SWOON

Happy Birthday To Me

2011-12-15T14:23:00.000-05:00

If you would have told me a few years ago that my favorite birthday present would one day be a Snoogle, I would have kicked you in your face. But you guys, I actually feel well-rested for the first time in a few months. (Thanks, Mom.)
Anyway, here's a collection of blurry bump photos from the last several weeks. If I wasn't such an amateur, I'd use a real camera, wear the same outfit and pose in the same place every week, and then it wouldn't look like I was bigger at weeks 17 and 25 than I am now, at 27 weeks. But who has time for that stuff, besides those people who pin beautiful stuff on Pinterest every day?

Ps. It's also National Cupcake Day, so indulge. I mean, it's a national holiday.

2011-12-07T15:40:00.002-05:00

I'm sorry to post this so late in the day, but I figured just in case any of you stop by here before midnight, that's when Abby is closing up her Etsy shop of beautiful prints —for good. They're all so dreamy, shot with vintage film cameras, but I had to scoop up this one, because the old Beetle was my dream car as well, and that wet street, covered in fresh dew and lined the cherry blossoms just reminds me of home somehow.
Abby is taking some time off to spend time with her new baby and work on new projects. If you buy a photo tonight, you get 40 percent off with this coupon code: Shopclosing40. Could make for some really sweet gifts, too.
Enjoy.

Things I've Learned, 26 weeks In ...

2011-12-05T13:56:00.000-05:00

Source: webtraj.com via Amanda on Pinterest

1. People are nicer to you when you're pregnant. Like, everyone. Girl at coffee shop, people on the train, mother and mother-in-law, who don't let you wash a single dish and hardly allow you to cook anything on Thanksgiving, even though it's at your house, and husband, who cooks and cleans and takes out the garbage and has coffee ready for you in a thermos when you wake up.

2. Women really do like telling you their horrible and traumatic birth stories. They also love telling you to enjoy sleeping and doing fun things now, because your life is going to change. That might be true (at least the sleeping part) but shut up.

3. Pregnancy really becomes so much more fun in the second trimester, when you don't feel like crap and you're finally showing. Maybe I'm just vain, but I was so happy to have a round, obvious belly as opposed to being all boobs and muffin top the first four months.

4. Picking names is hard, especially when you're not that person that has had baby names picked out since she was 12.

5. Daycare is so f-ing expensive, it makes me want to throw myself on my hands and knees, screaming and crying and kicking the floor, like that 2-year-old I saw at Starbucks this morning, who threw a serious tantrum after his mom denied him a sip of her Caramel Macchiato. Not gonna lie, he made me rethink this whole thing for a few seconds.

6. Sometimes it seems like there is just so much to research and think about beforehand —maternity leave, ever-growing and changing list of baby stuff, childcare, breastfeeding equipment, picking a pediatrician, signing up for childbirth classes, trying to find a weekend to escape with husband before "our lives will change."

7. And then there's all the other stuff that can keep you up at night, especially if you simply cannot learn to sleep on your side — will the cat hate the baby, is it really impractical to cloth diaper when we share a washer/dryer with our upstairs neighbors, how will I deal with the inevitable cabin fever now that I'm working from home, do I really need that many blankets and toys and contraptions that seem to serve the same functions (swings, bouncers, vibrating chairs, bobby nursing pillow and newborn lounger, etc.)?

8. Mostly, I've learned that I'm totally clueless about all of this, but I'm told all first-time parents are, unless you were a nanny or worked in a nursery before having a baby and then, I don't care what you say, you have a leg up on me, since the last time I even changed a diaper, I was 9, and it was only pee.

Lately...

2011-11-17T16:44:00.000-05:00

Is it me or are the weeks going by way too fast lately? I feel like I blinked and Thanksgiving is just days away. Where to begin. The last month has been filled with yummy breakfasts of chocolate-stuffed french toast with ricotta, an amazing wedding weekend in Alabama of one of my oldest, bestest friends (that's me looking unnaturally pale in my sari - thanks, Instagram filters!), a much-needed weekend spent recuperating on the couch from said wedding, checking up on C as he attempted to sand down and repaint his childhood dresser, trying to de-clutter the bedroom, and capturing the moment when two old friends' daughters met for the first time and gave each other kisses. I die from the cuteness.
Finally, that's my belly in the last two photos. There's a baby in it.
I know, I'm still in disbelief sometimes, but really happy. And not going to lie — a little nervous. I'm 23 weeks, baby is the size of a large mango, and has started kicking pretty hard. We'll find out whether we're having a boy or girl somewhere around March 13, but for now, I've become completely, disturbingly obsessed with figuring out What We Need. I've done more research on cloth diapering, strollers, baby carriers and co-sleepers than I'm ready to admit right now, so I'll probably be soliciting your advice pretty soon.

ps. C took that top photo Sunday outside our apartment. The sky was insane.

Vote

2011-11-08T12:18:00.000-05:00

"Come, come my conservative friend, wipe the dew off your spectacles and see the world is moving."

—Elizabeth Cady Stanton, (1815-1902) who spent much of her life fighting for for women's suffrage.

From a 2008 collaboration between Chandler O'Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtide Press; printed on an antique Vandercook Universal One press.

Happy Weekend

2011-11-04T16:36:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday, guys. I'm feeling under the weather, and really need this week to be over.
We moved my desk to the back porch to do some renovating in the guest bedroom and it has quickly become my happy place. It gets so much light, and since it's in the back of the apartment —away from the street — it's almost serene. (As serene as you can get around here.) Our landlord is also replacing all the porch windows this week, so it should be much warmer in the winter months. As you can tell, the monster loves it too.
I've also been on somewhat of a shopping spree (fo mahself!) and I need to stop. So far, I bought these (which really came in handy over the last month) and these (I've been eyeing the snow boots since last winter and finally ordered them), and the ASOS sweater I had my sights on the other day, plus some really cute Etsy finds I'll try to blog about next week.

I also need some comfy flats and now that I no longer have a dress code, I'm wondering if I should buy these Toms. Thoughts?

Autumn

2011-11-03T11:40:00.000-04:00

You guys, we're in the middle of fall and people are already wearing puffer coats and fur collars around these parts. I love living in a part of the world with all four seasons, but sometimes, Mother Nature gets all crankypants and decides to skip fall or spring entirely.

A few weeks ago, C's parents hosted their annual Cider Fest on a perfect autumn day. They had about 40 friends and family members (it becomes sort of a reunion for C's high school friends) at their house in Pennsylvania, and his dad went all out on the decorations: scarecrows, hanging pumpkins, hand-carved wooden apples and old wine boxes painted with our initials. It was so sweet.

They have an old cider press — dating to the late 1800s — which his dad renovated some 25 years ago. It's all manual, so they get bushels of apples from an orchard down the street, and then we throw them in, press them down with a stick and crank it by hand until a fresh, sweet-smelling cider is strained into a bucket at the bottom. It's like my annual chance to get out of the city and play farmer.

And so, we drank cider, ate whoopie pies and kettle corn and apple pie (of course), and caught up on all of each other's adventures since last fall.

Blanket Sweaters

2011-11-01T11:23:00.001-04:00

1. Vila, 2. ASOS, 3. Forever 21, 4. L.A.M.B.

I'm really feeling these cozy, blanket cardigans I can just wrap around myself for fall and winter, and the Native American-style prints give them a more interesting look. Sort of like wrapping yourself in a Pendleton blanket. Ok, the L.A.M.B. is a fitted dress, but I think it's just too cute not to include.

