"Goodbye Cruel Year"

Happy Effing New Year!

Let's party so hard Bronques has to take us home ;)

But not so hard that we make bad decisions like driving after partying!

STAY SAFE!

Love you, mean it

Emily

Oh Ugg!

I know I've railed on sweatpants before. But Uggs? Almost a worse phenomenon. Read what The Cut has to say about those repulsive faux Eskimo wanna-bees here.

Love you, mean it

Emily

New Year's Eve Inspiration

Well, if you're anything like me (you're all clones right?) you're wondering what to wear out on New Year's Eve. Sometimes I'll see a dress and buy it convincing myself that if I find the dress, the party will come. It doesn't always work that way.

This year to gather speed on the trail to find the perfect dress, I looked at photos of some of my favorite icons-of-winters-past. Here are some of my favorites paired with modern interpretations...

Eartha Kitt:

and Rodarte for Target:

$44.99 from select Target stores

Theda Bara:

Sequined Icicle Dress $118 from Nasty Gal Vintage:

Ginger Rogers:

Dress by Once Upon a Time:

$166 available from Far Fetch.

Marianne Faithful (isn't she the prettiest?):

Playsuit by my new favorite etsy shop I'm Your Present:

available on her etsy store for $92

Love you, mean it

Emily

Merry Merry

Merry Christmas to you.

Thank you for reading <3

Love you, mean it

Emily

P.S. Photos courtesy of design sponge, because i'm addicted, black eiffel, once wed, photobucket, the snail and the cyclops, layers of meaning, chictopia, seattlest and the audrey hepburn complex.

"Bow Down Before the Power of Santa"

361 days down. 4 to go.

Still thinking there's time to visit that mall Santa?

Think again...

and my personal favorite:

sketchysantas.com



love you, mean it

Emily

"Silver and Gold"

The team at YSL is going O.G.

They are digging deep into their textile archive for a line called "New Vintage II." The line will feature new designs made out of old fabric.

Could we (gasp) actually own something that Yves himself touched?!?!

Read more about this fabulous new venture here.

Love you, mean it

Emily

Mission Street Food Tonight

Mission Street Food has heard your cries fellow vegans!

Tonight they will be featuring a 100% vegan menu. All proceeds are going to the Western Addition Senior Center. Because what goes better with vegans than seniors?

Find more info here. I will not be attending sadly. So eat a smoky eggplant tostada for me!



Love you, mean it

Emily

Rodarte for Target

I've been wanting to write about this for WEEKS now...

One of my favorite design teams Rodarte, has a line for Target coming out this WEEKEND! So I don't know where you will be BUT I will be at Target bright and early, probably pacing the front doors in anticipation.

This venture is one of many lines for Target that celebrity designers have already done. Collaborations of note include Alexander McQueen, Anna Sui and Jean Paul Gaultier.

But this is my favorite. And I'm not the only one. Young blogging dynamo Tavi (from Style Rookie) is also excited. So excited in fact that she made this video all about it:



Pretty cute huh? I'm actually pretty jealous. What does this 13 yr. old have that I don't?! Anywho, here are some personal favorites from the Rodarte for Target look book:

The line opens this Sunday at a Target near you. Be there or be.. at home... drinking tea ;)

Love you, mean it

Emily

(blogging from the worst computer of all time..)

MILK

Can't wait to see Tom Ford's new movie:

American fashion designer turned director, Tom Ford, said it best about what to keep in our purse. "MILK: money, id, lipstick, keys." Throw the rest out. I have to remember that. I sometimes feel like I carry around a diaper-bag not a hand-bag.

Read a cute article about who came out to see A Single Man. In theaters now... At least in San Francisco.


Love you, mean it

Emily

Mushies

Aren't mushrooms pretty?

Just sayin...

Love you, mean it

Emily

Sick Face

I'm sure this happens to everyone but I'm in the sniffling, sneezing, self-indignant phase where it could only happen to me. So I impart you dear friends to indulge me for just a little bit. Getting sick just before your last week of school SUCKS. I blame my boyfriend (who has not been taking his vitamins) who came home a few days ago from work hacking his lungs up. Low and behold, despite my best efforts I woke up yesterday with the same signs of plague (sorry for the plague statement - I've been watching Deadwood).

One of the last times I was sick Barton came over and made me some wonderful tea which you should all know about (if you don't already). I think this is one part my recipe, one part hers, two parts awesome friend love:

Honey, Lemon, Ginger Tea

• 3 lemons juiced (or 4-5 limes)(I used 2 lemons and one really big lime)
• 3 tbsp grated FRESH ginger
• 2-3 tbsp honey (preferably from your local farmers market - local honey is the best at fighting the world's evils)

• 5 cups water

Basically you just juice your lemons (or limes) being sure to grab a bit of pulp too. Grate your ginger. Throw this into a large pot and pour water over it. Bring to a boil and stir in the honey. Slow boil to a simmer and cover. Stir occasionally for 1/2 hour and serve. You can either drink this straight or dilute.

