whereareyoufromoriginally?

Brandied Raspberries

2012-02-09T14:39:00.014-05:00

I'm still messing around with vodka infusions or cordials or whatever you want to call them, but I'm getting a little bored. Since I switched to scary high proof vodka and spirytus, they take forever to mellow and are absolutely vile until they do. I have a few hiding in the back of a closet. I'm hoping I'll forget they exist, so by the time I rediscover them, they'll be good.

Anyway, the mixed brandied fruit (Officer's Jam) I started back in August turned out surprisingly well, considering I used a ten dollar bottle of brandy. It also was absolutely horrible for months, and then, around November, magically transformed. Brandied fruit is so easy, too, you don't have to filter it or anything. I'd like to try cherries next, or more mixed fruit. The peaches, strawberries, cherries, and raspberries in the Officer's Jam all are very good. The blueberries, however, are duds. I don't know how exactly to describe what is wrong with them--they are dried out, despite being in liquid. Edible, but I won't be brandying any more blueberries.

The recipe for brandied raspberries that I used for these is at the end of the post. It is from Lenôtre's Ice Creams and Candies.

I finally got around to trying out the Diana lens I got for Christmas. It's a plastic lens that makes photos look like Instagrams. I spent a long time puzzling over how to focus it before I realized you don't (I think). Anyway, I like the saturated color, and it seems to enhance my tendency to imbue inanimate objects with tragedy (except for popsicles, they are always very upbeat). Meet my despairing, yet delicious, brandied raspberries.

I see a bloody naval battle and shipwreck here. Right?

Anne Boleyn in the Tower?

Bored Pink

2012-02-02T14:36:00.028-05:00

Is that just a sweater and corduroys? Yep. Not even any accessories, unless lipstick counts. Boring. Well, I AM boring. But there is an idea behind the boring pink outfit--monochrome! It was inspired by a very exciting outfit:

Wow! Not only monochrome, but mint green (there are some other cool monochrome outfits in this post from the blog StyleonFifth). Candy and neon colors seem to be everywhere for spring. I'm all for it. I tried to buy mint green jeans and failed, so I bought a mint green hat instead:

and then I had the trendwhorey fashionvictimy thought that I could spray the hat's trim NEON with these cans of neon spray paint I bought a few months ago. For a while, I was running around the house looking for things I could paint neon. I was close to spraying the kitchen cabinets, and after that, a little wrought iron table I keep in my bathroom, but a vision of living in an eternal '80s hell stopped me, and I put the paint away. Now it's out again.

What do you think? Mint/neon hat yes? Mint/neon hat no? If yes, how much neon, and where? If no, what else can I paint neon? I hope the prospect of a neon something is exciting enough to make up for me passing off an old Brooks Brothers sweater and a pair of cords as an outfit.

Oh, I wanted to mention the lipstick. It is Daphne Guinness for M.A.C. (and yes, I am fully aware that the very idea of pink corduroys would make Daphne faint in horror). I've mostly been wearing tinted balms lately, so it's a nice change to have some color on my mouth. This lipstick is some magical long wearing formula (which I am sure will dry the hell out of my lips, but so far they are fine), and it does not come off, which is great, because I usually feel self-conscious when wearing lipstick with a lot of color, wondering how much it's worn off. I bought one and liked it so much I went back and got another color. One is bright pink, and this one is a deep rose, called Red Dwarf, which I think is really funny.

Have you ever seen Red Dwarf? It's a 90s britcom about a spaceship lost in uh, space, or time maybe. The only survivors of whatever disaster killed off the rest of the crew and marooned the ship in space/time are a human, a robot, a hologram, a cat, and a toaster. The toaster is the best.

Brooks Brothers cashmere turtleneck, Alexa Chung for Madewell corduroys, Bloch patent ballet flats, Forever 21 straw hat

Cherrington Lamingsicle

2012-01-31T23:17:00.034-05:00

I wanted to enter Reinventing the Lamington 2012 because I love Mr. P.'s blog, and I am sure I would love a lamington if I ever had one. But I don't really bake much, and I waited until the last minute, so I decided to incorporate all the lamington parts (cake, chocolate coating, coconut) into a popsicle I could make in my Zoku quick pop maker. Cherries were three pounds for three dollars today in Chinatown, so that decided the flavor. (It's the first time I have pitted cherries. Add another to the long list of Things I Suck At.) I borrowed from a couple different Zoku recipes and made a few minor changes, like throwing in some kirsch, because I put booze in everything. Fortunately Cherrington and his brothers still froze.

May I introduce my Reinventing the Lamington 2012 entry, Cherrington Lamingsicle, Esq. Cherry, chocolate, cake, coconut, lover of fine art, Renaissance popsicle. I caught up with Cherrington recently at one of his favorite haunts, the Louvre, and he was kind enough to let me take a couple quick pictures of him.

INGREDIENTS

CHERRY BASE
6 ounces fresh pitted cherries
½ cup Greek yogurt
½ cup whole milk
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp kirsch
pound cake cut into very small squares, 1/4" or so

CHOCOLATE SHELL
2/3 cup (4 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup (2 ½ oz) refined coconut oil

GARNISH
shredded coconut
cherry halves

Put pieces of cake in the molds and pour the cherry base to cover. Let freeze and repeat with more cake and more cherry mixture in layers until the mold is filled. Let freeze completely and unmold. Dip or drizzle in chocolate shell and garnish with coconut, cherry halves, toy eyes, whatever you like. Makes 6-7 pops.

Dragonfly Legs

2012-01-29T12:19:00.009-05:00

I haven't shopped at Forever 21 in a really long time, but when I saw these jeans on their website, I had to find them. They were just as good as I hoped. The fabric is woven in two different colors, so they have an iridescent duochrome effect reminiscent of dragonflies (and bottles of nail polish).

I feel like a superhero bug in them. Well, half a superhero bug. The part wearing the cardigan is still Clark Kent. So I guess I really feel like a Brundlefly. At any rate, I haven't seen a color this good in a long time, and getting it for 28 dollars ain't bad either.

(Who knew dragonflies were this cute?)

Forever 21 iridescent jeans, Uniqlo tee, +J Jil Sander for Uniqlo cardigan, H&M Conscious Collection floral booties

The most beautiful bride in the world

2012-01-26T14:25:00.001-05:00

Are you thinking that YOU were the most beautiful bride in the world? Or, if you've never been a bride, your mom? Grace Kelly? Princess Diana? Kate Middleton? Well, let me ask you this. Did you, or your mom, or Grace Kelly, or Princess Diana, or Kate Middleton, ask Lou, at your wedding reception, if he wanted his own filet? Is Lou in your wedding pictures? Now it should be clear why you are all second at best. Sorry. Next time you get married, invite Lou.

A., 2012, 19"x14.5", graphite, colored pencil, and gouache on paper

Lettuce Soup

2012-01-23T17:23:00.013-05:00

As a dorky Aerogarden owner (I don't know! I just really wanted one), I sometimes have problems finding a use for the harvest, especially if I've neglected it and it's become a jungly Aerowreck. (By the way, I am not endorsing this product. If you want to grow basil, it's great. That's all I have to say.)

I currently have a custom lettuce mix they sent me after my last crop failed. It is doing okay, but I didn't groom it for a while, and a couple lettuces grew big and strong and stretched their brawny obnoxious leaves over the smaller, weaker, emo lettuces, who then became even more pathetic. Once I became aware of the strife, I did a major weeding and looked for a quick recipe. I didn't want to make a salad because these are peppery lettuces, too intense on their own for salad. I found this soup. It was easy, I had all the ingredients on hand, it tastes good, and most importantly, it is very beautiful. Taste it before adding salt, especially if your stock is salted. The goat cheese is nice but not crucial.

The recipe is pasted below, but here is the link, in case you enjoy reading recipe reviews by lunatics ("I didn't have any lettuce, so I substituted french fries, and I didn't have any stock, so I used Diet Pepsi. I would not make this again. Not much lettuce flavor.") as much as I do.

Creamy Arugula and Lettuce Soup with Goat Cheese

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3/4 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup chopped, about 2 ounces, assorted lettuce (butter, red leaf, green leaf)
2 cups (2 ounces) arugula or spinach leaves
1/4 cup cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Garnish: 2 1/2 ounces goat cheese, sliced

In a medium pot warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until tender and starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and the stock. Bring the stock to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer, covered, until the potatoes are almost tender, about 20 minutes. Add the arugula and lettuce to the pot and continue simmering, uncovered until the greens are tender, another 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes and greens to a blender. Pour in enough of the stock to cover the vegetables. Add the cream, salt, and pepper.

*Blend the ingredients together until smooth. Be careful to blend slowly at first with a kitchen towel held tight to the top of the blender lid. Blending hot ingredients can cause the lid to blow off. Pour the blended soup back into the pot with the remaining stock. Stir to combine. Cover and keep warm.

Pour the soup into 4 serving bowls. Top each soup with 1/2-ounce sliced goat cheese. Serve immediately.

* When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

Brunch Expedition Gear

2012-01-16T00:58:00.008-05:00

One of my favorite things about New York is that it truly is a walking city, probably because I grew up in a town where trains were large loud things that carried coal, buses, as far as I could tell from the two or three times I rode them, were mobile VFW clubhouses, and going anywhere on foot was basically impossible. I like walking around and looking at stuff. But at certain times of year, it gets difficult. I think over 90 and under 30 are the two danger zones, and it's 17 degrees as I write this.

A few years ago I made a disastrous miscalculation on a day much like today, thinking that it was a lot warmer than it actually was, that I wasn't going to be outside much, and that I wanted to look cute at a party I was going to. I remember exactly what I wore: black silk chiffon dress, lace tights, flats, borrowed green sweater, and plaid wool coat. I ended up having to walk around with a group of people for what seemed like a billion years. I was so cold I was shaking. Almost cried. Not a good day.

The cold does not seem to stop anyone from going out, but it definitely puts a damper on street fashion. Today I saw a endless sea of black North Face coats dotted with a few furs. It is funny that no one seems to have figured out how to make truly warm clothing without some beast component. Why are we not all walking around toasty warm in some gossamer miracle fabric invented by, I don't know, Apple?

I am generally firmly anti-puffy down coat, and wear mostly wool coats in the winter, which means I have to carefully layer underneath them, or else . . .well I just told you the else. Anyway, the minute I laid eyes on the +J Jil Sander for Uniqlo short down puffer, which was long before it was cold at all, in the fall, I thought, "That's the first puffy coat I have ever really wanted!" Joelle, who got it before I did, told me she thought the same thing. I got it after it was marked down, but that didn't end up saving me any money at all, because once I realized the +J stuff was undergoing multiple, substantial markdowns, I could not keep away from Uniqlo. I ah--I have a lot of +J now. The cream skirt I'm wearing is actually a Y's pinafore, I guess you would call it--it has a bib top, like overalls. I love the pockets so much.

So, armed in OTK boots, tights, sweater, wool pinafore, and down coat, plus hat and gloves, I braved the frozen tundra to go to brunch. Prix fixe including all the lychee bellinis you can knock back in two hours? Totally worth harnessing Lou to the sled. I heard two snippets of conversation from the guy sitting at the table to my left. First one was, "Oh, I don't think I will do all-you-can-drink boozy brunch again!" and later, when they were leaving, "This date wasn't what I expected." Draw your own conclusions.

+J Jil Sander for Uniqlo down jacket, Y's Yohji Yamamoto wool pinafore, Alexander Wang sweater, Zara OTK suede boots

Face Finder makes all your dreams come true

2012-01-13T00:01:00.001-05:00

That's Aunt Margaret in the middle.

Don't know the first two, but the third is an ex. Damn, I thought I deleted all his pictures.

Hmmm.

Lou, obviously, Mary Poppins, and Macaulay Culkin. Geez, is it ever going to recognize anyone?

At last we're getting somewhere. Misses on Valentino and David Bowie, but yes, that is me.

Another miss on Bowie, missed Barbara Billingsley, but pegged Renée!

One out of three. Second one is correct. I don't know who the third is, and I certainly don't know who the dopey looking chick is in #1 or what she is doing in my Iphoto library.

One out of three again. First is me, and I don't know who the other two are.

Wow! It is uncanny how it recognizes me even when I am wearing a lot of makeup!

Yup, that's my sister Rima. We do look a lot alike.

Dead on.

JACKPOT

OMG thank you, Face Finder! Your random algorithms have made me realize I should never stop reaching for the stars! I don't know what to do first! Should I go to a modeling agency right now, or sit down and write David Bowie another letter explaining why we are soulmates. Cosmic twins. Just plain twins. All of the above. Or maybe I should take some time and delete all the unflattering outtakes from numerous blog-related photo sessions clogging up my Iphoto library instead of posting them on the internetz? Nahhh. I will go the modeling agency, that way I can ask my fellow models to help me with the letter. Face Finder?

You really are.

Mineral Nails

2012-01-11T16:11:00.010-05:00

I am so glad nail art has nearly become mainstream. I know that when I first went to the local nail salon for tasteful, simple, one-color, short, natural nail manicures, I felt sharp pangs of envy as I watched all the other patrons choose five neon colors and have them painstakingly hand-painted, in wee Joan Miró-like arabesques, onto a magnificent set of 3" acrylic talons. Gosh. My nails were a total bore. But now that the fashion world has acknowledged the value of nail art, everything is possible. I too can get neon arabesques without, WITHOUT, being ironic! I haven't. But I could!

I have wanted to invent nail art for a while, but couldn't come up with anything. I wanted something super easy to do, and either pretty or interesting, but not cutesy, because as much as I admire crystal-studded pink Hello Kitty nails, I don't feel they are exactly right for me. I mean, I've been wearing a lot of tailored jackets and loden green lately. I don't think Hello Kitty would approve. Organic-looking would be better. But how? Glue leaves on my nails?

Yesterday I finally had an idea. I'd put powdered pigment on my nails, cover it in topcoat, and hope that the speckled pattern would look like rock or mineral. I think it worked, and I liked it, so I did it again and took pictures so I could share my exciting nail art breakthrough with you!

(I apologize for the giant scary pictures of my E.T. fingers.)

Supplies: Base coat if you use it, polish, topcoat, colored pigment, a small brush (I used an eyeshadow brush), and a paper towel or napkin. I had pigment (available at art supply stores) on hand, but you could use loose eyeshadow too. I chose bright green pigment and pale iridescent pink polish.

Do your nails as you normally would, and after the second coat, pick up some pigment with the brush, and tap it onto each nail. Don't touch the brush to the nail, hold it above. Don't worry about getting it all over your hand, it will wash right off. The closer the nail polish is to being dry when you dust the powder over it, the more "powdery" the result will be. If the polish is very wet, the pigment will sink in and spread out.

Cover with topcoat. Use it generously, and with a light touch, and try to cover the nail in a couple strokes, so you don't lose the powder texture. Be sure to wipe the topcoat brush clean of any pigment on the paper towel each time before dipping it back into the bottle. Let it dry. You can rinse the excess pigment off your hands in a couple minutes.

When it is completely dry, clean any remaining excess from the cuticle edges with a cuticle stick or a little nail polish remover. That's it! I hope you like it, and if you try it, please let me know how it turns out!

Waterworks

2012-01-07T23:37:00.007-05:00

Sorry to say I haven't felt like posting lately. You see, this was Christmas last year:

and this year something was missing:

I don't mean the tree, I wish I meant the tree. We had one, but I didn't photograph it. Lights were bought at the last minute and turned out to have white string, not green, but went up anyway. Do you know what it looks like when you put white string lights on a green tree? It looks like you decorated your tree with extension cords. But as you may have guessed, Marl was missing, so a fucked up Christmas tree was, in some ways, appropriate.

I don't remember when I first met Marl. It was a long time ago. He had been running loose in the neighborhood, and after he took a major loss in a fight, I was able to coax him in. He wasn't seriously injured, but he was beat up and cut up. It took him a while to recover, and he was content to stay after he healed. He always had the wanderlust, though, and it was an endless, daily battle, trying to keep him from busting out a door, or in summer, a window. But he always came back. I hoped, since he was getting older, that he would calm down and try to get out less, or at least stay in the yard, but instead, he developed a love/hate relationship with the neighbor's cat and tried more.

He was gone for a long time once before and came back, but not this long. I still have a little hope though. It's possible someone will call, or even that he will just appear in the window meowing like I want him to. And if he doesn't, I choose to believe that he is alive and well and having the time of his life, surrounded by sweet children who love him and pet him and give him all the Meow Mix and people food I wouldn't let him have.

Marl acting like he drank the vodka

Wearing Lou's sweater and hating life

In his favorite spot, with Lou and Renée

Hating the elf hat

Watching Rima from a safe distance

This was when I got a gift of Brit Fancy Foods and Marl made them into a fort

A natural, unforced friendship

:(

A is for GANGSTA

2011-12-23T14:08:00.003-05:00

Put me in a pie, bitch!

She turns me on

2011-12-21T12:13:00.000-05:00

On the eighth day of Christmas

2011-12-08T01:45:00.005-05:00

Santa brought you the cute pink fortune teller.
Enjoy!

Click on Daily Fortune Teller!

Duke of Berry

2011-12-05T18:15:00.017-05:00

The vodka infusion projects continue. The range expands as I find new recipes, so vodka infusions really doesn't cover it, now there are preserved fruits, both with and without alcohol, cordials or liqueurs, and what could loosely be called brandy or brandy cordial. Basically, there's always fruit, always a jar, usually booze, and usually sugar.

The most important thing I have learned on my sloshy journey is not to be scared of high proof alcohol. I won't bother with anything under 100 proof from now on. Adding fruit and sugar to vodka dilutes it quite a bit, and if you start with 80 proof, you end up with something on the weak side. Also, from what I have read, higher proofs do a better job of extracting flavor. I don't know about that, but I know that although I thoroughly enjoyed my first round of creations, I like the new, 100+ proof based ones more.

From left:

Blackberry Cordial: My grocery has had a lot of blackberry specials lately, so I have been looking for blackberry recipes. I made this with spirityus and a little bit of blackberry vodka. I did not use the bottled water it calls for, I couldn't understand why I would need to. The cordial hasn't had much time to age, I made it about a week before Thanksgiving, but is really good.

Pomegranate Vodka: I followed the recipe for Pasha's Delight except I used three pomegranates and one liter of vodka. It has mellowed over the past couple months and definitely has pomegranate flavor. It's drinkable by itself, but I prefer the sweetened vodkas. It would be a great mixer. I will have to invent a cocktail for it.

Clementines Confites: This was my second batch, well, two batches I made at the same time. I used corn syrup and they came out perfectly. I love these so much I have started a third double batch, but I ran out of corn syrup and had a full honey bear, so I'm trying honey again. I really hope it doesn't crystallize this time.

Blackberry Vodka (in tall latch jar): I couldn't find a blackberry vodka recipe, so I followed this blueberry vodka recipe, which I have made, and it came out well. It needs to be filtered and bottled but I ran out of bottles.

Strawberry Vodka: Made it from the same recipe as the first batch, but used 100 proof vodka and decreased the sugar by about a third. It hasn't aged long, but is good.

