the eye
August 31st, 2008 § 2 Comments
As indicated by the prominent Zatarain’s box on my spice and dry goods shelves, my Taiwanese-American upbringing has also, for the last seven years, been touched by New Orleans. Chris’s family is presently evacuating. Please keep everyone whom Hurricane Gustav has and will affect in your thoughts.
a beautiful little fool
August 30th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
I finished rereading The Great Gatsby last night after many years of having not looked back at it — since high school, I believe — and I was astonished at how different it felt to me, as though I were returning to a childhood home to find that all of the furniture was a lot smaller than it once seemed. I’d once thought that Daisy Buchanan was conniving and in control of herself and the men around her; I’d wanted to be Daisy, actually. But at five in the morning, finishing up, I felt a strong nostalgia for something that had never really existed in the first place, and then I fell asleep.
Apparently I am turning into a real fuddy-duddy, because these ”favorite-fit university plaid pants” from J. Crew are looking mighty appealing for fall/winter. Wool plaid!
I remember when I was in high school and at the Gap with my mom, and one of my classmates ran into me. She gasped and said, “I never thought you’d be caught dead in a Gap!” I had nothing to say to this, but let the record show that one of my favorite dresses, which I have still kept for sentimental value, is a paint-stained, flowered spaghetti-strap frock from the Gap that I wore the summer I first kissed a boy and smoked clove cigarettes in late-night parking lots. Now I’m browsing university pants on J. Crew. Awesome.*
*Let the record show that J. Crew has AMAZING little girls’ clothing, as evidenced by Laura Jane’s post on nogoodforme.
Hotter than a Pepper Sprout
August 28th, 2008 § 5 Comments
The gas stove in my new apartment was one of its greatest selling points, and I use it to create little brunches for myself that bring simple gastronomical pleasure to my slow and steady mornings. When Chris was here he’d make brunch for me; above you can see the pan-fried bread with butter, next to which a few fresh tomatoes were softening and turning black in the pan.
The final product. The sign is a miniature version of a sign in New Orleans; not very vegan, but charming all the same.
And this is my standard breakfast when I am alone: Morningstar veggie breakfast links, fried eggs, and grits with salt, butter and pepper. Coffee is also an essential part of my morning routine (not pictured).
Today marked my very first post on nogoodforme, where I am now an intern. Check out my Bits & Pieces column if you haven’t already seen it!
I’m Wearing Pants Today
August 25th, 2008 § 6 Comments
Lots of ickle things have been happening in this neck of the woods. Not sure what, exactly — maybe fresh okra, chopped into slices and salted. I ate an entire bag over the course of one day. Or figuring out a schedule for writing. Maybe seeing Man on Wire later tonight.
My thoughts on fashion these days are quiet, few and far between. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I can’t be tempted to spend money on clothing, so I try and stay away from browsing. I have been thinking a lot about the approach of winter, though, and my lack of experience with the Michigan winter (at least, since I was living here as a baby) frightens me. I plan on buying a big, puffy jacket from REI or North Face. You think I’m joking!
Thunderstorm
August 22nd, 2008 § 5 Comments
In this picture I am wearing a headband from Longs, a necklace from the 20s, a vintage San Diego Zoo t-shirt with a picture of a koala and baby on the front and then a view of the koala and baby from the back on the back (so soft! so comfy!), a blue skirt from Elizabeth Charles, and thrifted gold sandals from way back when. I swear, those sandals are going to break a strap one day while I’m ten blocks from home and I’ll be pretty sad.
I wore this outfit when I was out and about earlier today running errands, but now a thunderstorm has begun to rain down on Ann Arbor and I’m decked out in a bathing suit and winter black leggings. F’reals! I wish I had the nerve to wear this outfit out with, say, some sky-high heels, because I feel that this is an amazing outfit, not to mention super-comfortable.
Lately I’ve been surfing the ‘Net “purposefully” for my internship (more about that later) as well as extensively outlining the second draft of my novel, which I’ve been working on since about 2005. I don’t talk about it much here, but I will say that I wrote 230 pages and cut 200 of them; no, I don’t consider it a waste of time, but I have a different plan of attack now and more of an idea of what I want to achieve.
I also discovered an amazing vegetarian Indian restaurant, called Earthen Jar, where you pay by weight. It was gustatory heaven; the mango lassi (soy or not-soy) was delicious; it is $4.99/lb, which is a lot of food; everything is marked as vegan or vegetarian; it is across the street from the post office. Suh-weet.
Phew!
August 22nd, 2008 § 6 Comments
I was so relieved to get my hair done yesterday that I apparently collapsed into a corner. Well, not really, but at least I got a picture in.
Have I mentioned that Chris is gone yet? It’s strange to not have him around; things are very quiet. I sit around the apartment and do my quiet things. The first day he left, I didn’t leave the house all day, which wasn’t conducive to putting on a nice outfit and taking a picture. Right now I’m still in pajamas and it’s 1:25 PM. I think I might try to get in touch with someone about going out for coffee later.
