what is this?

go ho ho.

I forgot how much I used to love gap commercials... enjoy.



Old school.

goodies.

I've always been a big fan of the whole wax insignia seal and I love even more that they've turned the concept into initial charms. I need one.

Waxing Poetic Round Initial Charm
$38.00
www.initialcouture.com

I found these on ebay.com a while back and have been debating ordering one. They are obviously custom made. I think they're great and they're solid sterling silver with a price point of just under $100.

Monogram Initial Signet Silver Ring
ebay - mybigring2

BLEACHBLACK X URBAN OUTFITTERS
I'm a big fan of the bleachblack blog and was excited to see that they were collaborating with Urban. I know the pieces are limited edition but I'm not sure if it's an online exclusive or if it's stocked in stores.

bleach black rhinestone bracelet
$28.00
bleachblack rhinestone necklace
$38.00
www.urbanoutfitters.com

Even though headbands might be on their way out, I still love the embellishments.
Both of these are available at express.

express.com
both $19.50
left: crystal patch headband
right: double metallic embellishment headband

love child

My experience with Brighton is really hit or miss. Some things look a little old and stuffy and some things look perfect paired with more current trends. I think i like these bangles.

both $28.00
love child love bangle
love child peace bangle
www.brighton.com

defying gravity.

magic.

queen gaga.

lady gaga is amazing. that is all.

interview.

Interview recently published their 40th anniversary edition with the occasionally gorgeous Kristen Stewart gracing the cover. The news stand price is around $10 which seems high for a magazine but this one was well worth it. This issue has some amazing old school interview images, ranging from cover art, portraits, photos from 54 and even Steve Rubell at Fire Island. Great pictures, some even frame-worthy if you ask me.

morbid & amazing.

Tim Burton retrospective @ the MoMA
November 22, 2009–April 26, 2010


Untitled (The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories)
(www.moma.org)

(nymag)

Poladroid.

My roommate told me about this fun program. It's a pretty simple program and it runs a little slow but I looove it.


You just drop basic photos into the camera and they turn into these!
It's great because you watch them develop and there are always slight variations, just like a real thing.

To download - go to:
http://www.poladroid.net/

KL optical.

(highsnobiety)

Karl Lagerfeld makes eyeglasses?
www.KarlLagerfeld.com

I couldn't seem to find a great online selection but 88 optical @ 116 mott had a pretty nice selection. You can check www.KarlLagerfeld.com for other locations. Also if I remember correctly the price points were under $200 which is surprisingly low for someone with the last name Lagerfeld.

DIY. studding.

I saw these super cute jeans on shopbop the other day and decided that I should make my own version. The originals shown below are Ella Studded Skinny Jeans that retail for $242 on www.shopbop.com.

I used a pair of the Bullhead Solana Extreme Skinny black jeans from pacsun. They retail for just $39.50.


You can find studs & other hardware @ www.studsandspikes.com, order a bunch because they are super cheap and they are great to have on hand. The best sizes are probably 1/2" and smaller. Ideally I would use the 1/4" or a combination of both which is what I did.

My version for under $50. I don't have a picture of them on because I didn't want to ask my roommate to take pictures of my ass. Maybe later.



Next posible DIY project.

American Retro Stud Cardigan $218.00 @ shopbop.com

balmain. ss10.

on my list.

clusterfuck.

lower east side new york city

So it's been a somewhat of a clusterfuck since i've arrived. I'll spare you the details until my life is a bit more stabilized but here are some pictures of my new apartment...


the living room


the library

the lovely kitchen

sink & fridge combo

it's official.

Although the updates since my most recent NY experience have been non-existent... I will fill you in. Commencing on Friday afternoon, I will be a new resident, along with miss Fanto, of a studio apartment on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side. Obviously many pictures to come once we make it our home. I tentatively have a job lined up at an Italian restaurant in Nolita, so hopefully that works out, i'm keeping my fingers crossed, but at the same time there are a million restaurants in new york so i'm sure i'll find something.