Kumquats Confits: I liked the clementines so much I wanted to try to confit other fruits, so I have been looking for recipes, although I think the clementine recipe could be used for any other citrus of similar or smaller size. The recipe is from a French blog, so you'll have to put it through Google Translate if you, like me, can't manage it in French. Basically, you cook the kumquats in water, add sugar to the water to make syrup, let them sit in the syrup overnight, cook them again, and then store them in the syrup. I'm not sure I did it right, because my syrup seems a lot thinner than the one pictured. Also, the recipe says to cook the kumquats, and then pierce them, well, mine burst when I cooked them, so I didn't pierce them. I'm not sure I successfully candied them, but they are juicy and taste good, so I guess it doesn't matter.

Officer's/Bachelor's Jam (brandied mixed fruit): I started this during the summer. It has been interesting to watch it change. I made it with cheap brandy and if I do it again, I will use spirityus or vodka or rum. It tastes okay but not great. Definitely reminiscent of cough syrup. I haven't tried the fruit yet. Still, I like the way it looks, and I think I will have fun with the fruit. Maybe I can make some kind of fruitcake that everyone will hate but me.

If you are thinking about holiday projects, I recommend Blackberry Cordial. You can make it in an evening, and it only needs two weeks to age. It is meant to be a Thanksgiving drink, and the spices and brown sugar do give it a festive winter flavor. I should mention again, though, that the recipe calls for brandy, and I made it with spirityus (flavorless, 196 proof spirits).

My next project, which I will start once I get jars big enough to make it in, will be some kind of vin maison. Vin maison is similar to what I've been making, but wine-based, so fruit and sugar infuse in wine, with some spirits added to compensate for the dilution, and after the infusing time is up, it is filtered and bottled. It is made in larger batches, which is both good and bad, good in that you end up with six bottles of your creation rather than one or two, bad in that who has a jar big enough to hold six bottles of wine and a bunch of fruit?

Since things have taken a vaguely French turn, there have been many Dukes of Berry, but the most famous, by far, is Louis XVI:

Versailles, 1775

Paris, ca. 1792

I read Antonia Fraser's Marie Antoinette recently, and I also have been reading The Ruin of a Princess, which is a compilation of memoirs by Marie-Thérèse, Duchesse d'Angoulême, the only surviving child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Madame Élisabeth, sister of Louis XVI, from her letters, and Cléry, Valet de Chambre to Louis XVI. It is online, the link is to the text. I was unaware that so much detail about the royal family's imprisonment was known. Fascinating, but very, very sad. Probably a good idea to have a bottle or two on hand if you decide to read either!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T22:02:00.005-05:00

Here's what I'm thankful for!

No, not myself, the dress. Thankful for a dress? Is anyone really that shallow? Heck no. I'm also thankful I didn't spill cranberry sauce on it.

Versace for H&M

Tales from the Crypt #2: Put a Bird on It

2011-11-23T14:33:00.010-05:00

Selected Art Movements from the Last Century to the Present Day

ca. 1900: Cubism

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907

1910s: Der Blaue Reiter

Wassily Kandinsky, Improvisation 29 (The Swan), 1912

1920s: Surrealism

René Magritte, Two Sisters, 1925
René my man! I am so swiping this. Oh, scrolling up, I kind of already have, well, I will again.

1930s: Social Realism

Diego Rivera, Indian Spinning, 1936

1940s: Abstract Expressionism

Jackson Pollock, The She-Wolf, 1943

1950s: Pop Art

Jasper Johns, White Flag, 1955

1960s: Op Art

Bridget Riley, Arrest 3, 1965

1970s: Postmodernism

Bruce Nauman, Run from Fear, 1972

1980s: Graffiti Art

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled (Tar), 1981

1990s: Art About Matthew Barney's Dick

Matthew Barney, film still from Cremaster 5, 1997

2000-present: Cute Birds, Cute Birdcages, and Cute Chandeliers that are Cute

The Entire World (especially Etsy, which, I was unsurprised to learn, launched in 2005), 2011

Put a bird on it!

I Put a Bird On It, A Couple Actually, 2000something, pencil on paper, 26"x20"

Maybe I haven't been around

2011-11-20T14:55:00.004-05:00

because I haven't had anything to wear. But now I do.

My sister Renée tells me people stood in line for hours to get this skirt. Did I? Hell no. I got it the way I get all my clothes, by taking it out of my other sister's closet. It's been a LONG fucking time since she's had anything worth taking, though. This definitely was. It is Classical and Designer and Italian, just like the medieval monument in the picture. Or is that Greek? Eh, same difference.

Renée said, "Raina is going to SO MAD when she realizes it's gone." I said, "Not at me, because I'll say you took it." Renée just rolled her eyes. Bitch. Then I was like, "How do you know so much about this skirt, Renée, you don't care about fashion, you wear the same filthy rags every fucking day." Renée replied that she's writing a book about decay, comparing the decay of society to a bunch of rotting fruits and vegetables she's watching in her "observation chamber", aka dresser drawer, and chapter one is about shopping frenzies and pineapple. Jesus. I wondered what reeked so bad.

Renée threatened to tell Raina I swiped the skirt. I threatened to call that show Hoarders and tell them to come here and take away her rotting vegetables and all her other crap too! Renée started crying and begged me not to call. I said, "Sorry bitch, your liquid veggies are history." She screamed, "PLEASE DON'T CALL THEM! You can sell that skirt for a fortune! I will cover for you and say a band of brigands stole it. Just leave my observation chamber alone!!" I was like, "Sell it? As in go to the post office and stand in line? Are you serious? My time happens to be valuable?" "FINE I'LL GO TO THE POST OFFICE FOR YOU," she sobbed.

So it was a deal. Make us an offer. NWT (well, I took the tags off, because I will be wearing it nonstop until I have your money, but they're on a metal chain, so I can put them right back on for you, no extra charge) and from a smoke-free home (yeah, I smoke, but it's not my house, so it doesn't count). It is the most awesome skirt ever, isn't it?

Hell yes, it's Versace for H&M

Tales from the Crypt #1

2011-11-18T15:48:00.010-05:00

Recently I rearranged my studio and spruced it up a little bit. If I don't change things around every so often, I begin to feel very much like a hamster in a Habitrail. Also, it gets so dark here in winter, I wanted to improve the light (which remains terrible). Anyway, as part of the sprucing, I decided to paint my old battered flat file white, and that meant taking everything out of it and going through it all. I feared (correctly) this would send me into a crisis. What had I squirreled away and forgotten under all those scribbly gesture drawings?

Open the door--if you dare!
(sound effects for those who like maximum drama)

Run Lola Run

2011-11-16T02:05:00.025-05:00

Poor Lola. She was enjoying the fall weather, reminiscing about Oktoberfest

until

her boyfriend Manni's voice rang out from her high-tech rose garden phone (jealous? you know you want a high-tech garden phone). Hi Manni! Want to go on a picnic?

No.

Run Lola run. Find Manni.

I had to find a way to include that last picture. Who knew I had that much urban angst? Who, for that matter, knew I wore so much makeup? I'm blaming the makeup on the underexposure. I--I have to. The rose phone is probably the last rose of the season in my yard. Wish I had a rose phone. Maybe if I glue a fake rose to my cell, I can get the general effect? Seems very Batman or James Bond. Did the Penguin have a phone in his umbrella?

Wearing new and old favorites today! The old are my DVF Prince Alexei knee breeches, which cam from a sample sale a few years back. I still think it's weird that Diane made such an item, but chalk it up to her love of all things Russian. With the breeches I am wearing a Prada camel cashmere sweater with fur-trimmed neckline. When I bought the sweater, my friend expressed doubts about the side slits. Well, I have discovered their purpose. The sweater is meant to be worn with beribboned knee breeches. See the long ribbons on the sides? They are attached at the waistband, and they stick out. The slits in the sweater give them ample room to roam free. Too bad I only have one pair of beribboned breeches. I need to find more. Also wearing one of the Albertus Swanepoel for Target hats. I ordered four hats from the collection, expecting to keep one or two, and I like them all. There's more attention to detail than typical Target: they are nicely finished inside and out, and the two fur ones have different, cute linings. As a bonus, the felt hats come with a clear plastic hat inside, to hold their shape, and the plastic hat is really cool. Maybe it could be worn as a rain hat? For shoes and accessories, I'm wearing H&M Conscious Collection rose-print heels (instead of my old Repetto boots for once), and Anjolee earrings. You can see the earrings in the rose picture, but here's another with the sweater:

Aren't they pretty? You can check out Anjolee's extensive selection of diamond jewelry through the links. When Anjolee contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing a piece, I expressed interest in small diamond studs, or gemstone studs. I'm always on the lookout for gold earrings because of my unfortunate nickel allergy--a lot of earrings make my ears turn red and the sides of my face tingle. I don't react to gold, so I like petite gold earrings that go with a lot of things, but are not boring. Marla of Anjolee was so nice, and offered me a couple very pretty options, from which I chose the Circled Gemstone style of their diamond stud earrings. Then I had to choose between yellow or white gold, and the stone (#FWP)! After much soul-searching, I decided on peridot with 14k yellow gold. I was wavering between peridot and garnet, but liked the idea of green and gold together. Then I had to wait for them to arrive to see if I'd made the right choice! It was a lot of fun, I love how they turned out, and they are totally comfortable to wear.

DVF burgundy velvet breeches, Prada mink-trimmed cashmere sweater, H&M Conscious Collection rose print heels, Wolford crochet stockings, Albertus Swanepoel for Target Bardot cap, Anjolee peridot and diamond earrings.

Nalewki Recipes

2011-11-15T00:58:00.012-05:00

A while back I made peach and pomegranate-cardamom infused vodkas from recipes I found on a blog called ilikethis. They both turned out great, and I plan to try other vodka recipes by the blogger who invented them. However, her blog has fallen into the black hole of the internets, and I can only find the cached pages now. Since I linked to the two I made, I decided to deal with the dead links and unfortunate loss of the blog by making a post of some of her recipes. Here they are. I corrected a few typos, but that's all. I didn't want to lose them. The pictures are already gone.

Peach Nalewka Otherwise Known as Brzoskwiniówka

Surprisingly there are old Polish recipes for Brzoskwiniówka. The fact is that in most parts of Poland the winters are too cold for successful peach orchards but that doesn’t stop people from trying. In a sheltered, southern location with a lot of tender care and winter protection you might be able to get a decent crop from time to time. Because of this difficulty of production peaches were placed on a pedestal as a particularly special fruit — a symbol of nurtured well-being.

This Nalewka is in the in the liqueur or cordial style — it’s on the sweet side, meant to be sipped as an after dinner treat. This is what you will need:

* 2 pound, total, of very ripe peaches. You’ll only be using a pound at a time with a 2 week period in-between.
* 1 liter of vodka
* 1 cup of caster or baker’s sugar. Just regular sugar will do but, because of its fine texture, caster sugar dissolves faster.
* 1 lime or ½ a lemon (optional)
Take your first pound of fresh, ripe peaches and quarter them and remove the pits. Put them in your Nalewka jar, pour in the sugar and shake it all up gently to coat all the peach quarters. Leave the sugared peaches out at room temperature for about 24 hours. The sugar will pull out the peach juices and dissolve. To help the process along give the jar a gentle stir from time to time. Be careful and don’t be rough. Peaches are a gentle fruit and a sweet peachy mush is not what we are after.

You should end up with peach quarters floating in a nice, sweet peach syrup. Don’t worry if all the sugar didn’t dissolve.

Now add the vodka, seal tightly, give it a swirl and place in a sunny location. Over the next 2 weeks, as the vodka is being infused with peach flavors, give the whole jar a gentle shake and a swirl from time to time.

After their time is up, strain the peaches out of the vodka. You will end up with peach infused vodka and vodka infused peaches. The peach vodka could just be filtered and bottled at this stage but we are going to take it one step further. As for the peaches, well, I just put them in a jar with the ones from my Tutti Frutti Nalewka and added some more sugar for preservation. Not sure, yet, what I will do with all them vodka infused and syrup soaked peaches.

To intensify the peach flavors in our Brzoskwiniówka we are going to soak another pound of peaches in our already peachy vodka infusion.

So, quarter and pit a pound of fresh, ripe peaches. Put the peach quarters into the Nalewka jar. Put 2 or 3 of the peach pits into the jar. Why the peach pits? I’m not 100% sure but in all the recipes I’ve read, when you make Nalewka from fruit with pits, some of the pits are left in the mix. I’ve tried this infusion with and without the pits. It’s hard to pinpoint the effect but I think the pits add a layer of depth, a little hint of bitterness and sophistication. In the end it’s your concoction so you will have to chose for yourself.

The jar goes back out into the sun for another week or two. Shake it up from time to time to help this next batch of peaches release their flavors.

Once the time is up, don’t keep them in there for too long because you will start infusing unwanted flavors, strain out the vodka infused peaches and give the peach infused vodka a taste. This is where the lime or lemon come into play.

When I tried my Nalewka I found it to be a little on the cloying side of sweetness. I thought it needed a little acid to brighten it up. I got 2 small key limes from my yard. I squeezed the juice from the first lime, stirred it into the Nalewka, gave it a few minutes to mix and tasted the result. That did it for me, I didn’t think I needed the second lime. You will have to make your own choices to suite your taste buds.

OK, time to filter and bottle. I used my 3 rags and a coffee filter technique to get most of the particulate out. I know I will have to do a second filtering after this peach vodka infusion matures for a few weeks and some more gunk precipitates on the bottom of the bottle.

I tasted it again after 1 week — mm, mmm, good. Already it’s a peachy keen, sipping, cordial style Nalewka. If it lasts a few more months in the bottle it will be awesome.

From Pasha's Delight to Roxelana

When I was growing up in Poland pomegranates were one of the most exotic fruit I could think of. They made my imagination wander to the mythical Middle East as portrayed in romanticised Orientalist paintings and illustrations by the mid and late 19th century European artists. Fierce Bedouins on camels charging with scimitars drawn, exotic Moroccan markets and half naked white girls happily lounging on Persian carpets in dimly lit harems. The stuffy gents of the bourgeoisie really loved the harem paintings.

Pasha's Delight is very simple to make. Take 2, medium sized, pomegranates, cut them in half and scoop out the seeds. Try to capture as much of the juice as possible.

Doing this was harder than I expected and maybe there is a trick to it that I don't know about. I checked and there doesn't seem to be - you basically cut the fruit, scoop out what you can and then break it up some more and scoop out the rest, finally pick out the white pith and flesh. Here are some instructions at Simply Recipes. Two things I found to be helpful was doing this over a bowl and squeezing the fruit to loosen the seeds.

Once you have the seeds and juice put everything in a jar and pour in 2 liters of Baczewski vodka. Of course you can use any other vodka or even alcohol like, lets say, Araq. Seal tightly, shake and leave in a sunny location for about 2 weeks. Shake the jar from time to time to facilitate the absorption of the flavors and color.

After 2 weeks you will notice that the seeds have lost all their color and hopefully flavor while the vodka has turned a lovely light pinkish, magenta color. Strain out the seeds, filter if you wish and bottle.

This a nice Nalewka with a subtle fruity flavor and a light pleasant if unassuming color. Very drinkable and I'm sure it would mature and improve well over several months. The title of Pasha was granted to high ranking officials in the Ottoman Empire and I'm sure if they drank alcohol they would find this one delightful. But, I was looking for something with a little more umph in the flavor department, something to go with the sumptuous Orientalist paintings.

While shopping at my favorite Middle Eastern market, the Altayebat in Orange County, I came across these huge pomegranates. They were about 3 times as big as the ones from my tree. I bought 2.

This is what you will need to kick Pasha's Delight up to the next flavor level:

* The juice and seeds from 2 very large pomegranates (about a pound)
* 2 cups of sugar
* Juice and rind from 1 orange
* 4 to 8 split cardamon pods

Put all the ingredients in a pot and let them stand for at least 30 minutes so that the sugar can pull the juice from the seeds. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil stirring occasionally. Simmer for about 5 minutes stirring and, if you want, you can de-scum for final product clarity. Let the mixture cool a little and pour it into the jar with the Pasha's Delight. Leave in a sunny location for about 2 weeks shaking the jar from time to time.

After 2 weeks you will notice that the seeds have lost their color again and now your Nalewka has a spectacular, deep magenta color. Strain, filter if you wish and bottle. Right away you will notice how strong, fruity and sweet the flavor is. After just a few weeks it will loose most of its initial roughness. I can tell this one will mature very well. I will have to hide a bottle so that it will keep for at least a year. The color is also spectacular and will add a nice tone and flavor to any cocktail that calls for pomegranates and sweetness.

I named it Roxelana after the Ruthanian maiden, Hürrem Sultan, who stole Süleyman the Magnificent's heart. According to Polish tradition she was born Alexandra Lisowska around 1510 and lived in the town of Rohatyn in the Southern, Kresy region of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth. She was captured by raiding Tatars and sold as a slave to the sultan's harem.

She must have been really something because Süleyman, the most powerful ruler of the most powerful empire of the time, became obsessed with her. She quickly became his haseki and eventually he freed her and made her his official wife. This made it possible, after a bunch of court intrigue, prolicide, fratricide and just plain old murder, for one of her 5 children, Selim, to become the next Sultan. She had unprecedented powers at the Süleyman court and engaged in politics, the arts and many charities. She remembered her humble beginnings and established a women's hospital near the women's slave market in Istanbul.

Her husband when not conquering the Balkans, reconstructing the Ottoman legal system, building libraries, refectories, fountains, soup kitchens and hospitals for the benefit of the public found time to compose poems to Roxelana.

My woman of the beautiful hair, my love of the slanted brow, my love of eyes full of mischief…
I'll sing your praises always
I, lover of the tormented heart, Muhibbi of the eyes full of tears, I am happy.

In Europe Hürrem Sultan was known as Roxelana which comes from the name Ruslana which is one of the names used for Eastern Slavs. Her story captured the European imagination and she has inspired paintings, musical works (including Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 63), an opera, a ballet, plays, and several novels.

While in the late 19th century women across Western Europe and America were demanding social and political equality the horny gents of the bourgeoisie were dreaming of young, half naked, white, slave girls lounging about in the opulent Ottoman harems puffing on their hookahs and sipping a Roxelana liqueur - shall we say "Bottoms up!"

Cocoakumquatacello - combining the pleasures of xocolātl and kim quật

This is my 4th 'cello Nalewka. It's a fine end to the citrus season here in SoCal. Not that the citrus fruit ever go away. All year I can have fresh lemons, oranges and grapefruit by just walking around the block. Mature trees produce year round but the winter is when we get a glut. I grow my kumquat tree in a relatively small container so it never rivals any of my other citrus trees in abundance - just enough for 2 liters of joy.

So this is what you would need:

* 2 liters of Bachewski or some other vodka
* 2 Tbsp of roasted cocoa nibs
* About 2 dozen very ripe kumquats
* About a ¼ cup of sugar for every liter of vodka or just adjust this to the level of sweetness you like.

Cocoa nibs, just in case you don't know, is naked chocolate. Not that it's easy to undress chocolate. The ripe cocoa pods are cut from the tree, the beans and cocoa butter are removed, fermented, dried, cleaned, roasted and finally the nibs are removed from the shell. This is the essence of chocolaty, no sugar, no milk, no oils just the pure, bitter taste of xocolātl. I get them at my beer making supply store, Stein Fillers, but I've seen them at gourmet supermarkets.

