Friday Five

1. I am kind of obsessed with not martha's series of posts detailing the opening of each of the Kinder Eggs she purchased while abroad. I am also kind of obsessed with Kinder Eggs (WHICH YOU CAN BUY IN THE STATES AGAIN NOW HOORAYYYY!)
   
   
2. Do you find the French Exit to be rude behavior? I've always been a big fan, to be honest.
   
   
3. I've been slowly testing / teaching / re-teaching myself some world geography and for some odd reason I find it really fun.
   
   
4. 101 travel tips. Some of these are pretty smart, especially this one:
   

   78. Take a range of see-through plastic bags with you. You can use them for keeping your dirty clothes separate, replacing lost make up bags, storing souvenirs, and just generally keeping your bag organised without having to empty it every time you want to find something.

   Also good for protecting your belongings in case something inside your suitcase spills/explodes!
   
5. I'll be too busy working on a couple commissions for the next several days to do any special cooking or baking, but as soon as those are done, I plan to make a batch of homemade soft pretzels (and maybe even some obatzda to dip them in!). YUM.

Friday Five

1. Piglet Chris P. Bacon (!!!) has some special needs and gets a little help via a tiny wheelchair.
2. I love this article Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote about watching HBO's "Girls". No, seriously!
3. Okay, so we've all seen Banana Joe. (Let's just look at him one more time, shall we? WE SHALL.) But have you seen all of the other dogs who competed as the best of their breed at Westminster? SO MANY AMAZING DOGS <3
4. This couple framed one of their middle school love notes and displayed it at their wedding. Okay, even my cold, black heart felt a little something when I read that. (P.S. - "DON'T LET ANYONE SEE THIS.")
5. Brief Interviews with Adorable Hamsters.

Friday Five

1. Ten reasons why you have to quit your job this year. There is some scary "real talk" in there.
2. Tegan & Sarah talk with Andy Samberg about what makes a heartthrob, which also happens to be the name of their new album, of course. I think their new album is great! It's no secret I love easy, melodic pop.
3. Irina Werning's project where she re-creates old personal photos is so amazing.
4. Do you know Fifi Lapin, the world's most fashionable rabbit? I think this might be one of my favorite outfits of hers yet. Kind of "Downton Abbey"-ish, wouldn't you say?
5. Some more "real talk" - how do you "Not Give the Fuck Up" when other people get what you want? This was written with TV writing in mind, but it can apply to so many other situations in life. Stop worrying so much about what other people are doing. It's only human nature to feel jealousy when other people succeed in an area where you're still striving, but if you're unable (even temporarily - we all have bad spells!) to channel that jealousy into fervent drive and ambition, then maybe it's time to "keep your eyes on your own plate" (check Facebook less often [or delete it entirely!], cull your Twitter list, stop reading blogs that make you feel terrible instead of happy, etc., etc.). Refuse to allow yourself to be intimidated.

Friday Five

Jeez, I'm really the worst at this blogging thing. I'm going to go ahead and blame the brutally cold weather we've been having and the fact that when not at work, I've pretty much been hiding under the covers.

1. Beastie Boys toile wallpaper. I'm so happy this exists in the world.
2. Mrs. Huxtable has a little chat about her purchases with the fine folks at Ameoba Music.
3. Shetland ponies in cardigan sweaters. That's right - SHETLAND PONIES IN SWEATERS.
4. Whenever I get sick and/or it's really cold out, I always want to eat bowl after bowl of Phở and especially spicy Tom Yum Soup. I found a recipe that doesn't look too difficult, so I may try making it on my own next time. The hardest part seems to be tracking down some of the more maybe-hard-to-find ingredients.
5. I can't stop thinking about Maple Pepper Popcorn ever since Anna at doorsixteen.com posted about it. I really need to get some and try it.

Friday Five

1. Maybe my favorite board on Pinterest right now.
2. Roger Ebert recommends 12 good documentaries from 2012.
3. "Why You Should Watch a Horror Film Before Going to the Art Gallery"
4. The woman behind Dear Abby passed away yesterday. Here are some of her greatest zingers.

my fave:

Dear Abby: Our son married a girl when he was in the service. They were married in February and she had an 8 1/2-pound baby girl in August. She said the baby was premature. Can an 8 1/2-pound baby be this premature? —Wanting to Know
Dear Wanting: The baby was on time. The wedding was late. Forget it.

5. I still have yet to try anything from the Yes To line of products, but I just saw that their newest scent is grapefruit, and I think I'll probably have to say yes to that.

Friday Five

1. This short(ish) film is a super fascinating peek inside the Hermes workshops. Attn: makers! You should definitely watch this. It's a good reminder to work hard at perfecting your craft and to be proud of your work (because it shows).
2. Stats say Americans are eating a lot more yogurt. I definitely helped contribute to that uptick. (The chart is particularly interesting.) 
3. Some trends to look for in 2013. I don't know about glow-in-the-dark makeup or heated scissors, but fuchsia lipstick sounds fun and I still think ombré hair is really pretty!
4. I'm super obsessed with cosmetic oils this winter (as evidenced in my last post) and this post is a good breakdown of some of the different brands and varieties.
5. “Toto’s ‘Africa’” by Ernest Hemingway.

