Wild Heart

"You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve?"

Bonjour.

I really want this shirt and I don't think I need to explain why.

Tie bar.

From GQ's daily style email, yesterday:

"...anyone can wear a tie bar. Yes, it's a nod to the suited American 1960s, but these days it's more bad man than adman. You know, an affordable way to make your knotted-up look twice as spirited as the next guy's."
  

I concur.

Paradise Lost

(Eve speaks to Adam)


With thee conversing I forget all time,
All seasons and their change, all please alike.
Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet,
With charm of earliest birds; pleasant the sun
When first on this delightful land he spreads
His orient beams, on herb, tree, fruit, and flower,
Glistering with dew; fragrant the fertile earth
After soft showers; and sweet the coming on
Of grateful evening mild, then silent night
With this her solemn bird and this fair moon,
And these the gems of heav'n, her starry train:
But neither breath of morn when she ascends
With charm of earliest birds, nor rising sun
On this delightful land, nor herb, fruit, flower,
Glistring with dew, nor fragrance after showers,
Nor grateful evening mild, nor silent night
With this her solemn bird, nor walk by moon,
Or glittering starlight without thee is sweet.

~John Milton, from Paradise Lost

There's something magical about finding a poetic love letter in your email inbox when you wake up. Thank you, Writer's Almanac, over and over again, for words upon words of perfection, every single day.

Proenza Schouler: Fall 2010

I'm so ready for autumn and everything that comes with it.

I have nothing else to express today, besides the desire to slow dance to this song in my kitchen with anyone other than my dog:

From a man in a cool fedora:

The Man's Guide To Love #39 from themansguidetolove on Vimeo.

1. Yes, to everything he said.
2. Everything sounds better in French.
3. Yes.

Marcel the Shell (with shoes on)

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Words: a video/visual collage

WORDS from Everynone on Vimeo.

Billy Collins, Billy Collins

Sometimes I struggle with the fact that my favorite person isn't a human.

She makes this face a lot when I talk to her and it makes me feel like she really understands me, more than just the big money words like treat, walk, and outside, but that she really actually gets what I'm saying. My dear, my darling, my softly rumpled pup. Sometimes looking at her squeezes my heart so much that I can't stand it.

Leftovers.

I was going for a full sleeve, but I got distracted. Ah, the life of a sailor.

Ahoy.

More often than not, I feel like I was born in the wrong era. I mean, I get a huge kick out of technology, but I really, really love diving into the past whenever possible. When I got invited to an "I'm on a Boat" party, my first thought was to go as some sort of all-American 1940s pin-up girl. Then I decided that most people would be going the red, white, and blue route, so I decided to finger-wave my hair and go for some sort of 1920s Russian sailorette, complete with Clara Bow lips and blinged-out shoulders.

I love a good theme party.

Black Swan

This looks so good (and so eerie):



And the other "Black Swan":

(500) [More] Days of Summer

About a year ago, I went to see (500) Days of Summer. Like many other people who saw it, I was charmed by the story, the adorable characters, and the amazing soundtrack. Last August, when I watched that movie I was something of a heartbroken mess. I totally identified with Tom Hansen's despair and reminiscing, and whatnot (even though I put in about 2,000 more days than him).

Well, thanks to possibly the coolest Comcast customer service rep ever, I now have a bajillion (yes, I counted) channels of movies. Because of this, I got to see (500) Days of Summer again and gosh-darn if I didn't have all sorts of flashbacks to last summer.

What's miraculous about humanity is how capable we are of bouncing back from crazy, crazy shit. I wish I could go back in time to that mopey girl in the movie theatre and tell her, "Listen, when people tell you you're going to get over this, they aren't lying. P.S. In a few weeks you're totally going to make out with a Scottish dude."

This is going to sound terribly cheesy (what the heck is new?) but the movie was a tiny part of what snapped me back into myself. Weirdly enough, it was mostly because of this song, which I'd never heard before the film. Now it's on cell phone commercials, movie trailers, and just about everything else, but I still love it because it's one of those songs that makes me feel a sense of anticipation or possibility, or something. Tingles down my spine. That's what.



True fact: great friends, high heels and perfume, and "Sweet Disposition" by Temper Trap cure all manner of ills.

Edited to add:
If you haven't downloaded the amazing mash-up of Lil Wayne + (500) Days of Summer soundtrack, you need to. Immediately. Download (500) Days of Weezy here. Here's my favorite mash-up on the album:

The Great Escape

Feeling trippy from lack of sleep. Listening to Quebecois artists and wanting another autumn weekend in Montreal. Pink nose, booze in belly, heart a'flutter.

A North Carolina weekend.

Yesterday I returned from an eventful weekend in the Triangle. My darling, gorgeous, babette of a best friend moved back to the Thrill and I got to stay at her adorable house. I completely forgot to take pictures of the bedroom upstairs--the geeky 12-year-old in me flipped out when I saw it. It's basically the bedroom of Anne of Green Gables. Little does Amanda know that I'll be haunting that upstairs bedroom like a ghost.

One of the highlights of the weekend was lounging around for a little bit before running errands and shopping and our friend's bachelorette party madness. I'm so glad my gal's back in the South!

Maxin', relaxin'.

My namesake, Zelda P., joined in on the max/relax plan.

Tuna lounged too.

We went shopping later on, and I found these sweet Dolce Vita for Target studded oxfords in Durham. I think I'm going to return them, though, because....

...when I was in Wisconsin, I found these amazing oxfords at St. Vincent de Paul thrift store. ($2!) They make me feel like Kate Hepburn.

Anyhow, it's always fabulous going back to Chapel Hill. It always feels just the same, but different.

Tony Fitzpatrick, A Thousand Beautiful Things

That kiss. Steve McQueen + Faye Dunaway,  

LIFE magazine stills of The Thomas Crown Affair

Video | Janelle Monae, "Cold War"

Max, Margaux, & The Marvelows from Shark Pig on Vimeo.

How 'bout them apples?

Because my dad "accidentally" got us on the road at 4am rather than his planned 5am departure time, we made it back to our Berghaus a little earlier than expected. It gave my sister and me enough time to take a little walk down to the neighbor's field to pick apples. It was heavenly...the best way to stretch our legs after a cramped 12-13 hour drive.