Cocktail Revelation

So, this is very bad. I know. Reprimand me if you wish. I threw a party themed "Discover your Cocktail", and even though I thought I was confident in my definite choice of cocktail, now I know I was lying to myself. Seriously, I've had a revelation. Don't be mad at me, be happy for me--I've finally discovered my cocktail!

I've been doing a bit of research on it online, in an attempt to see if it's an already established drink with a touted name. So far, no luck (but if you know it, do tell!) Below is the recipe I've conjured for my ultimate cocktail, my go-to, the one I make for myself after a long day's work. It's kind of like an Old-Fashioned with a kick, or something.

In a short rocks glass over ice, combine:
+1 part whiskey (tonight I'm having Old Overholt, but I usually favor Maker's Mark or Four Roses)
+1 part orange liqueur
+2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters
+top with ginger ale

I want to give it a fun name. I know, it should be called the Marina, since it's my drink, I get it. But who's up for some creativity? How about... Sailor's Punch? Teehee. It was just an idea....

Gardening Quotes

I'm re-planting my Aerogarden right now with some salad greens, and during a hands-off step, I found myself browsing through the accompanying harvesting guide. I stumbled upon a two-page spread with a few salad garden pictures, but it appears that the editors of this guide lacked the sufficient content to fill up the second page. And instead of leaving an empty patch of green background on the page, they decided to fill it up with a quote, a quote they couldn't properly trace back.

Check it:


Hmm. Well, I call bullshit on you, Aerogarden. Because I think you and I both know who calculated that perfect pint of wisdom. Um, Aris-totle!

emma dreams

A quick google search for an e-mail address led me to stumble upon these stills from a short film I shot a year and a half ago with a talented young filmmaker named Tati Barrantes. Tati's an MFA candidate at Tisch right now. She was a pleasure to work with and her film, which was her first I believe at NYU, turned out beautifully.

craigslist kills me

Craigslist has been on my mind a lot lately. Mainly because it's been in the news with such frequency lately thanks to the med student craigslist killer. I'm a frequent user of the site and have always taken its convenience for granted. I admit my naivete--the thought of the dark possibilities the site may be prone to have never crossed my mind Maybe that's because I don't utilize the site's "erotic services" pages. But, the recent craigslist-related crimes (hotel room murder, hotel room assault, man stabbed in Brooklyn) have made me re-think my decision to invite people into my home and pick up the couch I've decided to give away from free.

All that aside, I still have to be dissuaded from creating posts offering my personal assistant services, a) because I'm desperate for work, and b) to ensure that I keep getting harassed by prospective scammers like this guy here who just sent me an e-mail:

(read this in your best motivational speaker/infomercial voiceover/Frank T.J. Mackey voice)

Hey, If you could rake in the dough when families dined at
the Italian restaurant down the road.. wouldnt you want to know how?
Find out how average.. everyday.. real people are spending only a few
hours a week to make an extra $2359.28 a month. If youre at least
18.. looking for something more than just a J.O.B. .. and you know it
takes money to make money do yourself a favor and let us know what
number to reach you at and when to call. We're ready for you.

Thanks craigslist! You always provide me with the easiest answers and best opportunities. This sounds like the best job opportunity--I mean, J. O. B. opportunity I've never stumbled on before.

Sidenote: Read this short nymag article on the craigslist killer's fiance. I really liked the closing paragraph. Made me want to read Lolita again.

The husband you share a bed with each night, the colleague you wave to each day, the neighbor you watch mow his lawn— who are they, really? And how do we carry on normally in life once we start to wonder? It’s a premise that writers love to entertain—that there are Humbert Humberts and Dexters in our midst—and the average citizen finds fascinating and horrifying at once. We like our unreliable narrators to remain in works of fiction, not to exist in real life.

i need some money

...so i can buy these things!!!

rooting for the home team

Last night, I had the pleasure of watching a Mets game at the new CitiField with 15 or so friends. Our seats were in the top row of the left field, but we were lucky enough to snag two picnic tables on the main level opposite home plate. Doubly lucky actually, since we were in close proximity to good food and beer. I drank too many beers and ate Blue Smoke barbeque. It was a great time. And, the Mets won! 7-1 with 6 runs alone in the first (or second?) inning because Santana made a grand slam. I can't wait to go back.