As for kumquats, you're on your own. Once in a blue moon I've seen them in Asian markets. Best thing is to plant a tree and you will be set for life. I guess in a pinch you could use another citrus fruit but than it would be a different drink. Cocoagrapfruitcello, hmmm, might have to give it a try.

When you get all the ingredients together cut the kumquats in half, put them and the nibs in a jar and pour in the vodka. Seal tight and put out in a sunny location for about 2 weeks. Give the jar a swirl once a day.

After the 2 weeks or so strain out the fruit and nibs. Right here it's not a bad drink that will only improve with time. The clean and gentle citrusy bite with a deep yet supple chocolate finish that lasts long after you're done with the glass. In this batch it's not what I'm after so we will try to intensify the flavors by adding some sweetness.

Put the fruit and nibs in a stove safe pot and mix in the sugar. Cover, flies love this mix, and leave it in a warm place for about 24 hours. The sugar will melt and suck out the juicy flavors. Put the pot on the stove and slowly warm stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. You want to bring the mix to a boil and keep it gently bubbling for a few minutes. Give the fruit a little squeeze with the back of your spoon to squeeze more juice and oils out.

Have your jar with the Nalewka ready. Turn of the heat and pour the hot syrup through a sieve into the vodka. Squeeze out some extra syrup with your spoon, seal the jar, give it a good swirl and put in a sunny place for a few days.

Although this Nalewka will be ready to drink and quite pleasant right from the start it really benefits the most of all my 'cellos from a few months in your Nalewka cellar. I like to serve it with a few nibs on the bottom of the glass for all my chocoholic friends - so cheers and good health.

Mandarincafécello for Bureaucratic Efficiency and Tax Season Relief

Yes it's another Nalewka. Part of my …cello series inspired by the abundance of citrus fruit right here in SoCal. Just over the fence my neighbors have an old mandarin tree that has, as is habitual for citrus trees, an insane abundance of little, orange, juicy mandarins. They weigh down the branches, they droop over to my yard and than they drop on my cactus garden making a mess. It's not like I mind the extra organic matter that fertilizes my soil but now I have put at least some of them to even better use.

I got the coffee/mandarin taste idea from a "mystery" chocolate I ate from a Valentine's Day chocolate box and the studded mandarin came from a potpourri I once saw.

So what do you need?

* About 12 mandarin oranges - There are many variations, crosses and cultivars - tangerines, clementines, satsuma, mikan, etc. If you're not sure just taste it. If it tastes good it will work.
* Coffee beans - express beans work well but any good quality beans should work. You will need enough to stud all your mandarins, about 12 per fruit. Small fruit let beans, big fruit more beans.
* 2 liters of vodka - I use Baczewski potato vodka from Trader Joe's.
* Sugar to taste - I used ½ a cup in mine.

First thing you want to do is stud the mandarins with the coffee beans. Do you really have to? Probably not but it does look cool, like little, orange, multi eyed, alien heads in formaldehyde. I found that the best way was to pierce the skin with a sharp knife and push the beans in. First I tried just pushing in the beans but I soon discovered, that with the pressure I had to use, I was squeezing out the beans already in the mandarin.

Once all the beans were securely in I put he studded mandarins into a baking dish and into a 350°F oven for about 5 to 10 minutes. All I'm trying to do here is release some of the aromatics in the skin and beans.

While still hot the mandarins go into a Mason jar and get drowned in 2 liters of vodka. Seal tight and leave in a sunny location for about a week. Give it a shake and a roll once a day or so.

After 2 weeks, after straining of the mandarins, you will have a very tasty, citrusy Nalewka with a surprising coffee finish that hints of chocolate. It was very subtle, mysteriously interesting and drinkable right there and than. I was tempted to leave it alone knowing that it would mature over a few months into to a delectable treat. But alas, I did plan for a series of 4 …cello Nalewkas. I was determined to bring it over to the same intensity and sweetness as my Keylimencello and Limoncello Nalewkas.

I took the strained mandarins and coffee beans and mixed them with ½ cup of sugar in a pot. I let this stand, covered, overnight so that the sugar would dissolve and suck some of the juices and flavors out of the mandarins. In the morning I mashed up the mandarins with my hands to squeeze more juice out of them and than I brought the whole mess, mandarins, coffee beans and sugar to a boil. Do this slowly because you don't want to burn the mix. Gently boil, stirring constantly, for about 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the hot syrup through a sieve into the Mason jar with the vodka. Seal tightly and leave in a sunny location for another week.

Now you are almost done - strain, filter and bottle. This stuff is good to drink right away but with a few months in the bottle it is just divine.

I did my bureaucratic duties early this year and now I can comfortably contemplate my income tax refund, listening to Nasori by the Kyoto Imperial Court Music Orchestra and sipping my 3rd Mandarincafécello. Gagaku music is hard to enjoy without at least a few stiff drinks - so I say to you Na zdrowie and Kong chien. I only wish I had one of them funky, official, mandarin, hats.

Black Tea and Roses

This is one of the easiest Nalewkas (vodka infusions) to make. You will first need:

*
o 1 liter of Baczewski vodka
o 3 table spoons of rose tea (I got mine at the Sea Palace Market on South St. in Artesia.)
o 1 cup of boiling water

Put the tea in a bowl and add the boiling water. Let the tea infuse for about 10 minutes and transfer into a large enough jar. Pour in the vodka, close tightly and leave in a sunny place for 2 weeks stirring occasionally.

After the 2 weeks strain out the leaves and filter. You now have a very smoky, flavorful but bitter Nalewka. It's very drinkable, even sippable but I thought a little more sweetness would make it more suitable for late evening enjoyment. So I put the filtered Nalewka back into the jar and started stage 2.

Take ¼ cup of honey and 1 tablespoon of the rose tea. Put this in a small pot and boil, stirring, for about 1 to 3 minutes. Being lazy I tried microwaving the honey but that didn't work out too well - the honey tended to boil over and it didn't dissolve in the vodka as well as the boiled honey. Pour the hot honey and tea into the jar with the Nalewka and stir. You need the honey to be hot for it to dissolve completely in the Nalewka. Close tightly and set in a sunny location for another 2 weeks, shaking from time to time.

After 2 weeks strain, filter and enjoy. As with all homemade Nalewkas, liqueurs and vodka infusions this one will also improve with time. Next time I think I will make a bigger batch so that I can put some away for a few years.

Just after a month this Nalewka is wonderfully complex, smoky, with a hint of honey sweetness, a nice bitter finish and lasting black tea flavors. You can't really taste the roses but there is a strong floral undertone. It also makes for a killer and kick ass Manhattan: 2 shots of your favorite rye, 1 shot of Black Tea & Roses Nalewka, one cherry - chilled and poured into a martini glass. That'll set you up right for the night.

You Say Limoncello, I Say Cytrynówka

Limoncello is available commercially. Even Danny DeVito is marketing his own brand after appearing on The View with a Limoncello buzz. My experience with the commercially available stuff, and I've tried quite a few, is that it's usually way too sweet and way too yellow. You can't get that much color just from lemons so it makes me wonder where the color comes from.

And anyway… it's supposed to be made at home and each family should develop their own recipe and here in SoCal, where every street has am overproducing lemon tree, it's a shame to let all that lemony goodness go to waste. So here's my take on Cytrynówka - it's what we call a Limoncello style Nalewka back in Poland.

First get some lemons. I picked 2 pounds in my backyard from my Meyer's lemon tree. I could've gone and gotten some from my next door neighbor or from the lemon tree, in a neighbor's yard, at the end of my street. The point is, if you live in SoCal there are lemons trees, orange trees and all kinds of citrus trees everywhere and they all can be used to make Nalewkas.

So here is what you will need:

* 2 pounds of lemons
* 2 liters of vodka
* 1 pound of sugar
* A few sprigs of Basil (I used African Blue basil because it's a perennial and that's what I have in the yard this time of the year.)

You have to decide on the flavor YOU want. Even with the same ingredients you can get a lot of variation in the final product. It works out to zest + pith + juice + sugar = flavor. I decided I wanted a lot of lemony zest, I like a fair amount of bitter from the pith, lots of lemon taste from the juice and I don't like it too sweet. You might decide that all you want is the zest and vodka or just the juice, vodka and sugar - always remember that it's all about you. One day I would like to go to somebody's house and taste a Cytrynówka that will surprise me.

This is what I did to get the Limoncello I wanted.

Of the 2 lbs of lemons I peeled the zest (just the yellow part of the skin) off off 4 lemons. I used a potato peeler. Works great. I put the zest with the sprigs of Basil in a Mason jar and poured in the 2 liters of vodka. Close tight, shake and stir, put in a sunny location, first part done.

Now I peeled the pith off the first 4 lemons and sliced them up removing the seeds. The rest of the lemons I sliced up skin, pith and all but no seeds. I layered my sliced lemons with the pound of sugar in another Mason jar. Close tightly and put in a sunny location, maybe next to the jar with the vodka and peel so that they can build a relationship.

Leave the jars out for 48 hours. The vodka will turn a lovely yellowy color and the sugar will suck the juice from the lemons.

Strain or remove the lemon zest from the vodka. Taste the vodka. This, all by itself, is a lovely drink and a great cocktail mixer. It's not what we are going for this time but good to know about and remember - just another variation on the Limoncello theme.

Put the contents of the other Mason jar into a large pot. You will notice that the sugar is all but dissolved and it has pulled a lot of liquid out of the lemons. Slowly heat the lemons and sugar to a gentle boil stirring occasionally. Low heat is essential because you don't want to caramelize or burn the sugar. Boil for a few minutes, just long enough to dissolve all the sugar and get some more of the lovely lemony flavor out of your lemons. Turn off the heat and give it a few minutes to stop bubbling. Strain the hot syrup into the Mason jar with the lemon zest vodka. Give the lemons a squeeze with a wooden spoon to get some more of the juice out. Remember, they are still hot, so, be careful. Lock the jar tight and put in a sunny place for about 2 weeks.

After 2 weeks you should filter and bottle.

Filtering Nalewkas is a nagging subject and I've been trying to develop a procedure for some time now. Back in the old days they would use layers of linen cloth or just forego filtering all together and solve the issue of the sediments by decanting. I ran an experiment with this batch of Limoncello. Half of it I strained through a gold coffee filter, than through my Brita water filter and lastly through a paper coffee filter. Takes a long time but gives excellent results.

The other half I filtered and strained through a linen dish towel, folded in four to give me four layers, laid over a strainer. I did this four times, rinsing the towel after each time. This took less time and gave a comparable result. I think this is going to be my standard procedure from now on. Here's to the old time methods.

The Limoncello/Cytrynówka is ready for consumption right after filtering but, as with all infusions, will improve with age. The traditional way of consumption is to freeze it. If your Nalewka does not have enough alcohol in it, it will form ice crystals. This can happen if your lemons are particularly juicy or you give them a really big squeeze. It's really not much of an issue and I had to deal with it in this batch. I poured all the Nalewka back into the Mason jar and added an extra ½ a liter of vodka. Mixed, rebottled and tested. That did the trick this time around.

Straight out of the freezer it's a frosty, viscous, refreshing and delectable after dinner treat - Na zdrowie! and Chin-chin!

Nalewka Farmaceutów — The Apothecary’s Nalewka

I had to make this one because of its strangeness, obscure fame and familial sentimentality. Before WW 2 when my mother, Halina Nadachowska and her family, lived in Brzeżany, in what was than South Eastern Poland, the family’s ambition was to have her study pharmacology so that she could one day become a pharmacist and run the local drug store that they were already planning to buy. As we all know — life is what happens while you are busy making plans. Thanks to the misguided ambitions of a disillusioned Austrian painter not only were my mother’s family plans shattered so were the lives of millions of human beings in Poland, Europe and the rest of the world. After 6 years of unimaginable tragedy, lose and narrow escapes all that was left of that small town dream in Brzeżany was my mother and my grandmother, Maria Nadachowska, relocated thousands of miles from home in the shattered ruins of post war Warsaw.

The Poles are a hardy bunch and seem to have a knack of coming back from the ashes. I guess it comes from a long history of being stuck between two of the most aggressive and brutal nations in Europe, Germany and Russia, without any natural barriers as our borders. My mother ended up a Polish language major at the University of Warsaw and in the end lived a happy and fulfilling life never looking back. What would be the point? Brzeżany or Berezhany, as it is know today, is now run by the Ukrainians, its rightful owners. I on the other hand, and many children of that displaced generation can’t help but romanticize the old Polish backwoods region known as the Kresy. Kresy means fringes, outskirts or frontier in Polish.

From what I can gather, with the scarce information available, this Nalewka started out as a soothing cure-all in the apothecaries’ arsenal of medicative vodka infusions. Don’t let the strange ingredients and long wait scare you — it’s worth it for the refined and unusual taste, the silky texture and the inevitable consternation and conversation that will ensue once you reveal the ingredients.

This is what you will need:

* 2 liters of vodka
* 2 liters (0.5 gallons) of whole milk (I used raw milk)
* 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of peeled and seeded ripe lemons

Carefully peel the lemons removing all the white pith. Seed and quarter them in a bowl or over the Nalewka jar. You don’t want to lose any of the juice. Reserve the peel of one of the lemons making sure to capture as little of the white pith as possible.

Put the lemons and peel in the jar and pour in the vodka and milk. Give the whole thing a stir and put in a dark place, like the back of the pantry, for 5 weeks. You don’t want to leave it out in public because after the milk curdles it will look pretty disgusting. Once or twice a week you want to give the whole jar a jiggle and a shake.

Once the 5 weeks are up this disgusting mixture is due to be strained and filtered. Because I was curious of the “cheese” that had formed I first took out the lemons with a slotted spoon and than strained the remaining curds and booze through a my rather dense, linen cheese cloth.

I ended up with a little over 2 liters of Nalewka and a bunch of rather unusual cheese. I tried the cheese and it wasn’t bad but it had a very harsh lemony flavor. I think, had I had the time, I could have saved it with some processing — I will have to try this next time. The Nelewka itself was light green colored, milky and also a little harsh in the mouth. My confidence wasn’t high as to how it would turn out in the end. I put the bottles in the back of my Nalewka cupboard forgot about them for about 8 weeks hoping for improvement.

After 8 weeks all the milk solids had settled at the bottom of the bottles. I gave it a taste and was pleasantly surprised by the improvement in taste and texture. I took my infusion through my special 3 rags and a coffee filter filtering system. Once through linen, once through flannel and once through raw silk and finally through a coffee filter. You could just use a coffee filter but this is much faster because the coffee filter won’t get all gummed up right away.

The filtered Nalewka Farmaceutów went back into the bottles and to the cupboard for another 4 weeks.

So what’s the final verdict? For starters it’s not final. This Nalewka seems to be maturing very well and has improved dramatically since its first filtering. It has a subtle, delicately lemony tongue, a soft velvety texture and an unusual, vaguely buttermilky but hard to pin down finish. I’m on my 3rd glass now trying to come to grips with all the nuances.

The best part is that I know this is just the start of the process and I look forward to the many times I will try to put my finger, or is that tongue, on what it is exactly that makes this Apothecary’s Nalewka so special. Right now I will have another glass while I relax with my Polish language copy of Together and Apart in Brzezany: Poles, Jews, and Ukrainians, 1919-1945 by Shimon Redlich.

Clementines Confites: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2011-11-08T11:15:00.023-05:00

Once upon a time, somewhere in the Wild Wild East, I found a recipe for Clementines Confites on a great blog, Lucy's Kitchen Notebook. Lucy is American, her husband is French, she has been living in France for at least the past ten years, and her blog has lots of exciting French recipes. I had been hunting for recipes for preserved fruits, and hers was the only one for clementines in English. I was very happy to find it!

To sum up the recipe quickly, you prick the clementines, make a syrup by cooking sugar and water, and every two days, for 14 days, so seven times in all, remove the clementines, add more sugar to the syrup, cook it again, and pour it back over them. You have to add either corn syrup or honey to the syrup to prevent crystallization.

Okay. I decided to take a scientific approach and do two batches, one with corn syrup, one with honey. Since everyone says corn syrup is Satan's nectar, I figured if the honey results were just as good or better, I'd never use corn syrup again, and if not, I'd feel justified using it.

Now our story begins.

The honey batch crystallized like whoa. Not cute.

Spirytus, the Angel Eyes of the liquor store. Its job is to kill you.

What does 192 proof taste like? Ever fall on concrete and scrape your knee? It tastes like that. Plus coughing.

Lovely, perfect corn syrup, as glorious and golden as Blondie himself. These are about a month old.

I tried a clementine from the honey jar.

The clementine was

The crystallization did not affect the inside of the clementine at all. It tasted a lot like candied peel, but juicier.

I bought the spirytus because my recently acquired cookbook of traditional Polish recipes says it is far superior to vodka for infusions, preserves, liqueurs, etc.

Yeah, the people at the liquor store didn't believe me either. In fact, they were so disapproving that I was embarrassed into buying only one bottle, and I barely managed that. I intended to buy two, for future projects. Anyway, I am going to try to turn crystallized clementines confites into spirited clementines confites. If anything is going to dissolve that block of sugar, it's spirytus. Maybe it will dissolve the clementines and the jar as well! We'll see!

I don't know what happened to the honey batch. It looked perfect until about the fifth cooking, at which point I noticed it became very thick. After that it began to crystallize. My guess is that the honey batch reduced more than the corn syrup batch when cooked, and the ratio of sugar to honey became too high. At the end I tossed in some corn syrup in the hope of dissolving it, but no dice. I think if I had stopped at the fifth cooking, it would have been okay, but I don't know for sure.

Best theme music ever

Flying puppies, flying bugs

2011-11-03T13:28:00.010-04:00

When these pictures were being taken Lou started running really fast. It was so funny. I wish the pictures were better, because I love Lou action shots.

He's flying!

See the scarf all askew from my sprinting? Here's the story behind it: I try to resist the siren song of designer collaboration collections, and almost every time, I fail. Speaking of which, have you seen those Albertus Swanepoel for Target hats? They are only 20 dollars and. . .god damn it.

So Versace for H&M is coming up (I'm getting to the scarf), and unfortunately, the collection is really, really great. I can't believe how over the top some pieces are. I especially love this dress

and this one

and I can't help but love these utterly ridiculous shorts (skirt, it turns out)

but I haven't gone to the opening of an H&M designer collaboration in a long time, and that's because the last one I went to--Stella McCartney, if I remember right--was madness. A stampede. But maybe this Versace stuff is so weird no one but me will want it? Is that just wishful thinking? (Yes.)

Anyway, I was looking for a little vintage Versace fix, since I probably won't be able to get the dress, and found the scarf. Puppies, lots of puppies, flowers, and bugs!

+J Jil Sander for Uniqlo navy wool jacket, Uniqlo thermal leggings, Aigle boots, vintage Versace scarf, Foley and Corinna Miss Zipper bag

It's Halloween!

2011-10-31T21:18:00.004-04:00

Every night, to me, is Halloween!

Do you know King? He has been around since the '80s but I just discovered him a couple months ago. I am in love.

