P is for Piñata

On Perfection

2011-06-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Breathtakingly perfect.
via The Sartorialist.

When Harry Met Sally vs Chloe

2011-04-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

Was watching the infamous 1989 film When Harry Met Sally when I noticed uncanny similarities between Sally's outfits and Chloe's recent designs...

Sally

Chloe

Sally

Chloe

On Jen Kao, Fall 2011: A Review

2011-02-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

(Note: Saw the show yesterday at NY Fashion Week and wrote a short review of it when I got home. Have to say, I am baffled by the speed at which those journalists review the shows and publish them online! How do they remember everything?!! My iPhone photos did not turn out at all!!)
____________________

A dramatic crescendo into 10cc’s classic “Im Not in Love” kicked off a string of Ziggy Stardust-inspired looks at Jen Kao–but with an underwater subtext. Iridescent and metallic finishes, like on a floor-length mermaid skirt and on the “ultraviolet gill platform wedge boots”, alluded to a deep-sea inspiration. This was echoed in a poem that Kao penned in 1999 and left copies of for her audience, in which she speaks of jellyfish and a “mollusk Tear of Joy”.

When the song changed to none other than “Ashes to Ashes” by Bowie himself, the clothes were right there with it; Jersey blazers and mini skirts printed with acid rainbow psychedelic prints, skin-tone tights studded with silvery specks, flared pants, and plenty of fringing details were a not-so-subtle nod to the wild looks of the artist’s early 70’s persona. Fox and mink furs with neon pink accents as well as gold glitter eyebrows and a lot of gold in general further kept with the rock star theme. Yet in doing so, the flashy, sometimes impractical pieces (like a wide-knit crocheted mini skirt) got lost in an overwhelming intensity that never mellowed down after that first crescendo. Still, Kao’s exploration of vibrant color was a brave venture into unexplored territory (her last season’s collection consisting only of dusty neutrals), proving an adaptability that keeps her fresh and edgy.
(pics credit: NYTimes)

On 2 Songs We Heard In A Store

2010-12-19T12:36:00.000-08:00

On Horoscopic

2010-12-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

here

On Aussie Graffiti

2010-12-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

here

On Hues and Blues

2010-12-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

I miss the beach.

here.

On Dolls

2010-12-14T18:09:00.000-08:00

Made of room-service napkins and shopping bags, by Sasha Pivovarova. via The NY Times Style Magazine.

On NASA's best

2010-12-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

Through the lens of the Hubble Space Telescope. Via here.

On Summer Break

2010-08-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Is where I've been.

The beautiful Arctic, via Foreign Policy–Jared's new workplace.

On Summer Is Distracting

2010-08-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

from.

On NYC Extended Weekend Getaway: Annotated Recap

2010-06-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

WHERE

HOW

WHO

WHY

SAW

ATE

On Ringing True

2010-06-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sums up the other blog:

pic: ffffound

On The Convenience Kings And Their Rollercoaster Of A Concert

2010-06-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Kings of Convenience played in DC last night, supported by a Californian band they hand-picked to tour with them called "Franklin For Short". This was the definition of a "feel good" event, and here are, in detail, the reasons why:

8:14pm
Erlend Øye from KOC introduces himself and then Franklin For Short, telling the audience that they chose Franklin because they play beautiful music and are nice people. If you are unfamiliar with concerts, I'll tell you that the main act NEVER addresses the audience before and about the supporting act.

8:15pm
Franklin For Short play beautiful, unpretentious folk-y music, which, sadly, their recordings on Myspace don't do any justice to (BUT, do please check out my favourite song of theirs from last night called "Kaleidoscope Eyes" here. It reminds me of beach-front summers in Australia. "Until the Twilight" is also very beautiful, if you can find it). The lead singer thanks KOC for a wonderful tour and all members of Franklin stop tuning their guitars to clap and nod their heads in agreement with him.

9:03pm
Franklin wraps up and tells the loudly cheering audience to check out their new record, which he is proud to call a "record", because it is, in fact, a record.

9:32pm (2 mins after the scheduled time of performance)
The Norwegian duo come out, pick up a guitar each, and apologize for making us wait. They play a beautiful acoustic set which lasts about 40 minutes and sounds identical to their recordings. In fact, Eirik Bøe, the lead singer and more serious King of Convenience, sang with so much precision that it was kind of eerie, albeit beautiful. The experience was not unlike the feeling one gets in Scandanavia or in/around Scandanavian surroundings--everything is so organised and at such a high qualitative standard that it is simultaneously breathtaking and borderline mechanical and unsettling. I guess I am suggesting that perhaps it is a cultural peculiarity to strive to perform as closely to a recording as possible. I haven't seen and heard enough Scandanvian musicians to conclude affirmatively.

Øye, the goofier "King", was quite chatty and alternated between guitar and piano, periodically dancing flailingly around the stage. Moreso once Franklin joined them on stage to play more upbeat songs like "I'd Rather Dance With You".

