Before & After

If you follow this blog you know that Eric and I move around. A lot. We've rented furnished and unfurnished spaces all around the world. But this time is different. Technically, this is just a furnished home, no different than any other we've rented. But it feels very lived in. There are personal mementos everywhere, the closets and drawers are all full of belongings. Even the pantry and refrigerator are stuffed with food.

The owners usually rent their home for a month at a time to people vacationing here. But when Eric proposed a long term rental, they were really excited. Turns out they had itchy feet as well and were considering just such an arrangement.

Since we'll be living here for two years, it was very important that it feel like our space and our home. We got permission to move things around to our liking, but it will be a process.

Things are shaping up. I've ordered some things and several boxes of my art supplies and clothes are due in the coming weeks, so the space will feel more personal very soon. In the meantime, here are some before and afters. (I don't know about you, but a good before and after session always gives me a little thrill.)

Before. After.After. (Don't you love this orchid? It looks to me like a cross between a starfish and a tarantula!)


Before.After- photos to be added to frames when boxes arrive. Can't wait!


Before.After. It is incredibly hot and humid here. Electricity is also wildly expensive and most people avoid running air conditioning at all costs. It breaks my heart to block out the gorgeous tropical light with venetian blinds, but the withering heat demands it. (I opened them to shoot these after pics for y'all. What a difference the light makes, huh?)

Before.
After. Still not a huge fan of this painting against this wall color. Thinking a move to office (mint green walls) or bedroom (aqua blue) might be in order. Mentally insert this poster there instead.

Ours is gold and white and was a super thoughtful wedding gift. (Thanks Judy & Rob!)

After.

Before.
After- different angle, but you get the gist.

More to come. Hope you'll be there cheering me on and offering suggestions.

xo-

The Fab Miss B

Welcome to the Attic!

I've had a few requests for a peak at our new space and it's finally coming together, just in time for the party we held last night. Let's throw in a before and after while we're at it!

BEFORE: The living area and kitchen.

BEFORE: The living area and kitchen.

AFTER: The Kazana living room, complete with library and bar! The kilim rugs were wonderful finds. Mom gave up one of hers and I layered it with another found via craigslist.

These sumptuous ikat and embroidered pillow covers are from India and Afghanistan via Etsy shops Old Silk Route and Silk Way.

I'm especially proud of our bar and library. We scored this table 20% off at World Market with a coupon from their store club, and I think it does double duty beautifully. It was such a treat to get my beautiful collection of Taschen books out of storage! The mirrored lamp and burlap shade are from Target. I collected the little wooden birds on the shelf during our travels in Uganda. 

I guess I've been in the mood for brown liquor of late- should probably add a bit more variety, eh? The beautiful silver cocktail tray was another Etsy find from Vintage We Treasure, it's engraved with recipes for cocktails popular in the 40's.  The crystal decanter was a wedding gift to my parents. 

BEFORE: Kitchen area.

AFTER: Kitchen area. We found another beautiful kilim rug on craigslist for the kitchen. I'm so delighted with the color and pattern of this rug. The king palm is from Ikea. His name is Filburt. He's very happy to meet you. 

My brother Jake did all the food prep for the party we had last night, which was celebrating many things, including his return from the Peace Corps, our new city, our new home, my Dad's beautiful remodeling job, my 30th Birthday and two Kazanas in serious need of some fun. It's rather a hazardous kitchen for tall people (did you see that slanty wall?) but he made it hum and turned out a beautiful variety of hummus, home made pita bread, and crudites. I cheated and ordered some sweets from Wuollette's, and made a bite sized caprice salad with a Greek twist: cherry tomatoes, mint, feta, red onion and cucumber on a skewer squirted with lemon. Bite sized salad is fun to eat and adds a dash of color to the table. We also had broiled bacon wrapped dates, our absolute favorite party food ever. Try it at your next party- guaranteed hit!

BEFORE: Bedroom nook

AFTER: Bedroom nook. I found this rather Psychadelic bed cover at a thrift shop and impulsively bought it this summer. How perfect is it in there? 