P.S. Yep, that's right, I bought a youth sized Mets sweatshirt.

let's pretend its summer, baby

image via the cherry blossom girl, of course!

It's bright and early (and hot!) on this Monday morning. I'm all dressed in my tennis whites, ready to walk over the bridge for a lesson in East River Park. After that, off to a long-awaited rehearsal for my beloved Eurydice project in a neighborhood studio. Then, only a few hours to rest before my first New York City baseball game! I've been to plenty of West Coast Dodgers games with my older brother, but this will be my first Mets game and at the new Citifield to boot. I'm going to sing the baseball song, eat burgers, play in the batting cages... Even if it's not summer yet, I am for sure pretending it is!

Pictures from a successful Saturday picnic that left us all emanating heat for the duration of the day:

maryam nassir zadeh

Met the lovely owner of this astoundingly put together store this afternoon. I had been in there once before and had raved about it afterwords to my friend Luke, a fashion designer and man of good tastes. He told me that he happened to be friends with the owner. After a late afternoon margarita downtown with a friend, we ventured into this worldly Lower East Side boutique called Maryam Nassir Zadeh. The store features an eclectic and worldly array of items: North African and South American tapestries, Repetto shoes, vintage jewelery, and the latest Rachel Comey and Isabel Marant pieces. With an assortment of potted succulents in the corner and a handpicked arrangement of flea market trinkets on handmade wood tables, how could I not be in love with this store? This is essentially what I want my apartment to look like. It brings a nice wide open, desert-y feel to the industrialism of the city. I'm hunting for similar tapestries to put on my upcoming (hopefully!) handmade wooden bench... but more on that later!





Read more about the store, located on Norfolk between Rivington and Delancey.

oh, dolly!

reading this article in new york magazine on dolly parton made me want to give these two songs of hers a listening to:

Little Sparrow



Jolene

chang on the street

am perplexed by this spot:

busy week

found on sally jane

i've been busy as a bee this week, trying to squeeze in hours of work here and there before rent is due.

before i proceed positively, let me just complain for one brief second: LOST sucked last night.
finished.

now, some nice thoughts:

+in it's place, watched planet earth again to the tune of explosions in the sky. it was revelatory. i adore their music. the episode we watched was "great plains". we were worried that we wouldn't learn much without the narration, but that was not the case. i'm actually pretty sure that i now have a more visceral understanding of the animals stories that were being told. i remember at one point even marveling at the life cycle of plant life as we watched their cool time lapse footage. this episode was magical. it featured these cool bird formations that occur during migration, plus this really tense and dramatic story of these vicious geese-like birds trying to protect their eggs and baby chicks from this snarky shiba inu-like fox that appeared to be hunting out of malice until you saw her little herd of hungry and adorable pups. i really didn't know who to root for. it got even more difficult as they began to juxtapose images of the two families. not to mention, this was the episode with the infamous elephant attack, where the crew set up infrared lights (which are invisible to the eye) and drove through the african night until they happened upon one of the largest tribes of lions. i nearly freaked out when they had a close-up of a giant mufasa roaring at the camera. these mean cats then end up bringing down an elephant and eating him alive. it was like gang wars.

+planning a picnic for this weekend. possibly here. and i may even make this for it. psyched.

+i know it's only thursday but:


+possibly going to try to make it to this at the tribeca film festival drive-in tomorrow night

hbo premiere!

trouble the water, a documentary i've been raving about wanting to see since last summer, is finally having it's television premiere on HBO tonight at 8:30pm.

paper heart

i love the idea of a perfect date being taking someone to applebee's and buying them wings.

spaghetti with sweet sausage sauce

tonight, on a whim, i prepared myself a surprisingly sweet and satisfying two-course dinner. and the best part about it was that i refused to marry myself to the specifics of recipes. now, this is the overwhelming quality of my cooking and the main reason why i could never successfully foray into pastry making. precise measurements of ingredients elude me. i much prefer eyeballing the inclusion of every item, plus a dash or two here of whatever other flavors i like.



