Spring and all

I'm back! It's a new season, starting today, and I feel at least revived enough to post a springy collage. Stuff I've been vibin' on, getting excited for warm Florida weather to return. And a mix, to boot!



From top left, clockwise: NARS cheek schtuff in Orgasm looks good on everyone, I hear; Dancing with Cats, my current hobby; prosecco for when you're feeling low, but can't afford good champagne; roasted baby root vegetables from Sunday Suppers; Earth Girls Are Easy = shirtless Jeff Goldblum; dresses I'm dying for; Wissotzky Rose Chai tea; vegan croissants from Vegan Dad; hair pins from Anthropologie; and oh, the pesto-bilities!


(Pic by Sunday Suppers, poem by good ol' e.e. cummings)

01. Lazybones - Leon Redbone
02. In the Sun - She & Him
03. Dreaming of You - The Coral
04. One Note Samba - Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66
05. Going Up the Country - Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
06. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - The Smiths
07. Life is Good Blues - Laura Veirs
08. Duet for Guitars #3 - M. Ward
09. Feeling Good - The Skatalites
10. Cow Eyes - Hop Along
11. Cornbread and Butterbeans - Carolina Chocolate Drops
12. Beach Comber - Real Estate
13. Love's a-Comin' - The Impressions
14. Wild Honey - The Beach Boys

>>>Enjoy.

Sister Winter

And so the end to my first year of blogging approaches. Soul Food has definitely served its purpose for me personally, which was primarily to motivate me to cook more, to develop my personal cooking style, to challenge myself in the kitchen...mission accomplished! Maybe you found something tasty to eat in the meantime? Well, here's a final roundup of my major inspiration for the coming change of season. Happy holidays!



Clockwise from top right: A bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rosé, my absolute favorite champagne (and champagne is my favorite altogether); David Lebovitz's orange marmalade, which I'll be whipping up for a holiday gift this year; Black Swan, an increeeedible film; a sharp look from Chanel's Pre-Fall 2011 collection; a beautiful Peppermint Crush cake from Sugar Skull; Ella Fitzgerald's Swinging Christmas - classic; The Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnit, a fascinating book explaining what flavors pair best in food; a gingerbread snowflake cookie from Martha Stewart; my planner for 2011, by Jill Bliss, from here; and the original Four Freshmen's breakout record, which my charming brother had signed by the latest incarnation of the group when we caught their show this weekend. I will love those boys forever!

Falling for Fall

If I'm being honest, my favorite season has always been autumn. Where I grew up, in South Florida, the leaves didn't actually turn pretty colors, and the temperature never really started to drop until the rest of the country had already made the transition.

Here in Northern Florida, well, not much has changed! But I like to think I'm far enough north now to enjoy some of the natural joys of the season. Here's what's been getting me jazzed for the next couple months.



Clockwise from top left: Peacekeeper Natural Lip Paint, an organic line of lipsticks with some really choice shades (top-rated for its low impact and absence of toxic substances on goodguide.com); Howl and Other Poems, a representative collection of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg's incredible work; a proliferation of butterbeer recipes with the grand opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - boy, I could really see myself kickin' back by a roaring fire with a frothy glass of this stuff; Jules and Jim, French actress Jeanne Moreau at her finest; butternut squash bread pudding (to be veganized immediately!); meringue "bones" (with my recent meringue experimentation, how could I help myself?); The FEST 9!!! (I'm fortunate enough to be performing at this glorious annual Gainesville festival on All Hallow's Eve - couldn't be more excited); and finally, a charming Sartorialist photo of a young lady dining al fresco at a Parisian cafe - how chic...I love her hat and her pattern-mixing. :)

Everyday Soul

For your dose of Everyday Soul today, I wanna show some love for the longest day of the year and present a few morsels I've been referring to for summer inspiration lately.



Clockwise from top left: Lemony Spiked Sweet Tea, immortal summertime jams by The Beach Boys, American Cream Solid Perfume by LUSH (SMELLS SO GOOD!!!), sweet aaaand savory crepes even though I have yet to produce a successful batch of gluten free 'uns (this VeganYumYum recipe looks promising), the Miu Miu Spring 2010 kitty cat!!! (can't wait to find a way to iron this DIY--i.e. affordable--version all over something adorable), and finally, YogaGlo, a cool site for doing all kinds of yoga on any level for any duration of time right in your own home. Discovered via Savvy Abby.

Refresh

Alright, y'all. It's been a while! Hi! I'm not back into my cooking groove just yet, but in the mean time I've been playing around a bit with inspiration so when I finally get my life back (three real days of school left!!!), I'll really be in the zone. To express my excitement about this season we're enjoying right now, not to mention the thrill of this semester coming to a close, here are all the things I'm feeling inspired by this Spring:


(Click to see it larger.)

Clockwise, that's An Education (GREAT film, and so pretty), a blueberry tart (I've been dreaming of the ones they sell at this French bakery I used to work at), She & Him's Volume Two (adorable, duh), CB I Hate Perfume's "I am a Dandelion" scent, a sassy look from Marc by Marc Jacob's Spring collection, BASIL ice cream (OH god, so good), vegan electric blue half-oxfords my mom got me for Easter from ALDO, Food Not Lawns by Heather Flores (a fabulous introduction to permaculture), a glass bead necklace from Anthropologie (as usual, far out of my price range, but man, I love glass beads), aaaaand a stack of the most elegantly packaged chocolate I've ever seen: Mast Brothers.