thick as thieves

thieves: skip back 5 days - read an article titled the translators of the one thousand and one nights, skip ahead - writing paper about the little mermaid who (rumor has it) has the genie's lamp from aladdin in her cave of treaure, aladdin: which had the sequel the king of thieves, skip ahead again to ipod on shuffle playing the avett brother's 4 thieves gone...

i could keep going. see, i may be going for my degree in literature, but i already have my phd in the science of rationalization. of course, i could always just use my dad's reasoning - "it's your birthday" which is what he said when i bought this particular hat on sunday. but dear oh dear, first (pre)ripped jeans and now a trucker hat...slippery slope, slippery slope into bro-ho-dom, a place i do not want to take up residence. but i do think that where you live influences the way you dress and how you look. take, for example, the time i lived in santa barbara and had the sudden impulse to be blonde...i call it the great hair disaster of 2006, and it is agreed upon by all that that was a rough patch. so i am calling the desire to own a mesh-back hat a combination of needing something to keep the sun off my face when i am at the beach (amongst other places) and the influence of a surf-town dress code. it helps that the brand is thieves and has nothing resembling a surfboard on it (as i don't surf...yet). and that it came from my favorite store in town, stripe, which always has the perfect combination of quirky, chic, vintage and modern goods. plus, nothing says "casual" like throwing on a baseball hat of some sort.

 

birthday weekend pt 2

this past weekend was amazing. i am truly grateful for all the birthday love and fun that was abundant in the air. like i said, it was filled with good food, long walks, and enjoying the company of e and my family. 

sunday started with donuts and coffee and many hours just wandering around the beach and cliffs watching the surfers and ended with homemade tacos, angel food cake with strawberries and mango sorbet while watching meryl streep when for best actress. the sun was out in full force which made the weekend even better, especially in light of the cold front that came on today.

 

birthday weekend pt1

the sun has been shining, the parents are here, massive amounts of food have been consumed, long walks have been taken and my cake for tomorrow night has been baked. on the agenda for the morning are donuts, coffee and a walk on the beach. i am happy, like a clam. in less than 2 hours i turn the quarter century mark.

 holy. fuck.

 

birthday dinner location - amazing amazing amazing

new fav pants + old fav moto-jacket + clog booties + creamsicle inspired shirt

 

fried artichoke hearts are little bites of heaven

calamari...nope, still can't do it but very delicious according to the consumers

come sail away with me

  all a girl could ever want, crab cakes and beer

 

twisted tree grove in nisene marks

 

found: 1 school mascot on bday weekend hike

 

absolute serenity (until others showed up)  

slip'd

i am rehaving a love affair with the vintages pieces in my closet. every once in a while i go through phases where they don't seem to leave the shelves and hangers for a bit but then i switch to the opposite end of the spectrum and they seem to work their way into my outfits daily. (hm, interesting that i am granting these clothes agency...) whatever...

with all the spring and summer clothes hitting the stores and the sun shining with full force (72 degress today), vintage slips have been on my mind. free people's blog has been flaunting their versions all over the place and they are gorgeous. i have had this one for awhile but it has always been a trick to work it into daytime appropriate wear. enter in a flannel shirt dress, that more closely resembles a night shirt, from urban a few years ago that i deem too short to wear sans tights or pants.

 

urban shirt dress, vintage slip, unknown platform sandals, lucky watch, arm collection of leather, beaded and mixed metal bangles, and one dirty back wall of my house

what's good?

90% over my cold and feeling so.much.better. it's amazing how much easier it is to type out a paper when you don't want to recreate that scene from pi when the guy drives the power drill into his temple... (dramatic much?) other exciting news - it's my birthday week!!! i have decided to put aside my (ir)rational fears of the quarter century mark and just treat this birthday as i would any other -- with an obnoxious countdown, lots of cake, and probably purchasing too many presents for myself (next up, new climbing shoes!).

and also, what's good is this -- the reason why thrifting wins my heart every time. behold, practically new, wide-leg, jbrand pants for a mere $6. went to the goodwill in hopes to find some jeans i could rip up and make into shorts (because the best ones were always originally pants) and instead came home with these. not that i am complaining at all! i paired it with one of my all-time favorite vintage jackets that i found in a thrift shop in ventura, i think the gold detailing on it is just absolutely, fantastically ridiculous.

 

 

 vintage jacket, uo tank (elephant love), vintage beaded collar, studded maryjanes and usual rings

sick day(z)

sorry for the absence of any revolutionary blogging as of this past week, my head and body have otherwise been occupied with a cold that has taken to liberty to migrate from my throat/chest to nose/head. it has taken hold of me and is stubbornly refusing to be beaten despite the chinese herbal/drug/emergen-c cocktails that i have been mixing. i sound like something akin to a moose being clobbered when i cough and this morning i was attempting all sorts of creative yoga desperate fetal positions with my temples strategically placed on my yoga blocks to relieve the pressure which is equal to a ton of bricks that has taken up residence behind my eyebrows and cheekbones.

being sick makes me nostalgic for sick days when one is a child. because as soon as you reach "grown-up" land, sick days cease to kick-ass and become just general pains in the ass. because you can't ever really have a "sick day" as an adult. there is just too much that has to be done. not to mention that day-time television is crap and there is no one to refill your ginger ale/sprite/tea nor bring you copious amounts of toast. mom - for all those years when you took care of me when i was sick, thank you. i truly didn't appreciate what i had then as i do now.

anywho, had to get out of the house today for something other than school or trips to cvs to get more cough medicine. so we took a walk around town and ended up at the boardwalk and wharf for some winter saturday crowds and people watching. tomorrow is the last "sick day" i am allotting myself - as of monday, regular programming must resume...

bring back the food!

so i realized that the last "baking" post was back during christmas...aka way too long ago. so today's post is brought to you by the overwhelming need to bake out some astronomy midterm frustration and the equally large desire to eat half a pan of lemon bars.

these are probably one of my top 5 favorite deserts ever! for me, you can't beat anything lemon. and i am a fan of adding in lemon juice until the taste is just the perfect level of tart.

