I like pretty art. Always have. Before my married mommy days, when I had lots of disposable income, I’d regularly buy a fantastic piece of art from the Catharine Clark Gallery, pay it off over a year–interest free thanks to their young collectors program–and regularly stare at my walls in admiration. Surrounding myself with beauty, especially when it has been made by others, has been a spectacular thing and a daily inspiration.

A few of my favorite contemporary artists include Hawaii’s Masami Taraoka:

San Francisco’s Darren Waterston:

And Seattle’s Anne Seims:

I bought works from these artists quite a while ago, before they skyrocketed out of my price range. But my friend Lorn Dittfeld, of the very cool San Francisco home store Propeller, just sent me an announcement that this July he’s showcasing the works of Susan Belau, whose print work is both affordable and pretty:

She explains that the foundation of her art is the connection between the formal, or literal, descriptions of interval—the spaces between branches, negative shapes, layers of ink—and the abstract and intangible notions of time, anticipation and moments lost.

If you drop by Propeller in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley you’ll see prints such as the one above in prices ranging from $300 to $1,000.

Erika Lenkert

Technorati Tags: masami teraoka, anne siems, darren waterston, art, collecting, propeller, san francisco, catharine clark gallery

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After receiving multiple e-mail chains denouncing drinking water from a plastic bottle that’s been overheated in the car or frozen because the processes releases cancer-causing dioxins into the water, I started snooping around to see if there was any substance behind the statement.

Here’s what I discovered with a little web browsing:

According to a spokesperson from Johns Hopkins University, who dispels the rumor that the e-mail chain was based on information from his medical community:

* There is no connection between cancer-causing dioxins and bottled water because there are no dioxins in plastics.

* While heating plastic may not cause it to release dioxins, it can result in the release of other potentially harmful chemicals. This is not only true for plastic water bottles, but also plastics heated in the microwave, plastic baby bottles heated in water, and even pacifiers heated in a baby’s mouth. (If you’re a mom, do some research; there’s a lot of information out there about the safest choices.)

* Freezing plastic impedes the release of chemicals, which means the frozen water bottle myth is a lot of hooey.

* Bottled water is not regulated in the same way tap water is. Drinking tap may be safer for you, and it will cut down on your contribution to plastic waste.

If you want to know more about why bottled water is neither cleaner nor greener than tap water, check out this article by Environmental Magazine. The site also has an astounding array of articles about stuff I obsess on all the time, like whether my lawn fertilizer is a biohazard to my baby, and environmentally PC parenting. Be prepared to fork over $15 bucks for a year’s subscription if you want to access their archived articles. It’s worth the expense.

Erika Lenkert

Technorati Tags: health, water, toxins, bottled water, plastic, cancer, green

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Remember when the question, “What are you doing this summer?” was full of school-break possibilities? If I still had the luxury of an annual two-month vacation, the answer would definitely be Girls Rock Camp in Portland, Oregon. Check it:

Founded with the intention of eradicating “all the limiting myths about music and gender that make girls afraid to speak up, sing out, and make noise” and “helping girls develop—musically, mentally, and emotionally—toward their own ideas of who and what they want to be,” it looks like a head-banging good time.

MySpace has a ton of killer video and music clips from rocking alumns. Check out the download link for the song “San Francisco Sucks Sometimes” on the right side of this page. It rocks!–and makes me want to dye my hair pink, dress like Courtney Love, and take up the art of stage diving. Or at least pick up my electric guitar more often and throw down some southern rock. Happy Monday and rock on.

Stop back this week for: the facts behind the rumors about whether drinking bottled water overheated in the car really does cause breast cancer, a sneak peek at a new low-key luxury destination hotel and restaurant opening on the NorCal coast in two weeks, and something tasty for either the glass or the plate…

Erika Lenkert

Technorati Tags: girls camp, guitar, women, rock, summer

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So you wanna rock the red carpet at the “No Reservations” premiere, blow air-kisses to fans, and get close enough to Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart to smell her perfume and get blinded by his pearly whites? Here’s your chance.

Dean & DeLuca is holding a No Reservations Sweepstakes, and the winner gets an all-expense-paid trip for two to the premiere, including airfare, two-nights at a posh hotel, and VIP access to the movie’s after-party.

If you’re good to go, hurry up and enter by July 5, 2007, so long as you’re at least 25 years of age and have a U.S. driver’s license.

Erika Lenkert

Technorati Tags: sweepstakes, No Reservations premiere

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I am forever looking for cool baby gifts. I am so obsessed with gifting new parents with something other than the ubiquitous Little Giraffe baby blanket or my old standby (and apparently everyone else’s) Goodnight Moon, that when I find something worthy, I load up, wrap them, and wait for the next opportunity to bestow baby with something ridiculously cute. These hand-knit vegetable rattles, presented in this week’s Mahar Dry Goods newsletter, definitely fit the bill.

News of these little noisemakers arrived in my in-box with a feel-good angle, too. They are by Yellow Label Kids, a mommy-owned company that hires a collective of women in Bangladesh to create these cuties and pays them real wages. Cool.

FYI, the set of five rattles will set you back $45.

Erika Lenkert

[tags] cool baby gift/[tags]

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