This dresser was another craigslist find that I know we can enjoy for years. Eric and my Dad had this television installed on a bracket so it can swing out to be watched from the sofa or the bed. Everything in this tiny 250 square foot space needs to multi-function to save room and effort. 

Eric demonstrating the scale of our little hobbit door! It leads to a balcony three stories up- above the tree line. A spiral staircase (that takes some bravery to navigate!) lead down to the backyard parking area. We can barely stand up straight inside the peaked ceiling here. 

Thanks for visiting our newest tiny house! I hope you enjoyed the sneak peak.

It 'aint easy to look this good.

On Sunday, HuYi took me to indulge in a favorite Chinese pastime; a day at the spa. There are beauty and massage parlors everywhere here. Women pass entire days at least once a month being sauna-ed, steamed, showered, massaged, facial-ed, manicured, pedicured and of course, drinking copious amounts of tea. Men do the same thing, though I’m sure the environment is quite different. I’m told they hang out and eat, watch TV, steam in the sauna, drink beer and are propositioned by massage parlor girls (depending on how reputable the parlor is). Anyway, suffice it to say, the spa experience is part of the fabric of Chinese culture, so I was quite looking forward to it.

My skin has been absolutely dreadful since we arrived here. I’ve had the worst breakout I’ve had in ages. I blame the constant and inevitable rivers of sweat that begin the moment you leave an air-conditioned space. On day two of our acquaintance, HuYi said (in her characteristic straightforward and broken English) “I know to fix your American skin. I take you go make facial.” My feelings were a little hurt, but what good does it do to deny the obvious? “Great.” I said “I’d love that!”

So to the salon we went. An unassuming little doorway off a busy street and up a flight of stairs led us to a marble tiled sitting room with pink floral wallpaper and lacy couches. We were greeted by an army of women in loose fitting pink cotton dresses with matching surgical masks. We sat on a sofa and had some tea while HuYi told them what we wanted and they peeked curiously at my terrible American skin.

Suddenly, we were whisked off to a locker room, stripped of our clothes and I was promptly locked into a dry sauna. “Is very good for woman.” HuYi said. Fine and great, but no one told me how long I was supposed to stay in there! There was a stack of Chinese tabloids so I familiarized myself with the love lives of Chinese celebrities and the newest trends in Chinese plastic surgery as best I could by looking at pictures. After about a half an hour I was pulled out, red and puffy, and put into a shower, after which a very bored looking girl blow dried my hair and sent me into the massage room.

I lay there on the massage table being massaged and pounded, smiling to myself and feeling giddy with love for this place where a day at the spa is considered necessary and costs less than $40. Then the facial began.

Now, I have had my share of facials, before our wedding I made a point of going to Aveda once a month in one of many furious attempts to wipe out my “unhappy looking skin”. I’m familiar with the process, and I know it isn’t all pampering. Usually, the extractions are the most uncomfortable part of the whole procedure, but also the most worthwhile. After all, that is the part you can’t really do yourself.

Anyway, I’m lying there blissfully, all sorts of creams and masks have been applied and I’m in a little pleasure haze, when I hear an ominous metal tinkling behind my head. These sound suspiciously like surgical tools. I try to keep calm, and I keep my eyes shut. They know what they are doing, I think to myself, and besides, HuYi told me this would fix my American skin.

Whatever the tool was, it was excruciating, like a series of bee stings in ever pore on the surface of my face. There was a little prick like a needle closely followed by suction that seemed to pull out little pieces of flesh. It was torture, but I didn’t dare to stop her. First of all, I don’t speak Chinese very well yet, and secondly, perhaps this would be the stern punishment that would finally convince my troubled skin to turn its life around. After a half an hour, she was finished with the tools, I sighed with relief when I heard them go back into their little tin. I had to consciously unclench my neck and jaw muscles. The benefits of the massage were surely undone. But at least it was over.

