One Roll of Film - Four Photos - Five Months

My favorite self-portrait thus far,using a parking mirror

on Laurel Ave,West Hollywood.

I love the serendipitous red triangle created by the light leak/parking sign/car driving by and the picture within a picture/juxtaposition of the trees.

I'm a sucker for a pink octopus!

This weathered and rusty trunk had an old military address and was sitting unguarded in the back of a strange truck that was made from parts of different vehicles... I call it a Franken-truck. I really wanted to know what was inside, but I didn't tempt fate that day.

Who says you can't be an artist AND liberal AND bad ass?

From my first day ever at a shooting range, learning the responsible/right way

to handle a weapon. Still a pacifist though...

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Ojai Impressions Thru My Diana Lens

Store-window self-portrait reflection

Horses patiently waiting outside the Ojai Cafe Emporium while their riders have Sunday brunch.

A metal sculpture that reminds me of Gaudi. I love public art.

This vintage mint convertible Renault was for sale!!! Very tempting...

I've never before seen dead fruit still hanging in a winter-dormant tree.

This lonely lock patiently waits for a purpose.

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Ghostly Show in Ojai

Having some creative fun with the Mister in the Emerald Iguana Inn jacuzzi...

Love the results!

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Love and Love and Love in Ojai

Ojai is my idea of the perfect weekend LA getaway:

• Less than a two-hour drive - gods willing
• No corporate chain stores/restaurants (far edge of town not included)
• Three thrift stores and a great antique store - perfect for treasure hunting
• One of the best used-book stores
• A lovely park in the middle of town and a clock tower that chimes the hours
• Trees Trees Trees
• Colorful flowers/cacti
• A decent mix of restaurants and a nice cafe
• Friendly locals and an artistic community
• Easy walkability
• Horses!!! They're everywhere. People even rode them to brunch! (pics to come)
• Great places/opps to take pics of with my Diana F+ plastic camera (film at lab)
• Quiet nights and quiet stars...

This was the perfect place to spend Valentine's weekend with Sweetie-pie...

Wandering and hunting for treasure...

Taking pics of this and that...

Exploring the stacks/aisles of the groovy indoor/outdoor (with a grapefruit tree growing in the middle) Bart's Books.

They have several shelves on the outside and rely on the honor system if they're closed!!! I love that.

Adding three vintage beauty how-to books to my collection...

Going through vintage pics (and listening to 40's big band) at Treasures of Ojai, two caught our eye...

And this vintage necklace was only $22!

A cool iced darjeeling...

Wearing the Free People top I got the day before for 50% off at my fave non-thrift store in Ojai, Chameleon. The very-nice owner is from London, has great taste and the best sale rack in town.

Then a few steps to the St. Thomas Aquinas Thrift Store for this never worn $3 top...

It was the perfect lazy romantic creative breath-of-fresh-air weekend...

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Auto-Archeology or Digging For My Childhood on Ebay

There were two very obscure items from my childhood that left a lasting impression...

Sally Goes Shopping Alone (1940) tells of little Sally's adventures on her first shopping trip alone to the big department store in order to surprise her Mummy with a birthday gift, while getting her doll a bathrobe, new ribbons for her hair and a pair of rainboots! I used to read it at my grandmothers, but like many things, got lost somehow. To this day, this book influences how I prioritize my goals (shopping and otherwise) and reminds me how things will work out, even if it's not as planned. What's particularly fun is how knowledgeable and helpful the people who work in the large department store are, and how they would send any packages you couldn't carry to your home the next day!!!

Money Card (1972) may be why I still aspire to global bohemian jet-setting. You travel around Europe, with the goal of acquiring keys to the glamourous cities and if you have the "money card" you can charge your expenses!!! Nothing like teaching 7 year olds how to get into debt... albeit in a stylish and cosmopolitan way! The game belonged to a neighborhood friend, and I never found it anywhere else or met anyone who ever heard of it.

A couple of years ago, I got a yen to find both of these long-lost treasures, partly to see if I could find them at all, and you can imagine how tickled I was to discover them on Ebay and for cheap (especially since Ebay tends to be $$$ these days). Now they can continue to inspire and make me smile till the end of my days.

The only other thing left I wish I could find is this strange breakfast cereal-like stuff that I was given in early childhood, but never seen since. I think it had the name "concentrate" in the title, came in a small, metallic-papered box with a metal spout and was made up of very tiny flakes (not sure what grain, maybe corn). Seriously I wish I could remember more, other than I really liked the taste. Major golden karma to anyone who can point me in the right direction with this, though I think it may be impossible...

