Saturday Evening Post

I did manual labor today. It was kind of amazing. Check out Rebuilding Together San Francisco.

Happy Friday (His Girl Friday)

The other day I read something, somewhere, about how the movie His Girl Friday had an impact on feminism and Rosalind Russel's role in the movie impacted the role of women in Hollywood.

I can't find the article or video that informed me of this significant role this movie had at the time it was created; nonetheless, that article combined with my love of Cary Grant, resulted in a movie search, exciting news I found the movie for free on Hulu!

It is fun film. I have no idea why it ends the way it does: I genuinely hope that my career does not result in me loosing a man that loves me in trade for one the takes me for-granted (oops, I just spoiled the movie, and lets be honest I might choose the man that was taking me for-granted if it was Cary Grant). Even-still, it is a fabulously fun movie, and if it was progressive for it time I can tell we have come a long way.

Quote of the day

"Civil disobedience is, traditionally, the breaking of a civil law to obey a higher law, sometimes with the hope of changing the unjust civil law. ... But we should speak of such actions as divine obedience, rather than civil disobedience. The term 'disobedience' is not appropriate because any law that does not protect and enhance human life is no real law." Sister Anne Montgomery, R.S.C.J.

Patching up the holes

vanessa2, a photo by juliana santacruz herrera on Flickr.

I really just love pot hole art.

Tiniest bit of the urge to fly

Source: carlytaylorphotography.squarespace.com via Zapallos on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Iveth on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Johanna on Pinterest

Where do kisses come from?

My dear friend Melody just shared this with me and I think it is really powerful.

Also, if you think it doesn't matter what you buy, research shows that the market will respond to just a 25% change in demand. 25% isn't really that much. If you stopped buying slave harvested chocolate, chances are your friends would too, and you know you have a ton of friends, so just think of the ripple effect.

Music Monday

So Lent is over. This means my fasting from depressing music is complete. I think it did make me happier, but I am still very pleased to share this lovely video with you on this Music Monday.

Plus, the lyrics to this song have had a very positive impact on my life. I kind of love it.

Happy Easter

Matthew 28

Jesus Has Risen

¹ After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

² There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸ So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Saturday Evening Post

Waiting for the Resurection

On the eve of Easter morning I am more aware of his love for me, and how he loves.

Good Friday

Source: None via Sharon on Pinterest

Tonight they wept and waited. As the sun set on the sabbath there was nothing they could do, but grieve.

Maundy Thursday

Last Supper ~Salvador Dali~

The Last Supper (Luke 22:7-30)

⁷ Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

⁹ “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.

¹⁰ He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, ¹¹ and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹² He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

¹³ They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. ²¹ But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” ²³ They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

²⁴ A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵ Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸ You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹ And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

*While I was searching out ideas and thoughts for my post tonight I came across this post by my friend Daniel. I really appreciate the thought he puts into the nuances of Luke's recording of the events of this night.

Quote of the day

"Whatever I had read as a child about the saints had thrilled me. I could see the nobility of giving one's life for the sick, the maimed, the leper. But there was another question in my mind. Why was so much done in remedying the evil instead of avoiding it in the first place? Where were the saints to try to change the social order, not just minister to the slaves, but to do away with slavery?"
~Dorothy Day~

My next hair cut

Source: sissyjupe.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: fuckyeahcutehair.tumblr.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Source: shannoneileenblog.typepad.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Weekend In Review

SF Symphony and Davies After Hours with the beautiful Annie.

Woke up early to bike to Golden Gate Park with Julie to set up City Church's Easter Egg Dash and Pot Luck.

Finally went to Dynamo Donuts, while roaming the mission with Christine and baby Nolan. (I got a latte, but no donuts.)

Lovely dinner with Laura Kirk, other lovely ladies and a fabulous Gent.

Fundraiser Brunch hosted by Megan for SF W.A.R.

Pot Luck in the Park to welcome Noella to the city.

Roaming Valencia. (826 Valencia)

Brunch for dinner pot luck at the lovely home of Lydia, Dani and Tracey.

I kind of can't believe the weekend is over. It is all kind of a blur of events and people, but they were all kind of wonderful.

