Tuesday, August 30, 2011

i am a jealous bitch


Just look at that place. How does one even find an apartment like that? It's in Australia. Which, I have mentioned before I have a love for (even though I have never been). I think I decided that my mother had a crush on Bryan Brown since we had A Town Like Alice and The Thorn Birds on heavy rotation. Or maybe she just liked a good cry cause those are both some serious tearjerkers.

Back to my dream home. Thank you The Selby for sharing and therefore making me hate the tiny disorganized space that I live in now.




Does that wall mounted tiger look photoshopped? I think maybe it is. Why would you do that? I love the idea of it though. So much so, that I found this: 


That's right. An inflatable tiger head.

"This is so life-like, you’ll think that you need to feed it raw meat 3 times a day. Not to mention, it’s also life-sized. That’s right, this big kitty will make any room in the house look like Ernest Hemingway’s hunting cabin." -BaronBob.com

Or, the cheaper option, a tiger head mask:


Which reminds me of:


The movie where I first saw dysfunctional as awesome. Outside of my own family, of course.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

i'm bored


adarae and ely james survival kit pictured above. Box of wine. Collection of bulleit bottles filled with filtered water. Orange prayer candles. Hot sauce.

This day has been a total bust. Stuck in Brooklyn. Literally.

ely james and I went to the market, this afternoon, to get butter and hot sauce. Ridiculous that we endured the crowds and lines for such things.

Then we sat and watched the news.

A few hours later, we went back out to get whiskey. Had to be done.

Then we sat and watched the news some more. All day long. The most boring day ever, when each channel just keeps talking about the same thing over and over. Damn this Irene lady. I know more about Long Beach than I ever needed or wanted to know.

I read tweets. I read blogs. I read news. Where is this lady? She sure is taking her sweet time.

ely james wants to play scrabble but that seems pointless to me because we still have power. Game time is for when we are without the distractions of tv or the internet.

So, I get myself distracted with a theme.






Poor Maurice Dubois has been on for 11 hours. I think they are just as stir crazy in the news room as I am in my own home. It is now past midnight and the real rain has finally started. Excitement!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

restoration leads to salvation, part 2

So, yeah. Salvation. It is amazing how one blog leads to another, leads to another, leads to another for all eternity. It is hard sometimes to know when to stop yourself.

There was a second post on my neighborhood blog that got me really inspired about all this abandoned theatre broo-ha-ha. It lead me to this other blog, of course, that had a post that really honed in on my fascination with all things abandoned.


The Salton Sea. If you have not been, it is hard to explain the eerie feeling in the air. Well, the smell is what is actually in the air. It is just awful. The smell of decay. Lost hope. Lost dreams. It truly is beautiful. ely james and I stopped there on our way to salvation...













Plus it's just plain creepy.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

restoration leads to salvation, part 1

The old Loews theatre, on Flatbush Avanue, is getting a facelift.




It is in a part of my neighborhood that I don't visit because it is in the opposite direction from the transportation. Plus, there isn't much over there that interests me. Well, nothing has warrented my interest. Actually, there is a fabric store that I have been meaning to check out. I mean Mood is great and all but, just an overrated tourist trap.

Distracted. Again. Anyway, I first read about it on my neighborhood blog. This post lead me to this collection of photos of rundown theatres that reminded me of the scenes in Titanic in the ruins of the great ship that went down, to the bottom of the sea...it was sad, so sad, it was sad, too bad! Wow. Girl Scout camp comes out in the weirdest places. Titanic. Yes. That's where I was.








How all this leads to salvation is still in my head. That is why this is part 1. So stay tuned for part 2, I guess.

things really could be worse

Digital diaries, man. I don't know. I was happy to get that shit off but it feels kinda weird now.

I spent the rest of the day creating a masterpiece about abandonment.

Here are some hints...



Monday, August 22, 2011

i hope i didn't offend you

I hate new jobs. You spend all this time answering the same dum dum questions. Where do you live? Where are you from? How long have you been here? Every single person asks the same questions. I'm tired. Can I wear a sign? Ditmas Park. Connecticut. 10 years.


This company, that I have just started with, is the most poorly run business I have ever experienced. It's a great store with great product but the people in charge are clueless. Well, there really is no one in charge. It's a bunch of kids running around talking about this party and that party.

The schedule for the week is sent out on Sunday night. Unbelievable. I find out Sunday night if I am working on Monday. I just can't get over that. I seriously could go on and on with a list of things that are wrong but really the problem is me. None of this is ok with me. I'm too uptight for this laid back, "Oh, you're working the opening shift on Wednesday." Really? With who? "Just you." I don't have keys. How am I supposed to open without keys? "Just get some from someone who does. Just ask around." Are you serious?

