Dream Hair

Well this made me laugh, and that isn't an easy thing to do on a Monday morning.

Enjoy!

as seen here

WTF?!

Rumer Willis/ for Badgley Mischka?!?!?!? WAS NOBODY ELSE AVAILABLE?!?!?!?!?

Am I the only one that longs for the days when MODELS and not ACTORS AND ACTRESSES were hired for the modeling jobs?!

Pan-Fried John Dory Fish and Asparagus

I go to the farmer's market most weekends, and love to get fresh wild fish.  Lately the cute [but alarmingly sweaty] fish vendor has been giving me grief telling me I need to branch out and buy something besides wild salmon and scallops. So this week I bought John Dory fish and made this:

good lord it is a pain to cook and photograph and try to make all pretty.  i am not so good at this!  

and there is no way in hell i would post shots of the entire messy process!  blurgh!  yes, i am a slacker.   

and JAYSUS i should have cut this into smaller pieces before frying it up.  oh well -- live and learn!

YUM!

Pan-Fried John Dory Fish (recipe found here):

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup all purpose flour
3 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless Italian bread (gimme a break -- I just used store-bought breadcrumbs that I had handy and they worked out just fine)
4 6-ounce skinless John Dory fillets
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Lemon wedges

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 250°F. Whisk eggs with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in shallow dish. Place flour on plate. Place breadcrumbs on another plate. Dredge fish in flour; shake off excess. Dip fish into seasoned eggs, then coat completely with breadcrumbs. Transfer to baking sheet.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 fillets and cook until coating is golden brown and fillets are opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Using 2 spatulas, transfer to rimmed baking sheet; keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining fillets. Transfer fish to platter. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

Note: John Dory fish is very mild.  I drenched it with lemon, and that made it extra tasty.  Next time I will find a way to make a more spicy or zingy dish with this fish!

Pan-fried Asparagus with Garlic (I am mad for skinny asparagus and this is my favorite way to make it -- I concocted this method up myself which means a monkey could do it!)

Ingredients:
Fresh asparagus (I only like the skinny kind -- but you can get what you want I guess)
Minced fresh garlic (I go WAY OVERBOARD with the garlic, the more the merrier, but do as you see fit.  JUST DON'T BE A WUSS WITH THE GARLIC.)
Olive oil
Garlic salt

Preparation:

Rinse asparagus thoroughly.  Break off ends.  Drizzle a small amount of olive oil into a frying pan.  Turn up heat to medium.  Add minced garlic and asparagus to pan.  Sprinkle with garlic salt (maybe add fresh ground pepper if you are so inclined).  Fry up for about  3-5 minutes, stirring as needed until asparagus is a bright green and garlic is a golden toasty color.  Serve immediately and enjoy! 

Larry Fink: The Vanities

Larry Fink: The Vanities

Larry Fink: The Vanities

Do you plan to watch The Oscars this weekend? I do. I like to watch, mostly just to see what everybody is wearing. I am fully aware that it is a night of pomp and ceremony that feeds the most self-congratulatory industry known to mankind, but I still like to watch it. And I am relieved to high heaven that I do not have to compete for awards in the industry that I work in, and that I do not have to be dressed up, scrutinized, and both praised and adored, and/or mocked and ridiculed by the masses.

Arm The Animals

Arm The Animals

Arm The Animals

From the Arm The Animals website:

The mission? Simple: Create killer T-Shirts and raise money for cash-strapped animal care organizations! We can’t save every abused, unloved or unwanted animal, but we can save some!

We are dedicated to making witty, high quality designs that truly MAKE A STATEMENT, raise awareness and generate funds for animal care organizations in need of assitance.

We’re not here to preach, we’re simply doing what we are capable of to try and help a horrible situation... 4,000,000 - 5,000,000 animals are euthanized every year because people simply don’t do the basics for their pets. It really isn’t an option to spay, neuter, feed, water and love your pets - it’s a requirement! If you make the choice to own an animal, at least have the heart to make sure they are healthy and cared for - pretty simple, right?

This isn’t a "fly-by-night" idea or one time charity project: this is what we plan on doing full time, and we hope you will support us!

SPEAK FOR THE SPEECHLESS!
DEFEND THE DEFENSELESS!
ARM THE ANIMALS!

All t-shirts available here.

Well This is Disturbing

Ugliest Vogue Cover EVER

 

I don't care.  I'll say it.  THIS IS THE UGLIEST VOGUE COVER EVER.  That is my declarative statement for the day.  And on a cheery note, for once in my life I feel more attractive than the woman on the cover of Vogue Magazine.  YAY!  

