Stolen Perfume Bottles

So I came across these perfume bottles at some store in Chinatown last winter. They were utterly breathtaking. Much to my dismay, as soon as I whipped out my trusty camera, the ladies in the store just about had a heart attack. "No pictures." These ladies watch you like hawks. I want it stated for the record that I was not trying to commit a crime. And it's not like perfume bottles have souls. Or did they? Maybe that's what they hold. Maybe that's why I wasn't allowed to take pictures. That's besides the point.

So what a great discovery it was to find perfume bottles of the same sort at some other store today. Granted, this display was not as nice as the other one, but they were here. There bottles had to share a display with other items not as nice. And I whipped out my trusty camera and snapped to my heart's desire.

That first store had a bigger variety. They had the turtle on coral number above with red coral.
These bottles had their own display. There were also hand-held mirrors and jewelry boxes at that store.
But, hey, you just have to make it work.

I like dragonflies.

There was a jewelry store downtown. They had the most gorgeous jewelry stands of this like,
only much more gorgeous. They were in different period gowns.
I got the dreaded "No pictures." as multiple attendants swarmed at me.
This jewelry stand was at the same store as the perfume bottles.
This was the last picture I got before the lady in the store told me "No pictures."

I did NOT leave my heart in San Francisco

... but I'm sure some other people have! Like the creators of these hearts.
Here is a project called Hearts in San Francisco.

The goal? a 'unique hybrid of fund-raising, compassionate community involvement, and a positive nurturing of artistic expression.'

Anybody remember Cows on Parade? Ahem...
In Chicago?

On the back:
"What is love? For me, love is patience, unselfish deeds rendered to others, and an appreciation for just being who I am."

There are four hearts in Union Square. One for each corner.

There are over 130 hearts circulating. The project started in 2004. A bunch have been auctioned off, which I'm sure is how this heart ended up in someone's residence.

These are the hearts I've been able to spot without trying.

The Aortic Valve

Yes, we suck at updating. But there really is no point in posting on a blog intended to show each other things when we see each other everyday, is there?

Anyway, on our three(4?) short weeks together, we managed to lunch at one of our favorite spots. We love Cafe Aorta- partly because we discovered it shortly after studying the heart in AP Bio (yes, we're nerds and we love it) and partly because it was one of the cutest little places we had every seen! We sat outside which there sadly was kind of no point to. The view outside can be described as not quite dismal. Located at the corner of south 21st and Damen in Pilsen, the surrounding area isn't much to be excited about. There was only so much the flowers could do.

The inside is more quaint with local art hanging on the walls and baked goods lying around everywhere.

Some of the tables keep with the heart theme and the food is good too. The one on top is pasta with vegetarian meatballs with a side of their "kickass garlic bread." And the bottom one is an egg salad sandwich with a side of grilled veggies.

And here's a photo of the front with Papi Perez the owner (who also makes all the food behind the counter) in case you get lost trying to find it. I'm totally not saying this from personal experience.

It's a Fairy Nice Place

Do you believe in magic?Fairy dust is at Pier 39!
I got fairy dusted upon entrance.
It's a cute little shop with lotsa fairy themed items. There were figurines, jewelry, posters. There were also costumes, oil candles, fairy dust, and much more. It's located on the second level of Pier 39.

Reading Is Fundamental

I had never really thought about this aspect of prison. How would you ever be able to read anything if bookstores or libraries weren't accessible? I had never thought that reading would be a form of entertainment to prisoners. Yes, the movies do sometimes show them reading, but it had never occurred to me that a book would be such a rare find in prison. I have wondered what they must do with all their time. It's a shame so much of it has to go without a book.

I think this is awesome. It's called the Prisoner's Literature Project: SF Bay Area's Books Through Bars Program. They send free books to prisoners across the United States. Their office (located near campus) is run by volunteers and through donations.

Harlequin

Taking a cue from Miu Miu SS08, I've been wanting harlequin inspired items. It's like argyle but way better.


Irregular Choice SS07


Foot Traffic

Eley Kishimoto FW08

Bon voyage!

Have a safe flight, Angela! Tell the skyscrapers I say hi and that I miss them dearly. And the girls.

