51 Artist Date Ideas

I'm working through Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way", and one of the weekly exercises is to take yourself on an Artist Date. The only parameters are that you must do it alone, spend about two hours, and do it every week. I've gotten a little anxious trying to think of things to do that I would enjoy, so I decided to sit down and brainstorm a list. I'd love to hear in the comments below what kind of artist dates you'd like to go on, or have taken yourself on. I can always use more ideas!

51 Artist Date Ideas

1. Treat yourself to one of those “Paint and Drink Wine” workshops, like those at PaintNite.com. Two hours, a couple glasses of wine, and a finished painting to take home with you!
2. Browse through a thrift store or antique shop and buy one thing that really inspires or excites you.
3. Browse through an art supply store and treat yourself to a new brush, some paint, some fun paper, a new pen, or whatever else you fancy.
4. Walk through a street fair. Stop and check out the items for sale, sample a new type of food, and people watch.
5. Take a tour of a local botanical garden. Photograph or sketch the plants and flowers.
6. Take a stroll along the beach at sunset, and pick up interesting rocks or shells.
7.  Check out a local museum and spend time in one exhibit, reading about everything on display and completely immersing yourself in the experience.
8. Go to the movies and see a film you might not otherwise see.
9. Go bowling or play a round of mini-golf.
10. Treat yourself to a massage or a mani/pedi.
11. Go to the fair and win yourself a stuffed animal. Take a ride on the Ferris wheel and see the world from a different perspective.
12. Spend an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese, eating pizza and playing skee ball or video games.
13.  Lie in a hammock and simply admire the trees and sky above you. Look for birds and listen to their calls.
14. Go to the library and choose a few CDs of music you’ve never listened to.
15. Treat yourself to ice cream at an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Try a new flavor.
16. Sit in the park and people watch.
17. Go for a walk in nature, and listen to the sounds around you.
18. Go for a long drive to a place you’ve never been.
19. Rent a bicycle and take a ride along a bike path.
20. Go to a high-end department store and try on fancy evening wear. Imagine the parties or events you could wear them to.
21. Check out a metaphysical store, and choose a healing crystal that addresses some of the areas of your life you want to work on.
22. Get a palm reading or have your tarot cards read.
23. Go to a used bookstore and linger, browsing through the various titles. Choose one to buy and take home with you.
24. Go to the farmer’s market. Pick out a fruit or vegetable you’ve never tried and take it home and make something with it.
25. Go to an international market and browse all the different types of food for sale. Choose something you’ve never tasted and try it, or take pictures of all the neat things you find.
26. Attend a public lecture at a college or university.
27.  Take an art workshop from you local community college or library.
28. Attend a free movie night in the park.
29. Find a recipe you’ve never tried and make it for dinner.
30. See a play. It can be a Broadway play or one put on by your local high school.
31. Attend a live music event. Search the Internet for local music concerts that are free to the public.
32. Take a tour of a historic home.
33. Explore your town’s Chinatown or another ethnic neighborhood.
34. Create a vision board.
35. Browse your local nursery for herbs and make your own kitchen herb garden in a pretty pot.
36. Browse seed catalogs and plan a vegetable garden for next summer.
37. Attend a religious service or join a meditation group.
38. Take a ride in a pedi-cab.
39.  Go to a lake and rent a paddle boat for an hour.
40. Create a board on Pinterest with ideas for your dream studio space.
41. Go shopping at yard sales and look for unusual items.
42. Go to a comedy club and watch some stand-up or improv.
43. Go to the park and fly a kite.
44. Sit in a coffee shop, enjoy your favorite drink and read the Sunday paper or people watch.
45. Write hand written letters on pretty paper to loved ones, or send postcards even though you aren’t on vacation.
46.  Sit in the lobby of a big hotel and people watch or daydream.
47. Go to the zoo and find your favorite animals.
48. Volunteer to read for the blind or help out at a soup kitchen or other charity.
49. Go to a fancy department or lingerie store and buy a really great pair of underwear.
50. Visit a meditation garden and simply sit quietly with your thoughts.
51. Explore a neighborhood you really like, find the houses for sale, and imagine what it would be like to live in them. Pop into an open house if possible!