10:45pm-ish
Audience cheers and claps for an encore, and the duo oblige, reverting back to the sombre songs "Misread" and "Homesick". Øye calls Franklin back on stage to play a song they had been trying out as an encore song but hadn't performed yet, and the two bands nail Simon and Garfunkel's "You Can Call Me Al". All members of both bands stand in a line with their arms around each other to bow for the cheering crowd. They seem so fraternal together that it feels to me like they are best of friends that do things like cook together and call each other up for girl advice. (For a description by Franklin of how they met, read here.)

11:05pm
Øye thanks the audience for being the best audience on the tour yet, and as a reward, announces that he will DJ for an hour or two if we all stick around. A third of the audience clear out, but the venue still feels quite full.

11:20pm
The stage is cleared and a laptop and mixing deck are brought out. Øye's first song is Daft Punk's "Harder Better Faster Stronger". The drummer and lead singer from Franklin join him on stage and the three jump around while the crowd goes wild and lets loose with them. Bøe has disppeared it seems, and is nowhere to be seen for the rest of the evening.

Other songs played included Phoenix's "If I Ever Feel Better", a Prince song I don't know, more Simon and Garfunkel, and Cee-Lo's "I Wish". At the end of each song, Øye had everyone clap til the next song started in order to detract from the fact that there was no mixing of the songs. The last song he played, before handing over to Franklin's drummer, he introduced as "the song of 2009" and instructed that the lights be completely out for. The audienced swayed and sang along to Beyonce's "Halo", while Øye sang along on the mic and asked for "strobe lights!" at the dramatic end.

12:10pm
Jared and I left shortly after Franklin's drummer took over. Walking to our car, we noticed Øye walking out of the venue alone, across the road, and behind some parked cars on the street. He sat in the gutter with his head in his hands. He was unresponsive when people in front of us yelled out "BYE!!!", only lifting his head and then dropping it down again. I stopped in front of him on the other side of the road, perplexed as to why he seemed so down when minutes before, he was hopping about the stage.

On our way home, we brainstormed reasons why he may have needed alone time, including coming down from drugs, but dismissed it disbelievingly.

On Live Music Is Best

2010-06-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

Futureheads last night (with The Static Jacks and The Like).
The Like looked pretty but complained about their sound and then pouted all night; The Static Jacks are kids from New Jersey and their lead singer has a nice voice and Morrissey hair; Futureheads blew our minds:

Kings of Convenience tomorrow night:

On Her Meez

2010-06-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Hermès designed these scarves for and gifted them to the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

On Colbert's DC gag

2010-05-27T17:33:00.000-07:00

Here he is interviewing DC's congresswoman, Eleanor Holmes Norton.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Better Know a District - District of Columbia - Eleanor Holmes Norton

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Fox News

On Blexbolex

2010-05-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Saisons, by French illustrator Blexbolex and Albin Michel Jeunesse, is a very beautiful book. Ours was purchased at the Palais De Tokyo on our honeymoon and is now my most prized coffee table book, mostly because of the amazing colour scheme.

Saisons from PATRICK MANENTI on Vimeo.

On Thanks

2010-05-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

For the feedback on I See DC. Glad you like it.
You can post comments on the photos too!

Love,

*Not me but this is ridiculously adorable. From A Cup of Jo (I think).

On Song of Late

2010-05-24T14:35:00.001-07:00

On Balls and Bases

2010-05-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

Part of Jared's bday present involved eating this outrageously unfibrous food. I don't have a baseball team but it looks like I've become a Nats fan (even though they lost miserably to the Mets). But seriously, how fun is going to the baseball?!?

On This Is Not A Poster For Race Unity

2010-05-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

These kids grew up together in Israel. We caught up with them last week. From l-r: Youngest, Older, Oldest.

On NEW BLOG NEW BLOG NEW BLOG

2010-05-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

A photo a day of DC.

Hope you likezit.

HERE.

On Magical Moments

2010-05-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

These are glimpses of my most prized possessions - memories of the beauty around me.
**Dedicated to friends and family far away. But especially, for you, Po.**

On "Happy Birthday"

2010-05-13T17:35:00.001-07:00

In love.

On Old

2010-05-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

yet so remarkably relevant. I want to be that woman with the maroon blouse and hat.
Click on the pic:

Eugène Boudin
1824-1898
Figures on the Beach

On PO WROTE!

2010-05-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

|
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V

PS she is referring to this phenomenal link that Ghazaleh sent us 2 days ago.

On Our Cousin Ghazaleh/Melody

2010-05-11T00:47:00.000-07:00

As far as i'm concerned, she can have two names - nay, even five - so long as she continues with her way cool "i thought you might like this" emails.

On I HATE FACEBOOK Part II

2010-05-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

My friend Laily* sent me this article today, which you really should read, called: "Top Ten Reasons You Should Quit Facebook". Point #3 tells you how to delete, not just deactivate, your account. Hooray for that.
*Laily doesn't have a blog, so I can't link to her, but she should get one. To petition for a Laily blog, enquire within.

