#31. create a museum of very small things

my friend, tracey, and i worked on this small museum of small cranes.

#7. expose yourself to a new artist.

describe what moves you about it.

he's not necessarily that new to me, but brendan monroe is probably one of my favorite contemporary artists. he is a bridge between the worlds of science and art. as someone with an appreciation of art and an educational background in science, monroe's art specifically speaks to me in a sense that i never really had with what i traditionally love in art: landscapes.


i was first introduced to his artwork by (i think) my friend, zuhair, who suggested his artwork for my boyfriend's band cover art to their last album. i was living in berkeley at the time, about a block and half from monroe's studio. i bought a tote bag from him on his website and he sent an e-mail saying to just stop by his studio to save shipping costs. when i got there, he showed me around the space and some of his work. we talked for a bit about local art shows and then i left. he was so nice and genuine. i am really glad that a talented guy like him is having so much success in the art world.



i bought his new book, which i arrived the other day. it comes with a poster and is full of wonderful pictures of his artwork. i highly recommend it as your new coffee table book. it's brain candy.

#95. illustrate the concept of "simplicity."

i am going to pass this one on to orla kiely who is probably a genius when it comes to simplicity and overall cuteness. her spring/summer 2009 collection is so cute it kills me. this is the best kind of simple, in my opinion.







for more, visit her website.

#3. buy something inexpensive as a symbol for your need to create.

use it everyday.

i bought these dinosaurs. they're pretty neat.

#96. describe something you recently purchased.

yes, i made this "idea" up. i get five free ones. it's been a long time, which is why i thought i would start off with as little restriction as possible.

i love:


the other day, i bought a book called soup by anne-catherine bley. she is a restaurant owner who set up the first "soup bar" in paris, france in the 11th district.

the book is wonderful, not only because it has very simple but delicious recipes, but it also has a very inspiring layout, design, and organization.


bley's soup bar is called Bar à Soupes. i did some research, and it turns out that the restaurant is equally as cute as her book. i will definitely be stopping by the next time i make it out to paris.


what i really loved about this book is the photography. the photographer is akiko ida, who is based out of france and is originally japanese. i researched her work and it turns out that she does fantastic food photography with her husband. they have a characteristic type of photography which includes tiny figurines on food. it creates a candy-land type of atmosphere and is absolutely magical.

you definitely have to check out ida's website for more. their gallery is amazing!

#26. illustrate your grocery list

this was from today. the hummus put me over the $8.00 or so i had in my wallet, forcing me to use some version of plastic.

#85. cut a random shape out of several layers of a magazine.

make a collage out of the results.



cameo broach and crescent moon cut-outs from the new yorker on 24 lb stationery.

#45. draw the same object everyday for a week

sharpie marker on 24 lb. stationery
sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday

#94. list ten of your habits

- picking at my lips
- grinding my teeth into sawdust
- "mad-dogging" (not on purpose)
- swearing
- eating a lot of cholesterol!
- snorting when i laugh
- spooning homeless people
- speaking vietnamese when i am really mad
- sleeping too much
- talking about rigby

#60. glue a photo of yourself as a child into your journal

i have a lot of adorable baby pictures, but decided to choose this one because i felt it captures my personality better than the cute ones. i am probably seven and my younger brothers were my best friends. i also wore that purple shirt for about ten years of my youth. and that was when i had a really cool afro, but the worst afro i've ever had comes a couple years later (to be blunt, i looked like a boy from kenya who hated to groom himself). these were also the years when i didn't really care about looking like a barbie doll and just wore what i wanted to wear. i look relatively normal here, but on a good day you could catch me wearing all kinds of crazy and colorful outfits.