MWMH :: Gingerbread Teeth

This time tomorrow I will be landing in Lala Land!! I can't wait! But I will admit, today was a rather fine day in New York City, what with the snow and all. I had planned that this day would be devoted to two very important things: 1) packing & 2) making gingerbread cookies with the new cookie cutters that my friends bought me as an early birthday present. Fortunately, I accomplished both things!

On the walk around the corner to the grocery store, I made a mental comment on what lovely weather we were having, what with the sky being so grey and bleached out, and the temperature being so nice and crisp. Little did I know it would only get better!

Within 30 minutes after I had returned from the grocery store, I notice a facebook status update commenting about "snow." So, obviously, I rush to the window and see not just little white flakes, but huge white fluffs coming down, and rather fast too. I flipped out a little, or a lot. Furthermore, it snowed for the rest of the day and it's still going now, at 10:25. OOO!! The flakes just now got really big again! Ahhh this is so exciting for me! I've been pressing my forehead to my window for at least half the day today just watching the snow fall, but when I look at the windows of the apartment complex across the street from me, I realize that I'm the only person doing this. Everyone else's window is devoid of a nose squashed against the glass and mouth breathing a big circle of condensation on it. Ah, oh well.

Anyways, I won't bore you anymore with my weather naïvete. (Oh but it's so pretty!) So what would make a snowy evening at home even better? Filling the dorm with the smell of freshly baked gingerbread cookies! Exactly. So I busted out my new cookie cutters--which are the most random, amazing amalgamation of shapes: a banana, a tooth, a carrot, a toothbrush, and a lobster.

I got to work, made the dough, chilled it for a while, and then baked batches and batches of cookies. The first batch I tried out each of the cookie cutters, but soon found out that their sizes varied so much that the baking time would never be right for all of them. Since the carrot is ridiculously gigantic, I only made one of those. See, I'm taking these cookies to class tomorrow, since it's our last class of the semester, and our final critique in sculpture (and yes, I realize that I'm turning into Maggie Gyllenhaal's character in Stranger Than Fiction, I know...).

I made mostly teeth and lobsters because they were a good size and that way I would have plenty for everyone in class. I think they came out pretty tasty, and if you would like the recipe, you can find it over at No Special Effects. They didn't come out quite as chewy as the recipe said, but maybe it's because I rolled the dough out too thin. But then again, this did yield more cookies, so I guess it works out. They still are quite tasty and adorable, I think.

Sigh. I love nights like these, when I can integrate my hobbies with the forecast...

Until I reach the land of sand and ill earthquakes, adieu!

Little Faces, Little Boxes

Hello Lovelies!

I realize I have missed Mid-Week Magic Hour for the past, oh, two weeks at least. Well, truth be told, I've just been a little busy, as they say. Anyways, I'll make up for it and show you part of what I've been up to...

What's that you say? It's my drawing final. Granted, it is more of a painting/sculpture/installation piece, but my drawing class is run quite, QUITE loosely. Basically, if it has some portion where there is a line on something, you're good to go. Here are some detail shots of the piece:

Yes indeed, it took a little bit o' time. There are 17 gouache portraits of photographs that I took of some people in India during my trip (which was almost a year ago! I can't believe it!).

I painted the faces on tracing paper so that when mounted on the window, the light would shine through and give their faces an ethereal quality. I then made each portrait an origami box out of butcher paper to surround it. After a few snip snips and one very late night, I finished. Now all the boxes are sitting awkwardly inside a plastic "Have A Nice Day" bag. Hmmm...

Anyways, I went to the Holiday Craft Fair at Divine Studio today! It was so inspiring and amazing. I bought an adorable fox clock from Sesame Letterpress! What a nice day. Now I am working on my sculpture project, which is going to be odd. Let's just say it involves a lot of unflavored "clear" gelatin and black plastic vertabrae. I'll leave it at that.

Until next time...

New Knitting Project Under Way!

Greetings from the library!

I realize that I haven't updated in a week, but you see, it's almost the end of the semester, and I have ever so much work. So, I am using my time at the library updating my blog instead of writing my final essay! I think that sounds like a perfect form of procrastination, don't you?

