Archive for February, 2009

Mari Kloeppel & Every Girl’s Horse or Photography Phase

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

You know that line in Lost In Translation when Scarlett Johansson talks about every girl going through a horse or photography phase. Well, I’m guilty of the photography – evidenced by this blog – but never got into the horse thing. However, all that may be about to change after spending time at the Crocker’s Animals in the Drawing Room: Portraits by Mari Kloeppel, showing until May 31.

Kloeppel lovingly captures the personalities of the animals in her life, including horse Cobahsaan and dog Blue. The portaits have almost a melancholic feel to them but are so graceful and fully realized that you can’t help but get caught up in the beauty of Kloeppel’s work. Her story of how she came to focus on painting, after a riding accident, is equally fascinating and certainly informs her choice of subject matter in this show.


Mari Kloeppel, Cobahsaan and Blue I, 2007. Oil on linen, 42 x 60 in. Collection of Michelle and Gary Moore

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Van Voorhies House – a peek inside!

Sunday, February 15th, 2009

These past few weeks, I’ve had the great pleasure of researching the house history for the Van Voorhies house on G Street. It really is a charming house, quite small and now a bit low-key in its current incarnation as law offices.

The house was built by architect Charles Cate in 1868-69. In 1872, Cate sold the house to prominent businessman Albert Van Voorhies. Nicknamed “the Prince”, Voorhies was a wealthy saddle and leather goods merchant who owned two large stores in town (one in the space now occupied by Denny’s between J and I streets downtown).

The house was broken into apartments for most of the 20th Century and included a long line of tenants. One resident, a retired gentleman, told stories of when he delivered mail on horseback in his youth and managed to avoid a few scrapes with the Indians. Another man was a popcorn salesman who had a stand on 9th and J Streets.

Here are some interior photos of the house. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to photograph the inside, now could I?





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Preserve Me A Seat – West Sac Showing

Sunday, February 8th, 2009

Did you know there is a place that shows classic and independent movies on the big screen in West Sac? Neither did I. These cool film screenings take place in the old ILWU labor union hall on F Street (on the other side of the river). Movies run Fridays at 7 or 9:30 p.m. (check the schedule) and admission is just $5, unless otherwise noted. You can view their upcoming calendar here.

Two future films that caught my eye:

His Girl Friday – What better way to start Valentine’s weekend than with this fast-talking, screwball comedy from director Howard Hawks. This is the film that current directors always require their leads to watch in order to perfect that comic timing and chemistry. (7 p.m., Friday Feb 13)

Preserve Me A Seat – Local historian William Burg will be introducing this documentary about saving our beautiful, historic movie palaces. The movie also delves into issues that face modern cities such as finding new uses for historic structures or on the flip side, tearing down old buildings to put up things like high-end lofts or apartments. This film is presented in partnership with the Sacramento Old City Association. (check listing for time, Friday March 20)

See you at the movies!

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Things I’m Loving Right Now

Sunday, February 1st, 2009

So I’m still under the weather so I apologize for the lateness of the post… but here are a few things that are keeping my spirits up:

Sacramento Heritage Inc. has put up a Flickr page of photos. So far it’s a bit sparse but looks like they are working on getting some current as well as historic photos posted.

Lucky – the new video from Jason Mraz. I normally don’t advertise when I like corporate “rock” music, but there’s something dangerously catchy about this song and the video filmed in Prague is gorgeous, part Sartorialist and part Madonna Take A Bow. I should mention that this is a duet and half of the video is Colbie Caillat on location in Hawaii. To me, that’s the boring bit.

Snippet & Ink wedding inspiration – My wedding was quite simple and lovely (read: inexpensive), so I do get a bit drooly when I look at the charming and well chosen photo collages from Snippet & Ink. Even if you aren’t a bride, it’s still fun to look at the design ideas and the amazing photographs.

Harlem.org – a site devoted to the 1958 photograph by Art Kane of 57 jazz musicians standing on 126th Street in Harlem. I love looking at all of the names and reading a bit about each musician. I love the easy elegance of this website too. I’d like to do something similar one day, with a different photo or painting.

Hayes Valley – a fun neighborhood in San Francisco to stroll around with your partner. Start by exploring the old houses along the Lily and Ivy street alleyways, then do a little window shopping at neighborhood boutiques, stop at one of the many cafes/restaurants for dinner and don’t for get to pick up some candy or a macaroon at Miette’s Confiserie for dessert.

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