$30 CSN Stores Giveaway!

CSNStores is graciously offering me another giveaway opportunity!  If you're a regular reader, you probably know the drill by now, but in case you don't know, CSNStores is a large network of online stores, where you can buy things from sling backpacks to telescopes.  Personally, I love their giant collection of cookware (I've gotten all sorts of things from cookware.com myself).

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post!  I'm feeling open-ended today, so you can leave any sort of comment you want, no theme or question of the day.  Happy Chanukkah (starts at sundown tomorrow night, December 1*)!

If you want to enter multiple times (no limit on number of entries!), here's what you do:

• Comment on this post (required, 1 entry)
• Mention this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere else with a link to this post, then come back here and leave a second (or third or fourth) comment to tell me that you tweeted (1 entry each)

A winner will be chosen at random by the Random Number Generator.  I'll be picking a winner on Monday, so please comment by 11:59pm on Sunday, December 5th.

If you are interested in doing a giveaway on your blog, email me (kimskitchensink [at] gmail [dot] com) and I might be able to hook you up with CSN.

*for the last month or so, I have been under the impression that Chanukkah starts on Thursday night.  Oops. It really starts Wednesday night.  Guess I'm decorating tonight!!

Hello, Custom Domain!

At long last, I have upgraded my domain name.  What was once www.kimskitchensink.blogspot.com is now the much simpler www.kimskitchensink.com.  And thanks to Google, it was supremely easy.  File this one under "These are the reasons I love Google."  Also under "It was really that easy?" and "It was cheap!" and "I am one happy camper."

I've been thinking of making this switch for some time, but was too lazy or intimidated or something to actually do it.  I thought it would be complicated, and expensive, and hey, what's so bad about having "blogspot" in the url of your blog anyway?  The tipping point?  I'm going to be attending some bloggy networky types of events soon, and I'm making some fancy business cards so that I can connect with other bloggers or potential sponsors or people who want me to review their products or who want to give stuff away to you guys.  Because that sounds like fun.  Anyway, the blogspot-inclusive url was too long to fit on the card, and it looked messy, and I think I'm ready to step it up a notch (is that even a phrase?).  Go blog.

If you blog using blogger and you want a custom domain, just read the instructions here.  It was seriously as easy as telling Google what name I wanted, agreeing to pay $10/year, and waiting about 15 minutes for it to become active.

If you read this blog via RSS feed, you may need to update your feed subscription. I think it should still work as-is (that is, if you were subscribed before, you should still get the feed without having to change anything), but I don't know for sure.  Let me know if you have problems and I'll figure it out.

But hey! What about those events you mentioned?  Why, do you want to join me?  Ok!

1. BlogHer Holiday Meetup (San Francisco, December 7, 2010)
2. FoodFete  (San Francisco, January 17, 2011)
3. BlogHer 2011 (San Diego, August 5-6, 2011)!

Are you attending any of these?  Let me know!

PS - know what else is new this week?  Disqus!  We launched v4 of our website and product...it's a complete overhaul, and it's pretty exciting.  Personally, I like the sweet, interactive design element on the new homepage, because I am easily amused.  The backend and admin changes are also great though - for complete info on the new stuff, read our CEO's blog post.  If you're not using Disqus for commenting on your site, and you want to, what are you waiting for?  It's pretty easy to set up, and our customer service team is supremo excellente if you have troubles.  Plus, I can see them from my desk. 

And that's all, folks!

Brownies

I have a confession to make.  I'm not much one for recipes.  I love to read them, don't get me wrong.  I read food blogs (which more often than not contain, oh, recipes) like the food I'm reading about will actually fill my belly.  I pore over cookbooks and the recipes in the back of Real Simple, dreaming of the dishes I'll create.  But if I'm being honest?  Most of the time, when I cook, I just make things up as I go along.  I gather information, ideas, inspiration from recipes, but when it comes down to hungry-time, more often than not, I don't have all of the ingredients on hand.  Or I'm just not quite in the mood for the thinking and the measuring and the reading involved with cooking from a recipe.

This might be why I have literally hundreds (tried to count to give you an accurate number, gave up) of untried recipes.  From Food Loves Writing, from Happy Jack Eats, from Hungry Girl from Smitten Kitchen.  From the 4+ years worth of Real Simple Magazines, of which I am finally ready to just let go.   Because you see, when the time comes to prepare food, I like to just let loose.  Yes, ok, I often use semi-pre-prepared items, though I'll admit to not being a huge fan of Sandra Lee (she scares me a little).  I guess what I'm saying is that I admire people who are able to cook 100% from scratch, beautifully recipe'd meals, I just don't always have the energy. And I'm ok with that.

