5 Things

A lot of bloggers do something like this, “Five Things” post. It kind of annoys me because it proves that they have nothing at the moment specifically interesting to blog about so they take the easy way out by picking five items lying somewhere in their room, photograph them, and upload away. I am going to be truthful with you…I AM DOING EXACTLY THAT RIGHT NOW. With spring semester in blossom (I feel like an idiot saying “spring” semester only because I am staring at a foot of snow in my backyard, but whatever), the lengthy reading assignments are back. I officially said goodbye to having the “lack of anything better to do than click on Facebook homepage more than five times in one sitting” phase.

1.     For those of you who have ever been to my bedroom, you surely have noticed, and probably even played with my five string pink electric guitar (look and count closely, I assure you there are only five strings).  Don’t worry, I didn’t get ripped off from eBay (even though I did get this guitar off of eBay), my baby cousin was having too much fun with a toy called “Eileen’s important stuff.” This crippled guitar that I never got around to fix is always a nice conversation topic sitting in the right corner of my room (appropriately placed so every time I open my closet door it slams into it—yikes!). Instead of allowing it lean against my wall to rot, I’ve realized that this guitar is also a great prop for, let’s say, an album cover if I were to magically transform into Taylor Swift someday (anyday now) and needed an album cover pronto. I decided to have some fun with my pink guitar and tried to make it a little glam/rock and roll by adding a sparkly mini-dress…Enjoy!

2.    Think of something that you can get for a dollar. Wendy’s recently expanded their value menu to include a small frosty, a crispy chicken sandwich, and fries (each only 99 cents). But ten minutes later, the value chicken is gone! I found something for one dollar that will be around in ten minutes, is inedible, and I think is pretty stylish. Check out my ladybug scarf! I don’t usually wear bugs on my clothing, but I happen to think ladybugs are pretty damn cute! You can tell me this scarf resembles something a flight attendant would don, but I’ll still wear it!

3.      Who knew, Eileen is a ballerina…NOT! This picture is for all the people that never really won trophies, and do not have framed awards of theirs permeating the house. Whenever people see this, they—for some reason—think that it is a trophy. I painted it myself at a place called “Plaster Gallery,” around three years ago. I picked out a ballet shoe because it looked pretty easy to paint. Why do I keep it around? I love the little spurt of excitement I get when someone asks if I am a ballerina.

4.      Who doesn’t like a bargain? I especially love, LOVE bargains. Whenever I buy something at a really good price I find myself talking about it all week long…(maybe I should try and change that about myself). If someone expresses any level of favor in something that I am wearing that was extremely discounted, I tend to bark out the price before even introducing myself. These boots, which will probably turn out to be extremely painful, is one of those items. (They were more than 60% off!)

5.   My last 'thing' is actually not even mine. I am dedicating 1/5th of this post to my super evil and super talented little sister. She is extremely creative (and mean), and I am hopefully an inspiration to her originality (not her grouchiness), she borrows my clothing on a daily basis if not more. She is actually in the process of making a skirt made of stuffed animals. She unstuffed all of my old beanie babies and household stuffed dolls and sewed them together making this cool and slightly creepy skirt! She accidentally unstuffed a Webkinz very dear to my other sister's heart. It was then that my mother's skills as a surgeon were tested (even though she is not a surgeon) as she tried to recompose that poor, cute little pig. 

Hwyl fawr, (Goodbye in Welsh)

Eileen 

Firenze

I can almost say that the most exciting part of going to a foreign country is the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel. At this point in your trip, (if you are me), you know a lot about a certain place that you’ve never seen with your own eyes in real life. The suspense is practically unbearable and to make matters more interesting, everything seems to be coming into your mind just a bit slower, assuming you took a red-eye and got zero sleep like me. By choice of course, too many movie options!(I am beginning to think I am the main character in Eat Pray Love)

            My trips have always made me realize that there are two types of people when it comes to the first day in a new city. There are those that look forward to tucking into the hotel's (hopefully comfy) bed for a few hours midday in a European city to “catch up on some sleep” (losers—Ace Ventura style, La-hu-se-hers…if you think I am out of my mind right now watch this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kz7YUdy-Cg). The second type, (perhaps the better—I’ll say I’m kidding even though I’m not really), are the people that will throw on the sweater-dress and stockings closest to the opening of their suitcase and search for a shop open between twelve and two (finding a shop open during siesta= not easy/near impossible). Unpack? Ya, right. Hopefully I made it obvious which “type” I belong to.