On I HATE FACEBOOK

2010-05-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

And now I'm pretty sure my account has been hijacked. Ie see below (wtf?!??!)
Therefore, I deleted it. Win/win situation, really.

On Vegematarians Part II

2010-05-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

Don't eat your vegetables, make them.

Fabric vegetables by dutch designers Scholten & Baijings on display at Milan design week 2010.
Last 4 pics from here.

On Desktop Cleanup

2010-05-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

(Sartorialist Series.)

Cool > Sexy

Effortless > Fussy

On Skype Snapshots

2010-05-05T10:07:00.000-07:00

Emily and little Nate

Haley and Lucas

Mamani

Babai

Khaleh Mahshid

May May

At breakfast :P

On Alexis Anne Mackenzie

2010-05-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

(For you, Po:) I love the recycled nature of collage art, and I love Mackenzie's style because words are as beautiful to me as art.

Never Be Sad

It Matters To Me

Dreaming Is Easy

True Love

On Foodz

2010-05-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

I've had a crush on Jamie Oliver since his Naked Chef days. He. is. remarkable. Truly and incredibly remarkable.

On Beauty And Oddity

2010-05-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hot Chip will break your neck, snap off your legs.

Blackberries of the analog kind.

A bicyclette parfaite.

The milkman's hand.

The funeral of Dorothy Height at which Obama spoke and through which we unknowingly walked.

New couch + Shirin Sahba + BWC company + the boys watching basketball while the girls drink tea.

I love clovers.

On Blah BLaH BleURgh

2010-05-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

Separated at birth?!:

D.C. felt like a dark and damp swamp today. The clouds hovered too closely above our heads.
&
These raspberries engulfed by giant avalanches of cream and confined by horizontal stalactites of sponge cake.

On Vegematarians

2010-04-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

"I played racket ball with a vegetarian once." - Jared

Pic: Giuseppe Arcimboldo

On Colour, Spelled Color

2010-04-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

On Feature Length: Found

2010-04-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

You don't have to watch so much as listen.

On Sir Ken Robinson Is Phenomenally Brilliant

2010-04-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

"Creativity now is as important as literacy and we should treat it with the same status." Sir Ken Robinson is a genius.

If this were a feature length film, it would be my favourite film ever:

On What We Need vs What We Think We Need

2010-04-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

"Consider the pettiness of men’s minds. They ask for that which injureth them, and cast away the thing that profiteth them. They are, indeed, of those that are far astray. We find some men desiring liberty, and priding themselves therein. Such men are in the depths of ignorance. Liberty must, in the end, lead to sedition, whose flames none can quench. Thus warneth you He Who is the Reckoner, the All-Knowing. Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness." - Bahá’u’lláh

Barry Schwartz gets it! Amazing:

Expect more TEDTalks posts. I have a crush on Sir Ken Robinson. He's up next.

On Plants And Animals

2010-04-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

Via Neeka (as usual): Plants and Animals. Lola Who. On repeat.

From fffound

On Riḍván And Roses

2010-04-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Riḍván, The King of Festivals.

Can't remember where the pictures are from - i think they might have been prints you can buy on etsy. Will verify.

On Cuff links*. For Jared.

2010-04-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

(Who loves them and was gifted some for our 3 month anniversary yesterday)

+0 +0
(Cuff link emoticons)

*QC anecdote: The Sartorialist calls them "cufflinks" but my dictionary calls them "cuff links"

On Iran's Underground Hipsters. Literally.

2010-04-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi ("A Time for Drunken Horses"; "Turtles Can Fly") has a new film, which he co-wrote with his fiancée, journalist Roxana Saberi, about an indie rock band.
It's definitely a different spin on Iranian film and will surely pull young and curious music lovers to check it out. I doubt that it isn't still a tear jerker though. Iranian films are the best at that.

The trailer

NYTimes article

On The Perfect Kitchen

2010-04-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

On Elbow

2010-04-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

And then there is this. Which is so much less pretentious and the clip is utter rubbish and wasn't directed by anyone famous at all (I don't imagine) but the song is perfect. I probably posted it before but it needed a revival. It reminds me of last summer, the best summer in the world.

On Famous-Coated Famous

2010-04-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

Newest song by The Like, which has new members apparently.
Produced by Mark Ronson. Shot by Gia Coppola. For Zac Posen's Target Collection. Whew, what a mouthfullafamouspeople :/

On A Haiku About My Wonderful Husband

2010-04-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

They are sold out but
Jared got Hot Chip tickets!
Cos he is nifty.

(The Xx are supporting, but I'm not the biggest fan. Jared loves em.)

