Narnia's Closet

little boxes

2009-08-21T20:49:00.001-07:00

street art by Vinchen courtesy of wooster collective

hello. i'm sorry i haven't been much of a blogger. i feel like every post i've made recently has been me apologizing for sucking at blogging... but at the moment i'm packing for college and my moms trying to pack up the house too, she's moving into a new place. basically neither of us is very organized or motivated so this isn't going that well...

also, i finished Slaughter House - Five which was amazing! I truly adore Kurt Vonnegut. I think he's brilliant and can't wait to read more of his books. I've also read Cat's Cradle which was equally excellent. Both come highly recommended. Tell me if you've read any other Vonnegut and if you've enjoyed it. Hopefully I can pick up another book before Monday when me and my mom will drive 7 hours up to Boston to move me into my dorm (ah!)

graphic and graphics

2009-08-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

i'm seriously in a very anti war mode at the moment, between reading slaughterhouse 5 and finding these amazing vintage magazines that once belonged to my grandfather. As my mom has been cleaning out our house and preparing to move to a new place she has unearthed some old editions of Avante Garde magazine. According to wikipedia Avante Garde magazine was published between 1968 and 1971, in the midsts of the cold war. It's filled with images and article that some might find obscene now, and I can only imagine their impact in the 1970's. Apparently an article written by supreme court justice William O. Douglas was used as evidence during his attempted impeachment. Yeah, that's edgy.

My favorite parts of the magazines though are the imagines of course, which art graphic and mostly done in the pop art style. Luckily there's a duplicate of one of the magazines so I'm eager to rip out the pages and decorate my dorm room which I move into a week from Monday!

these are lost of stolen pictures... and i'm sorry for not giving credit or asking permission or whatever... but i'm also lazy and don't take credit for any of these pictures, and i'm sure whoever posted them online initially didn't call up the person who copywrited (copywrote?) the mag to begin with so whatever.

do the math

2009-08-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

DSquared2 FTW 2009 - courtesy of style.com

How Olsen is the cup of coffee?

While I adore fashion, I also have a strong love of makeup, which is why I get a little excited whenever MAC does a collaboration with a fashion line. Serioulsy, H&M and Target are known for their designer partners? Add MAC to the list too! Dsquared2 will be putting out some lovely lippies and and other fabulous face products this October.

courtesy of butterflydiary

While I find the packaging kind of underwhelming the scuplt and shape product is definitely on my list! These products come in separates as pro-products, but are rarely combined and rarely in the normal MAC stores.

Will you be buying anything from this collection?

How do you use makeup to compliment your fashion?

will i never learn?

2009-08-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

jacket: argentina, tank: madewell, shorts: AA, boots: freepeople.com

hello lovelies. i've had a busy few days, spending some time down the shore, and then spending the day visiting old friends in new york city. i adore the shore but my hubris self decided i didn't need sunscreen. bad move. i'm terribly sunburnt and i'm sure you'll be able to see the red in my pics from my city outfit. i tried my best to cover my skin from the sun by wearing my little grey jacket.

It was so great seeing my old friends! The friends I met were friends I made in fifth grade at summer camp. Now I'm going to be a freshman at college and one of the girls is going to the same university as me! We've all grown up in different places and have always made time to see each other and it was great catching up. We went shopping in SoHo, stopping at Top Shop where I bought a sweater with a panda on it, and at Uniqlo where I bought a cute purple corduroy skirt. We also picked up these adorable cupcakes (pictured above) from Baked by Melissa.

P.S. I love my followers! Seriously! I want to buy you all little cupcakes!

all points west

2009-08-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

a shot of a few of the art instilations at APW in front of the manhattan sky line

Wow, i've been such a lazy blogger lately it's not even funny. I guess I've just been on summer break too long. Friday was one of my busiest days in a long time. Me and my friend woke up pretty early in order to train it all the way to northern New Jersey for the epic All Points West music festival. All of the acts were amazing, my favorites included Vampire Weekend, The Nationals, and of course Jay Z. I was also impressed by all of the amazing art installations and fashion although the rain kind of distracted from all of that. I was glad I chose to wear my rainboots because by the end of the day I was covered in mud and soaking wet.

hello. goodbye.

2009-07-31T05:41:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to do a quick post before I left for All Points West. I won't be back until late saturday and I probs won't post then... so, just thought I'd give a breif update. I really wanted to wear my romper I picked up at the flea market last week but it looks like its probably going to rain all day so I decided to wear something that complimented my rain boots and rain coat a little better. Not quite as fun, but I'll just have to find another occasion to wear my romper...

fashion & festivals

2009-07-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the minor hiatus. I was visiting my best friend in New York and didn't get a chance to take photos. I'll be busy this weekend too. Friday me and my friend are attending the All Points West music festival. I'm so excited! We'll be seeing groups like Vampire Weekend, the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, and and Jay-Z. In honor of summer music festivals here some street style shots from Coachella and Bonaroo (courtesy of style.com,):

Coachella

Bonnaroo

If anyone is gong to APW let me know!

edit: some people seem to be confused. these are not my pics, they are from style.com

you know you're having a lazy summer when...

2009-07-22T23:02:00.001-07:00

+ your girlfriends come over and you dress up like a six year old on crack and rent the Jonas Brothers concert

+ you do the bollywood dance workout on demand at 1:40 in the morning

+ you laugh hysterically at toddlers in tiaras on TLC

+ spending a day by the pool is a busy day

these boots are made for walking

2009-07-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

I ordered two pairs of boots from Free People and was more than excited when they came. They're both adorable and exactly what I've wanted - low boots that can be worn with pants, skirts, or shorts. Oh and both pairs were under $100.

I wore this outfit to do a little dog sitting with a friend and then I met another friend for gelato. The town I live in is historically Italian and there are two different places where you can buy gelato within a block of each other. The Gelateria we were in was so adorable - the owners wife was working the counter that day and she chatted with a friend in italian while me and my friend enjoyed gelato covered in a shot of espresso. yum!

toys'r'us

2009-07-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

I must admit that at 18 years of age I like toys. Which is weird, because when I was at the age at which love of toys is supposed to peak, probably around 7 or 8, I wasn't much for toys. I preferred playing with my imagination. I preferred dress up. Now it is socially unacceptable to play pretend, it's called mental illness or poor adjustment. Dress up is generally ok as long as there's a theme party and alcohol involved... but besides that, imagination isn't quite cool. Maybe I am poorly adjusted afterall, although I'll deny any mental illness, thank you very much, and that's why I've started collecting designer toys.

i bought this hello kitty figure at urban outfitters and was happy to receive the rainbow one!

I just think there's no better way to decorate my freshman dorm that with little pieces of brightly colored plastic that can be described with adjectives like "cute" or "fun." My friends think I'm wasting money and call me a creep. I ignore them.

I've recently bought a hello kitty and a cupcake. I can't wait to expand my collection, although I hope my college room mate finds my habit as adorable as I do.

Cannibal Funfair toys available at Kid Robot - a store notorious for its immense selection of designer toys and street art inspired apparel and posters

summer in the city

2009-07-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

(l) dress: AA, sweater: borrowed from friend, shoes: UO (r) tank: madewell, skirt: UO, necklace: (flea market find) Alex & Chloe, bag: Zara

Sunday was as busy as my summer has been lazy. I woke up around 8 in order to get ready to go to a Punk Rock Flea Market at the Starlight Ballroom Philly thrown by R5 productions (a show promotion agency in Philly). It was day two of the flea market so the pickings might not have been as good as they were on saturday but I still managed to pick up a perfect floral polyester romper for $10 and a book on baby endangered animals. My other great find was also a acrylic necklace that I thought looked very familiar. After doing some research I realized it was in fact an Alex & Chloe necklace (featured in both outfits above)! And I only paid $5 for it. Then me and my friends headed over to Buffalo Exchange where I was able to sell some of my old clothes.

After returning home I changed out of my sweaty clothes and went to dinner with my dad, girlfriend, and girlfriends daughter which went alright. Then around 9:15 I met some friends at a hookah lounge for a little going away party for my friend Sarah who is going to be a camp councilor for the next few weeks. Finally I got home around 1 and just collapsed.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did.

this is where i call home

2009-07-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

shirt: madewell, skirt: ae, belt: vintage, shoes: steve madden, bag: BCBG

Yesterday me and some friends headed into Philly for shopping and dinner. It really is a very under-rated city. There's tons of art and shopping and really amazing restaurants. I mean what else would you expect from the city that gave you the constitution as well as the Urban Outfitters trifecta (UO, Anthro, and Free People). Sure, maybe we're a little dirty and have a problem with violence and poverty but we are also the second largest college city in the US! Next year I'll be living in the first largest college city but I'm sure I'll miss the beautiful city I've grown up in.

i've got sunshine

2009-07-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

jacket: vintage gap, dress: AA, shoes: sperry

I finally broke out my Sperry's which I won in a Lucky Style Spotter contest (along with $500!). They're just so yellow... which I mean, i love about them. That's why I picked them, but they're hard to fit into an outfit. Tuesday me and my friend had dinner with two other girls who are also going to the same college as us. It was so nice getting to know our potential classmates and the food was amazing!

Today I tried updating my computer hardware and managed to "misplace" all of my files, forcing me to take my baby into the apple store. Luckily the guy was able to find my pictures and such (allowing me to make this post) but he told me I'd have to get a new hard drive beacuse mine was on its way out. At least we caught it now. I'm now in the process of backing pu all of my files. Fun times.

life's a beach

2009-07-04T18:06:00.000-07:00

Happy fourth of July! I hope everyone enjoyed this lovely day of frivolous patriotism. I know I enjoyed the holiday, spending the day down at the jersey shore with my friends, having a cheeseburger for lunch and a crepe for dinner - so America. I also got a chance to wear my new fedora, the fedora I've been searching for for ages!

hat: j crew, sunglasses: raybans, blouse: forever 21, shorts: jcrew

Also, question: What do people who don't live at least driving distance from the beach do during the summer? Seriously... where do you go?

hat, le sport sac backpack, shirt, sunnies - beach essentials!

back in time

2009-07-02T00:26:00.000-07:00

Unemployment doesn't suit me. Honestly, now that I'm home and not traveling all over like I was last month summer vaca has been lazy! And this laziness has motivated me to watch even more trash tv than I normally would (which is actually a lot anyway...). One of my favorite guilty pleasures at the moment has to be Paris Hilton's My New BFF. The only thing I object to about this show is Paris's 1920's influenced style (yes, it's the style I'm objecting to, not the shameless fame whoring).

I love vintage styles, the 1950's, 60's, and 80's are among my favorite decades, and while I can even get behind victorian or greecian inspired looks I am just not digging the flapper look. It's a little too middle school halloween party for me. I don't mean to imply that Paris is some fashion icon, I only mean to show my distaste for her new image. I don't mind the over the top pretty in pink, it's just this attempt at individualism that bothers me. Although, maybe Paris has had a history lesson? Her lifestyle does match that of the party girl flapper who flaunted her boyish figure in scandalous mini skirts.

pictures courtesy of parishiltonzone.com

read my mind

2009-06-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

sweater: gap, tank: heritage 1981, shorts: j crew, sandals: cole haan

I went to my final grad party the other day. I guess that means high school is over. I also made the mistake of wearing a shirt with words on it. Usually I choose to wear more simple classic styles but I thought this shirt was cute and it kind of reminded me of a shirt on Pixie Market. The problem was that people liked to read my shirt to me... not fun.

no one loves scarlet more than rhett

2009-06-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

So I'm back from orientation! It was such a good time getting to meet so many people and choosing my classes. I'm especially excited to take intro to anthropology! I didn't get a chance to photograph most of my outfits (I didn't want to look like a creeper) but here's the outfit I wore the second day:

dress: modern amusement, shoes: steve madden

you've been warned

2009-06-22T23:51:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I've been super lazy lately and resorting to t shirts and shorts beceause well, I go nowhere and own no clothing. I think I have a good sense of style (what else would drive me to create a blog devoted to fashion?) but thanks to years of uniformity and a summer spent hiking in Israel I have very little clothing that suits me or my current lifestyle (which is pretty much me doing nothing - yay unemployment). I'm slowly trying to put together a wardrobe that truly suits me. Hopefully this blog will follow that journey.

