sixth & sam

For rent

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000

As you've noticed, my internet presence has been dwindling as of lately. We're almost one month away from moving out of our current apartment. I've been spending most of my time pondering if I will ever be happy in Los Angeles, while stalking even the most cryptic Craigslist posts, filtering through way to many toilet bowl close-ups...who really needs the toilet close up? The past year has been very impacting on my outlook on this city and where I choose to call home. You'd be surprised what a year of living in an interior loft in a less than moderately gentrified part of the city does to the psyche. Our impending move could change my whole outlook on the city, and save hundreds in future therapy, if chosen carefully. I know in my gut that Los Angeles is not where I will end up, it's just not my cuppa tea.
Right now, we live here, we work here, need a place to be comfortable, which makes this is move a very precise task at hand. Apartment hunting is not as simple as picking the best looking place here in L.A. It's all about location, down to each corner you turn. I hope that I end up North of the 101, south of the 5, west of Echo Park, north east of LACC and not one bit further west than Hillhurst, with several stipulations between( This is how you think when you look for apartments in this city) and that I sign a lease to rent an apartment, and rejuvenate my clarity and happiness that previous apartments once brought to me.

If there's anything that I'm learning, it's that this lovely app is brilliant, check out the "Alert" feature that allows you to zoom into areas and create filters for real-time push notifications on new listings.

Have you ever lived in a place that you just couldn't wait to leave? How do you bear through the difficulty of moving? I'm truly dreading the closet packing.

Our Valentines Day

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000

It was our sixth Valentines day as a couple. That's two hands count now! A reserved day to do something for each other is actually quite nice in our case, as we hardly see each other for a few hours a day due to our hectic schedules. We went for the classic gift exchange & night in plan.

Chris surprised me with a Clare Vivier foldover Clutch, I'm still over the moon. I surprised him with a box of cake truffles from The Velvet Rope Bakery delivered by Fancifull while he was at work & chose a fancy new pair of Oxford shoes for him. We topped the night off with takeout from Little Dom's in Los Feliz. We ate at (Big) Dominick's in Hollywood last year, but decided to do the chilled out thing at home this year. The prosciutto & egg pizza was quite fantastic, as was the gem salad with lemon creme fraiche and a side of, yes, I said it, rice balls. Not the most eloquently named Italian dish, but definitely tasty!

Our cat Ollie, however, was less than impressed with our efforts. Nobody puts Ollie in the corner!

Sunday in Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 06:47:00 +0000

Heading West on Sunset Blvd. has been my solace from our current living situation in Downtown LA. We're moving in a couple of months, and the number one contender (With Los Feliz a close second) for our next neighborhood is Silver Lake. Silver Lake is a perfect little pocket in LA, with lovely people, unique shopping, great food + markets, and beautiful scenery of the surrounding hills.

With one day off a week, and a love of the neighborhood, Sunday's are usually easy, head west, and see what you can find.

Today, we stopped by Eco Apothecary and met Danielle, the sweet owner of the shop who helped us mix our own creations of lotions, shaving oil, argan oil, and even hand sanitizers! Her setup is awesome- BYOB, or, buy her assortment of affordable jars and bottles for the Vegan, Paraben Free products, and pay per ounce. Each product gets up to two essential oils mixed in. Danielle hand mixes and labels each product in an adorable fashion.

The shop is simple and tastefully decorated, with hand crafted tables and re-purposed ribbons and fabrics in every corner. Her dad was there helping her around the shop, which made me miss living close to my own family. I was able to pick up necessities at a fabulous price compared to Whole Foods. Aside from the BYOB concept, the coolest thing about Eco Apothecary is the ability to add oils of your choice to any product. My favorite oils are Sweet Milk and Brown Sugar + Fig. Love!

Next trip, I'm bringing some of my bottles and jars! Go check this place out, it far beats any overpriced store in the mall, and we're lucky to have this in the neighborhood!

To appease the boyfriend, who was so patient throughout the process of making my new products, we headed a few minutes down Sunset Blvd. into Echo Park to try tacos at the locally famed Guisados and it was nothing short of impressive, as expected. I recommend the Pescado!

