Notions and Curios

2009-07-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

yeeeeeaaaaaaaah

Summer

2009-07-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

It will be interesting to look at these photos come February.

101 Salads, Thank-you Mark Bittman

2009-07-21T14:13:00.001-07:00

Check this out!!

101 amazing salads thanks to Mark Bittman. Awesome x 101! Seriously, this is such a wealth of knowledge/recipes, perfect for summer.

Some favorites:

12. Combine sliced fennel and prune plums; serve with vinaigrette spiked with minced ginger. Nice pairing.

27. Cook whole, unpeeled eggplant in a dry, hot skillet or on a grill, turning occasionally, until completely collapsed and soft. Chop and toss with toasted pita, toasted pine nuts, cooked white beans and halved cherry tomatoes. Dress with olive oil, lemon juice and lots of black pepper. Or a (non-vegan) yogurt dressing is good, especially one laced with tahini.

29. Pit and halve cherries (or halve and pit cherries), then cook gently with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar until they break down. Toss with chopped radicchio, endive, escarole or a combination, some toasted hazelnuts and more oil and vinegar, if necessary.

81. Soak sliced prune plums or figs in balsamic vinegar for a few minutes, then add olive oil, chopped celery and red onion, shreds of roasted or grilled chicken, chopped fresh marjoram or oregano and chopped almonds. Serve on top of or toss with greens. So good.

The Finer Foods in Life

2009-07-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of some of the finer things in life: Food Edition

Toasted nuts
Good chocolate
Freshly baked breads
French (or homemade) butter
Perfect fruit
Olives
Good coffee
Caramels with sea salt
A perfectly cooked steak

This is the first image that appears when you type "Food" into the Google Image search engine.

Merry Cat-mus

2009-07-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

Another fab video, cat style.

via Juste Une Illusion

A Little Bear with Spectacles

2009-07-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

Wind-up Bear from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

If that's not the most amazing thing I've ever seen, I don't know what is.

via Dinosaurs and Robots

One Day: Lee Van Cleef

2009-07-08T22:57:00.001-07:00

One day I'll get around to making this into a silkscreen and printing it on some shirts and/or tote bags.

~*!Van Cleef 4 lyfe!*~

Michael Jackson Memorial

2009-07-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

Went to MJ's Memorial. More pictures here.

A Video

2009-06-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

Funny video, via A Cup of Jo

The Best Oatmeal Ever

2009-06-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

I just did something really really well. I'm going to brag about it in this post, and then make you do it too. Here we go.

I just made the most kick-ass breakfast in a long while, and without a recipe. Note: this is a very rare occurance, since generally I tend to follow recipes rather diligently. But this morning (yes, it's only 9 am, but I've already had this great breakfast and I find it necessary to post about it right away) I woke up to a kitchen with absolutely no food in it.

You see, my parents are out of town, so I (of course) neglected to go food shopping. There is no cereal. No bread. Only 1 egg. No milk. Yeah, it's bad. But, there was oatmeal--albeit only about 3/4 cup, but that's just enough. So I set out to make myself a nice breakfast to eat on the back porch early in the morning, so I could take advantage of the beautiful morning of what will be the hottest day of the year so far (they say it will reach 100º!).

Now, as I mentioned, I like to follow recipes, so I quickly perused TasteSpotting for inspiration for some oatmeal. I came across a couple recipes, but decided in the end to just throw the usual stuff into my oatmeal: toasted nuts, cinnamon, agave nectar, fruit, you know. But here's the kicker: peanut butter!! I guess I missed the boat on this cooking phenomenon, since several recipes I found were incorporating various nut butters into their recipes, but I'm glad I finally did it. It added this amazing bite to the sweet oatmeal and made it heartier and just incredibly fantastic.

In addition to peanut butter, I chopped up the last white nectarine hanging around the kitchen, toasted some pecans, and swirled in some agave nectar. I brewed up a huge pot of coffee, busted out my favorite bowl and cup (Look! C'est le Petit Prince!!), and sat out on the back porch to enjoy my Sunday morning. Perfect. I am so happy right now.

Now it's your turn. Make this:

Early Summer Oatmeal
Makes 1 serving

Ingredients

1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup water
pinch of salt
Cinnamon
Agave Nectar
Pecans
White Nectarine (or any old stone fruit)
Peanut Butter

Directions

Boil 1 cup of water. Add oats and salt, bring back to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally until oatmeal has absorbed most of the water and it's your preferred consistency.
Meanwhile, throw a handful of pecans into the toaster oven and toast.
Slice up the white nectarine into chunks, and save a few slices to eat while you prepare the rest.
Add a few generous shakes of cinnamon and a swirl of agave nectar to the oatmeal. Taste, and adjust accordingly (I sound so professional right now, I'm loving it).
Pour oatmeal into your favorite, prettiest bowl. Add a dollop of peanut butter (I added about 1 teaspoon) and incorporate. Top with nuts and fruit and another swirl of agave nectar.
Go outside. Eat it all. Drink your coffee or tea. Done and done.

Remind me, we'll send him a red cap and a Speedo.

2009-06-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

This guy made a quite prolific mock up of a hypothetical Wes Anderson film festival.

It is worth checking out, for sure: The link is right here.

Real Cake Fake Cake

2009-06-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. I'm going to take a break from all this fashion posting, and show you what I baked the other day (that wasn't cookies!). Lemon Meringue Cupcakes! My first venture into the world of meringue! For so long I had seen these adorable, toasted treats and I really wanted to try my hand at them. Plus, I could have a chance to use my new cupcake carrier, which is a plus.

Lookit how cute and safe they are! I love efficient storage!

Anyways, I made these cupcakes for an art opening at the gallery I help out at. The opening was to celebrate their 1st year anniversary, and also the opening of their new show, which featured the work of Ana Rodriguez. I seriously fell in love with her cake paintings, some of which were 2-dimensional, others 3-dimensional. Check it out:

Brilliant, no? They're all made out of styrofoam and acrylic medium and plastic fruits and doilies. Some are a little burnt, messy, or broken, and they are all just overwhelmingly darling. I love how they are placed so precariously on the table, leaning on each other all willynilly! Great stuff, very inspiring.

Anyways, I made some more cookies, so be sure to check out my other blog for the recipe! As for the cupcakes, I got the recipe here (thanks!). Until later, friends...

Bonpoint

2009-06-21T17:06:00.001-07:00

Question: Is $100 too much money to spend on a bikini for a child?
(Answer: yes)

Better question: WHY DON'T THEY MAKE THIS BIKINI FOR BIG GIRLS?
(Answer: ????)

La Boutique Bonpoint, c'est merveilleuse! Je le veux je le veux je le veuxxxxxxxxx, si j'étais une jeune fille, bien sur.

UH oh

2009-06-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

I'm in a bad mood today. Not angry or grumpy, just lazy and under the weather. Not really feelin' it.

But this shirt makes me happier:

via TShirt Store

ps. happy summer solstice! the days get shorter now...

SHOOZ v. FUNDZ

2009-06-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

Hey i like these shoes:

Camper + Bernhard Willhelm, F-troupe, Givenchy, Opening Ceremony

AND LIKE OMG I'M BLOGGIN' LIKE CRAZY THIS WEEK!!1

Just though I'd share

2009-06-05T21:53:00.001-07:00

I just had a really great experience a few minutes ago. I was in my darkroom, processing 4 rolls of film simultaneously, in two separate canisters (a task I have yet to master). I was doing this alone, obviously, and listening to Mykonos by Fleet Foxes and completely rocking out and agitating the canisters to the beat of the music. And then my old-school timer started buzzing to signal the completion of my 10-minute long fixing process, at the EXACT moment that the song finishes it's epic bridge.

It was so perfect.

Now my finger nails, which are still freshly red and unchipped (see previous post), smell like developer and fixer and the rolls are in the wash bath. I am listening to the mix I created to sum up my first year in New York--essentially composed of songs that I had brief, or not so brief, obsessions with--and I feel nostalgic and very happy. I am so excited about my summer, and yet I can't wait for it to end so I can go back to New York. I love it all.

Here's a picture of something that also makes me happy:

Isn't that dress just divine? The print is gorgeous. Link

Rain, Red Nails, and Old Things

2009-06-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

It rained today--in California no less. I decided to seize the day and paint my nails red as it rained, and put on some Department of Eagles, which I thought would accompany the situation quite nicely. Also, I wore my new mid-century dress that I found at the local antique store. Perfect morning, I'd say. I searched for a rainbow, but came up empty handed (empty-eyed?).

I've been sleeping too much, to my surprise. Every night, I lay in bed after reading, and I can't fall asleep. My mind wanders and I get excited about various ideas (most of which have been revolving around the clothing in my closet--lame, I know). I've been sleeping consistently around 10 hours a night, and I think that might be giving me insomnia...that makes no sense, but I think it's true.

So either I go to bed later and wake up at the same time, or vice versa. I choose the latter, because I love mornings. Today I set my alarm for 8:30 but hit the snooze a bunch of times. I got up at 8:50 and ate granola and had coffee with frothed milk. Perfect.

