I just finished watching the episode of Anthony Bourdain’s: No Reservations, where he travels to Argentina. I am having some serious travel envy right now! The food, the WINE, the tango!
Take me away…
“Drawn by low prices and Paris-like elegance, legions of foreign artists are colonizing Buenos Aires and transforming this sprawling metropolis into a throbbing hothouse of cool.” ~The New York Times > Travel
(All Photos: The New York Times >Travel)
Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 ready-to-wear collection
I have always been a sucker for blue… 
I turned 25 a few weeks ago. I was a bit preoccupied moping around and wallowing for most of the day. I guess I was just suffering from birthday apathy, due to turning the big 2-5. My birthday night was better, largely due to all the delicious greyhounds I consumed (a sure fire fix to cure any sour mood)!
My oldest & dearest friend May, created this delightful birthday treat. So creative!
So if it happens to be your birthday today, this one’s for you.
I think I’m becoming a little too obsessed with Mad Men. I am officially caught up with almost every episode. It’s my favorite. The fashion! The office! The scandal! Don Draper!
That old school 60’s fashion era is creeping up everywhere I look… I am looking forward to watching A Single Man. Tom Ford (yes the fashion designer) directed the film. Which would explain why it looks gorgeous! A visual feast for the eyes. It’s set in Los Angeles, during the same time frame as Mad Men, which is probably why I’m so drawn to it.
Carey Mulligan is my new hero. Adorable no?
It’s out in limited release on October 9th!
Librans too are among the most civilized of the twelve zodiacal characters. They have elegance, charm and good taste, are naturally kind, very gentle, and lovers of beauty, harmony (both in music and social living) and the pleasures that these bring.
They have good critical faculty and are able to stand back and look impartially at matters which call for an impartial judgment to be made on them. But they do not tolerate argument from anyone who challenges their opinions, for once they have reached a conclusion, its truth seems to them self-evident; and among their faults is an impatience of criticism and a greed for approval. But their characters are on the whole balanced, diplomatic and even tempered.
Librans are sensitive to the needs of others and have the gift, sometimes to an almost psychic extent, of understanding the emotional needs of their companions and meeting them with their own innate optimism – they are the kind of people of whom it is said, “They always make you feel better for having been with them.” They loathe cruelty, viciousness and vulgarity and detest conflict between people, so they do their best to cooperate and compromise with everyone around them, and their ideal for their own circle and for society as a whole is unity.
Their cast of mind is artistic rather than intellectual, though they are usually too moderate and well balanced to be avant garde in any artistic endeavor. They have good perception and observation and their critical ability, with which they are able to view their own efforts as well as those of others, gives their work integrity.
The negative Libran character may show frivolity, flirtatiousness and shallowness. It can be changeable and indecisive, impatient of routine, colorlessly conventional and timid, easygoing to the point of inertia, seldom angry when circumstances demand a show of annoyance at least; and yet Librans can shock everyone around them with sudden storms of rage. Their love of pleasure may lead them into extravagance…
I turn 25 in a week. I’m not ready for it. So much for growing up gracefully… 
“The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four people are suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they’re okay, then it’s you.”
~ Rita Mae Brown
(thecobrasnake.com)
…twice to be exact. During the last week of August, my cousin Shirley got married in New York. One Catholic ceremony, one Hindu ceremony and lots of other random get togethers and parties in between. The whole extravaganza lasted a little shy of a week. Here are some highlights!
delicious treats!
Phew! Fun times indeed!
As for right now, I’ve been busy traveling. I was in San Francisco on the 3rd for school, but I’m currently in Vegas for a work meeting, and am packing up the rest of my things. Such a whirlwind! Even though I’m very anxious about California, I’m truly optimistic for what lies ahead…
How about you?
August was INSANE. However, the large marjority of it was fun fun fun! My liver is still recovering from all the partying.
Summer was filled with freelance work & going away parties. Plus my favorite travel buddy, Tracy met me in Vegas for a few days. It was a close call too, she hurt her leg running the night before. But the KOL concert was enough to make her come anyway.
Even though I despise the Hard Rock as a casino (tiny, cramped and overrated), I love its concert venue remodel, it’s so intimate. We were so sooo close. And they played a lot of their older music too which was good (Charmer, Milk, Fans were personal favorites). The people around us were fans of their older stuff too, so we were in good company.
I just wish I didn’t drink so much. As I decided I HAD to go pee they decided to play “Notion.” But the same thing happened to Tracy… us and our teeny bladders. argh. Just one of those stories. And somehow we made it back to the front (without injury or pissing anyone off) and it was all good. A concert I will be telling my grankiddies about for sure!
