[Oh, Snap!] Street Art v17

May 18, 2014May 18, 2014Leave a comment

Last weekend, before my adventure to the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve – I found myself on the West side of Hollywood near my old apartment, and all of the amazing mural spaces for Street Art that I’ve spent so much time ogling. Since it’s been almost two months since the move, almost all of the pieces had been painted over with some amazing new street art that I’ve been itching to share.

From Downtown to Korea Town, Silver Lake to Echo Park and Miracle Mile to Venice Beach – Los Angeles is essentially a Mecca of graffiti and all around acrylic creativity – but I know that there are other places with amazing street art. What are some of your favorite cities for Street Art? Let me know in the comments below!

[Oh, Snap!] Eagle Rockin’ and Eagle Walkin’ v2

April 30, 2014April 30, 2014Leave a comment

[Oh, Snap] Street Art v16

April 21, 2014April 21, 2014Leave a comment

[Oh, Snap] Eagle Rockin’ and Eagle Walkin’ v1

April 17, 2014April 30, 2014Leave a comment

In the last month since I’ve moved in with my boyfriend and away from the Miracle Mile area, I’ve seen the landscapes shift around me – both physically and mentally. Admittedly, the biggest real change is that instead of having multitudes of shops and consignment stores to both pop my head into as well as empty my bank accounts – I now have fleeting foliage and blossoms opening up to the sun, tree lined streets and smiling strangers. Over the last four years, it seems I fell into an incredibly comfortable pattern – and truth be told, I probably should have shaken it up sooner; I’ve fallen absolutely in love with my new ‘hood and have the pictures to prove it =) enjoy!

[The Audiofiles] Silent Frisco Set to Takeover the Nighttime Airwaves at Lightning in a Bottle

April 16, 2014April 16, 2014Leave a comment

From the US inception of the Silent Disco in 2007 at the Bonnaroo Music Festival, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this novel idea would become a bonafide hit at festivals and parties nationwide. This goes doubly so for Robbie ‘Motion Potion’ Kowel, founder of San Francisco’s famed Silent Frisco and Co-Founder of SunsetSF – not to mention the premiere Silent Disco DJ in the United States. Until 2011, Kowel spun the Silent Disco alongside DJs LOGIC, QUICKIE MART, and MEDI4 using one channel headphones manufactured by KOSS; now in 2014, you’ll find the Silent Frisco footprint at over 100 different events year round.

In the last two years alone, they’ve hosted monthly residencies in Los Angeles and San Francisco, had their hands on events from clients like Dos Equis, MacWorld, Yahoo and the L.A. County Museum of Art – not to mention the eye-opening experiences at music festivals nationwide like Electric Forest, Treasure Island Music Fest, Gathering of the Vibes, Camp Bisco, Ghost Ship Halloween, High Sierra Music Festival, Hornings Hideout, Sonic Bloom, Another Planet Entertainment, Insomniac Events, Madison House Presents, NoisePop and so much more.

Now, they’re pairing up with longtime friends and fun makers The Do Lab to bring their amazing energy, positive vibes and Silent Frisco-ing down to the hills of Monterey County for this year’s Lightning in a Bottle festival, held over Memorial Day Weekend. The Silent Frisco will broadcast for four nights over two channels with an exceptional roster of talent from all over the nation for four nights. On Thursday night, you’ll hear the tunes of Talking Heads vs LCD Soundsystem and the next night it’ll be Radiohead vs Daft Punk. This hefty portion of eclectic music has been meticulously schemed to ensure a sublime morning for all.

“After years of welcoming The Do Lab to produce stages at our greatest annual creation, Sea of Dreams, it’s only fitting that we should do the same for them at their incredible festival,” said Silent Frisco/SunsetSF director Robbie Kowal. “The Do Lab are among the finest of event producers and giving us “the keys to their sunrise” is an honor we do not take lightly.”

Silent Frisco will broadcast in our upgraded and expanded HushZone late night on Thursday, Friday, Saturday (that’s Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings) from 12:30am until 7am. The eclectic lineup will feature nufunk legends FORT KNOX 5 and drum & bass innovator Thunderball, (both from D.C.) as well as LA/NYC Moombahton trailblazer Sabo. SoCal will be well represented with electro-swing producers THE GENTLEMEN CALLERS of Los Angeles, eclectic electronic stalwarts ROMY ACONA and PATRICIO, and two sets from AARON CASTLE, including his patented LCD Soundsystem set. NorCal will represent as well with remix aficionado Zack Darling, mid-tempo hero Malarkey, and downtempo producer INI. Silent Frisco’s residents will keep the trains on the tracks with sets by including resident DJs MANCUB, MATT HAZE and SHOUTS and Motion Potion’s patented Radiohead and Talking Heads sets.

Adds Kowal, “Silent Frisco creates a direct connection between the listener and the artist, which enables more creative, explorational sets. We pride ourselves on curating experiences that allow DJ’s to truly stretch and take the listeners on a journey.”

For additional Silent Frisco events in the San Francisco and Los Angeles area, head over to their website, Facebook or Twitter pages.

Keep up to date with all things Lightning in a Bottle and Do Lab with their socials –

Lightning in a Bottle: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr

For festival coverage, keep your eyes on The DJ List

[Shifting Seasons and New Adventures]

April 2, 2014April 3, 2014Leave a comment

Sometimes I feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark-spattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror. It’s passing, yet I’m the one who’s doing all the moving.

[Martin Amis]

Bye, bye Mid-Wilshire!

