Funny Friday

The cartoons by Zachary Kanin in The New Yorker are my favorite. This one made me laugh out loud.

Happy Friday!

love,
p. ahn

Cheap Charlie

*this is not me

I just discovered this "Colorblock Necklace Souvy Pack For Japan" thru polkaros. Included in the pack is a 24" necklace made from colorful geometric beads, that comes in a lil' hand-crocheted speckled purse, vintage kiddy "bank" envelope of fake money with paper scraps and an unused roll of patterned MT tape. These packs are available from Cheap Charlie's etsy page.

*all photos taken from Cheap Charlie's etsy store

Although I think I might have snatched the last one! I couldn't help it! It's so adorable, and 100% of the proceeds will go to PETA to help the animals in Japan who need help too.

Cheap Charlie has a plethora of other beautiful necklaces, charms, brooches, buttons, and ribbon to peruse. And yes, I just used the word "plethora" in a sentence (which always reminds me of "The Three Amigos").

love,
p. ahn

Cheer Up!

Every now and then I have a few really "blah" days in a row.

When I stumbled across this "Cheer Up" canister for cookies, or all other things that make me happy, I had to share it with you.

This website has tons of other cool things that might cheer you up as well!

Happy Monday!

love,
p. ahn

Straight Hair cont'd...

For those of you who had some questions about the straight perm I got...

-yes, this keratin straight perm is totally for non-asian hair as well.

- Of the 2 straight perms Glenn does, I chose the 2% one (whatever that means) which should leave my hair straight for 2 - 3 months. Then it will slowly become more wavy again. I was considering the 0% perm, which wouldn't make my hair straight at all. I'd still have wavy hair, but the perm would seal my cuticles and split ends, making my hair a lot shinier and healthier looking. Something to consider for those of you who want to keep your beautiful waves!

- The downside to these straight perms is how EXPENSIVE they can be--especially if you're like me, and have a lot of hair! But here's a little inside tip that you didn't hear from me! I hear that Groupon might have something coming up, specifically for this! ;)

- For those of you who don't live in L.A., and are looking for a place to get this done... I would make sure it's a nice place. You don't want to do it anywhere, because if they don't do it right, it could damage your hair! That's happened to my mom once, and it was very sad. Make sure it's a legitimate salon, and ask lots of questions:

--Make sure there's no formaldehyde in the formula.

--Will this damage my hair at all?

--Is this a perm that has to grow out? Or will it wash out over time? (Washing out is preferable, or atleast a combination of the 2. If it has to grow out, that could be inconvenient)

--Once you get it done, ask what kind of shampoo you should use. With mine, I was recommended to not use shampoo that has any kind of "sulfate" in it. Organic shampoo is probably preferable, because it won't have any detergents in it. Sulfate is the stuff in shampoo that makes it lather. If you need a lather in your shampoo, it's fine to use that kind of shampoo, but your perm won't last as long.

--The whole process only took 2 hours!

I hope I've helped answer some of your hair questions! If you have some extra time, you should Garance Doré's blog about her Keratin straightening experience (I love her!): Three Days After. She is writing about her 3rd day in (which is the day that I am on!). I have to--HAVE TO--wash my hair tonight finally, and I can't wait to see the results!

love,
p. ahn

I hope this answers some of your questions!

Make Every Day Earth Day

As "Earth Day" weekend comes to a close, I decided to make a list of my favorite, and easiest earth day tips. The video above inspired me tremendously to cut back on creating waste. I also recommend reading Bea Johnson's most recent blog: LESS is so much MORE.

1. Recycle!

I loooove recycling! I always look at packaging to find that comforting little triangle. It's one of the easiest things you can do (besides turning off appliances and lights and tvs when they're not in use). I know some cities don't have people to come around and collect recycling from homes. And this can deter lots of people from recycling!

But let me say this, 1/2 my life, we had to drive our bags of recyclables to a recycling center that was always 15 minutes out of our way. But seriously, this is one of the easiest things you can do to make a BIG difference. The extra x amount of minutes out of your way is worth it for the Earth! To find your nearest recycling center, simply type into your search engine: "find nearest recycling center". For CA residents, go here.

