mihos. woah.

so in case you had'nt noticed, there is a race for govenor going on right now in MA. i am voting for mr deval patrick, but I would like to say, this guy has got SOME BALLS.

really.

its fall!

I would like to report that it is now offically fall. I am trying hard not to go to target and spend tons of money on their halloween decorations now that I have a house to decorate. They always run out super early but I always do things last minute so I should probably go in a week or two and try not to spend too much. My mom being an art school drop out, always made sure to decorate the house to the 9's. We always had scary music, spider webs, an outline of a witch in the top window etc etc... So my natural feeling is to go all out. I have to remember however, I do not have $300 for decorations, but $300 total. Hahaha. Another fall obsession is my favorite apple farm, Cider Hill Farms in Amesbury, MA. They have the worlds best cider and apple cider donuts. In case you aren't from New England (or you live in a cave) an apple cider donut is a donut made with a spicy cider tasting dough and they are either plain or rolled hot in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. At Cider Hill, their donuts are so popluar that during the fall months people stand in line and wait for them to come hot off the line and the soft and still warm donuts melt in your mouth. They are truly a fall tradition for me. The farm itself is also pretty amazing. You can take a hay cart up the hill to go pick apple or simply pick up a bunch in the shop. They also have pies and other baked goods and fruits and vegtables. I just hope you all can enjoy it as much as I do. My list of cute halloween decorations is to the side of this blog. Kaboodble is such a great way to keep track of all the cute things you want to buy.

PS: I just lost 12lbs. What?!

Spotted: paper denim and cloth

Okay okay, all i have been doing lately is posting about fall fashion. I get it, I'll shut it soon. For the last few weeks I've been scowering the internet for the fall collection of Paper Denim & Cloth and found that not one single website that previously carried the brand is carrying them now. Shopbop, Neiman Marcus, Saks, Barney's etc all stopped carrying the line after the summer collection. These jeans are my absolute favorite and when I can afford them, I spend the ridiculous amount of money for what I think is, the best pair of jeans money can buy. After weeks of looking I started thinking that this was the end of PD&C, until Saturday. I was at the Burlington Mall and walked through Macy's I looked through some of the cute stuff they had like the fall Free People collection and found myself in front of a rack of my favorite jeans. The best part was, the revamped PD&C styles are more than $100 less than any of their previous styles. The have slashed their prices and all their jeans now will be two prices $88.00 and $98.00. I was blown away that now I could afford (well, sort of) my favorite jeans. These new lower priced styles did not seem nearly as high quality as the older, more expensive styles but the cuts are still excellent. When I get the $88, I hope the quality is what I have come to love and adore about these simple jeans. Time will tell, no?

blogger beta

in the process of upgrading to blogger beta, i seem to have lost my heading! i am working at changing this and making this blog pretty again. sit tight. it wont be long now!!!

Here is a photo I thought I would share. Two weeks ago Azim shed his coat and after finding clumps all over the house I decided it was time I brushed it all out. I have a similar photo somewhere of the larger than life pile that came from Mateo's twice a year shedding. Unfortunately, now Azim's hair is rather long and he is starting to look like a long haired chiuaua instead of a pomeranian. He will be off to the groomers soon and will look like the little ball of puff that he really is. I am currently in the process of rescanning all of my negatives and polaroids to redo my website. It will be a while before I relaunch but it is in the works. I am also going to be sewing up a storm soon as long as my back cooperates. That means, the site Vanessa and I share will also be updated with lovely new bags and and other goodies (dog beds and ipod cases to name a few). Hopefully though, I will be spending the weekend enjoying the last two days of summer heat. There are actual photographs in this blogs future. Oh yeah... and some crafts too. Duh!

Oaxaca, sad but true.

I was in Oaxaca in March. The city was its happy and spirted self. But since May, the city has been in a state of civil unrest because of a teachers protest. I have been thinking a lot about Oaxaca lately. As fall arrives and I am financial forced to stay in the states for Day of the Dead, I realize no money could get me their right now. Its an odd feeling. This is a place I have come to love and it most certainly feels like a second home. Mexico is one of those places that just captures your heart and I feel a sense of heartbreak and sadness when I think of what is going on there. The Washington Post artical about the situation is pretty complete. The polaroid to the left is from Fall 2004 when Remi and I went to Oaxaca for our second Day of the Dead trip in a row. We met up with Jane Tuckerman, our teacher and her class. Pictured is a photography student (Chad) from the Art Institute of Boston and a local villager in Teotitlan del Valle during their day of the dead celebration. We drank way too much home made Mezcal and coronitas and sat in the dirt next to buried bodies. I am sadden that this year Nov 1st, I will be here in the states instead of drinking with the people and photographing everything in sight. I miss you Oaxaca. Good Luck.



