GROWN-UP LESSONS

WALKING ON SUNSHINE Today was the second day in a row with...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:30:29 -0500

WALKING ON SUNSHINE

Today was the second day in a row with spring-like temperatures and sunshine, and rain this morning washed away all but a few lonely remnants of snow. I finally feel like I can say that spring has sprung, without having to knock on wood.

After work today I slipped out of my heavy flannel shirt, black jeans and rain boots and put on boyfriend jeans and this little silk camisole, grabbed the dog leash and wandered around campus with my dog for nearly an hour. I grabbed the hat just as I ran out the door but intentionally forgot shoes. My feet were pleasantly muddy when I got home.

Hat, camisole and earrings: Forever 21.

HIPPIE SENSIBILITY These are old photos, from one of the last...

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:35:27 -0500

HIPPIE SENSIBILITY

These are old photos, from one of the last big snows, but I thought I’d post them anyway since there’s been a dearth of outfit posts lately.

Jeans and camisole, Gap; sweater, Anthropologie; headband, Urban Outfitters; fringed booties, Éram.

Let’s talk for a minute about something very, very un-grown-up-like. Bruises. Banged-up knees...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:49:24 -0500

Let’s talk for a minute about something very, very un-grown-up-like. Bruises. Banged-up knees are unsightly, uncomfortable, and just plain make me feel like I’m eight years old again, and not in a good, lots-of-sprite-left-in-my-step and youthful way.

This winter, I tried to learn to snowboard. This undertaking was largely the effect of strong peer pressure: my boyfriend boards, as do nearly all of the cool, attractive people I would like to emulate on the slopes. There’s something about lateral motion that seems somehow… Well, just cooler. Smoother. And I wanted to learn.
The thing that everyone will tell you about learning to snowboard is that for the first, oh, I dunno, VERY LONG TIME you will look anything but cool. You will look foolish, and you will get hurt. People will tell you that the learning curve is steep. As steep as, say, a really steep, icy, unforgiving mountain. You, like I did, will probably ignore this warning.

This past week, after a couple of snowboarding lessons and a couple of semi-successful runs (enough to boost my confidence to unhealthy levels), I took a hard spill on the mountain. It was embarrassing, mainly because 6-year-old Amélie zoomed cooly down the mountain on her skis, making clean S-turns in the icy, melting snow. It was also embarrassing because it was the kind of tumble from which you can’t recover right away, and instead have to lie face-down in the snow for about 60 seconds while you decide whether you have enough strength to untwist yourself from the awkward position in which you have landed.

Surprisingly, I came out of this fall with little more than an achy neck, a bit of stiffness in my back, and huge, ugly, purple and yellow bruise on my right knee. It’s huge, about 2 inches in diameter. Thankfully, the swelling has gone down, and even more thankfully, it’s winter, so as long as I dress appropriately for the weather and wear pants or opaque tights, I don’t need to be shamed by its grotesqueness.
Still, every morning after my bath when I look in the mirror, I feel clumsy and young again. I think bruises are meant to remind us that childhood wasn’t as perfect as our nostalgia would have us think. Sometimes I’m so happy to be (nearly) all grown-up.

"Oh my god, lately I’ve been hearing so many exact copies of songs from Lego Rock Band!"

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:50:58 -0500

“Oh my god, lately I’ve been hearing so many exact copies of songs from Lego Rock Band!”

- Kai

My first attempt at baking croissants from scratch is behind...

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:01:51 -0500

My first attempt at baking croissants from scratch is behind me. I’m not sure how I ended up with a yeast-free recipe (croissants without yeast are traditionally called croissants de patîssier, as opposed to the croissants de boulanger to which I am more accusomed), but they still tasted okay and I was definitely pleased with the flakiness.

I am very excited to try a new recipe for batch numero deux.

Last weekend Mama and I went thrifting on a whim. We...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:32:45 -0500

Last weekend Mama and I went thrifting on a whim. We hadn’t been in ages, and luckily we both made some really phenomenal finds!

We bickered over who would have the honor of being the new owner of this hideous vintage dress (I say “hideous” now that I look at the photo I took after winning the battle and bringing it home in my goody bag, but obviously we both saw something more that made it worth rescuing off the rack).

I decided that ditching the belt and shortening it significantly would make it really wearable. Boy, hemming polyester cut on the bias sure is tricky, but I think I did alright and I even got to use my new baby sewing machine I got for Christmas!

I ended up with something that looked like it had just been pulled off the rack at Urban Outfitters, not a dingy thrift store. Maybe it’s the sexy deep-v back, or the sweet little collar the buttons in the back, or the funky 80’s pattern? I’m still not sure what we saw in it, but I sure am glad we did!

