The latest from our London-based editor, Justine Aw.

This evening I had the pleasure of attending “A Culinary Odyssey” with Bompas & Parr and KitchenAid to celebrate the launch of the new KitchenAid 6.9L Artisan Stand Mixer. The event was filled with science fiction inspired cocktails from the Experimental Cocktail Club (ECC), Kubrick inspired sets created by designer and prop stylist Rhea Thierstein, a levitating food device from Poietic Studio and futuristic menu created by Andrew Stellitano. Bioluminescent lollipops, a rum cola cloud chamber and cricket pasta were only a few of the incredible offerings. See lots of photos on the next page!

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The latest dose of natural inspiration from our resident zoologist and London-based editor, Justine Aw.

There are so many species I love in the Reptile (and amphibian!) house at the London Zoo, but these two species were particularly fascinating to watch as they boldly courted around the enclosure. The black-legged or bicolored dart frog (Phyllobates bicolor) and the strawberry poison-dart frog (Oophaga pumilio) were chasing prospective mates and rivals around their enclosures and calling so loudly you could hear them over the din of school groups (a very impressive feat!).

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I’ve been lusting after Acronym goods for years now… and perhaps, secretly loving that the jackets i liked were only for guys, so i couldn’t give in. Well for their new Acronym SS/12 collection… they did it. Their women’s WS-JF26 Hardshell Packable Windstopper Active Shell Jacket is awesome. And i’m smitten… all the brilliant design details… including my favorite JacketSling feature… recut and fitted for ladies!

The WS-JF26, which they describe as: “Light and soft almost to the point of invisibility, WS-JF26 floats in at a feather weight 150g. Enabler of this feat is the new Windstopper® Active Shell™ fabric; a windproof, water-repellent, highly breathable, highly compressible, ultralight ghost of a textile. Rolled into its own stow pocket, JF26 forms a tiny package that you can take with you anywhere. Hang it off of the carabiner, or wear it over your shoulder on the Jacketslingæ. Pack carefully and the zippered pocket will even hold all of your essentials (card, key, phone) for day or nighttime sorties.”

Best way to fall for it… see the video of it in action on the next page, as well as lots of detail pictures! (and a bonus, also see the awesome men’s E-J23 Lightshell Epic Vehicular Jacket has a magical Escape Zip that lets you unzip it off while carrying a messenger bag or seatbelt!)

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Traditional Irish coffee, Momofuku Redeye Mayonnaise and homemade marshmallows are all part of this week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

The latest from our resident zoologist and London-based editor, Justine Aw.

I recently had the honor of spending a quiet weekday morning completely mesmerized by these incredible creatures at ZSL London Zoo. The beautiful grey slender loris (Loris lydekkerianus) is an incredible nocturnal primate and it’s hard to describe the experience of watching them. It’s simultaneously very relaxing and thrilling to see them moving with a unique combination of elegance and awkwardness with their long limbs stretching from branch to branch. At the London Zoo, these creatures live in the nocturnal house below the Rainforest exhibit and the zoo recently welcomed twins! See more pics on the next page!

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This super stormy socal weekend, we decided to wander down to San Diego… having lived there for years i’d walked/driven by so many of the la jolla hotels but never stayed in them! After months of vicariously browsing the HotelTonight app on our phones around noon to see what hotel offers popped up each day, it finally seemed like the right time to be spontaneous about it! And San Diego Beach Cities were a recent addition as far as deal locations ~ also love that you can even book a deal for up to a few nights (for that spontaneous weekend away or so!) Take a peek on the next page at our spontaneous La Jolla adventures thanks to Hotel Tonight which landed us at La Valencia and the super new Pantai Inn… as well as a look at their lovely app and UI! It was hard not to book another random night and stay longer, but alas, it was time to get home!

