twenty six

at 11:52 we were finally finished cooking my pre-birthday dinner. we often eat late meals. tonight's menu featured my favorite at-home dish: bacon, cheddar [heart-shaped] waffles. ben used his gallon jug of maple syrup he bought on our last trip to vermont, i used aunt jemima. even after living in vermont for four years of college, i still couldn't develop a taste for the real thing. the heart wants what the heart wants. at 11:59 i ran from the table into ben's bedroom. i didn't want the stroke of midnight to happen in front of a plate of half-eaten breakfast food. he followed me with a butter lane cupcake with a green candle lit on top. i made my wish, and ben was anxious to give me my present. he said he had been for days. i read the sweet, sweet card and became overwhelmingly excited when my gift was in the form of a toy airplane. we're taking a euro trip! from mid-september into october. we'll be staying with his family in germany and will then drive around switzerland, italy and austria. 

ben woke up at seven. he had a photo shoot in the city. i was to spend the afternoon with wonderful friends and we'd meet for dinner at talde. his roommate sam had to work as well. alone in the apartment, i got out of bed around 11. i walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth. mid-brush, i heard a noise from the living room: a record was playing. the room felt warm and peaceful. it has nice light in the morning that heats up the space. so i poured myself coffee and enjoyed the tunes of andrew bird. it's a semi-automatic player, the arm will move when a user presses play. i figured there must be an alarm incorporated of some sort. no alarm, said ben. that never happened before, said sam.

strange but no explanation needed. it felt good. especially on the start of a birthday morning. 

summer sunset

shades of periwinkle, salmon and gold faded into one another on august 7, seen from prospect park. it was my favorite sunset of the summer. the colors morphed into a dark night sky as we listened to m. ward. we sat on my beach blanket and ate french fries.

vermont until sunday

au revoir. ben and i are off to vermont for the week to visit annie in burlington. 

violet

maybe i've been in new york too long, and am wildly in need of a vacation (true, and i leave for vermont tomorrow), but i've been totally lagging on noticing the lovely little occurrences that used to be so apparent. i'm beyond excited/desperate to spend some time in the green mountain state for a few days. anyway, i know it takes effort and it's easy to let things slide, so to kick things off, i tried to be more aware this weekend. this is what i came up with: 

mary brought me back an amethyst from charleston. i am so grateful and it made me ridiculously happy. when i went to cannes, i brought her back a blue seashell. i am pleased that we exchange treasure. mary gets it.

there is a stamp store a block away from my apartment. during annie's last visit to the city, we stopped in and she bought a swimming lady. i have a rose, which i did not buy from this store but i so appreciate having my own stamp. 

this was a painting that was on my street near a garbage can. it looks like a flying pig. i liked it, but not enough to hang in my apartment and nothing is worth the risk of bedbugs. i liked it enough to add to my blog tonight.

ali's homemade macarons for jenna's welcome-to-new-york party were divine. truly, they've rivaled any macaron i've ever had. and i am no amateur. they were baked with love.

here are the clothes that i am taking to vermont. i spent half of sunday packing for this trip. i am an ace packer, and i weirdly think it is adds into the fun of going away...

...but figuring out what makeup to bring is a different story. especially when i will probably go without for most of the trip. it is vermont, after all. essentials only. this is what i've decided on. it all looks pretty, no?

there you have it. a slew of things that were lovely. 

summer blues

last weekend seemed to be tinted blue. it was the combination of the summer sky with the icy shade of nars polish that has continuously been on my nails for the past few months. it was the blue floral top that i wore for days in a row because i didn't think to bring a change of clothes, mixed with my favorite guerlain by emilio pucci terracotta gloss in porto azzurro and that slushie from the bodega that i wanted to get after the park but forgot about until now. le sigh, these summer blues were anything but sad.

bueno

someone told me that today is the first day of summer.