Thank you, Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T11:43:00.001-04:00

There is not much more to say that hasn't already been said about Steve Jobs, and people far more clever than I have said it, but being that I have been an Apple pusher for so long - I've been accused of proselytizing - I just wanted to say, thank you.

I grew up on Macs, but here is the very first one I bought myself, with my own money: the graphite Ibook. She lasted six years and died only when the charger stopped working. I'm convinced I can still get her working if I just replace the cord.

Holiday in Spain

2011-09-30T12:55:00.003-04:00

I know, we're so cool with our dark shades and serious poses. I couldn't stop laughing.

At the French border, you are greeted by an old man with a cheese truck. Perfection.

At the end of August, after a hectic summer of trying to get accustomed to a new job and a host of other changes, we escaped to Spain for what was supposed to be nine days, and ended up being 12 because of Hurricane Irene. Not too shabby to be "stranded" in Barcelona, wandering around the city, enjoying cafe con leche and chocolate croissants and the best tapas ever. But I did feel bad for my colleagues, who were putting in 18-hour days covering extreme flooding and rolling power outages.

We started out in Barcelona and then drove into the Pyrenees, around and around on windy mountain roads taking in the most breathtaking scenery: horses grazing on the side of a rocky slope, lush green pastures dotted with wildflowers growing every which way, valleys overshadowed by ice-capped peaks. We ended up on the Costa Brava for a few too-short days, lounging on the beach in Tossa de Mar. I didn't want to leave.

These are some of my favorites. A bunch are taken by C, whose got the photography skillz in the family.

Green Juice

2011-09-26T10:33:00.001-04:00

I've never been a huge fan of drinking my vegetables, so when I first saw C drinking this super anti-oxidant kale shake, I threw up in my mouth a little. He's been on this green juice kick for about six months now and swears by its miraculous healing powers. He has also had it in his head for awhile that I don't eat enough vegetables or drink enough water, so he's been pushing this hexavalent chromium-looking concoction on me like a televangelist. My coworkers are convinced he's trying to poison me.
If I'm still asleep when he leaves for work in the morning, he leaves a tall glass of it in the freezer for me and reminds me to drink it when he kisses me goodbye. He sometimes texts me while he's on the bus and says, "Don't forget the shake." He might be crazed.
Here's the thing, though. It's not a chocolate croissant or anything, but this stuff does grow on you and you start to believe that it's the reason you can go about your morning not wanting to kill everyone in sight before your first cup of coffee.
If you are brave enough to give it a try, or maybe you watch Dr. Oz and follow the disturbing plethora of juicehead blogs and drink this stuff all the time...but here's the recipe:

Throw some frozen blueberries, a big bunch of kale, about one and a half bananas, some water, a tsp or so of vanilla, cinnamon and red pepper and some ice cubes in a blender and mix it up.

You can eyeball the ingredients and use more or less according to taste. Sometimes he throws in some agave to make it a little sweeter. Cheers.

Perfect Fall Dress

2011-09-21T09:41:00.001-04:00

Source: blog.lescomposantes.com via Martha on Pinterest

Fall is here and I'm so happy. I know you're all still lusting after summer, but I'm looking forward to cool breezes, pumpkin-flavored everything, butternut squash, apples, hot beverages, hiking in the woods and feeling the leaves crunching under my feet, walking around the city and not dripping with sweat, no more unnecessary air conditioning on full-blast in every store and office building, jackets, cardigans, scarves, long sleeved dresses, tights and boots. Hoping I'll be back on the regular now that it's September and I'm feeling more energized.

Ps. Happy Birthday to my best friend, Andrea!

Remembering...

2011-09-12T13:44:00.000-04:00

If you turned on the television or opened your laptop (or attended any of the memorial services) this weekend, you couldn't help but be reminded of the horrid injustices committed ten years ago in the name of revenge.
Having spent the fall of 2001 first covering the attacks and then interviewing dozens of victims' families as they searched the rubble in vain for their loved ones and later, as they prepared to say goodbye, I always approach the beginning of this month with trepidation. I go through the motions, writing what's expected of me, and am relieved when it's over.
This year - my first as an editor - I helped coordinate 9/11 coverage all summer, so I was forced to scroll through hundreds of stories and photos, and motivate young reporters to do what I usually dread each year. I feel strange saying I was forced to "face it" because my experience is nothing compared to those who lost family and friends on that beautiful, clear September morning. But confronting my feelings on the subject caused a flood of memories to come rushing back, and it helped me feel good about putting my fears aside as a young intern at my first newspaper job -- writing dozens of "Lives Remembered" stories at The Star-Ledger. It was a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but we helped pay tribute to the thousands of fathers, daughters, brothers, sisters and mothers who never made it home from work that day. And suddenly, they were no longer just victims, but real people with hopes and dreams that were stolen in an instant, all in the name of "revenge."

Cause Down the Shore Everything's Alright...

2011-07-18T07:00:00.002-04:00

Ok, so this "routine" thing, i.c. finding time to blog every day, is harder than I thought, but I'm working on it. In the meantime, please enjoy some photos from a lazy weekend at the Jersey shore and an obligatory Springsteen tune.

On the Hudson River Bike Path ...

2011-07-13T13:22:00.005-04:00

On the Hudson River Bike Path, a photo by red.pants on Flickr.

Meet my new love: The Cannondale Synapse, my first-ever road bike. Isn't she bootiful? We were inseparable the last month...until last week, when I got a flat, fixed it, and then got another flat. Here she is in Battery Park on a lazy Fourth of July morning spent riding along the Hudson River bike path.

2011-06-28T01:08:00.000-04:00

Oh hey.
Remember when I said I was taking a blog break for a week?
I lied.
But I didn't mean to. I just started a new job - the first in five years - and I felt like I needed to get adjusted and fall into some kind of a routine. Blogging ended up taking an unexpected back seat.
Over the last month and a half, I've been working hard and trying to find my footing in a new environment. But I've also managed to find time to ride my bike, play in my tiny garden patch, make a mess in the kitchen, smother my cat and kick ass at Words with Friends.
I think I've just found it really necessary to physically step away from my laptop when I'm not working and go outside.
Anyway, I've missed you guys. I've missed sharing my day and my thoughts, even if they're mostly random and useless, and I've missed following your lives and tagging along on all your little adventures.
So. I'll try to be back on the regular, even if I need to step outside and take a breather every so often. Thank you for your wonderful comments and even a few of your emails checking in with me over the last month. It meant the world to me. Seriously.

Photo: Hudson River Park at sunset, May 29, 2011: Wedding Anniversary #1

Break

2011-05-09T09:49:00.000-04:00

This photo perfectly depicts how I feel right now: Scared and kind of excited at the same time.
Sorry for the silence around here. Things have been hectic, because I left my old job and am starting a new one next week. (Hence the scariness.) Taking a week to go hiking, do yoga, organize my (home) office and try my hand at planting stuff in our tiny strip of garden, which gets minimal sun. I'll be back soon, I promise. I miss you guys!

Via here.

Lately...