I've spent the the past several days selling off all of my furniture... i don't do well with purging my possessions. it makes me sad, but i did make a nice little bounty off of them and there is a fantastic world of craigslist full of great new things to acquire. i guess it's good that i'm moving, i had way too many things. i did manage to fit my entire life into a pick up truck so points for me! check back for updates.

my lovely huge room in lincoln park :( farewell.

bebe vs. balmain

Killing time today after I vacated my apartment for the last time, I was walking down Halsted in Lincoln Park (unsuccessfully) trying not to spend money when I meandered into bebe. Normally I'm not a fan of bebe because most of there stuff is skanky, but today I was pretty astonished by how many of their items are straight up Balmain knock-offs. I would barely even use the word 'inspired'... see the pictures below for yourself. I'm not sure yet how I feel about these 'inspired' looks... do they look cheap? pretty much? maybe? They also had motorcycle jeans, quilted leather skirts, ton's of leather jackets & structured blazers... not sure if I should be thrilled because I could never afford the real thing... or irritated because it just does not do it justice.

left balmain - right bebe

left bebe - right balmain

left balmain - right bebe

yes please.

alice + olivia for payless. wedge buckle boots. check.

#1 skinny.

best skinny's ever.
pacific sunwear's bullhead extreme skinny's.
super tight ankle & the fit is amazing. quite a steal too!

<3 journey.

lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be...

my fave j shirts.

chasers la - got this little baby today at the blues jean bar...

kid dangers - a gift from my sister in law last christmas.



link to the actual faithfully video
[embedding was disabled]

possibly the greatest music video ever made. totally old school footage of the band from the 80s... oh steve how i love you.

quotables.

crunch time.

the time has come... i'm in New York for five whole days to do the impossible, that being finding employment and a place to call home. all in all today proved to be mostly successful...

whenever i have an early flight, it's best for me not to go to sleep at all, because my normal bedtime is typically the time i need to go to the airport therefore i have not yet slept. i decided to take a cab to the airport this morning, partial laziness & partial safety precaution....alone on the orange line at 4:30 am can be a little creepy, but mostly laziness. of course my flight was delayed, but not until we were on the runway... fun! got to laguardia and decided that since i'd already spent $40 on cab fare in the morning it wouldn't be that economical to spend another $40 to get to brooklyn. so i made an executive decision to take public transportation. which took 2 hours. but hey, now i have an extra $40 and i'm learning the innerworkings of the mta.

got to chris, steve & chads place around 1:30. it was balls hot today. like 95. it was awful carrying all of my shit 10 blocks from the subway stop to their place... so gross. once i got there i had to pull myself together because somehow i managed to get an interview at this amazingly sweet little russian restaurant called mari vanna in gramercy. it is seriously so amazing inside. i'll try to attach some photos. anyway, it wasn't much of an interview, i spoke to a women for maybe 2 minutes and she told me to come back tomorrow from 11-3 to see if it's a fit. so who knows... maybe it will be.

these pictures of mari vanna do it no justice, sooo adorable

after that, i navigated my way back to brooklyn which was much faster than earlier, because the first time i was completely unsure of myself. definitely starting to like brooklyn, more specifically park slope, more and more. megan g (oh yeah she's here too) met me on 7th avenue to grab some dinner at the miracle grill. nothing special but the food was good, then we came back to the boys apartment. where we continued to swelter and melt so intensely that we decided a large fan would need to be purchased. a wind machine 3300 to be exact. where she and i are now comfortably perched in front of. the night may be over for me, as i have not slept, but the night is young so who knows! miss kathleen joins me tomorrow for the commencement of our apartment hunt... more updates tomorrow! xoxo

me walking through brooklyn with my wind machine
[image via megan's twitter page]

the september issue.

pure romance.

I saw this on the today show this morning... love it.

(image via keith lissner)

lust.

Stella McCartney boot-tights. lust.

(source psfk)

park life.

(images via h&m)
style guide for h&m. i must go there now.

emma<3watson.

source

summer in chicago.

some shots i snapped last summer during wednesday night beer can racing...