Here are some more pictures:

Grand Reopening

2009-06-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

I'm back. I actually had time to start this blog up for the past 2-3 weeks, but its been hard getting around to it, for some reason. Anyways, I'll slowly ease my way back into this blog by presenting you with this video by Fever Ray:

It's part obnoxiously artsy, part actually cool. It's actually mainly obnoxiously artsy, but I don't really mind considering that they at least went all out with the art direction and actually did a good job. The song itself is weird enough, so I personally prefer listening to it without the video, but the video is fun too. Watch it.

I'll be back tomorrow to post more stuff. This blog is just going to be where I put everything that's not on my other blog, Every Last Cookie (which I've been working at oh-so diligently! check it out!)

Death Valley, Part Two

2009-04-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

I think it's official--I'm putting this blog on a semi-hiatus. This basically is just so I can give a name and reason to why I am posting so infrequently and sporadically. I dunno, I just feel like this blog has no direction, and I never really want to post to it. I'm sure I'll get back into it (probably this summer), but until then, I'll just post photos every now and then.

Never fear, though! My other blog Every Last Cookie is still up and running and in full swing. Last week's Banana Walnut Chocolate-Chunk Cookies were so good, but this week I think I'm going to try to make something a little fancier or lighter or something (meringues?). We'll see...

Delicious Beef Sandwich with Gravy--if looks could kill...

I really wish that pie was better than it really was.

Oh, and by the way, I might be going on a road trip across the United States this summer (hopefully stopping by the Badlands and ending up in Chicago or something). My goal is to visit a bunch of random, obscure diners along the way (specifically ones that are not on the internet), and try all their pies and coffee and sandwiches and burgers and all that fatty stuff. I am going to document my ventures with both my camera and pencil in hand, and a bloated stomach. I am in search of the best pancakes, pies, coffee, grilled cheese, you name it. I hope I don't go into cardiac arrest along the way, but if I do, publish my research in a respectable academic journal--thanks.

Until next time!

Boo! Neglect!

2009-03-28T17:15:00.001-07:00

I've been bad to this here blog, that's for sure. I've been very good to my other blog, Every Last Cookie. It's pretty unfair how I discriminate, but this one isn't really calling me anymore. Maybe I was just on hiatus. I should get back into this one more, and post more photos, and just say what's on my mind or what's up. It's nice to have a place to just share any random bit of imagery or inspiration, or what have you, and not be confined by a theme, like my other blog is. On the other hand, it's easier to post in the other blog because most posts are quite formulaic.

Anyways, over spring break I went to Death Valley, and I'd like to share some pictures.

Other than going to Death Valley, life has been pretty much the same. The school year is winding down, which blows my mind, because it seems like just a few weeks ago that I was completely losing my mind about the thought of moving to New York City and leaving behind my entire childhood growing up in California. It was such a weird transitional phase, this whole first year of college. I feel that I have changed significantly in some regards, but I don't know exactly what they are. I can't quite tell where I have progressed artistically, yet, but I think it happened, albeit perhaps surreptitiously.

I'm a very private person, which seems strange to say, especially via blogging. But it's true, regarding certain things, but I've tried to be more open this year. I think it's working, but maybe I'm still the same. I can't analyze myself very well.

Anyways, this has been a quite sporadic, random post. I don't really have anything much to say, except that I've been baking lots of cookies, and now I am going to poach some pears I think. And it's SPRING--OH MY!!! Anyways, if you want to see more Death Valley photos, don't hesitate to visit my Flickr!

I will post again soon, to be sure!

New Cat

2009-03-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

New cat new cat new cat new cat new cat!
Her name is Isabelle.

Food Improvement

2009-03-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

It happens almost the moment I land in Los Angeles: my diet improves. And by diet, I in no ways mean an eating regime in which I lose weight. I am strictly referring to the quality of food which enters my mouth. Gone are the lousy dining hall "entrees," gone are the plates of pasta with canned tomato sauce. It's all tasty home cookin' and nice restaurant meals while I'm back at home.

This morning, my dad and I went out for breakfast at Bistro de la Gare, and I got the Pain Perdu. It was real good, but admittedly, nothing to write home about (and yes, I realize that expression doesn't really work in this situation, since I'm already at home...). But, point is: the atmosphere was fancy and the food was prepared pretty-like and I loved it. Oh, and fresh OJ was a nice change from the crap that the machines at the dining halls spew out.

And the weather's pretty sweet too...

Spring Break

2009-03-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

California, I'm on my way!

Fashion Week: Fall 2009 Favorites

2009-03-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

Ello. So, I'm not posting my sculpture project just yet because I don't feel like it, for some reason. Instead, I am going to share with you some of my favorite looks from Fashion Week thus far. So without further ado...

Prada
A lot of these looks sort of missed the mark for me, but these two really stood out. I love the colors--I'm really into the whole large expanse of neutral with a bit of bright color hidden away thing they've got going on--and the structure of these dresses is so fabulous. The low v-neck is really sexy, and the proportions of the dress (the length in particular) is just right. It's revealing and conservative at the same time. Maybe that's just because the models have no boobies.

Missoni
Ah, yes, very nice. The colors are right up my alley, and although the layering is a little much in my opinion, I really dig the long looping headscarves that they're playing around with. Also, the turbans. Yes. Love it. The first look (above) really harks back to Lacoste's Spring 09 collection (at least a portion of it), which I in fact posted about previously on my blog. Anyways, the scarves really inspired me, knitting-wise, and I think I'm going to knit some oversized, cashmere (I wish) loop scarf as soon as I finish what I'm already working on. And speaking of Lacoste...

Lacoste
Well, I have to admit, I always underestimate Lacoste. It's probably due to the fact that I tend to associate them solely with their polo shirts, etc. But I think their runway collection this season was pretty cute. Admittedly, I didn't really get the whole solid mustard and sky blue looks, but there were definitely a few nice, wearable outfits among the bunch. I picked these two because I would definitely wear them, or at least elements of them. The aviator style hat is just too precious and I love that all white outfit, with all its layering and buttons and cuteness.

Burberry Prorsum
I didn't like a lot of looks in this collection, but I had to include these two! I just love that scarf and dress combo in the first look; the fullness of the scarf paired with the tight waist and full skirt of the dress is just so flattering and reminds me of Italy in some vague way. I really want to like the hat, but something about it doesn't completely win me over. Maybe it's the model's hair, I dunno. Anyways, I just really like that look as a whole, even the hat...I guess. And the velvet suit, well. Who can resist such a beautiful oceany blue, especially in a rich velvet? And to make it into an entire suit? So sharp! The lapel and bow-tie area are particularly adorable.

3.1 Phillip Lim
Okay, Phillip Lim. Hmm. I find him pretty tricky, because I always think that I love his stuff, but every season I tend to be a little underwhelmed, so to speak. This look, however, really appeals to me. Maybe its the color combination (actually, definitely the color combination), but I also just love its simplicity and sophistication. I dunno, I just like it. The coat is just right, and the cream color with the plum tights...satisfaction! And the model is really cute too. She reminds me of a lot of the little doodles I make of strange looking little ladies, which might be an insult to her, I don't know.

Okay, that's it for now. I definitely haven't checked out every designer by any means, but from the few that I did, these were my favorites. I'd love to hear your opinions, personal favorites, what have you. Have a lovely week!

Quick Post: In the Mood for Love

2009-03-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

I realize my posts as of late have been short and lame, but this is important! I implore you to see this movie, In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-Wai. I am writing a paper on it for my English class, but I had watched several scenes of it in my photography class. Needless to say, the cinematography is phenomenal, and overall I simply love this movie. It is so subtle, so sexy, so fleeting, and just stunning. Watch it!

Next I have to see 2046, another Wong Kar-Wai film related to this one. I've watched unofficial trailers for it on YouTube and I am so excited for it!!

Bigger, better post tomorrow! Most recent sculpture project to be unveiled! Until then...

Announcement: Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery, Awesome!

2009-02-28T10:03:00.001-08:00

I do not have any pictures for this post, which saddens me. But I think that the overall importance of the post will outweigh its lack of imagery. Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery, located in the Lower East Side, has the best cupcakes I have had (so far!) in the city. Better than Magnolia, but I haven't been there in a while, so I might have to try those out again too (But, everyone says they are better than Magnolia Bakery, and I think I'm going to believe them.) Better than Billy's Bakery in Chelsea, too.

I had a Lemon cupcake, and it was divine. Perfectly soft and fluffy cake, with just the right amount of frosting: not overbearing and goopy, but not spread too thin either. And nothing about the cupcake was too heavy, which is a good sign. At $1.50 a cupcake, I highly recommend.

image courtesy of sugar Sweet sunshine Bakery

Short Hair Makes a Comeback

2009-02-23T10:08:00.000-08:00

So I've been thinking a lot about cutting my hair short again. I used to have a pixie cut, but it's grown out a lot, and I sorta miss it. I was thinking of cutting it super short a la Jean Seberg (my original inspiration for the cut I used to have) for summer. And then I could let it grow out over the vacation.