2011-04-27T14:14:00.003-04:00

The last month or so has been kind of overwhelming and hectic and I've been complaining a lot, which is just irritating, to me, and I'm sure - everyone around me. (Sorry, Chad.)
These photos are nothing great - most of them were taken with an old Blackberry - but I'm posting them as a reminder to be more grateful. Despite being crazy-busy, I still managed to go out for some amazing brunches, eat lots of brick oven pizza, have the best Cuban sandwich ever made, go bowling for the first time since college, make spring dishes with asparagus and peas and mint, cheer on the USA soccer team with 60,000 fans on one of the coldest nights of the year (March did not go out like a lamb this year), have some relaxing Monster time, enjoy my new french press, see the Cherry Blossoms and take full advantage of the wide leg pants/70s trend. (Finally.)
So things are actually pretty good.

2011-04-26T10:39:00.000-04:00

Via Pretty Zoo.

Marfa

2011-04-25T17:23:00.001-04:00

If I ever get to Marfa, I'm staying at the Thunderbird Hotel, if only for the simple and clean design of the rooms and the Bolivian Frasada blankets at the foot of the beds. I'll rent a bike and ride along the tiny West Texas town's dusty trails and check out local art galleries and drink my weight in grapefruit-infused tequila ...or whatever sounds as good as that. I'll stop at Food Shark and pick up a Marfalafel and after sunset, I'll drive down a lonely stretch of Highway 67/90 and sit back and watch the Marfa mystery lights, and try to slow down my life, even for just a few days.

Easter dress (I wish)

2011-04-22T22:12:00.001-04:00

Remember my dress search? I should have just bought one of those Madewell numbers online the day I posted about them, because I've had no time whatsoever for shopping lately. Last Sunday, I tore up my closet looking for something acceptable to wear to a Baptism and all I could find were a few wrinkled, ill-fitting dresses that made me want to burst into tears. So with less than three hours until the party, I drove to Hoboken, searched for parking for 45 minutes - seething with rage each time I circled the same block - and bought the first little black tunic-style dress that didn't make me wince when I looked in the mirror. I got home and realized it was more of a shirt than a dress and bending over in it would quite possibly traumatize my little cousins (or rather, me) for life.
But then I thought, "I'm skipping the church. It's ok to go with something tight and short at a Brazilian restaurant, right? Right."
So I wore it. And I held onto the bottom from both ends the entire night, even while seated. Drawing unwanted attention to my legs from waiters, a drooling two-year-old who kept wrapping himself around them and an innappropriate uncle who said something like, "Where's the rest of your dress?"
Just kill me.
This weekend, I have two parties that require a cute dress, and once again, I'm screwed.
How perfect would the above Steven Alan dress have been with black tights, my black suede booties, and a little black leather jacket?
SIGH.

Art Station: Naples Underground

2011-04-21T12:33:00.000-04:00

The University of Naples metro station has been transformed into a kaleidoscope by American designer Karim Rashid, as part of a city-wide renovation of stations along the 1 and 6 lines, now dubbed "Art Stations."

Rashid turned the 36,000-square-foot station into a piece of his signature "digital art," printing wire-frame patterns on quartz flooring and applying portraits of Dante and Beatrice to the stairs. If you've ever been in a Naples metro station, this is a huge improvement. The transformation is amazing.

Photos via The NY Times Style Magazine.

MOMA Store jewelry roundup

2011-04-19T10:56:00.000-04:00

I got a coupon in the mail for a MOMA Store sale next weekend open to members. (My parents got us a dual membership for Christmas, which was a really cool gift.) I usually go straight to their posters and home accessories, but I found myself drawn to the jewelry this time around. Aren't these pretty? I love how delicate and understated they are...except for the brightly-colored silk necklace at the bottom, but that would look great with a solid-colored maxi dress this summer, don't you think?

Top to bottom: Polyroot Earrings, Floating Cable Earrings, Askew Leaves Necklace, Dual Bubble Earrings, Silk Necklace.

2011-04-12T12:28:00.000-04:00

Well, this pretty much sums up my entire life.

{Via.}

2011-04-08T11:49:00.001-04:00

Sorry it's been so quiet round these parts. I've been trying to juggle too many balls, and well, you know what happens when you do that. (Unless you're a professional juggler, and if so, you're a badass.)

I'll try to be back next week on the regular.

In the meantime, I need a dress for a few things coming up, and since it's still not that warm around here, I was thinking a shirt dress or a tunic style might work.

These, from Madewell, are cute, but I've been too lazy to shop around. Got any better suggestions? I'll take them.

The Bee Station

2011-04-05T10:47:00.001-04:00

I know this looks like a UFO hovering in your garden, but it's really a rest stop of sorts for tired, overworked bees, who are in rapid decline due to Colony Collapse Disorder. There's a theory that if every bee were to disappear tomorrow, humanity would die off in just four years. Wait ... what?
So as scientists frantically work to figure this out, we should do whatever we can to help the bees that remain. Or you can become a beekeeper, which would be awesome. But if you can't, at least offer a safe haven, where they can nest and refuel. And the bee station would make a cool gift for anyone with a flower garden. Mother's Day gift, perhaps?

*Read more about it at GOOD.

Dear Winter,

2011-03-31T14:39:00.000-04:00

You know I've always loved you, right? You and me are besties for life. While everyone else spent the last few months whining about another snowfall and fantasizing about warmer climates and talking so much shit about you on Facebook, I defended you. I secretly wished for more snow and gave all those whiners the finger - you know, from behind my computer screen.

But the thing is, I'm ready to say goodbye for now. I mean, it is the first day of April tomorrow, after all.

So this snow/freezing rain forecast is sort of annoying.

Maybe it's time for you to let go too, just until November, and if you decide to show your face in late October, I won't be mad at cha.

So do me a nice little favor, and say bye bye for now. Thanks.

Yours truly,

Giovanna

The Giovanna Wedge

2011-03-30T11:34:00.003-04:00

(In which I invent unlikely scenarios in order to justify an unnecessary purchase.)

Friends, coworkers, family members, and random strangers on the street: Oh my God, I love your sandals. What are they? (Because instead of asking where they're from, people will ask me what they are called. Obviously.)

Me: Oh yeah, thanks ... they're Giovanna wedges!

Ok, despite the fact that my bridesmaids went with J.Crew dresses, I know I haven't exactly endorsed the company on this blog in the past, partly because nothing in there seems to fit me right, partly because they try too hard and charge too much, and mostly because I hate walking around Hoboken and being able to pick out a head-to-toe outfit I saw in the catalog on multiple women walking down the street.

That said, I once had a pair of their strappy leather cork heels that were super cute and lasted forever.

And, and, these have got to be named specifically for me, because everybody knows how much I love wedges. Duh.

I also can't help but geek out when I see my name in print, because growing up, nobody was named Giovanna, causing me to have a full-on meltdown at age 7 in a five and dime store down the shore when, after searching an entire display rack of toothbrushes bearing names like Jennifer, Lauren and Christine, my name was nowhere to be found.

Looking back on it, it's probably why I was giddy with excitement when an old man at a Roman street market stitched my name into a leather bracelet when I was 10, or when I got a gold Giovanna nameplate from my aunt on my 13th birthday.

I've since come to love that my name is different - at least, when I'm not in Italy, and then I might as well be named Jennifer - but I still feel the need to buy these shoes. Am I insane? You can say yes. I'll still love you.