I love how my face doesn't tan yet the rest of me is nice and sun kissed

dress: vintage, shrug/cardi?: my friend brought it back from italy?, shoes: DSW

So, I've been wearing this dress a lot! Like, A LOT! I'm sure you've seen it at least three times in the past month. That's like once a week. I just find it so beautiful and summery and versatile. I've worn it with a scarf and jacket, I've worn it belted at the waist, and the other night I wore it with a long shrug. I could have tied up the shrug but I loved how long it hung! I thought it created the nicest silhouette.

I wore this outfit to my Aunt and Uncle's anniversary/birthday party. It was so nice to see all my family although everyone was coupled off - except me. I'm the baby and all of my cousins are in their mid to late 20's so and involved in serious relationships. Me and my aunts mother were the only people there without dates. Lame. But I still managed to have a good time by discovering the pomegranate martini.

Tomorrow I'm driving to Albany with my dad to visit my brother then driving up to Boston to attdent my college orientation. It still hasn't quite hit me that I'm done with high school, that I can't go back, that next fall I will begin school in an entirely new city with entirely new people. I'm nervous but still so excited! Hopefully I'll get a chance to blog while I'm there.

"For somebody who don't drive I've been all around the world"

2009-06-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

While punk inspired looks may be more trendy at the moment (and I can't deny loving the look as well - I have big plans for a pair of jeans and some bleach tomorrow) I still hold a soft spot for the 1970's look. Thats probably why this song delights me so much:

This song was part of my friends mix CD that we listened to whenever in the car this week up in the Berkshires. Seriously, this song makes me nostalgic for a time period I never lived in. Luckily tons of designers seem to be channeling the same chakras as me when it comes to peace and love and have featured bohemian inspired looks in their fall 2009 runway shows.

Miu Miu, Vivienne Westwood, Missoni

pictures courtesy of instyle.com

ta ta for now

2009-06-14T19:43:00.001-07:00

So I've been immensely busy and immensely tiered all weekend. I've spent lots of time with friends, going to hookah, going to grad parties, and cleaning my room. Tomorrow I'm leaving for my friends cabin in the Berkshires to spend a few days swimming, relaxing, and partying with a bunch of my classmates in honor of our graduation! I'll be unplugged for the next few days but I'll be home Thursday, hopefully with lost of pictures and stories.

I always think of this song on hot summer days:

Graduation!

2009-06-13T11:24:00.001-07:00

I am happy to announce that I am officially a High School graduate. I feel like this is all I've been talking about for the past like six months, but now its official. I have a diploma! I'm so happy to be done, there's a lot of stuff frustrating me at the moment, which can only be described as typically high school and it makes me even more ready to move on and go to college in a few months.

you can't really see the detail on this dress, but it had really lovely gold embroidery on the bottom

dress: anna sui for anthropology, shoes: DSW

split ends

2009-06-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

I was in need of an emergency hair cut today. I had let my curls get too long and out of control. I meant to get a haircut about a week ago but I missed my appointment but never rescheduled. Then the humidity began and my already thick hair became curlier and frizzier. Then I realized "There is only one day until graduation!" I wasn't able to get in with my usual hairdresser with this timing so I made an appointment at a salon I used to go to, asking only "Is there anyone good with curls available?"

I went in and we had a short consultation, she said something about sexy bed head, I agreed. Sometime into the hair appointment I realized she was chopping bangs back into my hair. I've been missing my bangs so I was ok with this but now, it just doesn't look like my hair. Hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow adjusted... hopefully, tomorrow is the day of my High School graduation!

keep your pants on

2009-06-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

I believe I have given in - I have joined Look Book. So far I like it, I don't understand all of the hype, but I do enjoy it. While browsing the rows of style available I was completely blown away by the use of garter belts! While I've seen corsets outside of the bedroom beforeI had never seen this form of underwear as outerwear. The Pipeline seemed to notice an influx of garter belts too - much earlier than I did...

A loose top keeps the garter belt from looking exclusively like lingerie

Victoria's Secret: During the victorian era high society women were chaste and encouraged to be asexual while high society men were encouraged to have affairs with many women and even engage in sexual activity with prostitutes.

I've also joined blogloving. Follow my blog with bloglovin´

I would like to thank the Academy.

2009-06-07T11:00:00.001-07:00

dress & belt: vintage, shoes: DSW

These pictures are a little late but I guess it's ok. Friday was Prize Day, a day where my school hands out academic awards. Everyone dresses up for the event and it is comparable to any big hollywood award show. Following the academic "Academy Awards" a lunch was held for all of the seniors and their parents. They showed a slide show complete with video footage from elementary school and baby pictures! We were also given our yearbooks. Its so sad thinking this is practically the second to last time that my entire grade will be in one place. Graduation is in one week and I couldn't be more excited though.

When I grow up I want to be a ballerina.

2009-06-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

full article here

For most of my childhood I either wanted to be a ballerina, a teacher, or a combination of the both. Later I wanted to be a costume designer for the Pennsylvannia Ballet Company. I am only a week away from graduating high school and entering college, and I can't imagine studying any of those things for the next four years (although I'd be a teacher before I'd be a ballerina). If I could truely grow up to be one thing though I think I would still want to be a costume designer. If I could be reincarnated as one article of clothing though it would have to be the tutu Karl Lagerfeld designed for the dance of the dying swan. This is not Lagerfeld's first ballet costume but i think the combination of feathers and white plus the winglike details make it my favorite.

Carrot Top

2009-06-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

I've always loved red hair. For as long as I could remember my mom has been a faux ginger, out of all my barbies my favorite two had red and auburn hair, and my first kiss was even delivered by a Ron Weasley-esque boy. Now that I'm heading off to college and to a new beginning I long to change my hair drastically. I also plan to get bangs cut back into my hair. Change causes more change causes more change.

My hair inspirations:

(l) color, (r) cut

I don't know exactly what the color or cut will be but I want a change. Let me know what you think about the color/cut. 'd love a detached opinion!

oh btw here's my face

left: winter, when I had bangs; right: a week ago or something?

I'd like to thank...

2009-05-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

all of my followers! I now have 20, which may seem small to some people, but it's huge to me! Also, if anyone wants to exchange links don't be shy, just ask!

Furthermore, thanks so much to Alice from Alice's Diary for this sweet award!

And thanks Leah of What Indie Nights for tagging me.

So, here it goes:

What is your current obsession?

I hate to say this but shopping. My internship puts in right in the middle of Philadelphia, about 3 blocks away from all the best shopping. Whenever I have a spare moment you can find me in Zara or Anthropology or something like that. We don't have those stores close to me, which is sad because I love them, but luckily they're right near the office buiding I work in.

What is your horoscope & do you relate to it?

I'm a Pisces. Pisces are described as creative, emotional, freedom-loving, and otherworldly as well as a little bit un motivated. I think this matches my personality very well... even the bad parts.

What are you wearing today?

J Crew denim shorts and an Urban Outfitters t-shirt. Exciting stuff. Lazy Saturday.

What's for dinner?

I had a chicken marsala Healthy Choice steamer and a piece of cheesecake. Yum.

What's the last thing you bought?

An ice cream sundae, or a train ticket. I don't know if the train ticket counts...

What do you think about the person who tagged you?

She's so lovely and sweet and very interesting! I didn't know she was so international before reading this post.

That question about a fully furnished, paid-for house that everyone answers with 'Paris' or 'New York'.

Tokyo.

I'd love to go there, or live there. I just read When Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris and he spent an extended period of time in Japan. It sounded like such an interesting place to live, and I've always been obsessed with the street fashion. Oh, and did I mention sushi?

What is your must-have item for summer?

Sun dress. Or maybe a straw fedora... oh I'm not sure. Really I'd just like to go to a bunch of music festivals.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would it be?

Lady GaGa concert. I missed her when she came to Philly and I'd love to see her live!

Who do you want to meet right now?

My college room mate. Apparently I've been assigned my housing but I won't find out what it is until next month.

What is your favourite piece of clothing from your own closet?

I'm obsessed with my new white jeans. I guess that would be my favorite at the moment. That or my graduation dress.

What is your dream job?

writer, artist, mother, international do-gooder

What's your favourite magazine?

NYLON or Vogue.

I can't choose, so don't make me.

What do you consider a fashion faux-pas?

Two tone hair. There is no reason for the top of your hair to be bleach blonde and for the bottom to be black. No reason! Also I really dislike those leggings with the lace at the bottom, and dark lip liner with light lips, and nail art, and oh you know, just general tackiness and ugliness and such.

Describe your personal style.

I guess it would be classic with a touch of preppy, grungy, or bohemian depending on my mood.

What are you going to do after this?

Watch TV? Actually I'm watching TV now. I will continue to watch TV.

Three styling tips that always work for you:

1. Just because its a cute shirt or dress or something doesn't mean its an outfit, think head to toe

2. dress for your body, not the body you wish you had

3. when shopping remember trying things on is free. Don't leave something on the rack because you don't think you can pull it off. Try it on before judging.

What are you proud of?

I'm a good writer, I'm a good artist, I arranged for an author to speak at my school about a topic I'm passionate about, I'm going to the college I wanted to go to next year, a lot of things I guess.

What does your favorite underwear look like?

I have a pair of undies I bought at Aerie that are red and white with whales on them and resemble boys style breifs. They're so cute and comfy!

There are rules to this tagging shenanigan... Respond and rework – answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one more question of your own. Tag eight others.

I'd like to tag:

Oh also, check out this giveaway! You could win a beautiful Jenny Yeun handbag!

Just my Luck

2009-05-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

Recently I've had a good run of luck. I begin a great internship, I make a new friend, I find a book on a bench, I win a contest, I get a text from an ex who I've been thinking about. Good luck. Sadly I think my luck has run out.

You completely miss the ruffle detail in the color of this shirt because of my hair. Oh another sleepy face pic too. YAY!

Cardi: BCBG, Blouse: UO, Skirt: AA, shoes: Cole Haan?

After work I met my ex in Rittenhouse Square. He's been at college while I've been in High School so I thought now that we were in the same place something would start up again. It was nice seeing him but I didn't really feel the same way I had felt over a year ago when we were dating. I was relieved to know exactly what my feelings were. I had spent way too much time on my outfit (white skirt and black racerback blouse) to be this underwhelmed - but otherwise it was fine, except when I mentioned my recent luck he told me that good luck was promptly followed by bad luck. What a jinx.

I should probobly stop taking pictures at the end of the day... not cute.

tee: UO, skirt: kensie girl, belt: vintage, shoes: UO

Today was rough. I thought it would be another lovely day, I got a ton of compliments on my outfit and while there wasn't much of anything for me to do in the office it wasn't horrible. Then after work I went to visit my friend. I had some time to kill before our train home so I thought I'd exchange the Shekels that have been sitting in my wallet since I went to Israel last summer into US dollars. It wasn't until I was back at my original location, 6 blocks away, that I realized I had left my cell phone at the currency exchange office. The office was closed. I walked all the way back to see if there was someone still there, but it was 40 minutes past closing. Then it started to rain as I walked to my train.

My luck has turned for the worse..

America, the Beautiful

2009-05-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

cardigan: American Apparel, top: UO, jeans: Club Monaco

shoes: DSW

I look rather patriotic today, although not on purpose. I like the classic color combo of red white and blue. To be honest I'm not so thrilled with the country at the moment. It is completely unconstitutional to continue to ignore the marital rights of homosexual couples. I'm so glad I'll be moving to Massachusetts next fall, to a state that supports equal rights for all of its citizens.

Otherwise today was good. There wasn't much to do in the office so I spent a lot of time online or reading. Productive. I also wore heels, which I haven't done in a very long time. I forgot how painful they were but they looked too cute with my brand new white jeans! Oh well, at least I sit behind a desk most of the day...

Without a Paddle

2009-05-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

there were butterflies... but they wouldn't come play with me.

I'm back from the country. It was such a nice weekend, to just relax with my friends and we spent a lot of time in the water. Today we drove about 4 miles up the river and spent about 4 hours floating back down to the cabin in kayaks. I'm so incredibly sunburnt it is not even funny, but I had a great time none the less. That's what I get for not wearing sunscreen... I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend too!

