Where the heck have I been for the last month? ... No really, someone tell me! I don't know, I've been around I guess? Plugging away at work, sneaking off to see a movie or two, and pausing now and then to glare accusingly at a grey, gloomy June sky.
I've also been dreaming and scheming about summer travel--and the most important part of any well plotted trip is, of course, reading material. Having the right book in your bag can make or break an adventure, and there's nothing like having just the right thing to read, at the right time, in the right place. Fall in New York with Just Kids; a cold, snowy January in the PNW with Jane Eyre; an escape to Tulum in November with Papa. You know what I mean.
It's looking like I'll be in Scandinavia at the end of this month for a few days, and I've already put holds at the library on these two volumes. Having missed out completely on Moomintroll when I was a kid (it was all about the Tomten in our house), I never gave Tove Jansson much thought. But I keep hearing such wonderful things about her novels that I figured it was high time I gave it a go.
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?
This week, Alex and I will be driving up to Maine for a looong awaited mini-vacation. We'll be staying in Bar Harbor for two nights and Portland for one. Since my only real experience with the area up until this point has been through cats, Lobster rolls, and books about blueberry picking, I would love to hear if you guys have any suggestions as to what we should see/where we should shop/what we should eat (!!) We'll be hiking around Acadia National Park and hopefully be hitting up at least one lobster pound--but are there any great secondhand stores, cozy cafes, or historic light houses we can't miss? And that goes for anywhere along the route up north too, we'll be passing through Boston and a bit of New Hampshire as well. Thanks in advance for any advice! And yep, I'll be taking photos like crazy :n D
Three pieces I look forward with much anticipation to wearing once the weather is steadily above the 60 degree mark: a worn-in, semi-sheer cotton blouse in the most obnoxiously pastel poppy print, my Leah Goren Kitty Cat Tee, and the American Apparel mid length pocket top I have wanted since I tried it on last August (and now need in every color, I'm afraid.)
Other things I am looking forward to: getting paid tomorrow (fingers crossed) and immediately buying the biggest bunch of tulips I can lay hands on; trying, and perhaps succeeding, to track down a copy of this book; dying pysanky eggs and finding some flowering branches to hang them from; four words: Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes.
If only I loved perfume as much as I love perfume ads, maybe I wouldn't have such a hell of time settling on a scent! I don't know, maybe it's just having such a huge budget poured into something quite small, but so many of them seem to come out perfectly dreamy. Case in point: I'm completely obsessed with the new Love, Chloe commercial (and the song by Chemise.) Directed by Roman Coppola, it's the perfect nod to the classic '70's era Charlie ads. It just makes me wanna put on some camel pants be a career woman and have really, really bouncy hair.
Gucci also does a knock out job when it comes to their perfumes--recall Flora by Gucci and, last but certainly not least, Gucci by Gucci (by David Lynch!) Do you have a favorite perfume campaign, past or present?
I always enter into Halloween season with the best of intentions, I do. But every year, my costume plans always seem to loose steam in the face of my inescapable aversion to spending money on things I'm going to use/wear only once. More often than not, this leaves me having to source nearly my entire outfit from my own closet--but there's only so many times one can go as a "Seventies Disco Queen" or "Spooky 60's Babydoll" before people start calling foul...
Honestly, I had pretty much given up all hope of coming up with anything even vaguely impressive this year (especially since I'm pretty sure I totally peaked last year...nowhere to go but down, right?) That is, until I came across this photo on Refinery29 and realized that--yes!--75% of what I needed to totally rip the girl on the left off was already in my closet!It's fitting because I feel like my whole life I have sort of been haunted by those creepy Pierrot dolls with the porcelain faces and soft bodies you find at thrift stores and on your best friend's Mom's mantle piece.
Anyways, I feel this post is totally begging the question: what are you gonna be for Halloween??
As someone who is both an avid stalker of Etsy AND avidly unemployed, I've amassed quite a collection of items that I couldn't manage to justify purchasing over the last few months, but also can't quite bare to delete off my favorites page now that they're sold. A little bit of e-commerce masochism, I guess.