When People's Outsides Don't Match Their Insides

I can't believe I haven't learned this lesson already. You see, I still get confused when what people say and do don't match how they look. I know, I know - don't judge a book by it's cover and all, but I find it particularly confusing when someone cultivates their look. You know - you wouldn't wear a shirt that says "Marriage is only for straight people" if you are pro- gay marriage, right? Right?

Yesterday I got a haircut. I've been really wanting to chop it off, and I figured I shouldn't trust that to the bozos down at Floyd's Barbershop who normally cut my hair. While it looks rock and roll, they really are just a step above SuperCuts (no offense, SuperCuts, but I think you know where you stand in the hair salon line-up). I decided I would go to my friend's stylist, pony up a little extra cash to go to a real artist. My friend has rockstar hair and it always looks good, so the stylist had that in his favor.

I knew what to expect before I met him, I went to his website, saw his photo, saw the types of cuts and styles he normally does. He's a rock and roll guy, does styling for models and photo shoots and whatnot. His studio is a work/live loft space, it looks like an art gallery. Everything is all white, there are mannequins wearing weird art pieces/clothes, there's lots of rock and roll type art on the walls (think Jim Morrison collages, that kind of thing). He himself had the look to go with it.

We got to chatting so he could get to know me a little more before he gave me a new style. I told him that my husband was apprehensive about me cutting off my hair, he prefers it long, but that he was cool with me getting a new style. If he didn't like it we could have sex with the lights off. The stylist asked me what my husband does, and the conversation goes something like this:


Me: My husband is forming a charity organization to help build earthquake safe housing in developing countries.

Him: I don't understand why those people just don't move somewhere that doesn't have earthquakes. And what do they really have to worry about? They don't have anything anyway! What does it matter if their house falls down? They should just get a tent and move it someplace that doesn't have earthquakes. (laughs)

Me: (silence)

Him: And I don't understand why people have to go outside our country to help. Why can't we just help the people that are here? You know, the homeless guy under the overpass? Go down to South Central and help those people. I don't think we should be helping people outside the US.

Me: (silence)


It went on like this for a few more minutes. He was really impassioned about it, and I did not know how to respond.  He did just hear me say that my husband was devoting his life to helping poor people outside the US, right? I decided, after a prolonged silence to change the subject, since he was the one holding the scissors. But that really stuck with me. I guess, due to his very artsy appearance, I thought that he would be more open-minded. But he had a really narrow worldview, from what I could tell.

For the record, my hair looks almost exactly the same today as it did before I went in. I think perhaps this is not the guy for me. Maybe next time I should go to some really frumpy looking old woman. And she'll be like super-open-minded and give me a really cool rock and roll haircut. I don't know.

I just get so confused when people's outsides don't match their insides....

Money Changes Everything

This is where I am today, and it's kind of embarrassing to admit.

I'm just going to come out and say it. I have alot of issues about money. I grew up in a working class family, and although our needs were certainly always fulfilled I was hyper-aware of money and how much we did or didn't have compared to everyone else.

I don't think that's changed much in my adult life. I'm still working class and I am still hyper-aware of how much I do or don't have compared to my friends and colleagues. I realize I find myself in this uncomfortable place because of choices I have made, the largest and riskiest one being the choice to pursue a life in the arts. A life that is inherently unstable and for which you often don't get paid. The kind of life where you have to have a "survival job" in order to make ends meet. I think in my mind I've equated being an artist with being perpetually poor. I worry, often to excess, about whether or not I need to change gears, to give up a life in the arts for something more stable. I'm smart and I'm a hard worker. I know I could get a job that pays me well. I just don't want any of those jobs. I've had them, and I hate them. And I know this is a first world problem. There are billions of people in the world who work long, hard days and barely makes ends meet. They are barely surviving. This knowledge makes me feel incredibly guilty about my choices, which just feeds the worry and anxiety.

I've also come to learn in my adult life that what I think about, I create. If I focus on not having enough, then I will never have enough. If, instead, I focus on abundance and visualize money flowing to me, then there is a much greater likelihood that will happen. Putting that idea into practice is incredibly hard.

