Ramen Holiday (sorry)

A ramen-heavy diet is often seen as the unfortunate consequence of a cash-light wallet, but I think it's delicious. I weaned myself off the pre-packaged stuff while I was pregnant (we were a little weirded out by the ingredients in those magical flavor mixes), but I still ate my weight in Asian noodle soup. There are some pretty good, cheap and fast noodle places in New Haven that we'd visit some nights. Other nights I'd make my own soups, and they were pretty damn good.

My cooking has really gone down the tubes in recent months, though, and today I discovered that my noodle-doctoring abilities have gone with it. For lunch I made a big pot of ramen soup, spooned some out for Jasper, added some spice, and spooned some out for myself. I managed to add enough soy sauce to mine to make it edible, but Jasper found his to make better hair than food.

Fortunately there are plenty of decidedly more talented people out there doctoring ramen every day and telling us all about it on the www. Next time I'll let myself be guided by the pros - and maybe not try to do laundry and cook at the same time. Click on pictures for links.

light

January can really be kind of terrible, especially if there's no snow. Without winter activities, January is just dark days, cabin fever, and post-holiday letdown.

The best thing to do in times like these is redecorate, I always say! I'm dreaming of a space that will be cozy in the winter (if it ever comes) but light and breezy for the summer. My ceilings and windows are nowhere near as tall as these, which may be all the more reason to lighten things up and kick color to the curb for a bit.

flat

Despite a little foot-dragging on both our parts, Keith and I finally managed to pick a date, a venue, and a caterer for our wedding in May. For everything else, though, my motto has been "we don't have to panic until January!"

Well...it's January, so wedding planning has kicked into high gear. And while I'm not going to divulge too many details from our wedding, there are tons of ideas we couldn't use that another couple may want to.

Let's start with attire. I found a dress with zero problems. I saw a picture somewhere, found an awesome bridal boutique (which I'll probably have to talk about more at some point), tried the dress on and fell in love. Shoes, on the other hand, were (are) a much bigger battle. I knew I wanted something sparkly but that's it.

Here's the problem - I love flats, but I only wear them with a dress or skirt if it hits at least 2 inches above the knee or is floor length. My dress is knee length, so despite the fact that I may wobble a bit and I'll definitely tower over my groom, I chose an obscenely high platform heel. Ah well...

If flats had been an option (which they still might be for the reception), I'd have gone for one of these ridiculously blinged-out babies:

from top to bottom: Kate Spade, Jimmy Choo, Vera Wang, Vera Wang

Toast!

Well, that's about it for 2011. It was a great year, but it felt kind of...transitional. I dealt with switching apartments and adjusting to motherhood in the first half of the year, and now I'm focusing on getting hitched and finding a job.

I know I should be living more in the present, since Aerosmith Emerson told me that life's a journey and not a destination. I'm also aware that Morrissey was looking for a job, found a job, and remained miserable. But Wu Tang says that Cash Rules Everything Around Me, and that's the final word.

Anyway, I hope that all of us find happiness in the present, hope in the future, and champagne in our glasses! Thank you 2011 for a great run, and cheers to all that 2012 can bring!

no sweat

I hope your holidays were full of food, family and style. I'm sure you didn't suffer too much from my lack of follow through re:more gift guides, but I apologize nonetheless.

Now it's time to gear up for the new year. We'll be ringing it in with my parents at the family's northern Michigan cottage, which should be cozy and relaxing. I'm working on some resolutions, but in the meantime I'm enjoying a break from all the dressing up and going out Keith and I did around Christmas.

That brings us to my final purchase of 2011. I have all these fun tights and leggings for the winter, but they look a little formal paired with sweater dresses. Solution? Sweatshirt dress! This Steven Alan piece from the 2012 resort collection would be perfect, even if it might still technically be a sweater:

But alas, I didn't work an income-earning day in 2011(!!!) So I had to settle for

the American Apparel alternative:

It might not be work appropriate, but that's not currently an issue (see above). Anyway, cheers to a little lazy-wear, and have a great end to 2011!

Gift Guide #1: Girl you don't know that well

I had this huge post up about holiday dressing, but it was definitely Polyvore overload so I took it down. If you're curious as to what I think you should wear, though, you can check out these dresses, these fancier dresses, these blazers, this hosiery, and this footwear.

Now on to the issue of what to get your Secret Santa co-worker/kids' babysitter/brother's new girlfriend. You may not know her that well, but that's not a green light to pick up something off the Rite Aid discount table. Better to take this opportunity to show her how cool and thoughtful you are with one of these:

Recycled bud vase, $14. It will look good in virtually any apartment.


Bamboo headphones, $40. Because you know how important it is to tune out your annoying coworkers.
Body scrub, $38. I love the packaging, her skin will love the natural detox.

You can't text in gloves. Try these hand warmers, $36 instead.



I can't stand how dried out I get in the winter. Salve, $26 solves everything.
Teak coasters, $24. Each one is unique!

This Himalayan spice tin candle, $18, smells like a campfire, which is obviously the coziest scent ever.

Stay tuned for Gift Guide #2: Boy you know very well.

Necking

If it weren't for fall I might have moved somewhere warm and sunny a long time ago. But no - I LOVE FALL. Fashion-wise, it's perfect. I love crazy layering and cozy bundling and tons of greyand black. But the best part is definitely insane collars and getting creative with scarves. I've been drooling everywhere over the fall '11 looks from Anne Demeulemeester, Comme des Garcons, Haider Ackermann, and Rick Owens. These labels are decidedly darker and more avant garde than what I've gone for in the past (in my dreams), but I sense that their pieces could withstand the test of time better than those from other collections.

I would love to invest in just a few pieces every season that I would wear over and over again, but right now I just can't justify the price. Which brings me back to scarves. There is no more sensible way to elevate an outfit than through the use of fabric around one's neck...