White Christmas - "Abraham"

The best part of Christmas is watching "White Christmas" and drinking Irish coffee. Isn't Vera Ellen an incredible dancer? This is my favorite act.

White Rabbits

White Rabbits - Rudie Fails - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Want

This hat is singing to me.

'Alice in Wonderland' Trailer 5

I cannot wait.

Bandits

Tis the season! Have you played your holiday prank? Bess and I made a pit stop at Walmart around 2:00 a.m. to purchase 30 boxes of tinsel. In all of our bandit glory we drove to a friend's house and completely covered the lawn + bushes + cars with tinsel. It was gloriously fun, and so much more festive than TP. Poor fellow is going to have a surprise in the morning.

N.A.S.A. "Spacious Thoughts" (Tom Waits and Kool Keith)

Re-Create Yourself

Advice from Rainn Wilson's (aka Dwight from the office) blog "Soul Pancake":

"Somewhere in your parents' basement is a box of your treasured art from long ago—that short story you wrote as a junior year in high school when you decided you were gonna be the next Hemingway, not to mention the oils and watercolors, the bust of Jimi Hendrix, the nine-part crayon on paper series of “buildings at night.” Yeah, most of it's not so great, but some of it—after a matured and seasoned reflection—can be quite good, perhaps even insiprational. That was certainly the case for Yeon Doo Jung, a Korean phtographer who shoots photographs based on children’s crayonic creations. Now, it's your turn.

Recreate one of your childhood masterpieces.

Step 1. Find one of your long abandoned pieces of creative work.
Step 2. Take inspiration from it. Finish it, add to it, recreate it in another form of art.
Step 3. Post a link to the before-and-after photos, or paste your prose here.
Step 4. Pat yourself on the back. Twice."

Girls - "Lust For Life"

Here's the deal. I think this song is wonderfully silly and fun. Yes, this video could be an advertisement for Urban Outfitters, but I still find it charming.

New Zealand Book Council

Books are alive.

Anyone a Size 7??

Please buy these boots. I want someone I know to own these so I can not-so-secretly covet them. They are on sale for $45 at Greatest Friend. Buy them small footed friend! I command you!

Holiday Tunes

Plug into Kitsune Noir. Every week the lovely Bobby Solomon produces a mix of tunes that you can download for free. Sometimes they are hit or miss, but when it's good, oh man, it's good. This week looks very, very satisfying. Download his holiday mix here.

Here’s this week’s tracklist:
Winter Wonderland by Phantom Planet
O Little Town of Bethlehem by Belle & Sebastian
Everything Is Gonna Be Cool This Christmas by Eels
Get Behind Me, Santa! by Sufjan Stevens
Whack Bat Majorette by Alexandre Desplat
It’s Christmas Time by Yo La Tengo
Blue Christmas by Bright Eyes
Cold White Christmas by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Wild Animals Approaching The Lovely Country Funeral by Jason Lytle
I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day by Pedro The Lion
O Holy Night by My Morning Jacket
Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming by Feist

Yes Please

Wouldn't this make the perfect New Year's Eve dress? I love this etsy shop. I'll add this to my imaginary Christmas list.

The Brooklyn Blues

I hate to admit it, but I already miss Brooklyn. It's gonna take a while to acclimate to "resting."

I am taking advantage of all the pleasure reading time. I've almost finished Penelope Lively's "Consequences" which is breaking my heart. Next in the lineup:

What is the What---Dave Eggers
F. Scott Fitzgerald's Short Stories

Lights Out

Hello there. I'm back in Florida caught in a rain storm. It's giving me ample time to brush up on my shadow puppet skills. Do you remember making shadow puppets as a kid? I used to be so damn good.

Sean plus Jalouse

It is a little known fact that I have a soft spot for Sean Lennon. You know, with his album "Friendly Fire," and, well, his father was John Lennon. Anyways, here some snippets from his photo shoot for a lovely French magazine named Jalouse.

One day...

Bird Love

This morning I woke up to a bird chirping on our porch. He was looking right at my roommates and I, singing his little heart away. It was so cold outside, with every chirp you could see his breath. The thought of a bird breathing overcomes me with sweetness.

Anyways, that little fellow has me tempted to buy this folding birdhouse to put outside.

Exams

The many moods of a King's College student during finals week represented by Arnold. One cold, one stomach flu, and two sleepless nights later---I am almost finished.

Merry Christmas

I know, I know....I have neglected you. As penance, my small audience, I've posted these lovely images my roommate Meghan created for Christmas Cards. I cannot wait to celebrate this season--New York style.