No meal is perfect without being followed by a cup of coffee, even more so at Intelligentsia at the Junction!

Sunday, Fin!

Hello, Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000

It's Friday. Enjoy an amazing track, Letter of Intent, by Ducktails featuring synth work from Oneohtrix Point Never's Daniel Lopatin, and vocals from Jessa Farkas of Future Shuttle. Ducktails is Real Estate guitarist Matt Mondanile's project that includes fellow New Jersey natives Big Troubles. Their latest record The Flower Lane was released 1/29 by Domino. It's effing amazeballs. There's just no other way to really put it. Well to say things more eloquently, the album has a certain level of musical sophistication that differs from the surf-pop suburban rock sounds of Real Estate, which makes this a great listen for fans of both bands, proving a Matt Mondandile's versatility as an artist. I find the album to check out as seductive, jazzy and dreamy. Make sure you give each track on the album a listen. This album will be on repeat, indefinitely. I'm not even sure I could wear it out, it's that good.

Mondandile & Farkas; photo featured in Vogue

Audio/video via SUNDAYNYT

Also, it's NYFW and my emails and Twitter feeds are all about the hype. If I were a financially advantaged individual, I'd invest in this entire re-imagined punk collection by Rachel Comey. Holy-cute-striped-dress-in-photo 17.

Yeah, I will keep dreaming on that one. I'd love to get my hands on at least one of her pieces, ever, someday! Have a good weekend!

Simple Beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 07:09:00 +0000

The older I'm getting, the less and less beauty is all about the makeup. Check out these simplified beauty products that I am digging right now:

Clarks Botanicals Ultra Rich Lip Tint ( I love the shade Rachel Red) $19

Mason Pearson Hair Brushes. They've been around for 100 years, and are known to strengthen and disperse sebrum from the root through the hair. Image above of the Nylon brush at Barneys. I opted to do some further digging on Amazon for a better price. These brushes are beautiful, and well worth the money, a new hair tradition for years to come!

Roberts Florentine Rosewater is a refreshing facial moisturizer and helps minimize pores $10 at Catbird

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer. I look like an extra from AMC's The Walking Dead without it. Need I say more? $20 at Sephora

On a related note, my hair stylist recommended a store on Sunset Blvd. near the Sunset Junction called Eco Apothecary, where they sell sulfate and paraben free, Vegan essential oils and you can bring or buy your own bottle to make your own blends. I can't wait to check it out.

What are your beauty favorites?

A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 07:39:00 +0000

Weekend plans? A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Roman Coppola's new comedy is set to open in select theatres in NY/LA on February 8th.

An aberrant and refined journey set in the 1970's through the breakdown of a graphic designer whose sex drive and shenanigans have finally cost him the one woman he loved. Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray play support to the lead, none other than the highly appropriately chosen Charlie Sheen. I'm looking forward to the film, as it's always a treat to have a new film from any member of the talented Coppola family to watch. A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III is Roman Coppola's second directorial effort since CQ in 2001.

What will you be watching this weekend?

Super what?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 09:59:00 +0000

I like a man of his word. Earlier this week, Kevin Shields said the follow-up to 'Loveless' "might be released in two or three days, and here it is. M B V, My Bloody Valentine's first full-length album since Loveless, 21 years ago, is available. now. here.

There are no words. Except, I've been waiting for this for years now.

Happy Caturday!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000

It's Caturday, so let's keep it kittenish with cat themed products from the best Brooklyn based one-stop-shop for home accents, beauty products, jewelry and accessories... Catbird!

Keep your ears warm while keeping in stylish kitty fashion with this adorable knit kitty ears hat $36

Stay organized AND a total design freak with the elegant and modern Fieldguided dreamcats calendar $30

They have plenty of cat themed goods to buy, hence the name, now head over to their site and swoon (<3) over their perfect offerings in every category. I shit you not, I die over their affordable hand crafted engagement rings, and pin my favorites to my futuristic Pinterest board. Warning, the site puts your better judgement in a spellbound state.