Indian grain silos

2011-03-29T12:50:00.003-04:00

I'm working the night shift several days this week, so I've gotten the chance to leisurely nurse my morning coffee - for hours - and catch up on some of my favorite blogs. And so, I came upon Big Bang Studio - which documents the insanely talented Lily's adventures this year as she paints her way through India - and was stoked to find out she's got several new paintings.

Her new work, which features industrial grain silos of India, is so amazing, I had to share it with you guys. I'd love to see the installation on opening night this weekend, but, alas, it's at an art gallery in New Delhi. Check out the details here.

And the winner is...

2011-03-29T10:50:00.000-04:00

Chic n' Cheap Living gets the Japanese relief tee of her choice from PalmerCash.

Thanks for entering!

*Winner was selected via Random.org.

Giveaway: Japanese Relief Tees

2011-03-27T23:34:00.016-04:00

UPDATE: Things have been kind of crazy around here, so I'm extending the t-shirt giveaway until Tuesday. So...hurry up and enter, cause it's for a really good cause. Plus, these t-shirts are awesome.

Giveaway: Win a t-shirt and help Japan

2011-03-22T11:48:00.001-04:00

PalmerCash - my go-to site for vintage t-shirts for myself and friends - has come up with a line of shirts bearing the prefecture and city symbols of areas in Japan most affected by the disaster.
One hundred percent of the profits go toward the relief effort, and PalmerCash has generously agreed to give one winner a Japan relief t-shirt of his/her choice! I haven't hosted a giveaway in a while and I think this one just makes sense.
If you'd like to enter, check out the full line of shirts here and check out the rules below. Good luck!

To enter:

1. Become a follower of Swoon. (At the bottom of this page.)
2. Check out the PalmerCash line of Japanese relief t-shirts and leave a comment saying which one you'd choose. (Men's tees are also available; only women's are shown above.)
3. For an extra entry, "like" Swoon on Facebook.
4. For a third entry, blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the link.

*Giveaway closes Monday, March 28 at 10 a.m. and will be announced that day.

Also, there are tons of other things you can do to help, including donating to the American Red Cross or the U.S. Fund for Unicef.

2011-03-21T13:58:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the radio silence. I dumped a big glass of water on my Macbook last week and learned it's gone forever. Fingers crossed that I can recover all my photos and music. Sadness.

*Image here.

Tiny Bear - handmade stuffed animals

2011-03-16T13:37:00.000-04:00

Since there's been a baby explosion among our friends recently, I've been scouring the Internets for teeny tiny outfits that would make acceptable gifts. I'm really bad at this. I don't know what size to get - they grow fast, right? - and whether what I pick out is functional and personal enough.
Which brings me to this morning, when I found out one of my favorite blog friends - Lisa from Craft my Life - announced her new Etsy shop filled with the most adorable stuffed animals in soft textures, like corduroy, felt and fleece. I had to share it with you guys in case you find yourself looking for baby stuff. She's super talented and the stuff in her shop make perfect baby gifts.
I mean, look at this cuteness:

She even has little fun facts about the animals under each picture. Did you know a group of rhinos is called a crash?
Visit her Etsy shop, Tiny Bear, here.

A plea for help

2011-03-15T12:18:00.001-04:00

I was on vacation in Vermont over the weekend, alternating between snowboarding and happy hour and relaxing by a warm fire. In the midst of all this, an earthquake and then a tsunami hit Japan, devastating its infrastructure, compromising its nuclear power plant and burying thousands of people under piles of rubble. It goes without saying that this is an epic disaster, 65 years after an atomic bomb hit Hiroshima, so please consider giving to those less fortunate. The US Fund for UNICEF is raising money for children in Japan impacted by the quake. Donate here.

*Photos via National Geographic

Win Neko Case's car!

2011-03-14T11:34:00.000-04:00

Because I love you guys, I'm telling you about this rad raffle, in which the grand prize is Neko Case's 1967 Mercury Cougar Roadster. You're welcome.

Just because...

2011-03-10T23:05:00.000-05:00

This never stops being hilarious. Oh, Randall.

Women are rad

2011-03-08T14:45:00.001-05:00

"In Her Own Words: In Celebration of International Women's Day 2011" was created to share and celebrate the experiences of women from many walks of life. All day Tuesday, March 8th Any Other Wedding and One Cat Per Person will feature posts written by a collective of intelligent, passionate and opinionated women bloggers from the United States and the United Kingdom. We encourage you to comment and create dialouge as well as visit their respective blogs. The conversation starts here, but it does not need to end here. Be sure to stop by Any Other Wedding and One Cat Per Person throughout the day to read all of the posts in the series. For more information about International Women's Day, visit http://www.internationalwomensday.com/.

Banner: Joshua Gomby

UPDATE: Don't these ladies kick ass? I'm proud to be a part of it. Turns out there will be posts today (Wednesday) on OCCP as well. Check out my latest rant on feminism and wifedom, if you'd like.

Girl.

2011-03-03T17:36:00.000-05:00

by Band of Outsiders.

You know, if I ever find myself with 400-500 bucks to blow.

Found here and here, on Shopbop.

Lately ...

2011-03-02T14:18:00.002-05:00

H&M's Conscious Collection

2011-03-01T11:15:00.000-05:00

H&M's Conscious Collection, made from greener materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester, hits stores April 14th.
It's mostly white ... dresses, skirts, shorts, and lots of billowy tops ... the kinds of outfits you can just throw on with a pair of sandals and leave the house. (I feel like I've been wearing seven layers, not including hat, scarf and boots for so long now, that this sounds so refreshing.)
Most importantly, it's environmentally conscious. What do you guys think?

I wasn't sure about the lacy sleeves on this shift dress:

But then I saw it on Natalie Portman, who wore to Vanity Fair's pre-Oscar party last week:

photos 1-4: H&M; 6: Getty Images via here.

Six-word love stories

2011-02-23T16:52:00.000-05:00

On Valentine's Day, Smith Magazine's ongoing six-word memoir feature asked readers for six words on love, marriage and relationships.
NY Times reporter Tara Parker-Pope's Well blog did a short post on it, and a week later, readers are still leaving their six-word love stories, which range from silly to romantic to heart-wrenchingly sad.
Among the more than 1,600 comments:

#1403: Departure note: I canceled the Netflix

#1419: Fell in love. Now he's dying.

#653: Met in leftist group; felt right.

#577: Dog park, poo joke, belly laugh.

#632: Then he gave up on us.

#400: She is my one true thing.

Want to share yours?

(photo here.)

Sun

2011-02-21T14:20:00.002-05:00

Let's play a game in which you help me decide where to go on a quick getaway.
If you wanted to go somewhere warm, but you only had a long weekend (3 days), where would you go*? Oh yeah, sometime in April or May.

*It would have to be within 4-5 hours driving distance or a 4-6 hour flight (preferably less) from New York. (No offense to Florida, but not Florida.)

Yes, please.

2011-02-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

I should probably be dreaming about breezy skirts in bright colors and platform sandals, but I saw the Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall Ready-to-Wear line and instead got excited about herringbone trousers, tweed coats and muted browns. Yes, there's something wrong with me.

