tries

I should figure out the best blog-time-management.

After waiting tables for eight continuous hours I tend

to just sit at home staring off into space or do the

opposite and run four miles followed by a bike ride to

the ocean and a swim. If I can manage either of those,

couldn't I get better at blogging regularity? I'll keep trying.

I've been wandering any old place... trying to capture

a moment or five.

Bakeries and thrift stores:

Walking into town and getting cake with my mom

(Carrot & Pineapple Cake--superb,

Chocolate Root Beer Bundt Cake--flavorful, but

unfortunately dry):

My wardrobe has been overwhelmingly patriotic lately.

And I've been trying different work* hairstyles. Mix things up.

(Good inspiration via A Cup of Jo's hair tutorials.)

*Work hair: must be pulled back and headbanded/

hankerchiefed/hatted.

lives in color

I think this first image sums it up. I've been wandering around,

sewing things, creating and eating. So here, glimpses, in a nut shell.

wants some ice cream

Despite my love of warmth (I shuttered within the heavily

air-conditioned shops I stopped in the other day),

I can't stop myself from daily cravings of cold and creamy

delights.

[soft serve image source]

chooses shoes(es)

The other night I was getting ready to go out. It was a bit chilly.

Wouldn't it be nice to have some kind of moccasin-type of shoes? Cosy

like a slipper. Then, I look in this basket of my grandmother's old clothes

and I find this brown pair of Minnetonka moccasins. My mom thinks they

might have been hers as a kid.

I'm fascinated by avant-garde shoes, too. The shoe really is an art object.

That would be an art history class I could get into!

Minimarket. Cut-out Lace Up. Hybrid delights!

As always, Maira Kalman is brilliant and wonderful and tells me things

I'd want to know.

Shoes in Shoes: makes me want to get wacky. "Shoe layering is a

cross-seasonal option for style hybrids and a simple method for shoe size

reassignment. Whether it's loafers in sandals or heels in boots, we say if

the shoe in shoe fits, wear it."

via dismagazine.com

I did an art piece with (almost) all my shoes. I tagged them with named

"memories."

Long story short, I could look at/talk about/drool over shoes for days.

likes right now/on the internet

after working, sleeping, and then working some more (and anticipating sleeping and more working again)...I have fallen into a lazy evening with internet browsing.

tidbits for further indulging

What's inside Matryoshka's brains? by Evgenia Barinova

Sketchbook Series: Kaye Blegvad

Ten Paces and Draw - Hot Diggity Dog

Odi on The Selby

Do my choices explain something? Reviewing, I'd say perhaps. It was a wild-child filled day.

But I feel good.

Happy Poppa's Day, yo.

has a hankering

Turns out I was born with more than one sweet tooth.

I think I have at least three. It helps (or maybe it's a little

dangerous) that my boyfriend seems to have just as many.

We discovered, too, that we have a mutual love for the fudge

brownie sundae. Or, as it is known to us, the FBS.

We've made special trips, hilarious journeys---you name it

---all for the sake of this perfect dessert. We don't always find

one that we couldn't make better (or cheaper) but it's fun to try.

We've gone to terrible chains, we've walked from the middle of

Brooklyn to the LES, we've gone back to see if it was really that good,

we've found it gluten-free and vegan.

If there's no FBS to be had, we don't limit ourselves, either. If it's

rich and chocolaty we tend to be fans.

I've been missing our outings, so I was going through the archives.

Drooling a little, too.

Plus, I made this delicious raw brownie the other day via a recipe

I found on one of my new favorite food sites My New Roots.

Yum. And yeah, I ate it with some ice cream.

works

Today was my first day of waitressing again. First day of my

fourth year. It's all the same while being completely different.

I used to be the young one, in a world of seasoned ladies. They

all had their island gossip. They formed alliances and let me in

on their griping and aches. Now I'm the one that's been around.

I'm one of a few to nod along to kitchen stories of "remember when..."

But it's still hot inside and customers keep asking the same questions,

making the same demands. Plus, there are staff pregnancies. Always

gotta have a pregnant person on board at The Slice of Life! (and for

such a fragrant place, I'm surprised they always manage so well...)

Perhaps a combination of the full moon and the full bellies, I developed

a ravenous craving for ice cream. And it doesn't help that the only places

(that aren't restaurants) open past six o'clock are ice cream shops.

So indulge I did. Coconut Macadamia on top, Mocha Chip on the bottom.