Today had me thinking about self-acceptance.  I was asked to join a few colleagues in speaking to Berkeley Rep's current group of Fellows about our time in the program and how we transitioned into our lives and jobs afterwards.  I wanted to let them know that it's ok if your internship teaches you what you don't want out of a career (even if you have a great, fun, wonderful ole time while in it).  I remember vividly how difficult it was to reconcile a lifetime preparing for a career in the arts with the fact that I was about to start working in tech.  I wanted to impress upon them that they are building real, valuable marketable skills now, and that whether or not they decide to pursue careers in the craft to which they've so diligently harnessed themselves, having a theatre background will help.  I could go on and on on the merits of experience with the arts, arts education, and being the most holistically, well-rounded person you can be, but this is not the post for that.

This is the post for brownies (digression much?).  These are really good brownies.  Brownies made mostly from a box, with a little twist thrown in.  Because that's how I roll, when I want to fill my pretty new cake plate, and I need something to go with the pumpkin ice cream I just bought, and it's 9:00pm, and I just don't have the cocoa powder or the patience to make it from scratch.

I have only found this brownie mix at Costco.  It is worth a trip to Costco on a Sunday afternoon.  I added cinnamon and nutmeg because there are pumpkins on my countertop and I felt like making these brownies a little bit more...autumny.

pumpkins and brownies. delightful.

*PS: if you look carefully, you'll see something new hanging in the back of the shot.  That is, if you remember what our curtains looked like when we moved in.  There will be a whole post about that, don't you worry.

Update: brownie, pumpkin ice cream, and whipped cream.
Which I made from scratch. With cinnamon and vanilla.
Make of that what you will. It was delicious.  At midnight.

BlogHer: It's Official

See? It's official!

Ok dudes, I registered.  Officially.  I know the conference is not until August of 2011, and I know the Early Bird pricing is on sale until February, but I got an email today about how they do sometimes sell out, and how if you want to go, you should just buy the damn ticket already (I'm paraphrasing, here).  And since I just deposited my first paycheck from Lunchbox, I figure I should buy the ticket before I spend the money on something else.  Like food.  Or shoes.

Cause I promised myself that I'd use this money to pay for BlogHer.


If you are going, or planning on going, or wanting to go(ing), and you haven't filled out my awesome survey yet, please do!  Oh look, here it is again!  There are so many of you that I want to see and talk to and hug and cheers and learn with.  Let's do this!



Is it too early to book a hotel room?  BlogHer's website says it's not, and they have a special block room rate ($199/night), so fill out that form and let me know if you want to get in on some sharesies!  In a couple of weeks (arbitrary date: November 30), I'll send an email to anyone who signed up on the "I want to stay in communication with you about what you're doing at BlogHer '11" email list so we can start talking.  To each other.

BlogHerrrrrr!

Big news (for me)!  Yesterday, I received my first paycheck from Lunchbox, which means I can purchase my ticket to BlogHer '11!  Some of you had previously mentioned an interest in going, meeting up, sharing hotel rooms, etc., and since I'm a planner (the conference isn't until August of next year), I thought I'd gauge interest now.  After all, the Blogger Early Bird rate is only good through March 1.  And that's only...4 months away.  Ok, I'm a little early.  But what if they sell out?!?

Anyway, if you are planning on going to BlogHer '11, please fill out this little form below (or click here to fill it out on a separate page).  As it gets closer, perhaps all of us can plan to meet up, or share hotel rooms, or have a drink, or attend sessions together, or or or who knows?  And if you're a blogger who is interested in going to BlogHer, please feel free to share the link to this form with your readers so we can have one, big, happy BlogHer family!  Or don't, do your own thing, whatevs.

A Winner!

Congratulations to Leanne, the winner of the latest giveaway from CSN Stores!  Leanne found my blog through REI's Facebook page, when they randomly linked to my post about the How to Ride a Bike class I took last year.

Thanks for playing!  Hopefully there will be another giveaway soon!  :)


PS - REI also linked on Twitter. Tee. Hee. Hee. Tweet.

PPS - Wow, that's a lot of links.

PPPS - REI's website is making me want to go to the snow.

