stress & mess

hi everyone,

please forgive my week-long absence! i promised myself i would never become that stressed out, tunnel-visioned bride, but it's happened, despite my best efforts. as it turns out, being incredibly laid-back often comes back around to bite you in the ass, and my ass is covered in proverbial bite marks. okay, that sounded weirdly sexual. my ass is fine. my brain, however, is FRIED.

i've spent the last couple of weeks creating lists, calling vendors, frantically emailing, papier mache-ing, dying, and planning. my to-do list is approximately 324 things long. on top of all of this, of course, i have a full-time job that i'm trying to balance, so the one thing that has fallen my the wayside is this blog of mine.

this weekend i'm doing lots of last minute things - a bit of bridesmaid shopping, getting my eyebrows done, freezing the cake - and then i jump on a train to connecticut monday morning, where the work REALLY starts. i am bringing my camera, and my BRAND NEW COMPUTER (i haven't been on here to mention that my dream guy NOT ONLY agreed to marry me, but bought me a macbook pro this past weekend [my macbook has been suffering for some time now - i once used it on the same table as some candles, and it's been carrying the scars every since]) and lots of cute outfits, and i swear to take photos every day and update my progress. until then, though, i'm afraid i have to hunker down and get my affairs in order.

one outfit photo to share, though - the lovely folks at outlet seven are having a major sample sale, and allowed me to pick a few pieces to dress up. my favorite is this mod-ish red dress from sunjoo moon. the sample sale is up until the 27th (that's this friday) and there are drinks and crazy awesome deals. check it out.



until this weekend,

much love,

xo audrey

tuneyards for two

hi everyone! this is a bit unusual, but i've been puzzling what to do with this pickle i'm in, so i'm going to try an experiment.

i bought sam & i tickets to see tuneyards in milfod, connecticut this coming tuesday, only to learn a couple hours later that we wouldn't be able to make the show. it's only about an hour and a half drive from the city, so new yorkers could easily make it if you're one of those fancy car-drivers, or anyone in connecticut who happens to read and has nothing to do that night.

the tickets were pretty cheap, and they are just print-and-go, so if you want 'em and you're the first to say so, they're yours. just leave me a comment with a way to reach you (or, if your blogger profile includes your email, that works too,) and i'll forward them along!

hope someone out there can make it!

xo audrey

the ants go marching

good moooorning! how is everyone this fine wednesday? for some reason, despite not being able to fall asleep until about 1 am, i woke up at 7 fresh as a daisy and had plenty of time to get ready, and take some photos.







blouse: charlotte taylor
pants: on sale at zara
shoes: vintage ferragamos, ebay
necklace: thrifted (a gift from sam)

i've been wanting a pair of ferragamos forever, but i've heard they're sizing is tricky, and i couldn't find a pair that was just right (and just the right price) - i put about a million on my watch list on ebay and got a real steal on these, which are a full size bigger than my usual shoe but AAAs, and fit absolutely perfectly. i'm pretty delighted with them.

tonight i'm heading to the seychelles garden party to hangout with keiko and eat some candy. hopefully some of you guys will be there! please say hello!

xo audrey

weekend in [someone else's] pictures

hi there! i had an absolutely perfect weekend, if you discount the hangover i nursed most of sunday. here it is, in pictures.




friday evening me, sam, his brother & girlfriend went to see holly golightly in williamsburg after stuffing our faces with meat & cheese at our apartment. and lots of wine.

saturday morning we woke up surprisingly early (well, like 9:30, early for me,) and i made us soufflés, fruit salad, and chicken apple sage sausages and french pressed coffee for breakfast, than wiggled into comfy clothes and ridiculous shoes and headed off to my bridal shower.






one of my best friends and bridesmaids, rachel, told me she was throwing a bridal shower for me, and i wasn't sure what to expect - but it was absolutely perfect. can you imagine if people are throwing a party in your honor, and their idea of doing so is to bring together the best people you know, with the most beautiful, delicious food and pastries, gorgeous, homemade drinks, flowers everywhere, and asking everyone to wear their "audrey finest"? i have never been so touched and flattered in my life. needless to say i was drunk my about 6 pm. which didn't stop me from. . .



