First Lesson

Lie back, daughter, let your head
be tipped back in the cup of my hand.
Gently, and I will hold you. Spread
your arms wide, lie out on the stream
and look high at the gulls. A dead-
man's-float is face down. You will dive
and swim soon enough where this tidewater
ebbs to the sea. Daughter, believe
me, when you tire on the long thrash
to your island, lie up, and survive.
As you float now, where I held you
and let go, remember when fear
cramps your heart what I told you:
lie gently and wide to the light-year
stars, lie back, and the sea will hold you
-Philip Booth

Marina and the Diamonds

Hi,
so I just recently fell into the whole Marina and the Diamonds obsession. I think i heard one of her songs previously but wasn't really into it. Her voice is pretty unique so it takes certain taste to like her work. But then I heard I Am Not A Robot from a show, don't reacall where, and I've been listening to that song ever since. I was browsing her music on YouTube and came upon the cover she did of Starstruck by 3OH!3 (took me a few tries to write that right) and she somehow managed to make the song seem deep and...good.

You Are Tired (I Think) by E.E. Cummings

You are tired,
(I think)
Of the always puzzle of living and doing;
And so am I.

Come with me, then,
And we’ll leave it far and far away—
(Only you and I, understand!)

You have played,
(I think)
And broke the toys you were fondest of,
And are a little tired now;
Tired of things that break, and—
Just tired.
So am I.

But I come with a dream in my eyes tonight,
And knock with a rose at the hopeless gate of your heart—
Open to me!
For I will show you the places Nobody knows,
And, if you like,
The perfect places of Sleep.

Ah, come with me!
I’ll blow you that wonderful bubble, the moon,
That floats forever and a day;
I’ll sing you the jacinth song
Of the probable stars;
I will attempt the unstartled steppes of dream,
Until I find the Only Flower,
Which shall keep (I think) your little heart
While the moon comes out of the sea.

Alexander McQueen Spring 2011

 
  

  

           

Hi,

so I was browsing the World Wide Web and came across the new designs for the House of Alexander McQueen done by Sarah Burton. They look amazing. She has really kept true to the designs that made McQueen famous. The entire collection uses a lot of feathers and natural colours just like his fall collection which debuted right before his death. I've posted the ones that caught my eye, there are more beautiful designs here.

Have a good week.

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies & Russian Tea Cakes

                        

Hello,

another food post. I made cookies largely consisting of butter this time so slow down don't chow down (personal experience, and I only ate two. Still got sick). The first cookie I made were the Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies(the ones on the outside). Those were quite a challenge as I couldn't get the dough the right consistency and ended up squishing it together. It worked out thought because in the end I was able to make shapes out of it. I then melted dark chocolate and dipped the cookies in once they cooked down. They taste amazing ( I haven't tried them with the chocolate-only ate the failed cookie dough circles). The second cookies I made were the Russian Tea Cakes/Mexican Wedding Balls (the cookies on the inside of the plate). Those used up the rest of the butter. Used toasted almonds in the dough and sprinkled them with icing sugar once they cooled. I haven't tasted them yet but they smelled delicious. Have a good week.



Nick Knight

 So I went to Chapters the other day and found this enormous book on the works of Nick Knight who I think is amazing. Since it costs about $97, I decided to instead seek out his photographs online and share some on here. Let me tell you it was hard to narrow it down to only these. He works with a lot of famous celebrities and much of his work is dedicated to them but he also does many high fashion creative shoots.

Check him out here: http://www.nickknight.com/

    

  

Linzer Cookies

                                                   

So, I know I said I'd share many different topics with you but I couldn't resist posting my new baking experiment, Austrian Linzer Cookies. This is my second trial and I think they turned out pretty good, they are delicious just a bit messy looking but if you had seen the first these will look golden. The previous try the dough was really crumbly and I couldn't roll it out to make shapes. So I clumped whatever chunks I could and made these little balls of cookie dough which tasted more like scones and looked nothing like these. I learned my lesson and used a new recipe but also tons of butter this time so the dough was nice and soft and rolled out easily. I used wildberry jam for the inside. As you can see my brother and I had quite a bit of fun making these cookies. They take a while to make but  are so worth it.That's my post for tonight. I promise the next post will not involve food. Man, looking at these pictures is making me hungry all over again. Have a nice evening.