sparrow

hello everyone! it's my weekend woooo! this month i'm working at 5 am both wednesday and thursday, so by thursday afternoon i am SO ready for a couple of days off. i'm kicking this one off right with some ramen and a homebrew. yes, when i have no one to cook for, ramen is my not-so-secret indulgence. sometimes when i'm feeling really nutty i fry an egg on top. yum.

so THS is actually the DIY i was talking about. i've had this bird necklace for ages but it was always a kind of awkward length, and then it broke, but i could never bring myself to throw it away ("i could never bring myself to throw it away" will probably be the subtitle of my biography someday.) i'd kind of half-destroyed it, thinking i might incorporate it into one of those fabulous cluttered collars marni showed on last year's runways, but never wore it or really thought about it again. until now. no necklace seemed quite right with this top, so i just sewed this one right onto it.



top: anthropologie
shorts: mary meyer
tights: cynthia rowley (via gilt)
shoes: vintage, etsy'd

these tights have these amazing freckled black studs in the back of them - you can kind of see them on my right leg a bit here. they remind me a lot of some of the detailing of bebaroque tights that i love oh so much but can't really afford - but i had a gilt credit so these puppies were free!

a word about vintage shoes. i have NEVER bought a pair of vintage shoes, from anyone, anywhere, that didn't fall apart in one way or another in very short order. whether it's a strap breaking, the heel falling apart, or the sole wearing through in a matter of days, this is such a source of frustration for me. these ones i've sewn up by hand time and again and they continue to sprout new holes. does anyone have a reliable place to buy vintage shoes? or is this just how it goes? i do walk alot, and it makes sense that something that gets so much wear and tear would fall apart a lot faster than, say, a dress; but damn, i've pretty much given up on secondhand shoes. it doesn't seem worth it to get them all re-heeled a week after i bought them in the first place.

tonight i'm heading out with christine from my style pill for a bit of a girl's night - there will be wine, sushi, and dancing involved, and, of course, as much dressing up as i can manage in this sub-par weather.

ive had a couple of questions about macarons - i have been trying out a few recipes to find the best one, so i'll report back this weekend. i just got a new scale so i can more accurately test things, and i have been VERY impatiently waiting for this to arrive:



but it seems to be on backorder. cross your fingers for me. i didn't go to culinary school for nothing, though, so i certainly have some tips to share and will do so when i post the recipe for the next batch.

have a wonderful weekend, everyone! until next time -

xo audrey

at last

i finally, finally fixed this dress into something i like. i splurged on this months ago and have worn it less than a handful of times since; i'd decided i would diy it into something i would actually wear, but i was too chicken to actually cut into it. until today.

it went from this:



to this:



a nice little crop-top for the summer. i sewed the back closed, too, so i can finally wear a bra with it (hooray!)

and to top it all off, the skirt is still functional, and better than ever! i'm sure i'll be posting that soon.

that's all for now. hope you're enjoying your weekend!

xo audrey

*edit* holy shit, i'm pale as can be. the first picture was in the middle of last summer. i need sun, guys. if my transparent skin can take it.

braids & bows

hello everyone! relieved to be back inside from the stubbornly wintery day.



does anyone remember this book? i used to have very, very long hair (and extremely adorable siblings,)



and on family visits to barnes and noble i'd pore over this book for new things to do with it. i was also in a short-lived band of the same name when i first moved to new york, although in fairness i use the term "band" rather loosely as it mostly consisted of a friend and i drinking 22 ounce bottles of blue moon and singing she and him covers in our living room. anyway, the point here is not the braids but the bows - i had some quality time with my sewing machine yesterday, and embellished a skirt i thrifted a couple weeks ago with a sequined bow i picked up at that amazing fabric store in lower brooklyn. unfortunately, just as i finished sewing it on the skirt, the needle on my machine hit a pearl and broke, so i'll have to take a momentary break while trying to remember where i put my replacement needle.



shirt: j crew
necklace: ebay
skirt: goodwill, embellished by me
shoes: kennedy holmes's etsy


bought this fabulous top over the summer with a store credit, and realized last night as i was getting ready for some friends to come over that i hadn't posted it yet - blasphemy! after photo-ing i hustled off to prepare hot toddys and mini pecan pies for the four of us. it was lovely.

tonight, i'm trying my hand at bipimbap. after having some at the korean barbecue on friday i can't get it outta my mind.

hope everyone has a lovely evening!

xo audrey

ps answers to questions! a brief recipe summary for megara -

first thing i did was slice a tortilla into thin strips and fry them up in just enough vegetable oil to cover them - verrry little. as soon as they start to brown i start to scoop them out with a metal slotted spoon onto a couple of paper towels. salt. set aside.

then take a ripe avocado, slice it into cubes, and squeeze lime juice over it (just enough to cover it all) and add a bit of salt. then put a bit of butter in a pan and add diced yellow onion. crack two eggs and scramble in a bowl, then add to the saucepan once the onion has started to turn translucent. i added a bit of green salsa to the eggs as they were cooking, and sliced cherry tomatoes into thin circles. once the eggs have cooked, i used a ring mold to get them to stand up, but you can also just take a plastic or paper cup, cut off the top, and use that as a mold! push the eggs down pretty densely and layer with tomatoes, then another layer of eggs, then avocado; remove mold and top with tortilla stips. it's super easy, and you can layer it with whatever you like - black beans, sausage, corn, etc.

michelle - the flea market is at the corner of hanson and flatbush for the next couple of months. lots of information and photos here.

holidaze

hello and happy 2010! i know i am a bit late on the new year greetings - my holidays were pretty crazy. christmas on the east coast, new years on the west, work every day in between, so my apologies for my delayed well-wishing. i'm currently drinking a home-brewed beer and catching up on a bit of hulu; it feels like the first day i've had time to sit down and post in ages.

christmas was wonderful - sam and i spent the day watching violent movies, eating homemade pierogies, and drinking with his family. i slept in every day and ate more than much of the rest of the family combined. on the way home i stopped at 5 goodwills - i'm sorry i didn't know it in time to alert everyone, but every goodwill (at least every one on the way from connecticut to new york) had a half-off sale the day after christmas, which means i got a huge haul of stuff for next to nothing. lots and lots of stuff to post. sam's mom also bestowed upon me her mother's mink coat. the hem needs to be fixed but it is absolutely stunning and i can't wait for the right occasion to wear it out.



my new years was quiet, to say the least; my baby sister esther got married on the second, which meant rehearsal and dinner were the first, which meant a 7 am flight to california on new years day. the wedding was beautiful, though; 75 and sunny in southern california, and i got to dance my tail off for the first time in awhile.

resolutions: to start doing yoga on a regular basis before bed. to start an etsy shop of vintage clothes that don't fit me/don't fit my closet anymore/etc. to re-ignite my card shop online. i'll be sure to keep you guys updated as these things get going.



dress: bought at the flea market weeks ago, shortened it, finally wearing it now.
socks: american apparel
purse: kennedy holmes
shoes: aldo


i'm going to let these photos up without doing the whole black/white thing; just wanted to throw something up and say thanks for reading, hope you had wonderful holidays, and i will write more tomorrow!

i leave you with one of my favorite songs by the zombies, which i always think of this time of year. 2010 is shaping up to be a great one for me; i wish the same for all of you.



much love,

xo audrey