Spring/Summer 2011, when art thou arriving?

I both love and hate the fact that the fashion world is always one or two seasons ahead. On one hand, it gives you something to look forward to, but on the other, you are forever aching; forever waiting and wanting. You know, kind of like vacations: by the time it ends, you are already scheming and planning and dreaming of the next one.

Speaking of vacations, Manfriend and I will be celebrating July 4th in Singapore this summer (we are still trying to decide between Indonesia or Thailand afterwards), and I have been looking for a dress for the black-tie gala we will be attending that long weekend. Elie Saab's haute couture creations for this Spring are gorgeously romantic and pretty, and just basically more than perfect. A girl can dream -- and Mr. Saab knows this fact all too well, it seems.

Images via Style.com.

Oh, snow.

Trudging through inches upon inches of snow always reminds me of my childhood. Those Canadian winters were harsh and in all of my 14 years growing up there, I can only recall schools closing down once, when I was in the eight grade. Some white powder and ice never stopped anyone. We celebrated it, with winter festivals like Carnaval in Quebec and Winterlude in Ottawa.

We didn't have a car back then, and my mother and I took three different buses and walked miles upon miles once a week to get to my piano teacher's home, located in a far more affluent part of town. The one-hour lesson never seemed worth the amount of time we spent on the road to me. I hated the way I felt inside, watching all those big and beautiful houses silently go by as I blankly stared out the windows. I resented my mother for putting me through it. I slumped down to my knees once, simply because I no longer wanted to go on, and sat like that in the icy cold snow like a statue, refusing to move or even try. I cried and cried and was utterly miserable and repeatedly demanded she flag down a cab to take us home. But she said nothing. She waited and waited and waited until I was too numb to be stubborn and proud anymore and finally got up to quietly follow her. We got home so late I didn't even eat dinner that night.

Tough love. Snow reminds me of tough love.

DC Eats: The Greenhouse at the Jefferson Hotel.

I was the lucky winner of a complimentary three-course meal at the recently renovated Jefferson Hotel, courtesy of my firm during this past holiday party's raffle. I brought along Manfriend as my guest, and we had a delightfully luxurious lunch at the beautifully decorated Greenhouse. From the relaxing and romantic atmosphere to the attentive wait staff and amazing food, it was a highly enjoyable (and totally unpretentious) dining experience! The habachi ceviche, quiche du jour, and scrambled eggs with caviar, especially, were simply excellent. I am foaming at the mouth just thinking about it.

The concierge, Chris, graciously took us on a tour of the beautiful property afterwards. We got to witness some behind-the-scenes preparations for the Plume's evening opening, as well as admire some of the luxurious suites available. There were so many great historical details, including Thomas Jefferson's words inscribed on the room's window panes, and some original manuscripts displayed in the lobby.

It was the most perfect way to spend a few quiet hours together on the last day of the year. I had no idea the hotel participated in this past Restaurant Week, but I highly recommend it as one of D.C.'s best kept-secrets and top dining gems.

And one of the best parts? No one rushed me while I took my time taking photos of, well, almost everything.

***

The Jefferson Hotel

http://www.jeffersondc.com/

1200 16th Street, NW

Washington D.C., DC 20036

(202) 448-2300

"Creative Types: Embrace Chaos" | Malcolm Gladwell

Recorded December 16, 2010
Interviewed by Max Miller
Directed by Jonathan Fowler
Produced by Elizabeth Rodd

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Question: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Malcolm Gladwell: This I think is true, not just of writers, but of anyone who is in a creative space, that you have to reverse the normal human tendency, which is to edit. So a lot of... and occasionally this is, I think, a source of a great deal of frustration that exists between people in creative and non-creative universes, which is that creative people I think are trying to... their lives and their brains, their brains are messy. Their imaginations are messy. Why, because they don’t want to throw anything out. Why don’t they want to throw anything out? Because they believe on some level that there is always something of interest or value in whatever they encounter. They know enough about how mysterious and serendipitous and unpredictable the creative process is that they realize that it’s dangerous to kind of make too hasty a judgment about the value of anything that they come across.

People in non-creative universes have exactly the opposite relationship to information—or to experiences is a better way of putting it. They’ll see something and they’ll say "Is it relevant to what I'm doing?" And if it’s not they should push it aside and focus on what they’re kind of task is. If you're at Proctor & Gamble and you’re the head of Ivory soap you’re job is to sell more soap and if you get distracted by some interesting, but ultimately marginal subsidiary issue you won’t sell as much soap. And that is an extreme example, but that's a world that demands focus. If you’re a surgeon and you’re operating you cannot let your imagination wander about some idiosyncrasy of the operation. You have to kind of zero in. So I think that is a kind of... That embracing of messiness and understanding its contribution to the creative process is something that writers and creative types, artists, whatever have got to cultivate, have to learn to be comfortable with. Because it goes against a lot of our kind of instincts and training as kind of educated people.

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Hear more ideas, and the full interview, here.

Drowning in a sea of words, trying to find the right ones.

