tea & toast

streetpeeper

2009-06-22T02:00:00.003-04:00

i came across a website called streetpeeper (i also love their logo)...it's so addicting! you can choose a major city that's on the list and look at pictures of crazy/cool/confusingly outfitted people on the streets.

i was peeping nyc and this is some of what i found...

i love this woman's dress:

i'm not sure why, but this image gave me a strange sense of comfort...perhaps it reminds me of an outfit my mom or aunty fatin may have worn in the 80's?:
i love the draping of this woman's shirt and coat:

i would love a cape like this one:

clear remedy=clear skin

2009-06-21T22:36:00.004-04:00

hello friends. i wanted to share a little secret with those of you who struggle with your skin. i've been using a new set a of products called Clear Remedy and i've been pretty happy with the results so far!

Clear Remedy is a system of three products. the first is a cleanser that purifies and cleans the skin. the second is an acne treatment lotion that targets any blemishes and the third is a hydrating lotion to keep the skin supple and moisturized.

i started seeing a difference just a couple days after i started using the system and i really love the way my skin feels after i've completed the three steps.

to help your skin get back on track, you can try it yourself for 30% off and Free Ground Shipping with promo code GETCLEAR30, enter it upon check out at Clear Remedy .

it's may. wow.

2009-05-08T17:32:00.003-04:00

hello, my friends. i have somewhat abandoned this blog, but it's always in my heart. :)

today has been quite a productive day which makes the person inside me who loves to make lists just to cross things off very happy. i cleaned my apartment, went to the bank, had lunch with michelle and her babysitting girls (soooo adorable!) and i baked vegan brownie cupcakes (while wearing my favorite cupcake apron that alex got me.)

in between all of this, i made myself a really delicious and simple snack. i sliced up a tomato and put fresh mint leaves in between the slices. i drizzled a little olive oil, gave it a dash of salt and pepper and shaved a bit of parmesan on top and voila! fresh goodness!

healthy breakfast

2009-03-06T11:21:00.001-05:00

red velvet cake and a glass of milk.

mmm.

to heal

2009-02-10T13:18:00.001-05:00

mm mm good.

2009-02-07T01:24:00.002-05:00

earlier this evening i had a couple special guests for dinner...farah and nickole. we all share the love for food so i decided to think like a top chef contestant and make something interesting. i came up with the following dishes: a salad of mixed greens, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries and shaved pecorino in a shallot honey vinaigrette dressing. the main dish consisted of seared scallops over mashed cauliflower and potatoes w/ roasted asparagus and dried cranberries that had been soaked in the vinaigrette.

the flavors meshed wonderfully and we practically licked our plates!

is it bad to want to eat my mashed potatoes/cauliflower leftovers at 1:30 am?

picture pages picture pages open up your picture pages...

2009-02-04T09:52:00.003-05:00

what's on your fridge?

2009-01-30T09:33:00.004-05:00

reow.

2009-01-29T21:07:00.003-05:00

lucy and penelope wanted to say hello. they haven't been by in a while.

"meow" ("hello")

a random thought

2009-01-22T00:15:00.002-05:00

i was at barnes & noble today and started feeling really faint and light-headed. i kept feeling like the floor was moving beneath my feet and i was worried i was going to collapse for some reason. then i had kind of a funny thought. i thought, what if i collapsed in one of the least visited aisles of barnes & noble and just lay there, unconscious for nobody to see. then about ten minutes later regain consciousness and get up, dust off my coat and be on my way. how depressing, pathetic and funny would that be? sounds like it should be in a wes anderson film. (or was it?)

fierce urgency of now

2009-01-20T13:14:00.002-05:00

watching the inauguration of our 44th president, barack obama, filled me with so much hope and joy and moved me to tears. i was in awe at the thousands of heads in the crowd lining streets and the mall, not to mention all the crowds that gathered in other parts of the country to watch our new leader on a jumbo screen in their town.

i am looking forward to living the next four (or more) years under an administration i believe in and had a part in making!

was anyone else full on crying when yo yo ma and the other musicians performed that gorgeous piece of music?

also, this is the inauguration-worthy breakfast i made this morning/afternoon:

less than pleased

2009-01-15T08:55:00.002-05:00

we live in laughable conditions. negative 1 degree. that is what my weather widget tells me it is. can't i just stay inside, mommy?

pictures of arizona to come. (it's a little confusing to your body to go from mid-70 temperatures to a major drop such as this.)

speaking of which...

2009-01-06T17:00:00.002-05:00

i just wanted to remind whoever is reading this blog (probably you, renee, and you, michelle) that i would be willing to go out on a date with a man who resembles any one of the following men.

thank you.

1.9.80

2009-01-06T16:39:00.003-05:00

as my 29th birthday approaches, i can't help but reflect on the past year and what i have done to move forward. i finally moved out into my own place--that's good. but, i still have a slight panic forming inside my brain and in the pit of my stomach that is a not-so-friendly reminder that i need to figure out what i'm doing with my life in regards to settling down.

as i drove my car to whatever errand i ran this morning, i zoned out and started to have a conversation with myself in my head. it went something like this:

"i know that i should probably try to pick up the pace with finding a husband so that i can be married for a little while so that a few years down the road i can have kids, but what if that's not what i'm meant to do? what if i've been putting all my focus on the wrong thing? maybe this is the time to really think more seriously about my art. maybe i should be focusing on being a serious artist instead of just doing it on the side. maybe that's what i should do."

as i completed the last sentence in my head, a car that was driving along side me in the next lane slowed down and i noticed a little girl in the backseat window. she had a darling face framed with braided pigtails. she looked me in the eye and waved a delicate little hand. i hesitated for a moment because i was completely taken off guard and then i finally smiled and waved back.

um...was that a sign?

christmas fun

2008-12-30T01:30:00.000-05:00

twig & berries.

