Campaign for Wool

Started by Prince Charles after he realized the world's sheep population was declining and wool prices were plummeting, the Campaign for Wool is a nonprofit that brings wool to the people in the form of various PR-grabbing acts of wool bombing. Behold, the Bryant Park fountain:

There were also sheep, both animate and inanimate.

There was a guy demonstrating how they make mattresses out of wool.

And then there was a finished one that was SOFT AS A FREAKIN' CLOUD.

They even had a guard because of all the publicity.

Hey there, soldier.

Gone farmin'

Well, not farming, but apple picking! And peaches, and eggplant, and peppers, and dandelions.

One of my birthday weekend activities was going to Alstede Farm in Chester, NJ. Raymond kept it a surprise until we were halfway there on the train!

It was so beautiful there, and so great to be outside and get away from the city! 

Not only do they have vegetables and fruit to pick, but they also had flowers you could cut!

I probably went a little crazy, and I definitely didn't think clearly when it came to picking flowers that would last the train ride home. 

I wouldn't let Raymond pick the green beans; we have a huge bag already.

We ended up with a small box of the sweetest raspberries and peaches, and a bunch of apples, eggplant, hot peppers and flowers. 

If you want to go there, you can take the NJ Transit on the Dover line to Gladstone. You have to switch trains at Summit, so don't fall asleep! When you get there, you'll probably be the only ones at the station since it's the end of the line. To get to the farm, you call Chester Limo for a ride. You might have to wait half an hour for them to arrive, but at least it's only $10.

Wear your walking shoes!

Chobani store, Soho

Ever since the Chobani store opened in Soho, I've been wanting to go check it out. My favorite plain Greek yogurt is the 2% Fage plain, but Chobani has some really fun flavors like apple cinnamon. I didn't know what to expect from the store, but it was cool!

Raymond, in nothin' but Uniqlo (and shoes by Calvin Klein)

The inside of the store is really fancy. They sell plain yogurt with different topping choices, and you can watch them make it behind the windows.

I chose fig and walnut, and Raymond had chocolate/pistachio/orange/mint. The sales girl said his flavor is the favorite sweet one, but I liked mine better for sure. 

And the best part? You get to keep those little glass bowls!

I love my freebies, and my Uniqlo linen shirt.

I can see myself in my nails

I've been wanting to do really metallic nails but I don't have the time or willpower to do something complicated with metallic foil, and the metallics I bought last year at Sephora were sparkly, but not really the flat shine I was looking for. Then I found this Essie polish, No Place Like Chrome.

Look how shiny! My hands are like Tin Man hands! My afternoon conversation with Raymond was a series of variations of this:

Me: Look! My hands look like a robot! Do I look like a robot? Do I look like the Tin Man? Can you see yourself in my nails? 

Raymond: (Staring at TV) You look amazing, baby. Come on, Eli!!!! 

Uniqlo Ultra Stretch Jeans, Aritzia short-sleeve sweatshirt

The couples' massage we had today was great; the oil/lotion stuff they used on my hands rubbed off all the mistakes I made while painting my nails this morning. The massage was the second-to-last celebration of my birthday this past Friday (with the last being the cupcake from Billy's Bakery we had afterward). 

My nails match the subway!

The best part about this polish: it dries so fast, I put on a pair of jeans five minutes after painting it on and didn't get any smudges!

Fashion's Night Out: SUNO/Minx manicure!

After asking about 7 Saks salespeople where to go and after 45 minutes of waiting, I finally got my SUNO/Minx manicure!

Minx manicure on a gorgeous Theory coat

I chose this great Hawaiian-style print:

But I was also really tempted by this one the girl next to me got. Those are little people on the nails!

The process was a bit more involved than I thought it would be. The stickers heat up under a lamp while they buff your nails to be a little more smooth. Then they stick them on really carefully, use tiny scissors to trim away the extra bits, and let it sit for a few minutes while they do your entire hand. The sticker ends get filed off on the end of your nail. 