After idly sitting on my statement of purpose for graduate school for a while now (and wanting to start from scratch versus pulling various paragraphs from various drafts previously intended for law school), I finally started tackling the beginnings of a new personal statement during some downtime at work earlier last week.

That's the hardest and most daunting part about writing, really (and anything else, too, for that matter) -- forcing yourself to take the first steps, armed with nothing more but some vague ideas, great hopes, and a good feeling.

And even if you have absolutely no idea where it will lead you, in the long run, at least you are moving forward. Not just floating, but swimming towards the shore.

"Enjoy the daydreaming", she said.

It's a beautiful Friday, made even better by the fact that it is preceding a long weekend. I hope everyone has lovely plans.

Manfriend and I will be spending the bulk of tomorrow jumping from one estate sale to another, and making a trip to Home Depot and IKEA. I am so thankful the latter extended their sale to this coming Monday because I was in no condition to browse for furniture last weekend. Here's to hoping I find the perfect wardrobe and/or vanity dresser! In the meantime, I'll be daydreaming of the perfect home. Thanks for the encouragement and reminder, L.

I owe these inspiring images to Urban Nester, Dolly Pearl, iSocialRealty, and The Cinderella Project. Thank you!

Vintage signs from Signs of Vintage.

Stumbled on a fabulous Etsy shop via The Swede Records' giveaway today. Signs of Vintage's creations are timelessly chic and charming -- and needless to say, I want one. Or several.

You can purchase ready-made prints for your wedding or your home, or opt to customize your own as well. As Manfriend and I both love the rustic, old country look, I'll keep the Mr. and Mrs. sign in mind for the big day. Too, too cute.

Dreaming of furs and feathers.

I have been in desperate want and need of a beautiful fur coat and a glorious dress with feathery details for a whiles now.

And so maybe it is my subconscious wishing it was a bear hibernating, or a bird migrating to some place warm and exotic instead of suffering in this unbearable winter weather -- but in any case, here's to hoping my vacation request does not get denied this time around. Asia awaits us this coming July.

Images via a personal new favorite, Young Sophisticates.

Zombies have feelings too, you know.

There's been a nasty flu virus going around at work lately, with people remaining out of the office for days. My immune system is a terribly weak one as it is, but Nyquil and a variety of soups (soondubu, homemade lamb stew, and pho) have been my best friends these last few days.

Nevertheless, no matter how relatively successful my body has been fighting off these germs, I still felt like a walking zombie today and probably looked like one, too. If only we lived in Tim Burton's world, where Death was Life itself and creepy is the new cool. Pale skin, sunken cheekbones, and dark undereye circles would attract people instead of having them avoid me like the plague. Kind of inconvenient when you're trying to get some work out the door asap (ahem, coworker) or trying to kiss someone goodnight (ahem, Manfriend).

In any case, I have a feeling I'll be dreaming of shooting up zombies, Call of Duty: Black Ops-style tonight. Thanks, D & D!

"The Now Smash of Style" featuring models Magdalena Frackowiak, Eniko Mihalik, Jourdan Dunn, Evelina Mambetova and Suzie Bird

Vogue Italia, May '09

Photography by Craig McDean

I really do lovelovelove my Digital Harinezumi 2.

I have always loved taking photos but never really pursued photography as a hobby until more recently. And, although I still carry my point-and-shoot everywhere I go and undoubtedly appreciate the clear and crisp pictures that my DSLR faithfully captures and delivers, I've been taking on a new lover around town lately: the Digital Harinezumi 2.

This whimsical, plastic toy camera, immensely popular in Japan, was gifted to me by Manfriend this past Christmas. I think I even squealed the very second I unwrapped my present. For one, it is so cute, and two, I was so curious! I knew absolutely nothing about the Harinezumi (meaning "hedgehog" in Japanese) but got so excited when Manfriend told me the camera was created to replicate the grainy feel of old 35 mm film -- but digitally, and without any alteration. In other words: packaged nostalgia, all in the palm of your hand (and pocket). I couldn't wait to try it out!

Just as I suspected, I quickly fell in love with it. My snooping around the web tells me this little technological gem doesn't come cheap, but if you are a true camera enthusiast or just want to own something unique and quirky, the Harinezumi comes highly recommended. Not only does it take photos in color and black and white, the Digital Harinezumi 2 also has sound and video capabilities with a scratchy, muffled quality that is very much like those of VHS or cassette tapes.


Yet despite its simplicity, I've taken so many pretty pictures with it (and received quite a number of quizzical stares when I'm using it in public as well). And, in a continuously transforming world saturated with airbrushing, post-processing, and advanced editing, the Harinezumi boasts haphazard highlights, irregular vignetting, unpredictable hues and contrasting -- and I find its blurred imperfections, as is, oddly and perfectly comforting.


Its photos are reminiscent of dreamy, foggy, silent memories, and I can almost hear my mother's voice slowly fading away as I drifted into deep, deep sleep as a child. There's definitely something to be said for a camera that can bring you back in time at the mere click of a plastic button.