It’s a color, not a bread

As a web designer of old I was once familiar with things like analogous color schemes and the importance of balance and the necessity of snarkiness and all black clothing. But being a web girl, I wasn't really hip to the whole Pantone thing. I confused it with that Italian bread, which frankly is apparently so fat and calorie laden that I refused to try it. Also becuse it had raisins.

Did you ever notice how every year there seemed to be some color that was uber popular with EVERYONE on the planet? From clothes to makeup to flippin' little plastic cups to toasters to Truck Nutz, it seemed like everything would suddenly be following some similar color pattern. And I, in my uninformed brain, would be like HOW DID THEY ALL KNOW? HOW DID THEY ALL INDEPENDENTLY DECIDE THAT TURQUOISE WOULD BE AWESOME THIS YEAR?

For those who were clueless just like I once was-- let me enlighten you: Nobody independently decides anything. Like most global decisions, this color thing involves conspiracy and covert decision making and probably the CIA in some capacity.

Panattone Bread: Perpetual loser

Every year a secret, elite group of snarky, black-wearing designers meets to discuss the zeitgeist-- "the spirit of the age"-- and based on such, decides what shall be the Pantone color of the Year. (At least I think that's how it goes. Maybe it's just a group of Pantone execs and the CEO of Target.)

Anyway, then the color is decided upon and the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD lives on pins and needles for the very moment when the color is announced. Will it be Blue Blossom? Succulent Pickle? Iridescent Brown?

This year's winner: Still not Panettone bread. Which is good for raisin haters. No, this year's color, Tangerine Tango, "is a bit exotic, but in a very friendly, non-threatening way." Which makes me happy because I hate-- HATE-- when I feel threatened by a color. Because I get all, "FUCK YOU COLOR, I'LL KICK YOUR ASS" and the color is all, "FUCK YOU CRAZY, I DO WHAT I WANT. PLUS YOU'RE YELLING AT YOUR SHIRT." And I have to concede that a violent relationship with my clothing is good for almost no one. (Stupid shirt.)

Tangerine Tango: Apparently the zeitgeist of 2012

So there it is: Color of the Year. Enjoy it. Dance with it. Don't eat it (because it's not actually food).

Pinterest: It’s love

It’s 1:17 on a Thursday afternoon and thoughts of Friday night’s desserts are floating through my head. More specifically, thoughts of what desserts I should make for the upcoming 50th birthday party dessert table I’m preparing for a friend. Will it be a whoopee pie/cupcake/ cake pop kind-of-thing, or more of a lava cake/tartlet/savory treat type deal? Because I can’t just bring a*one* cake anymore. My obsession won’t allow it.

My interest in the sugar arts started when I was 7. At my BFF’s birthday party, her dad made her a Winnie-the-Pooh cake, shaped exactly like the bear himself. Fast forward a decade and some change to when my little boy had his first birthday, and I made a dinosaur shaped cake. From that point on, I was hooked.

Over the past six years, I’ve especially honed this dessert interest into a hobby. I’ve gone from baking cakes to cookies to cupcakes to cake pops, and this past year, to preparing entire dessert tables. The more I combed the internet and took in other people’s ideas, the more my interests changed and grew. And now, feeding my obsession has gotten even easier. Ladies and gents, I give you Pinterest. Crafters, DIYers and web-surfers who know it, love it; and those who don’t know it, just be aware I’m about to introduce you to virtual heroin. But it may just turn out to be your heroine, given the situation.

Pinterest.com (Pin + Interest = Pinterest) is of the latest of social media sites that takes on the concept of a bulletin board. Say you’re on the web and you see a particularly awesome article you want to bookmark. With Pinterest, you can visually bookmark, or “pin,” that page (or site) to your own personal board. To organize your pins, you can create several different bulletin boards by topic: Food, DIY, Table Centerpieces—whatever your interest, you can create a board.

Example: Let’s say I go to the food blog PinchMySalt.com (love), see a recipe I adore and decide I want to save it for later use. In my previous planning, I would bookmark the page and then promptly forget that it exists. Or print the recipe and hope I don’t lose it.

However, using my Pinterest account, I can pin the blog post to my Recipes board. While pinning I select an image for that post (based on a choice of images that appear on that web page), and that image then becomes a kind of “postcard” or visual representation of her post on my Recipes board. Now every time I go to that Recipes board, I can easily identify the recipe I want based on the image I’ve chosen.