Knitting!

Knitting on BART is fun!

With the weather finally being all gray and rainy (I wore a coat three times this week!), my knitting instincts have started to kick in.  It's hard to work up the desire to knit when it's hot out, especially when there are all kinds of excuses along the lines of "but the knitting stuff is all put away, and it's so messy in here, I don't want to take anything else out right now".  You know, excuses.  Justification.  So easy.  But now the weather is of the sort that encourages warm and cozy feelings, hot chocolate and apple cider.  And of course, knitwear.

Also encouraging me to knit is the Patternworks chemo cap donation program going on right now. Their goal is to collect 1,000 chemo caps by October 29, to send to Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In addition, for every cap received, they will donate a portion of the yarn sales to the American Cancer Society.


Last night, I sat down to work on my chemo cap, since it's due soon, and I realized I was only halfway through with a baby hat I started months ago. I don't even remember who I was making it for, or if it was for a specific person, but I had to finish it.  You see, this chemo cap pattern calls for the use of size 6 circulars and size 6 DPNs, and those just happen to be the needles wrapped up in this unfinished hat.  Oh, the troubles! Such struggle! Such a hard life!


Anyway, I'm working on finishing this hat (should be done today) so I can get started on the chemo cap. This hat is a simple roll-brim baby hat; I've made several of them over the last few months for the long list of friends with new babies.  I love making them because the yarn is so soft, and the colors are so cute, but I'm excited to try the ribbed pattern of the chemo cap.  We'll see how it goes - I'm glad to be getting back into knitting!  

Happy News!

From Twitter:

ComedySportzLA ComedySportz LA

Thx 2 our loyal fans, we're extended thru Dec! We still need your help so buy tix at http://OurLoyalFans.com & help us win this!#iLoveCSzLA

As you can imagine, I am very, very, very excited and relieved to hear this. I'm going to the show on 10:30pm on Saturday night (yes, I will briefly be in LA), and I'm just so happy that the theatre has another few months. The fight's not over yet, and who knows what will happen post-December, but this is definitely good news!

PS: Don't forget to enter my latest giveaway! $30 to CSN Stores! Entries close at 11:59pm PST on Monday, October 25 :-)

That Announcement!

Last week, I made a pre-announcement on Twitter.  Announcing a forthcoming announcement is kind of a mean, teasey thing to do, I know, but I was feeling feisty.  So sue me.  I bet you'd already forgotten about the fact that I had an announcement to make, hadn't you?  Ha ha, joke's on you, I didn't forget! I'm going to announce it! Right! Now!

A few months ago, I was contracted as a copywriter for a new iPhone app/website: GroceryGuru (check out the "I also write for" bit in the left column now, and PS, new articles are also up at Valley Loop).  The exciting thing about these GroceryGuru articles is that I am actually getting paid to write them.  You know this blog doesn't make me any money (and I'm not just saying that), and I mostly just write for fun...but to be paid for writing is just glorious!  The money from these freelance writing assignments will cover my ticket to BlogHer 2011 (hell yeah! no begging for money!), and some of the additional costs as well (such as hotel, possibly flight), and jeez, that is just the most exciting thing ever.

I'm not looking to be a full time freelancer, by any means (have I mentioned that I love my new job? And that we're hiring? Come work with me!), but it is a fantastic source of additional income.   The irony of writing grocery shopping/lifestyle articles geared towards moms is not lost on me (see: not a mom, reads too many mommyblogs, has a thing for homemaking, ovaries that feel like they do this when a baby -or small boy dressed as superman- is near), but I know what I know, right?

Anyway, it looks to be a pretty sweet app, so please check it out and share it with your friends (download from iTunes here).  I have an article up this month*, another due to be published next month, and another in February, I believe.  Yay!  If you don't have a smartphone, you can also read the articles online here.  And if you're on Twitter, you can follow the app here.

I know it's a massive screenshot, but look at that! It's my name!

I'm learning a lot about writing for specific audiences, and about the highs (published! payment! my name on an iphone app!) and lows (giving up control over your words, waiting for revisions to be made, fretting over what The Public will think of you) of copywritership, and I'm excited about the possibility of writing more articles for these nice people!

Thanks again to the kind folks at Lunchbox and GroceryGuru for bringing me on board, and thanks to you readers for letting me toy with your emotions (ha ha yeah right) and for reading the blog!