2. Reuse!

My husband and I are daily coffee/tea drinkers. We have our favorite spot in our neighborhood where we always get our bevies 'to go'. Even though we threw these paper cups into the recycling, it was shocking how fast our can would fill up with them.

Just recently we've invested in a few really good, reusable hot beverage containers. One of my favorites are these Aladdin Coffee Mugs.
Made of 97% recycled materials, BPA free, and microwave & dishwasher safe! You can find them here.

I've also gotten into the reusable grocery bags. Or reusing any kind of bag to put groceries into. Bringing tupperware containers with you when you go shopping is also a great way to reduce plastic waste.
My favorite kind to use are these glass lock containers. They really keep things air tight, and the glass is so easy to throw in the dishwasher and clean. You can find them here.

3. Cut back on eating meat and/or only eating Organic foods.
Even though I'm already a vegetarian, I picked up Alicia Silverstone's super inspiring, informative, and easy-to-read book, "The Kind Diet". She talks about how awful animal factories are--not only for the animals themselves--but also for the planet.

Fact: One of the main gases that contributes to global warming is Methane. Methane traps 21 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide. And get this, the livestock we keep--to feed us meat that has negative affects on our bodies--produce more methane than landfills, waste treatment plants, and even the methane we use as natural gas to heat our homes! There's some food for thought...

Check out Alicia's brilliant website: www.thekindlife.com

4. Composting
This is something I've been meaning to for a while! The composter pictured above looks like the Mercedes of composters. I want it!

We have not started composting as of yet. However, I realized that Mike and I were taking out our trash almost every 2 or 3 days, because our kitchen would get so stinky with old food and garbage. But I felt so guilty throwing so many of those big plastic bags into the dumpster every week. Now we keep a little bucket next to the sink where we throw all our food stuff. When it gets full, we take it out to our dumpster and toss all the contents in there. Since we've been doing that, our trash can doesn't get full (or stinky) for a good 2 weeks!

Here is a great article on how to start composting.

5. Make it fun!

Mike and I now have a game/competition. We both can sometimes be really lazy about turning off lights around the house. So for every light that one of us finds left on by the other, that person gets a point. At the end of the month, we tally up our points, and whoever lost has to take the other one out on a date.

I know these aren't huge revolutionary new ideas on how to cut down waste. These are just some small, really easy things that anyone can do daily. And in time, it all adds up and really does make a difference.

Here's to a healthier, loving, and compassionate Earth!

love,
p. ahn

Straight Hair (a girly post)

Ok, so yesterday... for fun, I got a straight perm. But I'd been really nervous about it. Yes, I'd had it done many times before. Yes, I love having straight hair.

However, this time... was different. I'd heard how damaging a lot of the Asian straight perms were (which are the ones I'd been using), and I heard that the Keratin ones which were supposedly really good for your hair, had formaldehyde in them! Gross!!

But I found myself running to the salon a lot lately, to get a blow out (here's where all the dudes check out--if they haven't already!). Also, since I cut my hair super short (which you can watch a video of here), my hair has never been so wavy. At first I loved these unruly waves. But as my hair kept growing, I knew less and less what to do with them! I'm a very low-maintenance person... so, having to 'deal' with my hair every day was becoming really annoying.

So... I made the decision yesterday to get a NEW Keratin treatment, that has NO formaldehyde in it! And I have to say, I'm extremely happy with the results! Anyone interested in a treatment like this, I highly recommend you go to Juan Juan Center in Beverly Hills, and ask for Glenn or Natasha, his assistant. Each person there does their own kind of straight perm... but Glenn's, in particular, is very safe. He really cares for hair.

Glenn + I

love,
p. ahn

"Sweethearts"

"Sweethearts"

Charlie Wadhams

Charlie and I are working on a duets album. You can hear the first song we wrote together ("I Don't Have Time To Be In Love" on my new album (coming out on May 3rd). Or you can watch a version we did of it together in proper duet style here.

