Birthday Wishes and Ramblings

Hello there.

It's been quite a while, hasn't it? The longest I've ever gone without posting on this thing. Life has gone back to before this whole shabang got started - spending my days waking up early, sitting at the computer, but instead of working through my Google Reader, thinking up posts or wandering around various fashion sites, I've been devastatingly single-minded. Study study study. Write write write. But the end is semi-nigh, another month until exams are over but then they are over forever, and that will be amazing.

Anyway, this shall be a somewhat indulgent post (as all are, really) that is serving more as a list for a few interested parties (hi mom!). Hmm, so yes, my birthday is somewhat around the corner. Last year it was spent eating cake and studying and this year will be much of the same - but the cake is so good, I don't mind. I've been nagged as to what I want, and while normally I am pretty good at producing lists for those who want them, this year, I find I don't really want anything. But apparently that isn't very helpful, so I had to think up afew things I wouldn't mind receiving and here they be:

Marais Espadrille Wedge
I've been in love with these bad boys for a while now. I struggle when it comes to summer because I feel I have less shoe options. My hallway overflows with boots and all sort of winter shoes, but summer? Not so much. I fancy these, but perhaps in red...

Aurel Schmidt for Opening Ceremony Donut Tee
This is mostly because I love donuts and have been craving an American Donut for a while now. I didn't realize there was such a thing, until I tasted donuts in this fair country and realized that no, they are not the same. And while that may be good for my waistline, it saddens me a little bit when I am dying for a Boston Cream.

Ray-Ban Aviators
These were the first sunglasses I ever spent more than $10 on. I had them, loved them, cared for them for about 5 years and now they have mysteriously vanish. Another precious thing that somehow disappeared from life and is probably lying in a London gutter. Tear.

American Apparel Nail Polish in Peacock (l) and Coney Island (r)
Dusty blue and almost-saccharine-pink. Yum. It really bums me out that they don't sell these in the stores in London. They do ship them though, but the shipping is the same cost as the polish, and my little brain just cannot justify it.

Books: The Selby by Todd Selby or Appetite by Nigel Slater
Books! I love receiving books, adding to the precarious piles in my room. Interior eye candy from Mr Selby and a cookbook by Nigel Slater. I love to cook, but haven't been doing any new experimenting recently for lack of time. With my degree ending, I'd like to get back to the things I love...which leads me to my last possible prezzie request:

Mom, you know your old Canon? I still want it. I'd like to get myself back on the photographing wagon this summer as well.

And that's that.

Sorry guys, that's all I could muster after a month of absence, a me-me-me list! I still doubt there will be much regularity in posting until the end of May, but who knows...I can't study all the time, right?

Star Bright

One of my favorite things about going home is being away from all the light pollution of the city, and being able to look up and actually see the stars. Sure it's not as dark as it could be, but there is only one street lamp on my cul-de-sac, and the only thing really blocking my view of the sky is all the surrounding trees.

That's why I'm in love with these Astrostar projectors. I want one so to replicate the night sky in my living room, and get a bit dizzy from the overwhelming amounts of twinkle.

the beginnings of a list

Dear Santa,

I want these.

You can get them here. Size 4, but you know that, right?

Thanks.

Love,

dw

Wish List In Shoe Major

I know that there is a stereotype about women and their shoes. I never really thought of myself as fitting into that stereotype merely because shoes never excited me as much as other clothing items such as knitwear for instance... big, cozy, comfy knits, jumpers, cardigans, will always warm the cockles of my heart. Though important, shoes are secondary, I thought. I survived plenty of years with under 5 pairs. My shoe apathy may have been due to the fact that I was living in Montreal where, if you don't take care of them, the snow and salt will destroy any pair. I couldn't be bothered to care for shoes, and so kept my collection to a minimum.

But upon moving to London, with only the rain to stop me, my shoe collection grew...quite spontaneously, so that now my hallway is a long line of shoes, 25 or so which are mine, 4 which are not. It seems, that I too, have a love of shoes. Not the crazy-love that some people have, you won't find me cooing over Choos, but a simpler love for well-made leather boots and um, everything Rachel Comey thinks up. These are my current shoe cravings for Fall... a short but carefully curated list.(#1- Frye, #2 Rachel Comey, #3 LD Tuttle, #4 Rachel Comey, #5 Frye)

wish list (no. 6): if Spring has indeed Sprung

As the layers come off, I've been thinking about my spring wardrobe. Not that I invest in a new wardrobe every season, but I imagine recycling things in my closet this season that rotate around keeping it simple & fresh, with a hint of daintyness and that slightly askew-ness that seems to follow me.