I officially want to be Jean Seberg in this photograph/movie. Gahh!!

I mean seriously, I know that Audrey Hepburn and Jean Seberg would be gorgeous no matter what hair cut they had, but I am so inspired. It's so elegant and sophisticated! And adorable.

80 Posts

2009-02-22T10:16:00.001-08:00

Happy 80th post, blog.

Anyways, hello. How are you? Have you checked out my new blog, Every Last Cookie, yet? Do it. Thanks!

It's almost spring, I can feel it. It's still cold and all that, but I'm keeping a very watchful eye on the tree out my window so that I can spot the buds on the branches as soon as they appear. And when they do, you will be the first to know.

I've been getting interested in taking photographs of the shapes of buildings; specifically the more corporate ones, like the ones you find around MOMA and up in the 50s. Interesting patterns, I think.

How was your February? Cold? Hot? Nice? Awful? How are you liking Fashion Week? I liked it.

Sugar Overload!

2009-02-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

[Public Announcement: I have started my new Martha Stewart Cookie Blog, documenting my adventures in baking all 150 cookies from her cookbook. Please check out the new blog! It's called Every Last Cookie!]

I just realized that I never shared with you guys my birthday party! Granted, probably all of my readers were present at said event, but I will post the photos regardless, for my own satisfaction. And I can tell this post is going to take me a while to complete, because I'm trying to watch Top Chef, and that needs my undivided attention.

A little scary bugger, no?

Beauties, every one of them!

The theme was a cookie decorating party complete with as much baked goods and treats as possible. It had a sort of side-theme which was Wintery desserts: lots of peppermint, gingerbread, hot cocoa, you know, the works. In retrospect, the extraordinarily large amount of sugar and fat wasn't the best idea, even though my mother did prepare a beautiful veggie plate (which we all greedily devoured, to be sure).

Myself, diligently manning the vat of hot cocoa

So, the day before, I made peppermint marshmallows, dough for gingerbread cookies, and dough for Moravian Spice cookies. The day of, my mother made her famous apple pie (see first photo with the sexy stud), Nutella hot cocoa, and the veggie platter. Everything was quite tasty, but all combined, I felt completely nauseous and jittery. I even got really ill the day after, but I think it was unrelated and I just got the flu. Regardless, I couldn't even THINK of gingerbread without wanting to throw up! UGHHH.

I'm sure you really wanted to see gingerbread dough right after I mentioned
throwing up, right?

Anyways, we all had a really swell time and decorated cookies and gossiped and giggled and shouted and laughed and were obnoxious. I save my best, most charming behavior for my friends, no doubt.

P.S. I really love those Geico ads where someone is in some inane situation and then asks "What is that?!" and another person responds "Oh, that's the money you could be saving with Geico" and it's that cute little stack of cash with the googly eyes. Makes me giggle.

Pfeffernussen, and the Martha Stewart Experience

2009-02-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

February is halfway complete, and if that doesn't blow your mind, I don't know what will. Maybe these cookies? Eh, they're good, but not necessarily mind blowingly good. These Pfeffernussen--"Peppernut" in English--cookies are tasty and delightful, but nothing too remarkable. But really, they are very very tasty, don't get me wrong, but they aren't very different. I recommend you make them, though, because they are tasty and simple! Crowd pleasers too! And the name is so fun to say; plus, it sounds complicated and gourmet and makes you sound like a fancy pastry chef.

You see, the premise for baking these cookies is all part of my new experiment/project: I want to make every single cookie from the Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook during the 4 years that I am here at college. I have no idea if this is completely impossible (I think it is), but I definitely want to try. So far, all the cookies I've made from her recipes turned out really delish, so why not go all out? Yes!

The Pfeffernussen in particular were so easy to make and were texturally spectacular! Yes! They had just the right amount of crunchyness on the edges while still maintaining a perfectly soft pillow-like texture in the middle. I also really loved how every so often you could taste a bit of ground black pepper in the cookie; a little bit of spice!

And look how cute they are!! Aw! I just liked looking at them all lined up on the baking sheet like little pyjama buttons. HOWEVER, be forewarned that they are ridiculously messy to eat! Confectioner sugar flies everywhere when you bite into them.

So, back to my whole "bake every Martha Stewart cookie in four years without becoming obese" project. I think I'm going to make a new blog devoted to each cookie I make throughout this long ordeal. What do you think? Does that sound fun, or will it just get mundane and boring after a while?

Studio Photos

2009-02-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hello! So here are the photos that I took during class the day before yesterday. We set up the studio lighting (strobes) and got out the heavy-duty tripods, and made a crazy setup with chairs and cloth and random sculpture projects and etc. etc. etc. It was pretty fun, but I wished I could have adjusted the lighting a little more. I did change the photos up a bit in Photoshop, burning, dodging, you know the drill. I'm actually getting into this whole Photoshop thing...

I guess that's the gist of them. Or at least the ones I like.

Tonight I'm going to make some cookies from the Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook (my new obsession) with some friends, watch America's Best Dance Crew (I just watch it for the sake of listening to Lil Mama; otherwise, I'm a purely So You Think You Can Dance fan [don't laugh at me]), and just chill out a bit. Then, tomorrow, I'm off to my internship.

Until next time....

My Palette is Washing Out

2009-02-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

Been shooting a lot in my digital photo class. We did a little impromptu
photoshoot today, with studio lighting etc. I'll post the pictures tomorrow, I think.

Happy Tuesday?

Neat

2009-02-08T16:47:00.001-08:00

Pretty neat. All my food photos from Flickr!

Hope you had a pleasant weekend!

Color Photo Final!

2009-02-04T16:44:00.000-08:00

So I just realized that I never posted the photographs that I turned in for my final project in my Color Photography class. So, without further ado, here they are:

Apologies for the poor scan job...I realize you can see the white borders of the prints, and also, the colors are not up to snuff. Just imagine them as real prints on matte paper, and nicer.

I took these during my Thanksgiving break when I went to visit my relatives in Pennsylvania. I really had no strong idea of what I wanted to shoot, so I just took pictures of images, patterns, colors, whatever I found to be visually interesting. I had no real "concept" behind these, but they are inherently very domestic and William Eggleston-esque, I suppose you could say. Maybe I was inspired by his work because I had just been shown some of it in class several weeks before...Anyways, I'd love to hear your opinions on these. You can click them and go to my Flickr to see them larger. The lace shot works better in large format, for example.

In other news, I just dusted off the industrial sewing machines here in the sewing room and the one that I got up and running works like a charm! Hurray!

(Also, I'm killing Mid Week Magic Hour, because, honestly, it's just embarrassing).

Until next time!

Let's Get Productive!

2009-02-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

I did it!

I put Facebook on my blocked websites list. I've been due for a break for a very long time indeed.

So, to productivity and internet independence (sorta)! Let's see how long I can do this...

Hello Birdies

2009-02-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

Did I tell you about the amazing decorated bird cookies that my good (and incredibly meticulous) friend Anne made? I'll let the photos do the talking...

Incredible, no? I couldn't eat them! I just couldn't bring myself to do that! But, now I really wish I had one right here, here in my dorm room, so I could devour it anyways. Because I could really go for a cookie right now. Yumnumnum...

Meyer Lemonettes!

2009-01-28T15:46:00.000-08:00

Ah, yes, candied fruit. One of the many sweets on the list of foods that highlight my old-ladyness. The list also includes the following: butterscotch candies, dates, figs, dried apricots, cashews, Poppycock, licorice, Calcium supplements (thanks Ma!), high fiber cereal, and the list goes on. But instead of boring you with 75-year-old eating habits (let's not forget rye bread!), let me tell you about these Candied Lemon Rinds!

Okay, I'm not gonna lie. These were quite time consuming and tedious. But if you are making them with a friend (hi Allison!) and having the world wide web at your disposal, I'm sure you can have a good time as you boil and reboil the rinds in sugar water for three or four 20 minute intervals. Allison and I divided our time between Facebook, of course, and looking for other recipes.

You see, we did this during Winter Break, back in sunny California where my mother has a Meyer Lemon tree that sort of went completely overboard with its harvest. So many lemons, so delicious. So in addition to these candied rinds, we made Lemon Curd (oh my god oh my god oh my god make this right now ahhhhh!!!!), terrible tartlettes to but the lemon curd in (huge failure, more on this another time), and lemonade! We were so absurdly efficient with the lemons that even we were surprised. We used the juice, the rinds, the zest, everything!

So, in conclusion, if you just made a bunch of lemonade, and you've got all these beautiful rinds sitting around and you don't want to waste them (which you shouldn't!), make some of these. So tasty to snack on! Next time I want to make Orangettes and dip them in chocolate. And candied ginger, that too! (Oh, and definitely make the Lemon Curd...I can't express how insanely delicious and lemony it was. Like, true lemon flavor, not just sour. Oh man, oh oh! But I can't find the exact recipe we used...I know! I'm sorry; I'm sure most recipes are the same though.)

Okay, that was a poor ending to this entry, but I can't seem to wrap it up any better. Until next time!!