This is where I am in my artist life. I feel compelled to continue to walk this path, this is the path my intuition tells me to follow, and I've learned to trust my intuition. I feel I have been called to this life. But, damn, you guys, it's fucking hard.

This is where I am today.

Bad News Blues

This morning I read a post by Elizabeth Gilbert on Facebook (I really like her and the manner in which she lives her life). It struck a chord in me, and I suspect it does in many others as well. A reader posed a question about how she (Liz) copes with all the horrible news in the world. How does anyone with a conscience, anyone who cares about what happens in the world not succumb to the terrible weight of the daily horror? You can read Liz's answer on her Facebook page.

I guess like all things in life it requires balance. Yes, as a person who gives a damn about justice and fairness and standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves, it's hard to look away from the news. I want to know what is going on out there, I don't want to be "happy" simply because I'm burying my head in the sand.

But my soul is gentle and my heart is vulnerable - and I want them to stay that way. I don't want to become hardened by the world. I want to remain open, and I want to experience the beauty and the joy that the world also provides in equal measure to the evil. So it's a question of balance. Of knowing yourself well enough to know how much you can take in before it starts to have a negative effect on your well-being. I don't watch horror movies or really depressing dramas or read books that are incredibly sad because my soul just can't take it. I know that about myself.

Liz gives great advice - set a limit for yourself. Be choosy about your news sources and how much time you give them in the day. Then set them down, turn back to your own world and be reminded that there is joy and beauty. We create our own realities by what we choose to focus on. So while it's important to know about those terrible things, by focusing solely on them we give them power. They become our reality.

So focus on some of the good stuff, too. Our world is a beautiful, awe-inspiring place of abundance. Let's remember to spend some time reveling in that, so that we have the resources we need to be a force of good in the world.

Go Happy-
Amy

The Journey Begins with the First Step

Ojai at Sunset from Meditation Mount

Greetings, friends. I've been on a vacation as of late. A bit of a creative vacation, I guess you could say. You see, I'm at a creative crossroads. I'm turning 40 in 10 months and though I largely consider myself to be "successful", I haven't quite found my place in the larger, creative world. And I'd really like to.

I've embarked on the 12 week journey known as "The Artist's Way" in an effort to reclaim and recover my creative self. I'm one week in, and so far it's been enlightening, to say the least. While I've spent most of my adult life pursuing work as an actor, I feel I am much more than that. And I feel my "success" will be somewhere else. This is my attempt to find it.

So, friends, I hope you'll consider walking along with me on this journey of self-healing and self-discovery. I'd like to share my triumphs, epiphanies, failures and ruminations with you. Perhaps some of them will resonate with you.  Perhaps we'll all come out of this a little better - more fulfilled, more introspective, happier and more at peace.

Here's to those first few steps!

Go Happy-
Amy

Puttin' the Fat Back in Tuesday

I am a walking Hallmark card.  It's true.  I totally embrace their slogan "Life is a Special Occasion".  I'm all for busting out the good china on a Tuesday, or burning those dreamy-smelling candles bought in Paris. Tonight it was all about celebrating a holiday to which I really have no attachment.  Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about the holiday in general.  It's so much about total debauchery.  While I like debauchery in general, TOTAL debauchery is really another story.  I did spend a few days in New Orleans right after Mardi Gras in 2004.  I was on a children's theatre tour, and myself, two others also named Amy, and the sole guy Greg toured the French Quarter one fine Friday night, flashing our boobs, collecting beads, crashing a bachelor party, getting lap dances, and.... oh, hell, well just use your imagination. The following couple of years I worked as a bartender in a Cajun restaurant, and Fat Tuesday was our biggest day of the year.  All hands were on deck, many drinks were consumed (staff included), and I didn't finally get home until daylight.  Sounds fun in theory, but in practice...I've always been just slightly put off by what is revealed in the harsh light of morning.  Enough to keep me from participating in total debauchery more times than not.

