sustainability: edible education

two weeks ago, alice waters paid a visit to los angeles to have a conversation about food education. thanks to good food, one of my favorite local radio shows, i got to be in the audience!

alice is the mastermind behind daily food life at chez panisse, a huge advocate of local food, and the founder of the edible schoolyard program in berkeley. joining her was sam levin, a fellow school garden advocate and 15-year-old student from western massachusetts (my beloved college stomping grounds). two years ago, sam co-founded project sprout, a student-run garden planted in an abandoned soccer field across the street from the local high school.

both of their schoolyard gardens focus on giving students the experience of planting and harvesting food with their own hands--and then, enjoying the fruits and vegetables of their labor in fresh, yummy meals. in a world where some people don't know that a potato grows underground, i think alice & sam are onto something with this kind of firsthand food education.

i ended the night feeling inspired--and hungry. and i was happy to know that alice waters and i agree on our favorite vegetable: garlic.

:: image from edible schoolyard

composting adventures

recently i went to a free composting workshop hosted by the city of Los Angeles (along with my food&craft&newmedia-loving friend alex of viva.le.mani). these workshops are offered once a month for LA residents and give a helpful overview of the art/science of urban composting. plus, they offer super deals on a variety of composters at city-subsidized prices. (i got an earth machine composter for $20!)

when i was growing up, my family always had a compost in our backyard, so the practice wasn't foreign to me. but doing it in the city seemed a bit more intimidating, so i really appreciated the boost of confidence from this little workshop.

a few new-to-me tips that i took home...
for a healthy compost, be sure to keep a 50/50 balance of browns-to-greens. not enough browns? try adding some shredded newspaper. to keep away critters, never include anything that was cooked in oil/fat. and to keep away fruit flies, bury new fruits and veggies under the old compost in your bin. and if it starts to smell funky, you're doing something wrong! i'm still getting started myself--so for more details, check out the LA city composting guide.

and let me know if you have any composting adventures or tips to share!

listening to: let it be me by ray lamontagne (listen)

:: image from lillieinthecity / flickr

interview at the haystack needle

jen at the haystack needle just posted a little q&a with me for her green swap series. jen's blog is one of my favorite daily reads, so i was more than happy to share a few thoughts with her on simple ways that we can live a little greener.

throughout the month of april, the haystack needle is featuring a series of interviews with green experts and bloggers. i'm excited to read more in the next weeks.

thank you, jen!


:: silly photobooth strip from my office holiday party

the love of glass jars

recently, my mom and my aunt had a shared revelation: they both suffer from (but mostly celebrate) The Love of Glass Jars--the insatiable need to buy, scrub clean, and save any neat glass containers that they find. as their collections build, the jars are repurposed to store food, buttons, art supplies, and collections of all kinds. my auntie phyllie's latest glass loves are the "nice little squat" jars that, in a past life, held salsa. in their new incarnation, they live on her bookshelf displaying this awesome rainbow of colored pencils.

i know this love well myself, as there are rogue jars tucked into every cabinet of our apartment kitchen. too many times, i've bought grocery store items solely because of their containers (the food is like a bonus prize!). spega yogurt jars are one of my favorites.

someday soon i will post photos of our infamous kitchen shelf that is constructed of pine wood planks and 12 enormous jars of pickles.

are you a glass jar lover, too?

listening to: the woodlands national anthem by the arcade fire (listen)

:: image from phyllis mchugh leocha (auntie phyllie)

on community sustained agriculture

voila! my latest bushel of veggies from my local community sustained agriculture (CSA) program: the south central farmer's coop. a rough explanation of a CSA: it supports local agriculture by organizing people to "invest" directly in a farm--and in return for your share, you receive a regular assortment of seasonal, local farm fresh goods.

encouraged by a CSA-loving coworker, i started buying a bi-weekly box from south central. in the past month, i have experimented with more mixed kales, beet greens, and rainbow chard than ever before. i've discovered that a box of "greens" has a lot more flavor and personality than i ever expected. and i've also learned that when all else fails, everything tastes good sauteed in garlic and olive oil.

if you are in the LA area, check out south central and their many pickup locations around the city. if you are in elsewhere (including new england!), check out local harvest where you can search for a csa's in your area.

listening to: i don't know by lisa hannigan (listen)

:: image from lillieinthecity / flickr

tikkun olam

tikkun olam | repair the world

this keeps coming up in my world in the past few weeks: work, news, movies.

one of the best things about judaism is called tikkun olam. it’s the idea that the world has been broken in pieces, and it’s up to us to gather them and put them back together.


