Taste of Culture of the Day

Google surprised me this morning with its commiserative GIF logo paying tribute to Martha Graham. Its so strange how a little movement, a symbol, can evoke so much emotion.

For those of you who have no idea who she is, google her. Basically, she was the forerunner of modern dance and a brilliant choreographer. I studied her the semester I took a modern dance class, and really came to appreciate the expressive potential of the human body, and how limitation really do reflect our psyche.

Check out her dance "Lamentation." While there are multiple versions, she always wears the constraining Periwinkle tube dress. Have you ever felt that way before?

Need/want to do

Without work, I am faced with one of life’s ultimate challenges: conquering the will. Its almost one, and so far today I’ve shipped out a couple flower orders, taken a shower, and indulged in quite a lot of The Catherine Tate Show. She is SO versatile/funny. Yep. That’s about all I’ve done.

Need to do:

- put on an outfit, take hair out of towel…but it’s just so warm and clean against my scalp…

- apply for a scholarship

- clean this overwhelmed-fabric-shop of a room

- a little laundry

- make plans for swing dancing

- get my fancy scissors out of the car

- charge my ipod

Want to do:

- re-paint my nails

- make more flowers!

- finish re-reading Chalice

- Buy a whole lot of music from Amazon.com

- stay in my bathrobe and drink coffee all day

 

I need a lifecoach to yell “OUT OF BED, INTO PANTS, NOW!”

Florence and the Machine, “You’ve Got the Love”

“Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying “Lord I just don’t care”
But you’ve got the love I need To see me through

Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now and then it seems that life is just too much
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

When food is gone you are my daily meal
When friends are gone I know my savior’s love is real
Your love is real

You got the love…

Time after time I think “Oh Lord what’s the use?”
Time after time I think it’s just no good
Sooner or later in life, the things you love you loose
But you got the love I need to see me through

You got the love

Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying “Lord I just don’t care”
But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

You got the love…”

I finally folded and purchased a pair of sunglasses that cost more that six dollars. I can tell a difference in the quality….

Because money is tight, I have a new goal: Don’t spend more that $100 dollars on accessories/clothing this summer. Starting tonight, ending this August. This means limiting what I spend on pants, baithingsuits/coverups, dresses, shirts, shoes…etc. It’ll be a challenge because I’m still transitioning out of my winter wear. But thrifting for clothes can be my new thing.

Crossingmyfingersthatthisdoesn’tdrivemecrazy.

And while I’m talking about good sales, I found a pair of gladiator sandals for TEN BUCKS (well, it was $9.??) at Target. This was kind of exciting because I buy sandals once in a blue moon (or when my Mother says, “Anna, I’ll buy you some shoes.”)

I also found some really stunning nailpolish that looks like fire topaz—green with flecks of orange and red. And it was half off! Woot woot! Pictures of that tomorrow. Right now I gotta let them dry as I type.

Mother’s day

I am so thankful for my Mom, and yesterday was a really fun day of celebration. It was the perfect way to end Sarah's "summer vacation" before her summer classes started.

 

After lunch, Mom wanted turtle brownies for desert. While I’m not generally a brownie eater, I added an extra egg so they’d have more of a cake-y texture. They were great!

Dad grilled shrimp, it was amazing!

 

“Reasons why we love Mother….”

 

This is my new car! I LOVE it.

 

Dad’s little grill. We’re trying to convince him to buy a large, fancy one, but he’s kind of particular with how he cooks his meats. I think he’s waiting to find the “perfect” grill. For now, this will suffice. The smell of grill smoke always puts me in the mood for summer.

“What’s that clicking sound?”

 

 

This is my mom’s idea of a vacation: no cooking, no cleaning, just time to spend talking to her sister on the phone and browsing on the internet.

I also made bean salad.

Buddy wants to try… 

Girl Power song

I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but whenever I listen to this song, I feel like banging invisible drums.



Now I'm going to go stare at a bunch of girlfriends as they watch their boyfriends play softball.

Single Girl Power!

New Listings

lepastiche.etsy.com

New listings on the site! Check us out, if that’s your thing. :)

Little Green Dress

Isn't this just the most adorable dress ever?

TimelessVixenVintage has the most gorgeous dresses. I'm waiting for the mid-calf trend to come back into fashion.

