back to school

in spite of the fact that i'm the worst blogger in the world, i've decided to start with no mea culpas this time, guys, just a "i'm glad to be back" and an "i hope that i get to post often this coming fall." both of which are true.

speaking of this fall, a lot is changing for me. although i'm still at the george washington university, now it's as a phd student, which means that now i have students, which means that now i have to dress like a grown-up. priority one? ditching my backpack (which is mostly held together by staples anyway. fact) for a cute messenger bag. i'm hopefully going to start saving for this one from moop, but in the meantime, i quite like this one from target, which is 14% of the price. target for the win!

also, we're moving to a 380 squre foot apartment in dc. i'm hoping to put together a green living/living in a tiny apartment post soon.

i hope your summer was lovely, and that your fall is full of adventures and pretty things. cheers, loves.

1. this stripey dress 
2. my trusty new york public library student planner (note: this is the only planner i will ever use for the rest of my life)
3. this mossimo bag 
4. the tempest (for the shakespeare and film class i'm ta-ing)
5. this ikea lamp (to make my office suck a little less)
6. this rabbit notebook
7. these fake glasses, because i can't help myself

cookie cookie cookie starts with "p"

hi folks! happy new year. i know the holidays are technically "over" (does anyone else think unnecessary scare quotes are hilarious, by the way?), but my craving for holiday goodies is not, so i thought i'd share my favorite cookie recipe. they're called pfeffernusse, they're swedish, they're hard and peppery, and i always have the ingredients for them. win.

important note: this recipe has been (barely) adapted from this cookbook, which i love. 

ingredients
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (i'm making these today, and i'm going to use whole wheat flour, since i ran out of all-purpose. i'll let you know how it goes)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
8 tbs butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (the recipe calls for light, but i always use medium)
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp finely chopped orange zest (sometime i skip this when i don't have any oranges, but it's definitely better with it)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

directions
1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees. line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a sil-pat.
2. in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and pepper.
3. in a large bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar. beat on medium speed until well blended.
4. add the honey, egg yolk, and zest. mix until well blended. add the flour mixture. mix on low speed until blended.
5. At this point, i would chill the dough in the fridge for half an hour or so. i've found that this recipe works better when the dough is cold.
6. once chilled, place small balls of dough on the cookie sheet (the cookbook calls for a mini ice cream scoop, which would probably work great. i usually use a tablespoon). leave about 2 inches between each one. press gently on each ball to flatten it slightly.
7. bake until the edges are light brown, about 14 minutes. put the cookies on a cooling rack, and sift powdered sugar over the cookies.

these are suuuuuper good dunked in hot chocolate or tea. happy (extended) holidays!

four holiday albums i need right now

 

 she and him. fact: i liked this band before "new girl." 

(more potentially embarrassing fact: i also like "new girl"). 

world christmas. apparently, this cd is fantastic. i believe it.  

the muppets may be the single greatest thing they've ever done, and the muppet christmas carol is my favorite christmas movie (anybody see the new film yet?). i would listen to this all the time. 

pink martini's joy to the world album. actually, i already own this. and it's awesome. 

what's your favorite christmas/holiday cd? (true story: i'm pretty intrigued by this hanukkah album). 

also, do you listen to holiday music before thanksgiving, or do you wait? cheers, loves! 

my cherry amour poll!

hullo loves.

i'm taking an extremely quick break from endless, endless studying to ask what (to my addled grad school brain) suddenly seems like a very important question: 

foxes or owls? 

i ask because i feel like both woodland creatures are having a moment right now. so which do you prefer, and why? i have very strong opinions on this, by the way, which i'll share in a later post. that is all. cheers, loves.  

i can't afford it friday

i can't afford it friday is back with something i've been wanting for a looong time. friends, i give you: the home stylings of thomas paul.

these pictures were actually really hard to get, so i only added three. i highly recommend you check out his website to drool over the rest. i especially like the melamine, scarves and accessories, and pillows and home sections. happy coveting. cheers, loves.

in memoriam

this post is lovingly dedicated to nerds everywhere. science nerds...

word nerds...

and nerdy nerds. 

rest in peace, steve. you made being a computer nerd oh-so-very cool. may the world be blessed with a bounteous supply of dweeby smart kids just like you, forever and ever, amen. 

p.s. i'm writing this on my mac. 

tote notes

friends, i bring sad tidings. my beloved and incredibly fabulous orange tote bag which i got at my step-brother's wedding has gone the way of all the earth. and since my only remaining powell's bag is stuffed full of rock climbing gear, it's time for a new tote. here are three etsy shops with promising options, all of which are $20 or less:

1. idiopix

i was sold on this shop when i saw the categories by which it was organized: anatomy, asian/orient, floral/birds, sealife/animal. etc. and yes, they make more than just octopi totes. i'm a sucker for the cephalopods. ba-doom ching.