*at this point, it appears that articles are posted to the mobi site, while the actual app is for managing your grocery lists. to view the articles on your phone, go to http://www.groceryguru.mobi/ from your mobile device.

Ok, Ok, Ok

Ok. I know. I have been promising new posts full of pictures of plants and the apartment and other such awesome things. I have not been living up to those promises. I've been busy, and I'm going to stop doing that thing where I just post an apology for not posting, because who wants to read that? Y'all know that eventually (ooh maybe tomorrow? I don't have plans tomorrow night!*) I will post things...and I may even write a bunch all at once and schedule them to be posted every couple of days. That's fancy! And efficient!

Anyway, instead of blah blah blah-ing about how I have been too busy to post, I'm going to share with you a hilarious email my friend received in response to her Craigslist Ad (she's giving away a TV). Her ad, and the response below. Enjoy!


The Ad:

free tv!

Yes, you read that correctly. I have a broken Sony Trinitron flat screen (NOT flat panel) with remote (see below for pictures of the TV containing my creepy silhouette and computer glare). The TV turns on for a second and immediately turns itself off again. The internet says that this is likely due to a problem with the power supply. Dimensions are approximately: 22" high, 30" wide, and 21" deep. The screen is about 27" diagonally. Perfect for anyone who has the time, skill, and patience that I lack to either figure out how to fix it or hire someone else to fix it.

The TV is extremely heavy - probably around 120 pounds - so bring someone to help carry it out of my house! Sorry, no delivery available. Please email to schedule a time to come by, thanks!

The Response:

Hi,

I just seen you CR ad. Well just to let you know. You have to think of TV's as light bullbs. Because it will last for so many hours. And when the picture goes. Well. You are better off buying a new one most of the time. And one can buy a tube for the CRT tv or just look around on CR for another one. And they sell them at the Goodwill and at Pawn shops. My mom likes the old type. I did buy an LCD Tv for her. But she did not like it.

I mean...WHAT? I love Craigslist.

*Don't get your hopes up though. I mean, you just never know.

More from CSN Stores!

The fabulous folks at CSN Stores (where you can find everything from console tables to immersion blenders to children's toys to furniture to luggage to...) are offering up another giveaway on my little blog!

The winner will receive a promotional code (like a gift card) for $30, which can be used at any one of their 200 online stores! There are TONS of great items for under $30, but the prize can be applied to a larger purchase as well.  The winner will be chosen at the merciless hand of the Random Number Generator on October 26, so get those entries in by 11:59pm PST on Monday, October 25!

To enter, leave a comment on this post telling me how you found this blog!  For extra entries, you can tweet this giveaway, or mention it anywhere else online (facebook, your blog, etc). Just leave a comment for each extra thing you do. For example, if you comment a happy thing and tweet the contest, you'd leave two comments.  Easy as pie. Well, easy as eating pie.

Iceland Wants to be Your Friend

Iceland (yes, that Iceland) has just launched the most brilliant marketing campaign ever.  Iceland Wants to be Your Friend is a social media, internet, comedy mashup of adorable, and it absolutely makes me want to go to Iceland.  Nice work, tourism board.

Check it out at www.icelandwantstobeyourfriend.com (also on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Vimeo, Flickr, and a blog).  I am loving it so far.  So very much.

A snippet of the lovely that is this advertising campaign:

Halló. I am a very old island, and I do not know much about your inter-nets.

But I have heard that many people use e-mail to tell other people what to do, and to try to sell them things, and to talk about themselves.

I do not like to tell anyone what to do, and I don’t have anything to sell. But sometimes I like to send my friends emails about myself.

(They are good emails, with many good words in them, and even some pictures of me and my friends. Like this one. And this one. And this one.)

So go forth and enjoy all that is Iceland.  Online!

It's been a while since I posted an honest-to-goodness, what's-happening-in-my-life, housey-goals, writing-writing-writing sort of post.  Sometimes, I'm in the mood to write, and to share, and to talk it all out, but lately I've been more in the mood to just look at pretty pictures and repost them.  If you've been reading for a while, you know there's a lot that has been going on lately.

In the last two months, we moved, I quit my job and started a new one, I was the maid of honor at my oldest friend's wedding (no, that's not me in the picture).  And oh jeez, I've written about this before. We had houseguests and plants and a trip to Washington for Will's grandmother's 90th birthday.  I had my first paid freelance writing job (more on that when I'm legally allowed to disclose information - the product hasn't been released yet).  I fell behind on my unpaid freelance writing.  We still haven't finished unpacking.  I went to IKEA and ordered curtains from Cost Plus, and due to some sort of terrible measuring, I have to go return things to IKEA and re-order curtains from Cost Plus.  The fun, it never ends!