And in a land of vacationers, this is what a small cup looks like

(roughly a pint of ice cream). Delicious, delicious homemade ice

cream. [Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium]

makes/feels too cold

The past few days have reminded me how much I am

not a fan of the cold. Especially when the cold is paired

with a very breezy/low-insulated living space.

I was loving that freakish Florida heat! I was giddy in

the hundred degrees! But hey, what can you do?

I've been wearing one of my grandma's various moccasins/

slippers. I like how they've retained the shape of her foot

even when I wear them.

I have been making a lot of things in the kitchen to remedy

my icy limbs.

Winners! Amazingly delicious and they happen to be vegan

(oats, walnuts, almond, chocolate chips, cranberries, raisins, brown sugar,

cinnamon, delight)

Let me finish my session of squatting in front of the space heater.

And I'll be glad that at least this is my front window view.

travels

Hells Bells! It's been too long. I guess that's what happens

when you pack in lots of hang time before you say goodbye

to friends&family/drive hundreds of miles/move to an island

on the weekend (no internet).

It's been fun, delicious, exhausting, nerve-racking, beautiful,

smoky, sweaty, freezing... yeah. Everything, really.

I guess this transition calls for a little recapping.

Me and my best Gainesville gang did what we do best---eat

at Leo's by the Slice and play wordy games (portabella pizza

and Bananagrams).

My sweet sisterly Daniela made this blueberry pie. Stupendous!

I kept going back to the kitchen to "get more water."

(aka to even out the remaining pie in the dish)

I got fancy to go out on hot, sticky nights, even when there

wasn't actually anything to do.

Managed some happy slowness: a SundayStyles section &

an iced coffee + Volta family chatting. Plus, a crafternoon

of jewelry making.

Then road tripping began (me + younger bro, Sam).

Gainesville to Baltimore in one shot. One long, flat road

for hours and hours and...more hours. Oh yeah, and then

a few more.

Moe the Cat in his little carrier. Boy was he a trooper. And he

still loves me more than ever, despite the daily traumas of

cages, other dogs, other cats, and being walked on a leash.

Much fun in Baltimore even in the condensed timeframe.

(And holy geez it was HOT! 100ish degrees both days, really?)

Homemade fudge brownie sundaes, backyard bbq, exploration,

heat-delirium, ETHIOPIAN food, boyfriend, a balti-bestie with

fresh strawberry herb sorbet. Yeah, score.

(my boyfriend is the best decorator; his house looks different every time

---wonderful every time)

Bro and boh.

If you go to Baltimore, eat at Tabor.

We stopped in Vermont so I could drop Sam off (summer work).

It was gorgeous. I wanted to bottle up some of that air.

Taking the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard was grey, wet,

and chilly. But it was nice to be arriving at a stopping point.

The home of summer.

Got it?

Let's get back on this regularity thing. Also, wish for some sun

and dryness for me? Thanks!

feels the sun/shops

[Free People Pierre Top; Dolce Vita Jacquie Lalo Clog]

bought at Urban Thread in Gainesville, so everything was at least half of it's original price--happy!

Pause on the bike. Sunset delight.

[Gap Pima sheer yoke striped T: ten dolla!]

[Gap Burnout tank in "jade stone"]

Seems like the heat is making my family fashion frenzied. More than once

this week I have accompanied my folks to the mall. The first two times I

browsed. I looked around, I tried things on, I negotiated in my head, I was good and didn't even open my wallet. But there were a couple things that stayed in my head as the days passed. Those shoes, that swimsuit... "oh, but I've been saving! oh, but I've bought hardly anything in the past months but groceries.."

So today it happened and I treated myself. And then my mom's enthusiasm for the soft textures of the tops at the Gap pulled me a little more. That, along with the super sale. Bargains! If you learn one thing about me today it is that I love a bargain, a sale, a deal. I'd say 85% of the shoes I own were under ten dollars. And probably that same amount of my clothing was first worn by someone else. Maybe even more...

As far as that last cluster of photos go: Wednesday Downtown Farmer's Market now has this "Pop Shop." Delicious homemade popsicles. I got the peach grapefruit and my mom got orange basil. Hers definitely won in best tasting.

Flashy Smartcar--this is the temporary trade when my mom brought in her car

to be fixed.

Hot nights and hunger = leftover salads and amazingly delicious sandwiches.