Back to Caturday, are you crazy for cats? Do you snuggle your furry children each Caturday for an appropriately timed cat nap?

x

That guy on Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 07:07:00 +0000

As a devoted Girls fan, naturally upon watching the series, I've been canvassing the work of the talented stars of the show. It's hard not to be intrigued by the funny and cynical series regular Alex Karpovsky, who plays Ray Ploshansky, manager of Grumpys Cafe and boyfriend of Shosh on the show. The Russian-Jewish Bostonian studied grad level Anthropology at Oxford University before dropping out and moving to New York to pursue stand up comedy which didn't work out so well for him, leading him to turn that energy into writing monologues and creating films. Karpovsky has been a star in indie film for a decade now and began by creating low budget films for small audiences at film festivals, Karpovsky then met Lena Dunham one summer at SXSW Festival, where she asked him to play the role of resident mooch Jed in her debut film Tiny Furniture. From there, we've been seeing more of him each Sunday on HBO, as well as on the big screen.

Alex Karpovsky has two films coming out this month that he wrote, directed and starred in. Rubberneck, a psychological thriller in which he plays a scientist who has a lingering infatuation with a co-worker, and Red Flag, an improvisational comedy. Both films are being released by Tribeca Film. Additionally, Karpovsky stars in Supporting Characters by writer/director Daniel Schechter which is on VOD & iTunes now. The modest indie explores the relationship tribulations and friendship amongst two editors as they are putting the finishing touches on their own indie film in the movie. The film is smart aesthetically shot on high definition digital video with your average Manhattan apartment and street scenery.

Aside from taking Tribeca Film by storm in 2012, Karpovsky has also landed an acting role in the upcoming Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis , starring Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake, which is set to be his major motion picture debut.

His fantastic filmography should be enough for you to check out Alex Karpovsky's work if you haven't, (The early cuts, too!) however, if you're not convinced, get a feel for his clever quirkiness in Rookie Magazine's ongoing Ask A Grown Man video series below:

photo via Terry Richardson

Tidy Art

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 07:42:00 +0000

Recollecting Koganecho, Japan 2012

Image via juxtapoz

Swedish artist Michael Johannson's public and museum work includes compartmentalized and harmonious installations that defy clutter and much like Tetris, no slot goes unfilled.

He should come to my place next.

Horror Vacui – AIT, 2011

Image via It's Nice That

Foxygen

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Every Tuesday I immediately open my Spotify, head straight for the Pitchfork app, and gander at what's new in music. Last week, I was pleasantly surprised to find the new album We Are the Ambassadors of Peace and Magic by Foxygen, the LA based duo, Sam France and Jonathan Rado. Their music is a mix of modern indie and lots of influences of vintage sound. A little Rolling Stones influence here, and some Lou Reed, there. The album is witty and playful with strong storytelling through lyrics, plus the songs are just darn catchy. Is there anything else we really need on a Tuesday?

My favorite tracks on the album are "On Blue Mountain" and "Shuggie" but it's so hard to choose just one on the album when each song nods to a different influence. "Shuggie" has the sexy chilled vibes reminiscent of Serge Gainsbourg's music (Right, I hear a little Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus? Pamela Popo?)

Check it out:

Image of the boys via JAGJAGUWAR

What are your favorite recent releases?

Five Clicks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 05:30:00 +0000

We survived Monday. Check out the following 5 links for some wanderings of my mind today.

My next impulse purchase (Local Silver Lake designer!)

What I made for dinner tonight

Rap music you can tolerate

A must stop foodie's flea market in Brooklyn during the springtime

Forget the Carrie Diaries, The Sopranos Diaries are where it's at

-Photo via The Year In Food

Girls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 07:06:00 +0000

HBO Girls. As I've written before (Why I Love Girls), I <3 Girls. Lena Dunham is brilliant, and the voice of a generation. We're three episodes into Season 2 and the girls are undoubtedly changing each episode. I won't go into details, as I'm a past victim of spoilers, but I encourage you to share your thoughts about the new season in the comments below.

If you still haven't watch Girls, Sundays at 9pm on HBO, through the liberal use of nudity, fuck ups, and raw emotion, you will learn things about yourself. Hannah Horvath is teaching me through each episode that success is subjective, happiness is key, and you can screw up and live to see tomorrow.

