work in progress

hi everyone! i hope you all had a fabulous valentine's day - mine was very low key, which was perfect. sam insisted on staying in and making me dinner, and i acquiesced - i'm so used to cooking for the two of us, and stubbornly set in my way of doing things in the kitchen, that it's really hard for me to sit back and let someone else take the wheel. fortunately we recently re-organized our furniture, so our sofa has a prominent seat in the kitchen (i finally admitted to myself that, while a sofa in the kitchen might be unusual, it is the place where it will get the most use) so i settled myself on it and watched him mix a batch of pasta from scratch, rest it, struggle with the machine and then proceed to make what was honestly the most divine fettucine alfredo i've ever had - topped with wilted spinach, sauteed mushrooms and crispy prosciutto. lesson learned: i should take a seat on the couch more often.

ever since setting eyes on the stella mccartney resort 2012 collection, i've been smitten. i've googled and ebayed obsessively, hoping to find the (seemingly not even for-sale yet) white dress covered in bows at an audrey-friendly price (i know this will never happen) - and it finally occurred to me that, of all the over-priced designer clothing i've fallen for, this was probably the most easily DIY-able. so i bought a spool of ribbon, picked a well-fitting but infrequently-worn dress from my closet, and proceeded to obsessively tie and pin ribbons onto it.



sadly, i'm a pretty good idea person and initial energy runs high; but after sewing on the first half of the ribbons, i lost steam, so i'm wearing this carefully so's not to stick myself with one of the many pins poking out of the skirt and sleeves.

dress: madewell
shoes: thrifted
bows: added by me

i'm pretty excited with the way it's looking so far. a good cocktail dress is so essential - you can tell i think so, as i have a closet full of them and yet 9 nights out of ten you'll find me at home with sam, wearing comfy pants and a t-shirt. still, i love having a cute, well-fitting dress to slip into - an outfit no-brainer for when i DO go out.

. . . which is where you come in! brooklyn industries contacted me not long ago to see if i'd like to do a giveaway for my readers (another no brainer.) i've loved the brand for a long time - my love for red pants started with a pair of theirs a few years ago, and i've admired their simple but flattering silhouettes ever since. i picked this cute dress of theirs to give away - yours, for one lucky reader who leaves a comment.



so. . . enter away, and i'll pick a winner this friday. be sure to take a look at their new collection, too - lots of good stuff to see.

so much to post, and what feels like so little [free] time. i'll be back soon!

xo audrey

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

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

i'm blue for you

good morning! i'm struggling to form sentences today - last night around 11 i was home, snuggling in bed with a bowl of cereal and my macbook (sam's off on a couple-day-long fishing expedition) when my phone rang. twice. it was a friend of mine, and i am slightly ashamed to say that i didn't want to answer while i was eating cereal (soggy cereal is the worst) so i called him back and was somehow convinced to put on pants and head to the brooklyn inn for a couple of beers. three hours later i was back in bed, but i'm a bit worse for wear.



blouse: c/o loehmann's, via gifted gift card
skirt: thrifted
pin: thrifted
shoes: miu miu, BUT i bought them on ebay for $12. REALLY.
satchel: cambridge satchel company

i was invited to attend an event at loehmann's last week; i hadn't heard of it before attending the event, but it's basically a tj-maxx type place - plenty of variation of expensive designers and more affordable basics, all at a pretty heavily discounted price. i picked out this top because i love the shade - i think royal blue is going to play a big part in my fall wardobe, especially now that it's one of the few shades i feel works well with my new hair color. (unforeseen consequence of dying my hair: where before i really felt like i could wear just about any color, now several favorites completely wash me out; happy trails, mustard yellow, until we meet again.) the kind folks at loehmann's, aside from providing me some great pieces for fall, also let me pick out an accessory to gift my readers; i selected this bag, which i hope you all like. i'm not much of a bag person, but it seemed utilitarian while still being chic; i love the color.



if you'd like this bag for your very own, simply leave me a comment letting me know what fall pieces you're itching to buy. i really want to find a muff to keep my hands warm this winter, but i'll tell ya, googling "muff" is not working out so far. i'll close the contest and announce the winner on tuesday september 6 after the long weekend. good luck!

anyhows, i'll leave you with a recipe that i think i'll be making again and again this fall & winter - chicken pot pie. you can really put whatever veggies you want in here - i used potatoes, carrots & corn because that's what we had, in excess, and i wanted to try to use it up.




