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?

MWMH :: Cerise, baby

It's Wednesday! And that means it's time for some Mid-Week Magic, in the time span of one hour or less. So here's what's up: Red Shoes. I might have red (haha pun intended) this on some blog, or maybe I overheard it, but nevertheless, I have been enlightened: Red shoes go with nearly everything. Even if the rest of the outfit is of a color that usually doesn't look too hot with red, red shoes will probably still look quite foxy.

It's true! I need a pair, and I would like them to be suede, since I am currently in love with suede pumps.

What's up there::
Nº1 ~ Franco Sarto Amenity
Nº2 ~ Fitzwell Carlina
Nº3 ~ Nazer Heel by Toast [£165.00]

Oh yes, foxy indeed.

Anyways, I am fast approaching a 5 day weekend!!! Holy cow. I am excited!

Here's what it (my weekend) hopefully will involve: cupcake party, visiting a friend, renting the 4x5 large format camera with a friend, buying stuff for my upcoming sewing-related sculpture project, dinner with my dad, and homework. This last item is not so great. Oh well.

By the way, this is who I am going to be for Hallowe'en:

Jean Seberg in Breathless/A Bout de Souffle!
I'm cutting my hair short again!

Post Wedding Post

Hello everyone, and Anne, who I think deserves a special shout-out because she checks out my blog like I check out cute boys walking down the streets of NYC. That was a hideously awful joke that should neve have been uttered, and I want to kill myself for thinking/writing/posting it to the world. You must excuse me, it's been a weird night; basically I've been fighting with my computer because its acting out in all sorts of strange ways. I don't want to talk about it, it depresses me.

So, I went to a wedding this past weekend. It was my cousin's and it was really beautiful, especially because there was gorgeous fall foliage in the Massachusetts trees, and you know how much I love autumn. This is my first real autumn since I was about 6, and I don't remember those early ones, so as you can tell, I'm quite excited. I'm really getting into it! The next thing I need is a pumpkin for the dorm.

Anyways, my cousin's daughter (see above) and I played with my camera during the rehearsal dinner, and took lots of flattering pictures of each other:

Endless entertainment. These were pretty much the only digital pictures I took during the trip, but as soon as I figure out how to use the scanners at school, I will be uploading lots of my color film prints and contact sheets! Get excited!

Sorry, this was a little bit of a lame post, but there is this girl who reads my blog, her name's Anne--I mentioned her earlier, remember?--yeah, and she's sorta been getting on my case. So I had to give her SOMETHING to procrastinate with. Okay, until Wednesday my friends.

A Successful MWMH!

Okay, I think this is the first legit Mid-Week Magic Hour! I beginning to think this is just an incredibly dorky idea, but I'm going to go through with it until someone tells me so to my face. (Please, I won't be offended.)

Anyways, I just need to express my love of autumn once again. Right now, the weather is just perfect, more or less, here in the city. It's breezy, 70 degrees, perfect. I can wear a coat or a scarf or a sweater or a t-shirt or a dress (although the latter might blow up due to the gusty winds) and I'll feel great. And in the evening it gets cool and perhaps, dare I say it, cold. So, what better way to celebrate devastatingly perfect evening weather than by curling up in the perfect P.J.s and tea and everything like that? I will choose a coziness over mayhem any day:

What's up there::
~Tregaron Blanket by Toast [£95.00]
~Wool Felt Slippers by Toast [£49.00]
~Dhuggie by Toast [£45.00]
~Cashmere Bedsocks by Toast [£39.00]
~Betty Teapot by Toast [£25.00]
~Lavender and Peppermint Body Lotion by C.O. Bigelow Chemists [$4.00]
~Marvis Classic Mint Toothpaste by C.O. Bigelow Chemists [$10.50]

Yeah, so you can definitely see that I'm on a little Toast kick, to say the least. Seriously, if I had lots of money, that would be one of the stores very high on my list to shop at. But in case you hadn't noticed, there is not a way in the world that I could afford that stuff. Because the prices are in British pounds mind you. Ugh, oh woe.

Yep, that's that! Go MWMH! I don't know if I will be able to post on Saturday exactly because I am going to my cousin's wedding, but I will probably be able to on the bus ride back, because the bus has WiFi and I have a surprisingly small amount of work to do. Oh, I am quite excited to go to this wedding because not only will I get to see a lot of extended family, but I will get to see my mom and dad and brothers too, whom I miss lots! I've only been away for a month, which at some points seems like not very long at all, but at other points seems like an age.

I hope that at the wedding I will get to take some really great pictures because I am renting out a large format 4x5 field camera! I am so excited, I can't even tell you, but I'm pretty sure that my first round will not turn out because the camera is quite cumbersome and difficult to use. And the film costs $2 per frame, so it's not like this is going to be a common thing. But I have high hopes and am feeling quite inspired. More to come, to be sure!!

Until next time...