What my career is looking like

Via NYT.

Don't they all look just the same

If I had money, I would buy a house.

Sweet Surrender

Really, is there anything better than a cupcake?

Frankly, no. So it was with a heavy heart that I lived my first three years here in Boston in the bakery-deprived Back Bay. 

But Sweet has come to our collective rescues. The shop, located at 49 Mass. Ave, deals exclusively in all things pink, sweet, and delicious (Marie Antoinette was playing on the monitor the last time I was there, if that helps give you an idea).

The light blush-colored seating, white and pink walls, jars full of candy and, of course, cupcakes, make for a decor that's ... well, sweet.

I strongly recommend the Boston Cream Pie cupcake. And then a trip to the dentist.

Wrap it up

I don't know about you guys, but to me, it's just not Christmas without a dress and tights.

And even though it's almost April and I really should be thinking about cute summer clothes and bathing suites, this photo of Theodora Richards for Erin Kleinberg has me dreaming of a White Christmas, just like the ones I never really knew.

Plus, I mean. She's reading what appears to be a vintage book in what could be the coolest burgundy wrap dress to hit Barney's since DVF. 

Via Pipeline.

It's a mad mad mad mad mad mad mad mad world

I kind of live for Mad Men. The suites, gold zippo lighters, drinking, smoking, dresses, bold lipstick, kitschy ads ... all of it.

I recently re-watched my favorite episode, "The Jet Set".

In it, our anti-hero, Don Draper, visits California and is seduced by a wealthy young gypsy, Joy.

They ride off to Palm Springs together, and stay in a house that exudes quintessential 1960s Hollywood glamor. The whole thing is totally amazing.

I don't need anyone

Something else to cheer anyone up.

Follow the shepard

Sheppard Fairey mural, spotted on the corner of Rutland and Shawmut in the South End.

How to: fix a bad day during a recession

1. Cheap red wine, like Yellow Tail, $7 a bottle

2. CVS brand lavender epsom salt, $3

3. Johnson's lavender bath, $4

4. Delicious homemade mac and cheese, which cost me a total of $4.

5. Whole Foods strawberry shortcake, $3

5. Clean, matching Garnet Hill pjs, gift.

It doesn't exactly fix everything, but it's not bad.

To err is to pun

Puns are the feeblest species of humor because they are ephemeral: whatever comic force they possess never outlasts the split second it takes to resolve the semantic confusion. Most resemble mathematical formulas: clever, perhaps, but hardly occasion for knee-slapping. The worst smack of tawdriness, even indecency, which is why puns, like off-color jokes, are often followed by apologies. Odds are that a restaurant with a punning name — Snacks Fifth Avenue, General Custard’s Last Stand — hasn’t acquired its first Michelin star.

A crime of fashion

Boston's finest apprehended a woman yesterday after she allegedly robbed a bank in Chelsea.

The robber's mistake? Wearing easily-identified burnt orange nail polish, apparently.

Full story on Boston.com.

I don't blame you, I'd do the same thing, I get lonely, too

Here's the thing about me:  I really, really love Jenny Lewis. Like, passionately.

She's funny and smart and pretty and makes pretty fucking fantastic music. And despite meh reviews of "Acid Tongue," I think it's a great record with some pretty sweet tunes that embody Jenny's solo sound:  late 60's California alt-country, ah la Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris.

So it's with a very heavy heart that I saw the listings for Jenny's summer tour - not one stop will be anywhere near my scatter plot summer destinations.

Get the listings here.

So I'm sorry, I suck

Readers,

Sorry I've been totally MIA (pirate skulls and bones) the last week - I've hit the exact point in the semester when everything is due at once.

I do have some great things to post (cupcakes and indie mimosas, anyone?), and will do as soon as I get a minute.

In the meantime, I STRONGLY urge everyone to check out M.Ward's new album "Hold Time."  Of She & Him fame (?), M.Ward hits the ground running with sweet, melodic sounds that jive perfectly with a spring spent prancing through seas of daffodils. 

He does Jenny and Zooey proud.

You and I know ...

Yet another reason why my deep-seated obsession with emulating Zooey Deschanel is 100 percent justified.

Cher Horowitz loves the Counting Crows

"Ghost in You" appeared on the original "Clueless" soundtrack - well before the Crows first made it with "Mr. Jones." Now it looks like they're playing it again. Happiness ensues.

Ooo oo oo, Fashion!

This is awesome.

Oh, happy day

BE HAPPY!

Ch-ch-check it out.

This girl has a really, really sweet blog.

Arg

So I have been feeling a little blue lately - just like a super bad rut that I can't seem to work my way out of. 

It seems like everybody has their own solutions - Holly Golightly, for instance, warded off the mean reds with a trip to Tiffany's. 