Down to the River to Play

2009-01-25T10:31:00.000-08:00

Hello there! Sorry I've been a very lazy blogger, but truth be told, I am going to be even busier starting very soon. I got a job (gasp!) and an internship (gasp gasp!). Yes it's true! I'm going to be working at school as the sewing monitor, which is pretty nice because I get paid to organize notions and stuff and help people with the sewing machines, and perhaps get around to sewing some stuff for myself if I have the time. And the internship, well, I am quite excited about that. I'm going to be interning for designer Rachel Comey! Ahh! I love her clothing so much.

Anyways, I won't bore you with the details, which are as of now unknown anyways. Here are some pictures from a little play date I had the day before I returned to NYC. Some friends and I went up to the mountains and took some photos at a grotto. Beautiful!

And to have such lovely models, oh oh! We had lots of fun, especially being able to drive up in the convertible with the top down. Sort of felt like we were in a corny girly movie, like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or Mama Mia, just without all the romance and hilarious scripts/dancing.

And it was so warm, too. Not like the 23º weather going on here in New York. Boo! I want to wear dresses!

A lovely day no doubt! (More photos on my Flickr of course) Until next time...

Cold Today

2009-01-21T15:11:00.000-08:00

I wish it was this warm in Manhattan...

(More of this series of photos to come)

It's here

2009-01-20T12:04:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it, it's finally happened! Smile today!

Some Pictures of Some Places

2009-01-15T08:44:00.000-08:00

So winter break is over this Sunday. I'll be leaving the wonderful 83 degree California weather and entering the realm of 30 degrees and quickly dropping weather of New York City. I'm not that excited about that aspect.

But I had a really great break, and if it was any longer, I think I would really start to get bored. Over the summer, I hope I can get a job or internship, otherwise I am really screwed. All I want is to work at an adorable knitting store! Ah, dreams.

In other news, I made these Lemon and Honey Tangerine (I actually used Clementines) Gratins from Tartelette, and let me just say how delicious they are! It was a lot like a zesty creme brulee with Clementines sitting inside. So good. So bad for you. Whatever, this break did not set a good example of healthy eating.

When the task came to caramelizing the brown sugar on top, the recipe recommending using a flame torch, so my dad grabbed his (which is by NO standards a culinary flame torch), and it didn't work. Maybe we just didn't have the right hand technique or something, but it just burnt the sugar crystals instead of uniformly browning the surface. So instead we put the gratins in the oven at the top shelf and set the oven to broil for a few minutes. That worked perfectly, and made the surface hard when you tapped it with a spoon. Perfect!

I also went on a hike that was very pretty and snowy! I probably saw more snow there than I will in New York, but I'm probably going to eat those words in a few weeks.

Anyways, I will leave you with some adorable pictures of my dog, kissing a plastic hunk:

Tea Party Photos, As Promised

2009-01-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

Oh my god, I love tea parties. Especially the ones that my friends host, because they are always undoubtedly completely divine! Honestly, who can resist butter wafer cookies with lemon curd and raspberries on them? Or crostinis with olive tapenade/bruschetta? How about a really pathetic, underisen, dense, too chewy, ladybug-esque shaped Challah bread? (Yeah, that was my contribution, and it was pretty lame. Photos on my flickr...I'm too embarassed to post it here). But really, in the end, it's all about dessert, right?

One of the main activities at this particular tea party was cupcake decorating! The overall theme was a "Children's Tea Party," so it made all the sense in the world to start covering funfetti cupcakes with pounds of sugar and candies. Good stuff. Nauseating, at times, but overall quite fun. I didn't eat one, however; maybe I could have 10 years ago, but today, just...too...much...

Let me show you what I mean by "sugar":

Granted, on this cupcake, my friends and I just tried to cram as much crap all over this one cupcake as physically possible...it's not like we would eat it (right? right.)

Oh god. Pretty disgusting, in retrospect. Fun at the time, to be sure; but now...ugh!

Aside from decorating cupcakes, we gossiped, giggled, talked about inane things, listened to Indeep, took thousands (more like 300) closeup pictures of our faces making ridiculous expressions, acted way too girly, and had fun, blah blah blah. Whenever I tell my family or other friends that I have these tea parties, people look at me funny, but it's true: my friends just like to get dressed up and make food and be fancy. It's ridiculous, but I love it. Oh, and the 75º weather and sunshine is pretty great, too.

Until next time!

Another Tea Party

2009-01-09T00:24:00.000-08:00

Went to another lovely tea party, don't you know.

More pictures to come tomorrow, when I am less sleepy. Have a nice weekend.

Sincerely,
Lizzie

MWMH :: Gone Pro, Chocolate too

2009-01-07T11:34:00.000-08:00

Remember when I used to update my blog? Good stuff.

Anyways, I'm going to be able to do just that again, because I bit the bullet and went pro on Flickr. Check out my photostream, if you feel so inclined. One day, when I have lots of time (which is actually right now, during winter break, so maybe I should get around to doing this) I will merge my old Flickr account with the new pro one so all my photos are in one spot.

Anyways, today I am making Challah for a friend's party. It's a themed party (as all of ours are) and her theme is a children's tea party, so I am going to make the challah look like this! I'll post pictures of the final result when finished. In the meantime, here are some photos from my early birthday party at Max Brenner (Chocolate by the Bald Man) in Manhattan.

It was really fun, in my opinion, but some people were less than thrilled at the prices. Yeah, it's absurdly expensive, but equally absurdly delicious. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating, but the hot cocoa and desserts are sooooo good. The dessert on the top right, the cookie, was $7. Yeah. And we chose to split it, in order to get the cost down, thinking that there would be, oh, three cookies, or something. Not one! Ah, whatever, it was excellent.

Yum yum yum. Today I am also making lacey curtains for our foyer, as my father requested. Doesn't that sound fancy? Yeah!

Hope you had a very nice New Year and Holiday or whatever. Until later!

First Post :: Oh Nine

2009-01-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

Bye 200GR8!

Hello 200FINE!

(Marquee work credit: Taylor, thx gurl!)

I haven't updated in a long while, I realize this. But I've just uploaded my 200th photo onto Flickr, so I have to go Pro and pay $25 before I can upload more photos. Until then, I can't update. Boo hoo, sorry Claire. Happy New Yearz!!!1

MWMH :: Gingerbread Teeth

2008-12-16T19:19:00.001-08:00

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

2008-12-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-23T14:20:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-11-19T18:15:00.001-08:00

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!

2008-11-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

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.)

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

2008-11-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-03T16:40:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

General mayhem...

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

MWMH :: Hallowe'en in 2 days!

2008-10-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-16T16:52:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-01T11:34:00.001-07:00

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...

Lentil Soup: A Tale of Two Attempts

2008-09-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hello! How are you? I'm doing quite well. It rained all weekend! But not that hard, so it wasn't a total inconvenience, fortunately. However, I didn't get any rainboots, like I had planned, and my clear bubble umbrella hasn't arrived yet, so I had to use my crappy little black one. That aside, since it rained, I drank lots and lots of delicious tea and Kedem Tea Biscuits, which was a great idea.

Today, the only thing that could make my rainy Sunday even nicer, would be if I had some delicious hearty soup. Problem solved!

Please excuse the lousy photograph; I didn't think to shoot the soup until after it was packed away neatly in some tupperware.

Funny story, which relates to the title of this post: So, I followed diligently the recipe, and I boiled the water (no problem) and I added the lentils. I left them to boil and bubble and all that, and when 20 minutes rolled around, I checked on them. For some genius reason, I thought that they weren't done yet, so I went back into the living room with my friend and watched some more T.V. (it was House...I'm so easily distracted by medical dramas, especially ones that are so deliciously predictable). And then, BAM, "OH NO! THE LENTILS! I FORGOT!"

And they had transformed into a mushy, pasty, stuck-to-the-bottom, burnt mess. And it smelled terrible. So my roommates and I decided to open the windows (good idea) and open the door to the hallway (probably a good idea, but offensive to other kids in the dorm). People were walking up and down the hall sayin' "Woo it stinks! What's that smell?" Ha-ha, mortifying sort of. I'm sorry!!

As a result of this minor/major catastrophe, I had to run out to the supermarket and buy more lentils and salt. Second time around, I was very very careful to keep an eye on the lentils, and it all worked out splendidly. Devilishly good soup, and so spectacular with a dollop of yogurt on top! And since I made the whole recipe, I have a bunch for leftovers during the week. Excellent!

Hope everything is going well with you. See you on Wednesday, lovelies!

Oops!

2008-09-25T09:45:00.001-07:00

Uh...I don't know what happened, but it seems that I sort of missed Mid-Week Magic Hour!! Ahh!! I'm so terrible. I posted on Monday, and I was thinking, hey I'm so ahead of it that I don't have to worry about MWMH for a while, but how wrong I was. It's still kind of this middle of the week, right? Maybe?

OK, well I'll give it a go anyways. So I was browsing around the internet for neat finds, and I came across this fantastically multi-use super cool way of relaxing...TO THE EXTREME.

