Hey, are you going to the rally?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was going to write about the rally but I'm so damn tired.
Tomorrow, I promise.

Risky business, bocce and extreme pumpkins

Now

what needs to happen
- design Fillin' Station logo
- write tea party thank you notes
- burn cd for Prof. Stanley
- write a four page paper for Helen
- compile photos/write artist statement for Hunter College MFA application for honors
- finish sewing etiquette books (at least one good one for Helen)
- design & code wordpress theme (yeah, right)
- take photo for vain vina
- pack lunch for tomorrow
- pack eyeliner/black eye shadow for panda times for AIGA's Extreme Pumpkin Makeover

what probably will happen
- write thank you notes (don't forget to attach lemon black tea bags)
- burn cd
- blog about what needs to get done
- take & post photo for vain vina
- trim rough edges on etiquette book covers
- sketch logo rough thumbnails
- pack gear for tomorrow
- start paper for Helen, complain of fatigue and go to bed

what just happened
- five minute stupor thinking about all the stuff that needs to be done
- two minute trance from old timey jazz
- rooibos tea
- unncessary blogging
- two minute personal debate on why I should go to bed now

diner with the boys

 

 

- Happy hour! Alcohol should be mandatory at the end of any artsbus trip.
- Spencer Tracy's photo on the wall.
- That cheesecake was like buddah.
- Sad pickle bar and contemplating ordering borscht or pastrami on potato latkes.
- Eavesdropping on the first date next to us.
- The singing guy in the men's bathroom and too many urinal cakes.

Milkshakes, guns, and the Pulaski Bridge

- Salted caramel milkshake from Cake & Shake
- Power walking across the Pulaski Bridge
- Robert Lazzarini's studio
- The Hangover and Hot Fuzz
- Snoring on the bus. Sorry. I didn't sleep the night before. 
- my Stevie Nicks (according to Justin) chenille blanket.
- Having lemonade and that goat cheese sandwich from Amy's bread again
- Justin waging war on the girl in front of him who kept trying to recline her seat.
- 11 pm starch fest from Chesapeake House. Gluttony and shame on both our parts.

Sam Eliott is the only person manly enough to wear this shirt.
Ok, Tom Selleck too but that's it!

Grilled cheese combinations we should try:
- goat cheese and roasted eggplant (the one I always get from Amy's Bread in Chelsea Market)
- lobster, smoked cheddar, seaside English cheddar, granny apples
- muenster, blackberry jam, and walnut
- cheddar, avocado, and tomato jam
- fresh mozzarella, arugula and tomato
- swiss, pear, and black pepper
- brie and plum
- grilled peaches, bleu cheese, black pepper, and honey

photo taken on my phone from this year's birthday sandwich party

Side note, there are exactly 703 posts on Lemonade Lists. That's my zip code! 

I can see myself saying this to kids

Mother to four-year-old making loud, weird noises in stroller: Will you shut up? See... That's why you don't have any friends.

via Overheard in New York

Gurrrl, where my sage at?!?

[Paranormal Activity 2 spoiler alert]
Lisa: Do you want me to just tell you the story?
me: yes.
Lisa: So the demon initially started with them. Scary shit happened to them. Something dating back to the olden days.
me: You said olden days.
Lisa: and the daughter was reading up saying that the demon wants the first born son. So I guess every generation has been female.
me: What the hell? This isn't Rapunzel.

Lisa: the nanny comes back saying the only way to get the demon out of her body is to give it to a blood relative.
me: what! Fucked up.
Lisa: That's how the girl in the first one got it.
me: They done ghosted it forward.

Lisa The nanny gets fired.
me: why is there always some non-white servant with all the answers? That's bull.

Side note,
me: I've literally been sitting here in a towel for the past two hours.
Lisa: ...you're in a freaking towel?
me: yes. just for you.
Lisa: Talk about lazy.
me: lazy nothing, talk about comfortable.

Bobo

 

 The menu at Bobo sounds amazing. I must try it sometime though probably not on an honors/artsbus trip when NYC is on fast forward. Peach crisp with creme fraiche, smoked salmon with tots, chocolate cake with dulce du leche ice cream and salted caramel? Shoot, I don't even like chocolate cake half of the time. 

Also, that photo of Chef Patrick Connolly is totally crush worthy.

LEAVE, HUMAN! I WANT A BATH!

Don't this shit make you people wanna jump jump?

Tim Flach

Monday morning's thoughts

- Four hours of sleep is just not kosher.
- Should I panic? I can panic. I choose not to panic.
- I FORGOT TO BUY BUTTER.
- I should have enough butter.
- I need to write a to-do list. Note to self: write a to-do list.
- I have to pack lunch, dinner, and "I'll be in the studio until who knows when" snack.
- Newsbriefs are due in a few hours? Ugh, ok.
- Liz is a lifesaver. Awwww shit, alliteration. 
- Man, my hair is getting long! That's weird.
- Design idea file due tomorrow? I think I'm good on that.
- Scary ghost movies during book making? Meeks, ju crazy!
- vina, you got this. YOU GOT THIS.

