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

friends in high places

hello! i hope everyone's had a good couple of weeks. mine we spent first living the life of someone much cooler than myself - a friend came to visit two weeks ago, and through his savviness we were able to attend a jimmy fallon taping (the one where justin timberlake was the guest and belle and sebastian were the musical guest - a fantastic preview to the next night, when we saw them play in williamsburg [a heartbreakingly wonderful show. i don't know if i've ever left a concert happier]), a saturday night live dress rehearsal, and then, ridiculously, the snl after party. it was fun, but incredibly surreal for a bunch of reasons - i think there were more celebrities of one caliber or another than there were every day joes such as ourselves; every table was reserved by one of the aforementioned celebrities, so we were forced by default to stand awkwardly in the middle of a bunch of celebrities; and i had, at this point begun to develop a pretty nasty cold, the party didn't start until 1 am, and i had to work at 7 the next morning.

so. week 1 spent in a fury of activity, and most of week 2 spent in bed, surrounded by used kleenex, watching show after show on hulu and eating nothing but chicken noodle soup. i guess everything balances itself out. i'm still nursing away what must be the worst cold of my adult life (15 days later i still have a cough and the sniffles) but i've started to dig myself out and get to work. with the wedding 8 months away, and on a saturday in june, i'm anxious to get save the dates in the mail; i've almost completed the pile now. i changed the colors to match what i guess will be our wedding colors (although i don't really see myself sticking to just two) and i've been writing out the addresses with a kind of crappy calligraphy marker. i think i need to upgrade.








but anyway! the goods. a recipe AND an outfit! in one day! i'm trying to make up for lost time.

squid ink fettucine a la audrey

so! i made my own pasta for this one. it sounds like a pain, and it kind of is, but i'm telling you, fresh pasta is so so so so SO much better than anything you can buy at the store. so much. i put squid ink in here because i'd picked some up at a fish market a few weeks ago and intended to use it for, i don't know, something (buy random ingredients at stores and force yourself to use them. i find it gets me making things i never would otherwise) and decided to throw it in here. you can buy little packets like the one i used here. they're cheap! and while they didn't make a huge difference in taste that i could tell (i think it did make the pasta a bit saltier,) they sure do make it look good.

so! for the pasta.

3/4 c semolina flour
1/4 t salt
1 egg
1 T water
1 T olive oil

whisk salt & flour and make a well; add egg, squid ink, water, and olive oil. mix with a wooden spoon until it's combinded, then knead for about 8-10 minutes, until it's pretty smooth and elastic-y. wrap it in plastic and let it rest for at least 20 minutes. then use a pasta machine (or roll it out if you are a better woman than i) to roll it out, bit by bit, until it's pasta thin and cut into fettucine. let it dry while you prepare. .






2 egg yolks
1 large portabello mushroom cap, cut into bite sized cubes
2 small zucchini, washed then sliced into ribbons with a peeler


boil a pot of water. once it's at a rolling boil, drop in the pasta and cook until tender with a splash of olive oil in the water. strain pasta but save some water; get a sautee pan heating up and add in mushrooms and a splash or two of pasta water. once mushrooms start to cook, add zucchini; keep adding pasta water as needed (whenever it's all cooked off, add another splash until the zucchini and mushrooms are sauteed to softness.) add pasta to sautee pan, mix together, then turn off heat; immediately mix in the two egg yolks, stirring quickly so they don't cook at the bottom of the pan. season to taste and voila! few ingredients but tons of flavor. my new go-to pasta.



aaand lastly, outfit! i went to the flea market saturday with some long-lost friends and had a really nice time, despite snotting and sneezing all over the place the whole time. my outfit for shopping (although i didn't buy anything. . .)



shirt (red): urban
slip: vintage
bow tie: shoe clip
tights: american apparel
shoes: pour la victoire
not pictured, but totally wearing: purple bloomers from american apparel. just in case.

my parents are flying in this weekend and i get to go bridal-shopping with my mama. i'm hoping to find a veil and some shoes, and i've been looking for an excuse to check out the j crew wedding shop on madison ave, so. . . yes! more soon!

xo audrey