I went to a Halloween party

I'd say maybe 80% of the people I encountered recognized me and treated me with due respect. The rest either asked impertinent questions or mocked my hat! I truly WAS Beatrice that night. And my hat never fell off, which was a Halloween miracle.

Hope these last hours of October are the most ghoulish of your life!

Oh Abbey Lee

2011-10-30T13:05:00.004-04:00

I have discovered the secret to your boundless charm

Cameo Jewelry

2011-10-26T14:27:00.027-04:00

I love portraits. Grecian bust, Renaissance painting, paparazzi photo, smiling cartoon vegetable, if I see a face, odds are I'll fall in love. My ideal home would be a portrait gallery or Byzantine church, I guess. I don't know why I am this way, but I always have been. I suppose, as an only child, I was lonely, and my dolls kept me company. Except I wasn't an only child.

Of course I love cameos. If you read the blog, they're all over it. The antiquity of the form is interesting--if my quick internetz research is to be believed, they go back to 6 B.C. Rome. Also, they're little sculptures, little works of art, little FACES, and each has its own personality.

You know how families assign gift themes ("What should I get Aunt Edna for Christmas?" "Something with a ferret on it! She LOVES ferrets!")? I have had three: teapots, until I had to ask my family to stop before I was buried under a mountain of whimsical teapots, and after teapots, pink, because for at least a year I was into pink and dressed in head-to-toe pink whenever possible. Pink faded to gray, and gray is not a compelling theme, so now my theme is cameos, which is really good, because I will never tire of them the way I did teapots and pink. (And pink teapots. Yes. I have one.) As a bonus, cameos are small, so they will never take over the place.

My friend sent me a link to this picture of Miroslava Duma all decked out in cameos and I was, of course, enchanted.

Here is the style.com slideshow which featured the picture of Miroslava: Spring's Cameo Appearances. Can't say I like all the pieces,

no, sometimes the words "hideous abomination" came to mind, but I love seeing them featured as a trend, because hopefully some interesting contemporary designs will surface soon.

Here are some of mine.

Clockwise from open jewelry box: two pairs of earrings made from vintage German plastic cameos, Wedgwood box with my favorites on top, a vintage Neapolitan shell cameo ring and an ancient Roman bronze ring with a carnelian intaglio of a wild boar. This is a seal ring and it still works, I have pressed many tiny boars into my kneaded erasers. Next, vintage shell cameo, Victorian Grand Tour lava cameo of Hermes, vintage blue plastic cameo belt buckle, '60s Karlsruhe pottery cameo of Minerva, Victorian Grand Tour lava cameo Pompeii bracelet, vintage shell pendant cameo, vintage Wedgwood cameo pendant, vintage porcelain cameo, and modern glass cameo earrings by Extasia.

Here are a few tips for buying cameos.

1. Resin and plastic mass-produced cameos should be inexpensive, vintage or not. Doesn't mean they're not cute, I love my little plastic earrings, and I also love that they cost two dollars.

2. Look at the carving. Do you find it pleasing? Is it well done? A crudely or ineptly carved cameo is not valuable just because it is old. Even if it's a great price, and set in gold, if it looks like a craggy troll, don't buy it, unless you are into craggy trolls. What really matters is whether you like it or not.

3. If you buy on Ebay, people often don't know what they are selling. The default is "Victorian" or "Edwardian". The cameos usually are newer, since Victorian-style cameos have been made since then and are still being made today. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter, as long as you like the cameo and the price is reasonable. For example, the large cameo Miroslava is wearing is from the 1960s or 1970s (you can tell by the Barbie nose), her cameo choker probably is Victorian or Edwardian, and they look great together.

4. Go to New England. Okay, I can only speak for Maine, but every antique store I have been to in Maine has had tons of cameo jewelry, some of very high quality, at much better prices than Ebay. Much better.

Models Who Want to Kill You

2011-10-21T16:36:00.011-04:00

Amateur Edition.

I just got this Yohji skirt and I am so in love, but it is a little bit hard to work with. As you can see, it wraps around, and the waist stands away from your body. I tried different things with it--obviously anything that covers the top doesn't work, but tucking tops into it didn't look good either. I decided what the skirt needed was a very defined, structured waist, and this corset was the only thing I had that fit the bill. I wish I could make the corset tighter, and I also would like to see how a white one would look, but this will do for now.

To make the outfit warmer and less evening gownish, I stuffed my Allsaints Bryce sweater dress into the top of the corset, and tied the cowl neck into a knot. I have had mixed feelings about the Bryce dress ever since Joelle said it looked like it came from Strawberry. Strawberry. Hmm. Maybe it's Joelle I want to kill. Anyway, I might have the skirt on wrong, judging by the tag the slit is supposed to be on the side, not in front, but I think it looks good both ways.

It is the most perfect garment ever. I probably should have ironed it, but was so eager to wear it that I ripped it out of the package and put it on immediately. ('Twas a gamble, final clearance, no returns, but I'm a daredevil.) The skirt is made of thin black cotton-rayon fabric that does not pick up dog hair (?! sorcery!), it doesn't spin around when I walk, even though it's long and narrow I can take full steps, oh my. I need more Yamamoto in my life. Send me all yours, please. In return, I will draw a portrait of your most beloved--shoe? Your most beautiful pet fish? Your choice. NOT A BAD DEAL YO.

Yohji Yamamoto skirt, H&M corset, Allsaints Bryce jumper dress, Manolo Blahnik lace booties

Why I Miss Appointments

2011-10-20T16:12:00.004-04:00

Oh, I know that appointment is after the 20th, let me just find where I wrote it down, and put it in my phone! It's probably in here:

Nothing in front. In back?

No

No. By the way I am not currently taking yoga classes, nor do I have any plans to.

Nope

OK, maybe it's in the other notebook.

Another blank front. Try the back of this one?

Not even close

Maybe?! No.

Gave up. Scanned Lou.

Unbearable

2011-10-17T12:00:00.007-04:00

Here both Lou and I are squinting into the sun on the crisp fall day that was yesterday, with our new dilapidated polar bear friend. This would look a lot better if we all had on sunglasses. Wish I didn't find them so annoying to wear. I felt sorry for the bear and wanted to take it home and paint its eyes back on.

You know how Missoni for Target came out a few weeks ago and people all across our great land went bananas over it? Well, when it launched, I felt quite smug about my total lack of interest. But then, everyone was going crazy, and I felt left out of the excitement. So I went through it all, searching for Missoni that didn't look like Missoni (yes, I know how dumb that sounds. Is.) This corduroy coat was pretty much the lone zig-zag-free thing I found, so I ordered it, figuring it would probably have to go back, as I rarely can wear yellow-based colors without looking like a total ghoul. I ended up really liking the straight, narrow cut and perfect fall shade of dead-leaf golden green. For some mysterious reason I think the color is okay on me.

Missoni for Target corduroy coat, ASOS sweater, French Sole flats

Squirrel Hunting

2011-10-09T21:29:00.006-04:00

I didn't know there was to be a fall H&M Conscious Collection until my friend told me about it a few weeks ago. Inspired by Swedish folklore? Folkloric? Somewhat--alpine? Naturally I raced to H&M the day it arrived.

As you probably know, fall is squirrel hunting season in New York City, and Lou is an intrepid squirrel hunter. This lace dress is one of the Conscious Collection pieces I bought, and since the lace has a pattern of oak leaves and acorns, it is ideal for squirrel hunting.

L: Do you see any?
R: No, do you?
L: No. I'm bored.
R: Me too.

R: Maybe if I try to look like an oak tree, they will come! Do I look like one?
L: YES!

R: Is that a squirrel off in the distance? I see something gray!
L: No. Someone's trash can fell over.
R: Oh. This isn't going so well.
L: No.
R: What should we do?

L: Let's dance!
R: We are such good dancers.
L: We really are.
R: What about the squirrels?
L: Let's buy a big net and take it to Central Park tomorrow.
R: Excellent.

H&M Conscious Collection lace dress, Rejoice the Hands porcupine quill earrings, Repetto boots

Victory Lotto

2011-10-05T01:40:00.006-04:00

You may have heard of Victory gin and Victory cigarettes, well, this is a Victory lotto ticket. In this particular lottery , there is no scratch-n-win, just scratch-n-sniff. Only the ticket below is currently available, and yes, it is a little beat up, and it does cost a wee bit more than a Celine luggage tote, but you never know. Anything. Aside from knowing you're not going to win, I mean. That you know. Please send purchase inquiries to the email address at the bottom of the page.

How did this come about, you didn't ask?
OK, I'll tell you.
A de Kooning retrospective has recently opened at MoMA.

That's Willem, or Bill, as they always refer to him in books, which I like, because it makes me feel as though we are old pals, and Elaine, his wife, ca. 1945. Good looking pair.

So I was going through my de Kooning folder, wondering if any of the very early paintings would be in the show, and I looked at these two:

and I thought, hey, isn't that?

Nice of Bill to give her back her head and arms and hands! And feet. Damn, she is missing a lot of parts, but I just love her (Winged Victory/Nike of Samothrace), she is so so sexy. It's either comforting or horrifying to think that a nice rack and long legs were as important in 220 B.C. as they are today. Horrifying, actually, but it's not her fault we haven't moved forward.

There is so little left of ancient Greek sculpture--most of what we have are Roman copies, but Victory, or what's left of her, is one of the few originals. Anyway, I decided to draw her as my preparation for the de Kooning show. I don't know about the lottery ticket part.

OK! Art history class is over! Now you can impress your friends by discussing the finer points of ancient Greek lottery tickets and scratch-n-sniff de Koonings next Happy Hour.

Victory Lotto, colored pencil, graphite, and gouache on paper, 15.5x10

These are snakeskin booties.

2011-09-28T14:49:00.021-04:00

Mock snakeskin, to be precise. They are leather. Look how pointy!

They may be a symbol of my belief in personal freedom, or they may be a symbol of the fever I mysteriously woke up with today, since I bought them yesterday. Better keep the tags on for a couple days, just in case I was as delirious when I bought them as I am now.

Slacking on the blog fashion here! Tsk tsk. No opportunity to plaster pictures of oneself all over the internetz, or to give globe-spanning chain stores free advertising, should ever be passed up! I do like to see what other people are wearing, though, and I also like getting tipped off to things I might want for myself, so what can you do?

I need to photograph the things I got in Turkey because they are handmade and very cool, and also a crazy shrug I bought the other day, but I am in no condition to prance about for pictures today. It half killed me just to take pictures of my feet. (It kind of did actually.)

Anyway, the weather is changing, and when that happens, thoughts turn to boots. I find myself wearing the same (metallic bronze Repetto) boots year after year, so I have been looking for another pair of ankle boots with a lowish heel that, despite the lowish heel, are flattering enough to wear with skirts. I tried on a bunch of ankle boots, at Zara and elsewhere, and they all looked terrible--clunky and yuck. So then I was roaming around Zara, spreading germs and sulking because they didn't have the suede tie wedges I liked in my size, when I saw the snake(esque) booties and halfheartedly stuck one on.

I believe, perhaps even more than I believe in personal freedom, that a bootie or ankle boot that looks good on a bare leg is a bootie or ankle boot one needs to own, because it will look good with anything. Turquoise tights? Sure. Pom-pom anklets? But of course. I wear the Repettos perenially because they are the only ankle boots I have that possess this magical quality. I don't know exactly why the Zara booties have it too, but they do. Unfortunately I had to wear tights for the pictures because I probably need to shave and can't deal with that today, but I promise they looked good yesterday. Unless it's all a fever-induced hallucination, that is.

The trusty old Repetto warhorses

Zara

And these are the suede wedge booties I liked. Not quite what I had in mind at the time, but they looked nice on.

By the way, Zara's shoe size conversion is off. They call 38 US 7.5, 39 US 8. No. Their 38 is an 8.

Stop the love and sex and magic

2011-09-22T16:17:00.018-04:00

My bacchante looks like she's about to cry, doesn't she? And yes, she does bear a faint resemblance to Stephen Thompson. Ideally, everyone would. But why so sad? Dunno. She just came out sad, but I suspect my annoying habit of playing the same song over and over has driven her to the brink of tears. What else could it be?

Sad Cameo, 14"x11", colored pencil, gouache and graphite on paper

Russian Summer

2011-09-15T09:00:00.011-04:00

From left: Blueberry (first two bottles), Pomegranate-Cardamom-Orange, Strawberry, Peach, Cherry.

Ossifer's Jam next to Strawberry

Actually, I did meet a lot of Russians this summer, but I didn't go to Russia. No, it was a Russian summer because it was a vodka summer. And to be perfectly honest, although these concoctions are supposed to age for months and months, I want to start drinking them now, so I had to document them pronto before they disappeared. I wrote about all but cherry and ossifer's jam in this post and this post, so I'll just give my impression of each and links to all the recipes here.

Blueberry: It is the youngest and needs to age more, but tastes pretty good. It was the easiest to make, as the blueberries didn't break down at all and so it didn't need much filtering.

Roxelana (Pomegranate-Cardamom-Orange). This is the only one I wouldn't drink by itself. The flavor is nice, but very strong, and the pomegranate is overpowered by the cardamom and orange. That's okay with me because I love cardamom, but I'd like to make a pomegranate-only vodka at some point. Very aromatic and spicy. I think a generous splash in a glass of Prosecco would make an awesome Cardamosa. Need to try that soon.

Strawberry: The first one I made. It's good. It has lost almost all the vodka burn and doesn't really taste alcoholic. Great for kids who won't go to bed! (j/k)

Peach: Similar to strawberry in that it became very smooth and barely seems boozy. Kind of a pain to filter, but really good. If it lasts until December I'm going to use it in my eggnog instead of peach brandy.

Cherry: This one is interesting. It's an Italian recipe, and no I didn't drink half of it (yet), the recipe makes a small amount, and says you will only want to sip a tiny bit, and also that it should age for at least six months. I wanted to make it because it includes crushed cherry pits, which are supposed to give an almond flavor. Once I found I could crush the pits in the food processor, I was all for it (worked but was kinda scary). Anyway, this one tasted good right from the start, and I wish I had made a double batch. It has been the hardest by far to filter though.

Officer's Jam, or Bachelor's Jam (It has become Ossifer's Jam to me, because of that old joke): It isn't vodka, it's brandy, but it's fruit and alcohol, so I invited it to the party. I found myself in possession of a bottle of cheap brandy (you know to be scared if the label says simply "French Brandy"). Since I don't have a Zippo, I was looking for some other way to use the French Brand Brandy, and found Officer's Jam, which is fruit preserved in brandy and sugar. You can use the fruit and the fruit-flavored brandy for desserts in the winter. It's really simple to do, but the fruit keeps floating to the top and it's hard to weigh it down. I've been keeping it in the fridge, but when the weather cools off, I'll stick it in a closet, I guess. So far the brandy has turned red and tastes like cough syrup. Haven't tried the fruit, I think it is too soon.

I wish I had made at least one without sugar but that can be a future project. If you like sweet fruity flavors, you will like any of them, except Roxelana, for that you really have to be a cardamom fan. They are all wonderfully aromatic.

Vodka dreams and brandy wishes to you!

Oh the shark, babe

2011-09-13T19:26:00.019-04:00

Look out, old Macky's back.

Stevie T.

2011-09-09T00:48:00.023-04:00

Well, Fashion Week is here once again, and what better way to celebrate Fashion Week than with a Fashion Model?

I have a folder where I keep images to use for inspiration or as starting points for projects. Here are some examples:

Now, can you imagine how I felt when I first saw Stephen Thompson?

Yes. I died.

Stephen Thompson, colored pencil, graphite, and watercolor on paper, 17"x14"

I should give photo credits, but unfortunately, since I saved the images for myself, I don't have them. The first image is a ball-jointed doll, second is Picasso's Woman in White, third, Mary-Kate Olsen, fourth, a cameo depicting Hera, and fifth, Caroline Trentini in Vogue. Some of the Stephen Thompson photos came from the Tumblr fuckyeahstephenthompson (lol), which is a great blog to check out if you'd like to see more of Stephen.

Irene Goodnight

2011-08-27T02:19:00.015-04:00

Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Sometimes I live in the country
Sometimes I live in the town
Sometimes I get a great notion
To jump in the river and drown
♪ ♪ ♪

In other words, vacation's over and this damn hurricane is supposed to show up tomorrow and turn Manhattan into Atlantis.

Oh well. Let's ignore Irene, Queen of the Hurricanes, while we still can. Maybe it's all just a false alarm anyway. Usually is, when people have prepared adequately.

I was just in Turkey, having a lovely time in Alanya and Istanbul.

Unfortunately, I am a terrible vacation photographer, so bad that my friends frequently said, "You know, that would be a good shot", to which I would reply, "Oh yeah, nice", and stare vaguely into space, until startled into action by "SO WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A PICTURE?" Probably because of this, some of the pictures I'm posting, the best ones I'm sure, were taken by my friend. Aaaand I only have one picture of myself, and you can't even tell where I am. Just couldn't do the standing in front of monuments thing, I think because in Alanya, girls kept doing the sexy scenic poolside glamour shot thing, and while they were happily arching and pouting away, I--I was embarrassed for them, and just in general.

I am going to follow this post with a Turkish shopping post. Mad loot to buy there, good prices too.

OK! Picture time!

Enjoying the view in my twelve dollar shorts

Alanya

Banana plantation

Cleopatra Beach

WHAT ARE THOSE? Really, do you know?

One of the two cistern Medusas. I can't tell you how much I love these girls. Isn't she adorable with her pug nose and toothy little smile?

Istanbul is the city of cats. They are everywhere.

This cat left his dinner to visit me and climb into my bag. I like to think he knew I missed Lou and was trying to console me. I wish I had a picture of cat friend in my bag, but I took his picture and put the camera in the bag, and then he got in the bag, so I couldn't get the camera out again.

Ramadan Christmas Village

Ottoman taffy

Happy Ramadan from the Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

Blue Mosque

Outfit: Forever 21 striped jersey shorts, La Redoute tank, Aerie halter bra

Hi hi hi hi there

2011-07-25T00:05:00.006-04:00

It's easy to choose clothes these days. It is too hot to even consider wearing sleeves, dark colors, layers, slips, pants, or dry clean only fabrics. That leaves me with about five viable outfits.

The extreme heat seems to make both people and machines malfunction. Because of this, a few days ago I was stuck on a hellishly hot platform waiting FOREVER for a delayed train, and a most charming gentleman, perhaps upon realizing I had no means of escape other than flinging myself on the third rail, was so kind as to strike up a conversation. Helpful Hint: Guys, a conversation that begins with "I haven't been in this neighborhood since I was in the rehab center here 15 years ago", will probably not end in "Yes! Yes! I would love to go to the beach with you! Can we go right now!", especially if in between beach date and rehab you ask the lady in question if she is a belly dancer, and also ramble a bit about local nude beaches and topless women. I mean, it might. You can try it. But not a sure bet.

Still puzzling over the belly dancer part, since I was not in fact sporting my usual sequined silver bra and hot pink chiffon pantaloons at the time, but rather a kinda prissy white eyelet dress. A new first and a new low, my friends.

♪ That's when I had most of my fun back ♪

So here's another hot weather outfit. As you can see, Lou was not feeling it--he wanted to lie down under that tree.

