Monday, November 30, 2009

Catbird online!

The best jewelry store, catbird, has gone e-commerce, YAY!

My wishlist is long, but at the top is definitely the catbird alphabet ring ($88)


I am also mildly obsessed with the Flotsam and Jetsam Spanish Galleon Ring ($160). There is a reason I'm studying the Renaissance people. Also, check out their pygmy seahorse ring.


I don't wear a lot of jewelry, though I love looking at it. The best part about catbird is how offbeat their pieces are, while still remaining pretty and feminine. OK maybe not the galleon ring but it's still cool.

Rainy Day Outfit




Wearing: jcrew sweater/ shirt from boutique in amsterdam/ topshop skirt/ assets tights/ chanel shoes


These are my new obsession, Stuart Weitzman 50/50 boots. I found them in a consignment store in Sag Harbor, NY. I have been searching (along with the rest of the world it seems) for over the knee boots. I saw these in the window, went in to try them on and they fit perfectly. Fate. Also they were wayyyy marked down. Double win.

New Camera!

I went camera shopping with my Dad this weekend and came away with the Samsung TL34 HD. I've been playing around with it all day and have started to upload pictures! Hopefully I'll have an outfit of the day by tomorrow...

I hope everyone's Thanksgivings were restful and delicious, mine certainly was. But now it's back to the grind of school for the final three weeks of the semester. I will try and post more, but no promises.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Headbands?

I am well aware that many people are over the trend of a giant something sitting atop your head. I however am not. And I am especially obsessed with ban.do which are gorgeous headbands created with vintage materials. I stare at their website about once a day. But I had never thought to look IN THE SALE SECTION! Yay yay yay. I want this:

this:

and this one too please!


If you want to see more click on the title of this post, it will take you straight to ban.do's website.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Leonid Meteor Shower

I have been having a not so great day. I slept through my morning classes. I have a ton of homework. I hate when I'm this whiny. But it's all better because my darling bf just reminded me (via an email) that tonight is the meteor shower and would I like to drive somewhere and watch it with him. Yes, yes I would. If you'd like to learn more about said meteor shower head on over to NASA's website (http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/10nov_leonids2009.htm) Also, not to totally geek out but have you ever read NASA's twitter? I don't use twitter, but if I did this would be the first thing I would follow! (http://twitter.com/nasa)

Listening to...

Fancy Mammals. A band from CT (yay!) and gosh darned it they are GOOD. I have been listening to their single, Hold On, on repeat as I do my homework. (And a project which will be shared later.)


MusicPlaylistRingtones
MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Busy busy

Sorry about the lack of post recently! I'm buried in work and trying to get everything together for the coming break. I'll hopefully be back to regular updates on Monday.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Marais Shoes **UPDATE**

There isn't much in the way of shopping here in New Haven, but we do have two great stores, one of which is a vintage store which I will discuss in detail in a later post, and the other is Tracy B, an adorable little boutique.

I went in this afternoon with some friends and came away with a new pair of shoes by a designer I had never heard of before. They're perfect black oxfords with cobalt blue piping. I wanted to know more about the company so I headed to their website, maraisusa.com. If you'd like to read about how these shoes came to be, or just look at some really cute pictures head on over!



I am also completely obsessed with the mulberry maryjane


A word on sizing... these run VERY small. I have what some charitably call midget feet. I usually wear a size 5 or 35. In these I bought a 37.

THESE SHOES ARE ON THE URBAN OUTFITTERS WEBSITE ONSALE!!

DIY

I have several DIY projects in the works, all waiting on me to gather the various parts together. I'm going thrifting this afternoon, so I may have the materials for at least one by the end of the day!

I like shopping online before going actual shopping so I can get an idea of what I'm liking right now. So I was looking at Jcrew's website and found this super pretty sweatshirt.