Then I had the ultimate day on Saturday. It was a surprise to anyone there that I was even scheduled. Went through all the usual bullshit questions. Then a girl asked me how old I was. I paused. I'm getting to the age where I find this to be an odd question. What fucking difference does it make? 32. I replied. What are you doing in retail? She asked. Excuse me? As if a 32 year old should have it made-not working a part time retail job. What kind of fucking bubble do you live in, girl? The bubble where all dreams come true and by the time you're 32 you will be on the magic cloud of making magic things happen? Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you! I hope I didn't offend you, she said. Yes, you offended me. More than once because you kept saying that you hoped you didn't offend me. Over and over. I just meant what else do you do? What is your passion? She asked. Not talking to you. That's my passion right now. Seriously. Who are you that I should be forced to tell you what my dreams are? I'm not asking what you want to be when you finally grow up because honestly, I don't give a shit.

What a day.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

wood pecker

I know. I was supposed to get a bike this summer:( This happens every year. I say, "This summer, I will get one, dammit." Then the days just pass on by.

I found out about a man, from a LES side blog, who sells bikes at the Hester Street Fair. I have been meaning to check out. I swear. He posts a lot of his bikes on craiglist. Just put his phone number, 917-238-8031, in the search for sale section. Voila! Great vintage bikes for under $300!

I like this one:


It's orange. Enough said. I think this one is too tall though. I am 5' 10" and according to the chart this bike should fit me. But, ely james' bike is 20 inches and it feels way too tall for me. His seat is up super high in that fixed gear fashion. I don't get it.

If I were to get this one, I would totally change the handle bars. I've always wanted bullhorns. Like this:


Her milk crate basket is pretty neat too. I don't like that she is not wearing a helmet. No one is that cool. Ok? The same Chicago bike blog had this lady:


Another creative solution. She says she is wearing this one. I have to agree with her philosophy that a riding helmet is probably safer.

Now in the adarae dream section...about a year ago I discovered this bike:



 Beautiful. I wish I had written down how I came to find it. I didn't know that I would have a blog of my own where it is appropriate to cite everything so that you don't step on some other blogger's toes. It's really annoying actually. I have all of these folders now. Tons of them.

What I loved the most about the bike above was the story of Rob, the man who makes them.

Then while reading one of my monthly blogs Cool Hunting, I saw this:


An actual wooden bike. Crazy. Wouldn't last in NYC. ely james wrecked his Japanese racing frame just by jumping a curb in the Wall Street area. I don't know what he was thinking. Those old curbs are huge. Well, I guess he was thinking, "this frame is made of steel."  Now he rides this Frankenstein (literally put together with spare parts by one of his cyclist friends):


Who knows. Maybe this weekend will be the weekend. The summer may be almost over but there is plenty of riding time left.

Monday, August 8, 2011

toast this

While ely james and I were out in Connecticut, visiting my father and step-mother for the 4th of July, we brought some goodies with us. A delicious snack that was so good, my father just emailed asking for the recipe. So, we will share it here. We found it last summer in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food and we make it all the time.

What you need (a little bit altered from Martha's cause we like cheese over here):

1/2 baguette
 extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces feta
1/2 of a lemon
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 of a cucumber

What to do:


Cut the 1/2 baguette in half and slice each half down the center.


Cut each sliced half in half again to make squares (like above). Spoon or brush a light layer of olive oil onto each piece. 


Then we put the feta in a bowl and squeeze the lemon (not all of it, most of it, cause we use the rest later) and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. It is never the same amount when we do this. We just want the feta to become a paste that is easy to spread.


Add a pinch of salt and a few turns of pepper.


Thinly slice the cucumber. For each piece of bread we use 3 slices of cucumber.


 ely james likes tomatoes! So he slices a few of those to add on. Now this is where Martha asks to put the pieces of bread in the oven broiler but, who wants to add heat to an already hot summer kitchen, right? I mean, not everybody has a Martha dream kitchen with central air! So, we actually put the pieces in our toaster, which has a bagel button so it only toasts one side. The inside, of course, and we try to make sure we don't toast for too long. Just golden...


It's best to spread the feta concoction while the bread is still warm. Add your slices of cucumbers (and or tomatoes), squeeze that lemon that has been hanging around waiting to be finished off. A couple more turns of pepper and...


It's not everyday that we go out and buy a baguette but, it would be if I were to have my way! Yum. Yum.