rock my socks

Fresh Feist

2011-09-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Feist's Metals is coming out in a week or so, but you can listen to it early. Yes, you do have to provide an email (one you can actually check), but the album is so very ethereal and pretty and haunting. So you should probably do it. (You can always unsubscribe once you have the link!)

Enjoy!

Dressing like Ms Frizzle

2011-09-26T11:56:00.000-07:00

I have secretly always wanted to be more like Ms. Frizzle. She had the coolest dresses, took her students on the best field trips, and didn't doubt her own awesome for a moment. The Magic School Bus books were amongst my absolute favorites as a kid (esp. Inside the Earth and Lost in the Solar System*. Geo and Astro have always been my most beloved subjects...), so it is only reasonable that Ms. Frizzle become a role model, right? Even if she was never intended to be a fashion diva.

So recently when I was scrolling though my options at Spoonflower, the print-your-own-fabric-design shop, I came across some spectacular options that are screaming to be made into Ms. Frizzle outfits. Skirts, dresses, or blouses? I'm not sure yet. I just hope my mediocre self-taught seamstress skills are able to keep up with this plan.

Sun Surface by Animotaxis

Malachite by Ravynka

Peridot by Paragon_studios_one

Rhodochrosite by Missemor

Nebulae by Tingish

Now I just need to find a couple great dinosaur, insect, and robot options and my nerdy desires will be fulfilled!

*How did I never own In the Time of the Dinosaurs? What a shocking lack in my childhood!

Ogling the Microcosm

2011-09-26T11:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't yet voted on any options, mostly because I'm too busy ogling the awesome, but I thought I'd share just in case you hadn't seen this yet. Nikon is having a contest for microphotography, and we get to vote. Did you know that cancer cells and algae were stunning? That bug sperm and ovaries belong on my wall?

Nikon Small World

Now I really, really want a fancy zoom lens for my someday camera.

... and the Paper Sculpture Escapade

2011-09-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

This is ace. That is all.

Frock or Folly

2011-09-22T21:19:00.001-07:00

I really wish I got invited to the sorts of shindigs where this dress could rightly be called a necessity. Because it is amazing. Seriously. Go ogle it now. And then plan a super rad party and invite me, please.

I wouldn't decline invites that required this dress either.

2011-09-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite things are camping and stargazing. I love being out in the wild, feeling tiny and insignificant and yet connected. A bit cheesy, I know, but it really is the best feeling. Jared Brandon captures a bit of that awe and wonder and delight in this lovely timelapse video. Definitely worth a full screen view!

Go here to see the video on vimeo, with the filmmaker's description of the process. I wish I had been camped out there getting to see all this live!

Thanks to S, my kiwi's lovely sister, who sent it to him.

Decades of Dresses

2011-09-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this yet? I found it delightful - and it turns out to be a commercial for a mall! And I hate malls! But this video is rad. Watch 100 years of fashion dancing though 100 seconds and wish that you had access to that commercial's closet. (I call dibs on the 20s, 30s, and 40s!)

Originally spotted at The Hairpin.

Geeky Fun

2011-09-01T12:06:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, do you read Girls Like Giants yet? It is a great blog started by some lovely and talented gals up at the University of Oregon. They talk about pop culture in a smart, refreshing forum. It is fun, thought provoking, and has given me a load of fun new things to read or watch.

Anyways, they kindly let me do a guest post the other day and I thought I'd put up a plug in case you were interested. I'm talking about my current favorite tv show, Torchwood. Do you watch Torchwood? If not, do so immediately. It is the best show on tv right now (and the old seasons are all on netflix, so you can catch up fast!). Enjoy!

Good Intent

2011-08-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

I am so glad I have an NZ hook up so I can get this album - since there is not a US release date yet. And guys, how good is that video?

I wish my spontaneous dance parties looked a bit more like that.

Starting Clean and Fresh

2011-08-29T10:40:00.001-07:00

If you had the chance to move across the planet, what would you bring along? Everything you own? The bare minimal essentials? This is my current dilemma. I'm leaning toward the minimal side of the spectrum, but funny thing - I like stuff. I like stuff a lot. I like all my shoes and bags and coats, I like all my books - oh, my books! - I like my files of magazine clippings and notes, I like my knick knacks and souveniers and tchotchkes. I will store some things here in the states, so I don't really have to say goodbye (and maybe after a spell of living without the miscellany I can get rid of some), but what to take?

I am moving to a first world nation, one that speaks English and has a (mostly) western world mindset, so I don't have to plan on things I take in terms of what will not be available to me in my new home. But there will also be something comforting in bringing my stuff with me to this new corner of the world; I'm hoping it will make my new place feel like home.

So tell me, friends of the internet, what would you bring? What could you not live without? What would you leave behind? Would you find this a fun or distressing challenge?

Shopping Bag

2011-08-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

My lovely friend C and I recently ventured out into the garment district of LA to find some oilcloth - you know, that plasticy fabric cheesy summer tablecloths are made of? She had a few projects in mind and I was just along for the fun. But the prints we found at Michael Levine's were so darling I couldn't resist getting a few pieces.

I finally figured out my first project with one of the prints - a floral on a lovely ochre green background. I happened to have some leaf green and deep maroon canvas laying around from previous projects and appropriated some to serve as the lining and base of the bag. I attempted to use this diy design by the very talented Renske Solkesz of The Dress I Made. (I've used it before on a different project and it is fast, easy, and looks like it takes more skill than it does.) But because my seamstress skills are subpar, (and I was slightly distracted by reruns of StarTrek on netflix...) I messed up the stitching (because I messed up the cutting and aligning of the lining with the bag) on one of the tabs. So I improvised. I tucked in one tab on itself and hey! instant pocket!

The other tab I folded over and it formed a flap to close the bag. But I still needed to attach a strap, and I like that the original plan holds the bag closed. So I ran the strap through the closing flap (and I may later attach a snap or such to keep it in place), and it holds the bag closed when the strap is held tight.

Not perfect, but I like it. Pretty color combo, useful, and my shoddy skills didn't even mess up the bag beyond help. It didn't turn out as originally intended but that's never stopped me from enjoying something before!

Calculated Costumes

2011-08-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Early next year my dear kiwi and I are moving to New Zealand for a couple years. This involves plans and schemes for various details - things like visas, storage and shipping of belongings, and finding new jobs and a new home. But, being me, I am also setting in motion a plan for one specific aspect of my belongings: my wardrobe.

I have trained as a costumer, in an amateur sense, and since I started doing that as a teenager, the ideas behind planning out a specific character through a series of costumes developed parallel to my sense of personal fashion. Often, when I'm picking out my outfit for the day or trying on new pieces at a shop, I'm asking myself what role I will play. Responsible adult? Quirky teacher? Urban party girl? Whatever the plan for the day, I've got an outfit to make me feel the part.

But moving to a foreign country means having to make some very (hard!) deliberate choices about what comes and what doesn't. Between luggage and shipping, I can only bring so many things. But I also don't know what sort of job I'll have, where we'll be living, and what kinds of new activities I will do in my down time. This means that I need to have a wardrobe that is flexible enough to serve a wide variety of purposes but which is as compact as possible. For me, this sounds like a fantastic challenge/opportunity to plan out an ideal wardrobe and curate my current collection to suit.

This is going to be a bit of an ongoing process for the next few months, as I finalize my written plan and start to sort through what I have, what I need, what I am making, and what is getting tossed. I will do my best to share my process here, from outfit inspiration to drafted plans, to final results. And I will appreciate every bit of advice you have to offer - because it turns out it is much harder to plan for every occasion in life than to plan for a series of scripted scenes. Look for the "Calculated Costumes" label if you want to follow along during this process!

Sun Ain't Shinin'

2011-08-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Spontaneous dance party, anyone? Yes? Well, ready, set, go!

This band is so much fun. I just discovered The Asteroids Galaxy Tour and am seriously digging their album Fruit. The video* for "The Golden Age" is on the main page and it is So. Much. Fun. How much do you wish you were at that party?!

*Does that video look familiar? The short form is a Heineken commercial, which is actually how I discovered the band in the first place. Yup. I'm not a very good hipster.

Smell as Sweet

2011-07-26T23:15:00.000-07:00

I love the idea of a signature scent - always wearing the same specific scent (one which is at least mostly unique) every day so that when people smell it, they think of you. What a gorgeous thought. But I'm a bit too fickle for that. There are a few perfumes I adore, but there are also lots of others that I enjoy for a time and then move on to a new favorite. I'm currently on the prowl for a new selection of scents, and these are the ones on the top of my list so far.

Garden, by MCMC Fragrances. It is herby, unisex, and oil based. Pretty much perfect. It is also by a darling indie company, which rocks, and supports a charity, which also rocks. I have gotten this twice before and can't wait for my next tube to arrive. I would highly recommend ordering a sample pack (or both) from MCMC - enough to test each scent a couple times and really get a feel for how the scent wears on you. It may seem kind of pricey for what you can get for free at a department store, but remember, this is an indie company, and you are really getting a couple week's worth of perfume out of it. (Or it is possible I just have a crush on this company and will do anything they ask of me...)

