busy bee

hello there! a really quick catch-up post: a friend of mine has been in town since saturday, and will be until this coming monday, so i haven't had much of a chance to take photos or write posts. what we have been up to:

- finishing up & dropping off a wedding cake, just in the nick of time

- delighting in the fact that there is now a ramen bar less than 1 block from our apartment

- swigging whiskey & water from a water bottle, waiting in line for SNL

- laughing a little too hard as a result

- having brunch, walking all over williamsburg, and having craft beer in a bar with a shuffleboard table

- having 4 old friends in my apartment for fish tacos

- sneaking our own popcorn into drive

- spending an evening with elie tahari, and having the man himself tell me, "that dress was made for you." (his dress, sadly. not the one i came in.)

tomorrow after work we're packing up and heading down to new jersey for the all tomorrow's parties festival; i'm crossing my fingers for dry, warm-but-not-too-warm weather. will any of you be there, by chance?

and now, a photo of me, looking like i've never seen a camera before.



dress: peter jensen for UO
slip: thrifted
shoes: jill stuart
brooch: thrifted

i'll do my best to get some photos in before i take off for the weekend, and i'm hoping to try my hand at some festival street-style photography while i'm in asbury park.

until next time,

xo audrey

wavves

good afternoon folks! happy friday! it's a bit dreary here in new york, but i'm defiantly wearing sunshiney colors to spite the rain. i'm in a sunny mood anyway; i've got a really fun weekend ahead.





dress: AKA, via gilt (a couple years ago)
top: zara
shoes: vintage, thrifted
brooch: vintage, thrifted

so, what are you guys doing this weekend? tonight i'm making a wedding cake for a friend's wedding tomorrow; saturday a good friend from chicago is coming in town, so we're going to see SNL (!!!) and possibly sneaking to the after party afterwards; sunday, another couple of old friends will be in town and we're gathering at my apartment for fresh fish tacos.

xo audrey

blondie

so, last week, after posting some rather disheveled hair photos, i decided my hair could use a good trimmin'. i've never had a go-to salon in new york; i got free bumble & bumble haircuts when i first moved here, and since have skipped around from place to place, never finding one i was totally happy with.

[movie announcer VO voice] until now.

my experience at arrojo was such a good one, start to finish - they really listened, did a great job with my color, and treated me like a princess the whole time (not to mention i LOVED mary, the colorist who gave me my strawberry blonde. i've never had a stylist so easy to talk to.) so i decided to give them a call and see if they'd be able to give me a refreshed pixie cut, and while they were at it, take me allll the way to blondey blonde blonde. they happily gave me an appointment for saturday morning, and 5 hours later, i walked out with this.





i couldn't be happier. i'd wanted a super blonde all along - i figured if you're going, you should go all out, right? well, my hair is THICK, and there is lots of it - even going from the coppery blonde that i was on friday to this white-blonde took FOUR HOURS. the analogy they used was this: you could drive from new york to los angeles without stopping, but once you arrived you'd be completely frazzled, worn out and worthless. the same is basically true of your hair. by going gradually lighter - i actually started out with a darker, more coppery blonde, which you can see in the photo the salon took, then went a tiny bit lighter the next day - my hair had some time to recuperate and recover some of its moisture & shine. waiting a little while in between also lets the stylist adjust the tone of the color a bit, seeing how it's worn on me.

tabitha was my colorist and she was absolutely amazing. i plopped down in the chair and told her i wanted to go white blonde, having no idea how much work that was really asking - i think it took about 3 shampoos, 2 bleach cycles and 12 batches of dye to get it this color, and she did it all cheerfully, explaining what she was doing along the way (your roots get the bleach first, for example, so they lighten up to the color of the rest of your hair before putting bleach all up in there. makes sense, but it never would have occurred to me.) she refused to let me walk out of there without the perfect color, even if it meant rescheduling my haircut (which it did, and which she totally handled for me.) martina, my stylist who had to wait about three hours longer than she'd expected, gave me a killer cut that still gave me some room for styling, and really shows off the new color. i couldn't be happier, and i can't imagine i'll ever go anywhere else for a haircut.



more soon to come. this weird in between weather has be panicking to get dressed in the morning, leaving no time for a photo - yeah, #firstworldproblems. lots of gratuitous pretty clothing photos to come, though, i swear.

happy almost friday!

xo audrey

squid sausage

good morning! forgive my little sabbatical - i started feeling pretty sick thursday afternoon and have basically spent the last few days sleeping, working, and not much else-ing. i started to feel better this monday, but i still can't get past this super sleepy feeling that's been preventing me from waking up early enough to take any outfit photos.

despite my sleepiness, i've had a pretty good week so far; monday night sam and i finally got to see tune-yards, after a couple of failed attempts, and last night a good friend came over for some hang time (sam is off fishing & foraging with a buddy for a couple of days) and i made us a super delicious dinner, inspired by this post i saw on the tasting table. i read over the recipe, thought about what i had in my fridge, and made a few adjustments; here's how it turned out.