For all you haters out there who are getting huffy: "Ooooh I thought she said she was veeeegan? What's all this talk about honeeey??" Honey, though cruel to bees, is really good for you. Think about it this way: if you only eat organic, wind-pollinated plants, don't you think insects are still killed in the harvest of those crops? I eat honey, it's my choice. Take a moment and decide for yourself.

Love you, mean it

Emily

One Week to the End of School

love you, mean it

Emily

STILL studying

Stephanie over at The (not so) Little Things wrote  a very important post about The Boss.

Thought you would want to know.

Cant wait to see your face after all of this is over. 

This has been keeping me happy:

(thanks andrea)

love you, mean it.

Barton

Studying

Love you, mean it

Emily

24 year anniversary

I always think that its silly that we celebrate a year passing in our lives as birthdays. I know we took part in our birth, but we did not give birth to ourselves. I try to wish my parents a happy birthday and think of the day of my birth as an anniversary of my life. 24 years of experience- celebrating all that I've learned and will learn from here on. Happy anniversary to me. I have much to look forward to. 

The past week or so has looked like this: 

thanksgiving into finals prep, into birthday time, back into finals.

found on the audrey hepburn complex.

I'm celebrating my 24 year anniversary of life tonight by throwing a party and I'll be back to the books (or excel spreadsheets) tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get a picture of my dress- which is the reason I'm throwing a party in the first place. Its always about the dress. 

Here is a bit of a preview:

details about where and who I got this dress from to follow.

Just a note about the blog: Winter break is around the corner and Emily and I will be back on more frequent and/or daily basis after this passes. Hold tight. 

love you, mean it.
barton

It's Not Me, It's You

Hot off the coat-tails of a recent post by CAG, this morning brought talk of another clothing rental business. Current face of Chanel's gawdawful Coco Cocoon handbags, Lily Allen wants to open a clothing rental boutique. The boutique will be called Lucy In Disguise (?). She will open the boutique with her sister Sarah.

"'It's about making fashion democratic,' she said. 'That's the idea behind it. It's about getting really nice clothes but letting people rent them for affordable prices so they can go out and feel like a million dollars and it won't cost them a million dollars'" (fabsugar.com).

I, for one, think its a great idea. Keep em coming Lily!

Love you, mean it

Emily

P.S.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARTON - send gifts care of the second oak tree on the left. She likes gluten-free flours, vintage etsy dresses and the musical stylings of lovely ladies.

Turkey Alternative Part II: Spaghetti! SQUASH! Spaghetti!

So I bet you thought I would post this before thanksgiving? Yeah, I did too. I bet you were all glued to your computers, refreshing our site every few minutes. Waiting with baited breath for this post... Yes, sometimes I kid myself.

Any-whoozles. For those of you sick of eating tofurky/turkey/? leftovers already here is an über simple recipe I picked up from my sister.

Spaghetti! SQUASH! Spaghetti!

Simple Sauce:

• 1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes with basil

• 2 large carrots chopped (yes, I put carrots in my tomato sauce)

• 1/2 onion chopped

• garlic (optional and to taste)(I use 2 tbsp fresh grated GINGER instead - soooOooo delicious!)

• 6 or so mushrooms chopped

• Olive oil

• 1 tbsp sugar (or sweetener of choice)

• 1 tbsp chopped fresh/or not oregano

• splash of red wine (optional)

• 1 head of broccoli chopped into bite-size bits

• salt and pepper to taste

"Noodles"

• 1 lrg spaghetti squash

• salt and pepper to taste

"Noodles" Directions:

Slice your spaghetti squash in half (length-wise). Scoop all the guts out. Cover gutted squash with water in a large pot. Boil until the squash is super well done (stick a fork easily in it). Drain water. Run a fork length wise down your squash (see photo below). Those are your "noodles." I left mine in the squash for a nice visual bowl - but you don't have to. Scrape all your "noodles" out. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over and enjoy! One large squash will probably feed four people.

Simple Sauce Directions:

Heat a bit of olive oil in a frying pan (like 2 tbsp?) for a minute. Throw in onions & garlic (or ginger). Brown slightly. Then toss in the mushrooms and carrots. Cook until mushrooms are darker and shrink slightly (dis means dey cooked). Pour in tomatoes, oregano, red wine and sugar. Stir together and cook until the sauce starts to thicken (~10-15 minutes). Throw your broccoli on top and cover (for just a few minutes) until broccoli is dark green. Stir together and add salt and pepper (to taste). Voilá!

