2010

A lot's happened in a year.
I started 2010 in DC, and I loved being in DC with all of my pals.
I got to explore the city,
experience a Snowpocalypse,
celebrate a good friend's wedding,
see some sweet concerts,
go to Israel and Greece and Turkey,
see my peeps in NYC and the Hamptons,
make some decisions,
and suddenly I was moving out of DC.

Mad packing and mayhem led to Atlanta,
and family time and a bit of work for a certain brand of pantyhose.
Then I packed up again and moved to London for the whole grad school thing.
I'm glad I took the leap.

Hope this year is the best yet for all of my loyal followers,
and maybe I'll even resolve to post a bit more in 20-11.

Happy New Year.

Sometimes I run into D-list celebrities

That are more like Q-list, from TV shows that only I watch. Then I gawk at them and make them feel uncomfortable because I'm so shocked to see them somewhere where regular people hang out, like a movie theater in Atlanta. Then I Google stalk them and imagine our relationship, and tell everyone I know who I saw. I try not to Tweet. Sometimes I fail. Then I wonder how the hell I'm going to live in LA.

Black Hole

The dark and cold of London mixed with sickness and school have added up to a kind of rough month. Luckily I'm going back to America for break in 6(!) days and I cannot wait. I did get to escape the city this weekend for a day trip to Bath and Stonehenge, and while I had expected Stonehenge to a bit more impressive it was nice to see the sky and get out of the city. When it gets dark at 3:30 things can get a bit depressing. While I'm reading incredibly boring theorists tonight I might take a few minutes to fantasize about Atlanta and family, friends, burritos, Whole Foods, and SUNSHINE.

Best Shoes Ever

So I bought a pair of shoes I never ever thought I would- FitFlop mukluks. I think Uggs are ugly (even though I have them), so the idea of fake Uggs normally sends shivers down my heart. Or wherever shivers go. Also, I kind of think the idea of FitFlops, Reebok EasyTone etc. is bullshit. I don't really understand what wobble boards are and how they fit in shoe soles and how they magically make butts look perfect. But I'm not buying it.

However. On a freezing, rainy, miserable London afternoon my Mother insisted on buying me some warm boots so I wouldn't catch pneumonia. And I keep seeing FitFlops everywhere here, and they're supposed to have good arch support and improve your posture yada yada. So I bought the chocolate ones. And OMG THEY ARE COMFORTABLE. Like so much more comfortable than Uggs because they somehow rock a bit and actually do make you stand up straight. And I totally feel supported and when you walk up escalators you can actually feel the muscles in your thighs/butt work, but in a good way. So who knows what hocus pocus these guys are working, but I highly recommend them.

My hood

Sometimes we hang out here.

I don't hang out here.

Y'all know I spend too much time here.

This is my dorm. Jack the Ripper killed someone here (typs) so there are tour groups outside all the damn time.
Cute couple, no?
Does photographing graffiti make me artsy? Meta??


My walk to the Tube. Artillery Lane.

My School

My school is like old and shit and I think it's pretty, so I thought I'd post a few pics.
The grad school bar is conveniently located on campus- across the street from the library.
What up cobblestones.



Nerd alert: the library posts the most searched terms in neon.

The Loneliness of Somewhere New

When you first move to a new country, especially to start grad school, there's such a whirlwind when you arrive that you forget that it's not a vacation. You're meeting new people, seeing new places, trying to figure out how life works somewhere else, and it's manic and crazy and stressful but fun. You're too busy to breathe, too busy to properly stop, so any misgivings or worries get pushed under and passed over.

It's when you have a moment to stop, when you're actually kind of acclimated, that you start to think: this is my life. Where's my family? Back home, with a five hour time difference. My friends? Like the ones that truly know me, who I can tell anything to, not the ones who I like having a beer with but barely know? Shit, they're on the other side of the world too. Not everyone's into S. I'm not coming back once I've seen all the sights. The weather's getting colder and the work's getting harder, and I'm still here. Worse? My friends are moving on without me. Friends have parties, they get married, they go on vacation. Maybe they think, "Oh, I wish Alex was here." Maybe not.

