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Happy (Silly) Wednesday

Wednesday is the definition of "one of those days," furthest from the weekend as we can get. BUT, just remember.. at least you're not in a traffic jam behind this guy:

Rémi Gaillard is a crazy French guy who is adventurous (silly) enough to pull hilarious pranks on passer-bys in the road, as well as in public places like supermarkets, pool halls and golf courses. Great, right? He's been around for ages, but I came across his Pacman video again and laughed alone in my room for 10 minutes. Don't know what I'm talking about? Check it out below:

My favourite part is when one of his minions falls over the greeting cards. Disastrous! I wish I could be as cool as he is. Speaking of stupid costumes (and these would be great ones)... what's everyone being for Halloween?

♥, Azzara

Meat drank

I know Azzara and I at various times make meat jokes but what do we all think about this article?
Sounds a little funky huh? First Lady Gaga's meat dress and now this. INTENSE.

Amanda's trip- food highlights!

I just got back this week from vacation with my parents which I will definitely blog about more soon but I couldn't resist sharing some food photos with you. We got to go to some great places in Europe visiting family friends and here are some of my food favorites:



After Amsterdam, we drove to a small seaside town in the Netherlands and had "broodje haring" which is a raw herring sandwich that can also have onion or pickles inside a soft bread. The area's also known for fries so we had to get some fries with mayo (I'm more of a mustard gal but apparently mayo is the thing here). I know a lot of people would have a hangup with eating raw herring but I'm telling you, if you like sashimi, it's not such a far stretch. The herring is a little more fishy tasting but basically on par with lox. I enjoyed it a lot because it tasted like great beach food. It's great snack food and I could eat about 3 of those sandwiches, no joke.


After Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Germany, we took a plane to Nice and stayed at our family friend's villa . What's wonderful about the weather in Nice is that it allows for wonderful exotic vegetation. Coming from NY, I'm always jealous when others have lemon, lime, grapefruit, and guess what, our family friends had all of the above PLUS a fig tree. So jealous. We had fresh figs (above) several days and they were so good! Just thinking about it makes me want some right now!



This was apparently the trip of raw things, not that I'm complaining. This was my first time ordering tartare, made of raw ground beef, but I'm so happy I made the decision to go raw. It was seasoned wonderfully and served with fried sliced potatoes and a small salad with balsamic reduction. The restaurant was nice too- a total hole in the wall and one of 2 restaurants in the small town of Sant Jeannet. There were only 3 tables and we were lucky enough to get one of them. AH. Possible favorite meal of the trip! My plate was empty at the end. mmm, meat.



I'm almost done ranting I promise. Here is some really pretty and tasty gelato from the old town in Nice. It was a stall in the middle of a square (hope I can find it again if I go back) and they probably had about 30 flavors, all of which I wanted. I decided on rhubarb (top) and apricot. So delicious and flavorful. I've always been more of a fruity type gelato girl so this hit the spot. Perfect for walking around. Could use a tub of it right now.

Okay, more posts soon!

...Amanda

Tuesday Tunes

Sorry the Tuesday Tunes post is SO late today, but better late than never right? This is Lykke Li's new single "Get Some" (saucy, eh?) which is a lil bit raunchy, but mostly just interesting. The video is weirdly suggestive, but hey... I guess she is singing about being your prostitute so, for some reason, it works.

What have you guys been listening to lately? I just got the new album "Bubblegum" by Clinic and I'm into it. This is their first single off the album, and it's called I'm Aware. Peter Fowler, the guy who worked on Super Furry Animals' artwork, is behind this wonderfully weird video.

Have a groovy Tuesday!

♥, Azzara

Ruven Afanador Makes Bulldogs Beautiful

Ruven Afanador is a Colombian photographer who has shot covers for Vanity Fair, Elle, Marie Claire and a bunch of other magazines as well as lots of advertising campaigns for Lancome, J. Mendel, Aveda, and Sephora... just to name a few. But his most exciting work would have to be his crazy fashion photography. With a hint of surreal, a pinch of questionable lighting and a whooole lot of peculiar, his photos are amazing. I'm in love with them. Really beautiful photographs seem harder to come by now, with the surge of crappy teen magazines full of unfortunately photoshopped neon situations. I mean.. who can say no to girls in massive fluffy dresses hanging in the air with bulldogs underneath made beautiful? Yeah, I didn't think so. Check out more of lovely photos on his website.

Happy weekend!

♥, Azzara

PS - Sorry I confused the bulldogs with pugs.. how RUDE (stupid) of me.

