Archive for the 'life' Category

things that I bought that I love, part 3a

So, I've had this fascination with Pantone ever since I saw my first swatch book. I was completely blown away by this very concise set of colors that could universally be identically reproduced by any printer, anywhere in the world, and how infinite the selection felt. This was during my first job out of college, and oh! I wanted to take the samples with me when… Continue reading

I would watch THIS Superbowl

So, we are not really football fans fan, though I'm wearing my giant bronze fleur-de-lis earrings today, and my boyfriend is making jambalaya. However, I would be totally excited about the Superbowl if the screenplay went more like these: The second one and the last one are my favorites. via BlackBook

Trouble

Last weekend, I went up to New Hampshire to coach my mom on her new iMac. The highlight of the trip was spending time with Maddie, a/k/a Trouble, a/k/a the cutest-tongued fluffiest puppy in the entire world. maddie Note her little-lamb legs! Also, that her face looks like a Muppet! I had been warned that Maddie pees when she is excited to see… Continue reading

current obsessions

  1. gray and yellow—as neutrals, and especially in combination. Gray nail polish.
  2. web typography, escaping from the "safe."
  3. the realization that my books are clutter, and with getting rid of several thousand of them.
  4. acquiring only things I truly love; getting rid of everything I don't love. Declaring a War on Clutter.
  5. the color orange. It makes me smile.
  6. cleaning, filing, dusting, organizing.
  7. exercise; specifically crunches, and doing many of them.
  8. lady gaga; her wardrobe and feminism and

shameless friend-promotion

I've been, well—I hate to used the word "blessed" because I don't necessarily believe in a big sky-deity doling out blessings, and I don't want to say "lucky enough to," because I hope there's something in me attracting wonderful people, but—I know and love and respect and am known, loved, and respected by some pretty phenomenal people. And I feel blessed every day that they are in my life. I'd… Continue reading

Happy New Year

I'm not a big fan of Neil Gaiman quotes, but this one made me smile. gaiman layout by me in Adobe Caslon Pro…

resolution

The last time I made a New Year's resolution was at least a decade ago, and I think I resolved myself against New Year's resolutions. Kind of like giving up Catholicism for Lent. Anyway, this year, inspired by unclutterer.com, nubbytwiglet.com, and my paid-off credit cards, and abetted by the Harvard semester leaving me class-free for a whole month, I'm embarking on a huge project to purge my… Continue reading

outside is frightful

Welcome to New England: the mercury flirts with single digits, and us hardy folk are faced with the challenge of dressing to bounce between warm bed, icy winds, overheated public transportation, frigid dashes across streets where drivers interpret red lights as the merest of suggestions. And who knows whether our offices will be saunas or fridges. Layering is the greatest weapon in our adaptive arsenal. Here's how I cope… Continue reading

wishlist

  1. Keep Calm and Carry On poster. Typographically and visually stunning, these were designed by the British Ministry of Information in 1939, to be distributed in the event of a German invasion on English soil. Only 50 were printed, and they were never hung. I love the message, and believe everyone should live by it.
  2. Jewish Rosaries by Carlen Altman. My Catholic and Jewish grandmothers would

baking v cooking

For me, baking is incredibly experimental, with room for great flexibility. When people ask me where I learned this, I simply tell them that "I grew up in my mother's kitchen." Continue reading

my college is awesome

Most of my classmates were bums anyway Continue reading

young hollywood can’t

I didn't think it was possible to pull together pantslessness and stylishness. I was damn wrong. Grace Kelly, via theimpossiblecool: Eat your heart out, Lohan…

The Skeleton Dance

created by Ub Iwerks; directed by Walt Disney Continue reading

I love San Francisco!

When boyfriend and I were in San Francisco last week, it happened to be Fleet Week. We flew into SFO ahead of Jeanne's wedding, picked up our ferry tickets to Napa at Pier 39, and had a few hours to kill before our boat came in. We ate Dungeness crabs melts on SF sourdough bread, and watched the Blue Angels flying in formation over the bay. When we headed outside to… Continue reading

when a nerd falls in love with a geek

Baking the Star Wars Cake

This labor of love is also a result of my love for smittenkitchen.com. The cake is Deb's Best Birthday Cake. It is filled with her Mango Curd and frosted with her Swiss Buttercream, the instructions for which include the directive, "Patience, young Jedis." As per her brilliant layer cake tips, I made the mango curd and… Continue reading

a birthday dinner

For Cristo's birthday, I made reservations at Ten Tables in Cambridge — their second location, in the space the original Craigie Street Bistro used to occupy, and which actually has at least 14 tables. The food and service were amazing. Because we ate on a Sunday night, they weren't serving a full menu. But they were serving a $38 prix fixe. Here's a super-quick wrap of what we had. surprise!Amuse Bouche Chilled cucumber-mint… Continue reading

The Best of Harvard Square

I love my adopted city, and have often blogged about its changing character. Feel free to explore my Harvard Square. Continue reading

Programming is just language.

Why takes the science out of programming. He says: learning programming is about learning grammar. This is, very literally, language I understand. Continue reading

This is how Mad Men makes me feel

Adorable animated .gif from jezebel.com

Behind the Times, I

I have a love-hate relationship with the NY Times' Thursday Styles section. I read it every single week, yet it is simply so wrong that I derive endless amusement from its startling out-of-touchness with anything resembling actual fashion happening in the world. Continue reading