(Inside A Black Apple)

Dollbaby

I wore this perfect doll-dress (courtesy of Forever 21) a few days ago. I was reading Jane recently (it's my guilty-pleasure-dumb-girl-magazine) and they featured a few F21 items, and said "Has anyone noticed how amazing Forever 21 has been lately?"
You bet I have, buster.

This dress is comfy and so cute and perfect. Its only flaw is that it is short, and I am tall, so that presents problems that can easily be solved by opaque tights. I searched it out on their webshop, and it looks like (unsurprisingly) it's all gone.
They add new things every day (seriously, everyday) and I buy lots of things from them...it gives me great pleasure to see the perfect harmony between the half of my wardrobe that is furnished by Anthropologie and the half that cost a fraction as much and is predominately Forever 21. They also do some really great knock-offs of Anthropologie or Anthro-ish designs...I take evil delight in that.

PS: You can take your own evil delight (or, schadenfreude, if you will)  in the state of wreckage that my studio was in up until the taking of the above photos. Just after snapping them, I jumped off of that chair, and set to work. And now it is nice and swept and cleany-clean. And I'm still debating a paint job in there and a bit of an overhaul to simplify.
Will keep you posted.

xoxo
 

Little Aliens

I've made a few distinctly un-foresty friends recently, and I've decided that they can't possibly be anything but baby aliens. Aliens from the planet Fuzz. They're one of those things that it kinda surprised me came from my fingers...but nevertheless, they did.

And they've landed in my studio:

I love their somewhat plaintive expressions.

They will also be part of the shop update that I'm planning for next week. There will be so many little friends and dolls! I'm hoping that this time, everyone who wants a pal will be able to snag one.

Happy Tuesday, loves!
(It always somehow feels so right to say Happy Tuesday...not that all the others aren't happy, it's just one of my favorites of the seven).

In which five bunnies meet one squirrel...

What a good weekend! And it's not over yet...there is still more needlin' to do this afternoon.
My fingers have been so itchy every time I've had to break from the felting for the last few days...to say, do laundry.
Make some lunch. 
Pack & ship orders.
Dratted chores! I love you and need you but...

Well, the fact is that you're standing between me and fuzzy bunnies. And that will never do. Bunnies like this one:

and these:

Oh...and I seem to be forgetting a little someone!

It's feeling like this place around here these days.

I watched a couple of movies this weekend...one super-bad one at the cineplex with my Jenny that doesn't-even-deserve-linking to, and Leon, aka The Professional. Why didn't anyone (this means you, boyfriend) warn me? I loved it, but it is. so. SAD.

Thanks for all the skunky-love! And for inquiring minds, these little guys will be part of a big, fun shop update (which will be heavy on dolls + creatures, and a little lighter on the paintings probably). A nice change of pace. Huzzah for creatures!

Commence to Needlin'

It has been a really long time since I've tried a crafty process that is totally and completely new to me. That is partially why I was so excited when I ordered a whole bunch of needle felting supplies last week from these folks. The came a few days ago, and last night Sara and I tried our hand at making some little skunky fellows...

SAM (my skunk,the fattie one in the scarf): "Hey! Hanging out on top of this washing machine is making me so hungry! It must be the kinetic energy of the spin cycle. Say, where are all of those Girl Scout cookies?" 

MR. PARTYHAT (Sara's little guy): "You ate them all, because you are a piggy-skunk, and there are never any Samoas left for me".

Aren't they sweeties? My Sam has the greatest mohawk. He is such a punk little skunk.

I found needle-felting to be really fun and intuitive and...kinda mindless. In the best possible way, I mean. It made me realize that I really don't have a breezy craft that I can really do while watching a movie or talking, and have neither of them suffer (except for maybe the cutting-out part of quilting and doll-making, and that doesn't last forever). The intuitive part of it is so great and refreshing...and it wasn't terribly difficult  (which I had feared initially, possibly because so much needle felted stuff I find, well, unfortunate). I don't kid myself that I'll be instantly making absolute loves like Jenn's bears, but I am so looking forward to designing some creatures of my own.