Demeter Fragrance Library. I particularly love Grass and Paperback. The former is a nice grassy smell but with slightly floral undertones to keep it from being too kitschy. Nice and fresh. The later is my favorite musty/musky scent. Very unisex, great for winter. I also love to layer it with a lighter floral option. I always order a small selection of scents in the .5 oz splash size. This goes a long way, and gives me a nice selection of smells. Plus, if you order enough you get a free prize! The prize was pretty lame on my last order (Who wants to smell like a cosmo? Gross.) but my selections were rad. This next time I think I may opt for Beeswax, Sawdust, This is Not a Pipe, Tomato, Earthworm (I've tried Dirt and it is kind of amazing), and Firefly. This is also a really fun thing to stock up on for little favors and gifts. With so many pretty, hilarious, and specific scents you can really personalize your message.

Perfume Oil, by Long Winter Farm. I haven't tried this, but recently spied it on another blog (I'm bad and can't remember who! If it was you, tell me and I'll link back to you!) and now can't wait to order. I'm thinking of getting a sample pack of three oils, because, hey, it's a bargain! I'm probably going to ask for violet, sunset, and meadow but we'll see. I may also have to order some of that cream and lip balm because basically that entire store looks amazing. Oil based fragrances, luscious scents, and they even do requests! I'll let you all know how it goes once I place my order.

What perfumes/scents do you love? I would love a recommendation or two!

PS: This post is definitely not sponsored by any of the above companies. Just my own opinions!

Hi Guys

2011-07-21T11:24:00.001-07:00

Um, Hi. I know its been awhile. Ooops. Sorry. I'm going to try to be a much better blogger, but we'll see. In the meantime, have a dance party! Wheee!

Sorry it isn't a better video -- I really wanted to play you this song, and I didn't have quite as much fun dancing to the other versions (mostly live and acoustic).

Brett Dennen's music available here.

New Zealand

2011-06-18T00:19:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not have gathered from previous posts, I happen to be dating a very lovely kiwi fella and we recently (Okay, it was in April. Months ago. Which isn't terribly recent in blog-time.) took a little trip down there. It is everything that people always say about it -- gorgeous landscape, nice people, good food. We spent time with my kiwi's family and friends, seeing places he grew up, drinking delicious local wine and beer, and gorging ourselves on some of the best dairy, produce, and meat I can remember eating. (It helps that his mum is a TERRIFIC cook and we spent much of our time staying with them on the incomparable Marlborough Sounds). Here are a very few of my favorite pictures from the trip. Enjoy.

P.S. More photos can be found at my flickr.

Punching in a Dream

2011-01-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

For the second year in a row my boyfriend's rad sister sent me a CD for Christmas. Last year it was Gin Wigmore (a kiwi), with her smoky voice and playful sound that is part oldies, part island, and part rock. This time I got The Naked & Famous (also kiwi) and they are delightful. Very different sound from Miss Wigmore, much more of an electronic alt rock, and an altogether very different sound than I usually listen to. That said, the album is ace so I thought I'd share the fun. This is my fave song of the album, but be sure to check out this neat video too.

I highly recommend adding them to your workout mix, too! I keep alternating between The Naked and Famous and Florence and the Machine for my cardio days. Very energizing, both.

Make, Do, See

2011-01-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

I know January is almost over, but I've been honing my list of resolutions and plans for this year and am just finally getting where I want it. I probably should also add "Resist procrastination" to the list, but I am trying to only put realistic expectations on my list. Basically my theme is to make more, do more, see more. As opposed to just watching reruns on Netflix again, or reading that same novel I've already read six times. While both activities are awesome and will not disappear from my repertoire, I'd like to add a little more to my days. So here's my list. I'll try to blog what I manage to make, do, and see so you can share in the fun!

Explore the bejeezus out of this city -- only one year left!
Eat real foods, mostly plants, as much as possible!
Finish that dern novel! Start a new one!
No more plastic bags!
Floss more!
Learn something new -- dance, tai chi, calligraphy, knitting, graphic design, martial arts, or something else entirely! Maybe even more than one thing!
Get my life ready to move to a new continent!

Any favorite themes, key words, or plans for 2011?

Go West

2010-11-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

Being raised in the Wild West -- albeit a rather shady and all too 20th century version of it -- I have a bit of a fondness for frontier tales. Or maybe it is a remnant from my devouring all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books when I was 7. Either way, I really enjoy the period. I also enjoy manipulations of the theme: steampunk frontier, space frontier, romantic frontier. But there is a distinct shortage of frontier magic. Until now.

Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede

Wrede is very good at alternative history, as we can see in what she terms Regency Magic*. So naturally, I had pretty high hopes for her latest novel, billed as a YA fantasy work. Then I read the book in a few hours on Halloween.

It is a rich novel, and long-ish for YA, so I generally would have expected it to take a few savored afternoons. Instead, I got up to make dinner and when I came back to the book, I noticed I only had about 20 pages left. The book was that good.

Okay, so now that I've built it up so much you are almost guaranteed to find it lacking, let's talk about the work itself. The U.S. frontier parallels the one we know from history lessons and Western movies, but differs in enough key aspects to be foreign and exotic. Magic, for one, is everywhere, as magicians, magical creatures, magical dangers. The nation we know as the U.S. has still separated from what we call England -- Columbia and Albion, respectively in Wrede's west -- but the Civil War happened decades earlier, Lewis and Clark never made it back from their expedition, and Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were genius magicians. In this strange, delicious, wild land, there is a girl, the thirteenth child of her parents and twin to a seventh son of a seventh son, called Eff.

When her parents decide to relocate, Eff is moved from the industrial and familiar east to the far edges of the frontier, at the edge of the Mammoth River that splits the continent. She is caught up in the adventures the frontier life brings, complicated by her own magic (and her mixed feelings on such) and the magic of the land, by turns terrifying and breathtaking. This is only the first book for Wrede's Frontier Magic, and while the end of the novel is a satisfying one, and not really a cliff-hanger, I am nonetheless greedy for Book Two's publication next August.

I think I like this book in part because it does what Wrede always does well, create relatable young heroines and entangle them in sticky-sweet relationships much like those her readers experience. She always places these characters in rich settings, with adventure-rich plots veined in magic. In short, she is a very good YA fantasist. But she is also a great novelist in that each of her books feels new, in a way that so much of the available reading out there today doesn't. Even though the frontier setting should be almost cliche by now, she gives it such new life with her interpretation that I couldn't help but turn page after page. Any author who can make the cliche seem new earns high marks by my count.

Read this book. Read her entire bibliography. I know I'm gushing by this point, but she deserves it. And so, my friend, do you.

*Mairelon the Magician was a beloved book as a child, and its sequel The Magician's Ward (now combined in an omnibus A Matter of Magic) is a go-to when I have a craving for a sweet romance (with costumes!). I definitely recommend them, once you've finished Thirteenth Child and need more. And when you want even more, read her Enchanted Forest Chronicles. They are pretty much perfect.

Sneaky Sneaky

2010-10-31T16:09:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know, another video. Oh well.

Cephalopods are amongst my absolute favorite animals, especially cuttlefish. But this species of octopus might just be approaching the top of the list. The video gets cut off a bit early at the end, but you'll get the idea. And you'll either be as delighted as myself, or as creeped out as the friend who shared this with me. So, um, Happy Halloween?

In other news, I promise a couple book reviews coming up soon, and a discussion of pants.

And one more...

2010-10-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

For those who actually know me, that last post was a trifle peculiar -- all my coats are bright and colorful, not black and white. I would ruin a white coat in about 3 wears, and black is boring. So here is one last coat, a blazer of sorts, that I am absolutely drooling over and may very well have to get before the season is out.

Isn't that pumpkin color perfect? And don't you just love the ruffled front? I haven't tried it on in person yet -- knowing full well I won't be able to resist temptation! -- so I'm not sure how those ruffles will sit on my very curvy chest, but I cannot wait to wear this with an airy petal blouse, dark skinny jeans, and my go-to lace-up riding boots. So perfect.

Found here. Le sigh, anthropologie. You get me every time.

Cozy Up

2010-10-26T02:00:00.001-07:00

I could really go for some cold weather right now. For one, I could use a day cuddled up with a cuppa and a book, watching the weather out the window. For two, I really want one of these coats. Or all four.

Go here, here, here, and here.

Steampunk Parachute

2010-10-21T19:55:00.001-07:00

Ingrid Michaelson is a regular in my playlists, but usually when I need something mellow and pretty. This new single is pretty and, I suppose, mellow, but is a bit punchier in sound than much of her previous work.

That said, I like it. And I especially like the video.

It has the flavor of George Melies early scifi film A Voyage to the Moon but also the sass of steampunk.

--- As an aside, have ya'll noticed how up and up steampunk seems to be at the moment? It was even featured in an episode of Castle recently??? Does it make me a total sf hipster if I exclaim "Pshaw, I was reading steampunk novels decades ago!" ---

Anyways, I want to dress as Ingrid's character in this video all the time. Especially that hair, with those eyelashes, those goggles, and that jacket. I've already got the shoes.

TenTenTen

2010-10-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Did you hear about the 1010 project? Probably, because I heard about it from Joanna and we all know she is the Queen of Bloglandia and therefore we all follow her every post faithfully. But I'm going to reshare it here anyway.

Basically Victoria Hannan asked nine other photographers from all over the world to take 10 pics on 10/10/10. She did it too. And all the photos are now available here.

I was struck by how many things are so familiar, even in Japan, South Africa, Australia, Portugal. And then just as you are getting comfy, something wacky inserts itself and you know this ain't Kansas. Or, you know, where ever you happen to be.

Am I bovered?

