Exciting times in these parts!

Here’s two crafty, cook-y things you need to know today:

1) First Online Sample Sale Site For Cookware To Launch In April

Snappy Tuna promises to work in the same way online fashion sample-sale sites do, by offering top-name kitchen tools and gadgets at 70% off. When I heard about it from my boss at work, I hunted down the article on the NY Times website that alerted her to this cool, new thing on the net:

Snappy Tuna covers “the whole experience, from prepping a meal to getting it out the door,” said Marcus Greinke of his new Web site, the latest in a growing number built on the sample-sale model. Snappy Tuna specializes in well-known kitchenware and tabletop brands that are discounted up to 60 percent off retail prices, for three days only. Items for sale will include specialty foods, espresso machines and Le Creuset cookware…”

You can sign up on their site right now without an invite (you can go through my Snappy Tuna link HERE). After March 20 or so, the site will be invite-only. I’m SO excited for this!

Now if only they had something similar for fabric…ok, well, let’s not go there. Money doesn’t grow on curls, you know!

2) The First-Ever Crafty Con

YES. You read that right.

Faythe Levine, author of Handmade Nation, tweeted about this. IF money grew on curls I would go in a heartbeat! Early-bird registration is currently $699, and increases by $100 the closer it gets to the show. Plus, it’s in Chicago—home of the Joffrey Ballet and a city I’d LOVE to revisit. Sigh. Can someone out there who plans to go just stuff me into their suitcase? I’ll bring my own snacks for the plane ride! Go HERE if you can take this trip for me!

The Pillsbury Doughboy sent me a Valentine over the weekend!

I LOVE the Doughboy! I was kind of squealing when I saw the e-card in my inbox. Haha.

Hope your weekend was sweet! More posts to come about mine—I made my first roast chicken and it was EPIC.

I found these beautiful print-and-cut Valentine’ Day cards entirely by accident over at the Poets.org. (I love wasting online time on [legit] poetry sites.) I love these cards. I seriously want to do something with them, like tags for V Day treats or something. Aren’t they pretty? E. E. Cummings kills me.

Would you wipe your hands on this poetic Mr. Darcy proposal dishtowel? (I couldn’t. Maybe I’ll repurpose it into a pillow so I can stare at it longingly and lovingly hug it to sleep. If you’re creeped out by that visual, you OBVIOUSLY don’t know Mr. Darcy like I do. Kthanksbye.)

And wow, look! A heart-shaped cocotte from Staub. I love the black one even more! Le Creuset, I’m breaking up with you.

We are celebrating this weekend at this:

Granted, I realize stuffing my face in front of someone isn’t the most attractive/romantic thing to do, but LA’s most popular food  trucks are going to all be there. Even a GRILLED CHEESE TRUCK, c’mon now!

How are you celebrating Happy Hearts Day?

These ornate Korean decorative towers adorned the main table at a birthday party we attended just this afternoon. My friend Bona made them for her son Joshua’s first birthday. Traditionally, they’re made of stacked colorful “dduk” (rice cakes), though hers were meticulously handcrafted from candy. A Korean baby’s first birthday (or “dol”) is a celebrated in a grand way, as my friend Connie told me, because in the old days it was challenging to raise an infant even up to his/her first year. I love learning about cultures other than my own, and when there are food and craft traditions that go with them, it makes the learning that much more interesting.

EDIT: Here are more cute photos from the birthday party!

Bona even made these animal figures from fruit! Cute!

I always wanted to go to one of these as a kid. I thought getting invited to a Tupperware Party was the height of an exciting social life!

My childhood was filled with Tupperware. My grandmas and aunts used them to store flour, leftovers and rice, among other things, and I often took lunch to school in them. I even have memories of using one of the rectangular red containers with compartments inside and a white top as a sewing box for home ec in school. So my recent fascination with Tupperware from days of yore comes as no surprise. It combines two things I love: vintageness + domesticity!

This old-school obsession actually started with seeing this pic of E. when he was younger.

Yes, that is a Smurf Cake, which he decorated himself! (Happy Smurf Day, lol!) My eyes widened when I saw the cake carrier underneath it. I remembered one like it EXACTLY from a neighborhood kid’s birthday party when I was little. I couldn’t type the words “vintage Tupperware” into Google fast enough!

