Pretty Rocks

Last month we spent a week camping in Zion National Park. I had been on a disastrous trip to Bryce and Zion Canyon in middle school, and I think all I remember from that trip are things like sleeping on the floor of a freezing ballroom floor in a casino because our bus broke down, or going to the emergency room during a lightning storm-- not how stunningly gorgeous this place actually is. So, here are mostly a buncha pics of rocks:

Brunchtimes

I've been sifting through my photos and realizing that I have little collections here and there. Here are my favorite breakfast/brunch shots so far this year!

Breakfast at Nina's

Snacks with chadcat

Brunch Cockadoodle Cafe

The smiliest babe!

Dragon's Back

My sister and I went on a beautiful hike in Hong Kong at Dragon's Back, between Wan Cham Shan and Shek O Peak. Here are some pictures! We took some funny panoramic photos, so of course I'm including a couple.

Cool Cats

Just a handful of some of the cats I saw this week.

At the market

I'm not sure how it actually happened, but I am off work for a couple weeks and arrived in Hong Kong this morning! I'm visiting my sister for the holidays. I'm exhausted and excited, and I'm eternally grateful for the love and support it took from several people to get me here. My sister and I went to the market to get some groceries since we'll be cooking all throughout Christmas Eve. I even found mangosteen! I remember eating these the first time I came here and it being my favorite fruit and I'm beyond thrilled to find it here again. Noms.

Middle Harbor Shoreline Park

Just another beautiful Oakland sunset.

Family BBQ

I went to Portland for a work trip in July and one of the nights we had a BBQ. There's not much better than good food & good people. (Like, really good food)

Point Lobos State Reserve

My cousin took me to Point Lobos and everything was so pretty there. Even with just my phone's camera, these photos came out decent because it's just gorgeous out there.

These are whale bones outside of the Whalers Cabin Museum. There was a lot of neat stuff inside this little museum and it has a really interesting history. Click here for more on that. 

I had a lot of fun looking at tide pools. My cousins have always taken me to look at tide pools growing up and I've always been fascinated by them. They're completely different worlds! This time I had a weird fascination with all the crabs I saw. Then we came across this pool with all these sea urchins in it!

Now I can't get the idea out of my head that I'm going to start using watercolors. I had been thinking about it a lot, and visiting this place got me thinking about it again. We'll see if that ever comes to fruition. 

I also think I may have gotten exposed to poison oak.. (worth it).

Get out of town

My friends got married in Monterey this weekend and while I was there, I got to hang with my cousins!  They are awesome and it was a good reminder that I should get down there more often. Here are a few snapshots. 

The prettiest moon and sky as I was driving into town. This isn't a great photo and probably was not the safest to take (my b). The moon was almost full, and the sky looked like sherbet. What you can't see is how the sky turns from pink/orange/purple to green/blue purple as you pan across the sky, and how the bank of fog comes creeping in from below. 

My cousin has all the best dishware. Glasses, teacups, saucers, etc. It's all amazing! 

I moonlight as a candid dog photographer. Look at how cute these pooches are!

This is Ralphie. I dressed him in my clothes and cuddled the crap out of him. We bonded. 

Notable mentions from this weekend: going to the aquarium and discovering that I am obsessed with Flamboyant Cuttlefish (click for vid to see how neat they are), breakfast consisting of the best swedish pancakes, crazy delish Indian buffet, Point Lobos (pics coming soon), and making ridiculous burgers. I realize that 3 out of 5 of those things are food-related, but I've come to a point where I've just accepted that I am a food-motivated creature.

Actually, let me take a moment to talk about this burger:

Cheese, bacon, grilled onions, avocado, homegrown lettuce, banana peppers & a fried egg to top it all off.

Not sure what else I can say after that, so I'll just end here. 

The Aesthetic Union

I ended up in this shop on Saturday and was smitten. Everything in here is stuff that I love! Their website describes them as "a small letterpress studio and correspondence shop, specializing in limited print runs, dead stock stationery, and desk hard goods." Pretty accurate, and pretty perfect. As soon as I walked in, I spotted at least 3 different kinds of Palomino pencils, Clairefontaine notebooks, envelopes galore, and all the stationery. I was totally enamored with everything pinned along the walls. We even got a little demo on their press. It's awesome to see folks doing stuff like this-- it's so motivating! 

Superawesome

Weekend update: the SuperAwesome exhibit at the OMCA is actually superawesome. You should go see it if you haven't already because it's only here until July 27th! Also, migraines are the worst and I spent too many hours drawing, looking at, and thinking about lines.

A few little snapshots:

Little Free Library I came across in Berkeley! So cuters. I want to start one of these around where I live but don't know a good location. I already know what my landlord would say (No).