On A Jolting Concoction Of Reality: A Very Simple Recipe For Gaining Perspective When Job Hunting (Or Determing How To Utilize Your Time)

2010-04-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Usually, Jared reads the paper/s and I look at beautiful things on the internet. The truth is, when I pick up the paper, I am always appalled to a state of true misery, and often there are tears as well. I have always had a heightened sensitivity to injustice and violence, and the irrationality of political relations frustrates me to the point of real anger. This is largely why I changed my major in university from politics to film studies. Last night, Jared shared with me two articles he knew would interest me for different reasons. What resulted was something of a mental explosion that has had me jolted into "what really matters" mode.

Ingredients:

1. A piece of news regarding the Nuclear Security Summit taking place in D.C. at the moment. Preferably one that tells of the production of nuclear weapons in Iran and Iran's threatening of the use of those weapons in major U.S. cities, should the U.S. not take heed to refrain from attack.

2. This article in nymag regarding Lady Gaga: who, why, how, where, and what? The article is a comprehensive delve into her rise to fame and includes verbatim quotes in which she states such matter-of-fact things as "Pop stars should not eat" and how her study of and adherence to Andy Warhol's notion of fame and vanity led her to popstardom: "Andy said you only needed fifteen minutes" (of fame).

Directions:

1. Read both ingredients in no particular order.

2. (Optional) Discuss your thoughts and feelings of each with an intelligent person nearby.

3. Calm down and put things into perspective, should your thoughts be too hot to handle. Sleep on it if necessary.

4. Read and meditate on these Words:

O MY SERVANT! The best of men are they that earn a livelihood by their calling and spend upon themselves and upon their kindred for the love of God, the Lord of all worlds. - Bahá’u’lláh

On Free Culture

2010-04-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

It is Jazz Appreciation Month at the Smithsonian at the moment. My friend Shanti knows these things because her job entails wineing and dining the Government's visitors. Woo!

On Friday, she took us to the National Museum of American History. First, we picnicked outside for dinner. A variety of jazz and jazz-like songs played out of speakers hidden in artificial rocks in the garden around the museum.

When it was almost 6:30, we took our seats in an almost empty auditorium. Besides us, there were a few young couples, two old white men, a black man in the front with a note pad, a couple of black women, and a homeless man wearing a hoodie. "What is the running time of the film?", asked the homeless man. "Around 80 minutes".

The film being shown was Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. It is a modern musical made by a 24 year old Harvard Film School graduate, Damien Chazelle. The film has received high acclaim, as the Web site shows.

If you enjoy Cassavettes-style film-making that is poignant and whimsical, yet documentary-like and narrative driven, I suggest you see this film when it is released later this Fall. If you have a particular penchant for jazz music, then you will absolutely love this film. And if you are a lover of music but impartial to jazz because you are too young/too *insert reason here*, you may still love this film.

The reason is this: The film features all original music written by Chazelle, composed by Chazelle's old college roommate Justin Hurwitz, and performed by the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra. Considering the film is a musical, this is a very impressive feat for Harvard-educated amateurs. Listen to the music here. The songs are quite gorgeous and could very easily be mistaken for real classics.

After the film, Chazelle, who was dressed in a plaid shirt, grandpa cardigan, slim-ish jeans and boat shoes, came to the stage for Q and A. The size of the audience made for an intimate setting where we felt un-intimidated enough to ask him our questions. Jared and I asked about the setting of the film in Boston and the reception of the film amongst his non-jazz appreciating friends, respectively. He answered Jared's question with a chatty air of artist's pride, and mine with a faint trace of disdain; "The film is about the lifestyle of a musician, which transcends the genre of jazz." I was impressed with how articulate he was.

After the film, we walked to Chinatown in the rain and talked about how terrible it is that people don't take advantage of the free cultural events that D.C. has to offer.

On Roll the Ole

2010-04-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

On Lemony Yum Yum

2010-04-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

TRY IT

The Wedding Part V

2010-04-09T14:52:00.000-07:00

Iman also brought along his film camera after I mentioned that I usually prefer photos on film. Here are some black & white and colour snapshots on film. Can you tell the difference?

With Iman himself!

The end!

The Wedding Part IV

2010-04-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

My bouquet was wrapped in a cut-off piece of the silk georgette used to make my wedding dress.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love flowers and half seriously joke about wanting to be a florist. In the few days leading up to the wedding, I scoured Haifa for a florist that would understand what I wanted. What I absolutely didn't want was roses. NONE! It's not that I don't like roses. But I wanted to use wild flowers or flowers that you wouldn't usually see at a wedding. Mid-winter isn't exactly the best season for things in bloom, but I didn't want to settle. So I didn't. And then I got super lucky.

There is a little flower stand in the centre of Haifa which i would have walked by almost every day while I was living there. An Israeli woman called Rebecca who speaks limited English works there. Seeing as though it is literally just a stand, I initally didn't hope to find my wedding flowers, including my bouquet, there. But after not much luck elsewhere around town, I stopped by and told her my situation: A wedding in a few days, NO ROSES, wild flowers, SIMPLE. Israeli weddings are typically HUGEEE and she seemed to keep pointing at the roses, so I made sure to make my point by repeating myself a number (maybe 10) times.