I’ve been feeding my old-school obsession at a steady pace for several weeks now. The Internet is great for foraging for these vintage gems and has lots of devoted collector groups, some of which are over on Flickr. (How things from when I was growing up are now considered “vintage” is subject to another day’s discussion!)

Rummage through the kitchen cupboards from your childhood with me! Remember these?

* Canisters with center buttons that you had to “pop” for freshness

* Classic orange jug—always filled with ice-cold Tang!

* Yellow-and-cream food containers with that little swirly insigna

(Photos via **tWo pInK pOSsuMs**.)

eBay also has lots of excellent finds. Naaliw naman ako!

* Stackable lunch carriers

(Via mykraft.)

* Hours of endless fun with the Shape Sorter toy!

(Via froggrrll.)

And look, I found the exact kind of red case I used in home ec class in 6th Grade!

(Via sutton459.)

The biggest collection of vintage Tupperware ads, catalogs and posters is hosted over on the amazing Tupper Diva site. I’m obsessed with looking through it.

And, oh, yes Tupperware is apparently still alive and thriving. Here’s their website, along with their now-modern designs, like these awesome food keepers for chilis, avocado halves, onions and garlic.

I don’t have the space to start my own collection, but I’d like to find some of these as storage bins for my craft area. I think it would be great if I could organize all my stuff in all these retro cases. I’m really hoping to scour the next Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market for them!

I’ll be blogging about my old-school domestic obsessions every once in a while. It’s a growing list! (Next up: Good ol’ Pyrex!)

Saturday found us, at the ungodly hour of 7:30 in the morning, northbound on the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train, up the California coast headed toward Santa Barbara. We spent a full, fun day there. My favorite souvenir of our small adventure is this hardbound Pride & Prejudice comic book by Marvel discovered in a random comic book shop. I love it even more for the fact that the shop was totally unexpected. It was this tiny store stocked to the gills with geekery off of the main street that goes through town, and we sort of half stumbled into it, sloth-like from a delicious brunch, cupping hot drinks in our hands.

I had seen Volume 1 months ago in another comic book shop in Los Angeles, but the one above is the complete series, collected. I haven’t taken the shrink wrap off of it yet. I’m happy to just look at it for now. Below are some of the covers. I love the alliterative, irreverent modern blurbs!

If you want peeks of the stuff inside, Comic Book Resources has some pretty good pages.

And don’t laugh, but I also took home Vols. 1-3 of the “Archie Gets Married” Series. Haha.

On Saturday, I also got to smell Julia Child. Actually, I got the chance to smell the beautiful variety of yellow rose that was named after her. Ms. Julia smelled quite lovely.

This was during our tour of the Rose Garden on wondrous Lotus Land, a 37-acre private estate that was turned into a nonprofit. It used to be owned by an eccentric, extremely rich opera singer who dedicated her life to building this botanical masterpiece. It has 16 beautifully maintained gardens and is a must-see if you ever make your way to Santa Barbara.

So, Saturday may not have been as crafty as my usual Saturdays go, but it was still full of my favorite things. Flowers named after great chefs, Mr. Darcy and oh yes, taffy! (Pumpkin and Candy Corn are two flavors I love that are now in season.)

How was your weekend, world?

Went To My Brother’s Art Show

I was so proud of him! His piece is a triptych called “Routes To School.” It’s a rendition of Google maps of the Victorias Milling Company compound in Negros Occidental in the Philippines, where we grew up. I can make out where our schools were and the house right next to a small airfield that was our home for many years. Woot for my brother!

Other scenes from the show:

“Filophile” runs through December 20 at JAUS. Details HERE.

Took An Eye-Opening Quilt Class

This is my first improv-pieced quilt block. Notice the wonky lines and triangles? It’s the first time I’ve ever pieced this way, and it was scary—but very liberating. The Urban Craft Center on Main St., Santa Monica, is always such a great place to learn, but even more so because my teacher, Alissa, is an awesome resource for all things improv. (She makes jaw-droppingly creative quilts! Admire all her gorgeous handiwork on www.handmadebyalissa.com.) I’m so inspired to branch out and explore this unchartered territory. I hope to turn this piece into a finished project by next Sunday’s class, so stay tuned for what it will turn out to be!