Or so I thought. I heard her plug something into the wall and a new and even more frightening hum began. I heard the clicks and sparks of static electricity. I was starting to feel like I was in a bad Sci-Fi movie. Before I could turn around to see what it was, I felt a hot glass tube touch my face, emitting little waves of static shock. After the extractions, this didn’t really hurt so badly, it was just unsettling and had an odd metallic smell. At last, she finished and unplugged the contraption, but rolled it out of the room before I could get a look at it. A few moments later she reappeared and applied more creams and potions and a mask and left my lying there in the dark for ten minutes or so. And then it was over. She had me sit up and look in the mirror.

I looked terrifying. The extractions had left little red dots all over my forehead and chin and I looked shiny and puffy. The facialist offered an explanation in Chinese, and HuYi came in and explained that it would look much better tomorrow, and of course, I knew she was right. That’s the strangest thing about a facial. Immediately afterwards, you actually look worse than when you came in, but the next day, you look all glowy and fresh. So I got dressed and made my way to the waiting room where I occupied myself with more Chinese fashion magazines until HuYi was finished.

I was hungry and had a little bit of a headache and was eager to get home and tell Eric about my half heaven half hell salon day. Finally HuYi emerged and we hurried out to the street. She said, “I get you Chinese medicine, it will help this” gesturing to my face. “Great,” I said. I was imagining HuYi bringing over a little brown bag of herbs later in the week as I looked for a taxi. “Here, very good.” she said. I looked up and saw a woman sitting at a little card table with an umbrella over her head. She had a series of eight white jars in front of her, a stack of plastic cups at her side and a row of thermoses behind her. It looked just exactly like a child’s lemonade stand.

HuYi began talking animatedly to the herbalist and ever so often they both stole glances at me. I felt more like Frankenstein than ever. The herbalist took a little muslin pouch from behind her counter and began filling it with powders and seeds from the pots. She had little plastic gloves on, and was well practiced in the art of mixing things. Eventually the little pouch was full. She placed it in a plastic cup and reached for one of the giant thermoses. She poured a dark brown steaming hot liquid over the pouch and swirled it around.

The steam was encouraging, it made me feel less like I was about to ingest thousands of parasites with my “medicine”. A thick yellow foam appeared on the top of the brew and she expertly scooped it off with a spoon in one quick motion and plopped the glass in front of me. “Don’t think about, just drink!” Said HuYi . “All at once?” She nodded. “Gung bai!” I said (Bottoms up!) As I gulped it down, I reminded myself about all the mysterious properties of Chinese medicine. Sometimes it cures people and Western doctors can offer no explanation. Perhaps I could join the ranks of those patients whose mysterious ailments could only be cured with thousand year old Eastern knowledge.

When I reached the bottom of my glass, HuYi held out something that looked like a dehydrated mushroom “Eat this” she said. It tasted like candied ginger or orange peel and it certainly did help banish the taste from my mouth. “No drink for one hour. And no eat hot food.” Then she drank down a brew of her own (“Help me sleep.” she said) and ate one of the mushroom things. Then she turned and hailed a cab and off we went into the night. I suppose the moral of the story is that beauty takes sacrifice. And, for the record, my skin is looking better.

Twenty Questions with Pinky of Verao!

Today I'm chatting with Pinky of Verao. I've been crushing on her adorable crocheted bikinis for ages, and with summer vacation just around the corner I figured you all might be in the market too! She tells us about traveling the world with her seven sisters, why she's crazy about summer and why crochet is a good break from the world of pixels she lives in as a digital effects editor. Enjoy!




Miss B: First off, tell us a little about you! It sounds like you’ve traveled all over the world! What is the best thing about life in Singapore?

Pinky: I’m the 6th of 7 girls! And since my parents had a travel agency, all of us got to travel during summer and Christmas vacations. Sometimes, right smack in the middle of the academic year, they’d pull my sisters and I out of school so we could accompany them to Tokyo. They believed that education was beyond the 4 walls of the classroom. My parents were strict when it came to going out at night, but they were very liberal with our traveling! Because of that I got to study and live in Los Angeles for a few months in the 90s, so moving to Singapore where I got a job as a digital effects editor by 2001 wasn’t too scary for me.

I like Singapore because of the cultural diversity and the of course, convenience. It’s a relatively safe place to be. And it’s so near the Philippines so I can easily visit family when I want. I don’t own a car and love the public transport, especially the trains. Imagine having Chinatown and Little India on the same train line a few stops away from each other!