Comfort food

2011-02-15T13:13:00.000-05:00

Amazing how mac and cheese and broccoli rabe and cupcakes make up for all the pre-Valentine's Day grumbling. Sadly, Chad nearly burned his hand off while taking a pan of bacon out of the oven. He drank it off like a champ though, and dinner turned out awesome. Even if we ate at 11 p.m. and never ended up watching Inception.

The Monday rant

2011-02-14T13:28:00.000-05:00

{via}

So ... when I say I hate public displays of affection, I'm often misunderstood. I don't mind holding hands or making out in parks like the French. I just don't need you to ask me to spend the rest of my life with you in front of 50,000 people at a ball game.
Or... for example, don't send me a big bouquet of red roses at work, so I can put it on my desk and blush each time my coworkers say obligatory syrupy phrases, like, "Aw, isn't your guy so romantic?"
Vom.
But ... I'm fine with us quietly acknowledging our love in private with a good dinner at home, and I won't get mad if there's chocolate involved.

PS. Not for Valentine's Day or anything, but just for future reference, I really like this heart necklace:

PSS. I know I'm kind of douchy.

Hooray!

2011-02-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

The thank you cards are in the mail.

Ok, so I still have about 15 to go, but those I have to force myself to write in Italian and mail to my family abroad, and I'm giving myself extra time... mainly because they don't have Martha to teach them to be all judgmental about when people are supposed to send out thank you cards.

{via.}

messy braids

2011-02-10T12:37:00.003-05:00

In grade school, I was convinced that everyone had better hair than I did, and the fact that neither I nor my mother could even construct a regular braid - never mind a "french braid," as they were called in those days - was a constant source of angst in my life.

All the other girls had perfectly cut bangs, but mine were hopelessly sweaty and crooked. (No one should let my nonna anywhere near a pair of scissors, but that's a story for another day.)

All the other girls could use banana clips, but my hair was so thick that the banana clip would promptly snap in half during my many attempts at closing that damn clasp.

Looking back at my fifth-grade yearbook, I've come to realize that I, in fact, did not have the worst hair in my elementary school. (I'm talking to you, girl with mullet and immovable hair wings.)

But I still envy grown-up girls with elaborate, seemingly effortless messy braids.

*Photo via This or That. (Fine. Next time I go home, I'll dig up that old yearbook and post a photo of me and my sweaty bangs.)

Because film is always better...

2011-02-08T15:13:00.000-05:00

We finally got the film developed from the photos we took in Europe and another batch of Holgas, taken in North Carolina. I had forgotten how much fun it is to drop off your photos and actually wait for them to be developed. In this case, it took three days. It just reminded me how satisfying that moment is...opening the envelope, unsure of what you'll find. These days, everything is all, now, now, now!
These were taken by Chad, with his Nikon FM2...
A bike in Amsterdam:

The view from the top of the hill in Carife, the town were my father grew up:

A random street in Florence:

A few Holgas, taken by me in Bald Head Island, November:

Dapper-Cas

2011-02-07T13:55:00.001-05:00

There's something about a tweed blazer topped with a classic trench. It's sort of dapper-casual. It doesn't hurt that it's Dustin, shot in B+W in Central Park, after a snowfall.

{via}

Peasant

2011-02-04T12:16:00.001-05:00

Chad's been wanting to go to Peasant for awhile, so we went last night for his birthday dinner. If you have never been, Go. Now. Hands down, the best meal I've had in a long time.

Here's an excerpt of an email he sent to a few friends this morning...(Note: he does not usually wax this poetic about food.)

Appetizers: smoky mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto and melted ever so slightly in their wood-burning ovens; baby octopus in a wine-and-tomato sauce with just the right kick of red pepper. I don’t know exactly what was in that sauce, but let me just say that Giovanna is not the kind of person who would normally dive into a little pot of tiny, chewy tentacles … but she did so, seriously, last night. It was unreal. (Very true. I've decided I don't think I can live without that octopus in my life on a regular basis.)

She had some kind of stuffed game hen that was spectacular. I had one of the day’s special dishes, homemade spaghetti with a tomato and veal sauce. Just perfect. The dessert was bread pudding and ice cream. (Note: We've had a firm, anti-veal policy since, well, forever, but we made an exception last night. Not proud of it, but God, it was good.)

Everything was amazing. The thick-cut, chewy rustic bread and milky ricotta they put on the tables, the Venetian cocktail I ordered at the bar … (The bottle of Nebbiolo we drank with dinner...)

I came away from that meal more pleased than I’ve been in a long while. (Me too. And drunk. Thank God for milk thistle.)

photo via Peasant.

Speaking of movies

2011-02-03T14:19:00.008-05:00

I've been on a documentary kick ever since we started streaming Netflix on our TV. Here are a bunch you should check out when you're bored, or on a procrastination mission:

Saturday

2011-02-03T11:27:00.002-05:00

Major thank you card FAIL on Saturday, despite my declaration that they would get done.*

*Which was decided after a conversation with my coworker last week. I still believe I have a year though, regardless of what Martha says.
Ps. Not that I'm not thankful. I'm super thankful. I'm just lazy.

Looking for fun Valentine's Day cards?

2011-02-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

I am NOT a big fan of V-Day, but I love this "we go together like" series of cards by Sapling Press.

I'd probably go with this one, since it's the most appropriate:

But this one is my favorite, cause you know how I feel about the stache. Trust me, Angie, Josh looks awesome with a mustache, but my husband looks like some scary Civil War general with a patchy hair lip.

And this one is hilarious, because, well, any Milli Vanilli reference should win hands-down.

The concept is from Jared Wunsch's popular blog.

Happy Birthday, C !

2011-02-01T14:52:00.002-05:00

I . . .

Found here.

PS. Thanks for repeatedly lifting me up so I could see the stage during this show. You're the best.

Dear Martha,

2011-01-31T17:46:00.000-05:00

I know we aren't exactly friends, being that I've said some things in the past that may have been hurtful. But, ever since I discovered your butternut squash risotto recipe, I've warmed up to you, and realized the error of my ways. That is, until last week, when I had a conversation with my coworker, and now, I am once again filled with rage.

Me: Sigh, my mom won't stop bothering me about thank you cards. She's like, mortified, that I haven't sent them out yet, and I'm like, "Chill, Mom, I have a year." I don't get it. She's usually so laid back. Click tongue, roll eyes.
Coworker: OH MY GOD, you haven't sent them out yet? How long has it been, 8 months? Your mom is right. You're supposed to send them out in three months. Get on that.
Me: Um, no, that's so not true. Who told you that?
Coworker: Martha Stewart.

Rage. Here's what I have to say about etiquette: NO. Just no.

The verdict?

2011-01-31T09:25:00.000-05:00

Remember my snow boots dilemma?
I searched the Internets far and wide and decided on these:

Classic L.L. Bean Duck Boots. Hand-crafted with care in Maine. Amazing customer service.

And, so, being that there are many others out there who swear by bean duck boots and tell their friends about them, I'm s*it out of luck until March 17. (Even the regular ones, sans shearling, are wait-listed.)
Oh well.

Snowbound

2011-01-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

2:07 a.m.

10:17 a.m.

