Big Sweet Tooth

J.R. Organics CSA - I Can Finally Join...

I just don't wanna go anywhere for a good, long spell...

Bottom line is - I'm home.  I can join a CSA.  Which means that every Sunday, I can roll into the Mar Vista Farmers Market and pick up my full share of organic food.  A big huge box full of all kinds of fruit and veggies for about $28 bucks.  $10 extra bones gets me a huge bushel of flowers (of my choice).  It's just heaven. When have I been able to commit to something like this in the past 3 years?  

And, when I've sorted my CSA, I can just mosey about the market and flush out the bounty from JR's and bring it all home to the soon-to-be remodeled FLOBO kitchen and go nuts.  Toss on some tunes, wash everything down.  Make soup.  I killed some Greek green beans today.  Chomp on blueberries.  Suck down a juicy strawberry.  Chat up the neighbors and plot and plan a billon recipes with fava beans.  Never cooked them before, but something big is gonna shake down this week.

What a brilliant way to spend a day.  Then, oh joy, then...I discovered an app called: Still Tasty.  It's a website, too, but for real - the app is insane.  Tells you how to store EVERYTHING proper and if you enter your goods, it sends you alerts like TIMES UP!  Meaning ditch those apples, sorry!  Best thing I've stumbled across in years.  Like, I knew the best way to keep basil fresh is snip bottoms, put in about an inch of water, cover with plastic bag and keep on counter (never put basil in fridge, it turns black and fross so fast).  Same steps go for mint - but who knew it should reside in the fridge not on the counter?  God, I just love it all.

Cannot wait for my new kitchen.  Guess what I really want is a restaurant)

My New Kayak - Tarpon Wilderness 100

Kayaks - what is really needed?

Freaky deaky how much time it takes to find the right vessel for your vibe.  I just wanted a kayak that was small - like 10'.  Weighed something insignificant - 53 lbs.  Was a super cute color - I'm calling it cucumber (The Cuke as in fatty speak).  And, that I could literally flip and flop about the marina in.  No fear.  No hesitations.

I ain't looking to traipse the damn Congo in the thing.  I like sneaking up on peeps.  Peering into situations.  Observing from up close and afar with nobody none the wiser.  A nice cup holder will do as well (full of something saucy of course).  Couple of hatches to stow some things in.  Sleek and sassy.  And, I dig the sit on top.  I'm claustrophobic you know.  Can't be trapped down low - which means a full flip and near death experience for me.

I tried out one this weekend - a pals pal had it for sale.  14' of super fast, super white insanity.  I was flying in about 2.2 and literally slid straight up under a 50' catamaran.  Just cruised on thru.  God help me.  Was a good deal - but more next level kayak.  I need the baby girl that's gonna have my back.

This one arrives on some giant 18 wheeler this week - and will be put to good use this summer and onward.  Have you ever seen a more adorable kayak?  I can strap it to the roof of my Land Rover and head to Baja - no problemo.  I can haul about in the water with my Whisper Light paddle.  I can step off the back of the FLO directly onto it.  I can lock it down on my sailboat easy peasy.  Guess I could bench press it at 53 lbs :)

Tarpon Wilderness 100.  Love it.

 

The Most Bizarre Weekend Ever = Freedom

From paper scraps to reality...how a floating home comes together

Just back from Jersey and it's as if my mind doesn't know how to process that fact that I'm not EVER going back.  Who knew one little TV show would turn into a 3 year run!  As much as I loathed being away from my life and the world I'm pretty fiercly dedicated to protecting and growing - it was a good little stint on the other side of the US.

But, now - in LA - back home in the marina...the sun is shining, the seals are barking, the birds are dive bombing for fish, he farmers markets have their first strawberries, peaches and cherries, my sailboat is gleaming with new varnish and my new electric windlass is about to be installed...and all my magazine tears and dossiers and journals I've put together for the floating home remodel are about to come alive.  I basically took every idea/thought/note I had about the FLO revamp and whittled it down to just a few pages.  What an epic feat.  This blue beast will turn into the floating home of my imagination this summer and I'll actually be around to document it.  Now, what to name it?   Hmmm.....

Ever redone a place?  Good lord, the options are limitless - so many tiny, tiny choices to be made on a daily basis.  But...it's all coming together - I literally had to go old-school movie style and story board out the monster.  It's the only way my mind knew how to attack the breakdown of a vessel (much like the breakdown of a script).  Little by little.  Piece by very particular piece.  Took me all weekend just to whittle down the Exterior elements with exact pictures of what I want.  Now, to get into the INT.  Shouldn't be too hard - just need to make the 100% solid decision and commit to it.

Now that I'm back, I can get myself a little routine - get my groove back and just get some MST style madness on the make.  I did make the best ever (straight from Casa de Mita in Mexico) pureed cauliflower soup last night for those that care :).  Had some super antidoxiant rich Sardinian wine to go with it and enjoyed it with my parents...which is pretty cool cause they now have a boat out here too on the main channel.  We're a wily trifecta happening out here.

Oh such JOY, like thrilling, effervescent, unbridled happiness at being home and not dreading getting on a plane anytime soon.  Life is quite nice at the moment.

 

 

My Floating Home Remodel

I've been working with my architect for months and now we're just getting into it with the contractors, but in the end, this is pretty similiar to what the FLO BO will look like when I'm done with her.  Little bit darker wood on the exterior (think IPE), able to go into full shutdown when I'm traveling, spots for storing kayaks and such, a little garden and outdoor bar on the top deck (and moving the room up there all the way to the back to optimize the marina view), and lots more glass :)

Can't wait to just get fully into it when I'm back in LA in a month.  Yup - just one more month and New Jersey is done and donnnnneeeeeeeee for me!!!

