main beach, east hampton

de Kooning statue...in the middle of town!

main beach (love)

letterman!

outside the historic ed sullivan theater!

guest star: martin short (!!)

musical guest: regina spektor (!!!)

p.s. we missed megan fox by two days (sad face)

micro home brew

today, we (make) beer

there's no beer in the apartment (there is, but it's rolling rock, and that's hardly a beer) so alex and i decided to make some pomegranate pale ale using a kit from mr. beer home brewing system

ingredients:
1 package booster - corn starch powder/sugar?
1 can pale ale
1 package brewers yeast

2 cups pomegranate syrup
1/2 small bottle of Finnish honey
(golden bear is probably ok.
honey adds alcohol content and make the beer drier...if that makes any sense)

stirring the booster, honey and pomegranate syrup
i stirred like i never stirred in my life. the booster has to completely dissolve and not clump up, and then we poured the honey and pomegranate. then we set the whole thing to boil.

pale ale (unhopped malt mix)
it pours easier when immersed in hot/warm water

poured the pale ale mix into our boiling booster/honey/pomegranate mixture
must stir virgorously!

it smelled awful. and made our entire apt smell awful too.

alex pouring the whole thing into our plastic keg.
now it sits for two/three weeks to ferment

i'll keep you posted
or not, if it's awful.

speaking svedish

day one of weekend

naturally, we would be the ones who decide to finally go to the ikea in red hook (brooklyn) when they are having their one year anniversary sale. absolutely CHEEEP. we fed my aching tummy with swedish meatballs ($7.90) and...I guess I won't judge people for eating in big box store cafes anymore.

we went to ikea to shop for a wardrobe.
here's what we made out with:
152" curtain rod...99 cents
curtain rod supports and decorative ends...49 cents and 25 cents
sheepskin rug...$19.99
4 lbs of meatballs...$14

but I already have my eye on:

wall mounted wine rack(s)
orange paper boxes
stackable shoe storage

pax fevik wardrobe (oops)
(another) sheepskin rug

strawberry & grape - no mistakes

strawberry grape smoothgasm
1 regular box strawberries
20 or so grapes (or blueberries. banana even!)
1 cup yogurt
1 cup fat free milk
cubes of ice

throw together in blender, blend, enjoy

guaranteed non-lame breakfast

last hurrahs

sometimes, it just seems like everyone leaves. there are a couple times so far when i've had to say goodbye to extraordinary people, like graduation, summer camps & whatnot, and i gotta say, i don't like it, not one bit. tonight we say goodbye to lobna, our super amazing friend from the UAE, who was one of Alex's bffs at Columbia...

seaweed tasting at momoya

the love of my life - red velvet cupcakes (here, at magnolia bakery)

no flash photography please (at empire hotel rooftop bar)

fondue at disiac
we noshed and i drank peach sangria and we played "dirty minds"

ciao senorita, don't leave us for too long...

sunnyside: little bucharest

had to run a romanian-food related errand for my mom today and rather than drag myself to sunnyside by myself, I dragged alex and his two brothers as well.

take 7 train to 40 Street, explore

romanian garden
(from left: russian beef salad, polenta with cheese and sour cream, eggplant salad with onions)
we also ordered skinless sausage (mici) and sarmale (stuffed cabbage)
the stuff that makes strong romanian women!
(and help ensare sexy american boys)
I honestly do think if you know how to cook you will obtain a (lazy?) boyfriend.
alex loves when i make romanian dishes.

whisky & tea trying to clear up my sore throat

savarine from nita's european bakery
recipe
i love this dessert
i fall for the oozy yummy rummy whipped cream puff every time

down to business

My first polyvore experience, published here for you! Polyvore...will probably be my outlet for fashion/expression considering my *new* purchasing freeze. Ick. This textured taupe Alice & Olivia dress popped up (I will be looking for you at the next sample sale!) and I just went from there. I call it "Boring/Playful" - the Burberry dress reminds me of something I could find at Old Navy (albeit of much lesser quality), and is altogether very reserved (no big surprise here, but this dress is awful for the price). The Alice & Olivia dress is flirty and I paired with some abstract leopard print flats to wear during the daytime. This Polyvore seems to highlight the essential differences between high-high end designers and mid-range luxury designers (I'm talking merely about prices here)...Burberry seems fuddy-duddy (and taking a page from Calvin Klein's designs from the 90s), while Alice & Olivia seems to be taking advantage of youngish trustafarians looking for party frocks (Betsy J is what their 12 year old sisters wear these days).