Friday Five

1. Liz of Made in Lowell's post about paying for handmade is really important (and well said!)
2. A gingerbread Downton Abbey! 
3. A food storage chart, including what produce to keep on your countertop and what to refrigerate. Super handy.
4. Did you know that Bill Cosby has a website and it is awesome? You can vote for your favorite Cosby Sweater!
5. The 40 Cutest Things That Happened in 2012. #4 is questionable, but the rest are pretty great.

Friday Five: Happy Places Edition

Today's Friday Five is a list of tiny happy places. I figure they might be useful today. 

1. A video of a ridiculously cute baby bulldog.
2. Cooking for Lucy the Hamster.
3. Fuzzy friends!
4. LJC's pugs are so stinking cute. And festive!
5. My own personal happy place. 
6. BONUS #6: Look at my friend Amy's cat Hank! <3

Friday Five

Back on schedule!

1. I like that Kat Von D is pretty into handmade stuff. Her taste is a little too steampunk-y for me, but I appreciate her appreciation for indie artists on Etsy (and elsewhere). Did you know that Courtney Love is also a big Etsy buyer? Back before they made it private I remember clicking through pages and pages of her feedback and thinking about how cool it would be if Courtney Love were to buy something from me on Etsy.
2. Bill Murray on the last time he ever saw Gilda Radner.
3. "The squirrels in our neighborhood are out of control chubby. Look at his wee gut hanging over the edge of the bucket." I lol'd.
4. Look at this hexagonal glitter manicure! I don't know that I'd have the patience to pull that off. I'd probably lose my sanity and sight like that artist guy who made a sculpture on the head of a pin? Idk, I heard that somewhere. Oh, speaking of...
5. ...have you seen this sculpture of Betty Boop inside the eye of a needle? The sculpture is INSIDE THE EYE OF A NEEDLE. In case you didn't catch that.

Friday Five

1. Sarah of eggagogo has made some AMAZINGLY cute prints with proceeds from their sales benefiting the Occupy Sandy effort and to Pets Alive Animal Sanctuary in upstate New York.
   
2. Barneys New York's "Electric Holiday" video is so cute. Disney-fied Daphne Guinness!
   
3. Kate @ Gh0stparties has the solution for perfect nude lips, even in wintertime!
4. The Whole Internet Has Been a Prelude to This Mashup of LCD Soundsystem and Miles Davis
5. Have you seen the product lineup for the designers x Neiman Marcus x Target holiday collection? I'm allllllll over that Rodarte moon wrapping paper (but I want to frame it as a poster instead!)

Friday Five

1. Want to donate to the Superstorm Sandy victims but not sure how? (First, check out Gather Here's raffle!) Occupy Sandy has set up an Amazon Wedding Registry with some basic needs. What an easy way to help out! Brilliant idea!
2. Time commissioned Swedish artist Sanna Dullaway to colorize some famous black and white photos, and the results are fascinating. 
3. Bronny is so right about how it's become so "cool" to act like (or genuinely?) not care about being offensive (but it's really not).
4. I finally found someone who is as nuts about Labello as I am. Sorry, it's all in German, but LOOK AT ALL THAT LABELLO!
5. The 50 Ugliest Shoes in History, according to The Cut. Most of these are dead on, but I have to disagree about the McQueen heels! Those are works of art!

Friday Five

1. I'd like to highlight this first link! 
   
   
   
   Gather Here, an amazing independent fabric, yarn, and fibers store & stitch lounge in Cambridge, MA is hosting a raffle to raise funds to benefit the Red Cross' Superstorm Sandy relief. There will be a whole bunch of amazing. handmade prizes in the raffle, all kindly donated by some amazing independent artists. I'm teaming up with Alison of sewmaryann and we're donating a fancy duo prize - a MARGRAVINE pink chiffon scarf and a MARGRAVINE x sewmaryann sparkly silver glitter bow headband, which is from a special new collaboration between Alison and I (they're not even available yet!)!
   
   All of the important information about the raffle can be found on Gather Here's post, and a list of all of the prizes with photos will be posted on Tuesday, Nov 6th (Election Day! Don't forget to vote!), so be sure to check back at the GH blog on that day.
   
   Huge thanks to Virgina and all at Gather Here for organizing this. Fingers crossed that the fundraiser hits (and exceeds!) the $4000.00 goal <3
2. Sorting the real Sandy photos from the fakes. Pretty much posting this just for the last photo.
3. A totally fascinating time-lapse video of the storm rolling through NYC from Sunday afternoon to Wednesday morning taken from the 51st floor of the New York Times building.
4. For those with books damaged by Sandy, or any other storm -  how to recover water damaged books.
5. And to end this F5 on a happy note - Mama Biscuit dressed up for Halloween as Björk in her infamous swan dress.