It took some convincing, but after a few days of going back and repeating myself again and again, it seemed as though Rebecca understood what I wanted. Albeit she was perplexed as to why I didn't want roses. Or glitter in my bouquet. But she agreed. And then I had to let it go, and hope for the best. It wasn't like this little flower stand was going to make prototypes of what I wanted!

Now that the wedding has been and gone, I wouldn't change a thing with the flowers. They were one of my favourite things at our wedding. Rebecca was such a gem and delivered everything she said she would, how she would. My bouquet was perfect, and she made very sweet pins for Jared and my father. I wish she had her little flower stand here in D.C.

To create the tea party, we borrowed tables, table cloths, vases, and tea cups from the Pilgrim Reception Centre and filled the vases with the flowers. My mother-in-law leant us about a dozen sets of all different candle sticks, but seeing as though there were fire hazard restrictions as to lighting them, we used battery-operated fairy lights to simulate the candle glow.

We served gorgeous little tea cakes from the famous Israeli patisserie Dudu Outmezgin. And grapes and strawberries.

The wedding cake was from Dudu also. Neither of us are too keen on wedding cake but we kept this part of tradition for the guests - cos the cake was AMAZING (I couldn't eat any cos I'm allergic to everything that was in it. But I ate my piece the next day when noone was looking.)

Successfully weasled our way out of feeding each other cake in front of everyone. Phew!

The Wedding Part III

2010-04-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Wanting to keep things as simple as possible, the Annex to the Pilgrim Reception Centre at the Bahá’í World Centre was the perfect venue for our wedding ceremony and the tea party that followed.

It is a small building with sightly furniture, and it overlooks the Bay, too.

Entering the room for the first time.

A Bahá’í wedding ceremony is very simple and is not required to be held in any particular place. The only necessary formal aspect of it is that the couple recite the Bahá’í marriage vow, which reads, "We will all, verily, abide by the Will of God", in front of two witnesses and a marriage celebrant.

Our witnesses were our lovely sisters, Sabrina and Po (Mona).

Photo by Nasim Eshraghi

With the help of my parents, Jared and I prepared a short program, consisting of prayers and readings on the topic of marriage and unity. We used a drawing I did of a French provincial design as the cover. We had a hard time finding a competent printing place in Haifa, so we had to settle for the very limited printing facilities at the equivalent of Office Depot, where they printed it on white paper and failed to centre it or white-out the border. Oh well.

Jared and I are both kind of obsessed with music so we made sure to put thought into the musical aspect of the ceremony. I asked my friend Geoffrey Tyson to be our "wedding singer". He has a beautiful, gentle, voice, and sang prayers and songs between the readings. Once we said our vows, he sang Jared's favourite song - Elephant Gun by Beirut.

As a gift to my mother-in-law, Pam (on the left), my mother, Soraya, chanted a special prayer for Jared's father, Jeffery, in Farsi. It was the same prayer that was chanted at Jared's father's funeral service by the mother of a very dear friend of ours, Shadi Toloui Wallace.

Pretty friends

After the ceremony, we took photos outside with our guests while our muscley relatives rearranged the furniture inside.

Some of Jared's closest friends made it to the wedding. From left to right, Ned came from Chicago, as did Ben, and Kitchen came from Copenhagen. What sweethearts!!

Two of my favourite people, Chucas and Haley

Po deep in conversation with my boss, mentor, and friend during my time at the Bahá’í World Centre - the one and only, Geoffery Marks.

The charming Kitchen with Jared's grandmother Nana Shirley, who flew from Florida to be there!

Sore jaw from smiling.

Jared and I designed our wedding rings and had them made in Sydney. I don't wear much jewellery and I wanted something different, which was too hard to find in the stores. I wanted a more intricate design than just a single stone, and I knew the claw setting (where the stone sticks out) would not have been practical for me for every day use. So i designed a white gold and diamond ring that was inspired by an antique english ring I saw and loved in Sydney. The antique ring was significantly more delicate and made of yellow gold, so I changed a few things around and now I have my perfect wedding ring! Jared wears a classic yellow gold band, which suits him perfectly.

The Wedding Part II

2010-04-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

The pre-wedding photoshoot. Jared and I are not the poser types and we squirm in front of the camera. Neither of us had ever been in front of the camera for any sort of photo shoot (we didn't even bother with the rigmarole of an engagement series). On top of that, Iman had a minimal intervention approach to photographing us and would only really tell us to "walk over there" or "stand here". So we largely improvised the best we could and tried to just be natural. We ended up with a nice mix of serious and not-so-serious pictures.