Life is as it is, though, right?  The good and the bad and the being fall-asleep bored and the being so busy you don't know what to do with yourself.  It all happens, and it all happens together.

For now, I make lists.  Of things I want to write, and of things I want to do, and of things I want to share.  I have so many recipes stacked up in my mind that if I just quit it all and did nothing but cook and bake every single day I'd have enough recipes to keep me going for at least a year.  I had this whole "when we move, I'll be better at making healthy food" thing going, except then we actually moved, and I was drowning in cardboard, and the last thing I wanted to do was shop and bring MORE into the house (or cook and make a bigger mess), so we've been eating out or ordering in a lot.  Much more frequently than we used to.  Not good for the body, not good for the wallet.  I also said that "once we move, I'll exercise more," except then I got tired from unpacking, and the gym was no longer on my way home, and I came up with all kinds of excuses to go home and sit on the couch.

All this is to say that sometimes we make goals for ourselves that we don't reach, even if they seem totally reasonable and achievable.  Sometimes we need to remind ourselves, in public, online, that we had things we wanted to do.  Sometimes the goals need specific, attainable, trackable elements to them (ie: "I will exercise 3x per week every week"), but I find those goals to be a little hard in my real life.  If I am too specific, I put too much pressure on myself, and don't cut myself enough slack when life gets in the way.  There's something kind of reassuring about softer goals, goals that you set just to remind yourself of the path you're choosing to walk.  While there are definite benefits to concrete objectives, general lifestyle goals can be helpful too, I think.

Here are mine:

• Cook more.  Healthier, fresher, with more frequency.  Substitute white spelt flour for A/P flour the next time I buy (thanks, Shanna)
• Take a ballet class, starting Wednesday of next week (I miss ballet - it's exercise, and it makes me happy)
• Regularly go to yoga, starting Thursday of next week (good for the body, good for the mind)
• Share more recipes on the blog
• Post something about our patio garden and the weird white spots on the squash plant's leaves
• Knit, even though it's not cold yet (my next project is for charity)
• Finish unpacking, but don't stress out about it.  But finish soon, because it's time for Fall decorations.

So there you have it.  Some goals, and some brain-dump.  

It's French Week at The Kitchn, and they posted about
French-influenced kitchen design. Beautiful. 

One more pretty French  kitchen from TheKitchn

Too hot for an original post topic. So here are some pretty kitchens.

In case you didn't know, it's really hot today.  Where I am, at least.  And where all my Los Angeles people are, at least.  Lordy, lordy, it's hot.

Beat the heat by looking at some pretty kitchens?  Sure.  This recent post from Young House Love has so many wonderful pictures, I figured I'd just link you to the post.  Check it out, because they are some crisp, white, lovely kitchens! Ok fine, I'll show you one.

See? So pretty!

via The Kitchen, and check out the link because the other
pictures are just as gorgeous.

via The Kitchn, Latin American kitchens

via The Kitchn, this one's in San Francisco!
Covet covet covet...

via The Kitchn,
Martha Stewart cabinets from Home Depot.
Y'all know I love a good organized cabinet.

My friend Gabe was right; I absolutely tend to love photos with loads of natural light.  I'm a California girl, to be sure.  And growing up in the San Fernando Valley has taught me to embrace today's 90 degree weather...because at least it's not 113 up here in San Francisco!

What are you doing to beat the heat?  Do you have any kitchen renovation or redecoration plans underway? Do you love to peek into pretty kitchens too?

Delightful

Emily posts beautiful pictures over at Emmaterial; these are a few of my recent favorites.  They just make me feel like sunshine, you know?

Q&A

Josey from My Cheap Version of Therapy tagged me in a little Q&A blog thing, which couldn't have come at a better time. I was home sick today, recovering from a little stomach bug I happened to get on the night before the wedding this weekend. Between being busy and being sick, I just haven't blogged much in the last week. And yes, I was home sick on my second day of work (which, by the way, so far so good). Thankfully, I'm feeling much better this evening, and finally have some food in my stomach!