duck fat toast, tecate and tequila shots from fatty cue in williamsburg. truly, and i'm not proud of this, but i barely remember being here; apparently i dropped my food on the floor a lot and repeatedly told the bartender i was getting married. he was charmed enough to give us all free shots throughout the evening, which was sweet, but really probably not the best response to the girl who can't hold on to her ribs.



sunday we woke up early to say so long to sam's brother and his lady, and stopped off for donuts at dough before i headed back to bed in hopes of relieving my pounding headache. (it didn't work.) instead i chowed down on leftover chinese food, called my mom and had a nice long mother's day chat, and then made sam and i dinner



and then we headed to the movies, to catch an old favorite of mine, that sam had never seen -






harold and maude.

and that was my weekend! how was yours? happy belated mother's day to all the moms out there!

and happy birthday to my own dear mother, the proximity of which to mother's day means a curse of combo presents for most of her life. i'm sorry mom! i love you a ton!

xo audrey

rural juror

so i've had this collar for weeks and weeks, and i couldn't figure out what to wear it with that didn't look totally weird and clown-like, but i threw it on with this dress i thrifted this morning and thought, hey, for some reason these seem like they go together!

and now i know why. i was going for alexa chung and ended up dressed like judge judy. ha!


dress: thrifted
espadrilles: thrifted
collar: etsy'd & tea dyed

oh well. you win some, you lose some. tonight sam and i are going to a holly go lightly show in brooklyn which should be a big win, so i'll take this in stride.

hope everyone has a lovely weekend, and thanks again for all your kind words on my mushy mush. it means a lot.

xo audrey

ps! for leftmeetrightstyle - you asked for the fingerling potato recipe (which is seriously probably my favorite food on the planet.) it's actually a hubert keller recipe, which is right here. enjoy!

clothing swap conundrum

good morning! happy THURSDAY! i can't believe how quickly this week has gone by. i am FINALLY feeling better, my body no longer rocked by lung-collapsing coughs or plagued by nose-killing sniffles (although i'd gotten very good at seeing the silver lining every time i had a coughing fit - "at least this is working my abs!")

a few weeks ago, when i wore this, i got a comment from the lovely hannah of heart city vintage letting me know that, in case i ever decided to sell the dress, she'd gladly take it off my hands. i'm not quite ready to part with it permanently, but i suggested a clothing swap instead, and she gladly accepted.

this skirt was part of the adorable package she sent me - this and a gorgeous vintage sheer blue top that i am still trying to figure out how to style. i'd been waiting for a warm enough day to wear it bare-legged, but it seems that day may never come, so here it is.



top: thrifted
2 strands of beads: thrifted
belt: thrifted
skirt: swapped with hannah
tights: man on the street
shoes: thrifted

or at least, this is how i wore it at first. i was getting ready to walk out the door and caught a glimpse in the mirror and something about it just seemed OFF to me, so i spazzed out and changed. sort of.



top: c/o lilla p
scarf: thrifted
belt: asos
skirt: swapped with hannah
tights: man on street
shoes: thrifted

now, looking at them both, i'm not sure which looks less crazy. what do you think?

xo audrey

ps. happy cinco de mayo, everyone!! tory burch featured my coconut flan recipe on her blog today. it's super delicious. it once got me a job at a four star restaurant. true story.

pps. on yesterday's post i asked if anyone had bridesmaid gift ideas, and i'd still love to hear them! i guess naming a post "health food" is a good way to get people to skip it. i know i would.

health food

hi everyone!

i promised a normal post today, but i'm not quite there - my cold seems to have moved down to my chest (oh joy!) so i kept myself awake coughing most of the night, and thus didn't wake up in time for any cute outfitting. i DID muster up the strength to make sam and i some supper last night, and decided to make it as healthy as i could (well, as healthy as i can FOR ME, which means still pan-frying it and slathering it with cheese.) it was lovely and delicious, so i snapped some photos.








the sandwich was a bunch of leftovers on two pieces of sourdough: steamed broccoli, grilled portobello caps, and various pitted olives with a schmear of artichoke garlic cream on one side and goat cheese on the other, pan fried in a bit of olive oil.

the salad was really bright and refreshing, and quite healthy - i love beets, but i never eat them raw, so this was new for me.