after a trip to the grocery store for a bit of fresh produce, i decided to make a version of one of my, favorite salads. instead of radishes, however, i included a wedged heirloom tomato tossed with chopped basil, olive oil, a dash of sherry vinegar, and salt + pepper.



having also just acquired some sweet italian sausage, i recalled a recipe i had once seen on the jewels of new york that i fancied. although this recipe seemed easy enough, as i said, i wasn't in the mood to follow any specifics. instead, i adhered to the inclusion of a few key ingredients and combined them as i pleased. so i sauteed 1 1/2 sausages removed from their casings in olive oil. once they were cooked through, i added about 5 spoonfuls of my frozen tomato sauce, then poured in a dash of balsamic vinegar, a bit of merlot, and a sprig of chopped rosemary. i let this simmer for about 10 minutes while my spaghetti cooked. once the spaghetti was ready, i combined it with the sauce (avoiding using the reserved cooking liquid because i like my pasta sauce thick and clingy), and then topped my dish with grated parmesan cheese. i was completely surprised by how delicious this dish was, and how easy to make! it was sweet, meaty, and thick. and i didn't even have to add any additional seasoning! this dish is going to be one of my new favorites.

if you're up for a cooking adventure, then i suggest trying my whimsical cooking technique and make this pasta. be creative in your kitchen! free yourself from your cookbook!

planet earth

each time i watch planet earth, the image above catches me by surprise. do you know what that electro-neon black and turquoise object is? to me, it looks like an 80s clubbing relic. i would never imagine that in actuality, it is a bird of paradise, and that costume is an impressive mating tool it puts on occasionally.

*plus: check out the most awesome shot the bbc has ever aspired to!!



**p.s. - later i may try turning down the volume + screening my planet earth disc along with some sigur ros tunes...

a list for summer

found in the sunday magazine

if in my silly realm of existence there existed a list titled something along the lines of "it would make me oh-so-happy to do these things over the summer", then the activity of this picture plummets to the top of the list. past other purported pleasures like "eating lobster in maine" + "riding a bike through brooklyn without my boyfriend jogging alongside me for safety". so... i really hope that someone takes me there (AHEM!excusemeblessyouthankyou.)

packed saturday

despite an early start this morning (7:30 am!) for a brief business-like sojourn into long island, i managed to have a very pleasant day. after awaking on the train already in penn station, a miraculously mild afternoon was waiting for me here in williamsburg. i read the newspaper on a grassy knoll at grand ferry park, browsed the a.p.c. surplus store, visited the girls at spacecraft and unloaded some items for their clothing swap. then i met up with my friends luke & sean for some late afternoon margaritas and guaco locos. we then popped in to a bunch of shops including whisk, about glamour, and sprout, where i bought a new plant called a creeping charlie.

now i'm preparing for my first stay-at-home night this week, falling into the cushions of my couch and counting down the minutes til hbo's grey gardens.

the holtzbergs

this article about the orthodox jewish couple that was killed in last november's mumbai terrorist attacks, had me mesmerized on the subway the other evening. i actually arrived at my stop and stood on the platform savoring every last word of the piece while choking back tears. i found myself very moved and still thinking about what i read. i hope you'll take a look.

turkish pillows

in love with these turkish pillows. can't wait until i get a new bench to put them all on!

2 reasons why i need a puppy:

sweet treats in brooklyn

just came home from a birthday bash in the other brooklyn. had a nice, germanic comfort food dinner at cafe steinhof and then ate way too many of my favorite delicious treat: cake bites made by my friends behind the up-and-coming baking sensation, fanny & jane. they made the cake above for the birthday boy: a three-layer red velvet cake with cream cheese icing, topped with chocolate covered cake bits. in case you're wondering, i ate so many of these marvels that i eventually noticed i had been sneaking them in a measly attempt to disguise my gluttony. i'm fat as ever right now.

bruni makes me laugh

this afternoon, i sat down for a coffee and happened upon a discarded newspaper with today's dining section sitting on top. i found this remarkably playful restaurant review by frank bruni and, though i know nothing about the place, really enjoyed this journalistic silly-ness. read.

