The September Issue

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

I'm straight up addicted to Netflix.

All its recommendations, so friendly.

Taking the guesswork out of movie selection; so thoughtful.

Anyways, a few weeks ago I watched The September Issue {2009}, based on a recommendation from Netflix.

It was some nonsense about The, yup, September issue of VOGUE.

Something I really don't know much about, because I have better things to do, like write papers and make PowerPoints, oh, and did I mention spending my birthday in the library...what a wonderful, adventure-filled life I am leading.

I like fashion as much as the next girl, I can deal equally with the conceptual-designers and the ready-to-wear ones. This movie spend less time on the fashion & more time on the behind the scenes malarkey.

I think we have all heard the horror stories of Anna Wintour {aka alledged inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada}. I wouldn't classify her as bitchy, merely a strong black woman. Who maybe needs to put on some weight. Her daughter, Bee, who briefly appeared in the movie, was super cute & seemed normal & was an aspiring lawyer. So, Anna must not be such a terrible person if she can raise a seemingly normal human being.

The movie was entertaining, if slightly longer than it needed to be...for me anyways. The two most entertaining characters were Grace Coddington & Andre Leon Talley {aka new ANTM judge & creator of the non-word "dreckitude"}. Basically, characters is the only word I can think of to appropriately describe these two fashion heavy-weights. Less screen time with Anna & more Grace & Andre please! While Andre is already on a reality show thanks to T.Banks, I can see him on his own one day...unintentionally hilarious!

Here are some of the best stills from the movie/the ones I managed to capture...please dig the one of Andre playing tennis...so snazzy.

Vegan Dinner Attempt 1

alternative title: "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day, But Brussel Sprouts Sprouted Up Overnight"

Saturday night I attempted the first recipe out of my new cookbook: VeganYumYum Decadent {But Doable} Animal-Free Recipes for Entertaining & Every Day by Lauren Ulm. This is the same woman whose blog I found those adorable knitting cupcakes on...

I can't say I have been 100% vegan/vegetarian for the past 3-4 weeks...I don't think I was planning on it. However, I have only had meat 3/4 times and dairy {with Lactaid} only a handful...all times are when I have gone out to lunch/dinner with friends...that's the hardest time always for me! But I have definitely been cooking more & eating way more veggies {I have always been more of a fruit person}...& I feel more energized/healthy for sure.

So, back to my cooking adventure!

Saturday evening, Nate {over at Flacasaurus...great blog if Folk Friday doesn't occur regularly enough for you} & I tried out Lauren's Seven Spice Udon recipe {on page 214 of her cookbook}. This was simple enough - only called for 7 ingredients- but let me tell you! We went to three different grocery stores looking for the simplest items! The recipe calls for Japanese Seven Spice...but we could only find an Asian Sesame Ginger spice, which had most of the same spice in it, minus the seaweed.

Which brings me to the Brussel Sprouts....I have never ever had a Brussel Sprout, not because I'm among the vocal majority who has an intense disdain for them, just never had them....Also, they are apparently a winter veggie, so super hard to locate in mid-May. We ended up buying a bag at Trader Joe's...so now I have almost a whole bag of Brussel Sprouts & no idea how to cook them...please let me know if you have any suggestions....

Also, this recipes contains tofu...I have maybe had tofu 2 other times {that makes it twice this week!} & I'm kind of terrified of it...it has to be pretty fried for me to deal with the texture. Additionally, I have never attempted to cook it myself...Nate & I braved the slimy square mold of soy & were pleasantly please with the results.

The recipe calls for shredded carrots & Brussel Sprouts, but we also added in some mushrooms, mostly because we had a handful that were about to go bad, but also because I think mushrooms & Asian food go together really well, plus more veggies in one meal....

I also really liked the fried/soft Udon noodles...it came out so well & surprisingly felt like comfort food....salty, crunchy, hearty, delicious....

I'm not sure how Ms. Ulm would feel about posting the recipe step by step, but it wasn't difficult {think of all the new things I managed to do in just one recipe with only 7 ingredients!} & I would totally suggest checking out her blog or even purchasing the cookbook for more recipes. I plan on cooking my way through this entire book this summer...everything looks amazing, vegan & all!

I went a little overboard on photos, but I was excited to document my culinary experiment!

MUSIC: Fok Friday {The Living Sisters}

I was recently told that people need at least 8 "loving touches" a day in order to survive. Well, I'm not sure if we all meet that quota every day, but if you'd like to give a little comfort to your ear drums, go ahead and take a listen.

The living Sisters is a newly minted trio made up of Eleni Mandell, Inara George and Becky Stark. These lovely ladies just put out their first album,"Love to Live."
Its an immediate feel good remedy, made up of luscious three part harmonies and adorable lyrics.

This isn't surprising since all three already have an established musical background.
Eleni Mandell has already produced solo 7 albums exploring her talents as a jazz, folk, and country singer.
Inara George is the bird or maybe the bee from the duo, The Bird and the Bee.

I have known about Becky Stark for quite some time. She is featured on the latest album, "Hazards of Love" by one of my favorite bands, The Decemberists. The album is definitely a concept album, more like a off-off Broadway rock opera, that I may or may not have fantasies about turning into an amazing puppet filled show... Becky is also a member of Lavender Diamond who deserves their own Folk Friday write up!

Keeping with a theme here, these ladies are all about love! The love to sing, they love to laugh, claiming sometime they spent more time joking than harmonizing. And they love babies.

I think they sound a lot like The Chordettes, who made famous "Mr. Sandman" in the 1950's. Or the sister-y group, The Andrew Sisters. No?

So a quick count, The Living Sisters, all three members, Lavender Diamond, The Decemberists, The Chordettes, The Bird and the Bee, the Andrew Sisters and my best wishes for you today... love your ears!

Howard Pyle

You may remember a week or so ago I mentioned that I had visited the Delaware Art Museum. I was on assignment - doing research for my Historic Properties class about the sustainability of the organization & various other intrigues of the preservation minded.

Anyways, while I was there I discovered the works of Howard Pyle, who has since become a component of my paper. Not going to lie - I had never heard of him before, but this Wilmington, Delaware native was an amazing illustrator, often compared to his cohort, Norman Rockwell.

Pyle {1853-1911}, a member of the Brandywine School, illustrated many children's books, including The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, King Arthur, and lots of books on pirates - in fact he created our mental image of pirates. His illustrations colored the pages of many magazines in the early 20th century, including Harper's Bazaar, The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, etc.

The Delaware Art Museum, seeing as how Pyle is the reason for their existence, has the foremost collection of his works - I copied down the titles of my favorites while I was there, but I couldn't find most of them online...so here's hoping that you'll go out & search for more of Pyle's works.

{image: Catherine De Vaucelles, in her Garden, from "In Necessity's Mortar," October 1904.}

{image: from The True Captain Kidd, 1902}

{image: Sindbad on Burrator, 1902}

{image: King Arthur and His Knights, 1903}

{image: The Travels of the Soul, 1902}

{image: The Mermaid, 1910}

{image: Published in Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott, 1881}

{image: When All the World Seemed Young, 1909}