 

 

recipe:

heat oven to 325

for the crust: 

blend 1 cup of butter (softened) with 2 cups flour, and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar

pat mixture into an ungreased pan of your choice and bake about 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown

for the lemon curd topping:

blend 4 eggs, 2 cups of sugar, 4 tbsp flour, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and 1 tbsp grated lemon
NOTE: i do a total of about 3/4 cup of lemon juice and about 7 tbsp of flour to achieve my desired level of lemon-ness and the extra flour to keep the consistency 

pour mixture over the crust and bake about 20 more minutes or until the lemon topping is firm (check with toothpick) 

maintenance

it is really great that my parent's only live 3 hours away from me, as opposed to the 6 hours or even out of state as has been in the past. it makes quick trips home for maintenance reasons like doctor's appointments so much easier and it is also really nice to be able to see them, if even for less than 24 hours. which is exactly what these past two days consisted of - driving up late, waking up early, appointments and then driving home. in between all that i had to fit in studying for an astronomy midterm that i have later today. thanks to the go-go-go-ness chaos of it, a lot got done: i went for a really early run in the (freezing) mountain morning air, free laundry machines were taken advantage of, two visits to my favorite coffee/bakery which resulted in me promising to bring a sample of my favorite sc coffee back to one of the owners for her to try, and most exciting of all (!!!) i got to meet with my tattoo guy and make an appointment to get my arm finished in the beginning of march!

running errands anywhere requires a level of comfort and ease that negates any need for fuss. hence, jeans, tank and boots - perfect for the uncannily warm february afternoon.

 

 

vintage 501's that i can't get enough of, press jersey vest, poof couture tank, o.n. booties, lucky watch, typical rings and current rotation of bracelets, uo glasses and essie geranium nail polish

 

properly wu'd

oh the chaos! oh the frenzy! the long lines, the nail-biting anticipation, the arriving before sunup to make sure that i would be guaranteed the product...
okay. no. not even close. i am talking about watsonville ca here (if by even the smallest chance someone from watsonville is reading this, you may be the one exception since i do talk about clothes a lot on here). and in watsonville ca, when you ask if the target is going to carry the limited edition jason wu line, the general answer is, "jason who?" followed up by, "let me call and ask our operator." which then goes something like this:
target employee: "(to operator on phone) hi, are we carrying the jason...(to me) who is it again?"
me: "wu, jason wu."
target employee: "wu. no, jason wu. he's a designer or something...? (to me) "when did it say target had it?"
me: "february 5th."
target employee: "(to operator) febuary 5th. mmmmhmmm. yeah... uh-huh..... yeah okay. (then to me) yeah, she doesn't know. she says you should call the 800 number."

anyway, the target in watsonville ended up carrying the jason wu line and yes, i fell prey to it.  despite me not rushing down there before the store opened (to meet a non-existing mass of consumers like myself), i was still able to snag the shirt i had my eye on. yes, i have been properly wu'd (how quaint seeing as it february).

 

 

and i do apologize for the bum shot. you see, i am just nearly over the moon about these pants. they are, in fact, the, pair of vintage 501's that i have been hunting for for such.a.long.time. naturally they would be at the vintage shop right across the street from where e works... right under my nose and all that jazz. they definitely warrant their own post (at least in my humble, blue jean lovin', opinion) but i had to preview them. 

lovin' (on a sunday)

the simple idea of balance really does elude me a good portion of the time. when i get absorbed in something (school) i tend to lose my grip on other parts of my life. i have a hard time switching back and forth and therefore, sometimes need the reminder of all the other lovely things around me. tunnel vision does not suit me well, yet it is exactly how i conduct my horizon line. so my goal for this week is to remember to stop going 100 mph, look around, enjoy the sun, my loved ones, and find a more conducive pace to tackle my to-do lists.

 

two essie colors that embody the spring/summer feel of the weather

 

a blurry (iphone fault) photo of me holding a sequin, knee length evening coat - found in my new favorite santa cruz treasure of a costume/vintage store: closet capers

sporting leopard loafers around campus :) 

 

i am absolutely in love with day planners and mine keeps me relatively sane!

belated christmas gift, zara scarf, from a dear friend (she was in ny and is now in ireland!!!) so our coffee date was brief but it was beyond amazing to see her

 

i am suddenly obsessed with these mickey mouse-esque glasses and thinking bday gift to self....barely holding myself back...(think: spend money on much more practical matters...like tattoos and spring training tickets...oh and new camera lenses...and vintage 501's....crap, im screwed).

also -  if you have any desire to spend more time with me, or become absorbed in something else for a few moments, head on over to my tumblr account and check out the photos i am pillaging from other amazing bloggers/sites/pinterest/ect. the link is on the top right where it says, "visit my tumblr!"