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Sunday Strawberry Sweet

Sweetie-pie surprised me today with a strawberry macaroon from Breadbar and it was large enough for us to share.

Though a larger and bit denser interpretation from traditional macaroons (I miss Boule), I enjoyed this pretty pink perfection and look forward to trying their vanilla and coffee flavors.

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Silverlake Dress Treasure

This sweet little sundress from the Silverlake Flea Market was my reward yesterday for surviving unscathed (except mentally) 2 very close-call near-miss car crashes (someone ran a red on Robertson-almost hitting pedestrians and us and a bus almost turned into us) AND then experienced (but actually didn't witness - heard it then looked up to see the aftermath) a crash on Fountain... all within a 30 minute period. My absolute strangest and unsettling driving day in the 10 years I've been driving here.

But Sweetie-pie and I made it and joined friend Julia and her Steve, first for Kogi (our friend's first time!) then for a little treasure hunting therapy. I was expecting a larger event, but it had a good showing of vintage clothes vendors. Sweetie-pie first saw the dress and pointed it out (love it when he does that) and I returned the favor by finding him a great navy wool cardigan, both priced at $15

It appears to be handmade and I'm contemplating shortening it a bit, without messing with the too groovy scene and I'll wear it with a vintage leather belt.

This is my first vintage treasure find of the year!!! Great start if you ask me...

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Serious Lamp Love

Last week I mentioned my lovely lovely cream/gold table lamps that I recently brought out and placed in the bedroom and office... et voila! I got the pair for about $35 (if memory serves) from a now-gone shop in San Luis Obispo, CA and got the shades at Target, though I am keeping an eye out for a perfect vintage shades. I look forward every night to turning them on. What we put in our homes should make us happy, all the rest is just clutter.

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Total Beverly Hills Moment

After a long day of errand running and an audition (the lead in a UCLA student film - keep fingers crossed), I went to my bi-monthly mani/pedi appt. at Contempo Nails on Robertson, just north of Olympic, where I've been going for a couple of years. It's got a funky mix of clientele, and it's often a great place to people-watch, not to mention inexpensive.

As I'm waiting for my newly-red nails to dry, an older gentleman, plainly dressed, but with a large multi-diamond ring on his left hand, clearly a regular (think I've seen him there before), sits down as several of the Vietnamese beauty-techs start fluttering around him, as he's there for the full mani/pedi/massage treatment.

In comes a woman whose car is being blocked in the rear parking lot by somebody's Mercedes, and she asks everyone if they own a Mercedes, to which this gentleman responded with a chuckle (and loud enough so we all could hear him) "I don't have a Mercedes, I have a Bentley."

Needless to say I laughed out loud and looked at him. I guess being rich isn't enough unless everyone knows it.

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

The Month of Janus

January is named for the Roman god Janus, the god of doors/gates and beginnings/endings. For me January means taking stock of absolutely everything I can think of in my life. It's not just about resolutions, it's about starting the new year with a totally clean slate and inviting new energy in. I fix what needs to be fixed, change what needs to be changed, clean out the no-longer-useful and address any nagging loose ends, so all I have to do is look forward.

• Patched two holes in bedroom wall left over from when it was an office.
• Brought out from storage 2 gorgeous vintage gold/cream table lamps that I bought over 5 years ago, got 2 inexpensive shades at Target (until I find the perfect vintage shades) and put one in the bedroom next to bed and the other in the office. Pics to come soon.
• Cleaned out clothes closet/linen closet, bathroom cabinet, drawers et al...
• Cleaned out 6 pairs of shoes I no longer wear and some accessories that were more shabby than chic. I made a few $$ selling to Crossroads Trader and donated the rest to Out of the Closet. NEVER THROW ANYTHING USABLE/WORKABLE IN THE TRASH - DONATE DONATE DONATE!!! I cannot get over all the perfectly useful items I find in the garbage that could go to people less fortunate and instead end up adding to our land-fill problems.
• Found 2 maxi-dresses I never wear, but I think they'll be perfect re-worked and shortened... so off to the tailor.
• Took out my first vintage fur (cute short brown mink jacket I got on Ebay for $25 in 2003!) that has been hiding in my back closet since I accidentally tore both sleeves in a hasty moment three years ago, and I patiently (hours upon hours) sewed the rips until good as new. Wore it for the first time on our rainy LA Sunday!
• Needless to say... I cleaned cleaned cleaned! And I still have a little more to do...

By the end of the month I will... (weather permitting)

• Take headboard that I got from friend/neighbor Lisa last year, add one foot to its height, prime it and paint it a brighter white (thinking about lacquer).
• Re-pot and re-work some plants in the backyard.
• Decide whether I'll repaint (gold, currently black) a vintage plant-stand I got last year from the Melrose Flea Market or put it in storage for now.