The Wedding Part I

2010-04-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

Jared and I got married on the 15th of January this year in Haifa, Israel. We flew there just for the wedding. Which means we got ready for it in Sydney where we were living before the wedding. It was a very small, intimate wedding with less than 40 guests. Still, it was pretty tough to plan a wedding from another country. But we did it. Together, we planned every single bit of it. We designed everything ourselves - the invites, his suit, my dress, our rings, the program, the tea party. It was a wonderful way to express ourselves creatively, and everything had a personal touch, which was most important to us. It was our day, afterall.

All photos are by Iman Ferdowsi, who is a mutual friend of ours and who grew up with Jared in Haifa.

Jared had his classic 3-piece black and white suit made at Rochefort in Sydney. His silver Tiffany's cuff links, a present from me, have his initials engraved on the front and the date of our wedding on the back. We didn't know at the time but Jared's mum later told us that, unbelievably, she gave his father the EXACT SAME GIFT for their wedding. We rented a car in Israel to drive ourselves around in. He is on his way to pick me up at my hotel.

His suit has his name embroidered on the inside. Perk of having a suit made for you.

Outside my hotel, about to come up and collect me. Country Road shoes.

Finally! In the background, my sweet best friend and unofficial maid of honour, Haley "adorable" Hoffman.

Overwhelmed. Nervous. Excited.

Marvelling at the absolutely perfect blue sky over the bay of Mount Carmel. We were SO lucky!
I designed my dress with William Lazootin (who was actually a contestant on Australia's Project Runway! ). He handmade it over the course of only a few weeks. It is layers of oyster and blush-coloured silk georgette and a scallop-edged french lace. My engagement ring was from the Bondi Beach markets in Sydney. The designer, Melinda King, uses silver and beautiful fresh water pearls. My purse is a glass-beaded vintage clutch that I bought at Glebe markets in Sydney years ago but had never used.

On the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel, which are actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Trying not to step on my delicate dress.

The most beautiful day in the most beautiful place. In the world.

To be continued.

On Puzzle, Prose and Pros

2010-04-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

It is a well-known fact that American's drink terrible coffee. As Jared's Uncle Rick keeps reminding me, I, too, am American, so i will clarify this statement. American restaurants, cafe's and diners largely sell filtered or percolated coffee. Therefore, Americans largely drink watery brown liquid that tastes almost nothing like espresso-based coffee.

This past weekend, I tried a latte at Politics and Prose and it was more on the "very good" side of good. Was it a fluke? I'd like to believe that their sweaty barista, who was working so fast he almost appeared to be juggling, is a man of quality and consistency.

Upstairs, i picked up a 1000 piece puzzle of a drawing by Edward Gorey.

Jared and I smashed it in 2 days. I feel that is an accomplishment worth sharing. It was really hard! It takes up almost exactly half of our dining table, but neither of us have disassembled it as yet. It has been 2 days since we fininshed it. I wonder who will be the first to be sick of the sight of it.

On Different Sames

2010-04-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

P is for PARTY!

On Watch This Space

2010-04-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

For photos of our wedding.

credit: Iman Ferdowsi

On Vogue Legs

2010-04-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

On A Gift From Japan, circa 1912

2010-04-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

Introduction

(I'm fairly sure) there are two main reasons as to why i don't own a camera and never really have:

1. The act of experiencing is crucial to the notion of a memory, so why compromise it in order to immortalise it? It doesn't make sense in my head. One either experiences or documents. The two are mutually exclusive.

2. I feel self-conscious taking photos of things. I'm not self-conscious about how the photos will turn out, or anything like that. The thing is, I am very self-aware of the actual act of photographing. I guess this point is related to point 1. above in that i find photography somewhat disruptive, and thus self-conscious about doing it, and so it goes...

Today, i embraced all this and momentarily made peace with it in order to unabashedly document (Iphone stylez) the cherry blossoms around our neighbourhood during a leisurely walk on a perfect Spring day. Embracing my hang-ups about photography involved embracing my hang-ups about appearing like a tourist, too. The results are these:

3,020 cherry blossoms were gifted by Japan to the United States in 1912 to celebrate the building of a friendship between the two nations

Body

At the stage which is photo no. 4, a peculiar thing happened.

A middle-aged man, who was helping his wife and daughter lug things into a car out the front of their stately home, caught me in the act of being a cherry blossom tourist and commented, "It's lovely, isn't it. Would you like to see it from out on our deck?"

There wasn't much of a pause in anticipation of an answer, because he immediately proceeded to lead us up the front stairs, through the front door, the corridor, and the kitchen, and out onto the deck, where a giant tree covered in snow-like flowers grew from below, giving shade and fragrance and beauty and awe to us visitors. (And by us i mean me--Jared doesn't gush over cherry blossoms).

I politely took a picture, we thanked him for his kindness, and we walked away.

Conclusion

Embracing my tourist moment brought me an unimaginable reward: Neighbourly niceties.

On She Fly

2010-03-31T22:41:00.001-07:00

On In Love With

2010-03-31T22:00:00.000-07:00

these Lauren Ward pictures.