My hands were totally burning under the heat of that lamp!

Otherwise, Fashion's Night Out this year was pretty much a wash. Too many people, no sales, no free stuff and almost no free food. There's usually drinks and cupcakes at a bare minimum! I waited forever to get this manicure and I showed up half an hour early. Next year, I'm renting a movie and making my own damn cupcakes.

Where's my umbrella?

Armani Exchange shirt, Uniqlo ultra stretch color jeans, Hotwind shoes, Tsumori Chisato Cats umbrella, homemade bag

I got this Tsumori Chisato umbrella at the recent Bird warehouse sale and was so pumped! My shirt is from Armani Exchange, and it was literally my second time in the store. I never thought I'd wear anything they sold, due to my lack of orange tan and bulging muscles, and my natural aversion to slutty-club-clothes-as-day-wear. The jeans are from Uniqlo and I went every week waiting for them to go on sale. I bought three pairs. I do not regret it.

I whip my hair back and forth

Vena Cava for Gap dress, Uniqlo leggings, Fei Yue sneakers, homemade bag

I went sporty today with the leggings and sneakers, so I went all out and made a real ponytail, with hairspray and everything. This dress is really cute but too short to wear without leggings to work, and it kind of makes a solid belly pooch because of the pockets and the zipper. I'm hoping that when people see it and think I'm three months pregnant, they'll also think "Oh, but her boobs are too small, it's just the dress making a weird pooch."

Just whip it! Whip it real good.

I heart hearts!

I found a super cute nail polish on this week's Target run!

Nicole by O.P.I's Love Your Life

Nicole by O.P.I's Love Your Life over Essie's Shop Till I Drop

It's a little hard to make sure you get a heart on each nail, so I settled for 7 out of 10. But the ones that do stick on there are so cute! I feel ready to load up on Kpop and Uggs now.

Should I get with this, or should I get with that?

I got some amazing kelly green patent leather last week, and I plan to use it in part as bag handles for canvas totes. I'm debating navy or black for the men's bag. What do you think? Leave me a comment!

And a little more color inspiration: New York subway tiles

Marni for H&M

I was up so early this morning that the express train was still local. The payoff was a bunch of women's accessories and men's clothes from Marni for H&M!

Raymond was nice enough to come with me to the Flatiron (5th Ave. at 18th St.) store.

We got up at 5, in line just after 6, and the line was about 50 people long.

Not too bad! At around 7, H&M employees/security came out with a loudspeaker and explained the system. People would be let in the store in groups of 30, with each group having 15 minutes to shop. We ended up being near the end of the second group, let in at 8:25. They began letting people in around 8:05, and they scheduled five minute cleaning/restocking breaks in between groups. 

There were some interesting people in line. Two ladies had my short Plus J Uniqlo coat. The two in front of me chain smoked for hours. These two ladies were a few people ahead of me and were wearing items that were very similar to the ones being sold.

At 8:20, we were let in the doors and we went upstairs to the Marni area where we waited in a blocked off line right in front of the tiny little shopping area. It was nice to be able to scope out what to grab first! Here's the view from below; I was way too excited to take any pics while I was up there.

It was actually really fun! The other people waiting were generally friendly and happy, and the employees pumped us up by yelling "Go Team Green!" etc. (referring to the color of our arm bands) and counting down the minutes and seconds until we got to go in.

When we finally got there, it was civilized madness. Everyone was focused and fast, but still polite. Since there were only 30 of us and they had just restocked, there was plenty of most things for everyone. The only thing I heard a complaint about was the lack of small sizes for some of the shorts. A lady I met in line also told me later that she couldn't find the silver shoes she wanted, or a couple of the dresses.

The quality of the line was pretty good! Honestly, I felt a bit oversaturated when it came to the women's clothes, but I really loved some of the men's items for me! I grabbed a bunch of the women's accessories as well, including two bracelets, the sunglasses, one of the layered necklaces, and two sequin collars.

