it's pronounced "pee-dro"

I just returned from a fantastic day of walking and taking photos in San Pedro. It was the first sunny day in the two weeks that I've been here. Earlier I went down to the fishing pier with S&C, and we were amazed by the high waves breaking on the normally placid beach. It was busy with surfers, strollers and photographers, and I ran back to get my camera. The waves smashing onto the breakwater were probably 20 feet high and I snapped like crazy. After I had my fill, I walked along the water to downtown San Pedro. b and I had been in some of the antique shops on our last trip, and I wanted to get another look. Among the best shops are Best of Times Antique Mall, Dwelling, (rustic and exotic antique furniture, objects, and art) Williams Book Store (the oldest book store in L.A.!) and Union War Surplus. (an authentic army-navy that still sells surplus alongside the new stuff) Taking a break for lunch, I tried one of the city's many taquerias, Jolly Burrito on 6th. I was bowled over by the flavor and enormous portion of the fish taco special I ordered. Some of the best pico de gallo anywhere (all the ingredients chopped fine) and a complimentary bowl of chips. 6th Street is also home to the Warner Grand Theatre and Sacred Grounds coffee house where they have live music or poetry readings every night of the week.

Since I had walked some thirty blocks plus two trips out to the pier, I decided to take the bus back to the apartment. I waited about fifteen-to-twenty minutes for the bus, and found out they run only every half hour during peak, and every hour off-peak. Public transportation has been on my mind big-time during this visit, comparing the ease of travel in nyc with the gridlock of autos in L.A. The buses in San Pedro are MTA operated, so it's worth it to check the schedules online if you're planning on visiting. I could go on and on about the loveliness of this little port town. If you like to walk and hike and explore, there's plenty here to do, and you'll avoid the sprawling traffic mess of the rest of the L.A. Long Beach is right across the Vincent Thomas Bridge, spanning the enormous ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Visiting there the other day, I was surprised by the size of the city. I spent some time on 4th Street between Cherry and Junipero, known as Retro Row, the place to go for vintage clothing.

Checking the nyc blogs, I see it's been snowing there. ah well, a few more days here in paradise and then it's back to the gritty city! (can't wait!)

L.A. is a great big freeway

the wedding

all photos by the evil genius bryanX.

stuck in L.A.

b and i hit up the Long Beach Flea Market on Sunday. Because of L.A.'s near perfect year-round weather, *swap meets* are a huge event, occurring every weekend, the major ones happening on alternating weeks of the month. Long Beach's is located right near the airport, in the parking lot of Veteran's Memorial Stadium, and has over 800 vendors. I spent an hour making my way through the first row alone. I was lucky in that I veered towards the vendors who had a lot of jewelry and parts first. I wanted badly to look through the clothing racks, which were plentiful and looked inexpensive, but I knew I would never make it through the market if I did. We had a wedding to go to at 5:30, in the valley. here are some of the things I found.

I will probably be here another week, btw.

on vacation

I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning, feb. 13 for a week in los angeles. a good, good friend is getting married, and I also need to go rescue my boy and bring him back to nyc. don't know if I'll make any blog posts, but the main reason for this post is a double alert for my customers! All items ordered during this time will be shipped when I return. thanks, and see you in about a week!

pre-valentine heart warmer

this wednesday, february 13, 7-9pm, ai ai gasa will be hosting one of their great parties: an opening for artist Erik Bergstrom and pre-valentine sale.

Hyper-whimsical illustrator and painter Erik Berstrom, will win your heart with his humorously touching small works! Art makes the heart glow brighter! Great gift for your sweetheart that lasts a lifetime.

Cupcakes and wine will be served. Come get your sweet tooth on and support local art! Always a party! Shake off those pre-Valentine blues with people who love you!

Storewide Sale: Fall favorites 30-50% off; All new spring 10% off (one night only)



I dropped a few vintage heart necklaces off at the shop, so if you need a last-minute gift for your sweetie, go stop by. I'll be enjoying the warm weather in Los Angeles by the time the party starts, but I'll be there in spirit!

ai ai gasa
274 5th Ave., betw. Garfield and 1st.
Park Slope, Brooklyn

it's alive

I just finished working on a really fun project, designing a new website for imMe industries. The talented woman behind this beautiful line of clothing is my gal FeleciaMaria. As a dancer, she has a nack for creating flattering, comfortable pieces that go easily from the studio to the street. Go check her out- she sells her work through etsy, and if you live in nyc, she'll do custom fittings.

From my end of it, the challenge was to put together a site that would allow Felecia to do her own updates, given my rudimentary html skills. Since I've had success on my own end developing my business through free software resources, I decided to tap into the same model. I set up a flickr page to use as a gallery of sold items, and a blog through blogger for news updates. Felecia had already set up her own etsy shop, so this fit in perfectly with the flow of the project. The html site acts as a framework to hold these three external links together. flickr, blogger, and etsy are not only free, but they allow for excellent networking opportunities. And blogger allows for a great deal of customization of its blogs, making them fit in with the style of the site being designed.

so go buy something from imMe. (pronounced "I'm Me." get it?)

can you mouse with your left hand?

have you ever tried it?

although I don't have carpel tunnel syndrome, I do have a lot of tension in my right hand and arm. I thought it would be a good idea to give it a rest.

I wonder how long it will take me to become proficient.

how about you left-handed people out there? do you mouse with your left hand or right? (given that the scrollbar is on the right)

new necklaces

up on the site.

yup

double-edged razors.
the best shave I've ever had.

frecklewonder back in action

after many months' absence, frecklewonder is once again back online, with a dazzling array of vintage coats, clothing, and shoes. when I was first designing my site about four years ago, frecklewonder was a big inspiration. I loved the way the site was fresh and colorful, with great photography, and simple navigation. What's more, the items proprietor jenny (see above) posted just seemed to fly off the site. I studied frecklewonder for hours, taking note of image sizes, the way photos were composed, and how the whole shop conveyed a professional, yet home-spun quality. It's taken me a few years to get my shop looking nearly as good as jenny's, but studying sites like hers definitely helped! I'm glad she's back in business, so go check it out already!