Why Hello There

 My dearest bestie peeks out from an old crusty shack in Malibu Canyon

My busy little hands are sore from all the furniture staining and ceramics making and reupholstering I have been doing this past month. So pardon me if this post is all over the place. 

A Tagine! I am uber excited to make some Moroccan food in this dish... 

Marinated Chicken with Apricot couscous? Yes.

I have recently switched the kind of clay I have been using from Recycled Soldate to B-mix with no grog. In basic terms... I have gone from a clay that is dark with a lot of iron and "bits", to a white clay. As you can see in the Tagine, it means I can use translucent glazes and they look more vibrant. More contrast = awesome.

I have no grand excuse for my absence except to say that I have finally moved back into my own place. It feels damn good. I didn't turn on my computer until a week ago eve though we have been here for a  month already. I have so many pictures that I have been hoarding up of the new place, my new projects, and life in general. 


My wonderful bestie came to visit this past month and I took her out to Paramount Ranch for some galavanting. She is always fun to photograph.

Life has been so exciting lately. I have been cooking a lot, battling my black thumb in my little garden, and trying to keep my mind off the fact that I have only a few more months before I find out whether I get into the EATM program at the Teaching Zoo. It is unbelievably hard to keep my mind off of it when I am at the zoo campus taking classes 4 days a week, but alas... it is out of my hands now. Application is in. I just wish it wasn't all based on a lottery. I feel like my future is out of my hands right now. Being an obsessive worry wart since childhood, I am practicing my patience and focusing on all the wonderful things I have in my life.

One of those things is my new found love of gardening. I always like to joke about what a black thumb I have for a person who loves plants so much. I went to an agriculture high school and competed in horticulture identification contests in LA county in high school (yes, no joke, some of my friends don't even know I have a statue awarding me for placing third in LA county from a high school competition. I once read 5 books on different types of wild grass last year).  Despite all this, I have killed every plant I have ever owned. This includes everything ranging from ferns to cacti. I tend to over love. The usual culprit I have a problem with is over watering, which eventually has rotted the roots of my plants to death. 

After much care, and a lot of resistance to bring out the watering can every day,I finally have the makings of a delightful little garden. I compiled a menagerie of resilient plants (i.e. pests and over growers that you practically have to butcher to stop from growing) and sprinkled in a few delicate ones to try out. So far, a month and a half layer, I have not killed a single one. My Jasmine vine already grew over a foot of new growth! I squealed.

I love my new apartment. It is tiny, and has no bedroom door(which is interesting at 6am, living with a very talkative parrot), but it has a small private patio, and a wonderful cozy feeling. It is by far the smallest apartment I have ever had, and by far my favorite. I love my new home. 

I have been feeling inspired again lately. Some time around November last year I started to feel an itch again to make things. I wanted to paint and draw and make things. I have been in a slump for a while... not having any ideas. I really feel that now that I am studying something I love, I feel inspired to do other things I love. Art itself doesn't seem to get my juices going. I am just happy to feel excited about making things again.

I have no delicate way to end this post other than to say I am tired and feel like eating some chocolate covered almonds. Adieu!