Wednesday, June 27, 2012

for the love of korean dramas?? (i have a confession)





those who know me well would say that i am not very 'korean' or 'asian' in regards to my personality. i never really felt connected to my korean heritage. i never visited the country, never had korean friends growing up, and never fully understood the language. yet recently, i've been extremely connect to my heritage....and as much as i thought i would never say this...i think, think, think it's because of my new addiction to korean dramas. with gossip girl, greys anatomy, and all my favorite tv shows complete for the season, boredom got the better of me and forced me to wander into this new world of ever complex love triangles, sudden car accidents/illnesses, and the cheesy endings to a complicated love story. katie, whom more often than not seems more asian than me, has been watching some of these shows (above: big, rooftop prince, & coffee prince) with me. thank goodness for subtitles. 
summer boredom has proven to be a positive influence for once! 

caroline. 

Monday, June 25, 2012

for the love of my town part I



My beautiful Colorado is burning! This morning I woke up to orange shadows on my front porch. Fortunately for me, that is all it was. Eleven thousand other people don’t share my story though as they have been evacuated from their homes waiting for embers to cool. I didn’t know I cared so much about this state until I realized that it, in part, defines me, and I didn’t realized it had until I came back and had a conversation. I was actually chatting with one of my friends that I met in LA who is originally from Colorado. He said simply, “Things are different here.” Colorado is its’ own story. My town has its’ own values and social norms. One of my first memories of it is running into my front yard with my neighbors whenever we heard a siren come up the street. I would collect with the other children on my street to see what had happened to Mrs. P or the local deer (yes, the police did come to my house to help a deer with a broken leg).  The creature sometimes takes the liberty of leaving its’ scat on my driveway and one of my young neighbors decided to do the same once. But that’s another story, aren’t small towns wonderful? I know everything about you and your girlfriend and her aunt, but maybe that will be unfortunately in my neighbor’s case when he grows up. As the fire rages, I watch as friends bring animals down the mountain in their spare trailers. These animals aren’t even theirs, but they are determined to help. Yes, things are different out here. And it’s more than just the water or the fire.

Katie

Friday, June 22, 2012

for the love of work

it's my third week working at the lacma and although there are ups and downs of being an intern, i love being an insider at a well-known institution. sure the lacma isn't as prestigious as the guggenheim or the moma in new york city, but i can already tell that we're working our way up to that point.
one of my favorite things about working at a museum is that i get to explore all the exhibits and galleries all to myself. with NO ONE around. i love taking breaks from compiling budget invoices and spending my time in the modern art wing of the ahmanson building (above).

it coolest thing is how much i can apply what i learned in architecture school to art at the lacma. as i learned in school, the idea that architecture=art and art=architecture can be very debatable. however, no matter which way you sway, they do coexist & maintain a symbiotic relationship...

super cool finding #1:  the new resnik pavilion / lacma west was designed by renzo piano. celebrity architect, but meh not my favorite

super cool finding #2: i can't get over how cool this is!!!!! (note the # of exclamation points). peter ZUMTHOR will be designing the future additions to the lacma. one of the major gods of architecture, probably stands extremely close to frank lloyd wright in the architecture hierarchy. plus it's his first commission in the united states, and it's going to be in LA!

super cool finding #3: next year there's going to be a james TURRELL exhibition / installation(s)!!!! yikes. i loved learning about him in my architecture theory based classes at school. he's known for the roden crater, ganzfeld effect, and distortions to depth perception though minimalistic views.

and finally the 'rock' as i like to call along with my co-workers, aka Levitated Mass, is opening on sunday! super cool idea of space and what the idea of space defines. can't wait!! i'll be posting more photos soon.

caroline. 

Thursday, June 21, 2012

for the love of food




What makes friends better than good food? When my grandmother was a teenager, she worked in Paris as a nanny for a wealthy family. On their day off, my grandmother and her best friend, conspired to make the best spaghetti after exploring their wonderful city. Here is the recipe they created although the portion size was probably a little smaller and their French a little better.

Gather:
1 large pot
3.5 pounds of ground beef
2 packages of sliced mushrooms
1 can of tomato soup (usually I use Campbell’s although I’m pretty my grandma used tomatoes she grew in her garden)
1 can of tomato paste (this usually comes in a really small can usually Contadina 6oz)
1 can of diced tomatoes
Dried basil, oregano, pepper, and salt
4oz-8oz of your favorite red wine
Canola Oil
Angel hair pasta
Optional- diced onions
             - parmesan cheese
Sauce
-Empty ground beef into pan, and put it on medium heat. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat rotating what is on the bottom of the pan so that none of the meat burns.

-When the majority of the meat has turned a light brown (still a little pink left), break the mushroom slices into bite sided pieces and stir them into the mixture in the pan.

-Optional- Here’s your chance to add the diced onions if you want to add a little extra spice. (This was in the original recipe, but if some people are allergic you can take it out)

-Next add the tomato soup, diced tomatoes, and the tomato paste stirring until you have an even mixture.
-Add dried basil, oregano, pepper, and salt to taste. Usually only a pinch of salt is required.

-After you have achieved the mixture of spices you desire, change the stove temperature to low, cooking it until about half of the excessive liquid from the beef and cans of tomato products is gone.

-Finally add the 4oz of wine and taste the sauce after it re-gains a less soupy consistency. Add up to an additional 4oz being careful not to overpower the spices.

Noodles
Boil water adding a drop of canola oil so that the noodles won’t stick together.
Empty box of noodles into boiling water.

Serve
Top with parmesan if you so desire.
Enjoy!
Pour l'amour de la nourriture,
Katie

Monday, June 18, 2012

for the love of the game

there's something about a soccer game that gets me going. is it the adrenaline rush that you get when the team you're rooting for makes that picture perfect goal? or is it that instantaneous camaraderie that is bolstered while sitting with a fellow countryman and sharing the agony and ecstasy of the nail-biting game? this is what watching the euro 2012 championship does to me, an all too similar reaction that was triggered two years ago during my travels to france and england during the world cup. that was where my love for the Spanish team grew. la roja. the red one. yet, why doesn't america cherish this sport as much as the europeans? sure there's basketball games and football games with diehard fans here, but soccer falls short too often. la furia roja. the red fury. with their nike-winged cleats, and perfectly sculpted bodies, players like pique, villa, ramos, torres, fabregas, and xavi are the demi-gods to my summer musings. what of all this? many it's just another sign that i'm living in the wrong corner of the world. vamos.


caroline. 




i've always wanted to start a blog. everyday after my routine morning rituals, i start my computer and check up on the blogs that i love. now i can share all the thoughts in my head, pictures that i take, and accidental inspirations that i find along the way together with my good friend, my colleague, and my partner in crime, katie! here's to our first blog together.

caroline.