Ah, yes, the "good 'ol days" of total debauchery

Hubs gets in on the fun

Well, anyway, fast forward to 2014 and I felt the itch to have a taste of the Big Easy tonight.  My form of debauchery these days is having a few hurricanes on a weeknight and eating a meal that contains an entire stick of butter.  I prefer to take all that debauchery and spread  it out on a daily basis.  Indulge in some fun a little bit every day, instead of all at once a couple of times a month.  So, tonight seemed like the perfect night to tap into my inner bartender, craft a few cocktails for me and the hubs, don masks bought across the street at the dollar store, eat some shrimp, and then, well...go to bed.  Ha!  Yeah, staying up on Tuesday until dawn is not really appealing in any way anymore.  And the hurricanes we made at the bar were just rum and fruit punch.  Tonight I stepped it up a little:

Hurricane recipe:

2 oz light rum
2 oz dark rum
2 oz passion fruit juice
1 oz orange juice
½ oz fresh lime juice
1 Tablespoon simple syrup
1 Tablespoon grenadine
Garnish: orange slice and cherry

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a Hurricane glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

Martha Stewart is my adult muse, so I used one of her recipes to make what was my favorite meal at Oddfellows Rest, the bar where I used to work in Jersey City.  BBQ shrimp.  I can't tell you how many times I ate BBQ shrimp over the course of the years I worked there, but I'm sure it added to that chubby chin you see above.  Here is her Mr. Jim's Louisiana Barbecue Shrimp.

Ingredients:

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons), rinds reserved and sliced
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
11/2 teaspoons hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1 pound (about 30) medium to large shrimp, peeled, heads (optional) and tails on
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
Baguette, for serving

STEP 1
Heat a 12-inch skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat. Add butter, and cook until melted and foamy. Add garlic, rosemary, and lemon juice and rinds. Stir in Worcestershire and hot sauces, and bring to a simmer.

STEP 2
Season shrimp with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Cook until pink and firm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with pepper. Serve with baguette.

This dish and the accompanying hurricanes certainly put the Fat back in my Tuesday.  Now we're gonna watch "Orange is the New Black" and go to bed.  That's how we roll these days.

Go Happy!

Amy

The Best Kind of Valentine

Valentine's Day has always been one of those holidays about which I have mixed feelings.  In the years when I was single, it could pass without my hardly noticing.  Those years when I may have been attached in some way, perhaps I received flowers or we went out for dinner, but I don't ever recall it being a huge priority.  The red and pink hearts always made me throw up in my mouth a little. I've never been one for super-cutesy stuff, and it always seemed like that's what Valentine's Day was selling - an over-priced, cartoony, pastel-hued version of love.  Meh.

Recently, however, I've taken part in V-Day, which is a global movement to help end violence against women and children.  It's organized by the hugely inspirational Eve Ensler, and for many years centered around worldwide productions of her play "The Vagina Monologues", in which I've appeared for the last three years in Los Angeles.  For the past two years, the V-Day movement has also included a rising on Valentine's Day, where people around the world gather in the streets to dance.  Called "One Billion Rising", it's simultaneously a demonstration against violence and a joyous coming-together.

One of my closest friends in LA, Kristina Mitchell, was the organizer for the rising in downtown Los Angeles, which was part of a full day of risings throughout the city.  I agreed to photograph the event, which began with a flashmob dancing at LA Live, then continued with everyone marching through the streets of downtown to City Hall where several speakers, including Mayor Eric Garcetti and Jane Fonda, were to speak.

Last year I attended the event solo, as hubs was in Haiti with the Haiti School Project, helping to build a school for a community that was particularly ravaged by the earthquakes there.  Not to slight the man, but what a fun and raucous day of celebrating the vagina!  I spent the entire day and evening surrounded by some seriously fabulous women (and a few men), dancing and speaking out about how to end violence NOW.  My heart was full with all the love that day.

This year, hubs was home and wanted to participate. We took the Metro downtown and met up with the group at City Hall, where we mingled with men, women, students, and even a dog who were all serious about supporting our global sisterhood.  Hubs even wore a pink shirt to get in the spirit of things.  Kristina emceed the event that included speeches by the Mayor, the incredibly fabulous and eloquent Jane Fonda, and several others including actress Frances Fisher and author Marianne Williamson (perhaps most well-known for saying "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure" - powerful words, indeed). The event ended with the flashmob dance and a symbolic breaking of the chains that imprison us - a paper chain comprised of the names of those that have abused or mistreated us.

