Dolls on Display

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And there were no crazy shop-owners hunting me and my camera down. They were totally chill about it. Went about business as usual. I was right in front of them at some point (but those pictures were discarded).








These are the most gorgeous jewelry stands I've seen! They were in some artsy store at the end of Pier 39 that I've looked over and passed just about every time I've been until now! I don't remember the name. It's under the stairs and a little obscure and out of the way in some dark corner where there is never a crowd. I don't think it's a very big tourist attraction. It isn't very appropriate for Pier 39, but I'm sure glad it was there!

Unremarkably tasty

I'm really not much of a foodie. My taste buds are not the most refined nor the most critical. But the thing I like about going out to eat is the rest of it. The restaurant ambiance and atmosphere, I guess they call it. It's fun to go someplace where it seems like they put forth an effort to make the eating experience pleasant. Decor is important as well as the food.

Here is the ceiling of this sushi place near campus. Sushi Ko. It's starry! That's so cool! Sometimes people overlook things above them. If you look up, you might find something spectacular. The food was good. I'm not very experienced with sushi, so it doesn't take much to make me happy. I had some yellowtail thing with mango and this other one, which I can't remember because all I remember is the delicious, delicious mango item.

Jupiter's on Shattuck is a pizza place, that is also known for their beers, but seeing as how I have yet to obtain a fake id and how I don't care for beer... There was focaccia and pizza on my plate. The focaccia was most delicioso, but the pizza was sub-par at best. Perhaps I've been conditioned to like only Chicago pizza or something, but nothing compares to Ricky-bene's. Never has, never will.

I guess we'll do the bad news first. There seemed to be flies buzzing around everywhere. It was to the point of annoyance. I don't think we should have to swat them away mid bite. And, perhaps it was the way the sun was shining, but it seemed like there was a constant shroud of dust floating in the air. I'm sorry, but that is not the most appetizing. These factors ruined what could have been a perfectly pleasant dining experience.

The outdoor patio was really nice. They had this fountain in the middle and I especially liked the bricked walls and benches. The building was open windowed. There was an upstairs and downstairs, but most sat outside. The red bricks made it feel like it could be set somewhere in a European village. It was cute.
Food was not great. Contributing outdoor elements were not cooperating. But decor was good. In this case, it did not make up for the food and everything else.

Things I Love This Month

1)
Red Bean Ice
I had some Kintoki the other day but it didn't even come close. Can you believe I haven't had this in over two years. I've been craving this deliciousness for awhile yet I haven't gone to get it yet. It's as if I'm scared that all the expectation will lead to disappointment.

2)
Art Deco Mary-Janes from Anthropologie
What can I say? I like fashions from the first half of the 20th century to the point where I would even cross-dress in a waistcoat. These are love.

3)

These masterblocks(located in the upper left of the photo) from Fauxkiss are stunning and I would love to have all three. Alas, I can't quite afford all three and having just one won't do so I shall have to settle for this one.

4)
This coat from Richard Chai for Target's Go International
Even thought I live within ten miles of 6 different Target stores, I have been unable to track it down and it's sold out in my size online. 'm just hoping they either restock it soon or the stores I went to have them hidden away to pull out once fall come closer.

5)
The Art of Manipulating Fabric by Colette Wolff
This is pretty much a fabric bible that absolutely everyone should have. It will lead to so much frustration and agony, but I want it. It even available on Google Reader!Here are some pictures from Purple Missus to show just what you can do with it.

Earwax Cafe

A friend and I went on a trip to Wicker Park and we ate at Earwax Cafe. Yes, the name is kind of gross but it peaked the friend's interest so that's where we ate. It was fairly low prices(cash only!) for the area and both the food and service were excellent. I kept accidently giving the waitress looks as if we were waiting for her so she kept coming to check on us. Sorry! She's also in the photo below which I hope she doesn't mind.



Images of the interior and the nameless friend/ I'll leave it to you to guess who it is based on the color of her shirt. The whole place had a circus/sideshow theme so the booths had really cool high backs and I loved the fenced entrance. I'm sorry the quality is so bad but it was a pretty sunny day so they didn't turn on the lights and the entire front of the restaurant was open.

I had the sweet potato and black bean quesadilla with salsa on top on the left and the friend had something whose name I can't remember and couldn't pronounce but it was really good. It had tortillas, eggs, salsa, arice, and black beans in it. I personally don't like black bean very much so I didn't eat most of mine but the other entree was love. It was a bit like extraordinary breakfast fare (which I always love) with a little bit of a spicy kick. When I eat there again I might just order something with thier earwax sauce(spice?ingredient? sorry, can't remember)

Also, I suppose it's about time to spiffy up this blog thing. Maybe next week.

