Stuck in the Web

Do you love Jack White?  Do you love Conan O'Brien?  Great!  Watch this. (WARNING: it's 75 minutes long, so, like, make sure you're sitting somewhere comfortable and have a snack and/or beverage on hand before you settle in and enjoy.)

Beginners is one of my favorite films.  I watched it again this past week, this time with David, and it was so lovely to sit beside him and experience the subtlety of the storytelling, the melancholy and beauty of the love story, and the stunning set styling again (check out Brian Ferry's screen captures, here).  Plus, Christopher Plummer has my heart- now and for always- and the entire cast is really terrific.
Fun Fact:  The film's director, Mike Mills, is married to fountain-of-creativity, Miranda July, and if that doesn't make you more inclined to watch it, I don't know what will.

I'm making New York Deli-Style Bagels later today using a recipe by Baker Extraordinaire, Stephanie Wise.  She's always baking the most delicious sounding breads and I'm excited to finally try one for myself.  Obviously, I'll update you on how it goes...

This peek inside the International Space Station is an absolute delight!  No, really.  A DELIGHT.  If you've ever- even for a fleeting second- wondered what it would be like to live in space, you need to check it out.

And finally, prepare to be amazed: How Sewing Works.  So entrancing!

Now, get outta here and have a happy weekend! xox

Stuck in the Web

Welcome back to my weekly web round-up where I show you mine and you show me yours- but only if you want to, of course.  Cool?  Cool!  Let's begin:

Are any of you watching Mr. Selfridge, the new iTV period drama about that crazy American, Mr. Selfridge, who came to London and told everyone what's-what whilst opening the very best department store in the history of mankind?  Well, I sure am!  Even despite the fact that Jeremy Piven has an overabundance of pazazz and the bravado of his performance seems to suggest that he thinks he's performing onstage rather than on television, I'm still going to tune in Sunday for episode two.  Mr. Selfridge's blind enthusiasm reminds me so much of how my own grandiose plans were met with many a dull stare and curt shake of the head when I first moved here, so obviously I can't wait to see how the story plays out.  Plus, the styling is excellent.  Who knew 1908 was so chic?

Did you know that Dita Von Teese has a taxidermy Ostrich in her house?  Honestly, I'm obsessed.    She is such a lady, she makes me want to buy hot rollers and substitute saying "nail polish" with "nail varnish."  Le sigh... Her entire interview with Into the Gloss is totally worth a read if you're at all interested in fabulosity (which, of course, you are), and the pictures of her home are lovely.

I love this portrait of Anthony Bourdain by David Choe.  It has great energy and poise, and I keep enlarging Bourdain's twitter picture to look at it again.  It makes me wonder, if you could have anyone paint your portrait, who would it be? 

My friend Brent sent me this funny tumblr of Lady Edith with Googly Eyes.  Oh, Edith!  Bless.


Kathleen recently shared an update about her six months in the same jeans challenge and it has made me even more keen to get my hands on (and legs into) a pair of raw denim all my own.  David loves his Nudie Jeans, but I'd love to know if anyone else has any brands they recommend.  Have you ever worn raw denim?  How did you like it?

And lastly: I maybe vomited this morning in the middle (well, the end, because I stopped immediately after it happened) of a jog sidewalk flop.  Not hot.  Because I never ever ever want that to happen again, I've been looking into tips for beginner runners and was curious if you had any nuggets of wisdom to share, too.  Even if it's roll-your-eyes obvious, I'd love to know how you found your pace, kept your breathing consistent, and finally achieved that illusive runner's high.

xx

Photo via (edits by me)

Fashion & Fancy

I've pulled myself out of a Twin Peaks mega-binge to share some of the gifts I've found on these here interwebs.  Enjoy! 

• Very soon, I will be in Scotland where I will be spending time with some of my favorite Americans at the Gargunnock House.  The place is ridiculous, but the entire Landmark Trust website is full of amazing locales- from converted pigstys to palaces- that you can rent and take fancy-dress photo shoots in (or maybe we're the only ones who do that?).  I want to visit them all! 