(Jane Fonda is 76.  76!!! Dear Universe:  If I can be even one-tenth as awesome as Jane Fonda is when I'm 76, well, that would be pretty great.  Thanks.)

Hubs and I then departed and spent some time simply wandering around downtown LA.  What a treasure trove of little goodies here and there!  We wandered into the Grand Central Market, which has been operating in LA for nearly 100 years.  The newly-opened DTLA Cheese inside the market called to us, and after sampling several mouth-watering cheeses, we bought over a pound to take home.  After a trip to IKEA (what Valentine's Day isn't complete without a spin around the showroom and some $1 fro yo?) and a quick visit with some friends, we headed home to cuddle up for the night.

I put together a platter of our cheeses with some other tasty treats such as marinated olives, fresh strawberries and truffle honey, and we tucked into it while watching the Beatles salute that had been patiently waiting on the DVR for a week.  The plan was to nibble then make dinner, but after singing along for two hours and eating ALL of the cheese, we decided to simply call it a night.





Best kind of Valentine's Day, if you ask me.  I'm a lucky gal.

Go Happy!
Amy

I'll Take Your Crap, Thank You!

Those that know me know that I have an affinity for junk.  I'm the person that slows down when passing a pile of discarded crap on the side of the road, because you never know what kind of little treasure might be waiting there, disguised as trash.  These are basically the only types of items I like to put in my front yard garden - stuff that can be transformed into something interesting, but nothing of great value that will upset me if it gets stolen or destroyed by the elements.  I've found cement pedestals that have become plant stands and birdbaths, doll beds that have become flower planters, and stairway balusters that have become the bases for bird feeders and houses (and will one day be the body of a dragonfly sculpture, just as soon as I can find some discarded ceiling fan blades to be the wings).

I often find larger treasures such as weathered doors and old shutters that I've not been able to dash off with, simply because I owned a compact car.  Well - I'm delighted to say that is now a thing of the past.  We've finally secured an SUV so that I can pick up whatever damn thing I please.  :-)  I LOVE the new ride.  We were looking for something that we wouldn't mind getting dirty or scratched, and found our perfect match in a friend's busted-up, 2005 Cadillac SRX.  That's right - I'm now the proud owner of a luxury automobile, albeit one that has a big dent on the front passenger side.  I think that makes it even better.  I can ride in my bubble of perfectly controlled climatic bliss while the computer tells me exactly how many more miles I can drive before my next fill-up, AND I can shove a dirty, cobweb-encrusted park bench in the back if I so choose.  The damn thing even beeps if I back up too close to the object I'm about to abscond with.  I'M IN HEAVEN.

It didn't take long to find the first project.  While at a friend's house for a dinner party recently, I noticed his neighbors had just set out a fresh pile of dinged-up furniture.  I've been waiting patiently to snag something to make a potting table of sorts, and I found the perfect specimen in an old, beat-up girlie dresser that was missing a drawer and hardware.  My husband, being consummately accepting of my junk addiction, loaded her up in the back of the Caddy for me (I was wearing a nice dress and carrying a plate of chocolate-covered figs, after all), while my patient and tolerant passengers ate their knees on the way home.

I spent the weekend sprucing her up.  I repaired the drawer runners with some wood glue, sanded her down and gave her a fresh coat of paint.  She also got some new drawer pulls from Home Depot.  The whole thing set me back about $12.  She's now sitting on the front porch, my garden tools safely stashed in her drawers while some of the more attractive pieces show themselves off up top.  I'm pretty happy with how she turned out.

Lemme know if you have any junk you want me to take off your hands, I'll be right over!

Go Happy,
Amy

A Touch of Whimsy in the Garden

The birds have graciously planted many sunflowers for me

I have spring fever, y'all!  Spring was never my favorite season - until I became a gardener.  Now I have to stop myself from going out there every hour to see what has changed and if anything has noticeably grown, because at this time of year the plants and flowers are just exploding.  It's all I can do to concentrate on anything other than plants and planting, to the extent that Adam actually had to ask me to other night if I could please talk about something other than gardening...and it effectively shut me up.  Every time I had a thought or something to share, it was inevitably about how big the corn is getting, how many snow peas we might harvest for dinner tomorrow, or wondering how tall the hollyhocks are going to get and whether they will need staking.  Now he knows what to say to get some peace and quiet.

