hippie is a state of mind...

ok, i have to weigh in on this. after esb did her version of a hippie wedding, i feel like i needed to throw in my 2 cents...being a hippie at heart and all...

hippie is a state of mind, not a style...you can't just throw on a new dress, spend lots on a flower headband and call yourself a hippie. i'd suggest finding a vintage dress, going barefoot, having a pot-luck, recycling and donating to charity instead of accepting gifts...so there, my 2 cents.

{photos from tavin shop, where she recently opened a vintage bridal section...}

if we have a girl...

this will be her nursery inspiration. drum kit & dj lance included. {click on photo to view larger.}

{photo credit here.}

sweet boy...

i'm not a mom yet, but i can't imagine the incredible love, courage and bravery of this mom, lynn of satsuma press. her sweet boy, liam, has a neuromuscular disorder called spinal muscular atrophy type 2 and they are raising money to remodel the bathroom to accomodate liam's wheelchair.

another example of putting things into perspective and being grateful for every moment of every day.

help liam's cause & learn more here.

baby on the way...

i know i haven't blogged in a long while...i've been working in production, which is a lot of hours and haven't had a chance to sit down. i'm still working, but i've been missing the blogs!

so...we also have some news...we're pregnant! i'm currently 18 weeks along, so officially out of the first trimester. the baby is due in september on my birthday! we don't know sex yet, we've had one ultrasound and we're due for another in two weeks.

patty's brother is the donor, so the baby will be as genetically close to me & patty as possible. my bible was the taking charge of your fertility book...i also went to acupuncture for about nine months before we started trying. i swear that helped, as it totally regulated my crazy irregular cycle, and we got pregnant on our second try! the other book we consulted a lot was the essential guide to lesbian conception, pregnancy and birth. we also have friends who pioneered the "brother of partner as donor" route...so that was incredibly helpful.

please feel free to ask me the nitty gritty questions about the process, i'm happy to answer, especially if you are considering trying this route...it was actually pretty basic: a jar, a syringe {without the needle}, and lots of pineapple eating were involved...

i'll give you another update after the ultrasound...

{photo credit here.}

happy friday! {canyon cupcakes}

happy friday!

well, my pledge on monday to blog more has fallen flat...but this week i: took a sewing class and made a pillow; went on lots of hikes; worked out; did yoga; experimented with agave and baking; and played with a two year old. not much time for sitting in front of the computer.

my friends moved here from new york this week and they {and their two year old} are staying with us until their moving truck arrives. we're joking that now that they left brooklyn and moved to los angeles, they are canyon people. so...i made some really hippie cupcakes and called them "canyon cupcakes." i'm trying to go off sugar and i'm allergic to dairy & eggs, so that means a lot of vegan cooking. this week, i experimented with replacing sugar with agave in cupcakes and the results were pretty tasty. although, as you can see from the photo, they are not the prettiest cupcakes...but heck, they're canyon cupcakes! they look like the brown hills of the canyon...

so, they are named canyon cupcakes in honor of my recent new yorker transplant friends. i amended the recipe from my favorite cookbook ever Calci-Yum! by david & rachelle bronfman. hope you enjoy! {sorry, esb, not gluten-free! i know you're disappointed given how much you *love* cupcakes! i'll experiment with that next time.}

{canyon cupcakes}

preheat oven to 375 degrees

makes about 20 cupcakes

nonstick muffin tin, lightly oiled

for cupcakes:

3 cups finely chopped beat greens

1- 1/4 cups soy milk

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup almond meal

1/2 cup soy flour

1 cup agave

1 tbsp cinnamon

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2-3 tbsp ground flax seed

1 cup chocolate chips {optional, i used fruit-sweetened & dairy-free from nature store}

for frosting:

4 oz firm tofu

1/3 cup agave

1/4 cup almond butter

1/2 tbsp peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1. steam beat greens & allow to cool and chop. {i used the food processor to finely chop.} transfer to large bowl along with soy milk, agave syrup and vanilla; mix together.

2. in a separate bowl, sift together flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and flax seed. add in the chocolate chips, if using. gradually stir dry ingredients into beet-green mixture; mix well.

3. spoon mixture into cups of prepared muffin tin. bake 20 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick.

4. make frosting: in a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients; blend until creamy {you may want to add more almond or peanut butter if needed to thicken}. transfer to small bowl and refrigerate from 1 hour. when frosting has become firm, it's ready to spread.

{photo by me}

time to spare...

i hope you all had a fantastic thanksgiving holiday! we definitely did...spent the morning packing & delivering meals to the homeless, spent the afternoon exercising the dogs at the pool and spent the evening eating delicious food with friends. can't really ask for a better day.

right now, i'm finding myself unemployed for the rest of the year. which means two things: 1. lots of spare time; and 2. not much spare money to spend in that time. so, what to do? well, i signed up to volunteer at 826LA east. if you are from sanny franny {my nickname for my hometown of san francisco}, i'm sure you've visited 826 valencia, a writing center for kids that generates income by selling cool pirate nick-nacks and their amazing mc sweeney's volumes. well, i love kids & i love stories, plus i can walk to 826LA east, so i'm going to a volunteer orientation next week. so hopefully soon, my spare time will be spent tutoring neighborhood kids after school.

i also signed up for a sewing class. yeah, i consider myself pretty "diy" but i can't sew a thing! my grandmother was an amazing seamstress & i unfortunately didn't retain anything she taught me...so in honor of grandma lena, i'm gonna learn to sew. plus, i can walk there {seeing a transportation theme here?}. there's a cute new storefront in our neighborhood called home ec, so i've signed myself up for a basics class, where hopefully i'll end up with a pillow! the class costs some of that money i don't have a lot of right now, but i figure i'm learning a skill that will save me some dough in the future. {i can't tell you how many cool vintage dresses i have that need simple alterations.}

and...who knows? maybe with all this time on my hands, i'll blog more...

paris catacombs

i just found out that one of my paris photos was included in the schmap guide to paris! {this is how it will look on the iphone.} i still however need to do my paris entry on the blog...coming soon...i promise! saving the best for last...

{photo by me}