Fairy Tale Fashion

My fairy tales class ended with a final project. They gave us free roam to do whatever we wanted. This one girl made a cake that looked like the castle from Blood Tea and Red String. These was a puppet show and a music video. Someone else made a create-your-own adventure game-board complete with all of SIX possible endings.
I was watching too much Project Runway at the time they introduced the project to us. I decided to take fairy tale characters and insert them into another era - costume-wise. I would have made something had I had the time or my machine or any materials necessary, but it was only supposed to take four hours.

Mouth Watering

Is this not the most beautiful sight you've ever held before your eyes in panoramic photo form on a computer screen?
I believe they call themselves Melt - how appropriate! That is exactly what I'd do for a scoop. This was a gelato and crepe booth/station place in the Westfield Shopping Centre food court in SF.
Now this was not your average food court with the McDonald's and Taco Bell. And, frankly, both are gross at this point. This was the average yuppie's food court chock full of overpriced cookies and pan-asian skewers. They even had a yuppie grocery store with scrumptious looking pastries on display and $13 bags of cherries. And there were busboys in uniform! You're supposed to leave your dishes on the tables and they come around to take care of it. And every eatery had the same plates, which were not disposable. They had the ambiance going with the dim lighting and modernist chic decor. Other choices included Japanese, Korean, American, Italian, Mexican, etc.
Hand washing station was separate from the bathrooms and Family Lounge complete with couches and toys to entertain the children.


And all of it was saturated in yuppie!

Uniqlo

I went today even though I shouldn't be spending money and spending all my time studying. You can't blame me as I'm leaving New York at the end of the week and they only have one store in America. Plus, the Golden Week sale was pretty good. And, to top it all off, they had thin suspenders on their mannequins! I didn't notice until I was leaving so I'm going back Friday when I will pass it anyway to see if they have green ones. I loved that they had a small section completely covered in manga panels.

P.S. I know this really shouldn't be an entry but I'm reinterpreting this blog as stuff to show Joyce.

and I love whoever came up with the idea for this. http://www.uniqlo.jp/uniqlock/

Fire Escapes

Back home, fire escapes don't exactly run rampant on every single building. Rarely have I seen one outside of downtown. So, one time, there was a fire drill in the main building during one of my classes. Since my class was all the way on top on the 10th floor, we science nerds decided to take the opportunity to go down the fire escape rather than take the stairs like normal people. It was scary(cause of the holes-I'm afraid of heights) and awesome all at the same time.

Elizabeth Street between Prince and Houston

Pier 14 Imports

This was the sculpture by Pier 14 when I was there last fall. It was made out of lotsa scrap metal looking pieces. The hair was chains. Very cool.

Passage by Dan Das Mann and Karen Cusolito
They changed it this spring. Still very cool.

Crouching Spider by Louiise Bourgeois
Courtesy of the Public Art Program at San Francisco Arts Commission.

"Some are subtle surprises. Others are bold artistic statements."

Pumps are your friends

"There are only two kinds of women in the world. Those who love shoes and those who had the misfortune to be born without the ability to experience total bliss on finding a pair of perfectly designed pumps in the right size at half price."

Every girl loves an occasion to put on a pair of heels. At least this girl does.
In preparation for a semi-formal, my friends and I went shopping. But who really needs an excuse to go shopping? It was much to my dismay when they expressed to me their fear of heels. Sure, flats are cute and all, but they lack a certain element of glamour/ intensity/ audaciousness/ joie de vivre that is embodied in the heel. I've been jonesin' for these Petal Cut-out pumps from Delia's.These are just very aestheticaly pleasing.Classic black. But not really. With a twist. Steve Madden.


Reasons to wear heels:
1* It'll make you aware of your posture. They make you stand up straight or else you'll fall over, which would not be glamorous.
2* Most people stand on their heels of their feet. The heel forces your weight to be distributed more evenly. Granted you find comfortable heels. Yes, there are comfortable heels out there.
3* For those of us who are vertically challenged *ahem* they can add inches to our, I mean your height.
4* The clickety-clack sound they make is like music. Lovely.
5* You can't say you don't feel great in heels. That extra pop in your step. Each foot down exudes more confidence than the one before. There is power in the pump. Embrace it.

Nota Bene

Cute little shop on Telegraph. Sway is what they call themselves.
I was in there to kill some time while my roommate was getting inked.
They stapled ribbons up there. I wouldn't mind being a wallflower if this were the wall.