New Shoes, Bones.

Today after class I went to a 'warehouse sale' at some fancy boutique on the Upper West Side. It was all overpriced party dresses and stuff I neither wanted nor needed. I was still in a shopping mood so I decided to go to Century 21. I've only actually been there once before, even though I lived a 5 minute walk away last year. It's just so crowded and filled with tourists and the dressing rooms are tiny, tiny booths. They do, however, have an amazing selection of designer clothing that's quite inexpensive. Last time I went I got the Cheap Mondays that I'm wearing below for $30. Today I bought some cute shoes that were also super cheap. One other thing that is really cool about the store (besides the prices) is that it has such a large variety of designers in a small space. I think it would be kind of fun to go there with friends and just try on some of the ridiculous shit they have up on the top floor. For instance, although I was running late on time I tried on a funny mesh vest with bizarre pockets from Martin Margiela, and eyed some crazy deconstructed sequined stuff from god knows where. . .

Top Half:


Bottom Half:


I am standing on a table. In my living room. It is now my posing table. Nobody else really uses it.

Misc Hoodie
Thrifted striped tank top
purple H&M bustier-cut tube top
Cheap Monday jeans
Faryl Robin Wedges

Tomorrow I'm going to go see Ellen Allien play at Studio B and I don't know quite what to wear yet, but I think I'm going to wear my new shoes.

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Now, for a minor departure from talking about clothing, on Tuesday I cooked bone marrow for the first time. It was an experience, to say the least. I bought the bones at whole foods and soaked them overnight in salt water to remove some of the blood. Then I roasted them in the (toaster) oven for 15 minutes at 450 degrees. I think I cooked them too long though, because a lot of the fat liquefied and ran out into the baking pan.

The marrow tasted okay spread on some bread with lemon juice, but it was not the super delicious bone marrow that I've had in fancy french restaurants. I think part of this is because they were beef bones and not veal bones, and I cooked them too long. This definitely calls for a second try though . . . bone marrow is beyond delicious.

Music and stuff

Not feeling terribly inspired lately, for whatever reasons. Maybe the two giant papers looming in my immediate future. . .

However, two cool things:

Daft Punk will be scoring the new Tron film that's coming out . . . whenever. How cool is that?
sauce

Also the amazing The Mighty Boosh is coming to American television at the end of this month. It'll be on Adult Swim at 1am. Which would be cool if I had a TV, or got cable, or didn't already have it on DVD. . . But still very very cool. Maybe if they get popular in the US they might do a tour here. Cool.


sauce

I haven't really got any pics to post except some from last friday night. I wore some questionable layers and went to a DJ show at Webster Hall.

Here is an embarrassing picture of me with headliner, Calvin Harris:

Aah. . . I dunno why I wanted to get a picture with him. Oh well though.
Now to my strange top, which was a sort of strange DIY Ksubi 'hole t' knockoff I made last summer over a black lace blouse.



Also I always see Celia from the current season of America's Next Top Model at these shows. I was watching this season (for creepy-chan, aka Allison and her weirdness) and I sort of recognized her but I didn't put two and two together until last Friday. She was at the last show I went to there as well (Xavier from Justice). She dresses pretty cute most of the time. Here's her last Friday chilling out on a speaker during the show:


I kinda want to say Hi sometime but I don't want to ruin her night. . . on the other hand, she is a reality tv show contestant. . . so there is a distinct possiblity she likes attention.

Laundry Time

Lately it has been getting closer and closer to 'laundry time.' That time when life is so busy (supposedly) that doing laundry gets put off until it is an absolute necessity. This produces outfit combinations like this:



Weird fur hat - thrifted
Top: Forever 21, I've had it for years
Jeans: Cheap Monday
Shoes: Adidas Country Sleek - Secondhand

Or this:




Sparkly brown top: H&M
Cut-off Levi's
Diamond tights: Boots drugstore in the UK, I think. A gift.
Polish boots

Or this:


Hello blood red walls in my room (and high ceilings, yay!):



Although admittedly the above look was worn to go to a show (Hearts Revolution) and I would probably wear something similar to a club even when not in dire need of a trip to the laundromat.

