KAZOOMANIA!

Limited edition, purple and yellow "Priscilla Ahn" kazoos!  

I only have about 30 of these bad boys left.  Since my store has been closed forever, I decided to treat anyone who makes a purchase from now til Thursday night (U.S. PST) with a free kazoo.  For every item you buy, you will get 1 kazoo.  So if you buy a CD and a Zine, you will get 2 kazoos.  

No coupon code necessary!  

Happy Kazooing!

Love,

p.a.

P.S.  Thanks for your patience while my store was closed!  I've been so busy finishing up my record, mastering, photo shoots, album artwork, etc...  I finally was able to write "finish craft" on one of my to-do lists this past weekend, which made me realize I have TIME again -- yay!!!  Also, one of my dear friends, Juliette, has generously offered to help me put orders together in her spare time, which is amazing and a big help!  

My Bath Time Ritual

This past week I was busy preparing for and completing 2 separate photo shoots with two amazing photographers and friends, Chloe Aftel and Casey Curry.

One was shot in the beautiful desert, and some interesting outskirts along the way, which weren't all very warm spots.  The other was in L.A., on a sunny but very windy and not very hot day.  By the end of the second shoot, I was chilled to the bone from the temperatures*, wind, and lack of warm clothes.

So I decided to treat myself to a very long, hot bath.  One of my new favorite, restorative things to do.  Here's what's involved:

First I clean the tub with a chemical free mixture of baking soda and non-toxic dish soap.

Then I fill the tub with hot water, and bath salts from Rain Africa.  They have my all-time very favorite bath and body deli.

Two of my fave salts:  Passion and Rock Mint

Before I jump in, I set the mood.  I light a candle, dim the lights, have the latest issue of W Magazine or Vogue bath-side (with a hand towel for drying my hands when I reach for the mags), a tall glass of Alkaline water (good for hydrating the skin), and play my Bath Time Mix, which consists of:

Hui Ohana

Devendra Banhart

Debussy

Tinariwen

Iron & Wine

Juana Molina

Father John Misty

Labi Siffre

... to name a few

Once inside the bath, I drop one of Rain Africa's delicious earth eggs inside, which release essential oils, cocoa butter, and whatever herbs, petals, or seeds may be on the outside.  My all time favorite is the Marula Rooibos egg, with cocoa butter and cedarwood oil.  It is a sedative, antiseptic, astringent, hair tonic, and skin softener.  What more could you want??

Here is a set of 6 different Earth Eggs.

So cute in this little egg carton, no?

After an hour or so, I exfoliate and shower off.  I end the experience with a relaxing 10 minute face mask by Shiseido.

I always feel like I'm glowing the next day after doing this mask.  

Although I will warn you, the mask is literally horrifying when you put it on.  It looks like a creepy, white ski mask.  But totally worth it!  ;)

Afterwards, I feel completely mellowed out, detoxed, refreshed, and ready to take on the world again.

Do you have any Bath Time / Relaxation rituals?

Love,
p. a.

*  By low temps, I mean low 60's.  I know -- I'm a big baby when it comes to even a hint of cool air!

My Struggles With Technology

I don't know if you've been feeling this lately....but I've been trying to cut down on my time spent on my laptop and iphone, with very little success.  It seems everything I do revolves around my laptop (listening to music, writing and recording music, email is probably my main source of communication, and I find new inspiration from things I find on the internet).  And yet, I know there is so much I can do without a laptop to keep me creatively inspired as well.

Yesterday, I was having lunch by myself.  Something I actually enjoy doing from time to time.  But I wasn't alone.  My phone was sitting there, right next to my plate of tuna nicoise.  I was pretty much having lunch with my phone.  What was so important at that moment?  Catching up on Instagram.  I feel like if I don't check my Instagram everyday, I'm going to miss out on something really cool.  Like finding an inspiring photo, or seeing what my friends have been up to.  I'm sure some of you experience these feelings too?  I never got into the whole Facebook thing, atleast not on my personal page.  But Instagram has sort of become my Facebook.

And then I found this beautiful video about a little boy named Caine who built a whole entire arcade out of cardboard to pass his time at his Dad's autoshop.  I was so moved by his imagination and creativity!  It reminded me of when I was a kid.  Before cell phones, before laptops.  I used to get lost for hours at a time in my imaginary worlds.


Caine's Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

When we lose electricity, it's annoying at first.  But then when I realize that there's nothing I can do about it, I enjoy every last bit of it!  Knowing that I have a valid "excuse" for not replying to emails or checking my phone eases the stress of thinking that I have to do it.  Just like when I get sick, sometimes I absolutely revel in it, because it's a valid excuse for me to do nothing but sit in bed and watch movies and read.  So why should I feel so "burdened" by technology when I am blessed with health and living in a place where technology is so easily available?

So now I am trying (and so far failing) to shut down my computer and iphone by 8pm.  (!!!)  Even thinking about it makes me tense a little.  It's really really hard.  My phone will stay locked in my purse next time I eat lunch solo -- or better yet, it'll stay in there with double locks on it when I'm eating with someone.  I'm even going to try to make Sundays tech-free day.  I'll call it "Old School Sunday".  And yes, come Monday morning I'll have double the amount of emails waiting for me in my inbox.  But atleast my eyes, my brain, my body, and my soul will have gotten a healing break for 1 day.

Do you feel the same about technology?  Do you have any rules or rituals about how to take tech breaks?

Love,
p.a.

P.S.  Here are some interesting articles I wanted to share with you:

Hot Tips + Neat Tricks For The Everyday Gangster:  great read for people who work from home.  I really loved her tips on "canned responses" for gmail users, and clearing out your entire inbox so you have less input constantly in front of you when you open your email.

10 Tips For Keeping Tech In Check:  This helpful blog post led me to Caine's Arcade, as well as....

...This book, which is on it's way!  I'll let you know how it is.

New Album Update

Here is a very dorky photo of myself standing in front of my parking space sign at the Mastering studio.  So dorky, I know!  But very exciting for me, as it means that my album is seriously almost finished!  Mastering is the last stage in completing an album.

But don't let that fool you... I'm nowhere near the end of being "done".  Next come photo shoots, album artwork, and video shoots.

We're shooting for a June release date...so deadlines are looming everywhere.

Unfortunately I've had to close my Girl In A Tree store temporarily because of this.  I just couldn't keep up with putting orders together and replying in a timely fashion.  But I promise you when I do re-open, I have a special (small) surprise for any potential shoppers.

Other than that, I'm just trying to keep my sanity together and enjoy all these exciting steps in finishing, packaging, and promoting my new album, which hopefully you all will hear very soon.  I'll try to instagram some of the upcoming photo shoots etc. to keep you all in the loop.

Love,
P