put a spin on it!

I'm constantly impressed by my boss's ability to word things Just Right; even when relaying bad news, she always comes up with a way to get her point across without sounding harsh or disappointing. Today, for example, she was trying to speak to someone who kept interrupting her. Being the boss, she could have simply told them to 'be quiet' 'stop talking' (or heaven forbid, to 'shut up') But instead she replied, 

"please indulge my need for silence"

Such the very perfect thing to say! Now that's she's nailed the wording for me, I think I'll be using that one quite often in future...

a hat for one season

When worn purely For Fashion, I find hats silly and pointless. I don't mean to make blanket statements, but as far as I can tell, the only people who can pull them off are frenchies (see: Jane Birkin, Brigitte Bardot, Clemence Poesy...)

 and the olsen twins, obv.

But there's a time and place for everything, and with summer fast approaching (and with it, my last twenty-something-th birthday) I feel it might be time to take every single magazine's advice and start wearing a sun hat, strictly seasonally, in order to protect my own delicately youthful visage. Because I don't know about you guys but I plan on sunning all summer long--I need it! Only, finding Just The Right Hat isn't always easy. Shape-wise, I'm pretty particular. I look ridiculous in baseball caps, so those are out. I'm afraid anything too nautical would be overkill with the stripes I will invariably be wearing all season long. Fedoras are too structured and indiana-jone-y for my taste, and I feel I'd need considerably more hat-wearing experience to feel comfortable in anything very floppy or wide-brimmed.  It should be made of straw, or raffia, in a neutral color, with as little adornment as possible; something utilitarian, but more safari-goer than gardener.

So to recap, I'm in the market for something understated, summery and soft (but not too soft), with a brim wide enough to block the sun, but not so wide as to make me conspicuous. And wouldn't you know it? The aforementioned Olsen Twins have hit the nail on the head with their recent collaboration with Yestadt Millinery, the results of which topped off The Row's s/s 2014 collection.

A cloche! Of course! Part bee-keeper, part Coco Chanel, equally dramatic and understated, it's everything I could ever want in a hat, and more. Trouble is, these don't appear to be for sale anywhere in the whole internet (though something tells me I couldn't afford it even if they were...) You can buy a similarly-shaped canvas fisherman hat, also by Yestadt Millinery, for $220 at Nordstrom, but that's obviously not going to cut it. So what's a summer girl to do? Googling 'straw cloche' resulted in few tenable options. I did find a couple that might suit, provided that their ribbons are removable, here and here. But by far the closest thing I've been able to find is this pleated straw cloche by Kangol.

Not sure how comfortable I feel spending $46 on a hat, especially one that isn't quite right (the ones for The Row are slightly more belled and asymmetrical, their straw braiding considerably more refined) but I suppose you can't have it all. And wouldn't this look great with my sunglasses? It may just have to do for now. But, I'm still on the lookout for Just the Perfect Thing. Please let me know if you find it! 

nerdalert: way to go, cmucc!

 Isn't Andy Warhol the coolest? I like to think of the native Pittsburgher as a local mascot of sorts for those among us who don't follow the Pirates, Penguins, Panthers, etc. And as much as I love Phipps, my very favorite place to take out-of-town visitors in the citty is The Warhol, which Felix and I have patronized at least five times in the past year. And it's been worth the short trip to the North Side every time; his body of work is almost overwhelmingly varied, and every time we've visited there's been something new to see and learn. For example, did you know the socialite founded Interview Magazine in order to get invitations to parties and premieres? Pretty clever. 

We went just recently for bf's bday, but it looks like we may need to plan another visit soon, because have you heard the news? A bunch of nerds (jk you guys)/my future fellow classmates in the Carnegie Mellon University Computer Club just unearthed a dozen or so of the artist's "digital art experiments" previously and proverbially locked away within the confines of an obscure data format on some junky old floppy disk. Comodore International had commissioned Warhol to generate the digital works, including a manipulated portrait of Debbie Harry, back in 1985 in order to promote the launch of Amiga, their new line of home computers.  They probably looked pretty futuristic at the time, but now they seem digitally primitive, like someone messing around on microsoft paint... in a good way! I wonder how they'll choose to present them at the museum? Can they get their hands on any old Amigas, do you think? 

I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

via the bbc

OR-you-CHID-ing me?