Tank: H&M
Shorts: Cheap Monday 'bondage pants' - on sale for $20 and I chopped off the legs
Stockings: Misc. Probably from Target or something
Shoes: DIY studded Polish boots

Space Cat Returns + Gum Review

Hello new and more original name. 'Space Cat Meets Mars' is a book I really liked when I was a kid. It's part of a book series about a cat named Flyball who travels the solar system with his human companion and has loads of adventures. If I was a DJ, my DJ name would be Space Cat. Except maybe not, since that name is already taken by an Israeli trance musician. Ummm, no.

The other day I was at a Japanese market in the East Village when I spied this:


Fuwarinka Gum! I read about it a couple of years ago and have been dying to try it since. It supposedly contains weird chemicals that make your skin exude pleasant odors after you chew it. Naturally perfumed skin?? . . . basically I had to get it. They had the rose and the citrus flavor but I've found I'm generally not a fan of flowery flavored concoctions (violet pastilles. . .blech). It comes in little squares with cute pink stars on the outside of the foil wrapping. Unfortunately it loses the flavor after two minutes and is kind of gross after that. I chewed three or four pieces yesterday and I don't think it works. I definitely didn't smell anything different. Citrus apparently makes your skin smell like vanilla, but my skin just smelled like skin.

The gum is supposed to work because it contains geraniol and linalool, two ingredients found naturally in aromatic flowers. So I guess the assumption behind this gum is that if you ingest enough of these chemicals that your body cannot break down they will come out of your pores. This is what happens when you eat too much garlic, btw. I personally think it's pseudo-science marketing B.S. though.

The concept is pretty cool, but I think overall it doesn't work and is pretty silly. After all, people with good hygiene tend to smell nice anyway. Additionally, almost all modern toiletries like soap and shampoo are scented, and so are a lot of laundry detergents so people end up smelling like something no matter what. For practicalities sake, it would be a lot cheaper and infinitely more effective to just use perfume or scented body lotion if I really wanted to smell like vanilla.

Fuwarinka Gum = novelty purchase, no scent change, also fails at being good gum.

Oh, and for a nuanced and beautiful vanilla scent try Comptior Sud Pacifique Vanille Abricot or Amour De Cacao. Two of my favorite perfumes ever. I also have Vanille Cannelle but it treads a fine line between lovely and a holiday scented candle. Which is cool if you love vanilla/cinnamon scented candles. The dry-down is much more subtle than the initial scent.

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The other night I went to a fancy dinner at my university. Afterward I ran into some friends and followed them to a Ra Ra Riot concert on the spur of the moment. It was pretty fun, although I'm not a big fan of the band.





My floor's not that dirty, I swear! It's just I live in an old converted warehouse and the floor is painted but with permanent stains worn into the paint. I guess that does sound kind of gross but w/e. It's um, bohemian. Anyway I love my apartment. More on that later.

Dress: Iro, second-hand
Belt: Betsey Johnson. The elastic is fraying (poorly made) but it's so cute I would get another one in a minute.
Tights: Chinese Laundry - they are ribbed but you can't tell in the picture.
Shoes: Max Studio

Serious Business

So, boots have been studded. And worn. They're spiky and punk but not necessarily in a girly way. I'm hoping they're more oldschool punk than Hot Topic but we'll see.

To avoid scrolling down, here are the boots again, pre-damage:


Post-damage:


BAM.

On the inside they say 'Made in Poland' not 'Wyrabiany w Polsce' so I am guessing they were made for American consumption. Still awesome though.

They have little salt-lines on them since it was snowing when I wore them around the city. I know it's bad for leather (faux-leather?) but. . . I'm lazy.

What I wore today:


Excuse the 'tude hoodie. I bought it because at the time I desperately needed a hoodie and it was comfortable. I don't think that the picture on the front is anybody in particular, and yeah, I'm aware that I'm 22 and wearing a hoodie for high-schoolers with asymmetric hair (to each their own).


Underneath was this charmingly bland ash/charcoal/pewter/motherf'ing gray v-neck American Apparel T. And some thrifted Calving Klein jeans. I've had these jeans forever and boy does it show:


Oops. I always forget about that and then wonder why people on the subway are staring.

Since I am new to this whole outfit picture taking thing I thought I'd try out the jump jump jumping pose! Fun.

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Oh, and did I mention I have tons of studs and spikes leftover? What will go under the knife next. . .