so i call myself a photographer..

... and here are some of my favorites!

sustainable design

test your sustainable design/ fashion i.q. from the new york times, and see how much you know about this year's fall fashion. i got a shocking 5/6. (totally googled comme des garcons afterwards!) and for the record, i am on the lookout for something orange and pink now. lol or is it the barre that pulls this look together?

on another note- what really comes to mind when i think of sustainable design is sustainable architecture, which often is very modern looking considering that people started building sustainable shelter a hell of a long time ago.

this topic is very meaningful to me. it has been a life long dream of mine to be able to travel the world and eventually settle down and build my own home with a chicken coop and veggie/fruit garden out back. my parents worry about me and want me to get a a secure job with benefits so i can afford a comfortable life. (which i want to..) but, i don't feel like my job should support bills and a house that only allows a small portion of my time doing things i like to do. its an ugly cycle that "the american dream" makes you work to death to have a home that you are never home in.

to be honest, i refuse this to happen to me. especially when there are plenty of resources and information out there. people have been doing this for centuries and technology has advanced so that it isn't that difficult. check out how easy it is here and "free" here. amazingly enough,this lady here- this is what i want (okay, not as extreme as 84 sq feet)- but a simple life. one day, this may become a reality- and hopefully my friends will visit me lol. doing something yourself and being able to utilize it is very creative and gratifying. and in terms of building a home, i would be able to use skills that my education has given me- as opposed to working and doing a repetitive job day after day. does life go stale living that way?

i have also recently read (and recommend), better off, a book written by a graduate of MIT who goes to live off the land with a community. he does this for research in terms of finding how much technology is too much and are machines better turned off. the first chapter or two explains this urge of wanting to do things on your own so well that i would recommend it to anyone wondering "why would anyone want to live like that". bradley isn't as willing to give up his computer and video games as much as i am- but i think that will help balance me from going off the deep end and becoming a freak of nature. lol

Cooking with Fresh Basil- oh, yea!

Two dishes that made their way into my kitchen this week: Simly Ming's Asain Spaghetti and Ina Garden's Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. I added zucchini squash to the soup about 15 minutes after putting in the roasted tomatoes. The zucchini turned out to be great! It made it a little bit more hearty and filling for dinner. Bradley added some extra seasonings and Parmesan to his bowl. The basil in both dishes had a lasting aroma that made me feel like a chef! lol

Photo by Christopher Cavalleri

Burn Magazine//// Julien Coquentin + Strange Rain

occasionally, i like to visit burn to see what "emerging" photographers are up to. the curator is magnum photographer david allan harvey.

julien coquentin is a nurse by night and is featured on burn. go ahead! click the link to view/play his photo essay and read more about him. this post will be here when you are done. *waits* did you see them?!!! aren't they just great! so creepy, normal-everydayish and effortless-esque. me gusta los. and it's funny because while i was watching the slideshow, i thought "i could see these on a book cover". and the first comment says "I could see any of these images as the cover of a novel". lol

also check out coquentin's portfolio and other works at artlimited.net and bwiti. (i really like the tv head image)

gosh, i cant wait until i figure out what i want to do with my photography!


All images by Julien Coquentin

beginning

beginning is always the hardest thing for me to do. so here i am! after a really long time of having this blog- here i am finally beginning this blogger journey that lies within the bottomless pit called the Interwebs and myself.

i will be documenting things that fancy my interest and things that i do. such as: photography, cooking/recipes, diy stuff, design, ideas on the environment, consumer products and sustainable living... among various other things. my goals with this blog are to, at some point, write daily, have some followers, learn more about myself through my writing and also share my life happenings.

so this is me. Cristal G