The bonus to watching the show is the wardrobe design, which is attention grasping in itself. The show is set in a an uber hip Williamsburg Brooklyn setting, and the wardrobe follows suit.
The series costume designer Jenn Rogien recently revealed to New York Magazine her secrets on dressing the girls of Girls, and finding the perfect pair of gross underwear here.

Image via USA Today

Sunday is for lovers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Sunday. The only day of the week I have to spend with my boyfriend. Our Sunday activities vary, from seeing movies, going to cafes, going to art museums, going to the grocery store, or just sleeping all day. With a looming 5K in March, we will spend a little time at the Silver Lake Reservoir running and maybe hit up Trader Joes. What's on your agenda today?

Take some time to check out the magnificent interactive script that Focus Features released for Moonrise Kingdom. I am a huge fan of Wes Anderson's films, and if you are too, these illustrated storyboards and photos of him directing the cast will send you off into hours of admiration for his work, you will quite possibly watch all of his films tonight. Thanks, Internet. Happy Sunday <3

Clutter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 09:51:00 +0000

Being a creature of habit is great, with the exception of my bad habits. I'm terrified of throwing sensitive mail away, keep boxes and items from special occasions, as well as receipts and event flyers from different places. After years of moving into new apartments, this clutter has traveled with me, and continually adds up. This would probably make me a clutterer to some degree. Yes, that is a real term, and there's a 12 step program for it. Therapy is expensive. Here are my tips to de-cluttering and forming new habits:

Go Paperless
Switching bank & credit card statements to paperless will save you from piles of sensitive mail to dispose of, and it's a step toward greener living! Additionally, remember that you can find anything on the internet, including the articles in those magazines and newspapers that are preventing your kitchen table from seeing the light of day. The only exception to the paperless rule are books. Those should never be paperless.

There's a home for that
Make a designated folder for important receipts, and documents. Keep the flow of incoming documents properly organized into this special place. I allow myself one folder, and one only, for nostalgic items. Everything needs a home!

Old clothes
Remember, style is evolving daily. Keep your best basics organized with room to add new styles. Donate or toss old clothes to keep your wardrobe fresh.

Organization
Shelves, boxes, containers. Learn what you need, and become familiar with Ikea. Dogear the pages of the catalog. Purchase from aisle 15 E. Assemble. Organize. Voila!

Practicing organization and de-cluttering is a daily task, which can be difficult. I find that perusing Pinterest or Apartment Therapy for inspiration helps me to keep working toward a simple home enviornment.

Receipt print by Janice-Wu
Must have art for any former receipt hoarder. Is this considered hoarding art?

Good Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:26:00 +0000

Is there anything better than this?

-photo via the beautiful wit & delight blog-

Well, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. The experimental web series by Jerry Seinfeld, featuring a bunch of funny gents hopping in their cars and getting coffee. I personally also love seeing the cafes from New York to Los Angeles that they go to, as I'm proudly a coffee connoisseur. The latest episode in season 1 featuring Michael Richards is below.

<3 Swoon.

If I could only eat one thing...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 06:37:00 +0000

...one thing at all, it would be this. Actually, this is all I have been eating this past week.

This toast is divine, and I have Pinterest to thank for leading me to this simple and tasty recipe.

With the current affliction of my large tax bill, creative recipes keep it light, fun, and the money in my wallet (especially during dineLA restaurant week, sigh!)

What's your favorite meal for those times you're pinching pennies?

Simple Style

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 05:52:00 +0000

Oh, the phases of fashion. One week, I'm lusting over a dip dye spiked shoulder top from Topshop, and the next, I am taking it back to basics. Let's face it, simplicity always prevails.
Lately, I've been watching a lot of Woody Allen films, more specifically, his work with Diane Keaton in the 1970's. Diane Keaton's unconventional and effortless Annie Hall look is inspiring and perfect.
This week, I've been set on discovering some pieces that will surely achieve the modern day Annie Hall menswear centric look with a feminine, simple feel. Pair with your best blazer or vest, and la-di-da!

Men's Stonewashed Oxford Shirt $69.50 at J.Crew

Box Cut Tee $15 at Everlane

Payton Frames $65 at Lookmatic

Reading Room Romance Flats $39 at Modcloth

Silk Trousers in Minicheck $64.99 at Madewell