Purple Nurple?

I think I've developed an obsession with lilac:

• O.P.I.'s Do You Lilac It? in constant rotation

• Blackberry Curve 8530 Smoky Violet (with matching silicone case, natch)

• Ray-Ban Original Aviator in Purple/Lilac/Grey fade (on their way from Nordstrom)

• Limited Edition Lilac PSP 3000

• Barney's NY Editions de Parfums En Passant (not actually lilac-colored, but the scent is pure Lilac)

I didn't go out of my way to match everything,
it just kind of happened.

What's your current color?

Do You Lilac My Mad Black Onyx?

i've been pretty obsessed with O.P.I. nail polishes recently, with the most random assortment of colors:


Do You Lilac It?


Mad as a Hatter (from the Alice in Wonderland Collection)


Black Onyx

and occasionally i take it to the next level with Essie Matte About You matte topcoat.

and as any beauty queen can tell you, O.P.I. really is the best.
the new Shrek collection is way too tempting.

what's your favorite nail color?

The XX xxxxxxx

On Friday night, Ben, Nick and I went to Sonar to see The XX, hosted by Taxlo. Mike and Whit met us there too :)

I'm a big fan of The XX and Taxlo always puts on a good party.

Nick & I had a little photoshoot before The XX's set (there's plenty more where these came from):





The XX definitely gave good show. Not a ton of improvisation, but with only one album I suppose the material is limited.

I particularly liked the use of varying lights throughout the sets. Color and lighting have so, so much influence on atmosphere. Plus, I just love color.

2nd AngloMania Post of the Day

Yes, I definitely have AngloMania today. Maybe its the gray, rainy (Londonesque) weather. Or maybe it's my love for Punk Rock and the current library selection, London's Burning by Dave Thompson.

Regardless. I really want these Doc Martens 1460s:



The Union Jack toebox is just IRRESISTIBLE! Looking down on my little flag-toed feet would make me smile.

I already have a pair of white 1460s, but these might need to be my next boot purchase.

So kids. Do you love these boots? Hate them? Love the UK? Hate bad teeth?

[1460 Black Smooth, #841711004 available from the Doc Martens US Online store]

Bad Name, Great Style

so i'm catching up on my google reader, and Fashionista recently posted about a show at London Fashion Week for new label Paris68.

anyone heard of them? i don't know much, just what Fashionista says:

"the collection was designed by Marcella Lindeberg, wife of Johan Lindeberg (J. Lindeberg to you) ...the couple has played an integral consulting role in the William Rast label almost since its inception...."

i have to admit i think the name is pretty dumb. Paris68. Clearly the 68 isn't a reference to the brand's founding. and if they are showing at LFW, and their website lists an NYC address, whats the Paris connection?
Kinda sounds like it would be one of Forever 21's private labels. Just saying.

REGARDLESS. i really liked a lot of their looks. a few personal favorites:






(this is my #1 look, abso)

i love the neutral palette - yes, i'll admit that for a colorist i do love black a little too much. i'm also really liking the jacket silhouettes: asymmetry, strong shoulder, peplum waist. it's just a bit futuristic but not at all costume-y. all things i would wear in real life (if i could ever afford...sigh!)


Do you think the name Paris68 is dumb?
What would you name this brand instead?
Do you like the looks i selected? Do you hate them?

check out the full collection here: http://fashionista.com/2010/02/label-to-watch-paris68/

I Want a Pet Chameleon

I'd say most of my friends could tell you that I pretty much love Ray-Ban Wayfarers. I have the Red/Black sunnies and had a pair of Teal sunnies turned into prescription glasses.

I also love color. Color is the first thing most people notice about an item - especially a fashion item - and changing the color of any one item can dramatically change the entire feeling of the piece. Color is also my job, so, yeah.

Ben shared this video with me, and it's pretty much perfection. For starters, I totally underestimated the chameleon. And someone has a really great collection of Wayfarers. I am jealous - a pet chameleon and a great selection of sunglasses, must be a charmed life.




It also makes me totally want a pet chameleon!
How much fun would that be?
What would you bring over to try out on my pet chameleon?
What should I name it?

Mi Corazón Está en Bogotá

I was in Bogota, Colombia the past week for a business trip, had lots of lab dips to approve. Little did I realize that I would fall so in love with the city that I would cry in the airport the morning of my return flights.

A few highlights:


This cathedral in downtown was absolutely magnificent.


The Colombian Presidental Palace


Colombian National Crest . . . there's lots of fantastic symbolism. The bird on the top is the Condor, the national bird.

On our last night, we went to an unbelievable gallery show for the graffiti artist TOT. I am officially obsessed!!









Here's TOT in action, he was doing a live demo outside the gallery.


