The Now

Please don't turn tear the calendar
sheets off one by one
because if i see him smiling and his tennies,
at three sheets on the ground,
it would grow to be all around me -
the tiny spider thread connecting him to these voicemails -
i tiptoe it carefully,
and it would grow wide in both directions.
It would take up the whole world.

Beauty and the... Vampire?

 Photo by: jscreationzs

It is said that beauty comes from the inside, and in the cosmetic industry, thanks to the latest trend in fillers, we can say it literally.

The Selphyl system, quickly dubbed "Vampire Filler", is a new facial filler technique performed by dermatologists and plastic surgeons. A tablespoon of venous blood is drawn from the patient (usually arm), then a centrifuge is used to isolate platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and fibrin from the blood sample. Next, a fibrin-forming catalyst is added to activate the formation of a platelet-rich fibrin matrix (PRFM) from the PRP & fibrin in the sample. This concentrated material is then injected by the physician in the patient's dermis to fill skin depressions, acne scars, wrinkles, and folds. This tiny cocktail of growth factors stimulates cell proliferation of connective tissue, such as collagen.

The procedure is FDA-approved and takes around 20 minutes. There is no down time and results appear within about a week. It will set you back $900, but research indicates that the effects can last around twenty months. In that case, it would be more affordable than traditional hyaluronic acid fillers. While new to the cosmetic world, platelet-rich plasma technology like this has a history of use in medicine, particularly in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine. It is used to rebuild connective tissue after injuries like rotator cuff, meniscus, and achilles tendon tears.

The cosmetic system is manufactured by Cascade Medical Enterprises, LLC, who also hold the patent for Fibrinet - the PRFM system used by the aforementioned branches of medicine for close to a decade. Stock tip? I'll just say with a product nicknamed like this one, finding press hasn't been difficult.

Big Sexy Hair

Listen up fine haired-ladies!

Without a doubt, Big Sexy Hair "Root Pump Spray Mousse" at $16.99 is my favorite beauty bargain of 2010 thus far.  I finally have a routine I love on those pesky hair-washing & blow-drying days. Towel dry, apply Moroccan Oil lightly throughout, a quarter-sized portion of Kiehl's Creme with Silk Groom distributed all over, then on to drying. For the bottom half I just dry straight in the direction of styling, even using my fingers is fine if I can't find my motivation to brush. Then once I start letting down and working the top pieces, I spray my Big Sexy right at the roots, work in, blow dry up or in the opposite direction of styling, then move to the next piece and so on.

Finally I have hair that looks thick and lifted, genetics be damned.

Permanent place in my beauty ritual.

Big Love...
to Olivia Marino for turning me on to this line by opening up her home, and beauty cabinet, to me in New York where I first discovered a can of Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray!

Marina

This is not some alien land or scaled model of life in the future. It is my home.

West Coast

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, although i live in another world now.
I'm in LA.

A Time to Eat

Per request, some of my recipes.

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad (for Kattie)

• 1/2 lb pasta (I use fusili)
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons McCormick grill seasoning (such as Montreal Steak Seasoning)
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce
• 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or any vinegar)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1large onions (sliced 1in thick)
• 6 chicken breasts (thin cut cutlets, or whatever chicken meat you prefer)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup romano cheese, grated (or parmigan if you prefer)
• 1 Small bag arugula (washed and coarsely chopped)
• 1/4 cp fresh parsley, chopped
• 2 cups fresh basil (about 20 leaves, coarsely chopped)
• 3 celery ribs, thinly sliced
• 1 fresh mozzarella ball
  
• 1 pint grape tomatoes (left whole if small, cut in halves or quarters if larger)
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

Marinate the onions and meat. In a small bowl mix the garlic, grill seasoning, worcestershire, and 2tbsp vinegar. Whisk in 1/4 cup EV olive oil and then divide the mixture between 2 shallow bowls. Marinate the onions in one and chicken in the other.

Wash & chop your vegetables, herbs, and mozzarella.

Cook the pasta but make sure to have the next step done before its finished.

In a large bowl combine the mustard and 3 tbsp vinegar with a little salt & pepper. Whisk in remaining 1/3 cup EV olive oil slowly. Add the grated romano cheese. Drain the cooked pasta when its done and add it directly to the large bowl to coat with the dressing and melt the romano.

Grill the onion and chicken on a grill or on the stove. After cooked let them cool on a cutting board for 5. Coarsely chop the onions and chicken. Add them to the dressed pasta. Add the arugula, basil, parsley, celery, mozzarella, and grape tomatoes. Season with a little salt & pepper if desired.

From Rachael Ray
Express Lane Meals


Quinoa Salad (for Kerri)
Kerri, I do not have a cous cous recipe that is particularly inspiring, but this is a great little summer salad that you can make for snacking on mid-day or as a great cool side for an entree. This was in serious rotation for me summer '07.

• 1 cup quinoa
  
• 2 cups water
  
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
  
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
  
• 3 scallions, white bulb and a few inches of the green
• 1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts (buy roasted or roast on broil for a few)
  
• 1/2 cup canned mandarin orange sections, drained
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped mint
• 2 tsp grated orange zest

Chop your scallions and mint and zest that orange.

Combine the quinoa and water in a large saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 mins. Then add raisins and continue cooking until all liquid is absorbed ~5 mins. Remove the pan from heat and spread mixture out on a baking sheet to ch-chill yo. Cool all the way.

In a large bowl combine the quinoa and raisins with scallions, peanuts, mandarins, mint, zest, and sesame oil. Toss & serve.

from Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins
The New Basics Cookbook
(Love this cookbook)

Summer of Love

I did not reckon the Burton sale to be anything in magnitude to the scale I witnessed upon arrival with Ivy today. Naively, I believed that the sale would take place in the factory retail store and would require no crowd corralling, no free distribution of water to fight dehydration amongst customers in queue, no offsight parking. How wrong I was.

Prior to arrival at the store, Ivy and I got a little creative ourselves, with some help from Emma. Elizabeth sent us a Sunlight Print Kit to learn some of the basics of photography. Here's what we turned out with a little help from nature, the sun, water, and lemon juice.

These 4 are designed
by Ivy
















These two are designed by Emma.

and these two are by me

To see Elizabeth's photography, check out
her website.