The Beautiful Person

This weekend I saw Christopher Honoré's latest film, La Belle Personne, about a quiet and disturbed, new student who finds herself the object of every boy (and man) in the school's desire. I wasn't overall thrilled but I did develop a new girl crush on the lead actress, Léa Seydoux, who definitely lives up to the film's title.




I hope to see more of her on the big screen.

Dear Lord,

Why oh why was I not born with ginger hair?



via auburn & ivory

Exactly How It Should Be.

I am bursting with Christmas spirit and if you aren't this video should fix that.




How funny is that kid? When was the last time you got that excited over a gift?

Bring Back the Musical

As silly as I feel admitting this, there is a reason why millions of people (including myself) love the Highschool Musical movies. Musicals are fun and watching them feels like laughing really hard- A little music and dancing can also serve to lighten up what would otherwise be a fairly morbid film (think Chicago or Moulin Rouge) and it's like seeing a really cheap Broadway play.

How great is this performance from my new favorite show, Glee?

Drooling just thinking about it

My latest food obsession is this wonderful browned goat cheese from Scandanavia called Gjetost (pronounced YAY-toost). The best way to describe it is the love child of caramel and cheese. Sure that sounds disgusting but tastes like magical super powers.


photo by The Cheesemonger’s Wife

I've been eating it broiled on toast with apple slices.

Are you in love yet?

Am I out of line to say this is the best fashion shoot Vogue has ever done? The high fashion magazine brings to life a classic fairytale in which Model Natalie Vodianova poses as Lewis Carroll's beloved literary icon, Alice, alongside designers dressed as Wonderland's whacky inhabitants. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful collision of fashion and whimsy.



Photos by Annie Leibovitz for Vogue, via A CUP OF JO. See the slideshow here.

Heartbroke and Inchoate

Summer really got away from me this year and I've barely had time to breathe let alone find a computer to post anything. I'm excited for the approach of Fall and for things to calm down a bit. Before I took my hiatus I promised big news which, sadly, has fallen through. I was supposed to attend Le Cordon Bleu Paris to study my passion in the food/fashion/love capital of the world. Dear readers I am terribly heartbroken for two reasons: one, this means I will have to put my dream on hold for now, and two, the monetary system wins again. Lost in my French fantasy I must have ignored the fact that matters of money would prevent me from having my adventure.
I am back now though, and I promise my next post will be more positive.

"An Inexplicably Big Deal"

In his latest project, Uncovered: Women in Word and Image, photographer Jordan Matter asks women to pose with exposed breasts in public locations. Next to each photo is a brief testimonial and while most of the women claimed an initial shyness, afterwards they felt (surprise surprise) euphoric!

The book's website said this, "In her foreword, author Susan Seligson states what all men and women already know: 'Breasts are an inexplicably big deal.' Whether hidden under layers of clothing, half-revealed in the service of fashion (and flirtation) or laid brazenly bare, breasts matter. They demand response, provoke moral questions and force confrontation with the very notion of taboo." - Jordan Matter Photography - Uncovered


Margaret

Laura

Sonja

Besides these photos being beautiful, I love the cognitive dissonance they evoke. They are sexual without offense and the women seem so...cool!

What do you think? Would you have the guts to bare (almost) all?
More photos here and here.


Via Smitten

Let's stay in, Let the TV be our stars

It began last month with everyone cracking jokes, "I though the rhyme went: April showers bring May flowers...not more showers!" which ceased to be a joke after May passed and it continued raining all through June. That's right, it has been raining for 2 whole months, seemingly nonstop. And though I'd love nothing more than to be outside right now, riding my bike or picnicking on the beach, sometimes staying in is just as fun.

Last night a very special boy and I made homemade pizza which, aside from the crust, contained no traditional toppings, and watched a funny movie. I also made this chocolate torte which was so good I plan on abandoning everything in my life to elope with it...or at least to eat it on my birthday/wedding and also breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

What do you do to beat the rainy day blues?
kiss? bake? take a bubble bath? watch funny videos?

I Suck.

I know. It has been forever since I've posted but it seems as though my life is on fast forward and I have not stopped moving in weeks. Big (life altering) decisions are in the making which may also, though less importantly, result in a second blog whose name I have already concocted- but of course I can't reveal that just yet as it will give everything away. I will post news when everything is sure...Tantalizing, I know.


Flickr Favorites in the meantime.

