for the win!

Tilly & the Wall on SESAME STREET from Team Love on Vimeo.

This made my morning. I kinda wish I still watched Sesame Street regularly. I'm pretty sure I'd be a lot hipper and cooler.
Sean and I caught a rerun of Mr. Rogers the other day; Mr. Rogers performed with the cast of STOMP! It was awesome.

Let no word be forgotten

I'm very excited about the venustation of my life.

The wha?

Venustation means "to become beautiful or handsome." How do I know this?

Save the Words. It's an effort by the Oxford dictionary to ease forgotten words, literally dropped from the dictionary, back into usage.

I'm not sure I was successful here, but hey, I tried and you should, too.

the modern costume for today

OMG I am so excited about this. I was dubious about the casting when I heard about it, but man does it look spot on.

Edie Beale is one of my all-time favorites. Idol may be too strong a word, but I see shades of the craziest parts of my family in the Beale family.

Madness Mayhem

This will be the second year I filled out a March Madness bracket and despite the fact that I know nothing about college basketball, I kind of love doing it. Following along is actually really fun, especially when you have money and pride on the line.

My picking strategy, however, is not based on research or knowledge or even watching any of the teams play. I pick based on which mascot name strikes me as funnier. And there are some classics. How can you root against the Zips? Or the Boilermakers? Or the Golden Gophers?

In instances when two teams with boring names were playing each other (i.e. eagles vs. wildcats), I would just picture a real cage match and decide who I think would win (the Eagle, every time).

In the end, I have the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Syracuse Orange (How cute is Otto the Orange?) playing for the big prize. But I won't lie. It was hard to say goodbye to my beloved, gelatinous, towel mascot — the Western Kentucky Hilltopper.

surprisingly cute

I'm not usually blown away by anything at American Eagle anymore, but they have some seriously cute scarves right now. If I weren't totally broke, I'd scoop them all up. Both are $19.50.

Misty watercolored memories

Where I grew up, prom was like a town holiday. Everyone started getting ready at 10 in the morning, had appointments for hair and make-up, ordered our dresses from catalog companies, had reservations for dinner, etc. We literally treated it like rehearsal for our weddings or the Oscars. Needless to say, it was very formal.

I loved both of my prom dresses, but if I had one more chance to go, knowing what I do now, I would go short and have way, way, WAY more fun with accessories. And if I were a rich girl (or a cast member on Gossip Girl), I'd totally be rocking stuff like this (mostly from Net-a-Porter).

Left to right:
1) Dress by Zac Posen, bracelet from Anthropologie, shoes by Jimmy Choo.
2) Dress by Anna Sui, clutch by Christian Louboutin, shoes by Lanvin.
3) Dress by Zac Posen, clutch by Christian Louboutin, shoes by Miu Miu.

sneak peek

Not much is happening in the new apartment just yet, but as I was unpacking some kitchen items the other day, I set up a tiny tableau.

1) The print is by Ashley Goldberg and is called "A Look Only You Would Understand." I bought it for Sean on Valentine's Day because at the time, it reminded me of us. Then he shaved his beard THE NEXT DAY. What can you do?
2) The giraffe measuring spoons were a Christmas present from my father, purchased from Anthropologie. We all agree they're probably useless, but OMG, aren't they the cutest?
3) The canister is from the Orla Kiely line currently sold at Target. I couldn't resist the pear print; my grandmother inexplicably collected pear-themed items and as a tribute to her after her passing, I decided to continue adding to the collection.

I can't wait until I have more pictures of the place, but it'll probably be a long time before it looks presentable.

today i like ...

Prop styling your own home!
I saw this post over at Apartment Therapy about the home of prop stylist Carolyn Keith and I just fell in love.

As a bonafide packrat and antiqueaholic, I love to see creative ways to make use of the treasures and knickknacks I can't seem to resist. This is tchotchkes done right.

ch-ch-ch-changes

Big things are in the mix.

Around this time in 2004, I met a boy. He walked me home. 

A year later, we started dating. 

A year after that, we agreed that we wanted to move in together.

A year after that, I had changed jobs and the timing wasn't right.

Two years after that, it's finally happening.

Nearly four years to the day after we met, I'm moving in with my best friend. 

I can't wait.

More info, and big life changes, coming soon.

You're God's answer to Job

Screenshots from Woody Allen's "Manhattan."

I finally watched "Manhattan" last night and it was excellent. I think I actually prefer it to "Annie Hall," partially because the characters seemed much more aware of their own problems and almost apologetic, whereas everyone in "Annie Hall" is defiantly Who They Are.

The dialogue was very witty, of course, and it was remarkable how much it holds up.

But more than anything, it's the ultimate love letter to New York. It blew literally every movie that has claimed to be such out of the water. Partially for the sheer number of NY landmarks it packs it, but more so because of its style. The cinematography, the B&W, the fireworks set to "Rhapsody in Blue" — it was all take-your-breathe-away amazing, so much so that I kept pausing the movie to take these screenshots.

bring it back, i say

Photo by the Sartorialist.

Why, oh why did men ever stop parting their hair?
It's like a shortcut to style. I've rarely met a slight pompadour I didn't like.

There was this very kindly gentleman at work named Jim who had a super stylish side part, with a slight little pompadour in the front. He was great, and I loved to imagine him standing in front of the mirror every morning, dipping his comb under the water faucet and slicking back his hair,  like he probably has for the past 40 years. 