Now that the garden is in full spring swing, I thought it would be fun to add a little whimsy here and there.  I've always got ideas percolating about how I can turn some junk I found at a garage sale or on the side of the road into some little treasure for my front yard garden.  With all this gardening enthusiasm I've had of late, I've put that energy to good use by finally getting to many of these little projects.  I'm pretty pleased with how they've all turned out so far.

Chandelier Bird Feeder

I saw others like this on Pinterest, so when I happened across a dirt-encrusted chandelier at a garage sale for $20 (it still had the antique store price tag on it, where it was listed for $395!) I knew it needed to be the new upscale restaurant in the yard for my bird friends.  A little cleaning and spray paint was in order, and I made the feed cups from some Trader Joes chicken breast cans which I attached with a little epoxy.  I think it adds just the touch of whimsy I was hoping for, and the birds definitely seem to like it (especially the house finches you see here).

Black tie optional

 Gnome Home

Another Pinterest creation, I've been thinking about adding a little "gnome home" to the tree in the front yard since last summer.  I finally dug up the soil around the tree and purchased the miniature door on Amazon.  It's about the most adorable thing out there.  I planted some alyssum and some dead nettle, and decided to keep the oxalis weeds growing there, too, since they are awfully pretty.

Please wipe your feet before entering

Oh the Places We've Been

Another project I've been daydreaming about since last year was adding a signpost to the front yard with signs pointing to some of the places we've visited over the years.  The most challenging part of the project was choosing which places to include.  I learned a neat trick from another blog about how to add the lettering, and Adam borrowed a post-hole digger from the neighbor to install it for me.  Of course, no signpost is complete without a birdhouse on top (which I snatched for $1 from a garage sale in Indiana while I was home visiting the folks).  Now when I look out the kitchen window I'm reminded of some of our adventures, and the birds have yet another place to perch.

Where have you been?

I hope this inspires you to create some whimsy of your own!  If you need me, I'll be in the garden.

Go Happy, Dear Friends-
Amy

I'm Your Venus...

I've really been wanting a cat.

Mars - the best kitty blanket.

You see, my little stinker, Mars, passed away almost exactly one year ago.  He was both cute and a terror.  He was my first cat.  He was with me for 14 years.  He taught me alot about cats.  He saw me through grad school, a divorce, a move to Jersey City, several boyfriends, a move to Los Angeles , and basically was there while I turned into a human adult.  He rolled with the punches.  He was really good at just being a cat.

saying goodbye to Mars...

Mars got really sick at the end, and the last few months with him were wonderful...bittersweet, but wonderful.  He had to be put to sleep on the closing night of a show I was in - The Vagina Monologues.  It was a pretty terrible day saying goodbye to this cat, this creature that had become my friend and seen me through a multitude of major life changes, and leave all of that behind to go onstage.  But, the show must go on.  And go on it does.





Fast forward one year.

I'm in The Vagina Monologues again.  I'm experiencing major deja-vu.  And I'm feeling this extraordinary need to have something in my life to love. Frankly, 2012 has not been such a great year so far and I need a little sunshine. I'm thinking it's about time to have a cat in my life again.  Adam - who can best be described as "cat tolerant" - has finally acquiesced on the notion of getting a new feline friend.  So I immediately go on the hunt.  "This time", I think, "this time I will do it right".  I will take my time.  I'll define what I'm looking for.  I'll find the cat that will fit best into my family life.  And, most of all, I'll trust my gut. I go to many adoption days.  I meet lots of cats. I pet them.  I hold them.  I talk to them.  I look online.  I read about different breeds.  There are so many lovely cats - but none that call out to me.  I start to worry that I'm making a big mistake, I'm moving too fast, I'm jumping into something that I don't really have time for, have room for in my life.  I'm starting to obsess that I'm obsessing about cats!  I don't want to be the cat lady!  I'm going to be 37 in a month, it's a quick and slippery slope...