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Racehorse compression suits, Frank Lloyd Wright doghouse and a drone’s eye view of a ninja fight are all part of this week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

Toys (specifically Lego, Lincoln Logs, Duplo, Fischertechnik, K’nex, Krinkles, Tinkerytoy, Zome, Zoob, Gears Gears Gears, etc) + 3D printer + Free Universal Construction Kit = MORE ways to play with your toys! Picture the crazy structures you (or your kid’s) wildest imagination can flourish in as every piece can connect to every other piece… or how many more toys you will need to buy to fully utilize the Free Universal Construction Kit’s capabilities…

While the monster of a Universal Adapter Brick was quietly launched at Golan Levin’s Eyecode solo show at UCI’s Beall Center for Art + Technology a few months ago, it’s exciting to see the rest of the kit finally available! So, freshly launched this morning from Golan Levin at F.A.T. Lab and our own head of NOTlabs, Shawn Sims comes the Free Universal Construction Kit. It is “a collection of nearly 80 adapter bricks that enable complete interoperability between ten popular children’s construction toys. By allowing any piece to mate with any other, the Kit encourages totally new forms of intercourse between otherwise closed systems — enabling radically hybrid Constructivist play and the creation of heretofore impossible designs.”

You can see the full chart of all pieces, download the full .stl pack, find just the piece you need on Thingiverse, and even watch the 80’s style advert for Free Universal Construction Kit on the next page!

Next… if you have a 3D printer, and have fun toys, AND print out some pieces… i’d love to see what you (and/or your kids) create with them!!! Please share pics!!!

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Plan your next getaway with NotVentures. This week’s roundup includes Irish castles, tropical overwater bungalows, Ecuadorian birdwatching and more. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

I love art as objects… there’s something fun about paintings and photographs as transformed into large pillows you can hug and squeeze… the change in texture changes the way you relate to the pieces (like these i’ve long loved from click for art)… the latest find are these beautiful pillows from East Camp Home Pillows featuring the creature photography of Valerie Shaff. The two initial collections are Exotics (Tigers and Crocs and Peacocks and such) and Fable (Doves and Snakes and Hawks and such)… see the gorgeous pillows on the next page!

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Bacon waffles, frozen egg whites and the story behind the Whiskey Smash are a part of this week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

Just in from our Tasteologie editor, Jackson Stakeman, he got a taste of Kitchit, the new bespoke chef service that just expanded to Los Angeles (from SF) today. Here’s what he learned (and ate!)…

I’ve learned some things recently… dinner parties are hard. Eating and hanging out with friends is easy. The view off the roof of a condominium on Ocean Ave in Santa Monica is amazing. Especially at sunset. Having a Top Chef All Star (in this case, Marcel Vigneron) prepare you and your friends a private dinner is even more so. Kitchit, a new company which offers new ways of connecting diners with chefs, has just reached Los Angeles. They invited me up to the roof for a little get together in order to have a taste and to take a peak at what they’ve been up to.

Kitchit uses the power of the internet to illuminate the often murky world of catering and private chefs. It offers an alternative to socialite word of mouth, sketchy business cards, and random internet searches. Hosts can select from a wide variety of chefs, including some well known culinary celebrities, and book a private dinner as if they were ordering it off the internet… which they are. You can even use the site to split the bill amongst your guests. Take a peek at the adventure through pictures on the next page…

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A tiny chicken embryo’s beating heart, LEGO shuttles in space and stories behind the Kraken are all part of this week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

Just fell for these gorgeous tiles by Swedish design group, Claesson Koivisto Rune, over at Style Files. The Dandelion and Casa tiles debuted in Stockholm 2012. Take a peek at the lovely designs on the next page!

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The latest from our culinary editor, Jackson! You can find more of our delectable delights at Tasteologie.

Cupcakes are wonderful. While they have perhaps become a little over exposed in the last few years, they are certainly still a tasty treat. There are so many different kinds, different cakes, different frostings… it seems like there is one for every mood. Sprinkles has upped the ante by providing cupcakes for when you are feeling anti-social, hungry at 3am, nostalgic for automats, or for when you just want dessert handed to you from a robot with its own twitter handle. Their new Cupcake ATM has certainly captured the imagination of the Internet, Los Angeles, and now me. I too have succumbed to the siren’s call of that winning combination of fat, sugar, and machine. The Sprinkles Cupcake ATM even has its own twitter - @CupcakeATM and facebook. Take a peek at our cupcake adventure on the next page!

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