Fancy salt at the OMCA cafe! & pretty flowers.

& because I know you were wishing for another picture of my cat (since I post so very few of them and you were, I'm sure, wondering what he's been up to)..

xoxo

file under: things found 'round the office

Perfect Sunday

I saw so many of my favorite people yesterday. Here are a few snap shots of my day. Kind of funny how being more present with people means not having your phone out and therefore less pictures of everything. 

Went to a fabulously amazing birthday tea party

I made these vegan lemon lavender shortbread cookies :)

Two of my favorites:

coffee & brunch!

Worth mentioning but not pictured:

Lake walk with one of my favorite people in the world

Monthly friends' dinner. I made Mai Tais!

"I belong deeply to myself"*

The past few months have been hard and I'm ready to put them behind me. Even though I've been going through a difficult time, I'm grateful to the people who have been sources of support for me, as I'm not used to people a) showing up for me and b) staying.

This week I made the decision to stop using a lot of social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and dating websites. It's been pretty liberating so far, and already the quiet moments have begun to return to my life. I notice that already I am more intentional about my relationships and spend time writing (letters or in my journal), reading, cooking, and just being more present in everything that I do. This feels good, and I'd like to do it for at least a month.

Kai and I just had our anniversary this week, too. I can't believe it's been two years since I fell in love with him and brought him home with me! He is such a handful, but he has such a personality and is such a bright furball of joy for me. I can't imagine what my life would be like without him.

Somehow the weekend is already half over. I don't know how that happened, but apparently the passage of time doesn't stop just because you don't have work. At least that means there is a new episode of Game of Thrones on tomorrow night.

Library Project: Guest Appearances!

On my recent trip to the East Coast, I was lucky enough to visit some spectacular libraries. It goes without saying that they were all stunning inside and out, but to avoid image overload, I'm just going to post one photo from each. I got to spend some time reading/writing in the first one, and only really walked through the last two.

The George Peabody Library in Baltimore

This was one of the main things I wanted to do when I went to Baltimore. A couple people recommended that I visit, and when I looked it up online, I decided that they were right. As soon as you walk in, there are towering levels of stacks of shelves, warmly illuminated throughout the building, filled with books. There's a great sky light that provides some natural brightness, too. There were only a couple people in there using it as a library. I love that you can have weddings at this library. I've googled and instragrammed as much as one person possibly can on weddings at this library. The jury's still out on the whole marriage thing, but if that ever happens, it will probably happen in a beautiful room full of books. I read in here for a bit, became sleepy, and left.

The Library of Congress- Jefferson

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the United States! It is actually four buildings in total, but we really only had time to look at the Jefferson Building (especially since getting in was essentially like going through airport security). There were basically a million cool things there, but I'll limit myself to talking about three. 

Cool things at the LOC:

• They had both the Giant Bible of Mainz and the Gutenberg Bible on display. I hadn't realized the significance of these when I heard that they were on display here and thought that I didn't need to see them--I was wrong. The Giant Bible of Mainz basically signifies the end of the handwritten book and the Gutenberg Bible was essentially the first book printed with movable type in the western world.  SO COOL YOU GUYS.
• Thomas Jefferson's Library. His actual library. Or at least the part of it that made it through the fire that destroyed part of his collection. Some books that didn't make it have been replaced, others they already had in the Library collection, and there are some that they are still looking for. It's beautifully shown in a circular display so that you walk into the exhibit and are surrounded by all his books. The cool thing about his library is that he organized his books by three main categories: Memory, Reason, and Imagination. 
• The Main Reading Room. I'm pretty sure there are a ton of other reading rooms, but time was limited so we just checked out this one. Normally as a tourist you can only view the main reading room from this glass encased viewing area (think of Grey's Anatomy when they are watching people do surgery), but I found out the day before that you could register as a reader and gain access to the MRR as a researcher. So that's what we did, and now I have a library card to the LOC!

Brooklyn Public Library- Central

I literally only walked through this library, but look at how pretty the outside is! I love it when I walk into a library and there are people actually using it. I like that this library has a giant framed picture of Jay-Z in it (he's from Bed-Stuy). 

New York Public Library- Schwarzman/Main

What an iconic library! I was thrilled to be able to check it out during my two days in New York. I didn't expect to be so awe-struck at how beautiful the painted clouds are on the ceiling when you're sitting right underneath them. I also have only seen this room in pictures and video--not any of the other several levels or rooms of the library. It was really neat that there is a room just for genealogy research (though it looked pretty NY specific). There was also a room just for maps! 