Sunday evening

sounds like: 50s Doo Wop: The Platters, Fats Domino, Jackie Wilson, Ritchie Valens, and The Drifters.

tastes like: chocolate mint tea, instant noodles, and zinfandel. Alcohol makes the art more fun.

feels like: another late night in the studio, designing things and making the art. Early spring and not late autumn. Like I should be panicking and not strangely calm about everything that needs to be done. I'll panic when I need to panic.

smells like: chocolate & mint, printer toner, Liz's dinner from Noodles & Company.

WHAT

I want this. I need this.

via Geekologie (and Liz)

This is so Sathya.

Don't worry. He doesn't charge; he just gets the tips.

via I Believe in Advertising

Logo fun with Justin!

Justin: That would be ok if I was a kindergarten teacher. 

Redesigning Outdoor Photographer magazine's newsbrief section roughs

 also known as why I'm the studio until two in the morning.

He knows me so well.

Justin: I thought of you when I saw the dog. In the movie. I was like, this is why Vina likes this movie. It has a cute dog and a cute guy.

DAMN

 

via Apartment Therapy

Rotating bicycle wheel pot rack

I want one!

via Design Squish

Notebook love

I appreciate people who fill their pocket notebooks with artsy things and not just to-do lists or funny things people say like I write in mine. Nota bene that I said notebook and not Moleskine. I am not one of those Moleskine snobs though I enjoy their soft covers. I found a brand new Moleskine day planner once. So great. It was already April when I found it so I use the previous pages as if they were blank.

images via Fuck Yeah Moleskines

Yathrib: This is sad. I'm making trash can signs cuz some jerk keeps taking my recycling bin. The fool literally took my bin and i had to steal it back.
me: What does the sign say? 
Yathrib: Just my name and address in hot pink on 12x18 cardstock. Ya it's not anything rude..they're just labels so I can identify my trashcan and recycling bin from the kitchen window. 
me: You should write something small on the bottom.
Yathrib: Haha, like what? “I best not catch you with my recycling bin or I'm gonna wax that ass.”
me: THAT'S PERFECT.

Meet me in the garden

 

 

 

 

GMU's Organic Garden and the Cooking Club (I didn't even know there was a cooking club!) had their autumn harvest party in the SoA Green garden! There was an all vegetarian (ok ok, someone made jerk chicken) spread which included vegetable sandwiches, fried green beans, pumpkin pie, and ambrosia salad. I discovered that people are much more likely to ask you questions if you stand on the other side of the food table. Tell you about this function? Sure! Can you start eating? I'm not sure since this isn't my event, but go ahead!

me: I made scrambled eggs but forgot a fork so I'm sitting here debating whether or not I want go downstairs or just use my hands.
Yathrib: LOL. Dude, go downstairs!
me: Oh wait, I have a fork in my lunchbag. Yesssss.

Salted caramel apple cake

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients: 
five apples, peeled/cored/diced. I used a large Granny Smith, two Golden Delicious, and two McIntosh
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg (I love nutmeg!)
5 Tbsp. sugar

2 3/4 c. flour, sifted
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. vegetable oil
1 c. sugar
1 c. salted caramel, melted (recipe for that soon. I'm working backwards, I know. Sorry.)
1/4 c. orange juice
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube/bundt pan. Toss apple chunks with cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.
- Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In separate bowl, whisk together sugar, orange juice, oil, vanilla and caramel. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then add eggs one at a time.
- Pour half of batter into pan. Scatter half of the apples into batter. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and sprinkle remaining apples on top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until tester comes out clean. No, really. It takes that long. Your house will smell amazing. AMAZING.

You go, Sam Rockwell. You get down with your bad self!

[on Simon Says by Pharoahe Monch]
me: oooh! Can you send me this song later?
Steph: Sure.
me: I would walk like a total badass to this song.
Steph: Yeah, or if you wanted to be on Cribs.

Field of Fears, not Field of Lost

 

AVT Crew at Cox Farm's Field of Fears. One year Muse was the only one who dressed up. He had to walk the haunted trail dressed as a pimp. He refused to wear a costume the next year which happened to be the year that everyone else dressed up (and Jojo proposed to Yathrib!). This year Mariam was the only one in costume. It's ok, she owned that eye patch. Steph was upset that the cornfield was not just a maze, but a haunted maze. The haunted cornfield actors stopped bothering Muse and me since we just laughed the entire time. One actors hit on me. She yelled at us to get out ten seconds later. It was blistering cold and I was thankful for the various bonfires. We roasted marshmallows, drank hot apple cider, and ate freshly popped kettle corn. The hayride tractor driver's name was Patrick. They give you a spiel about not retaliating against the actors. Uhoh, sounds like someone had a bad experience! I walked through a cornfield of aliens (complete with weird alien sounds), gross. Aliens scare me more than ghosts. You don't know what they're thinking!! There was a weak-ass fire show (AT 9:45!!!) and the performer caught fire a few times. We had pancakes at the usual IHOP. Nasreen discovered that she had left her keys in her car, doors unlocked and keys in the ignition. Free car, heyyyyy.