Miss B:What inspired you to begin Verao (and what does that lovely name mean)?

Pinky: Oh where do I begin! I’ve always loved beaches and anything that had to do with summer. Summer meant no classes, family vacations and trips to the beach! I loved summer so much, I even ended up with someone from Hawaii, where summer never ends! And with summer, what else comes with it? Bikinis!

No fail, almost every summer since my late teens, I’d have bikinis custom made. Then a little over 4 years ago, when I was already here in Singapore, my Mom gifted me with a crochet bikini.

I loved the color so much, but something about the style wasn’t quite there, and it didn’t fit too well. That started my journey on making the crochet bikini that fit well. My unofficial slogan for my bikini was “sexy but not slutty.” After a couple years of trial and error, I was finally pleased with a design. It took me a while because I did not want my crochet bikinis to be like other crochet bikinis. Meaning, I designed it as a bikini first…because that’s what it is.

After I was satisfied with the fit, I turned my attention to the overall look of the bikini. The design, style, colors, and more importantly, taking into account that we are women with different body types and fashion sense, were all considered on an individual level until they finally meshed into what I consider the perfect product. In my point of view, it had to built for a woman by a woman.

As ar as the name, I decided to call it Verao. It means summer in Portuguese. After all, I’ve always loved Bossa Nova and the Samba, and my married name is Portuguese!


Miss B:How did you get interested in crochet?

Pinky: I studied in a Catholic school where we had a subject called Practical Arts. They had us crocheting since the 5th grade and if I remember right, up to the first half of high school. Did I like it then? No, but I did my projects. Every time I’d have a hard time with a certain stitch, my grandmother was there to help me!

But somehow after you graduate from school, when it’s not mandatory, crocheting wasn’t so bad. I’d crochet when I’d like to relax from a hard days work. When you work as a digital fx editor, and everything is digital and in pixels, sometimes you need something organic to connect to. So crochet was something that was good to engage in.

Miss B:In your profile, you write about the candle business you launched while you lived in the Philippines. What did you learn in that business that you bring to Verao?

Pinky: Oh I loved those candles! Just like my bikinis, they were delicious! I had several scents like popcorn, watermelon, popsicle… etc… What I learned was that research and development takes long so you need patience! I remember I made about a hundred ugly candles before I made one that I even considered lighting. I guess I am one of those people that believes anything you make from your hands, begins with your heart.

With Verao, it took me almost 2 years to perfect my first design. Then I had to work on the proper sizing. I actually spent time fitting all different types of body shapes and sizes. Some of us are big on top, small below. Others are small on top and big below, some of us are razor thin and some us are just happy big and beautiful all the way around. There was a huge amount of time I put in to consider both different body types and personalities. And that was the same with the candles. The candles had to have fashion and function, and Verao is the same.


Miss B:I love that you sell your bikinis as separates so your customer can choose exactly what she wants. What are your best selling colors? Which design is your personal favorite?

Pinky: When I started with the Josefina, I started selling them as a pair of the same size. But then, even I don’t wear the same size top and bottom. So by the time I introduced Malia, I decided to sell them as separates. It was my husband who prodded me to sell them as separates! Now you can even choose the colors you want. My best selling colors would be Vanilla, Flamingo and Espresso! My favorite Malia combination though is Aqua and Espresso! My personal Josefina bikini is Espresso and Flamingo.

Miss B:Without revealing any trade secrets, could you walk us through the process of making these fabulous bikinis? (Do you begin with sketches? Do you use patterns?)

Pinky: Sketches! Now, I only have 2 main designs out. The Josefina and the Malia. And they began as sketches. I was right in the middle of a shower with the Josefina, so I had to sketch when I was still drenched, and for the Malia, I lounged at a café where I sketched. And that doesn’t just go for my bikinis. It’s the same for anything I want to create. Somehow I get great ideas in the shower. After the sketches, then I worked on the pattern. My first pattern was a very much hacked and improved version of the bikini my Mom gave me. I used that as my basis.



