currently reading: eating animals

"I can't count the times that upon telling someone I am vegetarian, he or she responded by pointing out an inconsistency in my lifestyle or trying to find a flaw in an argument I never made. (I have often felt that my vegetarianism matters more to such people than it does to me.)"                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                        - Jonathon Safran Foer 

Well stated.  Thanks Mr. Foer for so eloquently explaining something I experience as a person who chooses not to eat meat.

conflict kitchen

Conflict kitchen is a brilliant concept, turned business, located in Pittsburg, PA.  It is a take-out style restaurant which features foods from countries the United States is in conflict with.  It opened as an Iranian restaurant, and will change identities every 4 months, featuring a new country.  The hope is to unite the local Americans with these countries where, for some Americans, the only knowledge they have is what they see on the news regarding the conflicts that exist.  And what a great way to unite through tasty foods of that culture.  I think this is brilliant. And I'm totally loving the logo design above!

In October the Iranian joint will shut down, and make way for Afghani cuisine.  Here's a video with some more info on this project...

bike thieves suck hard

Saturday morning, while Eli was at a community meeting with our Mayor, city council folks, MBA board members, and members of our community discussing Midtown safety and nightlife issues - his bike was stolen.  Oh the irony.  The bike was stolen from I & 27th street.

I f-ing hate bike thieves (well, thieves in general).  Eli's bike is the equivalent of most people's cars - yup,  it is his main form of transportation.  It's just so frustrating that at 10 am in broad daylight - someone could successfully jack a bike from a SENIOR center...

Anyways - if anyone local is reading this - please keep an eye out for a yellow Cannondale bike- here's a link to his craigslist post - it sure feels like a shot in the dark - but who knows, I've heard some fabulous tales of stolen bikes being returned to their owners...

Friends have been reposting this link on FB, and we truly appreciate the support.  There is also this Stolen Midtown Bicycles FB page, where I have posted this link as well.  Fingers crossed.

If we don't get the bike back, I can only hope that karma will take care of it from here.

illustrations - clare owen

good morning sweet world... 

i have to share these lovely illustrations by clare owen

i'm in love with her stuff

do ask, do tell !

i love all that lady gaga is doing on this issue and all gay rights' issues for that matter....  if you have a voice, a platform, an audience - you should, in my opinion, take a stand for what you believe - for what is right - for what is equal.

family + friends

I truly believe I have the most amazing friends and family on this universe, I am not sure how I got so lucky.  Saturday evening my family and Eli's family threw us an engagement party.  My backyard was transformed into a beautiful scene that hosted a crew of our nearest and dearest.  It was a total blast.  Lana, Scott and the boys made the trip out to join in on the celebration.

Our families kicked us out of the house for the day so they could set up and decorate, and we would arrive as guests.  We had a lazy day together which included drinking these mini champagne cans Heather sent us, poolside.  We got ready at Trisha's place - and arrived at the party as guests.  The whole thing was perfect, the food, the drinks, all the family and friends!!

Family + Carl

the 3 Barkawi girls...

those are tears of pure joy (above)

Lil O was party-pooped out

on the brink

of a weekend filled with: 

family + friends + celebration + cheers + live music + ballet + love

feeling like a pretty lucky girl.

it's not that often that my entire family is in the same room, usually once a year (if we are lucky), and i suspect this will occur many many times this weekend - which makes me incredibly happy.

last night, eli and i took a midnight jaunt to the airport to pick up lana, scott, omar, and baby jad.  watching omar's excitement over seeing teta & jiddoh (arabic for grandma & grandpa) for airport hugs and kisses is one of the sweetest things i've ever witnessed.  i tried to capture him running towards mom, but he bolted so quickly, i missed my opportunity... more pictures to come!!

and of course, if you are local-ish,  don't forget to buy your tickets to this!!

mindful midtown

Olivia Coelho Good board meeting tonight. Honestly I am so happy to own a home and a business in midtown. This is the most loving and supportive community.

- Olivia Coelho, Midtown Business Association board member, in response to Wednesday's meeting regarding the unfortunate shooting that happened last Saturday.

More on the incident here.

the weekend

paul was wonderful sellout buyout company! 

and people really dug the chalkboards...

this photo was taken by jesse powell

eve!

drawing by a cute little boy named harvey !

love michael's tattoos

mom's hot new shoes

fisho & hake-o

sunday morning antique faire

getting ready to meet baby jad...

sobo

Whoa!  Is it really September already?  And ten days in, no less?  And is it really that time of the month again?  You know, the second Saturday of the month...  I will be participating in Sellout Buyout, which is a brilliant event that happens quarterly in Sacramento.  Local artists and designers of all sorts gather to sell their goods.  There is always great stuff - jewelry, clothing, handmade goods, one-of-a-kind, the prices are totally reasonable, plus you are supporting local people doing creative things.  It seems like a no-brainer.  So, do check it out if you are local.  Plus I will be slanging some of those chalkboards I've been making.  Come say hello!

9/11 @ bows & arrows - 1712 L street 3-9pm

rumor has it - this may be the last one - major bummer!!  maybe if we get a really amazing turnout the great minds behind this event will reconsider...

39 years

happy anniversary to the cutest couple i know,

my mom and dad...

yesterday, september 7th, marked their 39 year wedding anniversary !

their love story is truly a magical one. 

eli's birthday, cont'd

Since Eli turned 29 yesterday, I wrote up a list of 29 things I adore about him on colored pieces of paper, then hung them throughout our living room.  Coming up with 29 things was a cinch, I could have kept going on and on...

 We headed to Mulvaney's for an amazing birthday dinner - there was a special birthday shout-out on our menu ... a sweet touch, Mulvaney's !

Corn soup starter may have been the most amazing soup I've ever tried...

Mulvaney's take on the watermelon + feta combo.  Damn good!

We sat on the patio and it got quite dark - so I was unable to take pictures with my phone of our entrees... but they were amazing!  Pasta Dave's pappardelle veggie pasta, and an entree of fresh vegetables. 

SO GOOD!

And now I am sitting in the Sacramento airport waiting for my flight to Austin.  Headed to a friend's wedding and a nice reunion with some of my favorite homeys!  I am officially in vacation mode!