I own these, but you wouldn’t know.

Because they are still in their original shipping packaging. I am hoping that if I post about them, maybe… just maybe, I will get around to buying frames and hanging them up. On numerous Target trips, I have stood contemplating whether or not to purchase cheap, but still kind of expensive, frames. In the end, I always decide against it because of the poor quality. I want to get them professionally framed, but am conflicted because it will probably cost more to have them framed than it cost to purchase the art itself. We’ll see what happens. But for now, enjoy what should be hanging from my walls! :)

Fake Beard by Jay Ryan

Flood by Jaclyn Mednicov

Stacked Upon by Jaclyn Mednicov

Check out Jay Ryan’s store, The Bird Machine. Find Jaclyn Mednicov (and other cool artists) at the great marketplace of design: 20×200.

The Wok of My Life

My friend had told me about the stir fry she had made; the combination of pre-lunch hunger and the delicious ingredients she used only made me think “I NEED A WOK.”

Fortunately, they were on sale at Sur La Table! I bought a stainless steel 14″ wok for less than 20 dollars. I was so excited and equally as intimidated. The wok came with preparation instructions. Apparently, for shipping purposes it had to be coated with a food-safe lacquer that needed to be heated off. And then of course the wok needed to be seasoned. Thoughts along the lines of “what if I do it wrong?” and “TJ’s frozen meatless meatballs are easier to make” clouded my head and for a week my shiny new wok sat around the stove collecting dust as I lazily lived around it.

Along with laziness and cooking insecurities, I still had not found a recipe I wanted to use. I kept running into two different problems in my search: the recipes were complex and required expensive ingredients or the recipes would make me think “that sounds nice, but would I really want to eat that for 3-4 meals? So, I just bought the basics: oils, noodles, random vegetables and some precooked chicken (I wonder if this has a -phobia name with the definition: fear of cooking chicken and getting sick). With the much needed help of my roommate, I was taught the basics on how to make a stir fry. The whole idea of it reminds me of a creative art class. The wok is the tool, now do whatever comes to mind! Which is awesome, but I am still a naive beginner and also the boring girl that enjoyed drawing inside the lines required lines to color with (My coloring books were as creative and outrageously colorful as a Banana Republic catalog).

I used kelp noodles as a rawlternative to regular noodles, fresh vegetables from the farmers market and I also added some egg whites at the end to give it the chow mein feel. And of course a big spoon full of chili garlic sauce to add some heat. I loved this dinner so much that I have been making a stir fry every week. I am altering the ingredients and spices each time to find my perfect stir fry. I plan to bring more cash with me to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market so I can buy some local seasonal vegetables to help me become more creative and confident cook. Any suggestions or tips are welcome! Wok on!