My Summer in Pictures

Went to my first ever wrap party! Celebrating the completion of Cars 2

Joined the Monsters University crew as a shader

Conjured up some steak with blackberry sauce and baked potatoes

Attended the annual Big Wheels race on Easter in SF

Escaped to Wine country for some tasty treats

Stayed at the cutest little B&B

Used Aurelia's Chorizo in a Triple Sherry Cream Reduction
(tip: wear lose-fitting pants while eating)

Saw my dream car at Pixar's Motorama event

Met Finn McMissile in person

Escaped to Tahoe

Shared a junior banana split at Fenton's Creamery (the one featured in Up)

Got a crew gift for my time on Cars 2 Promotional
Check out the State Farm commercial!

Made some damn tasty skewers on the grill

Cracked open some Ying-Yang eggs

Did some laundry

Went to the SF Farmers Market

Attended the Kite Festival in Berkeley (and also learned some tricks on a stunt kite)

Made some AMAZING Blueberry zucchini bread and
zucchini hash (Tracy, if you're reading this, thank you for
sharing your brilliant cooking!)

Bought myself a bike, which I promised I would if Pixar offered me a
full-time job after my residency. It's beautiful and FUN!

I think summer is my new favorite season. Hope you all had a fun one as well!

Sheepskin Throw

I used to think sheepskin carpets were tacky, but lately I've been seeing them everywhere, mostly as drapes on furniture, and I have to say my mind has changed. If small enough, they add a lot of nice texture and luxury to a piece without making it look gaudy.

I picked one up at IKEA the other day for the tub chair we nabbed on Craigslist, which has been looking a little naked to me lately.

I find it both adorable and slightly disturbing that it matches Teako's fur so closely. Oh well, she almost never sits on it (this photo was SO posed), which is odd, because it seems like something she would like to make a nest out of. She's never really liked that chair though, so basically the whole point of it's existence (other than an extra chair when guests visit) is to sit there and look pretty. 

Balcony Update

It's been about 2.5 months since my balcony rose from the ashes with some brand new, hardy plants. I thought I'd give an update on how it's been doing so far.

Here's a little then-now:

Shockingly, I haven't killed anything, hooray! The tomato plants are growing fast and tall and were starting to crowd the other planters, so I took a couple of them and decided to give the upside-down technique a try. Instead of buying one of those ugly cylindrical things you see on TV, I opted to make one myself out of a simple hanging planter.

I cut a 2" hole in the fiber liner and gently pushed the roots up through the hole. Using a scrap of tough cloth (a reusable grocery bag in this case) I cut a smaller hole with a slit about the diameter of the stem and wrapped that around the stem on the inside of the planter, letting it rest on the floor to prevent soil from pouring out.

With the help of Boyfriend (he held the heavy thing to keep from crushing the tomato) I filled the rest of the planter with soil and added some oregano, rosemary and nasturtium at the top. Hopefully the tomato plant will survive. I'm already not expecting a great yield since my plants never see direct sunlight, so at the very least it will give us a smidge more privacy from the neighbors across the way.

Speaking of nasturtium, this plant is taking over my entire balcony! The only way this thing could be more resilient was if it were made of plastic. My poor phormium and dracaena are practically being evicted from their home. 

I've propogated the nasturtium out to other planters, which is as simple as pinching a clump and shoving it into some dirt. And to think, I was SO excited when those first two orange flowers appeared, now I'm throwing away clumps of the thing every day!