EMO MUCH? I know. You alright? (That's what they would say around here. It's also a greeting- weird.) I haven't been blogging because I don't want to put peoples' names or pictures, I feel like that's what Facebook is for, and I don't want to make this my sometimes-happy sometimes- emo diary because Livejournal isn't cool any more. Not that it ever was.

Anyways, I drafted that yesterday and didn't put it up but whoop there it is. Because I haven't blogged in two weeks so whatevs. On the bright side things are significantly better today. It's Halloween this weekend and I'm going to be a carrier pigeon, which may just be me kinda slutty with a feathered cape. My friends are printing out peoples' faces and taping them on their faces. It's pretty meta and kind of freaky. I'll stick to slutty because I love it. I've gotten a bit lame because our work has gotten intense, however in my slutty pigeon outfit I'm going to a crazy hipster party where the theme is a veterinarian's office (because why not?). Other big plans for the weekend include going to a strictly 18+ bakery where I'm hoping for an aborted fetus cupcake, then I'm going to maybe watch the World Series with Americans. In between I shall work like I never really did in college. So I guess I'm trying to remember how junior year of high school was. We'll see..

Spent

I'm pooped. This city has worn me right out. It's only Tuesday but it feels like I've been non stop going to class, reading, walking, socializing, exploring... I guess I didn't have the most restful weekend and I probably could have used it. This grad school thing is no joke. The reading isn't exactly a Spanish novella. Alas. It's fun being busy, but in some ways this feels like high school. Running from activity to class to discussion group to social stuff, eating in the cafeteria, running into friends outside of classes and around campus. Or just running--

I decided to skip a guest lecture and wine society and a happy hour and band playing because I'd had class 9-5 and I was donezo. So glad I did. I'm going to take some time to recover and get my life in order. Read some blogs, binge eat, watch Glee, basically all my favorite things. Cuddle with my Kindle. Once my life is in control maybe I'll take some pictures and write lovely things for real.

Things I'm liking

Even though I'm hungover and have a ton of reading to do today (already?!) I'm going to take a second to think about the things I'm liking lately, like... purple nail polish. the pink glitter skull in my room. no rain for three whole days! replacement kindle. kindle, i love you. brunch in nearby spitalfields market. windowshopping in south kensington. markets and vintage shops everywhere. new gay besties. smelling the thames. finding the perfect gym. LONDON.

Here's to a day of taking it easy with a cuppa and catching up.

My new hood

I can never figure out the actual name of my neighborhood. It's in East London, near the Liverpool Street tube which is where The City is (London's Wall Street), and super close to this market called Spitalfields. I'm also a couple of minutes from Brick Lane, an interesting mix of curries and vintage stores and organic cafes that is super hip. People have been comparing the neighborhood to the Mission in San Francisco which I'm not super familiar with, so for right now I'm going to have to go with NYC's East Village. Although I don't wear fake prescription glasses or tights with my shorts (yet), I love hipsters and organic food and vintage shops so I'm very excited I ended up here.
Pictures of the hood will be posted very shortly.

One Week In

After rereading my post from my first full day in London it's apparent just how jetlagged I was. Even though my English has more mistakes than the menus of the curry restaurants on Brick Lane, I'm leaving it for posterity. And to warn everyone off of Ambien.

This week has been completely overwhelming. Finding bedding and groceries, where my various orientations were, GOING to my various orientations, being social with my dorm and classmates, and going away for the weekend with my program has me completely knackered out. I've been in a constant state of near-panic and information overload but also super excited. The program seems really great and I'm amazed by how freaking impressive my classmates are. I've had separate conversations with a Cornell grad and a Berkeley grad just trying to figure out how the hell we got in here. Still wondering. There's a guy in my course who toured the country in a band for ten years with a member of Metallica, a girl who organized the designs for the state US quarters, and more than one person who has lived in five separate countries. The non-Americans are at least trilingual, and constantly put us to shame. My dorm bestie apparently spent all weekend in the library even though classes haven't started yet, and the class clown of our group (and Wharton grad) mentioned that he's already started a Google doc of dissertation ideas. Dios mio.