The Oxford boots were also among my thrift store loot, and after polishing them a bit and replacing the laces, they looked super cool and were very cozy with their knit lining. The funniest thing about them? Mama says she used to own a pair exactly like them. Maybe even this exact pair. How weird/cool is that?

Dress, boots and belt, thrifted; tights, Express via Gabriel Brothers; cardigan, Gap.

This may be the richest, most decadent cake I’ve ever...

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:00:00 -0500

This may be the richest, most decadent cake I’ve ever eaten.

I don’t like cheesecake, but my little brother loves it, and since his birthday’s on Valentine’s Day and he came home from college to celebrate with us, I decided to indulge him. (Plus, when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he told me to “do [my] worst,” and a real grown-up can’t ignore a challenge like that!)

This 3-inch deep cheesecake has a Kahlùa and chocolate cookie crumb crust, a thick bottom layer of chocolate ganache, another thick layer of coffee- and rum-flavored cream cheese filling, a sour cream and vanilla topping, and is decorated with chocolate ganache and chocolate-covered espresso beans.

I ate one slice and, because I dislike cheesecake and am lactose intolerant, just about tossed my cookies, but if it looks appealing to you (and I think that to anyone who loves chocolate and cheesecake, it should), you can find the recipe on my favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen.

If you follow this link, please be a doll and don’t laugh at how awful my cake looks compared to Deb’s. She probably has the benefit of using high-quality pastry tips, whereas mine are made of cheap plastic and come from the cake decorating aisle at the grocery store. Plus, I don’t even have pastry bags, so I used plastic storage bags. They were constantly breaking and on two occasions the pastry tip shot straight out the corner of the bag and embedded itself in the middle of the cake, hence the oh-so-subtle disguising pile of espresso beans right smack in the middle of my cake.

Ever since I rescued it from a yard sale last September,...

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 10:33:19 -0500

Ever since I rescued it from a yard sale last September, I’ve had what I’ve fondly referred to as “the ugliest painting in the world” hanging in my bedroom. Fear of breaking my camera lens kept me from photographing it, but trust me: It was bad. Greens, browns and pinks swirled together in an impressionistic interpretation of, well, something ugly, probably, and some sort of liquid had dripped down one side, making the paint run. It was probably the tears of the artist when she realized what a monstrosity she had parented.

My intention ever since has been to make use of the rather large canvas and to paint something of my own. Everyone knows that real grown-ups have original art hanging in their homes, and the only original art I can afford is my own.

I opted for something geometric and cheery, wanting to create the exact opposite of the indiscernible and gloomy mess that still hides behind a thick layer of gesso.

I used a compass to create a sort of modern flower pattern and had to use several coats using very teensy, tiny brushes. It was tedious, but totally worth it when I’d finally finished painting the frame, which was cheap-looking before, a nice sleek black. Voilà!

I got my snow day wish today! See, I told you the pajama trick...

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:59:00 -0500

I got my snow day wish today! See, I told you the pajama trick works. Hannah and I walked downtown for chai lattés and art supplies. You’ll see the fruits of my labor soon! In the meantime, snow antics were aplenty.

HEARTS AND SNOWFLAKES First of all, I’ve received plenty...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:05:00 -0500

HEARTS AND SNOWFLAKES

First of all, I’ve received plenty of requests for photos of my bangs. I didn’t think they looked particularly special today, but I do love that they inject a bit of style into a ponytail. You’ll all just have to wait and form your opinion as I post more outfits over the next couple of weeks! I did think to throw in a close-up for those of you who were especially curious but prompty removed it when I noticed that my total lack of photogenuity (I’d like to see you come up with the noun I’m looking for), you could totally see a hugely obvious gray hair hanging down right in the middle, just in case you didn’t believe me when I told you I was going gray.

We got a lot of snow this weekend. There’s really no other way to put it. I know, I know, southwest Ohio’s no Washington DC and I really have nothing to complain about. Which is why I’m not going to complain. Au contraire, my friends, I’m elated! Sure, I can smile and try to relate to those who complain about shoveling sidewalks and poor driving conditions, but I’ll never truly be able to commiserate. I just don’t get it. I love snow. Living in such a small town doesn’t hurt, for nowhere else is there so much of a communal blizzard mentality, that sort of “Oh, well. We’ll just have to take the sled down to Tom’s and hope they’re not out of milk.” Really, it’s the fact that I don’t have to drive anywhere, that we have one really good sledding hill in the village, and that I have high-quality food and entertainment within a quarter mile of my house, these are the reasons I’m able to appreciate a good, heavy snow. That, and my line of work also happens to support the childlike dreaming I so love to indulge in.

