Water your garden

More photos, waiting for le train. This seems to be the only place where I remember to take pics. Not to mention Mike's a busy worker bee, so most of our excursions are of the nite-owl variety, making the underground our best-lit backdrop.

Sorry for my poor writing. Not that I'm typically your regular Shakespeare, but it's 1am and it's been an Abyss/Aliens double feature kinda night. My brain is freaked and fried.

Ummmm, my outfit.....wearing these Guess knickers purchased from an outlet store maybe three years ago. This was my first time wearing them. I have this thing about wearing clothes only when they call to be worn. I often don't wear something immediately after buying it. They gotta marinate! Anyhow, these pants finally felt ready to be worn. They were ready-to-wear! HAHAH, get it? OK, sorry, already said I was tired. Worn with some creamsicle-ish H&M peep toes, an old clearance Target off-the-shoulder top, secured on-the-shoulder by suspenders, leftover from a Halloween costume of Mike's. All topped off with a small portion of my broach collection.

True Blue, Baby I Love You

I am in love with this woman.

Crisp.

Soft.

Bold.

A true original.

via hanneli

Always blend...

I was watching an old episode of Sex and the City, "The Real Me", which featured Kevyn Aucoin as himself doing Carrie's makeup for NY Fashion Week. I suddenly got really down. Can't believe it's been eight years since he passed away. Tori Amos and he were close friends. This song is for him, so I put it on and plummeted further into my melancholy hole.

I think what made me most sad was thinking about the kind spirit Kevyn had. He truly believed that there was beauty inside everyone. Finding beauty within one's self came first, makeup was secondary and a mere tool to highlight that inner beauty. He had this magical ability to identify the strong parts of a woman, and to extract them for the world to see. Making Faces and Face Forward were instrumental to the development of my identity as a young lass. Memories of learning how to put on a pretty face with my sister brings pure joy to my little corazon. (Though, her makeup skills undoubtedly surpassed mine.) His philosophy on beauty was such an inspiration to me during those formative angsty years, so much so that I have to be honest and admit my fortunate escape from middle school malaise.

Thank you for that Kevyn.

Just another light missing...

Pretty please...

Elizabeth & James

I would do anything for love...

Don't ask me why I was craving meatloaf during the summer! I've made meatloaf a few times before, but this time around I wanted to try a healthier version. I found a couple of turkey meatloaf recipes and made some alterations based on my current supplies and palate. Here's my recipe:

Turkey Meatloaf

1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 Slice Whole Wheat Bread
1 Egg
Handful of Spinach
1/2 Onion
5 Garlic Cloves
Olive Oil

Ketchup
Salt, Pepper, Oregano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil and minced garlic in pan, add onions. In bowl mix ground turkey, egg, spinach, and crumbled bread. Add sautéed onions and garlic. Season with plenty of salt, pepper and oregano. Place into greased 8.5 x 2.5 dish and top with ketchup. Place in oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until turkey is cooked all the way through. Slice, garnish, enjoy.

I'm dairy-free, but if you like, milk or soy can be added to assist in holding the meat together. For my gluten-free peeps, try quinoa instead of whole wheat bread. And of course you can always sneak in peas or carrots to fool those pesky non-veggie eating kids. I put spinach in mine because, well, I love spinach, and I wanted my meatloaf to have a bit of color. You also don't need to sauté the onions and garlic, but I do because Mike's stomach is sensitive to onions. Pre-cooking them deactivates their ache-inducing compounds. And can you tell I like my garlic?! Next time I think I'll try a spicy version by adding jalapenos and chilli powder.

I made a side rosemary potato medley. How gorgeous are purple potatoes? You almost don't want to eat them. Almost.

The key to adding a kick to a simple salad? Green olives stuffed with pimentos.

Voila!

A little red wine to go with dinner. I'm trying to steer clear of alcohol because everything good in life seems to make me breakout. So, I'm trying to drink only red organic wines when I do drink. (So far I've been only mildly successful. Ok, ok, I'm failing miserably!) I found a decently priced red organic at a local Brooklyn wine shop. Luzon Verde.

Something sweet to end the meal.

Fringe Benefits

Taken pre-move, but close enough to said move to demonstrate the apartment disaster created by moving. One of our last triple-date outings with dear LA friends. None of us actually took photos that night - we're getting bad at taking photos when we go out! What gives? Hit up an old haunt and a new joint where we were complete outcasts and enjoyed every conga-beating minute of it.

Wearing a stellar fringe poncho acquired at Ross circa 2001, thrifted abercrombie shorts (though I've never stepped foot in an actual abercrombie), clearance H&M tube top, and Cynthia Vincent for Target wedges.

When I saw these shoes in Self, I knew they had to be mine. But when the collection launched and everyone went cray cray for them, I thought it was a lost cause. One random Target day I spotted a lonely pair, in my size. Megahit.