I'm trying to stay calm and revel in the fact that it is not intense work time yet, and my schedule really doesn't look too bad. Most of my courses are required ones this semester but all of the professors I've met are really good lecturers and totally brilliant, and I'm in London bitches. So I'm going to start taking advantage of that. Plus the people in my course are cool, and we're already talking about organizing some vacays to Edinburgh, Oxford, and Brighton. I leave you with a pic of where I stayed this weekend, the 'royal residence' near Windsor Castle, Cumberland Lodge.

Here.

A funny thing happens when you start grad school abroad, especially if that school is made up of mostly international students and you live in a dorm. It starts to feel A LOT like freshman year of college. Going to a dinner with the dorm where I knew no one besides a couple people I had briefly run into in the halls gave me a serious taste of social anxiety, but it was nice to know that I am not as awkward as I was when I entered college! Oh sure I'm awkward and my natural inclination is to sit and look pretty until someone attractive or well dressed comes and speaks to me, but I'm working that. There is no place for being reserved in a new country, so I might as well just embrace the loud American stereotype.

Several of my friends are having similar freshman year of college-type experiences who've also recently begun grad school. However, I would argue that mine is even more intense in just a social/life sense because we're all trying to figure out what is and is not socially acceptable in this country. A lot of people (including sometimes myself) thought that cultural assimilation would be one thing we wouldn't have to worry about in England, seeing as how I know English, know English history, and have read enough British chick lit to know the basic slang. I consider myself fairly well traveled and have had two past roommates from London, so I thought the international living would be no breeze. But it is just different from say moving to NYC, especially as a grad student who has probably been out in the working world, and is expected to know the difference between David Gordon and Gordon Ramsay and understand cultural cues that may just be lost on me. We had a long discussion at dinner about the appropriate amount to tip, and the Italian/German/Turkish population promptly laughed in our faces when we said the general consensus was 20%. I'm unnerved and a little disappointed in myself for feeling so much more comfortable with the Americans and Aussies than the laconic Germans and indecipherable Italians. I need to work on getting my German roommates to speak to me. I hope my hair isn't making them nervous.

Despite the fact that I am half cracked out on sleep deprivation and the tiniest bit of Ambien, I think the dorm was a really good choice and the people seem cool and the neighborhood seems trendy and hip and a little bit "transitional" and more my style than the posh Kensington which everyone recommended. Pictures will surface this week, but get ready to be jealous of the sweet Spitalfields Market a block away. Ooh and the old buildings and the pubs and the cobblestones. Sayonara amigos.

3 days

"what light through yonder window breaks?"

the end is near.

In my defense

My blogging has been sporadic at best. In my defense, I've been rather busy at work thanks to the aforementioned fashion week, and obviously work is prime time blogging time. Yes, that rhymes. Go with it. Since I have nothing useful to talk about I'm going to show you what I bought at J Crew last night. I was hardcore talked into the sequined shorts by my friends, and even though they were on sale, I am still ambivalent about them. So if you think they are the fugliest thing since Uggs, or you're just confused (like my mother), speak now or forever hold your peace.


I thought I would wear my little bloomers with a t-shirt and flats now, and maybe go crazy in the winter and wear them with one of my thousands of pairs of patterned tights. Something to think about. Also I've decided to try out the over-the-knee sock look now, don't even try to stop me.

In other news this is my second to last day of work. ZOMG. Woot. Pretty pumped to return to academia and wear tweed and complain about MLA format (do the kids still use that?) I'll find out. This weekend is Yom Kippur, or the day of Atonement for my (2) Gentile followers. I apologize for not blogging, to atone perhaps I will become more regular (in a non-Activia sense, obvi)? Too soon to tell.

11 days..

Can't wait won't wait how long do I have to wait?

days.

On the bright side a very fun friend is coming this weekend. All I really want is to shop and lay out and get drunk and eat fried pickles in the hipster part of town. Oh, and move to London like NOW. Is that so much to ask?