J'Adore Phoenix

Brussels Sprouts

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

I'm back in Florida for a little bit, happily situated outside in some sunshine. A couple days ago I was grocery shopping with my mom and came across some Brussels Sprouts. I jumped back at the sight of them on the stock. I had no idea they were so beautiful. I just want to hang them around as Chandeliers for a party. I know, I know, freaking hippie. But can you really disagree?

Feeling French

Happy Saturday everyone~

I hope you are having a relaxing morning-----wait, it's one o'clock. Perhaps I should start my day, but that is oh-so-difficult when one does not have this outfit to start the day. I'm feeling a little francais today, which is also why I'm coveting these shoes. Tres expensive but tres chic. Perhaps I should count my losses and purchase some truffle oil for dinner, I'm like a rat and peanutbutter when it comes to the stuff.

Well, more to follow on my week. There are items waiting for publication, like the Project Runway party in the Meat Packing district. Oh, and Meghan's newest piece of work. Stay tuned. Until then--

Au Revoir,

Laurel

Fancy Feet

Ello' world.

My laziness has gone unrewarded for far too long. I remedied before mentioned problem after class with these little dudes. I have the happiest feet in all of Brooklyn. I'm ready for some dancing.

Meteor Shower

Last night Amanda finally retuned home from her vacation. Hizah! The whole gang + Bryan whisked her away from the airport and returned home to celebrate with parfaits (at this point + Josh Cave). Next, we all bundled up with jackets, blankets, pillows, and hats (+ the whole gamut), and climbed up to the roof to watch the Meteor shower. On the down side, the shower ended up being more of a “sprinkle” and it was freezing outside. In the end, only Josh, Meggers, and I persevered to see anything of note. It was, however, a wonderful experience looking at the stars and talking to my lovely friends. We laid on the roof surrounded by the city and felt, at any moment, Joanna Newsom would crawl from the shadows and play us a song. Around 2:30 a.m, when we witnessed the grand spankin’ total of five shooting stars, we retired back to the apartment for some delicious hot chocolate and tooth brushin’ frivolities. Lovely night, lovely friends.

Our love song to Brooklyn

Here's a lovely treasure my roommate Meghan created. It says it all.

Baby Animals

I think enough has been said already. I wonder if Ken the landlord would mind???

For more pics, check out Sharon Montrose's etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SharonMontrose

Grown Up Coloring Book!

A couple friends and I were at a book store in Bedford and discovered this, an inspiring craft book. It gives you plenty of things to color in, draw, paint, and paste (easy peasy buy). I can't wait to scribble some new designs from the border of this Anthropologie plate (a design trick discovered by the great Shannon Curry) and make some fun stationary. Oh the fun, fun times. If only I could submit my crafts in place of my homework.

Weekend Endings

Hello lovely world.

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend. Mine has been never ending in a positive way. My old roommate Randi, an awesome Texan friend, came to visit. We went, on a whim, to the Jane Austen exhibit at the Morgan Library and fell in love with Ms. Austen all over again. Check it out if you have time---Friday nights are free and accompanied by live classical music. I also went to the the Russian Tea room for the first time, which made me feel like a spiffy New Yorker. Today, Meghan and I went to Lula Bea for lunch (of course by the time we left it was really dinner) which was lovely, but not as lovely as the walk home---the sunset was simply miraculous. The rest of the weekend is a secret, ask me if you want to know, but shhhhhhhhh.......

A cold, rainy day.

A proper soundtrack for the day.

The Pains of Vintage, an Unseamly Affair

Today something unthinkable happened. I arrived at school and just as I was taking off my coat, the hems on one of my sleeves dissolved in thin air. I tossed on my coat, picked up my fallen sleeve, and rushed to my boss's office . I rummaged through her desk looking for any mending device and discovered a needle and matching thread. Without thinking I zipped off my dress and, in nothing but my skivvies, scurried under her desk to repair my dress. Thank God no one walked in! It would have been a difficult scene to explain. Perhaps I'm just not meant for business casual?

Oh, and here's something to make you laugh. My dog Beau turned 5 today and our vet sent him the most ridiculous e-card. It's the music that gets me.

http://www.sloppykisscards.com/partners/vetinsite/930/s7zcx6t48n

Decently yours,

Laurel

Early Morning

Good Morning.

I'm currently sitting on the porch, drinking a latte, and waiting for the sun to rise.

This is my first post, so I suppose an introduction is in order. My name is Laurel. I'm a student at the King's College and I live in Brooklyn. I love to design, create, and admire all sorts of oddities. I guess the short of it is I was born, and I exist. Let the posting begin.