So get this: it's a candle, right, but you can use the warm wax for massage oil. Oh my god, is that neat or what?? It even has a low melting temperature (thanks to some physicist no doubt!) so you don't have to worry about scalding hot wax. It's sexy...possibly.

Yeah, I had to share that with you all. (All=?? how many of "you" are there? 2?) Anyways, I feel like sharing.

In other news, it is blustery and cold today, and it's supposed to start raining in the evening and not stop until Sunday! So I simply must go out and buy some wellies. Oh, and I ordered the umbrella that I've wanted for a while:

It's one of those darling clear bubble umbrellas! I am so very excited, but unfortunately it won't arrive until after this weekends approaching rainstorm. Oh well, I am sure this won't be the last that I will be seeing of Mr. Rain. Since I've arrived in NY it has already rained like 5 or 6 times, which is completely incredible to me, since it rains about that much for the entire year in California.

So, until a later date, I bid you adieu.

First Day O' Fall!!

2008-09-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hello!! I know I just posted yesterday, and here I am today, and it's not Wednesday, and so it's not Mid-Week Magic Hour, and yes I know this. But I just discovered Polyvore and I can't get over how cool it is! So instead of writing my essay, which needs to be 6-8 pages (the first draft of which is due Wednesday), I'm shopping and oogling and oggling all the pretty things.

So let's play a game. A game called, what outfit would Lizzie compose if she had an infinite amount of money and it needed to be under an autumnal theme. Well, this is it:

Oh ho ho how cute and fun! Go to Polyvore, and you can make one of these neat little magazine-like spreads and look very professional and cool.

Here's what's up there::
-Oscar de la Renta Cable Knit Sweater
-Burberry Kentisbury Coat
-Donna Karan Moleskin Riding Pants
-Marc by Marc Jacobs Crazy Bow Hairband
-J. Crew Ombre Washed-wool Scarf
-FredFlare Pine Cone Candle
-Hunter Wellington Boots
-Target Bubble Umbrella

Total Cost: $3,600 even

I know you want to buy me all of that. See you Wednesday...

Success in the Dorm Kitchen!

2008-09-21T18:21:00.001-07:00

I did it! I made something in the dorm kitchen, and it worked! Granted, I did make brownies before, and they worked out, but this was the first legit dinner that I've made using our mini/fake stove. It's more of a hot coil with an Easy Bake Oven underneath it, which is funny because I always wanted an Easy Bake Oven as a kid, and I never got one, and now that I basically do, I hate it.

But, enough complaining!! The food was successful and tasty and I had leftovers too.

[NOTE: Thanks to a very astute reader named Taylor, i just realized that I forgot to actually write what I had cooked! It's once again the Big Bowl Quinoa from 101 cookbooks, which I made before, and simply had to make again because it's so easy and so delicious.]

So I cut, and I chopped, and I stir-fried, and it smelled like grilled onions with garlic and everyone in the dorm room/hall said that it smelled good. Score! Food for me, not for you! Ah-ha-ha!

In other news, I was quite productive this weekend. I went to the Union Square Farmers Market again on Saturday and I took a lot of photographs, which I got to contact and print today. I should scan them in and post them here...when I get around to it. We actually have a nice scanner or two in the darkroom, but I digress. While at the farmers market I watched this band from Santa Cruz perform, and they were quite good, so I bought their CD! Check Blackbird Raum out; they're a little like Gogol Bordello and Beirut and all that alt-folky-gypsy-hippie stuff. And one of they play washboard, accordian, musical saw, wash-tub bass, mandolin, and banjo. Cool.

And now I am watching the Emmy's and I swear, I always think that these award shows are going to be entertaining, but they are really boring and disgusting. It's just so nauseating having a bunch of vapid Hollywoodians all in the same room patting themselves on the back. Eck...

Okay, see you on Wednesday for Mid-Week Magic Hour! (Yessss, so excited)

Wednesday...?

2008-09-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think it's still Wednesday, so this still counts as me updating my blog on Sundays and Wednesdays. Yesss! Okay, so I think that Wednesdays should be special days here at my blog...days that revolve around me sharing cool things that I've found on the interweb during the past week. Yes, that sounds like a good idea. So, what shall these Wednesdays be called?

Wednesday Wonders?
Wonderful Wednesdays?
Mid-week Magic?

I like Mid-week Magic. Or what about Mid-week Magic Hour? Yeah!

Okay, so here is our very first Mid-week Magic Hour, or MWMH for short. If you don't like this name, gimme a new one. I want your thoughts...

So, what shall I post about for this fine Mid-week Magic Hour? I know! A SUGAR SHAKER!

As of right now, my roommates and I are keeping our sugar in its normal paper bag inside of a ziploc bag. Not only is that super inconvenient, but its ugly too! No good! So maybe I will buy this darling little sugar shaker from Happy Day Vintage. I think that would be a good idea.

I other news, I tried to make cookies tonight, but I over did them and they became hard as bricks. Quelle tragédie! And now I'm sure that my friend thinks I am a terrible baker, because she has never tried anything else that I have made, except for some brownies. I need to redeem myself!! Fast! Perhaps I will make those Maple Walnut Cupcakes I mentioned in my last post. Or maybe some Apple Pie Cupcakes! Yeah! I just don't know...the oven that we have is microscopic and it is devilishly inconsistent, which was why I thought the cookies should be cooked for an extra 10 minutes, which caused the terrible burning disaster. Oh well, another time then...

So, I hope this is a start to something supremely fabulous, these Mid-week Magic Hours. Until we meet again, my friends (which will be on Saturday, FYI!)

Deer Illustration!

2008-09-14T14:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

I wish it was fall. Really badly. It was 90 degrees today and so humid! I don't know what to do with myself, and mainly, my hair. All I want is for it to be 65 degrees, cloudy, and beautiful. I want to buy excellent apples at the Farmers Market in Union Square, and make apple cider, and use cinnamon, and make these Maple Walnut Cupcakes with Candied Walnuts! And yes, I know I'm going to completely eat my words when October rolls around and I realize that my poor California-skin can't handle the real cold. Hopefully by then I will own a warm coat, but so far I have been unsuccessful in buying one of those.

Anyways, for my drawing class we had to make a drawing of...anything. Which I thought was a pretty lame project, but whatever. I did a little gouache painting of some deer in a cemetery, taken from a photograph that I snapped a few years ago when I was in Monterey for a wedding.

One of the several photographs that I combined together
to form my illustration:

Et voila! The photo doesn't really do the colors justice, but I'm still working on trying to photograph my artwork properly. I am happy with the result, but I wish I had done something better with the background. I feel it just ends rather abruptly, and I didn't do a very good job at incorporating the fogginess of the cemetery that day. Oh well! Maybe I'll put in in the Etsy shop, if I feel so inclined...

So, yeah, that's what's been up. I'm trying very hard to post every Sunday and every Wednesday, because that's usually when I have the most free time. Because Wednesday classes don't meet again until the following Monday, so I don't have that much homework on those days! Or on Thursdays. I really love this whole 3 day weekend thing. It's quite excellent.

Well, until next time...(which should be Wednesday!)

Making Stuff Again

2008-09-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I haven't posted a craft-related entry in quite some time. I realize this. So, I figured I had to change that, considering that I hadn't necessarily stopped crafting all together--I've just been a little/hugely busy, and I don't have a sewing machine (tear!! this saddens me greatly). But, I have been able to knit and crochet, and I have produced something. Technically it is only half of something, and I don't even know if I'm going to finish the other half, but I will post about it anyways. Because I feel I should.

So without further ado, I give you my very first knitted sock!

Hurray! Cheers! Woo!

Except, not so much. I really don't like the sock, aesthetically. Plainly put, I think the stripes are ugly and the fabric was a poor choice. Also, it's all a little saggy, especially around the ankle/stripe region. Hmmm...part of me says "That's enough! Knit a new pair of socks from a prettier pattern, with lace, and with nicer yarn that is thinner and less bulky and of higher quality!" but the other half of me says "You've already got this far! And it was so easy! Just do the other one so you can have a pair of socks for the winter, instead of just one warm foot!"

What should I do? Be a one-socked-wonder for the time being as I work on a completely new pair, or should I finish this rather ugly one? I'm leaning towards scrapping this stripey sock and beginning a new pair...but I want to get some secondary opinions!

In other news, I bought a nice little pencil holder at this store called Muji in Soho (I was tipped off by Kristina, by-the-by). I really like its simplicity and all that.

Lookin' good

So yeah, that's what's goin' on for me. I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to buy art supplies and film and everything that I need. I'm blowing through money like a wind blows through ... something poetic, and it's crazy. Life's crazy! Ah! I need to get a handle on things, and then get a job. Good plan.

(P.S. It was cooler today, and it rained and thundered and stormed yesterday, which was SOOOOO exciting for me)

Lacoste : Yes!

2008-09-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

Lets talk about how great the first portion of Lacoste's Spring 09 Ready-to-wear collection is:

I think it's pretty fab for several reasons.

