New hero

Yeah, just wow.  Just discovered this incredible interview by Elle Luna via this little piece.

Hang with the unknown.

Artist, designer and startup something wonder woman.  She painted a wall.  She uses hashtags like #mindfulness.  She's done things like this:

I walked up to him and said, “I use Uber all the time and I absolutely hate the app. I think you should bring me in to fix it.” He replied, “Oh, yeah? What are the three things you’d fix about it?” I said, “I’d redo the logo, redo the entire app, and change the rating system.” I think there was something about being in a dress that empowered me to say such things (laughing). And do you know what he said? He said, “Be at the Uber office at 9am on Monday.”

She says great things like this that make me think:

I think back to the different phases of a project at IDEO—it’s not so different from life, really—I’m in the exploratory, divergent phase. The part where you brainstorm a lot and encourage wild ideas and defer judgement. I believe that the longer you can hang with that ambiguity or unknown, the greater the results will be at the end. This was true for IDEO projects, it was true for Mailbox, and now it is becoming true for my life.

Most people won't.  What meaty thoughts for the weekend.

New go-to fall recipe

Caramelised goodness in a flaky, buttery case.

Just invested in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and first cab off the rank was this Butternut squash and onion galette.  There is something supremely satisfying about making something out of a new cookbook and having it turn out just right the first time around.  Even if you didn't realise that a pastry blender is wildly different from an actual blender (thank you, internet for that last-minute save).

It was really interesting to see how she'd modified it over the years from her original online recipe to the one in the book - giving the option of thyme instead of sage, or replacing the sour cream for greek yoghurt.  If anything this has given me more gumption to have some flexibility when cooking things up from a recipe.

Thoroughly recommend both the cookbook and the dish - perfect for fall.  Yes, I called it fall.

Scratches on a page

I can't remember the last time I fell so in love with a writer, but since weeping into a puddle over The Fault in Our Stars I've been having obsessive, crush-like bursts of stalking John Green.

As a part of my investigation into all things about him, I came across this response he gave on the writing of this most excellent book that at one point became a 'problem' for him:

"...for ten years of my life, I tried to write this book and it taunted me and it sucked and it kept sucking and nothing I could do for years and years made it suck less, and then finally I was given a way into it and I worked very hard to make it the best book that I could possibly make it, but books will always be a collaboration between reader and writer, and at some point I have to stop doing my job so I can start letting you do your job.

I mean that a book is a problem in that it is composed out of meaningless scratches on a page that must be translated into ideas that live inside your head, and you use a set of skills (literacy, critical thinking, etc.) to make that happen.  I don’t mean that it is an UNFORTUNATE problem; I just mean that it is a thing that has to be created by both of us, like a crossword puzzle or something."

Ten years!  Also, I love this idea that a book is created by both the writer and the reader.  This somewhat legitimises my stalking, we collaborated on this after all.

Taken from here (not to read if you haven't yet read the book), more from him and his wonderful brother here.

Nesting, Part 6

and resting really, but solidly on the mend!  I no longer have to run out of meetings in a coughing fit now, so that's a plus.

Snaps of the home and hood recently.

Secret confession: Whenever there is a special holiday on (which, lets face it, is pretty much all the time here) I go down to Walgreens purely for the purpose of scoping out all the intense looking candy and decorations on offer.  Ghost peeps!

Discovered Conifer - a new favourite store, just off the beaten track in my neighborhood.  I was passing by and saw a sign "art + clothing this way" - how could I resist?  Run by the most beautiful woman who has a personal relationship with all the emerging brands she stocks.  Just beautiful.

I found this magnificent beast panting on the sidewalk on my way home from froyo one day.  How I loved his thick glossy fur!  The little girl in the background stopped to say hello to him too.

It's a little hard to see but this house on my street has an incredible fiddle leaf fig tree in each long window, I look up in admiration (or, like a stalker) every time I walk past it - oh how I want one for my living room!  So sculptural.

Our friend Karl the fog came back for an evening the other day - even though it's not his season at the moment.  I don't mind though, I like him now.

It's nice to be back, SF.

Healing chicken soup

The human body is an amazing beast isn't it?  One minute it's fine with traipsing across 6 different cities and the next minute it's breaking down in full force - complete with 3am feverish sweats and a throat so on fire I thought I was going to die in my sleep (no really, in my delirium I considered calling up C to remind him that the couch is by some Norwegian architects that I like, so could he please keep it in my memory hahaha).

Anyway, I kid - I totally deserve this.  I feel like this is my body's way of shouting at me to stop for a moment, so here I am.  I've been hiding out in a snot cave this weekend and now just taken my first sick day since I can remember.  My beloved Google Shopping Express took care of most things, but as they don't do fresh produce I did trek out to my local store to make a proper chicken soup - bones and all.

I used this recipe as a guideline, but I made the alteration of sautéing the onions and garlic beforehand.

Chopping in progress.  I took a very liberal perspective on 'finely diced'.

Simmering goodness.  The green bits are the fresh Thyme floating to the top.

The get-well food of champions!

Not as good as my mama's but definitely hit the spot!