2011-01-25T15:18:00.001-05:00

Although all the world - even Sammy clay, who had spent most of his adult life making and selling them - viewed them as trash, Joe loved his comic books: for their inferior color separation, their poorly trimmed paper stock, their ads for air rifles and dance courses and acne creams, for the basement smell that clung to the older ones, the ones that had been in storage during Joe's travels. Most of all, he loved them for the pictures and stories they contained, the inspirations and lucubrations of five hundred aging boys dreaming as hard as they could for fifteen years, transfiguring their insecurities and delusions, their wishes and their doubts, their public educations and their sexual perversions, into something that only the most purblind of societies would have denied the status of art.

- Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Weekend

2011-01-24T16:10:00.002-05:00

I'm fortunate enough to spend much of my winter weekends here:

But, while I have the right gear on the mountain, I realized this weekend that I'm wholly unprepared for -6-degree temperatures while walking around town. We went to see some of the Dew Tour Saturday night and I wore a not-so-warm sweater, jeans with a hole in the thigh and 6-year-old Uggs with about as much traction as a pair of slippers. The event was midway up a snowy mountain. (Yes, I hate Uggs, but I have thus far refused to buy winter boots just for lounging around a cabin or trekking to the Vermont Country Store.)
That said, I froze my a** off and I think I need to reconsider snow boots. Any suggestions? I'm looking for snow boots that look more like hiking boots, I guess. I briefly considered these, but they're not exactly what I'm looking for. Cause, you know, they look too much like, snow boots.
PS. I did get to see Simon Dumont and Louie Vito at a bar later that night, which was kind of cool.

Fear of needles

2011-01-20T14:44:00.000-05:00

So I know No. 12 was learn to knit, but I'm thinking I need to tackle my fear of sewing first. I bought Lotta Jansdotter's Handmade Living, and it got me thinking: You know what? I can make my own damn curtains.
But I have much to learn, friends.
I have a confession to make. I can't believe I'm writing this, but when a button falls off my peacoat or the tear in my snowboarding pants reopens, husband comes to the rescue with the needle and thread. (He even carries a pocket sewing kit when he travels!)
Perhaps my domesticity issues began in seventh-grade sewing class, when I bit off more than I could chew by agreeing to sew a pillow in the shape of a telephone. My crankypants teacher had no faith in me and strongly encouraged me to pick a more "basic" project, but I insisted I wanted a phone-shaped pillow. Who doesn't?
I'm ashamed to say I never finished that pillow and I have not touched a sewing machine since.

Photo by Eglantine, via E Tells Tales.

I promise you ... pancakes

2011-01-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

My love of pancakes knows no bounds. It even found its way into our wedding vows. Among other things, like loving each other and living simply and not losing perspective (blah blah blah ;), we promised each other pancakes on Sunday mornings. He's fulfilled that promise dozens of times since the wedding; I haven't. But I've enjoyed eating them in all their delicious forms: buttermilk, sourdough, whole-wheat, blueberry, banana, and peach. Yum.
So Bittman's latest made me happy, of course, and now I'm planning to make good on my vows with cornmeal pancakes with vanilla and pine nuts.

Photo: Sabra Krock, NY Times

Home from the Bay Area...

2011-01-18T14:56:00.001-05:00

Ten days in the Bay Area was just what I needed, even if most of that was an intense week of classes at Berkeley. Either way, it felt good to be back in school again, if only for five days. Glad to be home, though, even if it's freezing and icy here. Sigh.

Off to San Francisco!

2011-01-06T00:54:00.001-05:00

I'll be in the Bay Area for the next nine days - three days of fun and six days of work, which will hopefully be fun too. I'll try to pop over here during the week. I haven't been back for a few years and things are constantly changing, so if anyone has fun suggestions - particularly on where to eat and shop- please send them my way!

Photo: Bukharov's Flickr

The List

2011-01-05T13:28:00.004-05:00

I know my one resolution is really the most important, but I've decided I want lots of other stuff this year. I'm really greedy. So here's another one of those giant lists you see on every blog. I tend to lose things, so at least I'll have all of my plans/goals/inspiration in one place - that's really the point of the blog anyway, isn't it? I'll most likely add to this as I go along. Anyway, share some of yours, since I'm writing these off the cuff, and you guys probably have better ideas.

1. Go camping more, even if you get weirdly claustrophobic in the tent and can't sleep at night. Suck it up.
2. Go to yoga, at least three times a week. You are being charged monthly, for God's sake, and it makes you feel better. Also, start running.
3. Find occasions to dress up more often, even if dressing up to you really just means wearing tights.
4. Write more. You're supposedly a writer. You should be writing more.
5. Read more. You're supposedly a writer. You should be reading more.
6. Buy red lipstick and wear it to dress up your daily ripped jeans/boots/t-shirt/cardigan/messy, unwashed hair look. Try to find a shade that doesn't make you look like Carmen Miranda.
7. Travel more often. It makes you happy.
8. Learn to speak French fluently, since five years of high school did not achieve that end.
9. Get your Scuba Diving certification, since you've been talking about that for years.
10. Get back to taking an annual trip with Mom, since the last few times were pretty amazing.
11. Volunteer somewhere.
12. Learn to knit, since you have a scarf obsession and not much cash, and you want to start making things.
13. Learn to balance your budget, so you're not living paycheck to paycheck and relying on credit cards.
14. Learn to ride switch. (This and #7 make #13 difficult, since traveling and snowboarding are not cheap. Oh wells.)
15. Go ice skating.
16. Find a drive-in movie theater.
17. ~~Create a website for my professional work.~~
18, Finally post my damn wedding photos

*Photo by Amelia Butcher

Underwater Sculpture

2011-01-03T13:50:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this artificial reef project by sculpture artist Jason de Caires Taylor? The life-sized cement sculptures are submerged into the waters of South America, eventually becoming rife with marine life and part of the underwater landscape. Not only are they beautiful, they help lift the pressure off natural reefs, which have become over-fished and over-visited.

Photos by Jason de Caires Taylor, via 24 Flinching

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T11:14:00.000-05:00

I was going to sit down and write a list of goals that mostly revolve around health and fitness and my job, and then I got bored just thinking about it and decided my lone resolution last year should be the same for 2011:

#1. Be more grateful for the simple things, like wine and laughs with best friends and cuddling with your happy monster family on a cold winter night.

I think I really tried my best to follow it this year and that's all due to this blog, which holds me accountable and keeps things in perspective.

So thank you to all my readers. You guys are the best. Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year!

*Photo via Bonesbox, a reminder to be brave and not be afraid to jump.

300 Years of Fossil Fuels

2010-12-29T13:01:00.001-05:00

Not to be a buzz kill on this holiday week, but the impending new year forces me to contemplate the Big Stuff. So if you have 5 minutes and 39 seconds, this abbreviated history of fossil fuels is worth seeing.

Merry Merry

2010-12-28T18:28:00.000-05:00

A belated Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrated, and happy snow day yesterday to all of you on the East Coast. I hope you were forced to stay inside with plenty of leftovers and Scrabble and liquor.

I spent the last few weeks working, studying, baking, staying up until dawn to gaze at an orange moon, wrapping and shopping and agonizing over gifts, and consuming way too much sugar. I baked these brownies (amazing) and totally effed these cookies up. I'm still mad over how cakey they turned out. If anyone has suggestions, I'll take them. Anyway, I missed you guys.

You may have noticed...

