Skyekat

Oh, I’ve been having a hard time putting two words together this week, so here’s a post with lots of pretty pictures… There were lots and lots of nifty things in Spain to see and do. I’m slowly posting a few pics online, as I’m just finding it a bit hard to get back into the swing of things. I intended to take lots of pics of the different shops I saw and neat things I wanted to buy, seeing as the weakness of the dollar meant I wasn’t going to be purchasing that much myself. I didn’t get a ton of shots, but here are a couple of stores we did find some things at, along with a restaurant we’d highly recommend…

On our last day in Barcelona, we broke down and visited a mall. Mostly, we were running out of time to pick up souvenirs, and this place promised to deliver. It actually wasn’t such a bad place, a mix of up-market and reasonable stores, on the water, so pretty good all around. Along with buying the requisite kitsch to bring home, we also stumbled upon Natura, a hippy little store filled with world-goods. I found these cute sandals at a steal, and grabbed them up.

(it’s a pretty bad pic, taken on my way out the door, with the flash. Sorry. But take my word for it, they’re cute sandals with some nice black beading. Good basics to have for the impending summer)

Before that, we headed down to Las Ramblas and decided to poke around a bit in the Old Town and Barri Gotic. We didn’t do quite as much exploring as I’d like, but we were getting a bit travel-worn, so stuck to places we found either in Time Out or Style City: Barcelona. One place the latter mentioned was Xocoa. Little did we know that we could have procured these sweets from their shop in the mall, but the adventure around the narrow streets was so much better anyways. And I got a couple bags out of the adventure too! We made the trek to this place because it promised funky chocolate combinations (like wasabi, green tea, hot chilis, etc) along with interesting chocolate creations. We picked up a couple of chocolate bars (some for us, some to share) and some chocolate buttons. Here’s our loot.

And here’s some stuff we didn’t buy but thought were hella cool. I still want that crazy bunny!

(clockwise from top left: flip flops made entirely out of chocolate; huge easter bunny with studded collar; chocolate CDs; chocolate body lotion)

I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with the wasabi chocolate, as it wasn’t hot at all. The tiramisu as been pretty good though. I have yet to break out the green tea.

Another interesting thing about our trip to Spain was our inherent inability to find good food. A big part of that was mainly due to the wonderfulness of our tour the first 10 days. Did I mention we stopped at a truck stop for lunch once? Yep. Great cuisine there… Mostly we stuck to safe food at buffets, so large amounts of pasta bolognese was eaten. Seriously, I never want to see it again. So needless to say, when we got to Barcelona, our first order of business was to find good food. Of course, we arrived on Easter Sunday, so that plan got nixed. The only place that was open anywhere near our hotel was a bar that served OK Paella and had little bits of trash littered about the floor. The paella wasn’t half bad thank god. The next night we were bound and determined to find something better. This time we prevailed. We found Divinus

Which was a lovely restaurant, right at the top of Exiample off of Avenida Diagonal

(map)

The atmosphere was modern but casual, and the food was great and reasonable. I even loved their business cards!

Seriously though, they had an amazing goat cheese salad (I still wish I knew how they got it to taste so buttery without a hint of goat to it), and I highly recommend the risotto as well. My Mother had a salad with cheese and prawns, and a chicken breast (which they mistakenly wrote as chicken bread on the English menu). That was another thing. Here I was thinking that I’d be fine in Barcelona with my 7 years of Spanish, but they mostly speak, and write menus, in Catalan. The added wrinkle made for some fun, and meant that I never did get brave enough to try tapas on Las Ramblas. Oh well, for another time.

This is the link posts to end all link posts. It’s been a few weeks. Work’s been busy, wrapping up a big project, but I’ve been collecting tabs in browsers like nobody’s business. So here are a few things that might be of interest.

Firstly, for the clothing minded, there’s Waterloo, a place where weird retro-references and cool movies get interesting treatments on t-shirts, and Worn By, which makes t-shirts of pseudonyms bands have played under. My U2 obsession has never been a secret, and while I wait until I have a free moment to go and drool over U2 3D, I could pick up the t-shirt for it ahead of time, or grab the tee that Bono designed for Hard Rock Cafe.