Anyways, before I get into talking about my new knitting project, I just need to tell the world something quite exciting: it snowed!! Oh it was so beautiful!! At first, when I was looking out my window around 8 pm, I looked at the ugly peachy-fluorescent street lamp and saw these little things hovering around in its light, and I began to wonder if we had some sort of lunar eclipse and there was an invasion of gnats or some other type of natural phenomenon. But they were in fact tiny snowflakes, which continued to grow in size as the night progressed! I was so excited! It was another beautiful form of procrastination, just screaming at me to stop writing, make some hot cocoa with marshmallows in it, and stand by my window and watch nature do its thing. So I did. And I got basically no work done. Which is why I am here in the library, being actually quite productive, up until right now. Also, I went to the Mud Coffee shop which I've heard so much about, and I loved it, and I want to go there all the time. There was even a grizzled old man at the bar with a sketchbook and some pencils and he was so cool. I want to be like that when I'm old...



Okay, so back to the topic of this post. I recently received in the mail this great book Romantic Style: Knits and Crochet to Wear or Display! It has a bunch of lacey, 1930's-inspired knits, and I just love it. I've decided that I am first going to knit this lacey shawl which I will intend to wear as a thick scarf. I bought some lace-weight 100% baby alpaca yarn from KnitPicks and I can't wait to get started. Here's the color that I chose:


I think it should be quite a lovely addition to my wardrobe. In addition to this scarf, I really want to make this hat from the purl bee. I love how it's made from such soft, yet light yarn. And it's such a simple design that I'm sure it will look good with everything. It calls for cashmere yarn, which I would definitely love to buy, but it's so expensive! Maybe I'll just splurge with some birthday money or something. I think that's what I'll do! Yeah!



Anyways, that's about it. I have about 1.5 weeks of school left, and my birthday is in 12 days, so I am excited to say the least! I can't wait to return to the land of 75º winters.

Until next time....

Post Thanksgiving Post: Central Park

I hope everyone had a splendid Thanksgiving! I got to spend mine in Pennsylvania with my relatives, which was really nice. I forgot how much I truly miss a real home: one with molding, wood floors, and a sink that's bigger than the one you would find in the bathroom. I got a bake a lot, too, with a real kitchen! I made this delicious Pumpkin Bundt Cake, which I highly recommend. It was perfect for the autumnal feast that Thanksgiving is all about.

As I promised, I come bearing pictures from my excursion to Central Park with my friends last weekend. We had such a lovely time amidst the falling foliage and crisp wind. However, one thing spoiled our fun: a terrible pretzel! We decided it would be a good idea to get some food, so we went up to one of those carts and two of my friends purchased pretzels, and after they tasted them, I decided it would be a better idea to invest in a hot dog. The hot dog wasn't too great either...disappointment!!

Something entertaining did happen, however. While walking around one of the lakes (not the big one), we spotted a bunch of camera men and big light diffusers and all those types of Hollywood toys. And then we saw Natalie Portman, which was exciting, but I am sad that she has long hair again. She looked so cute with that pixie cut. I'm not a stalker or anything, but I did manage to take a totally creepy stalker picture of her from across the lake. I won't post it here, because that's even creepier. Anyways, it's so far away you can barely make her out, haha.

So we had a pretty good time, I reckon. Yeah, it was cold. And yeah, it's 76 degrees back home in California right now, but sometimes I really do like it here!

Until next time...

Coveting that Jazz Age Charm

I just wish I were any of these ladies! Even the ones in the first picture who are getting arrested for violation of dress code on a beach in Chicago.

Anyways, being Sunday, I am diligently (or not so diligently) working on homework, laying in my bed with my down comforter pulled up high. It was a crazy weekend, which included homemade meatballs with some friends and a trip to Central Park. Picture to come, once I am freed of my workload!

Until then...

MWMH :: Frozen Toes and Nose, You Knows?

So it turns out that New York City gets cold in the winter. Colder than, say, Los Angeles.

Yes, it's true! As of today, I think we have entered winter. I now don my new long down parka, which makes me look like an commercialized, capitalist Eskimo, nearly every day in order to fight off the lower-than-40-degrees weather. Now, I am sure that some more seasoned New Yorkers will laugh at me for quivering at the thought of temperatures that aren't even below freezing, but let's just say I know I'm naive, and I realize that it's only just begun, but I plan on complaining and whining all the way through April.