2010-10-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

As a good little nerd girl, I have a deep love of Doctor Who. I didn't grow up with it but discovered it after the revitalization with Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. Then I became quickly obsessed. Witty, sweet, nerdy, a tad bit meta, and really good scifi, the show continues to be good, though with each companion change or doctor regeneration I'm always ready to say goodbye. But each time, they live up to their previous high standard (well, most of the time... Sorry, Martha but you have nothing on Rose.), or even exceed it.

One of the best pairings, though, was of David Tennant's Doctor and Catherine Tate's Companion. No romantic hints at all. Just quality comedy, smart commentary, and a truly moving transformation of Donna from something like her character below to the DoctorDonna and then, with such sorrow and grace, back again. The clip below is from a skit show I'm not familiar with -- having no British programming available to me, despite my hundred plus tv channels -- but features Tate and Tennant in their glory. The speed, the depth, the literariness, the confidence.

Enjoy.

Sorry for all the videos lately. I know it is lazy blogging. I'm working diligently away on a few other projects that need finishing. I'll be sure to share here as I go, but for now, you get lazy blogging. But hey, it saves you from doing all the youtube searches yourself, eh?

Sunday Dance Party

2010-10-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

While I don't always love Paul McCartney's solo work, I found this to be the perfect lazy Sunday theme song. Peppy, foot tapping-worthy, but mellow. And the quirky video is utterly fabulous. Happy weekend!

God Help the Girl

2010-10-12T23:50:00.001-07:00

Do you know this delightful little band? This is the title track from their album, performed live. They crack me up, and I am seriously loving their voices -- those women can sing! A few of their songs make me think of Joni Mitchell -- if she were a cheeky young hipster today. Anyway, enjoy your song of the day.

Buggin'

2010-10-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

I have a fascination of insects. I find them ever so pretty, especially the really grotesque beetles and ultra-magnified images of fly eyes or spider legs. But I like them the most when they can't touch me unless I want them to, i.e. behind glass or dead or in images. So I was pretty pleased by the cups and saucers featured in my Daily Candy email today. Available in several different insects and an arachnid, I'd love to add one or two to my tea cup collection. I'm not entirely sure about spending $40 on a lovely cup, however, so I'll just have to spend my time deciding which cup should be mine. The beetle? The fly? The moth? Alas, I'll probably just ogle the ABC Home cups (and the rest of their home and garden pretties) from afar. But I definitely recommend you check them out.

And if you get a couple cups, have me over for coffee or tea, please.

via Daily Candy

Fall Palettes

2010-09-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

One of the things I really dig about living in Pasadena is how close we are to the hills. The foothills start just a few miles up the main road, and trails abound. The Kiwi runs up the steep path while I dawdle up the easy route and we meet at the ruins of an abandoned hotel and train tracks a few miles up.

The hills look different each time I go up them; different desert plants in bloom or seed. I was loving the color combos with all the early fall foliage. I can't decide if I want them to become outfits, jewelery, or wall art but they are definitely going to find new life very soon.

The rust plant had almost an olive hue in person, and when combined with a blushing pink and pops of cream, turquoise, or sage I couldn't get enough.

The silver-green-blue of yuccas, agave, and eucalyptus would be lush layered together in structured, sculptural fabrics, or clean, elegant, simple shapes. Maybe a faint hint of cappuccino, peridot, or butter.

Peridot, rust, and deep olive on a bed of greige. I'm thinking a layered, sculptural pencil skirt and a loose, sheer blouse with some feminine heels.

Who wants to go shopping?

Hallelujah

2010-09-16T23:54:00.000-07:00

This song just came up on my shuffle. I always forget how much I love this version -- such a sad, sweet, lovely song. Take a moment of your day and enjoy.

Oh, Autumn...

2010-09-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

I can see the appeal of Southern California. Really, I can. All that sunshine, an endless growing season, the proximity of mountains and sea, desert and lakes. Plus, at least in the L.A. region, there are lots of ace cultural benefits -- music, museums, arts, vintage and thrift shopping, cool people, great food... I'm sure you get used to the traffic, and if your car actually works properly and doesn't have the heater permanently on, a good playlist on the mP3 can probably make an hour long commute a fun time to enjoy some car singing (my fave kind).

Me, though, I like seasons. Summer is great -- popsicles, sundresses, sandals, street tacos, farmers markets -- but summer should also come to an end. You can't appreciate the thrill of the first sundress of the season, that first toe-wriggling day of flip flops, the first drippy popsicle on the porch if you can do it any day of the year. Or if it has been summer since January, when you moved to California. It loses its magic, and just becomes routine. I'm sure some of you would argue that if that is routine, screw the rest. But I still crave seasons. Summer should give way to autumn (the absolute best season) the season of roasted root vegetables mixed with the last sweet fruits of summer, of tights and knee socks (and thigh socks) with boots, of scarves and hats and blazers, of pumpkin spice lattes and salted caramel hot chocolates to warm nipped fingers after a morning run in the crisp, fragrant fall air.

And then should come winter, wrapped in layers and warm blankets, belly full of rich soups and casseroles and baked goods. And then spring can bring green buds and flower shoots, rains and puddle jumping, the first tentative bare legs (which are almost always too early and regrettable -- and not just for the paleness of skin), and that absolutely perfect first crocus, daffodil or violet. But right now, I'm just ready for fall. Give me a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils, my best knee high boots, a silky scarf with my tweed blazer, and ripe pumpkin. I'm over this endless summer.

Dreamy Escapes

2010-09-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

The Bell at Sealey Head by Patricia A. McKillip

Just to be upfront, Patricia A. McKillip is my all time favorite fantasist. She is absolutely brilliant. Her lush novels always have this immense feeling of depth that you just get to glimpse here and there, with maybe a brief immersion or two. They leave you craving more, though you are also strangely satisfied. Her prose is crisp, clear but also creates a world of lyrical beauty that matches the Kinuko Y. Craft cover paintings that adorn so many of her novels. I always feel like I've been treated to a new fairy tale after I read one of McKillip's latest -- at once familiar and dear, but also dark and twisted and dangerous, like the original tales of Grimm and Perrault before Disney got to them.

Her latest novel, published in 2008, is no exception. The Bell at Sealey Head evokes something of an 18th or 19th century feel, wholly embedded in a very real village balanced on stormy sea cliffs, but the fey world steadily encroaches on the unwitting villagers, with a few notable exceptions. The innkeeper, a serving girl and her wild hermit mother, a merchant's daughter all have something more to say about why, each day at sundown, a bell rings out. A bell, that is, that no one has ever seen or located. The lady of the land lies in her deathbed and her heir comes to visit with an entourage of silly courtiers, throwing the sleepy village politics into a whirl. Meanwhile, a disheveled scholar arrives ink-stained and loaded down with books, seeking more of the bell and its world. The locals must help the strangers find their paths and positions in the village while dealing with increasing (and increasingly menacing) fey activity.

We are also treated to a glimpse of the parallel fey realm, seen through the dangerously curious eyes of a young princess who merely wants to know why. Her world is one of rules and duties, each more nonsensical than the last, but each of which must be followed to the letter at peril of death and doom. As the two worlds draw nearer and nearer, the young girl must learn to ask the right questions of the right person to free her world and that of the mortals.

There is a sweet courtship over books and curiosities, courtship kept secret to protect lives, bonds of family and friendship in both the mortal and fey realms. The characters are ones you would like to be friends with -- or ones you too would fight with all your strength.

I really encourage you to go out and buy each of McKillip's beautiful novels and story collections, but if you at least read her latest, I think you'll see why she is my favorite fantasist. Though others may reach her level in their own genres, none of them can do fantasy and fairy tales so beautifully, dangerously, achingly daringly well.

Fast as You Can

2010-09-06T23:26:00.000-07:00

Just discovered this peppy little song by Elizabeth and the Catapult -- great band name, no?

Enjoy!

Counting Calories

2010-09-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

For the next installment in my summer reading series, I opted for a rad new science fiction piece. Bacigalupi has been nominated for and won various awards for his short and long fiction, and as soon as I saw this book I knew I wanted to read it. The cover is great, and I will definitely admit to judging books by their covers -- especially when they are this good.

The novel itself takes place in a distant dystopic -- or perhaps just realistic -- future, after the global oil culture has completely collapsed. The major commodity is now the calorie, as man and beast power is the primary form of energy. Genetic manipulators have created new food forms -- many of which are sterile after one harvest and enormously susceptible to terrible plagues -- as well as new critters and even new people. I found something of Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake in his biopunk future, though he cannot yet keep up with her literary prowess at the level of the individual word. Her work is polished to the utmost, while Bacigalupi's is at points clearly a debut novel. That said, if this is his debut work, I can't wait to see his more practiced novels*.

Bacigalupi shifts his narrative's perspective from various characters occupying various roles in this new world in the Thai Kingdom. A calorie man: an agent of one of the biopower companies holding patents on seed variations and disease strains alike. Various locals throughout the bureaucracy each vying for a place in the precariously balanced hierarchy running the kingdom. And a windup girl, a new person genetically enhanced in almost every way, but handicapped by a twitching, clockwork-like motion that distinguishes her and her kind from true humans.

The novel is disturbing in the its level of potential truth. It is not so hard to imagine his biopunk society as one that could arise after our current petroleum bubble bursts. And his characters, perhaps especially the windup girl, are relatable in their hopes and fears, their flaws and strengths. He explores basic philosophical truths, such as what is means to be human, to be decent, to survive. He critiques and mocks our own society -- at times wistfully or gently, at times with the sharpest satire. The scifi world of his novel allows him to explore these truths in a way that lets them sneak into your own mind, settle in, and then smack you upside the head. Bacigalupi's social commentary is practiced and subtle, even when the novel itself bogs down.