What I'll be looking for in 2010

• I hate everything in the bathroom... so I'm looking for a new shower curtain and artwork.
• May finally find a way to put up curtains over the kitchen windows.
• Need a tablecloth for free-from-moving-out-neighbor kitchen table that is... well ugly. Contemplating painting it and putting down a glass top, but who knows.
• Something for the bedroom walls.
• A new shelf/storage unit for the office - Sweetie-pie has a vintage camera/polaroid collection that needs a showcase, while providing additional workspace.
• And I always have my eyes out for treasure treasure treasure!!!

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Chanel Words to Live By...

I don’t understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that’s the day she has a date with destiny. And it’s best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.
— Coco Chanel

Looking Back and Moving Forward

What 2009 brought me... in no particular order...

• This blog! My major goal was/is to inspire a glamorous/pampering/adventurous/slightly eccentric/creative life without it being about money or status. And share the occasional star-sighting... AND to share my genius wit and artistic prowess... ;) Merci to all you wonderful readers and bloggers who inspire me in return!
• The Sounds of Silence, a UC Northridge film in which I had a fun role written for me by the director(after I auditioned for another role!), and the friendships made on the set.
• A first edition/hardcover of Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume, one of my favorite books by my favorite author, won on Ebay for $3!
• Four marvelous meals (3 this summer, 1 on 12/21) at Ludobites... my faves were the chorizo/cantaloupe/cornichorn ice soup (had every time this summer), lobster medallions (omg that gelee), the tomato salad with feta mousse and both versions of fried chicken, though the version on 12/21 with the cantal polenta and mole took me to a transcendent place. If Maestro Ludo (or anyone who knows him) sees this, please consider a Ludo Comforts U truck, selling your soups and fried chicken with polenta to a happy happy public!!!
• Crossroads Trader treasures (all under $50!)... most notably, a navy Gucci dress that fits me like a glove, black Donald Pliner cork wedges, Chip and Pepper wide-leg jeans (softest denim omg), Sonia Rykiel gold platform sandals, some pretty Marc Jacobs tops and a super-soft turquoise cashmere sweater.
• I perfected my pig candy recipe and recently made candied bacon balls that were rich/sweet porcine heaven.
• Butterflies and gemstones at the Natural History Museum this summer.

• My first film camera, a plastic Diana F+ Nightcap, and expired film now give me another outlet for my storytelling.
• My two groovy Goodwill.com finds... the champagne mink jacket of my dreams (seen in pic above, as I was leaving Ludobites on 12/21) and a heavy gold Egyptian necklace that reminded me of one of my favorite bloggers, The Glamourai.
• Umami Burger's SoCal Burger
• The Golden State Cafe - the friendly neighborhood cafe I wish there were more of. It's so nice to walk into a place and be recognized and talked to. Merci Jason!
• Animal Restaurant - great inventive food and no attitude
• My new favorite go-to restaurant - The Veggie Grill on Sunset at Crescent Heights. Vegan fast-ish food that will satisfy non-vegans... healthy, delicious and good for the environment. My fave is the chicken ceasar salad and I sub fried chicken for the blackened. Best faux-chicken I've had. They have a burger I will try sometime soon, but I keep ordering that salad!
• O-burger in Weho... organic, grass-fed burgers
• Kogi Kogi Kogi!!!
• My favorite Mexican peasant top ($5!) from Out of the Closet.
• Lulu Organics hair powder - for that perfect messy bedhead and not having to wet-wash my hair too often.
• Exchanged the office with the bedroom and now get to wake up to trees and a few crazy squirrels.

• Finished the re-write of my pilot script, The Day Shift. All I need now is a producer with vision!!!
• Gold this, gold that and the gold other thing...
• My first foray into backyard gardening that led to my foot meets pottery shard adventure. Without any doctors. stiches or drugs, I prevented infection and promoted healing with lavender oil, apple cider vinegar, tumeric, manuka honey and hand-made bandages (and boosted my immune system internally). Five months later and no regrets, the area is still tender, and I figure it will be a full year before it's 100%. Natural healing isn't speedy, but I prefer to work with my body, not against it. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
• I checked a life goal off the list in November by learning how to properly handle and shoot a handgun. As an actress, I want to look like I know what I'm doing (cause I want to be cast as a badass, of course!) and it's another skill that's worth learning well. Merci to friend Richard, who's an expert in this field (felt like I was watching the Terminator when he was shooting), for being patient with me and for loading the clips when my fingers started to hurt (yeah I'm such a girl sometimes).