All done :)

Here's a quick bio on TOT: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/giovanny_sanchez_tot.aspx
He is one of the sweetest people I have ever met.

Something New, Something Blue

So I got new glasses last week & had way to much fun taking pictures of them with my webcam.

You likey?

Happy Birthday Earth

On Sunday, I went down to DC for the Earth Day festival with Ben, Mike, Nick and Nick's roommate Natan.

There was a main stage with speakers and bands all afternoon, but we were there to see The Flaming Lips, and they did not disappoint.

Wayne even went in the bubble for a little bit!



Oh, and by the way:



I put some blue in my hair.

Happy Chrismukkah!

Ben & I put up a Christmas tree yesterday (in a completely secular way).

Since this is our first xmas, we don't have an accumulated collection of sentimental ornaments... we stuck with the classic glass balls in blue and gold, with a few random red ones.

I hung the ornaments while Ben attached the hooks (which I didn't even know you had to buy!) and we watched football. The Eagles & the Ravens won yesterday, so we were both happy :)



YouDee is our tree topper, and with all the blue & gold ornaments, i guess that makes this a UD themed tree... is that totally lame, or awesome?

And of course, it's not hanukkah without an electric menorah in the window.

Cyber Tuesday

Yesterday was Cyber Monday (essentially, Black Friday for the internet). Bloomingdale's was running incredible sales: 40% off select regular-priced merchandise, 50% off sale merchandise.

Unfortunately, the website was totally f-ed up all day, making purchasing things impossible.

So today I called them and made it my personal Cyber Tuesday... somehow I was able to convince them to honor yesterday's 40% off deal and give me free shipping. And I'm very excited to receive new jeans! Hooray!



7 for All Mankind "Roxanne" Skinny Jeans in New York Dark

I promise they look better in person than on this awkward model.

Also, this might be the very first time I've ordered jeans online, since it's so hard to find jeans that fit. It just so happens that I have a pair of Roxanne's in black waxed denim...so I'm pretty psyched for a pair in the classic 7s color, New York Dark.

Dear readers, do you ever order jeans online?

[also available on the 7 website]

Golden Gladiators

I ordered these little pretties on Zappos yesterday:


DV by Dolce Vita, Daisy-11

So excited about them. I'm seeing them with skinny jeans and American Apparel tees. Also I'm starting to notice that I've become obsessed with metallic shoes.

Rumor has it* that girls are wearing their gladiators buckled around the ankle of skinny jeans?
Should I even be allowed to consider this?





*yes I am well aware that this was discovered a month ago, but cut me some slack - Bmore isn't exactly fashion capital of the world, let alone even the state of Maryland.

Urban Cowgirl Style

This handbag is absolutely gorgeous, especially in the Red Dirt color. It's not garishly primary, not quite brown, neutral but not boring, and hippie-western in the most posh and uptown way. It's timeless and seasonless... definitely the kind of bag that makes your other bags jealous of how much you use it.





Bella Large Satchel by Frye, Red Dirt, $495 USD






Can I borrow $500??

Sunday, Monday, Wednesday

Sunday:
The Justice show was absolutely incredible. It exceeded my expectations in every possible way.

Imagine the best dj in the world, times a million.

Sonar was a cool venue. The room wasn't huge (much smaller than Roseland, bigger than 8x10). The stage is low, and you can get fairly close. Lots of bars around, and easy to get to. My main complaint is that they don't allow cameras (apparently ever, not just for certain shows), so my only pictures are on my phone (read: shitty). I'm not sure they are even worth posting. There is one where you can kind of make out the cross-shaped light that makes up their main stage setup, let me know if you want to see :)

Jamie, Kevin and I had a ton of fun. The energy was way up, the music was awesome (of course), the crowd was chill, and I even got a compliment on my outfit from 2 random stranger girls.

For the record, I was wearing: hotpink & black stripe cardigan,black As Cities Burn t-shirt with syringe doodle on it (they used to be screamo and now kind of suck - they played a Take the Mic show at Delaware once), jeans cuffed up to show my hotpink Chuck Taylor high-tops (the "Notebook" style), and (the best part) a piece of hotpink lame that I tied on my head as a headband, Native American style. I looked fucking rediculous, and I fit right in
(did I mention this tour was sponsored by MySpace?).

We danced & drank & just had a rediculous amount of fun. It was a-fucking-mazing.

Monday:
I was super-sick, and had to call out of work.




But it was worth it ;)


Wednesday:

Finally went for my way-overdue hair appointment. For color I wanted to go black, but my stylist (Angel) talked me out of it for a number of reasons (my hair is damaged, the spring sun will ruin it, you'll never get back to your original color, etc.).

And for the cut, I brought in this picture of Ashlee Simpson:



And these are the results (please don't judge me, this is right before bedtime!):






I'm obsessed with the new cut and color. You like??