Holes!

2009-05-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

After months of saying I'll get it done, I finally did! I got a second hole in my right ear! I really like it and can't wait until I can put a little hoop in it in about 6 months. I think I need new earrings though, the pearl studs I usually wear just don't match the second hole. At the moment I'm wearing these little huggies but I think I'm going to get a new pair of studs on Tuesday. But seriously, I cannot go shopping anymore! The only reason that is ok is because I have a gift card. Otherwise this is a problem. I have gone shopping like every day this week. BAD!

road trip outfit!

shirt: golf (Israeli brand), sweater: H&M, shorts: J Crew, shoes: NAOT

Today I'm going up to my friends cabin in New York. I won't be able to post until I get back Monday. I hope everyone has a lovely Memorial Day Weekend filled with sun and leisure.

I'm a winner.

2009-05-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

Eh, end of a long day out. My shirt is all wrinkly and my jeans are stretched out and I'm not wearing shoes... but I really like this blouse. I looked cuter in person, earlier in the day, I promise.

blouse: Anthropology, Jeans: Levis

Today was fabulous. All week has been fabulous, although I don't really care for the word fabulous. But seriously, I don't think I've had such a great day let alone such a great week in a very long time. First me and the other intern met some girls I go to school with for lunch and we had al lovely time. Then there was cake in the office! Seriously, CAKE! It was being judged for "Philly's Best," an edition of Philly Mag where the best places are judged. I'm not sure if it's just food or if it's stores as well, but let me tell you - the cake was great! I had such a big slice but I couldn't stop eating it. Then I got out of work early because I finished all my projects and went to visit my friend at her senior project. I wanted to take the train home with her but didn't want to continue to follow her around so I decided to get a little shopping done. Yay gift card! Finally I got home and an email was in my inbox saying I had won $500 in a Lucky Style Spotter contest! WHAAT! I thought I had won but I couldn't be sure. I'm so psyched, especially since I'm so broke. Haha. I also won a pair of Sperry Topsiders.

Here's my winning outfit:

and here's the shoes I picked out:

Sperry's aren't really my style but these were so sunny and I think they have a very lovely sense of humor. I wonder what outfit I'll actually wear them in...

Uptown Girl

2009-05-20T16:54:00.001-07:00

And the internship continues. I've spent the day making phone calls getting contact information for an upcoming article and copying an interview into a word document. Phone calls are easy, transcribing is hard. It takes hours just to get half an hour of conversation down.

Luckily the other intern and I get to take about an hour break for lunch which is lovely. Rittenhouse Square is only a few blocks away from our office and it's so nice spending the free time out in the sun surrounded by tons of happy people - often accompanied by dogs! I love being in the city, even if it means a half hour train ride every day.

Yesterday for lunch I got a thai peanut sauce and tofu wrap filled with tons of veggies! It was so delicious. You could never order anything like that anywhere in the suburbs.

necklace: Peru, tank: GAP, jacket: Argentina, Jeans: Levi's

Today me and the other intern stopped into Urban Outfitters during our lunch break and I picked up a crop top and a new wallet.

Dress: Vintage Laundry by Shelli Segal, jacket: Vintage GAP, scarf: TJ Maxx, Shoes: GAP

I'm having such a good time and am so glad I'm not wasting away in school anymore.

Black and White and Red All Over

2009-05-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

sweater: anthropology, tank: gap, jeans: found denim, shoes: keds

Ah I've been super busy for the past two days. Sunday I went shopping and found some great deals. Anthropology was having a sale and I picked up the cute sweater above (it doesn't photograph well. The grey part to the pattern is partially dots, partially hearts!). I also picked up a beautiful blouse and a knit hat. I also had some great finds at TJ Maxx and The GAP.

While I was out shopping my dad called and asked if it would be ok if we met up with his girlfriend and his girlfriends daughter. My parents have only been seperated about two years and this is the first girlfriend I've met. My dad has been with her for about 10 months, and while I've met her on several occasions I had never met her daughter (although there were a few occasions we were supposed to meet. So, this long anticipated introduction finally occured.

Part of me anticipated a horrible brat of a 15 year old, while the other half of me almost wanted the little sister I never had. GF's daughter was neither. She lacked maturity and table skills but overall she wasn't a bad person or anything. I can deal, although long periods of time together may cause me to be overwhelmed by her overwhelming freshman-ness. I mean no offense, I know freshman who are very mature cool people, but this girl didn't really lean that way...

blouse: J Crew, tank: Target, skirt: Aqua

Today I began my senior project at Philadelphia Magazine. My school, as well as a lot of schools in the area, know that the last few months of senior year are a waste, and rather than cooping us up in school they allow us to take up internships or other similar activities for a few weeks once AP exams are over. I've always been interested in journalism and media so this is a really great opportunity. Mostly me and the other intern, a senior at another High School in the area, are calling up people who need to be interviewed for a future article, and transcribing interviews. The other intern is really amazing though. She's a really sweet girl and we have a ton in common! It really couldn't have been more perfect.

After work I took advantage of being in the city and went to LUSH cosmetics to pick up a belated mothers day gift for my mom. I was so surprised to walk in and see the same cute guy who had helped me about two months ago when I first went to LUSH. To top it all off I could tell me recognized me too! I almost died.

Once I picked out some nice things I walked around the park for a little while. While walking I noticed a book sitting on a bench. I noticed there was a piece of paper in the book telling me to keep it! I was so thrilled even though there's a very small chance I'll ever read it...

Around 6 I met up with some friends also working in the city for the next two weeks and we went out for Ethiopian food. It was really interesting. The food was all served on a large round tray and you ate it all by scooping it up with this spongey bread. Between walking to and from train stations I probably walked around four miles. It was ridiculous.

Now I'm so exhausted, so please excuse my horrid face in the pictures above... well, good night.

Magenta

2009-05-14T11:54:00.001-07:00

sweater: BCBG, tank: AE, shorts: J Crew, flip flops: Havina

This is what I wear when I'm lazy. Actually this is what I wear when I'm a step above lazy, lazy is just too embarrassing to post. I had my last AP exam yesterday, and I think it went ok... (we'll see in a few months whether magenta shorts are my new lucky charm). It was the Art History AP and during the exam slides were projected onto a screen. During one of the short answer questions a slide came up that the class and I had never seen in our entire lives. Rather than begin in shame we began cracking up at how pathetic the exam was going. The proctor was so confused and asked "What's so funny?" I also got through the difficult questions by drawing cartoons into my short answer questions. I hope whoever grades my book enjoys all the detail I put into my responses.

But, who really cares? I AM DONE! No more High School anything! Summer is so soon and I can't wait!

Also, I would like to thank Sher from Fashion After Forty for this lovely award! Thanks so much dear!

The Slave Next Door

2009-05-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

So, about once a month or something since the conception of this blog I have stepped away from the topic at hand (fashion) and focused on something a little less pretty. Service and awareness are very important to me, so it's just natural for me to want to share my many passions with you.

Today I have the very special opportunity to promote a book written on a topic that almost no one knows about or talks about: slavery. I had the opportunity to invite one of the authors speak to speak at my school and he was so eloquent and intelligent. If you're involved in consumption (and we all are, aren't wee) its almost impossible that you haven't encountered products that have been touched by slave labor. It's a sad truth.

As people who love clothes it's important to consider where the clothes come from. Please take a moment to read the excerpt below from the book The Slave Next Door by Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter.

CHAPTER 6

EATING, WEARING, WALKING AND TALKING SLAVERY

Slavery probably crept into your life several times today, some before you even got to work. Rolling off your bed, standing on that pretty hand-woven rug, maybe you threw on a cotton t-shirt. In the kitchen did you make a cup of coffee, spoon in a little sugar, and then kick back with a chocolate croissant and your laptop to check the headlines? After a shower, maybe you drove to the station. Waiting for the train, perhaps you made a couple of calls on your cell phone.

All in all a normal day, but slavery was involved in almost every step. Hundreds of thousands of rugs are hand-woven by slaves in the “carpet belt” of India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Cotton is grown with slave labor in India, West Africa, and Uzbekistan, the world’s second largest producer. Coffee cultivation also encompasses slave labor, mainly in Africa. Enslaved Haitian workers harvest the sugar in the Dominican Republic, the largest exporter of sugar to the U.S. The chocolate in that croissant can also be the product of slavery, from the cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast. Even the steel and iron in your car can be polluted by slavery. From a quarter to a half of all U.S. imports of raw iron in different forms come from Brazil.[i] In that country slaves burn the forests to make charcoal, which in turn is used to smelt ore into pig iron and iron into steel. In America, the single largest consumer of Brazilian iron and steel is the automotive industry, though the construction industry also uses a large amount. Pressed against your ear, that cell phone keeps you connected to friends and family, but also to slavery. Cell phones (and laptops and other electronics) just don’t work very well without a mineral called tantalum. In the Democratic Republic of Congo poor farmers are rounded up by armed gangs and enslaved to dig tantalum out of the ground. Every one of us, every day, touches, wears, and eats products tainted with slavery. Slave-made goods and commodities are everywhere in our lives, but, paradoxically, in small proportions. The volume is unacceptable, but rarely critical to our national economy or quality of life. And slavery in our lives is not restricted to cotton, coffee, cocoa, steel, rugs, and cell phones. The list goes on and on, with new commodities and products turning up all the time. Some of them, such as shrimp, might surprise you.

Huckleberry Finn it ain’t

If there is an archetypical picture of rural youth, it is the barefoot lad with the fishing pole over his shoulder. The dusty riverbanks, the lazy heat, the straw dangling from his lip, it all says that halcyon days are possible in our youth. Today even this picture out of Mark Twain is shot through with bondage. Across Africa and Asia children are enslaved to catch, clean, package, and dry fish. They feed a global demand for everything from shrimp cocktail to cat food. One of the world’s largest consumers of seafood is Japan, but the U.S. isn’t too far behind. Americans imported 2.5 million tons of seafood in 2006, worth over $13 billion.[ii] And when it comes to shrimp, the US imports significantly more than the seafood-loving Japanese. Americans love shrimp, and the little crustacean that was once an expensive specialty food is now as ubiquitous as chicken. More than three million tons of frozen shrimp were imported to the U.S. in 2006.[iii] The huge demand for shrimp in the U.S. and other rich countries has generated a gold rush along the coastlines of the developing world. From India to Bangladesh, from Indonesia to Ecuador, Guatemala and Brazil, coastal forests, mangrove swamps, and natural beaches are ripped up to build hundreds of thousands of acres of shrimp farms. In all of these places adults and children are enslaved to cultivate and harvest the shrimp.[iv] In some cases whole families are caught in debt bondage slavery, in others children are kidnapped and hustled off to shrimp and fish farms on remote islands. Children are regularly enslaved in fishing and shrimping, since kids can do the work and they are easier to enslave and control.

In Bangladesh, boys as young as eight are kidnapped and taken out to remote islands like Dublar Char off the southwest coast. Sold to the fishing crews for about $15, they are set to work processing fish on shore for 18 hours a day, seven days a week. If the boats return with a large catch they might work several days with no sleep at all. Like robots they clean, bone, and skin fish; shell mussels, shrimp and crab, and wash squid to remove the ink. Other children sort, weigh, check, and load the haul, processing and preparing the fish for freezing and shipment. The slaveholders sexually abuse the boys and beat them regularly. They get little food, no medical care, and sleep on the ground. If they sicken or are injured and die, they are thrown into the ocean.[v] Dublar Char was raided and the children freed in 2004 when researchers linked to the US anti-slavery group Free the Slaves discovered the situation. They worked with the State Department’s anti-trafficking office to bring diplomatic pressure on the Bangladeshi government, which led to a raid by military police. (The local police were on the take from the gangs running the island).