I am a HUGE fan of Charlie's. If you don't know his music, I highly recommend checking it out. His gorgeous song, "My Love" was featured at the end of the movie Cyrus. You can listen to it here.

love,
p. ahn

My Album In Japan!

I just got this in the mail today! I'm so excited!!! Japan gets their very own, special, album cover as well as 2 extra songs: my cover of John Lennon's "Love" and John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" sung in Japanese.

I can't wait to go to Japan to promote my new album!

love,
p. ahn

p.s. Don't worry Korea! I'm recording a song just for you too! :)

Reading List

Soooo many replies! This will be my new reading list for the next 10 years! There were a lot of suggestions for "Hunger Games", "The Book Thief", "Never Let Me Go", "The Little Prince", and "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn". All ones I definitely have to check out now!

Other suggestions that were a few of my favs as well:

Three Cups of Tea - so inspiring!
Norwegian Wood - I love Murakami!
Catcher In The Rye - my fav. Salinger read.
Anything by David Sedaris!
Anything by Aimee Bender...
Joy Luck Club - as much as I enjoyed reading this, the movie makes me weep every time.

And before I had gotten a chance to read through all of your wonderful recommendations, I ordered Tina Fey's "Bossypants" for fun--which I was glad to see some of you gave the thumbs up to!

But as far as my favorite fav's of all time (so far):

This book affected me in a really weird way. At the time I was finding all these parallels of events happening in the book, to events in my own life.
This was also the only book that ever made me almost throw up, as well as almost faint. Weird!


This book swept me away on a long, beautiful journey. I never wanted it to end, and yet, when it did, it was completely satisfying. I love "magical realism" and García Márquez is THE best at that.


If I hadn't read this, I probably wouldn't be where I am today. This book filled me with the longing to travel, and the courage to drive across the country, meet crazy characters, and find my own adventures.

Another Kerouac favorite of mine.


This novel was a true companion to me when I was on tour with Ray LaMontagne. Being my first time to ever visit England especially, this was a great introduction. A rich story with lovable and unforgettable characters.


This was the only book I'd ever read in less than 2 days! I could not put it down. And yes, I will be seeing the movie!

This book was recommended to me by Amos Lee back when I was only 18, and interning on his first Blue Note EP. An inspiring story of a true journey through life, and lessons learned.


And of course, my favorite new book I've read this year, "Just Kids".
Here are my thoughts on it.

Books are such wonderful things, aren't they? [as well as films, music, photos, flowers, paintings, trees, seas, rough sketches, food, et al.]

Thank you again for all of your suggestions. I'm serious! This is my new reading list! I hope some of you can make it part of yours too!

Love,
p. ahn

Hurray! It's the weekend!

Last weekend I drove to MacArthur Park. A park I've driven by multiple times, and have always been intrigued by. Families picnicking in the grass, watching the fútbol game, kids running around in the playground.

I hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

love,
p. ahn

My Peony

Photo taken on 4/14
sx-70 / px 70 color shade film

I am told we are right in the beginning of Peony season! These are one of my favorite flowers. One of the most rewarding flowers to watch open up before your eyes! It makes sense that they symbolize romance and prosperity, and are a good omen for a happy and fruitful marriage!

love,
p. ahn

The Flatiron

Polaroid taken March 30
Flatiron District (NY, NY)

I took this photo with this brand new polaroid film called PX 70 Color Shade made by The Impossible Project. Very cool company, and very cool space in NYC.

love,
p. ahn

Cherry Blossoms

Some of you may have heard of the new earthquake that hit the northeast area of Japan again, last night. I'm hoping so deep in my heart, that soon these earthquakes will stop, and the people living there will be able to rebuild their lives again.

On another, more hopeful note, my friends sent me these beautiful photos of the cherry blossoms that are in full bloom right now.

Cherry Blossoms from Kyoko

Shidare Zakura (Weeping Cherry Blossoms), Arashiyama, from Chifumi

I think the Shidare Zakura may be my new favorite tree! So elegant...

love,
p. ahn