2008-12-29T22:56:00.003-05:00

i had been wanting to get a name necklace for a while and more recently i decided i wanted it in arabic. my mom called me last week and told me to meet her at the jeweler so that we can choose the specifics and have my necklace finally made. (by the way, when i asked the arabic jeweler to see a dainty chain, he pulled out something mr. t would have worn in his early years. not dainty. i tried to politely say "hell no" in arabic.)

so anyway, i went to pick up my necklace earlier this afternoon and was very pleased. it was a little different than i had expected, but pretty regardless. later in the evening as a bunch of us were eating a lovely meal michelle prepared (amazing garlic bread, mish! thanks!) renee kept staring at my necklace and finally said, "i'm not sure i really like it." this made me a little sad and i said, "what do you mean?? i love it!" renee's eyes were still fixed on my necklace as she said, "look at it. what does it look like to you?" i studied my necklace and after about 45 seconds, my eyes widened and i said, "oh my god. a penis and balls."

(btw, since my mind is NOT in the gutter, i still love it.)

seattle in pictures

2008-12-15T23:01:00.007-05:00

delicious & inexpensive!

2008-12-10T00:53:00.003-05:00

on days when i feel too lazy to cook but my taste buds are craving something warm and hearty, i turn to a cheap meal i was introduced to by my brother who is adventurous enough to eat the most exotic of sushi, but refuses to eat tofu. chrissy poo turned me on to the japanese version of ramen noodles. you can get a variety of these noodle dishes/soups in the asian food section of your local supermarket (i get mine at meijer.) my favorite is the soup w/ tofu (surprise, surprise) and i like to add a soft boiled egg on top. mmmmm...after 2 bucks and 5 minutes, you've got a hot meal for one!

p.s. i would tell you what they're called, but the packaging is in japanese!

i know...

2008-12-09T11:47:00.003-05:00

...i have been a slacking blogger. i am not going to only blame it on being busy because everyone could have the same excuse. here are some pictures to hold you over until my next post, seattle 2008.

the scene outside my bedroom window from my parent's house last new years eve.

lucy sunbathing on my apartment floor.

silliness on halloween.

me trying to fold my tongue more than once. it eventually worked.

my friend don's dog, milo. he likes posing for pictures.

christmastime is fast approaching!

2008-11-19T16:41:00.003-05:00

i just put up my christmas tree..which took all of five minutes since it's only three feet tall. i am in love with it and i just want to stare at it. the funny thing is, i'm not really a fan of the color pink.

p.s. i will blog about my seattle trip soon..i've been lazy!

the look of defeat:

2008-11-12T01:36:00.000-05:00

caramelized mushroom tart

2008-11-10T23:48:00.007-05:00

i wanted to try this recipe out after reading it in chef tom colicchio's book, "think like a chef." as some of you may know, colicchio is the head judge on my favorite show, top chef, which is starting up again this wednesday!!! woo hoo!

the tart turned out delicious! it was a lot easier to make than i had expected. it just involved a few different steps and then everything came together in the end beautifully.

first, i made the onion confit which was pretty basic. i sliced about six onions very thinly and cooked them on medium-low heat w/ olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. after they became soft, i added white wine vinegar and vegetable broth and let it cook until all the liquid evaporated. at the end, i added fresh thyme and mixed it all up and put it aside.

while i made the mushroom part, i roasted a large shallot in foil. to make the mushrooms, i just cooked them in batches w/ some minced garlic, minced shallot and some more fresh thyme. i set that aside. i took the shallot out of the oven and waited for it to cool off so i could peel off the outer layers.

i had brought out a puff pastry sheet from the freezer to thaw and at this point i laid it out on a cutting board and used the rim of a glass to cut out circles of puff pastry.

this part is essential since it brought all the sweet goodness of the caramelized onions and mushrooms together. i put three tablespoons of sugar and one tablespoon of water in a small saucepan and let the sugar dissolve while swirling it around frequently. i waited for it to become a nut brown color and added a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar. i swirled it around a little and took it off the heat. then i used a greased cupcake tin instead of the ramekins colicchio instructs the reader to use. (this worked out great because of the size!)

first, i poured in a little of the caramel. then i took a piece of the roasted shallot that i had chopped into chunks and placed it in each of the holes. then i topped that with the mushroom mixture. on top of that i put some of the onion confit. i capped it all w/ the puff pastry circles and popped them into the oven to bake for fifteen minutes.

when i took them out of the oven, i let them cool off for a few minutes and then flipped them onto a tray. they came out perfect and were even more delicious than i had imagined!

thank you, tom colicchio...i will be seeing more of your bald handsomeness soon.

breakfast

2008-11-05T12:29:00.002-05:00

a lovely latte i made this morning in my ballerina teacup and saucer.

obama, oh mama!