H&M Conscious Collection halter and shorts, Dolce Vita Pela sandals (so happy about these, they are SO hard to find now!)

Dang

2011-07-22T22:35:00.006-04:00

I am finding it difficult to return to the present after my mac's death temporarily exiled me to the Middle Ages. I feel quite lethargic now and don't know where to begin. Probably a case of the plague.

What does "medieval" conjure up for you? Me, the aforementioned plague, religious persecution, more specifically, people being hung upside down and stretched out and poked full of holes and grilled, pointy flats, big staring eyes (score!), Wassail!, those dorky guys Derek and somebody in my speech class who gave a speech about like jousting--in costume, long dragging robes that lace up in a lot of places, and GILDING! Yes! Fain am I to returneth to ye Mocke Golde Leayfe!

Yeah so anyway during my exile I dragged out a bunch of ratty old frames and put faux gold leaf on the worst one.

Here is the frame in progress, it was the reddish one in front.

On the DIY front, I may have mentioned this before, but I have a friend who works for a framer with a gilding department, and he told me those guys don't waste anything, they can't really, because they are using real gold. So there's an art to doing it right, and I am doing it wrong. There's not much you need to know to do it wrong, paint the object to be gilded with size, wait for the size to get sticky, put leaf on it until it's all covered up, and then burnish the hell out of it. It took longer than I expected because I had to do a wasteful two coats to get it even.

I put one of my drawings in it because it happened to fit. This is temporary--there's no glazing and I prefer to have other people's work, not mine, up, because #spendenoughtimeinmyownheadalreadythx, but for now, it's nice to have a change, and it looks pretty good. The right side of the frame looks weird in the picture, but it's just reflection.

I don't know how much a comparable frame would cost, I hope a LOT, because this one took a whole afternoon.

Now I am thinking about putting silver (aluminum) leaf on a kitchen cabinet. Is that a bad idea?

Give me technology or give me death

2011-07-20T19:43:00.010-04:00

My mac's broken yo, so while it languishes away at the mac hospital, I've been enjoying a return to a kinder, simpler time. Just me and my canning jars of vodka, out on the prarie with Sunbonnet Lou, fattening up the mule for Thanksgiving dinner, baking crow pie like Laura Ingalls Wilder, quilting--quilts, I suppose--maybe there should be a new TV series that combines Little House on the Prarie, The Addams Family, and Twilight. It would be about a family of homesteading vampires who try to fit into the community, but can only farm at night, and raise weeds and rats instead of corn and cows. They could have zombie farmhands, a ghost wagon that is transparent like Wonder Woman's plane and rolls around town by itself, an enchanted well like Harry Potter's bathroom--ooh, I think it would be a huge hit, and I happen to be available to star in it!

Please enjoy the following exciting selection of cell phone pics. It's all I got.

Lou and I hanging with some Thomas Hirschhorn hos

Best bikini ever

Flounder, King of the Ocean Floor

The Pie That Stole Christmas

A not-very-convincing skipper

2011-07-08T09:55:00.010-04:00

Maine is great for pictures, and this year was no exception. I just don't happen to be in any of them. The tide did not cooperate with my schedule, so I didn't go canoeing as much as usual (sob!), but while canoeing, I took some pictures on a tiny island. One of my flip flops inconveniently committed suicide on the island, so I couldn't walk around much. What to do? "Here's some lobster stuff. Hold it up and be a lobsterman (lobsterperson? lobsterwoman? lobsterlass?)." Well, I gave it a shot. Looks like I was worried about this year's lobster crop.

At least you can see the outfit of a TRUE YANKEE. What is that? Oh, a person who wears the same old crap year after year after year. I've had those Forever 21 shorts, like, forever, and the top is at least a couple years old now too.

Now here's a much better picture. It looks exactly like something you'd find in a tourist shop, but I took it myself! I will also be posting Fourth of July parade pictures. Lobsters and royalty coming soon!

Uniqlo striped tee, Forever 21 gingham shorts

Chip! Munk!

2011-07-06T23:44:00.003-04:00

I took a picture. A picture of a chipmunk.

Stop being such a bridezilla, Babs

2011-07-01T23:26:00.006-04:00

Okay so maybe I DID forget you, and maybe June IS over, but barely, and anyway, you just got married. Shouldn't you be enjoying your newlywedness instead of bitching about Irma? I'm sorry you have to share Cutie of the Month with her, but there's nothing I can do about it now. Irma is a sweet girl, and I don't know why you think she's trying to upstage you. Yes, she is wearing white, but just a bra! There's no white bra rule, and a towel doesn't count as a dress!

By the way, your wedding dress looked awesome with the black stockings. Very ethereal.

Colorized Cameo

2011-06-30T22:26:00.008-04:00

I took all the color I leached out of the Jazz Age Lawn Party pics and poured it into a cameo. I don't know what happened--decided to do a cameo in color, but I meant to do it very pale, and next thing you know there's all this red hair.

There's been a lot of talk of red hair going around lately, maybe that's why. I always notice and admire the ginger. We were told as kids that my great-aunt was the flame-haired beauty of the family and not, alas, my poor black-haired grandmother, so I learned from an early age what a valuable attribute it is. Always wished for a redheaded boyfriend. Prince Harry, ideally. Never had one, though.

I've been sick all week. Traveling back to the 20s was too much for me, apparently. I promised myself once I finished this drawing I would make a triumphant return to society and fashion, but yeah, that didn't work out. Oh well, the fresh country air should restore me this weekend (the drive will probably kill me instead). Hope you have non-deadly plans for the weekend!

colored and graphite pencil on bristol, 17"x14"

Jazzy

2011-06-27T11:50:00.011-04:00

The Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island was this past weekend. It was a lot of fun.

Lou is hiding his face because he doesn't want you to see him crying. He wasn't allowed to go and be a jazzy dog:(

The shoes and pearls I wore

Dapper Dans

Dapper Dancers

Heartbreaker

Tug O' War

Demon Rum

Oh look! It's the Hon. Mrs. Zara Constance Woolsen, glittering socialite, and international star of stage and screen, Joelle Van Dyne! Guess whether it was Zara or Joelle who said, "I've just read the Great Gatsby, and I'm simply giddy with excitement about dressing up for the Jazz Age party!"

Hint: You got it wrong.

Joelle

Is it me or something a little off here? I just don't know.

Robert Rodriguez dress, ASOS brogues, vintage pearls, bakelite cuff

Fruit Frenzy

2011-06-25T00:46:00.022-04:00

Left to right: Strawberry vodka, blackberry-orange cordial, and blueberry and peach vodkas in their infancy.

Although I am by no means a Food Person and so any Food Project I take on requires a lot of embarrassing internetz searching (how-to-hull-a-strawberry. how-to-choose-a-pomegranate. how-many-oz-are-in-2.5 lbs. and on, and on, and on), I've been dabbling in popsicles, infused vodka, and cordials/syrups.

I wanted to start another infused vodka while my strawberry vodka was in progress, but I only had one jar big enough, and it was occupied by the strawberry. After unsuccessfully hunting around dollar stores for jars, I ordered a set of six from Amazon. Of course I don't need that many, and after they arrived I found cuter jars at the drugstore, but it's a good deal if you add a five dollar something to the order to bring it up to $25 for free shipping.

So now I have six, actually seven, because the old one is empty now, big ole half gallon jars. If I use them all, that will be a whole lot of vodka infusions, but at least it will increase the odds that I get a really great one, and if any are disgusting, they can be pawned off as "homemade gifts" come Christmastime. Ha ha ha! Hopefully there won't be any disgusting ones. I'm trying to do as much research as I can to prevent that. Even middle-of-the-road vodka is not that cheap.

I went to the grocery to see the fruit situation, and settled on blueberry, peach, and pomegranate vodka, and since I just looked up a ton of cordial recipes, I decided to make blackberry-orange cordial too.

The strawberry vodka I started in May is finished. I strained it and filtered it through coffee filters twice to remove any strawberry goo. Now it's just a question of whether to age or not. Right now, it tastes like strawberry candy. Seriously. This is the Hello Kitty of vodka. It is so girly I'm almost embarrassed to admit I like it. Oh but I do. I really do.

I was impressed with the strawberry vodka recipe I used because most of the sweetened vodka infusion recipes I have seen either add simple syrup to the finished infusion, or throw it in with the fruit and vodka at the beginning. The strawberry recipe begins with just strawberries and vodka, but after a week the strawberries are transferred to a different jar and sugar is added. The sugar pulls vodka and strawberry-ness from the strawberries, and the resulting liquid is combined with the original infusion. No water is added and less vodka is wasted. It makes so much more sense than tossing out the vodka-soaked fruit and adding sugar water to the vodka.

The blueberry vodka recipe is exactly the same as the strawberry, only difference is the fruit. I wonder if it will be as candy-like as the strawberry one. It will be pretty for sure.

The peach and pomegranate recipes came from a great (unfortunately now defunct) blog written by a Polish woman living in California. Her infusions (she calls them by the Polish name nalewka) are well thought-out and tested, which is rare. You would not believe how many infusion "recipes" I've found that go something like this:

Dragonfruit-Earl Grey-Peanut Butter Cup Vodka. A gorgeous flavor marriage you will adore. Put one dragonfruit, one Earl Grey teabag, and one peanut butter cup in a bottle and add vodka. Let sit for one week. Enjoy! By the way, mine isn't done yet!

The peach nalewka recipe begins with just peaches and sugar. I photographed the jar yesterday, right after I put the peaches and sugar in it. Now the sugar has dissolved and the peaches are floating in syrup. At the end of the day the vodka will be added. I was concerned my peaches were not good enough, because I sampled one and it was meh, but I tasted the syrup today and it is mos def peach, so maybe they were not so bad.

I haven't started the pomegranate vodka yet because I need to buy more vodka first, but the recipe is from the same blog. The traditional Polish pomegranate infusion is called Pasha's Delight, but she thought it needed jazzing up, so she added more pomegranate and spices, and named her creation Roxelana.

Roxelana! I love pomegranate, so as soon as I get the vodka I will begin Roxy.

For the cordial, I was (temporarily of course) strawberried out, so I chose blackberry-orange from the list of cordial recipe links I compiled. It happened to be the only recipe sweetened with agave nectar. I had some agave already because I needed it for a popsicle recipe. It has a nice mild flavor, somewhere between honey and corn syrup. I did worry I might not like the cordial since it came from a show called "Eat Yourself Thin", but figured I could always throw a bunch of sugar in it if it came to that.

It turned out great, and so different from the strawberry-cardamom one I made. Strawberry-cardamom was sweet, almost like a strawberry soda, but much milder because it was so diluted with sparkling water. Blackberry-orange is completely different. It reminds me of a mimosa. Not sweet. The fruit flavor is strong and the citrus really comes through. The reviews on the website call it "refreshing" and "bright", and I agree. It's very good. I don't know which I like better. Probably blackberry-orange, because it has a more intense flavor. It would be the perfect drink for a hot summer day.

Syrups for Sparkling Water

2011-06-21T16:46:00.014-04:00

An offshoot of my hunt for vodka infusion recipes has been the discovery of non-alcoholic cordial. Cordials are syrups, usually fruit-flavored, that are meant to be mixed with chilled sparkling water to make sodas. I did not know this. I mean, when I made an all-purpose strawberry syrup I added it to sparkling water, and I buy sparkling water+Torani syrup sodas from my local cafe, but I didn't know there were entire nations inventing syrup recipes specifically for fizzy water. Wow. I have been missing out, man. Maybe I never noticed because to me "cordial" means boozy, and "syrup" is an all-purpose word for sugary liquidy stuff. I used "syrup" and "cordial" interchangeably in the post because I haven't settled on one or the other. Neither sounds exactly right to me.

OK! Cordial time!

Strawberry-Cardamom Cordial

I know I've posted a million pictures of bottles of pink stuff that all look the same. I swear it is not the same bottle of stuff in every picture. Even though it really looks that way.

This is just great. Tastes great, smells great, looks beautiful. I'm crazy about it. The only downside is the sugar. I drink flavored sparkling water all the time, and usually buy the zero calorie kind, which this is not. However, adding two tablespoons to a glass of water doesn't seem like that much, and the drink it makes is very lightly sweet. I suggest measuring the two tablespoons, though--it's easy to add a lot more than that, and it tastes really good (not that I would know). Also, I didn't know how to bruise a cardamom pod, so I looked it up, and read to nick it with a knife, so the flavor, but not the seeds, would come out during cooking. Well, I am a big cardamom fan, and the flavor wasn't strong enough to suit me, so after tasting the mixture while it was cooking, I crushed the pods. A couple seeds did make it through the strainer, but I don't care.

I liked the Strawberry-Cardamom cordial (recipe is in the link list at the end of the post) so much that I wanted to find lots more cordial recipes. This was kind of aggravating, because there is no way to differentiate between syrup meant for pancakes and soda syrup, except by looking at the amount of sugar and water in the recipe, and also no way to know if it's an alcoholic cordial or not except, again, by looking at the recipe. I got the best results from adding "sparkling water" to the search terms. In other words, "peach cordial sparkling water", and if that yielded nothing, "peach syrup sparkling water".

The results of the hunt are in the link list below. Unless the recipe says otherwise, these syrups keep, refrigerated, for about a week.

Some call for citric or tartaric acid, preservatives which improve their longevity and enhance flavor (or so I read). They can be omitted, but then the cordial should be used within a week. I don't have any experience with these acids, so I don't know how much they affect flavor.

Caster sugar is superfine (not powdered or confectioner's) sugar.

You can strain through coffee filters or cheesecloth if you don't have the muslin some of the recipes mention. Cheesecloth might be the same thing as muslin anyway.

I included flavors I'm not familiar with if the recipe sounded good--I wouldn't know a rosella from a tube sock, but maybe you are not as challenged. I also have no idea where I would get fresh elderflowers, so for locals, there is an elderflower sparkling water by the brand Bottle Green at Dean & DeLuca, and when I was buying it, the cashier told me there is an elderflower cordial available too (she called it "concentrate"). I forgot to look for the cordial, but I will next time I am there. I liked the elderflower sparkling water.

9/11/11: I am going to update this post every now and then after I make some of these to give reviews. I have made Blackberry-Orange and Strawberry-Ginger-Mint. Both were very good. Blackberry-Orange was very flavorful and sweetened with agave nectar, so not too sweet, but sweet enough. I think I might have mentioned it in another post. Strawberry-Ginger-Mint was great! Really interesting flavor--it also has balsamic vinegar as an ingredient. The recipe said it would keep indefinitely, and it makes a lot, so it took me about a month to use it up and it does keep, it was totally fine.

9/22: Made Blood Plum, but I used black plums and vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean. Meh. It tastes great by itself and would make a fantastic ice cream soda, but not so hot in sparkling water. The plum flavor doesn't stand up to dilution, so all you taste is vanilla.

11/8: Found the Bottle Green elderflower cordial! It's really good! For New Yorkers, I found it at the Madison Dean&DeLuca. I have never seen it at the Soho one.

11/14 Found a clementine recipe which I just made and added to the list. Fast, easy, and good.

11/20 Made Blackberry-Verbena, which I just added to the list. I was put off by this recipe's supposed yield, 4 servings, but I had a blackberry surplus, so I decided to try it. It filled a bottle like the one in the top picture with about half a cup to spare. I guess it depends on how much you use, but they suggest one part cordial to three parts soda water, and following that ratio, it makes a lot more than four servings, so I don't know where they came up with that number. I was glad though! I used pineapple sage instead of lemon verbena. It turned out really well. Pressing the pureed blackberries through a sieve to extract the juice was a purple pain, but the flavor is very nice.

Berry

Blackberry-Orange

Blackberry Verbena

Blackcurrant and Lemongrass

Blood Plum

Blueberry

Cherry

Chili

Clementine

Elderflower

Ginger
This has a lot of sugar, but also considerably more ginger than the other recipes I looked at. It looked the best to me, but I like strong ginger flavor. There are lots of other ginger recipes out there.

Ginger-Apple

Ginger with Mint, Lime, and Cucumber
They suggest mixing this with ginger beer and Pimm's, not water, but it sounded so good I couldn't leave it out.

Ginger, Spiced

Gooseberry-Lemon Verbena

Key Lime

Lavender

Lemon

Lemongrass

Lemon-Lime

Lemon, Lime, and Bitters

Lime

Mango with Ginger and Lemongrass

Nettle

Orange, Mint, Ginger and Anise
Unfortunately named "Tummy Tamer", but the flavors sound good.

Orange-Passionfruit

Passionfruit

Peach
Simple Syrup recipe

Pineapple
Sugar-heavy, but it was the best I found. I had to hunt for one that didn't have butter in it.

Pineapple-Ginger

Pink Ginger

Pink Grapefruit

Raspberry

Raspberry-Lime

Raspberry-Rosewater

Redcurrant-Raspberry

Rhubarb

Rhubarb-Ginger

Rhubarb-Orange

Rhubarb-Vanilla Bean

Rosehip

Rose-Lime
This is a syrup made with wine. It sounds good, so I'm including it.

Rosella (Australian Hibiscus)
You have to scroll down to find it.

Rosemary, Red Currant, and Orange

Star Anise
This is a page of cocktail recipes and you have to scroll down to "Antoine Peychaud" to find the Star Anise Syrup recipe. The recipe isn't a true cordial, it's a cocktail mixer, but I looked for an anise cordial recipe and this is the closest I found.

Strawberry

Strawberry-Cardamom

Strawberry, Ginger, and Mint

Strawberry-Rhubarb

Strawberry-Rose Petal
I pasted this one rather than linking because it is in fucking annoying PDF.

If you’re lucky (and green fingered) enough to grow old-fashioned scented roses, then spare a handful or two of the petals to be added to this cordial. Store the cordial in the fridge and serve diluted to taste with sparkling mineral or soda water and plenty of ice. Or pour a generous glug over vanilla ice cream and add a handful of sliced summer berries for a scrumptious ice cream sundae.

MAKES ABOUT 500ml

300g caster sugar
juice and zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
500g ripe hulled strawberries, quartered
2 handfuls of fragrant,unsprayed rose petals, washed
1 teaspoon citric acid
Put the sugar into a medium-sized pan and add 300ml of cold water.
Using a vegetable peeler, pare the zest from the lemon in strips and add
to the pan along with the squeezed lemon juice. Set the pan over a low
to medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, then bring to
the boil and simmer for 2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the strawberries, rose petals and
citric acid. Gently crush the berries in the pan with the back of a spoon.
Leave the fruit and petals to steep in the syrup for about 4 hours.
Strain the cordial through a fine sieve or muslin, then pour into sterilised
bottles, seal and label. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Strawberry-Vanilla

Vanilla (Bean)

Vanilla (Extract)
This is a recipe for vanilla cream soda which includes a vanilla syrup recipe.

Violet

So much for the modeling career

2011-06-20T09:50:00.031-04:00

of the Pekingese.