---

I loved visiting these particular libraries because they physically embody what libraries can be for us: beautiful institutions for research and discovery. They are valued by the community and have been heavily invested in, not just with their contents and the wonderful people that staff them, but even just with the architecture of the buildings alone. They have become integral institutions in these areas and the community uses them. I know that when I talk to people here about libraries, I see confusion glaze over their faces because they think that libraries are obsolete. I don't think we're ready to get rid of libraries, especially because they adapt with users to cultural and technological change.  I could go on and on about this, but folks often don't realize the many services our libraries provide (like help with taxes, adult literacy programs, and free legal information), or the importance of serving as a safe public space for people.  And doesn't that deserve to be protected? I certainly think so. 

Library Project: Tool Lending Library

Don't worry, I'm just as surprised as you are that the next installment of my Oakland Public Library Project is the Tool Lending Library. But I had some things sitting around in frames collecting against the walls of my apartment, and I hadn't hung them on the walls yet because I needed to mount the brackets to the aforementioned frames. Seems easy enough, but since I don't own what I assume may be the smallest screwdriver in the world (well, probably not), I decided to visit the Tool Lending Library. 

The Tool Lending Library is actually in the same building as the Temescal Branch of the Oakland Public Library, but around the back. It's not very large, but it's hella packed with tools.. dare I say it may be the branch of the library with the greatest amount of utility per square foot? That is actually probably an unfair assessment as I haven't been to all the branches yet, and I have no idea how to measure utility. It also assumes that tools are more useful than books, and who am I to make that assumption? ANYWAY.

This branch of the library is a little different than the others, so it makes sense that the lending policies are a little different. You go through address verification and whatnot again, and similar to when you first get a library card, there is a probationary period for the first time you check out tools. Late fees can vary from $1-$20 per day-- I wish it would tell me online how much per day the late fee is when I manage my account. I wonder if you can renew your check out of a particular item. Because you need to return your items when the library is open, you may need to be a bit strategic about when you check them out. Since I work a 9-5, I think it would be best for me to check out tools on a Saturday or a Tuesday, the only weekday they're open past 5:30pm, so that I could return them regardless of whether it's a four-day or seven-day lending period.

The staff was super friendly and beyond helpful. Despite being pretty busy, they chatted with me, were really nice and engaging, and helped me find what I needed without hovering. For someone who knows virtually nothing about tools, this was a success! They didn't make me feel like an idiot or out of place for being there, which I appreciated a lot.

I walked out with a little Phillips screwdriver, a level, and a cool new sticker on my library card. 

Homebody, happy heart

This was the first weekend in a long time that I stayed in for the most part. It was amazing and long overdue.

This wall was empty before! Now my Postal Service poster is hanging, and I put this cork board up there with a coat hanger, too. This board, like so many things in my apartment, had been sitting up against the wall of my apartment waiting to be hung somewhere. I decided to put a bunch of my instax photos on it. In the middle is an E.E. Cummings poem and the first letters I ever received from two of my pen pals. When I look at this board, I feel SO much love. I like that it kind of works in tandem with the poster.

I went to Berkeley Bowl and took advantage of the amazing bulk section! Few things make me happier than having fresh fruit in my kitchen, so I'm thrilled that berries are starting to come back into season. Loaded up on all the fruits! You better believe I soaked up the bounty that is Berkeley Bowl.  

I made this delicious granola! Mm, so good.

I should probably also mention this food blog that my friend, Matt, recently showed me. Mynewroots.org is run by Sarah Britton and the blog itself is beautiful, in addition to having tons of healthy and delicious recipes. I made THREE recipes from it this weekend and they all turned out great. 

The Life Changing Loaf of Bread- Seriously so nutty and amazing. It's been great with everything I've put on it so far. The hardest part was waiting for it to cool all the way before cutting into it. I can't recommend this enough. Go make some ASAP!

Gourmet Granola with Walnuts & Figs- In addition to oats, it also has almonds, walnuts, coconut flakes, and dried figs (+ honey and coconut oil). I've never made granola before and for my first real attempt, this came out perfectly! Now I don't know why I would ever buy it again. Seriously, so good. 

The Winter Abundance Bowl- This was a good combination of yummy stuff all in one bowl. I don't even care for cabbage, but it was nice to have in this bowl. The sauce was nice, but we also ate this with a bunch of kimchi thrown on top. 

I may or may not have been wearing my Stay Home Club t-shirt all weekend as well.. so it goes.

This is my life, and these are the facts

I love the Bay, and our bridges (Golden and not).

I started a calligraphy class! I spent hours yesterday drawing lines. Eventually I progressed to I's. This is the ONE my instructor declared to be perfect. 

My cat is more photogenic than I am, and he knows it.