PS: for a complete list of articals and some youtube videos of Oaxaca, check out my del.icio.us account

Forever 21! Woooo

I've been troubled lately. well not troubled troubled. More like, ANNOYED with the current state of my wardobe, bank account, and the lack of affordable yet well designed clothing. I was hoping H&M would be able to help me in this department. While I am bothered by the fact that the clothing at H&M must so clearly be made in sweatshops, I sometimes splurge and spend $15 in there. I walked into the store in The Rockingham Park Mall in Salem, NH hoping they would have some colorful and cute tops to add to my everyday denim. I couldn't find a thing. Sure there were things I liked here and there like a cute brown and cream polkadot dress but at $40 bucks, I knew it wasn't worth the price. I wandered around the mall, bored by The Gap but still buying my favorite undies at their back to school price of $5 a pop. I then went into American Eagle Outfitters. I often shop on ae.com which seems to always have cute things. Then I get to the stores and everything is tiny or has some lame logo on it. I was just about to give in and drop $400 in J Crew and guy a few boring pieces like I do every fall when a store with no name out front caught my eye. I walked inside and realized I was in Forever 21. When I lived in New York City I passed their store in Union Square everyday on the M14 or on my bike. I figured it was just another lame Strawberry's-esq NYC chain of trashy clothing. A few days before New Years '05, stoned and silly, my roommate Adam pulled Kerry and myself into Forever 21 claiming it was a young new york girls best kept secret. He wasn't kidding. I am a bit of a snob when it comes to discount clothing. I am a sucker for good quality and often times would rather spend $60 on a good sweater from J Crew or elsewhere than buy 3 trendy ones from some place like Target or H&M. But there seems to a recent trend in retail, HIGHER PRICES. Anthropolgie has always been the more expensive sophisticated older sister store to Urban Outfitters. Since the opening of the Boston store (about 10 years or so ago) I have always admired their clothing. Lately however, their price points have sky rocketed. I feel like I am at Barney's Co-Op not Anthropolgie. If I am going to spend $300 on a dress I am going to buy something fancy like Marc by Marc Jacobs. Sorry Anthropologie. I have also noticed this trend at J Crew which is now offering the J Crew Collection that includes items like $400 handbags, $250 Shoes and my favorite, a $1,600 winter jacket (pictured right). With these trends on the rise and the current state of my wallet, finding anything remotely cute has be incredibly difficult. Feeling defeated and poor, I made my way to Forever 21. What I found blew me away. The mall was closing in 15 minutes and I didn't even know where to look. My eyes grew big, everything was cute, fashion forward, good quality and cheaper than you could possibly imagine! I picked up a light cotton cami in a rust orange and white bold print that hit at the top of my thigh and three white buttons in the middle. It reminded me of something Marc Jacobs would have designed but oh yes, $15.30! I continued to frantically go through the racks picking up everything in sight. What I ended up with, 5 shirts, 1 dress, 3 headbands and a red plastic bangle all for $135 and change. Everything adorable and most of the shirts cost around $15. Unfortunately, the website doesn't have any of the adorable things I bought on it. I will update this later with pictures of the stuff I bought. You MUST check out forever 21 in person. Be aware of one thing though, they have a very strange return policy. You only have 21 days to return your items for store credit only. All accessories are final sale. I tried on 8 things in 3 minutes since the store was closing. So, as long as you try on beforehand, it shouldn't be an issue. And really, if a $15 shirt doesn't last, is it the biggest deal?

I have a million other things to blog about and photos to upload. I hope my new found love for Forever 21 has motivated you to go to the store and spend barely any money for a million little things. Now all I need is a pair of those skinny jeans and a new pair of flats. (yeah, Azim chewed the bow right off my favorite purple marc by marc flats. i love having a puppy)

Any advice on skinny jeans for girls who aren't so skinny?