• Currently swooning over the book Icons of Men's Style by Josh SIMS. (hat tip Coco)

• When I moved to this country and plugged in my speakers, they fried.  Oops!/I'm an idiot.  Needless to say, I've been looking for new speakers and am totally jazzed about the speaker design by Hidden.  The speaker looks great, [supposedly] sounds great, syncs with all your other devices, is wireless, and is chic as shit.  Add to the cool-factor that the company got it's funding via Kickstarter- who doesn't love a good Kickstarter success story?!

• Fun Fact: I'm totally one of the few people on earth who still watches Project Runway.  It's like the Survivor of the fashion world- you're probably like, "Oh, that show is still on?" and I'm like, OBSESSED.  That being said, I'm constantly amazed by the grotesque display of product placement, endorsements, and producer manipulation on the show, and this week I was even more appalled to learn the the network actually auctions off each of the runway looks.  Sadder still, people buy these looks, and sometimes for hundreds of dollars.  This is crazy, people!  I mean, do you really want an un-lined jacket or an unfinished jersey dress that was made in eight hours for a model who is 5'10" and 114 pounds?  I sure hope not, so here's my idea: if you want a garment one of the designers made on the show, stalk them on the internet, contact them, give them your measurements and pay them to make something custom-made for you in fabrics that you want/like and pay almost the same amount of money as you would have spent in the auction (in some cases).  Judging by the sound-bites, most of these designers need a little extra coin, and if they're smart/have more than eight hours free to create a finished garment, I can only imagine they'd be pleased with a custom-order from you.  Give the money to the designer, not to Lifetime.  Okay?  Okay, great! 
  Maybe the designer won't be interested, but maybe they will.  You never know...

• While we're on the topic of Project Runway, if you're a total fangirl/boy and you don't religiously read Tom & Lorenzo's P.R. recaps, then you need to start doing it right now.  They are the Queen and Queen of P.R. and I love them.  Brian Moylan used to write great episode reviews back in his Gawker days, too, and I'll always love him for coining the names Queen Tangerine and Grandpa Gunn but he left the P.R. world, sadly.
• And because you were wondering, I totally want Sonjia to win.

Over & out.  

Delpy, Mingus, Bitches

If the internet didn't exist, I would be so productive.  Do you ever feel that way, too?  Like, it's such a curse that the technology that allows for us to be incredibly adept at what we do and allows us to communicate from all around the globe and seek out endless sources of inspiration and knowledge is also the biggest time suck of our lives.  To make my weekly internet wanderings a little more justifiable, I thought it would be nice to share some of my favorite gems with you and maybe you can share some of your favorites with me.  It'll be fun!  Let's begin:

A couple weeks ago, I watched and loved Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris.  I thought it was charming, witty and unique and really liked Chris Rock in the role of Mingus (what a great name, Mingus).  I've always liked Delpy's work and am so glad she makes movies on her own terms and says ridiculous/not ridiculous things, like she does in this Village Voice article. She's a force to be reckoned with; I want to have a talk-all-night sleepover with her. Or maybe just a lunch date.  With wine. Or maybe dinner.

Speaking of Mingus, listen to one of my all-time favorite jazz tunes, Fables of Faubus by Charles Mingus (instrumental version, lyric version).  It's badass.  He's badass! 

One thing that constantly amazes me is how giving the internet is.  If you want a video compilation of your favorite Breaking Bad characters saying 'Bitch', you got it!  David and I have been trying to master the Jesse Pinkman delivery for weeks but we seem to be lacking some of the malice.  As always, practice makes perfect!

When I'm procrastinating on my own creative projects, I like to snoop on the creative people profiled on Freunde von Freunden.  I read a profile or two, fall in love with the studios and homes, and then think, Oh my goodness, what am I doing?! and go back to getting my work done.  Like right now, for instance; back to the sketchbook I go...

Have a great weekend!  xox