Friends ask me about Pekie sometimes. They worry she is a canine Cinderella, handed a broom and apron and left at home, while Lou is jetting fabulously around like a canine (pre-crazy) Howard Hughes. Well, Pekie was a stray (can you believe that--a stray Pekingese roaming the streets of Brooklyn!) and she has Issues. Some of her Issues, ranked by Level of Horror, are:

1. The Groomer
2. Storms
3. Trucks
4. Cars
5. Dogs
6. The Brush
7. Walking
8. Food That Is Not Fried Chicken (this was a battle that ended in compromise, so basically I lost)

You'll notice Lou has a leash and Pekie doesn't--that's because she normally moves with the speed of a turtle on crutches. But she is a bolter, and I forgot about that. Last year, in Maine, she made a beeline for the lake and headed out to sea! I didn't even know she could swim!

Anyway, it was early evening, she was unusually frisky, so I brought her along. She bolted. Into a busy street. YES it is my fault for not putting a leash on her. The bolt was partially captured by the camera.

We start out together

Pekie takes the lead

Pekie makes the turn and heads into the street

We got her out of the street before anything happened, but that ended the photo session. I should have known not to expose her to Horrors #3 and #4. And if you're wondering where her summer clip is, see Horror #1.

Did you notice my espadrilles? Very happy with them. Fate was on my side (for once). I bought a pair of Swedish Hasbeens like these

and although not madly in love (sorry Swedes), I thought they would be useful summer shoes. It's hard to find truly comfortable heels that aren't boots, for me, anyway. Then the summer ritual of chewed-up feet commenced; I wore sandals that destroyed one foot, and couldn't wear much of anything but ballet flats, so the Hasbeens stayed in their box.

Found myself at Beacon's Closet and discovered the Stella McCartneys! They are somewhat similar to the Hasbeens, because of the wooden sole, so I definitely don't need both. Back went the Hasbeens. I much prefer the Stellas--they have a higher platform and look kinda Japanese. She must have liked them too, because most of the models in her Spring RTW 2005 collection wore them:

(Daria would never wander off into the street.)

photos by Don Ashby, style.com

Yes, 2005! They are that old. Yay for chewed-up feet and old shoes!

Stella Mccartney for H&M silk blouse, tank I ineptly tie-dyed myself with rubber bands, Lorie Lester silk shorts, Stella McCartney espadrilles.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T21:25:00.002-04:00

Souvenir Venezia

2011-06-13T13:04:00.008-04:00

Blurhund!

This vintage (if you consider 1994 vintage--I was able to date it with some internetz sleuthing) Dries Van Noten shirt was such a good deal, I couldn't pass it up, even though I wasn't sure how I felt about it. Crazy souvenir postcard print? Great! But . . .brown and blue together, shiny, rayon, Hawaiian-ish. . .in other words, old man wearing black socks with sandals, smoking a cigarillo, maybe hanging out in front of a liquor store or OTB with his similarly attired friends. . .

I cast my doubts aside and built an aquatic Garanimal outfit around the shirt by adding a treasure of the seas necklace, pale watery green suede booties, a turquoise bra, and reindeer sweater shorts. The reindeer shorts didn't contribute much on the aquatic end, but for matchy-matchy Garanimal action, they made the outfit, I think.

A girl of five or so I passed on the street really liked it all. She complimented me head to toe, starting with my shoes. Probably the most compliments I've gotten in my life, so if you want to dress to impress [the kindergarten set], now you know what to wear.

Back view of the shirt with the treasure of the seas necklace and some vintage souvenir postcard books.

Dries Van Noten souvenir postcard print shirt, Forever 21 reindeer sweater shorts, sea treasure necklace from Etsy seller Bionicunicorn, Jeffrey Campbell 99 Tie in mint suede.

Is she feeling?

2011-06-11T11:17:00.002-04:00

♪ Feeling That Way ♪

Are you feeling? You feeling that way too?

colored and graphite pencil on bristol, 17"x11"

Larger image on Flickr.

Lou took off again

2011-06-09T11:22:00.005-04:00

Yeah, said he found the decor "enervating" and the air conditioning inadequate, and next thing I knew, he was gone. He even swiped my phone and sent me pictures of the getaway! Lou, why?

Won't you smile a while for me?

2011-06-07T18:08:00.019-04:00

♪ Sara Smile ♪

Decor-wise, I like anything with a face. Always have. I remember coming back from a birthday party when I was a kid with a package of dog stickers, going to my room, carefully sticking one dog in the center of every flat surface, drawers, doors, sides of furniture, etc., and then stepping back to survey the effect of a million dogs staring at me with great satisfaction. My mom was not as pleased.

I haven't changed at all since my dog sticker decorator days, so I was very excited to find these Heureux canisters (the four on the left, the others are vintage) by Belgian designer Sabine Rarebit at the MoMA design store.

They can stand at attention

They can also gossip, probably about your terrible cooking.

Oh damn, did I say they were from the MoMA design store? No, actually they were from the dollar store and cost 9.99 for all four. But I truly think (even though it was probably accidental) they are very well designed. If I had to choose four colors to make a set, I would never come up with bright red, deep green, light yellow, and lavender, but it's actually two pairs of complementaries (red and green, yellow and violet) and it totally works. Plus they are all smiling!

Now, I wonder if you can help me with a little dilemma. As well as faces, I am drawn to clear objects, so I love the Louis Ghost Chair by Philippe Starck.

But I found this at the dollar store for about 1/10th the price of the chair

Pros: Clear! Rubber duckies! Shells! Starfish! Ferns (?)
Cons: Not a whole chair. Not really a chair at all, a toilet seat with weird stuff embedded in it.

Do you think the duckies and shells make up for the lack of legs and back, and that it's not actually a chair? Do you think anyone would notice? I can't decide what to do.

Can you tell me how to get

2011-06-05T22:01:00.005-04:00

On Saturday we went to some open studios. Took a few pictures on the way, and when I looked at them later, I was like, "Wow, awesome how the wrinkles in the garbage bag echo the gathers in my dress. This is the ugliest background I have ever seen, and god, I don't know what I can do, but I have to do something." Desperate, I begged Oscar to make a cameo appearance.

Heels would have looked better, tis true, but open studios always involve a lot of walking and stair-climbing, so it had to be flats. The dress is from last year's Costello Tagliapietra for Uniqlo collection. I really dig how rooted in the classical world those two are. What is better than a dress that makes you feel like Julius Caesar or the Venus de Milo? This is a Venus dress, but I got a Caesar dress from the recent collection, last month, I think. It has one sleeve and makes me want to point at things imperially. I will have to wear it soon.

So what did we see? Lots of things. We saw studios with huge windows and skyline views, prompting Lou to say, "I don't care in the slightest about getting to Sesame Street, can you tell me how to get one of those studios, I want it for my photography and my basking." "I WISH," I replied, and then I looked like this.

We saw a giant peanut wearing a necktie

We saw a flock of paper sheep

(Lou practiced his herding)

Thanks so much to Costello Tagliapietra for linking this post on their Facebook page!!! Wow, I am so flattered!!!
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Costello Tagliapietra for Uniqlo jersey dress, Rejoice the Hands porcupine quill earrings, French Sole ballet flats.

Poupette St. Barth

2011-06-03T14:30:00.008-04:00

This is a tropical island dress, so Lou and I are doing a tropical island dance to go with it.

I don't actually have much experience with the island life, and I've never been to St. Barts. Tragic. I have, however, been to (beautiful!) Martinique. It was not easy to understand the people of Martinique, as a non-French speaker, but I did understand these questions, which I heard quite a bit: French? Italian? Creole? It made me sad that I was none of those cool things, particularly Creole. Look at their clothes:

Aren't the dresses wonderful? The bustles and plaid remind me so much of Vivienne Westwood (although these were around long before she was). I looked at the traditional dresses in the Martinique shops (ah, too long ago!), but couldn't and still can't see myself wearing one here, unfortunately. So I'm glad I found the Poupette dress. It has great textures: silk charmeuse, cotton crochet, and velvet ribbon, and it's as close to Creole as I'm going to get.

Poupette St. Barth batik print dress, Kork-Ease patent platform sandals, vintage enamel bracelet, vintage necklace.

Just under the wire, it's May's 1974 Cutie of the Month

2011-05-31T23:03:00.005-04:00

Lovely Lisa!

I think the Cuties should give monthly advice, so here is Lisa's for the last hour of May.

Tips for Dining in Japanese Restaurants
by Lovely Lisa

You may:
Sit upon the floor.
Dress in a kimono, high heels, and bra, as long as the kimono and heels coordinate.
Remove the kimono, high heels, and bra, if the mood strikes you.

You may not:
Feel sorry for your dog, who is hanging out in your bag under the table, and sneak him shrimp tempura, because he may not be interested in shrimp tempura, leading to the possibility that you may discover a shrimp in your handbag 24 hours later, which may not be the highlight of your day. Not that this has ever happened, of course. But it could. Consider yourself warned.

Remember the falling

2011-05-28T01:04:00.011-04:00

this Memorial Day weekend.

This is drawn on a beautiful piece of buff laid paper, which unfortunately scanned poorly and looks like a grocery bag. Scanner seems to hate texture.

So I did a Google image search for something like KO or knockout punch, I forget why now, but one of the images that came up was Dave Chappelle punching Godzilla. Intrigued, I found the skit and watched it (definitely has its moments, but pretty gross overall, to be honest), and noticed (indulge me in a boring Intro to Art History moment here) that the Godzilla knockout was a great composition, puncher and punchee almost mirror images with their two raised, curved arms. I replaced Dave with a busty white girl, and I was going to replace Godzilla too, and again I forget what the plan was, but then I thought, why on earth would you replace Godzilla?

There, that makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Sorry about the girl, Dave.

Christina Ricci vs. Godzilla, colored pencil on buff laid paper, 21"x15".

Straight to hell in green satin

2011-05-23T00:04:00.017-04:00

♪ Blondie, Rapture ♪

I was talking to Joelle the other day about wide leg or palazzo or whatever-you-wanna-call-em pants, and she pointed out that she found almost every pair I own. It's true. Last year, when I became obsessed with wide leg pants (I was calling them go-to-hell pants at the time), they were not easy to find, but with Joelle's help I managed, and I just got a pair at Zara, thanks to a tipoff from another friend. So I really don't pick out my own clothes. Fantastic! It is far better for someone other than me to be in charge of making me presentable.

With that in mind, I recently took a makeup class. I wanted a professional to tell me what to do without having to worry that said professional would convince me to buy the entire Gypsy Sunset or whatever collection. So I threw a bunch of my makeup in a bag (god, it was really heavy!) and headed to class.

Dr. Makeup: "Ladies, put on the makeup you normally wear and tell me about it, and I will tell you what you should do."

Me: "OK, lately I've been wearing kinda light neutral eyeshadow, black winged liner, this lipstick called Baron Rose, and a whole lot of blush, all over, because I think I look like Morticia without it."

Dr. M: "Try a brightly colored shadow, black winged eyeliner is not especially flattering and it intimidates men unless they are Eastern European, then they don't care, I don't like that lipstick, don't you have any gloss, and blush is for contouring the cheekbones!"

I am trying to keep an open mind, and it doesn't take much encouragement to get me to wear green or blue eye shadow, but I look like. . .Morticia . . .if Morticia wore green eyeshadow. . .anyway, strawberry vodka update!

I strained it, put the strawberries back in the jar, and added sugar. The sugar pulls the vodka out of the fruit. Now I am supposed to leave everything alone for a month, then strain the berries and add to the vodka.

I tasted the week-old strawberry infusion. It definitely looked, smelled, and tasted like strawberry. If you didn't want to make it the Polish way, week-old strawberry vodka in a cocktail with something to sweeten it--simple syrup, a liqueur, etc., would turn out well, I think. I don't understand what the aging does to the vodka. I understand aging wine, but wine is supposed to be wine-flavored, not grape-flavored. I guess the vodka just mellows with age. Strawberry Glenlivet.

Chloe green satin wide leg pants, Jeffrey Campbell Hathaway platforms (again, but I had to wear them, the pants were hemmed for them), Stella McCartney for H&M peplum jacket.

Save the strawberry, save the world

2011-05-17T22:13:00.010-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I bought a huge container of strawberries, for no reason other than that they were pretty. Since I had no plan, I let them sit around too long, and then got scared they'd have to be thrown out. I wanted to make strawberry shortcake, but decided the berries should really be at their best for that, and mine--weren't. Plan B: Chuck those pups in vodka and preserve them for all eternity. Once again, alcohol has solved all my problems.

Strawberry vodka-in-progress on the left, syrup on the right.

I spent a long time hunting for strawberry vodka recipes. I wanted to know how long and how much sugar, if any, and it took forever to find what I was looking for. I discovered that searching for "cordial" or "schnapps" rather than "infused vodka" or "flavored vodka" would bring up recipes for sweetened infused vodka that were actually recipes, not vague suggestions, so that seemed like the way to go.

The Polish cordial recipe I chose says to keep the strawberries in vodka for a week, then remove the berries, put them in a separate container, add sugar, and leave for a month, then discard berries, add the sugar to the reserved vodka, and age for several months. I like that the sugar isn't added in the beginning, because that gives me some control over how sweet the finished product will be. I don't know if I will let it age all summer or not. Depends how it tastes, I guess. I will post updates.

I could not jam all the strawberries into the vodka jar, so I made syrup from the rest. It is good. Too good. I have been pouring strawberry syrup everywhere this week--in seltzer mostly, but also on cake, in tea, and then the ice cream sodas. . . it's been kinda nuts. This is the recipe I used, but if I make it again, I will try a recipe without corn syrup. I want to make more fruit syrups now, but I don't know which fruit to try next.

Strawberry ice cream soda (strawberry syrup, milk, vanilla ice cream, and seltzer), the final product of Strawberry Madness Week.

Your Hair Is Beautiful

2011-05-16T01:09:00.000-04:00

♪ Blondie, Atomic ♪

Oh, Debbie. Your hair. Your shorts. Your makeup. New York looking hellish (and now, familiar) in the background. You are perfection. Thank you for everything.

I asked Lou if he wanted me to dress him in a Debbie Harry-inspired look, but he said no, he wanted to be an urban strawberry.

These booties were not a practical purchase, but I lose all reason in the presence of candy-colored suede. I wish I could cover my walls and upholster my furniture in it.

T Alexander Wang jacket, Jeffrey Campbell 99 Tie in mint suede, Patrizia Pepe mint lace tights, Forever 21 lace shorts

Oktoberfest!

2011-05-13T16:26:00.004-04:00

It came a little early this year (on my personal calendar).

I like traditional Bavarian clothing. Always have. I thought, since only one part of this outfit is actually traditional Bavarian, that the reference would be subtle, but nope, I look like a waitress at the Der Deutschler. I'm okay with that, though. Now I just need to find someone to buy me a beer.

Have a good weekend!

vintage dirndl blouse, vintage Carnaby Street embroidered vest, Rag and Bone skirt, Jeffrey Campbell Hathaway platforms.

Dios Mio

2011-05-06T02:09:00.013-04:00

I am not so good with a camera sometimes.

Well, I live in a dark cave, not a photographer's studio, and--that doesn't explain the first two shots at all, does it. Anyway, yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, which I celebrated, for lack of a better word, by dressing in gray and eating at Chipotle for the first time ever. But, I also wore festive earrings and made banana paletas (popsicles), which, according to the New York Times, are a Cinco de Mayo festive food, and attempted to show off these fabulous items in the strangely lit photo above.

I discovered the earrings on the blog Motley Stew--Grace finds the best things and posts dangerous Lovelies Lists, and when I saw the earrings a while back, I was overcome with lust, and bought them soon after (from Etsy seller Rejoice the Hands). They are made of porcupine quills, which weigh almost nothing. I can barely feel them. So great. Now I want this rainbow dress from Grace's latest lovelies.

Alas, it's too expensive. Maybe a fresh batch of popsicles will ease my pain. The New York Times recently featured a slideshow of 20 Cinco de Mayo recipes. They all look good, but I only attempted the paletas, because I am always excited to make popsicles in my magical Zoku popsicle maker. You don't need a magical popsicle maker, though. It's a super easy recipe, and I was surprised by how much I liked them.

Banana Paletas

Time: 10 minutes, plus freezing

2 medium bananas, about 3/4 cup

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar.

1. Purée all ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Pour into 4 to 6 molds and freeze until solid.

2. Unmold by first running a little cold water over outside of molds, then gently pulling the sticks.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Note: The Zoku is magical because it freezes popsicles very quickly, 7-9 minutes, longer depending on what's in the popsicle. I noticed these took a long time to freeze, probably 15-20 minutes, but they did freeze (I once made some disastrous coconut popsicles that never froze). So if you make them, give them time. They will freeze, and have a nice bitable texture that doesn't make your teeth feel freaky.

Rejoice the Hands porcupine quill earrings, Allsaints sweater and suede jacket

Blessed Beatrice

2011-05-04T14:45:00.015-04:00

You are probably thinking I am making fun of Beatrice and her hat, but actually, no. I wasn't particularly interested in the royal wedding, but ended up watching it anyway. I remember the commentator saying, more than once, "The royals are just like us!", and thinking, no, they are not, see Exhibit A, Beatrice's hat, and that is just one example. For instance, I suppose if you live under a rock, you might assume that this represents the latest fashion:

but the rest of us know that it does not. How to even describe the Great Blue Yonder? 80s Charles Jourdan+Dynasty with a little Star Trek thrown in? Bizarre. And then Eugenie and Beatrice:

They're in Vivienne Westwood and Valentino, but you'd never know it. Beatrice interested me--the huge, black-rimmed eyes, little mouth, and towering, serpentine, now infamous hat. She seemed as naïvely remote as Marie-Antoinette, and looked a bit like a Hindu goddess. I like her look very much.

When I was working on Beatrice, my neighbors, my band
of neighbors were practicing the same song, over and over and over. . . It is not a bad song, if you like ragtimey music, but the lyrics . . .

Why must you be so mean? Don't you know I've got better things to do?
I'm like a mail order product from a housekeeping magazine.
How utterly embarrassing, well lady I'm not going to dance that dance.

Let the giraffes do it, let the sad clown cry.
Your porcelain kisses are not going to turn me shy.
No, I'm not your little boy, your rosy-cheeked joy, though the thought of you makes me sanguine
I'll do anything you want but I won't be your glass figurine

Let the giraffes do it, let the sad clown cry.
Your porcelain kisses are not going to turn me shy.
No, I'm not your little boy, your rosy-cheeked joy, though the thought of you makes me sanguine.
I'll do anything you want but I won't be your glass figurine
I'm like a mail-order product from a housekeeping magazine
I'll do anything you want but I won't be your glass figurine

Dumbest lyrics of all time. Of alllll tiiiime. Especially after the 500th time. Those rhymes--don't. I would link it so you could hear for yourself, but they were playing it completely differently than its author, Andrew Bird. Anyway, I think my despair might have showed up in Beatrice's face.

Beata Beatrix, 11x14, colored pencil on paper

The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra-la

2011-05-03T00:22:00.001-04:00

Thought I'd take a picture with the tulips while they're still around.

I had this Rodarte for Target tutu/slip/whatever dress from last year altered a while back, and it fits much better now. Even though the alteration was a success (they brought up the bodice to make it less blousy), whenever I put this dress on, I want to add layers. I was trying to find something sheer to wear over it so the yellow would blend with another color. Instead I put a black bustier over the dress, and added a sweater because I was cold.

