more sesame street....

I love elmo...

Sesame Street has it going on.

old lady at 22

So I found my first gray hair the other day. I'm only 22 and yet the promise of middle age seems just around the corner. I don't relish the thought of bad knees, bad skin, and changing metabolism, but I think I can handle this gray hair thing, I decided not to pull it out and go with the flow. I have distinct memories of sitting behind my mom pulling out her gray hair, with warnings to get it by the root. So Gross! 

I'm sure a gray head is a long time off, but maybe it won't be so bad? I always kind of liked salt and pepper hair. And if I had a choice I would take gray hair over old skin any day. So I think I'll hold off on the dyeing... at least for now. 

cat morning

here they are being so cute... this is basically how they spend their day. Lainey on the queen's pillow and Hank not far behind.

I am so wanting spring right now,

And I am so ready for travel...

but before these things I have to write write write to get my thesis done. ugh. 

new jeans

So with the 30% of JCrew final sale, I had to get these jeans. Only $20! I have been keeping an eye out for new jeans for a while and these were such deal I couldn't pass them up. Hopefully they look awesome- Pamela from the store has them, but she can pull off anything. Better make my ebaying more profitable...

homemade bagels

Oh Aaron! You've done it again. A wonderful breakfast recipe. So much better than store bought. What a yummy Sunday brunch. The recipe can be found here. 

first project

So clearly this was my first project, but I'm pretty happy with the results. I finished this scarf last week for my sister's birthday present but had to wait to share it until I gave it to her last night.

Even though its all just a simple knit stitch, I think the width of the scarf makes it cozy and nice. I used worsted weight peruvian highland wool in purple, but pulled from two skeins at once and used 15 gauge needles for a thicker knit. I hope Katie likes it! I had fun making it and was so happy with the outcome I think I'll make the same for myself. 

Fleet Foxes

Have you listened to Fleet Foxes yet? The answer to this question is probably yes. They have been all over the place recently, but I can't get over how much I like this album. The tone almost reminds me of folky war protest music in the 60s. 

Here is what Rolling Stone has to say: 

Indie rock is undergoing a folk renaissance, which has spawned some great harmony singing. Case in point: Fleet Foxes' debut opens with a woozy a cappella that's part sacred-harp-choral tradition, part Beach Boys, and it resolves into a Celtic-flavored march with a searing Richard Thompson-style guitar line. The 11 songs are mostly pastorals — the sun rises, snow falls, spring comes, birds fly and, on "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song," the "tall grasses wave/They do not know you anymore." (Dis!) This style is what critics used to label "freak folk" before the term became verboten, though plain freakin' lovely is more to the point. A lower-dosage Animal Collective, the Foxes stuff their free-form songs with rich, swirling melodies; billowing clouds of organs, tom-toms, bells and assorted stringed instruments cloak group vocals whose secular-gospel, suede-fringed precision owes plenty to Crosby, Stills and Nash (check out the gorgeous intro to "He Doesn't Know Why"). The lyrics are haunted by mortality — one song finds the singer "staggering through premonitions of my death," and another's narrator finds a drowned child on the banks of a river — but the exquisite voices thrum with life.

-posted by Will Hermes on June 12, 2008

Have a listen and enjoy:


Fleet Foxes

out of my reach

Things I want from ebay but can't have...

J. Crew Fiona Jacket

J. Crew Grey Suede Boots

Anthropologie Amalialad Sweater Coat

new boots!

I just got new boots to replace my favorite but leaking wellies. I love my new ones; they are so classic, and I had an awesome discount code. I imagine myself herding sheep in Scotland somewhere. They are the Hunter work boots that farmers actually wear, called Argyll. And they fit! (my old ones were maybe a bit too small). 

some awesome things...

-I made an awesome split pea soup tonight. so yummy. 

-I was reminded of how aaron and I connected over ben harper.

-I sold my first ebay item and am on to the second!

-I found out I am not behind my cohort in thesis progress/ job search. In fact I'm ahead of some!

-I'm knitting so fast I had to take a week off so as not to spend too much on yarn.

the narwhal.

I've always been intrigued by narwhals. I think they are magical and sweet looking and beautiful. I also always thought they were mythical. 

Uh, what? How did I assume a real animal was a legend, a story, a fake? I think thats why I always liked them; I like them like I like unicorns, fairies, and elves. I feel so disillusioned. I also feel like an idiot. Well, now I know. I wonder what else I think is mythological is actually real?

more art musings- Saul Steinberg

Steinberg with Le Masque mural, Galerie Maeght, Paris, 1966.

Saul Steinberg (1914-1999) was renowned for the covers and drawings that appeared in the New Yorker for nearly 6 decades. his various work was displayed internationally, and was at home both on the page and in the gallery. I really love his deceptively simple concepts and visual form. 

Girl in Bathtub, 1949.
Gelatin silver print, 12 3/4 x 11 1/4".
The Saul Steinberg Foundation.

Untitled, 1948.

Ink on paper, 14 1/4 x 11 1/4".

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Children's Labyrinth, 1954.
10th Milan Triennial, detail of History of Architecture section of mural.

Untitled, 1962.
Ink on paper.
Originally published in The New Yorker, November 17, 1962.

baked oatmeal... so so good.

Aaron made some baked oatmeal courtesy of The Kitchen Sink yesterday and it is so good. And you can heat it up in the microwave the next day and its still delicious. I don't always want eggs in the morning, cereal can get old, and pancakes can be just too sweet for me in the morning. Oatmeal is a good alternative, but its hard to get the perfect consistency. This baked oatmeal has a more cakey texture, eliminating some of the uncertainties of traditional oatmeal. I love it... thanks Aaron. Here is the recipe: 

Baked Oatmeal

Penzeys

2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/3 cups skim milk
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
milk, yogurt and fruit (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine oats, sugar, raisins, walnuts, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. In a medium bowl, combine milk, egg whites, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes, or until center is set and firm to the touch. Cool slightly. Serve topped with milk or yogurt and fruit, if desired. Store leftover oatmeal, tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cooking minutes: 55-60 minutes. Serves: 6-8.

obamicon no more

In anticipation for the inaugural address, and in preparation for Obama fans to cease in their campaign idolization and begin their presidential criticisms (as it should be), I have become more interested in Obama posters and images. Whatever you feel about him, his candidacy sure did inspire some great art. Here are a few I found:

Or you can just obamicon yourself (courtesy of jon garda).

Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz, Snow Globes, mixed media

Caitlin showed me this exhibition the other day and its amazing. Martin and Munoz have been making snow globes with these touching and yet unsettling scenes. They seem to use the confines of the globe as a diorama for images of human interaction, sometimes familiar, and sometimes supernatural. The images below are from the Travelers series, but you can also see their Islands series as well as the rest of the collection here. Their current exhibition is in Spain, but have another opening March 1 in Sheboygan Wisconsin. Look here for exhibition information. 

Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz
Alone Together, 2005

Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz
Traveler 225, 2007 Snowglobe 9x6x6 inches

Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz
Traveler 186 at Night, 2006

Walter Martin and Paloma Muñoz
Traveler 48 at Night, 2003