Soot Bull Jeep Review

My friend invited us to Soot Bull Jeep to celebrate his birthday. Parking was near impossible, there was a long wait for a table, and the dining room was so smoky I was afraid I’d get smoke inhalation.

Despite all these downfalls, this was still the best korean bbq I’ve had! We ordered short ribs, marinated beef, beef tongue, shrimp and squid. While the appetizers were not as plentiful as other restaurants, the meat was so wonderful, that’s a insignificant. I think the secret is the charcoal fire, which I believe adds to the taste. The meats were all very fantastic and the beef tongue had a great texture. They also served a salad that’s half lettuce and half sliced scallions that is surprisingly delicious. There was a salty red garlic paste sauce that tasted like it had fermented beans in it that was a wonderful accompaniment to the meat. DROOL….

Soot Bull Jeep

3136 W 8th St
Los Angeles, CA 90005-1903
Phone: (213) 387-3865

 

Mountain Findings

My boyfriend and I went on a hike today in the mountains above Alta Dena. I’d never been hiking there before and it was a decent consolation for not being able to go camping this weekend. (well, not exactly.) Anyway, the trail was LOADED with moss. All different kinds and many of the very beautiful fuzzy suede-looking ones. As I have mentioned before, I’m very fascinated with moss.

This is my collection today and I would’ve taken more but I didn’t have a bag or anything so I had to carry everything in one hand. Not a bad harvest considering my limitations.

On the side of the mountain there were all these succulents growing between the crevices. They were also surrounded by little mounds of moss, so I harvested one of those too. How very cute isn’t it?

I’m actually not exactly sure whether I am allowed to be harvesting this stuff.

The orange ball is this seaweed-feeling plant. It feels plastic-y but it’s this beautiful bright orange and when you see it from the freeway, you can’t even tell it’s there because it looks like part of its host plant that’s just dried out. It’s this spidery web stuff and my boyfriend said it spreads very quickly and takes over bushes and plants. It twirls itself around the host plant and finally asphyxiates it and covers it completely from sunlight. There were a lot of dead bushes that looked as though they had been killed by the orange stuff. It actually looks like orange cobwebs all over the plants. Some of the plants were covered very thickly. So anyway, I don’t know what it is and I really hope it’s not poisonous because I took soooo much of it because I thought it was pretty. It’s a brilliant orange and it just looks so lovely with the moss. Does anyone know what it is? I tried google-ing it but I don’t even know how to search for it.

On a completely separate subject… I bought some Mokeskin Cahier Notebooks today for my trip to the UK next month. I decided to cover them of course. When I told my friend what I was doing, he said, “anything to make it a little prettier, right?”.

All three are done in Japanese washi paper. The one on the right I hand-carried back from Japan and the other two I bought here in LA.

I used Yes! glue to put them on and was my first time using Yes glue and I must say it is everything people have raved about. It’s easy to apply. It’s thick enough that it doesn’t run but not too thick where it rips the paper. It’s super simple to put on with a paintbrush. It is also water soluble so if you make a mess it’s an easy cleanup and if you misplace something, you can replace it before it dries. Lastly, it doesn’t wrinkle, is acid-free, and has good bonding once it’s dried.

 

My Very First Sewing Machine

I just bought my very first sewing machine of my own. =) I had previously been using my sister’s Kenmore Mini Ultra, which was a great machine to learn on. Lately, my sister’s been asking for her machine back. “I want it for those days when I feel like sewing something but then again it’ll just be sitting there for those other 364 days.” I had felt bad about buying a new machine too because there was a perfectly good one available and not being used. The machine also was in need of a service but I really didn’t want to be without a machine for such a long time.  Then my friend, Risa said, you should send hers in for service and buy a new machine, then you wouldn’t have to be without a machine. Wonderful idea! I can always count on Risa to help me figure out those decisions on buying new things.

I’m a bit to sad to give the machine back. It’s been a really good machine to me. Plus it’s cute and blue. I have to send it in for service before I give it back to her because I’ve put quite a few miles on it in the four months that I’ve had it.

Anyway, enough about my sister’s machine and on to the shiny and new. I just got the Janome Jem Platinum 760. I went to the store today to look at the machine, not really intending on buying yet but it was such a good price and it was so fancy and shiny I just couldn’t resist. It’s got all these features that’s way beyond my comprehension and skill level. It’s even got a needle threader. How cool is that?

The other bonus is that they threw in the quilting feet set for free. That pretty much sealed the deal for me as I just bought all those necessary feet for my sister’s machine and spent quite a bit. I think I spent as much on the feet as the machine had cost. I really wasn’t looking forward to spending another $100 on just feet for my new machine. Luckily, it all came together in a nice little box. All my pretty new feet with my shiny new machine =). Happy Day!

 

Backing for my Aviary Quilt

So now the only thing hindering me finishing my aviary quilt is the backing. I can’t figure out what fabric to use. I wanted to find some fabric that I could buy at a physical store instead of buying online because then I’d have to pay for shipping too. I feel guilty spending too much on the backing but at the same time, I think the backing should be equally beautiful and should match the quilt and add to the total aesthetic.

I really like the thought of using this wood grain for the backing.

But I think I like the lighter one better because it won’t make the quilt look so heavy.

I’ve called around to all the fabric stores in the area and it doesn’t seem like anyone carries this line. And it’s pretty expensive at $9/yard. I’d like to finish the quilt by the end of the month but it all depends on me finding a nice fabric.

This fabric might also look nice. It would be such a nice bright surprise on the back.