It's $150. Which is a lot. Especially for a sweatshirt. So I am going to attempt to make a similar version myself. I'm thinking plain grey sweatshirt and sequin fabric... we'll see how it goes!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Romantical Lunch Date

Hatman (he hates this nickname by the way) and I have been trying to have a romantic date for some time now. But what with me going out of town, him being in tech week for a show, and the variety of other things we do, the date has not happened. NO LONGER! We are having a lunch date today. And I have a digital camera. So I might even be able to post a date outfit. (And possible some pictures of the food. Because I know my sister reads this and she likes food.)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Gap coupon!

I had the incredible opportunity to work for Teach For America: Chicago two summers ago. I honestly can't say enough good things about the program, and the Chicago team is so incredibly dedicated and amazing. Anyways, TFA is partnering with Gap as part of their Give and Get program. From November 12 - 15 you can use a special coupon and Gap will donate 5% of your purchase to Teach for America, and you'll get 30% off! This only applies in stores, but go to www.teachforamerica.org/shopgap for more information and to download the coupon. Maybe I'll go get more Stella McCartney stuff...

In search of camera

I need a new digital camera. The one I am using (or not as the case may be) right now is a simple point and shoot. The thing is, I don't like the way it looks. I realize that this is silly and that I should choose a digital camera based on the quality of the pictures it will take and not how cool I will look taking said pictures, but I can't help it. I want a pretty digital camera. So I am on a hunt. I have come up with several options, gleaned from a "retro looking digital camera" search on ebay.

The top contenders are:

Leica d-lux 3 (or 4)


Vivitar's ViviCam 8027 (though I can't find where to buy this)


Samsung NV7 7.2MP


Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3K


Hilariously enough the camera I really want is one that my 70 year old professor used on my summer program. I emailed him asking what kind it was, and can't wait to hear back. I'm positive there will be mocking involved.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Stella McCartney for Gap Kids



I was particularly excited to go home for a variety of reasons, but one of them was that I hoped to get to a Gap kids to try on the Stella McCartney line. I dragged a very embarrassed sister and a highly amused dad into a store. While I didn't videotape it (as the amazing girls at Vogue UK did) I bought several pieces and tried on most everything.

I'm only 5'3" and about 100 pounds so I was able to fit into most everything. I liked the tuxedo jacket, thought the "Michael Jackson" jacket (my dad said Sgt. Pepper) looked like a costume, and realized that it's really not the right season for the adorable trench. I walked away with the grey cashmere hoodie, seafoam green tights, and a collarless boys shirt.



There were so many good things about the collection, but my father was absolutely horrified by the prices. I tend to agree with him, who spends $98 on a cashmere sweater dress for your baby? But then again, I do not have kids so I don't really know.

Ted Noten

I was underwhelmed with SOFA. Glass as a medium for art has never been my favorite but this year I felt like it was almost all odd glass objects painted with colors which remind me of post-modern jewish synagogue art. Ah well, some of the jewelry was beautiful and it was fun to wander.

The one thing which did catch my eye was a neon yellow ring with a gun on the top. I couldn't find a picture online and didn't stop to ask for a price but after searching through his website I was able to find this pig ring, which is similar to the one I saw.

The rest of his work is a bit much, but I thought the ring was very beautiful.
If you'd like to see more you can visit his website, by clicking on the title of this post.

Weekend Recap

I'm back in New Haven. It's definitely good to be back, but I wish I could have had more time with my family.

I had to stay up until 3...ish to get a paper finished, but I've got a nap planned for later, so hopefully I'll make up the deficit.

I had a great weekend, filled with a surprising amount of art, food, and a little bit of politics. I was able to see both the SOFA show, and several Humanities Festivals events. If you're living in Chicago and don't take advantage of the Humanities Festival you're crazy. This year's theme is laughter, so I saw Second City perform at my old high school and I also saw Senator Claire McCaskill speak. She was phenomenal, but I was surprised by how few young people were in the audience.