Our view after the bathroom…not bad I must say
We did lots of sightseeing, Red Rock Canyon etc. and we hit up JET, which was one of my favorite nights out in a long time. It will be hard to top!
More updates on my cousins wedding soon… it was a full blown family extravaganza. Lots of family, lots of crazy dancing, and lots of celebratory cocktails. I can’t even write too much about it, because I’m still exhausted from it and it was 4 days ago. But I will say that Hindu wedding ceremonies are bananas! Boatloads of fun!
Okay, I must go, I have Cali planning and packing to do!
“What horrifies me most is the idea of being useless: well-educated, brilliantly promising, and fading out into an indifferent middle-age. Instead of working at writing, I freeze in dreams, unable to take disillusion of rejections…
And by the way, everything in life is writable if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. And you are so obsessed by your coming necessity to be independent, to face the great huge man-eating world, that you are paralyzed: your whole body and spirit revolts against having to commit yourself to a particular role, to a particular life which might not bring out the Best you have in you. Living takes a very different set of responses and attitudes from this academic hedony…and you have to be able to make a real creative life for yourself, before you can expect anyone else to provide one ready-made for you. You big baby…
I have this demon who wants me to run away screaming if I am going to be flawed, fallible. It wants me to think I’m so good I must be perfect. Or nothing. I am, on the contrary, something: a being who gets tired, has shyness to fight, has more trouble than most facing people easily. If I get through this year, kicking my demon down when it comes up, realizing I’ll be tired after a days work, and tired after correcting papers, and it’s natural tiredness, not something to be ranted about in horror, I’ll be able piece by piece, to face the field of life, instead of running from it the minute it hurts…
Talking about my fears to others feeds it. I shall show a calm front and fight it in the precincts of my own self, but never give it the social dignity of a public appearance, me running from it, and giving in to it….I’ll keep myself intact, outside this job, this work. They can’t ask more of me than my best, and only I know really where the limits on my best are. I have a choice: to flee from life and ruin myself forever because I can’t be perfect right away, without pain and failure, and to face life on my own terms and “make the best of the job.”
No more knuckling under, groaning, moaning: one gets used to pain. This hurts. Not being perfect hurts. Having to bother about work in order to eat and have a house hurts. So what. It’s about time. This is the month which ends a quarter of a century for me, lived under the shadow of fear: fear that I would fall short of some abstract perfection: I have often fought, fought and won, not perfection, but an acceptance of myself as having a right to live on my own human, fallible terms.”
-Sylvia Plath
I just found this as I was uploading things from my camera. Just an old photo from October. I attended a friend’s gallery opening in the city. She wasn’t the artist. But she works at the gallery. I’m happy that I have one good friend who likes their day job :) There’s hope for all of us! Let’s not get caught in a rut people!
About ‘Climate25′ :
“After the apocalypse, what do we call the next generation?… The beautiful ones will always get by, but how could they ever forgive us and our selfishness, ignorance and cruelties? Or will they, too, always be part of that continuum– victim and victimizer? Are we our own weak and failed gods, full of potential–willing to make some sacrifices, but never enough and never the right ones?… There is always hope with the young, but each generation seems weakened by what has come before…”
“Did you know that my father was very strict? He berated me and he pushed me and he insulted me. And it made me feel very insecure and lost. But I became a man, my own man and now I berate and I push!”
~Ari Gold
I hope I don’t repeat the ways of destructive people that exist in my own life. My absolute worst fear! All the more reason to wipe the slate clean and move forward, with something well thought out, and not impulsive (ahem* NY). I’m getting back on track and headed in one direction. No reversing. It involves hitting the books again. I was always a better student than worker. One thing is certain, I think the west coast is a permanent fixture in my life. I like the weather, friendly people, pretty landscapes and the non-existent traffic. It makes me happy. Now if I could just confirm my housing situation! Details soon…
And summer is looking up! Last week was busy with a fun filled bridal shower and bachelorette party. Although the traffic did make me age about 10 years. no joke. But it was a successful trip! More traveling this weekend i think, and the Kings of Leon concert at the Hard Rock in August. …vegas style. yay!
“Manhattan” Kings of Leon
Autumn/Winter 2009 Burberry campaign = Wow.
I especially love Emma’s flawless smoky eye makeup!
The ads — featuring Emma Watson and shot on location by Mario Testino near Burberry’s new headquarters not far from Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament — showcase a chilly but lovely London. “I wanted the images to represent both the rich history and the modernity of the Burberry brand, while at the same time reflecting a quiet beauty, timelessness and strength that is particularly significant today,” said Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey.
