I lie-ca this!

What photographer doesn't want a Leica of their very own? Probably not all those wanna-be portrait photographers who bought their SLR starter kits at Costco and make side cash snapping their friends' graduation photos for $50 a pop... But don't get me started on that. Back to Leica... or, well, in this case, Lie-ca!

Matt Nicholson is basically my hero as of five minutes ago when I discovered his website, where you and I can purchase the ten page .pdf download for assembling a Lie-ca M3 Pinhole Camera! 

*Pause to jump around in your cubicle and shoot 

"you amateurs wouldn't understand" eye darts at your coworkers*

You're welcome, darlings. You're welcome.

February Photo-a-day

I've always liked the idea of doing one of those photo-a-day for a year things, but never could manage to follow through. When I saw fatmumslim's photo-a-day challenge go up on Instagram, I couldn't help but join in the fun. Not only was it only one month, it was the shortest month in the year, and that I was sure I could manage. I posted my daily updates on Facebook and Instagram, but decided to wait until the end to post it on my blog. Here are some of my favorites.

 

 

Chocolate Bowls

I haven't been doing much by way of creative baking, something I used to post frequently, but the other day I saw a chef on TV making chocolate bowls and got inspired! 

Melt chocolate and, while no hotter than 90 degrees, dip balloons into chocolate and set on wax paper. Place in freezer for ten minutes to harden. Remove from freezer, pop balloons, and fill with whatever you like! I filled mine with french vanilla custard and fresh fruit.

Tips: Use white water balloons so the dye won't transfer. I swirled in some white chocolate before dipping for a marbled look. Make sure the chocolate isn't too hot - seriously - we learned this the hard way by exploding a balloon, spraying scalding hot chocolate everywhere. Pop the balloons quickly rather than letting the air slowly ooze or the chocolate will crack.

Style crush! Nail Art

When it comes to nail art, there is a very fine line between fabulously fresh and disastrously tacky. The recent trend of paining your nails where one is a different color than the rest... Who decided that should happen? Certainly not me. And 3-D add-on's like little plastic bows and hearts? Yikes, ladies... yikes. What I do like are the more classic patterns and designs; the chevron, for example. When ladies jazz up just the thumbs it's like whispering "hey, I'm fun" without screaming "holler, I'm tacky." 

The other night I was having some me time and decided to give the leopard thumbs a go. I applied a base of gold on all of my nails, let it dry, then used light brown and black for the leopard print. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out! 

I also have to recommend this polish to you - Sinful Colors. It lasts longer and is much cheaper than my former favorite, OPI. A bottle of OPI usually runs around $8, while Sinful is only $2 and is easier to track down since it is carried in Target and most drug stores. 

Campo di Bocce

Over the weekend I soaked up some sunshine at Campo di Bocce in Livermore with friends! We reserved an outdoor court, ordered a few appetizers to share, and pretended we weren't the worst bocce players to ever set foot in the place. Joking, we weren't so awful, but we certainly weren't graceful or gifted on the court.

PS- I wore the new scarf you've all been so excited about! Love it!

Style crush! The Short Braid Scarf

How excited am I about this online store I just stumbled into?! Definitely ordering the short braid in heather gray for myself! The awesome thing about shopping small designers' websites is they're usually really willing and able to customize their products for you, and this lovely lady openly offers. The only downside is you have to pay with PayPal, and I'm not a PayPal fan, but for anyone who regularly shops Etsy or eBay I'm sure that's not an issue.

Delhi

My apologies for the lack of blogging these past few weeks! I promise, I had a very good excuse. I spent two lovely weeks on holiday in Delhi, and while I had wifi access, I couldn't bring myself to spare a moment of the trip typing away when I could be exploring the city or visiting with friends.

On my way to India, I had an 11-hour layover in London, which turned out to be one of my favorite days of the trip! I landed at Heathrow mid-morning, took the Tube to Picadilly, and walked a couple blocks to Berry Brother's and Rudd. It was incredible getting a tour of their shop, one of the oldest in London. The building and the company have such rich history and are in an ideal location, just a short walk across Green Park to Buckingham Palace. That evening, I made my way back to the airport for an overnight flight to Delhi.

From the time I arrived in Delhi my days were a whirlwind. I walked all over the city exploring ruins, temples, markets, and parks. I stayed with a college friend, Poh Si, who is a foreign correspondent based in Delhi with her Indian lawyer husband. It was exciting to see the city from the locals' perspective, getting to experience the places where they shop and dine, and hanging out with their friends, many of whom are journalists or work for NGO's. A huge highlight of the trip was spending two days with my dear friend Esther and her mother, who passed through Delhi at the tail end of their three-week India adventure.

 

 

Bedside Lamp

I have a small bedside stand that I've been looking to put a lamp on for ages but haven't been able to find anything well suited. Lamps are so boring and lamp shades take up too much space. I recently saw some lighting fixtures in an Urban Outfitters store and thought to try it out for myself. 

For years I've owned a cord for hanging a single bulb, I assume intended for paper lamps and such, but hadn't found use for it. I decided to cut the wire frame out of a lampshade I already owned and turn it into a mini version of the fixtures I'd seen at Urban. 

I started out with scissors but switched to a razor blade because it was easier to maneuver. I cut off the fabric, tossed the bottom of the frame and only used the smaller top piece, attached the bulb and frame to the cord, and ta-da! Perfect bedside lighting that I can switch on and off from bed instead of having to walk over to the switch.