The colors and fabrics are gorgeous. They are the perfect dusty, sandy colors and they looks especially great paired with these skinny little waspy white models. For reals!
When I got back from India, I really wished that turbans would be in-style, and that girls would start wearing them. In India, obviously, its only a man thing, but I thought that it was so so so awesome and elegant that I wanted to figure out a way to wear one myself without looking like a moron. Case closed!
I love how these are draped. The flow and cut to each piece is oh-so-perfect. And the shoes are very nice too.

All in all, go Lacoste! However, I did not like the rest of your line; it was very...Lacoste-y. Too sporty, bright, jocky/tennis player-ish. Yeah, I know that's your thing, but you are so good at fashion too!

(P.S. I got 8-cent unlimited serving size frozen yogurt at 16 Handles in the city today. EPIC!)

Neat-o

2008-09-03T16:28:00.001-07:00

How much does this storage chair rock??

A lot, to be sure. It's from fawn & forest, which you should browse through because its pretty cute and designy. If you know what I mean.

Mr. Softee

2008-08-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

Livin' the dream, NYC edition

Hello College

2008-08-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

So I guess this is college! It's here! First post in NYC! Living in a dorm is exactly as I expected it to be, especially because my dorm is such the quintessential dorm. Shitty furniture, ugly linoleum floor, fluorescent lights...you know. But I'm working on making it nicer with posters (which I have yet to buy) and postcards. I'm pretty sure my roommate thinks I'm really weird because I have a postcard of Einstein, a turkey (its an Audubon print), and Louise Bourgeois holding a giant metal sculpture of a penis. And then I'm going to put up another one which is a Cindy Sherman photograph of this weird, mutilated face.

Anyways, today I went with the studio art department on a field trip to PS1 on Long Island. It's a museum, I think an extension of MoMA, and I really loved it. The building is an old public school that has been entirely converted into a museum, but without being remodeled, so it still looks like a school. There is art everywhere: in the stairwells, basement, bathrooms, dusty corners, etc. There were a lot of installation pieces, my favorite of which was a bunch of old scuba diving outfits (think metal helmet and all that) which were constructed just a little larger than life, and they were hanging in this dark, small room. They would alternate having a light turn on inside their helmets and then the ones in the back would raise their arms and hit this giant metal sheet with a hammer. It was cacophonous, scary, and amazing. It was actually pretty frightening, especially because they moved on their own accord and were pretty big.

Tomorrow I am going to the Guggenheim with two other girls in the studio art department to see the Louise Bourgeois exhib and whatever else is being shown there. I can't believe I am in New York City!!

Today, I ate a lot

2008-08-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

I swear, I am a 101 cookbooks fiend. Whenever I want to cook something, and I have an overabundance of some ingredient, I just check her archives (sorted by ingredient) and pick something delicious sounding. Today, in preparation for an ultimately unsuccessful color photo printing session at my old photo teacher's darkroom, I used up all of the remaining Quinoa in my house to make "Delicious Big Bowl" but I substituted the asparagus with broccoli. It was so. good.

And after Taylor found out that we wouldn't be able to go to the darkroom, we were feeling a little bummed, so a picnic with some the Quinoa and some rice cakes was very nice. We even met a very audacious squirrel, to whom we fed some of these rice cakes.

Afterwards, we went and got some tea at Busters and perused a makeup shop. I'm not much of a makeup person, but I did end up buying some lip stain--my weakness, to be sure. I really wanted some of this pretty perfume (mainly because I'm a sucker for nice packaging and design), but my desires were quickly thwarted by its $89 price tag.

Following this, we made our way through the Farmers Market, sampling fruits and buying honey sticks. And, if you are ever buying some, you simply must try the Cool Mint Honey flavor. It's seriously tasty. Anyways, the market was fun, but hot. Soon, we parted ways and I went with my brother and his girlfriend to get some boba. Boba was then followed by a dinner comprised of a variety of tacos from a taco truck, shared with the rest of the family. I'm trying to fit in as much Mexican food before I head eastward. And then, my dad baked some chocolate chip cookies (with raisins and walnuts of course).

END RESULT: very, very full. Oof...

Oh L.A...

A (delicious) failure

2008-08-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hi.

So...yeah...my dad and I attempted at making a chocolate souffle a few weeks ago, and...it was a bomb. Literally. It was overflowing and bubbling and all "bubble bubble toil and trouble." And the worst part is that we have NO IDEA what went wrong! My dad had even made the recipe before, and had it turn out quite tasty, but this time something/someone messed up.

The recipe we used was from the Larousse Gastronomique, which also has a recipe for a savory ham and cheese souffle that we had also made, with quite less disastrous results (it was excellent, in fact). I'm still a little perplexed; it was like we totally forgot an ingredient or something, because, even after we baked it for an additional 15 minutes, when we tried to pull it out of the oven it jiggled and quivered, obviously still liquified on the inside. I must say, however, it was still delicious--seriously, how can you really go wrong with butter, eggs, sugar, and chocolate?

Anyways, I leave for New York City and NYU on Saturday. It's weird--this is such a huge event in my life, and there have been so many events, ideas, emotions, thoughts, whatever, leading up to it, that now that I am so close to it, I don't know how to feel! I'm just sort of waiting for it to come...

But I am pretty excited.

Palm Springs Hike: Success

2008-08-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, my parents and I went on a hike nearby Palm Springs. We had to take this rotating gondola ride up to the top of the mountain; this was fortunate because it was 20 degrees cooler up on the mountain and I wasn't really in the mood for hiking in 90 degree heat. We had a really nice time (see pictures here!) and ate dark-chocolate peanut M&Ms, which, by the way, are so delicious and always perfect for hiking.

Aside from neutralizing all the calories I was burning by eating candy, I took lots of pictures, especially of the different textures in the tree barks or lichen on the rocks.

Click images for larger view!

So yeah, it was quite fun and all. Afterwards, we ate dinner at the one restaurant at the top of the mountain, and I must say, it left a lot to be desired...except more sauce. No one would desire any more sauce--ask my parents. The food was so overpowering! I never will understand why restaurants think that oppressive flavors = better food. I like subtlety!! (Is that how you spell it? Gah)

All in all: good times. I'm about to go out to dinner with my brother and his girlfriend to AOC located in West L.A. It's their graduation gift to me! Aw! Anyways, I eagerly await the cheese...

Until next time! Ta!

Epic

2008-08-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

Because my dad always makes epic French Toast.

P.S. I am learning how to print color photographs. More on this topic to come!

P.P.S. I just found out that Urban Threads featured me a few days back for my embroidered tea bags (which, by the way, I never gave their much due credit to Craft Leftovers)! Thanks!

My Tomatoe Woes

2008-07-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

My mom has been growing tomatoes this summer, and I just can't stand it, because they look gorgeous and I bet they taste it too, but I hate tomatoes. I don't know why; it depresses me. I wish I liked them, but something in me just hates the taste. Maybe its the texture, I don't know. Either way, it sucks that I can't take advantage of them.

I mean seriously, I missing out on this:

Sigh, it looks good.

She's also growing Black Tomatoes, the seeds of which she received as a gift, and she (and my dad) don't really like them. My dad says its psychological for him--eating black tomatoes just seems weird? My mom says they just don't taste very tasty.

They do look a little odd...

Fortunately, she's making tomato soup, and I really like tomato soup. I know, it doesn't make sense, but whatever. Cold tomato soup=yes!

In other news, I'm going to a Dodgers game tonight! That'll be fun...especially if I stuff my face with a hot-dog. Woohoo! And also, I saw Brideshead Revisited, which I didn't like. To be fair, I never read the book, but I thought the movie was really pretentious and ridiculous and the last 1/2 hour could have been made 3 times shorter. But it was gorgeous, aesthetically, and made me realize that I need a new 1920s/1930s haircut. And some clothes from Anthropologie!

Until next time...

OH MY GOD THERE WAS JUST A HUGE EARTHQUAKE LITERALLY 2 SECONDS AGO! WHOA!!

Ho Hum

2008-07-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

Summer is flying by

Thin Mints and More Summer Parties

2008-07-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

I swear this summer is going by all together way too fast. Fortunately, I feel that I have been using it the best to my advantage by seeing many movies and eating. I saw The Dark Knight twice, which was fantastic. I want everyone to go see it! I also saw Wall-e, which was also great! I really enjoyed it; the animation was spectacular, and it was just cute overall. I rented Persepolis as well, and I enjoyed it too. I think I've seen too many good movies, and therefore, I should see some god-awful ones to balance myself out. Next stop: The Love Guru. No, I can't do it. That's more than crossing the line.

Anyways, it was my friend's birthday (actually, I don't think her actual date of birth has come up yet...) but, point being, I made her delicious Thin Mints from 101 cookbooks. Seriously, these are the way to go. I have been (was?) a Girl Scout for 11 years, and have both sold and eaten my fair share of Thin Mints, but these take the cake. I really love how fluffy soft the actual cookie is. They are time consuming, however; the dipping-into-chocolate part takes a while and the cookies, at least for me, break in half all the time.

So, anyways (do I say anyways too much?), we ate the cookies and watched Jane Eyre. And then my friend busted out the birthday cake she made and decorated herself. Which was unbelievable. I see cake decorating in her future.