2. squarepaisley design

fact 1: i will be referencing not one, but two different etsy shops with "paisley" in the title. fact 2: these totes are delightful. i particularly like the hedgehog. fact 3. this shop also makes insanely charming (and quite inexpensive) onesies, so friends-with-babies and friends-with-friends-with-babies, take note.

3. paisley magic

mustaches are awesomely silly. peacocks and giraffes are just plain awesome.

4. topshop bonus!

friends, i regret to say that this final tote is no longer in stock. however, i present it to you anyway because it is just that wonderful (and who knows... maybe it'll come back).

cheers, loves. happy toting.

ephemeral bad-assery

hullo loves! i've had this post in my back pocket for a while now, and I'm really excited to share. some of you have probably seen this already, since it's been making the internet rounds, but if you haven't, then you need to. the end.

so i do not have a tattoo. i expect that i will never get a tattoo. while i've seen some i really loved (for example, see maggie gyllenhal in stranger than fiction), i'm just not that interested in something that permanent.

my marriage excluded. obviously.

anyway, even though i'm not interested in a permanent tat (are we still calling them tats? were we ever calling them tats?), i have a deep, nostalgic affection for temporary tattoos; as a kid, nothing in my sweet little wholesome life felt more vaguely illicit. so i was thrilled when i followed a link to tattly, a shop that excusively offers what it has termed "designy temporary tattoos." the best part? they're super cheap, with $5 buying you a set of two delightfully quirky, often colorful, pieces of ephemeral bad-assery. in the words of my dear friend, kathayoon, "let's browse:"

i would put the camera on my shoulder blade.

octopus tramp stamp!

rocket man would go on my shoulder.

kitchen utensils obviously need to go on ankles and feet and other sharpish places.

delightful, yes? and no, by the way: i have not actually bought one of these yet. but when i do, it will probably be this guy, because i like the way it seems both vaguely sleazy and comfortingly bookish.

which one would you wear where?

cheers, loves.

mea culpa

dear amours, 

so, summer happened. and it was insane (due to my crazy job, which unfortunately i can't name because i'm paranoid and i really need them to give me a good recommendation). i hardly ever saw my spouse, or my cat, or anything except windowless rooms, reluctant students, and cranky parents. with a few exceptions, good times were had by none. all of which is just my way of saying that i'm sorry for my ridiculously long absence (although obviously kathayoon took good care of you). but now i'm BACK (from outer space) with lots of good stuff to share including, as my apology to you, a week of posts. a whole week! because i love you. and I'm sorry. so stay tuned, my friends. it's going to be great.

cheers, loves,

haylie

haylie's summer dreams

 kayaking and camping. 

 picnics and learning to can. 

 ginger beer and oh my, this strawberry cake.

fireflies and beach days.

cheers, loves, and happy summer. let the wild rumpus start.

doncha think?

llama font. let me tell you, amours: this is a good time had by all. and don't you think it's true, by the way? foxes and llamas. very in right now.

book candy

hullo there, amours. remember me? alas, finals approacheth, and with the added bonus of not only a heavy school load but a heavy work load, i've been running ragged for quite some time. in fact, the only reason i have time to write now is because i'm waiting on a book from the library's special collections. so here i am! i've missed you.

faithful readers will remember that, being a literature student, i appreciate a beautiful book cover. so i had to share these extraordinary embroidered (embroidered!!!) book covers by jillian tamaki. they're making the blog rounds, so you might have seen them before, but i thought i'd throw them up here just in case. the one of black beauty literally made me gasp.

may all books be pretty and lend themselves to easy essays. amen.

cheers, loves.

anywhere but here monday

it's absolutely freezing in dc on this sad, sad monday morning (unlike other places, like, say south africa!!!), and i'm feeling some serious wanderlust. although i have a rotating mental list a mile long of places i'd like to go, um, now, iceland is always in the top three. i'm either one-eighth or one-sixteenth icelandic (i forget), a heritage i'm super proud of (one time in undergrad i had an assignment that involved heritage, and when i told my professor that i was icelandic he said "of course you are!" it was awesome). iceland seems breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think? and if that isn't enough, it also has a 99% literacy rate. so it's mysterious, wild, and well-read. sold.

inspired by iceland video from here

fun fact: this song by emiliana torrini is my very. favorite. song. ever.

