sugar pills

it was around the new year that my family spent a few days in manhattan. we stayed in a times square hotel, and i don't remember much of what we did, besides going to the nba store where o-town happened to be performing. it was the year 2000. though i do remember going to sephora/times square and my mom let me choose one beauty treat. my pick? a sparkly baby-blue eyeliner from hard candy. i still have it at my parent's house. actually, i have most of old beauty products. they [obviously] haven't been used in years, but i don't have the heart to throw them away. perfumes from bath & body works i bought when i was 12. five hard candy nail polishes, less their chunky rings that fit around the top, from when i was 13. a stila lip gloss quartet that my mom bought me during a trip to saks, age 14. et cetera. so all of this unusable makeup lying around, and a week of lolling around at my parent's house in connecticut, had me making some lemonade out of lemons. or pill cases from empty lip gloss pots from tenth grade. whatever.

i bought these two lip glosses [by sugar cosmetics!] when i was 15. i haven't seen this brand in ages, but at the time, its translucent fuchsia packaging always drew me in. i bought them both at sephora on a trip into the city with my mom, aunt and cousin kate. we went in to see broadway shows [rent! hairspray!] and i remember being absolutely astounded that sephora was open until midnight. new york! the city that never sleeps!
 

anyway, these probably expired nine years ago. so what's a girl to do? scoop out the gloss, give them a good wash and fill them with pills. their twist-off caps made this re-purposing a no-brainer. and it's certainly a more desirable alternative to the typical utilitarian options, no?

mor and mor

i couldn't just toss this mor candle in the garbage after it was finished. it was far too pretty with its perfect white glass and pretty metallic peacocks. i am a complete sucker for packaging (proof: i have four empty britney spears curious bottles in my apartment), so clearly this jar just needed a new purpose.

and voila, a new makeup brush holder, which has also inspired me to actually use my makeup brushes again. a win-win.

karma

and after several months of putting small treasures out on the ledge in the staircase, this is what i found this morning:

voila! a wooden crocodile.

charm and luck

i found a copy of daily front row at the bus stop and a heads-up penny today. lucky moi!

princess tam tam

the bedroom chandelier

in the royal plaza suite at the plaza

lady fingers

britt brought me back a set of fake nails from a goody bag she received from an event she went to last night. i applied them right away (obviously).

for as long as i can remember, i have kept my nails super short. long nails don't seem functional or really hygienic, but now that i'm sporting my fancy "everlasting french" manicure, i'm kind of into it (for the morning, at least - but i'm stuck with these for the next seven or so days).

and for the record, i don't think i've had a french manicure since 2005. a bit of nostalgia. perhaps i should also get a spray tan, apply fake eyelashes and throw on a hot pink juicy couture velour hoodie.

birthday cake

really, really impressed with myself and the giant cupcake-cake that i baked.

dear heart of mine

i've been getting a lot of spam in my office-email inbox lately. and really romantical spam, at that. here is a poem i've composed from their subject lines.

hi darling,
i know it when
you light up my heart,
beyond the stars.
irreplaceable.
i love you, sani
all you,
i love you.
the only one for me, owner of my heart.

voila.

color coded

bombshell

for years i searched for the one thing that i was really good at. i learned what it was a few months ago. i have a knack for cutting out fairly accurate silhouettes. and of all things, i'm really proud that this is my secret talent.

framed

above my bed was once a mirror, but it has since gone above my closet doors when i moved last month. i needed a change in this new apartment and then i needed something to fill the empty, white space.

strolling along on a saturday with friends, i spotted the most unusual picture frame at billy's antiques & props, an indoor/outdoor antique shop bursting with oddities on houston street. a frame that is violet, rose and cream; embroidered and with pom-poms. how bizarre and charming!

so i stapled a maroon and ivory fabric into the glassless frame.


and voila! just as i envisioned it, or even greater.