(combine with crusty bread from Turkey Alt Part I for extra awesome)

I hope you enjoy this! I know I certainly did. And the best part is (accept for the bread) this is vegan and gluten-free!

Love you, mean it

Emily

Happy Thanksgiving

hehehe..

love you, mean it.

barton

Turkey Alternative Part I: Italian Bread Soup

Oh bloggy,

How I've missed you.

What better week to celebrate beautiful food than thanksgiving week? This is part one of two great recipes I recently tried out. They aren't necessarily turkey-alternatives but more-so awesome cool-weather meals that are relatively quick and easy.

Part Uno:

I'm not really sure how accurate this recipe is to traditional Italian Bread soup. Or if traditional Italian Bread soup really exists? I randomly saw a picture in a cookbook and said "hey, I can make this vegan." The rest is sort of just history.

Italian Bread Soup

1 loaf ciabatta bread (sorry gluten-free faces!)
1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp fresh chopped sage

1 32oz. thing (package? can?) of vegetable broth (if you're crafty and not working and going to school full-time you should prolly just make your own)

6+ crimini mushrooms chopped

1/2 onion chopped

2 large carrots

1/2 head of savoy cabbage chopped (make sure to get this and not some other imitation cabbage)

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 400.˚ Heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Once oil has heated for a minute throw in the onions. Brown slightly. While you are doing this, stir the tomatoes and vegetable broth together in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling add carrots, mushrooms, sage and browned onions. Simmer and cover (or vice versa). I would let this simmer for about 25 minutes so everything can cook together. If you like things to cook for longer - go for it - who am I to judge? Now add the cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes. You don't want to overcook your cabbage - overcooked cabbage is nar the horn nasty.

About 15 minutes before your soup is cooked - chop enough bread for you and who-so-ever is dining with you. Place the bread on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with olive oil. You can sprinkle some salt on their too depending on your taste. Place in oven for about 10 minutes until it's nice and toasty. Take out of oven and off of the sheet.

When you are bowling up your soup (bowling?), put at least a few slices of the bread on top of the soup so they can soak in. This soup wouldn't be Italian Bread soup without BREAD in it (gluten-intolerant friends, I encourage you to try this with your favorite bread alternative).

Bring this to your Thanksgiving party and say "L-tryptophan what?!?"

Love you, mean it

Emily

RIP Daul Kim

Late Thursday night model, Daul Kim's body was found hanged in her Parisian apartment. Kim, sometimes muse of Karl Lagerfeld, was only 20 years old. "Kim, who was known in fashion circles for being feisty and sensitive, wrote about the high and lows of her hectic life on the international modeling world" on her invite only blog iliketoforkmyself (telegraph UK).



Her last post was entitled "hi to forever." But did not cause alarm because "most of the posts are entitled 'hi to' something. Her last post early on Wednesday morning is accompanied by a You Tube clip of the house record 'I Go Deep' by British DJ artist Jim River" (telegraph.UK).

love you, mean it

Emily

My First Gluten Free Pie (of the season)

I always find the first pie of the season to be extremely difficult to do successfully. Too wet, too dry or just...not. The combination of flours (this video is ADORABLE, by the way) is extensive and seems to take a subtle feel and intuition. For some reason I have no desire to make pie outside November-February and I find that every time I take this hiatus I press the restart button and need to hone in on my pie making ability. 

Something to note about gluten free pie is that the dough doesn't look the same; Most gluten free baking, for that matter, looks nothing like typical wheat flour baking. Its one of those things that Gluten Free people realize early on: if you're expecting it to taste (or look) the same, you'll always be sorely disappointed, but if you think of it as a completely different entity with its own perks, tastes, and quality you'll enjoy every bite. (unless your pie crust was as dry as my first batch- woops!)

I used Gluten Free Girl's recipe this time and I'm looking forward to going through my rolodex of pie recipes to improve and maybe this year I'll write down what I did...

Here is the Gluten Free Girl recipe, 

and after I work on my own recipe i'll post that one. 

This was actually a sweet potato pie. I find pumpkin takes a lot of sugar to make it actually taste good, and sweet potato can go without much else but a tablespoon or two of agave.

 

love you, mean it.

Barton

Key to my Heart

I saw these today while researching my trend report paper...




These laser cut wooden keys are available online at Liberty, a UK gift shop. They are designed by an amazing paper-cutting fiend: Rob Ryan. Who, I'm pretty sure will be in charge of creating the favors for my wedding someday. You can read his blog here or buy his wares on etsy.

love you, mean it

Emily