As a visual person, keeping track of blog posts and articles, images and neat internet finds in this way is UNBELIEVABLY helpful. But it gets better.

I am limited in my time and can’t spend all day cruising the ‘net for awesome dessert table ideas. No worries. Going to Pintrest, I can do a quick search on “dessert tables” and see what *other people* have pinned about dessert tables. Scanning their ideas ignites some of my own.

As the holiday season approaches and you need inspiration for gifts, decorations, vacation ideas or to just blow-off some stress, be sure to check Pinterest out. You won’t be sorry.

A Fresno secret

Crafters, shoppers, bargain hunters: I'm about to turn you on to the best Fresno find of the year. And this is one of these shopping secrets that-- QUITE LITERALLY-- is a secret, because this place doesn't even have a name. It's just this cool place that sells stuff. Think of it as a perpetual yard sale, but inside a warehouse.

My sister-in-law introduced the place to me by happenstance. "Hey I was by your office at lunch on Friday. We went to Yoshi Now's other place. You know, across from the main post office"

I had no idea what she was talking about, and being that I have worked in the same building for over 11 years, that's saying something. The following Friday she invited me to join her and a few of her friends on their next shopping excursion.

I thought she was confused, but she was dead on: This place is exactly across the street from the main post office.

Remember the old Nabisco building?

An unassuming, plain building shuttered long-ago, sure. But loooook closerrrr......

RUMMAGE SALE! Really? Look left...

And read between the signs. There's a driveway. Leading here:

It's at this point when I feel like I should be wearing an oversized trench coat. In any event, through the rabbit hole-of-a-door I go, whereupon I go up a short 5-steps, and as my eyes adjust to the light, I see a Yard Saler's Nirvana.

This image shows only a fraction of what awaits in this massive room...

...and this is just another fraction, and I can't even begin to estimate the fractions here but I *think* both photos only show MAYBE half the room.

It's filled with anything and everything you can imagine-- all kinds of treasures and antiques and cast offs and projects waiting to happen.

To wit:

Art that goes nicely with a VCR-TV combo. OrSomething to brighten your walls, orfurniture waiting to be claimed and re-loved. Or

I don't even know.

I tracked down a dude that worked there; he is one of the 5 partners that have stuff in the place. By his description, Yoshi of Yoshi Now has a majority stake in the place, but basically, the 5 partners sell all their overstock here. It doesn't have a name. But it is open Thursday through Sunday, roughly 12 to 5 p.m.

Now you're in on the secret.

You're welcome. :^)

Tattoo YOU!

Yes, I admit I have a tattoo fascination. First, tattoo art can be amazing and intricate-- or silly and sloppish. You never know what you're going to see. Case in point: the guy with his girlfriend's vajayjay on his bicep. Stunning, and maybe not in a good way.

Second, whether it's an in memoriam for a lost child or the Tasmanian Devil, all tattoos are intensely personal. There is always a story, always a reason why that particular image was permanently inscribed on someone's flesh. Which is why...

Third, despite what your mama said, most people who have tattoos are okay with you staring at them and asking about the art. If they weren't, they wouldn't wear it *literally* on their sleeve. IMHO, and those of many others who sport them, tattoos are an art form, heavily invested in by the owners. They aren't dirty little secrets. It's okay to ask about them... mostly.

And finally, I am too fickle to allow myself to get one. My tastes flap back and forth and because I know this about myself, I have saved myself from becoming a walking billboard of bad choices. I have yet to get a haircut that I feel fully committed to. I couldn't imagine a lifetime of wishing my ink had been smaller, slightly different and a little to the left.

THAT SAID... I am quite looking forward to the 7th Annual Fresno Tattoo Convention at the Fresno Convention Center. Huge opportunity to gawk at the gutsy, and appreciate the art of those who have committed a body part as canvas. There will be over 200 artists from around the world showing off their talents and applying their trades.

THE DEETS:
7th Annual Fresno Tattoo Convention
Saturday & Sunday
April 30 – May 1, 2011
Tickets are $20 per day, or $30 for a weekend pass

Famous was there in 2009 and captured some amazing shots of some amazing work. We’re aiming to be there again this year to document the awesomeness.