Ramsey's Art Show.

I cannot conceive my weekend. It reminded me of the event calendars that only exist in SEX AND THE CITY. I was engaged to soirees that felt like the sort of "adult galas," I've always wanted to attend. You know? Friday night Bryan and I went to an opening for Generic Man Shoes teaming up with Obey Propaganda. It's always interesting to see the cool kid types that show up for those events. Plus, as souvenirs they screen printed rad posters on site....which I gladly took home. Afterwards we had dinner with friends and laughed about nonsense.  




Saturday evening was the most fun I've had in such a long time. My friend Ramsey had his big deal art opening. His work is currently showing at The Ballard Gallery of Echo Park. His collection is clever, unfussy, and fresh. There were mobs of people in attendance to support him. Bryan and I actually split up to work the room because there were so many lovely people to hug and visit with. It was such an exciting evening, and I'm so very proud of Ramsey. We joyfully purchased one of his paintings. I cannot wait to have it in my home. Hip-hip hooray for Ramsey Robinson!

My Best Friend: Pg. 56 of O Magazine.

How many people can say that their best friend is in a current running ad for Bank of America, in Oprah's magazine?  I can.  Amber Ford, you are my best friend, and I love you.  You look so freaking adorable.

Creativity Tuesday: My talented friend Ramsey Robinson.

My friend Ramsey is pretty dang radical.  He's a bartender extraordinaire at the Big Orange, actor, and painter.  He was also the hero who edited my demo reel {here.}  I received an e-mail from Mr. Robinson yesterday regarding his latest artistic offering, as seen above. Many kudos to you Ramsey! If you are in Los Angeles and want to see Ramsey's pieces, head over to Jairo's {here.}  It's odd to think about, but I feel like my circle of friends are creating material for future history books.  And that is quite thrilling.

My Best Friend Is Pretty Amazing.

Amber Ford bought herself a plane ticket one week ago.  In a month she will be flying with a small crew to aid a remarkable woman named Thao.  Their common goal is to build a proper library.  The Purpose Project will warm your heart, and make you want to take action.  This journey of love will be simultaneously made into a documentary.  Check out the website {here.}  The project still needs books on the shelves.  Please donate a little cash if you can.  Twenty dollars will bring the world of Harry Potter to someone who hasn't had the chance to ever read it.  I so very proud of you Amber. 

Lunch Date: Downtown L.A. & Fall '10 Collections.

The great thing about living in Los Feliz
is that I'm 10 minutes away from everything.
That is inclusive of downtown.
Sister and I met with my dear friend Matty
for a lunch date last week.

A recent graduate of FIDM, he is already
working in the industry and strutting
his stuff at a beautiful showroom.
{I'm oh, so proud of him!}

Matt gave us a tour of the new collections.
*People, I witnessed the trends to come for fall '10!!
I die. That's all I have to say.

The Talent of Others.

Last week I modeled Rachel's beautiful design.
I am amazed by her vision and talent.
She took these dreamlike photos as well!
Film just has a certain crispness to it
that cannot be rivaled by it's digital counterpart.

A Picture Within.

I adore lavender.
The scent completely calms me.
I taped 3 sprigs to my cupboard.
It looks and smells glorious.
My expired Polaroid film didn't define
the composition.
Hence the double exposure.
Plus I wanted to show off my white nails,
and geode ring created by
my friend Melissa.

The Gig.

Husband played a gig with his band two weeks ago.

They played at the charming Silverlake Lounge.

The lights sparkling above their heads read,

"SALVATION."

I loved that.

I couldn't keep my eyes off of Bryan.

Can you blame me?

I've literally had a crush on him since I was 15.

Friends Just Know.

I have an amazing friend in my life, Ms. Janine Suzanne. I'm most recently grateful to Janine for pushing me to listen to Bob Marley. Between her suggestion and the chefs at work screaming "One Love," at midnight I too fell in love with Bob. Sometimes our best friends know us better than we know ourselves.

P.S. The above picture is from Janine's wedding. {I'm sure you deduced that.} But, fun fact you didn't know; I did her hair and make-up! She looked so beautiful.

Los Angeles Art Walk

Last night Bunnie and I visited the down town art walk. I relish the opportunity to check out art in it's rawest forms. Our friends Steven and Emilio created an art installation that we so enjoyed. It was entitled, "Futurismo," a futuristic look into the desert. My favorite part was the space age tepee. It was a hoot going inside. Note to self: buy or make a tepee of my own. P.S. These photos look like an homage to 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Macaron Miracle.

Yesterday was the best Monday I've had in such a long time!

Firstly; Soba and I took lunch to Bryan and visited his store.

Which was such a superb outing for each of us.