And it was tasty too! A nice white layer cake with a raspberry almond filling running through the center.

In other news, I have shot 4 rolls of 120 format color film from my Holga camera and I don't know what to do. I can develop my own black and white 120 film at home, but I have to take the color rolls to get developed some place that actually ACCEPTS this type of film. End result: pricey. I can't afford to spend $15 per roll! So, I modified my Holga camera so I could put 35mm film in it! Yes! Score! And, I covered it with this sticky paper that looks like wood, so now it's even more awesome.
Glamor shot:

Sage & Lemon Iced Tea and Etsy Update!

2008-07-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

Only recently have I discovered what a whiz my mom is at making iced tea. I've always known that her Apple Pies are more than sublimely ridiculously incredible, and that my dad is the King of All Pancakes, but this summer, after several scorching hot spells, I've begun to realize that her iced tea is definitely something I will miss when I'm in New York next year. I think that the special thing about it is the fact that she always puts a sprig of some plant from her garden into the mix. Usually, its Sage, but she also throws in some Mountain Mint, which together create a really refreshing, earthy combination. So without further ado:

Sage & Lemon Iced Tea

When I asked my mom if I could post her recipe on this blog, she said "I have a recipe?" So, obviously, this "recipe" shouldn't be taken too seriously. Just throw some stuff in, you know, a couple leaves here or there, whatever! Also, we've only made it this way because my mom has all these herbs and plants in her garden, so if you have them, try this! If not, improvise!

Ingredients
4-5 Earl Grey Tea Bags
2 cups of cold water
1-2 Tsp. Sugar (to taste)
A couple sprigs of Sage
A pinch of salt
Water and Ice (a lot, but be careful not to dilute it too much)
1/2 Lemon, sliced
A few sprigs of Mountain Mint or any other type of Mint leaves
Agave Nectar (quite optional)

In a plastic carafe, throw in your tea bags (unwrapped and de-tagged). Then bring the cold water to a rolling boil. I've heard several times how important it is that the water be cold and also, as many a tea-aficionado has preached, that the water be at a full rolling boil. Add the water to the tea bags and let them steep for 10-15 minutes. As they are steeping, stir the carafe a few times and taste the tea; no one likes bitter iced-tea, so be careful not to over-steep. Remove the tea bags (and put them into the compost heap if you like!) and then add the sugar. We never really measure out the sugar, just add a spoonful and taste the tea as you go. It's always better to keep your hot tea a little on the unsweetened side, so guests can add as much sugar or agave nectar as they want later on. Then, while the water is still hot, add the Sage and keep it in the carafe. Then (this is the part I really like), add a pinch of salt; just a tad, so it enhances the sweetness just a bit.

Now, add a bunch of water and ice. Always add the water first, because you don't want your carafe to explode or anything. Throw in the lemon slices (and keep a couple for garnish if you so please) and the Mountain Mint. Add some agave nectar or honey for yourself, and enjoy!

In other news, I've update the shop! Added are three new illustrations: and an illustration of Magpie and Raven, two wolves I met in Colorado on a wolf preservation, a portrait of G.K. Chesterton, and another floral floral nymph Check it out!!

Thanks Maida, but my cookies were lame

2008-07-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

I've been doing nothing lately...which is perfect! But, I lie; I actually have been doing some things (updating this blog is obviously not one of them--oops). In the mornings I ride my bike over to Caltech to work for my dad for a few hours doing tedious work with the scanning machine and File Maker Pro. And then I return to my home, sweaty and stinky because my deodorant doesn't work (it's that Tom's of Maine kind that they sell at Trader Joe's...the one that doesn't have aluminum in it so it's supposed to be better for you, I guess by making sure that you still smell bad even after applying it amply), and then I play the Sims 2 because I am the biggest nerd/loser/dork to walk the earth.

Additionally, two days ago my friend and her friend (bad grammar?) came over and we baked cookies! I busted out the Maida Heater, because we thought that we had gotten a recipe for basic chocolate chip cookies from there, but I'm still not convinced that it was the same one. Anyways, I was unhappy with the results, because they were really thin, chewy, and just left a lot to be desired for. They lacked...everything. We didn't even put nuts in them. Sub-par, most definitely, but still tasty because they're cookies and have butter in them.

Perhaps I should have read this article from the New York Times before making said chocolate chip cookies. Ever so informative!

And last but not least, I had had this recipe bookmarked for a while, my chocolate radar all a-buzz. So I made it one night for some friends, and of course I was careful not to over beat the batter and sift it and yadda yadda, but the dough was too crumbly for my inexperienced hands to manage! The whole step with rolling the dough into a log was tricky enough, but then cutting the log after it had chilled for a little more than an hour was also tough. I would begin to cut, and then the dough would just collapse into a crumbly, chocolately, delicious mess. However, end result=TASTY! I can't deny chocolate...

Anyways, all is well. I want to make some veggie burgers soon. Also, I'm working on my photography portfolio website (soon to come, to be sure!) And I've been drawing, so keep checking the shop. Until we meet again...

Pesto Time!

2008-06-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

I've always favored winter over summer, for some reason. Maybe it's because my birthday is in December, and Chanukah is too...but also because I love the cold (California-cold, that is) weather. In fact, I'm a wimp, and when I move to New York, I expect that when I cry myself to sleep because of the cold, my tears will freeze as they roll down my ruddy cheeks. How poetic, no?

Anyways, although I like winter more, summer is a fabulous in its own right. For one, eating outside! And eating barbequed foods! That's where it's at. The other day my friend had a dinner party in which we spent the evening outside on her huge back porch that overlooks the L.A. hills, and we watched the sunset. We ate this:

Vegetable Kabobs and Brown Rice

On a similar outdoor-eating note, I made pesto! So easy, so good. I even used the basil from my mom's garden, which was absolutely perfect. We even got to eat some of her home-grown broccoli! Next time, however, I hope to use better Parmesan, and Pecorino Romano, and grind it all by hand instead of in the Cuisinart. But I don't mean to belittle the tastiness of what I ended up creating:

Ugh, so good. [Home-grown broccoli not shown]

I love pesto in the summer...it just seems so right.

In other news, I updated the shop! More T Bags!!

More Pictures!

Ta!

Hot Town, Summer in the City

2008-06-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

I graduated!

In other news, this weekend was unspeakably hot...like triple-digits hot. Great weather for a tea party (sarcasm, sarcasm), but I had one anyways. We had iced tea, of course, and really delicious mint lemonade concocted by my dear mother. I actually spent half of the day preceding the party and several hours the day of baking and assembling food. I made some Pear Bread (thanks to Bake and Break), finger sandwiches (cucumber/cream cheese, salmon and capers, and chicken curry salad), Buttermilk Cookies with Lemon Zest (thanks to Tartelette), vichissoise (thanks to my dad), lots of fruits and berries, and Clotted Cream.

It was really pretty and nice; I had 8 friends over, and we all wore girly dresses and played cards and listened to Edith Piaf. I set up a bunch of chairs in our little woodland garden and placed doilies around, used the outlandishly ornate silverware, and had adorable little name cards, etc. etc. My mom, being the crazy plant lady that she is, made lots of little bouquets that we set all around, too.

And now, being Monday, I've finally realized that it's summer! So maybe I will start sewing some dresses and skirts again, or read the Golden Compass, or upload some more tea bags to the shop. Ooh, or develop that roll of film from my Senior Art Proj. Ahh, so many possibilities.

Sold!

2008-06-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

I sold my tea bags!! First sell on Etsy and only 1 day after I listed the item! Woo!

Anyways, I graduate on Friday. And I won a photography scholarship for $5000 and an internship with a professional photographer! Good times...

My cat, Sophie, channeling my excitedness.

Etsy: Update -- T bags!

2008-06-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

Salut!
I finally got around to putting up some reusable tea bags for sale in the shop!

So I suggest you go check it out. Because I'm selling them in a darling little set of three T's (awww).

Anyways, my parents had a little dinner party last night for my dad's research group. Yeah, so he's a physicist and so the conversation, well, it was about magnets. And other stuff. So basically, that wasn't my cup of tea (ha, pun). Fortunately, however, we got food from Pita! Pita!, a Mediterranean place.

A tasty falafel.

Funny story: My friend pronounced falafel "fallah-fal" instead of "fa-LAH-fel." Pretty anti-climatic story, but whatever.

Etsy: It's Here!!

2008-06-06T12:29:00.001-07:00

I did it! I made an Etsy shop and I have 1 thing for sale (more to come, though, to be sure). I am selling this gouache and ink drawing:

So, please, go to my shop! I love you long time.

I will be adding embroidered items soon, and more drawings and maybe some photographs.

But yeah, today I stayed home from school because there was no point in me going, considering that 90% of the senior class won't be either. Gradnite at Disneyland was last night: meaning, a bunch of high schools send their senior classes on a trip to Disneyland from midnight to 6am. All night. With no food (except 10 dollar churros). And no sleep. So, maybe I'm just an old lady (which I've been told I am), but that doesn't sound fun to me. I hate hanging out with most people my age anyways, besides my friends, so being around a bunch of asshole teenagers, locked in the Happiest Place on Earth, well, doesn't quite appeal to me.

