Charice Live in Mandalay Bay

There are many reasons this girl is amazing. Yes, her voice is black belt and totally schools Celine, Whitney, Beyonce, and Mariah combined. She's also a kickass beatboxer and does some first-rate impressions. She has style, she has class. But most importantly, Charice is just raw. So if this does not, at the very least, give you the chills...

Soul Pancake #13

Each man carries within him the soul of a poet who died young. ~Sainte-Beuve

Aubrey Plaza in Lula Magazine

"I just love the idea of playing a magical bad-ass witch...a super-confident kind of femme fatale character. Like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction!"

I am loving this old Hollywood chic that Plaza has going on lately. 

She looks like a classy, savvy woman. Definitely femme fatale.
Full interview here.

   

HAIR: David Gardner at SoloArtists

MAKE-UP: Mai Quynh at Starworks Artists

PHOTOGRAPHY: Damon Heath

STYLING: Aya T. Kanai

All Clothes: Marc Jacobs, Glasses: Chloe Sevigny For Opening Ceremony

Dress: Karen Walker, Cardigan: Juicy Couture, Shoes: Aldo

Dress: Phillip Lim, Necklace: Janis Savitt, Boots: Laurence Dacade

Jacket: Ksubi, Dress: Catherine Malandrino, Shoes: Aldo

Dress: Marni, Boots: Laurence Dacade

Giant Ass Cookie

Today I made a giant ass chocolate chip peanut butter cookie. It was amazing. So amazing that I only got a photo of it before it went into the oven, not after. It's kind of like a pudding when it's warm, but it's even better when you put it in the fridge for a few hours.

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp. flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

lots of chocolate chips

Happy Thanksgiving!

And now, in honor of the gutsy Wall Street protesters, something slightly subversive in tone and mood...a poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

I Am Waiting

By LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI

I am waiting for my case to come up   

and I am waiting

for a rebirth of wonder

and I am waiting for someone

to really discover America

and wail

and I am waiting   

for the discovery

of a new symbolic western frontier   

and I am waiting   

for the American Eagle

to really spread its wings

and straighten up and fly right

and I am waiting

for the Age of Anxiety

to drop dead

and I am waiting

for the war to be fought

which will make the world safe

for anarchy

and I am waiting

for the final withering away

of all governments

and I am perpetually awaiting

a rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for the Second Coming   

and I am waiting

for a religious revival

to sweep thru the state of Arizona   

and I am waiting

for the Grapes of Wrath to be stored   

and I am waiting

for them to prove

that God is really American

and I am waiting

to see God on television

piped onto church altars

if only they can find   

the right channel   

to tune in on

and I am waiting

for the Last Supper to be served again

with a strange new appetizer

and I am perpetually awaiting

a rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for my number to be called

and I am waiting

for the Salvation Army to take over

and I am waiting

for the meek to be blessed

and inherit the earth   

without taxes

and I am waiting

for forests and animals

to reclaim the earth as theirs

and I am waiting

for a way to be devised

to destroy all nationalisms

without killing anybody

and I am waiting

for linnets and planets to fall like rain

and I am waiting for lovers and weepers

to lie down together again

in a new rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for the Great Divide to be crossed   

and I am anxiously waiting

for the secret of eternal life to be discovered   

by an obscure general practitioner

and I am waiting

for the storms of life

to be over

and I am waiting

to set sail for happiness

and I am waiting

for a reconstructed Mayflower

to reach America

with its picture story and tv rights

sold in advance to the natives

and I am waiting

for the lost music to sound again

in the Lost Continent

in a new rebirth of wonder

I am waiting for the day

that maketh all things clear

and I am awaiting retribution

for what America did   

to Tom Sawyer   

and I am waiting

for Alice in Wonderland

to retransmit to me

her total dream of innocence

and I am waiting

for Childe Roland to come

to the final darkest tower

and I am waiting   

for Aphrodite

to grow live arms

at a final disarmament conference

in a new rebirth of wonder

I am waiting

to get some intimations

of immortality

by recollecting my early childhood

and I am waiting

for the green mornings to come again   

youth’s dumb green fields come back again

and I am waiting

for some strains of unpremeditated art

to shake my typewriter

and I am waiting to write

the great indelible poem

and I am waiting

for the last long careless rapture

and I am perpetually waiting

for the fleeing lovers on the Grecian Urn   

to catch each other up at last

and embrace

and I am awaiting   

perpetually and forever

a renaissance of wonder

Soul Pancake #12

Sometimes you hear a voice through the door calling you...This turning toward what you deeply love saves you. ~Rumi

Soul Pancake #11

I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice cream. ~Heywood Broun

HGI #1: Tortoise General Kitchenware

H.G.I. = Holiday Gift Ideas. I find that at the last minute I have trouble assembling a meaningful gift, so I like to keep my eyes peeled starting in November. Tortoise, a brand started by Taku and Keiko Shinomoto, has both an online store and a shop in Venice, CA. Their minimalist, artisanal products are handmade, handpicked, and imported from Japan. From utilitarian items like a rattan towel hanger or Yumiko Iihoshi ceramic mugs, to sweet little nothings like block-print fabric ducks and a quaint owl paperweight, each item on the website has a quaint little backstory to it.