Sacred Places

I have been postponing this post for a bit, because I can't seem to do it justice in my head. To be honest I want to turn it into a well researched term paper on Brueggemann's Theology of Place, or some deep thoughts on the Temple and how I think we all secretly or openly crave sacred places, but really it is just my response to Notre Dame in Paris, and how I found God there.

I ventured to Notre Dame three times in Paris and went inside twice. Two of the three times we went just because it was close to where we were already. The third time I went alone, determined to go in and just be there a moment, as close to the alter as I could get. I don't think I knew it as the time, but I think I was trying to get physically closer to God, and the crazy thing was it worked.

After taking the wrong Metro, redirecting, and taking 3 Metro lines to get there the line of tourist was freakishly long and people kept cutting the line. I was grouchy and I almost didn't go in. I mean, I had already been in once and seen the building lit up like a chess board. (Why Paris would you do such a thing? Light up Notre Dame like a chess board, really?) It just felt like too much, but something was drawing me back in. I stood in the line, took some deep breaths and waited for the frustration to wain. I was entering a place of worship, and I wanted to be still enough to enjoy it. Once I made it into the building I rushed past the other tourist and made it to the front of the cathedral, deep breaths, calm down, pause. I had made it. I was standing in the front of Notre Dame, and suddenly it hit me:

God is real.

I knew that already, but somehow in that moment I knew it more than I had the moment before. Looking up at the cross with Mary below, holding the crucified Messiah in her arms, there is no question: God is real. More than that, I am reminded that God took on human form and took on the pain and rejection of human life on the cross. Jesus had a real mother who deeply grieved his death, and with that God is not only real, but God understands everything I could ever experience.

I took a seat, I cried, and I prayed. I had it out with God, as I often do, but this time I was aware that God was there and God was listening, and I felt like maybe God was even speaking.

I am both inspired and flustered by this experience of God in a place. It floors me that I can know in my mind that God is omnipresent; yet I need to be in Paris in a Gothic Cathedral to really take it in: God is real.

I desperately want to be the type of person that finds God in the little things, and often I do, but there is a crazy magic about some places that cannot be described.

I had a similar experience over the Christmas holiday in 2009 when I visited my old college, and in 2007 in Greece when I stood at the Bema in Corinth where Paul was accused, and back in 2006 in Waco when UBC was allowed back into our building after a tragedy had forced us out of our building for 9 months. These were all times when places became sacred, because they let me feel God, and in those moments, and in those places I knew that God was real.

No wonder the people of Scripture were so connected to the temple: it was the place where they knew God was present. There was no question that God abides the Holy of Holies and in knowing that they knew that if they journeyed there, they would be close to God.

I am grateful that my theology is one that believes God is everywhere and active in all things, but I am still trying to work out the mystery of why God feels more present in some places than others, and selfishly, I want to know why those places are not my house. Nonetheless, even with these questions I will say, even if it is an ocean away and I can't go back on a regular basis, I am glad to know I can find God in a Cathedral in Paris and hold on to what I found there.

Happy Friday

Mission Cheese

Opening my gmail this morning at least 3 emails informed me that Mission Cheese was opening today. Clearly, I responded to this by sending an email to the lovely Tracey to see if she was up for going there for happy hour. (There is currently no wine or beer, but there is coffee and CHEESE. I love cheese.) She was up for the change of plans, so we had cheese for happy hour!

(This is the lovely Tracey drinking water from a mason jar. I kind of love drinking from jars and therefore love that they serve their water in milk jugs and mason jars.)

The atmosphere is wonderful. The decor and the owners are fabulously nice, and the place seems to attract some interesting folks. As Tracey and I caught up on our lives (my trip to Paris and all our future travel plans, roaming around is oh, so much fun!) we enjoyed amazing cheese and met one of the fun people enjoying the new spot on Valencia. The woman sitting next to us was super nice and writes a cheese blog! She also teaches a class at workshop and I adore workshop, so clearly I was glad to meet her. She gave me her card, so clearly I am now obligated to stalk her blog in order to learn all about cheese. (Yes, I just said "so, clearly" twice, but clearly that was necessary. In fact I am using the word clearly way too much in this post, but I digress.)