For me, it's usually the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla, Calif. The canoes at left are just one of the awesome permanent exhibits they have there (note: the red one on top is actually my grandparent's canoe! They donated it for the exhibit).

So now I'm trying to find my own emotional safe-haven here in Boston. I guess I'll let you know how it goes.

Divine enlightenment

So in slightly less than six weeks, I'm going to be heading to China.

The PRC is one of my greatest obsessions, so I'm preeeetty pumped about it.

This extra large dude to my right is one reason why. It's the Leshan giant buddha in Chendu and he's, well, giant. He was carved into a cliff face in 713 by the Tang Dynasty. 

I wonder how, exactly, you rub his belly for luck?

Daily Quote

From Anne to Neil

All the news that's fit to print

Maggie Cassidy is a Boston Globe rock star, tearing it up at City Weekly today here and here.

I'm terribly excited that she's my buddy.

Daily Quote

Do you love me, do you surfer girl?

When I was in high school, Roxy was kind of lame. With its name plastered all over its clothes, it was kind of like for the SoCal girls who wanted to be surfer chicks, but spent more time on dry land.

But in the last couple years, the brand has really kicked it up a notch, aiming more for fashion than basic beachwear.

 Nylon has a first look at the brand's Fall '09 collection, and I have to say, it's pretty cool. 

I particularly jive with the high-wasted purple skirt (left). It's anything but washed up.

Well, come on now, you're having fun

Daily Quote

Bitten

I seriously live for Mark Bittman, aka the NYT Minimalist. He makes the best food, and since his emphasis is on simplicity, the ingredients are usually sparing. This is ideal for my increasingly light wallet. You can see his weekly videos on The Times' website. Yum.

You know how some girls are

So as I sit here not paying attention to my American Presidency class due to a massive hangover - accumulated last night with these handsome fellows - I recall my favorite Old 97's song, Barrier Reef.

The Empty Bottle was half empty, tide was low, and I was thirsty.
Saw her sitting at the bar, you know how some girls are,
Always making eyes, well she wasn't making eyes.

So I sidled up beside her, settled down and shouted, "Hi there."
"My name's Stewart Ransom Miller, I'm a serial lady-killer."
She said, "I'm already dead," that's exactly what she said.

I should hope that if anyone attempt to use the line "I'm a serial lady killer" on me, I'll be clever enough to say that I'm already dead.

Update: I'm sorry

Loyal readers (all seven of you!),

I'm so sorry I've been a little lazy with my posting. I just got back from spring break yesterday, and I was so exhausted from not sleeping on the red eye that I couldn't deal with more than lying in bed, lazily staring at Hugh Jackman's handsome mug in Australia (The movie sucks, but Jackman's face does not).

Anyway, today I scored a sweeet internship (guess where), and then went shopping to celebrate. I grabbed two t-shirts from Madewell, and a picture frame and my favorite ice cream bowls from Anthropologie in the coolest sky blue.

Again, apologies for being as lazy as the seals on La Jolla's seal beach. I'm back.

Cowboy Joe drinks here

Should you ever find yourself in Laramie, WY, I urge, nay, INSIST you visit the Buckhorn Bar. It truly is one of the last great pioneer town bars.

My mother, a University of Wyoming graduate, no less, informs me that in the 1970s, there existed something called the "Buckhorn Roll," which basically consisted of getting hammered and throwing yourself down a flight of wooden stairs. There seems to be no explanation for this.

 It's a neat, old, bar that actually has historic landmark status, real bullet holes in the bar, and dead animal heads to remind you that you are, you know, in the Wild West. 

Grin and bear it

So I don't know what this panda's name is, but I think we all can agree that the World Famous San Diego Zoo has something of a rock star on its hands.

I love The Like

So I always thought The Like were sort of just a lame teenage band destined for singing the intro songs to MTV "reality" shows like The Hills.

But after reading a blurb about them in the most recent W, I decided to check them out. It turns out, they're really cool and kind of legit.

Their live version of "Release Me" is really cool - I feel like it sort of recalls the cool acoustic girl bands of the 1960s or at the very least Lilith Fair.

Anyway, I really want the song on my iPod, but I can't figure out how to download it - it looks like you can't - so if anyone gets it, pleaaase let me know.

UPDATE: I heart California

What I have been doing: "tanning", San Diego zooing, buying rad orange sherbet colored vans, crashing grown-up parties for the booze, driving, walking, Forever 21-ing, sleeping, seeing ghosts in my house (really, it was just the one), ambiening, resting, driving up to the Ghetty, checking out Carlsbad's new beer store, cutting my hair, avoiding East Coast blizzards, writing, interviewing, eating, dreaming about becoming a surf chick, hating the McQ collection at Target, and BUYING MUSIC.

Oh, and missing you guys.