The Inky Situation

About a week ago a foster cat mom brought this big fella Inky to my house. He is a beautiful, big 7 year old rescue kitty. 

Inky has issues. ISSUES. Patience is NOT MY FORTE, but I am trying my best to give this not-so-little guy a chance. I know he has it in him to be a fan-fucking-tastic cat, but WOW does he have issues. 

A bit of background on The Prince of Darkness Inky...as mentioned above, he is a rescue kitty. He was abandoned years ago, and has been living with what was likely an unspeakable number of cats at a foster cat mom's house [note: foster mom would NOT tell me how many cats were in her house, and she refused to let me enter her house.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek]. Inky lived with her for several years. Before coming to my place, he had to go to the vet to get medicine for an infection, plus he had to have two teeth removed.  All this plus moving to a new home on the same day made for a REALLY ROCKY START. Cats and change don't always do well.

Inky is skittish. Skittish beyond belief. His eyes are fully dilated almost every time I see him.  He is p-p-p-p-p-p-petrified. He looks at me like I am Frankenstein, and runs and hides when he sees me -- almost always. It is like he is spring-loaded -- always ALWAYS ready to run. This is hugely upsetting to me, as I am a MASSIVE CAT LOVER, and it hurts to see one so scared. But I am trying to give him time. He has hiding places EVERYWHERE. When I come home it is like playing a game of WHERE'S INKY every single day. It is bizarre. But I know his hiding places, and I just check to see where he is, and then try to let him be.

Sometimes Inky lets me pet him. Sometimes. And these moments are just FANTASTIC, as he cannot get enough of the good lovin'. But, invariably something scares him...a sneeze, a rustling curtain, a shift in the seat, just about anything and he bolts away. But....he is letting me pet him more and more, so I am hoping this skittishness subsides and that he can eventually chillllllllllllllll and just relax.  I am used to cats that follow me around, sit next to me, jump on my lap, beg for attention, etc., so  Inky's behavior is quite a change for me. 

Inky and my other cat Leo have not yet started a gay love affair. NOT EVEN CLOSE. They mostly ignore each other, and/or keep a wary eye on each other. Every now and again there is a minor hissy fit (literally) which is generally centered around food and/or fighting over the best window seat in the house, but it passes quickly. They don't sit together or play together or clean each other or copulate, but maybe they will someday. Maybe.

Inky likes to play. He is mad for the laser toy, and he races around on my hard wood floors so much that the neighbors called me and asked me what was going on at my place.  LOL.  He doesn't even really chase the laser beam -- he loses his mind and just races everywhere. What a freak!

Have any of you ever had a similar experience with a pet? What did you do? How did it turn out? I am hoping for the best, and the foster mom is telling me to be patient. So I am trying REALLY HARD to be patient. Sigh.  Worse case scenario I can take Inky back to his foster mom.  But I really don't want to.  I want to make this work, and hope Inky does, too.

The Broken Hearts. Black Cat

video/band introduced to me by kitty stampede

Hell Yess

Sometimes life in the big city can be rough. But then there are days like this. It rained here yesterday, so everything looks crisp and cool and clean today. It is has been so pretty out that it almost makes me want to twirl around. LOL.  Almost.  And having a 3-day weekend makes this grouch (ME) considerably more cheery.  Hope you are having a good one, too! :)

Taken with my iphone outside of the Craft and Folk Art Museum.  
CAFAM has a super museum shop, and is an excellent source for scoring unique gifts  :)

All Kinds of Wrong

LOL!

Happy Friday!

There Are Worse Things Than Working in a Cubicle / I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

this is my desk. and guess who sits across from me behind that glass window?  THE BOSS.  just shoot me.

Dude. This week has been brutal. We moved our gallery back into our freshly renovated space. The renovated space looks gorgeous, but moving SUCKS ASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS and this whole stupid week has been extremely stressful.

And now I am back to sitting right outside of my boss' office. And, yes, his office has a gigantic window which allows him to stare at me like a mental patient ALL DAY LONG. It drives me out of my fucking mind. And it reminds me of this song. 

SIGH. Oh well. At least the weekend is near. :]

Lowriders

The other night I was driving home listening to this song (no joke!!!), when a guy crossed the street in front of me walking three tiny chihuahuas. I immediately thought AW, LOOK AT THE LITTLE LOWRIDERS! :)