Lanvin for H&M Image Released

Aaaah a preview of the Lanvin collection for H&M was just released via Vogue Russia and it's making me even more excited. The models are Hannelore Knuts, Jane Schmitt, Tati Collitar and Natasha Poly. The collection is going to have 30 pieces for women (not including accessories) and 25 for men. I hope the clothes live up to expectations (especially mine)! There's definitely some fun ruffle and pleat action going on here, but the quality of the tuxedo jacket is looking a bit iffy. I guess we'll have to wait and see until the full lookbook is released in November.

♥, Azzara

Tuesday Choons - COVERS Edition

Today is an exciting Tuesday Tunes, all because of today's special edition of Southern Comfort. This week we're dedicated to covers of great songs, some eeeeven better than the original. I don't want to give away what a great show it will be, but here's a taste of what we'll be playing tonight from 7-8pm EST on WZLY.net.

Stars - This Charming Man (The Smiths cover)

CSS - Knife (Grizzly Bear cover)

Want to hear more? Be sure to tune in to Southern Comfort from 7-8pm EST on 91.5FM or WZLY.net or just CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

And please feel free to call in from 7-8pm and request a cover at 781 - 283 - 2690, we'd love to hear from you.

♥, Azzara

Sweet Dreams... But Not Before You Read This

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. My dad was visiting, so naturally I ate as much as I could in the one and a half days he was here. It was glorious. I won't bore you all with the details, but a steak, ricotta and mushroom pasta were definitely involved. Perhaps it will inspire me to write a food-related post sometime soon..

Anyway, in the past couple of years I've seen a lot of weird animations because of the influence of a few cool people and, of course, this has led me to develop my own minor obsession. I'm partial to claymation, probably because I used to watch lots of Wallace and Gromit and Pingu with my little brother before I even knew how it was done. I recently came across a lot of old Pingu tapes, and had to share the hilarity of my childhood experience with everyone. Check it out:

A while ago I came across Kirsten Lepore, who is best known for her short "Sweet Dreams" (which took her a year to make) and was instantly fascinated by her work. Who can say no to candy? Or cupcakes on the beach? Check out "Sweet Dreams" below if you haven't seen it:

Sweet Dreams from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

And here's one of her newer films "Bottle," which I love just as much:

Bottle from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.

Okay, I know I'm getting really overexcited with all of these videos. BUT a few days ago Kirsten Lepore tweeted about a 1941 stop-motion film by Charley Bowers called "Wild Oysters" and I can't help but include it. Charley Bowers was a cartoonist known for silent animations, although this gem is one of his works that does have sound. If you've got 10 minutes to spare, have a watch of his stop-motion film "Wild Oysters" below:

So many videos for one day, but all cool I hope. Stay tuned for Tuesday Choons tomorrow!

♥, Azzara

My Future Job

So by now, everyone and their mother, father, sister and dog have seen this (wonderful) video but I think it's worth bringing up again. Sometimes when I'm stressed, I watch these silly little sloth friends roll around and look generally silly and helpless and realise that I want to work at that orphanage forever and ever. So, if you're ever feeling down.. just watch them live their lives with not a care in the world other than thinking about why chewing food is just so hard (on a more serious note, they do take really good care of them at the sloth sanctuary there, and save them from being alllll alone, which is just great!).

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

Have a fantastic weekend!

♥, Azzara

Chocolate covered biscotti with dried apricot and walnuts!

I'm off to Amsterdam and Nice until the 24th and I'm taking some hostages:

No worries, Azzara will be here and updating the blog in my absence and if I have internet I'll def be posting some pics from abroad.

Ya! don't forget to tune into Az's radio show (Southern Comfort) next week.

Be back in a few!
Amanda

PS: leave a comment if you'd like the recipe to these cookies.

Willow + Crab + Loofah = Ready to Wear?

I've been obsessed with this website called Fashematics that finds the funniest made-up inspirations for RTW and Couture runway looks. Want to know what I mean? Check out the inspiration for Marios Schwab for Halston Fall 2010 RTW.

It's great, right? Pretty damn accurate. Although I think my favourite would have to be the Dior 2010 Couture inspiration:

All images from Fashematics.com

Go and check out the rest of the website if you've got a moment, I wish I were creative enough to come up with this stuff myself. Who knew Dior could be inspired by a wonky squash and a loofah pad (just kidding!.. but who knows what we can be inspired by these days).

Happy Thursday!