 The line was still going strong when I left.

Damn, my hair looks good today!

Superbowl Sundae

I'm not really into football, but I am into wings and beer. City Bakery's Superbowl flavored hot chocolate was inspired by one of those things, and unfortunately it wasn't buffalo sauce. The only characteristic of beer that the Superbowl flavor had was its bitterness. The bitter aftertaste was distinct, but there was no other taste connection to me.

I feel like if they made a bitter melon hot chocolate, it would taste the same as the Superbowl.

Monday: Lemon hot chocolate. I will be skipping this one. Please refer to my previous review for more information. The short version: lemon Pledge. The long version: damn, I was a better writer two years ago.

Don't slip!

They say that approximately 75% of what we taste is actually based on smell. City Bakery's Banana Peel hot chocolate (Saturday's flavor) had a distinct banana peel smell. It's interesting because I couldn't previously have told you what the difference between the smell of the actual fruit and its peel would be, but when I smelled the chocolate, it was definitely banana peel and not banana. The flavor went well with the chocolate and I really enjoyed it because it didn't disappear after the second sip, which is a common problem with the festival's flavors. It's mainly due to the smell though; Raymond and I joked that they probably used regular chocolate and sprayed it with banana smell, or that they should just serve the regular chocolate and hand out banana peels to smell as you drink it. Or they could serve regular chocolate in a hollowed out banana peel!

Final verdict: great flavor, but espresso is still my favorite.

Today is Superbowl Chocolate!

Thank God I'm not a ginger.

I love ginger. I like it as a hot drink with honey; I like it with flat Coke; and I like it in my raw apple crisp. My first sip of the ginger hot chocolate on Friday was distinctly gingery; I could even feel a bit of a tingle in my throat after I swallowed (that's what she said). But after the first sip, I couldn't really distinguish any ginger flavor from the stronger chocolate flavors. All in all, not bad, but nothing to write home about. Part of me wishes the ginger flavor was stronger, because I love it, but a larger part of me just doesn't care because ginger doesn't really go with chocolate.

Saturday: Banana peel!

Espresso or EX-presso?

Thursday night's hot chocolate flavor at City Bakery was..... espresso!



Not really sure why they write it in Japanese too.

To me, this flavor was the best that I've had from City Bakery, rivaling the satisfying burnt-marshmallow flavor of the Caramel. There was the perfect amount of rich, almost nutty espresso flavor, and the chocolate actually arrived hot and at the perfect consistency - thick enough to be substantial, but not so thick it sticks in your throat. I don't even like coffee and I sucked it down like I was in the middle of an intense bout with that 2:30 feeling.

Friday: Ginger!

One man's treasure is another man's...

Is that how it goes?

City Bakery's annual Hot Chocolate Festival kicked off last night with Sunken Treasures, a flavor I hadn't seen in previous years. For those new to the event, City Bakery is famous for their thick hot chocolate, and every year in February they host a festival where they feature a different flavor each day. Raymond and I went Wednesday night to sample the Sunken Treasures, and my final verdict: TOTAL RIPOFF.

Not to be harsh, but Sunken Treasures wasn't even worth the trip. It was basically the regular hot chocolate poured over a couple of Werther's Originals and a piece of dark chocolate, or as they put it, "On the bottom of the Hot Chocolate Ocean, there's a chocolate pearl, toffee gold bars and caramel coral." The first problem was that they didn't offer the special flavor in the small tasting size, so you're forced to buy the full-sized bowl. The regular hot chocolate is so thick it's like drinking warm chocolate pudding with a buttery aftertaste, so it's almost impossible (except for true fans) to drink the whole bowl.

But the main problem with the flavor is that the hard candies and chocolate take so long to melt that if you were to wait for them, your chocolate would be ice cold. If you drink without them, it's the same as having the regular hot chocolate and then candy for dessert. There was no chance for the flavors to meld and mingle, which is what I imagine the best part of the Sunken Treasures flavor was supposed to be.

