Where's Loki?

Is that a dog or a tumbleweed?? 

Try and spot Loki in each of these pictures from Joshua Tree.

It gets harder as you go along... 

Find him every time and win an amazing prize!!

Did you spot all the Lokis?

Congratulations!!!

Your prize is...

GETTING TO LOOK AT A CUTE DOG.

Wishes

Wandering through Little Tokyo the other day we stumbled upon a wish tree.

It was absolutely bursting with wishes.

I wanted to read them all. They were so good! So strange and sweet and weirdly specific!

Here are a few I saw and liked:

"I wish I wish with all my heart to last forever with the love of my life!" - Erick <3 Zaida

"I wish for a dog."

"I wish for all the art supplies and people I love to be happy :) and to see all the bands eva. And for my grandma to get better. And for all the sad peeps to cheer up. And for an A on my finals."

"I wish to live a life of genuine passion and never regret things not pursued."

"I wish to meet Cody Martin"

"I wish it rained pizza. By Max."

"I wish for everybody to be okay. Not just for me. For everyone."

"I wish for a horse."

I didn't leave my own, partly because I am superstitious, partly because it cost a dollar and cash is so last century.

I do sometimes wish it rained pizza though. And for everybody to be okay.

Stay Hungry

Friends, I would invite you this morning to press play on this Talking Heads concert from 1980 and then just sit back in awe.

I usually find concert footage to be super boring, but everything about this performance is amazing. Just take an hour of your life to sit here and watch it or, if you can't do that then just listen to it in the background while you eat lunch or whatever. Either way, you will be rewarded.

OK, back to the coal mines for me!

xo

BRB

I am deep in the writing vortex at the moment, trying to finish this draft of my book that is due SO SOON. I probably won't be blogging very much in the next two weeks, but I want you to be able to enjoy some cool art, so check out these awesome pieces by Stacey Page and Neil Dawson why dontcha?

Then come back and tell me what you think!

Some Days

You feel like this:

But are you Grimace, or are you that delicious kid?

That is the question.

Here's to halo halo

So, have you heard? It's really hot in LA this week.

It's the sort of unrelenting, brain cell arresting, crankiness-inducing heat that makes it difficult to have a conversation that doesn't at some point veer into The Weather. Sure it isn't humid and yes there are no mosquitoes, but let's get real: our charming 1930s apartment does not have air conditioning. And its big gorgeous windows? They are like magnifying glasses angled toward the sun. And though it's perfect and lovely 345 days of the year here and I should probably just shut my big mouth and count my blessings, I tell you, this week has been rough for those of us who work from home.

Aside from sitting in front of the fan with a freezer-cooled washcloth on my head, I have been venturing into the library to take advantage of their a/c. This works alright, though there seems to be a perpetual storytime going on and for some reason storytime makes babies cry in libraries? Go figure.

Anyway, when Jared came home from his air-conditioned office the other day and mentioned some frozen Filipino treat he had just heard about called halo halo, I leapt from the couch in slow motion and herded us right back into his car to go find this cold delight.

Ok that's not exactly true. First I googled it, because I am a child of the Internet, and I like to know what I am getting into.

The results were intriguing! As someone who wants all her food to touch, halo halo seemed like my kind of party. A cold, colorful jackpot of endless ingredients (like flan, tapioca, sweetened beans, coconut, jello, jackfruit, yams, bananas, you name it) all mixed together, then layered with shaved ice and evaporated milk and topped with a scoop of bright purple ice cream? Sign me up immediately. I mean, sure I had no idea what it would taste like, but based on the pictures alone I knew I must try it.

Plus it would be cold. And did I mention it's hot here?

We ended up in a strange mall in Eagle Rock where, next to a bustling Seafood City we found this tiny Filipino Gelateria. The super friendly kid behind the counter wanted us to try all their interesting flavors, but we were too excited about our halo halo to wait. We ordered it with Ube, because the color is amazing, and I'm here to tell you it was the right choice.

This stuff is amazing. Creamy and cold and surprising. Every bite is different yet it all somehow blends together in this perfect rainbow harmony extravaganza and you know what? I'm just gonna to stop writing this stupid blog post right now and go get some more because I don't know if I mentioned this but IT IS HOT IN MY HOUSE.

Halo!

Magical Rainbow Whale

Good morning, is today the day?

Maybe so!

Neighborliness

Walking with Loki through the hilly streets today I heard someone yell, "Glad you got him back!"

I turned and saw a distant neighbor walking his German Shepherd and waving at me. "Everyone was so worried," he said, listing the names of neighbors I didn't know, "but then AJ said you found him the next day."

"Yeah, I did," I said. "Some nice neighbors had him, we got so lucky!"

I didn't know this person's name, but I knew he lived on a ramshackle house on a steep hillside about a half mile away. I'd often seen him in the heat of the afternoon, sweating through his bandana, blaring disco and oldies from his boombox while tending his enormous veggie garden.

I waved goodbye as our paths diverged and continued on my walk. It was a crystal clear day, and the mountains were sharp in the distance. I had one of my frequent "I love this place" moments as I ducked under an enormous bougainvillea to find some hidden steps down to the road.

As I wound back up the street toward my house I passed the neighbor sitting on a plastic chair at the foot of his hill. He waved again then held out a plastic grocery bag. "Here, have some squash and stuff. And these cherry tomatoes. I got a million."

"Hey thanks!" I said, taking the bag.

"Next month I'll have watermelon," he said, gesturing to the sprawling tangle of leaves on the hill.

"Awesome."

I smiled as I walked home in the sunshine.

I have a Neighborhood.