One nice aspect however is that when I look out of my window from my bed, I see the orange and yellow leaves on the tree right outside, and as a form of procrastination, I can watch them float to the pavement below. I can't wait until it snows (this Friday they say!) and I can look out and see a tree naked of it's leaves but outlined in a fine powder of snow! Okay, so I know that also sounds ridiculously idealistic, and that in actuality the city rarely gets these perfect Aspen-like snow storms, but I can hope, right?

Until then, I shall continue my work on a watercolor I am painting for my drawing class. I just have to work on making it less corny. It's seeming a little tacky right now...pictures to come!

Stay warm!

(P.S. I have begun reading Jane Eyre, Anne, and I love it!)

Union Square Farmer's Market, again!

Walking around the Farmer's Market at Union Square on a cloudy
morning, indulging in a pumpkin scone and a steaming hot cup
of fresh apple cider for breakfast.

Can it get any better than that?

MWMH :: Stuffed Acorn Squash!

Did you know: I love autumn foods? If you read this "blog" at all, the answer should be yes. Also, I love it when I go to the super market and end up having leftover money from last week's allowance and then I can buy things I don't need. Such as Peppermint Hot Cocoa Mix!

Anyways, TANGENT! Here's the deal. This stuffed squash was really delish and very easy and you should make it tonight! I got the recipe from Elana's Pantry via TasteSpotting. I hope she won't mind if I post the recipe here for all my lovely friends and comrades to try.

Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Stuffing

You need:
~2 acorn squash
~boiling water
~2 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
~1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used golden raisins...)
~1 teaspoon cinnamon
~2 tablespoons butter (She says grapeseed oil, but she cooks gluten free, dairy free, etc.)

1. Cut squash in half and with a spoon, remove pulp and seeds
2. In a large pyrex baking dish place squash cut-side down
3. Pour ¼-inch boiling water into pyrex dish (or use 1/4 inch room temperature apple juice for extra sweetness)
4. Place dish in oven and bake squash for 30 minutes at 350°
5. In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries and cinnamon and grapeseed oil to make stuffing
6. Remove squash from the oven after the 30 minutes
7. Turn halves over and stuff center of each squash half with apple mixture
8. Return to oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (or longer) until squash and apples are tender

Serves 4 lucky ladies or gents

Now do it! Make it! Have a lovely mid-week feast. Until next time...

Pumpkin Bread Puddin'

Now, I know you're all thinking that this looks like the most disgusting thing ever, but don't judge quite yet. The pictures that I took of this Pumpkin Bread Pudding are, well, not so great. I admit it. It's true. But the thing is, I've been having some serious trouble photographing food ever since I've come to New York. First off, it's getting closer to winter, so by the time the food I make is finished, it is always nearly dark out already, thus spoiling my chances of shooting the food with a little natural light. Secondly, even if I do finish when it is still light out, I have only 1 window in my whole dorm room! Terrible, no? And only 1 ugly window sill to shoot from. So, I have turned to using flash (in the worst way possible).

Action shot during prep work...

But, I digress. This Pumpkin Bread Pudding was quite tasty, despite its awful, awful portraits. If I make it again, however, I think I am going to add more spice to it. I tried using a general Pumpkin Pie spice instead of each individual spice (ie. nutmeg, cloves, etc.), but I think I didn't add enough and something didn't quite work. I also want to try it with real pumpkin, but that's for another time.

Definitely delicious with whipped cream, no doubt!

In other news, we have a black president! I am most certainly flipping out and I can't even get over it for one second! It is beyond amazing. On election night, at 11 pm when Obama was announced winner, my friends and I ran over to Union Square and it was completely NUTS. I danced for hours. Maybe I'll post pictures some day in the future...I have many.

Until later, lovelies....

Slipcase Project

In sculpture class, we had to make a slipcase for an object that does not generally have/need one. I chose this machine that is in the jewelry making sculpture studio to cover. It was quite a fun project and I got to relieve my need to sew!

Before:

After:

And some detail shots:

Click on the images for a larger view!

I like to think of it as the ultimate granny project, but some people read the lace-ups as a slightly naughty twist. What do you think?

Post Halloween Post

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!







General mayhem...

(but in other news, it's November!)

MWMH :: Hallowe'en in 2 days!

Hey Team! How's it goin'? Good, I should hope, because in two days time it will be Hallowe'en. And then it will be November and doesn't that just blow your mind? Yep.

Anyways, here are some pictures from the Union Square Farmer's Market that I contacted ages ago. I finally got around to scanning them, so yeah, check that out.