Miss B:What inspires you?

Pinky: For several years now, I’ve been into tropical vintage, so I love looking at old Hawaiian postcards, old movies and their posters. I am currently obsessed with torch ginger! The sea inspires me too, which is why I love turquoise and aqua.

For other color inspirations, I read interior magazines and blogs. That’s why I love Holly Becker’s decor8blog so much! The colors of whatever she blogs about is amazing. I almost feel so lazy because all I have to go there and in an instant, I’m inspired! Same with Domino magazine. It’s a pity it folded. And etsy surfing calms me down too. I also love watching films that are rich in color. Like Amelie. The colors were exquisite! In general, when I want a little lift, I go to the Opera Gallery in Ngee Ann City where I get to take a first hand look of the work of Botero, Andy Warhol, Picasso, and other artists.

Miss B:Do you participate in fairs or shows? If so, what is your favorite part of the experience?

Pinky: You know, I only participated in one fair and it was for my candles. I’d like to keep Verao on a personal level for as long as I can. Which is why Etsy is a great vehicle. At Etsy, people get to know me before they buy the product. Although for my candles, I had a blast! I always told other people that I’m not a salesperson. But somehow, when it’s my creation, that bubbly saleslady in me jumps out! And I love it!



Miss B:What do you wish you had known before you got started?

Pinky: That it’s ok to feel discouraged once in a while. I also wish I read the book The Creative Entrepreneurby Lisa Sonoma Beam first! I read about it in the decor8blog of Holly Becker and bought it because of that!


Miss B:What advice do you have to people starting their own creative small businesses?

Pinky: Aside from getting that book I just mentioned (The Creative Entrepreneur by Lisa Sonoma Beam) Don’t be scared to start. Development can take time and can be discouraging. Hang in there! Give yourself a schedule to follow. And blog blog blog. Now… if I can only follow my own advice!

Miss B:Which other Etsy sellers or artists do you admire?

Pinky: Two of my sisters are on etsy! Rina, my New Zealand based sister of Nostalgems was the one who told me about etsy. She makes great heirloom inspired vintage inspired jewelry. My other sister Michi, just started etsy recently. She’s a designer in Manila, but then finally decided to try etsy. She’s doing pretty well! Her store is Toccata where she sells luxurious handmade vintage inspired bridal boleros. I also love LaPomme, who you interviewed too. And even if I’m already married, I love looking at Stacydesigns88’s bridal jewelry shop! She became my etsy friend!

Thanks so much Pinky! It was so fun to go behind the scenes of your beautiful shop! I can't wait for bikini season!

Battle of the Books: March/April

Aloha Book Lovers!

Our "Glass Castle" meeting was held on a Sunday evening this time around and it was a nice way to enjoy the end of a weekend and prepare for a busy week with some wonderful food and a little mental stimulation. Thanks to everyone who came for bringing food and wine to share, and opinions too. I always find it surprising and enriching to know what friends thought of the title we read. That's what book club is all about after all; different perceptions of a shared experience.

It's time to choose our next book once again. We have a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction to choose from this time around. Read up and then cast your vote in the poll at the bottom of this post.

May the best book win!

xo- Becky

The Omnivore's Dilemma: Michael Pollan examines what he calls "our national eating disorder" (the Atkins craze, the precipitous rise in obesity) in this remarkably clearheaded book. It's a fascinating journey up and down the food chain, one that might change the way you read the label on a frozen dinner, dig into a steak or decide whether to buy organic eggs. You'll certainly never look at a Chicken McNugget the same way again. Pollan approaches his mission not as an activist but as a naturalist: "The way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world." All food, he points out, originates with plants, animals and fungi.

Pollan's narrative strategy is simple: he traces four meals back to their ur-species. He starts with a McDonald's lunch, which he and his family gobble up in their car. Surprise: the origin of this meal is a cornfield in Iowa. Corn feeds the steer that turns into the burgers, becomes the oil that cooks the fries and the syrup that sweetens the shakes and the sodas, and makes up 13 of the 38 ingredients (yikes) in the Chicken McNuggets. Indeed, one of the many eye-openers in the book is the prevalence of corn in the American diet; of the 45,000 items in a supermarket, more than a quarter contain corn. Pollan meditates on the freakishly protean nature of the corn plant and looks at how the food industry has exploited it, to the detriment of everyone from farmers to fat-and-getting-fatter Americans.