No one knows how many other remote islands conceal such slave camps. Much of the fish and shrimp from these islands enters the global markets and then comes to the U.S. Dublar Char is just one example of the slave operations that supply our hunger for seafood. Around the island of Sumatra in Indonesia the sea is dotted with what appear to be ramshackle rafts. They are actually fishing platforms, crudely lashed together and moored up to twenty miles off the coast. There are some 1,500 fishing platforms in this region, each holding three to ten children whose only avenue of escape is a twenty-mile swim. Promised a good job, they are left on the platform to cast nets, catch fish, and clean and dry the catch. In heavy weather the platforms can break up, children can be swept overboard, or they might simply fall through the holes in the rough bamboo deck. On irregular visits, the boss collects the fish and administers beatings to increase productivity. As in Dublar Char and so many other places, the children are sexually abused, and if they become ill, there is no relief. If they die of illness or injury, they are simply rolled into the water. The revenues from Indonesian fish exports reached $5 billion in 2006; America is one of the top destinations for frozen shrimp, canned tuna, tilapia and sea crab from that country.[vi]

[i] See: Michael Smith and David Voreacos, “The Secret World of Modern Slavery,” Bloomberg Markets, December 2006.

[ii] See report of National Marine Fisheries Service, at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/trade_and_aquaculture.htm. Accessed Aug. 2007.

[iii] Shrimp imports also reported at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/trade_and_aquaculture.htm.

[iv] See for example, “Dying for your dinner” Environmental Justice Foundation, accessed at http://www.csrwire.com/PressRelease.php?id=1932; and Report No. 32 on Forced Labor in Burma, International Labor Organization, accessed at http://burmalibrary.org/reg.burma/archives/199809/msg00281.html.

[v] Report on Indonesian Fishing Platforms, Anti-Slavery International, 1998.

[vi] See: http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-779909/Indonesia-hopes-to-increase-fish.html#abstract. Accessed Aug. 17, 2007.

I'm on a boat!

2009-05-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a lovely Mothers Day! Me, my mom, my grandparents, and my aunt and uncle went to a restaurant in Philadelphia located on an old boat. The food overpriced and the service blew but besides that it was fine... I still haven't picked up a Mothers Day but I think I'm going to pick something up at Lush on Friday when I start my internship! Yay! Only two AP's to go (Enviro & Art Hist) - I couldn't be happier!

dress: Aqua, cardi:GAP, shoes: GAP, bag: bought in Argentina

please excuse my deer in headlights face seen above...

i hate the seaming on the bust on this dress but otherwise its super cute and springy. perfect for mothers day!

Look Familiar?

2009-05-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

So I've spent some time trying to find the best photo location. At the moment I've enjoyed taking pics on my back porch, but my old faithful has been my brothers room where I can prop my camera on the desk and then pose in front of the horrid blue wallpaper. Last week my mom spent hours stripping the wallpaper off of the walls in an attempt to make the house more "buyer friendly." Sadly the desk has always been moved so i was having some trouble trying to figure out where to place my camera to take pictures, but these were the final results.

vest: j crew; tank: j crew (i didn't mean to be so branded - i borrowed the tank from my mom) jeans: gap; shoes: the same ones i've been wearing, you know; necklace: mom; bracelet: gucci (gift from my grammi)

Today was First Friday in Philadelphia. All of the local galleries open their doors to show of their latest shows. Next week my friend is beginning an internship at Fuel Gallery (home of Real World Philadelphia) so we stopped by there to check out the place. Then we headed up to the Pennsylvannia Academy of the Fine Arts to check out their student show and it was amazing! If you're in the greater Philadelphia area go check this show out. Their students are so talented. We ended the night buy having dinner at Continental which is one of my favorite Philly restaurants. The Lobster Mac& Cheese is my favorite!

XOXO Gossip Girl

2009-05-07T12:29:00.001-07:00

As a kid who's grown up (relatively) in the private school system (I attended public school until fifth grade) I feel a special connection with Gossip Girl. Though my school is very little like the drama TV show, except for one party about 20 years ago where a bunch of kids broke into the school in order to continue a party - well, one thing lead to another and somehow a couch caught on fire, I still associate with the high pressure society and the modified preppy fashion.

That being said, I've also grown to have a love hate relationship with little J. She's cute and generally likable now that her wild child phase is over, but I can't ignore the fact that she had a Mrs. Bradey mullet a few months ago. Right now though, me and Jennie/Taylor Momsen (the actress who plays Jennie) are more in the love zone.

Reasons I love Taylor:

She's not afraid of fashion or makeup

She's in a band! And its not bad!

She writes her own lyrics - and they're all about drinking

She's almost like Lindsay Lohan but with a career

She's only 15 and acts like she's 21, but doesn't apologize for it like Miley

Oh and she was Cindy Lou Who

Please excuse my shameless celebrity indulgence... normal posts coming soon, but I've had AP's and such so nothing too exciting has been going on.

Blue Moon

2009-05-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure everyone knows last night was the Met Costume Institute Gala. If I could do anything in my life it would be attend the Met Ball. Sadly, instead of a glass slipper I chose a normal slipper for Monday night. Overall I was disappointed by the fashion at the Met, while it might be the Prom of the fashion industry, too many of the dresses looked like the Prom dresses being worn all over this country by 17 and 18 year old girls (with 17 and 18 year old taste).

Here's the looks that most stood out to mee as "Prom Approved" (and I don't mean that as a compliment):

Donatella Versace and Cindy Crawfor

Victoria Beckham and Lake Bell

Ok, so I love the female tuxedo, but I needed something to round out the grouping. Otherwise these dresses just didn't live up to my expectations. Even the dresses I consider less of a flop I wouldn't consider that exciting or groundbreaking. Very few looks stood out in my mind. Maybe people are being more self conscious because of the recession, but please, stop! This is neither the time nor the place - this is the Costume Institute Gala. Seriously people!

M'appeler

2009-05-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

Laziness combined with crap weather has caused me to kind of neglect my blog... I'll try to be more interesting in the future. For the mean time I just got a new phone which required a new ringtone (the normal ones just weren't cutting it). Now, I'm someone who picks really lame ringtones like lil' mama's Lip Gloss or Katy Perry's Hot 'n' Cold but I think this ringtone is an improvement:

Enjoy! Happy Mondays! More interesting post coming tomorrow.

oh, and I now have 11 followers - which is 11 more than I ever expected to have, so thank you so much guys! It really means a lot to me!

Colors of the Wind

2009-04-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

dress: forever 21; belt: mom; shoes: mom...

My friend thought I looked like Pocahontis...

Tonight was the big Senior Dinner. The class of '09 was invited to have a dinner to celebrate our last day of classes. That's right - today was my last day of high school classes (excusing AP's which continue up until the exam date). All of the seniors were allowed to break out of uniform (yes, I'm also done with uniform, which was fun while it lasted, but man, I'm glad to be rid of it) and wear a t shirt representing the college they'll be attending next fall. It was kind of sad looking at all my classmates and thinking they'll be so far away next year. Graduation is still a month+ away but the seniors go do internships and such to keep us from being completely overwhelmed by senioritis, which means that my High School career has ended.

A zebra can't change its stripes.

2009-04-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a cafe in town as a little send off to the Polish exchange students who have been staying with my friends for the past month. The little cafe served gelato which was so delicious and such a great way to end a hot day! Especially a day like yesterday! The senior class banded together and turned our parking lot into a beach! Including sand. We all sat around outside, broke out the swimsuits, tanned, ate hot dogs, water ice, listened to music (played over speakers!). It was amazing. Then to top it all off that night I applied for a job with at the Cafe. I even spoke to the owner who was so nice! Hopefully they'll offer me a job since I don't think the Macy's job worked out.

dress: H&M, vest: JCrew; bag: Argentina?

Today was a "dress down day," a day when the student body is allowed to break out of the monotony of polo's and khakis, button ups and kilts. The special occasion was "spring" so I decided to wear my striped yellow mini dress. Tonight I'm going to a film festival for student film makers. A few friends from school have a short movie in the festival so I'm eager to support them as well as see the other films.

dress: H&M; shoes: Cole Haan (stolen from mom...)

p.s. look at how much paler the back of my legs are than the front of my legs thanks to tanning at the parking lot "beach"

A Cup of Tea

2009-04-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being a tad MIA recently. I haven't really worn real clothes considering I've had school and such, but that's all going to change soon! Next week is my LAST WEEK OF CLASSES! At my school seniors end classes early to begin a "senior project." This basically gives seniors an opportunity to do something they wouldn't otherwise be able to do, and it keeps us from slacking off too much. I'll be at school for two more weeks to finish up my AP classes, but I will no longer need to wear my little uniform.

dress: target, belt: h&m, shoes: payless, lipstick: popster by mac hello kitty collection

Today is one of the first Senior celebrations - a mother daughter tea. Sadly my mom can't make it because she is having a show in her studio where people can come and check out her art, but I'm going with as an adopted daughter to one of my friends mom's. I'd hate to miss out on celebrating my impending graduation with the rest of the girls in my grade. Plus I get to dress super preppy and girly!

Fifty

2009-04-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to have been tagged for the first time by the lovely Chloe from Heart Shaped Morning. Thank you so much dear! I'm immensely flattered you thought of me at all. Also, this is my 50th post! Yay! I hope to continue posting more frequently in the future and maybe reach my next 50 more quickly.

answer the questions you have been tagged with, and then tag 3 people to answer 3 random questions of your own

1. What is your favorite mythological creature? Why?

Most definitely a unicorn. When I was little I was obsessed with them. My mother bought me tons of books with various styles of illustrations. This year in art history I was surprised to find out that the Unicorn is basically just a medieval phallic symbol. Isn't it interesting that only virgins can catch the long horned unicorn.

2. If you could be any character from Alice in Wonderland who would you be and why?

I would most want to be alice. She might be naive to a fault, but she's beautiful and wild and curious. Last year I became mildly obsessed with Alice in Wonderland and began watching various movie interpretations on youtube. WOW! There are some wild films out there beyond the disney classic.

3. If you could be any flying creature, how would you choose to fly? (ie.hummingbird, butterfly, cardinal, blue jay, pegasus, peter pan etc.)

I don't know if this is "flying" but I'd really like to be able to apparate like in Harry Potter. Being able to just wish yourself somewhere would be amazing! I hope to always find time to travel and I know that sort of instant gratification of apparating would really be ideal.

*if you could do something, anything in the world, what would you do?

I have so many goals for myself: Do a job I love, always incorporate fashion in my life, continue to write, publish a novel, be a mom, ect. but if I had to choose one thing that I can't forsee myself doing that I'd love to do it would be to dance. I have a friend who is an AMAZING dancer and I was so jealous when I attended her recital. Sure, I'm probably not the worse on a dance floor during a party or something but to be able to really dance - in a company or something - that would be my dream.

*if you could live on any planet-which one would you pick? why?

Oh, I suppose the Earth? I've never really thought about this. Ever. I think it would be nice to visit the moon. That lower gravity seems amazing. To live, yes, I'd have to choose earth. There's just too much here I haven't explored or experienced to want to contain myself to somewhere else!

1. What book character would you be if you could choose any book at all? Why?

My favorite book has always been Eloise by Kay Thompson. Most of my favorite book characters are tragic and isolated but Eloise is so independent, extroverted, rebellious, confident and creative. Many of my friends liken me to Eloise and I even tried to write a college essay about the effect she's had on me. Still, there are many differences between me and the privileged 6 year old who lives in the Plaza. For one, her mother knows CoCo Chanel. Mine does not.

2.What movie made you want to turn your life upside down, get involved in some adventure?

Hmm, I suppose this answer relates to my pervious answer. I think the best I can answer this question is by saying the movie I would most like to live out would be Funny Face staring Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, and Kay Thompson (author of Eloise). Who wouldn't adore being discovered by Photographer Fred Astaire and being jetted off to Paris to be a muse for a famous fashion house while holding court with the beatnik "extestentialists"

3.What is your collection obsession (books, sugar cubes in wrappings, scarves, cinema tickets)?

Makeup. I have a bit of a problem. While I wouldn't consider my collection ridiculous I definitely have more makeup than my friends. I like to keep up with the new MAC collections and I'm always experimenting with new colors and combinations. For prom I wore my first pair of false eyelashes! I couldn't have been more thrilled. I've also been very into lipstick recently.

1. if you could have a little, secret room, all yours, what would you fill it with?

I'd love to be able to say books, but to be honest I don't read as much as I like. If I had a secret room I would want it to have a secret entrance for one. Maybe behind a bookcase. I would probably fill it with junk, honestly, and snacks. My friend's mom has one of those printers boxes. I would want my secret room to look like a giant printers box.