Then there’s some neat things to enrich your life with. Like cool buttons, stickers, and thingz from Buzzworks, all made by independent artists and designers. And speaking of independent designers, one of my favorites is Ray Fenwick. Recently he did an artist in residency at Pantry Press, and they made some really neat stuff, available at their Etsy store. My personal favorite is the set of 8 leter-pressed note cards, Epic Notes. If you’re looking for something a bit more inspirational, check out Advice to Sink in Slowly, a bunch of really great posters made y design students to serve as an antidote for those horrid inspirational posters you see everywhere.

Then there are the pretty bits:

• I’ve seen Recycled Words around the web a lot lately. I’m not sure what strikes me so much about these drawings, but I’m sure my obsession with words and letterforms has something to do with it.
• NotCot had this post a while back about an artists called Heiko. THe images are so playful and fun. Good for a whimsical pick me up during a long week.
• For his masters project, Salvio Alphonso created a set of striking icons to change the way people think about climate change and environmental responsibility.
• Julie Blackmon creates these interesting domestic worlds ith her photographs. It’s all very surreal, and slightly disturbing.
• For a bit of arty fun, try Donald judd or cheap furniture Via VSL

I know Juno’s a bit of old news, but I did really love the film, and I’m so glad that the soundtrack is doing so well. I love this review of the movie, and I think it hits the nail on the head. If you haven’t seen the film, you should. It’s sweet and awkward and real and quirky. Just like it should be.

And speaking of being late to the game, I know Valentines was yesterday, but here’s a few items.
1) If I were going to be receiving diamonds for Valentines, these would be the ones I want. They’re upside down and backwards and can double as a weapon! Schweet. And I love the distressed iron look too.

2) Another thing I have seen loved all over the interwebs, the new Apothecary of Emotion line of mugs and jars.

3) If you happen to love the sugar-rush of those little hearts, but hate the sappy sentiment, Despair Inc has you covered. All the sweet, none of the saccharine.

4) And lastly, I have no idea if this is true or not, but I saw it and decided that it should be true, so I am propagating it. Saint Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people. ::sings::Some of these things don’t belong with each other, some of thee things are not the same…

Which is not news, but it’s been far too long between updates, again. But it is the new year, and it’s always a good resolution to blog more, right? Honestly, I don’t have any set-in-stone resolutions, other than the normal ones are all in play: loose weight, be healthier, be nicer to the earth, get my portfolio together for grad-school…

Looking back on 2007, it was a very good year overall. 2006 seemed a bit cooler, but I think I just settled in a bit in 2007. Hopefully 2008 will see me breaking from habits and moving forward again. I thought I’d compile a few top 5 or 10s of the previous year, just for fun. (And why not go for overkill when you only manage a post a month or so… :P)

I didn’t see as many concerts as I would have liked to, but that’s ok. The top 10 from 2006 would have been hard to choose from, but it’d just be silly trying to figure one out for 2007, so here’s the top 5…

1) 03.24-Decemberists

I regret that they weren’t able to make it around again, as their rollicking folk music was the most revelatory of everything I saw this year. Singing “Sumersong” as it proceeded to snow was great, and “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” was more fun than almost anything.

2) 11.11-The Police-

So much better in the arena than at Fenway. Lots of energy and they played the hits. Stewart Copeland is an amazing live drummer. What I would have never known had they not toured. I also would have had a few more bucks in my pocket, but it was a great show.

3) 05.15-Elvis Costello-

He’s great. He’s always great. Would have been higher on my list had I not seen him play for over 3 hours the summer before. This set was good, but not quite at the same level as when he was with Allen Toussaint. I do have to say, I preferred him with the Attractions to when he went solo and acoustic to open for Dylan.