Crimson colors and mini muffins

On this the Fourth of July (posthumously), I planned on finally visiting that cafe down the street from my current temporary residence. And then I was reminded that it was the Fourth of July. No go. Onward to the end!

The walls are red!
And there are the coolest fruits and vegetables paintings hanging around the restaurant!
Shall I reiterate?
The walls are red!
!!!

Instead of bread baskets, they gave baskets of mini-muffins!
It's a mega-basket of mini-muffins! There was another mega basket of a different mini-muffin variety underneath. This is not the one we got, unfortunately. They have regular size baskets to give mini-muffins in.

I ordered this spinach, mushroom, and tomato omelet with potato pancakes. I'm not a big fan of eggs,
but this was yummy anyway.

There is a bakery attached to Town's End Restaurant - Town's End Bakery - go figure. This is mainly a breakfast, brunch, lunch place. They are always hopping when I walk by, granted isn't very often and only on the weekends, but yea. It overlooks the Bay on Embarcadero. A wall of windows, it gets very good natural lighting, unlike other dim places. Me gusta.

Hit me with your best shot

What's the point?
Haha.
Get it?
I know.
That was bad.
I couldn't resist.Cupid's Span
Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen

This is on Embarcadero. I'm going to guess somewhere around Pier 20? They skip piers.
They've had some fencing, scaffolding, and green tarp covering half of it for a bit.
I noticed recently that it was uncovered.
There's a sign that tells you not to climb/slide on it, but I see kids doing that all the time.

"As a counterpoint to romantic nostalgia,
we evoked the mythological account of Eros
shooting his arrow into the earth to make it fertile."
Placed on a hill, one can imagine the arrow being sunk under the surface of plants and prairie grasses.
A sense of acceleration is present with the slant of the bow. Like a boat viewed from the stern,
the bow seems to be tracking a course.

Muji

What's so great about design is that it transcends genre. Everyone can appreciate good design and that's exactly what we strive to do here. Muji is a Japanese based store that has recently opened/will open two NYC American flagship stores. Their everyday products feature simple, yet innovative designs, something that the Japanese are known for although the opposite is also true. I meant to go check out the Soho location last semester but unfortunately, I never got around to it. I fully intend on remedying that in the Fall. Like us, they also appreciate design and as a result, they have a yearly design competition. The contest is international but judging from past winners, I guess most entries come from Asia.



Last year's winning product was a gridded towel. I don't know how else to explain it but that's what the above picture is of. It fit in perfectly with the theme of the competition which was "Re." The towel is easily marked so that it could be cut after being used so that it could also be a floor mat, washcloth, or anything of that nature. This design is so simple and obvious yet no one had produced towels like this. This year's theme is "Found" and they're taking entries until the end of July. Even if you have no intention of entering, checking out winning designs of the past is always fun.

We Love Pretty Things

Since the last post had such an awful image, I decided to update with this beautiful streetstyle snapshot from Hel Looks, a Finnish streetstyle site for you to look at.



Her name is Molla Mills and she's a Finnish accessory designer

Sounds Like Disco Tetris

This time last year, my two-week homestay in Japan was just ending. Everyone was getting a little bit homesick around the 4th of July. One thing I remember best about the trip was the uniforms. Most everyone is familiar with the Japanese schoolgirl uniform but if you aren't, this and this are some nice examples. Keep in mind though that these girls aren't actually in school. The high school my host sister went to didn't require uniforms but lots of girls wore them anyway because (why else?)they're cute. Keep in mind that a real schoolgirl uniform actually looks like this and is much less flattering. Girls roll up their skirts outside of school or just wear fake uniforms (like the girls at the high school I visited).

The reason I bring this up is because I'm really craving a pair of penny loafers. I know, this sounds insane but they really are a bit geek chic, don't you think? Mainly this pair. Freeport by BassYes they are pricey but whatever. I've looked everywhere(Googled) and they are completely gone in my size in black and I hate the contrast topstitching in the other colors. An alternative is this(don't you love how I keep making you click links?) pair but they look like they're waaay lower quality but they're also less than 1/3 the price sooo... Plus 6pm is doing this promotioin thing where they give you credit for signing up for stuff you might use anyway. They do look passably cute from the side but I wanted the heel shape of the pictured pair and I hate the shape of the toe on the Penny Loves Kenny ones.

And pardon the post title. That section of the song is kind of stuck in my head(and I don't mind at all).

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.