• Fantastic and inexpensive reflexology massages at JB Natural Foot Massage on Robertson. I'm going again next week with friend Julia!
• My energy-healer Maggie who has made me healthier, both mentally and physically. I met her as a result of my foot injury (indirectly), so you never know what positive will emerge from a perceived negative event. I try to be grateful for everything, because life can be crazy wonderful...

Adieu 2009!!!

Bienvenue 2010!!!

May the adventures begin...

Miss Absinthe

Three Thrown-Away Tales

In the gutter, a mis-matched pair of shoes wonders what became of their mates.

Yet another used latex glove, kept company by two shoe inserts and a used cigarette.

The liquor store window seems the perfect place to find a used mini-vodka bottle.

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Magical Ten of Clubs

As I was walking past the lawn of the Magic Castle in Hollywood (visited friends staying at the hotel), I spotted this single and slightly beat-up (gnawed perhaps) playing card, all by its lonesome self, as if rejected from the magician's pack for a mysterious infraction... or maybe it was just making a break for it.

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Quickie Post - Shrimp Tacos and Sex in Los Feliz

After spending a lovely afternoon with friend Julia and her beau at their groovy new pad in the Los Feliz hills (OMG the view), Sweetie-pie and I went for some shrimp tacos at Best Shrimp Taco in Ensenada (and I ordered in Spanish-yay!) where we were in for a show with our dinner...

We parked on the side street, off Hillhurst, and as I was preparing to exit the car, a hot-and-heavy couple (in a Dodge... really?) making out caught my eye, and I caught theirs, apparently. What is it about "caught" couples acting indignant and staring back? Like I cared... but I did get a chuckle. It's been a long time since I've seen that level of PDA, especially from people who looked 30ish.

On to two yummy shrimp tacos and then back to the car, where it was difficult NOT to notice, the Dodge still there, steamy windows AND a zebra-print blanket rigged to give "some" privacy. Zebra print? Really? There has GOT to be a story here...

4 shrimp tacos and 1 shared Diet Coke - $9

Noticing taudry sex in a Dodge on a Los Feliz sidestreet, in front of a taco stand, with a classy zebra-print blanket - PRICELESS

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Messy Bed in Abstract

Experimenting with my Messy Bed series in the new bedroom.

Loving the colors and light, the varying focus and the odd 12 in the upper right.

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

A Tale of Two Bedrooms

New view from the bed - pure heaven.

When a noisy douchebag moves into the building next door, one can either continue to get angrier and angrier by the day (which is what happened first) OR accept the situation for what it is (AFTER threatening them at 4am with HOLY FUCKING HELL) by switching the bedroom with the much-quieter office. A blessing in disguise, this much cozier space has beautiful afternoon light that filters through my neighbor's trees and better lends itself to naps, reading in bed and taking photographs. Wish now I had done this years ago... Merci Mr. Douchebag.

When a douchebag developer makes your life a noisy and dirty affair for the last 18 months, with no end in imminent sight, one can either... WHATEVER!!! Having a well-known penchant for bringing home "found" treasure, I absolutely could not resist picking up this sign that was laying in the gutter at the end of my street. As I was carting my disobedience home (hey, I'm not the one who wrecked the thing in the first place), a woman who lives right next to the construction site, saw me and cheered. Felt good. Now it lives in the new office space and inspires the artistic outlaw I aspire to be...

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Autumn... at Last!!!

If you decorate, autumn will come...

October has always been my favorite month, with Halloween (and the Great Pumpkin!) being my favorite holiday. There's something magical about October sunlight and I think after an especially punishing hot summer, the cool breezes that wafted through the apartment this weekend were appreciated on a whole other level.

And what better way to celebrate the changing colors of autumn? Tomorrow I get a pedicure with my new Teal nail polish that arrived yesterday!

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

A Little Autumn Glamour

The buzz buzz buzz has been all about Chanel's new Jade nail polish, but my taste goes a little darker, and NO wait list! Ordered online last night and soon to be seen peeking out of my new-to-me Donald Pliner cork wedges (courtesy of Crossroads Trader)...

Teal by Rescue Beauty

Until next time... Miss Absinthe

Mercury in Retrograde...

Dearest Darlings!!!

I just haven't been able to get my mind into blogging lately... I've got my nose to the writing grindstone as I work on re-writes for a pilot script I've been trying to get off the ground for over two years, and apparently I can't write and chew gum at the same time.

I'm still posting tidbits here and there on Twitter and Facebook.

I plan to get back to this in about two weeks, I'll be done chewing gum by then.

Merci Amis for all your patience, I promise to make it worth your while...

Until next time... Miss Absinthe