I have also read some of his shorter fiction, which displays his skills in crafting new settings and characters that are immediately understandable. I look forward to his future novels displaying even more of that skill, as I did find The Windup Girl occasionally awkward or aimless. The narrative always found its way again, though, and while the ending can't rightfully be deemed satisfying, it was appropriate.

On the whole, Bacigalupi is now firmly installed on my author list and I certainly recommend delving into the novel. Give yourself a few weeks -- as it can be a bit too much to swallow in long sittings -- but I think you'll enjoy the ride.

*His latest, Ship Breaker, was released in May, but I haven't read yet. Have you? Thoughts?

The Scientific Method

2010-08-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

I love the Internet. I really really do. I love blogs, photo sharing, video sharing, shopping... I love the way it opens new ways to communicate, educate, inform, share, delight, scare. I love the speed of it, the versatility, the ribozomatic interconnectivity of it. Okay, enough nerd speak. I love the Internet.

That said, I have been waiting for the next evolution of new media. It offers such potential for an entirely new way of thinking and conveying information, but sadly all too often it is used merely as a new way to replicate the old. Blogs -- as much as I lurve them -- are just shiny linktastic magazines or newspapers. Flickr and youtube just represent mass scale versions of Uncle George's vacation slide show presentation. Sure, they offer a lot of potential to reach new audiences in new ways, and they can be tons-o-fun, but they are nevertheless familiar, no?

So my mind was pretty much blown when I found Arcade Fire's Chrome Experiment. It is like a truly new music video, an interactive, multifaceted experience that combines uses the power of the internet to fuel something really ace. Go experience it. And then come help me figure out other awesome ways to use this wicked new tool sometimes still known as the world wide web.

Notes from the Field: NHM

2010-08-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

I've decided that as a way to embrace life in Los Angeles I'm going to seek out spots throughout the area to take little field trips and immerse myself in the gems of L.A. It seems to me that the charm of L.A. is in the little things, the neighborhoods, the hidden spots, the particular locations that are infused with the quirky, eccentric, ostentatious flavor of the L.A. region. I'm going to try to find and enjoy them.

For my first voyage out into the city, I picked an old stand-by, the local Natural History Museum. As an avid (amateur) lover of geology, paleontology, archeology, and biology, I try to hit the local museums in most of the cities I visit. I grew up with Albuquerque's, and so judge all others by the high bar it sets -- because for a smallish city in a state many forget exists, it is a really good museum. I was very excited to see what Los Angeles, a city known for its talent, art, culture, and local natural history, the La Brea tar pits, had to offer.

The museum itself is located in Exposition Park, a gathering of museums, parks, and an enormous Rose Garden near downtown and USC. I had a snack whilst wandering the roses -- my green smoothie tasted faintly of roses, they smelled so strongly. The various museums are in various architectural styles, but somehow they all blend together. It makes you wish you were a kid in L.A., paper bag lunch in tow for your class trip.

There are two floors of exhibits, with expansions in progress -- a Dino Hall is slated to open in 2011. The building is a stunner: rich marble, polished dark wood, vaulted ceilings, a sweeping sense of space that retains a cozy, welcoming homey tone. Many of the exhibits themselves have dim lighting for the public area, with brighter spots highlighting the dioramas and displays. It was also rather chilly throughout, to protect exhibits. Dress in layers and revel in the relief when the outdoor temps spike. I immediately liked the museum for the almost early 19th century academia atmosphere, which made me want to wear tweed and have a nice cuppa.

The older mammal halls were quaint (and some of the taxidermy was a bit shoddy on the older donated specimens) but charming and the signage was full of fun factoids -- I now know that the unicorn legend is thought to originate from the oryx and of all the living land mammals, the hippo is the nearest relative to the whale. The new Age of Mammals hall was impressive, with excellent signs and displays and exquisite specimens all housed in a bright and modern room that managed to not feel to antiseptic despite the bright white light and clean architecture. It made it clear that the museum is doing its best to avoid a dank and stodgy fate.

Some of the other exhibits seemed almost haphazard or simply eccentric, almost like a curiosity cabinet of a curious old gentleman. The gem and mineral collection was extensive, though I found it a bit too crowded and the infographics rather dated. The hall of birds was also overly crowded, but I imagine would be fascinating to a bird lover. The hallway stuffed with Mayan, Incan, and Aztec artifacts was full of beauty; it left me wanting a full and proper exhibit. And the miscellany were just as fascinating, if odd. My favorite was an enormous fin whale skeleton suspended above visitors in a long, bare hall was artfully lit like some ethereal sculpture.

All in all, I would definitely recommend a trip to the museum. A bit rough around the edges, a bit worn, you can still slip into it like a beloved hand me down for a pleasant afternoon of curiosity and wonder.

((pardon the quality of photo -- I pulled stills from my flip cam video files))

A Remarkable Effort

2010-08-07T22:15:00.001-07:00

Some people are just so darn cool.

I aspire to make something that rad one of these days...

Oh such loveliness...

2010-08-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

While I may not always be one for couture, I do know a good thing when I see it. And this, my dears, is good.

Let's all go to Delhi couture week next time, shall we? I want one of each.

The Magic Position

2010-07-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Whenever I need a pick-me-up, I know I can turn to Patrick Wolf's The Magic Position. This song is almost always on my workout mixes, is on all my fave iTunes playlists, and has been a go-to happy song since I was introduced to it a couple years ago.

Today I'm frustrated by an admittedly overly ambitious sewing project, so thought I'd have a mini dance party in my living room and work on other things for a bit. Now, you can too!

Be the Best!

2010-07-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

This info-graphic is highly informative, yes, but also by turns insulting, hilarious, and spot on. As I work with almost exclusively Armenians, I have to say I found their title both amusing and accurate. As a gal dating a Kiwi, I think they've got that one right as well. And while I really don't want to admit that the American best is correct, I also don't think I can argue it.

Spicing up Dickens

2010-07-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

The next book of the summer was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Montana Medal in 2007. Set on Bougainville Island during the civil war there in the 1990s, the novel is told from the perspective of a young teen girl, Matilda, who has spent her whole life in the same small village. Despite the conflict on the island, the only white man in the village, Mr. Watts, takes over the teaching responsibilities for the children of the island. He has no experience with teaching, so he does the only thing he knows. He reads to the students from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, aloud, from start to finish. He helps them understand Dickens' dense, wordy prose set in a far off land the students know nothing about: Victorian England. But as the civil war between the miners and the mining company brings violence and terror to the small village, Matilda and her fellow islanders must rely on the rich story of Pip's maturation to survive the atrocities.

Race is a major theme throughout the novel, with the black islanders, the brown fighters, the single white teacher... At the end of one chapter is one of the most well written discussions of white and black, as racial experiences, that I've seen in fiction. Because Mr. Watts is the only white person in the village, the racial scale is balanced quite differently than in many situations, but the black islanders still know what power having white skin can bring, the completely different mindset, however unconscious it may be, of being white.

Though the novel is immensely rich in thematic content, it is also an interesting, engaging read, told in the simple, straightforward voice of Matilda. I found it much more enjoyable than attempting to read Dickens, and I might even go so far as to say Jones takes Dickens to a whole new level. Perhaps it helps that Jones is not paid by the word, to write serially as Dickens was. Perhaps it is simply that Jones has a richer understanding of race and power, being from a colony himself, and one that still struggles with racial tension between the colonial descendants and the Pacific Islanders. Whatever the reason, Mister Pip fully earns the awards bestowed upon it, and I fully recommend it for your pleasure and education.

Whom Shall You Telegraph?

2010-07-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

Check out this clever video of a very steampunky group of ghost busters!

They have several other videos, if you enjoy this one... I was particularly impressed by their clever wording on the title screens.

Window Shopping

2010-07-01T23:37:00.001-07:00

Oh my my...

Have you seen the Lady Dior campaign yet? You can find it here.

I think my favorite is Lady Blue Shanghai, perhaps in part because I always enjoy being utterly perplexed by David Lynch. But Marion Cotillard makes for a swell dame noir in the Lady Noire film -- she always seems so impossibly vintage, doesn't she? And the Lady Rouge video grew on me, between her fab eye makeup as the lady in red, and her rocking performance with Franz Ferdinand in the chorus.

The funny thing is that I really don't see the appeal of the Dior bags -- but then, I really never go in for designer bags. I'm assuming that a fair portion of the wardrobe, at least for Cotillard, is Dior, and there were definitely some pieces to covet. I'll start with those sunglasses at the Eiffel Tower, followed by her suit in Shanghai. And I really really enjoy the campaign from a purely aesthetic perspective. Dior uses very talented people to create remarkable art, much as, I assume, they do with their product line. But I'll never see the appeal of a purse canvased in a designer logo, and I just don't get quilted patent leather. But I'm one of the few, so I'm sure we'll get to see plenty more of these delicious campaigns in the future, no?

Image found here.

Summer Reading

2010-06-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

Emergency Sex (And Other Desperate Measures): True Stories from a War Zone
by Kenneth Cain, Heidi Postlewait, and Andrew Thomson

My next choice for summer reading was significantly different. This book is a meaty, intense read, far from the light fare so many pick for a beach or camp book. That said, read it immediately.