blue beauty

last week, nars launched a line of nail color in collaboration with thakoon that was inspired by the designer's spring collection. the shades are strikingly pretty, but one hue stands out amongst the rest. kutki. i just know that this pretty powdery blue will be my summer go-to. and even though i have said this about three other summer shades so far, this really is the one. i swear. it's more vibrant than the typical sky blues that grace store shelves this time of year. it's warmer, richer. i like to think of it as the blue answer to the 2009 phenom of creamy green mint candy apple by essie, which 7/10 of my friends are wearing at any given moment.

rosey

i like to walk the length of my street from the east village to the west. even though i've lived in the west village before, and even though it's only a mile away from my apartment now, it seems like a world away. and so it makes for the perfect walk at night with ben. but last night we switched it up and walked east down my street to avenue d with the specific goal of seeing rats. rats love alphabet city and i love (seeing) rats. very new york. anyway, we saw three. it probably would have been more but we stopped paying attention.

ben waited on my stoop and i came downstairs wearing a navy sweatshirt, even though it must have been 90 degrees outside. i'm bad at gauging the temperature (especially if i am inside with an air conditioner) and i was immediately hot when i walked outside. anyway, he brought me the most beautiful pink rose and i carried it on our walk. it was romantical. i love when ben brings me flowers. i have every single one he has ever given to me. i should probably learn how to dry flowers properly because most look like sad, shriveled-up things. regardless.

the third night that ben and i saw each other, after we met in january, it was snowing and probably 10 degrees outside. we decided to just stay in my warm apartment and sing along to records, but i told him that he had to also bring a sweet treat with him. he came over with the best cookies in the entire world (tate's) which we both have a love for, and flowers. i knew he was the man for me. flowers on an ordinary night.

fro yo

a surprise 16 handles date is always welcomed. merci monsieur.

back from vermont

ben and i went to visit annie in vermont for the week. we got back to manhattan at midnight.

vermont was beautiful, as it always is, and we spent every day in the water. it was incredible to have a burlington summer, if only for a week.

summer beauty

remember how i said it'd be interesting to see how my makeup bag changes every season? well, i've pretty much done away with a beauty routine completely. it's hot. i don't want anything on my face. or spend any time worrying about what it looks like. especially in this hot city heat. it's probably dripping down my face anyhow.

so for now:

moisturizer SK-II skin signature moisturizing cream, every morning and night.

brows benefit brows a-go-go, i am terrified of skinny eyebrows.

lips MAC lipstick in snob; la mer lip balm

the piece de resistance eyelash extensions, they last a month or so.

i believe, as long as my skin looks good (the moisturizer is crucial) and my lashes are long, there really isn't a need for anything else. easy. simple. summer.

oh and before i leave the house:

fragrance guerlain shalimar parfum intial

jess

lucky for me, my office closes early on fridays during the summer. so i spent the afternoon packing away some old clothes, i drank tea, listened to grace potter and read lula (probably my sixth/seventh time reading this edition and reallyreallyreally excited for the new one to come out). i got to see the beautiful golden-sunset light up my bedroom. i am thankful for having tall ceilings and for having two windows and twice the sunlight.

and jess is here! i have such a love for her! we lived in the same dorm in college, i was a sophomore and she was a freshman. i would remember that the first time that i met jess was at a party. she was chatting up a storm about (none other than) designer jeans. annoying! but that wasn't the very first time we met, it was weeks before. the night that i met jess was when she heckled me on the first night of school. i was going out with my girlfriends and she was on someone's porch on pearl street. she is such a jerk! and then heckling became one of our favorite pastimes to do together. along with arts-and-crafting and honest chats over dominos kickers. she toted around a smoke-colored metallic juicy couture handbag everywhere she went and she also got a tattoo that year (that i don't think she'd would want me to tell on here what it is but, it's a crown and i always feel free to make fun of her for it.) and that's the joy of jess. she's the kind of friend that you can laugh with through any situation. you can be completely honest with her because that is how she is. she is probably the most honest person i know. for better of for worse but definitely for better.

and she is moving to manhattan! and on the hunt for an apartment near mine. happy weekend!

central park

a day in sheep meadow before the rain.

july 24, 2010

central park