In other news, I updated my etsy shop! Crazy!! I just put up a couple of photos for sale (literally two), but there will be more to come. Be sure to check it out and tell your friends, because I sorta let the shop die. In December, the studio art department here at school has something called ArtMart where we can sell our work, so hopefully I'll do that.

Anyways, tonight I'm making pesto and stuffed acorn squash with a friend, so that should be fun. Yummmm I love stuffed squash! And Jurassic 5, which I am listening to right now. Gettin' all funky over here, watch out.

Next post: Photos of my completed slipcase/soft sculpture project! Photos from the Hallowe'en Parade in the Village! (If you are going to that, please check this out!!!) And much, much more. Check back soon, lovely(-ies).

Happy 50th!

It's my 50th blog post! Oh, that's so wonderful, isn't it? Anyways, enough celebrating.

I don't really understand this whole "weather" thing that they have here on the east coast. I mean, in California, it's pretty much sun sun sun, partly cloudy, sun...etcetera. In New York, this is not really the case. Take today for example: It was windy, and rainy, and a little muggy, and not very cold. So what do I do (even though I knew in advance that this was the forecast)? I wear a dress! Genius, Lizzie, really smart. I had so much fun grabbing my hem and worrying about flashing the entire population of New York City.

But despite this minor poor choice, I had a lovely day today. First I wandered around Soho shopping and I got some good stuff for winter. Have I mentioned that I love Old Navy? Well I do. One of the purchases I specifically love is this cute vest that is super uber soft fleece on the inside. Sporty, but warm and perfect over a dress with my new green rain boots!

Following my little shopping excursion, I ran home amidst the howling wind (wasn't really howling but it's better for my story), and changed into a di fferent skirt, because I still wanted to wear tights with my rain boots. But I did choose a skirt that was more pencil-y so it wouldn't blow around---I'm ridiculous I think. Anyways, I went to the Union Square Farmer's Market and went hog wild!

Bought: Apples (because they are in season and soooo delicious right now), pear cider, purple potatoes (my favorite kind), an acorn squash, organic pumpkin bread, and some organic made-in-upstate-NY yarn! I am so excited about the yarn! It's a gorgeous slate blue and it was really pricey, but I have saved up, and I feel good about supporting real artisan yarn-makers. More on this yarn to come once I start knitting something with it.

What should I knit with it, by the way? Little arm/wrist warmers? Or a neck cowl? Perhaps a hat?

That's all for now, friends!

(P.S. Although I definitely hate polaroids, this little instant polaroid maker is really fun and addictive!!)

MWMH :: Cop out!

Hello! So, I wish I could make this Mid Week Magic Hour a little more magical, but I'm pressed for time, you see. I have a drawing due tomorrow...boo. I have to pick an artist and copy a drawing, which is very boring, but I like rendering things, so it should be fun. Here is the painting I intend to copy in drawing form:Yeah, yeah, maybe too ambitious, whatever. I feel like whatever I pick will be doing that artist's work a complete injustice because a) they are much more talented than I, and b) I am going to spend about 1/1000th of the amount of time on it as they did. Regardless, it's work, and I actually look forward to copying something in a style that's completely different than that of my own.

Oh, and if I get a bad crit:


I will cry. Actually, not at all. Plus, it is impossible to get a bad critique in that class because my teacher LIKES EVERYTHING. I hate critiques. I wish people would give me some GOOD constructive CRITICISM. Whatever. I need a Halloween costume. Maybe I can go back in time and still the one that I was wearing in the picture above.

Ciao! I will post again before Sunday I believe....

As Promised: Chocolate

So, I think I might have let it slip that my dad went to Belgium about a week ago, and that he got me some chocolate there. Well, le voilà:

He got me a standard chocolate bar (about 55-65% cocoa, if I had to guess), and some tasty truffles or whatever those are called. The chocolate bar was so delicious because it was the exact density of cocoa that I like: not too dark, but not milk chocolate either. And it was so adorable too! The perfect chocolate grid and everything. The truffles were excellent too. I think they were supposed to be flavored, but I couldn't really tell. One of them (see photo) says "Earl Grey" on it, and I think it tasted a little Earl-Greyish, which is awesome. And another said "poivre" and if I do remember correctly, that means "pepper" in French, so that's a little odd. Anyways, everything was so tasty! They are sitting on my desk waiting to be devoured.