- nick & norah's infinite playlist

in the city: silverlake salvage

a new-to-me LA discovery is silverlake salavage where i found an incredible collection of everything and the kitchen sink--old cabinets, tables and chairs, moldings, hardware, windows and doors, tubs, and on and on. the place is HUGE, and the collection endless and constantly changing.

i didn't come home with anything on my first visit (a bit overwhelmed by possibility), but i will definitely be heading back soon.



Silverlake Salvage
1085 Manzanita St.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323-667-2875
open daily, 11-6


:: images from myflickr

the ABC's of tote bags

a monogrammed tote for every boy & girl. i can hardly resist!
especially when the letter L is "Perfect for a Lillian, Lucas, Lucy or Leslie."

visit alphabet bags by keep calm gallery.


:: images from alphabet bags

park[ing] day

More than 70% of most cities’ outdoor space is dedicated to the private vehicle while only a fraction of that land is allocated to open space for people. (parkingingday.org)

today is international park[ing] day.

for one day, people are encouraged to transform parking spots into "pocket parks" to generate conversations about how more public park space would improve both the environment AND the civility of the city. the park[ers] bring chairs, tables, umbrellas, astroturf--and they feed the meters as they go.

and according to park[ing] day LA.:
...Populations whose income is over $40,000 have access to 102.9 acres per 1000 people within quarter mile buffer. (USC Sustainable Cities/GIS Study, 2002)
...Population whose income is under $20,000 have access to 1.6 acres per 1000 people within quarter mile buffer. (USC Sustainable Cities/GIS Study, 2002)
...[BUT] 33% of children in Los Angeles County live within one-quarter mile of a park. (Trust for Public Land Study, 2004)

for los angelenos, check the map and see if there is a park[ing] spot near you!!

and check out the how-to manual on the official website.


:: image from park[ing] day how-to manual

art/design/environment + past/present/future

on thursday night, the hammer museum @ucla had a fascinating conversation between chip lord & fritz haeg.

chip lord was a member of 1970s counterculture group ant farm, who famously constructed cadillac ranch in amarillo, tx. fritz haeg is currently working on edible estates, a local food project (see nytimes), and he frequently hosts sundown schoolhouse in his los angeles home.

chip & fritz had a casual talk about their work and inspirations, and they got me excited with talk about:
+ the whole earth catalogue (seriously, i must find a copy of this)
+ dear Buckminster Fuller & his geodesic dome (exhibition @ the whitney)
+ mail art (kinda like this, which i love)
+ local food & local living (could you live within a one-mile radius of home?)
+ time capsules (an oldsmobile-turned-capsule buried in lewiston, ny in 1975)
+ parallels between social/political/environmental issues of 1970s & today
+ the state of counterculture in the information age
+ our world on the brink of change & what to do

they issued a challenge to designers (and architects and artists) to use their skills to help solve the growing eco/energy crisis (cheers, al gore!).


:: image of cadillac ranch from inkycircus; buckminster fuller from dwell; lawn garden from nytimes

from curbside to beachside

within days of sharing my love of curb crawling , i did score a great treasure on my way home from work.

two perfect (well, almost) french beach chairs were begging for a new home & some TLC. so i scooped them right into my trunk, and now they're sitting pretty under the tangerine tress in our backyard.

ok, they are a bit beat up--but with a few dabs of wood glue and fresh colorful seating fabric, they'll be ready for the summer in no time!

so started looking online for some inspirations for new seat covers...

i'm wondering: quirky english prints? or classic french stripes?



