meet my shopping adventures.

  "No one can drive us crazy unless we give them the keys" -Doug Horton

meet my gnome keychain... hes good luck.

 meet my favorite/comfiest/oldest pair of shoes... I dont have it in me to throw them out.

 meet my mini notepad... it says "I like stylish people" - true story.

Today I had quite a relaxing day! I slept in... for the first time in WEEKS! Seriously! I cannot tell you how refreshing that was! I started my day off with a trip to the mall with the "shop till you drop" mentality. And that's precisely what I did, minus the dramatic "drop" part. Boy, was I in luck today, as most of the stores were having HUGE sales! Was I in heaven? Yes momentarily. I fell in love with this Gap sweatshirt/pullover top that I bought weeks ago in yellow, and have been dying to buy it in a salmon color too. So let me tell you my surprise when I discover that Gap was having a buy one top, get one free sale! So not only did I buy the pullover in salmon, but also in a tri-color blue! Such a pleasant surprise!
My favorite purchase of the day (well, they were all my favorites of course) were these jean/denim leggings! I guess you can call them... jeggings? Ha. Call them whatever you wish. They are so comfy, and they fit beautifully! However, jegging wearers: please be cautioned! I've seen these worn inappropriately SO many times! Just because they LOOK like jeans, doesn't mean you should treat them like jeans. While wearing jeggings, please do not think you can get away with panty-lines or camel toes. Not okay. Also, if you wear tunics/long tops with leggings, the same should apply to your tops while wearing your jeggings. Jeggings are leggings first... then jeans. Dress accordingly! Oh the travesty.

Anyways, on my way home from the mall I decided to go thrift store shopping in hopes of finding some new materials for my collages. After scanning through shelves of books I found a couple of childrens fairy tale books, and TIME photograph compilations... including one on jackie kennedy/onassis. All in all I bought about 5 picture/photograph books and spent no more than $6 there, which was another delightful part of my day! I came home, consolidated all of my shopping bags, felt guilty for a bit, got over my momentary buyers remorse, then grabbed a pair of scissors, and dove into my thrift books to start finding new pictures for my art projects. However, I couldn't come to terms with myself to cut up the book of Jackie Kennedy... just couldn't do it. She's too much of a classy lady. Either way, I'm excited to get started on new a new collage! While I still have a painting in progress, I'm the kind of person who prefers to have multiple things going on at once. Hmm... I think I've reached a point of delirium. Hope weekends are going fabulously... and lets keep the Chileans in our prayers/thoughts!

stay classy,

madeleine

little secrets.

Today I took a midterm for my AP art history class... A midterm in February? I know right? A bit outrageous, if you ask me. Anyways, despite the fact that I absolutely love the era we're studying, Renaissance painting/sculpture/architecture, I have this terrible feeling that I bombed the test. Not much I can do now though, I suppose.

Anyways, I thought I'd post a picture of my recently completed collage:
(currently) Untitled - 12x12"


So funny story... This project, along with my other painting which is in progress, was selected for my art class and teacher to critique this week. All I could think was, "Shit, now I have to make up some ridiculous reasoning explaining my thought process behind this"... and that's what precisely what I did.

I constructed this multimedia collage/project to signify the importance of independence. I started this project during Valentines day, and essentially, this is supposed to represent a almost satire-like commentary on the holiday. On the borders are bits from the Commitments section of the newspaper... the ripped up, separated bits, symbolizing the superficiality of some marriages. I added pink flowers, butterflies, angels, etc. to cause an emotional overload on viewers, overwhelming them with Valentines nostalgia. Does it seem overly sentimental? Yes- and that is my intention, because that is precisely what I believe Valentines Day is...overly sentimental and superficial-at least in the way our culture portrays it. The central image of the piece is the single woman, almost liberated from the picture. Who says Valentines Day requires a significant other?

I pulled out something along those lines when giving my little artist commentary. Honestly, when I was working on this, I was just having fun! Was that meaning what I intended from the very beginning? Nope. But now that I created a fabulous story behind it, it's quite believable.... right? However, I'm not that much of a critic of Valentines Day.... afterall, no one likes a Debbie Downer.

In other news, my trip to Arizona for a weekend in March for Giants spring training, is all planned out! Everything except the hotel. Anyone know any fabulous hotels in the Scottsdale, AZ area? Hmmm. Nonetheless, I can't wait! I'm planning on getting a nice tan (I'm hoping no sunburns like last year!), watching some good baseball, and meeting some of the amazing players. I love spring training! I'm an avid, no, diehard, no, EXTREME SF Giants fan... it's my little secret!