2008-11-05T01:01:00.004-05:00

first off, i'd like to say how happy i am that we finally have a president who is smart and classy and hopeful! i look forward to seeing what obama has in store for our future.

also, happy birthday (yesterday) to foofer. love you!

readers, how do you eat pomegranate? alex laughed at me because i didn't eat the entire seed and thought it was gross that i just sucked the juice and spat the rest out. haha...i guess it is a little gross, but whatever..i'd rather not have pesky seeds stuck in between my teeth and a stomach ache. for most of the year, i forget about pomegranates, but when they're in season, i realize i love them so much...they're little bursts of sunshine-y goodness in every bite!

i need to go to sleep before i get hungrier.

halloweeeeen!

2008-11-03T11:33:00.002-05:00

i love looking at other people's costumes and laughing at a good one, sneering at an overly skanky one and so on. :) i went to the magic stick downtown to watch some bands perform and nearly everyone was in costume. people went all out, it was awesome! i went as louise brooks, a silent film actress from the 20's..nobody really knew who i was. but, whatever..it was fun wearing a wig and a fancy outfit!

finally...

2008-10-29T12:04:00.004-04:00

i finally got all the boxes out of my room and put everything in its place w/ the help of a new dresser michelle and i found at ikea! it's super cute and has roomy drawers and the best part? it was $199! i heart ikea.

as some of you may know, i have an addiction to jewelry. and i believe that tucking jewelry away is like hiding your best pieces of art! i decided to display all my jewelry on top of my dresser. what do u think?

also, to dress up my dresser a little more and make it my own unique piece, i bought drawer pulls from anthropologie and replaced the plain ones w/ them. anthropologie does a great job w/ their furniture/home accents. they look like little treasures. here they are:

bad blogger!

2008-10-20T13:00:00.003-04:00

i apologize for putting you on the back burner, oh blog of mine. it has been a busy time in my life..it seems i am in constant transition. settling into my apartment has taken a lot of my time and energy. also, i've had a few get togethers and although i love throwing them, parties are a lot of work! i've never been one to just order a pizza and pass around some beers...i love to try out new recipes and use all my pretty dishes!

here's a shot of the spread i put out at my first little soiree:

i intend on having regular game nights, gatherings, whatever..i love it. i love having my own place with my own stuff and i know where everything is because i put it there! i also love the fact that i can walk to several bars and restaurants to meet friends or walk to the bagel shop in the morning to get coffee and a cream cheese bagel and i love that i am in the center of everything. it takes me 20 minutes to drive anywhere...east side, west side, blah blah blah.

it's nice to be back...i will not neglect you for so long in the future.

great idea!

2008-10-20T12:56:00.006-04:00

i don't know why i never thought of putting all my buttons on a corkboard since i used a similar board to store necklaces and earrings. well i totally love this idea and will be making one of my own soon since i have a collection of random buttons that i love but never want to poke holes in my clothes for!

(picture taken from apartmenttherapy.com.)

adorable

2008-10-08T02:42:00.003-04:00

(from apartmenttherapy.com)

my papa

2008-09-29T23:31:00.001-04:00

hey guys, if anyone needs any real estate/mortgage services, check out palladium financial group and contact my dad, gabe. he is one aggressive dude who will go out of his way to get the best deal for you!!!!

fo toe heavee

2008-09-29T22:53:00.008-04:00

my kitchen:

some of my artwork next to my key hooks:

my favorite part...where i cook!

don't mind the mess...just washed dishes.

my cookbook collection guards my chopping boards

a faux cukoo clock and a painting by me

i love my spice rack!

and i LOVE my sugar bowl which is really

a creamer...and my sparkly frog sugar spoon!

who says you can't use wicker indoors?

especially teal wicker? :)

2 prints i love: an ed fraga (artist from detroit)

and a reprint of an 1893 french chocolate poster.

my bathroom. 2 drawings by me.

pretty girly.

i loved this plate that i bought for $1

and decided to use it in the bathroom!

toys in a candy jar and sweet perfumes

a blob pooping over the pooper

an overpriced bathroom rug i had to have

from anthropologie.

okay so i'm in my apartment for the third night. tonight will be my first night sleeping alone! i think i'll be fine...but i feel really lonely right now. i know it'll pass. but it's just too quiet here. and i keep thinking how weird it is that i'm just in a building living in my own space w/ people doing the same thing in their own units. it just seems a little weird to me...i know it doesn't SOUND weird, but i guess you'd have to be in my head to understand what i'm thinking right now.

i just took some quick pics of the rest of the apartment, excluding my bedroom since it's a mess of boxes and it's basically just housing a bed, nightstand and a desk.

sneak peak

2008-09-25T01:14:00.004-04:00

here's a sneak peak at my apartment. there are no pictures/paintings on the walls yet and i still have to add some finishing touches. i only took pictures of the living room because it is the most completed room.

this is the view from the kitchen:

this is what's in front of the couch:

i love my couch!!! btw, it's SUPER comfy!

my bookshelf. finally, a place for all my books!

the top shelf is my favorite. :)

some of these objects will probably be moved around:

my cds are organized by color of spine (thanks, alex.)

plastic parade

2008-09-23T01:09:00.003-04:00

hey guys...look at the awesome chandelier i bought for my apartment:

hahahaha...just kidding. i actually think this is a funny idea, but i would never put it in my home. plus, michelle would probably never come over.

decorate your life!

2008-09-16T11:09:00.002-04:00

hey people,

so i've been pretty busy putting my apartment together. i think i've been to every home goods in town several times. it's all coming together and i am loving it! yesterday i laid on my couch and read..the birds outside were congregating in the trees..my window was open so i heard them having a mad discussion. it was awesome. i dozed off thinking, "i have the most comfortable couch ever...zzzz."

so, as you may infer, i'm getting used to this idea of living alone. at first it was a little freaky. my heart pounded at every flush of another person's toilet or sound of another person's voice in the hallway. now, i am drowning everything out with the thought of having dinner parties and game nights in my own living room. :)

here are some inspiring interiors i was just perusing on apartmenttherapy.com:

let's have a party in the shower!

