the big apple

as viewed through photoshop.  original pics from all of this city trip are on facebook

the view down 1st ave from the millennium UN plaza hotel

the chrysler building.  always love the art deco windows at the top but most of my pictures of them are blurry crap.

new york officially approved gay marriage.  the empire state building lighters concur.

from the empire state bldg at 1:30am.  unfortunately it isnt any cheaper at insane hours of the night, but the city is gorgeous in the dark

liz's laundry

• shirt: esprit
• skirt: gap
• massive necklace: h&m

• shirt: i apparently passed the test and they gave me official shirts for work!
• skirt: h&m
• leggings: target

• tank: target
• belt: kenneth cole
• skirt: thrifted
• boots: target

• sweater: macys
• tank: h&m
• skirt: thrifted
• leggings: vs

what i want to buy

• multi-row turquoise stone chip bracelet [or in other colors]
• price: $11.89 to $19.99
• from: stonique creations [overstock]
• why: cos i need more jewelry..

• clarks espadrille in dark grey
• price: $39.97 from $94.99 [but only size 11...]
• from: endless.com
• why: cos i also need more shoes...

photoshopping central park

guy on a bench

the lake

ducks of doom [i know theyre geese]

alfred hitchcock's THE BIRDSSS

homemade pesto and pasta

i decided it was finally time to thin the basil that i planted.  basically i assumed nothing would grow and planted half a packet of seeds in several rows.  ...then about 90% of them grew and the basil was suffocating itself.  so using a very delicate process [ie...chopping 3/4 of the plants down with a small pair of scissors] i picked a shitton of lime, purple, and regular sweet basil.  i also cut off the flowering/seeding parts of my store-bought basil plants.

before their rinse/soak

2 1/3 ounces of clean ready-to-use basil leaves

fresh pesto:
2 ounces fresh basil
handful of almonds
3-4 teaspoons minced garlic
6 ounces parmesan
undisclosed amount of olive oil

use inappropriately small food processor to blend things in batches, starting with almonds [toasted if desired] and parm.  remove from processor and set aside.  blend garlic and basil with enough oil to coat until chopped finely.  add almonds and parm and additional oil as needed.  you know what pesto is supposed to look like.  make it look like that.  then add salt and pepper to taste.

i also decided i needed to make pasta to go with my fresh basil ...and that turned out to be a bit more of a calamity than usual.  it would seem last time i made pasta, the spinach fettuccine, a glob of dough got stuck in the pasta roller and dried to a concrete chunk that rattled around quite happily.  i had to unscrew the side of the pasta maker and pry apart the connecting plate just enough so the hunk of dried crap could thump out into the sink.  then put it back together and finish rolling and cutting pasta. 

finished product.  so unappetizing looking but so tasty.

some pretty radishes i yanked out of the garden.  hopefully someone eats them soon. 

green tree dress

the beginnings.  a simple rectangle of 44" wide fabric, hemmed at the top and darts pinned

a mostly successful and even zipper

the zipper bone connects to the frilly skirt bone

90% done.  needs a bit of fitting in the top-havent decided on back or under-arm darts/pleats or some kind of sewn-in elastic... and the bottom is unhemmed.

cappucino meringues

surprisingly decent final product.  a little flatter than id like but when you start baking at 10:30pm.. welp that extra 5 minutes of mixing just isnt worth it.

recipe from joy of cooking:

4 egg whites
1-2 teas vanilla
1/2 teas cream of tartar

blend the shit out egg whites until frothy.  combine 1 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 teas [not 2.5 as in the recipe] instant coffee; add to egg whites 1 tablespoon at a time.  blend the shit out of it until stiff peaks form.  pipe into ginormous sticky oozy mess and bake at 200 for 1 hour. 

optional step:  be really annoyed to discover meringues in the left side of the oven burned underneath but those on the right were fine. 

men's shirt resewing

i hereby declare this my piece #1 for the SONP challenge.  forget that weird trapeze dress. 

xl men's button down

removed the pocket for rearranging.  and yes its a sean "pdiddy" combs brand.  ::sigh::  i liked the colors.

since i cut off the sleeves crooked...i had to add little triangle bits at the sides

with halter ties cos the top isnt quiiiite right.  and its blurry.  eeengh

the buttons moved to the back

back pleat close up

boob ruffle close up

the remaining scraps.  there are two cuffs in there and part of the collar.  the rest is just bits trimmed off here and there.  i cut up the sleeves to make the side triangles and the bias tape.  overall.... a resounding success if i do say so.

frank and simon's cat

another kitters post?  indeed.  but these were taken for an actual tangible purpose.  simon has a competition going on right now for a ginormous simon's cat prize pack.  here are the instructions:  print out the simon's cat drawing and take a picture of it with your cat.  or pet.  the link previous is my entry.  here are some outtakes.

frank has the odd feeling of being watched

i know youre down there somewhere you little bastard

aha!

oh no.  he's sitting right next to me isnt he.

how the hell did you get up here?

oh gawd!  noooooooooo he's cuter than i am.  and makes more burbly noises than i do!

obligatory frank post

liz's laundry

first outfit apparently never was posted.  but it was an "omg the train was late and i was supposed to be at family dinner 15 minutes ago and it was nasty and rainy in the city so i need to change" outfit.  turned out surprisingly well.  second outfit was for sarah's birthday dinner in the city.  third outfit was my day as office secretary since everyone else had appointments and there werent any audits scheduled.  i commuted via train like a real new yorker.  ::sigh:: 

and there has been a general lack of outfit posts lately.  clothes worn for audits, ie wandering around someone's house, inside and out, down in sometimes scummy basement, and popping into attics... are not really picture worthy.

• sweater: bealls
• tunic/tank top: charlotte russe
• scarf: vintage
• jeggings: uniqlo

• bunny dress, cardigan, lace up heeled oxfords: target 
• frilly socks: sock dreams

• suit coat: kohls 5+ years ago
• dress: esprit
• shoes: kenneth cole

one shoulder sack dress

a very simple dress for my final SONP post.  it is loosely based on this elie tahari dress that im trying to sell. 

rectangle of fabric, folded in half with a triangle cut out for the neckline.  i added sort of pleats at the front and back neck instead of attempting the crazy ruching the expensive dress has.  perhaps next time.  and though the shoulder connection ended up looking quite a bit better than i thought, i made a little rectangle of fabric and tied it on.  then it looks like a faux tie shoulder.  somewhat classy no?

this is the mini-collage i made for flickr and out of laziness, i posted it instead of all 3 pics individually.  obviously it includes the dress belted, a close up of the shoulder tie, and the back

oh yea.  and here is the 1st SONP dress i made.  obviously i used the wrong type of fabric, but it was much much easier to sew than the sheer gauzey type it should have been

someone else's crap

thats what thrift stores are for.

like dirty hippy mason jars with handles.  coffee anyone?  or should it be the organic hand picked tears of baby white tea leaves?

octagonal bowls to match my 2 white square plates

creepy kangaroo pendant.  i need to find a longer chain or piece of cording.  its too huge and chipmunk cheeky to be that close to my face

click for various items of clothes i bought this trip and the previous