the simplest salad

summertime calls for light and simple preparations. it's just too damn hot to create elaborate meals, and it's really hard to digest heavy foods. i got to make my favorite "3 herb salad" the other day for my parent's house warming party and indeed, it was just the perfect combo of simple and light and yet so tasty, it was a huge hit! i snagged this recipe from a french girl i worked with at the Beverly Hills Hotel. basically it goes like this:

-tear up butterleaf lettuce leaves into a bowl (washed of course)
-chop italian parsley, fresh mint and cilantro and sprinkle over the lettuce (don't be afraid to use plenty of herbs)
-drizzle your favorite olive oil
-squeeze fresh lemon juice to taste
-freshly crack some sea salt and black pepper (also try himalayan sea salt or lemon pepper if you're feeling funky)
-toss to coat and enjoy right away so the leaves don't wilt.
-yum!

now i had no idea how simple salad can really be until i went to a yoga class at the golden bridge last night, a sunday night class, and was so pleasantly surprised that we were served a well deserved dinner after an incredilbly challenging class! mung beans and salad. utterly simple, and completely divine. it doesn't get easier than this, however it may require a bit of effort to procure a couple of key items that make it all worthwhile. of course, the goodness in "simple" is derived from the quality of the items, so this is where a bit of effort comes into play. here are the only ingredients you need for this impeccably delightful garden treat:

-organic field greens (baby greens or a spring mix will do, however doesn't "field" sound so summery?)
-your favorite olive oil
-apple cider vinegar (i guess it should be organic, right?)
-now here's the secret ingredient: Braggs Liquid Amino Acids - replaces any need for seasoning, plus it is packed with nutrients and gives the dressing the most delectable flavor ever! you can get this at whole foods or any natural food store.
-it's that easy and it's to die for. toss some alongside a cheese omlette, a piece of grilled chicken, a grilled cheese sandwhich, whatever you have in the fridge!

and finally, day 3 of being inspired by simple salads - my friend Ellie gave me some salad seasoning called Goya salad and veggie seasoning and told me it is the best dressing ever, just add fresh lemon juice and oil and presto! so i had some fresh butterleaf lettuce, live on the root and some grilled corn left over from the weekend.

-butterleaf lettuce, tear up leaves
-grilled corn, cut off the cob
-olive oil
-fresh lemon juice
-Goya salad seasoning

triple yum.

summertime

I have neglected my creative flow the past few months and as summer expands, I am finding that I have been on hold for some time now, but for what? There has been so much to be inspired by: Chinatown, night-blooming jasmine overhanging my entryway, my 40 day Kundalini Yoga Bootcamp practice and meditation at the Rec Center in Echo Park (hooray!), ice cream at Pazzo Gelato, the Hollywood Bowl with friends, moving my family into the new Ratsiu Residence in Huntington Beach, potential love around the corner, my blooming business as the Rental Girl, and heading out to Portland (for the first time!), Seattle and San Diego for a long overdue vacation. I met my new yoga teacher's wife Jamila the other day and fell in love with her website, blog and business concept eleven eleven. I was so happy I got to tell her how much she inspired me and how dedicated she is, it's no easy feat to keep up a blog with so many exciting and beautiful bits of random things. So I am committing to keeping up with my creative side and no matter what, remind myself (and anyone else who cares to read along!) of what makes life so beautiful, big or small. It doesn't have to be a long blog entry - even if just a word about what makes my heart sing. Just to stay connected to the Source. And with that, I will note my latest new find today at one of my favorite coffee stops: Cafe de Leche in Highland Park, the "chai-chata". Chai and horchata mixed - could there be anything more delightful? And it was iced. Yum. Definitely worth trying, as I was on my way to get a Mexican Mocha which is to die for as well. One last thing, I finally stopped by the Fifth Floor Gallery in Chinatown and talked to Robert (the owner, who works in the tool crib at Otis and who I know from the wood working class I took there a couple years ago) about mineral forest. Crossing my fingers for whatever there is in store for me there!

inspiration knocks

The more I think about mineral forest, the more the forest comes alive. I went to the launch party of Stoned Immaculate at Lightopia in Laguna Beach last week and was so happy to see that more and more people are understanding the need to incorporate natural materials in design. As a side note, Caleb Siemon, a glass blower, also launched his line at the showroom, so there are so many inspiring and unique pieces available now in this seemingly "down economy" that people are really excited about.