I wait until The Vagina Monologues closes.  I decide to go to the Super Pet Adoption event at the La Brea Tar Pits.  I know I want a rescue cat.  And I figure, this event will decide for me.  There will be so many cats there, if I don't find the right one there then I won't find it anywhere.  I go by myself, on the last day, during the last hour of the event.  I walk into the cat adoption tent.  People are everywhere, there are stacks and stacks of cages with dozens of cats from dozens of shelters and rescue groups and it is overwhelming.  My nose starts to run uncontrollably.  I start to worry I've developed an allergy and it would be wrong to bring a cat home.  I walk up to the first row of cages and am immediately met by a very helpful albeit aggressive woman who wants to know exactly what I'm looking for in a cat and which cats in her group will be a fit for me.  She volunteers at the Downey shelter.  I meet several really great, sweet cats.  I learn that all the cats from Downey are scheduled to be euthanized the next day. I didn't know I was going to get the hard sell here, that my heart would be tugged at with such force.  But I go with my original plan - I'm going to look at all the cats, and see if there is one that seems like the right one to bring home.  I walk around some more.  Some cats are from shelters, some are from rescues and live with a foster family.  All the cats need a new home, some more desperately than others.  So many cats! 

I walk by a row of cats from the Castaic shelter.  And I'm stopped in my tracks by this face:

I'm struck by how much this cat reminds me of Mars.  This cat has all the things I loved about the way he looked - black and white, long hair, pretty face - and a black nose to boot!  So I walk over to get a closer look.  This is Bubbles (ugh, awful name) and a girl kitty (was really hoping for a boy).  But I just stand there for a few moments and look at her.  A very nice volunteer named Bridget comes over to give me the low-down on Bubbles and answer my questions:  a climber?  don't know, talkative? not really, good with other cats/dogs? not sure.  Bubbles has been in the shelter for a month as an owner surrender, and as they could remember it was because the owner had passed away.  She had come in with another cat who was adopted right away.  Bubbles was not particularly responsive to me, but something kept me standing there.  I pet her, and she didn't bite or hiss.  I brushed her with the same result, didn't seem to bother her.  Taking her to the meet & greet was out of the question as she did not do well in a carrier on the car ride there.  So no holding her.  Bubbles kind of gave me the cold shoulder.  Bridget said she thought Bubbles was depressed.  She said "Bubbles, perk up!  You're blowing it!".  But by that time I had made up my mind.  This was my cat.  I couldn't explain it rationally, but my gut said this was my cat.  I was nervous, scared I was making a terrible, rash decision, but before my head knew what had happened my mouth had said "I'll take her".  Some paperwork was filled out, some cash exchanged, and I was on my way with a box that had a cat inside.

Holy crap, I have a cat!

The car ride home was an unhappy one for the now-unnamed cat (Bubbles had to go) and poop was involved (hers, not mine).  But we made it home, and I brought the cat into the bathroom to slowly introduce her to the house.  That lasted about 2.5 seconds.  She wanted out, so I let her.  She walked around the whole house, checking it all out.  She didn't hide.  She even played with the feather toys that Mars had always loved.  Adam came home, and met the new addition.  She didn't run away, she didn't hiss...  All seemed good.  That night she decided she wanted to sleep under the bed, which given the circumstances seemed like a perfectly good idea.

At 5:30 the next morning I woke up to the sounds of the cat emerging from under the bed.  She stretched, shook off her sleepiness and immediately jumped into bed with us.  She turned on the purr machine, and pranced around the bed in a sort of blissed-out, kitty-paws, trance.  She snuggled up between Adam and I, and I thought before Adam kicks us out I'm going to take our new friend into the living room to get to know her.  I'd been thinking about names, taking suggestions from friends, and decided to try them out on her to see what she thought.  I sat on the couch and called "Venus!" and she stopped in her tracks, looked sharply at me and literally ran and jumped into my lap.  "Well, I guess we know what your name is".

watching the birds...

 It's been a week now, and Venus has claimed us.  She is appropriately named.  Whereas Mars was a fighter, she is a lover.  She is incredibly affectionate, and has even won Adam over.  She's got her spots in the house she likes, typically in the windows peering out at the birds. She has behaved perfectly, and has found her voice - she makes these cute, funny little squirrel sounds.  And she purrs constantly.

on my desk, helping me work

She matches my boots (box).