This memoir from three perspectives details a decade of service in the Red Cross and United Nations. The authors are deployed in Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda, Somalia, and Liberia with stopovers in New York throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. They are young, attractive, clever, and hopeful in Cambodia, there to help democracy reach the oppressed masses. Thrown into situations they don't fully understand and surrounded by the luxury and excitement of being a liberated and comparatively rich white civilian in a tropical paradise. They are naive, idealistic, adventurous and excited, and it is beautiful. Heady by their success, they keep their positions with the UN and seek deployment in the newly developing wars across the world.

Of course, as they face genocide, hatred, and corruption, each of the authors must reexamine their own motivations and positions. Their perspectives, while immersed in the chaos in each of the above nations, reveals the failures and poor choices of the US and UN leaders, the fallibility of individuals on either side, but also those glorious moments of pure and noble humanity so starkly exposed against the horrors.

Regardless of how thorough your history of the 1990s is, this well written set of vignettes and essays will give you an entirely new way to look at the involvement of the UN and US in developing situations around the world then and, in all likelihood, now.

The Fame Monster Bites Back

2010-06-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

Oh, Gaga. I really do like you. I find your music, videos and daily life a really awesome perspective on fame, performitivity, and contemporary pop culture. I pretty much think you are awesome. And you always make for a rockin' dance party, even if it is just me in my living room.

But your new video for "Alejandro", above, is disappointing. First off, can we please talk about how the song itself is just a collaboration between Madonna and Ace of Base? And a really mediocre one at that? It's like a desperate attempt by both of them to regain number one status, but they've run out of ideas, so they just remix "La Isla Bonita" and "All That She Wants" and fail hard. If this song was anyone but Gaga, I doubt it would make the radio top playlists. I suppose, from a critical perspective, this faux collaboration could get some pop culture academics really excited, and so much of Gaga's work holds echoes of Madonna, but I'm not really sold.

And then there is the video. It is essentially a strange retrospective WWII scifi film featuring crazy Nazis and Madonna. All it was missing was Bai Ling's character from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, though I suppose Gaga's outfit first seen at 1:06 fills that role. And by Madonna, I mean her whole bag of crazy right up through Erotica (but definitely before Ray of Light). Seriously, all our favorite Madonna wacky antics feature in the video, and not in a great way. I know the director of the video has often collaborated with Madonna for her videos, but really?

Lady G is certainly all about the shock factor, and an androgynous nazi porn shoot definitely has a shock value, but in an almost predictable way. "Telephone" messes with gender expectations and plays with pop culture references, but is like very little we've seen before. "Alejandro" plays out like the first time a kid learns he can use Hitler as the ultimate insult -- inappropriate and shocking, yes, but really not innovative, compelling, or worth a second look.

PS: I did really like the brief dance sequence from 0:29 to about 1:00. And maybe 2.5 of her dozen outfits...
PPS: I really hope that the Dorothy Hamill haircut that she sports at 5:36, and that some indie babes are starting to rock (Inara George, for one...), doesn't catch on. I can't go through that again!

Oh dear...

2010-06-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

I know I risk sounding like an overly analytical academic when I say this, but I'm going to do so anyway. This campaign is beautiful -- a sort of naive, glorious, sexy fantasy -- but as soon as all three models came together on the screen my thinking cap turned on and started analyzing all the LGBT (well, mostly LGB, though who knows with models these days...) connotations at work here. I'm pretty sure they just had a really steamy three some in the barn, but that childlike delight they display the whole time keeps things so innocent. Very interesting, but I must confess I was a bit too distracted by the film -- and I'm not even mentioning the rain -- to even notice the clothes. Oops.

Oh My

2010-06-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

Do you know Gin Wigmore yet? She's a Kiwi, so I don't think so big on the US scene yet. My boy's sister sent us the album last Christmas and it quickly made its way onto my go-to playlists, and several of the tracks are on my workout mix. This is one of them. As a bonus, the video is rad. How does that voice come out of that cute little thing?

Summer Reading

2010-06-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Okay kiddos, apparently now that Memorial Day has passed, summer is official. For those of us who live in L.A., summer never really stops, but I think that actually fades some of its charm. What fun is summer if you don't have to wait impatiently for it during winter?

That said, I still love summer. And my favorite part as a student was the summer reading. I could read any and everything I wanted, without having deadlines or papers or analyses to keep in mind. I plan on doing quite a bit of summer reading, though with the added benefit of not stopping come Labor Day. And I'll share what I like here, so you too can have fun. First up is a book I've read before, but decided was worth yet another reread, and thus doubly worth a recommendation. I hope you enjoy.

A Taxonomy of Barnacles by Galt Niederhoffer

The love child of Jane Austen and Charles Darwin, this is a novel about characters, love, relationships, and growing up as a girl. Lovers go courting, sisters fight and defend one another, and the parents are inevitably bonkers. It has the charms of Austen's England, in a way, but is set in modern New York, and has a decidedly Darwinistic slant -- that is, nature vs. nurture -- to its dark and wry humor. Spunky, at times silly, but definitely delicious.

Time for a Picnic

2010-06-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe I'm a little late in the blog world to profess my desire for a summer of picnics. Too bad. Between a delicious bottled pink lemonade found at the local grocery chain, the berries just begging to be made into a crumbly pie, and my everlasting love of chicken salad, potato salad, and deviled eggs, I think I need a picnic.

Now I just need a destination -- a hike up the foothills? A stroll over to a park? Perhaps a trip to the zoo? And a few happy eaters. Oh, and maybe a swell striped vintage dress... As soon as I'm done altering one of my finds from the always fab Playclothes, this picnic is on.

ps: Sorry for the lack of images lately... I'm trying to use only my own images (or at least mostly), but haven't got my camera up to speed yet...

Fauxbulous Party

2010-05-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

Being a new girl in a strange city makes it hard to indulge my love of parties. I just don't know enough people here to successfully throw a party, and the few I do are all spread throughout the area, making it hard to get everyone together. However, I still get the urge to throw a party every other day. (Especially as my birthday comes up in a couple weeks.) So I've decided to throw pretend parties in my mind, and tell you all about them here, so you can attend them in your imaginations too.

Today's party is a fictional birthday party (one of many), for my upcoming day. Since it is my fake party, making me guest of honor, I'm going to wear my favorite navy blue dress and shiny gold shoes and hey, since we are playing pretend, I think I'll wear this necklace as my pretend birthday present to myself! The party itself will have a rose and gold theme, very feminine, glamorous and lush. Here's what I'm thinking:

Gold glittery party hats, like this awesome party. And I'm sure we'd get gold glitter all over ourselves and everything else, which would be delightful.

Tissue poms in pretty shades of rose and peach and metallic gold.

Cake balls instead of regular cake, served on sticks. I'm thinking spice cake with lemon frosting and a dark chocolate ganache coating.

Hey, how about a pretty table for the food, arranged in a pretty and colorful way. I think some thrifting might be in order for trays and plates!

Maybe some of my favorite little savory crostini to cut the sweetness -- pear, blue cheese, and walnut; cranberry, caramelized onion, and brie; apple, mint, and havarti all on freshly toasted slices of baguette.

And little party favor bags, like at the best birthday parties when we were kids, with horns, bubbles, candy necklaces. And maybe something grown up. I love the little splash sizes from Demeter. They're only $6 and last forever. I often wear grass in summer and paperback in winter, but this could be a great time to try birthday cake or something funky like play-doh or sawdust. Perhaps little cloth bags (simply undyed muslin?), with a happy message written on it in gold paint.

Starting from Scratch

2010-03-20T21:42:00.000-07:00

One of the fun parts of a new home in a new city with mostly new furniture is all the new decorating schemes I can come up with. I'm not limited to matching all my usual furniture and art, and I get to entirely rearrange the little I kept -- much easier done as you unpack a new place than rearranging a fully set up home. This said, although I've been in our current place for nearly three months, and we've been almost entirely unpacked for about two of those months, I only just hung the first wall art a few days ago.

I've decided on colors for the apartment (mostly blues and greens with some plum and pops of rust, ochre, leaf, and yellow all on a black and white background), and have some things purchased, other things bookmarked or planned, and other things are on the wish list or eventual diy list. But one of the things I'm currently ogling as either a purchase or an attempted diy is collection of giant tissue poms.

At first I was thinking a nice collection over my tv in the living room, but the a.c. is right there and might cause issues. More importantly, my kiwi scowled when I mentioned the idea. Now I'm thinking over the bed, as a contrast to the accent wall (inspired by this in black and white, since I can't paint the apartment) I'm planning as an alternative head board. The trick is finding great tissue paper in all my very specific colors.

The every lovely PomLove has a gorgeous selection of colors, and also has clearly mastered the art of poms. I'm currently tempted by the She and Him mobile, seen above, but also by a collection of perhaps 5 or 7 poms in my preferred shades to suspend at various lengths from the ceiling... (I also want her paper source, so I can start using those gorgeous tissues for wrapping, decoupage, and every other possible paper use I can come up with...) If you too are interested in these lovely creations, check out the giveaway on Post Grad Hair Cut.