Anyway, back to the place: check out this wall of cheese. It was just beautiful! The lighting and the cabinets and the shelving and the wood. I want my kitchen to look like this, complete with ranunculus in a jar.

And chalk board menu. I do really want to someday paint a wall in my home with chalkboard paint.

This was my fabulous snack of potatoes with melted cheese.

Seriously so good. (BTW: I stole this photo idea from the cheese blogger...)

And clearly I had some coffee, made in a tiny little personal french press. I was wonderful. (That is the owner in the back ground. I was kind of obsessed with her apron, you can barely see it but it is adorable!)

All this to say I this place is fabulous. I will be excited when there is wine and she said they were working on getting some kind of gluten free crackers/bread for the cheese plates and that is even more exciting.

Pretty Things

(I only got one hostess photo. Gotta love Ester and that sassy face.)

As I arrived at the home of three lovely ladies this past Saturday I was greeted exclamations of excitement. "I am so glad you came! I made gluten free snacks!" You know you are wanted when someone goes out of their way to be sure you have goodies to munch. Once I had made my way up the stairs I was led to the snack table complete with cucumbers sliced to make crackers with all kinds of yumminess piled on top of them, than I turned to my left and saw the beauty. Easter, Lilly and Laura were hosting a Stella & Dot Trunk Show. (Yes, this is a very dramatic intro to a bunch of pictures of pretty jewelry.)

The sun through the window and the beautiful jewelry was just too photogenic. So here are some enticing photos, you should go shopping on the link above. I bought 2 pieces, most of the stuff is a bit pricey, but it is unique. Also, I asked about their policies for making stuff (aka: do they know if there is slave labor involved) and supposedly it is a small enough company that they do know who makes their stuff and how, so that is good.

"The deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless. It is beyond words, it is beyond speech, it is beyond concept. Not that we discover a new unity. We discover an older unity. My dear Brothers [and Sisters], we are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are." Thomas Merton

Hand holding

(Vivian Maier)

I have a thousand things I want to say; tonight I will limit myself to this: I would like to hold hands with a man that loves me.

Saturday Evening Post

Happy Friday

I am going to this exhibit at the Legion of Honor on Sunday. JOY.

Coral

(Image one google search. Image two pinterest.)

Just before leaving for Paris I picked up Markets of Paris and it led me to a fabulous garment district (as well as a few other markets, I do have to say the markets were one of my favorite side adventures, they made the city feel so much more real, like people actually live there, which they do).

Just up the hill from Mulin Rouge in Monmarte (the 18th Arrondissment) there is a amazing selection of fabric stores. (I snapped a few photos of fabric before I was harshly told to put my camera away, oops!) I loved this part of the city, along with the fabric there is an epicly beautiful church (the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur) adorable little shops and patisseries, beautiful homes, and just all kinds of wonders. Many of my favorite artist lived in this part of the city. (There will be more photos, promise.)

Nonetheless, the point of this blog is that I picked up a fabulous pillow cover with coral on it. It was one of few souvenirs I picked up, and I just love how it looks in my sitting room. Now, I am not sure how this happened but looking at this fabulous pillow case I am now convinced that my anchor tattoo will have to have some coral incorporated. Inspiration looms everywhere (at least it does when you are traveling in Paris).

I am excited.

Chocolat Chaud

As I was getting ready to leave for my UK trip I was asking everyone who had ever been to Oxford/Paris/London to give me tips. A few different people mentioned the need to drink hot chocolate in Paris. Apparently chocolat chaud is to Paris what afternoon tea is to England and coffee breaks are to the US.

This was confirmed my first day in Paris as I sat down with two woman who lived in Paris and they both ordered hot chocolate for the mid-afternoon drink. I was thrilled to incorporate this fun little treat into my daily consumption. I ordered it everywhere that offered it. I did discover that you can easily get bad chocolat chaud as easily as you can order terrible coffee in the US, but I also drank two of the best cups of hot chocolate I have ever (and I mean EVER) had in my life.