Happiness Challenge

Taza, writer of the lovely blog rockstar diaries began a series entitled "here's to happiness" in which readers and other bloggers send in lists of 10 things that make them terribly happy. My heart does a little dance every time I read one. So if you want to be happy right this minute, head over there and browse around. Better yet, write your own! Here's mine:

1. Being the first person awake.
2. The smell of Christmas trees.
3. Other people's birthdays.
4. Old musicals.
5. My dog and her wacky antics.
6. Berry picking.{or any fruit really}.
7. Watching my boyfriend's face as he tastes something I just baked.
8. Making plans.
9. Fairs and festivals.
10. Indian summer.

Photo by Lorelle Shea.

Hug Your Mothers

Dear Mom,

Thank you for dedicating your life to allowing me to have mine.

If I could be anyone in the whole world, I'd be you.

Sweet Potato Rounds

How Sweet is Chan Marshall (Cat Power) in this cooking video for the site Oh Audrey. I love how the two are a little silly with eachother, like old friends.


Oh and if you don't know who Cat Power is, your life is incomplete. Go buy her album The Greatest or just listen for her awesome cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity on the Lincoln car commercials.

It's Not as if New York City Burned Down to the Ground

ASofterWorld.Com


Now this blog is about the things I love and those that are dear to my heart, but sometimes we have to let those things go. Let's talk breakups. No, I'm not talking about a split from your sweetie but a breakup from something else that you love that is bringing you down. Running is one of my greatest pleasures (yes, some people may think that's crazy). In my opinion, there's nothing better than hitting the pavement and just taking off. But after averagine about 50 miles a week, I developed Plantar Fasciitis and had to take several months off, and now, after attempting to ease back in, I'm plagued by Shin Splints. So I have to wonder, is this the end of my love affair with running? Should I just deal, continue to dish out Doctor fees and possibly hurt myself more or is it about time I retire my sneaks and make better friends with the elliptical? Tell me, dear readers, have you ever suffered a bad "breakup"? Maybe you ended things with mac and cheese after your pants went up one too many sizes. Maybe those amazing, designer boots were just not worth the blisters you developed. How did you cope? Is there anything with which you wouldn't dream of breaking up, no matter the pain?

Go Outside

And play

photo by Lorelle Shea

See It.

Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange in Grey Gardens.

You will fall in love.
Better yet, see the original documentary.

I Love Your Long Shadows and Your Gunpowder Eyes

Flickr Favorites.

Scroll over for titles.

Going through Flickr photos recently I noticed that almost everything is over-edited. A good picture needs no fixing.

I'm Just Sitting On the Shelf

I have a serious girl crush on Zooey Deschanel. Have you seen her in the new Cotton ads? She has a great, quirky style and I think Autumn de Wilde really captures that aspect of her in these shots.


A winning team.
Also, how cute is that outfit? It's like someone crossed a China doll with a bumble bee.

See more Autumn here.

And check out this video of She & Him (Zooey and M. Ward), so fun!

Do yourself a favor and buy the whole album, "Volume One".

Bo.

Uhm, how cute is our president?

The new dog's name is Bo, he was a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy. I bet the girls are happy.

One Day Late

I will sing a song to you

and you will shake the ground for me

and the birds and bees and old fruit trees

will spit out songs like gushing streams

then Jesus will come through the ground so dirty

with worms in his hair and a hand so sturdy

to call us his magic we call him worthy

Jesus came up through the ground so dirty.

"Jesus" by Page France.

Easter is one of those holidays that gets better as you get older. It seems to me there are so few obligations and expectations attached to Easter and so there is something wonderfully quiet about it. Whether you're religious or not, it signifies the real start of spring, marked by symbols of rebirth and new beginnings, longer days and pastel dresses, resolutions and sunny dispositions. Also, the story of Easter is so loaded with hope and belief how could you help but feel smitten. Oh, and did I mention there's candy? Lots and lots of candy...

Starry (Easter) Night

Cakespy has done it again. check out this amazing recreation of Starry Night, using Marshmallow Peeps! Move over Van Gogh.




cakespy.com

Where The Wild Things Are

One of my favorite childhood books coming to the big screen. It looks so dreamy.

Based on the books by Maurice Sendak. I have a Wild Things stuffed doll that I call The King of the Monsters.

Le Quattro Stagioni

Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar, casting their dark mantle over heaven,
Then they die away to silence, and the birds take up their charming songs once more.- unknown

I have been celebrating Spring by listening to one of my favorite concertos by Vivaldi, La Primavera, over and over again. Makes me long for the leaves to come back.

Back to the daily grind.

Flickr Favorites