Girl Crush

2010-03-11T20:48:00.001-08:00

It is probably painfully obvious that I have a big fat girl crush on Mrs. Deschanel, since every third post seems to involve her. But she is only one of my fave ladies who combine wicked, slightly awkward, vintage style with rad music and general coolness. Jenny Lewis is high on the list too, and I just finally saw this video recently and it made me very happy. (No embedding, so you get this pretty pic instead. xoxo

Awesome Sauce

2010-03-11T20:29:00.000-08:00

One of my loves in life is bad movies. Yup. I loves me a bloody awful film, with poor effects, cheesy over the top acting, and absurdly mis-used budgets. I love them even more if they are scifi, but that is generally true of all things in my life. Thus, as I'm sure you can imagine, I love MST3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000) to the blue, blue sky. Goofy robots and human mocking really terrible movies on a space station and/or satellite. This, my friends, is tv with awesome sauce. If you are interested, I know a lot of them are available for instant view on netflix and on hulu. I grew up watching the show ever Saturday, and have probably seen every single one at some point. My absolute fave? The Final Sacrifice. Bad Canadian film about a cult. Worth it for the Canada jokes, alone (like contagious hockey hair), my family and I have watched this episode dozens of times, and even taped it on an old VHS, back before DVR...

Anyways, this new tumblr takes stills from various MST3K episodes and crafts haikus to pair with them. It is delightful -- though probably most funny to those who have some familiarity with either bad scifi flicks or MST3K. In any case, it made me giggle so I thought I'd share.

New Obsession

2010-03-09T19:14:00.001-08:00

Okay, so this actually isn't a new obsession at all. I've been in love with She & Him forEVer now. Anyway, their new album is about to come out, and the first video is all over the blogosphere. Just in case you haven't seen it yet, please ogle Zooey's charming dance skills and that lovely white/red dress....

2010-01-17T11:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a lovely conversation with a little old lady (Can I call her that? I mean it with all affection possible) while at work. She was funny, hip, and willing to give me advice on pretty much every subject without asking for it. And while normally someone spewing advice on everything without your having asked for it can be really irritating, hers was so spot on and charming, I couldn't help but bask in it. She was delightful.

She offered suggestions on more immediate concerns, such as getting a job worthy of me. She also informed me that my boyfriend should give me the biggest rock possible, because if it was a sacrifice for him to buy it, it'll be more of an obligation for him to stick around -- he won't want to walk away from an investment that big. I'm not entirely sure I agree with the logic on that one, but it was really adorable.

She also gave me more of the standard wise elder to foolish youth advice -- don't hurry this life, but don't waste your time/efforts/energy in the meantime. And while I'm sure most of us have heard something to this effect at various points in our life, it really hit me this time. Perhaps because her manner and other advice were so warm, honest, and quirky, perhaps because I was entirely smitten with her, perhaps because I was just open to hearing it, but something about it really hit home.

So I'm going to try and live up to her expectations -- though it is quite likely I won't ever see here again. This week I'll take pleasure and enjoyment from life, but I also won't spend my downtime lolling on the couch reading blogs and channel surfing. I'll actively try to change things in my life I don't like. On the list for this week:

1. New job. I may not get the job any time soon, but I can prepare myself for any openings in the future, and start making connections in a variety of fields that interest me.

2. New hobbies. TV, while I love it, isn't a real hobby. I'll work on my novel, do some sewing, and try to finish my book on physics. And maybe I can learn a little more about this magical but daunting new city -- the L.A. area has so much to offer, why waste time in my tiny apartment?

3. New health. I'll find a gym I like and eat real food in proper portions. With maybe a naughty snack or two over the course of the week.

Eating Well

2010-01-15T00:10:00.000-08:00

As part of my resolutions, I'm trying to be healthier. This means, in large part, changing my eating habits. I'm a snacker, a mindless eater, and kind of a pig, especially when it comes to sweet treats and salty chips/crackers. Candy is definitely a problem. I have no intention to stop eating these things, not at all. Just eating them in greater moderation, and trying to balance them out by eating mostly really good, real food. Lots of produce, low fat dairy, whole grains, beans, with a bit of meat and other miscellany. You know, all those foods that you know you are supposed to be eating but don't necessarily do. Michael Pollan has told us this, The Food Network has told us this, and hell, probably Al Gore for all I know. The real trick is doing it.

The delicious blog the kitchn posted a few days ago about foodie Alton Brown and his way of eating better. I read the post and watched the links to Alton's show -- isn't he a cutie in that oh-so-delightful geeky way? -- and found myself pretty jazzed about all the goodness I could eat.

And if I may be so bold as to improve on Alton's wisdom, I suggest you throw a handful or two of leafy dark greens (like spinach! yum!) in that smoothie. Especially for those who don't like spinach so much -- all the other rich flavors totally overpower it, and you'll never know it's there. Plus, I like to pair my small to medium sized smoothie with a wasa cracker spread with peanut butter. Keeps me full longer, gives me something to chew on, and it is tasty! And I find that when I start the day eating right, I'm so much more likely to continue to do so.

The Hanky

2010-01-14T23:22:00.000-08:00

My charming boyfriend uses handkerchiefs. When I first discovered this about him, I was delighted and amused, as the only other person I knew who used them was my southern gentleman grandfather. Also, I was a little freaked out, because who wants a used tissue hanging out in their pocket all day? But after awhile, I began to notice others who use them, and have borrowed them on occasion from said charming boyfriend. Then my lovely mother gave me a pretty floral one in my stocking this past Christmas, and I put it in my purse to have on hand. I've used it a few times, and appreciated its handiness, convenience, eco-friendly nature. And then I caught a cold. (I could now launch an aside on why this was just another reason for me to be annoyed with L.A., but I won't) And now I'm hooked. They are softer than tissues, can be used far more times before a new one is needed, and even then, you simply wash the hanky and start afresh. It doesn't hurt that it only gets softer with each wash, or that it makes me feel like a lady to pull a hanky from my purse, neatly folded into squares, to catch my sneeze. And tomorrow at work, when I'm sniffly and sneezy and generally disgusting, I'll have it tucked in my pocket to retain some semblance of dignity. Ladies and gentlemen, go get yourselves some hankies.

ps: The image is from here. I found lots of cute ones on etsy. I also found a box of 6 plain white ones at Ross for about $5, for all you crafty types to decorate yourselves. Or for you minimalist folks who like it simple.

Manifesto

2010-01-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Have Your Cake, I found lululemon's manifesto earlier today. And it punched me in the head with all its goodness. I recommend it highly, especially if you, like me, are still in the "It's still early in the year so I don't have to start my resolutions just yet, right?" phase.

Full text version is here. Read and enjoy!

Resolutions

2010-01-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

I really like New Year Resolutions. They give me goals, inspiration, and excellent unachievable tasks to make myself feel like I might have enormous potential. Seriously, though, I do love me a nice list of goals and make them throughout the year. I have my Before 30 list, my annual lists, and lots and lots of daily and weekly lists. Unfortunately, I tend to be really bad at the follow through. So I'm trying to make my annual list this year with some of my usual high standards, and enough that are truly accomplishable. Of course, the fact that I haven't really started any of them yet (cough, cough) is a great sign.

1. Feel Fancy every day, in at least some small way

2. Make use of the Library: Learn new things and read delicious novels for free!

4. Be healthy. Mentally, Physically, Emotionally.

5. Play often.

6. Finish my novel and sell it.

7. Start and finish a planned spoof with my sister

8. Revive my awesome band

9. Be a better (i.e., regular poster of interesting tidbits) blogger

10. Learn the complete dances to both Thriller and Single Ladies

11. Be a better sewer, crafter, artist

12. Be like Chuck

13. Become a teacher (HS English OR HS Earth Science if my lucky stars align)

Reading is Sexy

2009-11-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

And the kiwi's know it! This video for the NZ Book Council is beautifully done. I can't imagine how long all that paper cutting and attention to detail must have taken!

Nerd Love

2009-11-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

So we all know I'm a huge dork and have a deep crazy love of nerds. So, of course, one of my daily reads is Nerd Boyfriend. And while I am always delighted by the choices, I think November 17th may be my all time favorite.

Image found here.

'Tis the Season of Mint

2009-11-16T10:24:00.000-08:00

Living in the northwest, I suppose that peppermint is really a year round flavor. It grows in great abundance everywhere, and I love it. Peppermint in salads, in tea, in pasta, as a breath freshener... My largest pot is devoted to my mint plant, which has gone from a couple wiggly stalks purchased at a local nursery, to the abundance seen below.

That said, the candy flavor variety is still near and dear to my heart, and I'm very pleased it is in season at a grocery store near you.

Mint M&M's are pretty much a divine gift from on high. I stockpile them as soon as they appear in stores, hide them from myself as a surprise out of season, and devour them in really unhealthy quantities. Stir a few into your morning coffee or glass of milk, mix them with ice cream or froyo, add chopped ones to cookies, or just enjoy a handful with another guilty pleasure.

Candy canes are another fave option, but I'm a bit of a snob about them. The cheap kind taste like (I know, I'm deranged for thinking this) old washcloths -- kind of mildewy and moist. Gross, right? I have no clue why I have this association. But a truly delicious candy cane, in either a classic hard style or a softer melt-in-your-mouth-like-dinner-mints style, make me very happy. I like to get a cold glass of milk and use a candy cane to stir it until it dissolves, leaving me with pink minty milk. It is SO good.

And for those of you who have decided that this quantity of sugar consumption is unforgivable for either dental or scale related reasons, I understand. Try some faux-sugar peppermint syrup in your coffee or maybe some good old fashioned peppermint herbal tea. Meanwhile, I'll take your share of M&Ms, thanks.

Ooh! Pretties!

2009-11-11T12:36:00.000-08:00

This new-to-me tumblr, found thanks to You Are My Fave, is making me very happy.

You're welcome.

Winter Dressings

2009-11-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

This pretty series of images is making me very sad I will soon be dressing very differently for winter. I love cold weather clothes! Promise me that you will wear them for me whenever possible, and I promise I'll post pictures of palm trees and sunny beaches in return.