+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
chorizo & yellow onion-stuffed squid

6 squid, tentacles removed & cleaned
2 links of chorizo
1 t olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
about 1 t thyme leaves
1/3 cup panko
12 or so cherry tomatoes
8 stalks of asparagus
salt & pepper
olive oil or bacon fat for cooking

heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized pan; once hot, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until transparent. while cooking onion, start a small saucepan of water boiling; drop in cherry tomatoes, cooking for a minute or so, until skins start to burst. rescue them out with a slotted spoon and plop them in an ice bath for a minute or so; set aside.

next tackle the asparagus; with a very sharp peeler, carefully slice it into thin shreds of asparagus. drop this into the still-hot water from the blanched tomatoes for 30 seconds or so, then strain out and set aside.

at this point your onions should be ready. take the chorizo out of its casing and add it to the pan, using a wooden spoon or spatula to stir and break up the meat as much as possible; cook until it's thoroughly browned. at this point add the tentacles of the squid and cook just until they're opaque; take the pan of the burner and dump its contents into a bowl. add the panko & thyme.

now take your squid bodies; make sure anything that feels like cartilage has been removed and they are well-cleaned, them simply use your fingers to stuff them full of the chorizo mixture like they are little sausage casings. fill them about 3/4 of the way full, then use a toothpick to seal them up.

using the same pan you used for the onions & chorizo, add your bacon fat (or olive oil, if you're using that) at medium heat; once hot, place the squid in the pan and let them cook for about 3 minutes on each side, until the skins are totally opaqued and a bit crispy in parts. you don't want to overcook at this point or they'll get really rubbery.

and that's it! to plate, i carefully peeled back the skins of the blanched tomatoes but left them attached at the stem, then plated the asparagus, topped with a touch of olive oil, a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, and a liberal shake of salt & pepper, then topped off with the squid. the asparagus provided a nice background to the greasy meatiness of the chorizo, and the texture of the squid makes a perfect container for this filling. this looks a lot tricker than it is, and i think it's a good dish to impress a somewhat adventurous eater.














how was your weekend? cooked anything delicious lately? i'm always on the hunt for new recipes!

xo audrey

cat lady

good morning! yesterday i left work and walked a few blocks to the mondrian hotel where, appropriately enough, phillip colbert presented the spring & summer '12 collection of his label, the rodnik band. truthfully, when i got my invite, i'd never heard of him; but a quick google search revealed that his designs are RIGHT up my alley - he describes them as 'having a strong sense of fun'; i'd say that's putting it mildly. a bit of research into past collections revealed, on the safer end of things, playful, childlike prints and dresses designed to look like old rotary telephones and warhol prints; on the crazier end, a very literal interpretation of a ducamp urinal dress. for me, it was love.




(all above photos come directly from the rodnik band website.)

the presentation took place in a dark bar in the back of the hotel; a dj blasted dance hits from LCD soundsystem, bartenders handed out prosecco, and the models danced all over the floor. it was a high-energy good time, and suited the clothes well - somewhat a departure from his more literal copies of duchamp and other great modern artists, the theme of the collection was "save our seas," and featured a fantastic 'submarine' rainjacket, a few variations on long, fishy fish-tailed dresses, and one really fantastic sparkly hooded shark dress. i graciously accepted the free bubbly (don't mind if i doo-zy) and snapped off as many shots as i could (my camera doesn't perform incredibly well when it's dark - this NEVER happens to me, i swear!)


lots of scaly prints. (and giving 'fishtail braids' a whole new level of meaning)

this girl, as far as i could tell, was dressed as a heady pint of beer; i'm not sure how it fits in, but she was having fun, and i dug it.

submarine jacket with crab dress.

the fantastic hooded shark! she never stopped dancing. it was awesome.

a beautiful cod.



the bags were really fantastic, and some of the girls were carrying what i'm pretty sure were lobster muffs.



this model had the greatest hair.

having previewed his collections before attending the show, i decided to don my best fun-with-fashion ensemble, including a certain kitten skirt. . .





