eat; cupcakes!

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I've been eating salads since arriving in L.A as I have just returned from a three month stay with my mum in Australia. Most of you know that I haven't been home in a year and so my good old Italian mum pulled out all the stops in feeding me all my favourite Italian foods over the time I was there. Yep, all carb fueled deliciousness; from amazing bread to pasta. I ate like a horse!!!! I even indulged in Italian cheeses!!!!

So now I'm back on track and really haven't been eating anything that amazing, even though I know salads can be amazing. Basically I'm detoxing for a while. And of course, when one does detox, they begin to crave all sorts of things that one doesn't normally eat! I'm not much of a sweet tooth but all of a sudden, all I'm wanting is luscious cupcakes! RIDIC!

To keep with the kitsch theme of eatpinklove this week, what is more kitsch in food than the humble (not so these days!) cupcake? Nothing! So for this weeks post, I thought I would direct you guys onto some vegan and raw blogs I keep an eye on. Some do amazing vegan desserts, some only raw, but all are great resources when you're feeling the need to experiment and create an amazing mouth explosion that is actually good for you! Enjoy!

1. Chef Chloe must be THE Vegan Cupcake Queen! She also does all things vegan and some crazy looking fun vegan biscuits for my favourite holiday, Halloween.

2. For a raw treat, check out Sweetly Raw. Her deserts are amazing and yes, you can make a raw cupcake! She only does raw sweets and so can easily be crowned the Queen of Raw Desserts!

3. Golubka is an amazing blog for raw foods. She isn't into cupcakes at all saying they "make [her] yawn uncontrollably".  Check out this blog for amazing photos, crisp clean food, design and yummy raw desserts.

4. Post Punk Kitchen has a very cool take on presenting vegan recipes, including savoury dishes. They have published a book called Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. Very funny indeed!

5. The Daily Raw Cafe is AMAZING! The post I have linked is her first attempt at making raw cupcakes and they look great! Will have to try this recipe for sure!

Well, that's it on my search for vegan and raw cupcakes. Let me know if you've come across an amazing raw or vegan blog that is a MUST to know!

Until next week,

Buon Appetito!

pink; pink panther

Yep, if Charles Pheonix is King of all things Kitsch in Los Angeles, then Jeff Koons must be crowned King of Kitsch in contemporary art. Googling Jeff Koons and looking at a wall of images of his work made me think of a little boy who was let loose in a 1950's toy shop. Full of vibrant colours, shiny surfaces, giant sized balloon toys and...boobies! Koons' work definitely excites the little kid in all of us and he uses the colour pink A LOT in his work! I've decided on Pink Panther as I'm particularly interested in porcelain at the moment and how it is used in contemporary art. 

Koons has created a number of large works in porcelain, probably his most famous Michael Jackson and Bubbles. I saw this work in San Francisco last year and I was completely blown away by it. It was lush, large, opulent and gob smacking! Images on google do not do it justice and I would imagine Pink Panther would have the same effect.

Googling Pink Panther, I found that I had to scroll through the first few pages of articles relating to it's recent sale on the art market, most of them predicting it hitting an all time high price for an artwork sold by a living artist. This is very common for Koons' work; the price it fetches. He has created a career that is controversial within the artworld. Critics either love him or hate him. Whatever your opinion of him, he is an artist that cannot be ignored.

With a luscious finish due to the use of porcelain, Pink Pather was created in 1988, stands at 104.1cm (41") and creates a scenario that is far removed from our reality. A Jayne Mansfield character stands tall and proud in a curvacious and fun pose as if just about to step out into wonderland. She lovingly holds cartoon character Pink Panther, who seems to have surrendered to his fate. Both these characters would have been present in Koon's American upbringing in the late fifties and early sixties and the influence of porcelain reminds us of our Grandma's kitsch collection of porcelain statuettes on her mantle piece or display cabinet.

By using these two characters, Pink Panther brings our attention to what is real and what isn't. Jayne Mansfield may have been a real woman living an ordinary life, but her on screen character was fused with publicity stunts, mainly of her boobs 'accidentally' falling out of her dress at inappropriate (or appropriately depending on how one saw it) times and steamy love affairs. Her off screen 'character' was a mother of five children and it was reported she was a proud homemaker.

Pink Panther is a commentary on pop culture and how we are seduced by it. It reflects on what is reality and non-reality between what we see and what we want to see and the distance we have with our own lives and the lives that are created on screen. 

Below is an intriguing interview with Koons discussing Pink Panther. There is definitely something really, really strange about this man! He mentions an ashtray his Grandparents had that I sooooo want in my life right now!

Enjoy the video and it's soundtrack!

love; ten things i love this week

1. Charles Pheonix! Sorry guys but this week is going to be a little influenced by kitsch as I went to see the King of Kitsch here in L.A on Friday night and fell in love with all things kitsch! If you're in town, you MUST check out the dates of his performances and tours as he is a gem right here in L.A. LOVE!

2. Programmatic Architecture! Australia definitely has it's fare share of Programmatic Architecture, but nothing like what's here in L.A! Here is a link to some existing and some long gone Programatic architecture in L.A. LOVE!

bronxbanterblog.com

3. Galco's soda pop store here in Los Angeles! I'm venturing out to it later in the week to check out the store and have a chat.  I'm not a huge fan of soda pop but what makes this store different is that he holds only small independent companies soda's bringing back Americas favourite oldies, in glass bottles! LOVE!

retaildj.com

4. So I stumbled across this bulldog photo whilst googling for images and I really can't find anything that goes with it. Have no idea WTF it is or where it is but I do love it! I think I might have to make her my F.B profile pic! So wrong, but oh sooo right! LOVE!

5. Which brings me to poodles!!! I think I may need to own a poodle one day and have it groomed like this one. Too funny! Check out the array of grooming that has happened here! CRAZY!

moblog.net

6. I know we are no where near Christmas but this poodle sitting all raunchy as a Christmas decoration was tooooo cute to leave out this week when I stumbled across her! LOVE!!!

hiddenlosangeles.com

7. Papa Christo's Greek Tavern here in L.A! Coming from Melbourne, Australia, which has the largest population of Greeks outside of Athens, I'm definitely going to have high standards! I'm hoping to head out there in a few weeks to check it out. They have Big Fat Thursday Greek Dinners with a bellydancer dragging people up to dance! Too funny! Check out the mural!!!!

8. Which brings me to my friends new adventure...making those gorgeous ear rings and selling them on etsy! Totally not kitsch but I couldn't resist adding her earrings this week. I love them so, but I don't get into earrings much. She has promised to get onto rings and bangles very, very soon. Check them out here! LOVE!

legendsofamerica.com

9. Being back in Lala Land. As soon as the airplane hit the tarmac, I felt like I was home. And it's HOT! Gotta love that! Been eating salads all week...my favourite food in the world! LOVE!

buyyourlahome.com

10. Living in Los Feliz! Such a great area full of bars, eateries and GELATO! OMG! Loving the gelato a little too much! People have dining tables set out on their front porches and spend their evenings having dinner there. How great is that! Makes an evening stroll quite lovely. LOVE!