Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Thanks for nothing

I was reading the below letter on the bus all alone and I swear I could not stop laughing. People must have thought I was either crazy or crying. Either way it was worth it because this letter is amazing and real. Thanks again to awkwardfamilyphotos.com

The Thanksgiving Letter (back by popular demand)

November 26th, 2009 From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.

Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.

All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.


HJB—Dinner wine

The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don’t feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don’t care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.



The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).



The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).



The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel – please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife



The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay



The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.


Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney


Friday, November 6, 2009

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Tip-Toe Through the Tulips

If only all farms looked like the technicolor patchwork of these tulip farms in the Netherlands.

 
 

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Fashion: 3.1 Phillip Lim Dress

I know it's a ways off, but since I mentioned New Years Eve in an earlier post I can't stop thinking of sequins and champagne. I admit that's not such a horrible thing to have on your mind. If I were made of money, I'd have no problem purchasing this sparkly little number from the 3.1 Phillip Lim collection.

 

Art: Mark Weaver

Granted there's a lot of crap on Flickr, but ever so often I stumble upon someone's photostream that sparks my attention. I'm currently digging artist Mark Weaver's designs below. I love the simplistic nature of combining solid colored geometric shapes on top of saturated vintage mix-matched landscapes. There's somewhat of a low-tech-sci-fi quality to them that I really like.


 
 
 
 

Fashion: Lorick

Super excited about wearing this silk dress by Lorick (whose website is pretty fun as well) to a festive New Years Eve wedding in Santa Barbara. I love the design of the silk print, the belted waist, and especially the dramatic back.

 
 

Friday, October 9, 2009

Fashion/Love: Band of Outsiders & Jason Schwartzman

My Friday moment of Zen comes from fashion label  Band of Outsiders  and their swoon-worthy photo montage of my favorite, Jason Schwartzman.




 
 

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Fashion: Shwood

Thinking about purchasing these awesome "Canby" sunglasses in Zebrawood from Portland-based Shwood, who takes fashion eye-ware inspiration from nature.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Art: Gerhard Richter

Often referred to as a painter in a photographic age, the work of influential twentieth and twenty-first century artist Gerhard Richter is one whose work still resonates today. I'm particularly fond of his photography based paintings, especially the Firenze series, whereas he smears multi-colored paint over photographs and found images to create these dreamy abstracted landscapes. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, September 25, 2009

Art: Alexis Mackenzie

I'm surprised I haven't posted something about San Francisco-based artist Alexis Mackenzie yet, but better now then never! Ever since I moved to the City, i've been a fan of her work that has been exhibited at local galleries like Park Life and Whitewalls. I love her aesthetic and her perfect balance between the beautiful and the bizarre, obviously a running theme with the art I am drawn to! Her delicate collages, although her end result is much more refined than a typical hodge-podge collage, are created through detailed cut outs from old books she's collected over the years and then combined to create something much more interesting and transcendent than what the images where originally intended to depict.





Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Feelin' Girly

I love these tissue paper decorations. They're so frilly and delicate and girly. With these as decorations and a bottle of pink champagne, who could refuse a champagne party?! Take note.


Culinary Creations: Macaroons!

It's becoming increasingly apparent that the bite-sized French macaroon will soon replace cupcakes as the latest sweet culinary trend in San Francisco. It seems people are tired of all the trendy boutique cupcake dispensaries popping up charging $4 a pop. I love this old poster with it's pastel array of the light as air, melt in your mouth morsels!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Design: Alright Class




Some possible T-Shirt designs for the Oakland-based band Alright Class.

Design: Julie and Colin's Wedding


Although I designed these a while ago, it seems like just yesterday I was designing the wedding odds and ends for two of my best friends, Julie and Colin. Their wedding festivities unfolded at the enchanting Estancia Hotel and Resort in La Jolla amongst the lush succulents, flowers, and misty evening dew of early summer in San Diego. The wine and sangria cocktails flowed, delicious food was consumed, and a heavy sweat was broken on a dance floor filled with giddy friends.