Greetings. It was a fairly quiet week so I was able to put some posts together…it's always fits and starts here! Here are some things that caught my eye this week.
– I found this amazing blog, The Beheld, which focuses on the bigger concepts of beauty and the industry in general. This is not to say that I will no longer be putting up any similarly-themed posts, as one of the goals of the Museum is to present a more thoughtful and academic view of makeup, but I do I feel as though mine won't be nearly as insightful as those of the author! It's great to see a blog fully devoted to these issues.
– Jersey Shore is back! Woot! Can't wait to see what havoc the guidos and guidettes wreak in Florence, although I am a bit jealous they got to go.
– On the local/90s nostalgia front, the radio station I listened to all the time in college is back on the air! I almost fell over when I saw a commercial for HFS and just about died when I actually tuned in to listen…all my 90s faves were back!
– Finally, I am attending a mojito-themed bridal shower today and I was so thrilled to bring some goodies with me! I made mint chocolate brownies with peppermint patties, super minty ice cream (the secret to making it super minty instead of mildly minty is to add 2 tsp. of mint extract to the custard in addition to infusing the milk and cream with mint leaves!), lime sea salt chocolate chunk cookies (first time making these and they were delish – tangy and sweet and slightly salty all at once) and mojito cupcakes. I even got a Cupcake Courier to transport them all. After all that baking I was too exhausted to take pics, but I did manage to get pictures of the 2-sided cupcake flags my husband made:
Cute, eh? I do hope I get invited to more parties just so I can bring desserts! Better yet, it would be great if I could plan an entire thing. Maybe for fall I'll have a gathering of some kind. 🙂
I'm a little sad that the best part of summer (for me, anyway – the solstice) is already over! I feel like it was just Memorial Day yesterday. Summer always goes too fast and winter always goes too slow. Such is life. Anyway, here's what I was digging this week.
– I guess with no wedding coming up my urge to entertain is in high gear. Even though it's for a kid, I love this yellow birthday party. And I've mentioned it before but after seeing this, I really really want to have an ice cream social.
– Failing that, I'd love to re-organize our kitchen so that all of our spices, etc. would be as neatly organized as this. I'm sure my husband would be thrilled to spend a lot of time designing and making labels for everything. *sarcasm*
– Pile of Craft, the Charm City Craft Mafia's cool craft expo, is today. I can never leave Pile of Craft without buying at least 3 items – such great stuff from very talented area crafters!
– BellaSugar posts about these really awesome makeup drawings that are actually made with makeup.
– I saved the best for last – a new Babster from UglyDoll creator David Horvath. I've already pre-ordered him from E-bay, but he won't be shipped until after July 20. I want to cuddle him NOW!
(image from toysrevil.blogspot.com)
I was confused as to whether there were 2 versions of him – one with eyes closed and one with eyes open. However, my clever husband figured out the mystery: his conclusion is that the little fella is double-sided! There are several two-sided Uglydolls already so this theory makes sense. Guess we'll find out when he arrives!
What are you coveting this week?
Whew, it was hot this week. As much as I hate getting all sweaty, I do prefer it to being cold. And of course, the days will be getting longer up until the solstice, so I'm greatly enjoying the daylight.
Here is the weekly round-up.
On the local front:
– Love to see one of my favorite mags mentioning the creator of some our plushies (and Museum registrars!)
– I missed HonFest again. It's just as well – way too hot and humid to be wandering outside for hours on 36th St.
More generally:
– I like making ice cream and I like having people over, therefore, I want to have an ice cream social! And have cute invites like these.
– The New York Times on Riot Grrrl. I MUST disagree with this statement: "Now, two decades after its heyday, riot grrrl is beginning to formally take stock of itself." Um, hello, I wrote my thesis on it in 2004. So this interest isn't exactly new. If it is, well then, I'm a pioneer in the field!
– Finally, some makeup design weirdness from Ted Noten. Guns freak me out, so this is definitely not for me. I understand it's meant to be more cool-Bond-girl and an exploration of traditional gender roles, but I'm still not crazy about it.
(image from bellasugar.com)
And of course, the idea of a makeup gun reminds this Simpsons fan of Homer's ill-fated invention:
(image from popchampagne.blogspot.com)
Marge: "Homer, you've got it set on 'whore'!"… Lisa: "I don't think women will like being shot in the face, dad." Homer: "Women will like what I tell them to like!"
Yeah, I don't think any sort of makeup guns, however meaningful or "design-y" they were meant to be, are a good idea. 😛
– Can't believe Father's Day is almost here. Check out these awesome cards, rounded up by Paper Crave.
– On the local front, we're off to dine at Volt tonight (the restaurant run by Top Chef finalist Bryan Voltaggio). Hopefully it'll live up to the hype.
– Christine at Temptalia raised quite the thoughtful question about makeup art vs. function. I have to say I was a little taken aback by the comments. Nearly all said that makeup should be used and not collected like art, and to buy makeup just to look at it/display it is a total waste. 🙁 It looks like I swim very much alone in the sea of makeup addicts. However, one person did give a shout-out to the Museum. Whoever you are, thank you for your support!