I love Marni's take on the embellished necklace first made famous by the Burberry Prorsum "Albury" necklace. Only one season after these necklaces were introduced I feel like I see them everywhere (and imagine my happiness when I found something similar in my dusty jewelry pile).

Also, I added three purses - from high to low end. I feel like they all could go with either dress? Any thoughts?

sloppy bbq, your heart is mine

today

view from new living room
(need to paint)

a flower grows in an industrial wasteland
(h&m pencil skirt, payless tory burch knockoffs,
marc jacobs pre-fall 2008 alice bag, j. crew ruffled cardi)

block party bbq festival; brisket from hill country
(I couldn't wait to take pictures of my salt lick bbq, I ate it too quickly!)

night

If We Don't Go Here, Where Will We Go?

in Ijamsville, MD at our dear dear family friends' house...

the pond where i learned to fish
(kenar v-neck maxi dress - $39.99 at tj maxx!)

back and to the left -
the plot of land where i found my x-mas trees for years...

horses (a big passion)

k's beautiful zebra painting...
can you believe she learned how to paint only a couple of years ago?

Dear Olds

my friday night

maryland pride
dear olds (mostly)

Omega 3 Republic of Delishytocracy

Presents: lunch

pasta side

1 lb whole wheat penne rigate
2 small onions (i like it oniony)
2 largeish garlic cloves
3 tbsp pesto
huge bowl (maybe 1 lbs?) of ripped up & washed spinach
2-3 tbsp olive oil

After cooking the pasta to the desired specifications you prefer, set it aside.
saute the onions in olive oil until they become translucent and misty with fragrance
add garlic, mix it up
add spinach, mix, wait for spinach to wilt
add pasta, mix until well covered in garlic, spinach & onion
add pesto, mix to perfection

salmon side
1 portion salmon from Chelsea Whole Foods, purchased 1pm today
.5 lemon
tsp oregano
pepper

wash salmon, douse with lemon, add oregano and pepper
place on grill
(since I live in a tiny apartment, a george foreman suffices)

easy lunch, no excuses.

Balmain Again and Again

[background] Balmain is a French fashion house founded by Pierre Balmain. In 1990s, the house was lead by Oscar de la Renta. Those two made Balmain famous for its classic and luxurious designs. Right now it is lead by Christopher Decarnin, whose vision for the house is modern & edgy - tres rock n roll chic.

Personally, I think that just because we're in a recession, it doesn't have to mean all our clothes/shoes/access. have to become severe & austere. If the world is going to fall apart...we might as well all go out looking fabulous. On to the shoes.

Balmain's Spring 2009 Covet-worthy Heels on Jen Connelly's fab legs

By now, every girl who loves fashion and isn't living under a - fairly big - rock in central middle of nowheresville has heard of Balmain's studded sparkly heels, and their exorbitant (maybe?) price. I love the shoe. LOVE. Sexy, rock n roll, delicious. Definitely a "get noticed" by the ladies shoe. But - I feel it's only something you can wear once. Like a really great surprise or listening to "Poker Face" again and again, the appeal will be diminished if you keep wearing it, right?

a copycat pair at the DSW in my hometown

So that's the closest I'll get to the Balmains - but take a gander at all these other *inspirations*...

Rumi @ Fashion Toast wearing Aldos
A pair from Zara at Electric Feel
Budget Balmains (ick) at ShoeWaWa
The Look for Less at FabSugar

Out in the Cut

After going out to Columbia Heights last night, I needed to take some time...
spent the day walking around downtown
eating prosciutto & goat cheese crepes at NOLA
buying a gorgeous vintage bracelet from Venus on the Half Shell
taking a country drive up to the farmer's market for flowers & watermelon

running away in a greenhouse

gap tunic, dolce vita wedges, vintage sunglasses

Frederick Towne

Been home since Friday night...loads has been going on. So much, in fact, that it's been hard to keep up. Every time I come back, everything changes. Is that both comforting and threatening?

the new: frederick cellars

the old: a strawberry lemonade martini and a peartini at tasting room