Monday, December 24, 2012

My Favorite Things

Brown paper packages tied up with strings.

Good old Julie Andrews crisply and melodically declared this as a favorite thing. Turns out, Maria knows what she sings of.

Last year, we used paper bags (goodness knows we had enough Trader Joe's and Whole Foods bags hanging around the apartment), a red stamp set, kitchen string, and some trimmings graciously given from the Christmas Tree to wrap our goodies.


This trend continues in 2012, and how darling are some of these versions spotted around the web:








Whether you are frantically packaging up Santa's wares tonight or opening a present from under the tree tomorrow, I hope you unwrap some of your favorite things surrounded by your favorite people.

Merry Christmas!







Sunday, December 23, 2012

The Knit Menagerie

It used to be that having wildlife staring off of your body was tacky, old-ladyish, even garish.
Bridget Jones's Diary

But back in September, I noticed some furry faces and feathered friends popping up in apparel, especially of the knitted variety. I meant to post about it then, but time slipt past. Past Thanksgiving, I found that almost any warm and fuzzy sweater contained a warm and fuzzy being upon it! It's quite the rage. Here is a sampling from the zoo of options.









Animal Sweaters - Old Navy (in stores)







You could switch it up and have an animal IN a sweater:
Bryndal

Whether you decide to hop on board this wild trend or not, one rule remains:
Please DO NOT feed the animals!



Saturday, December 22, 2012

In Rainbowland

I noticed an ad for these boots on the D train yesterday:

They seemed very familiar. Couldn't figure it out.

But it finally clicked.
Rainbow Brite, Color Goddess

I'm not sure I would want a pair of rainbow moon boots, but I sure could use a color belt.

Can I add that to my Amazon wish list?

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Voice 101

I've been back in business with singing again. Feels good.

One of the upcoming stars of the Les Misรฉrables movie, Amanda Seyfried, has also been singing lately.

This is what she had to say about the life of a songbird:

"The whole lifestyle of a singer is just something I can't keep up. You can't eat a lot of dairy, and you can't drink. My voice coach said, "If you absolutely need to have a drink, make it vodka." And the fact is, I absolutely have to! Before the last two auditions, I was on the plane with a portable misting humidifier sitting right next to me." -Instyle Magazine, January 2013

I've been doing it all wrong. Vodka shots for all!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

The New Normal

Remember the neighbor that we vowed to love?

Well, apparently the new tenants don't want to live in Elle Woods' brownstone.

Kind of sad. It was a fun place to happen upon.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Cozy Corner

Is it fall or winter now?

I can't tell.
Last year was so mild that I didn't have to put on the marshmallow coat once. On the first chilly day this season, I had trouble remembering where any extra layers were stored. That being said, when I did recall the location of my winter duds, I found a used tissue and a couple of wadded up dollar bills in a coat pocket - score!

Whatever weather may come our way this year, some old standbys and new finds are listed below to help transition into hibernation mode.

This Lafco apple scented candle has been burning almost daily in my household. 

It's on the spendy side, but it is mega-sized and the hand-blown art glass vessel can be used long after the soy candle has done its duty.

I've had my eye on these reversible throws for a couple of years now. Maybe this will be my year?

When it has the word cozy in the title, it better live up to the definition.

This oversized cardigan almost is a throw.

Whenever I can get away with wearing pajamas and/or a blanket-like article as clothing, I will.

Along the same line, you can totally get away with wearing these slippers on your morning coffee run:

I feel like everyone needs an outdoorsy/athletic vest. This one will do nicely:
You will be especially happy with your vest when you try and get in one (or two) more hikes before heavy snows.
See? Happy.

Take a hike!

I mean that in the nicest possible way.

I'm finally joining the cool kids with my unusual purchase of modern technology - an ipad! But I can't be too George Jetson. Instead, I chose to disguise my tech in a back to school themed cover. 

With my newfound love of an ipad, I've been having some late nights streaming tv shows and documentaries on Netflix. So I'll need my coffee in the morning. If you don't feel like scuffing your new Cally slippers to head up to Starbucks in order to easily spend the crumpled dollars that had been hidden years in your pocket, then you are in LUCK!

I stumbled upon THIS super simple, super simple syrup recipe that will easily surpass your Starbucks pumpkin spice latte experience. And it is so cheap and quick to whip up. Thank you, Pinned Down Pinup!

You know what would be tasty with that fancy coffee you've got going? These:
(image from theKitchn)

I will also be making myself comfortable in a few movie theatres this month, with a slew of epic movies being released:


As you can see, I have no trouble finding ways to warm up, curl up, and hunker down during these less lit days. I hope you follow my lead.




Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Apples and Babs

On a whim, I saw Barbra Streisand perform in Brooklyn at the shiny new Barclays Center
My fascination with Ms. Streisand came unexpectedly when I was in my tween years. I remember it was summer and I had been playing outside. Probably had pulled some old mattresses into the yard in order to create an advanced pretend game of Olympics gymnastics with the neighbor kids. We never messed around whilst playing pretend. We took that stuff seriously. I ran inside to grab some KoolAid popsicles (does anyone else remember those?) for the gang and on my way out I was stopped before I could even open the garage door by a voice...the voice. The TV had been left on in the living room and trancelike I moved slowly toward that voice, as the popsicles began to drip down my arm. "I'd rather be blue thinking of you...". It was this lady:

I'm pretty sure I ended up finishing the movie (and the popsicles) and never returning to Pretend Olympics.

Fast forward to the Barclays.
The space is magnificent, as is the voice. Still!


That same weekend I was to go apple picking. Which I also have a great fondness for.
Obviously.

I mentioned to my friend AC what a faboo weekend it was going to be since it contained Apples & Babs. She commented that the pairing would make an awesome band name.

So, I do declare: when I form a band it shall be called Apples & Babs.

This officially replaces my former band name (even though I don't have a band or any real plans to form a band), Stale Peeps.