I present stripes and flowers (nothing new but nautical stripes will follow me my entire life I hope), bellbottom jeans, loose camisoles tucked into shorts, contrasted with men's shirts, sleeves rolled and continuing with the 70s flavor of stacked wooden heels.

wish list (no. 5)

I have a self-imposed shopping ban in place until February 15th. I was trying to see how long I could go without shopping (hadn't bought anything since right before Christmas), and I figured a month was a good goal...especially, since I literally have no money right now. Anyway, I made it all the way until January 15th and then fucked it up, and so restarted the ban until February.

The upside is I have not had any guilty "shouldn't have bought that" moments in a while, the downside is all the things I've found on the internet (damn topshop.com) and cannot (will not!) buy. At the moment, am I feeling very prone to a minimalist (as much as I can be) aesthetic, probably because of the grey weather, and the above wish list fits that precisely. Once the ban is lifted, I think I will buy one thing from the list -- only one I must remind myself -- as a pat on the back for a job well done. Who knew abstinence could be so trying.

Wish list no. 4: Street Inspired

Blah, an artic front blew in yesterday. Heat way up, sociability way down. So with that forlorn winter attitude in mind, I've spent my weekend staring enviously at the fashionable around the globe to envisage what I would want if I could dress however I pleased.

I want...

To swathe myself in voluminous clothing without looking like I am wearing a sheet, or a muumuu, which inevitably always happens.
To look, unabashedly, like rock'n'roll.
To wear something faux furry. I've been on the hunt, but I don't seem to carry it well. I think because of my stature, I've been having trouble with the sizing and tend to look like a mini-gorilla.
To continue to wear plaid when everyone else is sick of it.
An oversized blazer that fits perfectly.
Chunky boots that are not doc martens. And, the discipline to dress monochromatically on occasion.
To wear a big furry hat with panache. Again, been on the search, but I apparently have a big head.

And those are my sunday dreams....kind of whiny, but I have to wear a scarf and hat inside while reading 100 pgs of legal philosophy and that is bound to make anyone a tinsy bit cranky.

(photos from: hels-looks, garance dore and stockholm street style)

Wish list (no. 3)

Things that I want that are not clothes:

Log pillows, handmade by Norwegian Wood

Erica Weiner "Solitaire" Ring for my middle finger - funny back story here

Angel Cup - how I love those Scandinavian designers and their designs.

Frames of all shapes and sizes, new and antique, above my bed
(photo via the selby)
Vintage Silhouette Picture/Postcard to be framed and part of the wall of frames
(I'm searching ebay!)

Amusing coffee table books to waste away the days.

I can just imagine, turning the page with my solitaire ringed finger, while sipping coffee out of my angel mug, leaning on my log pillows, under my be-framed wall (that includes a silhouette). Wouldn't it be loverly?

Wish list (no. 2)

Here it is. My [preemptive] fall wish list. I didn't realize until I was finished that I am going for quite the neutral palette this fall. Course mixed in with all my other clothes it wouldn't seem that way. I have to keep on reminding myself that this is a wish list, not a check list. If only. [Click to enlarge]
(Top Row: la garconne "belle ingenue" tote, brocade skirt, alexander wang shaggy woolen coat, red corduroy flats, alexander wang zipper sweater)
(Bottom Row: Acne L.U.V. jeans, GAP trench coat, Topshop sweater vest, Uniqlo corduroy skirt, Topshop Unique Heavy Knit Cardigan, Topshop Unique Peter Pan collar dress & Oasis fur vest.)

Actually if I think about it, more than a wish list, it is an inspiration board. I don't necessarily want these particular items (though in some cases I really really do), rather they capture the essence of what I want.

I want something shaggy-- a vest or coat like the ones above would do. I am also on the lookout for peter pan collars; I can't get enough of them lately. Brocade and corduroy are on top of my list to add some new textures for fall. As for the Acne jeans, they represent my search for the perfect wide leg jeans. Knits, neutrals are definitely at the forefront of my mind, and that Topshop Unique cardigan is everything I could ever want. Seriously. (I've mentioned my thing for cardigans, right?) And lastly, while Alexander Wang is wonderful, there is no way I could/would spend $300+ on a sweatshirt, so I'm thinking a little DIY with zippers is in order. We shall see.

Realistically, I cannot afford all new stuff just for a new season, but a girl can hope. So there you have it, my deepest wishes, desires and hopes for fall 2008.

oh, and by the by, sorry for the blurriness of some photos...but it adds to the abstractness of it; emphasizing the importance of idea rather than the clothes themselves...er, right? or maybe it's just blurry because of my own photoshop ineptitude. you decide.

Wish list (no. 1)

Dainty Dainty Dainty. But I can probably slub it up.

Kinda basic, but kinda essential.

The most I've ever spent on sunglasses was $90 for my ray-ban aviators, and that was 3 years ago. These $300 translucent beauties are out of the question.

Cheap & Chic, pfft. $600. But still.

I don't know why. The colors, the song...hmm.