Today I bought a new wallet. My old one was one I purchased in Amsterdam last Spring. It was from H&M and was a nice blue on the outside, and BRIGHT yellow on the inside, made complete with a coin pouch. Great for for the coin dollar Euros (oh how I miss Europe). Anyway, it was beginning to get a bit worn and discolored. But we had a great life together. Then, T told me about these PANTONE wallets she saw at the Dallas Museum of Art a few weeks back and I have not been able to think of anything else. Between my work hours and the museums open hours, I hadn’t been able to stop by to take a look but finally today (Thursdays), when the museum is open till 11 (design store still 9) I had the opportunity. I illegally parked out front (and there are so many cops around downtown – so I had to make it quick) and rushed inside to see it. It was love at first sight. It is basically my favorite color red, for those who know, and I bought it instantly. woo. It’s a bit (read: a lot) smaller than the previous, but it will just force me to carry less junk around. Minimalism, right. Bright red (traffic cone, squash, goldfish) minimalism. And fortunately for me, it’s first use didn’t involve me pulling out my ID for my parking taboo.

On a related note, as I was rushing through the museum to the store, I noticed how incredible it was inside. Reminded me of a mini MoMA. So we will for sure hit that up sooner than later. Maybe Sunday?

It has been nearly 3 months since I last did yoga. It’s not that I haven’t thought about it, but yeah…I have been hard to get out of bed in the morning. Well this morning I finally did it. At 6:15AM I went out onto our roofdeck and was among the sunrise, overhead birds, early-morning highway commuters and the view of downtown Dallas. Needless to say, it was very nice. I was a bit out of shape however but after a few breathing exercises I had no trouble going through the stretches. All-in-all, it was a fantastic start to my Thursday.

Check out what I got today! My very own, driftingcreatives t-shirt. After graduating college with little prospects in this recession, Gavin Braman and Martin Hooper have been traveling across the country meeting and interviewing with designers, seeing the sights of new cities and doing design work to sustain their minimal budget. It is a pretty awesome adventure, indeed. And it is all coming out of a Honda Element.

They have done a great job of keeping a video blog of their travels. You can read more about them and find out where they will be next (maybe you can let them couchsurf) here: http://driftingcreatives.com

Yesterday T & I went to what has become one of our favorite places in town: the farmer’s market. Think of all the produce you could need, locally grown, very inexpensive and all under one roof (or two). It’s pretty much the best thing ever. Also, you pay in cash so there is no tax. We came home with 3 canvas totes full of goodies for just $12. And there’s research about how your body’s immune system becomes healthier and stronger if you eat local foods and produce. Plus, there is just something about it that is so different from going to the grocery store. It’s pedestrian friendly, safe, friendly, supports the community, and the food is oh-so tasty (you even get samples as you walk around). I’d greatly recommend anyone trying their local farmer’s market if they get a chance.

They even have a huge garden area packed full of vibrant and green choices for your garden. Too bad we have none.

Today was a pretty fantastic day. The Mrs. and I slept in and later went up to her new classroom to continute setting up. We both are still a bit giddy that she was offered a job and it is turning out to be a great blessing, indeed.

Afterwards we planned out our week’s menu and decided to try our hand at Asian food. One of our wedding gifts we registered for and received was a C&B Sushi cookbook, and it gets an A+ for all the images it provides. Who wants a cookbook where there are no pictures of what you are cooking? How do you know you succeeded? Anyway, we looked up Asian grocery stores and found one in the Chinatown district of Richardson, about 10 minutes north of downtown. It turned out to be a super-legitimate Asian food market and we definitely felt a little out of place. However, my European domination skills kicked in and we managed alright, that is, after asking for help a few time – especially on the ingredients I couldn’t even pronounce correctly. We had decided to make simple sushi rolls and miso soup and found everything we needed, plus some. There were so many interesting things to see. From the unique and colorful graphics, wide variety of options and very exotic / slightly disturbing produce options (dried jellyfish) or live seafood (turtles?? – we had to catch our jaw before it hit the floor) it was for sure a sight to see. All-in-all, it was really fun and we will return soon. However, the next time we won’t be so lost.

When we got back (after also making a trip to TomThumb) we began reading up on what to do. It really wasn’t too hard, and the results, as you can see below, were fairly awesome if I do say so myself. We started by steaming the shrimp, cooking the rice, preparing the water and “dashi” powder for the miso soup. For the sushi, you lay out the “nori” or seaweed on the rolling mat, then spread the sticky white rice in a thin layer over the nori. Then add a line of each ingredient, shrimp and avocado in our case, and use the mat to form the large sushi roll. Then with a very sharp and wet knife, slice the roll into the typical, sushi roll pieces, and violá, you can make it look like the pros.

In addition, we prepared a classic miso soup, contaning the dashi powder for flavoring (sort of a stock), then added some onions (we forgot the shitaki mushrooms), tofu, and scallions. Lastly, drop in a few tablespoons of “miso” which is a soybean paste (sort of looked like bean dip :D) and the soup began to take its true color and taste.

As T was less brave to try the wasabi, I took one fore the team and nearly passed out at its potent flavor. It was stronger than any wasabi I had previously tasted. I don’t remember putting that much on my sushi roll, but it felt like an intense numbing of my mouth and face – reacting very quickly and made me pause and turn red for a moment. Next time I used a wee less and was OK. What an intense garnish. I wonder how many people have experienced the mistake of taking one drop too much of wasabi on their first try.

T wrapped up our meal with some super wonton delights. She filled them with a tasty cream cheese, onion, shrimp and soy sause mixture, and deep fried them over a smal pan of sesame oil. Yum.

A great day ending with a great meal with my wife; a perfect day.

Today after work I had a bit of free time and walked over to Philip Johnson’s JFK Memorial. The office where I work is adjacent to the building where the shooter was set up, now home to the Sixth Floor Museum, in Dallas’ West End. The memorial is an impressive, 30 foot high, 50×50 roofless box, surrounded by nearly-floating concrete columns. Two narrow entrances take you to a quiet and solemn central room for reflection and isolation.

It is quite moving, and a little eerie. Like the Fort Worth Water Gardens, also by Johnson, it does well to take you away from the busy downtown street life and bring you into a new environment, where time slows to still.