The 'burgh

One Sweet Ride

The "new" Datsun...
 

Rio Quindío

I snapped this picture from the back of the jeep when we were leaving Cocora and heading back to Salento. I can't wait to go back to Colombia. It was absolutely stunning.

Kayngel

My adorable niece Kayla and her girlfriend, Angel, celebrated their 3 month anniversary. I love these gals so stinkin' much!

In Between Dreams

 Thanks to our Bradley Cooper at work I now have a new cd to keep on repeat.

(photo kidnapped from mediaa2)

Heart and Key

Saw this over on The Black Apple's etsy page and I just adore it.

Perks

(photo kidnapped from studiosystemnews)

We accept the love we think we deserve.

I finally got around to watching this film. Yup, it was just as wonderful as I imagined it would be, and then some. I loved how so many of the characters made mix tapes. Made me wanna make one for Jack at the library. He and I both have excellent taste in music and maybe I can introduce him to some new tunes. It would most certainly include The Smiths, as they are the greatest band of all time, and Floating Action, too. Maybe a little Thelonious Monk...

Broken Door

(photo by missredhead kidnapped from missredhead.deviantart)

One Race...

...three colours. So, in comparing our skin, we came to the conclusion that Zach is looking more Latin American, Syd is closer to Asian colouring, and I am clearly an alien from another world. I'm practically translucent.

Makin' Me Happy

-Watching old episodes of The Graham Norton Show - the ep with Ewan McGregor and Chris O'Dowd is excellent. Love those fellas.
-Waking up on weekend mornings at 7:30 and being able to lay in bed til 11 doing absolutely nothing. Pure bliss.
-Daydreaming with my niece. Nicole and I have been fantasising about her moving into one of the apartments near me so we can see eachother every day. The joy that would bring to our lives is monumental. I so want it to come true!
-Listening to my nephew Jackson as he learns how to say new words. Words like Lala (my name), cookie, turtle, and poopy. Mum is not thrilled that we are teaching him words that she deems as inappropriate. Oh, and he's learned how to wiggle his toes and make fish faces. That kid is so stinkin' cute I wanna die.
-Singing horribly and dancing to Patti Smith's Land. I fuckin' love that track.
-Romeo and Juliet cookies. I'm addicted and sadly there is no twelve step program to sober me up.
-De President. My Matthias Schoenaerts obsession continues. I saw this movie months ago without subtitles and was crying from laughing. Finally ordered a region 2 copy and laughed just as hard now that I actually know what everyone's saying. How does Schoenaerts spend the entire film cross eyed??? Sheer genius. He and Frank Lammers - another fantastic actor - were hysterical as the goofball Bulgarians. I do so respect actors that can be so remarkably versatile in their craft. To play roles so opposite one another, like Dennis in Dennis van Rita, Filip in Loft, Jacky in Bullhead, then Ali in Rust and Bone, and Nathan in Death of a Shadow. I sometimes forget that it's the same man playing all these different people. Reminds me of Ewan McGregor who was flawless as a junkie, an English nobleman, a sweet and shy telephone repairman, a Jedi, and a rock star.

(hi-larious photo kidnapped from filmfestival.nl)

-Listening to the Stooges - can anything be wrong with a day that's consumed by Iggy Pop's voice? I say nay nay.
-Going through all the crap in my closet and getting a huge pile of stuff to donate!
-I really wanna get a Pepper White lil' Mini but feel like I will never be a real grown up with money in a savings account who can afford to pay her bills and buy pizza and drive a super cute car. Yesterday I sat down with David, my older brother; that man can figure out anything. He's one of those people that it just would never occur to him that he could ever fail and so he attempts everything and always succeeds. Yeah, I am so not like that. I'm convinced I'll fail at everything and basically remain stagnant rather than try. It's my worst character trait. Anyway, we sat down and discussed all of my finances and Dave has convinced me that I can totally make it happen and the thing is, I completely believe him. Mini Cooper, you are about to be mine!

Julia Rothman

 

Speakin' the truth!

The Lovely Ms. Karen Carpenter

Having been born in the mid 1970s into a working class suburban Christian family, clearly I grew up listening to the Carpenters.

Now it goes without saying that Ella Fitzgerald is without hesitation the greatest female vocalist of all time, however, I completely adore Karen Carpenter's voice above all others. It is pure perfection. Hey, Kar, wherever you are, I really hope that you are deliriously happy. And singing.

(gorgeous photo kidnapped from favimages)

Seen In South Philly

The Thing!

Step Son

Seen in Bryn Mawr, PA. Kinda random, right?

Miss Ya Already, Nance...

John Mulaney

New in Town has had me crying from laughing. This kid is absolutely hysterical and just what I've needed.

