Old time-y tunes

                             
                                    Megaphone from RACOON_STUDIO on Vimeo.

I want one. No, I want all three and make like I have a band playing in my bedroom. How ingenious is this? And beautiful! Oh to hear Billie Holiday's voice coming through this. 'Tis the season!

It's Give Thanks Day!

I like putting it that way instead of the other way because this way, it calls more attention to the true purpose of this holiday. Everyone is sharing what they're thankful for, and like them, I too am thankful for my family, friends, and health. But there are so many other little things about my life, and life in general, i'm incredibly thankful for that perhaps I don't acknowledge enough. So here goes, in no particular order.

I'm thankful for the random things that make me happy. Happiness is fickle and fleeting and i'm glad that when i'm having trouble finding it in big ways, I can find it in little ways like cupcakes, impulse purchases, and low-culture television shows.

I'm thankful for my body. Not in a holy-shit-I-am-the-real-life-Scarlett-Johansson-way, but in a sometimes-I-seriously-stop-to-appreciate-the-fact-that-I-have-all-my-limbs way. Okay fine, that's sort of like being thankful for your health. Sort of.

I am thankful for perfume. I love perfume. What an amazing concept.

I am thankful for beds. Seriously! Amazing.

I am thankful for phones, texting, emailing, Facebook (even when I hate it sometimes), planes, cars, and subways, because they make me feel less like i'm a thousand miles away from all the I people I love.

I am thankful for my education, both institutionalized and not.

I am thankful for my outlook on life. It's gotten me (and continuously getting me) through so many things and it's maybe what I love most about myself.

I'm thankful for chocolate. How I didn't think of this one first is beyond me but truly, what would life be without chocolate? Not worth living, that's what.

I'm thankful for Burt's Bees. And mascara. And sweatpants. I go from zero-to-sweatpants in under sixty seconds.

I'm thankful for this city. I have always believed it is the greatest city in the world and it turns out I was right. That never happens.

That's ten. That's a nice, round number so i'll stop there. Not that I don't have more (umbrellas!), but you get the idea. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Holy shh that's some perspective.

Sunday Comics

 I can laugh at this even though i'm a vegetarian. See! Vegetarians are cool! 

[Via DODHOUSEDIARIES]

11:11 on 11/11/11

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

R.I.P.

Serendipity

No, not the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate place, although that is worth a mention.

 

(This was my first one! Ignore the salt and pepper shakers...)

Serendipity: The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. 
On an otherwise ordinary day, I was walking along the Piers at work when in front of the organic food cart was none other than Joanna Goddard of Cup of Jo. If you've never read her blog, you absolutely should. She posts so much great content! Cool links, giveaways, Motherhood Mondays (interesting even to those who aren't mothers) , and soon, what i'm super excited for- Relationship Thursdays. I was kind of flabbergasted and  rambled a bit but she was so sweet (with adorable little Toby in tow!) and chatted with me for a bit. I'm such a big fan of her blog and even though I know she lives in New York, never thought i'd actually meet her. Meeting her though reminded me of why I love blogs, blogging, and the whole blogosphere in general. So many women, with wonderful ideas ideas to share, do! And they do it together! And then, they connect with each other and make something of those ideas. This suddenly feels like my roundabout way of saying "girl power!" I think i'm totally fine with that.


As if that weren't enough to make my day, later that night I went to The Moth event at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe. If you've never heard of The Moth, it's a NYC nonprofit organization that hosts live storytelling events. If that weren't cool enough, the venue happened to be a bookstore run by volunteers that donates all of it's profits and works to fight against homelessness and HIV/AIDS. The event itself was so much more than people getting on a stage and telling a story, it was being a part of their story. You could tell how much it took for some of them to get up there and share their heartbreak but it was also great to be able to laugh along with the ones who just had to share their humor. 

While waiting in line (in the rain...), I met some new friends! A spunky as all hell NYU advisor, a Statistics professor on sabbatical from the UK (charming accent and all), a Psychology grad student (I have a soft spot for those since I almost could've been one), and a Swedish Statistics professor who shared the same love affair with New York as I do. It was a strange coming together of people from such different backgrounds who all enjoyed the same things. We even judged the storytelling and picked the winner! I'd share what his story was about but it was beyond NC-17 and I just couldn't do it justice. After such a great night, we all agreed to go to the next event together too. 
So that was my run in with serendipity, twice in one day. Meeting a fellow and favorite blogger i've long adored, and making new friends while standing in the rain for a sold out event for which none of us had tickets. That's the lovely thing about serendipity, it happens when you least expect it and in the most unexacting ways. I wish it was something I could command, imagine how exciting your life would always be! But I suppose that's the catch, there's always a catch. 