♥, Azzara

Food Friends + Sweet Recipes (Literally)

So everyone knows how much I love (a) food, (b) animals and (c) creepy art, so I'm definitely a fan of Carl Kleiner's "Cafe M" Art series. My grandpa used to have the coolest calendar when I was younger that had a different animal made of food for every month of the year, and I must admit that my favourites always included weirdly deformed fruits and vegetables (with arms( frolicking around amongst trees made of broccoli. So needless to say, I really enjoy Carl Kleiner's weird creations. My favourite would have to be Mr. Lion, although Mr. Awkward-Fennel-Anteater-Man definitely has a special charm to him as well.

By now, I'm sure a lot of people have seen Carl's photo series for the Ikea cookbook "Hembakat är Bäst" (meaning "Homemade is Best"). Styled by Evelina Bratell, I think I can safely say they would make for the coolest cookbook ever. Here are some of my favourites (google the names if you're interested about what they'll become.. some of them look so yummy!):

Mandelkubb

Lingon Pepparkaka

Napoleonbakelse

Princesstårta

All images from CarlKleiner.com

I want it all!

♥, Azzara

Irish Dance for the Post-Pop Generation

My dear friend Monica showed me this video recently, and I can't stop wishing I was coordinated enough to be able to do this myself. We've tried many a time, but really it just ends up with us banging on the table with no rhythm or rhyme to it. Believe me, Suzanne Cleary and Jonny Reed (aka upandoverit) are much better at it. Don't you wish you were this coordinated?

Check out their YouTube channel if you want to see more, and let us know if you learn the hand dance. We will most definitely be jealous...

♥, Azzara

Video painting!

My friend Erica just sent me this cool link for some new crazy technology. Video painting? What will they think of next?

Key lime time

Sometimes I get the urge to BAKE. A few days ago I made this key lime pie which was delicious and tart but let me tell you it tastes a lot better when it's chilled rather than at room temperature. But either way it was gone in 2 days. Recipe below...

Recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen:

Filling:

4 large egg yolks

4 tsp grated lime zest (I always just zest about 3 limes and figure it looks about right)

14 oz. sweetened condensed milk (1 can)

1/2 cup fresh lime (or about 4 limes if they are med. size)

*1 graham cracker crust shell

Can top the whole thing with whipped cream if you like, or more grated zest after it's cooled.

Whisk together egg yolks and the zest until it's a green tint (abt. 2 min). Whisk in the milk til smooth then whisk in the lime juice. Let sit for 30 min covered to thicken. Prepare the crust.

*In my case, I cheated and used a Trader Joe's frozen pie crust which I then defrosted, prebaked a few min so it was warm (important) and then poured the rested filling in. You can also make the traditional graham cracker crust by combining 1.5 cups crushed graham cracker, 5 tbsp melted butter and 2 tsp salt, pressed into pie pan. If you're using this you should prebake the crust about 15 min before pouring in the filling.

After adding filling, bake for about 20 min and you're done!

YAYAYAYA PIE,

amanda

London Fashion Week Favs

Sooo to start off, sorry it has taken me WEEKS to finally post my Spring RTW favourites from London. A lot of the collections had really innovative prints and cuts, which I was really into. As much as I appreciate simple silhouettes and colour palettes, I was glad the designers decided to go a little crazy. Prints are a girl's best friend, everyone can find a print or pattern that makes them look amazing. I, for one, am obsessed with them all.

My number one absolute favourite collection from LFW would definitely have to be Erdem. I basically want every single piece. Erdem seems to know exactly what I like and succeeds at putting it all into one look that I'm almost tempted to steal off the model. Here's the (strictly edited) list of some of my favourites:

Erdem

Emilio de la Morena also had a super bold collection, with crazy silhouettes and fun mixtures of pink, yellow and black. The look below reminded me of a weird painting.

Emilio de la Morena

House of Holland's collection had printsprintsprints everywhere! From the banana leaves to the stars to the metallics to the fringe, I thought all of the looks were really fun and some were even quite wearable. I love the looks below, and I would absolutely wear them off the runway. Perhaps minus the fuzzy earrings, although they'd definitely spark a conversation.

House of Holland

London Fashion Week would of course be incomplete without a mention of Matthew Williamson. His collection mixed quite a neutral colour palette with some interesting prints and some pops of yellow and royal blue. I'm a huge fan of the addition peacock feathers. Gimme!

Matthew Williamson

All images from Style.com

Once I have time to catch up on all of my school work, I will definitely share my Paris favourites.. because there are a LOT of them. Happy monday!

♥, Azzara