Image via Happy Cavalier, first spotted on You Are My Fave.

Movin' on Up

2009-11-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

So I've mostly abandoned my diy projects for the home at the moment, as it turns out that we will be moving to Los Angeles at the end of the year, and this may involve a purge of all large sized (read: furniture) belongings. Thus, no more need for fancy pants slip covers, no more hunting for the perfect objects to turn into drawer pulls, no more worries about how exactly to decorate three story walls without access to a ladder. Instead, my energies are focused on the how, what, when, and where of moving, after which, they'll be focused on how to make our miniscule new place a cozy home.

That said, I'm starting to say good bye to Eugene, OR, my home for the last two and half years. I haven't always loved it, but there are many things I'll miss. Here are a few.

My daily commute to work (well, post school, anyways). A lovely bicycle path along the river. I'll also miss having autumn. The southwest doesn't really experience autumn, which quickly became my favorite season after my first northwest October.

Speaking of fall, I'll also miss the gray skies of winter, the rain, the fog, and the wonderful clothing options that one simply must have to deal with these things. Boots, scarves, lots of layers, and a warm pretty coat. Oh, and hoods or hats. I love hats.

The really delicious food. Northwest cuisine is fresh, local, and full of yummy things like hazelnuts, cheeses, berries, greens, mushrooms. Also salmon, but I don't eat sea food... The places I recommend most include The Vintage, Papa's Soul Food, The Sweet Life, though there are many more.

The wine! The Willamette Valley is great for vintners and there are tons of local wineries in the area, many of which have free or cheap tastings and food, and all are nestled in gorgeous scenery. Spending a late afternoon with rare March sunshine on the patio of Sweet Cheeks or a summer morning sampling the amazing pinots at King's Estate is pretty much perfect. Plus, they have the Oregon attitude and much of what they do is sustainable, organic, and local. I'm going to miss that.

I will also, of course, miss the lovely and wonderful people I've met while here, but I'll let them keep their antics off the blogosphere...

MIA

2009-11-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah. It's been awhile. I've no excuses. I'll try to be better now. Anyways, here's a present to make you feel better.

xoxo

Wardrobe Staples

2009-09-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

I am still learning to dress myself for summer as a grown up. I can't really just wear spaghetti strap tank tops and short shorts, like I did as a teen in the desert. My junk in the hood -- aka giant heaving bosoms -- is tricky to dress in skimpy breezy pieces without some homegrown tailoring and enough coverage to conceal a decent bra. Alas, the trials of being curvy! But as soon as cooler weather kicks in and I can start layering colors, textures, patterns, and shapes, I feel like a champion stylist. And while this may only be true in my own little world, I thought I'd share the way I put together a more cohesive wardrobe. I have a few rules that I put together before shopping, to keep myself from buying too many of those pretties that look great on the rack and are totally on sale, but I’ll never wear because they don’t go with anything I own…

1. Color: Pick your palette based both on what looks great on you and what you love. I look fab in lavender but really don’t like it, so it never makes it in my bag. Similarly, I love a green-yellow ochre color, but it makes me look like I have malaria, so I limit it to accessories and accents that aren’t next to my skin – like a belt, brooch, shoes, or bag. My palette is based on deep jewel tones, with lighter versions for summer. Indigo, cobalt, leaf, crimson, rust, plum. I mix these with my favorite neutrals: charcoal, dove, coffee, slate. While black can be fabulous, make sure it is a quality fabric so it doesn't fade and look cheap after that first wash.

2. Texture: Texture is my favorite way to make a few otherwise simple pieces into a really fabulous outfit. It brings interest to a more monochromatic outfit, makes cheaper pieces look luxurious, and is just plain old fun. My standbys include tweed, knits, silk, lace, linen, jersey, velvet, corduroy. If you aren’t used to playing with texture, try a monochromatic look with a few different textures or just mix one or two on a simple base – tweed vest, t-shirt, corduroys and funky jewelry. Soon you’ll be blending as many as you can, and throwing patterns in for a bit of zest.

3. Shape: I like pencil, circle, and a-line skirts, and prefer a higher waist. For pants, I like a trouser cut with a straight wider leg, or a skinny cut, and again a slightly higher waist. My tops are structured and tailored or semi-fitted with some drape to them. Some of them I tuck in, some I belt, some I layer to have a few different hemlines. I have sort of an apple version of an hourglass, and pick shapes that minimize the waist but boost the curves. Straighter figures work well in simple straight cuts with drape-y fabric to show off those lean lines, and top heavy or bottom heavy figures can use either a fuller or more a-line skirt to balance the top or a lower waist and more structured shape to tone the lower half down. And skirts are always my answer to a fat-day -- they can shrink the tummy, hide the thighs, and camouflage the rolls... especially when it is cool enough to wear tights -- gotta love those control tops!

Stickin' it to My Ribs

2009-09-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

One of the delights of living in the Whiteaker neighborhood of Eugene is the easy peasy walking access to Papa's Soul Food. Authentic southern joint, down home atmosphere, a bitchin' patio and really really really good music. And their menu is one of my favorite pieces of graphic design around -- you can see one page of it in the image. Oh, and the food. This food rivals that of small town joints in rural Georgia -- it is that good. My man and I went tonight for a bit of a rejuvenation.

He had the pork ribs with collard greens and mac and cheese. I had pulled pork with potato salad and mac and cheese... The bbq sauce is that perfect blend of smoky and spicy, with neither overwhelming the other or overwhelming the flavors of the perfect cooked meat. The mac and cheese is pale yellow, thick, with very soft fat elbows. My potato salad was creamy with hints of mustard and crisp pops of celery. I didn't try the greens (I just can't do that texture... ick!) but my mister thought they were really quite tasty. The beer was our favorite local IPA -- Ninkasi -- which is so damn tasty but packs a secret punch. Plus, we could walk the few blocks to and from, to try and ease our swollen bellies after the meal...

I'm already drooling over my leftover pulled pork sammich for lunch the next couple days (yeah, I had that much served to me). Yummmm...

Image originally found here

Bad Ideas...

2009-09-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

So, um. Worst bikini design ever?

As my kiwi man said: "It's a minge!"Though on the positive side, Gap is having a rad sale to clear out summer looks... let's go shopping!

Girl Time

2009-09-08T23:25:00.000-07:00

My man is away for a few nights leaving me alone in our big house. This means the toilet seats stay down and I can wear my pj's all day without feeling guilty. But it also means that I get very lonely and must keep myself entertained. Thus, I turn to the delights of the BBC. Specifically their 1983 production of Jane Eyre featuring the delicious Timothy Dalton. While he is perhaps far too handsome to be a proper Rochester, he is all the smoldering heart throb a gal needs while her own favorite boy is away...

If you've never enjoyed this pleasure for yourself, Netflix currently has it on instant view... Do it!

Lurve

2009-09-08T00:38:00.000-07:00

In the secret land inside my head I am friends with Miss Zooey Deschanel. We play games on the weekend, have fabulous shopping trips, and listen to the best tunes.

It is maybe something like this.

My Latest Crush

2009-09-07T22:40:00.001-07:00

Oh my. My heart is pounding, my breath is caught in my throat and I've got the tingly butterflies.

In short, I am in love.

They are everything I want in fashion, design, shoes, life... Now to find a few hundred dollar bills conveniently on the sidewalk outside my house... And a big fat juicy thank you to Darling Dexter who unknowingly introduced us.

Find these lovelies and all my other new dream candy here.

Le sigh...

Periodic Table of Fonts

2009-09-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

This is a really rad presentation of various typefaces... is your favorite on the list? First spotted on DK Design Studio Blog where you can also find such rad posts as this:

and this corporation climate score card.

Hello, Autumn!

2009-09-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

I may be a bit early here, but I'm really excited for the end of summer. This may be against the wishes of the rest of the blog world, but I am ready for cool weather, pretty layered clothes, gray drizzly days, comfort food, and the absolutely gorgeous displays of fall leaves. Growing up in New Mexico, fall lasted approximately one week and leaves generally skipped the bright colors going straight to brown and falling. But here in Eugene, Oregon, autumn lasts for months and is pretty much perfect. The winter rains are still interspersed with golden sunny days, and the foliage is beyond anything I had ever seen in my life. The colors!

Basically, I'm really excited for October already. But though the days are cooling off and the sun is lower in the sky, summer is still clinging to the Northwest. I am fine with this as it gives me more time for my current project, a wardrobe redesign. I am still in the early stages of this project, but will post much more as I go along, but wanted to establish the ground rules for myself and any who are curious.

I have some experience and training as a costume designer and ever since my first official project when I was about 15 I have applied what I know as a stage designer to my daily life and wardrobe. Currently I am attempting to streamline and beef up my wardrobe using the principles of costuming to create a slew of options that can be easily mixed and matched but always create a look that I define as characteristically me. I'm hoping this will eliminate the whole "I've got nothing to wear" problem, and finally force me to get rid of those items that live in the closet purge after purge because I might just wear it soon.

Anyways, all these ramblings are to say that I am in the first stage -- design and inspiration. Accordingly I am immersing myself in the clothes and people that I hope to emmulate. Step one: Rewatch Pushing Daisies, Penelope, Love Actually (specifically Laura Linney's character), Amelie, and so on with an eye to costumes. During viewing (with some fast-forwarding between costume changes), I'll make notes and sketches (and screen grabs) of those looks I really love, and determine basic shapes, silhouettes, and color palettes. I'll be sure to post more from this process as I have more tangible results...