Also, since I just started, I didn't have a crazy inbox full of urgent demands. I spent the day researching ideas for the office redesign I am working on, and hopefully tomorrow I'll just be able to pick up the training where we left off. :)

Without further ado, Josey's questions!

1) What is your dream occupation?
I want to work in Human Resources, specifically in the areas of new hire onboarding and employee training and development. And ideally, once I have kids someday, I'd love to work from home a couple of days a week (we're talking dreams, right?). When I see friends of mine going back to work full time just a couple of months after giving birth, it makes me sad, and I'd love to be able to have a flexible enough schedule so that I'm not away from my kids 50 hours a week.

2) How many children (if any!) do you want?
Two, I think. But not for another 5 years or so at least!

3) What's your favorite memory from high school?
So many memories, and it seems like so long ago. I think my favorite memories are of the little things, like running to our cars and jetting to McDonald's to grab burgers in the 20 minutes between the final bell and play rehearsal. Or "12-hour Day" pins, where each cast member of the play wears a safety pin on his/her clothes to signify the first day we spent 12 hours on campus due to rehearsals (we felt so exclusive and cool). Or choir trips to San Francisco and Boston, winning trophies that we could show off when we got back (our football teams never won anything!).

4) What's the craziest thing you've ever done?
I honestly don't think anything I've done would be considered "crazy" by any normal standards. Once I drank 12 mimosas at Cafe Biere (over the course of about 5 hours)...um...I rode Splash Mountain at Disneyland three times in a row when there was no line? Yeah, I'm exciting, I know.

5) Who is your idol and why?
Gosh, I don't think I actually have an idol. I love Tina Fey though, and pretty much want to be her, even though I don't want her career.

6) If you could go back and change one decision you've made in your life, would you? If you're comfortable with it, please share the decision!
As cliche as it sounds, I don't really have any do-overs on my list. I have a lot of want-to-dos on my list, but not a lot of wish-i-hadn'ts.

7) Stilettos or flip flops?
Oh, flip flops all the way. One million percent of the time.

8) What's the #1 place in the world that you'd like to travel to and why?
I would really like to do a grand Europe tour. I'd love to go to Italy and Greece, and I've been thinking lately that it would be cool to go to Russia...and I'd love to go back to France. Any place with good food, really. ;-)

And a little freebie to make up for the fact that I'm not passing this on (sorry!) - this is my favorite photo from our friend Corinne's cell phone pictures from the wedding. Reed is just glowing (and it's not just the camera filter) as her sister Emma fixes her hair after the ceremony. It was such a beautiful day - and I don't think I've ever seen her so happy! I'll post more pictures as they show up on Facebook and such.

Can Anyone Identify?

It's almost time to decorate for Fall (and y'all know how I love that), and I have at least three recipes I want to try like, yesterday, but I cannot focus on that because we still have a few boxes to unpack.  I just can't bring more stuff into the house (or take decorations out of their boxes) until there are clear surfaces on which to put them.  I have a pile of papers to file, and stacks of things to go through, and right now, the idea of decorating for Fall makes me feel more stressed than excited.  This does not a happy me make.

I think the next few nights after work are going to be spent cleaning, decluttering, and cleaning some more.  Figuring out where some stuff is going on the walls and putting it there.  It's time, people.  It's time.

Am I the only one (aside from you, mom) that needs to get fully settled (and cleaned up) to really feel relaxed and comfortable?  Is it weird that I feel like I can't embrace the tiny pumpkins without feeling stressed out, simply because we have boxes to unpack and stuff on the tables?  I just don't want to bring anything else into a messy house, if that makes sense.

But ah...Fall decorations just make me so damn happy...seeing those adorable little gourds and stalks of wheat in the grocery store might just be the motivation I need to get this shiz done already.

A Feast For The Eyes

It's gotten to that point again, where I have amassed a little collection of "keep unread" items in my Google Reader.  Pictures that I want to share but don't have time to blog the first time around.  I save them until I can't take it anymore and I just have to free them from my Reader and share them with you.  Because they are always so pretty.  And I love to dream of clean, colorful, wonderful kitchens.  And what better way to start off the weekend than by looking at pretty pictures?  (ok, maybe drinking a beer and curling up on the couch with a movie...but that comes next)

Mostly kitchens, with a little bit of cozy thrown in at the end.  Covet, covet, covet.

via The Kitchn

via The Kitchn

via The Kitchn

via Young House Love

via Emmaterial

via Emmaterial

via Lovely Little Things

L'Shana Tova!