A little further down PCH in downtown Laguna, the monthly Art Walk was taking place (first Thursday of the month) and I stumbled into the coolest gallery of all: The Crystal Image. It had some of the most amazing specimens I have yet seen. If you want huge, life-sized rocks that shimmer to your heart's content, and high-end quality, this is where you want to shop. It's no New-Agey  store that's for sure. This is the real deal and the prices reflect it too. If anything, it's a great place to wander into and dream a little.

Another place that sounds really cool but I have not yet ventured to is The Crystal Matrix in Atwater Village. I had come across it one night when it was already closed, next to Canele. That is the next stop on my list of field trips. The website has so much information and along with the Wellness services they offer and the classes and workshops, there is also an online oracle with Dragon Stones that is quite interesting and a great way to learn about the properties of stones little by little. Overall, it looks like an amazing place to get sucked into and return a different person!

, minerals

peeping tom

I meet so many fascinating people and have glimpses into their lives if only for a fleeting moment on a daily basis as my alter ego the Rental Girl. I live vicariously through the glamour of being an artist, a music producer, a film maker, a photographer, a shoe designer, as I wander through different properties with them, helping them on their search of their fairy tale dreamscape, a place to call home. A lot of these people inspire me immensely. I met a French Canadian shoe designer Jerome Rousseau (who by the way happened to be a friend of a friend who is now in London studying shoe design) and I almost met Chloe Aftel, a photographer (and still might), who had to cancel an appointment but stumbled into her world by clicking on her website. I am in awe of how much talent there is all around me and am forever grateful I have moved to my own dreamworld to make it happen.

the art of re-arranging

I was given some flowers and they were not happy in the vase they were put in straight out of the plastic wrap. They simply wanted to be in another vase. In my past life as a geisha, the art of floral arrangement must have been one of my fond past times, as in this life, I often contemplate bouquets and how I can recreate something I have seen in a floral boutique or in a magazine or as an event centerpiece. The next morning, I swiftly took to snipping the flowers and placing them one by one delicately into a smaller vase that seemed to call out to them. Voila! Still life.

pictures of you

I have recently gotten the photo bug. Well, I always loved taking pictures. And with my pretty nifty 8.1 Mega-Pixel Sony Cyber-Shot, I have been able to point and shoot at pretty much anything and get a good snapshot of the moment. On my travels, with friends and by my lonesome, I have been a self-taught photographer. I love the angles, the depth, the asymmetry in a glimpse. But when I was asked to help my friend snap her in her Mom's vintage Versace and Escada ball gowns from the 80's, my little digital dream didn't do the deed just how I would've liked. Not until I discovered the simple edit function on my Mac and played around for a couple hours with the shots did I realize that I really love telling stories with photos. 

My last big story was my China trip - over 500 photos that captured the magic so intensely, only could anyone else but me feel that emotion portrayed? One of my friends who is a great photographer, and is Chinese, shared with me that I should enter some of the photos in contests. And from that moment on, I was hooked. 

I need a good camera - I mean a really good one. The kind that takes multiple frames per second. The kind where you capture the slightest mood shift, and it makes all the difference. I wish I had one of those when I did the photo shoot of "the dresses". But back to the magic of a little color saturation and enhancement with the iPhoto edit  -  I literally felt like a photo genius. I don't know much about photoshopping, although I know I must learn at some point. I just wonder what I could do with a professional camera and a little color editing? 

After 2 hours and 30 photos later, I put together a story about "the dresses" that I wish I could publish. That's how proud I was of figuring out how to edit. And the very last photo took me less than 1 minute to manipulate and it was done -- and it was perfect.

My friend recently updated her facebook profile picture with this one and had a flood of comments on where this shot was taken, how, etc... and how it looks like it's an ad in a fashion magazine. I am pretty proud of it, if I must say so, and it has definitely given me the inspiration to take this hobby to the next level. 

it's all in the name

I have a thing about picking wine off a list that I have no clue about, except for being intrigued by the name. It never fails - and last night at Canele in Atwater Village, a total gem with great ambiance and fantastic food, I did just that. I can't give myself all the credit because it was kind of a joint effort. I was asked to pick out one of several that had really cool names and see if we had made the same selection. I loved the anticipation - was I going to pick the same one he had in mind? I just went on my gut feeling, and bingo! We were curious about the same one... The Prisoner, a 2007  Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Napa. It was divine. It complemented the Beef Tenderloin perfectly and finished off so beautifully with the creamy cheesecake topped with sour cream. Even the label is rad. Thumbs up!