1 beet, peeled
2 carrots, scrubbed
a splash each of white wine vinegar, sesame oil, and honey
1 t cumin seeds
some kosher salt

grate the beet and carrots in your food processor, if you have one, or your box grater if need be. add the other ingredients, toss, and voila! healthy and delicious.


one wedding conundrum down, and another pops up. bridesmaids gifts. this has been so stupidly hard for me. obviously i adore each of the girls that will be standing by my side on the big day, but i'm at a loss as to what to get them - they are all so different, so maybe individual gifts are the way to go, but i'm worried that will get pricey. . . any ideas? what did you do for your bridesmaids?

and thank you SO MUCH for all of your kind words on my last (mushy) post. i don't usually get so personal and it was really touching that everyone had such nice things to say and is so happy for us. . . what can i say? i'm pretty darn happy for us, too.

have a lovely wednesday, everyone!

xo audrey

mush

hi everyone!

sorry for my absence. i've been cursed with a wicked cold for the last few days, which hasn't knocked me totally flat but has bestowed me with that crusty-dry-over-blown-nose syndrome and some seriously sleepy eyes, so i've opted to sleep in rather than attempt a cute outfit for the last couple of days. instead, today, i thought i'd do something i don't generally do, and write a little bit about the night sam and i met.



it wasn't so long ago, actually - september 1, 2009. i was about to graduate from culinary school and getting ready to move to chicago; i was feeling really great about life, about myself, about being single. it was a tuesday, and i'd attended a make-up class that evening - it's so funny how you look back and think, "man, if i hadn't been such a slacker and missed that one class, i never would have met the man of my dreams." (yes, if the title of this post didn't give it a way, this is going to be a post full of ucky-love-stuff.) after class i decided to traipse over to my friend kt's apartment, and called to let her know, and she warned me that her husband had a friend over, a guy he'd known since high school. "maybe you'll like him, though," she said. not likely, i thought.

they were on the roof when i got there, and when i stepped out i was greeted by striking green eyes on an almost too-handsome face - oh, this guy was SO not my type. i decided he was probably too good-looking to not be full of himself, and promptly ignored him. after awhile, though, talking to my friend while half-listening to his conversation, i noticed that he was controlling the music, and kept playing stuff i loved: april march, beirut, and so on. and he was FUNNY. like, really, exactly-my-annoying-kind-of-sarcastic funny. fueled my a few glasses of white wine, i finally turned to say something to him (if i remember correctly, in fact, to make fun of him for being vegetarian,) and the rest, as they say, is history. we talked for hours, me laughing hard enough for it to register in the top 3 workouts of my life, and my poor friend, who is an early-to-bed, early-to-riser, kept getting pleading looks from me to pleeease stay up another half hour so i could bask in the presence of this guy. i remember at about 1 in the morning feeling like i suddenly woke up - i'd been totally in this zone, so comfortable with him it was like being with myself, and i'd managed to consume the better part of a bottle of wine. time to go. i stood up suddenly, said goodnight, and left without a real goodbye to him (in fact falling down the stairs in the process.) my friend followed me to the door and said, "what WAS that? i've never seen you like that with anyone before. does that happen to you a lot?" and i replied, dazed, something like "no. never," and left to walk home. all the way, the flaming lips song, "suddenly, everything has changed," rang through my head.

the next day i came back to kt's and shyly mentioned that i thought her husband's friend was cute. "good," she said, "because i already gave him your number."

and the rest, as they say, is history. i turned down a job in chicago, lost a deposit on an apartment in the ukranian village, and got a place in brooklyn instead; two months after that, he asked me to be his bride. of course, i said yes.

and one month from tomorrow, i get to say i do.



no more mush from me - i promise, tomorrow, to be back to the regularly scheduled programming.

** photos by the beautiful, incredibly talented, and ridiculously sweet jessica pernikoff.