On Two Songs In One

2010-03-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

That's what it feels like

On Free* Fudge

2010-03-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

*Gluten free, wheat free, sugar free, dairy free

Jónsi from Sigur Rós and his buddy Alex have a raw foods recipe book. I'm currently addicted to their fudge recipe, except i use maple syrup instead of agave nectar, cos i'm not allergic to maple syrup, and i add an extra pinch of salt.

Try it and tell me how you like it.

On IPhone To The Rescue

2010-03-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

OUT WITH THE OLD

Unruly winter beards and Social Security Office (I hate them) lines

Snow

SnowII

SnowIII

SnowIV

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

IN WITH THE NEW

Cafe Saint-Ex

Grrmph (or Losing To Shanti And Jared)

High-schoolers training for lacrosse on Capitol Hill

The Smithsonian

LacrosseII

Side-walk lettuce

A Shirin Sahba (commissioned by Sabrina for us)

On Death and the Light of Day

2010-03-30T23:08:00.000-07:00

We are finally more or less furnished and settled. Enough to be having people over for dinner and Scrabble.

I don't know why I do, but i feel silly for saying that I absolutely love our apartment. Every little bit of it. It is a little piece of Jared and Nazy, in equal parts, because we have furnished it, from scratch, together. I guess that's part of why I love it so much. It is an apartment filled with things thoughtfully picked out and purposefully placed and arranged. Starting from scratch means we didn't have the problem of needing to fit together things that don't normally fit together. And if things don't fit together now, it's because we meant for them to not fit together.

I wrote before that the only pictorial documentation of our 10-day long moonshinehoneymoon in Paris were 10 photos taken by a novice lomography Diana camera-user. I.e. me.

Much to noone's surprise, the photos are dead. The problem, funnily enough, was that they saw the light of day.
And now, they. are. dead.

pic: fffound

On Fashion And The Middle East

2010-03-20T05:45:00.000-07:00

Well, i found it funny.

Pic and comment: Garance Dore

On A Home To Call Our Own

2010-02-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

In just 2 more days.

pic: Dear Nike

On No Pictures, Just some Notes On D.C.

2010-02-17T21:06:00.000-08:00

Pros:

- Ridiculously nice people with genuine vocal intonations. In stores, on the street, in restaurants. They say things like, "Oh sure, no problem! Any time!", and "You have a wonderful day now!"
- A Persian food chain called "Moby Dick".
- Free museums.
- Incredible exhibitions that evade international travel, like the Terra Cotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty, China, at the National Geographic Museum, which we saw today.

Cons:

- The built-up snow that has created freak conditions all over the city and beyond. It is the equivalent of what i imagine the aftermath of a semi-serious natural disaster to look like/be like. There are blocked roads, dangerous traffic conditions, no parking, slippery sidewalks, snow barriers at pedestrian crossings, and many other ridiculously inconvenient driving and pedestrian circumstances.
- Incredible exhibitions that evade international travel, and are FREE! Which was great. But it had a crazy-specific requirement of being among the first 100 people to line up outside in the cold at exactly 5:30pm today. Albeit it made for pleasant chatter about topics like Great White Sharks and locust storms and the awesomeness of a National Geographic Museum birthday party and marching on the spot at the Inauguration ceremony to keep warm.
- The cold.

On A Stellar Valentine's Day Movie Option:

2010-02-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

"A Single Man", by Tom Ford.

On Life Is Just Like This Opening Ceremony Ad

2010-02-17T20:37:00.000-08:00

except more montage-y

non plus one final from Tracy ANTONOPOULOS on Vimeo.

On My D.C. Weather Application

2010-02-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

is snowed under

On Wall of Frames

2010-02-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

For Sabrina

All pics: A Cup Of Jo

On 7 Steps To Being A Sartorialist Couple

2010-02-05T11:50:00.000-08:00

1. Be in a European city or NYC
2. Boys: Wear sunglasses
3. Girls: Have hair just below shoulders
4. Boys: Pose "naturally", so as to appear candid. Feet a short distance apart
5. Girls: Cross legs in some fashion. Strike a "I'm cool, I don't care" pose (not to be confused with the pose in no. 4, which is less a pose, more a stance. Cool straight boys don't pose)
6. Boys: Wear dark colours, head to toe. Mix it up with dashes of colour - like brown shoes; plaid scarf
7. Girls: Wear dark colours, head to toe. Mix it up with dashes of colour - like brown purse; blonde hair

And Then There's Side A

2010-02-04T16:43:00.001-08:00

Rox is half Jamaican, half Iranian. Here is her story.

...Et Quatre!

2010-02-04T16:37:00.001-08:00

http://www.box.net/shared/lzsugkjctp

On My Jalouse Mag Said Part Trois:

2010-02-04T16:33:00.001-08:00

On My Jalouse Mag Said Part Deux:

2010-02-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

On My Jalouse Mag Said:

2010-02-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

On Honey, Moon, and Shine

2010-01-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

Our honeymoon in Paris ends tomorrow morning.

