Governors Island Jazz Party

Yesterday, after seeing it featured several times on the Sartorialist, I went to the 20s Jazz Party on Governors Island. It was one of the best New York moments I have had in my five years of living here. Most people dressed up and enjoyed live music, dancing, and St. Germaine cocktails. The event had everyone is such a friendly, good mood, everyone smiling. Here are some pictures I took:

Fat Belly Pizza

After making the tomato and corn pizza SIX times I decided it was time to branch out and try something new. I found this recipe in the September issue of Real Simple. It is very rich and heavy, and SO delicious. Definitely, a guilty pleasure, perfect for a cold weather dinner. The cauliflower and chili pepper balance out the sausage and Gruyere perfectly. I recommend waiting 15-20 minutes after it comes out of the oven to eat, but as you can tell from the picture, I couldn't wait.

Directions:
Toss 1/2 head sliced cauliflower, 1 sliced red chili pepper, and 1 cup parsley leaves with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Shape 1 pound pizza dough into an oval; place on an oiled baking sheet. Top with the vegetables, 2 cups grated Gruyere, and 1/2 pound Andouille sausage. Bake at 425 until golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

Stuffed Animal Cemetery

Brooklyn, NY

This is creepily unexpected in the family friendly Park Slope neighborhood. It is located in the gated "front yard" of someone's brownstone.

Chicken Scratch

I recently came across an article in Overflow (a free Brooklyn based magazine) titled “Fresh Meat: How to Butcher a Chicken” by Hannah Rappleye. Hannah goes through the process unbiasedly from the very beginning starting at going to a live poultry market that are located all over the city (I have been in one in Harlem).

After reading this article as well as other material I have decided not to eat chicken until I can kill one myself. It will be probably be a few months, I am in NO hurry! Through this I hope to gain an appreciation of where meat comes from, all of the hard work and suffering that goes into producing it. I believe if I cannot take the life of an animal I consume then I probably shouldn’t be eating it.

So people have been asking: Why chickens and not beef, or another meat? Because I can actually do it! It is the only animal I eat that I have access to, and can kill (eek!) in my own home.

Anyone want to give me an extra set of hands?

Read full article by Hannah Rappleye here:
Photographs by Marlene Rounds.

Athletic Jewelry

Lately my style is becoming increasingly boyish. I want to say it is intentional, but it is more because I am in a style rut / lazy. I like tomboy style but I am in search of a way to make it more my own. These necklaces have sporty elements which are hard to find in jewelry. They are feminine only because they are necklaces, another rarety. I love how special, yet casual they are.

Necklaces by Marion Vidal (left) and Sierra Reed (right). Both available at Maryam Nassir Zadeh.

Water & Oil

There has been a lot of controversy about the new spread in Italian Vogue photographed by Steven Meisel. The spread titled "Water & Oil" is getting criticism for involving fashion with such a serious event. However, I think both photography and fashion are art forms and if art is a commentary on life and events, then why not? If this photograph were in an art magazine or museum I think it would be viewed less harshly. It is provocative, which is the point: to provoke discussion about the oil spill. I don't consider it in bad taste at all. I even heard the critique that magazines are supposed to sell clothes, and since you could hardly see the the clothing, the shoot was unsuccessful. Shouldn't we be excited that a fashion/ lifestyle magazine isn't trying to sell us something on every page?

Sunday Service

Happy day of rest.

Photo by Camilla Akrans, Styled by Sissy Vian, featured in Vogue Nippon.

Justine Kurland

New York City based photographer, Justine Kurland’s work often has an all female utopia theme. She shows women as being adventurous, independent, mysterious, and feminine. (And not at all sad seeming about the extinction of men!) Life is shown as being playful and uncomplicated. Sounds nice.


The two images above are photograhphs Kurland did for Italian Vogue and NY Mag. I think these two images look more contrived compared to her non commercial works. I would definitly want to use Kurland as a photographer for a fashion shoot, however I think part of her works' charm is how natural it appears even though it is so fantastical. It is definitely interesting to think what fashion would look like if only women existed.

Eat, Pray, Yuck

Maybe I’m wrong but did anyone else find the trailer to Eat, Pray, Love pathetic? Woman gets dumped by man, feels miserable, goes on long, soul-searching vacation, goes through “enlightenment” but still feels miserable, meets new man, feels complete once more.

Why are women flocking to this as some source of empowerment? I admit, I have not read the book or seen the movie (and probably will not), so if you have, please tell me if I am wrong!

PS: Has anyone else seen the junk Eat, Pray, Love merchandise they’re peddling?! Perfume, jewelry, lip gloss… Awful!

Kick Ass Lady: Kim Gordon

Sonic Youth performed last night in Prospect Park. It was the second time I have seen them. They’re a great band live because they sound so much looser and the shrillness of a lot of their songs is lost, which I think for the most part is a positive thing.


Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos from last night’s Sonic Youth concert (broken camera), however I found this picture that I took a few months ago in a photographer’s studio. I was flipping through Purple magazine and came across this photo of Kim Gordon. It took me a moment to realize that she was posing on the same couch I was sitting on. Small, bizarre world.