2. what would you do there?

I guess keep things, all my junk. Hopefully my house will be clean and more minimalist, so that room would be a place for all my secret nick-knacks. Right now I kind of have a secret room, its not a sercret, its just all mine. I was given the guest bedroom about 3 years ago when my parents realized we hadn't had a guest, ever. It's my space, where I can watch TV and nap in peace. Not that it's that hard to find peace in a house for 4+ filled with 2. In my secret room I would like to watch movies mostly, and look at things, and draw, and write.

3. who would be allowed to visit?

Probably no one, I really enjoy my alone time. I really take advantage of weekends to detox from constant social activity of the week. Sure, I hang out with friends, but I also take time to be by myself and sleep and watch tv and movies. A secret room is the ideal place for all of these things.

Now for my questions:

1) Do you believe in ghosts and if you do have you ever seen one?

2) Would you rather be a city mouse or a country mouse?

3) What reality TV show would you most like to be on?

And I would like to tag the following 3 individuals:

Hemaly from City Slick

Daisy Chain Dreams

Alice from Alice's Diary

Teenagers need not apply.

2009-04-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

jacket: Argentina; tank: J Crew; skirt: Gap; shoes: UO

I had my first real job interview on Sunday! Like almost all teenagers (and about 9% of Americans) I am looking for new income opportunities. Ideally I could get a great summer job at some sort of chain retail location and then I'd be able to transfer to another location in Boston where I'll be attending college. The store where I interviewed Sunday magically fit that criteria! Must be the magic of Macy's!

I think the interview went well, so hopefully they'll need some extra help over the summer. I've also tried to find jobs in other more local stores, but its not really the best time to be entering the work force. I tried my best to appear "work appropriate." This is something I'll have to become accustom to as I begin an internship at a magazine in Philadelphia next month as the last leg of my High School career. I would have liked to wear sandals with this outfit but I once heard they're not good in an office setting.

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"

2009-04-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

Prom was last night and it was overall a great evening. It was held at the Union League, an old gentleman's club notorious for its formerly stringent membership qualifications. Luckily they now let minorities and women in, and through the front door too! My how times have changed. The architecture of the Union League has not changed though, making it a beautiful building with marble stairs, tall pillars, and a large beautiful ballroom.

The DJ was bad, and somehow neglected to think that a high school dance, or more likely, high school teachers would prefer the "clean" versions of songs. He also didn't realize that no one cares what he thinks and he shouldn't talk, ever, just play music.

Despite that it was so great to see all my friends and classmates dressed in their finest. Everyone was so friendly and happy to see each other. I love going to a small school because I really do know every single person in my grade and most of the people in the grade bellow mine. We all enjoyed seeing each other in something other than school clothes. Sadly, my school days are almost over and I can't help but feel nostalgic...

Be nice to me...

2009-04-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

I gave blood today!

and after I gave blood they gave me a sticker which said so!

Vogue China, 2009, courtesy of foto_decedant

I donated one pint of blood to the American Red Cross during my schools blood drive. Last year I couldn't donate because of a sad little cold, but this year I had a clean bill of health! If you can get out and donate blood do it! It's great and isn't that scary and doesn't hurt that much at all. One pint of blood can save 3 different people!

Control Freak

2009-04-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

So, I'm incredibly stressed out. I have been for a while. Luckily, Prom is Friday, and once that is over much of my stress will be alleviated.

Until then I will be obsessing over my hair and makeup.

Scarlet Johanson is too beautiful - but the orange eyeshadow?

Considering my vintage dress I thought a modified bee hive (as seen on ScarJo above) would be the ideal choice. Hopefully my hairdresser will have her own suggestions. I'm so lucky to have someone I trust to do my hair, she's been dong my hair ever since I was in middle school.

I'm going to MAC to get my makeup done. I had my makeup done at MAC last year before prom and it was amazing! While I know they'll do a fabulous job and be able to get my skin looking flawless and my cheeks rosy and beautiful it's hard for me to give up all that control to someone I don't know. In the end I know it will be worth it.

All of the stress of prom will be worth it...

Life's a Drag (Queen)

2009-04-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

leotard: AA; belt: vintage; skirt: Aqua (Bloomingdales); tights:??; boots: UO

Last night me and a few of my girl friends headed into Philadelphia for my very belated birthday party. In order to celebrate my big one-eight I thought it would be fun if we went to Gay Bingo, a monthly event which raises money for the AIDs Fund Philly.

It was a great night! Each round of bingo had a prize of $100, and while none of my friends won, we had a great time trying!

Oh, and did I mention the whole event was hosted by a handful of drag queens!? Yes. Plus each month has its own theme. This month was a time warp into the '80's. Don't you like the Madonna inspired look above?

Overall it was a great cause and great fun!

"Butterfly Flutter by"

2009-04-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

I borrowed my moms leather peacoat when I got cold. it's so beautiful, i wish i could keep it forever.

I've meant to post in the past few days, I really have, but between a the holidays, family dinners, and a small stomach bug I haven't quite made time to take pictures or upload them. Wednesday I had Passover dinner with my dad's family (and his gf, and his gf's mother, gf's daughter was absent though). Thursday I had dinner with my moms family. Neither family felt the desire to cook so I was forced to spend this holy day in restaurants with makeshift passover specials. Somehow I don't think that's how God intended for us to remember one of His greatest miracles.

Thursday I did manage to get pictures. Please excuse my face, I haven't been in the most upbeat of moods. I did wear one of my favorite dresses - a French Connection butterfly print dress which I think has the perfect mix of youth and elegance. It's season versatile and so flattering. I also got a chance to wear my new 4" shoes which I picked up at DSW earlier this week. I was a little overdressed for the event (because seriously, classy families suck it up and have holidays at home, where they belong) but that didn't bother me.

Expect another post on Sunday! My very belated birthday party is Saturday and it's sure to be a riot.

Also, my last post was my first to receive 30 comments! All of your comments make me feel so happy and special and I'd just like to thank you all for your support. I never imagined anyone would read my blog, let alone over 30 people! Who knew. Thank you.

Sweet pea, apple of my eye...

2009-04-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

Friday me and my friend Sophi went to an Amos Lee concert in Princeton, NJ. I wasn't really familiar with his music besides his one song which is featured in an AT&T commercial. The concert was great! He's an amazing singer songwriter with a great voice and beautiful lyrics.

Sophi and I had fun dressing up for the concert!

tunic: forever 21; belt: ralph lauren; tights: gap

Isn't her dress cute! She picked it up on a recent trip to italy.

So LUSH

2009-03-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

Ah, so I've been so boring recently, which makes me not want to update my blog for fear of revealing my boring existence and embarrassing myself on all of internetopolis. So, I've been racking my brain for the past few days trying to come up with something interesting to share with you all and then I realized I neglected to mention my big trip to LUSH!

fresh farmacy cleanser

There's one Lush Cosmetics Store in the whole of the greater Philadelphia Area, and well, its not in the greater area, its just in Philadelphia. While prom dress shopping me and Alaina stopped into LUSH. I had heard about the legendary store numerous times through various makeup vloggers on youtube. I was so overwhelmed by all of the beautiful soaps and scents. Eventually I decided on a face soap and face mask in hopes of combating my most recent stress induced acne.

I'm a warrior...

I have thoroughly tried out the products and could not be more thrilled! Almost all of the redness is gone from my face and the spots are slowly fading. The Fresh Farmacy soap is great cleansing soap filled with tea tree oil and other natural ingredients. The face mask - cosmetic warrior - is so fresh that it only lasts about 3 or 4 weeks. It also has a great cooling effect and leaves skin feeling soft and fresh. I also got a ton of sample moisturizers which are also lovely. I know this won't be my only trip to LUSH!

Remember Los Alamos

2009-03-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

Today was lovely. Me and my mom drove to a nearby pueblo and did a hike around this are where they had all these prehistoric native american caves. You could even climb up latters into some of the caves! The cliffs were so beautiful and it was very nice out, if only a little cold.

Then me and my mom drove to Los Alamos, famous for the manhattan project and atomic bomb (all morning I thought we were going to the Alamos in Texas, well, I didn't know it was in Texas, but you get the idea). While there went to sonic! I've never been, since they don't have them in PA, but it was so amazing! They bring the food right to your car! I got a Oreo Sonic blast - yum! We also went to a museum about the Manhattan Project. It was nice a nice, small science museum, filled with some history as well as a few games and what not, but I don't think it gave a very comprehensive history of the atom bomb. It was definitely much more geared towards kids.

Update

2009-03-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

So, it's very difficult to update my blog from here in Santa Fe. I'm having a great time. Me and my mom are going to a lot of museums and galleries. I didn't pack well for the weather (it was like 30 F yesterday!) so my outfits aren't so cute, just utilitarian. But I wanted to let everyone know I'm having a great time, and I'm sorry for neglecting you.

Love,

Hannah

Viva La Glam

2009-03-21T20:16:00.001-07:00

Today I woke up at 4 in order to catch a 7:45 plane with my mom which brought us to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I'm so tiered and I think I have a little altitude sickness because I have a headache, and I never get headaches.

I can't wait to explore and share all my great finds with you guys. In the mean time I'd like to share this video from MAC.

I'm a huge fashion and makeup junkie, as you can tell, and MAC is one of my favorite brands. I started using MAC because of their quality and diversity of product, but the thing that makes me love the brand so much is their Viva Glam La campaign. Whenever anyone buys a MAC Viva La Glam campaign a donation is made to the MAC Aids fund. Buying one of the Viva La Glam lipsticks is such an easy way to give back! I bought one myself to wear to my school's semiformal last January.

The Hunt

2009-03-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today me and my friend Alaina woke up at around 9:00; way earlier than any high school senior should wake up during spring break. See, we were on a mission, a prom related mission.

I was surprised to discover that one of the fanciest boutiques in Philly had a loft devoted to vintage pieces. Me and Alaina both pulled a hand full of dresses hoping the vintage sizing would work out ok!

I couldn't have been more surprised by this long multicolored '60's gown. It fit perfectly and was everything I was looking for. I know no one at my school will be wearing anything remotely similar to prom next month.

"If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera"

2009-03-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

My new camera finally came! My old camera suffered a tragic fall about three weeks ago, and well, it took me a little while to get my stuff together enough to pick out and order a new camera. Finally I decided to get the Canon Powershot SD1100IS in gold.

It is so much more beautiful in person! Seriously, it is very well designed. I love the gold with black accents which you can't fully appreciate online, and the silver is so shiny and lovely.

Thanks to this new camera I was able to take some outfit pictures, and I am so impressed by how the camera picks up color.

jacket: somewhere in Buenos Aires; tank & skirt: american eagle; shoes: gap

I went prom dress shopping today. First my mom dropped me off at Sak's while she had a doctors appointment. I walk into the evening wear department and a woman in a black suit kindly asks what I'm looking for. "Prom" I say.

She continues to smile "I'd love to help you but we don't really have anything under $900. I don't know your budget, but I didn't spend $900 on my prom." I agreed, because well, she was right. She then directed me towards sports wear. I tried to spend time shopping but it's a small Sak's and there wasn't really anything I wanted to try on. I then proceeded to try and kill 40 minutes while my mom was at her doctors appointment. Eventually I just stood outside Sak's, calling my friends, because everything there was too expensive to even pretend to be interested in.

Once my mom picked me up we went to lunch and then stopped into a few boutiques we though might have prom dresses. Nope. I tried on all of one dress in 3 hours. It was nice, but not my prom dress. Hopefully I'll have more luck Friday when I go into Philly.

So Mod

2009-03-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

Friday was a total british invasion day for me. First, To Sir with Love was on TV which is one of my favorite movies. I love the way all the girls dress, with the teased hair and the mini skirts. It's straight out of the '60's! Then I watched Skins, another guilty pleasure. For any american who doesn't watch it, well, I pity you. I once was among you, before I spent hours watching pirated episodes online. It's an amazing british drama, with great clothes, a great soundtrack, and yeah, plenty of drama.

