What the...?

Last night I dreamt that I was really upset with Alex. He told me he'd met a girl named Cate and she'd been emailing him some artwork she did. And that she was his GIRLFRIEND. I flipped my lid and started screaming, why do you need another one when you already have me?!?! Then I was with Chris and Patty yelling my head off about it and Patty was going to take me out. Except I'd been making a layered rainbow Jello dessert - why?? And Chris and Alex were eating it before it was finished. Chris was in a wheelchair. (Wasn't there a character in Friday named Little Chris? In a wheelchair? Or was it Boyz n the Hood?) There was some weird dog-wolf creature in the hallway and I had to use the bathroom, I'd catch up with them downstairs. There was howling everywhere. I couldn't part my hair - it kept coming out all crooked. I had Alex's laptop, and I looked at his files and found a folder labeled "Cate" that had all kinds of comic book-looking drawings and sketches. Cubist, shaded characters that looked like The Thing.

I DON'T KNOW.

When we woke up this morning I asked Alex, "Do you know anyone named Cate?" "No?" (very groggily).

I'm going to make a layered Jello casserole.

Today...

This is a fun idea I got from a blog I follow called Chez Larsson, written by Benita in Sweden. It's mostly about home improvement. She worked for Ikea for a long time and still carries some of the sensibilities of clean Swedish design throughout her home. I go there when I need inspiration on how to live simply. Great photos and ideas.

Today...

Outside my window... overcast and gray - hard to believe it is summer :( Also hard to believe the summer is almost over!

I am thinking... about lunch. I am starving. And about what to do with my last summer Friday.

I am thankful for... my great boyfriend who is handy around the apartment.

From the kitchen... my lunch I packed this morning - meatballs, rice, pickled jalapenos and a salad with mango and radish.

I am wearing... Black Marimekko giraffe-print dress, black belt, blue 80%20 wedge sneakers, lime green striped cardigan.

I am creating... nothing at work. But at home, working on a knit bag and some new jewelry.

I am going... to watch 500 Days of Summer tonight with Ryan. Hopefully.

I'm reading... Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.

I am hoping... it rains early.

I am hearing... clacketa clacketa clacketa.

Around the house... we are about halfway done with renovating and decorating. But still need: dining table, a bench, 3 chairs. And also, to decide on a color for our kitchen.

One of my favorite things... eating something comforting on a day like this - maybe I will stop at that blasted cupcake truck.

A few plans for the rest of the week... a graduation party tomorrow night at one of my favorite bars The Dove; visit the bead store to see about supplies; Brooklyn Flea on Saturday.

A picture to share...

Lunch! I'm so excited to eat.

A dilemma in the kitchen

Home improvement is going really well thanks to Alex. He painted the master bath and re-grouted the tiles along the edge of the tub and also painted the mirror and light fixture so they look fresh and clean. This weekend he worked on the kitchen. This is what I'm working on now. Originally I wanted kind of a southwestern theme but I didn't the typical adobe-mustard-turquoise color palette. Plus, we are thinking of painting the kitchen a bright tomato red...

Here are some ideas I got from the Color Hunter, which is a great sight for searching color palettes based on key words and photos from Flickr.

The Painted Desert - I love the red but this is too typical of a color scheme.

This one's called the Flickr Express. The dark color on the left is a deep forest green.

I like this one, called Diorama but the colors might be a little too muted. I picked this one because I was also considering painting the kitchen a jade green at one point.

This is Bryce Canyon - I think this is what I will end up going with. The blues flow nicely into orange and brick red. It's a little too Burnt Sienna for me though so I might choose a red that is closer to red-orange.

Out with a bang

Saturday at the Flea

Knobs from Olde Good Things


Asiadogs

Smooth Move at littlefield

Brent & Alex


Some of the crew at littlefield

Sunday in Williamsburg

A giant air puppet against the clouds


The Converse wall - design your own with Sharpies

Obsessions 2

Watermelon tourmaline. It looks like one of my other favorite stones, agate.

From Minerals.net: Tourmaline is the most varicolored of all gemstones. Scientifically, tourmaline is not a single mineral, but a group of minerals related in physical and chemical properties. The mineral elbaite is a member of the tourmaline group responsible for almost all the gem varieties. Three other members of the group -- dravite, schorl, and liddicoatite, are seldom used as gems. Dravite is brown in color, and is rarely transparent enough to be used as a gem. However, transparent stones, when found, are often cut as gems. They can be heat-treated to lighten their dark color. Schorl, which is dark gray to black, was once used in mourning jewelry, but does not have any gem use anymore. Liddicoatite is too rare to be used extensively, although its popularity as a gemstone is increasing.

From Crystalcure.com: The watermelon tourmaline is a rare variety that displays three different colors in the same crystal - green (the skin of the watermelon), pink (the sweet fruit) and white (the rind). As in the gem stone ametrine, the colors of the watermelon tourmaline occur 100% naturally. This is a rare occurence in nature.

It's pretty expensive, even on eBay and Etsy. I'm looking to incorporate both stones into some new jewelry so stay tuned!

My friend Seanpatrick has very graciously offered to sell some of my jewelry at a music festival he's going to in September. So if you're headed to moe.down look out for him - he'll be the big friendly guy hawking my wares.