-WWD
The behind the scenes vid of the campaign is gorgeous! It makes me want to hop on a plane to London this very moment.
It’s a lazy Saturday, and I’m blogging from Starbucks to avoid sitting in my pajamas all day. I’m drinking coffee that is way too strong, and am trying to read Sylvia Plath journals (which I love, surprisingly. Except for the fact that she killed herself at the age of 30). So anyway, I’m trying to read and work on this project, but I’m distracted by the two lame geeks sitting next to me yapping about electronics and trying to fix a laptop. Plus one of them is loudly bragging about their income and car.
Like I said, LAME.
However, I probably shouldn’t judge, I probably look like some hipster wannabe typing at Starbucks on my MacBook. But I’m not wearing a fedora nor am I in Brooklyn. Currently, I’m in Vegas (which is gorgeous at the moment!) and I’m wearing sweats and old keds. So it’s not all bad.
ANYWAY, discovery of the day, Skull Set photographs! Love! Love! Love.
The newest photo blog to enter the fray is Jack Siegel’s TheSkullSet.com. ”I want pictures to hold their own and create distance from other blogs,” says the 22-year-old, who is currently studying photography… Siegel has created a visual narrative of today’s semi-charmed youth, who bask in the lazy days and late nights of cigarettes and cheap beer. But Siegel’s shots aren’t random – he breaks down his blog into albums, with titles like, “Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do you start missing everybody ( a quote from ‘A Catcher in the Rye’).
~Nylon
Daniel Day-Lewis and the ladies look magnificent! I can’t wait.
November people! November.
NINE is a vibrant and provocative musical that follows the life of world famous film director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he reaches a creative and personal crisis of epic proportion, while balancing the numerous women in his life including his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidant and costume designer (Judi Dench), an American fashion journalist (Kate Hudson), the whore from his youth (Fergie) and his mother (Sophia Loren). The film is directed by Rob Marshall (CHICAGO). The original 1982 Broadway production of NINE, with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, won five Tony Awards including Best Musical.
Jessica Simpson is on the cover of this month’s Vanity Fair issue. Yea, I don’t get it either. The only redeeming quality is the HILARIOUS cover story that Rich Cohen wrote about her. HILARIOUS. And honest! In fact, he’s my new favorite writer. He poked fun at her and her whole southern wacky clan. You should read it for the hysterical laughter alone… these excerpts especially:
“In short, it’s been a bad time for Jessica Simpson: flop, flop, country flop, fat picture. And yet, despite it all, she does radiate a special quality. She brings an unmistakable energy to everything she does, can carry a song, and can even make a commercial worth TiVo-ing. (She’s done excellent work for Pizza Hut.)
…Jessica seemed nervous. Her hands trembled. She ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio. It seemed to calm her. She didn’t want to talk about her weight, so, of course, that’s all I could think of—it gilded each question in my mind: What are you working on now [that you’re fat]? Do you see yourself as part of a class, with Christina and Britney [or are you too fat]? Do you feel that your relationship with Tony Romo has affected his performance as a quarterback [because you are fat]?
..When I asked Ashlee Simpson, who, for most of our conversation, said the types of things pre-loaded in the memory chip of a Chatty Cathy—“Jessica is a fighter”; “Jessica is a wonderful girl”; “We’re the best in our pajamas together…”
The problem with Simpson’s movies, especially those she’s been asked to carry, is her acting, which is not very good. As an actress, she’s slightly less skillful than the actress who replaced Suzanne Somers on Three’s Company. To many, her greatest performance has always been playing Jessica Simpson—on records, on TV, and now, in the role that gets the most attention, as, depending on whom you ask, either the glamorous star dating the quarterback of America’s team or the succubus who has destroyed the Dallas Cowboys: Yoko Romo.”
(Ouch.)
-Vanity Fair
But we must always give credit to Mario Testino. His photographs never disappoint!
Lots of friends and family have been in Vegas over the past few months, including my pal Tracy. She trekked all the way from Hoboken New Jersey for frigid Vegas temperatures. These photos are from February, and it was unusually windy and cold the weekend she came. After over 2 years in Vegas, I finally saw the Hoover Dam as well as some other sites. Sometimes it takes out of town guests to get you there… better late than never!
From the top of the Rio… like I said, it was a windy weekend!
Paul Dano + Zooey Deschanel = perfection!
Did he hurt you?
Sort of. He told me he loved me.