It's a good look, and I appreciate anyone who finds something that works and sticks with it. Plus it looks even better when it gets mussed.

Amazingly inspiring

Take the time to check out artist Maira Kalman's blog on the NY Times extolling the virtues of Lincoln through prose, calligraphy, embroidery, paintings and illustrations. It's truly a must-see: In Love with A. Lincoln.

On a side note, the NY Times, in my opinion, is the very model of a modern newspaper. Finding creative ways to tell stories, new storyforms, reaching out to readers, making the site more interactive — they are bolding going where no one else has gone and we'd all do better to follow their example.

today i like...

Many of the books I loved as a child were actually ones my mother saved from her childhood, including early '60s coloring books. The simple lines and sort of mod/Pink Panther-ish styling of these Blanca Gomez prints remind me of those charming old books, when super simple, clean design reigned before the wave of terror that blanketed our nation when Bratz became popular.

Blanca Gomez prints can be found at Velocity Art and Design. Most of the prints are between $20 and $30.

To Do

I have a lot to do (like, a ludicrous, soul-crushing amount), but I'm having a hard time even keeping track of all of it.

I write on my hands, then forget to look.

I scribble on Post-It notes and then lose them.

I write Stickies on my desktop and they never stay there (could someone enlighten me on how to lock them in place? Mine always get lost as soon as I shut down!).

Does anyone have advice on how to create a to-do list that works if you don't use a planner (i used to swear by a planner but since I stopped being a reporter, it became one less thing to carry in my purse)?

I'm baaaack!

I'm back from sunny SoCal!
I traversed the OC, went to the LA County Museum of Art to see the Vanity Fair exhibit, ate at In-N-Out, Jack In the Box, Sammy's Woodfire Pizza and many other places, saw the Kodak Theater, went to San Diego's Balboa Park and partied it up with the gays at The Abbey. Thank you so much to Ryan and his friends for their hospitality during our visit!

It was too much fun to go into a ton of detail, but I think this video clip captures the vibe of most of the trip:

Fresh in Bel Air from Amber Lester on Vimeo.

dedicated to the one i love

Above: Stopping to smell the roses on Valentine's Day 2005.

On Valentine's Day in 2005, Sean woke up early and went to buy a bouquet of white roses for the girls at the student newspaper. He wanted to get something special for someone though, hoping that person would get the hint, so he picked up a box of Sweethearts candy and scrawled:
To: Ambles
From: Seaken
(our old newspaper logins)
The girls came into the office and oohed and aahed when they found roses taped to their monitors. Being dense, I didn't notice the Sweethearts until much later. When I did, I asked Chanelle not-so-subtly if she got a box as well. Sean looked up and said, "No! Just you."

It was the first clue I ever had that Sean might have feelings for me. And the first time I ever saw how truly sweet he is, and humble, because he didn't want any fuss made over the fact he had done something so sweet for us girls. We started dating a little over two months later and we've been together ever since.

Rehab

The first thing you need to know is that I am the kind of crafty person who is capable, but essentially lazy. I like to wander the aisles of Michael's, talk about all the projects I'd like to do someday, buy the supplies and let them rot in the corner until I move and give them away.

So that's part of why I put off rehabbing this desk for oh, three years. This was my mother's desk as a child, and in turn became my desk as a child. It's nothing to write home about style-wise, but it's a piece of furniture that holds things and I am a packrat, so I can't bear to get rid of it.

I'm always reading in magazines where they spray painted some piece of furniture and it was SO EASY, so I bought semi-gloss spray paint, four new drawer pulls, sandpaper and surgical masks. I learned a few lessons.

1. One drop cloth is not enough, especially if you've decided to do this on a snow day in your dining room.
2. Spray paint = dust. Clouds of it. Everywhere.
3. Spray paint can occasionally bubble, irrevocably ruining the facade of your desk no matter how much you try to sandpaper it into oblivion.
4. A mix of real paint (with paintbrushes) and spray paint seems to do the trick. Also, I realized after the second week of working on this project that if the paint starts to bubble, just wipe it away.

The desk doesn't look perfect, but I will say it looks newer. It also blends better with all the neutrals and white trim in my room and I've noticed that just because it is white, the room feels wider. And don't worry; I already mopped and cleaned the dining room.

Anyways, here is the new, improved desk:

oui, oui

I want my life to look and sound exactly like this. Maybe I can film an homage and have it shown at my funeral and at the end it can just say, "That was her life. That was her life every time."

oooh-weeee-ooooh

Today, let's pause to remember the demise, 50 years ago today, of Buddy Holly — the hottest of nerds, the prototype for nerd chic worldwide and the inspiration behind Weezer's greatest video. Tears for Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, too.

tragic sadness

It's one thing to mourn my industry from the inside, but entirely different when it affects my own reading.

Domino Magazine, a shelter mag from Conde Nast, will cease publishing in March, which is tragic, seriously. It was literally my favorite magazine for the past four years and now I'm wondering if I can get the back issues that I missed, because this magazine is truly that useful. I constantly flip through old issues looking for ideas.

It's rare you find a magazine you can grow with, but as my tastes have changed (along with my living circumstances), Domino has been a constant source of inspiration.

I am completely bummed about this.