2010-12-08T17:19:00.000-05:00

... that I'm taking a little blog break, just until things get a little less hectic. Fortunately, I've been mostly good busy. The last month has been filled with crazy work weeks, a happy six-month anniversary celebration on the couch with homemade lentil soup, fresh bread and zombies, a jaunt to Vermont with my best friend that included drinking our weight in Long Trail Ale, and a wonderful weekend visit from good friends and their adorable 4-year-old, who is fascinated by farm tractors and trains and takes whacks in the face from arm-swinging tourists with great aplomb. We saw this year's most famous Norway Spruce, ate chocolate, drank wine, and laughed at how serious the Monster gets about chasing laser beams. Really, it's intense.

I'll be popping in now and then in the next few weeks and then I'll be back to posting on the regular again.

Street Style, Paris

2010-11-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

I'm still in a food coma, so here are some of those Paris street style photos I was going to post earlier this week, before the Monster decided to f- with me.

Chocolate makes everything better

2010-11-24T18:08:00.000-05:00

It's no secret I've been a little overwhelmed with work lately. So I can't imagine anything better than coming home to this bag from La Maison du Chocolat in Rockefeller Plaza. He happened to be in that neighborhood after work, so he stopped in and bought eight pieces of indescribably good chocolate - two of each kind - which we devoured last night. We actually paused Boardwalk Empire so there would be no distractions. I know, we're dorks.
But seriously, this chocolate is way too amazing (and it ain't cheap) to NOT give it your full attention. He spread them out on a dessert plate, each perfect square of a ganache next to its twin, and we sampled the flavors one at a time: plain intense, plain bittersweet, robust with a hint of mocha, semi-sweet with a hint of hazelnut and my personal favorite, sea salt mousse.
Happiness.

Coffee break

2010-11-22T11:27:00.002-05:00

I work irregular hours and I'm undisciplined by nature, so I often struggle to find a routine. That's why I actually enjoy working a night shift every once and a while. Take today, for instance. I woke up, made myself a pot of coffee and had one of my mom's apple cake muffins, which I brought home from a visit yesterday. (Even better the day after.) I was getting ready to post a few Paris street style photos, before getting started on some real work, and then this happened:

Oh hi, insane cat I share my apartment with, I wasn't using that laptop or anything. Go right ahead and press the exact combination (command+control+option+8) that inverts the colors on my screen, leaving me confused and frustrated for ten minutes, until I decide to Google, "The colors on my Mac are suddenly weird" and figure out how to turn them back.

No, no, no, tugging at my drawstring with your sharp claws is bad. Now, I will pick you up and put you on the floor, because you're annoying me.

And then, you will jump right back on the desk, smack into my magnetic board and tip it over. Startled, you'll leap off the desk, knock over my full cup of coffee, spilling it all over the floor. It's everywhere, even on his guitar (shh) and I will likely smell coffee in here for days, despite the fact that I broke out the Swiffer.
That's why your nickname is The Monster.
Sigh.

Pillow Talk

2010-11-17T13:58:00.000-05:00

I saw these eco-friendly pillows with cheeky messages at a craft fair last weekend and randomly came across Alexandra Ferguson's Etsy shop today. I mean, we could all use a reminder once and a while, no?

Gift ideas: A beer-making kit

2010-11-16T10:51:00.000-05:00

I was browsing through the latest issue of NY Magazine last night, and I think most of items on the gift guide are just a little over the top. I mean, I'd love a $400 cashmere travel set as much as the next girl, but really?

Anyway, this beer-making kit, available at Brooklyn Flea, is kind of calling my name. (It's in the Eternally Collegiate Brother category. Sounds about right.)

I also love this World Map print by Satoshi Hashimoto, available at the Monocle Shop.

Giveaway Winner

2010-11-16T09:56:00.001-05:00

So sorry for being late on the Giveaway results. Not to sound like a broken record, but I've been swamped at work. The winner, selected by Random.org is Meghan, from the lovely blog, We Ski Slow. Congrats, Meghan! (Obviously, you can tell from the photo above that Colbert approves.)

Leather looks

2010-11-15T11:23:00.001-05:00

I'm usually not big on leather, but I could get down with a few of these outfits from Pixie Market:

Iconic rockstar attire

2010-11-11T15:07:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the radio silence! The last few weeks have been crazy at work. I'm extending the Colbert and Stewart books giveaway for a few days, so there's still time to enter.
In the meantime, enjoy some more poster art on famous male musicians' ensembles from Moxy Creative.

Giveaway!

2010-11-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

Posting will be light this week because of elections. (Post-game analysis, rehashing and all that good stuff. Sigh.)

But, I thought, in honor of Swoon's first birthday, a giveaway* was in order. I decided a political theme would be most appropriate, given that the Rally to Restore Sanity was last week and I happen to be searching for sanity amidst the election coverage.

So, a random and lovely winner will get a copy of Jon Stewart's recent book, Earth, and Stephen Colbert's I am America and So Can You.

I think they also make for great holiday gifts for the Stewart/Colbert fans in your life.

Here's how to enter:

*Become a follower of this blog, and leave a comment letting me know.

*Extra entry - follow me on Twitter and become a fan of Swoon on Facebook.

*Extra entry - mention this giveaway in a blog post or tweet with a link back, and leave another comment telling me so.
*Entries will close at midnight next Wednesday, Nov. 10, and a winner will be selected at random (random.org) and announced Thursday, Nov. 11.
(If you don't have a blog, leave an email address, so I know how to contact you.)

Good luck!

*I haven't hosted a giveaway since March! Stupid wedding.

2010-11-02T12:08:00.000-04:00

Awesome poster art

2010-11-01T11:57:00.000-04:00

I'm loving creative poster art lately. These, by Stanley Chow, are especially awesome.

There's the Mad Men Trilogy:

A few Iconic Hollywood Blockbusters:

And my personal favorites:

Check out the rest here.

1 year

2010-10-28T13:07:00.000-04:00

Jayd Gardina*

I was just putting together a quick post about how insane my week has been and will continue to be, because I'm in the news business and next week is Election Day, and I was going to attach this photo, and that should pretty much say it all.

And then, I realized today makes a year that I started this little blog. I had just started working from home, I was dealing with new responsibilities at work, I was attempting to plan a simple and meaningful wedding while coming up against Crazies, and I just needed an outlet. What I found was this awesome, supportive community of creative, hilarious and super-smart ladies (and a few gentlemen) who I have come to consider my friends. Even if we only communicate on the internets.

I also learned a lot about myself this year, and since I have the world's worst memory, it helps me remember.

The blog is still trying to find its way. Sometimes I wish it had more of a focus, but it's really just a collection of things I love. It started out as more of a wedding blog and now it's become more of a life blog (is that even a term?), but I still would like to continue featuring wedding inspiration on a more consistent basis.

I also have a confession: I hate the name Swoon. There, I said it. I feel better now.

If you have any suggestions on things you'd like to see more of - art, weddings, photography, family stories, pictures of the Monster, cute outfits - please let me know.

Thanks to all of you for stopping by here and your many wonderful suggestions and comments over the last year. Hearing from you makes me over-the-moon happy.

* I owe you guys wedding photos. I've been really busy at work, and also a little bit shy. But I'll force myself to upload a few soon.

Currently ...

