THREE FOR THE END OF FEBRUARY

A leather, cotton cord, silk and amethyst necklace with vintage brass components by Kathryn of The Vamoose, who is always making such beautiful things // Chrysanthemums by Henri Fantin-Latour, 1871 found on Kathryn's tumblr // My favorite bedazzled hat in a patch of pale afternoon sun

February is just about my least favorite month (second only to March, ha!), but this one wasn't all bad, not by a long shot. Still, I'm thinking I may need to harness some crystal energy ala William Eadon to get me through the next several rainy, frustrating weeks as we battle our way towards Spring. Maybe I'll start here.

PANCAKES FOR ONE

I cook just about every day, sometimes several times a day. There's no better way to make sure that everything going into your food is good, clean and healthy. Plus, it's just fun. It also helps that I work from home a lot, but even if you have to fend for yourself out in the real world all week, the weekend is the perfect chance to whip yourself up something special.

I also cook solo an awful lot, especially while Alex is away. This can be frustrating when I find myself with a fridge full of a few ingredients that I then have to incorporate into every damn meal for a week before they go bad! In the case of last weekend it was various leftover bits from baking Valentines cupcakes, so I decided to make myself pancakes. I used this basic recipe as a starting point, made my own buttermilk (so easy!), used a mix of regular white and whole wheat pastry flours (I didn't have wheat germ but I think it would have made a nice addition), and added a bit of lemon zest. I also plopped on a few ripe blackberries as they were cooking, and served them up with real maple syrup and some orange slices.

What's your favorite thing to cook on the weekend?

FOR SALE: DOLCE VITA JAX BOOTIES

Dolce Vita Jax Ankle Boots
Size: 7M
Asking Price: $130 + location-specific shipping SOLD!

These beautiful nubuck leather boots were a Christmas gift from Alex. Unfortunately, after tracking down what seemed to be one of the last pairs in existence online, they turned out both not to fit, and to be non-returnable (fine print, fine shprint, am I right??)

They now appear to be totally sold out in this particular size and color combination, so if you have been wishing and hoping for a pair to pop up, please let my misfortune be your windfall! They were originally purchased for $200, but I'm happy to let them go or $130 plus location-specific shipping. These boots are in near-new condition, and have only been worn around my house a couple times while trying them on and pouting.

Email me at sirithorson@gmail.com if you are interested, and I will reply on a first come, first serve basis. Payment by Paypal only. Discounted boots to a loving home!

(Many thanks to my friend Agnes for snapping these pro photos for me!)

PANTS, MAGIC PANTS

I call these trousers my Magic Pants, because twice in a row I have worn them to work at an event of some kind and shoved cash in the pockets, only to conjure from thin air the forgotten bills days or even weeks later. The shirt is old and silky-soft, and will probably start falling apart the fifth time I wear it. And the shoes! They are the shoes I have been looking for since ninth grade. They're the shoes I wish I had worn to my first high school dance. Soft suede, ankle straps, solid heel and a tiny little peek of a peep at the toe. I will wear them until the day they go all Silver Hornet on me. Sadly, they're second-hand and the name is completely rubbed off the inside, otherwise I would tell you and we could all devote ourselves to tracking them down in every single color ever made.

Best of all, I was lucky enough to wear this here outfit to the A Détacher Fall 2012 show at Pier 59 Studios on Sunday night. As happy as I was to have a standing ticket, I was pretty dang excited when I nabbed a front row seat once all us rabble were allowed to file in and fill in any empty spots. I felt a liiittle bit conspicuous snapping away with my clunky SLR whose shutter goes off like a demented robotic baby bird, but if I've gotten even one decent shot of the fiery red-orange tights in those taupe and tangerine wood soled platforms, it'll have been more than worth it. Thank you Caitlin once again for inviting me, you made my day and my (Fashion) week!

BE MINE

Today, my two better halves are far, far away (and without both my halves, where does that leave me??) Alex said "hajimemashite!" to Tokyo yesterday morning, and as I type this I imagine Dagmar is snug in her little cabin with a big ginger cat named Kingston and Berserker the attack rabbit curled up at her feet.

Dag's visits to New York are few and far between, and usually end in her vowing never ever to return. Which I can respect. But this past fall we spent a giddy afternoon at the Met, wandering sleepy eyed and soft-footed from room to room until, fifteen minutes before closing, we burst back outside into reality and the rose-gold rays of late October sunshine. Last year I spent Valentine's Day getting tipsy on Champagne and then grinning my way sheepishly through a guided tour of Picasso's sculpture at the MoMa. This year I'd be happy to settle for a waterglass of Gato Negro with my dude, my lady, and me.

INSPIRATION: HANDMADE VALENTINES

Film stills from Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975) / Edwardian Valentines from LaMeow Vintage / my photo

Friends: thank you for indulging my mopey-ness. Someday we will look back and laugh at these dark times when we are all living in our Scottish castles surrounded by endless verdant vistas and staffed with an army of kitty butlers. Shall we proceed?

Let's be honest: just about all of us, myself included, have employed Valentine's Day as an excuse to wallow in self pity at one point or another. This is unacceptable! I have enough fuel for that fire, thank you very much. I have come to believe quite firmly that Valentine's Day is about All Loves Great and Small. It's about loving your friends and your family and your favorite meal and your potted plants and yes, if you happen to have a significant other, it is absolutely about loving them too. It's about who and what YOU love; it is about what YOU have and not about whatever it is you think you are lacking.

I love making Valentine's Day cards, and this year I will be making them for as many people as I can--my Grandma, my best friend, my Uncle, my parents. If you email me your address, I will make one for you (I'm serious! Do it!) I've always longed to replicate the delicate paper nothings the girls circulate with quiet rustles and soft shy smiles in the opening scenes of Picnic at Hanging Rock, and an Etsy search revealed a treasure trove of Victorian and Edwardian-era inspiration. In particular, LaMeow Vintage has an incredible selection of beautiful ephemera to take a peak at. My own versions, created from a hodge-podge of junk I found buried in my crafting pile, are not quite so achingly glorious...but I certainly wouldn't mind finding one waiting in my mailbox :n )

MR. MARVINLOUS

The last day I accomplished anything truly productive was January 24th; I know, it's on my Google calendar. Since then, my general life/work trajectory has settled gradually into something of a flat line. These short but sunny days, half of me wants nothing more than to run away back West. The other half, however, understands that I have no realistic choice but to drag myself forward, into the bright and hideous future, one sorry step at a time.

The handsome gentleman in these photos? Meet Marvin. He showed up one frosty evening under the front porch of my parents' house, yowling and hungry and playing shy guy. Eventually I coaxed him inside and upstairs, where he became a welcome fixture amongst pale sunlight poking through dark trees, grimy paperbacks and cups of spicy tea. Another thing I've been feeling a lot lately is that life is barely worth living without out a cat, which from what I understand is how I'm meant to feel about making babies, but, well, there you have it.