2008-09-11T21:04:00.002-04:00

i never thought that i would completely bypass the women's clothing department of stores and go straight to the home decor! i just love shopping for my apartment! thankfully, i didn't have to buy everything. my mom gave me a lot of extras that we had in the house. i went to anthropologie today and bought a rug for the bathroom..i wanted SO MUCH MORE!!! i love the way they display their merchandise. it makes me want to have a funky dinner party asap! what i REALLY want from there is this shower curtain which is completely unreasonable at a whopping $118! my mom said she'd make it with me. i think i'm going to make my own version.

my place is starting to look like a real live apartment. my couch was delivered yesterday and all my ikea bookcases and shelves are put together thanks to alex's muscles.

i'll keep you updated!

an expensive day

2008-09-07T23:14:00.003-04:00

hey guys. like my new couch? i love it! i spent saturday furniture shopping at value city and ikea...it was kinda tiring but definitely fun to imagine my apartment coming together. i'm currently looking for the perfect kitchen table. i was looking for a vintage diner table, but i haven't found anything yet.

can't wait to have people over!

***UPDATE: due to a surprising amount of people who have commented to me regarding this picture, i must clarify that this photo was NOT taken at my apartment. this is the display at value city furniture. my apartment is pretty empty right now and the couch will be delivered on wednesday morning! thank you, my friends.

beautiful

2008-09-01T23:25:00.008-04:00

i saw this hair ornament on the coco+kelley blog (cocokelley.blogspot.com) and fell in love w/ it.

so pretty.

marilyn minter

2008-09-01T13:11:00.003-04:00

shinola. 2008.

i love artist marilyn minter's vivid, sexual images. she has a great eye for color and texture and can both intrigue and unsettle a viewer in one shot.

i'm a big kid now.

2008-09-01T12:24:00.003-04:00

much has been going on and that is why i have neglected tea & toast...apologies to my "fans." ha!

well, i just signed on an apartment lease yesterday. finally, at 28, i am a big girl. my parents are not too pleased. how dare i, an american woman who is nearing 30, carve out my own path in life? i guess we will just never understand some parts of each other. i shouldn't really direct that to my mother, though. she is just genuinely sad..i don't know why she thinks i will be falling into a deep abyss and so she will never see me again. anyway..

i've been leafing through home magazines like domino, martha stewart living and oprah home (which has some gorgeous features of homes around the country.) i'm getting ideas for what i want to do w/ my 750 sq. feet of space. but, i love so many things, it's going to be a challenge to simplify! i will be sure to post pictures of what i decide to do w/ the apartment and as soon as it's all finished, i will be entertaining! woo hoo!

updates.

2008-08-20T15:12:00.004-04:00

hey people. i'm sorry i've been away for so long. i haven't been in the mood to post anything lately.

i have done a few cool things. i saw dj spooky at the detroit film theater performing "rebirth of a nation." check out djspooky.com.

i also went to "noise camp" at the contemporary art institute of detroit (caid) and it was awesome. there was lots of noise and dirt and people smashing watermelons.

i've been looking at apartments...i had looked at one about a month ago which i fell in love with, but i waited too long and now it's gone. bummer. but, i'm looking at one tomorrow that's in downtown royal oak in a seemingly cozy tree-lined neighborhood.

i was just checking my fave website, apartmenttherapy.com, and i saw this picture that made me chuckle.

great idea

2008-08-11T14:33:00.003-04:00

check this out...luggage as furniture! i love it.

(pic taken from apartmenttherapy.com)

a few more

2008-08-04T18:49:00.003-04:00

i actually remember that day. i was in florida at my grandparent's house and didn't feel well so i stayed inside and drew all day.

michelle looking like a little bunny.

michelle, noor and me with my mom who looked older then than she does now!

old photographs

2008-08-04T18:37:00.004-04:00

i was cleaning part of the basement and i came across some forgotten photos that i'd like to share.

why am i wearing a formal flamenco dancing dress at epcot?

aunty suham always insisted on putting lipstick on me.

this picture is so old in so many ways, i love it.

our old bedroom.

michelle and i were wearing the same outfit..except i was wearing pants.

mgmt-kids

2008-07-30T23:00:00.001-04:00

this song makes me wanna dance!

happy birthday, michelle-y!

2008-07-30T02:50:00.003-04:00

michelle celebrated her birthday earlier this evening (which would make it july 29th.) we went to the mgm casino and ate at palette, the buffet. this is no ordinary janky buffet..this is actually good. it was great because we got it comped and we ate until our bellies were full.

afterwards, michelle demonstrated her ability to look like a badass gambling at the black jack table using hand signals and everything. i, on the other hand, lost my twenty dollars in less than four minutes and refused to play with any more money. i would rather spend my money on something i can use or eat. :)

sunny morning

2008-07-30T02:38:00.002-04:00

i love hot mornings full of sunshine. that's when i take my cup of tea and go out onto our deck in my pajamas. sunday morning i had a jelly donut cupcake and tea for breakfast and read the watchmen (which is awesome and coming out in the theaters soon!) lucy wanted to join me so badly that i actually allowed her to (she's an indoor cat)..she LOVED sniffing the fresh air and exploring new territory. of course the minute she heard the slightest noise, she darted back inside.

musique

2008-07-24T23:17:00.001-04:00

i just heard this song and i'm in love with it. it's called "senegal fast food" by amadou & mariam. enjoy!

francais

2008-07-22T22:40:00.002-04:00

sadly, today was the last night of my twelve week conversational french class. i learned quite a bit of useful information and i plan on continuing it in january when madame rickel is teaching french deux. :)

for this evening's class, we all brought something in that related to french cuisine. i took the liberty of making a flan and it turned out delicious!

quack.

