nyfw

hello hello! the last couple of weeks have been kind of a blur - i keep doing the thing where i half-write a blog post in my head, but then never find the time to actually sit down and type it out. i've filled my camera's memory card entirely at this point, so it's definitely time to play a little blogger catch-up.

almost two weeks ago now i took a day off work to attend the lucky fashion blogger conference. i rarely get to do this kind of thing, what with my full-time, non-fashion job, so it was pretty fun to get dressed up and hang out with my bloggy friends all day. highlights would have to be getting hugged by joan rivers and listening to jenna lyons from j crew, who just seemed like such an awesome, honest, down-to-earth woman. i decked myself out in my best man-repelling outfit for the day, as you can see.





pants: actually a onesie, from h&m
shirt: j crew
belt: anthropologie
shoes: madewell
necklace: laura lombardi
sweater: madewell

the first runway show i've ever attended was a couple nights later: rachel comey, thursday evening at chelsea piers. being completely inexperienced in this sort of thing (i still think of myself as more of a pastry chef/crafter/nerd than a fashion blogger,) i got there super early and waited in line, thinking i'd miss the show if i came too late (not knowing that the show was never going to start on time.) i managed a pretty good spot in line, though, and snagged claire as she walked in, so we watched the show together. i loved it - it was so cool to see all the fashion photographers grouped at the end of the runway (and occasionally yelling things like "slow down!" at the models) and the clothes were gorgeous - simple, bold patterns in bright colors, which i'm really into at the moment, and great chunky boots and awesome hair - pinned up at the top and then super straight underneath - something i'll definitely try as soon as i get a badly-needed haircut. my camera couldn't seem to understand what to focus on when they moved so quickly, so what i managed was mostly some semi-blurry, washed out shots - but here are a few anyway.




and then - i had a bunch of other shows i was going to attend: the lake and the stars friday morning, a couple others that evening, two on saturday, tory burch and lela rose on sunday. . . but after freezing my butt off for rachel comey thursday (which was followed by a fun, delicious, and incredibly chatty sushi dinner in st. marks with a bunch of bloggers and a kate spade designer, whom i happened to sit across from and badger with questions all evening long) i slept in friday and opted for a brunch with my guy instead of a trip into the city, then for dinner with friends instead of althea harper, and. . . well, basically hung out in warm, cosy brooklyn all weekend rather than hoof it to more shows. i love fashion, and it was thrilling to be invited - but i'm a girl who enjoys simple pleasures, too, like a warm bowl of soup in my pajamas at 3 pm on a saturday, and sometimes that just sounds better than hustling to stand in line in four inch heels and 30 degree weather.

so that's all on the fashion front for the moment. lots of food updates, new acquisitions, and life changes to share in the coming days.

thanks for sticking with me -

xo audrey

dumplings for good luck

last night i headed out to chelsea to meet up with keiko, kim, and at the last minute claire for an event thrown by blue stripe pr. we sipped on cans of sofia champagne, browsed racks upon racks of gorgeous clothing (sadly, the momeent i was waiting for - when they tell us we can take whatever we want - never came,) and chatted it up with lots of stylish girls, mostly about food, which seems to happen every time i lead a conversation. getting dressed for these events is always a messy affair for me - i'm so indecisive, and it's so hard to dress for the weather, and somehow i almost always end up dressed in primary colors. last night was no different.






i'm trying out this new thing where i post closeup photos. i've always done the one-photo, this is it thing, and i have my reasons for doing that; but i've realized as i've been browsing more blogs lately that i really love blogs that are photo-heavy and show all the details, and that's something that my posts have always lacked. i got a new fancy camera (!!!) that allows me to do high-quality shots, so there you go. i tried taking a couple of face shots and i feel like i look like a fish in all of them, so we'll do this photo thing in baby steps.

shirt: j crew
skirt: thrifted (originally united colors of benetton)
tights: man on the street
necklaces: vintage jewelry shop in atlanta, gift from sam's mom, gift from sam
shoes: thrifted


it was a lovely time, and we left with arms full of great gifts, but i was in a rush to make it to whole foods before it closed so i could grab some ground pork and head home to the most exciting part of the night, for me - dinner. my friend ashlee, who spent a couple years in mongolia and has also traipsed much of the rest of asia, came over and showed me how to make dumplings, which we promptly scarfed down, along with a couple of white ales, in honor of chinese new year. i'm told eating dumplings is good luck for this year, which is the year of the rabbit - any excuse to stuff my face with pork in any form is good enough for me.


Gif animation creator





she is a master of sealing those dumplings.

here is the recipe we used:


ingredients:

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 cup of chopped green onion
1/2 cup of chopped cabbage
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon rice wine
A few dashes of white pepper
5 drops of sesame oil

for the wraps:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup water

sprinkle the cabbage with salt to draw out the water and let it sit until it's dry. combine the filling ingredients and set aside.

use 1/2 cup of BOILING water, pour into the flour, and knead until it springs back to the touch; let it rest for a bit, then you can do what we did, aka cheat, and feed it bit by bit into a pasta machine to get it nice and thin, and then use a 3" cutter to cut it into circles; fill each with about a tablespoon of filling, and seal it however you can.

put a bit of vegetable or sesame oil in a pan, heat until water spits when you splash it on; brown the bottoms of the dumplings, then add a cup or two of water and cover them tightly with a lid. let them steam until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.

we made a sauce of ponzu, sesame oil, soy sauce and a bit of srirachi sauce. dip and enjoy!


happy chinese new year, everyone, and have a great weekend!

xo audrey

playdate

yesterday, my friend ashlee braved the cold and came over to my neck of the woods for what would have been a perfect playdate when i was 8 years old - crafting and blt's for dinner. of course, the blt's were made with prosciutto, arugula, and truffled mayonnaise, and the crafting was accompanied by glasses of syrah; but all in all, it was good, clean fun.



i became an aunt again about ten days ago, when sam's older sister gave birth to her second daughter - so my task was to make her a congratulations card. ashlee got workin' on a valentine's day card for her man (as did i, but that is top secret for another couple of weeks.)








while i do not recommend hand-stitching your congratulations into card stock if you value your fingertips (or your sanity,) it does give me some ideas for embroidering some clothing. . . soon to come!

in this weather all i want to do is drink spiced cider, make cards, and watch cooking shows. how do you guys deal with cabin fever?

xo audrey

magic bus

saturday evening, after rousing late in the morning, ordering some mexican brunch to be delivered, eating in bed, and falling back asleep for a couple of hours, i got spruced up and headed into manhattan to celebrate a friend's birthday in true style: on a limo bus. it equipped with multi-colored strobe lights, a karaoke machine, and a stripper pole; one of the instructions we were given was not to hang from the bars near the ceiling whilst dancing. so, imagine that, absolutely packed with drinking 20-somethings, shimmying to lady gaga, and you probably get a vague picture of the night; it was an absolute blast. we stopped at a bluegrass bar and an old haunt of mine in williamsburg before i had to call it a night (and while sam and i were still undefeated foosball champs.)



dress: etsy
tights: DKNY
shoes: devotte
necklace: from my ma

it was a perfect night to get dressed up, since we got dropped off and picked up from each location as we went through the night, and i didn't have to worry too much about staying warm.

aaah, it is 1 am. i'd best be getting to sleep!

xo audrey