That's Happy New Year to all the Gentiles out there.  Tonight marks the start of the Jewish New Year, and as we enter the year of 5771, I just want to wish everyone a wonderful, safe, happy and healthy new year.

For me, the New Year is marking a lot of changes - the new job, the still-sort-of-new apartment, and my oldest friend's wedding, to name a few.  I'm sure there will be more along the way, so here's to celebrating and embracing the New!

Tomorrow, my sister comes to visit, and we'll eat apples and honey and the round challah I bought at my neighborhood Jewish bakery.  A little celebration to start things off right!

And soon...so many pretty HouseLust pictures to share, oh my goodness.

Shana Tova!

Save ComedySportz, and a Giveaway

Hi Friends,

This post bears bad news.  ComedySportz Los Angeles is in trouble, and they need help.  At this point, they are planning on closing their doors at the end of October, after 22 years of continuous performances (it is the longest running show in Los Angeles).  I can't even begin to explain how deeply my heart sank when I received an email from the theatre explaining that the lousy economy is finally taking its toll on the theatre.

Let me explain.  I first heard about ComedySportz in high school, when I discovered that a friend's high school had a High School League team at their school.  ComedySportz is improvisational comedy played as a team sport (think Whose Line Is It Anyway? but better) - two teams compete for audience laughs, performing scenes based on audience suggestions.  There's turf, a referee, fouls, and uniforms.  Every show is different, and a lot of fun, but it also a wonderful learning tool for its players.  

Soon after learning about ComedySportz, I talked to my school's theatre director and we decided to bring CSz HSL to our school.  I organized a team, my friend Taylor was the assistant coach, and the rest is history.  We competed against local high schools, attended trainings, and had professional coaching from the ComedySportz pros.  Personally, I know I learned how to be a good team member, how to think creatively and how to present myself with confidence even when I felt nervous or when put on the spot.  My friend Danny said it better (here), but I can say from experience that improvisation teaches many valuable skills, and ComedySportz Los Angeles provides unbelievable opportunities for students at all levels.

After high school, I wanted to continue my ComedySportz education (and fun!), and though I was working for the theatre part-time as a ticket-taker/concessions girl, there weren't many opportunities for those of us in between high school and the professional league.  My friend Nick (a leader in his high school's program) and I met with the directors and decided to start a College League.  I'm proud to say that the College League is still going strong, and that other shows have developed as well (including the hit high school spoof, The High).  Even after my schedule got too hectic for regular practices, I continued to stay connected to the theatre, attending shows and keeping tabs on my second family.

This theatre company has been a huge part of my life for the last ten years, and the thought of its closure makes my heart hurt.  I've seen them grow from a tiny company, sharing a tiny theatre with other theatre companies to having their own two room, multi-functional, beautiful theatre space.  I honestly can't talk about it without welling up with tears, because people, this place was home.  Reading comments from other fans and former "actletes"reminds me that I'm not alone.  So many people have been positively affected by ComedySportz Los Angeles, and it would be a real loss to the community for it to simply disappear.

The good news is that they may be able to stave off closure if they sell enough tickets for upcoming shows, and they are selling heavily discounted ticket packages right now. They're not asking for handouts; they're just asking you to buy tickets to the show.  You can see more information about their current situation and how you can help here.  If you are in Los Angeles, I strongly urge you to go.  It is a guaranteed good time, seriously (and the fouls guarantee a family-friendly good time).  If you've never been to a show, now is your chance!  If you have been in the past, but not recently, well here's your change to save a wonderful company from going under.  

Now obviously, I am not in Los Angeles, and I know many of you are not either.  If you still want to help, you can donate via the donation button on their Loyal Fans website.  OR, you can buy a ticket package and give it away to a friend in Los Angeles, or donate it to ComedySportz Los Angeles to give away on your behalf.

I don't often reach out to my readers on behalf of other causes, but this is so close to my heart, I feel compelled to help however I can. To kick things off, I am giving away a 4-ticket pack.  You can gather three friends and go to a show together, go to four shows yourself, or give them away to family or friends in the Los Angeles area!  It's up to you.  

To enter, just leave a comment below.  I'll choose a winner on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 (enter by 11:59pm on Tuesday, September 7th).  

Thank you for listening, and for helping if you can.  If you are at all moved, or care about sustaining theatre and helping out an incredible arts program, please spread the word.

Most Sincerely,

Kim