Saturday 30 November 2013

Don't forget the holiday pies



At Whole Foods Market, San Diego. I really liked their salad buffet, by the way. So much variety, not too pricey, makes for a great lunch. The holiday ads were a bit sad though. I don't know what it is, something sad about it I cannot pinpoint. The solitary chair?












Thursday 28 November 2013

The Californian Catch - Show and Tell (II)



Alrightie, let's finish unpacking that suitcase..

- Fabric bag painted with the same medium used for the gorgeous murals of the Mission district San Francisco, from Precita Eyes Muralists (no, Carina, you have already exceeded your bag quota this month).
:-))





- Photo folder made out of an authentic car number plate (San Diego). Very original, I love it.





- Secondhand vintage dress from Frock You (San Diego)





- Second (or third- or fourth-) hand knit top from Buffalo Exchange San Diego.
- 15X15cm Fabric squares for cyanotype print from the fantastic Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego.





- San Francisco vintage poster from the Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill, San Francisco.





- San Diego T-shirt
- Notebook and address book from .. errm, I can't remember where. 
- Communist notebook from Chinatown San Francisco. For my future communist poems. Just kidding.





- Cashmere flower power top from secondhand shop on Ashbury Haight San Francisco. It cannot get better than that.





- Paper mousepad 60 sheets and Tool Kit pencil case from Therapy (it truly is!) San Francisco.


Well well well, believe it or not, but this is it as far as the Show and Tell is concerned. All I'm thinking right now is ... wow. Maybe next time I should walk a bit less, this way I won't bump into so many great shops. 
Naah...

Sunday 24 November 2013

Mexican Fiesta Mexican Food



A small intermission in the Show and Tell. I quite liked that mexican hut in the middle of the skyscrapers, a few steps from my hotel in San Diego. I have seen it open only at breakfast time, never in the evening, but always with a considerable crowd queueing in front of the tiny window. Probably one of the few places where to get authentic Mexican food. If they like you, that is :-))












Friday 22 November 2013

The Californian Catch - Show and Tell (I)


I walked my thick soles off on the urban hills of sunny California. Exploring a city on foot is one of my favorite things. The (almost) direct consequence of walking a lot is to find lots of … interesting shops. Don't think I'm a shopaholic, some of those things are presents for other people :-) and I was very much in the mood of Hey I'm not coming back any time soon so I should make the most out of this trip. So here are a few picks:




- Chicago Chop & Steak rub, California Chipotle dry rub.
- Jack Daniel's Pecan Nuts.
- Onion Powder (works well for Chinese dishes).
- Flavored coffee from World Market (Eggnog, Chocolate Pecan Pie, Caramel Pumpkin Pie)





- The famous Ghirardelli chocolates.
- Beef Jerky milk chocolate (looking forward to that experience!).
- San Diego a Wave of Fresh Breath mints.
- Oaxaca coffee (Mexico) locally roasted in the Mission, San Francisco by Proyecto Diaz Coffee.





- Honey & Dijon Mustard roasted almonds from CVS.
- Maybelline Color Tattoo purple eyeshadow.
- Painkillers cheap tin box from Chinatown San Francisco.





- Chocolate brains from Li-Lac Chocolates New York. I didn't buy those, they were given to every attendee of the Society for Neuroscience presidential reception. This was supposed to be a V.I.P. party held at Seaworld San Diego exclusively upon personal invitation, but I'm sure about 90% of the people gathered there (like myself) managed to enter without any invitation, just by showing a member's badge. It was a fun evening, good food and wine, all for free and in a very nice setting. And the scientists got brain chocolates, what a laugh... When we opened the boxes it was rather dark and we couldn't see what's inside, chocolate polar bears? Chocolate penguins maybe? (the theme was Wild Arctic). Well, no, chocolate brains it is :-))





- Knit cardigan (extremely handy when I walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, it was freezing) and knit dress from Ross (second hand).





- Second hand t-shirts from a thrift store in Mission district San Francisco.





- A baseball ball found in the street. It's written Little League so I suppose it belonged to some kids. Sorry kids. It was very old anyway.

- USC t-shirt. I bought this one very cheap at Humble Heart thrift store San Diego because it was warmer than I expected it to be in San Diego and I just needed one more T-shirt. I took the first one that was somewhat decent, without knowing or caring what USC means. I was wearing it the day after to walk around town, when I noticed that some people were waving at me from their cars, without apparent reason. Then I went to the supermarket and two more people told me Go USC!! and laughed. I told them thanks but I don't know what USC means, I just bought that T-shirt yesterday because it's very warm and I like red. One very kind senior shopping at Whole Foods Market told me that USC stands for University of Southern California, and that they were having and important game (football? baseball? I can't remember) the day after against a rival team in San Francisco. I said oh I'm going to San Francisco tomorrow, I'll wear it then. He replied oh no, you want to avoid that. And if you get any comment from those guys over there in San Francisco, just show them two fingers :-))

to be continued...

Wednesday 20 November 2013

The Word on the Street

One thing I like about the US is that people who don't know each other start up a conversation much more easily than in other countries I know. Most of the time completely out of the blue. Here are are few things complete strangers told me in the streets of San Diego and San Francisco:


- Hi
- Hi


- Lucky you are unique. Like a snowflake.


- You do photos? I do photos too. You wanna see my photos? (opens the door of his garage…)


- Merci mademoiselle (guy selling Street Sheet).


- That guy?? That guy ain't my friend!! I need the money. I don't know that guy, he ain't my friend. You have to give the money to me!! He is a different guy, it's different! You give the money to me, it's different! (talking about the one selling Street Sheet a few meters away).


- How is everything today, madam? Are you having a good day? (smiling, friendly)
- Oh yes, great! It's very warm today isn't it?
- …………………..
- ………………….. (she probably didn't agree)


- How do you become smart. You cannot become smart!? .. Hey did you see the full moon yesterday? Awesome eh?


- Is there anything else you would like to have with your (grass fed beef) burger and your (eco-friendly) potatoes, madam? Organic ketchup?


- Hey can you do me a favor? Can you do me a favor? (aggressive looking, aggressive sounding guy wandering around without aim).
- errrrrrr, hmmmm…… errrrrrr……. No.
- Bitch.


- Go USC!!! (thumbs up)

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Authentic, real, untouched, unprocessed Trashpoem



A short urban poem from wonderful San Francisco while I prepare some freshly baked californian blogs for you. I hope you have been genki while I was away! This is also celebrating M'sSuitcase's post number 100!