This weekend I'm planning mostly "hole-up-in-the-studio" time, which always makes me happy. Maybe I'll get to needlin' some more felted pals...

Oh, and THANK YOU for all of the sweetie pie comments about my new spectacles. It is so nice to be able to read street signs and the like. Also, about the brand...I think they are some sort of generic deal...not designer.

Happy Weekend sweet peas!

New Eyes

Here I am today, doing my best impression of both a Hitchcock girl (you had to see the tweed skirt and heels to get the full effect), and a person who can see properly. I've been cheating the system thus far in my life, by never owning prescription glasses...which wouldn't have been cheating, only I can't see clearly more than 3 feet in front of my face. I finally bit the bullet and we went last week in the whirlwind of birthday stuff to get an exam, pick out glasses for me, etc. They were finally ready to pick up yesterday.

After telling the eye doctor that I was "so relieved he wasn't mad at me" (why do these things come out of my mouth) for waiting so long to get my (bad) eyes examined, he responded:

"Mad? No...Frankly, I'm impressed".

PS: Thank you for the great response to my last post! It felt oddly vulnerable to write about (maybe admitting that it doesn't come naturally or easily), for some reason, so thank you especially for all of your thoughtful words.

On Being a Good Housewife

I suppose that I always thought of housework as this evil little pest. One to be avoided until the very last moment possible...the one in which every last fork is dirty, you begin to seriously hesitate before climbing into your own shower, and all of your pretty clothes are in a mountain on the floor.
You know, the Crisis Point.

Though our house was usually a ways off from that Point when I was little, my mom did have the embroidered sampler that read "A Creative Mess is Better Than a Tidy Idleness" in plain view, which I think I took to heart in a big way. And I've been stretching the boundaries of what constitutes a "creative mess" ever since. A creative mess is when I've been cutting out dolls and have fabric piled up next to me, and scraps on the ground. It's when canvases are spread out in front of me, with my paints around. What a creative mess is not is counter tops spattered in unintentional Jackson Pollock style cake batter and crumbs.

Once you are of this persuasion, meaning the messy one, and you are a grown up person, it is unbelievably hard work to restructure every little mundane habit. Which is precisely what you have to do. I've discovered that you have to basically behave like the most obsessive neat-freak on the planet if you are going to balance out that streak of clutter and crumbs that courses so fiercely through your veins. I had already started this long, tough journey before I found the glowing, pretty homes of the crafty-blog-circuit. I think that discovering Real Simple was one of the big moments: the bright, clean promise of every issue..."Get Organized Now!" or "A Clean House is A Snap!".
Then I stepped into blogland, and lo and behold...the neat credenzas with vignettes of beautiful controlled clutter...sparkling kitchens outfitted with vintage dishes and rosie linens. I was already sold on trying my damnedest to leave the messiness behind, but now I was sold on keeping a lovely home. Or trying to.
Just for me. For whoever might live in my house in the future...but for now, for me.

It's a queer thing to realize that you, alone, your wee little self is worth cooking for. And cleaning for. And keeping things lovely for. It's strange because that does not seem to be the general consensus among the world writ large, which is sad to me. That's one of the things that I love the most about Nigella, she is a devout believer in the "you are worth cooking for" school, and she repeats it often in her food writing.  It is absolutely a stumbling block to justify trying out a pie recipe or a chicken dish when you are living alone, and don't have guests coming over right-that-minute. But I just go ahead with it, guests or not. I farm out my extra cake on my friends, or the gas utility man. I use my prettiest dishes and cups for my own tea and snacks and dinner. I create little vignettes that make me happy.

More and more, I find joy in the days where I put on my "cleaning dress" and put my hair in a ponytail, and do my very best impression of a non-messy person. Not because I love scrubbing the kitchen floor (I am a big believer in David Sedaris' theory that "either you want to mop the floor, or you want a clean floor", and the two things are mutually exclusive), but because now I feel like I'm doing something nice for myself. I'm taking good care.