Long Island Shore

The Hamptons were lovely. Like a Jewish Nantucket. With coconut water and lobster rolls everywhere I turned and challah and not-too-preppy people. The house was Jersey Shore-meets-Hamptons. Bankers regressing to fratstar ways with a spinning DJ at the pool. It was a bit of a hot mess but highly enjoyable. Now I'm unfortunately back to being a PR peon and doing grunt work for Fashion Week. I'm trying to create something kind of like this
And I'm also terribly busy creating the drinking game which will hopefully maintain me and my cousin's sanity at Rosh Hashanah dinner tomorrow. So my apologies if my blogging is a bit lackluster this week. I sadly did not find my husband this weekend ( I don't think) but I will show a few pictures soon.

Concrete Jungle

I'm off to New York tomorrow for a day before going to the Hamptons for the long weekend. I'm pretty excited because the Hamptons have been a dream of mine for some time- for at least a decade or since whenever I began reading c-lit. 9 times out of 10 in a good NYC chick-lit book the protagonist finds her filthy rich husband there. Although I am staying with about 20 male bankers I don't think I will find my husband this weekend, but I will try to enjoy myself anyways.

However I'm going to be spending the afternoon by myself in NYC tomorrow and I am super stoked because I haven't gotten to do that in a long time. Although I have mixed feelings about actually living there, I love NYC, and there are so many neighborhoods, restaurants and stores that I want to explore that I am a bit overwhelmed. These are the options I'm currently contemplating:

Soho: classic Alex, it was my dream at 14 to move to NYC, work at a fashion magazine and have a loft in Soho. Not much has changed, except I now realize you can't afford a loft in Soho on a fashion assistant's salary. And that lofts aren't that practical BECAUSE THERE ARE NO WALLS. Minor details. In Soho I can shop a lot, and hit my absolute favorites like Top Shop, Satya Jewelry, LF, and eat in Nolita at Cafe Gitane or at Spring Street Natural. Plus then I can stock up on awesome school supplies at Muji. However, I'm moving to London soon enough and I should probably keep the shopping on the DL, and seeing all the models run around and combating the summer tourists is a little depressing.


Brooklyn: I have never properly explored Brooklyn and this is tragic. Where would I go? Probably Williamsburg to look at hipsters so hipster-y I'm kind of scared of them. Maybe I could eat pizza at that place people love. I'm sure I could find a vintage store.

Lower East Side: This is my favorite neighborhood because it has everything I love about New York: good food, good shopping, Jews, immigrants, and hipsters. Especially hipsters. I can go to Moby's vegan cafe Teany! Although actually the food tastes kind of....vegan. I can go to my favorite sugar free vegan bakery, Babycakes, which is actually the most delicious place ever. I've also really wanted to try Momofuku's Milk Bar and Lula's Sweet Apothecary, both of which are more East Village and combined might give me a sugar heart attack, but close enough. I am positive I could find some awesome hipster oxfords and knee socks which I have been looking for, and soak up everything I've been missing. I will most likely end up here unless I get really creative.


Dear four followers- anything I'm missing? Recs?

Crushes

I have so many crushes it's kind of ridiculous. Blog crushes, girl crushes, left over crushes, lip gloss crushes..... My current ones in no particular order are Alexa Chung, Don Draper, Nick Nolte, Josie Maran Lip Stain, Burberry Prorsum shearling pilot jacket (clothes can be crushes too), the blogs Amy vs Wild and Brunette Bombshell and a few other blogs that I'm not quite ready to name.

I haven't had a real person crush in a while which is rather tragic- it's tricky when your office is all girls and you live at home. Hopefully school will change that because dressing up just for girls is kind of tragic. This must be how lesbians feel.

My brother

Stinks up his car with illegal substances. Stinks up my car with Axe and smelly frat boys. Mistakes my grandmother's gold necklace for Mardi Gras beads and gives me a heart attack. Is a giant that makes me feel less like a giant. Is going to Spain tomorrow for a whole semester. Where he'll most likely eat this:


Drink this:
And pass out here:

I'm very jealous he has this whole experience in front of him, studying in Spain was one of my favorite things ever. I might even miss him a little. Good thing we'll be on the same continent.

Alex and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I usually thoroughly enjoy Sundays but today has been thoroughly rotten. I completely cleaned my room to find my grandmother's necklace I borrowed last weekend but I can't find it anywhere. I even cleaned out my CAR. (Have yall been in my car? That shit's nasty.)