cheers, loves

spring chicken

whoa - with kathayoon gone to africa (lucky lucky duck!) i guess the blogging responsibilities have fallen to me. sorry i've been gone so much... grad school will get ya, it turns out. but today i have a new idea to run by you. did you ever play with barbies growing up? i was never much of a barbie girl myself. most of my barbie memories involve our rabbit, sadie joyce, ripping their hair out to make nests. i also vaguely remembering assembling them into a small community before stopping all over them a la godzilla. in fact, does anyone have barbie memories that aren't gruesome? or that might just be me. anyway, i digress. the point is, one of the few things i remember actually liking about barbie were all of the different jobs she did. pet doctor barbie!* doctor barbie! research scientist barbie! i admired her ability to try on so many different hats. actually, maybe that's not a good metaphor. i admired... her ability to explore so many different career options. i also admired her ability to walk, given her proportions and all.

so. here is my idea. remember my post about artist supplies? i had a really good time putting that together, and i think the reason was because it allowed me to be a little bit - deep breath - like artist barbie. so i think i'll make this a regular thing. and today being the first day of spring and all, i've decided to take the plunge. behold... chicken farmer barbie.**

keeping chickens by ashley english; barnheart shirt by jenna woginrich of cold antler farm (the original barnheart!); swedish flower hens from greenfire farms; beater jeans from your bottom drawer; heirloom seeds from terrain; tall hunter boots in merlot. oh hunter boots: when oh when will you be mine?

what are your fantasy careers?***


*veterinarian barbie was a little much, i guess.
**i need to come up with a better name for this feature. thoughts?
***that sounds a little racy... but you know what? bring it on.

hope

i find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. i do not judge the universe. 

-dalai lama

dearest cherry amours, i hope you and everyone you love are safe. it's a small world, after all. cheers, loves. 

ebert says you can draw, and so do i

many of you probably already know how admiring i am of roger ebert. he's part of the reason i'm at grad school - i fell in love with criticism through watching his show as a kid (how that translated to literature is a different question for a different day). i read all of his reviews as well as his blog, and i was recently touched and inspired by a post called you can draw, and probably better than i can. "everyone can draw until we are told or convince ourselves that we cannot," he writes. we start out drawing everything we can see until the day comes when it is pointed out that our drawing of a dog, for instance, looks nothing like a dog. Then we begin to believe we cannot draw." his point isn't that we can all draw realistically and accurately, but that that needn't be the goal. instead, here is what he suggests:

begin with a proper sketch book. finish each drawing you begin, and keep every drawing you finish. no erasing, no ripping out a page, no covering a page with angry scribbles. what you draw is an invaluable and unique representation of how you saw at that moment in that place according to your abilities. that's all we want. we already know what a dog looks like.

i find this incredibly inspiring and have been thinking about it a lot over the past few days. i love to draw (although i lack any and all representational abilities), and i should do it more. on the hunch that maybe you do, too, i've gathered us some supplies.

1. artist's scarf. because cold necks stifle creativity
2. derwent graphic pencils
3. pencil pouch
4. moleskine sketchbook
5. (french) seagull tote for carting your supplies to all of the lovely and interesting places you want to draw
6. Inspiration by the immortal quentin blake (plus klutz books!)
7. watercolor sketchbook kit for when you're feeling especially inspired

go forth and create (and leave the eraser at home). cheers, loves.

a totally non-academic reading list

whoa, folks. it's gotten busy around here (i can't speak for kat, of course, but i bet it's busy in palo alto, too). between papers, presentations, an unfortunately timed cold, and two upcoming conferences, i'm barely managing to do the reading for my classes. i certainly haven't been diving into any of the following, all of which have been on my list for a long time. le sigh. read them for me and tell me how they are, ok?

*packing for mars by the insanely wonderful mary roach.
*the botany of desire by the also crazily wonderful michael pollan
*i know i am, but what are you? by samantha bee (of the daily show)
*the bucolic plague by john kilmer purcell.

*note: all links provided by powells. support independently owned businesses!
*second note: for mary roach's daily show interview, go here. and be advised: this is probably my favorite thing ever.

cheers, loves.

comfort tuesday

hullo loves. like everyone else in the country, i have succumbed. i'm sick. i know it's been a while since you've heard from us, so i thought i'd quickly throw together my four favorite things for sick, rainy tuesdays. 

1. capri blue volcano candle, currently burning next to me. the description cracks me up: tropical fruits, sugared oranges, lemons, and limes, redolent with lightly exotic mountain greens. hilarious. 
2. yogi tea; egyptian licorice blend. totally sweet. totally delicious. it probably also has a hilariously overwrought description but i'm too lazy to get the box. maybe later. 
3. stranger than fiction. my favorite film in the history of ever. really. wonderful for everyone, but especially delightful for literary-types. 
4. warm and fuzzy blankets. i've got my eye on these pretties from mexchic.
5. (bonus) my cat, creature, on my lap.


what comforts you when you're sick? feel better, america. 


cheers, loves.