More pix and intel coming soon on FLO design and process.

 

View from the Top - At Least the Only One that Matters in My World

Most of ya'll know I live on a floating home in LA.  Some kind of Mississippi tugboat looking beast.  Truly the best spot in the world in my mind.  My neighbors are all quirky and full of life.  That's what marina living will do to you - make you happy and steeped in sprite.  The full moon shimmers up the water and the boats bob about.  I can kick it on the top deck late night and hear nothing but seals barking and the masts clanging. Fog rolls in out of nowhere and life is simple. 

My fave thing in the world to do is watch the planes landing at LAX.  They all seem so close together from the top of the Flo - taking off to somewhere way, way out there...and dropping off piles of people ready to unleash their goods on LA.  Wonder how many end up in the marina.  Or even really know life inside it exists?  I hope very, very few.

I'm this close to having the final plans for the Flo done (the 3d Fly-thru is totally amazing) and the transformation will being to happen in the next little bit.  Gonna be the most fantastical place to live ever.  Especially since I've created a small tincture room off the kitchen.  I've made sure there is a see thru pane of plexi, so I can light up the water and see fish underneath my home.  I'm trying to rock a full on brick oven on the top deck.  The 2nd floor will close off, so if peeps need to get to floor 3, then they can skip my master suites.  Oh yah, and the coolest...it's set up so when I travel, the whole thing can go into lock down.  Fully unbreachable.  It's gonna be a green journey all the way through, so get ready for those posts. 

What a fun time to be an adult. 

 

Fire Pit vs Wood Fired Oven

Burn, burn, burn...

I've become smitten with wood fired food.  Nothing in the entire world compares to the texture, taste and complexity of something that's been tossed onto a baby inferno and partially charred.  Chewy, crunchy, taste sensation like no other.

Octopus, bread, potatoes, anything at all.  I had some pizza the other day - with smoked mozzarella, thyme, and tomato cream - that shook me in my boots.  Those few bites got me to thinking about building a wood fired oven on the FloBo.  A bona fide real deal wood fired oven!

How hard could it be to toss a few bricks together, sling in some wood and get that mofo rolling?  Not sure that would be a super wise idea atop a mostly wood boat, but my God, the Pacific is underneath it, you know? 

Meanwhile - the little fire pit that the rural folks usually cobble together on the side of the road is priceless.   Crude, rough and does the job.  The meat smells that permate of every corner chop shop is intoxicating.  Makes a vegetarian want to do a full slam of all parts meat quite badly. 

Now, about that wood fired oven...I see it mine and my new restaurants future.

The Floating Home Renovation - The Next Big MST Project

FloBo Reno on the Horizon

Soon as I finish up the next week or so on Jerseylicious, I'm back in LA working on renovating the FloBo.  Met with a super-cool LEED architect this past week, got my dossier going of all that I want to do INT and EXT, got some As Built plans drawn up (1600+ SQ not including the top level when it's all said and done), and am simply readying myself for the next stage of life. 

Anything but NJ for a minute! 

I'm taking this beast to some next level shit.  It's gonna take a spell, and it's gonna def. take a spit of coin.  But, what an amazing process...cannot wait!

 

I'm Taking Alternative Living to the Next Level

When I say I'm drifting...I really, really mean it.

Nobody really knows this, but a few months back I bought the FloBo.  That's short for Floating Boat.  Which is another way to say Floating Home.  I scooped it up while I was out East working and just got back a few days ago to Marina del Rey and the the FloBo.  It's 3 floors (2400 sq ft including the top deck - which happens to have the highest 360' view in the marina) and quite simply, a floating beast.

Here's the thing.  I want to flip it 100% and make it as green as possible.  Solar array, rooftop garden, possible radiant heat flooring and maybe even geothermal (why dig a well when I live ON TOP OF the Pacific?). The green list goes on and on, and the possibilities are utterly endless.  Or not.  See, that's the quandary - this thing floats on platforms, so there is only so much you could add before you start to sink.  Or, you could add more flotation.  But, how does one do that?  Exactly! 

I was gonna wait til it was all done and done to move, but then I got back and couldn't resist moving onboard - why not?  What an amazing way to live.  Like right now - it's pouring rain, the tug-horns are honking somewhere in the marina, little ducks are racing across the water for shelter and this joint is tight as a tick. I got my HD DirecTV all hooked up and the wi-fi is 4G and fiercely fast.  Sure it's old and a bit like a cabin right now, but who cares, it's so cozy...What else is there?

Of course I will be documenting the entire flippage as it goes along, piece by piece.  So much research to do - so much reading, 'net exploration, site surveys, scouting trips, talking to designers/architects/contractors.  What a straight-up FUN journey this will be.  Just trying to make my footprint in the world a little bit lighter.  Oh, and check this - I can see my beautiful sailboat right out of my office window.  Eeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

Tonight was the first night I've made a home-cooked meal in the small kitchen (get ready to be ripped out little kitchen) - and it was delish.  First of all, to have a gas stove again, ahem...propane...(electric is the worst thing ever)...I whipped up a tidy little bowl of whole grain pasta tossed with fresh sardines, lemon juice, lots of butter, a clove of garlic and a couple of spoonfuls of this super-yummy kale and almond pesto I got today from the farmers market.  Topped it all off with some big, fat feta crumbles.  Lord, I've missed cooking.  But, guess what?  I'M BACK)

-MST