My cousin is in the hospital from a back surgery that took way too many days and he's not doing that great. Boo.

Last night a cockroach climbed IN my t-shirt drawer and I was too scared to search for it. I'm hoping it was the same one I discovered in my bathroom last night but WTF cockroaches where do you think we are, Thailand? NOT COOL. I feel like one's crawling on me right now aah. So basically I am just ranting. My semi-sincere apologies. Can't believe I am going to be chilling in this cockroach palace for an entire month while all my friends slowly but surely depart ATL. It is tres sad. I'm so emo I'm listening to little Jenny Humphreys' very angsty band Pretty Reckless. This is serious. OK I'm going to go read a book designed for pre-teens. Peace.

Fail

So I realize it's one week into this whole blog thing and I already skipped posting three days in a row. FAIL. In my defense I was sick and looked kind of like this:


Basically not my finest moment. I pretty much binge ate random food lying around the house (edamame, chocolate-covered strawberries, cheese straws) and read the Pretty Little Liars book series. So good! I almost know who the murderer is, except I moronically didn't buy the fourth book. I thought I might need a break after the first three to read a real book. Who was I fooling? Not you, my loyal four followers, I know. Luckily it was time well spent because at some point I plan to write a teen book series featuring Southern debutantes who for some reason are able to access unlimited amounts of cocaine, Vicodin, and Louboutins. You heard it here first.

Now that I am back at work chugging emergen-C water and popping 'natural' pills like the lovely lady above, I am looking forward to the weekend and hopefully turning my pallid skin to a darker shade of ivory. Have a good one guys.

I can't even tell you how much I love Maira Kalman

But I'll try because she is so freaking fabulous. She's probably most famous for her New Yorker covers and her illustrated children's books, but she's also had a great "Pursuit of Happiness" blog on nytimes.com. My personal favorite is her series on Monticello and Thomas Jefferson, but I think they're all amazing. She also has illustrated books for adults, and I'm thinking of getting one and tearing out the pages to frame for my dorm. She has a new book coming out in October based on her blog, "And the Pursuit of Happiness." Aah I die. Go look at her stuff now. Plus she's from Tel Aviv, gotta love a good Jew.

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/time-wastes-too-fast/

Back to School Shopping

I have been stressing out lately about my back to school wardrobe. Like, it's keeping me up at night. Yeah, I realize this isn't a Third World-type problem, but apparently the typical student at LSE dresses up a little more than I'm used to. So my back to school Lululemon wardrobe has gone out the window. I am currently planning all future items around my excellent Mulberry Alexa knockoff via the Istanbul Bazaar. My goal is a preppy/boho/ trendy but not too trendy and not trying too hard (clearly) style that works in foggy fall weather. Success?

James Perse shirt, Madewell blazer, J Brand cargos, Madewell scarf, Toms, Mulberry bag

Back to School by bubblensqueak featuring

Beautiful little fool

I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool... You see, I think everything's terrible anyhow... And I know. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, Ch. 1

Tomorrow night I’m going to a Gatsby-themed charity event. I say ‘charity event’ loosely, because I’m not some debutante whose job is to be on various charity boards and get my picture in society magazines. I wish. However, this event technically benefits one of the only charities I actually know and feel personally invested in, so I’m going. But what to wear? I love dressing up, but in college this veered towards makeshift togas and slapdash slutty outfits. This party looks the eensiest bit more classy, especially since I’ll know a few legit adults there. I decided to do a bit of research since the book is less interested in Daisy’s wardrobe than I would like.

Right now I’m thinking fishnets, my fringe-y skirt, and A LOT of pearls and chains courtesy of my Grandmother’s jewelry box. If I could find a sequined feather headband and long cig holder that would be ideal.

1 Book cover, 2 how tight are these guns? Flapper era, 3 one of my faves Lauren Conrad on mtv.com, 4 Robert Redford and Mia Farrow in the movie (1974)

Via Hubble Telescope, UVA Astronomy News

“We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust.”

~Jalal ad-Din Rumi