fondoozy

hello hello! ten days ago now (man, time flies) i had the pleasure of the company of a bunch of sweet and fashionable folks, including claire, christine, christina, and keiko, as we got to drink sweet drinks, eat sliders, listen to live music, and view the club monaco spring collection. it's always fun to get together with these girls regardless of the affair, but this was one of my favorite events to date - in no small part because it ended with us all getting to choose one piece from the collection to take home for our very own. there were so many things i loved, and i hemmed and hawed until the last moment, but ended up snagging this silk racerback dress - it's so comfy, and i felt like it would be really versatile. . . and a perfect piece to take on a honeymoon (assuming, of course, we go somewhere warm. with all the frantic planning we've been doing, sam and i haven't yet managed to figure out where to head after the wedding. . .suggestions welcome!)



what is the pose in this photo? holding imaginary handbag? preparing to balance tray of cocktails? i'm a little teapot? who knows.

dress: club monaco spring collection
scalloped slip: thrifted
tights: HUE
shoes: madewell
my new favorite necklace: laura lombardi

and for what occasion did i don this apparel? fondue party!! sam and i have been wanting to have a big dinner party for some time, and decided that there's no better dinner than one in which you dunk everything into cheese. i spent all thursday and friday prepping appetizers and desserts, blanching vegetables, cutting bread into cubes, and grating cheese (well, actually, i had my dear friend ashlee to help with that. . .) for friday night, when our apartment was packed and the food got absolutely destroyed, in the best way possible. sam has now caught the host bug and we're planning our next dinner party already - with a beer and pizza theme (homebrewed beer a la sam, and homemade pizza a la audrey.)



so much more to post - lots of things swirling around in my world and this head of mine, and i'll do my best to get them down here before long!

OH! and my tights DIY was featured on styleist a couple days ago! made my day.

hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

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

tart

hello everyone! happy monday! i hope your weekend was lovely, long, and less headache-filled than mine. i've felt on the verge of a big sick for a few days now and i'm hoping that getting enough sleep and eating my fruits and veggies will stave it off for at least a little while longer, as sam and i are heading to the beach this weekend in hopes of some fresh fish and sunshine.

i have been cooking and baking up a storm, as per usual; this week was a big one because. . . drumroll please. . . sam started eating meat after 8 years of vegetarianism. before the hate mail starts, i did NOT coerce him to switch over to the dark side in any way. i was vegetarian for many years and i have an immense amount of respect for those who chose not to eat meat; as a chef, i just like to have all my options open. i've always been a very adventurous eater and i never want to have to say no to anything because of dietary restrictions (so here's hoping all the sugar i eat doesn't turn me into a diabetic one day.) after months of watching me scarf bacon like it's my job, sam decided he was ready for some of that action. this is actually what i wore to the grocery store for the momentous occasion of picking up a rack of lamb to cook for dinner one night.



shirt: thrifted
brooch: thrifted (shoe clip)
skirt: dress from h&m
socks: american apparel
shoes: thrifted
belt: anthropologie

and now for a of recipe! no meat just yet, just seafood. i have a huge backlog of stuff to post; my days seem to be very formulaic. wake up. work until 3. come home, go for a jog, and start dinner; start movie while eating; finish movie in bed and go to sleep. yep, i've basically fast-forwarded to my late 60s, but i rather like it.

crab deviled eggs




6 hard cooked eggs
1 T sour cream
T dijon mustard
2 t garlic, crushed
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup celery, julienned
1 cup king crab meat, sauteed in butter
1 t ground fennel
salt and pepper to taste
sesame seeds

first: hard boil the eggs. put them in a pot with at least an inch of water over the top and bring it up to a boil over medium high heat; then take off heat, cover with a lid, and let 'em sit for 12 minutes. julienne your celery, prep your other items, sautee your crab and let it cool. take the eggs out of the hot water and put them in an ice bath to let 'em cool down. once they're cool, peel off the shell and don't slice them horizontally like you usually do - slice a little bit off the smaller end of the egg, height-wise. then cut about a half inch down on the other side and take out the yolk carefully. mix it up with all the other stuff and stuff it back in there; top with salt, pepper and sesame seeds.




so delicious, and pretty impressive as a nice appetizer for guests that you can prep hours in advance.

more soon. thanks for all the kind comments!

xo audrey