Unsurprisingly, pretty much all of them seem to involve a platform. This is because my fantasy life involves my living in a world where I can one, afford to buy wildly impractical vintage shoes off the internet, and two, manage to walk around all day in said shoes without falling on my face or giving a rat's ass if people think I'm insane.
Do you guys do this to yourself too? What's the item you most regret letting get away? Haha, and sorry if this is dredging up some bad memories...
So what do these things have to do with each other? Well, I'll tell you. Maybe you remember my hinting at a big, post-grad, cross-equatorial vacation hovering on my horizon? Here's the whole truth: I'm going to be accompanying the Pains of Being Pure at Heart on their upcoming, month long, season swapping Japan/Australia/New Zealand tour!
So now, I have two things to ask of you. First, here's a list of the cities we'll be in: Tokyo Osaka Kobe Fukuoka Melbourne Perth Brisbane Sydney Auckland Wellington
I'd love any suggestions of thrift shops, vintage markets, boutiques, used bookshops, and any other places I ought to poke my nose in, especially ones that are in easy traveling/walking distance from the venues the Pains will be playing (more info on their myspace!) Leave a comment or shoot me an email if you like, st_veridian@hotmail.com.
Second, if you are planning on attending any of the shows, please come say hello!! If you feel a little weird yelling "Hey Ringo!" across a crowded hall, my real name is Siri, and please don't be shy--I'd love to meet every last one of you :n )
We're heading upstate this weekend for some fall-time fun. Of most pressing urgency on the agenda: eating many delicious foods, including (but not limited to) apple cider doughnuts, pumpkin gelato, and doughboys a plenty.
Important question: does anyone know of any primo thrifting (or otherwise generally awesome) spots between NYC and Saratoga Springs, NY? You can always email me if you require confidentiality. Your secret will be safe with me, swear!! Now spill it. :n )
Lately I have been focusing on cooking (...and eating) as my preferred method of general life/school procrastination. Too bad everyone I know professes to be sick to death of cupcakes, or I might try and replicate these beauties. Hell, I might do it anyways. I've got an awful lot of other things to (not) do. Can you imagine if those roses were strawberry flavored? There is nothing finer in this world than strawberry icing made with fresh strawberries, the smell alone will knock you flat.
What are some of your favorite things to cook?
(Photo from janedear on flickr, click for original)
Yesterday was the first truly cold, rainy, blustery day of the season. There's absolutely no denying it anymore: Fall has landed.
This is the most layering I've had to do in months. Long sleeves...and a wool skirt?!? What a concept. I desperately need to round out my boot collection, especially since my favorite black lace-up pair is busted AGAIN. I've got a painful boot crush on a pair of, you guessed it, Rachel Comeys that I'll post about later, and maybe I'll put together an etsy boot round up? I've got an awful lot of faves, and not all of them are my size...in the meantime, I'll keep obsessively checking eBay.
I'm currently in the midst of finishing up packing (I'm bringing waaay too much stuff, what else is new), and I thought I'd take the time to stop and consider a few of the small things that I find pretty essential to traveling. I'll stash the above things in my carry-on:
• Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Sunscreen (the only sunscreen I can stand on my face, and yep I checked, it's exactly 3oz., back off TSA...) • A beat-up paperback, preferably recommended by a friend • Plain Moleskine pocket journals • Facial wipes (I like the above brand because they are both alcohol and oil free, meaning they wont dry out your skin or leave a nasty residue.) • Little wee iPod • Nivea Creme (I think most of the reason I love this lotion so much is specifically because it comes in a little blue tin.) • Strawberry Orbit (later airplane breath!)
So tell me, what are some of your travel necessities?
Where the heck have I been for the last month? ... No really, someone tell me! I don't know, I've been around I guess? Plugging away at work, sneaking off to see a movie or two, and pausing now and then to glare accusingly at a grey, gloomy June sky. 