(i tried it two different ways; i couldn't decide if the pink top and knee socks was too over-the-top precious, so i switched to the brown button up and mustard stockings. thankfully, the wrinkles in the top faded throughout the day. the bedhead did not.)

top: [first pictures] thrifted
top: [bottom pictures] j crew (on sale!)
skirt: vivetta
knee socks: [top] american apparel
stockings: [bottom] american apparel
shoes: devotte
necklace: [top] from my mom

had i known the theme of the show, i might have picked a different outfit; after all, i was basically stalking around the show dressed as a predator. everyone was friendly, and i really think a great time was had by all; it was nice to see models smiling and dancing as awkwardly as everyone else. bravo, mr. colbert! the collection was fun, quirky, and didn't take itself to seriously. . . and i'll be dreaming of a submarine jacket of my own for the months to come.

xo audrey

glowering flower

good morning! how was everyone's weekend? i'd planned on going into the city to see a couple of shows - fashion! - but instead i stayed home and cleaned my room, because THAT'S how cool i am. this is kind of a repeat, i guess, of what happened in september - delighted to be invited to shows, for the first time ever, i rsvp'd to almost all of them and then ended up only going to the one - rachel comey - that i was most excited to see. there are a few reasons for this - i'm incredibly flattered to be invited, to be sure, but i don't really think of myself as a "fashion person." i am really just a girl who likes dressing up. and this weekend, the craziness of lincoln center - the jumble of photographers, the legions of stick-thin models, the waves and waves of beautiful, confident women walking swiftly past me in several-thousand-dollar shoes as i wait in line, staring at my $12-on-ebay-miu miu's - just didn't sound like a good time. i'm definitely not judging - lots of close blogger friends attended many a show over the past week, and have some really gorgeous photos to show for it. but they know what they're talking about; i don't.

all that to say, i am going to a presentation tonight and i am VERY excited about it. my camera is fully charged and i'm dressed in an outfit that is the most show-appropriate i could put together; i'll post photos from both the show and of my outfit tomorrow, so you can (hopefully) see what i mean. in the meantime, here's an outfit from last week that i somehow never got around to posting.





top: quail
skirt: thrifted, vintage
shoes: a few seasons old pour la victoire
brooch: thrifted vintage clip-on earring

this shirt is one of my all-time favorites, but i don't wear it much anymore because i accidentally ran it through the wash about a year and a half ago, and it's shrunk up to be less of a crop top. . . well, yeah, less than a crop top. i saw a girl rocking this color combo on the F train a couple weeks ago and made mental note of it, and this green skirt is just high enough to make this not-totally-unreasonable for work. all together, the colors & shapes felt very floral to me; a nice little last-hurrah for summer.

oh! i've recently gotten a lot of questions about how i learned to cook. i did go to french culinary school, and graduated about 2 years ago; my concentration was pastry, though, so all of my classes focused on pies, tarts, brulees, napoleons, macarons, chocolate, etc. as far as cooking - rather than baking - is concerned, i really got into cooking a few years ago, when i moved to chicago; i love good food but couldn't afford to go out to eat, so i started slowly, cooking recipes from the cookbooks my mom had given me, and just kept on going from there. i was lucky enough to grow up with a mother and two sisters who knew their way around the kitchen, so i learned some simply by observing them. within a few years i'd cooked enough to know how to make the basics, and started experimenting more; in the year before i left chicago, i started an underground restaurant of sorts, selling tickets to a four- or five-course meal to be cooked in my apartment. it was not only a success, but the most fun i'd ever had - that's when i decided to move to new york to attend culinary school. i decided to focus on baking instead of cooking for a couple of reasons - one being that cooking is something much more easily experimented with. once you know the basics, you can pretty much throw whatever you like into a dish and it will work, so long as you've thought the flavors through - baking, though, is an exact science, and i wanted to be able to play with recipes the way i can when i cook.

i hope this answers some questions, and wasn't too long winded! thank you all so much for reading - you make this a lot of fun for me.