And by the way, it's cold! It was like 55º today! Oh no!

Sincerely,
Lizzie

HOLY COW! EMERGENCY BLOG POST!

GUYS! Guess what! A photo I took in India is featured on the National Geographic Magazine website!

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/photo-contest/people-gallery

It's the 2nd one in the row (of September - Week 5); the one of the kid with the kohl on his eyes. I can't believe it! I am so excited. It's too late to vote for the photo though...I didn't check the website until today and it was already onto voting for October photos, so boo hoo.

But this means that I am in the running to win the contest or get some sort of prize!

Excuse me for being obnoxious in this post, but I am just so surprised!!

Mid-Week Magic Hour Gets Organized!

Salut! I found something pretty neat on the interweb the other day. So, in the name of Mid-Week Magic Hour, let me share it with you:

It's a vintage office organizer! Little places for everything! Amazing! It's from mushroom & moss and super cool. There's even a compartment for "whatnot"!

So, dans ma vie (a last grasp at retaining my four years of French education?), my dad visited me here in the city for the past two days. He was on his way back from a conference in Brussels so he made a pitstop to spend some time with me! Aww! We went out to dinner and lunch and breakfast and dessert and food food food! I love eating good food...I miss it. Living on a budget here means that super tasty food, and going out to eat altogether, is the first thing to get cut. So when visitors come, I milk it for all it's worth. Oh, and Chocolate by the Bald Man....OH MY GOD! Just kill me now. Actually, my dad got me some fancy chocolate from Belgium, but I have yet to photograph it. Just wait until my next update; you will be drooling.

Until next time, mes amis.

(P.S. Am I the only person who thinks that Top Design is a really terrible show?)
(P.P.S. PROJECT RUNWAY IS OVER [don't worry, I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen the finale] AHHHH)

A Visit to Sarah Lawrence

Hey Team! How are you? I'm doing swell--it's my fall break, so I've had no school from last Friday to this Tuesday, and I've been able to do lots of fun stuff. Which I shall now tell you about...

So, Thursday afternoon I hopped on the Metro to Grand Central Station and then wandered around trying to find the correct track for my train to Bronxville/Sarah Lawrence College. I got to go into the main room in Grand Central with the big tall blue constellation-covered ceiling and the big clock and all that stuff and I had to ask (twice, don't ask me why) which track I had to go to. After finding the correct train, and arriving in Bronxville, I met up with this lovely lady:

We enjoyed the weather and saw Burn After Reading, which I really enjoyed. It was nice getting out of the city and being at a "real" college campus, one with a green quad and old buildings and all that. Also, she has the greatest dorm room, complete with hardwood floors, molding, and pretty windows.

Good stuff. So, yesterday (Sunday), I spent the first half of the day in Central Park with my good friend Emily and we walked and talked and enjoyed the lovely foliage and beautiful weather. Then, we knew what we had to do: get some real good New York City bagels. Not knowing where to go, we asked a random lady in the park, and she directed us to H and H Bagels on Broadway and 81st. Yes, the bagels were really really good! We spent the rest of the day walking around the Upper West Side and going to street fairs and flea markets. I got this at a street fair:

It's made in Morocco and was only $5! Excellent!

Anyways, after kickin' it with Emily, I met up with another pal, Ayden, and we...USED THE LARGE FORMAT CAMERA! Yes. It happened. Whether the photos came out or not, who knows. We took the field camera (it's like a light-weight version of a standard 4x5 view camera) and subwayed over to the Brooklyn Bridge. We each only shot 4 pictures, but it still took us like 20 minutes each. Then we spent about 1.5 hours walking around the financial district trying to find Grimaldi's Pizza (supposedly the best pizza in the entire city) until we found out that it was across the bridge in Brooklyn. We contemplated taking a cab, but instead hiked across the bridge, arms laden with 2 cameras and the heaviest tripod in existence. Then we found the place, and had to wait in line for OVER AN HOUR. It was ridiculous. Scratch that. It was our own Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle experience. Ayden and Lizzie go to Grimaldi's Pizza. Intense.

Such a New York weekend! Fantastic! Anyways, I hope I haven't bored you too much. To conclude, I would like to propose a similar question to what Kristina asked on her blog: What should I put in my cute ceramic Moroccan pot?