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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?
Film stills from Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975) / Edwardian Valentines from LaMeow Vintage / my photoFriends: 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 )
I'm honored and excited that a selection of images from a shoot I styled with Charlie back in May have been featured on Tourist Magazine today. Some of the shots have been posted here, but there's a few outtakes mixed in as well. Many thanks to EIC Sanna, whose work I've followed since she ran Manchester Looks (which probably makes me ancient in internet years!)
Talking about Upstate reminded me that I still had photos of a few of our own shibori projects from this summer lying around on my computer. Having experimented with the Arashi and
Kumo techniques, which are both pretty closely akin to traditional tie-dyeing, Dag and I decided to try and tackle the more complicated Itajime, which involves folding the fabric before dyeing and securing it tightly between two boards. Since we were working with vintage shirts and not full pieces of fabric, figuring out how best to pleat and manipulate our folds was kind of a headache--but our bumbling efforts were, amazingly, rewarded. Dag's first attempt, top, was a miraculous triumph.Anyone looking for a quick, basic Shibori tutorial should look here. Books can be helpful as well. Really though, the best way to learn is to just buy some dye, find some old silk t-shirts at a thrift store, and start mucking around. And I'm definitely happy to offer what little advice that I can, so don't hesitate to ask!
Photography: Charlie RubinStyling: Siri ThorsonModel: Lydia Carron (NEXT)Long story short: a few weeks ago, my friend Charlie and I were asked to put together a photo shoot for an online magazine that, ahem, shall remain nameless. After an enthusiastic initial review, they proceeded to sit on our images for several weeks, only to drop us last minute due to unclear and, frankly, lame reasons. We were both looking forward to having our work "published", albeit in a looser sense of the term, but finally we decided: screw it. This blog is as good a place as any to publish them, and I think you guys will appreciate them more anyways, gall darn it.
I think I can speak for both Charlie and I when I say how proud we are of the way the story turned out. Lydia was an exceptionally adventurous and patient model, crashing around my corner of Brooklyn and braving allergy-inducing dandelions all for the sake of her art. A big thanks is also due to Hannah for letting me raid her hat stash. I'm really, truly happy with the work we all put in, and I hope you feel the same way!
If you're feelin' it like we're feelin' it, both Charlie and I would love to encourage you to reblog and spread 'em around--we only ask that you provide credit and link back to our sites and/or this post. ♥♥♥
Back when Chioma was wowing us all in her amazing Boxing Kitten jumpsuit, it certainly never occurred to me that I might be meeting with its creator on a rainy November afternoon in Chinatown. But: life is frickin' weird. For the February/March 2011 issue of BUST Magazine, I had the immense pleasure of interviewing designer Maya Amina Lake, who happens to make clothes that are almost as rad as she is.
Friends, today I am issuing you a plea. As I am a simple girl, I make only a simple request: in the name of all that's delicious, find a reason to make pancakes this weekend (or tomorrow...or RIGHT NOW.) Why? Because I truly believe that I've found what can only be described as the world's greatest pancake recipe--and I'm here to spread the gospel. Let me preface by saying that these are no ordinary pancakes: they are Pumpkin Spice pancakes. So if you don't like pumpkin and you don't like spice...I suggest you get the hell outta my kitchen! I found this recipe, of all places, on the Opening Ceremony blog a little over a week ago, and have made them twice since then (and that is a serious show of self-control.) Both times they cooked up like fluffy little piles of warm, soft, moist clouds from heaven--and in the perfect quantity for two hungry people who REALLY like pancakes.
Assembling the troops.
Mmmmm, spice pile.
Go whole or go home!
A couple of tips:• I've been adding a good spoonful (or around a tablespoon) of molasses to my wet ingredients, which gives the finished product an amazing gingerbread flavor.• Seeing as it's fall and all, I really gotta urge you to make the pumpkin puree from scratch. Pumpkins are cheap and in season, and those things practically cook themselves. Here's a quick how-to. (And while we're at it: here's how to make buttermilk from scratch.)• I haven't gotten around to making the Vanilla Bean Syrup they recommend (though I can only imagine the wonder) but I cannot impress upon you enough how crucial the Cinnamon Butter is. Seriously, it takes all of five minutes to whip up, and it will increase the yum-factor twenty-fold. 
Aaagh looking at these photos is literally like torture right now. Maybe we can make these a new Halloween breakfast tradition? Or like...a Tuesday breakfast tradition?? Whatever it takes guys, I'm telling you: do this now!!
1)
(image via Anywho)It was love at first sight when I found these vintage tap shorts over on Anywho. Knowing that they exist for sale in a boutique somewhere in Madrid makes the fact they will never be mine all the more painful. But it got me thinking, maybe I could just make a pair myself? I've actually done a fair amount of beading work in my day, and while it would be incredibly tedious, it wouldn't be all that difficult. I figure, start out with a pair of these, do some creative tailoring, buy a crapload of cheap fake pearls and go for it!2)
(image via Nast Magazine)Ok, so to be fair, the DIY aspect of this one might only extend so far as me begging my mom to knit up a bunch of tubes that I can then braid into whatever amazing head wrap/hat/yarn hair extension is going on here. Seriously, what on earth is this amazing thing?? Also, on a side note, I'm really stoked to see Nast back in business!
Talk about playing catch up: all the way back in February, I spent an unseasonably mild afternoon in jewelry designer Erin Considine's sun-washed little studio snapping photos for a feature in Got a Girl Crush Magazine. Fast forward several months and countless hours of hard work on the part of founders and editors Meg Wachter and Andrea Cheng, and GAGC Issue #2 is now hot off the presses.