vermont literature

towards the end of our time living in vermont, annie received a book from the whimsical woman that owned a vintage store in burlington. this book came at just the right time for her, and as soon as she finished it, it vanished. completely. or she lost it, we were packing up a three story house. anyway, as she was reading it, synchronicity upon synchronicity appeared, as was the point of the book. manifest your heart’s desire by uvm sociology professor fred fengler and electrical engineer todd varnum. annie and i liked that one of the authors was an engineer. that adds to the appeal. this is a good supplemental book when beginning to look into the concept of bringing thoughts and ideas into your real and physical life. concept, evidence, confirmation. voila.

what i also like about this book are the unapologetic references to burlington. our beloved city market and church street are used freely. without any explanation as to what they are, for the people who have not had the pleasure of visiting. though people who are not familiar would have absolutely no issue getting passed these locations and could probably just guess that one is a popular street and the other is a grocery store. it just makes the book a bit more personal.

i brought this up with annie tonight. she said at the time of her reading this book in the city of subject, the burlington references didn't even phase her. she thought of them as rather standard. a localized book! a wonderful read, regardless if one has ever been to the magical city far up north.

i heart ny

i have been having a rather new york week.

wednesday, my friends and i braved the torrential rain to see the rockefeller tree lighting. of course, we didn't get there three hours before, as we should have if we actually wanted to see it being first lit, but we saw it eventually! nonetheless, we had an adventure, saw the saks fifth avenue window display and got a hot dog. holiday cheer was everywhere. christmas time in the city is the greatest. i wouldn't want to be anywhere else (except maybe at home in connecticut getting and decorating our christmas tree!)

the gorgeous tree came from connecticut and has over five miles of led lights decorating it.

the next night, my mom took emily and me to see wicked for emily's birthday. i had the slightest idea of what the musical was about and was happily surprised. emily has been singing ever since.

and if you wanted to know what the new 2010 new year glasses look like, voila!

but what will they do for 2011? it must take a year to figure that one out!

oh! and of course, there were chestnuts roasting on an "open fire" (on the side of the hot dog stand).

this weekend brought many lively adventures with new and dear friends and also hours upon hours of lounging around my apartment catching up on sleep. it ended with dinner, a movie and hot chocolate in lovely company. oh and buying santa suits. more on that another time.

the best cookies

if you are searching for a simple cookie recipe, look no further. these cookies are the best, by far. i could eat an entire plate of them. oatmeal and m&m.

who prefers a raisin to an m&m? not i.

oatmeal m&m cookies

mix together:

• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 2 eggs

then (slowly) mix in:

• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1.5 teaspoons of salt
• 2 cups of flour
• 3 cups of oatmeal
• 1.5 cups of m&ms (or more, if you please!)

bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

et voila! scrumptious.

the chandelier

i live above an antique shop on bedford street. actually, three of them. and in one these shops, there was the most exceptionally beautiful chandelier. i noticed it one of the first days i moved in. it was hanging right in the entrance of the store and, for anyone i ever walked past it with, i always pointed out its beauty. i loved, loved, loved it. then one day in june, the chandelier was gone and another was in its place. it was a sad day. though i knew i never could afford this chandelier any time soon (it was twice my rent), i always enjoyed looking at it's vintage-y elegance.

fast forward two months to last tuesday, i was walking past the shop, and in the very far back corner, there it was. it had not been sold. the store was just simply rearranged. so i went in, and as always with camera in hand, i asked to take some pictures for a "friend who was decorating her new apartment."

i was absolutely delighted just to see it again and told several friends the good news. emily looked at the pictures of it and said "why don't you just make that yourself?" and that was probably one of em's greatest ideas. i was so excited all week to come home to connecticut, where i had a very simple chandelier frame that i had from college. there is nothing better than a good craft project. i spent all weekend on it. it took three days, two trips to the craft store, one can of flat-white spray paint and almost 750 beads.

the frame:

many, many hours of beading:

and voila:

i also have the original glasses that go into the metal rings that will hold candles, and crystals that i inherited from my great aunt celia to hang from the frame. 

oh, i love a good diy.