Especially because I'm attending swing dance lessons!

Tonight I start again, and I am torn between wearing a flouncy dress or my Starwars t-shirt. I often say that when I meet Mr. Right, I hope I'm wearing my Starwars t-shirt because its a great conversation piece. I should purchase some Starwars buttons, that way I can wear them and a dress.

Those are nice. :)

Little Green Dress

Isn't this just the most adorable dress ever?

Costume Institute Gala 2011

Its one of those events that I forget happens every year, then I stumble across some pictures from it and think: “Oh! Pretty fashion. I’ve forgotten you exist!”

If you don’t know what the Costume Institute Gala is, then I’ll describe my understanding. A bunch of rich and famous celebrities and models gather under a fancy tent showing off the most stunning designer gowns they can find. Its like award season on steroids.

It was through the Costume Institute Gala that I discovered my favorite designer and dress:

Oh, John Galliano. God rest your career. :(

This year was kind of off. Most of the women looked tired and a little disheveled. Maybe it’s a trend? Here’s Anna’s list WORST, BEST and WHY DID HER STYLIST LET HER LEAVE THE LIMO IN THAT THING dressed.

WORST:

Oh, Beyonce. You are so stunning, but this isn’t your best look. Let your hair down, and go back to a colorful wardrobe. My eyes will thank you.  

The silhouette of this dress isn’t that bad. It kind of follows a couple of the really popular trends of the night: Poe and Feathers. I just want to know what’s coming out of the back of your head.

 

Remember that wedding shower game when girls have five minutes to throw together a wedding dress made of toilet paper? Well, the designer of this dress had an advantage because he or she had a strange gold lacy thing to attach her strips.

Oh no! Renee’s hips are gone!

The train of this skirt is nice… I’d like it better if the 1980s bridal top was the same off-white color, because together it looks like she’s been trampling through tea. I don’t think Fergie is enthralled with the look either. 

BEST:

I think this is Mary Kate. This look is pretty straightforward and simple, but the sleeves are what made it a “best.”  She’s a petite girl, but those huge sleeves don’t distract us from her pretty face. She is wearing this dress. :)

Taylor swift always looks pretty on the red carpet. This is a little departure from her fairy princess look into a little sophisticated Goth. Her red lips mean business.

I forgot her name, so I’ll her pretty tan girl. Pretty tan girl should wear this color all the time. It’s stunning! I love that fabric’s dimension and how it hangs so flattering against her figure. If I could tweak one thing, I’d pick a wider belt. That would take it up just a notch from “pretty look” to “bam! I’m a rock star.”

 

YES!!! Thank you Jennifer. I love full ball gowns. This dress, while voluminous, has so many light, airy fabrics that it looks like its been ensemble by a flock of silk worms.

 

Hi Amy, you are really funny. You also turned it out for this event. While that flattering blue dress looks so old hollywood, your gold necklace makes it modern and hip. A little tip: I wouldn’t part your air so tight down the middle. A soft hairstyle would have looked lovely with this dress.

WHY DID HER STYLIST LET HER LEAVE THE LIMO IN THAT THING

 

Upside-down-urinal dress, meet bedsheet dress. You two should play hide and seek.

The Royal Wedding

Kristen came over and we celebrated single-lady style with cake, chardonnay and homemade wedding hats made of coffee filters.

I have so much admiration for this couple. The wedding ceremony was prestigious. Kate was a stunning bride, and I hope her demure modesty catches on. Prince William looked...Princely. My favorite moment:

Yes, we all screamed. I think it was because they put so much effort into keeping straight faces throughout the ceremony, and finally they just couldn't contain themselves.

Picture time:

We spent so much time icing this cake.

This was my first time doing a hardcore piping project. I learned that the worst possible posture when piping a cake is stiff shoulders.

Kristen crafted us a make-shift wedding topper. It was adorable.

"Happy Wedding"

That's us in our hats. If you are interested in purchasing those flowers, contact me. They haven't been uploaded to etsy yet.

The icing on the cake was a really simple and delicious peanut butter frosting. Here is the recipe. Warning: if you make this, you will be tempted to eat it all with a spoon.

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup creamy peanut butter
* 3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.