In the end, I suppose I really, really want to be good housewife.
To myself. Maybe to someone else later.
But first, to myself.

I say YES to...

It's a Sunday just right for lists and listing.
For listing all of the things that I say Yes to, on this pretty, blustery February day.

*Don't worry if you're only in it for the psychotically good chocolate cake recipe I promised...it's down at the bottom

These things are all making me happy this weekend:

A little drawing that I did that was included in the last shop update...I just keep thinking of it and cracking up with joy. There will be a print run of it, too, up in the next few days.

Izze soda, in Clementine and Black Raspberry, which I fell in love with at a bodega in Brooklyn & recently realized is sold at the good ol' Target! So I'm back on the wagon. Or off the wagon. Whichever. This stuff is so tasty, and as it is just loads of random fruit juices and carbonated water, I feel better about it than regular soda. I love carbonation (who doesn't?) and this help me get my fizz kick without all of the "mystery chemicals". And the packaging is cute as hell...the cans are adorable, skinny 8-ouncers.

Pete + Pete seasons 1 & 2 DVDs, which I got on from a certain sweet pea for my birthday. I looooved this show when I was younger and got to catch it at *GASP* a friend's house who had television channels beyond PBS. They totally hold up. Really. This show was so ahead of it's time...I remember when "Malcolm in the Middle" showed up and everyone acted like it was so quirky and revolutionary, and all I was thinking was "Hello!!? Does anyone remember a little show called "Pete + Pete"?!"
I mean, it's got Stephin Merritt music...Artie, The Strongest Man in the World (who, for Carnivale buffs, plays "Stumpy/Felix" aka "The Burlesque Dad")...and amazing plots about mysterious phone booths.

The one-person-quilt that I made for my sweet mama for her birthday (which was yesterday, 4 days after mine). It's all salmony and pinky and linen-y. We had a very fun family-party yesterday with my amazing grandparents from North Carolina and lots of guacamole and beer and two kinds of tasty cakes (one that they brought all the way from Elizabeth City, where they live...and one was my...dare I say it...perfected Nigella cheesecake). I have to say, it doesn't get much better than drinking Miller High Life with your funny, sweet, interested, and interesting grandparents. Nope. Or giving your wonderful mom a quilt you made to keep her toes warm (that's in the unlikely event that she ever sits down).

OKAY!
Scary-Good Sour Cream Chocolate Cake, Nigella style.
(The original text can be found in Domestic Goddess, which I highly recommend buying if you have a mouth, or know someone who does).

For the cake:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 + 2 tablespoons soft butter
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
3 tblsp "best" cocoa (Nigella says "best" alot. I think it is cute. And snooty.)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 thoroughly greased 8" cake pans (I used 9", and they were slightly flatter, obviously, but still fine)

For the Icing (so good!):
3 oz milk chocolate (I use a big bar of Cadbury, which I love)
3 oz bittersweet chocolate (again with the Cadbury)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tblsp light corn syrup
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted (Nigella is insane... you will use at least 3 cups)
a bit of hot water

Preheat le oven to 350.

Combine the dry ingredients for the cake in a large bowl. Using your mixer, add the butter. In another bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla, then add this cocoa-y muck to the big bowl of floury buttery stuff.

Pour the batter into the pans and bake for about 30 minutes...the cake starts to shrink back from the edges of the pan, and this is when you take it out from the oven. Leave it for a bit, and then when you can, turn it out onto cooling racks or some paper towels.

Then start on the icing, which is the more fun part anyway. Melt the chocolate (both kinds) and butter in either a microwave (if you have one, and like to play it safe) or on VERY low heat on the stove. Very low. Remember how persnickety chocolate is and how easily it burns.
Once it's all smooth and nice, take it off the heat and let it cool for just a bit. Then stir in the sour cream, vanilla, and syrup. When this is blended, slowly start adding in confectioner's sugar, stirring and stirring until you get the right consistency. If you need to, add a pinch of hot water. You probably won't need to...but just make sure it's nice and thick, but easy to spread.

Then, ice your cake! (If it is cool enough, of course).