There’s really nothing fashion-forward about what I threw on this morning, but I really loved it and felt so comfy and perfect in the snow that I just had to document. I love pairing light, flowing silks like this heart print tank top with chunky knits like this cape sweater. The tank top is perfect for layering to take the heaviness away from a winter look, but I’m also really looking forward to tucking it into a mini skirt with a wide belt come summertime.

I’ve also discovered these wedge booties, which are pretty much perfect for wearing to work and for bopping around town without looking pretentious in heels, and they also have a wide sweater-like knit band around the top that makes them cozy tucked into jeans.

We’re expecting another 3”-8” of snow by tomorrow evening, and frankly I’m pulling for as much as possible. Little could make me as happy as a cozy day at home with my family, good movies and a bottomless pot of tea. To help my little wish along, I’m falling back on the old superstition that wearing one’s pajamas inside out and backwards brings a snow day. Call me childish for believing, but know that my family came by this tradition honestly: We heard it on NPR. Which really isn’t childish at all, nope. I’m just an informed citizen.

Sweater and tee, Anthropologie; heart print camisole, Forever 21; jeans, Gap; suede booties, Urban Outfitters; watch necklace, eBay.

KAI: I'm so happy, I'm so happy, I'm so happy, I'm so happy, I'm so happy!

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:00:44 -0500

KAI: I'm so happy, I'm so happy, I'm so happy, I'm so happy, I'm so happy!

AMÉLIE: (dryly) Gosh, Kai, are you happy?

I was pretty proud of the way this meal turned out. I cooked for...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:00:00 -0500

I was pretty proud of the way this meal turned out. I cooked for the parents of my charges as a Christmas gift, delivered the meal to their door, and whisked the kids off for a night of pizza and movies at my house.

I served rosemary roast chicken on a bed of barley bean risotto with roasted, spiced carrots. I also made martinis as an apératif and added a French bâtard and a bottle of wine. For dessert, crème caramel with a dark chocolate triangle.

I was worried that the chicken would be too dry because even though it was less than 4 lbs., I cooked it for over an hour but basted constantly with butter and drippings. I was really happy with the color and crispiness of the skin and was later assured that it was succulent! I also tried something new, separating the chicken skin from the flesh and stuffing fresh rosemary in between before replacing the skin. The way the leaves showed through the skin was really pretty.

I’d really like to experiment more with crème caramel. It wasn’t actually that hard to make but it took several tries to remove it cleanly from the ramekin. I had to eat about two-and-a-half of them that I ruined. Boy, my life sure is tough.

In my giant closet clean-up, which is taking me ages, I...

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:00:00 -0500

In my giant closet clean-up, which is taking me ages, I uncovered this beautiful cashmere sweater, which is one of the most luxurious hand-me-downs I own. Unfortunately I have an abundance of simple sweaters, and since this one has a bit of a looser fit on me, I decided to make it more feminine by doing a bit of embellishing around the neckline.

I bought some glass pearls and beads and strung a necklace-like collar to give it a really whimsical quality. I was really pleased and had spent quite a lot of time first stringing the beads and then sewing the collar on with one stitch between every other bead but the very first time I put it on, pearls flew everywhere! I guess I didn’t tie a tight enough knot. Oh no! The upside is that I have other projects in mind for the beads and plenty of other ideas for the sweater.

My January stats just came in and I’m happy to say that more of you are reading Grown-Up...

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:26:08 -0500

My January stats just came in and I’m happy to say that more of you are reading Grown-Up Lessons than ever! Thank you. It’s truly my pleasure to have you visit my humble little blog.

THE OCCASION: SISTERS GO ON A DATE Hannah and I are having a...

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:10:31 -0500

THE OCCASION: SISTERS GO ON A DATE

Hannah and I are having a “romantic” night tonight. We made homemade calzones with homemade marinara to dip them in, dressed up in startling similar outfits, and are going to see a movie.

Our outfits weren’t exactly coincidentally alike. We both decided to rock a hippie headband (though it’s more her look than mine) and our fringe booties with leggings and button downs for a indian-princess-meets-indie-band-member kind of look. Yeah. Let’s call it that.

Blouse, borrowed from Mama’s closet; long-sleeve shirt, Gap; velvet leggings, Forever 21; fringe booties, Étam; headband, homemade.

Ben was kind enough to humor Colin and I by shooting some photos...

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:21:00 -0500

Ben was kind enough to humor Colin and I by shooting some photos of us on New Year’s Eve. This after we complained that we have very few photos of the two of us together because usually our photo experiences are shared from opposite sides of a camera lens. It took us a surprisingly long time to get this one usable shot because we kept closing our eyes, making unappealing faces, having bad hair and being otherwise unphotogenic.