2008-07-22T13:41:00.004-04:00

(picture taken from bbc.co.uk.)

meow.

2008-07-22T10:36:00.002-04:00

it's funny that cats have such a limited vocabulary. meow. reow. mmrrr. it would seem that they'd be frustrated with such little to say, but no. they're laid back, slick and easy-going most of the time. and they get so much across with such few sounds. a high pitched "reow!" from lucy means, "i'm hungry!" a gutteral "mmrrr" from penelope (when directed at lucy) means, "get out of my way, biatch." and of course the "prrrrrr..." means, "ahhh. i'm a cat."

dreams are a tease

2008-07-22T09:05:00.002-04:00

i woke up about 15 minutes ago from an awesome dream. i had an assignment to put black eyeliner on flea from the red hot chili peppers for a performance at the dia. i was staying in a hotel room adjacent to the museum and he came there...as i was putting his makeup on, we started talking and totally hit it off. before he left, we posed for a picture that i was taking of ourselves..except, instead of a camera, i was holding a can of hairspray and ended up spraying myself in the eyes.

anyway, flea doesn't know it, but we have a connection...that i'll forget about tomorrow.

sweet girl.

2008-07-16T09:44:00.000-04:00

a favorite

2008-07-15T21:41:00.002-04:00

one of my favorite pieces at the dia is this painting by edgar degas called "violinist and young woman" ("violiniste et jeune femme tenant un cahier de musique") painted in 1871.

perfect.

2008-07-15T18:06:00.003-04:00

"bloom" by sam spenser.

we are in america. remember?

2008-07-15T11:08:00.003-04:00

i found an apartment that i can imagine myself inhabiting. it is so cute! i pictured myself making tea in the tiny kitchen and taking it to the living room next to the high windows and just reveling in the fact that it's my own space.

of course being from an old-fashioned family, i knew this would not sit well with my parents. i am more concerned with getting some sort of half-hearted approval from my mother, so i sat down with her yesterday for a talk.

that did not go well. she basically asked me if i hate her. i had to laugh at that. why can't they get it into their heads that coming to america over 25 years ago would ensure that their children would grow up to be AMERICANS?

i am excited to have found something i can afford and that i actually want to live in, but that feeling is being overshadowed by guilt and frustration.

ginnie springs

2008-07-14T11:14:00.005-04:00

(michelle doesn't like this story very much)

once upon a time, a group of young adults from michigan drove to high springs, florida, the home of ginnie springs..a natural lazy river that boasts 70 degree water all year round. there are caves underwater where seasoned divers flock to explore the natural hot springs. this group of kids thought it would be fun to get into their swimming gear and walk to the opposite end of the river so that they could float all the way down with their newly inflated rafts. during their short journey they walked amongst 500 year-old trees and came across insects who looked more like robots with machine guns for arms than anything else. they finally got to their destination and entered the comfortable springs. each person laid on their raft and they were off.

it was gorgeous...leafy trees surrounded the river, some with ropes dangling from them which tarzan impersonators probably placed there. the sounds of insects filled their ears and dragonflies accompanied them, but it was okay...after a few minutes they became part of the scenery and were welcomed by the relaxed group. only one person from the group was mildly freaking out the entire way. she didn't like the sound of the insects or the turtles sunning themselves on logs that resembled snakes. she didn't like dragonflies who wanted to land on her arms and sunbathe with the rest of the group. she didn't like being out in the open for all of nature to observe her so easily...to possibly have an imaginary underwater creature graze her legs.

it was when the group reached their destination that things got out of hand.

as they swam towards the end of the river into one of the boils, someone from the group spotted a snake in the water. its head was above water and it was swimming rather quickly towards the group. there was mayhem. each person from the group of ordinary kids became professional olympic swimmers. some were trying to distract the fall of man but that only made him angry. water was splashing in every direction and voices screaming and swearing filled the air. the one member of the group who wasn't having fun in the first place was full on sobbing.

of course they all made it to safety and at that point everyone was laughing, except for one person from the group. she was still crying and wanted to go home. everyone else wanted to do it again!

so, that's the story of ginnie springs.

i am craving another adventure.

*photographs taken by jonathan landis, a member of the group.*

me & michelley

2008-07-14T11:01:00.003-04:00

*check out my mom's glasses! she looked ancient!*

where was chris during all this? hiding behind the couch drawing on the faces of our dolls? taking handfuls of dirt and shoving them into his mouth? perhaps he was gathering worms from the sidewalk to slip into poor michelle's shirt.

our strange earth.

2008-07-09T17:28:00.003-04:00

life is just amazing, isn't it? it never ceases to blow my mind. look at these funny fish! they're called balloon lumpfish or lumpsuckers. they have adhesive pelvic fins in which they use to attach themselves to whatever they're living off of at the moment. these fish are living off a balloon in an aquarium in japan. (of course they're freakin' adorable..they're japanese!)

water.

