perks of the job

hello! i won't bother to make excuses for myself - when i started this blog, i was essentially a secretary in an office i loved but didn't find very satisfying, and i've since bounced from job to job, remaining unsatisfied - until now. this blog served as a fantastic means of creative expression, a way to force myself to do what i love even though i wasn't getting paid for it - it's rather bittersweet that i've found a job now that is so fulfilling, where i get to be as creative as i can muster and do what i love all day long. it's a wonderful feeling, but leaves me feeling somewhat drained when i come home in the afternoon, and blogging has lost some of its urgency, for lack of a better term, for me - it's almost as if my job has become my creative outlet, and blogging has become more of a job. a job that i love, but one that i've been pretty awful about keeping up with.

so, anyway, here's an attempt at getting back on the horse. one of the things i was sad to leave at my last job was the freedom to wear whatever i liked. i've worked in bakeries before, and it's more a case of dressing for comfort that style - and i'm okay with that, but i do miss my fancy shoes and vintage dresses. so i've been rather delighted to find that the other girls who i share a kitchen with are unendingly chic while managing to be kitchen-appropriate. i've taken to wearing lipstick, tights and dresses with an apron careful placed over them; or on more low-key days, something like this:



shirt: j crew
pants: cheap monday
shoes: vintage, thrifted
belt: asos

another fantastic perk is that the bakery is the sister-store of a wonderful organic market, which is right across the street; i'm able to get off work, walk across and head straight to the meat counter, to see what's freshest and talk to the butcher about the best way to prepare it. last thursday it was a lamb, and the butcher recommended i bring half the neck home and braise it with a rub and some vegetables. it's not something i would ever make - for whatever reason, my cooking preferences tend towards extremely fussy, involved dinners - but i followed his advice and it turned out absolutely divine.








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braised lamb's neck

1/2 neck of lamb
a rub of spices - i used kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, ground fennel seed, coriander, paprika, rubbed sage and fresh garlic
your choice of vegetables - i used what i had lying around: a leek, two potatoes, and a handful of cherry tomatoes
red wine and chicken stock, for braising
a pat of butter, for browning the meat

start the butter in a pan - once hot, add the meat, and cook for a couple of minutes on each side - just long enough to brown it. transfer it to a slow cooker with the veggies inside, and add enough chicken stock and wine to come halfway up the top of the meat. braise on high for at least three hours, or up to six. i served mine with a simple greens salad, tossed with some parmesan, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and topped with a poached egg. (i'm pretty much topping everything with a poached egg these days.)




i have such a backlog of food to post, i'll do my best to stay on top of it this time! much love to all of you for sticking with me, and hoping you've had a great 2012 thus far.

xo audrey

oh pleats

good morning! today was the first morning in memory where i didn't have to wear a coat! okay, i got some are-you-crazy looks on the subway, but 50 degrees is downright tropical as far as i'm concerned and i can't WAIT to get rid of the bulk of a winter coat for good. (well, until fall, anyway.) so i bundled up in a thrifted sweater, slipped into this comfy outfit, and headed in to work.

i've always loved pleating; such a beautiful texture, and the way it moves is just so stunning. perhaps my favorite part is the way it ripples at the end.



i've been saving this skirt for a warm enough day to not wear with tights - it's so soft and feels so good swishing against my legs.







top: j crew
necklace: vintage, thrifted for $1
skirt: american apparel
shoes: courtesy of aldo
i realized i've never posted a good photo of my rings. i wear them every day, so i don't really think of them as accessories but just part of me; they both mean a lot. my engagement ring (bottom) was sam's mom's (she's since upgraded,) the aquamarine was left to me by my grandmother.


tonight sam and i are scoping out a place to watch the big east semi finals - he's a uconn boy and his team beat the number one seed last night (does it sound like i know what i'm talking about? i don't!) so we're pretty pumped to see what happens when they play syracuse tonight. i actually genuinely love watching games of any kind, so i'm pretty psyched for a fun evening of beer and basketball.

and for the rest of the weekend i am looking forward to RELAXING. this week has been absolutely insane and exhausting in the best way, but i need some good r&r - and to finish my damn wedding invitations, for pete's sake!

hope everyone has a lovely weekend, and thanks so much for all the kind words of late!

xo audrey

i woke up this morning with the sun right in my eyes

i slept away from home again last night, but this time i was prepared. i got this dress in portland at a little boutique on sale; it's a bit muted for my usual taste, but i really like the cut and shape of it and color can always be added in after the fact.