Images originally found here and here

Replacement Therapy?

2009-09-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

Like much of the blogosphere, I am still mourning Domino. It was my favorite magazine and I'm particularly sad that I only found it less than a year before it was cancelled. And while I still don't really understand why it was cancelled, since it had such an enormous following, but such is business.

In any case, there is much discussion about what to replace our addiction with. Many seem to be lauding Living, etc. as the new choice but there seems to be some disagreement on just how affordable their design really is, let alone my willingness to pay the international price to get the magazine from the UK. Thus, I am anticipating the launch of Lonny magazine. Its mission seems to be to replace Domino in cyber form... I hope it is able to fit in to the very large and uber fabulous shoes Domino left behind...

Mad Science

2009-09-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

This rad cocktail set would be a perfect fit for my new geeky chic dining room, no?

Living at Stonehill

2009-09-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

This house is a gorgeous example of my current fave decor themes... I love the mix of vintage and modern and especially all the academic/museum/scientific items used as art and such. Really really fabulous. Now to see if I can copy it...

First spotted on Oh Happy Day thanks to Jordan

Daydreaming

2009-08-27T20:31:00.001-07:00

This sexy house featured on Dwell this month is just delicious. A perfect blend of modern and vintage designed to blur the lines between these two disparate aesthetics. Read the article, click through the slideshow, and daydream of your own dream home....

T Rex gone done it again

2009-08-27T09:00:00.001-07:00

Holy crap I love Dinosaur Comics

Robots!

2009-08-23T20:42:00.001-07:00

I am a total sucker for robots. Roomba, the Terminator, Wall-e... and this rad speedy robot hand:

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

2009-08-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

A supplement to the new 500 Days of Summer with my favorite gal crush, Zooey Deschanel, and the utterly adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt. They are dreamy together, and what better choice of song to dance to???

In the Summertime...

2009-08-19T16:32:00.001-07:00

I really love salads, but feel like I never make them at home. But it is also something you feel kinda bad about ordering in a restaurant, like it is a waste of a meal out. But The Minimalist thoughtfully has provided me with 101 salad recipes that are easy and delicious, so my excuses are now silly. Salad time, here I come!

Natural Geometries

2009-08-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

After seriously geeking out last night watching Nova (all about fractals -- you should definitely check it out if you can!), my man shared these pictures from Mars with me this morning... Really gorgeous landscapes. I especially love nature photography that illustrates the intricate geometries, fractal patterns, and seems almost more like abstract art than a traditional landscape. Mars photography is often great for such things, as there are no unnatural structures (or are there...? mwhahaha) and because so much of it is satellite survey, removing the horizon from the picture and also playing with scale.

In my younger days, when I was toying with the idea of becoming a scientist, I used to spend hours on the JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) website, scrolling through all the latest Mars imagery... I'd forgotten how striking it is and may have to start doing so again...

Museum Chic

2009-08-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

I’ve been musing further on what to do with the new place. My current idea for the living/dining area stemmed from a desire to paint all my furniture with black lacquer. I love the sleek, shiny look of a high gloss black finish. It makes the most cheap pieces look so much nicer, and is an excellent backdrop for a variety of design schemes: i.e., when I get the urge to redesign everything, it is a matter of details, not the entire slate.

So, that leaves me with a long low dresser, a long rectangular and higher square coffee table and a bar/wine rack that could be coated black, and possibly a bookshelf or two. But then what? I started with the dresser. I like the drawer pulls it currently has – aged metal details – but since it doesn’t need constant use, why not something a little less practical and a lot more fun? Like big chunks of rock or gemstone? Or odd pieces of driftwood? They’d pop against the shiny black and really bring some fun to the entire room. Thus sprang the following inspiration board that blends natural history, vintage museums, and sleek modernity.

The rooms would have to work with the ugly apartment base – brown carpet, white walls, ugly fixtures and window treatments – that I’m not allowed to change. Alas. But I think with some statement furniture and great details, this look could be almost as much fun as it would be in some great space with stained concrete floors, oriental rugs, industrial fixtures and all the money in the world…

Colors: blue, green, black, wood, cream with pops of rust, plum and orange
Textures: enamel, wood, linen, bamboo, velvet, stone
Sources for the above board (from left to right):

Terrariums (and a how-to!) Gem Drawer Pulls Black plates The art of Aili Schmeltz Turquoise The art of Jaclyn Mednicov Silver flatware Driftwood shelf Albertus Seba’s Cabinet of Natural Curiousities Claws Table Steamer trunk Steampunk beetles Leather chair

Dress up for Grown Ups

2009-08-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

I can thank the lovely and incomperable C from With a Twist of Dynamite for introducing me to Looklet. And now all I want to do is dress up these digital dolls and pretend that their closet is my closet... I just did a quickie before shutting down the computer for the day, but I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more from Looklet in my posts...

Brants!

2009-08-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

Wow... I really hope designers don't take this seriously. Rompers are bad enough... The world does not need any more camel toe.

Tabula Rasa

2009-08-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

I just moved into a spacious townhome with my man and as we slowly unpack boxes and shove around furniture, I'm trying to decide how to decorate. One thing I love about moving is the blank slate it provides -- sure, I have objects and art from previous design schemes, so I could probably just copy those but I have all these lovely blank walls, so why not try something new?? And with all our lofted three storey ceilings I'm going to have to come up with something on a much larger scale than ever before. Of course, it will take me about a month or so to figure out what exactly to do... but for now, here are some bits of inspiration.

Fabric Panels and a diy guide by the creator!

Twinkly drapes from a music club opening... Could be interesting as a wall hanging, as a divide between our staircase and living room, or as drapes tied back between rooms...

Paper star lamps that I would either suspend from the ceiling or hang against a wall in a cluster. Perhaps also against a fabric backdrop?

I may also just hang long strips of pretty fabric from floor to ceiling for some color and texture... Basically, I want color and texture on these white dull giant walls, but need to do it on a budget and following apartment guidelines. As I make my plans, I'll be sure to post more info!

In the meantime, check out this great
Apartment Therapy piece on budget wall decor -- some are a bit funky, but all could be easily tailored to any style or situation...

Mad About You

2009-08-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

In honor of both sassy vintage style and the return of Mad Men, here is a a tour of the Mad Men costume department... Get ready to drool!

Nerd is the new black

2009-08-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

I am all about the librarian chic. If I were to scrap my closet and start over, every piece would belong to this aesthetic. I know the hipsters tried to appropriate it and that hornrim glasses seem to be oh so trendy these days, but I don't care. For me, librarian chic isn't just about boxy glasses, cardigans, tweed skirts and loafers. Instead, it is a look that pulls from all kinds of vintage, academic sources. It is the muted jewel tones of leather spines, club chairs and oriental rugs, Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby. It is argyle, tweed, plaid, cashmere, silk, lace, brass, glass, maple. It brings the Ivory Tower down to a cozy level where comfort, layers, and texture rule. It is Nikola Tesla, dirigibles, and Indiana Jones. It is all of these things draped on Heidi Klum: smart and fusty and comfy, but simultaneously elegant, refined, and sexy.

As I am daydreaming about fall weather and the return of all my favorite layering pieces, I've put together a little inspiration board that I hope conveys what I see as the quintessence of librarian chic...

Glasses Oxford heels Watch Parts Ring Key and Magnifier Necklace Tweed Suit Computer Sexy writer Cloche Tea Service School Newspaper Outfit Book Spines Library

Fantastic!

2009-08-05T13:56:00.001-07:00

Is it just me or does Wes Anderson's new project -- based on a Roald Dahl novel -- seem especially rad?

Cyber Candy

2009-08-04T18:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm definitely a Mac girl, through and through. But if Dell really made their computers like this I might just be swayed...

It is one year, ten months, one day and twenty-one hours later...

2009-08-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

Oh, Pushing Daisies, my love. I miss you.

Called the love child of Tim Burton and Dr. Suess, with a splash of technicolor bright film noir, Bryan Fuller's third television series is by far my favorite. Certainly, Wonderfalls was brilliant and would have been great had it been allowed to play out for a full season or two, and Dead Like Me was tons-o-fun. Both incorporate a bit of morbid playfulness with magical realism, fast paced dialog and oh so sassy heroines, and the attention to detail in the aesthetics of the series is remarkable. But my true love is Pushing Daisies. Both seasons are now out on DVD -- though sadly, neither is a complete season -- and I urge you to go get both and settle down with some tasty pie for a delicious, delightful adventure! And once you've seen it all (so there are no chances for spoliers), check out this rad interview with Bryan Fuller, the creator: What Would've Happened On Pushing Daisies If It Hadn't Been Cancelled

Statement Necklaces

2009-08-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

I am loving the big fabric flower necklaces I keep seeing everywhere. At first, I wasn't terribly keen on the fabric necklaces, but the more I see them on models -- plain tee or tank, jeans, maybe boots or fun pumps and a sassy necklace -- I wants one. It provides that same great pop of color and texture of a scarf, but is much cooler in the summer weather and keeps the sleek lines of an outfit of basics. I haven't decided exactly what style I like best yet, but window shopping on etsy.com is spoiling me for choice!

I'm also thinking of making one or two myself, to customize texture, color and length. I may even make one as a brooch instead of a necklace, which will work better when the relief of cooler weather means bulkier cardigans and jackets..

Enjoy the few below I've currently got my eye on...

Laundry Day

2009-08-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

Among other things, today is laundry day. Whilst I wash, this is what I'm humming...