Friday Five

1. 28 vintage flyers from the Scholastic and other book fairs! OMG you guys, when I was little I used to lose my damn MIND when the book fair came around. It was the greatest part of elementary school, I swear.
2. I'm always on the hunt for the best to-do list app/site, and Wunderlist is pretty close to perfect, but it's not quiiiiite there for me. Nitro looks similar but maybe slightly less busy than Wunderlist, and I might give it a try next.
3. Estée of essiebutton has quickly become one of my favorite beauty bloggers! Her videos are so entertaining and she is totally hilarious and I truly trust her judgment when it comes to what's good and what isn't in the dizzying world of beauty products.
4. Can I please have Dita Von Teese's mirrored vanity and actually all of her mirrored furniture for that matter? Because they are amazing.
5. Michelle Obama makes sure Jimmy Kimmel remembers to vote (watch the video at the bottom). I love our first lady <3

Friday Five

1. DIY for a little rolling platform to put stacks of magazines/books (or whatever else!) on so it can be moved for cleaning, etc. i have a perfect space and a need for one of these. i know what i'm doing this weekend!
2. i love love love this video from chanel about the history of chanel N°5. everything about it is so perfect and the story is quite interesting, too.
3. urban outfitters is selling some lisa frank dead stock and it's kind of amazing. even more amazing is this video interview with the actual lisa frank.
4. how to make homemade sriracha. i mean, it's easier/cheaper to just buy a bottle of it, but make some from scratch and impress your friends!
5. the most popular series of hermès scarves is designed by a postman in waco, tx.

Friday Five

1. brian mercury, executive pastry chef at harvest in cambridge, hand-makes his own sea salt for his amazing sounding/looking desserts (i want to try them!). simple, but woah. so cool.
2. 15 bad beauty habits to break. i'm guilty of many of these, especially #13. i really want to break the daily shampoo habit, but i can't get past the unwashed greasy stage!
3. i love this "expected vs reality" view of fashion week. that last photo of the bloggers & photographers swarming around anna dello russo blew my mind a little bit.
4. i love this project! make handy, plain clothespins cute with a little paint and some washi tape.
5. karl lagerfeld explains how to use that giant, insane hula hoop bag. stick a chanel bag in the sand. right, herr lagerfeld, sure.

friday five

1. i never knew there was anything in marfa, tx besides that fake prada storefront, but now i want to visit.
2. is pinterest killing feminism? (my answer to that question is 'no', btw).

"Pinterest's user-generated content, which overwhelmingly emphasizes recipes, home decor, and fitness and fashion tips, feels like a reminder that women still seek out the retrograde, materialistic content that women's magazines have been hawking for decades — and that the internet was supposed to help overcome."

is it anti-feminist for women to be interested in things like recipes, home decor, fitness and fashion tips? what if one genuinely likes those things and at the same time is able to recognize why those things are sometimes problematic?
3. hi, this woman is my new hero. can we please but the kibosh on concern trolling?
4. a really interesting article about monarch butterflies featuring a lovely illustration by the super-talented susie ghahremani.
5. i am so, so, soooooooooooo thankful that none of my bffs would even DREAM of behaving like this when it comes to their wedding (or otherwise!).

friday five

1. it's not your imagination - gender bias in science is totally real.
2. i thought dolce & gabbana's s/s 2013 collection was tacky, not least because of these seemingly racist earrings. (dolce & gabbana's response.)
3. a blogger uncovers his troll, and the result is quite unexpected.
4. i used to think tom ford was a snob for keeping his shows so closed off, but after reading this, i totally get it.
5. the long-lost observatory in the chrysler building is beautiful and super cool. can somebody recreate this space for me? just maybe a little closer to the ground? 

friday five

1. physical comparison of ad campaigns vs actual content in a few different magazines' september issues. (the disparity used to bug me until i grew to recognize the ad campaigns as content as well, even though it gets tiresome seeing the same ads in every magazine. ps kudos to dolce & gabbana for mixing it up, at least).
2. the most amazing pre-MTV hall and oates music video ever.
3. it's almost flu season - follow this little guy's example and don't forget to wash your hands!
4. some really gorgeous shots of one of the louis vuitton x yayoi kusama displays (at selfridges in london) and a lv x yk inspired manicure tutorial.
5. the october vogue paris cover is out and the reactions are in - and they are hilarious.

friday five

1. my bank sent me this video in an email wishing me a happy bday (thanks, ing). i  really like the message and the stop motion paper thing is cool.
2. pretty spot on #socialmediatheories
3. i think i'd like to read a book about love, death, corruption and theft, and homicidal cowboy brothers. do you have anything for me?
4. how to extend the life of your mascara!
5. i thought mrs obama looked gorgeous during her speech and i don't even remember what mrs romney wore, so.

friday five

1. the proper way to thoroughly remove makeup
2. opening ceremony makes a house call at kathleen hanna's
3. aurora borealis in a glass! (there's no way it could possibly look that perfect, though, right?)
4. according to step 4, maybe i'm part dane?
5. we came across a pile of these scarves from forget me not by corinne "coco' brun at barney's last night and i. am. obsessed.