RIP YSL.

It just needs to be said that this is such a fantastic shirt.

fantastic female forms - Natasha Law

Yellow with Green Stars on Pink 2008 - Gloss Paint on Aluminum 49 in X 49 in

Simple lines, bold colors and attention to the female form first drew me to Law's prints. I stumbled upon them when perusing Elevn Fine Art (elevenfineart.com), which is a fantastic site. What is impressive to me is her use of empty space and color to highlight the human form. Her use of lines and mixed media allow the viewer's eyes to organically follow the painting, drawing their eyes to the exact place they need to be.

Her process if a unique one in which she works off photographs of her sitters and uses simply glossy household paint and aluminum nerderlines. Each paining posses an erotic undertone and excudes a strong sexual femininity.

London born, Natasha is the sister of Jude Law. Initially well known through her collaboration with the Frost/French label designing everything from prints to showsets.

The pieces are empowering, highlighting a plethora of shapes. She draws attention to the female form from what is an obvious high fashion and feminine perspective

Jamine -2008 Silk Screen print with Gloss Varnish

on 310 gsm Somerset Paper 17 3/4 x 11 3/4 in

New Years Resolution

I decided this year to make my resolution coincide with the Chinese New Year. I would like to say it is because I wanted to be appreciative of others cultures but realistically it was because I was lazy and did not really want to change myself until now.

Here they are in no particular order

1. Revamp my wardrobe - particularly for work
2. Learn Conversational French
3. Lose weight and get in shape
4. Practice some form of meditation everyday
5. Paint More
6. Make sure I have 20 min. of alone time every day
7. Sing loudly in my car.

That is all. Happy Chinese New Year ... 2 days late.

Misha Barton... Paris Edition

Is it me or is Mischa Barton shrinking?

Don't get me wrong, I think she looks fabulous but I wonder how she achieved this. Misha and I have the same body type and you can tell exactly when I put on and lose weight but she looks toned and fabulous. This might merit a fan letter to her. I just hope she does not give me the same "celebrity diet" I am tired of hearing - steamed fish and veggies all day everyday. yuck.

perfect work outfit?

One of my goals for this year is to completely revamp my work attire. I have not bought new work clothing in awhile and it shows. It had gotten so bad that last night I almost had a severe panic attack over what to wear to a big meeting I have today. Luckily, the meeting is canceled and I pulled together something that was decent.... but I don't want to be decent, I want to be effortlessly chic.

Here is my perfect work outfit... what is yours?

Black Shift Dress

Textured tights

Black Booties

Throw on chunky jewelry or a thick belt and you are ready to go.

Perfection.

Sorbet Freak .... 90's Chic?

TopShop... how I love thee. It seems that by a mere wave of their fashion forward hand, they have moved from jewel tones to sorbet. yummy.

There is nothing like a bright orange cocktail dress to shake up a LBD party, brighten up a wedding or remind people that the 1970's is not yet dead.

From Sorbet to 90's Chich ... Top Shop previals. I have been contemplating the acid wash jeans look for some time now, and am completely uncertain if I can pull it off. I went as far as taking a day at Goodwill to pull my large butt into horribly fitting jeans from the late 80's to recreate the runway look and I have yet to be happy. I can't for the life of my figure out if it is the fit or the wash, but I always come out of the dressing room looking like an original member of the Baywatch Cast... all I need now is a "No Fear" t-shirt and a free pair of neon "wayfarers". Will I have to resort this spring? Maybe if I lose the 25 lbs I plan on, they will look great. UGH another "skinny fashion" -awesome....

Until Spring, I will stick with my black, nice slimmmmmmming black.

Grocery List..redux.

So I woke up this morning fully expecting the world outside my window to be completed covered is a thick layer of ice making it impossible for me to go to work today. Unfortunately, there was just rain. YUCK. So much for that "wintery mix" they kept discussing in detail on the news.

So I got up, got ready, and made my way into work without evening checking my voicemail to make sure the office was still open.... why would it close for rain, right?

So I am now sitting in an empty office that is closed. Sweet.

I am planning on leaving in an hour after I make some phone calls, cancel some meetings I had today, and blog about my grocery list. AH my list. Normally making my grocery list is a involved routine. I get stressed out, spend hours in the store, and come out feeling like all I want to do is shove the frozen pizza and chips that I just purchased into my mouth.




I have decided this week to try something new. Instead of making meal plans and buying according to the recipes, I am just going to buy a bunch of ingredients (and a frozen pizza) and see what I can whip up this week. I also want to preface this by saying I have decided that I am giving up red meat. It just clogs me up, horrendous I know.