All the photographic evidence we have to prove this statement lies dormant within the plastic shell of my lomo film camera, patiently waiting to be printed. All 10 photos.

The camera was an engagement gift from my good buddies Faustina and Tim, and this is the first time i am using it. The girl in charge of photography devices at Colette had to show me how to load it cos i shipped the (heavy) manual to America. Hopefully we did it right and the 10 photos turn out ok.

Help.

What is the best portable digital "point and shoot" camera money can buy?

i see D.C.

2009-12-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

On The Most Beautiful Song In The World

2009-11-12T03:55:00.001-08:00

and a plasticine horror movie

On Cmere Poochie

2009-11-06T01:04:00.003-08:00

"When you see a dog like that, don't you just wanna hug it?"

says Jared, every time he sees a dog*.

*that he likes.

pic: zachschrock

On YES we can

2009-11-06T00:24:00.000-08:00

All of today's curiosities were affirmatively answered.

- Can I wake up at 7am if I want to? Y.

- Does strawberry, pineapple, mango, cherry and blueberry fruit salad satisfy a chocolate craving? Y.

- Is Dustin Hoffman originally Jewish? Y.

- Does the Book Kitchen make good breakfast? Y.

- Is $12 shampoo worth it? Y.

We win.

pic: sandrajuto

On Opulence And Light

2009-10-31T17:09:00.000-07:00

Chateau De Versailles. Beautiful but empty. But beautiful.

pic: notcot.com via po

On Halloweeny

2009-10-30T23:40:00.001-07:00

Happy happy

pic: Anna Moller

Atlas Sound

2009-10-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

via Jared's music-head rival, Neeka.

On Flowers Aren't A Phase

2009-10-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

- The jasmine bushes that line the path to Jared's house

- The dusky peach roses on Victoria's dining table

- The dying speckled tangeringe amaryllis flowers in round pots on the kitchen bench

- The jacaranda flowers that fall over cars overnight and leave a mauve spray on the road

- The white chrysanthemums on my bedside table that have lived for forever and a day

Dedicated to artists that forget that there will always be beauty in that which is beautiful.

pic: Nicollette Camille

On The Lost Girls

2009-10-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

"Don't believe everything you read".

But if I do believe everything I read, then I don't have to read as much.

pic: Anna Moller

On Mon Fou Pantalon

2009-10-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

pic: Ginger Jason, Kobenhaven July 09

On The Inspirationals

2009-10-14T04:35:00.001-07:00

pic: Lanvin @ The Selby

On Entrez Et Sortie

2009-10-14T04:29:00.000-07:00

pics: the selby

On Go Urmet!

2009-10-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

I've just moved into a snobby part of town. Things are kind of hilariously nonsensical here. Like the price of milk.

For this reason, i love the local supermarket. It's a wonderland of hilariously nonsensical but insanely exciting food. Im trying out this fancy shmancy new muesli. It claims to contain "gourmet nuts".

What is a "gourmet nut"? Which nuts are "gourmet"? What does "gourmet" actually even mean? Does it just mean "fancy shmancy"?

If yes, then peanuts would lose cos you get them as snacks on no-frills airplanes, and Brazil nuts would win cos they cost like $49.95 a kilo and are huge so you get like 3 for 20 bucks, which is ridiculous. See Figure 1. for a completely subjective spectrum of gourmet nuts, as per me.

I looked up the definition of "gourmet" to correct my own, clearly biased, definition. It turns out that gourmet is, in fact, a noun meaning "a connoisseur of good food; a person with a discerning palate." As an adjective, it means "of a kind or standard suitable for a gourmet." Which means nothing to me. Especially cos im pretty sure it is bad literary form to use the word you are defining in the definition.

I think i can safely conclude that "gourmet nuts" is a hilariously nonsensical notion.

Figure 1. (In ascending order:)

- The Peanut

- The Cashew

- The Walnut

- The Almond

- The Pistachio

- The Chestnut

- The Pecan

- The Macadamia

- The Brazil

pic: (gourmet) bacon & egg english muffin (in trendy plaid), from simplybreakfast

On Portugueezy Fo Sheezy

2009-10-04T11:35:00.001-07:00

On Green Eyed Love

2009-10-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

On Helloelloello

2009-10-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Note to self: start small.

Incidentally, this week, things happened in threes:

- Moved in to 3 different houses

- Weathered 2 x 3 days of no internet

- Watched Hook over 3 nights

- Cooked dinner at home thrice: pumpkin & lentil soup; beetroot, walnut, fetta salad; spaghetti bolognese

- Drove a 3rd car in 3 weeks

- Made friends with a dog called Latte and a cat that thinks its a dog called Minnie and rekindled a friendship with a dog called Doofy

pic: stylesightings