            Growing up, I would idolize the hotel rooms that would fill the last few pages of Conde Nast Traveler. Typically the last page would show an image of a gorgeous suite with an enormous, sweeping window facing the most iconic landmark of any given city. I’d hope that someday I’d stay in one of the rooms featured in the magazine. As soon as I walked into our mini-apartment, besides for noticing that it was the quintessential Florentine decorated pad, I noticed that we had huge windows that were a mere fifty feet away from the walls of a Florence Cathedral/Duomo. There was nothing obstructing our view, nothing (besides for cold glass) standing between me and the Duomo. The only downside about my “Room With a View,” was the pack of punks/teenage boys (I make it as if I am not a teenager myself and I do enjoy dressing punkster occasionally) chanting at the top of their lungs at 12 midnight. But that is what we get for choosing to stay in one of Florence's most busy piazzas. 

My view

            Day one was unfortunately shorter than I had expected. We landed in Florence at 1 PM and were out and about by 2! We toured the Florence Cathedral, saw the David as well as many other Michelangelo masterpieces at the Galleria dell’Accademia. By the way, let me get this off of my chest once and for all…why don’t any museums let me take pictures inside! (Common Uffizi Gallery!). We had a delicious first dinner at a restaurant called Yellow Bar, right near the cathedral. This was when I realized why I love Italian people. Girls on dates were eating entire pies themselves! I am exclaiming in praise, not in shock…(they also manage to stay thin while doing it). I ordered a Pasta alla Carrettiera, which was so spicy I probably drank three giant water bottles by myself.

A less popularized view of Michelangelo's David

            During our second day we toured small villages in Tuscany and Siena—about an hour outside of Florence. On our way we stopped to take pictures in front of Piazza di Michelangelo—a.k.a the view from which every tourist who visits Florence takes a picture in front of. There is a good reason why…it is simply beautiful! Our guide explained the very interesting (and everlasting) rivalry between the people of Siena and Florence. The people of Siena despise those from Florence. Not only is their architecture more medieval and traditional, their mindsets still are as well! The Duomo of Siena is a direct response, more so challenge, to the Duomo in Florence. (If you ask me, the façade and interior of Duomo of Siena is much nicer). After strolling through the winding, narrow streets of Siena we were ready for some lunch at the Piazza del Campo. I was craving my second bowl of pasta in Florence. I actually ended up ordering a soup/meal called ribollita that was on almost every menu in Florence. It was an extremely tasty vegetable-bean soup, thickened by the mushy bread mashed inside of it. Even though I kind of made it sound gross—it was delicious. After, we took a scenic drive to Saint Piano for wine tasting in Chianti. One of my favorite things about Tuscany (besides for the never-ending hill-tops and the rich greenery) was that the entire region seemed to smell like a giant fireplace/ski town, without the snow (Thank God!). Later that night we had an amazing dinner at La Giostra (fried artichokes..yum).

     

            By the third day we were ready for shopping (and art)! We started off at the Uffizi Gallery and saw some Botticelli, Titian  and more then we headed over to H&M…and I know what you are thinking, “They have the same stuff everywhere.” There is just something about being in a foreign country that makes it all more exciting. We shopped at many other small boutiques like Ethic and Patrizia Pepe. Dinner was at an unnamed tourist trap that had the best desserts I ever tasted in my entire life!

            Wednesday was one of my favorite days, for we hit up the “Shoeseum.” Yes, someone combined my two favorite things—fashion and museums—and made a place as beautiful as heaven. It was Museo Salvatore Ferragamo featuring life size shoes and an extremely interactive learning experience. I could probably write an entire blogpost about this place, but I wouldn’t want to bore anyone to death (if I haven’t already). We also had our best meal of the trip on that day. Take a picture of the gnocci at Osteria Santo Spirito (as I did below) and you can make almost anyone’s mouth water (as you will right now). We also had a meal at 4 PM (which is totally acceptable since we were “walking around so much”—ya right) at Caffe Rivoire where the hot chocolate resembles and tastes like hot nutella.