Here is my grocery list:

Broccoli Florets

Tomato (3)

Organic Spinach

Frozen Asian Vegetables

Smart Ones Desserts (2)

Grapefruit

3 Lemons

Organic Romaine

Frozen Sugar Snap Peas

Shrimp

Tilapia (Frozen)

Organic Skinless, Boneless Chicken

Ground Turkey

Organic Tomato Soup

Organic Broccoli Soup

Light Feta Cheese

Artichoke Hearts

Slim Fast (for breakfast)

Organic Skim Milk

Light Greek Yogurt

Cucumber

Dill

Light Yogurt (12)

Edamame in Pod

Diet Coke

Flavored Club Soda

Whole Grain Bread

Whole Wheat Tortilla

Oat Cluster Cheerios

Organic Black bean Soup

Non Fat Sour Cream

Whole Wheat Tortilla Chips

Salsa

Whole Wheat Pasta

Healthy Choice Garden Pasta

Paper Towels

Meyers Clean Day House Cleaner


Beaujolais (2 Bottles)

Frozen Pizza (Friday Night Treat)

The good thing is that even though I went to the office this morning I managed to get some things done AND will be able to do my shopping on the way home. This will also give me a chance to clean my apartment, get all my laundry done, FINALLY watch my Blockbuster Movie "The Wild Bunch" AND catch up on my reading. I love snow days when I can finally get my life in order again. I might even clean my closet.


Maybe.

What is that you are reading again?

I apologize for the lack of weekend blogs. I am so new at this, and therefore completely forget to blog on the weekend.



I read a bunch of random books. Completely random. For Christmas this year, Josh got me this book...





I love it and it completely aligned with my current obsession - french film. I just started it, and while it is a text book, it still reads very well. I have a feeling my Blockbuster list is going to packed to the gills with new wave era film.


sweeeeet.

Thursday morning obsession

YSL Besace Medium Flap Bag.....

My Morning Routine

Most mornings when I am in my office and not at a meeting I send an email to Melia that looks exactly like this:

(photo in email: viewimages.com)

It normally consists of the subject line: What I ate this morning - with a picture of the item (thank you google images)

Today: Weight Watcher Smoothie in two percent milk. yummmmmmy. (5 points but WAY worth it)

Then Melia sends me back a response:

I love my morning routine.

Dear Mr. President

Welcome to Washington D.C. President Obama!

S'il vous plaît ....

Tonight I am planning to surprise Josh with a french themed food and wine pairing. He loves Beaujolais and since I love all things French, it will make for a fine evening.

Below I will list the menu (complete with pictures) and hopefully it will be très bien!

First Course: Wine and Cheese Pairing.

Our cheese plate will consist:

Brie: which is a classic pairing for Beaujolais. The creamy, mellow flavor will go beautifully with the wine.

Morbier: A pungent, buttery cheese (yummmmy)

Mimolette: A strong, salty cheese along the lines of cheddar.

Second Course: Tartiflette

Tartiflette is a dish from the Savoie region of France. It is not a traditional french dish, although it incorporates traditional french ingredients. Many Americans would compare this dish to a potato casserole. I am going to use it as the midpoint meal - and serve it in a very small portions, in earthware dishes with french table wine chilled to 55 degrees Farenheit.

Main Course: Les Steak & Haricots Vertes Lyonnise.

Steak prepared in the typical french style with cream, wine, and peppercorn. The Haricots Verts Lyonise is simply Green Beans prepared with lyon style using garlic, red onion, butter, nutmeg, red wine vinegar and parsley.

Josh is a big steak eater, particularly those that I purchase from a local market that are thick cut and fresh. I am a former vegetarian, so I feel completely guilty eating it, although I love the taste.

Dessert: Mousse Spoons with White Chocolate




Yummy mousse on single serving spoons. I served this on NYE and everyone raved about it so I already know this is a hit.









I will let you know how it goes because if it goes well, I plan on tackling the next "big thing".. French Wine Dinners.

Salut Mon Ami.

My office is a mess

I am looking at stacks of paper on my desk, mountains even, and it is all I can do to not take a match to them.

Sadly, my desk is a very realistic reflection of my life currently. I tend to move at two speeds:

1. Fast
2. Jessie on Speed from Saved By the Bell

My friends can barely tolerate me, my family thinks I am absolutely crazy and my fiance actually believes he can't give me anything nice for fear I will lose it.

So where does this leave me? Blogging. At the urging of one of the only people that can tolerate me on a daily basis (most likely because she is as overextended as me) I have decided to blog about my life. Let me first post a disclaimer though: NOTHING ACTUALLY EXCITING HAPPENS IN MY LIFE. So please, don't read this waiting for the day that something will happen. I will say that because of my forgetfulness, inability to edit my thoughts, and a penchants for cocktails, I tend to do hilarious and awkward things, but nothing even close to exciting. Now that we got that out of the way.... I am going to introduce myself.

My name is Kait... K-A-I-T.
I enjoy very strong martinis, wine, fashion, film, music, books and friends. I live in Roanoke, VA - The Star City of the South and moved here three years ago from Washington D.C. I have a fiance named Josh and a cat named Oscar. Oscar is more obnoxious than me, but I think that is exactly why we get along so well. I am getting married in September and have frantically been trying to plan, although I am horrible at it. I love to watch awkward comedies, foreign film, and read random books. I am learning french and would like nothing more than to move there for a couple years yet I am a wimp.... so that will never happen. I can't say no to salespeople, so you can basically sell me anything, and I think there is nothing better than cheese. I would be lost without my ipod and I truly hate my cell phone, in fact, I avoid using it at all costs.

So that is it. signed. sealed. delivered.
Until next time mon ami.