I know you guys probably think that I only talk about Felix these days, but despite all evidence to the contrary, I care about other stuff, too! Like, I don't know, fashion!? Honestly? I was largely unimpressed with most of what I saw last fashion week(s), whichever season they were (see? I don't even remember). But maybe that's because I wasn't paying any attention to the land down under, as they call it. Case in point: how amazing do these ladies look, all dressed up in Toni Maticevski's spring/summer 2014 collection, recently shown at Melbourne Fashion Week?

So fresh! So disturbing! Even a little distracting--the flowers are all I really remember from the collection, which otherwise failed to speak to me despite its being technically rather impressive. It could be that I'm just hard to please--maybeit'sjustmebutforme, not even Rachel Comey is getting it right these days! Regardless, this here is working for me. I haven't been so impressed by a runway accessory since those Balenciaga halos last spring (remember?) He did the same trick with butterflies in 2012

but I much prefer the blooms, don't you? 

Incidentally, if you happen to like things like orchids and butterflies, and you live in Pittsburgh, you should really check out Phipps Conservatory, our local botanical gardens! I recently became a member and I'm so glad I did, as it's probably the most beautiful place in town. I might even try to make it to one of the Tropical Parties coming up this May--hopefully, sporting a head full of orchids! 

praise ostara!

I know it was nearly a week ago, but isn't easter the most magical holiday? And I feel it must be the oldest one, right? The return of springtime? As a secular catholic, I feel I ought to celebrate certain holy days despite having no religious conviction with which to endorse their purported messages to my son. In this case, I'm relieved by considering the fact that the story of the resurrection of christ is itself a retelling of man's oldest story, that of the sun. Setting aside the moribund cross, none of the various life-and or light-affirming symbols of the holiday--eggs, rabbits, flames, white lilies--have anything to do with jesus per se, and it so clearly doesn't matter because they all just mean the same thing, the best and happiest message of all! The only real issue I take with the catholic celebration of easter is this: why insist on celebrating it on the sunday following a full moon when you could just celebrate it the natural way, weekdays be damned? Sometimes I wonder if might achieve more internal rhythm, or find greater peace of mind, if the world around me followed a lunar calendar. Why adhere to a somewhat accurate system of logging celestial events when you can just watch them happen? And to think of that pink moon this year, especially?

Of course we're all free to let the easterly light of the sun find its way to our hearts in its own way--preferably, nine days ago in the form of pink moonlight. But, due to work schedules and cloudy weather, we spent a gregorian easter after all--in beautiful, charming nearby-ohio-farmland, no less! I'm very lucky to have somewhere so proximal and idyllic to escape to! It was the best most relaxing weekend, after one of the busiest weeks I can remember. And o, what a day! I sat in the sunshine for simply hours! We ate tasty snacks, a delicious roast lamb, and, just like Jane Fonda and Barbara Striesand, the best cake in america.  In fact, I don't think I did anything all day except eat and read all about northwest (per hamish bowles) and easterly smybols in this book, which is maybe a little apocryphal but again, it's hard to disappoint me when discussing symbology and springtime. It was wonderful! I felt like I could see the land growing into life all around me! Isn't it magical?! I hope you're all feeling this way!

chinese chotchkies

Felix is napping right now for the first time in months, which is why I don't really even blog anymore, you guys. But I'm trying to Make It Work! I guess a lot has happened since we last spoke, dear reader. Of course there's the news of our impending academic enrollment, but also, our old friend Ivy has come to stay with us here in Pittsburgh! For a long time! We made her her own little tent in the basement, and she's quickly become one of the family. It's such a treat to have an adult person around to talk to (especially one so delightful) and we've been spending our evenings drinking beaujolais and doing lots of catching up. Did you know? She just got back from a year teaching English in China! So exotic. And you should see the trinkets she brought us! Clearly, China is the place to go for adorable stationary, like these cutest baby pens, 

and teeny-tiny toiletries, like this babiest tin of tiger balm which, I've just learned, is great for treating headaches--just rub a little behind your ears! I'm doing it right now!

and speaking of ears, these are the best of all! 

Ear sticks! Stick studs? The jury and internet are still out on what you call these dingys (and I can't explain why this pic makes my ears look so purple)... but, I love them! So minimalist punk, no? You see, I have this mysterious problem where I'm always losing the backs of my earrings even while I'm wearing them--no longer an issue! You simply stick in the stick and off you go! Hypoallergenic (unless you're allergic to plastic?) and surprisingly comfortable, even with headphones on. These are just your regular every day black plastic, and must be ridiculously cheap to make, but I've been dreaming of a pair made of pure gold. Can you even imagine? But good luck finding any on the internet, plastic or no. I do hope I don't lose them!!!