One of the things that I loved about Florence was the sense of relaxation and simple idea of taking one’s time. I am most certainly not a relaxed person. But there is something that makes me want to be relaxed when I’m in Florence. I mean, even the faucets are on a three-second delay as if they are trying to say themselves, “why does water need to come out so fast?” But the absolute best thing about Florence is that you think every meal was “the best meal of your life” until you have your next! The worst? (it’s only fair) Every dog in town seems to have a bad case of diarrhea (sorry for the grossness).  

 

M.I.A (not the pop-star)

        I have good news and bad news. Bad news first, I have not been blogging as often as usual  : (  Good news is, I am off to Florence, Italy tomorrow night and will be working on a ginormous post as soon as I return!  Wishing everyone happy holidays (not for me, Chanukah was a few weeks ago…)! 

       Part of me cannot wait for my favorite radio stations to stop playing Christmas music…the tunes are just too catchy!

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock…LiLo saves the day down below!

Love (English this time), 

   Eileen 

Viewer Discretion Advised...Seriously

 My (one-way) relationship with Steven Meisel, my most favorite fashion photographer, began in my sophomore year of high school, when my art teacher assigned a photographer to each student. We were required to do some research on our subject, but more so, the assignment was to imitate the style of the artist. To my luck, I was given Steven Meisel (it was fate that brought us together!). I got right to it, I called up a friend of mine, Freda, and had her model for me. It wasn’t that simple. I finally saw the brainpower behind snapping the perfect cover shot.  I won’t lie though, it was pretty fun. I was going for the whole “celebrity eating disorder” topic. I thought it was slightly controversial, but not too controversial that my teacher would be weirded out. Outfit-wise, I knew we were depicting a starlet. 2/3 pieces of her outfit belong/ed to my mother (I do not know where either are now). The dress, a sparkly BCBG frock from circa 2004. The shoes, Steve Madden, also from sometime around 2004. Last but not least, the silver leggings are mine, American Apparel. When it came time for makeup, I realized how much fun it is to make someone have a black eye by purpose. It was kind of like a “smoky eye” gone bad…very bad. We took red lipstick and just smudged it all over the lower half of her mouth. Then, we thought, what better place to shoot this than in my bathroom! As a finishing touch, we added a little plate of cake and cookies but mid-photoshoot, I took some cake and smushed it all over her face (can you say “let them eat cake!). Check out the photo below…

Call me a cheeseball, but my theory to photography (not like I’m good at it) was always that the talent in photography doesn’t lie in simply photographing something beautiful; it is photographing something ugly and making it beautiful.  In the world of gorgeous models and expensive clothing that is a hard theory to live by as a photographer. But my pal Steve always makes it work. His images are not merely a picture of a 5 foot 10 beauty in a $10,000 dollar Balmain dress. They are crossing boundaries and going places every photographer wants to go, but is too scared to. By challenging social taboos, Meisel made ‘controversy’ his middle name.  Meisel shoots for US and Italian Vogue, as well as designers such as Valentino, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Calvin Klein (almost everyone). Oh ya, and he’s like best friends with Madonna (jealous!!!). Enjoy.

 

 

 

 "Make Love Not War"for Italian Vogue

Last but not least my rendition of Steven Meisel's work: 

Sinceramente (Italian), 

Eileen

Sex, Drugs, and...Ballet?

Firstly, I would like to apologize for my lack of posting…finals are a killer! I still have an art history exam hanging over my shoulders, but I missed “Home Sweet…Dorm” too much! Blog now, study later.

Anyways, I just saw Black Swan this week and I am still amazed! I feel bad to pump up any expectations about the film, but I am sure you will enjoy it! Director Darren Aronofsky is successful in making the audience feel uncomfortable throughout every second. Each character is multifaceted and you will have a hard time looking away from the screen or taking a trip to the bathroom (no matter how many diet coke’s you drink during the first half)

You might leave the theater feeling slightly confused as to what actually happened in the movie, and the significance of the ending, but I think that is exactly the point. Natalie Portman takes the idea of “becoming the role” to the next level. Rumor has it, Portman lost around twenty pounds for the part; the struggles of becoming the role of Nena (Portman’s role in The Black Swan), and Nena’s endeavor of becoming the black swan, are mindboggling and interrelated. Portman surely did it; most viewers were blown away by what might have been the role of her life.