2008-07-08T09:06:00.001-04:00

(pictures taken from bbc.co.uk)

christopher-pierre joseph gabriel

2008-07-06T23:08:00.004-04:00

baby chris, or as we used to call him, E.T.

a bewildered looking chrissy on nana mary's lap in their uber 70's home in jacksonville, florida.

nobody told us to say cheese. (cliff, me and chrissy.)

little christopher had no idea he was to grow as tall and thin as mr. giraffe.

chrissy doing what he was born to do. play with pink toys.

argh.

2008-07-03T21:14:00.002-04:00

i HATE grammatical errors...especially in print. i mean, didn't you proofread your three line sign???

use a coaster!

2008-07-01T23:01:00.003-04:00

i saw these avril loreti coasters on apartment therapy and they reminded me of renee and michelle. by the way, playing scrabble with michelle is NO FUN. she somehow gets eighty-seven points with three-letter words.

ancient love

2008-07-01T12:42:00.006-04:00

this was my first visit to castillo de san marcos in st. augustine, florida (the oldest city in the u.s. founded in 1565 by spanish settlers.) i've always felt a connection to st. augustine. perhaps it began in the spring of 1980 when this picture was taken.

pictured: my uncle lawrence, my adorable young mother, me, my dad with too much hair on his head, my uncle johnny and my aunt gloria bernadette.

karen karch

2008-06-30T13:37:00.003-04:00

my friend julia, who lives in nyc, works for karen karch in nolita (north of little italy.) i haven't been there, but i have visited the website and fallen in love with their (overpriced) jewelry! this my favorite ring. i also love their lapis lazuli collection.

chevy. chevy. chevy. um. um. um.

2008-06-27T22:06:00.003-04:00

i don't know why, but as i drove to work this morning, i thought of chevy chase. not really the man, but his name. who the hell is named chevy? where did that name come from and it sounds so weird when said alone. i, of course, had to wikipedia him and i found out his real name is cornelius crane chase. that's weirder than chevy.

also, um is a very weird word. it's not really a word..but a filler. and it's weird. say it to yourself a few times.

2 days in paris

2008-06-25T11:49:00.004-04:00

this is by far one of the funnier movies i've seen in a long time. i saw it when it came out and i think i need to watch it again soon. july delpy directs and stars in the film alongside adam goldberg. they make a smart modern couple who have real conversations..it's pretty refreshing.

that's right, i like sarah brightman.

2008-06-24T01:54:00.001-04:00

i loove this song. and i want to hug all the animals in the video. watch for the hugging zebras at the end. so cute!

fortune cookies, part deux

2008-06-24T01:14:00.003-04:00

since we were on the subject of fortunes inside fortune cookies, this is by far the coolest one i've gotten. it was a couple years ago. alex and i had chinese food somewhere which was rare cuz we never eat chinese. then our fortune cookies came and this is what mine said:

front:

back:

i just thought it was weird cuz since when do fortune cookies have french fortunes inside them? and i thought it was quite fitting. :)

mmmmm...

2008-06-24T01:03:00.004-04:00

not too long ago, my mom started watching a turkish soap opera called "gumus"..it's been dubbed in arabic so the arabic title is "noor." soon, i heard that all her friends AND their husbands were watching it. my DAD even watches it now and guess what? i've been sucked in as well. it's not the story line that does it for me, nor is it the mediocre acting..it's this turkish god, kivanc tatlitug. how the hell is he real, can someone please tell me this???

excerpt

2008-06-23T19:32:00.004-04:00

from the short story "unaccustomed earth" from the same title book by jhumpa lahiri:

"With the birth of Akash, in his sudden, perfect presence, Ruma had felt awe for the first time in her life. He still had the power to stagger her at times--simply the fact that he was breathing, that all his organs were in their proper places, that blood flowed quietly and effectively through his small, sturdy limbs. He was her flesh and blood, her mother had told her in the hospital the day Akash was born. Only the words her mother used were more literal, enriching the tired phrase with meaning: 'He is made from your meat and bone.' It had caused Ruma to acknowledge the supernatural in everyday life. But, death, too, had the power to awe, she knew this now--that a human being could be alive for years and years, thinking and breathing and eating, full of a million worries and feelings and thoughts, taking up space in the world, and then, in an instant, become absent, invisible."

what?

2008-06-22T19:50:00.004-04:00

that was my lame fortune after my chinese takeout dinner.

also...

...i need a tan.

let me eat cake!

2008-06-20T00:44:00.004-04:00

i was checking out one of my favorite sites i visit daily called thekitchn and i came across an article on wedding cakes. this cake was pictured and i thought, hey, that looks familiar. well, that's because it's my friend elinor's cake from her january wedding in san francisco. i am IN LOVE with the way her and her husband went about their wedding. everything was really intimate and oozing with creativity. i wasn't there, but she showed me pictures and i think i drooled a little bit.

i love this song

2008-06-17T21:48:00.000-04:00

just let it go

2008-06-17T20:20:00.004-04:00

melting words by kotama bouabane.

phyllo is a bitch!