– Did you know that yesterday was National Doughnut Day? Neither did I. This is a celebration that Homer can definitely get behind.
(image from simpsonstrivia.com.ar)
Have a good weekend!
Hooray! Summer is officially here. Well, maybe not officially, as the first day of summer isn't technically till June 21 with the summer solstice, so I guess this is the unofficial start. Who cares, the important thing is that I get a day off. :P Here's what I was looking at this week.
– Good to see that Riot Grrrl, even though it's old enough now that its artifacts are now in museums, is still an influence on today's young'uns.
– Cool Vivienne Westwood shoe exhibition going on in Beirut.
– Some of the Museum staff might be starring in an animated film! This is very exciting news.
– How awesome is this Disney-inspired eye shadow? Naturally my favorite is the Alice in Wonderland look:
(image from styleist.com)
Hope everyone has a lovely Memorial Day weekend!
I can't believe it's almost the official start of summer! I'm not looking forward to the heat, but the longer days are worth it. Here's what caught my eye during this pre-summer week.
– I love the little guys on these snack packages – their big chompers remind me of the Museum's security guards. 😉
– The Morgan Library has a really cool exhibition about medieval illuminated manuscripts and the fashion depicted in them.
(image from themorgan.org)
Have a great weekend!
What a week! All the talk of Cinco de Mayo made me go out and eat a burrito and chips with guacamole on Thursday. Usually I try only to splurge on such treats on the weekends, but I couldn't resist. Anyway, here are some other things that caught my attention this week.
– In other makeup collectible news, a Japanese wooden cosmetic box is expected to sell for a whopping 200,000-250,000 British pounds.
– I love Lululemon's products but hate the stupid preachy brand philosophy, especially the ridiculous slogans on their shopping bags. (Admittedly, I use them for the farmer's market. Hey, they're roomy and sturdy!) Naturally I found this parody to be hilarious.
– Argh, looks like I missed the Kinetic Sculpture Race at the Visionary Art Museum yet again.
– A friend of ours sent us links to some videos from this oh-so-twee band from Spain. I wish I could remember my Spanish! Warning: if you watch below you will NOT be able to get the very catchy tune out of your head! And, oh yeah, the video itself is kinda violent and macabre. 😛
This one is much happier and will be my summer anthem – sailing off to "la isla de los helados" ("ice cream island", I think) sounds like a blast!
"El helado es el rey." Indeed. Hope everyone's having a nice ice-cream filled weekend!
– I was an '80s child, but really grew up in the '90s. This is one of the funniest sites I've stumbled across as of late.
– Don't forget Mom next weekend! Get her one of these cute cards, rounded up by Paper Crave.
– This montage of vintage makeup ads from Manolo for the Beauty is pretty cool.
– I leave you with this parting image from some e-cards.com, in honor of "Administrative Professionals Day" this past Wednesday. (While I consider myself a curator my "real" job is being a underpaid overworked office gopher who performs menial tasks daily project assistant.)
Sigh.
Well, it's almost Easter, which I think I like even more than Halloween as more and different types of chocolate are involved. While normally I give in to my chocoholic tendencies and share what the Easter Bunny brought me (as I did last year), this year, in honor of Philosophy's amazing Sugar Chick 3 in 1, I am devoting this installment of Curator's Corner to all things Peep!
– My favorite thing about Peeps is how silly-looking they get after you blow them up in the microwave! This post has a round-up of the best Peep microwaving videos.
– Finally, as an art aficionado I just adored this Mondrian Peep display, courtesy of Cakespy.
Happy Easter, peeps! 😉
P.S. Do you love the totally sweet custom Curator's Corner logo? Thanks to my awesome husband for making it. 🙂
The Curator is getting quite impatient to see some robins. I've been keeping my eyes peeled all week and nothing! I've gotten reports of robin sightings in Towson but I haven't seen any myself in Baltimore City. The forsythias and daffodils have bloomed, it's time for some red birds! Meh.
Anyway, all my complaining aside I still managed to enjoy some things this week.
– I love anything miniature, so this post at Oh Hello Friend was right up my alley.
– In addition to bacon-scented candles, this 13 year-old makes pizza ones too! As much as I love foody scents and pizza especially, I don't think I'd want a candle that smells like it. Still, a cool idea and he seems like a nice kid. 🙂
– The Cooper-Hewitt gives us a conflation of fashion and art with their show on Sonia Delaunay's textiles.
– On the local front, husband and I really need to get to Camden Yards this year and eat our way through an Orioles game. Every year we say we're gonna do it and then it gets to be October and we realized we never went. Well, this year they have new food offerings so we have to make an honest effort!
– Finally, you know what was even better than watching the rerun of the season finale of Jersey Shore last night while cramming a calzone into my mouth? Watching the cast of Jersey Shore duke it out on Silent Library, which came on after the rerun. In my opinion Silent Library is a cross between Jackass and Double Dare, (I'm really showing my age here) topped off with a hilarious faux-serious host. Husband and I enjoyed it greatly. 😀
Greetings. It was a fairly quiet week so I was able to put some posts together…it's always fits and starts here! Here are some things that caught my eye this week.