For almost four years now – it’s just been my and my fur babies, Sake and Stella; we’ve been living near The Grove, enjoying leisurely walks and the menagerie of urban art the area has to offer. Living alone was exhilarating, liberating, freeing …. and lonely. As a social creature, I thrive when I’m surrounded by a supportive community – and doubly so when that community is comprised of close and dear friends. And don’t get me wrong, because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my independence; but, life has a funny way of letting you know that you deserve so, so much more. I’ve never lived with a significant other – or even an insignificant one; so when my boyfriend and I started whimsically discussing moving in together – my heart skipped a beat, and then another…and then I found myself in a strange inexorable state somewhere between pure elation and an anxiety attack. But without a question, was going to be the easiest decision I’d ever made; yes, yes and a thousand more times yes! Though we’ve only been together for a little over a year, we’ve been friends for four years and have the most amazing connection and to boot, he’s the easiest person to be around – and my best friend. So, for the past few weeks, I’ve been sorting, packing, unpacking, resorting, throwing away and donating almost 60% of my belongings (and, ignoring my blog…); granted, lots of it was either from college and severely run down, or from my first year of Los Angeles and incredibly inexpensive – but regardless, it’s all gone! And what’s more, is that I’m 99.5% moved into the new place already – and I’ve never, ever been this happy.

That new ish!

Don’t think we have enough pilllows… #cohabitationproblems

The last graffiti at my old apartment

The kitties all getting along =)

That said, it’s been a strange hiatus from writing but now that I’m settled in, expect to see much more from this Bouncy Kitty; including knocking out more Bucket List items – I just canceled cable (so thank goodness for HBO Go and my addiction to Game of Thrones!) and I’ll be able to develop more time to reading, yoga and exploring the East Side of LA. So stay tuned and stay weird my friends =)

[Life Hacks] Moving On Up

March 19, 2014June 3, 2014Leave a comment

There are thousands of reasons to move, but only one important one: you. It sounds selfish, but who else is going to make your adult life their priority? Whether it’s a new job, a new development in your relationship or your lease is expiring and you have the itch to jump neighborhoods, a move is (or should be) 110% about what’s good for you as an individual; I know mine is.After I graduated from UCSB in ’08, I had an executive decision to make: apply to grad school and pursue a career based on my field of study, or listen to that voice in my head that’s never stopped dreaming. So I packed up my troubles and followed my heart to LA, which led to an incredibly hectic, and admittedly not very well thought out, move to my first apartment in Koreatown by myself. And please believe – I say that not to harp on myself, but because I should have had more of a plan. Between my lack of income and unfamiliarity with the city, it might not have been the best choice – but it did a beautiful job of reminding me to define my intentions and embrace the reasons why I live my life. Every damn day, I wake up blessed that I listened to that small tinge of inspiration that I’ve always held onto, because it’s brought me exactly where I am today and I couldn’t be any happier.

As I prepare for fourth move in five years I have a snazzy mental inventory that I can refer to – I know what I love having around (people, amenities like bars, markets and a gym within walking distance, and last but definitely not least freeways) what I’m willing to deal with (like volume, messiness and a general level of respect), what I’d like to avoid and what I really consider a priority (my relationships, my profession, etc) –

Work Life: Even though I do most of my work from home, one of the perks to my move is the decreased travel time to the office. Because it’s Los Angeles, it doesn’t make sense to give you the mileage so just know that currently – the drive time ranges from 30-50 minutes depending on traffic, and the second I move that’ll drop down to a mere 15 minutes. Oh, yes!

Social Circle: The majority of my social circle resides out of Southern California and is mostly scattered up the Western Coast of the United States; but for the friends that I do still have in Los Angeles, most of them are living pretty on the East Side of town and I cannot wait to join them!

Love Life: First things first, I’ve never lived with a significant other; this is the first time my love life has evolved to the point that it simply makes sense to live together. We spend pretty much every waking moment together, and lately we’ve both felt like we just have a really well furnished storage unit on the other side of town. Don’t get me wrong, it was all fun an games until we factored in travel time and traffic. Los Angeles is one of the few places where you can actually be in a long distance relationship with someone who lives in the same city as you, and I can’t wait til we start a new chapter in the relationship.

Moving is like an earthquake: you can prepare, prepare and prepare for it but there’s simply nothing as chaotic or physically draining as an actual move. So here are a few tips to help =)

(1) Before things start getting crazy, review your lease and get your “30 Days Notice” to your landlord ASAP to ensure a seamless exit

(2) If possible, try and get a small overlap of time where you have both places; moving out and moving in are a lot less stressful if they don’t happen simultaneously

(3) Consider the pets – are you combining furry, four legged families? If so, get a strategy together for how the animals will get acquainted. Another idea to consider is shampooing or deep cleaning the carpets to get any layers of pet hair out before you bring more in.

(4) Submit your change of address form to USPS to get the mail moving to your new abode

(5) Color code your furniture so you know what’s moving, what’s getting stored and what you can toss; personally, I’m a huge fan of the Stoplight method

(6) Give your closet a heavy dose of reality and finally get rid of those capris/bellbottoms/high-waisted shorts/crop-top that you one time could have worn to that strange party but you never did so now it’s just staring at you with an ostentatious look, taking up precious closet space. Limit the nostalgia items to five or fewer and get into the groove of getting rid of things – it’s good for the soul, I swear! I love donating mine to friends, because at least I can still get some vicarious enjoyment out of the object, but if you’re feeling adventurous – try your hand posting your duds on Tradsey for some serious cash.

(7) Whether you’re moving with friends, or in with a significant other, take a few moments to make the new place your own. Maybe that means hanging up brightly colored tapestries, or covering the fridge with drawings from friends – either way, make sure you put your mark on your spot, both early and boldly.

(8) Last, but certainly not least, get lost. Maybe not literally, but take some time out of your day and explore the neighborhood – find a new bar, some yummy hole in the wall food, an art gallery or a park fit for a picnic; you never know what’s just around the corner!