[left] thornback&peal deck chair from the handpicked collection
[right] les toiles du soleil from basic french online

"dig whole"

the first issue of the whole earth catalogue was published in 1968, featuring information and directions on how to shape our own environment in the changing modern world. updated issues were published on & off into the 1990s.

now in the 21st century, we have the guide/website worldchanging (which is co-founded by the whole earth's final editor)--but i'd still love to get my hands on an original copy of the catalogue.

an excerpt from the introduction:

We are as gods and might as well get good at it. So far, remotely done power and glory — as via government, big business, formal education, church — has succeeded to the point where gross defects obscure actual gains. In response to this dilemma and to these gains a realm of intimate, personal power is developing — power of the individual to conduct his own education, find his own inspiration, shape his own environment, and share his adventure with whoever is interested. Tools that aid this process are sought and promoted by the WHOLE EARTH CATALOG...

and their closing:

stay hungry, stay foolish.

when the energizer bunny runs out

batteries don't belong in the regular trash (why?). but i've been trying to figure out where/how they can be properly recycled (not in the regular recycling). apparently recycling of rechargeable batteries is common--but household batteries are generally overlooked.

here in LA, it turns out to be simpler than expected! (the state has strict laws about battery disposal.) the city setup a battery recycling program [pdf] with local Targets, Jiffy Lubes, and fabulous B&B hardware. surprisingly convenient!


:: images from johnseb

curb crawler

on my drives to/from work, i subconsciously keep an eye on the curb in hopes of discovering a great abandoned treasure--bookshelf, desk, chair, coffee table, etc.

not sure why, but i got it in my head this week that i must find out when official trash days are in the neighborhoods across LA. imagine the possibilities of trash day in Beverly Hills?

for los angelenos, check out the find-your-trash-collection-day search for LA.
good to know. i think?

+ how-to guide to dumpster diving (next step up from curb crawling)
+ mark your territory with handy dumpster stencil
+ celeb stalkers take trash picking to a new extreme

another morning at the farmer's market

this beautiful sunny morning was by far my best yet at the farmer's market...
i didn't buy much, but what i did get was absolutely perfect.
- five of the best EVER nectarines
- a bucket of sweet cherries
- an enormous ruby red grapefruit
& a bunch of lilacs

and then to complete my perfect morning, i went to booksoup and let myself buy one new book... the art of simple food. the author Alice Waters is a major advocate for farmer's markets & seasonal/local/sustainable foods, opened chez panisse in san francisco in 1971, and is pretty much amazing.

and this new cookbook of hers is just as inspiring.

from the introduction of the art of simple food:

I'm convinced that the underlying principles of good cooking are the same everywhere... They are the principles of a delicious revolution, one that can reconnect our families and communities with the most basic human values, provide the deepest delight for all our senses, and assure our well-being for a lifetime...
- eat locally & sustainably.
- eat seasonally.
- shop at farmer's markets.
- plant a garden.
- conserve, compost, and recycle.
- cook simply, engaging all your senses.
- cook together.
- eat together.
- remember food is precious.

:: image from thomas hawke

not your typical lawncare

david benner morphs lawns of clean-cut grass into no-maintenance moss. get a moss starter kits for $39. effortlessly lush & green!

for more grass alternatives, check out farming the front yard.
and explore edible estates.

there's so much untapped potential in that front plot!


::photo from nytimes, jane therese

recycled blankets

check out these beautiful blankets by ladak. repurposed wool with some dashes of color, made from recycled materials & supporting a local homeless shelter in amsterdam.

i would love cuddle up under one of these... or would love to try making something similar!

[via bloesem]

::images from ladak

creative recycling: security envelopes

two mentions of the beauty of security envelopes in one week!

i've never gotten enough bills to notice the pretty patterns...but now i'm intrigued!

first, junk mail gems shared her amazing assortment of security envelope patterns that she's collected over the years. now she's even making rolled beads & jewelry from them. (above)

then, derek&laura of the curiousity shoppe (a super fun online store, by the way) posted this simple tutorial to reuse your leftover envelopes and make the most of their colorful insides. (below)


i am certainly not looking for more bills, but i wouldn't mind having some of this fun paper to play with.

a day to go green

happy saint patrick's day! enjoy your corned beef, cabbage, and a slice of buttery toasted irish bread.

image from the boston globe

multi-purpose yogurt

i was just admiring spega yogurt at wholefoods yesterday! of course, i'm not the only one who thought how useful their pretty glass containers could be. they're included in a:t's list of pretty votive options.


[photo from apartment therapy]