4) 11.18-Bruce Springsteen-

Magic. Sorry, had to. Great show with the E-Street Band, but it’s not my favorite incarnation of his lately. Good, rock’n'roll fun though. A ton of energy and a few reinterpretations. The new album is solid, which helps, and the chemistry with the band is always great.

5) 07.28-Crossroads Festival-

My first festival. Perhaps not my all-time favorite line up, but it was the first time I heard Allison Kraus and the Union Station. It was a really fun day over all, and a nice trip to Chicago, so it had to make the list.

This year has also seen me try to put a little more effort into looking for cool independently designed goods. I’ve tried to update them to ThisNext as much as I can. Here are a few of the things that I really thought were cool that I came upon this year.

Top 10 products I loved in 2007 (not counting clothing):

(right to left, top to bottom)
1)Helvetica (the movie)

Ok, I know it might seem a bit strange to list a movie about a typeface as the #1 thing I loved in 2007, but it really did seem to be Helvetica’s year. First hearing about this on Veer’s website, and hoping it would be good, then it getting rave reviews when it screened at festivals and selling out every venue it played in thereafter. The film is engaging and well-made, and you don’t have to be a complete typophile to dig it. For such a small movie about such a seemingly esoteric subject, it just was the little documentary that could. Its release coincided with the 50th anniversary of the font, and so screenings turned into birthday parties. How could something as innocuous as a font garner so much interest from so many people? I love the fact that it did reach out t so many people, and its one more reminder about how much culture has taken a turn towards really valuing well designed things.

2)Analogous Jewelry-Razorblade Necklace

Now we’re onto objects of lust for the year. Edgy and subversive jewelry always gets me going, and this necklace does not disappoint. I’ve wanted it all year, and may break down and buy it with some of my Christmas bonus money, but it’s the thing I’ve lusted after the longest and the most this year.

3)Acme Made-The Slim Cargo

Another object of lust, this time it’s the more responsible and stylish side of me. As I’ve started traveling more, the value of a nicely designed bag that will fit all of the necessary electronic accessories has become readily apparent. Yet most of these bags look as utilitarian as they are. On the other hand, these bags have great functionality, but don’t skimp on the style. I love the materials they use, especially the grey felt, but the colors and patterns are trendy without seeming over the top or too this-second to be usable for a while to come.

4)TillyBloom-The Mirror Stage Necklace
5)Paris House-Belief Three Fold Wallet
6)Red Money Design-Ravi Cuff
7)Georgo Phillip Pecenikov-Hunting Trap Cuff
8)Julia Catherine-Pathways Necklace
9)Amy Bengtson Jewelry-Square Grillwork
10)Swizzlet-Branch Cuff

Top 10 clothing items I loved in 2007:

1)Cardboard Robot-Replicant Rabbit

I can not thank NotCot enough for introducing me to Cardboard Robots apparel. Their stuff is funky and edgy, managing to balance a total DIY feel while still creating some quality apparel. This particular shirt is great on a number of levels. It’s incredibly feminine looking, with the style harkening back to almost an art nouveau feel, but the subject is so dark. A robot rabbit reaching the end of its days-beautiful and tragic. There’s also references to Bladerunner, which always gets you points with me. It’s probably my favorite of all their shirts, so totally deserves the #1 spot.

2)Edun-Twisted Tree

Edun is good clothing for a good cause. They’ve really upped their web-presence this year, which finally makes them accessible for most of us. I like the style of the clothing, but most of it is a bit expensive. Their t-shirts are a nice compromise, good quality and mid-priced. You know the extra cost goes to paying the workers a good wage, so you don’t mind so much.

3)Mutagenics-Deadly Game

Mutagenics is a brand new clothing company out of DC. Their stuff is uber-cool and well designed. This is my favorite design again mixing cute and dark in equal measure.

4)Sackwear-Rock
5)Veer-Extra Black
6)Cardboard Robot-Deer Hunter Hoodie
7)Goats.com-Kittens=Pop Tarts
8)The White Stripes Tour t-shirt
9)Disaproving Rabbits site t-shirt
10)Bad Design Kills