the history of love

read it.

"maybe the first time you saw her you were ten. she was standing in the sun scratching her legs. or tracing letters in the dirt with a stick. her hair was being pulled. or she was pulling someone's hair. and a part of you was drawn to her, and a part of you resisted- wanting to ride off on your bicycle, kick a stone, remain uncomplicated. in the same breath you felt the strength of a man, and a self-pity that made you feel small and hurt. part of you thought: please don't look at me. if you don't, i can still turn away. and part of you thought: look at me."

nicole krauss, "the history of love"

ain't much but it's home...

yeah that's what i see when i look out my window. jersey, motherfuckers!

true love mix

one of my dear friends got married just a few weeks ago, and to mark the occasion i made a mix cd celebrating L-O-V-E in the major key, intending to send it as part of a horn o' plenty of homemade gifts. however, the whole moving to a new city/beginning a grad program thing kind of threw a wrench in my plans and said horn is, for now at least, on the back burner. but the mix is still pretty bangin', so i thought i'd share it here (the above image is the cover i made to accompany the cd on the magical day i actually send the damn thing)-

1. 5 years time- noah and the whale
2. 123 apple tree- herman dune
3. haitian love songs- cocorosie
4. parentheses- BLOW
5. you were made for me- freddie and the dreamers
6. i found love- the free design
7. come go with me- the del vikings
8. double shot (of my baby's love)- swingin' medallions
9. happy together- the turtles
10. you're the one- the black keys
11. i only have eyes for you- the flamingos
12. you go to my head- billie holiday
13. four left feet- the ditty bops
14. i will- the beatles
15. the book of love- the magnetic fields
16. sea of love- phil philips
17. how deep is your love- the bird and the bee
18. the day (we fell in love)- appaloosa
19. love and happiness- al green
20. this will be our year- the zombies
21. god only knows- the beach boys
22. anyone- joan as police woman
23. i got you babe- sonny and cher
24. vagn nu- sys bjerre

what can i say? i'm a sap.

ladies

there are a few women who are perennial favorites of the "fashion inspiration" list-makers, and for good reason. jane birkin, the ladies of mad men, etc are all wonderful and fantastic, but i am going to steer clear of them for this one. my current inspirations, sartorial and otherwise, tend to lean towards the literary set, not just because i am a pretentious ass but also because being separated from most of my library makes me all sad. two of my favorite ladies:

anais nin, writer of racy stories and incredible journals. seriously, read "henry and june." buy two copies and send me one so i can finally cross it off my must-own list. she's pretty phenomenal.


zelda! gotta love zelda. so i know she obviously isn't as much of a canonical figure as her fella, but you can't ignore her influence on him (and the decade in general). she said some good things, too: quotes like "I don't want to live -- I want to love first, and live incidentally" are practically BEGGING to be splashed all over someone's favorite quotes section of facebook.



honorable mention: joan didion.
i love joan. i really do. "the year of magical thinking" is one of those books that is truly heartbreaking and beautiful and poignant, and if you read it you will never be the same. xoxo, joan.

dispatches from the first week

there are many things to like about new york city. like miss sarabella i hail from a small town, and the sheer size of NYC allows for near-constant stimuli. i am if nothing else a compulsive list-maker, so my mind has been ablazin' with a running tally of things i like about the city. i could go on and on if i felt so inclined but i will be brief, and instead of a laundry list i'll name a few things that i have been noticing and appreciating these days.

- really dapper old men
if i were of a sneakier lot i'd have photos to show you to describe what i mean, but i do feel a little uneasy just whipping out the camera on the subway and surreptitiously taking pictures of old fellas. let me paint you a mental picture instead. the men i am talking about are the elder statesmen of class. they wear the suits, the ties, the hankerchiefs with the kind of poise that young men try to emulate but never quite succeed at. suits, hats, bow ties... pin stripes, patterns, the occasional bold color to add something extra. it's amazing.

-lack of sweatpants
yesterday marked the first day i'd noticed someone wearing sweatpants in public. granted, it has been hot here but for some unknown reason sweatpants seem to be the article of clothing that transcends temperature and becomes universal. no good, i say. i am something of an anti-sweats crusader, so the near-complete dearth of the accursed things was definitely something worth adding to the list.

-simplicity
god help me, someday i will be able to leave the house without piling on the accessories. i feel so naked without them, you know? however, recently i've been noticing a spate of women who run out in button-down shirts, simple earrings, leather sandals, plain bottoms- jeans, monotone pencil skirt, etc. and look completely pulled together and effortless. call it the birkin effect, if you will. i like it, and it gives me hope for my own future pared-down sartorial endeavors.

i'll leave it at that for now, but there will be more, i promise...

Fall inspirations, yay!




fur stoles and jackets, 19 century/edwardian fashion elements, my guitar!, good music such as drug rug and Elliott Smith, apiculture, my brother/yoga, Wompatuck national park in Hull and its graffiti, and this longing view of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge.

goal #1

new goal: make a point to use every one of the 100 most beautiful words in the english language.

http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/100_most_beautiful_words.html