What's your little secret? ;]

P.S. Follow me on TWITTER! please and thank you.

stay classy,
madeleine

east coast

here's a little recap of my long, crazy week! cheers!

day I: flew into JFK. arrived at hotel smack dab in the middle of times square. dinner at some grill. turned in for the evening.
times square

day II: 7am train to philly. visited/met with admissions at Villanova. it was indeed sunny in philadelphia. met with family friends. train back to new york. dinner at my favorite hole in the wall japanese restaurant in NYC, sapporo.
villanova university


day III: morning at fordham university. tons of snow. went to ed sullivan theater. more snow. stood in line with tix to david letterman show. even more snow. sat 4th row in live audience at letterman- saw ben kingsley & mary j blige! fabulous experience. dinner at chez josephine, a really cute french bistro.
fordham university.... brrrrr!!!

day IV: spent the morning/afternoon at the metropolitan museum of art. fabulous time. they had a special exhibit entitled "the art of victorian photocollage"... can you say right up my alley? saw west side story on broadway. my opinion: subpar, only because Maria couldn't sing. wtf? movie hopped with the most fabulous person in Brooklyn, New York.
"the art of victorian photocollage"


day V: took the train to boston. dead tired. shopped copley square.

day VI: day at northeastern university. i loved it, however it was quite uneventful. such a change of pace from new york. dinner at legal seafood, yummm.

fabulous week. back to the grind... how lovely.

currently listening to: deceptions - one be lo
currently reading: Senator Bayh's Op-Ed article on why he is leaving the Senate.

stay classy,
maddy

alice in the wonderland of tea.

"Tea! The panacea for everything from weariness to a cold to a murder. Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea." -Henry Fielding

My favorite tea salon just sent me an email event update, and I just thought I'd pass along the fabulous invite!













(I apologize for the choppiness of the pictures, it was the only way I could show off this cute little invite!)

Of course it's overpriced... but I assure you any event at that lovely place is worth any price. And plus, who wouldn't want to dress up anyways! If you're in the area, GO!



stay classy,

you and I buy starmaps and drive around los angeles

I'm exhausted! Why? I'm not sure, considering I have had essentially no school work all week, or anything else for that matter. I guess I'm just tired of being bored? Possibly? Ah well. This weekend should be fun! Saturday I am spending the day/evening with my whole family, and we will be going out to dinner for Chinese New Year! I'm not to keen on the authentic, real Chinese food, but I love being with my family! Sunday I leave for my week on the East Coast... New York first, then Philly, and I end at Boston. My dad called to get tickets to the David Letterman show, but I think I'd rather see a Broadway Musical. Any favorite musicals out? Hmmm. Life has been going fabulously. Below are a couple of snapshots of what I've been doing with my art lately. Fun stuff! I completed two paintings in class within the past couple of months as well, so I should be able to post pictures by the end of the month!

my "stay classy" stencil.

a little piece I did for my friends birthday.


just a snapshot of my dresser-top. I thought something looked oddly eccentric about it so I snapped a pic!

currently listening to : shimmy shimmy quarter turn : hellogoodbye.

stay classy,

doppel-whaaat?

the word "doppelgänger" has come to refer (as in German) to any double or look-alike of a person.

I must say, I'm thoroughly enjoying this doppelganger trend on Facebook for a variety of reasons!
1) because more than 3/4 of the people actually posting their doppelganger pictures, probably don't even know what the word means! (I admit, I learned what it was this year after reading Frankenstein) Do you sense some cynicism? I think yes.
2) because I love love love seeing who people think they look like... its even better when it actually looks like them!
3) I admit to being entertained and amused when the person's doppelganger look nothing like them. In most cases, the doppelganger is so much better looking, and in a good number of cases, the person and their doppelganger, are not even comparable! I'm secretly saying to myself, "hmm, you really think you look like that?" (I guess in someway this situation just means the person has a high self esteem!) oh, is that mean? Admit it, if you see this, you're pleasantly amused. You've got a silent LOL going in, I know it, and you know it.

I would definitely put up a doppelganger picture, except the fact that there aren't that many famous asians I know of, let alone, famous/noteworthy asians that I look like. Mulan? Brenda Song? Nah. Oh well.

I had quite a fabulous weekend. And I hope you did as well! The rain stopped and Sunday morning I got some sunshine and created a new artpiece for one of my best friend's birthday! No, I did not see Dear John this weekend. I would rather gag than watch that. I think Nicholas Sparks is a goddamned overly sentimental fool, yet slightly sadistic and conspiring to cause an emotional overload to vulnerable girls and women. Oh, and he's a predictable romance novelist. Oh, not so jolly Nick, I'm unimpressed. Every one of your books ends with a completely random/unrealistic ending which is terribly depressing and makes me feel conflicted between whether I want to fall hopelessly in love with the leading man, hate him, feel sorry for him, or what.

So my inner cynic came out. And for that I apologize... well, not really. These are simply my opinions! Did I say that my doppelganger was the grinch? ;] peace&love darlings.

currently listening to: this too shall pass - okgo
off of blalock's indie playlist for February!


stay classy,

don't want no paper gangster

Well clearly, if you didn't know, I have an intense obsession for the Miss Lady Gaga. It's a bit late, but I just wanted to say how much I adored her outfit at the Grammy Awards! I think she is such an artist!

More of my favorite GAGA outfits I'm goo goo for.





My absolute favorite Gaga outfit. It gives me BUTTERFLIES!

Fabulous. Fabulous. Fabulous. This week has been quite rewarding, not too much going on, getting back into my gym routine... still need to get back to my weekly yoga classes, that'll happen eventually I hope! Anyways, just read this NY Times article about how Zac Posen is refusing to pose with The Count from Sesame Street for Harper's Bazaar for their look-alike issue based on Sesame Street Characters and Designers.

I suppose I see the similarity? widows peaks maybe? hmmm... its quite a good article if your a Zac Posen fan!

currently listening to: tuff n' stuff - yes giantess

stay classy,