+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
chicken pot pie

1 yellow onion, diced
1 T butter
4 ears steamed corn, kernels cut off the cob
2 potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
one carrot, peeled (or scrubbed) and cut into bite sized pieces
1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked chicken, torn into bite sized pieces*
1/3 cup flour
1 cup (or more) chicken broth
1 - 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 T thyme leaves
salt & pepper to taste
1 sheet puff pastry dough

*if you don't have already-cooked chicken - again, i made this up mostly as a way to use up leftovers - you can use a breast or two, cut up into smaller pieces, and added in with the potatoes and carrots and cooked until done.

turn the oven to 375. melt butter in a large pan with highish sides; turn heat to medium high, and add onion. sautee until it turns transparent, then add the flour. stir until flour is browned, then slowly add about half the chicken broth, stirring as you go, so it creates a thick gravy. add almost the rest of the broth, then add the potatoes and carrots. add cream - enough to nearly cover the veggies - and cover the pan. uncover and stir occasionally, checking on the vegetables and insuring nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan - if the veggies start to stick, add a bit more chicken broth to release them. once the potatoes and carrots are cooked, remove from heat; the sauce should be good and thick, and everything inside cooked until soft.

stir in corn, thyme, and chicken and dump it all into a casserole dish. salt & pepper. cover the top with the puff pastry, tucking the corners in. bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the puff pastry has totally puffed up and is golden all the way through. i'd stick a sheet pan underneath while baking, just in case - as you can see, mine leaked out the sides a bit. let it cool for 5-10 minutes then enjoy! SO tasty.



xo audrey

big willy style

so, i didn't realize how silly "bra fitting event" would sound. like, yes, because i am going to get a bra, it is an EVENT now. i was actually invited to stop over to the london hotel yesterday for a wacoal event - er, happening? gathering? bra fitting. . . extravaganza? they had experts on hand to size you up and recommend some bras that work best for your figure. i was actually really excited to do this, so i rsvp'd to the event even though i wouldn't know anyone there, which i NEVER do because i am waaay to awkward to be on my own anywhere, much less surrounded by LINGERIE, but i braved the rain and went for it because my chest is a source of constant irritation for me.


and, as it turned out, i've been wearing the wrong size all along. sue, my very sweet and helpful bra expert, measured me and recommended a couple of bras (one of which they are sending to my apartment! full disclosure) and showed me a few things you should look for when fitting - you want it to be good and snug (should fit pretty tightly on the tightest setting) because the elastic will stretch out over time, and that way it'll fit better longer; the wire should go all around your breast tissue, encompassing the whole, um, breast; the little part in the middle should lay flat on your breastbone. i wear a pretty unusual size, and it is usually impossible to find bras in my cup size that are in any way pretty or decorative, but wacoal has lots of colors and designs that are actually really beautiful and rather vintage inspired. i always dress to minimize my chest as much as possible, and it was really helpful to get some tips on how to properly contain my ladies. i'll leave it at that. they did ply me with a glass of white wine, but i wouldn't bother writing about it if i wasn't truly impressed - the bras were beautiful, affordable, and fit INFINITELY better than the victorias secret bras i've been wearing for years. check 'em out.

anyway! after the event i'd been planning on meeting up with some friends for clueless in the park, but it was rained out (and my original plans, that i'd actually forgotten about, with some other friends got rescheduled,) so i just headed home to meet our new couch. it's our first piece of real-live-grown-up furniture, that didn't come from sam's parents or ikea, and i'm pretty enamored.





the pants are some wide-legged rodebjers that i bought on crazy sale about three years ago and never really wore, because they were awkwardly wide and awkwardly short, so i turned 'em into some super skinny pants and like 'em much better this way.

shirt: thrifted
necklace: leif (it looks like they don't carry it anymore, but i did spot something very similar, that must be the same designer, on anthropologie's website recently)
pants: repurposed rodebjer
shoes: thrifted

when i walked in the door, soaking wet, sam announced that he'd gotten a netflix specially for me - a film starring, he said, my favorite actor of all time. i drew a total blank. i'm not really someone who has "favorite celebrities" - i could give you a short list of cute dudes, for sure, but the only actor i've really had a thing for was will smith, way back when i was in middle school. i bought 'big willy style' right when it came out and i'm pretty sure i went as far as to pre-order 'willenium.' i was GOING to say i'd purchased his entire discography, but clearly my fan knowledge has slipped as he apparently was still coming out with albums after i graduated from high school. i can only imagine how fantastic those must be.