All of this inspired me to put together this mod outfit together Sunday when I met some friends in Philly for Dim Sum. I really like Dim Sum. I like the little carts. I like the little trays. I like the lazy suzy in the middle of the table. I also like the bakeries in china town where you can buy sweet buns for 60¢

dress: H&M; belt: vintage; tights: nordstroms?; boots: urban outfitters

Oh, also, I got a haircut. I like it ok... its kinda of awkward because i'm trying to faze out my bangs for the summer. I prefer my hair curly anyway.

A Room with a View

2009-03-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

I'm about 18 hours away from spring break, and man, am I in need of a vacation. I've been very overwhelmed lately by a lot of things, and can't wait to get away school for a little while.

I think the ultimate vacation would have to be a stay in the Fox Hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. Each room has been individually designed by a different artists. Not only would you be in an entirely different country, but each night you returned to your room it'd be like entering a new world. Heck, with rooms like these why would you leave to begin with?

Oh, did I mention that the hotel restaurant has sushi? Room service, please! But you can rent bikes! Ok. maybe I'll leave just once - if there's a bike involved.

Also, I have a prom date! *PHEW* That's one less thing to deal with now.

The Greatest Night of our Lives

2009-03-09T14:56:00.001-07:00

It's official, even though there aren't any flowers in bloom yet, and its still cold, but its prom season alright. Prom season, the period of time in which people only talk about prom. All I hears is"Who are you going with" "What are you wearing?" "Where is the after party?" and "Who's in our limo." Prom is a ton of effort for one night, and there's too much pressure to make it perfect.

Right now I'm right in the middle of figuring out who I'm going with, and I know after that I'll have to deal with all the other big questions. But lets be honest, the most important part of prom is the dress. Most of my friends are relying on me to find them dresses, which can be fun and challenging. I'm enjoying playing Rachel Zoe and picking out dresses that suit their styles and personalities.

I just wish I had all my own shit pulled together.

Here's my prom dress picks (for no one in particular):

the glamourous one:

nicole miller, www.saks.com

the bohemian one:

voom, www.revolveclothing.com

the bubbly one:

nanette lepore, www.revolveclothing.com

the rebel:

DKNY shopbop.com

the vintage one:

Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent, www.Shopbop.com

the sporty one:

Thayer, www.shopbop.com

The girly one:

Diane Von Furstenberg, www.shopbop.com

the preppy one:

Vera Wang Lavender, www.intermixonline.com

Tell me about your prom night, what you wore what you did, or if you're too young what is your dream prom like?

Success

2009-03-08T18:20:00.001-07:00

I went shopping saturday and didn't buy anything i could wear to school (minus shoes, belts, and makeup... but those don't count...). This is a big accomplishment for me because recently everything i've been buying has been in dress code. I have only been able to see things in black, red, grey, navy, and khaki, but now I have changed! I bought prints, and colors, and exciting things in preparation for my trip to Santa Fe in the upcoming months. Apparently its no warmer than it is here in PA, but that won't keep me from wearing cute dresses and skirts. I need to escape the monotony of school and winter.

If anyone lives in Santa Fe, or has ever been there, I'd appreciate some tips on where to go, what to eat, where to shop, ect. My mom is probably going to move there once I leave for college, so as well as playing tourist we'll be house hunting a bit, but mostly we'll be playing tourist.

La Vie Boheme

2009-03-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

I'm going to a school musical tonight. This is like my third school function in the past month! I'm really embracing that senior thing, getting involved, making the most of things, ect. There are less than 30 school days left until Senior Project and the end of High School classes. Then it will only be a few months until college! Wow!

sweater: my mommy knit it!; belt: ralph lauren; jeans: peoples liberation denim

It was so nice out today I wore shorts to school! I want to go into the city tomorrow and enjoy the warm weather while it lasts but I don't know if thats going to happen.

Thanks everyone for the lovely birthday wishes!

xoxoxo

18.

2009-03-04T12:56:00.001-08:00

Today has been such a lovely day. To begin with, its my birthday (I'm finally legal! WOO!), and furthermore, I had a field trip! Me and my Art History Class ventured to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Each of us was assigned a gallery and were instructed to give a small presentation on the period represented by the works, and to explain some of the pieces themselves.

I love art and had a great time looking at all the beautiful works. It is so different to see the things we studied in class in real life, rather than in pictures. I'm always surprised by how big things are. When I was at the Prado in Madrid I couldn't believe Las Meninas was so much larger than the print hanging in my spanish classroom. My favorites at the Philly Art Museum would have to be the modern works. It was fun because I remembered going into those same galleries as a kid with my mom.

The Fountain, Marcel Duchamp; Three Musicians, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso; Portrait of a Man

Isn't the small portrait adorable! Someone would have their likeness painted and then give the image to their lover!

Unfortunately we had to be in dress code, so no exciting outfit. I did wear a red sweater my mom knit me, but since my camera is dead I don't have pictures. I'm going to order a new camera this weekend though, with some of the birthday money I've received (thanks Grammi & Poppi).

It was such a great day! One of the highlights would have to be being called crazy by Italian tourists (in Italian!) as I ran through the revolving door to leave the museum. My teacher kindly translated the insult for me.

Another great point was all the food. I made cupcakes shaped like boobs - complete with gum drop nipples! You have to understand it's an Art History class full of 13 girls and no boys - we talk about boobs a lot, in an artistic context of course... My friend Sarah also made me brownies. Lunch in the museum cafeteria was delicious and I treated myself to a lemon square! Then my mom ordered Indian food for dinner in addition to baking me kugel. There's still Birthday cake waiting downstairs! I'm going to have to run a little longer than usual tomorrow...

So, in honor of my 18 years of life I thought I'd share my favorite baby picture of myself:

look at me, the little budding fashionista with the wayfarers and tribal print hat!

Boys vs. Girls

2009-03-01T01:31:00.000-08:00

awkward pictures! sorry crap lighting at 3am

top: Anthropology; tank: AE; jeans: found denim; boots (not pictured): ugg

To be honest, I'm not great with guys. I'm ok, I can put sentences together in their presence, but I don't know. I'm not that girl, you know that girl. No matter how much I try I just can't come of as aloof and mysterious nor sweet and giggly. That's the thing, I try. That girl doesn't try. She just is.

Last night me and a few friends went to meet some guys, some friends of a friend or whatever, and I did my best to take my friends advice, "you know, dress casually. Wear tight jeans and like a tight t-shirt or whatever." The thing is, my style doesn't seem to be boy approved. This summer I put on a high waisted skirt and my friend Arthur proceeded to try and pull it down. He then decided it was too long once pulled down and told me just to change the skirt. I said no, I like the skirt just the way it was. But tonight I wanted to be boy approved, especially since this was my first impression. So, I picked out some tight jeans and a cute pink t shirt. It's not my favorite outfit but its comfy and I think the puff sleeves are a cute detail. I couldn't tell you whether this outfit was boy approved or not in the end, but I guess it did ok.

Oh the places you'll go...

2009-02-28T10:53:00.001-08:00

It's very hard for me to take outfit pictures between my drab school uniform and my lack of camera, so instead I've decided to share some pics from last summer. After an opne mic night at my school where a bunch of my friends sang and played instruments we went to a hookah place to hang out and of course smoke hookah. Hookah always reminds me of the summer I spent in Israel, so I thought now would be a nice time to share some pictures.

It was such an amazing experience. The entire country is beautiful and far more than one would expect. It is nothing like the news depicts it, and the most important thing I learnt that despite what one hears on the television, the entire Israel population does not feel one way about anything. I went to Isreal with a teen group which was great, and we were also joined by Israeli councilors and two Israeli teens. I was surprised to hear Israelis argue about everything from the Gay Pride parades in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to the appropriate response to the Israel/Palestine conflict. I think the most important thing while traveling is to talk to people who actually live in these countries, and learn not only what the country is by means of museums and landmarks, but also its personality.

American Girl

2009-02-25T15:51:00.001-08:00

Today sucked. I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, 40 minutes late, and had to get ready in about 10 minutes. I didn't have time to put makeup on, and my outfit was a mess. At times I find the monotony of a school uniform kind of depressing, but I mitigate that with my personal style. Today I just didn't have time to pick out an outfit and somehow ended up in a khaki kilt with a purple t shirt under a navy polo topped off with a long burgundy cardigan and my grey uggs. Not a great look.

By the end of the day I felt a little better and it was almost warm out when I left school. I can't wait for summer, filled with cotton dresses, outdoor music festivals, and days by the pool. To fill in this fantasy I've been doing a lot of online browsing. While flipping through various sights spring lines I was surprised to see all the new clothes at American Eagle. They must have gotten a new fashion director or something because the clothes are surprisingly trendy and cute!

Here are some of the pieces I'm impressed by:

Free the Slaves

2009-02-23T19:24:00.001-08:00

I would like to thank everyone so much for all taking time to look at my blog. All of your lovely comments make me so happy. I never expected to get over 20 comments on one post!

Last night while watching the Oscars I was so impressed by the few who took their victories as an opportunity to speak out about injustices, like Dustin Black who won for "Best Original Screen Play" with his screen play for Milk, and took his 90 seconds of air time to speak on behalf of the gay community.

Following Black's example, I would like to speak out about something important to me, while I have all of your attention: modern slavery.

Sex slavery, domestic slavery, and agricultural slavery are the most previlent forms of slavery in the U.S.

I became aware of this issue a few years ago after hearing a lecture done by a former child slave. I was surprised to find out that there are around 27 million people enslaved all around the world today. After becoming aware of this oppression I made it my mission to find a speaker to talk on this subject to my high school. Today Ron Soodalter, who's second book The Slave Next Door spoke about the thousands of people enslaved in the United States today.

I had worked very hard to secure a speaker for my school, and was so thrilled when Ron's speech was everything and more than what I could have hoped for!

I hope you all take time to check out this website: Freetheslaves.net, and spend some time educating yourselves. This issue is so much more than any of us could even imagine, and the first step to ending the problem, is education.

Thank you.

[image courtesy of Palm Beach Post]

This is math I can do.

2009-02-22T11:23:00.001-08:00

cardigan: BCBG; sweater: kensie girl; jeans: found denim; shoes: keds

Many of my friends are jealous that I have removed math from my schedule this year, and while I live in a relatively arithmetic free world now, I haven't quite removed geometry from my life. I've really been attracted to all the geometric prints this season. Today I wore a grey sweater featuring a square design. The sweater itself reminds me of my Grammi who has decorated her apartment in the most mod of fashion, featuring white sofas, grey walls, and red pillows. Thats why this sweater seemed so great for meeting her for lunch.

Also, I picked up these booties the other day while shopping in Philadelphia. Surprisingly they're Keds! They're super comfortable and they sort of remind me of Chloe booties. I've been wearing them with everything from mini skirts to skinny jeans, and just love them!

BMX BTW FTW

2009-02-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

titles are hard...

My dad surprised me yesterday with my birthday gift - a leather jacket! I had asked for one, and after showing him a few pictures, expected we'd go to the mall and I'd pick one out. I was really excited, because no one ever buys me gifts. For the longest time presents have been an opportunity for me to ask for something I wanted but wouldn't necessarily buy for myself, like boots, or a camera, or something kind of expensive. While I've liked everything I've received (I've picked it out of course) it doesn't exactly feel "gifty". Even my grandparents have resorted to giving me money - not the same as someone spending time, thinking of you, figuring you what you might like.

Thats why it was such a great surprise to get a jacket from my dad, a jacket I didn't pick out! The only issue is I can't tell whether or not I like it because I like it or if I like it because it's a gift. I think I might ask for the receipt so that I can go to the store, check out all the other jackets, and make my mind up for myself. No, that isn't gifty anymore, but this is a big gift and I'd hate to have this expensive jacket that I stop liking.

Also, thank you to captivate me for this lovely award. It means to much to me to get all of this support as a new blog. All of your comments are equally meaningful to me. Thank you so much for anyone who takes time to read my humble little blog.

Seriously? Another Hello Kitty post?

2009-02-19T16:46:00.000-08:00

Last one, I promise (well... I can't promise), but this was too good not to post about!

MAC has asked tons of amazing designers to do Hello Kitty inspired peices which are being auctioned off on ebay in order to raise money for the Museum of FIT. Charlotte Ronson, Elie Sabb, Hervé Léger, and Zac Posen are among the numerous designers involved in this project.