The whole "ballet-inspired" thing depresses me slightly because I don't understand why every single trend has to be some girly archetype--ballerinas, 50s housewives, Charlie's Angels, Stepford Wives, Swiss milkmaids, etc., etc. Not that I don't like all that stuff, I do, a lot, but it would be refreshing to dress like a fish or a rock or sand for a change. Wouldn't a sand collection be great? Dresses draped like different wave patterns, in beiges, grays, off-whites, transparent shoes. . . Anyway, today I definitely felt like I was wearing a ballet costume, and I liked that, for I, like everyone else, wanted to be a ballerina. But now I want to be a fish.

Rodarte for Target dress, Allsaints cardigan, H&M bustier, Jeffrey Campbell Hathaway platforms

Giorgio

2011-04-28T12:29:00.001-04:00

La Castiglione had a son, Giorgio, at 17, about a year after her marriage to the Count di Castiglione.

Partially painted photograph of the Comtesse and Giorgio, 1862-67

From "La Divine Comtesse", Photographs of the Countess de Castiglione:

Possessive and neglectful by turns, the Countess identified obsessively with her son, and commissioned a large number of photographs of him. No child of the period was ever photographed so frequently or so well as Giorgio.

Some of the strangest photographs dreamed up by the Countess are those in which she presents her six- or seven-year old son as a miniature version of herself. With his bare shoulders emerging from the drapes so prized by Nadar, his long hair wound into a low chignon and adorned with flowers, Giorgio's coquettish poses offer a faithful reflection of his mother.

Giorgio di Castiglione, 1863-64

The photographs of Giorgio are so weird and wonderful. The second reminds me of Ingres' portrait of the Comtesse d'Haussonville:

Comtesse d' Haussonville, J.A.D. Ingres, 1845

(yeah, ANOTHER countess), and also of Andrej Pejic.

♥ ANDREJ ♥

Here is my Giorgio.

He only lived to 24, poor boy.

Giorgio di Castiglione, 18"x12.5", colored pencil on pink Canson Mi-Teintes

Never saw you look quite so pretty before

2011-04-26T00:23:00.003-04:00

♪ Easter Parade ♪

Never saw you look quite so pretty before
Never saw you dressed quite so lovely what's more
I could hardly wait to keep our date this lovely Easter morning
And my heart beat fast as I came through the door
For

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it
You'll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade

I'll be all in clover and when they look you over
I'll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade

On the Avenue
Fifth Avenue
The photographers will snap us
And you'll find that you're
In the rotogravure

Oh, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet
And of the girl I'm taking to the Easter parade

I remember my mom singing that, well, the part about the bonnet with all the frills upon it, when I was a kid. I didn't expect the parade to be just like the old song, but it was and it was great!

Lou is wearing a collar made from the leftovers from my floral mirror and floral lampshades. I didn't use the blue roses for my other projects because they have Mary and Jesus printed on the petals, and so didn't really go with the other flowers, but Mary and Jesus blue roses are absolutely perfect for Easter. I wonder if anyone noticed and thought I was a religious fanatic. I am wearing a vintage dress that I have discovered is alarmingly sheer in bright light, hot pink lace Patrizia Pepe tights, and Repetto boots.

Happy Easter from the Canine Sartorialist!

2011-04-24T17:49:00.014-04:00

So, wow, today was really crazy, we went to the parade and Lou has never gotten so much attention in his life, and that is saying a LOT. I couldn't believe it.

There are lots of pictures on my camera, which I need to go through and post so you can see Lou's fly Easter outfit and me looking like a Glamour Don't, but Lou is a much better photographer than me, and this is his best work to date, so I couldn't wait to share. Lou's photos deserve their own post anyway, they pretty much all are fantastic, aside from the ones when he was under the table at brunch, I left those out, they are black.

Without further ado, may I present Canine Sartorialist Easter, NYC, 2011. Oh, wait! For those who have not met him, first I should introduce the Canine Sartorialist himself:

Now let's check out his work!

That pink stripy thing is me.

Freaking genius, Lou.

Argyle Admirer

Er--white jeans. He IS the Canine Sartorialist, and white jeans are all the rage. As you can see.

Pink tank top, but I'm more interested in that arm.

Hot Dog Stand of Doom

You have just looked more closely at this bag than the person who purchased it.

Steps of St. Patrick's

High waisted and pleated on the steps of St. Patrick's

Whoa. Too good.

Prominent Belt Loops

I like this one because of the wee "Deli" sign

Cutie of the Month, 1973: Curious Caroline

2011-04-23T23:58:00.001-04:00

Bleh, behind on a bunch of things, but I made Lou an Easter outfit, and now I am trying to figure out a way to stick his camera to it, so hopefully tomorrow will yield some good pictures. Until then, enjoy Miss April 1973, Curious Caroline.

All these girls are great, and I love Caroline. Aqua eye shadow, God-given big boobs, and bangles that match her lingerie. She is hanging out in what could be either an artist's studio or grandma's kitchen (or both?), magnificent in her bangles and bra, holding a canvas a foot away from her face like it's a copy of Valley of the Dolls. Oh Caroline, did someone tell you men don't make passes at girls who wear glasses? I think there are exceptions to that rule, and your outfit might just qualify as one.

La Castiglione

2011-04-19T09:50:00.014-04:00

Oh, where to begin? Well, most of my knowledge of La Castiglione comes from the exhibition catalog "La Divine Comtesse": Photographs of the Countess de Castiglione, by Pierre Apraxine and Xavier Demange. The catalog is out of print, but there is a large excerpt on Google books.

From the foreword by Philippe de Montebello:

The Countess de Castiglione, widely considered the most beautiful woman of her day, may be unfamiliar to American audiences, but her life reads like a Hollywood drama. Born in Italy in 1837, she was sent to Paris at the age of eighteen as a special agent for the cause of Italian unification, with the admonition from Cavour: "Succeed by whatever means you wish--but succeed!" Within weeks of her arrival in the French capital, she was the mistress of Emperor Napoleon III. In the years that followed, she fashioned herself into a mysterious recluse notorious for her many love affairs, and ended her days at the cusp of the new century, faded, unstable, and alone.

From "The model and the photographer", by Pierre Apraxine:

The beauty of the Countess de Castiglione was universally acknowledged by her contemporaries. Princess Metternich, wife of the Austrian ambassador, was "rendered speechless by this miracle of beauty: wonderful hair, the waist of a nymph, and a complexion the color of pink marble! In a word, Venus descended from Olympus! Never have I seen beauty to rival hers, nor shall I see her like again!" But she also reiterated the adverse criticism that was no less universal: "She seemed so full of her triumphant beauty, she was so preoccupied by it that after a few moments . . .she began to get on your nerves. Not a movement, not a gesture was unstudied."

Throughout her life the Countess collaborated with the photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson. Castiglione (Virgina--nicknamed Nicchia) had portraits taken, of course, but also documented fancy-dress costumes and favorite outfits, recreated scenes from important moments in her life, acted out various roles in costume, and sexed it up for some risque boudoir shots.

She had Pierson retouch photographs to make her look slimmer, and she sometimes stood on boxes hidden underneath her skirts to create the illusion of height. (Pre-Photoshop Photoshop.) That someone who was considered such a beauty (and who wholeheartedly agreed) still wished to appear taller and thinner is strikingly modern.

She sent the photographs to friends, admirers, gentleman callers. Fascinated with her own image, she wanted to preserve, perfect, and share it. Now it would seem half the world is just like her. Odd, no?

Castiglione mourned the loss of her beauty as she aged, and eventually had all the mirrors removed from her apartment and went out only at night. However, she continued to be photographed, sometimes in the same outfits she had worn twenty, thirty years before. The photographs are fascinating, terrifying, tragic.

Ermine Cloak, 1861-7

Ermine Cloak, 1895, four years before her death.

It's hard out there for a pimp.

Countess de Castiglione, 13"x16", graphite and colored pencil on pink Canson Mi-Teintes

I also have a post and drawing about Castglione's son, Giorgio.

Where little girls desperately wish to be

2011-04-17T23:20:00.008-04:00

especially when you are boring them with tales of your own dreary childhood.

1. FAO Schwarz, for Barbie Foosball

2. The American Girl Doll Hair Salon, where your doll gets yelled at for not taking care of her hair and told the style she wants won't suit her, just like you at the people hair salon.

Fancy Flounder

2011-04-13T09:36:00.008-04:00

I woke up today at dawn looking like I just lost a prizefight, thanks to the first friendly neighborhood mosquito of the season chomping up my face (YES. A MOSQUITO. INDOORS. IN APRIL. I'M STILL WEARING COATS! FML. FML. FML). I wish I had pet flounder. They'd eat the little bitches for me.

Anyway, there are so many fascinating marine animals, all of them really, but I like the flounder because it is born with an eye on either side of its head, like a typical fish, but then one eye sliiiiides over to the other side. Flounder spend most of their time buried in sand on the ocean floor, so they need both eyes on one side, otherwise one is more or less useless, so the eye just--moves over. Wow. Another amazing flounder fact: some varieties, like the peacock flounder, can change to match their surroundings.

Someone should give me a grant so I can build a massive flounder habitat and fill it with peacock flounder. Maybe a formal garden like the ones at Versailles, but underwater. Or maybe an underwater bakery. A flounder disguised as a croissant or pie would be pretty damn interesting to me. I'd pay to see that.

I wrote about flounder a while back, but I think it was because I ate one that day. This time I drew one. I wanted it to be albino but forgot, and by then I had put too much color on it to make it albino. If I do another, it will be white with pink eyes.

Ketchup and Mustard

2011-04-12T12:23:00.004-04:00

I was wandering around aimlessly in a ketchup-colored coat and I chanced upon a mustard-colored wall. They say everything happens for a reason. So true. That wall and my coat were destined to meet.

Tocca velveteen coat, Rejoice the Hands earrings, Vivienne Westwood for Melissa platforms, Uniqlo striped shirt, and a ridiculous plaid shorts suit from Urban Outfitters.

You are not going to like this

2011-04-09T15:20:00.007-04:00

The snail is not my invention, he is named Namagon. The rest--I could explain, but the explanation would only explain how, not why, because I don't know why, so I won't bother. Just one of those days, I guess.

Look! I embellished it!

I just found these clip art sequins on Drop Dead Cute. Love that blog!

Pink Pants O'Doom

2011-04-08T00:28:00.008-04:00

These pink tweed pants date back to my long-gone all-pink phase. I have hung on to them even though they don't quite fit into my current, wildly exciting, largely black and gray wardrobe.

You know how there are certain garments that tell you instantly whether you have or have not gotten away with eating those family-size bags of snow pea crisps? Well. I certainly am skilled at lying to myself, but the pink pants don't lie, so every so often I put them on to see how much damage I've done. How did it go this time, you ask?

Oh they are tight. But I decided, fuck it, it's spring, I'm wearing the pink pants. I'll just wear something that looks good with too-tight pants. Hmm, which of my personal style icon/role models can guide me?

Who else?

The rule is tight on the bottom, and minimal, or better yet, nonexistent, on top. You know, for balance. I had to add a sweater for warmth, but I made sure it was a vest. There's something delightfully trashy about wearing a vest over a camisole. I will have to do it more often.

Tocca pink tweed pants, Allsaints sweater vest, H&M bustier, Kimchi Blue lace camisole

Birthday Cake

2011-04-04T00:06:00.006-04:00

I went to the Japan Fashion Now show at FIT on Saturday, the very last day it was up (don't ask me why, okay maybe because I am a disorganized slob). So nice to see so much affirmation of things I am crazy about. Yes! Eyes belong on everything. Fake flowers are beautiful, and even more so behind plastic. Pastels! Saturated colors! Matchy-matchy ensembles! Pearls! Tulle! Historical costumes! Fish!

So inspirational. I want to buy a plastic raincoat and cover it in fake pearls, shrink wrap everything in my house (is this possible? need guidance), glue plastic eyes to anything I can't shrink wrap (halfway there on that one) and dress like a jellyfish king. You should too! Only let yourself go, darling--only let yourself go!

Here are some pictures of the show:

Carol Carvalho8 (Flickr)

Jun Takahashi for Undercover. The center dress is the best thing ever. It has brains with google eyes on the bodice, and the hat is fake or maybe dried flowers and plastic. I want to be married in it.

Carol Carvalho8 (Flickr)

Comme des Garcons. I want to be married in this one too. That's what second marriages are for.

Carol Carvalho8 (Flickr)

Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons. I love prints that are funny or weird but still pretty.

Carol Carvalho8 (Flickr)

Issey Miyake rain ensembles. I actually have an eyeball print dress (not Miyake, sadly) that has been languishing away in the alterations pile for. . . My god, what have I done?

You can view the online exhibition, and there is a catalog as well (I know this is old news but hey). FIT also has online exhibitions of other past shows, and they are fun to check out. Gothic: Dark Glamour has the best sound effects ever. I wish I knew how to make the Ruined Castle my ringtone.

I didn't set out to dress like a birthday cake today, it just turned out that way. I was aiming for ghost bride because I was having so much fun with Sounds of Goth. I forgot that ghost brides don't wear pastels, though. When I looked at the pictures, I realized I resembled the Momofuku birthday cake I had admired the previous day.

thepeakofchic.blogspot.com

Well, today happens to be my mom's birthday, so look Ma, instead of that beautiful cake you get ME! (sorry).

Lou's bib is totally stained pink. I should fix it with the dreaded Furminator, but I kind of like him pink.

DVF pointelle sweater, Odile lace dress, American Apparel chiffon skirt, H&M pointelle sweater dress, Dolce Vita oxfords, fur headband, vintage cameo, pearls and crochet/leather gloves.

David Bowie has guts

2011-03-27T23:35:00.004-04:00

The Making of David Bowie's Guts

I was looking for pictures of mermaids and I found her:

She is just one of an extensive series of anatomical diagrams of mythical creatures by Brazilian artist Walmor Correa. Gorgeous work!

I couldn't decide whether I was happy or disappointed the mermaid's insides look more or less like mine, but I wanted to do an anatomical drawing too.

By the way, Bowie can easily be converted into a useful and decorative DIY!

DIY David Bowie Has Guts Candy Box

You will need:

The drawing above, or at least a print of it
A cardboard box with a lid
Candy or other desirable food items
Scissors
Glue
Optional: Glitter

Instructions:

1. If using a print, print David Bowie to a size that will cover the lid of the box. Trim to fit if necessary. You may also cross out "Anatomy Bowie" and replace with something more suitable to your needs.

2. With scissors, carefully cut out Bowie's innards. You should now have a sheet of paper depicting David Bowie with a gaping hole in his middle. Save the innards to use as a gift tag, if desired.

3. If you have the good kind of box with a plastic window in the lid, skip this step. If you don't, lay Bowie on top of the box and carefully trace the hole you just cut. Now you will cut a hole in the lid of the box. Make it slightly bigger than the one you cut in the paper.

4. Glue Bowie to lid of box.
5. (Optional) Decorate box with glue and glitter.

6. Fill box with candy, making sure candy is visible through hole in box. Your box is now ready for gift-giving!

♪ Watch That Man ♪

Manga Lou

2011-03-25T17:18:00.007-04:00

by Nina Matsumoto

All tongue, just like Regular Lou!!!

A Miami hotel room, 1981

2011-03-20T22:28:00.011-04:00

He told me to wait for him here while he met with that guy Tony.

It's getting late. Where are you, baby?

Allsaints Secret Garden dress

I want to let you know about a great opportunity. Comic artist Nina Matsumoto has offered to create commissioned drawings for 25 dollars apiece and donate all proceeds to Doctors Without Borders for Japan.

ZOMG, not only do you help Japan, you get a drawing, a real drawing, of whomever you choose! I chose Lou and am excited to see Manga Lou, although I feel a little guilty, because it's too generous of Nina to do all that work for free.

I learned of Nina's project through the Japan Society. They are also accepting donations to their Earthquake Relief Fund and have information about other upcoming fundraising events on their website and Facebook page. I encourage you to take a look.

Guess who got a popsicle maker for Christmas?

2011-03-18T08:54:00.003-04:00

Thanks Mom!

Leather Shorts

2011-03-14T11:38:00.000-04:00

♪ Pet Shop Boys, West End Girls ♪

I bought these shorts quite a while ago, but have only started wearing them recently. I was super excited when I saw them. They remind me a tiny bit of the scalloped silk Chloe shorts that were popular last summer. They have a high corset waist and amoeba cutout decoration and they go with everything!

I realized two things after I looked at these pictures.

One, I'm wearing the same off-white wool Brooks Brothers jacket I wear with leather pants all the time. Well, the jacket just begs to be paired with black leather. Probably all the jackets in Brooks Brothers do. They sigh, and stare out the windows, and daydream that a motorcycle gang will hold up the place and steal them, so they never have to go live in Connecticut.

Two: I, completely unintentionally, dressed myself to look exactly like Lou. That might be the very definition of crazy dog lady.

Necklace detail, it's a heart-shaped geode or druzy.

Jean-Claude Jitrois leather shorts, Brooks Brothers wool jacket, Love Moschino silk blouse, Jeffrey Campbell suede and patent platforms, Sonia Rykiel studded bag, geode heart pendant

Belts

2011-03-12T08:57:00.005-05:00

I've been having issues with the lack of beltage in my wardrobe lately. Lou dragged me out of bed at seven this morning (Y U NO LIKE ME LOU?), so I made some coffee and sat down with my laptop, basically brain dead yet still disturbed by belts, and this was the somewhat horrifying result.

Sad Tulip

2011-03-09T00:27:00.008-05:00

This was my first attempt at forcing a tulip. It began well; the tulip bulb grew lots of nice roots and then a healthy looking stem and leaves. When the bud came, it seemed small, but I wasn't sure if that was normal for the tulip variety I had or not. The bud started out white, turned pink, then purple, and slowly opened. It was so pretty! But something went wrong. The stem was weak and flopped over, and I kept propping it up and bracing it different ways, but no matter what I did, it flopped again, and started to wither. Sadness:( I decided to cut the stem and take pictures before it was too late, as I could see tulip was not long for this world. I've heard tulips are hard to force successfully. Apparently true.

Meet my poor little tulip.

Q: What's black and white and frizzy all over?

2011-03-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

A: I don't know, the people at Burning Man?
Oh, and us.

Poor Lou, he looks so pathetic! But he likes rain, he truly does.

I love Meadham Kirchhoff.

Alpine gothic lolita? Whatever you want to call it, it's awesome. I wanted to find a black vest to wear over my white lace dresses, like this one:

Meadham Kirchhoff photos from Style Bubble

but I found the striped one instead, and although I'll keep looking for a black vest, I like the stripes over lace. I also want to bleach my hair like the model's. It's perfect!

Designers Remix Collection striped mohair vest, Forever 21 lace dress, Moschino booties, vintage bakelite cuff

When Vampire Eyes Are Smiling

2011-03-05T13:01:00.007-05:00

♪ When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, Bing Crosby ♪

the whole world smiles with them. I know, wrong song, but it sounds right.

This is a carefully rendered re-creation of a vision of glittering disembodied eyes I had last night. I don't know whether the vision was born from my extensive Stephenie Meyer studies, my snow pea crisps and gummi dinner, or whether it was in fact a real vampire, or possibly leprechaun. In any event, I want to thank Stephenie for forever linking vampires and glitter. I love putting glitter nail polish on stuff. Someone please give that gal a Pulitzer.