So I spent today doing this:

Much better than school. Especially when you're wearing a nice vintage floral dress and its a beautiful 78 degree day.

Tomorrow is my art show. I hope my piece works and people interact with it, but who knows. I hate artists.

Etsy: Coming Soon!

2008-05-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm finally working on getting my Etsy shop set up and I'm super excited. First thing up for sale will most definitely be some embroidered tea bags!

In other news, this evening was spent processing film and printing contact sheets for a project that I am working on for my Senior Art Show (photos to come, to be sure!). So me and my friend Taylor are printing and printing and smell like fixer (which claims to be odorless...) and are really tired because neither of us can stay awake past 10:30. Yeah, "lame" I guess, but I like my sleep.

If you live in the L.A. area, specifically near Eagle Rock, and you don't already know about Auntie Em's Kitchen, you must go there and be SURE to get a cupcake!

The Red Velvet Cupcakes are especially tasty.

Ta!

Tea: A Drink with Jam and Bread!

2008-05-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well it's a very odd Memorial Day weekend here in Southern California. It was cold(ish). Although the gloom and possibility of thunder storms destroyed my plans to go to Surf Camp, I did have a nice weekend. Saturday was basically devoted to Prom--which I can't believe I actually went to. Anyways, it was fun getting my hair and nails done--I now have a cute little 30s crop cut (see here)--and I suppose the Prom itself wasn't too bad. Dancing is fun, but I must say that I never thought it was possible to grind to the Jackson 5 until that night.

Anyways, Sunday I made my very first yeast bread...without a bread maker! I really had no idea that it would take 7 hours, but yeah, it did. I made a Honey Whole Wheat Loaf from CookWise and it tastes pretty good, especially when toasted with some marmalade and a nice cup of Earl Grey on a cool Spring morning!

In other news, my mom recruited me to photograph some Mountain Mint for her newspaper article (she writes native plant gardening articles for The Claremont Courier, a local newspaper in Claremont, CA). So we brewed up a pot of hot water with mint and some honey, and it was actually really tasty. The pictures don't do the colors of the "tea" justice though; in reality the water was an amazing shade of chartreuse.

It's really quite a refreshing drink, and its perfect hot or cold. I recommend it!

So now I'm off to Out of the Closet and The Salvation Army to look for a bulletin board and some other stuff for an installation piece I'm doing for the Senior Art Show. Wish me luck; thrifting can be so trying sometimes...

Fashion Sho'

2008-05-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

As promised, I come baring photos from my school's Spring Fashion Show!

I made 2 dresses, one for the evening wear theme, another for the "sheer" theme. The show itself went smoothly, for the most part, but it was SOOOO damn hot. For nearly 4 hours we were behind stage, eating those Melting Moments cookies, and sweating. Anyways...

This is Allison, my lovely lovely model, who so graciously put up with wearing my way-too-low-cut dress with lots and lots double-stick tape.

From the back...(I'm sort of really into the whole racer-back look)

And some more lovely models. The one in the middle is Taylor, modeling my second dress very bravely. I bought the orange/purple-paisley fabric in India and it is so incredibly starchy, but fortunately I like the stiff look that it gives the body of the dress.

And some models from afar!

Originally, our department chair had set up the runway outside of the gallery (which was at an airport hangar in Santa Monica, in fact) on a minuscule, L-shaped, 6-inch high carpeted runway...which was more than pathetic. Fortunately, someone complained about our DJ's music being too loud (which is pretty odd considering that they have to deal with full-on 747s flying overhead) and our show got pushed inside. So instead of the dinky catwalk, we just had the models walk on the floor between the seats, and it worked out really well!

And now I'm sitting here watching So You Think You Can Dance, because I'm a loser who likes shows like this and American Idol (omg, David Cook > Archuleta! Yesss...okay I'm embarrassing myself).

So Sweet

2008-05-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've been on a baking spree/binge, whatever, for a while now. The most recent recipe? Chocolate Chip-filled Melting Moments (recipe found ici)

And the best part is, they literally melt in your mouth. Ugh, I could eat ALL of them. But instead, I'm bringing them to the Spring Art Show today, but exclusively for the selected few (including myself!) who are part of the fashion show. All of the designers and their respective models have to arrive about 3 1/2 hours before the show actually begins in order to prep. What better way to prep than make all of the models fat! Ha, okay bad joke; I kid, I kid...

Anyways, I'm pretty excited about that. I have 2 pieces in the fashion show, and a photograph in the actual gallery art show. I will post pictures ASAP! I'm pretty happy with both of my dress, but I just hope that one of the dresses won't cause a "wardrobe malfunction" (it's low-cut...think belly-button [just kidding, a little]).

And in other news, I want this book so bad.

Okay, I have to go buy Birkenstocks now for my poor, painful feetsies.

Tea and Cookies

2008-05-10T18:59:00.001-07:00

Today was one of those perfect days, filled with simple pleasures...and lots of baked goods. I woke up at eight, which I once would have believed to be a violation of the laws of weekend sleeping, but as of late, I have been thoroughly enjoying. But there was a reason for my early-bird-ness: I had to make some cookies for a friend's birthday, and also for another friend, as an apology for a rude mistake of mine :[. I browsed by favorite food blogs and chose this recipe (thank you!)

They were quite easy and really, really tasty. However, I made mine a tad too large, which, although doing so didn't affect the taste, sort of left me wishing that I had made them smaller and more button-like.

So, because I made the cookies a little on the large side, I ended up with much less than I had expected to produce. And this proved to be a slight problem, seeing as I had to have some for both of my friends. Thus, I had to make a sacrifice: no cookies for anyone else in my family. Haha, my dad was sad, but I think he will survive.

Then came the tea party, which was ideal. Here's what I mean:

Yeah, pretty nice. I guess when I have my "End of School/Pre-College Tea Party" I will have a tough act to follow.

Now I'm off to make my mom her Mother's Day gift. Yay for embroidered pouches!
Ta!

Quinoa!

2008-05-06T22:45:00.001-07:00

So, I guess I've been cooking a little more than crafting as of late, but hey, whatever I have time for...

I made this today (thanks to 101 cookbooks, again!): a blackberry and walnut and cinnamon and delciousness quinoa recipe! And, I got to try out the new, but actually used, ceramic bowls that I got at a garage sale on Sunday! I've been looking for nice bowls and cups and stuff for my dorm, and when I saw these I had to get them. And then the Quinoa recipe came along, and obviously it was a perfect combination.

In regards to the actual end results of the quinoa, the blackberries weren't so fab, but on the whole, it was such a perfect breakfast/brunch/lunch meal. And yeah, quinoa...it really has a knack for filling you up. I guess its all the protein or whatever, but the point is, I ate way too much and now I understand how "less is more" DEFINITELY applies to this recipe.

In other news, I'm making my second dress for my fashion design class and it's coming along swell. Part of the dress is using this gorgeous fabric I got in India, so I can't wait to see it finished! Pictures to come...

Lemon and Yogurt Scones!

2008-05-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

I love tea.

And everything associated with it: brewing it, serving it, making it look all pretty, etc. So, seeing as the school year is winding down, I have planned a cute little tea party for some friends and myself at my house. Scones, I figured, were a must. So this weekend was a test round for the scones, and I must say they did quite nicely! I think I'm going to put more lemon zest in them, because you couldn't quite taste it enough, and I'm also going to make them a tad smaller, because despite how much I love monster-sized scones, I plan on making a lot of other finger food to go with it, and I don't want people to fill up too quickly!

If you are interested in the recipe, it can be found here (and thank you to the writer of the aforementioned blog!)

In other news, it's really warming up, which is nice because that means more dinners outside. I can't wait until summer...popcicles, sno-cones, running barefoot, the smell of hot sidewalks wet from sprinklers. So nice and nostalgic. The only thing that freaks me out is the idea of being COMPLETELY OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. It's a little surreal, and a lot scary. college...College...COLLEGE!

Embroidered Tea Bags!

2008-04-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been sewing little reusable tea bags and embroidering on them. I got the pattern from Craft Leftovers. The cool thing is, they actually work, and after several uses, they get this great tea-stained (obviously!) look. I think I want to sell them, and I will probably try my hand at this whole Etsy thing. Anyways, I love making them and brewing all my favorite teas. Mmm, just thinking about that Mauritus tea blend, yum.

In other news, next weekend I'm going to Disneyland! Yesssss! Life is so awesome.

Poppyseed Pancakes

2008-04-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

So last weekend, thanks to 101 cookbooks, I made some delicious poppyseed pancakes. They have sunflower seeds too, so they are extra tasty! And they have this yummy orange/lemon compote stuff on it. Being pretty "new" to cooking (to say the least), I found these really easy and fun to make.

But I have been doing things other than cooking, namely bicycling! And as of right now, watching the Office. So pretty much, everything is great. Bicycling after school, working on setting up my darkroom, watching new Office episodes, all that.

Anyways, until next time....