artz a-plenty

just thought i'd share another great site for buying affordable art... 'cause that's what i'm into these days. i bought this 11x14 photo of the portuguese beachfront from 20x200. ( i'm dying for summer to arrive, can you tell?)

mine, all mine

i first spotted philippe starck's louis ghost chair some five years ago (probably whilst scanning an issue of domino), and i've been dreaming ever since about how to get my hands on one of those beauties. while surfing the interwebs on friday, i found one on sale via apartment therapy's classified section that was half the retail price. (half!!!) knowing i would never find such a great deal again (at least that's what i told myself), i swooped in and snatched him up. what a steal. i plan to keep close tabs on apartment therapy's classified/scavenger posts... talk about a gold mine!

a burrito grows in brooklyn

i've had a lot of greenpoint "firsts" this week. i ate lunch with my friend kelley at a new mexican restaurant in my 'hood called calexico (try their frijoles negros burrito--complete with "crack sauce"--and their tasty jalapeño mint margarita). i also grabbed drinks with kel and two of her friends at matchless the other night (note to self: wednesday = heavy metal karaoke night) . both places were fantastic.

these pleasantly surprising "firsts" only confirm that i need to explore my neighborhood more and break out of my sometimes unhealthy pattern of eating/drinking at the same places (see also five leaves and manhattan inn), especially now that the threat of winter is (almost) gone.

beirut in brooklyn

after four years of missing every possible beirut show within a 90-mile radius of nyc, i will finally get to see him/them play. beirut will christen the northside festival this summer on june 17th at mccarren park in williamsburg, so don't miss it! i'll save you a spot on my blanket...

get your tickets here.

hurry up and wait

we had one of the biggest weather teases a couple weeks ago here in nyc (with a high of 70 degrees) that everyone's been fixated on ever since. new yorkers had smiles stretched across their faces, and people just seemed... nicer. then it went back down to the 40's, and we've been crying on the inside ever since.

here's a new mixtape that's been pulling me out of this winter slump, though, prepping me for the glorious spring ahead. happy listening!

mixtape #6

1. "houseboat babies" - reptar
2. "canopy" - painted palms*
3. "coronado" - deerhunter
4. "40 day dream" - edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros
5. "weekend" - smith westerns*
6. "black night (magik version)" - the dodos*
7. "seafarer" - tennis
8. "still sound" - toro y moi
9. "lahaha" - shugo tokumaru
10. "tryst with mephistopheles" - owen pallett
11. "commotion" - the hundred in the hands
12. "bury us alive" - strfkr
13. "machu picchu" - the strokes


*note: the dodos' new album (no color) and the smith westerns' album (dye it blonde) are way cheap on amazon right now and way worth it. and painted palms' ep (canopy) is free to download. free! treat yourself. spring would approve.

white space

in my quest to become a real person with a real home (i am 25 after all...), i began my hunt for reasonably priced art to hang on my otherwise naked walls. i started searching etsy for some original pieces and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of work. don't get me wrong, etsy's a great forum for talented artists to hawk their wares, but i've seen my fair share of outrageously priced cut-and-paste art on the site. i stumbled across quite a few talented photographers/illustrators during my search, though, so i thought i'd share them here in case anyone else found themselves in a similar predicament. enjoy!

photography:

instantanalog (what a nice guy! i bought two of his enlarged polaroid prints and he sent me a lovely note of thanks)


sixthandmain/zuppaartista (i especially like the los angeles shots of the santa monica pier/venice/chinatown)

illustration:

corelladesign (i rather fancy the "bears love flannel shirts" print)

berkelyillustration (these whimsical, tongue-in-cheek animal prints make me light up)

cup of cheer

i ate "sunday supper" with some friends last night at lot 2 in park slope. we had the most delicious spaetzle and pork schnitzel i've ever tasted (the fixed price dinner also included a tasty salad with roasted beets and a creamy herb dressing and apple cider cake with orange glaze). what. a. treat. no, seriously... i wish i could afford to "treat" myself to sunday supper more often. all the more reason to scrimp and save this holiday season, i suppose :)

speaking of holidays, i had the family up all last week for thanksgiving in nyc. good food and good company always make me really excited this time of year. i'm hoping we can get a tree sometime this week for the apartment. i want to go all out this year... stringing popcorn, cranberries and anything else that won't rot whilst hanging from a spruce for a month and a half. the only thing that could make december better is a bevy of holiday parties. anyone...?

my christmas wishlist:


*re-cap from my travels: i returned from europe/mexico in mid-october, and then jetted out to california for three weeks. i stayed in los angeles for two and a half of those weeks and then hopped up to san francisco for a long weekend. long story short, i was robbed in sf (which is unfortunate, considering that's one of the places i was most excited about visiting) of my phone(s) and computer. sadly, i lost all of my photos from europe (along with the computer). travel was great otherwise! i'm happy to be staying put for a little while, though.