Photo booths are all the rage at events and parties! And why not? They are a great way to keep guests busy and interested, and let’s face it, people love to get their photos taken. We’ve included a couple fun ideas for creating your own photo booths below.

We pulled a couple of these photos from our reservoir. This was from our first event, a New Year’s Eve party in 2008! Super simple: just set up a camera with a shutter release cable, hang a picture frame and a backdrop of curtains, and presto! Complete entertainment all night! The hardest part is sifting through all 1200+ photos!

We just love this idea from Ivy and Aster: taking old books and illustrations to make a backdrop! You could use any kind of book. Old atlas’ would be so cool.

This is a great selection of ideas from the people over at Smilebooth. Get inspired from them or just hire them to set up a booth for you!

The girls over at Bash Please, that put together Hitched, always do a wonderful and inventive job and decorating photo booths.

Last weekend LS trekked into the city to see the Recology Program students exhibit their final show. I had the chance to meet Niki Ulehla, one of the students who has been studying for the past 4 months at the Recology center in SF. See below (after the “more” section) for her interview.

The Artist in Residence Program at Recology San Francisco is a unique art and education program that provides Bay Area artists with access to discarded materials, a stipend, and a large studio space at the Recology Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Center. By supporting artists who work with recycled materials, Recology hopes to encourage people to conserve natural resources and promote new ways of thinking about art and the environment.

Photos (clockwise) // Jewelery made from findings in the dump, Niki’s cast of puppets, Recology Center photo of Niki’s work station

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LS had a chance to board the Bay Area Green Tours bus for a tour of organic, local, and sustainable farms last Saturday. We are so lucky to live in an area that is rich in agriculture and strong in progressive thinking, that it was a treat for us to get the opportunity to see just what goes into growing and raising the food that we eat. BAGT is dedicated toward helping us understand local sustainability in hopes that it will inspire and empower us to take better care of the world we live in. Who couldn’t agree with that mission? Their tours range from Renewable Energy to Sustainable Foods to Green Collar Jobs.

Photos // (clockwise) Stemple Creek Land // farm at County Line Harvest // various salsa made fresh from the boys at Quetzal Farm // below is an image of Quetzal Farm

With organic being all the rage regulations on what that means have become very lax. We wanted to find out what local farmers are doing to preserve the integrity of our food’s happiness. This isn’t an easy task. In a nutshell, what we learned was that organic farming takes a lot of work! Because organic farmers don’t use pesticides on their vegetables, all weeds must be pulled by hand, organic certification is expensive, land is hard to maintain, feed is more expensive, finding consistent buyers is a full-time job, and education on maintaining a healthy diet through eating organic and grass fed is challenging. Bravo to those we met from Quetzal Farm, Red Hill Ranch, and Stemple Creek Ranch that take this job on so that we can eat well and feel good about it too!

Photos // (clockwise) Happy Free Range Chickens at Red Hill Ranch // tools at Quetzal Farm // Old Dairy Barn on the Red Hill Ranch property // greenhouse at Quetzal Farm

To learn more about the tours that Bay Area Green Tours organizes click here.

We’re quite proud to share today’s post with you! LS teamed up last Sunday (Easter) with a great group of ladies (a florist, a local boutique owner, and a photographer) to shoot a beautiful spring-inspired Eggs Benedict brunch. Our styling was influenced by our latest obsession: the iconic chevron pattern. We can’t seem to get enough of it as you can see from our blog header (not to mention that it reminds us fondly of our childhood friend, Charlie Brown). We also found the perfect plates from Aedriel Originals on Etsy complete with none other than a yellow chevron pattern! Emily, from Emily Takes Photos, did a great job of taking photos of the event. The flowers were put together by Natalie from Oh My Clementine and the props were courtesy of Johnelle, a local boutique owner of Mignonne Decor. Stay tuned to see more details from this event (Bloody Mary recipe included!).

So start dreaming up that next party. Every Monday deserves a dream of the next weekend brunch to make the week go by quicker, right?

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We’re going to write about a different kind of art today. . . an art where getting down and dirty is just another day.

Farm to Fork Tour
In the Bay Area we have a plethora of farms and gardens right at our disposal. But here’s an opportunity that you may not always have: visiting the farmers who run them and learning more about where your food comes from. Bay Area Green Tours is hosting their second Farm to Fork Tour, in collaboration with Marin Agricultural Land Trust. On May 7 (there are still spots available!) you will have the chance to learn exactly where the sustainable food from our local restaurants comes from, and tour the properties on which it’s raised and grown as well as meet the farmers who make it possible. This is such a treat to be able to do and I’m so thankful that I am going to be taking part in the adventure! That’s right, LS will be taking the journey and covering the tour right here on our blog.

We encourage everyone to take part and learn more about how your food gets from the Farm to your Fork!

Sign up here to secure your spot on the bus!

Saturday, May 7th, 2011

We absolutely love this photo shoot, staged by our friend from Jillian Clark Events and featured on 100 Layer Cake. What a great concept for a small Sunday afternoon get together. . . an ice cream social. This is not just any ice cream party but a sophisticated and classy version for the kid in all of us. The beautiful signs were done with the help of the calligrapher from Love Jenna. Look at some of these decadent but simple toppings to liven up your party: candied ginger, pistachios with olive oil, strawberries with balsamic! We’re just drooling thinking about it! Thanks for the great inspiration Jillian and Jenna!

Photos: Scott Clark

Finally, the weekend! If this is the weekend you’ve decided to be a homebody and indulge in a bit of much needed R&R, then we must insist you add this to your lounging itinerary: Nova, the movie. You can access it free online at here. The documentary is inspiring. It traces the process of many artists participating in an event at the Museum of Image and Sound in São Paulo, Brazil. Check out some of the amazing artists who participated below.

And of course, you can always hop a flight down to Brazil soon and go see it live in person! Open­ing March 21st and stays open till April 30th. More info at Rojo @Nova web­site.

ENIGMATICA from Kit Webster on Vimeo.

KIT WEBSTER

REBECCA WARD

KRINK

MULHERES BARBADAS

Directed by Isaac Niemand, and produced by ROJO® in collaboration with BossaNovaFilms, MIS-Museum of Image and Sound, and SESC Pompeia, in São Paulo, Brazil.

This Friday (April 1st)
April Ful’s Night @ The Oakland Museum (OMCA)

The Oakland Standard, a series of unique “experiments in work and play,” brings you a communal meal, conversation & entertainment set amongst the museum’s wonderful rear gardens (one of my favorite hidden spots in the East Bay). What’s more, the event is free and museum admission is half-priced! Visit OMCA’s site for more info and upcoming projects.

This Friday (April 1st)
Annual Home Show @ Creative Growth

Stop by to celebrate their new and improved space. Art, food trucks, music & more!

Now – April 10
Eva Hesse: Studiowork @ the Berkeley Art Museum (BAM)

Less than 2 more weeks to check out this special exhibit! It’s small but lovely.