Later, Pollan prepares a dinner with items from Whole Foods, investigating the flaws in the world of "big organic"; cooks a meal with ingredients from a small, utopian Virginia farm; and assembles a feast from things he's foraged and hunted.This may sound earnest, but Pollan isn't preachy: he's too thoughtful a writer, and too dogged a researcher, to let ideology take over. He's also funny and adventurous. He bounces around on an old International Harvester tractor, gets down on his belly to examine a pasture from a cow's-eye view, shoots a wild pig and otherwise throws himself into the making of his meals. I'm not convinced I'd want to go hunting with Pollan, but I'm sure I'd enjoy having dinner with him.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: (Please not that this book will not be available in soft cover until March 8th but two book club members have copies they might be willing to share. We could also push this meeting till April if this is our winner. -Becky) From a single, abbreviated life grew a seemingly immortal line of cells that made some of the most crucial innovations in modern science possible. And from that same life, and those cells, Rebecca Skloot has fashioned in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks a fascinating and moving story of medicine and family, of how life is sustained in laboratories and in memory. Henrietta Lacks was a mother of five in Baltimore, a poor African American migrant from the tobacco farms of Virginia, who died from a cruelly aggressive cancer at the age of 30 in 1951. A sample of her cancerous tissue, taken without her knowledge or consent, as was the custom then, turned out to provide one of the holy grails of mid-century biology: human cells that could survive--even thrive--in the lab. Known as HeLa cells, their stunning potency gave scientists a building block for countless breakthroughs, beginning with the cure for polio. Meanwhile, Henrietta's family continued to live in poverty and frequently poor health, and their discovery decades later of her unknowing contribution--and her cells' strange survival--left them full of pride, anger, and suspicion. For a decade, Skloot doggedly but compassionately gathered the threads of these stories, slowly gaining the trust of the family while helping them learn the truth about Henrietta, and with their aid she tells a rich and haunting story that asks the questions, Who owns our bodies? And who carries our memories?

The Help: What perfect timing for this optimistic, uplifting debut novel (and maiden publication of Amy Einhorn's new imprint) set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams. Assured and layered, full of heart and history, this one has bestseller written all over it.

The Great Gatsby:In 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write "something new--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple + intricately patterned." That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald's finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald's--and his country's--most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--" Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.

It's also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means--and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel's more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with all the tragic inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout. Spare, elegantly plotted, and written in crystalline prose, The Great Gatsby is as perfectly satisfying as the best kind of poem.

Shark Dialogues:This expansive and engrossing multigenerational saga details the history of Hawaii through the experiences of one family. It begins in the 19th century with the dramatic meeting of a young Yankee sailor and a beautiful Tahitian princess. Their descendants, who live in contemporary Hawaii, are four cousins named Vanya, Ming, Rachel, and Jess who have been brought up by Pono, a kahuna, or seer, who has never talked about her mysterious past to her four granddaughters. Davenport deftly includes much information in the narrative--about politics, leprosy, and the racial melting pot that is Hawaiian society--with a minimum of didacticism. She incorporates folklore, history, and myth in a vivid, lush prose style that only occasionally becomes overwrought. This first novel is much better written than James Michener's Hawaii (1959) and brings Hawaiian history up to the present day.

Books that Changed My Life

I just noticed that my last several posts have been lists of things I like coupled with explanations. I think I've been mentally preparing all these lists for a long time, because doing so allows me to define and refine my likes and dislikes, which ultimately helps me to know myself better. (Remember that line from Adaptation? "I decided a long time ago, you aren't what loves you, you are what you love.") This seems like a good moment to post these kind of lists because I am heading off into the unknown again.