Sunday afternoon I went to the Art Institute with my dad. We ran through the Arts and Crafts exhibit and then spent a far amount of time in the new Modern Wing. It is such an amazing space.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Home at last

After an eventful flight home (I spilled an entire can of Bloody Mary mix in my lap and had a very angry man sitting next to me) I arrived to be whisked off to my favorite chinese restaurant, Lao Sze Chuan and home for some much needed sleep.

This morning I went to get my hair cut by my fabulous hair stylist, Michael of Salon Michael's. This place is THE BEST. I've been getting my hair cut here since I was a baby and have never gone anywhere else (except an ill-advised trip to a Parisian salon which resulted in very very red hair). Michael and I decided I needed something new, and so now I am the proud owner of the cutest set of bangs I have ever seen. I told him Zooey Deschanel. He gave me Zooey Deschanel. I LOVE IT! (Hope hatman isn't reading this and these are supposed to be a surprise for him.)

Anyways, I'm about to go catch up on the Office and eat my fried macaroni and cheese from Stanley's. I love being home.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Heading home

I've decided to return to the midwest this weekend and catch up with my family. It's hard being at school without them. We're going to eat, shop, watch movies and do all the things that I don't have time to do at school. Maybe I'll even get to sleep a full 8 hours!

My posting may be sporadic, or it may be increased. We'll have to see. I will also be picking up my digital camera (yay!) so I can start posting my own pictures on here.

See you in the Chi!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Fallfallfall

It is fall here in the Have, which requires lots and lots of layers. Because it's cold. And I'm a wimp. I realize that I am from a much colder climate, but that doesn't change the fact that it is cold HERE as I am walking to class. And complaining.

So if I'm going to freeze I'm going to do it in style. Which requires two things: a great coat and tights. For my coat I chose J. Crew's Winnie in bright butternut. (Disclaimer: this coat is backordered. Fail jcrew, fail. But mine should be coming very soon.)


Image via jcrew.com

And for tights (other than basic black) I decided on these amazing things by Henry Holland for Pretty Polly. I love the alphabet. And I love tights. Sometimes the things you love should go together. Sometimes not. Cheese and chocolate should not go together. No offense Vosges.


Image via mytights.com

Baby remember my name!

I would like to remain in school for as long as humanely possible. And a key feature of said plan means that even after I graduate finding a way to hang around in the academic world. I found a perfect solution: study something no one else really wants to study. So that's what I do, and that's what the name of this blog refers to.

There are just two Renaissance Studies Majors left at my school, and when I graduate I will (probably) be the last. I will definitely be the last with a degree in Renaissance Studies. Because they got rid of the program! Right after I declared! I'm not bitter at all.

Aww!




In the words of Rachel Zoe, I die. This is baby Moa (or Kain, I'm not really sure) a baby echidna born at the Perth Zoo in August. Wikipedia echidna, they're just about the weirdest things I've ever seen.

Anyways, I was having a really bad day and I was sent this website by an anonymous donor (thanks d!) to cheer me up. Lots and lots of cute baby animals. Cliched, but oh so wonderful.

Visit http://www.zooborns.com/ to see more.

I'm listening to...

The Drums. They're earnest in the best way, and it's making me feel all warm and fuzzy on a chilly fall day.


MusicPlaylistRingtones
MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Just Startin' Out...

So, in the midst of writing a 15 page paper I decided that the best way to procrastinate would be to clean my room. I did that. Then I took a shower. I talked on the phone with my dad. I read the first chapter in A.S. Byatt's new book, The Children's Book. I read all my blogs. I tried the NY Times crossword (in my dreams I can finish a thursday puzzle). And the I decided to create this.

I have no explanation for why. I am not an expert in anything, selling something, or trying to promote some career or another. I am a sophomore in college. I'd like to be a professor one day. I enjoy online shopping.

And I love reading blogs. I love music blogs, streetstyle blogs, photography and architecture blogs. I read at least three wedding blogs a day, because I love the care and passion that goes into creating such a special day.

I wish I could say why I started this or what I'll be talking about. But I guess I'll just figure it out as I go.