10 years later

Dear Photograph:

I was astounded, but I hadn’t had time to consider what I was seeing.
Mark Yokoyama

100 Years/Style/East London

A friend shared this with me and I think it's one of the most fun, creative things i've seen in a while. What a cool mash up of fashion, dance, and music to show the progressive 

change in all 3 over the past century? 

Enjoy!

Etc.

Dear Irene,

Thank you for leaving New York mostly in tact. 

For those you didn't extend the same courtesy to, you suck. 

Hope you're all safe!

[Via The Oatmeal]

Quote of the Day

‘I’m bored’ is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless; it goes on forever, inwardly, do you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say ‘I’m bored.’


[Louis C.K.]

Grammar

I love grammar. I love when people use it correctly and I don't mind when people correct mine because no one wants to sound uneducated. So while I can appreciate the overall sentiment of this cartoon, I cannot get over the irony. Can you spot the error? 

Oh the things people dream up...

Dr. Chandrashekhar Chawan has created $15,000 gold-plated diamond encrusted contacts that apparently safe to wear and come in white or yellow gold, with or without diamonds. His philosophy according to Today.com is that, "We always talk eye to eye. If your eyes are sparkling with diamonds, no one ann look away; their eyes will be glued to you and your personality." 


Whether or not you agree with his thinking, i'm sure you can get support his donating all the proceeds from the sale of these contacts to the treatment of Steven Johnson Syndrome which can cause blindness. Interesting way to give back Dr. Chawan, we thank you for your creativity. remaining skeptical. What do you think? 

Dear Photograph...

There is a certain je ne sais quoi to the past that intrigues me. It's mysterious, a bit romantic, and always out of reach. But here's an incredibly creative way to revisit it, if only through a photograph.

Dear Photograph users go back to the scene of the photo and hold it up where the photo was taken, like a before and after but in one frame.  Check out the site but here are a few of my favorites!

"Guide to a charmed life"

My favorites are in red. What are yours? 

[25 Date Ideas from XKCD]

1. Pretend you've never met, then loudly try out lame pickup lines in a swanky bar. Act like they worked.
2. Go on a walking journey and every fifteen feet draw a chalk arrow in the direction you're going. At the end of the trip, leave a big pile of chalk.
3. Create photo evidence suggesting that you went on an adventure that didn't really happen.
4. Go for a drive. You can only make right-hand turns. When you finally get stuck, turn around and then you can only make left-hand turns. Repeat until you find something interesting. Take pictures along the way!
5. Build forts out of furniture and blankets, and wage war with paper airplanes.
6. Go to a major chain bookstore, and leave notes to future readers in copies of your favorite books
7. Write a piece of fiction together. Outside at a cafe. Ask strangers when you get stuck.
8. Try and visit as many people as you can in one night, and turn as many things inside their apartment upside down as you can, without them noticing.
9. Do the lamest tourist thing in your area that you have both secretly wanted to do forever. Have an unabashed good time!
10. Hide and seek in the park
11. Go around the city with sidewalk chalk and draw hearts with equations inside on random things
12. Drive somewhere unknown and have dinner in a city you've never been to. With fake names.
13. Go for a drive with the passenger blindfolded, choosing directions at random. see where you end up
14. Dress up as pirates, commandeer shopping carts, and have a war upon the high seas.. er, parking lot.
15. Go on a search for as many good climbing trees as possible, climb as high as you both can in all of them, compile photo evidence
16. Rent a movie you've never seen before. Set on mute and improvise dialogue.
17. Dress up as pirates and go parrot shopping at local pet stores
18. Go to the airport, get the cheapest, soonest departing flight to anywhere when you show up, and stay there for a weekend.
19. Walk around a city and perform short silent plays in front of security cameras
20. In the middle of the night, drive to the beach, so you arrive just as the sun is rising. Have a breakfast picnic, then fall asleep together. Bring a sun umbrella.
21. Dress up as superheros and stop at least one petty crime "ie. jaywalking, littering...."
22. Go to a minor league baseball game under the stars. Tell each other stories about how bad you are at athletics. Randomly cheer for both teams. Eat lots of Cracker Jack.
23. With camera and pair of boots, make photolog of a day in the life of the invisible man.
24. Walk around the city all night and find a place to eat breakfast at dawn
25. Go to a restaurant and convince the cook to create something completely new for you.