In Africa, there were times when the experience was so overwhelming that I lost sense of myself (which is one of the mixed blessings of travel). Katie called me the other day and we were talking about all the swimming/pool paintings I've been making lately and she said "What do you think that means? That you are relaxed, or drifting or what?" And I sort of laughed but couldn't shake that thought. It is both, I do have this feeling of floating along, of the current taking me places. The best lesson I learned in Africa was that flexibility and open mindedness were our best assets, and relying on these took us quite far. I have a feeling the same will be true in China, although I think the culture shock will be much greater.

I've also been thinking about how taste is so subject to influence, the mood you are in when you see a movie, or what the plot reminds you of in your own experience, and so as I made this list, I thought about why each book moved me. What was happening in my own life, and how did this particular book align to create a paradigm shift for me? They always say a critique reveals more about the critic than the item under discussion, so take what you like from these little "reviews". All I know is these books helped me see the world a little differently, even after I was finished reading them.

The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong: I read this book in my first quarter at De Paul and found that it touched on the roots of fundamentalism in a really profound way. Her thesis is that all religions that work have compassion as their central tenant. Love for other human beings is quite difficult to practice day in and day out, because we want to be able to judge one another and establish hierarchies. So this principle is easily lost in the struggle for power and we end up with isolated fundamentalist groups that experience the modern world as an onslaught against their way of life. What I found so moving about this book was that it wasn’t condemning fundamentalism or dismissing it the way many intellectuals do. Instead, she was carefully explaining its structure and roots and I found it immensely helpful in thinking about my own upbringing more objectively. There are things worth keeping and things better left behind and these are always difficult negotiations.

Julie and Julia by Julia Powel- I read this book about a year after finishing college and it really got to me, because the author is going through a real sea change. She has come to the point where she must admit that her dreams of becoming an actress are no longer viable and she doesn’t know what to do with her life. She has become ordinary and average and discouraged. But, instead of giving up she decides to begin a crazy experiment (cooking through Julia Child's tome "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in just 365 days.) Her husband encourages her to chart her progress on a blog (admittedly, this was the impetus behind starting my own blog) This experiment transforms her life in subtle ways. It gives her a goal and a deadline and a network of people who are observing her progress. This gives her confidence and eventually she realizes that she controls her own destiny and she changes her life. All I know is that this book came into my life at the perfect moment.

The Accidental Masterpiece by Michael Kimmelman: After reading one chapter of this book before bed one night, I turned to Eric and said “This book is going to change my life”. He laughed, but it was true. I just finished it, but it really helped to remind me of the reasons I fell in love with art to begin with. I've been going through a big time art crisis. The main symptom has been not making any art (and then coming up with a whole host of reasons why I couldn't and then agonizing over them.) I felt guilty about making art in a world where my privilege and lifestyle are the exception and millions are mired in poverty and suffering. I felt inadequate because making art initially was just really about fun and imagination, but in art school that was replaced with pretension and conceptualism that wasn't genuine for me. What I appreciated about this book was the lack of pretension, the way he uses looking at art as a metaphor for understanding life in general. That is something I can connect to. I can define my own reasons for making art, maybe they fit into the art world construct, maybe they don't. I have no doubt that this Etsy discovery is also helping to pull me out of my funk, because it is a whole community of people who are making art for fun, art that is meant to be used and enjoyed and lived with. It is a breath of fresh fresh air.

The Malaria Capers by Robert Desowitz: - This book captured the vast scope of this disease through truly great storytelling. Desowitz weaves together this snippet of history with this bit of current wisdom and this little tangential anecdote to create a truly entertaining and gripping story about the continuing toll of Malaria in the developing world despite so many advances in the west. It was the first thing I read as we dove into our documentary research and it immediately convinced us that we had found a rich and complex subject that would take us on an adventure were we willing to chase it down.