Bitching Stitching

Way back in the day (middle school-ish), I took a class on cross stitch, a traditional form of embroidery (I was about as cool then as I am now).

I never really finished that sampler (of a house & a tree & some other things), and never really kept up with embroidery. But I think it might be coming back into my life - maybe as a warm-weather alternative to yarn crafts (knitting, crochet)?

There are two main motivations for this renewed interest:

1 - my synagogue (at home in NY) is making a commemorative quilt, with each family given a muslin square to decorate. being the resident crafty, i was put in charge of my family's quilt square, and ended up embroidering it (free hand) using some basic supplies from AC Moore. it wasn't great, but definitely a fun project.

2 - more importantly, my boss shared this website with me: Sublime Stitching...
they specialize in hand embroidery patterns, and fucking AWESOME ones. They have everything from monkeys to cherries to skulls, and the pattern sets are so adorable. With names like "Unicorn Believer," "Viva Las Vegas," and "Om Sweet Om," they are freaking irresistible!








I'm seriously thinking about ordering some patterns or checking them out at a local retailer... this could be really addictive. The pattern sets are only $3.50 - or 4 for $12.50. They are iron-on patterns too, making life a whole lot easier (especially for someone who HATES counting stitches). Plus embroidery thread comes in a huge spectrum of colors - lots of deep, saturated colors which i adore - so the same pattern can be re-thought in a completely new color story. You can get a great idea of the color variety on the DMC website.

I keep thinking of all the great projects that could be born from these fantastic embroideries - T-shirts, tote bags, pillow cases, scarf details - all handmade, one of a kind, and exactly my style.

I'm already getting excited!

Romance in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor

It's been too long since my last post. I've got a whole backlog of things I want to share, I'll catch up on them soon (hopefully!)

Anyway, my valentine's weekend was quite lovely. Friday night Ben & I went to dinner at fancy Nasu Blanca (amazing).

Saturday we went down to DC to see the Orchid Exhibition at the US Botanic Garden, which was absolutely incredible. I'll let the flowers speak for themselves.

& the colors! so spectacular! yellows and purples and whites... I was practically swooning.









Sunday night, we went to the Against Me! show at the Recher.
The opening acts (both DC bands) were awful, but there were lots of emo kids to make fun of.

During Against Me! there was wayyy too much moshing. Shirtless, sweaty, smelly moshing. I get it, you're aggressive and masculine teenagers. But you're obviously not at the show for the music. That's my biggest issue with the moshing.

Against Me! played really well, they definitely have as much (if not more) energy in their live show as on the album New Wave. They mixed up the set, plenty of old stuff mixed in with the new stuff - unfortunate for someone who only has New Wave (me).



But my only real complaint is

the set was fucking short!

I suppose that when you are playing that hard and moshing, you don't really want to be doing it for all that long - but i would have loved for them to extend the 45 minute set to an hour. It was well worth the $15 tickets. I would see them again for sure.

On a related note, Wilco show at the 930 club on Wednesday YAY :D

Sexy & Green

I love sexy cars. But I LUST after cars that are sexy and eco-friendly. And there's really only one.

Behold, the Tesla Roadster:



One of the hottest sports cars (dare I saw Supercar?) I've seen in a while. And the specs are fucking unreal.

xx 100% electric (NOT HYBRID)
xx 0 to 60 in under 4
xx Top speed of 125
xx About 220 miles without a charge

(that's just about Baltimore to New Ro)

View Larger Map

and it's got some crazy technology other than the powertrain, including my personal favorite -- a PIN number that you enter to start the car. this pretty much guarantees that it cant be stolen, with or without the key.

what about valet, you ask? they thought of that:
"When dropping off your Tesla Roadster at a hotel or restaurant, preventing joy rides is simple. Just tap on the on-board display to put the car into Valet Mode. Until you type in your PIN to release it, the security system limits the car‘s range, acceleration, and speed." I suppose that when you've got a car this nice, joy riding valets are something you actually worry about.

The colors are great:


I'm loving the electric blue. HOT.

oh, and the interior:



...you've got some drool on your face.

[all images from Tesla motors]

Crayola Monologues

This website is something I found a while back while researching ideas for color names at work*

It's called the Crayola Monologues, and the video is a whimsical take on the metaphor of race through crayon colors.

& you can learn some Crayola history too.

I found it sweetly thought-provoking. It certainly takes on a very weighty issue, especially in the US, but does so in a gentle and not at all uncomfortable manner.




Check it out & let me know what you think.

[I just discovered that GoogleVideo provides the embed codes for its videos...loves it]



*for those of you who don't know much about me, I'm a colorist at a very very cool apparel brand. & one of the best parts of my job is naming colors for the new season. Spring 2009 is going to feature some of the best color names the brand has seen yet ;)