Cut + Serve to worthy peeps.
And eat some yourself. As soon as you can get your apron off.

What a nice start to the week! I hope that all weekends were A+.

In Which All Is Full of Love...

What a wonderful birthday and St. Valentine's day I had...the one-two punch of all of that kindness and good food has left me feeling slightly drunk and uncharacteristically, slap-happily...well...happy. Thanks to you guys for all of the sweet little well-wishings that were left on Tuesday. I felt very loved by blog-land!

I felt immensely loved in real life, too, and I was the happy recipient of some very thoughtful gifts. About a month ago, I asked Josiah to write me a story for my birthday, which he did. Not just a story, though...what he presented me with was a 30+ page, beautiful, whimsical, semi-biographical (of me) fairy story. Needless to say, there were many happy, incredulous tears of appreciation...I feel so damn lucky.

My treasured real-life + blog-life darlin' Sara made me the sweetest creature for my birthday, which she gave me along with some much-needed kitchen implements:

The sushi+pals combo proved the perfect remedy for the yuck weather, and after a very tasty dinner we went out for (wait for it) ice cream, which, in the very windy and misty winter air seemed so-wrong-it-was-right. Then the gaggle of us headed over to the nice, quiet place where my good buddy Keith tends bar, and, in honor of my birthday, he (being quite the johnny-on-the-spot creator) presented me a "The Black Apple Martini"! My Keith is an excellent concocter, and it was so tasty...truly almost black, and filled with pomegranate, cherry, apple, etc in a big, swanky glass.

I hope that everyone's Valentine's Day was exactly what it needed to be...I know that many people abhor the day. I just hate the fact that people-in-general don't treat every possible day like Valentine's Day. We stayed in and I made a nice, quiet dinner at home. The only confectionery request I received was for Nigella's sour cream cake from "Domestic Goddess", so we had that in spades. That cake...it blows my mind. It really does. Most cake, truthfully, I could kinda take or leave (meaning I usually don't want to devour the whole thing as quickly as possible). One lone conversation heart dots the middle:

Recipe to follow tomorrow, because everyone must experience this cake, even if they don't have the complete Nigella library at their disposal. And, speaking of conversation hearts, has anyone noticed how utterly bizarre the little sayings are these days?! Almost all of them seem to refer to either slightly antiquated or really unromantic modes-of-communication..."Fax Me", "Email Me", "Page Me" (!!!). There was one in the box that simply stated "Love 4 Gold".

What?!

Conversation hearts are supposed to be about slyly communicating your Love 4 a Person, not demanding that someone Fax You an invoice for the bling they just bought for you. The single white one atop the cake simply says "Dear One", which was really the only one I could find that didn't offend my sensibilities.

I'm getting the shop update ready for 4:00 EST, which involves some bustling, but  I am so happy that I did have time for a proper blog-post! I'll leave you with the wee bear girl I mentioned in my very short (sentence-long) post yesterday:

PS: One thrifted teddy bear was harmed in the making of this sweetie. Just so you know.

The Thursday Update...

...will occur in the shop circa 4:00 pm EST!

Lots of original paintings, some drawings, and a very cool little bear-girl-doll!

xoxo

And now we are 24

Hello lovelies! Thank you for the sweet well-wishings that have already been sent my way today, February 13th, the day that I am 24 instead of 23. I really liked being 23, even though it was a tumultuous year that I'm not-so-sad to leave behind, but I'm feeling a bit resistant to the change...I've realized that I much prefer being odd number-ages. I was sad when I turned 22 to leave 21 behind...
But I do have 25 to look forward to. And 27.
I just have to tough it out through the "even years".

The weather is really gross and rainy here today, which makes me a little sad, but it was really beautiful yesterday (and hopefully will be for Valentine's Day, as well!). Josiah has promised to help me re-arrange the studio and make it more work-fun (hooray!). All-in-all, I'm having a nice quiet day (breakfast-in-bed, a little bit of errand running, etc.) which I think will be capped off with sushi & friends & drinks tonight!

xoxo