Is anyone else slightly obsessed with etsy? I have just recently discovered the wonders of it. I love trawling through etsy’s marketplace of handmade delights, and I particularly love the vintage stuff. The kind of stuff you normally have to really hunt for. Etsy’s mission is to “enable people to make a living making things, to build a new economy and present a better choice”. Hear hear. I love things that are made with love and when you can tell that they are. Your creativity really has no limits, as you will see on etsy.

(Warning: may make you spend hours online when you should be doing other stuff.)

Here are some of my favourites today… a page full of etsy delight.

credits anti-clockwise from cameo: 1. victorian style butterfly cameo 2. majestic sparrow necklace in brass 3. lil hand painted acrylic ‘true’ ‘love’ earrings 4. bird series spring 5. delicate fly away with me balloon necklace

Oh and speaking of groovy wonders that are non-mass-produced, I happened to stumble across two wonderful shops today here in LA (they are right next door) called the Majestical Roof (indie artists boutique), and Lula Mae (cutesie gifts and unique vintage stuff with super lovely staff). Majestical Roof has been described as like opening a box filled with imagination, beauty, color and fun. They have monthly alternative art markets where everything is made locally (a refreshing change from alot of the mass-manufactured crap you get in LA). Here’s a photo I took of the gorgeous wee courtyard where you’ll find this little gem.

Now I shall get back to daydreaming…

I am baaaaack in bloggy land… after a week of madness and our 12 hour flight. I am sitting here in our apartment for the summer in Los Angeles (it rocks!), with the fan blowing on full (it’s muggy here, but I know those back home in winter right now will kill me if I complain about the heat!), and listening to music while procrastinating unpacking. Security was easy peasy at LAX, we had this young black dude who didn’t seem to care what we were doing in America so no dramas there (after my last experience at LAX) - phew. As we came in, we were encompassed by the cloudy grey smog hugging the entire city and the amount of huge billboards advertising cheeseburgers/juicy ribs/pizza. Welcome to the United States baby!

As I said in my previous post, I love going to the supermarket to discover stuff about the culture I am living in. So off we went to the supermarché and as I had expected, the French boy was shocked by the aisles full of sugary sweet or slimy fat food in huge bulk packs. Everything seemed supersized. He could not get his head around the whole aisle full of jell-o (gelatin desserts in many different colours and flavours!), or the whole concept of SPAM (ham in a can!). I am sure alot of Americans do know how to eat well, but it must be hard growing up with alot of it so sugary/fatty and yet be bombarded with images of perfection at the same time here in California. I guess it often comes down to convenience - big packets/cheaper to buy in bulk.

So, according to various research on StateHealthFacts.org, California: the Percent of Adults Who are Overweight or Obese in 2008 is at 61.3%. At the same time, Californians are not as fat as their counterparts nationwide and tend to have more people with healthier lifestyles (probably has something to do with the constant images of thin, sexy celebrities here and the amount of places offering plastic surgery, or as one place promised today “a smile to die for”). Ha.

What I do love so far about LA is that it is a melting pot. The mix of different cultures and languages. Can hear Spanish spoken everywhere. Haven’t heard any Frenchies as yet I can’t wait to really discover this place. Stay tuned.

Well what a week I am having.

• I (luckily) noticed upon checking my bank balance that there were quite a few questionable transactions on my credit card statement and was shocked to find that someone from Miami, Florida has hacked into my credit card and stolen a grand total of $1700 over the past month. Arrrrrgh. FRAUD!
• I am officially low in iron (which explains so much about my tiredness in recent months) and learned that my particular blood type is less than 3% of the population. The flip side is that in an emergency situation, I am a universal receiver (can receive any blood) but can only donate my blood to the same blood type. So, hey, good to know these things.
• My wee pooch Georgia decided to sneak off with and scoff down half a pot of Nutella and half a loaf of bread that was within reach. She really regretted it when she spent the whole day bloated, lying around like a beached whale.
• I’ve been catching up with friends and family before we go. And I’ve started thinking about packing. I am very much a last minute person (always have been, with exams and everything too). I love the last minute adrenalin.
• It is now LESS than a week until we leave my home, New Zealand, and not sure when I’ll be back again. My visa allows me to be living overseas for the next 15 months, so it will likely be my third christmas on the other side of the globe. It is always a bitter sweet feeling leaving - excited for a new chapter but also sad to leave my family, friends (and my dogs) behind. And especially because New Zealand is so far away - from everything.

But my philosophy in life is that it takes one door to close for another one to open… …and it’s verrrrrrrrry exciting!

Does anyone else have a dad crush on Obama right now?

In his first interview with a French television channel, he has proclaimed his love for the Frenchies and their délicieux cuisine.

“I think the American people continue to love all French things,” he said. Relations between France and the U.S. have steadily improved in recent years, particularly since the 2007 election of Sarkozy, who is widely seen as pro-American, and that of Obama, who is wildly popular in France.

Asked what about France he himself loved, Obama responded, “Let’s see, we have the food, we have Paris, we got the south of France, Provence, the wine.”

Obama said he had traveled through France during his college days and that a return trip to the southeastern region of Provence was long overdue, though he acknowledged his French was rusty.

“I studied it in high school and I just forgot it,” he said, adding “Michelle, I think she speaks a little French.”

“Merci beaucoup,” he said, concluding the 10-minute-long interview.

Read the full article here.

So, to Obama, chin-chin! Or as the Frenchies would say, santé!

Juste pour me rappeler ou je vivrai en septembre…

The beauty and charm of sweet France.

1. vino 2. cheese shop 3. paris, je t’aime 4. croissant + ipod 5. saucisson 6. farmers market 7. reflections in france 8. café au lait 9. restaurant 10. little glasses of sweet pleasures from the patisserie 11. fromage 12. boulangerie

Come on, admit it. We are all guilty of it (aren’t we?). Laughing at funny town/place names with rude or dirty names. One of the many quirky little things about travelling. Obviously, these words don’t have these naughty connotations in their own language, but in our language, it’s hilarious.

Here are my 5 top funny place names:

1. Hell, in Norway. Currently a population of 352 in Hell. Phew.
2. Condom, in France. For those of you who know French, it is interesting to note that the town is located on the river Baise… need I say more?
3. Bell End, in England. This teeny tiny place in Worcestershire consists largely of the Bell Inn pub and a couple of houses. So there are very few residents to suffer the shame of living in Bell End.
4. Fucking, in Austria. Named after a guy called Focko, meaning ‘(place of) Focko’s people’. Due to the commonly stolen road sign, a vote was held on changing the village’s name, but the residents voted against doing so. Thank goodness they did.
5. And last of all, one from my very own country, New Zealand. One of the longest place name in the world, and it is ridiculously long and hard to pronounce. So for me (someone who can pronounce Maori words), it is freakin hilarious to hear visitors try to pronounce this name all in one go. Give it a try! The town name is Taumata-whakatangihanga-koauau-o-Tamatea-haumai-tawhiti-ure-haea-turi-pukaka-piki-maunga-horo-nuku-pokai-whenua-ki-tana-tahu, which has 105 letters and means The hill of the flute playing by Tamatea — who was blown hither from afar, had a circumcised penis, grazed his knees climbing mountains, fell on the earth, and encircled the land — to his beloved. Right.

When a friend and I were travelling through Europe last year, we were often making each other stand in front of funny names for a photo. Here are a few treasures from our collection of me and Alley. These were taken in Germany, Scotland and Austria.

Feel free to share any others youve seen on your travels…