A blurry phone pic of a half-eaten Pretzel Croissant (AMAZING) and a "treasure":



Not sure how well you can see it, but here's a shot of the little bits of the candies melting and threads of them being stirred to the top:



Thursday: Espresso!

Jesus is watching you.

First I saw this awesome Jesus watch on a marketer at Refinery 29:



Then I was clicking through a slideshow of detail shots from Paris Fashion Week at NY Mag's The Cut:



What's going on here? Is the Jesus watch a trend? Because I love it! After I saw the first one, I made a mental note to search for it on Ebay but got distracted, and later I just thought, "Well, how many Jesus watches can there be, anyway?" Turns out: A LOT.

So is this a thing now? I'm going to make it official and call it a thing.

This is how New Yorkers live.

We make space for our Shrinky-dink art. We store laundry in our stoves (or fridges, in my cousin's case). We store bananas in the toaster ovens.

I actually once went to see and almost rented a place even smaller, if you can imagine it. It was very similar in layout but with a much smaller closet and the ladder to the bed stuck out too much, so you couldn't use that space for anything really. There wasn't even enough room for a desk and a chair. Her space is downright luxurious for her $700 rent, honestly. I mean this is New York! The space I looked at had a little tiny stove (quite the fire hazard in a space that small) and didn't have a bathroom; it was down the hall and you share with the three others on the hall. It was also right near Lincoln Center and that side of Central Park.

He's everything I'm not

Anyone who's ever met me knows that if there's anything I hate more than pigeons, it's snow. Because at least you can eat pigeons.


via Fucked in Park Slope

This guy, on the other hand, loves it. He likes letting it touch him. On his BARE SKIN. Ew.

(I'll be in a better mood when things aren't completely crazy at my company re: snow days. I shall say no more.)

A Little Help from My Friends

From Ian:



I needed a good racist joke to cheer me up this morning.

I don't know where that image came from, so if anyone finds out, please link me so I can credit them!

From Duane:




via Gizmag

I feel like I'm on a sinking ship today. Julien Berthier gets to feel like that every day! He cut a boat in half and redesigned the motor and keel to make a boat that looks like it's sinking but is in perfect working order. It's so cool and I really admire the idea and execution, but you know what this thing really makes me think? GOD DAMN I wish I had enough money to cut a freakin' yacht in half just because I want to.

Speaking of boats.... from Nicole:







I'm in love with these gorgeous photos by James Morgan for the NYTimes Lens blog. To get these, he taught himself Malaysian and Indonesian, went through a ton of deep sea dives, and practiced holding his breath etc. in his own bathtub. Please click through to the article page and see the rest of the images in the slideshow because they're amazing!

From Best Bets Daily:


Yes, I know that NY Mag is not my friend. You know how I know that? Since I subscribed, I get junk mail from every single New York charity ever founded, as well as every single related New York publication. Thanks, NY Mag, for selling my address to Crate and Barrel, West Elm, The New Yorker, the New York Times, Time Out, the Wildlife Federation, the Prospect Park Alliance and the Food Bank TO NAME ONLY A FEW.

Anyway. I love bamboo. I love bamboo floors, bamboo cutting boards, bamboo heels for my shoes. I've always wanted to go to that place in Fujian, China that's supposed to have naturally growing square bamboo. I also love it because I used to have this Philippina coworker that pronounced it BAHM-boo. So if anyone wants to comfort me about the amount of paper I'm wasting by receiving and instantly trashing all that junk mail, maybe you could get me these sustainable bamboo sunglasses. Not only will you be protecting my eyes and putting a smile on my face, you'll be paying for someone in need in India to have eye surgery!

And finally, from Ben:

I'm not going to post the video, but if you're feeling up to it, take a look at this totally horrifying clip of a rat that gets loose on the subway and CRAWLS ON A MAN'S FACE. Thanks, Gawker.