I am just saying....

I heard round-trip flights from NYC to Bermuda are $49.


I'm just saying.

project runway recapturing & god bless project jay

can i say how thoroughly entertained i was by project jay this past wednesday? i'm a bit concerned because it appears to be a one time show? (please advise)

the project runway reunion special was alright. the reality show reunions tend to be lackluster for me (except that recent reunion of "the bachelor ladies" that got their arses kicked to the curb...the mr. bachelor is SO smokin' hot. makes me willing to date a white boy. i'm glad the ladies took the high road for the most part. don't hate on mawana beeyaches! sometimes aloof but emotional dark-haired ladies are still real people inside! :( *sniff* the other chick's too squeaky clean). I think the only highlight was being able to watch santino's tim gunn impersonations again..."where's andrae...." and "make it work-make it work-make it work..."



project jay instead was the greater highlight of the evening for me. i could watch his shenanigans all night! he's so clever and just smart and funny but in a super genious cutting way. my laugh out loud moment was definitely showing his little niece saying that the weirdest look jay ever put her in was when she dressed up as anna nicole - cut to photo. just look at her! this girl is totally channeling her spirit.


anyway. enough of this "flair in yo face." i got so much flair i don't know where to put it.

my least favorite word ever ....

...has got to be "mandatory". Nothing good ever, EVER comes after that word.

...

But yes, nothing remotely pleasant ever comes with the word "mandatory" in it. Mandatory overtime (cf. TELFTSNBN). Mandatory sleep-away camp (complete with mandatory hiking after they gave you the illusion of choosing your own activities). Mandatory Fun Time (where was that from? College orientation week?)

...Also, I can relax a tiny bit about paying off loans, and can look forward to satisfying some shopping cravings, namely:

Some kind of Creative Zen Micro MP3 Player

Lots of DVDs ... oh hell yes.

A whole lotta expensive make-up


So with that, I ask you: do you have a recipe for a fabulous soy protein powder/fruit shake? I am interested in trying those chocolate flavored powdered soy shake thingies and hoping they do not taste like sweetened sawdust.

food la la

To all my foodie friends -- any idea for what you would enjoy as a vegetarian entree at fancy feast/delectable dinner? Or another question, what would constitute elegant vegetarian fare?

thank god for project runway marathons

i am now officially caught up.

it's a good companion for all day organizing of post-move-in messes.

the art of nature/ the nature of art?

This week, one of the topics we discussed in my discussion section was the capacity of art to establish a new relationship with nature and thereby point towards a type of reconciliation with the world and with other people. The theorists we were reading believed that art was the only redemptive hope in a world beholden to a type of reason which forces man to dominate over nature and over his own inner nature. I brought in some images from the artist, andy goldsworthy, to prompt a discussion about whether his art offers a new way of understanding the world and wanted to share some of my favorite images with you.
My students had some good stuff to say about the images. They mentioned the transient aspect of the sculptures and the awareness of death, and talked about the importance of experience, rather than cognitive thinking, as a way to approach this art.

call me an 80s lady of the night but I can't get enough

no words. just enjoyment. and maybe drool.

please buy my chiclé!

OK, so tonight is the penultimate episode of Project Runway's S2, folks. I am still mourning the departure of dear sweet Uncle Nicko, but sadly his work sort of slumped toward the end.

My favorite, as many of you might have heard, is Daniel Vosovic, mainly because he is both talented and such a sweetheart. To be honest, I haven't loved anyone's work that consistently through this competition, but I am excited to see what the finalists will prepare for their collections.

So in honor of tonight's episode, here are some of my very favorite outfits from this season so far. I would love if you posted your favorites too!

1. I just adore the 'punk'-itude of this outfit. And I can't tell the skirt is made of a jacket!
2. Chloe made this out of a mini-dress & coat. And that's all! Those are some skillz yo.
3. If I were to buy anything, it would be this one. I just love the print + ruching/pleating.
4. She's a little bit Copacabana, and a little bit Telemundo. Nick is so quotable.
5. You know I love broken and discarded things, like gutter water. But I also love iridescent taffeta.
6. I love the mesh, I love the shiny plants (like Heidi does), and the model looks like a jungle princess or something.

(blogger hates me. why is it so impossible to manipulate photo layout? argh)

It's asymmetrical, but is it asymmetrical ENOUGH?!

Lately I have been tempted by jewelry, specifically the types found here. And so I went here to scope out some supplies, but I honestly cannot justify a purchase without using up at least a few of the jewelry junk I have already accumulated. So in the interests of making it OK-er to buy yet more things, I mucked about with some beads and stuff last night while weeping over the fact that Bailey's husband and baby are all well and good in the land of Grey's Anatomy. And she named him after George. Awwwwww.

I forgot I had these heishi shell beads and copper spacers from one of my blackout-bead-buying sessions at Beadworks in Cambridge. I tried to make a little funky asymmetrical necklace. I am not sure but it might be a little too long or too short -- sort of neither here nor there on the length.

