other newly uploaded pieces.

My landlady recently replaced the old dark green garage doors, providing me with an ideal new backdrop for quick photo shoots. -Thank you :)

This is a very delicious breakfast I made myself the other day. Homemade curry spread (I'll post the recipe soon in the EAT. section of the blog) with turkey breast, tomato slices and arugula leaves on Trader Joe's Parm-agio bread. Yes, I'm a huge fan of TJ's - how couldn't I be, when they come up with such fun bread names (Parmesan and Asiago cheeses provided the name inspiration).

But this week wasn't only about gift giving, but also gift receiving! I decided to buy an iPhone sleeve that I can strap around my arm, so I can't come up with excuses not to go running. Didn't really work out so far - now I'm blaming the heat. Oh man!

Well and then I had been on the lookout for a really tiny purse/cardholder for the summer. Not such an easy task. Luckily I ended up finding one in the Leatherwerks etsy store.

The great thing about having a typographer as a teacher is that you get so much background info on fonts in an otherwise boring computer class. So let me share my recently acquired wisdom: the font avant garde, started off by "just" being a logo for Ralph Ginzburgs Avant Garde Magazine. Everybody liked it so much, they decided to design a whole font. Here are some blurry phone pics I took of some of the awesome layout of the magazine.
And what would "My Week in Pics" be without a floral picture? I just couldn't resist: bougainvillea petals on the concrete floor. I love the contrast of color and meaning.

Another huge highlight, although not directly in my life, is that my mom adopted this adorable kitty on saturday. Here she is, relaxing on the windowsill.

How do you end week that has started with celebration, you may ask. Well, with celebration of course! Our excuse? The aforementioned birthday girl and her engagement. What better excuse for a big party? And trust me, it was great. So great that I'm posting this laying in bed at 6pm, feeling quite terrible :) But it was so worth it. Here is the only picture I can officially share: a pair of very cute and very high heels on the windowsill of a limo. Sometimes pictures speak volumes.

EAT. {Summer Salad}

2010-06-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

I love this time of the year: it's nice and warm, but not too hot - so you still enjoy the sun, and you feel like having cold meals. No cooking involved - me like!

Salads: I like how you can change a few ingredients around, vary the dressing and you've got an entirely different dish. I like improvising when I cook, so I often end up randomly tossing things into the salad bowl.

This week we had a bunch of stone fruit in the organic box. Let me tell you, you can actually taste the difference in all the fresh organic produce we get in our weekly box. Ever since we first signed up for the boxes I've also come to realize just how fast organic food goes bad - wich makes you think just how artificial ordinary food from the grocery store is - and it forces you to come up with recipes quickly!

Here are the Ingredients:

1. organic lettuce

2. organic nectarines and apricots

3. organic spring onions

4. parmesan cheese

5. Olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper to taste

Instructions:

Chop the lettuce, stone fruit and onion and put it into a large bowl.

Grate some parmesan cheese on top.

Add olive oil, salt and pepper and a fruity vinegar to taste.

Note: I used Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar. Look for raspberry vinegar for salads with fruits - it's delicious. If you don't have any fruity vinegar, just add a bit of honey and balsamic vinegar to the dressing - it's my absolute favorite. You can also replace the stone fruit with strawberries, oranges etc... or the parmesan with feta or goat cheese.

Happy salad making everybody :)

My Week In Pics

2010-05-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

Vellum for my next CMYK Poster. (Each paper has tiny dots at different angles, one for each color)

What is it with the japanese that they make even the simplest thing looks so pretty?

A red plastic teapot? I think it looks great!

The last screen print I finished:

same principle as the one above. [This one was printed on fabric.]

Eel and Avocado Roll - our absolute favorite.

And look how thinly they sliced the avocado!

UFC. Seriously? The only thing I like about it, is that it gives us

a great excuse for a regular get together with awesome friends :)

Random shot I took while trying to shove my

phone in my bag. Voila, our red door.

I decided to sew after what as been an eternal hiatus.

Dug up all this cute trim I bought ages ago in downtown LA.

Bougainvillea on my kitchen window. That's where it grows at my mom's place too.

I love how the flora in California is soooo similar to the one back home in Spain.

Apparently someone hasn't been taking that many pictures last week. It's been a strange one, sneaking by and providing us with all kinds of weather: sun, wind, even rain (read drizzle) (hello??? SoCal in May???), and pure summer heat today.