i hope you all had a lovely weekend! until tomorrow,

xo audrey

new wave

good morning! i've been rather awful about taking outfit photos lately - in truth, my bedroom/closet is a complete disaster zone. it is in crisis. we've been going out of town every weekend for the past four weeks and i just haven't had a night to stay in and get it done - or rather, i've had a couple of nights where i COULD have, but instead i hang up a couple of dresses and then get side tracked arranging brooches on a shelf or making soup. so, i'm sorry about that. i'm actually having a lot of fun getting dressed lately; i think i said it before, but i kind of feel like i'm in costume with this hair cut and color, and i've been heavily leaning towards what i think of as 60's mod/french new wave type styles. here's one i've been liking.




top: a gift from the sweet & beautiful krystle of dear winsome
necklace: thrifted
pants: zara
shoes: beau coops x karen walker
belt: asos

last night was the big party for arrojo's tenth anniversary; i actually ended up loaning the salon my camera so they could shoot the event, so i don't have any photos myself, but i did get the final "after" shot from the photographer:



i'm giving pretty serious bitchface (this was after i think twenty minutes or so of having my photo snapped, and i think i was starting to lose it) but you can see the cut & color well, and it IS flattering, even if i look mean.

what's everyone up to for fashion's night out? i think i'm going to hit up the lauren moffatt party, say hello to erin, and then stop over to see keiko at the event she's hosting.

xo audrey

picture book

good morning! how was the long weekend? sam and i left to head back to the city super early yesterday morning, but caught bad traffic and a lot of bad luck and i ended up racing, late, to work, and not having a chance to blog. so today's a little catch-up - aka, a major photo dump. but if you make it to the end, you'll find out who won my contest! yes, blackmail! employed, for the first time, here in blog form.

saturday morning, bright and much too early, i hopped on an amtrak to new london, connecticut, ate corned beef hash in a diner, lugged my bags to a salvation army for a bit of shopping, and then caught the ferry to block island. it was a really gorgeous ride.









there i met up with sam and our friends haley and julie and hit the beach for awhile (hit the beach, aka pass out on a beach blanket for a couple of hours) before heading back to julie's parents' place to drop off our stuff then pick up food for dinner. fish market to grocery store, we feasted on oysters, clams casino (a delectable concoction of clams, red peppers, bacon and white wine,) and a leek and goat cheese galette. . . and lots of wine.




the next morning we picked up sam and haley from fishing and hit a yard sale, then changed into our suits and went down to the bluffs. it was sooo beautiful - hot but breezy, sunny but not unbearably so; i think so many tourists had decided to skip the island after the hurricane, assuming the worst, that it wasn't too crowded anywhere and we pretty much got our pick of beach. sam and i fished up and down the coast, soaked in some sun, then headed back home to pack up and take the ferry back to newport.








we grabbed lobster rolls and clam strips, smuggled a couple of pbr and snuggled up on the ferry for the ride back; there we climbed in sam's car and drove up to newport to see our buddy johannes, who was just finishing up a shift as a chef in a restaurant downtown when we arrived. we joined him for a beer, then two, a shot of whiskey, a couple more beers, another whiskey. . . and so on, before stumbling back to his apartment, where i quickly zonked out on the couch but sam, johannes, and his sister sarah chatted for a couple more hours. needless to say we slept in, late, and required a very greasy breakfast in the morning.




our bunkmate for much of the night, rex.

after some bacon and eggs, we packed up the car once again and headed to a beautiful pond not too far from the apartment. sam and johannes both snagged a couple fish apiece, but i wasn't having any luck so i took photos of the scenery instead. take that, nature.






after fishing, we grabbed some groceries and invited over old friends mike and katie for a big family dinner; johannes crafted a delicious fish soup with some of sam's catch, and i made some marinated zucchini and heirloom tomato crostini with ricotta and pear & almond cream puff pastry for dessert.

it was really a pretty perfect weekend. i'm not sure anywhere is as beautiful as new england this time of year, and getting to see so many friends (and eat so many good meals) in a few short days is pretty much my idea of heaven. a relaxing vacation it wasn't, but it was a perfect end to the summer.



and, the winner of the loehmann's giveaway is. . .



heather of 29 skirts! i internet-love heather so i'm so happy for her! heather, email me your address and info and i'll have this shipped right out to you. and thanks so much to everyone for entering - i loved seeing what you're eyeballing for fall, and now i can steal all of your ideas and be the most stylish girl in brooklyn. bwahahaha! just kidding. OR AM I?!

tell me what you did for your long weekend! staycation? go out of town? anything epic? i am very much looking forward to a quiet weekend or two at home. . . in a couple of weeks, after fashion week comes and goes.

xo audrey