2010-10-27T11:18:00.002-04:00

Craving:

Carrot and Chickpea soup

Reading:

Dreaming about:

Dot takes on the world

2010-10-25T12:00:00.000-04:00

My sister-in-law sent me a few amazing stop-motion animation shorts this morning. Have you guys seen this one yet? It won the Guinness World Record for smallest stop motion animation character in a film. I love it.

Nokia 'Dot' from Sumo Science on Vimeo.

Wonder

2010-10-21T15:00:00.004-04:00

So, thanks to my best friend Andrea, I've discovered a cable network with all of my favorite childhood sitcoms. I know, my life is extremely exciting. I'm talking back to back episodes of Family Ties every night and, one of my all time favorites - The Wonder Years. Oh, Kevin Arnold, you never fail to charm me.

Black flat boots

2010-10-21T11:09:00.000-04:00

Dear Ksubi Wicker Boot,

I wish I could bring you home, but you are way out of my price range, so I'll just pine over you instead.

out of the woods

2010-10-20T12:43:00.001-04:00

Sorry for being MIA this week. My biggest goal for the coming year is to find balance. Maybe I'll come up with one of those "25 things" lists, just to shame myself into, well, fixing myself.
Anyway, I did go deep into the woods last weekend and it was fantastic. It involved lots of ale, lobster and cupcakes, all consumed in the middle of a forest on a cold fall night. We slept in a warm cabin (thanks, wood-burning stove and space heaters!) so it didn't exactly scratch my camping itch, but it came very, very close.

And the fire got bigger...

and bigger...

and bigger.

Into the Woods

2010-10-15T16:05:00.000-04:00

I like when the air turns cold. It feels good to be wrapped up in a soft cardigan, sipping something hot and sweet, losing myself in a story, and not having to feel guilty about being cooped up inside. Cooped up is good when it's cold out.
But I spent much of this summer in hot cities - my dress sticking to my skin, my hair in damp knots, that sad, oppressive odor of the subway on a particularly humid day, coils of dog feces sizzling on cobblestone streets.
Now that it's cooler, I have an overwhelming itch to go deep in the woods and far from sirens and jackhammers and the sound of cars coming to a screeching halt because the yellow light turned red so fast, and the litany of profanity my ill-tempered neighbor consistently unleashes on his elderly wife.
I'm craving cold autumn evenings in the quiet of the forest, where the path is lit solely by flashlight and it feels only right to whisper, despite the fact that it's hard to hear each other over the crunch, crunch, crunch of fallen leaves, and then we warm our hands by the campfire, and sit, transfixed by beautiful orange flames.

*Photo by Jake Messenger

wall art

2010-10-14T12:38:00.000-04:00

These movie posters - inspired by men's style - have been making their way around the web, but they were so cute, I thought I'd share. See more here. You can buy the prints at Moxy Creative.

A Reminder

2010-10-12T15:25:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, I just need to remind myself.

via FFFFOUND!

Autumn

2010-10-11T12:02:00.001-04:00

Hiking at the Delaware Water Gap, trying to bust out the Holga more often.

Sisterfest at Storm King Art Center.

Happiness is waking up to this breakfast on Sunday morning.

Gratuitous Monster shot. He's very soft.

preserve

2010-10-08T11:46:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago, husband, who will now be referred to as CW, since I'm still not down with husband, saw this in the New York Times and got weirdly excited about the prospect of preserving fruit for the winter. I was not as inspired, but I went along for the ride, given that he is not typically prone to this level of enthusiasm.
Me: Um, ok, but when would we eat that?
Him: What are you talking about? We could sprinkle it on ice cream, panna cotta, pies, and we can give the jars to our friends and family as gifts.
Me: Ok, that's cool, but I have plans on Saturday and don't really want to be chopping fruit all weekend, not that it doesn't sound like a great idea.
Him: That's ok, I'll do it.
And so it was that I arrived home at midnight the Saturday before last and found him patiently chopping away in a kitchen full of fruit. Covering every inch of the linoleum floor were bushels of peaches and apples and plums. On the butcher block were boxes of berries and grapes and bottles of booze.
Then I began washing and chopping as he sauteed batches on the stove until 3 a.m., and I thought, how odd it is that just a few years ago, I would have balked at the idea of jarring fruit at home on a Saturday night when there is so much fun to be had outside.
And then I thought about my father's mother, and how she worked the land on a farm in a small village in Italy and came to this country and promptly turned a cement patio into a plentiful garden which she lovingly maintained until the year she died.
And how important it was to her to preserve and provide for, and largely subsist off the land.
And then I realized that all of that is suddenly important to me, and I thought of how wonderfully fascinating it is that I married someone who personifies those values, and it's all just hitting me now.

Ps. That peach pie is his mom's recipe and it was insanely good.

adorn

2010-10-07T16:09:00.001-04:00

I'm usually not huge into holiday themes, but these new pieces from West Elm are adorable. The squirrel nutcracker and bird salad plates, designed by Sesame Letterpress, will be mine.

La Dolce Vita

2010-10-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

yes, please

2010-10-04T12:28:00.000-04:00

I'm kind of obsessed with this room.

I've always loved the idea of pasting a bunch of photos to a wall without frames. Especially old family photos and wedding portraits mixed in with my favorite postcards and adorable crayon art in unintelligible handwriting made by little cousins who can't draw. I think I'll print some out and see what it looks like. What do you think? Stylin' awesomeness or big tacky mess? Just asking, cause sometimes I sway to the latter.

*via Freckle Farm

Just because ...

2010-10-03T22:28:00.001-04:00

I'm procrasting. And will likely pull an all-nighter - on a Sunday.

But mainly, because this photo made me smile.

*Wedding photo, circa 1939, Indian Summer Vintage via FFFFOUND!

Dear Twitter,

2010-10-01T12:33:00.001-04:00

It's not you, it's me. It's not that I don't want to be friends, honest. I really do. I just don't understand you. I feel like every time we attempt to hang out, I am so overwhelmed by the barrage of useless information that anything I am interested in gets lost in the never ending stream of stuff-I-don't-care-about. You give me a headache and make me feel dumb.
Maybe your friends can clue me in here, so our relationship doesn't become permanently severed. What am I doing wrong? Perhaps I followed too many people during my first attempt? But isn't it rude to unfollow? I wouldn't want to offend anyone.
Me confused. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Yours truly,
Giovanna

Photo: {flickr}

probe

2010-09-30T15:19:00.000-04:00

We Heart It

Thanks for all the sweet words yesterday. It made me feel much better about the following comment my new dentist made after probing in my mouth:

Whoa, you have QUITE the overbite. Does that bother you at all?

Ps. Why do rainy days make me want to sit in bed and listen to Edith Piaf records?

our wedding

2010-09-29T12:35:00.002-04:00

Our wedding photos are up on the blog of our amazing photographer, Jayd Gardina. I hesitated to share the link, because I'm not used to my face plastered all over the Internets, but I think she deserves some major props. Check out the post here.

blue

2010-09-28T13:12:00.001-04:00

It's dreary today and I'm swamped with work. Boo.
Makes me long for that day in August, when we hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza, on a rocky path high above the water, and the most marvelous views of crystal blue sea would peek out every so often between the branches of olive and lemon trees. When we got there, we gorged ourselves on pasta and then spent the rest of the afternoon jumping off a pier. (He was so giddy, he even bought a snorkel mask to look at all the little fishies. I teased him mercilessly and then asked to borrow it.)