Tiny Vessels, and not the DCFC song

Early American tripod bowl from VintageHomeRecycled on Etsy. The cutest candy bowl ever.

Wonderful handblown splash vase flaked in 24K gold. Splash-shlager? By JessieCGlass on Etsy.

Adorable set of vintage egg cups by polkadotHOME on Etsy. I might actually use these but they'd be so cute on a windowsill.

Set of Fire King glass custard cups from marianneclare on Etsy. So cute as prep bowls or to set pudding/panna cotta in.

Best for last - Koubi cups by ceramikb on Etsy. Earthy yet graceful - you can feel this already warming in your hand, no?

Drown

I've been real down lately and some really messed up caca has been happening to me in my life including, but not limited to, coming home late one night and having a piece of broken cement hurled at me from a passing car; being knocked into left & right on the train. And not the normal jostling that occurs but straight up train screeches, moron not holding onto anything body slams me into a pole and stomps my feet. Also woman with clodhoppers who stomps my bare ass toes. And the numerous morons with big bags who, as soon as they board the train, forget they have said bags and end up knocking everyone around them in the face. Things at work have also come to a head. Backed into a corner, teeth bared. Yeah. So here are some happy photos:

My new shoes by F-Troupe. On sale for half off - very tempted to get another pair in grey suede/red patent leather. They are so comfortable and easy to wear! I love saddle shoes. They take me back to the time where I had to wear a plaid uniform to school.

Yesterday was a difficult day so I got some red wine and spent the evening with Lloyd & Diane. Works every time. Jack & Diane are fun too but not as much.

My tea shelf inside my new cabinet from Ikea. I built the damn thing by myself. I'm glad I found uses for the tins that are too pretty to throw away... The big mugs are from Gleena, which I won on a blog giveaway. You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be purchasing some to add to my collection!

On Sunday we went to Long Beach in celebration of Christine's birthday. Sun, sand and friends. I didn't want to leave.

Especially with this cute little thing next to us. Check the under arm fat! Baby mohawks are the best. Seriously.

If she was mine I'd name her Isabelle. Such a great classic car and look at the red interior! Perfect for cruising.

Zany art by Bortusk Leer in DUMBO

Here, there, everywhere

I'd been searching for Bensimon sneakers for a long time before spying them a couple of weeks ago at Madewell in Soho. Nothing Stateside was available, and especially not in the colors or styles I wanted.

A week later, everyone is crowing about it, from NY Mag to Brooklyn Based. They're available at Jumelle, Madewell, Tani & Free People right now. Madewell appears to have the best choices - slip ons in pink, yellow (what I got), green, blue. Maryjanes in gray. Laceups in orange. And more - check it out!

If you're not in NYC, Shopbop has them on sale for $38 & change right here - lace ups in purple or wine. Also, check Martin & Osa.

Mudstuff on Etsy

Siamese Mouse

Rhino Baby

Little Mouse/Tiny Mouse

Good Times/Bad Times Baby

Mudstuff was featured on Etsy's front page today. Honestly - if it weren't for the "Handpicked Items" I wouldn't be able to find half of the awesome shit I've seen. These little sculptures are all made of concrete and then stained by MUD in Seattle, WA.

Slightly creepy - I love every piece, especially the rhino baby and Siamese mice.

Oh damn...

Look what I found!

Awesome vintage racehorse toys from BROOKLYNrehab on Etsy. Remind me of those arcade games at carnivals and country fairs where you roll rubber balls into holes to make the horses bob towards the finish line...


Porcelain nuts and a trio of mini forest animals by kg + ab on Etsy. And also sometimes at the Brooklyn Flea! I love that these are completely white. They stand out. I especially love the little fox, with his tail sticking up!



Loch Ness monster on wheels, a heart factory, a cloud factory. By PearsonMaron on Etsy.

Son of a bitch!

These adorable miniature ceramic houses are made by thelittelreddoor on Etsy. I think I need a little row of these on my bookshelf, no? Totes precious against a golden yellow. Yes, I think so. Now to find mini ceramic animals.

Obsessions 1

I haven't been on Shopstyle in a while but I just created this collection of shades.

Scenes from a day off

Scenes from a new apartment

Closeup of our bookshelf that lines the living room wall, newly painted Golden Orchards. The books are all by Aaron Cometbus, introduced to me by RL a few years ago. I'm most grateful for this discovery as he's become one of my favorite writers and heroes.

The horrible Pepto Bismol master bath, newly painted by Alex. The color is Poolside Blue - it's actually a little darker and it's the perfect shade of aqua, inspired by Miss Deb's post over here. See the #5 photo.

Our new occasional table purchased today at the Brooklyn Flea from La Mesa Grande of Scranton, PA. We saw the table last week when the Flea was nearly empty... But we didn't buy it then because were indecisive about it. A week to think about it is long enough - he still had it and even offered to put a shelf on it for the baskets! I found these old berry baskets at King's County Salvage, who are usually in the sand pit - they're a little dirty and stained with berry juice but I love them! They're perfect for the table and good for putting keys, wallets, etc into them. And one of them is great for putting all our NYC subway/bus/bike maps into. The table is made from antique barn wood and he will make you a custom piece if you can't find what you're looking for. Some great farm tables, cabinets and chairs. It's good karma wood!