so, yeah, he'd rented seven pounds, a slow, meandering, in my opinion downright boring and cliched movie that we couldn't even make it all the way through. it was a sweet gesture, though.

how was your night?

xo audrey

two become one

last night i went straight from work to meet a friend at a bar, where i proceeded to break my one-drink-per-weeknight rule with three heffeweissens over a 2 hour period. it was good fun, though, and before i collapsed into bed i managed to snap a few photos of my outfit.




this blouse was part of a swap i did with hannah, like, months ago. i loved this blouse when i saw it in her shop, but in real life it is so hard to wear - cropped, sheer, and tight, i couldn't figure out how to style the thing without looking like a hussy. until yesterday! when i paired it with another "problem piece" - this dress that just doesn't fit quite right - and actually liked the result. the boobs look weird, to be sure, and i'll probably end up sending this one off to my little sister, but i think i've at least figured out how to wear this gorgeous blouse - underneath things. i know - i'm going to start working on a cure for cancer next.

blouse: swapped with hannah from heart city
dress: j crew
belt: urban outfitters
shoes: rachel comey (similar here)

and now for a little label love: vivetta. i'm not sure how i hadn't stumbled across this designer before - i think this is probably my dream collection. it reminds me a bit of peter jensen or dear creatures but with an extra dose of quirk and a little more attention to detail. the fall '11 line is supposed to be online any day now; i, for one, am watching like a hawk.




if i were that model, i'd looked a hell of a lot more psyched to be in those precious clothes. just sayin'.

tonight i'm headed up to midtown for a bra fitting event (which i'm actually really excited about, even as i anticipate the awkwardness) and then heading to williamsburg to watch 'clueless' in mccarren park. {she could be a farmer in those clothes!}

xo audrey

avocado squash

yep, on days when i can't think of a blog title, i default to "what did i eat last night?" one track mind, ladies and gentlemen. one track mind.

yesterday was. . . monday. [disclaimer: after missing two days last week i am now posting everything a day behind. and rather than pretend i wrote this at 8 am, i'm just going to tell you i wrote it yesterday [tuesday] when the day before was, in fact, monday. sorry for the confusion.] i just tried for over a minute to think of any adjective to put at the end of that sentence and i failed. it was a day. i worked, went home, cleaned my room, made sam & i dinner and went to bed while watching curb your enthusiasm. really, nothing to write home about. or to blog about, in fact!




where it was once a novelty to see my closet, now you just get to watch as it gets messier and messier. sigh.

this dress is another in the haul of dresses i got from my new favorite thrift store in new jersey a few weeks ago. honestly, it's not a favorite - i feel like it is way too, "HEY CHECK IT OUT: BOOBS!" which i try to avoid whenever possible, but sam loves it (go figure) and i do love the pattern and colors, so i gave it a run yesterday. we'll see if it makes the cut when i start sellin' stuff on etsy.

dress: vintage, thrifted
belt: thrifted
shoes: c/o seychelles (similar here)

i can't say enough about how much i love these shoes. they were, in fact, my wedding shoes and they are so comfortable i kept them on all night, and walked all over manhattan in them yesterday.

i've been attempting to eat a bit healthier lately, which i basically hate. i love butter, bacon, beer and pretty much all things bad for you, but (sigh) i'm not as young as i used to be, and blah blah hips-getting-bigger-whine. so i tried a mostly-veggie dinner last night and it was actually pretty delicious, and quite lovely.









this never would have happened if i hadn't spent an hour fawning over veggies at the farmer's market on sunday. such a simple tomato salad is really only pretty and delicious if they tomatoes are fresh and grown in smaller batches, and it takes cute little baby eggplant and squash named avocados to get me to eat that stuff.

basically i made 3 really quick and easy side dishes: baby eggplant and avocado squash, the former halved and the latter diced then sauteed until soft and browned in olive oil & garlic and sprinkled with salt and pepper; baby heirloom tomato salad, simply sliced up, drizzled with olive oil & liberally salted; and zucchini, fresh from sam's family friend's garden, sliced with a peeler and quick sauteed in the remaining olive oil from the squash, then sprinkled with salt, pepper, and a cheese of your choice - i used cojita, but ricotta salata, feta or any parmesan would have been great, too.

of course i served all of this with a "side" of duck confit. . . one healthy step at a time, amirite?

until next time,

xo audrey