(photo kidnapped from last.fm)

Star's Newest BFF

I'm sure you are asking yourself, "Who's that handsome young whipper-snapper with everyone's favourite lunatic?" Well, that, dear reader, is Joris. "Joris, you say? We are intrigued...do please tell us more about this chap..."
The day before I left for Colombia, I finally finished my Airbnb profile and decided to be brave and contact one of the hosts. I reached out to the guy in Antwerpen, since that's where Ash and I are gonna stay for a week. I felt a bit insane contacting this person about staying in their flat a full nine months from now, but whatever. I wrote an extremely long message, hit send, and waited. He got back to me within the hour and was super stinkin' nice. Answered all of my stupid questions and was just utterly cool. Then he tells me he'll actually be in the Philadelphia area in July. "Hmm....that's interesting," you ask, "I wonder why he would be in Star's hometown in July??" Why? Oh, yeah, that's cause we freakin' work for the same company and had no god damn idea. Let me clarify. He lives in Belgium. I live in Jersey. We have never met. We work for the same damn company. My head nearly imploded; I was gobsmacked.
Anyways, this all happened on June 27th. Today, July 15th, Joris walked into the office and over to my desk and booyah! I've got a new pal. And here's the thing, he's fantastic. He's way easy to talk to and doesn't seem to mind the fact that I am a humongous dork who is socially awkward with weird hair and mismatched socks. Oh, and we like the same Belgian films. As far as I'm concerned, that's BFF material right there.

Plastic Fantastic

Went to Bryn Mawr to hang out with my older brother today and hit up Gold Million Records, formerly known as Plastic Fantastic, which I think is a much better name. Anyway...I snagged a few vinyl albums and kinda fell in love with the place. Mostly with the incredible snapshots of famous musicians that had been there in the store's heyday. Ya know, people like Blondie and Iggy Pop.

Isabella Inquisition

Last year Sarah Alice from the library turned me on to Iron Fist shoes and man, are they fabulous. This gorgeous pair is on its way to my home and my feet today!

(post script: I was so, SO disappointed that they didn't fit. These are seriously one of thee most gorgeous pairs of shoes I have ever seen and I was heartbroken to send them back.)

Syd and Star...

...supercool kids for sure. Saw my niece, Sydney and like all fabulous people, we only wear mismatched socks. Booyah!

Truest Love

Sean proposed! Ashlee and I kinda knew that he was up to something and last night he popped the question. I've never seen my niece happier than she has been with Sean. They are an ideal match and I adore them both. Mazel Tov!

Best Gift for No Reason

Bishop returned from New Mexico with a little something for me - a Day of the Dead skull bracelet in my two favourite colours. That fella is just too damn good to me.

Days like this...

On really rotten days, the kind where you don't feel like getting out of bed or showering or even breathing, the days when everything that you've managed to hold together and keep on moving forward suddenly collapses and crushes you like an avalanche, on days like this, I try to think of this passage and sometimes, if I'm really lucky, I can breathe again and not feel so overwhelmed by the misery that creeps in every so often.

(kidnapped pic from everydayishalloween)

Today's Snack

(photo kidnapped from msn)

Hey youse guys...

...lemme in! Last week Little Z was coming home from school, so my brother had left the downstairs door unlocked. Then Xavier heard Zach ring the doorbell, so Xave walks down the steps, opens the door to find Z a full three feet from the entry looking a tad frightened. That's when he followed Z's wide eyed stare to the doorstep and saw this little house guest trying to break in.

Mateo Emiliano

The face I never tire of seeing.

Things I Learned About Colombia

~The 80s are back and in full swing. It was not unusual to see bold coloured Ray Bans paired with Heavy Metal t-shirts and mullets or worse yet, tails. Do you remember when boys would have super short hair and then a tail? Ew. And we saw one kid with a braided tail. Ugh. I wanted to gouge my eyes out.
~White people are extremely rare and often stared at as though they were encaged at a local zoo. I mean blatantly stared at; to the point where I turned to one person and in my bitchiest Philly girl tone said, "¿¿Qué??" I really wanted to say, "What the fuck is your fucking problem, asshole?" But I decided against it in the end.
~When using the toilet, paper goes in the bin and is not to be flushed. This I already knew from when Marina lived in Costa Rica. It sounds totally gross, since that's not what we do in the States, but in reality, it's no big deal.
~The coffee is sensational. I was a barista for over four and a half years and I made damn good coffee. However, I never drink the stuff and I just can't stand it. Coffee smells heavenly but tastes so bitter. Bleck! But, I was in Colombia, so I had to try it again. To sum up - it's phenomenal. I mean, true, I added a lot of milk and sugar and technically it was probably more like a cup of sugar with a little bit of coffee, but whatever.
~Colombians are really proud of their country. On the flight in, I was one of the few whites and so people would ask me why I was visiting Armenia and then immediately gave me a list of Must-See places. Most popular phrase after hearing I'd never been to Colombia, "Yer gonna love it - you are going to love it!" And I so did.
~Stop signs are largely suggestive. They hardly even slow down. Oh, and seat belts? Practically nonexistent.
~Speeding in a taxi through the city, it would not be unusual to see many motorcycles with a man at the helm, a woman behind him and in her arms an infant. Very scary.
~People are late. Like, they are late a lot. CPT = Colombian People Time.
~Fake breasts are everywhere. Outrageously enormous fake breasts. These gals can't afford to buy cat food but damn if they aren't gonna go get some breasts that, could they lactate, would feed a continent. These things were so crazy huge that I kinda thought, "I may have the chest of a thirteen year old boy, but at least I can walk upright." Jesus wept.
~Colombians are very concerned about pregnant women, women with infants, babies and the elderly. It was completely endearing to see young men give up their seats or compliment Mateo and especially to see people grant blessings to our little guy.

One last look...

...at the view of the Andes Mountains from Marina and Mario's balcony.

Best New Food

I am head over heels in love with fried plantains. Is there anything better? I highly doubt it...