2008-06-17T19:26:00.005-04:00

i bought a package of phyllo dough months ago with the good intention of making something with it for the first time soon after. well..forward a few months to today. for the past couple of days i've had a hankering for that flaky goodness called phyllo and decided to tackle it. for those of you who may not know, phyllo dough is kinda tough to work with because you have to work fast or else the dough will dry out and crack. also, each sheet is thinner than paper and can easily tear if you're not careful. i have a new respect for those old women who make the shatila baklawa..or the little arab elves..whoever is back there--they're awesome.

i ended up making mushroom phyllo purses. i just put everything together without a recipe or measuring..it was pretty easy. i sauteed some chopped shallots and threw in a few handfuls of chopped cremini and baby portobello mushrooms. i added salt and pepper and let them cook together for a few minutes then turned off the heat. i transferred the mushroom mixture to a bowl and added some tofutti vegan cream cheese. i mixed everything together until the cream cheese melted into the mushrooms. then i laid out my phyllo, sheet by sheet, buttering each sheet (with vegan spread.) so after 5 or 6 layers (i lost count) i took a pizza cutter and made 3 cuts to make 6 large squares. i put a tablespoonful of mushrooms in each center:

i then took each opposite corner and brought them together and pinched them a little so they looked like this:

i popped them into a preheated 350ºF oven and baked them for about 15 minutes until golden brown:

and guess what? they're delicious. i ate two already and i'm trying to convince myself not to eat a third one.

bonjour, madame! comment ca va?

2008-06-17T10:13:00.005-04:00

i drove chris to the airport yesterday and instead of listening to music on the way there, we listened to my "berlitz french guaranteed" cds (well, disc 1.) it was pretty funny. for about 25 minutes we repeated greetings and asked monsieur albert what he would like to order at the bakery. chris thought he had to change his voice for these french conversations. he became somewhat of a muppet.

when we arrived at the entrance to the spirit terminal, chris took his bag out of the trunk and we exchanged goodbyes. it went something like this:

au revoir, frere! bon voyage!

bonsoir, mademoiselle! oui, oui..bonjour!

omg!

2008-06-17T01:05:00.005-04:00

i'm in love with this apron!!! i would buy it if i didn't have an awesome anthropologie one that renee bought for me right under my nose! visit jessiesteele.com for more cute aprons.

bonjour, vintage vixens!

2008-06-17T00:17:00.005-04:00

there's a new vintage online shop in town (or in the world wide web) called nastygal. albeit a little overpriced, their pieces seem to be in great shape. plus, unlike other vintage shops, their clothes are styled really well. i love the above pieces. oh and i just ordered these glasses:

relax, michelle, i'm kidding. for more great looks, go to shopnastygal.com.

it's a free country

2008-06-16T19:01:00.004-04:00

hey fellow bloggers. i just wanted to share that i'm glad i don't live in china. the bbc reports that since 2003 there have been 64 blogger arrests mainly in china, iran and egypt. these bloggers got in trouble when they exposed human rights exploitations and shared their political views w/ their worldwide audiences. the average jail sentence is 15 months and the longest reported was eight years!!!

i'm glad i can get away with saying that george w. is a blubbering brat.

george w. is a blubbering brat!!!!

i see right through you

2008-06-14T00:24:00.003-04:00

(snatched from apartmenttherapy.com)

wilbur

2008-06-11T09:50:00.003-04:00

how adorable is this piglet??? her name is cinders and she has mysophobia, a fear of dirt! she refuses to join her siblings in the mud so the owners of the farm made her little wellies and now she happily stomps around in the dirt!

loverrrrs...

2008-06-10T23:19:00.002-04:00

i heard this song on the radio today...i hadn't heard it probably since the 80's. but, i love it. :)

d to the f to the t

2008-06-10T14:50:00.003-04:00

bridget bardot in "contempt" by jean-luc godard (1963.)

yesss...the new detroit film theater schedule is up. i'm ready.

blah.

2008-06-10T14:37:00.002-04:00

i want to be myself again. i know i have been lacking in the jolly mood department lately, but i just don't really feel like myself. i used to be able to shrug things off so easily, but lately i am so irritated by that it seems to consume me. i hate to sound unappreciative, but i feel like life recently has featured a string of disappointments. i'm grateful for my family and friends..so i'm sorry if i've been snappy or moody.

congrats narmeen & john!

2008-06-09T10:49:00.004-04:00

i stood up in my friend narmeen's wedding last night. it was nice, but guess what. i'm so over being a bridesmaid. i felt bad for feeling that way because i did honestly feel honored that she chose only me to stand up for her, but i just wanted to be in the background. and the gaggle of arabic women that were asking me when i was going to get married was really pissing me off. i knew to expect it, but that doesn't make it less annoying.

the wedding was really nice, though. it was at the roostertail and so we saw the crazy rains and winds that blew cocktail tables down from gigantic picture windows. the hors d'oeuvres were supposed to take place outside but that obviously didn't happen. those little nuggets of deliciousness were my favorite culinary part of the night. there were spinach stuffed baby portobello caps, shrimp cocktail shooters, orange chicken bites and my favorite, really freakin' garlicky bruschetta toasts. i ate one and knew that my breath wouldn't be the same after that, so i just ate more. :)

(the pictures are from the limo. the flower girls ((hannah and alexa)) and i were having our own party since we had the gigantic stretch limo basically to ourselves. they were having a blast..imagine being 8 years-old and parent-free in a limo w/ adults.)

i stole something.

2008-06-04T01:04:00.002-04:00

relaaax, i just stole this lovely picture from one of my favorite sites, thekitchn.com. fish are fascinating. i think every color we've ever dreamed can be found on a fish somewhere in the sea. i wonder what species we have no idea even exist. since we're on the subject of fish, i encourage you all to listen to one of my favorite recent radiohead songs, "weird fishes/arpeggi." (if you don't have it, youtube it!)

japon

2008-06-03T00:02:00.002-04:00

look at this cool invention by a couple japanese designers (of course.) they're blinds that simulate natural light...there's no window behind it!

bush still sucks.