Secondly; when we returned home I received a call

from my friend Elizabeth. {She's a talented pastry chef}

And she offered me her surplus of macarons.

She knows that I'm obsessed with the little darlings.

Elizabeth was kind enough to drop them off,

and oh, my goodness they were heavenly!

The brown was a chocolate hazelnut and the

orange was pumpkin. Sensational.

What a wondrous way to start the week!

Love My Body Now Series: Guest Blogger Janine Doot

Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror everyday and not really seeing the real you. You see someone but the someone is a person plagued with mistakes and problems. Some people only see their blotchy and pimpled skin. Some men see to few muscles. Some women concentrate on their lack of a chest. While I noticed some of these same things, I was fixated on my misshaped body. I wanted the body I saw in magazines. I wanted the body the boys at school desired. And so attempted to obtain something that was virtually unattainable with my body shape.

I began to feel overweight when around my sixteenth birthday. I guess you could attribute my feelings to my feelings of inadequacy in the dating department. All the girls in my grade seem to have someone that admired them. I had no one. So I started staring into mirrors and wondering what I had to do in order to have someone notice me. I decided that my weight was the only thing I could realistically change.

In the beginning I tried not eating. It didn't last long because there was no way of avoiding family dinners. I knew my mom would begin to question my actions so I decided to eat and throw up just enough to feel like I hadn't eaten. I didn't do it everyday. I just did it when I felt like I had overindulged. After a few months passed, I felt like I gorged to much and throwing up became a daily occurrence.

Every time I told myself to stop, I couldn't. I would refrain from puking for a few days but for some reason I felt guilty. Two days would pass and I would feel like I had gained ten pounds. This just sent me back to the toilet with my finger in my throat. At the time, I thought I threw up because I was concerned about my weight, but now looking back, I realize it was all about control. When ever my life seemed out of control, the only constant I had was my secret. No one knew what I was doing. It was the one thing I had control of and I didn't want to let it go because I thought I would lose power by stopping.

I threw up secretly for five years. I never really lost the curves I felt were too shapely. I actually gained weight which frustrated me and caused me to keep

hitting my knees after meals. I even got to the point where I didn't have to stick my finger down my throat. The food just came up when I bent over. As odd as it sounds, there was something gratifying about that. I felt like I had become an expert in throwing up.

It wasn't until I started to feel faint while exercising or walking back and forth from campus that I felt a need to to change. I talked to my two best friends who I had thought knew nothing about my secret. They knew. They just didn't know how to approach me about it. My best friend taught me a few tricks about eating right and I began to adopt them into my life. We had a daily count of how many days I could go without throwing up. My friends cheered me on each week I remained clean.

This system worked for awhile. I felt better inside and outside. I remained true to the commitment until my life began to spin out of control again. I can't even tell you how many times I attempted to stop throwing up. Failure made me want to do it more. Stress made me want to do it more. Starting again was inevitable. That's what I truly thought until I met someone who taught me to love myself. It has taken more than two years to come to where I am today. I haven't thrown up in 612 days. And I feel that I have more control than I ever have.

I admit that I had/have an eating disorder.

I am a bulimic. I didn't know it then. I just felt like it was something that I did to help me feel better. To help me feel in control. It wasn't. I have learned that my eating disorder was/is really a disease of my mind. When I feel stressed or inept, I lean to throwing up as my crutch. That is what it really is. To me, my eating disorder was/is a bad habit. Just like drinking, smoking, doing drugs, etc. Think about it....why do people drink or do drugs? Because it offers them a release from the world. It allows them to escape the stress of the moment and slip away into some type of dream world where things are perfect.

Today, I try to focus on the good about my body. I have more curves than ever after having a baby. My clothes fit differently because my hips are wider. Some days it is hard. Some days it is really hard. But I will not give in. I know who I am. I know that I have the power to act and not to be acted upon. Bulimia made me weak.

Being me makes me strong.

What would I tell my younger self? Stop staring in mirrors. It is okay to look. It is not okay to stare. Staring makes people think irrationally. I would tell myself to eat good food. I missed out on so much good food just because I was being too self-conscious. I would tell myself that the girls in magazines are not all they are cracked up to be. I would probably just take away all magazines that don't portray real woman.

What would I tell all women? Accept the curves. Accept your differences. Change only the things you can in a healthy way. Get over the things you can't. I know that sounds harsh. But sometimes, someone needs to be harsh in order for others to accept reality.

image by: mg.visualizeus.com

Friendship.

Today I'm thanking my creator for girl friends.

I am fortunate because my friends

seem to be a cut above the rest.

"Thank you for being a friend.

Traveled down the road, and back again.

Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant."

{To quote THE GOLDEN GIRLS jingle.}

photo source unknown.