Here are some of my favorite creations:

Zac Posen, Elie Sabb, Sang Beg, Manish Aurora, Su-Chin Huang, Dress 33

Katie Perry wore this Hello Kitty ensemble by the Blonds at the Brit Awards. For only $570 this bedazzled bustier can be yours!

What's cooking, good looking?

2009-02-19T15:50:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. Sadly, my camera is unable to do anything but take blurry pictures which means mostly photobooth pictures which aren't that great.

Today after school I made kugel for "Multi Cultural Night" at school. Everyone has been invited to make food from their cultures, and for $10 there's all you can eat plus a movie! All the money raised will go to the American Cancer Society. Such a great cause!

Seriously I spent over 40 minutes creating Kugel - my favorite Jewish dish. It's my first try at making it and I hope it turns out alright. We didn't have enough sour cream so I added more cottage cheese...

For anyone who doesn't know Kugel (and I feel really bad for you if you don't) it's a sweet noodle casserole.

Here's the recipe:

1 lb noodles

2 cups milk

12 oz cottage cheese

1 bar soft cream cheese

1 pt. sour cream

1 cup sugar

6 eggs

vanilla

graham cracker crumbs

sugar/cinnamon

Cook noodles
beat eggs separately, add 1 tsp vanilla to eggs
mix all other ingredients in with eegs and vanilla
combine noodles and mix
melt butter in casserole dish
pour mixture into pan - top with graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon
Cook for 1 1/2 hours in an oven pre-heated to 350˙F

I hope you enjoy the recipe - and here's my housewife inspired attire, in honor of my recent domesticity.

derss: target; belt: h&m

Movies I saw

2009-02-16T17:08:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend - I know I did. My best friend came to visit yesterday and we had a great time wandering around the city, going in and out of boutiques, eating in yummy restaurants, and catching up.

I also saw two movies this weekend.

Coroline is another Tim Burton movie, and unlike Corpse Bride I felt this lived up to the hype. It was creepy, imaginative, and beautiful. Me and my mom saw it in 3-D and it really was amazing. As a child I was so fascinated by the 3-D muppet attraction in Disney that I went to see it twice, and well, the gimmick still hasn't been lost on me. Every scene looked like a picture, the creativity behind the whole movie was truly inspiring.

I also watched Kinky Boots which is the funny and endearing story of a shoe company trying to stay afloat. This movie combined three of my favorite things: shoes, accents, and drag queens. This British import had great emotional balance, with both highs and lows, and had very well developed characters that you truly fell in love with.

I might not be the best film critic, but I like movies, and I really enjoyed both of these films.

My Valentine: Hello Kitty

2009-02-14T15:58:00.001-08:00

lipglass: (left) she loves candy, (right) sweet strawberry

lip conditioner: popster

lipstick: most popular

blush: tippy

My Hello Kitty by MAC stuff arrived on Friday and I couldn't have been more excited! I've been talking about this collection FOREVER! I love the colors, they're not all exactly what I was expecting, but the surprises just allowed me to step out of my comfort zone, and try some new things, which I love!

The lipstick is a beautiful raspberry color, and the lip conditioner is a really cute hot pink. It's much more pigmented than i expected! The blush is a nice hot pink - the only draw back is that I have to apply it very lightly or else I look like a 13 year old, allowed to wear makeup for the first time.

I wish I could take better pictures but I put my camera on the stairs for a minute, and it slipped 3 stairs onto concrete and since the focus has been a mess. Initially the lens wouldn't open, but I took an exact-o knife to the zoom lens to help smooth out the bumps. Now it makes loud noises when it opens or zooms, and can't focus picture.

If anyone has any recommendations for a good point and shoot camera I'd really appreciate it.

I will miss you Cannon Power Shot...

Prep School Rave

2009-02-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

I went to a mixer with a few of my friends at another private school in the area. It was neon themed, which is a school approved way to say "Rave Themed." They gym was filled with black lights and strobe lights and about 500 kids.

shirt: american eagle; skirt: american apparel; belt: vintage; shoes: they're not free people but I bought them at the free people store

My bangs were such a mess, I've let them grown too long and I tried to cut them myself. I seriously need a real hair cut.

Before the dance tried on so many outfits with my friend Alaina (who is also responsible for these pictures) trying to find something "neon" in my wardrobe. Eventually I decided on this white on white outfit which would glow under black light, and the pink belt was a great pop of color. The pink heart I drew on my face was done with Kryolan makeup, its a sort of stage makeup that is formulated to glow under UV light! It looked really cool under the black light.

P.S. Happy Valentines Day everyone

Napoleon, Sanchez, and Mongiello

2009-02-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

I found these pictures, take for Numero Korea Magazine by Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello, while browsing through one of my favorite fashion related websites FotoDecadent. They're amazing, and after spending more time on the sight I can't believe I had forgotten this website for so long. I was glad that I had re-explored my bookmarked websites the other day. The mix of Marie Antoinette and modern is eerie and beautiful.

Photography is a skill I'm really jealous of, but after a few altercations with the arrogant bitch of a photo teacher at school, and an unsuccessful photo class at a local arts college, I have resigned myself to staying an ammeter.

Bad Kitty

2009-02-10T19:25:00.000-08:00

dress: free people; scarf (around waist): vintage; shoes: neiman marcus outlet; headband: urban outfitters

Hello Kitty is officially out today! It is on the website and also in some stores. Along with the collection MAC released this video. I love the surreal Alice in Wonderland feel - seriously creepy!

Inspired by the video I put together my own Alice in Wonderland look. I think I want to wear this to my birthday party next month...

me and my kitty!

dress: free people; scarf (around waist): vintage; shoes: neiman marcus outlet; headband: urban outfitters

Sort of like Gossip Girl...

2009-02-09T14:40:00.000-08:00

So, in honor of Monday which is officially GOSSIP GIRL DAY in my book, this is a uniform related post -- because who doesn't love GG's prep school style?

I am happily more than half way through my senior year! In a few months I will be rid of this uniform, but in the mean time I have tried to manipulate the color restrictions and polo requirements to produce semi fashionable, individual outfits. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way one of those people who needs clothing to define themselves, I'm still as much me in a plaid skirt and oxford as I am in any other outfit, but I do get sort of depressed, occasionally, by the monotony of grey, black, navy, white, khaki, and red required by my school.

This is an outfit I wear often to school, sometimes the polo is red or the socks are pink or the sweater is burgundy, but this is pretty much its original form. I wouldn't wear heels to school but the black mary-janes feel very school girl like to me. Maybe I would wear them in a TV show version of my life...

sweater: BCBG Outlet; polo: an old summer job; skirt: urban outfitters; socks: ??; shoes: Neiman Marcus Outlet

Feeling Feline

2009-02-06T14:13:00.003-08:00

I've loved Hello Kitty since sixth grade. I was a regular at the Sanrio store at the mall. Now that I'm grown I've transfered my obsession to makeup and can't take a trip to the mall without stopping into the MAC store to check out the latest collection.

When I first heard about the MAC and Hello Kitty collaboration last fall my head practically exploded. I've since spent hours looking up different blogs, in hopes of finding new pictures or new release date info.

The day has finally come. I just pre ordered all my kitty cosmetics from Nordstroms. I ordered a modest amount, only 6 pieces from the collection, which isn't much for true MAC collectors.

I highly recommend that anyone else interested in this collection pre-order! Mac has been known to sell out.

I will do an update when my new purchases arrive.

picture courtesy of Temptilia.

Rosie the Riveter

2009-02-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

jumpsuit & belt: vintage (moms closet); shoes: payless

I love jumpsuits, onesies, rompers, whatever you want to call them, I like it. I was lucky enough to find an army green jumpsuit in my moms closet one afternoon, and have worshipped it ever since. My friend likes to tell me I look like a paratrooper while wearing it, and to be honest, I feel ready for anything while wearing it. It really reminds me of the women who began working in factories during WWII when men were overseas fighting.

The only downside is my friends don't seem to understand my love for this particular jumpsuit. It seemed appropriate for an open art studio session at school, but less appropriate when me and a bunch of friends went to the movies afterwards. Sadly, 17 year old boys really don't understand my fashion choice. Sad.

urban outfitters; shopbop.com

Also, please check out my friends nail polish blog. My nails are featured modeling "Shanghai Shimmer."

Prints and Pants: Flea Market Update

2009-02-03T15:54:00.001-08:00

Sunday a few friends and I hit up the Punk Rock Flea Market in Philly. It was an Emo-fest filled with original artwork, home made jewelry, vintage clothing, and drug paraphernalia. While it was hard to navigate the small space (which is usually a concert venue) there were some great finds once you shoveled through the crap and junk.

I also bought a velvet blazer at a boutique in Old City but I'll show that later.

I love the skirts wallpaper print, and the metallic fabric makes it so fun. I can't wait to dress it up and down.

I'm excited about these jeans. They're perfect

distressed levi's that I can't wait to turn into cut off shorts. They'll be great for summer music festiv

als and weekends down the shore.

I'm not sure how I feel about this dress. It was only $6 so I'm not feeling a major commitment. I don't know how if the fit is the best, and the fabric feels so synthetic, but besides that it has a really interesting back. I think accesories could really help this and make it great for graduation parties or dinner in the city.

I'm really thrilled with this orignal woodblock print. I can't wait to get it framed and hang it in my bedroom. I can hear the trains at night in my bedroom, and I take the train a lot, whether visiting friends in another town, another state, or just gong into Philadelphia for dinner.

Disappointment

2009-01-31T17:42:00.000-08:00

I failed my drivers test, again. 15 minutes after leaving the testing sight it clicked in my mind. I had gotten the whole thing mixed up and had tried to line my car up with the back cones instead of the front ones. I think the big lesson learned from this is that I'm not good under pressure.

I guess I won't become a surgeon, no big loss. Third times a charm.

Jews&Tattoos

2009-01-25T20:14:00.001-08:00

I beleive I am a Bokonist, which upsets me, not because I've spent the last 17 years of my life as a Jew, but because it means I subscribe to a religion made up by Kurt Vonnegut in order to make fun of religions, and this makes me feel as if my spirituality is a joke.

If you have no read Cat's Cradle, and to be honest, neither have I besides the first 50 pages so far, then I will explain Bokonism for you how I understand it: it is a religion based on the acceptance of the untrue.

The quote found in the begining of the book reads as follows:

Live by the foma* that make you brave and kind and he

althy and happy.

*harmless untruths

And honestly, this is how I view religion and Judaism. It makes me happy, I can't rationalize it, I don't beleive it half the time, and yet, part of me knows or wants to know, there is something greater out there, so I give into this "harmless untruth." I don't know if there is God or not, I like to think there is, but if not (which is probobly more likely) then it's just, harmless.

This realization makes me further realize I really want a tattoo.

I have always loved the Hamsa, a symbol of the hand of God which is meant to ward off evil. I think they're beautiful and I would love to have one permanently on my body, as a reminder that these harmless untruths or truths or whatever are ok.

Conformity and Uniformity

2009-01-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

I find myself in a fashion rut. As I grow older I find myself more and more open to more "out there" clothes. I've always loved fashion, ever since I sat in the audience of the Philadelphia Ballet and admired the sparkling costumes, but I've rarely had the courage to try out my own fantastical costume.

Recently the Academy has transitioned from a dress code to a loose uniform in hopes of elevating their obnoxious prep school status. This change may seem oppressive to some, but it has allowed me too escape many of the pressures in high school. I have slowly been riding myself of all Hollister and Abercrombie since the switch two years ago, and more and more daring fashion choices have been making their way into my closet. This might be a sign of maturing, but it also might be a respo

nse to the freedom of two wardrobes.

My school's uniform is fairly relaxed, it allows students to pick out their own skirts and pants as well as sweaters and sweatshirts, as long as they are within school approved colors - grey, black, navy, khaki, and red - and a polo from lands end, with the school logo embroidered above the heart. I have matched high waisted skirts and long cardigans with over the knee socks and penny loafers in order to mix up my school look.

(shoes: www.piperlime.com sweater & skirt: www.urbanoutfitters.com, socks: www.sockdreams.com)

Inexplicably, my school uniform has been influencing my weekend wardrobe. Whenever I'm out shopping I find myself drawn to colors like grey, black, and navy blue: school colors. Just as I began branching out I find myself sinking into another slump.