When art collides

I haven't been so captivated by a song in quite some time. The words, his voice, the beautiful video and the way the dancers move their bodies. They all collide and create perfection.

[Iron & Wine- Boy with a Coin]

A word from the wise

Meet Auntie Eeee. Now read her words of wisdom and be memorized at all the things you didn't know, I sure was. 

25 Things Every Woman Should Know

Quote of the Day

We’re all the prettiest girl in the room,
 depending on the day, the hour, and the room.


[Ask E. Jean, Elle]

I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life

Strange video, awesome song. 

[This is our decision to live fast and die young 

We've got the vision, now let's have some fun Yeah, it's overwhelming but what else can we do 

Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute? 

Forget about our mothers and our friends We were fated to pretend To pretend We were fated to pretend To pretend 

I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone 

But there is really nothing, nothing we can do Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew The models will have children, we'll get a divorce We'll find some more models, everything must run its course]

Somewhere beautiful

Today i'd like to escape.

"If you can make it here"

I suppose that about sums up my life these days.

[Via From Me to You]

Google+

It's happening. Something has finally come along that rivals Facebook and appropriately enough, it's from Google. At present, Google+ is in an invitation only trial period and if you were lucky enough to get an invite, what do you think? I recently joined and I must say the interface is much more user friendly but there is one major component missing- friends. That is one aspect in which Facebook clearly wins against Google+ but critics speculate that it won't be long.

While Facebook may be top dog in the Social Media world, just about everyone is ready for something new. With fewer bugs, changes, and annoying features. For the time being, i'll stick to Facebook (for the  numbers alone) but in time, I can see Google+ becoming a bit like the great (not really) Team Edward or Team Jacob debate. You'll just have to take a side. 

West Coast Friendship

Just before my brother left New York after surprising me for birthday, we booked a last minute trip to California! We went for a conference so we didn't do too much sightseeing but had a fabulous weekend none the less. We went on a cruise around the San Francisco Bay (saw Alcatraz!), went to a few clubs downtown, and visited Santana Row (Kara's Cupcakes, yum!). As much as I love the people I met, and don't get me wrong, the laid back pace of Cali was refreshing, I am and always will be an East Coast gal.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't get to see any Fourth of July fireworks, save for he ones from the airplane window. I hope you had a better view!

P.S.- Is it just me or is it blindingly bright in California?

20 something

Friday was my big 22nd birthday and while I had a fabulous day (weekend even), I haven't been able to shake the anxiety of turning one year older and feeling none the wiser. Your 20's are the most stressful time in your life, or so I hear, and I wholeheartedly agree. When i'm not stressed about finding a job, I worry about what I eat, what i'm wearing, where i'm going, keeping up with family and friends, watching how I spend, and the list goes on and on. I always thought this was just me, but after reading this brilliant article, I feel a little better knowing everyone else in their 20's is going through it too. Yesterday, a co-worker a few years older than myself talked about where she was at my age and so many of her statements resonated with me. The uncertainty, the hindsight, the heartbreak, all the ups and downs- we all experience it and hearing her story reinforced the idea that you just have to go through it for yourself and come out stronger in the end. So here is the article that put my mind at ease. It's funny, clever, and bluntly honest. Have a read and share your thoughts?

20 Dumbest Things About Being in Your 20's

Quote of the Day

"Grandmother: I can’t believe it, Julia, all of a sudden - it will seem like all of a sudden - you’ll be in your 80s, you’ll think, what happened?! But time marches on.

Me: Do you feel 87?


Grandmother: I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel like! I don’t feel any different! But when I think I’m 87, I think 'what happened? I used to be a little girl!' And now, wherever I go, I’m the oldest. And there’s nothing you can do about it. You are what you are. But I think people should try to be the best of what they are. I had a very good role model in my mother - she lived to 102 and she was sharp till the very end."

