The Secret Correlation Between Plants and Adulthood

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love my apartment more than anything. The Williamsburg location, the four story walk up (jokes) and my wonderfully talented roommate. But lately I've been feeling as though I'm missing some key element that will take my apartment from pleasant to sophisticated, and yesterday I realized the answer: plants. 

Now that I've landed a J-O-B (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), having living things in your apartment feels like a natural transition into the next stage of proving that you are a responsible adult capable of taking care of others. Plants will eventually be replaced by an animal of sorts (chinchilla? sugar glider? a cheetoh?) and then, finally, fingerscrossedIgetmarried, small humans. But for now house plants will have to do. 

We must take baby steps when entering new phases of life, however, and I'm not sure I'm quite ready for the challenge of watering plants per se, so I've contently settled on some adorable succulents (read: can survive in the desert). Ariella bought me the most beautiful terrarium for Christmas from a local store called Sprout, so I took a trip down to Grand Street (they also have a Chicago location!) because yesterday was perfect plant-buying weather. I would highly recommend Sprout's extensive selection of make-your-own terrarium ingredients (plastic dinosaurs included), floral arrangements and abundance of moss. I settled on three little fleshy Echeverias (only $3.50 each! BUY ALL THE ECHEVERIAS!) and re-potted them into some Anthropologie glass jars I had lying about (below).

 I put them on the windowsill next to my bed, and this morning the sunlight was streaming in and I felt very positive about life.  I must say, it was the loveliest sight to wake up to. So do yourself a favor today, and go buys some succulents. xx

BYOB(runch)

This post is about brunch. "Brunching" is a thing I did not do enough in college (the amount of mornings I wasn't eating at Half and Half or Winslow's is my biggest regret in life) and I still don't do enough of today. The concept of sleeping in on a lazy Sunday and then rolling up with friends to New York's hottest restaurant to discuss the previous night's cacophony over mimosas and pancakes for hours sounds like all I've ever wanted in life. But when it comes down to it, it takes quite a bit of organization and, more importantly, MONEY. Adding brunch to your list of hobbies and activities can set you back a significant amount each week. So it's something I'm going to aspire to.

 In conclusion, I am job-searching so that I can brunch.

As a solution, I found a temporary substitute: The BYOB.

My good friends Jacob and Sarah were visiting NYC last weekend and obviously wanted to max out their socializing, but trying to meet up with 10 people for brunch in Williamsburg is like trying to get a reservation at the Dorsia in American Psycho. So Ariella and I had the genius decision to host the brunch at our apartment! However, we decide this the night before and didn't have enough time to shop for a full-out brunch. So to make it as easy as possible, we ended up doing a Bring Your Own Brunch. Instead of worrying about cooking for everyone or even bringing a dish large enough for everyone, you just worry about yourself! This is especially convenient when you have gluten-free (and fabulous) or vegetarian friends. Our BYOB still ended up being a little pot-luckish though because I have generous friends who are willing to pick up a dozen donuts and bagels and (my favorite, thanks Hillary!) macarons. It was a lovely get together and I would fully recommend the concept when you're feeling lazy or poor or selfish and don't want to share your food.

I promise Jacob and Steven are having more fun then they're letting on. 

I Wore This

Am I the only one who hates the abbreviation of Outfit of the Day? Whenever I see people hashtag #ootd on instagram I get a weird feeling because my immediate reaction is to try and sound it out and then I end up say "ooh-t-d" in my head and it's uncomfortable.

I digress. 

I often have these moments where I say to myself, "Hey, I kind of like my outfit today. And the world needs to know." But the idea of forcing my roommate to take glamour pics of me or, even worse, posing in front of my camera on a tripod in self-timer mode gives me amateur shivers. So I figured I'd do a more forgiving version of portraiture using watercolor of what I wore when I had people over for  brunch the other day (post to follow on that).

It was incredibly therapeutic and after having done hundreds of fashion illustrations for my major, it was kind of nice to get back into the grind, as rusty as I may be. I'm still deciding, though, if this is something I should do more often. Thoughts?  Also figured I'd go ahead and put some info on what exactly I have on although, not gonna lie, my life is all URBN all the time since I started working for Anthropologie (you can't really not use the discounts, you know?) so sorry for the lack of excitement in the labels on this one.

Necklace: Anthropologie

V-Neck: Anthropologie

Printed Harem Pants: Urban Outfitters

Chunky Platforms: Topshop

Bangles and Bracelets: Chan Luu and a lil sumin sumin I picked up in Uzbekistan.

Looking back, I got every single thing I'm wearing on sale (the Chan Luu I got at 60% off (!) at a great 2nd Street Boutique in Austin). Guess I'm just naturally thrifty. Also that Anthro V-Neck is the softest thing I own, I highly recommend it. 

peace out.