2008-06-02T15:08:00.001-04:00

i just received my "2008 economic stimulus payment" in the mail...yay! i'm putting my 600 bucks in the bank. what is everyone else doing?

red bull gives you wings...and go-go dancers!

2008-05-31T23:39:00.003-04:00

i had a pretty long and eventful day today. i worked from 9-4 and then i headed down to the detroit science center to do makeup w/ my coworker, carolyn, for the red bull air race kickoff party. it was pretty cool to go through doors at the science center that are usually off limits to the general public. we did the makeup in this room w/ nature murals painted on all four walls. there were small panels that opened up like doors in various spots on the wall. at first i saw one and thought it hid an electrical outlet, except when i opened it i jumped back because hiding in the space was a little ball of fur. i realized there were doors all over the wall and each one housed something different: an acorn, a painting of bats, etc. it was strange. there were also fish tanks w/ no fish in them and a fake tree in the corner of the room. i felt funny being in such a kid-friendly room since we were doing makeup on some dancers who were completely unaware of the meaning of modesty. all i saw were boobs and asses.

aummm...

2008-05-31T00:58:00.000-04:00

peace.

don't play with your toys!

2008-05-30T08:23:00.003-04:00

this cup was given to a man named john webber back in 1945 by his grandfather to use as a toy. little johnny even used it as target practice...well guess what..recently he decided to have it appraised and it turns out it's an ancient persian golden relic that was made hundreds of years before the birth of christ!

arabicism

2008-05-30T00:48:00.002-04:00

my mom sometimes messes up english words or phrases which is really hilarious and precious. she laughs at herself, too, so i'm not being mean. she's actually very fluent in english and barely has an accent, but sometimes she stumbles over words and it's cute. (when she says "pet peeves" she has to stop to think and she says it very slowly.)

surprisingly, tonight my dad said something wrong. he's pretty well versed in the english language so i couldn't stop laughing when he called someone a "cheapskunk" meaning to say "cheapskate."

tasty toast

2008-05-29T23:20:00.007-04:00

old advertisements never cease to make me laugh or just plain amaze me. they're usually pretty cool, pretty cheesy or pretty eyebrow raising. this 40's ad for a toaster is funny because it would NEVER fly in 2008.

it's a little hard to make out what's going on, but there's a couple peacefully eating toast at the table while the couple above them are in the midst of chaos because the toast is burnt. the last line of the first paragraph reads, "don't tempt masculine tempers with burnt toast!"

are you kidding me???

.

2008-05-29T08:29:00.000-04:00

i want to live in the clouds.

"i'd rather go to paris than to heaven."

2008-05-27T09:10:00.006-04:00

mcsorley's bar

john sloan. 1912.

sorry, guys. haven't really been feeling like myself lately. i've neglected my fans. (ha.) how was everyone's long weekend?

i went to see the ashcan painters exhibit at the dia on sunday. it was the last day they were showing it...too bad because it was lovely and i'd urge you all to go. the ashcan artists were a group of artists in the late 1800's to early 1900's who painted life in new york city and paris the way they saw it. so there were lots of bar scenes, circus tents, skating in parks, sporting events, etc. their style was pretty different for that time period and they often painted things that were a little risque (it wouldn't be right now, of course.) there's a book of all these paintings and info about them available at the dia store, but seeing them in person is 250 times better than printed on a page. the title of my blog is a quote from one of the artists, william merritt chase.

i'm running out of photos of the day

2008-05-24T23:47:00.001-04:00

there's an elephant (or two) in the room.

chicago's field museum.

2007.

photo of the day

2008-05-23T08:23:00.001-04:00

behind the redford theater.

detroit, mi.

2006.

photo of the day

2008-05-22T08:29:00.002-04:00

@ reta & sam's wedding.

(wisam (reta's brother), anita (friend), dina, jenny (friend) and me.

october 2006.

how is dale gone and not lisa??

2008-05-21T23:23:00.003-04:00

i'm sure you all know about my obsession w/ toys. i added a new one to my collection. a plushy ninja. my ninja is the "anti-ninja" because he's orange. there was a little booklet w/ a picture of each of the ninjas in the "ninja town" series of plushy toys and each one had a little story to go along w/ it. business ninja and ninja consultants are a couple of my favorites. (p.s. you can visit the new location of lift in royal oak on fourth street between main and washington. lift used to be a shoe store that sold a few toys but now they don't sell any shoes and they only sell toys.)

here's something i'm playing around with. this image may seem familiar because i used it in another photo transfer piece. this piece represents my love/hate relationship w/ cigarettes. (lately i hate them.)

i am a consumer and i don't mind.

2008-05-21T19:35:00.005-04:00

one day last week i was having a pretty crappy day. i decided to do a little shopping after work because that always seems to lift my spirits. i went to loehmann's where i found two items i adore and for a fraction of what they normally retail for.

i found this trench by mackage which retails for $495. i only paid $60!!! it fits like a glove.

this is my ultimate find. i actually did a double take when i saw this..it may not seem like much, but i think it's super cute and..it's vivienne westwood! i don't know if that means anything to you, but she's one of my favorite (wacky) designers. she is the pioneer of punk fashion and is still going on strong in her late sixties. her stuff is pretty hard to find. okay so...this bag would retail for almost $400. again, $60!!!