Via [Julia Allison]

Get it while it's cold

The perks of city life

Several months back, I had the pleasure of stumbling upon The Vintage Twin, a vintage store in Ann Arbor, MI. I scored an amazing Badgely Mischka top at an unbelievable price and met the store's co-founder, Samantha. A sight to see with her dog by her feet and needle and thread in hand, she was incredibly helpful and so passionate about fashion, I knew I was in the right place. She and her twin sister, Morgan, got their start in the Lower East Side of NYC and went on to open their Ann Arbor location to great success. Tomorrow is their 3rd annual trunk show hosted by Connor Paolo, sponsored by Svedka and PopChips, and 10% percent of the proceeds go to charity. I don't know if this deal can get any sweeter. The Vintage Twin fashions, free food and drink, meet Connor (huge GG fan here), and do some good? Perfect. I will definitely take tons of pictures and share with you all tomorrow! If you're in New York, definitely think about coming to this awesome event, and if you see me there, say hello :)

Ramblings of a cupcake addict

If I had to pick a way to die, it would be from eating too many chocolate on chocolate Magnolia cupcakes. It's the 3 o'clock slump people, what else would I be thinking about?

I heart The Oatmeal

Did everyone but me know this existed? It's Monday, we could all use a laugh. Here are my 3 favorites! Enjoy.

1.)How Twilight Works
2.)Why I love and hate having a smartphone
3.)Dear Sriracha

Quote of the Day

"I don't want to be defined by what I am not, rather what I am."

On va a Paris?

Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day! is offering a chance to win a 7-day trip for two to Paris in honor of her 5th year blogging anniversary! My secret desire in life is to runaway to Paris, live in a rustic old apartment over looking the streets of Paris, and soak up the culture and revive the dwindling French left in me. Perhaps this is the chance?

Musings

A childhood friend of mine got married this weekend and unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the wedding but it got me thinking about weddings and marriage in general. I'm so drawn to this picture because I think it perfectly captures what every newlywed couple should feel. Intense happiness, sheer excitement, and endless joy for their lives ahead. Here's to the happy couple and if all goes well, i'll have a picture just like this one day.

A most personal gift

Ladies, which one of you wouldn't want a teddy bear made from your man's t-shirt? That's what I thought. Now, proceed to leave the Mrs. Jermyn website in your browser history and hopefully he will get the hint. 

I couldn't resist

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Current read. Absolutely love Stephen Chbosky's voice. Must read.

Two years, one hundred cities, one man, one documentary, one love.

My Heart Is An Idiot chronicles Davy Rothbart's journey looking for love, promoting his magazine FOUND (a super cool concept- publishing found letters and notes into a magazine), and meeting interesting people along the way like Zooey Deschanel, Ira Glass, Newt Gingrich. I am itching to see this.

The musings of Dorothy Parker

"Take care of the luxuries and the necessitates will take care of themselves." 
[Dorothy Parker]

ATTENTION

Kate Spade is having a sample sale!

I would wear this trench...

with this little number underneath...

and finish with this simple yet refined bag.

Ever since my Kate Spade binge in December, I can't get enough. You can find the sale here to satisfy your own Kate cravings. Hurry though, sale ends May 19th at 11:59 pm!

Quote of the Day

"Become so wrapped up in something you forget to be afraid."
[Lady Bird Johnson]

The pursuit of happiness.

I've been up to some exciting things lately, hence my absence in posting. A few mundane things like last week of classes and exam week but lots of exciting things like graduating and packing up for my move to New York. You might remember from my first post that I have a summer event planning internship in the city and I couldn't be more excited. I leave Friday and it feels like the dreams I had as a 12 year old girl in awe of the city lights looking up at the snowfall are finally being realized. I've still got a long way to go but you can't get anywhere without starting at the beginning.

I'm living with family which is exciting for a multitude of reasons such as they are young and cool and we get along great. I am saving boat loads of money. They have the most precious little boy whom I plan on spoiling with ice cream and trips to the park. And lastly, I think it's the perfect compromise in reducing some of the shock of leaving home, everything and everyone you know, and starting real life. In addition, my best friend will be interning in the city all summer too! Would you believe our offices are 4 minutes away from each other? Outdoor cafes and hole in the wall delis come to mind for our shared lunch hours. 

I can't help but feel like this is the beginning of the rest of my life and I couldn't be more excited.