Design/Build: A Prologue
Two architects sit scanning design magazines, bantering back and forth about questionable construction here, the merits of proportion in bathroom tiles there, all the while wondering when on earth they are going to finally strike out on their own, together. Architecture is a discipline that almost requires you to have a partner that is understanding to the obsessive and demanding nature of the job - no vacation is complete without dissecting the latest magazine-worthy cultural center, or frantic photos of obtuse details that no one but our kind notice. I grew up rolling my eyes at the long hikes and even longer lectures from my father, the forester, about the flora and fauna of the west coast - I fear that ML and I’s future children will forever be dragged to the most obscure of towns and have a unnatural (or socially accepted) appreciation of um, swiss bath houses.
[We go on vacation, find this house in Austin and proceed to take dozens of pictures of .. wait for it... the fence. Perforated and corrugated rusted steel fence that has the perfect amount of transparancy and security, in case you're wondering. That and I really loved the plants, trees, et al. If I had any idea what any of them were. Photo compliments of moi.]
An Architect’s Dilemma
“…I get a little restless and want to either travel or build”.
[Photo compliments of regin schwaen.]
These twelve words manage to encapsulate the ultimate dichotomy that I wrestle with often. I actually laughed when I found it, on Tacklebox’s blog. I laughed at the simple truth that it implied, I laughed at how long something so simple could have eluded me. The need to build, to nest, to make something permanent and mine has always been there - ever since my first sleep away camp found me concocting make-shift shelves out of branches for above the old worn bunkbed, or shoe racks out of whatever string could bind together. On the other hand, my fierce independence, crafted from years spent in unknown situations with new people, in new places, has encouraged me to strike out on my own in search of new and exciting adventures. I simultaneously crave to explore new places, meet new people, see new sights; while also find some place to put down roots, a small corner that I can call home. It doesn’t help that I’m an architect who comes from a family of build-it-yourself-ers. I have to laugh at fate’s plans for me in that last little fact.
Banana-rama, Vegan Style
I have a slew of food blogs that I pop in with and wanted to try this little gem of a recipe away on a rainy day. Which, coincidentally, is probably the most apt description of June 2009 in NYC. Fate? Oh yes.
Amongst these blogs are a few vegan-based websites, which have managed to churn out some stellar recipes that even the meat-worshipping ML confirmed were incredibly tasty. So take a gander at the couple of blogs down to the left of your screen, and add Fat Free Vegan to your proverbial list. Her recent recipe for a Banana Blueberry Bread was a) simple b) required ingredients I had already on hand and, c) darn tasty.
[I have a freezer full of frozen very ripe bananas, and this recipe is going to become very good friends with them. Photo compliments of Susan V.]
I tested it out for the sake of your curious folk and the results are in: I, along with a house guest, polished everything off within 48 hours. That’s a pretty solid starting point. [I will warn you though, that these start out incredible, but if you find yourself unable to restrain yourself after two or three slices - that whole wheat flour is going to kick your a** like a ton of whole grain bricks. I would advise against polishing off half the loaf - just saying.]
Now go make some!
Wedded Bits: A Dress for City Hall
The search for a fun, flirty (and preferably ruffly) dress for ML and I’s upcoming October New York City Hall ceremony started with my usual gusto and verve for internet scouring. I covered many of my first choices here, and now I am happy to announce that the finalists were ordered, examined, and a winner declared! ML implored me to keep the final selection a secret, but considering that a good friend of mine sighed, and then announced “I know exactly which one you picked. I do know you that well - and I mean, you love them ruffles”. And I clearly cannot keep a secret for the life of me - especially one that involves white frilly things.
I will also admit, slightly sheepishly, that my grand plans to search and search and search some more for the most perfect dress was cut short by a) budget, b) time, and c) my attention span. (And maybe those pesky shipping charges.) Regardless, I managed to finagle a very “Manhattan Bride Does City Hall” dress that is the perfect combination of short, ruffles, and screams “Party Dress!”.
The contenders:
[Top Row left to right: Phoebe Couture; JCrew Cecilia; Nicole Miller. Bottom row left to right: Jessica Simpson for Macy's (teeth grinding, but cute! also not in peach but ivory); JCrew Robin; Phoebe Couture, redux.]
And the winner is?
Timmy’s Takes NYC
What coffee outpost locations often outnumber many provinces’ actual people population in that northern land of mine? What institution is renown for their awe-inspiring lines that wrap outside and around highways on the cottage country trail in Toronto? What has managed to illicit the most unsophisticated and child-like shriek from this blogger not once, but twice? (There may have been more).
[No joke. Definitely worth the wait.Photo compliments of BlueCanary.]
The most recent was yesterday upon hearing the news from a fellow Canuck who was, at 11:38 a.m., standing in Grand Central Station here in NYC, adamantly that there was, indeed, a Tim Horton’s coffee shop right. in. front. of. her.
Shriek.