Gold Heads

As many of you know, I went to Wash U to pursue a sculpture major. I ended up switching to fashion because sculpture is something that, no matter what, I'll always be doing regardless of my job. Fashion, however, was something new to learn and would open many more doors than sculpture would. Since moving to New York, I've been searching for the right career path in fashion, but sculpture is something I've consistently kept up with. I rented some studio space in Brooklyn in a beautiful facility with a wonderful community, and I've been spending a lot of my free-time there. I've working on sculptures that are a smaller version of what I did in high school/college  because I just don't have the storage for any more 5 foot sculptures! The process of making these guys is a rather long-winded one, as I have to sculpt them, wait for them to dry, bisque fire them, apply the white glaze, fire them again, then wait until I have enough of them to fill the small kiln (which I have to rent out) to high-fire for the gold lacquer. So all in all it's taken several months to complete all of these.  

Being in studio is my happy place as I just sculpt while going back and forth between listening to NPR to catch up on world news and serious deep-thinking time. The only problem now is forcing myself out into the polar vortex to get there. I'm also trying to decide/figure out the whole "making money" thing as a sculptor- so let me know if you have any ideas! (There are a few more pictures over at my website)

 

How To: Chia Seed Pudding

Were you aware that Chia Seeds have three times the calcium of milk? Along with a healthy dose of omega 3 fatty acids, protein and a slew of other good-for-you things. Soooo the idea of turning this superfood into a "dessert" type substance intrigued me. Introducing the Chia See Pudding. The consistency and texture is a little gooey, so you're gonna have to be into that. Le Pain Quotidian had the most AMAZING chia seed and coconut pudding this summer that I could not get enough of. Here's a link to their recipe, if you're feeling a little more advanced and fancy. 

For the simplest of recipes, just combine the ingredients below and refridgerate the mixture over night and *voila!* you'll wake up to a delicious (and nutritious) snack.

Other flavors you can add and try: pear, ginger, almonds, honey, coconut, agave, raspberry- the list goes on and on. I just made a batch and added carob chips, so we will see how that goes. Bon appétit! 

Friday Night Tracks Yo

I've recently been listening to these songs on repeat and they're great to pump you up to be social and get out of the house on a Friday night and make friends and talk to people and not sit on the couch and read a book and drink tea (not that I have this issue myself... #secretlyintroverted) That said, two wonderful friends of mine, Jacob and Sarah, are visiting the city this weekend, so cheers to that!

Sam Smith. Money On My Mind.

Selina showed me this Brit. He's the voice on Disclosure's Latch and I think he has an eerily beautiful falsetto:

Twin Shadow. Old Love/New Love.

Okay, okay so apparently everyone already knows this song (looking at you Elise+ everyone else), but that doesn't mean it's any less good! Amiright?

Mapei. Don't Wait.

Not sure if this Stockholm-based girl is supposed to be "the next big thing" or not but she is awesome. (Also diggin' this Kingdom remix)

St. Lucia. All Eyes On You.

Why they don't have a music video for this baffles me.

        

Natalia Kills. Saturday Night.

Her eyebrows. That sequin dress. This is a nice angsty/teen-anthem guilty pleasure.

Foxes. Let Go for Tonight.

Similar to above. Mostly just a fresh of breath air because she's not Miley. I think these guys are on the rise. 

And last but OBVIOUSLY not least.

Beyoncé. Drunk in Love ft JAY Z.

I've watched this video everyday at the gym for the past two weeks. Great motivation. It just kills me how they're just like, "Yeah, we're married and we're amazing and we know it and all of you are jealous and you will never have this. Look how cool we are. " Bye.

Let's Compare Accents

I've often said that if I could have any super power, it would be the ability to speak any language. Can you imagine being able to travel the world and communicate with anyone wherever you were? This would come especially handy in Papua New Guinea. Why? (Fun fact alert) Because there are over 820 languages spoken there! That's why! And think of the savings you'd get from not being a ripped-off tourist! When I was traveling in Tibet a few summers ago, I would use my (sub-par) Mandarin to bargain with the vendors is Lhasa, "我是个穷学生。我没有钱！" (I'm a poor student. I have no money!) and they thought it was hilarious, this white girl with a terrible accent, and would give me excellent discounts. 非常好!

Any who, Amy Walker might have the next best thing. This woman can do just about any accent, from the subtitles within London, to the various states of the US. She flawlessly moves from one to another which blows my mind. This is coming from a girl who was raised by a British mother and a Texan father but can do neither accents (I think I've been neutralized.) However, I did play Cecily in a production of "The Importance of Being Ernest" and, for a brief period of time, I was told by several that I had the best accent in the cast. But I think that just happens when you eat that many crumpets and imbibe that much tea. And wear period costumes. 

 Impressed with Amy? Think you can do better? Show me your best Praha accent and I'll be the judge of that. 

Spotted on A Cup of Jo.