♥ whatever you do, do it with gust-o.

the last time i curled my hair was my senior prom. i did it myself. 

and there may or may not have been tiny pink roses twined throughout

my blonde, yes, blonde, chinese head. ok, there was- but it was
only to match the roses on the back of the dress, duh!

since then, i have stayed away from the curling iron and this has led to the false assumption

that my fine asian hair will not hold a curl- until i was proven wrong tonight at my new

 favorite blow dry bar, gust-o, on newbury street in boston.



the lovelies at gust-o welcomed me in from the cold, wet street with open arms,
hot coffee, and a warm blow dryer. since i have very little hair to work with
(again!!!) i asked for something different- and that's exactly what i got!



i love the volume and the sassiness that they gave me- and i pray that
the rain and my pillow don't render me curl-less tomorrow morning-
we shall see!

 the atmosphere was fun and relaxed and the service was equally fabulous ;)
there are a handful of blow-out options and each of the bloggers who got
their hair done tonight had a prettier look than the last!

i would definitely recommend gust-o for your next hair-raising experience ;)

♥ the ability to make fun of oneself is a sign of great intellect.

i love being a blogger- but there are many occasions when i find myself completely frustrated
and totally unsatisfied with the way things are- in social media and real life as well.

when browsing through many of the so-called popular blogs or scanning through pinterest,
i often find that while there may be hundred & thousands of individual voices contributing
their thoughts and interests to the internet, daily- the singular type of girl we are all aspiring
to be is all the SAME damn type of girl ALL of the time. why???

do we all have to love anything and everything french?
  (even if we're not french?)
do we all have to want our initials plastered all over everything,
 especially if that something is chevron printed?
do we all have to love alexa chung's laid back style?
i mean, she's cute, but isn't there anyone else we can emulate??
or drink coffee and post pictures of said coffee every time we drink it?
doesn't it get cold while you spend all that time taking the picture?

is this a joke?
where's the individuality?
 


when i watched fashion film, a very short movie by matthew frost,
starring lizzy caplan (best known for her role as janice ian in mean girls!)
i laughed out loud at all of the truly ridiculous parodies that are made throughout.
  and while refinery 29 seems to think that miss lizzy is not playing a stereotype in
this short film (she totally is, by the way) but a trendsetter- artfully modeling
pretty pieces from vena cava's new diffusion line, viva vena!- i prefer to
laugh in the face of blogging, and march to the beat of my own drum.

♥ every dog has its day.

typically, i am more interested in seeing cats dressed as humans,

but the latest tumblr, menswear dog is pretty refreshing 

and disturbingly inspired. (hello ryan dog-sling)

♥ stewing over winter.

the snow has been falling-

-weekend after weekend-

 with no end in sight.

and while i have been grumbling and 

complaining to anyone who'll listen,

i think it best to share with you

 a hearty recipe that will help you forget 

(maybe for a second) how utterly cold &

 annoyingly inconvenient 

this winter has been.

chickpea stew with pesto

ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced

4 stalks of celery, thinly sliced

salt & pepper

5 sprigs of oregano (or a dash of dry oregano)

3 tablespoons of tomato paste

6 cups of vegetable broth

2 cans of chickpeas, drained & rinsed

3 thick slices of rustic bread, chopped up

1/4 cup of basil pesto, for serving

directions:

1) in a large pot, heat oil over medium high.

2) add onion and celery, season with salt & pepper, cook until golden 10 minutes.

3) add oregano and tomato paste and cook, stirring until fragrant, 1 minute.

4) stir in broth and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 

until onion is tender, 5 minutes.

5) add chickpeas and bread and simmer until thickened 6-8 minutes.

6) season with salt & pepper and serve topped with pesto.

7) take off your warm woolen mittens & enjoy!

♥ you give me fever.

there's nothing more handsome than a man in a floral bow tie.

exhibit A:  my husband.

which is why the new spring fever collection from

 forage haberdashery has my heart racing a bit.  ♥

♥ every woman wants to be glamorous and rock 'n' roll.

it has been a few years since i have fallen head over heels in love

with one of my favorite designer- diane von furstenberg's- runway shows.

like, really in love.

yes, i am quite capable of loving everything she puts her name on, but over the past
few years, she has turned away from the feminine, curve-hugging pieces that i originally
adored her for and replaced them with boxy/color-blocked/non-wrap dresses that are not
 exactly my cup of tea. 

BUT her latest fall 2013 collection, aptly called "glam rock" was smashing. 

very seventies, very feminine, very print-heavy. very old DVF. 

heart palpitations abound.

and why this sudden fabulous transformation? 

creative director yvan mispelaere has left the company.
(on good terms, i hear. to pursue other projects, no doubt.)

so now, darling diane will resume her throne. alone and amazing.
and what a better way to ring in the new with a look back at the old?

welcome back, lady!

♥ stay true.

how cool are these photos of solange knowles?

i can't get over the ugliness and utter fabulousness of that suit!

i wrote about her single "losing you," a while back-

but the entire ep, true, is worth a listen :)

ps. check out her damn blog.

♥ double take.

swinging sixties & nineties grunge. 

masculine & feminine. 

hard & soft.

IT girl, chloe sevigny sure knows how to keep the fashion world on its toes-

 which is why i'm loving her latest fall 2013 collection for opening ceremony, 

which combines these seemingly contradictory elements 

in a quirky, flirty way.

♥ say hello to your friends.

i took this ridiculous picture with the lovely visuals from my work,

and it dawned on me afterwards that it looks something right out of

the baby sitter's club. the movie, that is.

i was exactly right.

for obvious reasons, my favorite character from this series is claudia,

she's half asian, she's artistic, she makes jewelry & she's a quirky dresser-

a gal after my own heart. but i am not the only claudia devotee-

have you seen the tumblr inspired by the 

most fashionable BSC member,

what claudia wore?

i am obsessed! 

here is a peek at what you'll find:

The Most Claudia-Ass Shit on Urban Outfitters Right Now

♥ treasure.

 now that i am an aunt, i care about children's things that i never
would have given a second thought before. things like the show, 

yo gabba gabba, which is amazing and actually

has nick and i excited to be parents someday.

one of our favorite episodes is "treasure," which includes amazing guest
performances by comedians, fred armisen and charlyne yi and musical numbers,
 like this song by blitzen trapper, appropriately named, "treasure."

in the song, the band addresses the idea of treasure, reminding the audience
that "it doesn't have to be silver or gold-it can be something new or old."

it's funny to think about the things you treasure and why,
i am glad i had a children's show remind me of the things
that i hold dear. here are some of my treasures:

a bookmark from my beloved gram gram which says, "life is a gift. celebrate the moment."

and also has her gorgeous handwriting on the back. i miss her, but her handwriting is so

vital- when i see it, i feel she is still of this earth.

talula- my fur baby.

my never ending piles of books and growing gallery wall of artwork,

most of which comes from friends and family.

giada mei-the cutest niece in all the world.

what are your treasures?

♥ my true love hath my heart.

how can i write about you

when you are all the world?

when i know

that all that is good or just in me is only

an echo of you:

when all that i think is what you have breathed on my heart:

and all i say,

although i am praised for it,

is your book read aloud.

~naomi mitchison

(thank you for showing me this, mk!)