The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman: Greg suggested we read this book as preparation for China and Africa and it has been immensely helpful. It is tough for my generation to fully understand how much the internet has shaped the world we are living in. The technology has been available since we were kids and we tend to take it for granted. This book was a really helpful way to come to terms with how the internet has brought globalization to a new level and how to best capitalize on the advantages it offers. Friedman is a bit prone to hyperbole, but I loved his positive outlook. This book required me to rethink many of my ideas about globalization, particularly the impact it will have in the developing world. Friedman tends to gloss over the problems a bit, but his point that overall, globalization will benefit the world's poor is pretty exciting. I think a great many of his ideas have been validated by our experience as we travel the world. This book was also interesting as we dove into our malaria research, because you begin to understand that there are new possibilities for solving problems of poverty and illness that aren't yet being utilized by big non-governmental organizations who are used to "a world of walls".

A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle: I’d read this book before but read it again after finishing school. It was actually the first "just for fun" thing I'd read in ages, during school any time for reading was devoted to textbooks and so forth. It was such a relief to read about the art of living well and by your own rules. I'm sure a lot of my fantasies about having a little cottage and a little farm come straight from these pages. The joy of living, doing things for their own sake, slowing down, it's hedonism, I suppose. Working hard, enjoying the present and the fruits of your labor are things I’m always working on. This book was a good reminder of my priorities at a moment when I definitely needed reminding.

How to Turn Your Snapshots into ART.

One of the biggest projects Kristin & I tackled for her home makeover was her photo display. She loves having images of her loved ones and favorite places on the walls to inspire her, but her collection of tabletop frames were cluttering up precious horizontal space. We decided to turn that clutter into a personal display of things that will inspire her every day- and invigorate her vertical space to boot!

Since I think this is a common challenge in most homes, I thought I'd share the process with you. As with so many things, a photo wall looks effortless, but actually requires a lot of thought and preparation to pull off elegantly. Here is my advice:

1) Be Choosy. Sort through your images and choose 10 or 11 absolute favorite all time shots. This can be difficult. Often times I have several versions of the same image and I like all of them. But put five shots from the same day on one wall, and you lose the visual impact. Instead of noticing the one great shot, they all become background noise. Be picky! You'll probably know in your gut which shot is the standout.

2) Now that you have these images, you are going to need to use Photo editing software to make them their absolute best. That's what this particular post is all about. I'm going to show you the difference between a cute snapshot and a gorgeous piece of art for your home.

3) Vary the SCALE. This is the number one mistake people make with photo display. They use regular old 4x6" photos in identical 4x6 photo frames- or worse- those precut mats with a zillion slots. This will not make your photos pop, feel special, or look like art. After you've photo shopped your images, upload them to Snapfish or Costco Photocenter. Make sure that you get a few 8x10's, at least one 11x14 and a scattering of 5x7 and 4x6. Keep the 2x3's for your vanity or bedside table- not the walls, unless they are in a larger mat.

4) Vary the Format. Make sure that all your photos aren't vertical or horizontal. You want a nice mix of both.

5) Vary the Presentation. Make sure that some of your frames have mats and some of them don't. Vary the size and look of the actual frame- not just the perimiter, but the frame itself. You want some big chunky ones and some elegant skinny ones. You can choose to mix and match wood, metal, black and white frames or stick to one color. I like the mismatched look because it feels like a collection that has built up over time instead of one that was purchased all on one day from a Pottery Barn Catalog.

Today I'd like to share the photo editing process with you. Kristin diligently chose 10 shots. Since she is celebrating her new life here in Hawaii, many of the shots were of favorite spots around the islands. The more personal the better- the idea is to tell your story and let yourself shine through.

Notice how cropping and adjusting the contrast is enough to make a big difference in this image.


I'm not a photo shop master by any means, but I thought this photo would look great if it were softened a bit. Eric suggested I google for a tutorial and this one was so easy to follow. I was thrilled with the result. One is a cute snapshot- the other two dewy goddesses! (Who wouldn't take advantage of a little computer trickery? All the supermodels do it!)


I used the same effect here and also yellowed the photo to give it a vintage feeling. This is Honaunau, one of Kristin's favorite snorkel spots- and the site of my map from this project!

I feel like this looks like a scene from the Sound of Music in the "after" photograph. So lush and verdant! I hope I've convinced you to be more discerning in your photo displays and to try a little embellishing on the computer. It makes a huge difference. I will be sharing the final steps in the process- including before and after photos of her apartment soon. Stay tuned!