The Black Swan gives the audience an insiders view to the true pressures of a dancer’s career. Bulimia, nerve-racking auditions, seduction, rejection, competition and strive for perfection, are only the beginning of what is going on inside a dancer’s head. I am hopeful for two things: that I didn’t spoil the whole film in this post, and that Portman wins the Golden Globe! 


Kwaheri (that's goodbye in Swahili), 


Eileen 


P.S. the tune of "Swan Lake" might stick in your head for a few days...

Ode to the City I Live In, Disclaimer: this is not a poem, sorry!

It is not very often that I commemorate the city that raised me (kind of). It was not until the eleventh grade that I first realized I live in the most amazing city, well, ever. Some background: I am an obsessive Conde Nast Traveler reader. As soon as an issue comes in the mail, I grab it (before my parents see it has arrived) run up to my room and spend hours studying each and every article and advertisement (If only I did so with my textbooks). Sometime in 2009, I glanced at the cover and the title of the featured article was, “The Center of the Universe” (or maybe it was called “The Greatest City of the Universe”—well, something along those lines). I remember thinking, “Woohoo! Can’t wait to read about the center of the universe…I wonder what it is.” Once I got to my room, I looked down at the cover and noticed that the photo was the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the Museum of Natural History. The picture resembled this one:

 To my surprise, it was the “city that never sleeps.” (sorry, I can’t think of another less cliché but well known nickname for NYC—the big apple, Empire-oy-State, Gotham…you get the point). I had one of those moments where I was so shocked that I was basically reenacting the scene from Mean Girls where Regina George says, “Shut up!” (except I was just talking to myself…whatever). I was extremely excited to open this issue, almost too excited, more than any other issue I’ve ever received. Trust me, it is totally fun reading about quaint, cozy towns in Italy and adventurous, scenic journeys in South Africa, but my mighty Manhattan!

I don’t think many other cities have the term, “a [insert name of city here] moment,” where the term “New York City moment,” has become a part of breathing our polluted air! (I am not trying to comment on the environment—just noting that our air is polluted, but every blessing comes with downsides—and New York has very little of them). The other day I wore stockings (you remember how much I love stockings…right?) with the Eiffel Tower on them…I felt disloyal wearing the symbol of another city on my legs all day! (check them out here). 

I recently found myself at Times Square. I couldn’t help but think, “How does it all work?” (I don’t mean electricity, construction, cars etc., I mean the people and culture) How do so many people live so close to one another (approximately 26,000 people per square mile) without there being constant conflict? (I’m not arguing that there is no crime or violence in the city, but it is one of the safest cities in the USA). In addition to the hordes of people living within the city, there are the bridge and tunnel people that Manhattan breathes in and out every single dingle day.

I guess the most appropriate way to end this blog post is by saying…

So, what is your New York City moment? 

Thanks to my sources:

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/98_nicknames/

http://hubpages.com/hub/20-Interesting-Facts-About-New-York-City

http://www.citypass.com/press/photos/ny/New-York.html

Wallets for Sale

After looking through ever inch of my closet (yes, I need to revive something from the back of my closet—I am getting very bored of the stuff I can see with my plain eye), I found this weird briefcase that, truthfully, I can’t explain. It’s always been around. Either in my closet, the hallway, next to my mannequin, I just never had an explanation for it. I think I used to play with it as a toddler and make pretend I was a businessman from the 1950’s or something. Apparently, I used it as storage at some point in my life. Upon opening the bottom portion of this briefcase (the top half is locked and the key is missing—go figure), I found probably every wallet I owned between 5^th and 9^th grade (I mean it wasn’t like I was looking for them or anything). Some of these are cute, some are just dreadful, but they all take me on a walk down memory lane (probably shouldn’t have used that phrase)…take a look! 

This is the mysterious briefcase, by the way.

 It looks like I had some sort of Alice in Wonderland fetish...who knew! 

I think I thought I was cooler because my wallet had graffiti on it...was graffiti on wallets ever cool?

 Gotta love Paul Frank!

 I remember I was really excited about this one (which I must note I bought from a store that sold cleaning supplies) because it was the first wallet I had that could hold my phone too! 

Everyone had one of these...Right? (crickets, crickets). By the way, my monkey's name was Sven.

I've come to the conclusion that I was a bit of a wacky kid...but this one isn't even practical!