Aging Cowgirl, you know I need you to certify my construction. Do you think this will hold up? I know it's not pretty AT ALL, so I may have to change it anyway. I used a bunch of mismatched materials that may not be mismatched ENOUGH, such as the "pewter" colored SoftFlex (are there different colors?) to string the beads, some "pewter" crimp beads, and some big ol' oogly nickel findings.

Here are the cute little copper spacers. I just couldn't separate them, they looked so cute together.

And then I made these sort of pendant thingies from rough cut citrine and aquamarine, which I bought years ago at this really cute and dangerously enticing bead shop on the Upper West Side in NYC (I think it's Bruce Frank Beads and Fine Art?) Anyway, I tried my hand yet again at the dastardly wire loops. I ran out of sterling ready-made findings because I ruined them by "practicing", so I made something out of the sterling wire for the aquamarine. And then I added the sterling-esque chain so I didn't just have an empty loop looking all sloppy. And also, I am enamored of the decorative dangling chain thing. So one day when I get more sterling findings, I can maybe make a little schmancy Lucky-worthy necklace or something.

....And that's all for yesterday. It's been a real frustrating time trying to get these pics to format the way I like them, so I gave up. Blogger, I'm not very happy with you right now.

on the days I don't succumb to Popeye's....

Saturday is the day of the week when my dad eats vegetarian only. Please don't ask me about the religious reason for this because I do not know. But anyway, it was a good day to make this version of the spinach & tofu soup that I remember KM making during the college years. As the handy illustration shows, the main ingredients are spinach, tofu, scallions and water. I also used crushed garlic cloves, minced ginger, a splash of mirin, a splash of olive oil, two splashes of soy sauce, a dash of sea salt, and a wee handful of crushed black peppercorns. I know you're loving the measurement system I created. I felt it was important to move beyond "smidge" and "scoche". I basically just threw everything into a pot of boiling water and then let it simmer for a while. And thusly, my dad was very pleased.

Yesterday I attended a baby shower for my cousin (who is a yoga instructor), which was thrown by some of her students. It was maybe the poshest daytime home-party I have yet attended. Let's just say I was glad to have worn some sabrina heels instead of my dusty old Pumas. Also, closest thing to a Newpsie (yes another O.C. reference, yet the show continues to wrangle with my soul and keep introducing really boring secondary characters who cannot compare to Anna or Lindsay...and how gross is it that Sandy's co-worker is pretty much drooling over Marissa? Ewwwwwww.) function I have ever been to. The cookies were low-fat. And yet, mostly untouched. But even better than the cookies was this chickpea-kidney-bean salad my cousin made for the lunch. She's 8 months pregant and made two dishes for her own baby shower. She rules. Anyway, the salad was awesoooooome. It was basically this super super complicated recipe, only this was her ingredient list: chickpeas, kidney beans, diced tomato and bell peppers, lemon juice, scallions, and minced garlic (no vinegars, at least I don't think so). There may have been a touch of cilantro, but I can't remember. But it was damn good, very flavorful and colorful, and how can you go wrong? Chickpeas are as cute as babies' butts.

In random news, please remind me how gross SUVs are. I recently saw the most gorgeous Cadillac Escalade and I don't know what paint color it was, but it looked like it was carved from freaking mother-of-pearl. Since then I may have ogled a pristine white GMC Denali. *Smacks own wrist*

a LILL for me, a LILL for you...

I want to go here. I want you to come with me. We should plan. It'll be a party.

Seth 2.0, is that you?

So yesterday I watched part of an episode of CBS's Love Monkey. It was OK, I guess. Bascially this show is Ed 2.0, only set in New York, and no Michael Ian Black (sad face). What was much better than OK was Tom Cavanagh, who was pretty cute in Ed, but HELLO MY NEW SETH because his Love Monkey wardrobe consists mainly of hoodies and various types of headphones and messenger bags, as is befitting with his career as some kind of music company person. Starbright Oogi, you know what I'm talking about.

The show also stars Jason Priestley (?!) and Larenz Tate. Larenz is so adorable I think I need to post a picture. And if you haven't seen Love Jones, you should. And if you'd rather not see it, at least listen to the soundtrack.

I don't even mind that the show was trying to promote creepy boy James Blunt or that the main love interest-to-be-pursued bears a vague resemblance to one offensive Mischa Barton. Those are big things for me not to mind, mind you.

So Seth of The O.C., you can just keep smoking the ganja and mooning over Brown (ew) and allowing the horror of The Godforsaken Johnny Plotline continue on your weak-ass show because you have been replaced, fool.

project scone

my next series of adventures in the kitchen will be centered around the ever-elusive: yummy scones.

any receipes to share? words of wisdom?

We love the dutch. And their ovens.

Bean & Pasta Soup by lilbunny .... memento style :) link to full-size photos and directions below. Mangia!!

we all *heart* pictures....

...so share some!

If you'd like to use some photos in your posts, please feel free to use our photo hosting site (link below). If you ever need some tech advice, I may be able to give you some. J might know more since she's been doing this for awhile.

eta: dangit, I need some tech advice. I can't get rid of all the blogger original template "dot" graphics. *sigh*

user: frillseekers
pswd: frills