First Term President, Second Semester Senior

2009-01-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

Today was my first day as a "second semester senior." The S.S.S. is a rare breed, a high school student who has found themselves in the last half of their last year of high school. The S.S.S. possesses all the ideals and charisma of youth much every other high school student, as well as immaturity, but these traits, which are usually kept in check by the rigor of schoolwork and the threat of college admissions, are suddenly released as first semester grades are recorded.

There is a certain code of rules that applies to the Second Semester Senior, and the Second Semester Senior alone:

The S.S.S. does not do homework.

The S.S.S. attends class at their own discretion.

The S.S.S. does not study.

The S.S.S. does not stress out about C's.

The S.S.S. does not mind showing up to school late.

The S.S.S. understands that class time can be used for valuable socializing.

The S.S.S. enjoys spending time with their friends.

The S.S.S. treats teachers as equals, not superiors

The S.S.S. enjoys a good party

The S.S.S. likes to talk about their college, a lot.

Yes, the life of the Second Semester Senior is awesome.

Though I would like to think the world revolves around me, and that Obama's swearing into office coincided with the beginning of my second semester as a sign that I truly have hope for the upcoming months, I know that no matter what Obama would become president. Although that might sound depressing, it is truly empowering. I am so thrilled to have a president like Barack Obama in charge of my country as I transition into my adult life. No matter what I have going on in my life, Obama will still be in control, making the big decisions. I have so much hope and faith for this president, its unbelievable.

As a S.S.S. I had the luxury of leaving school in order to attend the inauguration, this was not a libety the school gave, but one the S.S.S. assumes.

A group of friends and I drove into town to view the inauguration on the TV inside the café which we frequent after school. Café Tea, as it is called, is a lovely little space that offers a variety of exotic loose leaf teas. In a previous life the café was a dance studio where I took ballet after school, and now its where me and a bunch of people hang out after school.

As the students of the Academy filtered into Café Tea the owner, Sharon, welcomed us. "You're just in time." And so we sat, mesmerized by Barack Obama. In the next four years Obama will work to prove himself as a worthy president of the United States of America, and me and my fellow classmates will transition from Second Semester Seniors, to college freshmen and beyond. We will also hope to prove ourselves, to discover all that we become, and hopefully achieve great things.

Today has been a very good day, a day of hope, and possibility.

A Year to Remember

2009-01-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

I feel as if I have grown a lot in the past year. 17 feels entirely different than 16, but at the same time, I have the overwhelming feeling that I'm in exactly the same place as I was a year ago.

My school's winter dance is this saturday, and I'm attending with the same date as I attended last year. He's a friend, but will never be anything more (despite what he might want). Also, I was surprised to be instant messaged by the guy I was dating last winter, the guy I wanted to go to the winter semiformal with last year, the guy who it just didn't work out with for some reason.

While I've become much more confident, self assured, and independent in the past year, this deja vu makes me feel like I haven't grown at all.

How have you changed in the past year? How have you stayed the same?

Valediction and Urination

2009-01-13T13:53:00.000-08:00

My brother Jake moved out yesterday. He had been living at home since he graduated college last spring, but there really wasn't any work for him around here, especially after the election (he was a political science major) so he's decided to move to Albany where he worked as a Senior and where his friends live.

While me and my mom are ok with Jake leaving us, Gus, the cat, is not as thrilled. Despite being and incredibly dumb cat Gus is able to sense when people are leaving. While Jake was leaving Gus decided to stage his own protest in the form of peeing on some of Jakes stuff. It's his own little way of saying, "fuck you."

This is not the first time Gus has objected in such a manner. While I was packing up a bag to go to my dads apartment for the weekend Gus urinated on a pile of tote bags I keep in the corner of my room.

It's disgusting, but at least I know he cares.

When Jake was leaving for the first time for summer camp I had my own sort of demonstration. Though I was only about 5 years old I was reserved enough to know not to pee on peoples things. Instead I taped all of my stuffed animals to the floor so they would not leave me too.

While I'm excited for Jake to finally begin his "adult life" it's hard to think that he will never live here again. The house I live in now is the only house I've ever lived in. Last winter my father moved out, and now my brother is leaving. In August I will be going to college and shortly after my mom will move to Santa Fe. Each of us is beginning a new life, but unlike most, we won't have any safety net to return to. In a way I will be sort of "homeless."

I am supposed to be studying.

2009-01-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

It is both my grandfather and my brother's birthdays today. They are here at my dads apartment watching the football game.

My grandfather is going blind so he wears these binocular glasses.

I really like them.

Down the Rabbit Hole

2009-01-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

Just a little doodle I did this afternoon. I'm really fond of it and might turn it into something more.

Hats, Health, Hard Cash and other things that don't begin with H

2009-01-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

Midterms are coming up next week, which means I've been delaying studying as long as possible. AP Art history is completely overwhelming, and while I like the idea of the class, the class itself is incredibly difficult and even tedious at times.

I've also been sick all week. I've felt horrible: very tiered, weak, and irritable. I've been trying to cut out meat where I can, but as someone who occasionally suffers from low blood sugar this might not be something I can actually do. We learned about the effects of meat on the environment, so I thought that I would do my part and just not eat it where I could, but I really do need the protein.

I'm also feeling very stressed out about money. While my housing and meals at home are paid for, my parents give me a certain amount of money to cover everything else in a sort of annual allowance. I just bought two very expensive things: a winter coat and a dress for my school's semiformal. I also went outlet shopping with my mom and bought some shoes and bras. While coat and bras were necessities the dress and shoes were not, and I feel bad spending so much money on things I don't necessarily need. I did get some money for Chanukah, but I still feel guilty spending so much.

My mom doesn't have any money anymore, as a working artist, and a divorcee, so I feel especially bad spending money when she can't. I love everything I bought and I'll wear it all multiple times, I just feel guilty. After I pay for the alterations for the dress I'm not going to buy anything else until I need spring clothing, and after i turn 18 in March I'm going to get a job so that I don't feel as badly for splurging on myself.

So, on a semi related note, my dad gave me a hat (which means it was free!). I really like it but I'm not sure where I can wear it. I think it looks good, but it's not necessarily a style thats fashionable at the moment, not that that matters, but still.

So, I guess this is sort of my first fashion post? So, expect more and better posts in the future

Failure

2009-01-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

In short, I failed my driving test today. After failing the permit exam 3 times, and taking a year+ to actually schedule my driving test it can be established that driving is not a priority to me. I'm actually not a bad driver, it's just not something I enjoy, at times I even find it stressful. My brother likes to blame my parents, and their divorce, and he likes to blame me, because I like to quite things that I have to work at to become good at. I don't blame anyone. I just try to explain to people that I never need to drive.

I don't need to drive because I plan to live in a city for the rest of my life. I'm going to Boston University where I will not be able to have a car, and after that I will either stay in Boston or move to New York.

I don't need to drive because my friends drive me anywhere I need to go. When we make plans, "Do you need a ride?" is asked right after "Where are we going" and "What time?" It's become a given in the year and a half that I will need a ride because I will never drive.

Despite those two reasons I've listed above people still like to ask me, "Why don't you drive?" or "When do you plan on driving?" It's like there's something abnormal about me. There is nothing wrong with me for not driving. Honesty, I think there is something wrong with everyone else? What kind of over privileged world do we live in where every teenager drives? I hate to pull out the "children in africa" argument, but seriously, in most parts of the world, or America, lots of people don't drive or get cars.

I don't understand what kind of response people want when they ask me about my driving. "Oh, I don't drive because I'm blind in my right eye and am legally not allowed." "I don't drive because my right foot is gimp and cannot control the petals." "I don't drive because I'm against it and will promptly begin to walk or ride my bike everywhere I go."

I don't drive because I don't, and now I don't drive because I failed the test.

On a completely separate note...

I'm thinking of doing fashion and makeup posts so if anyone is interested in that I'd love a comment of support.

Actually... you have no reason to support that because none of you have seen how I dress, so...

Coming Soon (Maybe): A Fashion Post!

Love and Marriage

2009-01-07T13:32:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite things I've written.

Portrait of my Cat as my Husband

If Gus and I were to get married, we would shit in a box and drink out of the toilet. We would never have to wear clothes. We wouldn’t be cold though, because we could always turn the heat up. We would sit by the vents all day, licking ourselves clean. We would be very clean. If I was married to Gus I would never have to cook. Our people would bring us food. We would eat lots of chicken flavored Iams. If I was married to Gus we would never go outside. We’d have no need to go outside. We would chase flies around the living room. Sometimes we would chase imaginary flies. Gus and I would sleep like spoons in my bed. Gus and I do that anyway, but if we were married, it would be ok. Gus and I would not have any children though. Gus is neutered. If I was married to Gus we would spend a lot of time with his brother, Z. I would not let Z sit on my lap though. If I was a married women, that would be improper. Gus and I would not need money. We would not need to buy anything, so we would not need to work. We would not do anything really. Sometimes people would visit us, and we would sit on their laps and hope they would pet us. We would sit on people especially when they didn’t want us to. Gus and I would be very happy.

The Awakening

2009-01-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

I'm supposed to be rewriting a paper for my english class. I got a C on the original, so now I have to redo it. I had two weeks of winter break, plus the months after I got the paper, but now I'm doing it, the night before. I stayed home all day today because I had a fever, but now it's almost 12:00 and I'm still trying to put it off by writing this blog.

The worst part is that the paper is on a book that pretty much is my life. It's so weird to read a book and be like "I know these people, this is my life." I felt this way when I read A Catcher in the Rye, my brother is so much like Holden, and now I feel this way about The Awakening.

The protagonist in The Awakening is the wife to some guy with a high paying job. They summer in the right places, they have the right children, and Edna, the protagonists, attends to all her social duties. The thing is, she's not happy. She thought this stuff would make her happy, but it hasn't. She realizes she doesn't want to be a trophy wife, she wants to be an individual and an artist.

This, in short, is my mother. My parents are currently going through a divorce. My dad is a successful real estate attorney and my mother has been a stay at home mom. She's sacrificed a lot for me and my brother, especially because my brother had a lot of issues growing up (think Holden Caulfeild). At 50 she's realized that it's not worth it anymore. Her financial security isn't worth the country club conformity, even if that's what she thought she wanted. In the fall, when I start at Boston University, my mom will move to Santa Fe where she can pursue her art and finally be the independent person she's always wanted to be.

This is what I want to write my essay about. I don't want to write textual evidence because I have real evidence. I can say that social pressures fuck you up because I see it, ever day. And yes, I see my mothers almost naive attempts to explain herself as an individual, an artist, and I cringe whenever she drunkenly tells me, "never to depend on a man" but I know its true, to a degree.

So, Mrs. Graffam, my life is my fucking analytical essay, and yeah, maybe I deserve a C, because honestly, it's kind of shitty at the moment.

To anyone who reads this, a question

Have you ever read a book, seen a movie, or watched a show that you really connected to?

To Mia

2009-01-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

I worked at a pre-school two summers ago. I was a junior counselor in a bunk of 3 year olds. It's funny, people always think toddlers are so different then us, but I saw the same mean girl dynamics, the same kids in need, that I see every day in High School. One of the little girls I worked with inspired this letter.

Dear Mia,

Even at three years old I can't help but think you have everything figured out. Maybe it's something subtle, like you're big blue eyes or small pout that contribute to this perception of you, but I know it's your more obvious characteristic that gives you this air of maturity; you're muteness.

In the six weeks I knew you I never heard you utter one word. At such a young age you were able to figure out that talk is cheap, no one will listen to you anyway, especially when you can't read yet.

Still, I can't help but hypothesize that your inability to talk comes from a different places, not your intelligence, but somewhere else that I just don't understand. I remember the first day of camp when you failed to ask a counselor to take you to the bathroom. Your Gap Kids shorts were soaked through with urine and there was a puddle on the floor. I want you to know that even though you might not have anything to say now you can't keep on pissing yourself for the rest of your life.

Maybe at three you don't have anything t0 say, but one day, hopefully, you will. I hope you are able to overcome whatever keeps you from speaking. My only advice to you is once you do find your voice, use it. Too many people are speaking, with nothing to say.

Sincerely,

Hannah