one sad thing happened in portland: i was wearing one of the bow enclosures from my devotte shoes as part of a necklace while we were walking around the saturday market, and i looked down and it was gone. so now i only have one bow for these beautiful shoes. i decided not to let myself get too upset about something so silly, so i'm going to try to contact the shoe makers, and if they can't send me any more i'll just buy some shoe clips off etsy. [shrug] shit happens.

vanessa's apartment is so sunny in the morning, which is an amazing change since my bedroom in williamsburg is completely windowless and kind of feels like a dungeon at 7:30 in the morning. inspired by the sunshine, i stretched, woke up a bit early, and decided to make an effort with the hair and makeup today for a change.





dress: esley
headband: tie from my dressing gown
socks: american apparel
shoes: devotte purr
brooch: shoe clip

tonight: class, as per usual, then going outttt. what and where tbd. this weekend i plan on spending some quality time with my bathing suit, my roof, and my freckles.

and a quick note to the commenters on the last few posts - thank you so much for all the kind words! ktklemons, my tattoo says "sucre," it means sugar in french (since i'm a french pastry student and all that jazz.) have a lovely weekend, all!

xo audrey

somebody else's clothes

last night was another night of cake decorating in class; we're starting to use marzipan and fondant and all that fancy stuff to really focus on the aesthetics of the thing. i have to come up with a concept for an occasion cake and sketch it out by friday night; i know what i'll be scribbling at my desk tomorrow.

after class a couple friends of mine headed to the bar down the street from school, where joe the bartender remembered not only my first but also my last name (nice or creepy?) and 3 manhattanite douchebags in their 30s flirted like 9 year old boys by trying to get us to let them sniff our armpits and steal our shoes (no joke.) luckily for me joe bought half my drinks, so i had a pretty nice buzz going by midnight and decided to just head over to vanessa's and crash there. the problem: no change of clothes for work today. the solution: i have been wanting to dive into vanessa's amazing closet for months, and this morning she gave me free reign. the result:



dress: jay godfrey, thanks to vanessa, the most stylish girl i know
tights, shoes, belt and necklace: same as yesterday. i didn't want to get too comfortable in her clothes.

i just googled jay godfrey (i am pretty much designer illiterate) and am somewhat appalled to learn that the dress i am wearing probably cost as much as i make in a week. i will be very careful today. i absolutely love the shape of it, though; the strength of the material makes it flare out almost like a hoop skirt at the bottom, and i love the sleeves. my bra keeps wanting to peek out from under it, though, which could be worse since it actually complements the color quite nicely, but probably isn't really "office attire." so far, no one has complained.

makeup class in school tonight, class tomorrow, and hopefully a gorgeous day saturday. i can't wait for bare legs.

xo audrey

must. have.

omjesus, just found these amazing rings via elyse holladay's fashion blog - I MUST HAVE THEM. the $50 price tag is a bit steep, but for someone who wears as much color as i do and could, for $50, have a ring to match them all - and scribble things in a pinch - it seems well worth it.





the future perfect, the site they're for sale on, has a ton of other cool things as well, including a chair made of those plastic balls found on mcdonalds' playgrounds and these amazing candleholders which were featured in ID magazine a year or so back.

and i did take ONE photo last night, of the moschino window as i walked by; i love it.

new trick

hey look what i can do!

my night was nice and quiet. i wish i'd thought to take some photos at the book party last night - it took place in jeffrey, a really beautiful and completely out-of-my-price-range boutique in the meat packing district. had a couple of drinks, ate rum-injected bundt cake, furtively caressed dresses that cost more than i make in 6 months. afterwards headed to grab sushi with a girl from class and then, miraculously, found myself home and in bed before 11 pm. glory.

also!! found fleet foxes/blitzen trapper tickets for when i'm in portland next weekend. can't wait. the album was probably my top-played last year and i bet it'll be divine live.

new york is cold, rainy, and disgusting today, and i am TIRED of it. my legs long to be bare in a bright sun. but, alas, this morning i once again donned a pair of tights and trudged to the office.



shirt/dress: anthropologie
skirt: american apparel
tights: HUE
booties: alice & olivia for payless, ebayed

i guess that's all for now. if this rain keeps up i may use it as an excuse to skip home after work instead of going out; but i often think that to myself, and yet i always find myself dancing at a brooklyn bar at 2 am, holding a beer.

have a lovely weekend, everyone -

xo audrey