I should also mention that we were a little bit dolled up not because it was New Year’s Eve, but because Colin took me out for a delicious Indian meal to celebrate the third anniversary of our first date. Lucky girl!

I wanted to post this photo yesterday but then changed my mind when I decided to be in a huff with Colin. This just goes to show that just as all couples have their moments, I’m also occasionally apt to not act like a real grown-up at all but actually more like a petulant child. Colin sticks with me anyway, which is further evidence of how lovely he is.

TWO WAYS: NEUTRALS GALORE When I was living in France I...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:42:18 -0500

TWO WAYS: NEUTRALS GALORE

When I was living in France I couldn’t help but notice the amazing ability of French girls to wear tons of neutral shades in one outfit without a single splash of color. Admirable though this feat may have been, it always inspired in me a certain gloom. I occasionally find myself falling prey to this bland outfit recipe. Today is a perfect example. This sweater, which I bought during the seasonal sales in Bordeaux, is actually the same shade as this skirt, which I picked off a rack in my favorite secondhand store this summer, even though the picture makes them look different. I think the near exact pairing of these shades is the only reason this outfit even comes close to working. I’m still not sure if it does.

I also couldn’t decide whether I liked the cardigan tucked in and buttoned or open and not tucked in. What do you think?

Sweater, Kookaï; cardigan, Gap; belt, Forever 21; skirt, thrifted Liz Claiborne; tights, Express; headband, drugstore.

Oh my goodness, I feel I absolutely cannot go on without apologizing for having absented myself for...

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:09:00 -0500

Oh my goodness, I feel I absolutely cannot go on without apologizing for having absented myself for such a long time!

I recently started my final semester of college. This semester consists of only one class, in one of my poorer subjects, so studying is absolutely necessary. Work has also kept me busy as now we are skiing every Tuesday, which not only lengthens my hours and forces me to drive nearly 200 miles, but also makes me sleepy and grumpy (which is not to say that I’m not grateful, because skiing is a lot of fun, I’m learning, and all three of us are improving greatly). Oh, and I started going to the gym again. I’m having trouble reminding my legs that they used to be in shape; they are rather stubborn. But the gym is another time-consuming activity that tears me away from Grown-Up Lessons. But I’m not making excuses for myself. Well, actually I am. But I henceforth promise to do my best to let work and school interfere with blogging as little as possible.

I have lots of fun posts in the works, including one culinary success story, two DIY projects, and I just placed my monthly, budgeted Anthropologie order for February, meaning I’ll have exciting outfit posts soon, too! (Not that I’m not wearing cute things lately - I am! But so unmotivated to take pictures in this disgusting climate. Also lusting after a tripod to make my life easier.)

Hang in there, dear readers. I’ll be back soon.

THE OCCASION: ERRANDS, WORK, BRAVING COLD AND DEPRESSING...

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:33:50 -0500

THE OCCASION: ERRANDS, WORK, BRAVING COLD AND DEPRESSING WEATHER

I recently bought my very first trench coat, and I already adore all of the fun outfits I can make with it! This morning all of the roads were covered in a thin sheet of ice. I had to take my car to be serviced and didn’t have time to wash my hair, so I resorted to an old high school standby - the ponytail. I always wrap several strands of hair around the ponytail holder to hide it, making it a slightly-more-chic-than-average ponytail. Or at least, that’s how I justify the lack of effort.

I really love this outfit because it’s a little bit gamine because of the striped shirt, a little bit beatnik (this picture doesn’t show my cowboy boots tucked into cuffed jeans), and the high ponytail and neckerchief make it just a little bit 1960’s mod. It’s also undeniably comfy and laid back.

On a weather-related note (I know, fashion bloggers are always on about the weather, but it does have a lot to do with how we dress), I’m so sick of this rainy/sleety cold without snow. I don’t even care whether we get spring or more winter because I’d be just as happy to pull out skirts and dresses and pretty ballerina flats as I would be to squeeze my multiple pairs of socks back into snow boots. I just want something more inspiring than this dull, wet gray and brown landscape.

Trench and jeans, Gap; striped tee, borrowed from Mama’s closet; neckerchief, secondhand.

"Martin Luther King, Jr. gave us one gift, and that is kindness. And a dream, too. And we can make..."

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:43:31 -0500

“Martin Luther King, Jr. gave us one gift, and that is kindness. And a dream, too. And we can make that dream come alive again and again and again and again and again and again [breaks into giggles] … Until we’re all DEAD.”

- Amélie

(She’s only six, remember?)