I really don't want to be the cat lady, but I think it's a role I'm meant to play.  I'm completely smitten with this cat.  I don't think I could have chosen a better match.  She seems really happy to be here, and I am absolutely delighted to have her.  Even Adam has taken a shine to her.  I keep catching him petting her and talking to her...so unlike he was with Mars!

This cat has my heart in her paw, and I'm so glad to have been able to give her a new, loving home!

Go Happy!
Amy

It's Vag-tastic!

For the second year, I participated in the V-Day Downtown LA 2012 production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.  What an amazing event!  V-Day is a global movement inspired by the play that works to help women and girls who are victims of violence.  Over 6000 productions a year are produced around the world with all proceeds benefiting V-Day and the local charity of your choice.  Our production helped A Window Between Worlds, a wonderful non-profit in Venice, CA, that uses art to help women and children in abusive relationships.

With this being an evening designed to raise money and awareness, we decided to hop on the cupcake trend and sell vagina cupcakes (or "pussycakes")....

can you find yours???

The cupcakes were a huge hit, and elicited all kinds of interesting responses.  Some people couldn't wait to get their mouths on one.  Others were a bit more hesitant.  Some were mildly grossed out.  Nonetheless, it certainly shines a spotlight on the vagina, which is of course the whole point of the show, so I'd say overall they were a success!

I baked both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes.  The vaginas are made out of homemade fondant .  And did you know that if you Google "how to make vagina cupcakes" you are led directly to this amazing video from Chaos Bakery?  Oh, the wonders of the internet.  Thank you, Chef Bev!

In Vag We Trust!

Go Happy!
Amy

It's the Great Pumpkin

It's the Great (stuffed, baked) Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

I made something new that is, really, just divine.  Especially on a cold winter's night (hey, it gets cold in Los Angeles...relatively....)

I put a pumpkin patch in my front yard this summer.  I planted it around the end of June, hoping for pumpkins for Halloween.  At the very least by Thanksgiving.  Well, I just harvested them last week.  In January.  All the vines had died, and still the 7 pumpkins in my patch were just barely ripe.  My deaf, Korean, non-english speaking gardener pointed at my pathetic patch, telling me "March" as in "Hey, you idiot, if you want your pumpkins to ripen at the appropriate time plant them in March".  Noted.  This year they shall be planted at the right time.

Nevertheless, I did get 7 glorious pumpkins.  I've twice made Weight Watchers pumpkin soup, and was searching online for something else to do with pumpkin.  I had seen a baked pumpkin in Martha Stewart before, and thought a variation of that would be fun to make.  We're trying to go low-carb here on Lull Street, after a carb-laden holiday, so I thought quinoa would be a nice, healthy option instead of bread.  I found quite a few lovely recipes online, and decided on a "little bit of this, little bit of that".  Here's what I came up with.  I enjoyed it, and I think you will, too.  This recipe is easily adapted to what you have on hand.  You'll notice there aren't specific measurements.  I'm more of a "dash of this, dash of that, season to taste" kind of gal.  This gives you more opportunities for tasting as you go.  :-)

INGREDIENTS:

one large pumpkin

2 cups uncooked quinoa

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (or water)

one onion, diced

one apple, peeled, cored and sliced

half cup golden raisins

half cup toasted walnuts

juice and zest of 2 tangerines

2 tbsp maple syrup (the real stuff!)

cinnamon

nutmeg

ground ginger

salt & pepper

olive oil

handful shredded cheddar

shredded parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut hole in top of pumpkin and scoop out stringy flesh and seeds (I saved the seeds to plant...yes, in March Mr. Kang, I understand now).  Score inside of pumpkin, brush inside and outside with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake upside down about one hour.

Meanwhile, prepare quinoa per package instructions.  I substituted chicken broth for water for a bit more flavor.  Heat olive oil in pan and saute onions.  Add onions, apple, raisins, tangerine juice and zest, walnuts, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and pepper to quinoa and stir well.   Transfer quinoa mixture to pumpkin and continue baking for another 30 minutes.  Last 10 minutes add shredded cheese to top of mixture.

Serve, scooping out pumpkin as you go, and enjoy!

Go Happy!

Amy