Angelina's chocolate was fabulous! Plus the waitress knew of a gluten free dessert I could have! It was a bit too rich to attempt to consume both, but I put a valiant effort forth. We stopped in here during a break from a fabulously long day exploring the Louve, it was the perfect place to sit for a minute.

Cafe De Flore hot chocolate was a close runner up, not nearly as amazing, but still so so good! Add to that the amazing people watching, and the delicious omelet I ate just before my sipping chocolate arrived and it was by far one of my favorite places in Paris.

I am pretty determined to find the perfect recipe to bring the flavor of Paris to my sitting room.

I found this recipe that claims to be Angelina's and I am hopeful it is (it seems too simple, but most of the best recipes are):

Angelina's Hot Chocolate

6 ounces fine-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup water, room temperature
3 tablespoons hot water
3 cups hot milk, divided
Sugar to taste
Whipped cream, if desired

In a double boiler over low heat, combine chocolate and 1/4 cup water until melted, stirring occasionally; stir until smooth.

Remove top of double boiler pan from. Whisk in 3 tablespoons hot water. Pour into pitcher or divide among individual 4 mugs. Either stir 3/4 cup hot milk into each mug or serve milk in a separate pitcher. Pass sugar and whipped cream in separate bowls; add to taste.

Makes 4 servings.

I also found this recipe and will be trying it out soon.

In my random searching I also found this list of places to go for hot chocolate in Paris. I will be keeping it in mind for my next trip (whenever that is.)

And as we all know I am a nerd and I want to know the history of the drink in Paris so I stumbled across a few fun blogs in the process of my web-searching. Paris Breakfasts has been a fun read, but not nerdy enough. This article has more actual facts and states that it was a royal wedding that made hot chocolate a star in Paris.

In any event I am excited that I was able to bring some fair trade drinking chocolate home with me, it might not be as good as the melted chocolate version I will attempt to make soon, but I am excited that I will be drinking some tonight.

Bon Appetit!!!

Sweet Notions

Walking into an oasis of an apartment after trekking through London with excessive luggage and portions of the underground shut down our host apologized for the chaos. Looking around I realize I am in the apartment of an artist and a dreamer. Every surface is covered with accessories: beautiful, colorful, vintage, broken, and fabulous accessories. As Shannon puts on water for tea (oh how I love the English and their tea) she explains that she is getting ready for a pop-up shop that will be taking place later in the week. As Shannon explained the creative process around me I realized I was meeting a woman who had inspired me years ago.

In 2008 the staff of ReIMAGINE set out to develop a curriculum to train people on activism. I was asked to lead the project and focus on an issue I am deeply passionate about: human trafficking. One campaign that I found inspiring and had proven to be effective was The Truth Isn't Sexy (TTIS). Based off their idea to put coasters in bars with information about sex trafficking in order to educate men on how demand fuels the sex trade; a crew of us put coffee cozies in coffee shops with a link to information about modern day slavery (most of the coffee we drink that isn't fair/ethically/directly traded is likely to be linked to modern day slavery).

Shannon was the original creator of TTIS. Shannon and just last week she was kind enough to host my roommate and myself on the last night of our vacation in London. Mark had introduced us via facebook before I arrived and we had begun figuring out that we had a few fun connections, but I hadn't made the connection about her work with human trafficking until she started explaining her current project: Sweet Notions a project designed to use pre-loved accessories to provide aftercare.



I am so excited that this is happening. Her pop-up shops look like so much fun I desperately want to fly to London just to attend one! Still, the design camps are my favorite element. Teaching trafficking victims how to create is both healing and empowering and I love that they are taking this on.

Watch my blog for how you can get involved. I can't help but join in on something this inspired!

Weekend In Review

Bonfire at Ocean beach after prayer for City Crew.

Bi Rite with the fabulous Julie Lockwood after attending a Japan fundraiser.

Mimosa at Mojo with the Rachaels after church.

Now I am off to hear Kristen sing Jazz.

I might not have electricity or hot water, but I have a fabulous life with fabulous friends.

Saturday Evening Post

Happy Friday