May 16

Jealousy does not look good on you, P

BERNARD_BUFFET

My new thing is listening to language learning podcasts during the day. I think it’s more productive than that the same three songs from the Girls soundtrack on repeat, but that’s still TBD. I know it makes simultaneously composing sentences in English a lot more challenging, but luckily my actual work requires few written words. I’m on a French kick right now, so I thought I’d share some prints from French Artiste, Bernard Buffet. While a lot of pieces might have you thinking, “Dayum girl, you get that shit from the back of TJMaxx?,” some stuff is pretty dope. My favorite part of the Buffet story is Picasso supposedly forging a jealousy-driven campaign agains him (h/t Antiques Roadshow!). I believe it!

 

May 8

Cassandra Smith

Cassandra_Smith

You’re probably thinking, “I’m totally gonna hit up Michael’s this weekend and D.I.Y the shit out of these.” Before you risk exposure to polyester flowers and the people who arrange them compounded with an ultimate sense of failure, consider Etsy instead. Matte or shinny? Primer/no primer? Tape it or go freehand? All critical decisions waiting to go horribly wrong.

(hat tip: this Pin)

Apr 28

KAWS Limited-Edition Helmet

KAWS_Helmet2

 

I can’t for tell for certain whether or not this is cool. Still, the fear of a future affirmative decision met with the harsh realization of a sell out was enough to get myself in on the preorder. Actually… it does look pretty bad ass.

To promote bicycle safety, the New Museum Store and Safe Streets Fund have teamed up with the renowned artist KAWS to produce a limited-edition helmet. This custom Bern Watts helmet features KAWS’s signature Xs and eyes design. Produced in a limited edition of 500, the helmets are currently available as a pre-order with delivery in mid-June.

http://www.newmuseumstore.org/browse.cfm/kaws-limited-edition-helmet/4,5962.html

Apr 23

LAND

land_logos

I’m afraid I’m part of a target audience whose members lives are the complete opposite of rustic, outdoorsy, or southwestern yet, through the magic of delusion, have convinced themselves otherwise. I can’t help but find this filtered, washed out, throwback aesthetic unbearably appealing.

http://www.workbyland.com

Apr 20

#music

music2

#music seems like one of those things that’s awesome in concept, but proves not super-useful in practice. Maybe that’s because, for me, there’s a disconnect between artists I follow and the music I actually listen to. My choice to follow is based more on tweet content and personality. Additionally, at least in terms of Spotify integration, I don’t see any advantage over the existing Spotify Radio feature. Both services stream blocks of suggested music based on a particular artist. Spotify has the added ability to base these streams on a particular song or playlist and, in general, socially-driven recommendations seems more on-point. Still, I won’t be too quick to judge as this is a first release. I love the dropdown or swipe navigation option shown above, though perfecting this type of interaction on such a busy interface is a challenge. It’s tough avoid accidental taps or pull-downs when the intent is to swipe and Twitter has done a pretty decent job.

Apr 20

We Are Handsome

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Summer being so freaking hot is enough to deal with without before realizing that your cute daytime skirt didn’t transition well into an appropriate evening outfit and it’s length is now labeling you a total skank. What’s worse than deciding on length, layers, etc? Selecting a swimsuit that says I’m fun, fabulous, and on trend yet clean enough to share a drink with.

Since you can’t go wrong with any garment that incorporates horses running free, these picks will have you workin’ it at the next rooftop tanning session turned happy hour. All by We Are Handsome.

  1. The Motel Corset Bikini
  2. The Escape Fifties Style Bikini
  3. Gentle
  4. Mustang Scoop One-Piece

Mar 24

Champurrado Mexican Hot Chocolate

mexican_hot_chocolate

“It’s like Christmas in my mouth!”

I had this at a friend’s place a few weeks back and had to replicate it back home. My first attempt was a bit of a fail, but I totally nailed Round 2. The surprising ingredient here corn meal. It’s meant to give the hot chocolate a bit of a thicker gritty texture but, if not proportioned correctly, can turn the whole batch into a gross crap-colored pile of wet bread (ie. Round 1).

Chocolate Ingredients:

  • 2 discs of Abuelita Mexican Chocolate
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 big cinnamon stick
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 cups milk (preferably evaporated milk, but whole is fine)
  • 3/4 cup Maseca (corn flour for tortillas)

Marshmallow Topping Ingredients:
Taken from this recipe (thanks Pinterest!)

  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 Cup ordinary white sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Abuelita is a (delicious!) mixture of chocolate and cinnamon. They don’t carry the discs at every grocery store, but it’s worth shopping around. Start by placing 2 discs in a large pot with 2 cups of water. Even though the discs have a cinnamon flavor built-in, throw an actual cinnamon stick into the pot… just to bump it up. Stir the mixture continuously over medium heat until the discs are fully dissolved and the chocolate just starts to boil. Then, add 1 cup of milk, lower the heat, and give it a stir.

While you are waiting for the mixture to re-heat, prepare the corn flour component. Gradually add water to the Maseca until it forms a paste. Take the mixture in your hands an roll it into a ball about 2″ in diameter.

Once the pot starts to boil again, drop in the Maseca ball, add the second cup of milk and stir continuously until the mix starts to boil a third time.

Done! Now for the topping…

Place egg whites in a large heat-safe bowl. Place the bowl over smaller pot of steaming water. Dissolve sugar in the egg whites using a large whisk. Once the sugar is dissolved, beat with a hand mixer for one minute on Medium. Add the vanilla and continue beating on High until the consistency is thick like Marshmallow Fluff.  Give it a taste. You can add more vanilla if needed. Drop some onto the hot chocolate and you’re set!

Mar 9

Greatest Book Ever

“Because sometimes it’s better to have information search for you.”
~me


handy

I recommend picking up a copy of Handyman In Your Pocket. Go physical book to one to experience the super-thin, super-smooth pages. It’s like a dictionary from back in the day!

So here’s the deal. With content so curated to individual interests these days, you are pretty much screwed without this book. You will really never know what you don’t know. Do you know how to calculate wind chill? Didn’t think so. Do you know how to create a latte bear? Well, I’m not sure if that’s in there, but I was introduced to the book on a coffee run to West Elm Market where that bear apparently happened. Yea… now I feel pretty bad about getting the standard leaf design x3 visits, but they still make a pretty solid drink.