topshop

i finally made it to topshop on a lazy, carefree friday afternoon. after braving the outdoor line, slowly scouring 3 floors of items, and then creeping my way through the dressing room line, i don't plan on going back any time soon. luckily, i picked up these fresh dresses during my visit to satiate my spring shopping cravings.

dvf

gorgeous photo of a young diane von furstenberg from this week's ny mag.

supper clubs

have been very interested in the prospect of supper clubs, lately. recent research has yielded some savvy brooklyn incarnations on this theme, which wikipedia describes as an american establishment usually located on the edge of town, which serves as a "destination" that patrons could spend an entire evening at.

in my neighborhood, there's a residential loft-based group called the whisk & ladle. check out their website and scope their fantastic sounding menus. they serve up prix-fix 5-course meals with wine pairings, preceded by curious-sounding cocktail hours.

i would love to go in on this sort of venture in a recession-themed way, keeping the food creative and its costs as low as as well as providing some sort of entertainment factor... dinner theater maybe? a projected post-meal movie?

i'd love to know about more established supper clubs. if anyone has the word, please pass it on...

summer selections

peep my newly published ebay listings--the summer selections edition!

spread the word + buy my clothes!

+kate moss for TOPSHOP summer mini dress
+3.1 phillip lim crochet and silk hippie summer dress
+vintage hippie white lacy summer dress
+vintage babydoll floral sundress

stay tuned... more listing tonight and this week!

these are a few of my favorite things...

jess put me on to a fun little event happening over in the subterranean den at bushwick's northeast kingdom: a 10pm screening of two episodes of twin peaks! those of you who know me will remember that i love love love this show. i own the entire series and once spent an entire winter watching back-to-back episodes of this creepy show. so, i know where i'll be this monday evening. i mean, how can i resist? they're also offering free donuts. woops. i forgot to tell you that part. and those of you who know me should know how much i love love love doughnuts.


the den at northeast kingdom

juana molina

recently heard some good, rhythmic tunes by the eclectic & folky argentinian songstress juana molina.

juana molina - los hongos de marosa
juana molina - un dia

found on diddy wah

eggs n toast

breakfast in bed + job hunting...

seeking arrangements

articles like this one, in this weekend's new york times' sunday magazine, make me incredibly grateful for the outlook i have on love and romantic relationships, which i previously thought was of the norm. the article is about the website seeking arrangement, which matches sugar babies (young, good-looking women in need of financial support) with sugar daddies (older, more-than-often unhappily married men with money to spare). in exchange for maintaining contact with these men, establishing relationships with them, and occasionally partaking in sexual relations, the sugar babies receive a stipend from their sugar daddies. hmmm... the article provides a legitimate clause by which these arrangements evade legislature against prostitution. still, i can't help but find myself perplexed and infuriated by articles like this. i guess i can just be glad to have such faith and strength in my own values.

notorious b.i.g. remixed

jammin to this for some time now.

notorious b.i.g. & ratatat - dead wrong

we own the sky

when the girls and i were cooking all day thursday, we listened to the newest m83 album twice!

m83 - we own the sky

a big seder

successfully accomplished a large seder last night. this was my first passover meal executed with friends, no blood-relatives. am exhausted from 2 days of cooking and hours of standing on my feet in the kitchen, so this is all you're gonna get.

we made:

+mini passover seder plates, that included an apple + asian pear haroseth and a parsley salad with lemon-tahini dressing.
+matzo ball soup
+beef brisket with merlot + prunes
+pan-roasted chicken with madeira sauce
+roasted baby carrots
+salt-crusted beets with horseradish creme fraiche
+green peas with bacon and shallots
+horseradish mashed potatoes with caramelized onions
+chocolate covered strawberries


me with dan barber's recipe for salt-crusted beets!

picnic

lovely photographs by hiroyo kaneko found on tornados in brooklyn.

poke her face

my boyfriend thinks i know nothing about the new kid cudi track.

he's wrong. kid cudi - poke her face (feat. kanye & common)

i'm ill in bed...

...drooling over betsey johnson's "vintage collection".

maque choux

i made a special dinner last night that i had been looking forward to since i found it in saveur. it reminded me of the eula may shrimp gumbo i made awhile back. it's very satisfying succeeding at new recipes, especially since i know so little about this kind of creole cuisine.

find it here.