Made A Yummy 15-Minute Stir Fry

With the resolve to eat healthier, I’ve had to think of ways to work with chicken breast, and quickly, too. A trip to Trader Joe’s yielded this package of ready-cut stir-fry veggies (a hodegpodge of napa cabbage, carrot strings, brocolli florets, snow peas and celery), with E. finding this teriyaki marinade. Was a bit wary of it the bottled stuff, but read good reviews online (not too bad on calories and sodium, either). The result was a surprisingly delicious, healthy meal in no time. And leftovers for lunch!

And that was my weekend. How was yours?

Congratulations to W., Jedi, Wild Thing and the awesomest brother in the whole wide world, on being part of the indie-art show Filophile, which opens tonight in West Los Angeles! (Yes, that is me in Princess-Leia buns. Taken before the Star Wars Convention in ‘07. Geeks will rule the world some day.)

Filophile
Featuring: Aaron Dadacay, Charmaine Felix-Meyer, W. Don Flores, Christine Morla, Gina Osterloh, Chris Sicat

JAUS—Artist-Run Gallery Space (1943 S. Westgate Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90025)

Opens Friday, November 6, 2009 7pm to 10pm, runs till December 20

JAUS is very pleased to present Filophile, an exhibition featuring the work of 6 Filipino artists from Southern California.

…W. Don Flores is a current student at the Santa Monica College Art Mentor Program. W. Don Flores (Ateneo de Manila University, B.S. in Psychology) manipulates images found on Google Earth, and paints abstracted mental maps which collide personal history, memory and geography in the global era. Flores equally draws from animé, digital weather maps, and packaging material as a source of formal and thematic inspiration.

Note: A portion of any sales of artwork from Filophile will be donated to Typhoon Ondoy relief efforts in the Philippines. If you’d like to help please contact: http://www.cdrc-phil.org/ or www.rockedphilippines.org.

More information on the show at the JAUS gallery website, HERE. (Click on “Exhibitions.”)

I am very, very proud of my Manong. To him I say, “All their base are belong to us!”

In all my years of hoarding fabric, I’ve never had a chance to own anything by Marimekko. I’ve been fascinated with the design company for years, but its stuff is just too expensive! But this past weekend, there was a lady selling remnant fabric at the Venice High Flea Market—and I snagged about a half yard of this beautiful black-and-white floral piece. For a buck. A BUCK!!! I plan to turn it into a clutch! I also found other beautiful fabric pieces, some printed linen, classic Ralph Lauren cotton (I like how it’s very 1980’s Laura Ashley-esque) and vintage buttons that I couldn’t resist. Total damage from this weekend’s flea market finds? $7. That makes me happy.

And I’m finally catching Julie & Julia tonight! (Squeal!)

On top of my months-long anticipation of the movie, we’re getting the chance to catch it at an indie theater in Westwood Village called The Majestic Crest. It’s a one-screen affair with glamorous epilectic fit-inducing lights outside. It’s been around since the 40’s. I love its art deco charm and vintage wall murals. I can’t wait! (Photos from Yelp.)

The trailer for this movie made me tear up, so I hope I don’t bawl in the theater tonight, haha. And you know what I realized? It’s apt that Julia Child is perhaps my dearest culinary inspiration. You know why? Look—SHE was the original Girl With A Curl!

Hope to catch you tomorrow, blog folks! Au revoir!
—-
The Venice High Flea Market is on the second Saturday of each month. More info HERE.

The Majestic Crest is a must-see when you’re in the West Los Angeles Area. More info HERE.

There are a few things I know my cousin Kara loves: Meiji chocolate, sashimi and anime. See the common thread? I often think she was Japanese in her past life, so when her manga-esque doodles started showing up on her Twitter feed and her Facebook page, I wasn’t suprised. I was bowled over, though, when I asked her to create a manga-ized version of me for my upcoming birthday. When I got the caricature you see above via Twitter this morning, I was seriously amazed. Isn’t it awesome? Some of you who know me personally will see how it’s just like me, only, er, as a Japanese cartoon character. I was so happy and proud I swear I forgot I was getting over the flu. Kara, you are truly talented! (I promise I’ll try to stop teasing you about going to the Other School for college. Hehe.)

To see more of her awesome work, visit her DA page, HERE.

And oh, konnichiwa, everyone! I’m back!