Hello San Diego...

Photo courtesy of Quincy Sultzbaugh

I'm delighted to announce the debut of selected pieces from jz designs sf at the grand opening of Sugar Kiss Boutique (in San Diego, CA) on Friday, May 7th (11AM to 8PM)!

Owner Quincy Sultzbaugh has been working diligently towards this new venture; I'm very thrilled and honored to be a part of her superb collection of Californian artisans! Please stop by if you are in the area:

Sugar Kiss Boutique

4185 Adams Avenue

San Diego, CA 92116

Hours: 

Tuesday-Thursday  11am-6pm
Friday and Saturday  11am-8pm 

Sunday and Monday  By appointment only

Cheers!

you really are... "fantastic"

Boggis and Bunce and Bean     

One fat, one short, one lean     

These horrible crooks     

So different in looks

Were none the less equally mean

I just finished watching FANTASTIC MR. FOX on DVD -- I totally love this movie! It's definitely on my top 10 favorites of 2009; certainly my favorite Wes Andreson film. I first watched it in theaters last November, then a couple of weeks ago at a free screening at the Independent, and now again on DVD. 

Based on a children's story Roald Dahl, MR. FOX is Wes Anderson's first stop motion animation film. According to a featurette, It's in the Details, each second of the film is made up of 24 pictures; which is utterly amazing to me! As with other Anderson films, the soundtrack of this film, with a fabulous score by Alexandre Desplat, is truly stupendous.

One of the most amusing things about this film, is how the word "cuss" is being used to replace any profanity. Be sure to watch the DVD with subtitles turned on to catch gems such as: "Holy swearing cuss!"

Around the time of the DVD release last month, I also caught a re-brocast of an interview Wes Anderson gave on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross that made me appreciate the amount of hard work and raw talent it took to make MR. FOX... "fantastic" -- bravo!

My new hat!

Hooray, I finally finished knitting the "Slouchy Beret"! I saw a sample of this hat at ImagiKnit (aka my yarn heaven) about a few weeks ago and just had to asked them for the pattern. It's on Raverly, and also available on (the pattern creator) Allyson Dykhuizen's blog. 

Here are a few photos of the finished piece from my flickr.

I have a giant head (and tiny hands -- go figure), so I had to knit the "large" version (repeated Cable Round 4 and Cable Round 5 twice). I call it my Marge Simpson hat since it also reminds me of her hair (except it's not electric blue).

I used 3 skeins of Cascade Dolce (2 strands held together) in color 971 "silver"; on size 11 double pointed needles.

I’m planning on knitting another version soon using Misti Alpaca Chunky; which is my favorite yarn in the world! ♥ Although I'm still trying to decide on a color... definitely a light color to show off all the cables. :)

Now on to the next one... knitting that is: Dobbs Ferry Knit Cowl.

Cartier and America at the Legion of Honor

Last Tuesday, I took advantage of Free Admissions Day (special exhibit fee still apply) at San Francisco museums, and visited the Legion of Honor inside Lincoln Park for the Cartier and America exhibit.



It's been over 10 since I've to Legion of Honor; I forgot how astonishingly beautiful this museum truly is! I felt as if I stepped inside another world, and left the hustle and bustle of the city behind me (literally).


The Cartier exhibit is an impressive collection of sketches, photos /painting of patrons, and of course, actual Cartier piece (behind a glass case of course). Photography is prohibited, but I sneaked one in anyway (flash off of course, with Palm Pixi phone cam): the Star of South Africa necklace. Shhh, don't tell on me!



The proof that I was there!



My favorite part of the exhibit are actually the colored pencil sketches of various pieces. Some of the actual pieces looks almost flake and or costume-like. I even overheard a lady asking her husband if the piece we viewed is really aquamarine because it looked like glass to her... LOL! There is also a very informative behind the scenes video of how a parrot theme necklace is painstakingly created from beginning to finish; which made me better appreciate Cartier's exquisite craftsmanship.

I'd highly recommend visiting the Legion of Honor if you get a chance, and Cartier exhibit (ends April 18, 2010) is magnificently curated.



I'll be posting more photos from my visit on my flickr stream next week. :)

Resolutions

Oh my, it's almost the end of January and I haven't posted anything yet...

First off, happy belated new year to you my dear readers. How has 2010 been treating you so far? It's been a rocky start for me, but things are settling down finally...

Anyone made any resolutions for this year? I've accomplished 1 out of my 3 goals so far:

1. Kick my night owl habit and get to bed before 1AM. (Obviously, I'm failing at this one... but I'm still trying)

2. Go on a detox cleanse for one week. (Well, it's been postpone for next month when my friend returns from her trip... "strength in numbers" and or "misery loves company")

3. Take a photo of the day and post it on my twitter; inspired by our friend GSM. (Although I started doing this a little few days late, I've been having lots of fun doing this little "assignment". All photos are taken with my new Palm Pixi phone (heart!). I also posted a few "catch up" photo on my flickr stream.)



Above is one of my fav photo of the day, also the very first photo I took in 2010: Edward! My friend Deniz and I were walking back to the APT after parking her car (parking is a major pain in SF), we were looking up at the blue moon... All the sudden, she screamed "OMG, it's him!" at the life-sized paper cutout of Edward Cullen "looking" at us in the window! We just about died from laughter, and we had to take a photo of him... Hey, where's Jacob?!

Wave goodbye, say hello

It's so hard to believe 2009 is almost over, and 2010 is right at the door... 2010! That number makes me feel so old because not too long ago it seem to be in the far distant future. When that 2012 movie released (which I'd never want to see), I realized that's just in a couple of years!

Anyway, 2009 has been a rough year for most of us. But like everything else in life, there is always the good with the bad. I always like to think of New Year's Eve as a time to reflect and give thanks to friends in my life. This year in particular, many of my friends have been very supportive of my etsy venture, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

Here's to 2010 -- wishing you all lots of Murray naps (inside his "mur-nopy" because snuggies are not very fashion forward).



May you get your catnip donut just like the Murray (gift from his aunt and uncle SL squared);


Even if what you're looking for is actually right on top of your head!



Take care and happy 2010!

Another chance

Get a second chance to win my Etsy Stalker giveaway by either:

a.) follow me on twitter

b.) copy and paste this twit: I want to win fab bling from @jzdesignssf http://jzdesigns.etsy.com.

This is only for my facebook/ twitter/ blog friends, and not announced on my etsy page. A winner will be notified on Sunday, January 10th. Good luck!