Cutie of the Month, 1974: Flamboyant Flora

2011-03-04T16:48:00.003-05:00

If you will be spending the weekend with someone even a fraction as flamboyant, you are lucky indeed. Buy him or her some flowers in Flora's honor. If they are truly flamboyant, they will follow Flora's example and sit on them. It will be the best moment of your life.

Speaking of best friends. . .

2011-02-27T22:38:00.010-05:00

I should never have told Lou he had to compete for my affection. He got really mad and packed up all his stuff and left. Said he was going to be a REAL model, and that if I wanted to see him again, I'd have to wait for the next GAP campaign or subscribe to GQ.

Photo by Joni Arpiainen

I called him and he told me to go buy a hamster and hung up:( Lou, who is that guy?

One-hit Wonder

2011-02-25T20:10:00.005-05:00

A couple weeks ago we had freakishly warm weather for a day or two, so I took a few pictures of this maxi dress in Robert Smith Alley. They didn't turn out so hot, and I wasn't going to use them, but I looked at this one and thought, damn, that looks like it actually was taken in 1970, so maybe it's not so bad after all. Let's say it's me in my past life as folk singer Renata Raine, on the cover of my lone album.

I don't know why this dress appealed to me. It's a big, bold, bright, DVF-esque safari print. I hate big bold bright prints, and I hate anything safari-themed even more! For real! But I don't know, I like it. Flattering cut and a real 70s look, so I am telling myself it's stained glass print, not safari, even though it's called the "safari maxi dress". Ha.

Forever 21 maxi dress, Miu Miu suede pumps, vintage necklace and bakelite cuff

Lou Among the Ruins

2011-02-22T09:24:00.003-05:00

And the monarch and his minions and his dames

Viewed the games.

Best Friend

2011-02-20T20:24:00.007-05:00

♪ Queen, You're My Best Friend ♪

Look out Lou, you've got competition!

New jacket! Vintage (using the term loosely) Jil Sander. It is still more than cold enough here for coats and jackets, and I am so in love with this one.

I have noticed that other people have no problem posting dozens of photos of themselves daily. I don't know how they do it. Oh, I try, but. . .

Yeah. Might be time to enlist the help of the Canine Sartorialist. I must remember to charge Lou's camera.

I took these last two pictures at brunch. I was just fooling around. It was pitch black in the place.

I like this one because no one noticed me taking it.

And this one came out inexplicably well. Waffles are photogenic, I guess. Have one for Presidents' Day tomorrow!

Jil Sander shearling jacket, Uniqlo sweater, Karl Lagerfeld for H&M pleated chiffon skirt, vintage Charles Jourdan buckle booties.

(no subject)

2011-02-18T17:28:00.002-05:00

but can you just hold on a sec, I really need to make this call. Thanks!

Duchampian Valentine Bikini

2011-02-14T16:43:00.010-05:00

Marcel Duchamp was a cool guy. He had a snappy wardrobe

a marvelous long and pointy nose

and a drag alter ego

He also is the main reason why investment bankers today are willing to pay big bucks to decorate their homes with random crap, no small achievement

and he made this collage in 1936. It's called Coeurs Volants (Fluttering Hearts) and reflects his interest in Op Art at that time. I think the years have not been kind to the original, paper fades, but the idea was that if you put two high-intensity complementary (opposites on the color wheel) colors next to each other, a pulsating, or fluttering, optical illusion will be created.

You are bored now. Okay, well, I saw this Forever 21 bikini and thought, wow! It's Coeurs Volants! The hearts, the super-intense red-orange and aqua--I think it might be pulsating! (Then I thought, wow, that was probably the most pretentious thought anyone has ever had about Forever 21 swimwear, but too late now.)

Under normal circumstances I would never in a million years consider getting a ruffly heart-print bikini, but because of Marcel, I had to have this one, which makes me a lot like an investment banker, and I'd really like to be an investment banker. Thank you, Forever 21, for making this art historical swimsuit. And thank you, Marcel, for making me buy it. Will you be my valentine?

(He said okay, but he wants to be your valentine too.)

Also, I promised a certain special someone a picture of Lou in a bow tie for Valentine's Day. Lou seems to have taken the bow tie very seriously.

Happy Valentine's Day!

On an Evening in Roma

2011-02-11T16:07:00.011-05:00

♪ Dean Martin, Volare/On an Evening in Roma ♪

I wanted to immortalize my Chanel Black Pearl half-moon manicure while it is still perfect. To complement its glory, I have chosen three of my favorite pieces of jewelry, which are all Italian, hence Evening in Roma. Nail moons gleaming above picturesque ruins and finger, uh--columns? Doesn't it look exactly like Rome?

I'm wearing a gold and carved shell vintage cameo ring, a carved lava and silver Victorian Grand Tour souvenir bracelet from Pompeii (it spells out Pompeii and has some cameos here and there too), and an ancient Roman bronze ring set with an intaglio of a wild boar. Another theme--cameos! Love them.

Now, the simplest DIY half-moon manicure tutorial you will ever find! These have been popular for a while and are still going strong. I particularly admired a metallic green half-moon manicure I saw on Alix a while back. She had not posted her tutorial at that point, so I didn't know how she had done it, and had to devise my own method. Now I know she uses stickers. Here is my way:

1. Do image search on phone for "half-moon manicure". Select a large, clear picture.
2. Take phone to nail salon.
3. Point at phone, look hopeful, and say, "Can you do them like this?"

I have gotten half-moons twice now, and they have done a beautiful job both times. I will tell you how the pros do it. First, base coat, and then, for the first coat of color, a freehand arc is brushed on, after which the color is brushed to cover the rest of the nail above the arc. The second coat begins with a brush like this:

to refine the arc and then the nails are filled in with the regular brush. Then topcoat. I'll stick to my method for now, though.

Speaking of nail polish, my bronze ring gave me an idea for a new nail polish color! It will be a medium blue-green with a lot of metallic bronze. Like this, but with more bronze, and sparkle.

I call my creation Verdigris because it is supposed to look like--verdigris. Fabulous no? I think it would look best in a Chanel bottle. Karl? Yes?

What's in my bag?

2011-02-09T22:33:00.012-05:00

♪ Little Green Bag, George Baker Selection ♪

Recently, on a message board I frequent, fashionism.org, there was a "What's in your bag?" thread. I marveled at the vast array of neatly arranged goo that emerged from people's bags. Then I had two thoughts: 1) Why do these people associate with me? and 2) Said people Need My Help. Yes, these smorgasbords-in-a-bag are impressive, but I must show them how to pare down to the bare essentials needed for survival. Carrying around things like money and driver's licenses is not only unnecessary, it is potentially harmful.

First, the bag:

This bag was an impulse buy last spring. I try not to make impulse buys, as I usually regret them bitterly, but I am really glad I got this. It was jammed on some obscure shelf in a consignment shop and I don't even know why I pulled it out, but once I did, I thought, wow. This bag has personality. It is nice to pet, too. A red patent bag with shag carpeting and a striped grosgrain ribbon on the tiny front pocket? It is the best bag ever, or would be, if Lou fit in it.

I wanted to give it even MORE personality, like so, but couldn't quite bring myself to put glue on suede.

So, what's inside? Let's open 'er up and see.

Remember, essentials only. I am a no-nonsense kind of girl.

List of Essentials:
1. Gummy Valentine Kebab
2. Gummy Clownfish and Gummy Jam Surprise Assortment
3. False Mustache
4. Framed Portrait of Shoe I Like
5. Smarties (Yes! You can buy them in Chinatown if you are willing to pay two dollars, and yesterday, I was)

That's all you need. You are protected against starvation, detection, and esthetic shoe dearth. You also, if need be, can make up any identity you like, and claim citizenship in a number of countries. Who is to say otherwise? No damning driver's license to be found, just a confusing jumble of international products residing in the handbag of a mustachioed gentleman, a gentleman who wants nothing more than to meet his lady friend and present her with a gummy valentine kebab. You simply cannot lose. No matter what you might actually be up to.

Lou was upset he couldn't fit in the carpet bag, so I gave him the valentine kebab as a consolation prize.

Cutie of the Month, 1974

2011-02-07T10:02:00.009-05:00

♪ Love's Theme, Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra ♪

Photogenic Phoebe

I bought two vintage calendars (1973 and 1974) at a flea market in Maine last summer, and now that I've finally gotten around I to replacing my busted scanner, I can bombard you with Cuties of the Month for the next two years! I love these girls, they are so funny. I also have a 2011 cutie calendar that came free with a cubano sandwich. If I remember correctly it's called "Exotic Beauties", and that apparently refers to not only the the lovely ladies featured, but also the shiny cars they are hanging out with. Won't be scanning that one for y'all. Hmm. On second thought, maybe I should.

El Blogo was revamped over the weekend, as you (hopefully) can see. Done it all myself, quite a feat for me because uh CSS? HTML? WTF? OMG FML. I also bought the domain, so it will switch from whereareyoufromoriginally.blogspot.com to whereareyoufromoriginally.com in the next day or so. Supposedly the redirect is automatic, but just letting you know. I don't even know why I bought the domain, probably just because when I checked to see if the name was available, it occurred to me that it would have been very annoying if it wasn't.

Today's musical selection is the number one song for February 9 (close enough), 1974. I hoped it would be a good one, and I was not disappointed!

Hope you like the new look, and if it is impossible to read or won't load or has some other fatal flaw, please let me know!

Oh Marie

2011-02-02T09:16:00.001-05:00

♪ Oh Marie, Louis Prima ♪

The bulbs, the bulbs! To recap, the heirloom hyacinth, crocus, and tulip bulbs went into the fridge for forcing in early November. Took them out late December (not the tulip though). The white hyacinths, L'Innocence, have already bloomed, but I freaked out because Lady Derby and Marie did not seem to be growing, and put them back in the fridge for a couple more weeks.

What I have learned about forcing hyacinths that I didn't know before, even though I have done it before:

The water levels in the glasses drop FAST in the fridge. I think the last time I forced hyacinths I had an ancient, wildly inefficient fridge, much better for bulbs. This time was different. The water needs to be checked daily. You're not supposed to let the bulb sit in water, because it gets moldy, but I found that it is better to fill the glass until the water IS touching the bulb while new roots are developing, because it drops below the bulb in a day anyway. Once the roots are established, you don't have to be as careful, but it's really important in the beginning, because if the water drops, they stop growing. The water levels dropped so quickly in the little crocus glasses that I gave up and transferred the crocus to potting soil.

I also learned that if you get very large, top quality bulbs, like I did, the glasses need to be sturdy. The Lady Derby in the purple glass has taken a couple tumbles. I really like the Areo glasses I bought (the green ones), because they are pretty, but also well-balanced and heavy. They were a good buy. I want to get some blue ones for next year.

Finally, my freakout was unnecessary, the bulbs didn't need more time. If they have well-developed roots they will grow to their full height. The actual problem was that the long-necked glasses (see all the glasses here) did not allow the bulbs to develop strong roots. The water levels dropped extra fast in those, and the bulbs had difficulty sending roots down the narrow stem. Two of the pink Lady Derby hyacinths were shorties because of the long-necked glasses. They bloomed, but not well. Too bad. Fortunately all the others did well. Marie, with her purple and white starburst florets, is the star of the show.

Crocus Negro Boy is beginning to bloom, but has not opened fully yet. It really annoys me that this poor crocus got stuck with such an idiotic name, because no one will buy it (I didn't--got it as a substitute) and I can see already that it's a stunner.

The ravishing roots of my tulip! So much more delicate than hyacinth roots.

The hyacinths have a wonderful scent, and Marie just knocks me out. So gorgeous. I'm excited to see the crocus in full bloom, and the progress of the tulip. Also, one of the Maries is sending up a second bloom! Hope it does well. I will post updates!

My prince, the duke

2011-01-31T10:40:00.016-05:00

♪ Heroes ♪

I'm long overdue for a Bowie post. David is my most favorite person in the world, and it was his birthday this month. For a while, I made his birthday my birthday on Facebook, so I would remember it, but people would wish me happy birthday, and it was awkward to explain that no, actually, hard as it might be to believe, I was not born on January 8, 1947, so I took it down and forgot. Happy belated birthday, David!

One of the reasons I enjoy fashion is that the fashion world adores Bowie as much as I do. It seems like every designer refers to him at some point. As they should.

Nicole Phelps of Style.com has already done a piece on Bowie's influence in collections this and past years (check it out, great pictures), but after I saw Dries Van Noten's Fall 2011 menswear collection, I felt like posting some pictures from my Bowie archives.

Dries focused on the Thin White Duke, and, for many of the looks, took inspiration from Bowie's casual street wear of that period, but also did a suit (last image) that is iconic Bowie without being too literal. I don't usually pay much attention to menswear, but that suit is freaking awesome.

In the trenches

2011-01-28T08:38:00.005-05:00

Lou? Lou? Lou?

Lou?

Lou! Are you fighting the Germans?

Knee deep in snow!

I'm trying to follow Rosa's example and post outfits more consistently, but as you can see, we don't exactly have fashion-friendly weather at the moment. I've been wearing these Aigle boots all the time. Aigle is a maker of leather and rubber riding boots, and I bought their rubber boots when the now-defunct Martin+Osa carried them. Someone asked me where I got them the other day and I was surprised, because they are so plain. I think it's because they look like boot boots, not snow boots, maybe because they're not really snow boots, even though they're the best snow boots I've ever had. Oh, if you want to see how the boots look when not buried in snow, I'm wearing them in this old post. The furry beast coat I bought after seeing Joelle's. The scarf has iridescent sequins and beaded fringe.

Enjoy the weekend!

Aigle boots, Uniqlo coat, Free People scarf and headband, ASOS crochet fingerless gloves

You make me feel like I am fun again

2011-01-26T18:13:00.010-05:00

♪ Lovesong, The Cure ♪

Today's outfit is my tribute to Robert Smith. It came about like this: I had to do three sketches for a drawing of Lady Gaga and Robert Smith (I will post it when it exists, doesn't yet). So I showed the sketches, and was told, "You made him look too nice. Not that he's not nice! Maybe he is! But he doesn't look nice. If I saw him on the street, I would cross to the other side."

The effect of this comment was twofold. First, it gave me that all-too-familiar sinking depression I feel when someone says, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is such a great book!", or "I made this awesome dinner from brown rice and steamed vegetables!", or "I am so jealous of her giant fake boobs!" When people say these things, I think we must not be talking about the same book/food/boobs/emo musician. We just can't be. Robert Smith scary? To me he is a teddy bear. A suicidal teddy bear in drag queen makeup, yes, but still a ted.

Secondly, the comment instantly made me a huge Robert Smith fan, which I never have been before, although I was not an anti-fan, I was neutral. Now, huge fan, huge DEPRESSED fan, hence today's attempt to look just like him. I studied his style: untucked dress shirt, black clothes, eyeliner, rat's nest hair. Well, three of those are already part of my typical look, and I happen to own one lone dress shirt, so there you go. Not a bad effort, I think!

Karl Lagerfeld for H&M coat, Alexander Wang jacket, +J Jil Sander for Uniqlo shirt, Uniqlo thermal leggings (these are awesome for cold weather!), 80%20 patent ankle boots

Still saintly after all these years

2011-01-20T22:42:00.012-05:00

♪ Saint Stephen, Grateful Dead ♪

It's Allsaints sale time once again! Wow, it's been a whole year since I bought a bunch of stuff from what I think was their site's first U.S. sale and posted a review. Now they have a big store in Soho, decorated with a large herd of vintage sewing machines. I ordered online again anyway. Look what you have to get past to make it to the Soho store:

OK, that was just before Christmas, when things were at their craziest, and it's not usually that bad. BUT I was on Canal St., trying to walk up to Broadway, and I literally could not move, so I got out my phone and took pictures, and now I've invented a reason to post them!

If someone you know visited NYC over the holidays and brought back a designer bag, well, remember when Charlie Murphy said to Prince, "You know where you got that shirt from, and it damn sure wasn't the men's department?" You might want to have a similar conversation. Just a suggestion.

Back to Allsaints. The sale prices are not as awesome as they were last year, but still good. Just like last year, I bought several things, hoping to cull out a couple to keep, and just like last year, I'm having a hard time deciding, so I thought I'd post another review.

Lowe Jacket

They have knocked it down to 99.00 now! Augh! It is nearly sold out, but I bet some returns will turn up. This jacket is my favorite of the pieces I ordered. I was worried it would look and feel like it had been peeled off an Elizabethan mummified in a bog, but happily it does not. The distressing is more subtle than I expected, and it is very, very soft.

Lord Cardigan

Dunno about the pompoms, but it's a big blankety sweater, and I love big blankety sweaters, especially now, with the weather so miserable. I'm torn because it looks like it might pill. If I chop the poms it would be reversible. Can't decide what to do about this one.

Case Jumper

I like this sweater a lot. Plain enough to go with a lot of things, but not boring, narrow sleeves that will fit under jackets, and it has cables, always a plus.

Indra Mini Mac

Man I'm glad I photographed this one. I was so in love with the zip-off bottom, but ugh! I look like a bratwurst! A bratwurst who needs to buy some insoles!

Winter Bomber

This cardigan was the only thing I had my eye on before the sale began. It reminds me of a sweater vest my dad had, right down to the old man knotted leather buttons. Winter Bomber sold out before I could get one, but then showed back up on the site, and I was super excited, but I'm not thrilled with it on me. I really want to like it, though, so I'm undecided.

I can't offer general guidelines about their sizing because it is all over the place. Everything above is UK8 except the Winter Bomber, which is UK6.

I will leave you with another image from my Soho Christmas shopping documentary series. I saw people standing in a long line and wondered why. Drew closer and . . .

Methinks I'll Ride a Sphinx

2011-01-19T11:00:00.004-05:00

Yes, that's what I'll do.
-Lou

Finally a dogsitter I trust 100%!
-R

The Blue and the Gray

2011-01-14T17:05:00.009-05:00

♪ The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Joan Baez ♪

Yes, I am dressed as a Civil War battlefield today!

People have been discussing the narrow leg vs. wide leg pants battle. Wide legs are back. Are wide legs back? Did they leave? If so, when, and where did they go?, etc.

Well, I don't care one way or the other. Okay, that's not true. I prefer narrow-legged pants for boring practical reasons (they can be worn with flats, never drag the ground, and won't trip me). Wide legs look best worn nearly dragging the ground, with the highest heels possible, and have been known to trip me. Often.

Oh well. I already have a couple pairs, but being highly suggestible, I recently bought velveteen wide legs on Ebay from that old Erin Fetherston for Target collection, which didn't interest me at all when it came out. Now I want the matching jacket. Ha ha.

Here they are, along with the current holder of my wardrobe's coveted Best Buttons award, a 70s looking corduroy smock. I love this top. Besides having the best buttons ever, it is so soft.

Have a good weekend!

Manoush corduroy smock, Erin Fetherston for Target velveteen wide leg pants, ASOS faux-fur tote (it's Lou's, but he didn't want to pose) Forever 21 necklace gold-leafed by yours truly (close-ups of the necklace from back when I made it), bangles from Bhutala Emporium, Repetto boots.