are you game?

we are...

zovig, brittany, teresa, me at women's health magazine's are you game? event

pier 46, nyc

in the face!

the defensive stop

news!

untitled (me) by matias aguilar.

i've been inconsistent with posts, but i don't want any more time to pass before i call attention to a couple of very cool sites:

zovig's callastyle site: you can find out more about her, and her image consulting business. there's also a link to her truly fashion -"inspired" blog -- she'll have you contemplating style, and help you confidently embrace your own.

matias' photography site: humor and melancholy. evocative stillness. vintage and modern. gritty. reflective. those words come to my mind when i see his photos. take a look, take some time. see if you agree. perhaps you'll have more, better words to describe them.

in the end, i hope you'll enjoy them as much as i do.

visit his blog to see who's influencing and inspiring him.

he took these photos of me a few years ago, in what will forever be one of my favorite places--my old studio on jane street. he captured a couple of "moods," which i very much appreciate.

untitled (me). by matias aguilar.

looking forward...and back, a bit...

so so cute!
Originally uploaded by ata08

i've never been keen on learning to knit, but seeing pip-squeak chapeau etc.'s exquisite and adorable collection at the brooklyn designs show a couple of months ago got me thinking it might be the perfect winter 2008 activity...

but it will be a long, long...long time before i can create hats and shawls and scarves of a quality to match theirs, so i might have to invest in a few items.

i heard there's a sale on some of their spring items, through august 10. i might wait til the fall, but swoon away at the full collection here, or at a store near you...

be warned: it may lead to winter longings...

the news about the sale had me remembering the fun day i had with teresa, zovig, and a "man called mate." reminisce a bit with me here.

*****
links to favorites from the show:

the corian and walnut table by françois chambard, of UM.

i also fell a little bit in love with the gentleman/designer, colgate, also of UM. i'm guessing he designed these colgate chairs. i could have chatted with him all day...

the osomoto gateway table …beautiful wood top.

the constellation dining table by palo samko . walnut slabs, with watch gears that make up the “constellation.” stunning.

and

lola’s lounge chair from laidman fabrication.

saturday: "milk", grits and a fried egg

sunshiney saturday spent in the slope.

my lovely friend zovig and i decided to check out the takashi murakami exhibit at the brooklyn museum. it was "cuteness!" for sure. i'm not at all a fan of the louis vuitton collaboration, but those "superflat eye love" designs were quite appealing on a larger scale...i especially loved the color combinations in the "eye love" and jellyfish eyes series, on silk...it's all so much more striking on that fabric...i also liked milk, 727-727 (i actually loved all the paintings that were "sanded" ), cosmos (1998), and this daruma (i open wide my eyes but see no scenery. i fix my gaze upon my heart, 2007). the exhibition is bright and cheery and ominous and overwhelming...odd and funny and interactive...it is, to a degree, kid-friendly, if you're prepared to deal with questions about anatomical correctness/distortions. we had a little "overheard in ny" moment while standing in front of inochi (boy--maybe 7 years old: "mommy, his penis is on his stomach!" mommy: "why yes, it is..."). ha.

walking into the "vuitton exhibit/store" and taking the kooky wallpapered staircase to the floor below, which is a funhouse all its own--toys and t-shirts and other collectibles, all impeccably sorted and contained-- it struck me what a kick this show must have been to put together--and how sad it would be to have to watch all come down (show ends on july 13, btw)...

if you're as interested in behind the scenes stuff as i am, check out the terrific flickr slideshow that the museum has posted on its site...

and if you'd like a peek into the kaikai kiki studio sanctum, check out this ny sun article and its accompanying slideshow...

after the museum, zovig and i moseyed over to fifth ave...and stopped for brunch at stone park cafe. it took me about 3 seconds to decide that i wanted the hangtown fry: eggs, oysters, bacon and vermont cheddar cheese...how good does that sound?! but then...i took a longer look at the menu... i saw that they had grits, with shrimp and a fried egg. i remembered being deeply envious of the shrimp with grits at bar americain, which my sister ordered the last time we brunched together...so i changed my mind and went for the "anson mills white grits, with shrimp and fried egg."

the fact that the grits' brand name was proclaimed on the menu--as if i should recognize it--aroused my curiosity, so when i got home i did a little research. there's quite an interesting story to tell! turns out that the anson mills white grits come to us thanks to one man, glenn roberts, who was so deeply interested in the history of the south, especially its culinary history (cheers!) that he set out to revive--by organically growing, harvesting, and milling--varieties of corn, rice and wheat that were nearly extinct. he was able to find and harvest a "famous" carolina gourdseed white corn (that was "revered for its high mineral and floral characteristics, and its creamy mouthfeel"), which dated all the way back to the 1600s. this is the white corn that was milled into the grits that became my brunch!

and they really were creamy...i've only had grits a couple of time in my life (LOVE the cheddar grits at freemans...ooohhh. those are very different...toothsome...GRITTY) but this dish was nearly like a pudding. thick and rich and creamy, completely indulgent. i will admit, a little smoky, salty bacon would have livened it up. but it was very, very good.

anson mills white grits...
Originally uploaded by ata08

style maven

the other day, i left for work (a little late) but pleased with myself as it took little to no agonizing to put together my work outfit:

black jersey uniqlo dress;
cropped turquoise lux cardigan that i first saw at an urban outfitters in vegas last year (apparently it would have been too easy to shop at one of the 6 urban outfitter stores here in the city);
black fishnet tights;
black knee-high socks;
and my favorite black boots.

i thought i looked ok.

as i started my trek to work, with a little smile on my face, spring sunshine kissing my cheeks, i looked down for a moment, to admire the gently worn quality of my favorite black boots, and i realized that my black socks were actually...navy blue.

whoops.

it's what i get for getting dressed with the lights off.

and it's the kind of thing that would simply never happen to my super-stylish friend, zovig.

fashion is her passion and her gift. she has an image consulting business, CALLA STYLE, which is focused on women who, after having lost a significant amount of weight, are looking to celebrate their new body and explore and embrace new, fun, flattering fashion options. when she first told me about calla style, i actually got goosebumps, and a little bit teary-eyed. i couldn't remember the last time i spoke with someone with real passion for their work...it's so clearly what she was meant to pursue.

read her blog, ask her any style question...i know she knows her stuff...

i've been in kind of a clothes/shopping funk for a while (mom would consider it a lifelong funk?). i've basically been wearing the same thing for the last 10 years (variations on a theme of jeans, black pants, black skirts...and lots of jcrew final sale items. ha! i'm really more of shoe gal, so i'm sorta lazy about clothes). but when i see zovig, and our mutual friend, the lovely ms. teresa, it's a daily fashion WOW. they're truly stylish. i love their confidence.

my "style," such as it is, is not likely to change drastically, but last weekend, i was bluesy about more than my wardrobe, and i had a feeling i'd benefit from an afternoon of shopping with zovig...

and i did! not just because we found some fun, flirty pieces (for a song), figured out what will "showcase" the "particulars" of my shape, and reviewed the wisdom and necessity of tailoring, but because i was genuinely happy--funk-free!--and excited afterwards. it was amazing to see her at work: she's authoritative, experimental, encouraging, honest...she allows you to relish the investment of time and thought into what will become your style, what will become you. and she inspires confidence...

she may make a real, "together" lady out of me yet.

so long as i remember to turn on the lights when i'm getting dressed...