I finally finished the layout for my last screen printing project, decided to sew a little (nothing too complicated), and worked on some tribal jewelry pieces I had had on my mind for some time now.

It's funny how inspiration works. I see something that appeals to me, then it triggers something in me. After having it in my head for some days I might draw some sketches in my little moleskin. Usually at the sketching stage something starts happening, either the design works out, or it doesn't. Sometimes I come up with an entirely different piece. But sometimes even while I'm working on a piece it kind of develops a mind of its own. And many times, or even most of the time, I end up with something completely different to what I started off with...

I'm heading out to the movies: Prince of Persia. Mikki's turn to choose :). But there's a few other ones that I really want to see: Exit through the Gift Shop, El secreto de sus Ojos and Please Give.

Have a great first week of June everybody! Can't believe we're already halfway through 2010!

EAT.

2010-05-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to a new section of the blog. Food.

I've seen so many nice blogs featuring pretty food that I somehow felt compelled to have a small section for food as well. Who would have guessed? Don't get me wrong: I love food. I would even say I love it too much. But I've never had a "thing" for cooking. Or anything too housewifey, for that matter.

But I thought it would be nice to have a small section devoted to food, preparing quick and easy meals and sharing our quest to eat healthy and fresh while trying to shed some of the side effects of being a food (especially sweets) lover, before summer comes around and I can no longer get away with hiding under layers of clothes.

What better way to start this section than with a typical spanish dish everybody likes? And I truly mean everybody. One of the things I have learned to really appreciate about spanish food, once I had already moved to Los Angeles, is its simplicity. The key is freshness. A couple ingredients paired with olive oil, salt and a little black pepper. That's it.

So without further ado: Tortilla Española.

Don't let the name fool you - tortilla in Spain has absolutely nothing to do with tortilla in Mexico. In fact, this dish is like a potato cake/pie.

What I love about it is not only its simplicity - all you need are potatoes, olive oil, eggs, salt and onions - but its versatility: you can have it hot (by itself or with ketchup)or cold (it's a perfect party platter cut up into little squares) or even cold on a sandwich. You can also add zucchini (like my mom) or even pumpkin (like my father in law). My favorite is (hot or cold) tortilla by itself, with a tomato salad on the side. Yum!

As it's almost always the case with "typical" regional food, every household has it's own secret (or not so secret) way of preparing tortilla, and trust me: everybody will tell you their way is the best!

Funny enough I learned to make tortilla in the US, probably because back home it's always available everywhere and I never felt the need to venture into preparing one myself.

{My recipe is a mix of info I got online and tips and tricks I learned from other spaniards}

So here come the ingredients:

4-5 medium sized potatoes

4-5 eggs

1 cup of olive oil

1 handful of chopped onions

salt to taste

Step by step Instructions:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into uneven slices (the thickness you're going for is approx 1/4 inch)

2. Chop a handful of onions

3. Pour the cup of olive oil into a pan (try to choose one that's not too heavy)

4. Once the oil is warm, add potatoes, onions and some salt and cook till the potatoes are done but still firm

5. Get everything out of the pan and into a colander, drain [and save] all the olive oil (now would be a great time to prepare a side salad)

6. Once the potatoes are as oil free as possible, beat the eggs. The key to how many eggs you need is to put the potatoes in a large bowl, then add the eggs. Beaten eggs should fill all the spaces between the potatoes, covering everything lightly.

7. Put 1-2 tablespoons of the saved olive oil back into the pan. Heat it up and add the potatoe egg mix. Make it as even and flat as possible and cook it on medium heat until the egg part solidifies a little.

8. Cover the pan with a plate or lid. Take one deep breath (I was scared to death when I did this the first time!) and flip the pan over. Now you're holding the tortilla on the plate and have an empty pan.

9. Repeat step 7 for the other side of the tortilla. (Just slide it back into the pan after adding more oil).

10. Ready! Flip the tortilla back onto a clean plate, cut it up and eat it!

Step #1 sliced potatoes

Step #4 Potatoes, onions and olive oil in the pan

Step #5 Getting rid of excess oil

Step #6 Beaten Eggs

Step #7 Everything back in the pan

Step #8 Flip the tortilla onto the plate

Step #10 The Final Product

Wow. I can't believe I just posted my first recipe! Hope you enjoy your tortillas, if you decide to make them :)