Hario Buono Drip Kettle $65

  Iron Monkey Bottle Opener $36

Yanagi Birch Handle Cutlery $25-$29

Wappa Sake Cup $29

Mokusei Lamp $290

Welcome Soap $45

organic, exfoliating Silk Mitten $29 

(for babies!)  

The Glory of a Pumpkin Smoothie

Give it a whirl...

1/3 cup fresh pumpkin 

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 frozen banana

a few tablespoons honey or maple syrup

Soul Pancake #10

Lying in bed would be an altogether perfect and supreme experience if only one had a colored pencil long enough to draw on the ceiling. ~G.K. Chesterton

Post Hallow Blues

It is a tradition of mine to start contemplating Halloween costumes for the next Halloween the day after Halloween happens. I know, I know. If this puts too much cognitive stress on your hungover, sugar-addled brain, I don't blame you. However, if you are a fan of Scott Pilgrim (like me), there are very few reasons why this shouldn't brighten up even the most dreadful case of post-hallow blues: Adidas Superstars, Snorkel Parka, band shirt, Levis, wristbands (minus the yellow stripes), a Canadian haircut and oh yes, the power of self respect. You're going to need it. Now go eat a tuna melt or something and watch CSPAN.  (via thingsoganizedneatly)

NYCB's Janie Taylor Models Chloé

Can I Be Blunt? with Aubrey Plaza

I know, too soon, too soon. But just read it.

1. You’ll never know more about Judy Garland than I do. I have been obsessed since I was 10. And, no, not “Dorothy” Judy. I’m talking “1960s-singing-her-heart-out-at-the-fucking-Palace” Judy. Duh.

2. I don’t know what I would do without you. I definitely wouldn’t know about Manhunt, anal fissures, or where to get the best guacamole. 

3. Why is my Joy Behar impersonation the only one you ever ask me to do? (I know it’s good. Shut up.)

4. Stop trying to make me wear those quilted brown leather Phillip Lim hot pants. I’m scared, and you know it.

5. I wish you had real periods so we could eat chocolate Rice Dream and watch Hocus Pocus together.

6. Thank you for giving me the courage to finally have my vagina waxed. And thank you for being gentle.

7. Please let me have your babies. Even though I am a washed-up sea hag, my womb is young and clean and in really good shape. Please.

8. Can we open up a store together where we talk people out of buying things and then make them come to our dinner parties?

9. No more dressing like a slutty sailor.

10. Remember when we got stoned and saw The Blind Side twice in a row by accident? Let’s not do that again.

Men In Sweaters

Ladies, what is it about a man in a sweater? Look at any magazine and you will find a plethora of slick-haired women glistening with Estee Lauder essential oils and swathed in a floaty strips of cashmere, but every so often (as you will see), someone has the fine idea of putting a man in a sweater. And not just any sweater. A soft, fluffy, fleecy, downy sweater, preferably form-fitting with maybe a seductive zipper. It isn't rocket science, so why hasn't it been done more often? Men look good in sweaters: vests, shawls, wraps, cardigans, you name it. All they need are the essential oils.

Halloween: Fierce Like Martha

I never thought I'd say this, but seriously, Martha Stewart is fierce. Sure, her fondness for color-coding can be a tad constipated and, yes, she was once "indicted by the government," but guys, that was, like, once if you recall! What really matters is that Martha knows exactly how to throw together a kickass Halloween costume, and to top it off, she can do it in ten minutes, tops. Rose gardens, bird's nests, and beehives are all pretty damn nifty, but personally I think the Medusa hairdo is perfect for my scary-not-sexy policy. Snakes? Yes. Grecian hairdo? Yes. Icy blue shadow and an equally icy stare? Double Yes! Keep in mind that Martha's costume this year will blow everyone else's out of the water. Butterfly-winged lashes? Where can I get those?

Fall Baking Adventures

1. PB&J bars (Barefoot Contessa) 

Made with organic PB and Bonne Maman raspberry preserves.

 2. Blueberry Lemon Muffins (Barefoot Contessa) 

fresh blueberries, fresh lemons, not out of a mix = so much tastier.

 3. Vegan Chocolate Cupcake (Sketch-free Vegan Eating)  

You would never know the frosting is made with avocados. Shh... 

  4. Black Sesame Lemon Cookie (Martha Stewart)  

It's like a lemon poppyseed cookie, but with crunchy black sesame seeds.

  5. Chocolate Hazelnut Torte (Smitten Kitchen)  

If you like Nutella, you'll like this cake. Period.  

Candy Tasting with Poehler, Plaza, & Jones

"It feels like spider babies are being born in my mouth."

These women are just too cool.

Soul Pancake #9

We must remain as close to the flowers, the grass, and the butterflies as the child is who is not yet so much taller than they are. We adults, on the other hand, have outgrown them and have to lower ourselves to stoop down to them. It seems to me that the grass hates us when we confess our love for it. Whoever would partake of all good things must understand how to be small at times. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Soul Pancake #8

Sadness is easier because it's surrender. I say make time to dance alone, with one hand waving free. ~from Elizabethtown

The Works of Ed Ruscha

There was an article last week in the LA Times featuring Ed Ruscha, and I felt like I had to share some of his work, since I find pop art so idyllic and comforting. It's like entering a strange, silent world of soft, inky shadows. Very beautiful.