i hang glide on a dorito.

I don't care if you've already seen this, watch it again. I feel like I can relate this half shell so much more than I have ever with mankind.

DIY Couture

Have you ever been to a party where you see a girl in a cute dress, you tell her you like her dress, and she responds "Thanks! I made it myself!" and then you go sulk in a corner and are like "WTF, self, why can't you do that?" I WANT TO BE THAT GIRL!

The problem is that sewing brings out my inner rage. Sewing patterns are basically written in Japanese to me. Most sewing guidebooks seem to be written by a stern grandmother who is trying to teach you how to sew with "tough love." There's just too many rules, so many ways to screw up! I basically get halfway through a project, throw spools of thread in agony, and then go watch the Food Network and never finish it.

Clothes made using DIY Couture books.

Imagine my excitement when the folks behind DIY Couture offered to send me a few books. DIY Couture makes the sewing process easier for beginners and experience seamtresses alike, by offering zine-like books with illustrated, step-by-step instructions on how to create a garment. Instead of speaking in another language, these books teach you visually. Instead of dealing with complicated patterns, the book gives instructions on how to measure and cut fabric using household items and your own measurements, creating a completely unique garment from start to finish!

I was sent the books on how to make a pleated skirt, a cloak, and a gathered dress. While tempted to make a Little Red Ridinghood style cloak, I opted to save that for the fall and try out the pleated skirt using some grey cotton I scored for $1 a yard. This was the first time I've sewed something I actually want to wear! It feels good to create a piece of clothing, from start to finish, for $2 instead of shelling out money for a basic skirt somewhere like Urban Outfitters.

"Inspired by the thousands of invisible pairs of hands around the globe that make the clothes we buy, DIYcouture hopes to inspire people to turn off their screens and get up to their elbows in the 3-dimensional world of creation. It supports the slow revolution. Helping people to produce garments that are precious, rather than disposable, this is the antithesis of fast-fashion."

The book includes instructions on how to create multiple variations of the skirt, including a maxi version that I plan on trying. The killer thing about these books is that one can be used to create infinite garments, like fashion bacteria!

DIY Couture books can be purchased here.

WWII Hairstyle Safety

lemon cake.

You're probably wondering where I've been (most likely not. I completely understand. I wouldn't care if I were you). For those of you who are like "Dude, Gabby. Stop being so lazy, stop neglecting your blog. We know you don't have a life. We know that your social life consists of tweezing your eyebrows while watching straight to video B-teen movies," what if I told you I was in space? Ok, sorry, I was a little too busy WALKING ON THE MOON to blog about, like, my love of tights.

I'm just kidding. I had you fooled! I did bake some lemon cake, which was delectable if I say so myself. If you've been following my Tumblr, you'll know that it's kind of creating a world wide phenomenon. I am becoming KIND OF A BIG DEAL.

The lovely Hazel came over and took some really beautiful photos of my house that you can see here. I think I am going to get her to come live here and take pictures at my beck and call in exchange for baked goods.

Lemon Cake

+2 cups all purpose flour

+3/4 teaspoon baking soda

+1/4 teaspoon salt

+1/2 cup milk

+2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

+1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

+1 cup granulated sugar

+2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 (8- by 2-inch) round cake pans and line bottoms of each with rounds of wax or parchment paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir together milk and lemon juice (mixture will curdle).

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture in batches, beginning and ending with flour, mixing at low speed until just combined.

Divide batter between pans, smoothing tops. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes, then invert onto racks, remove paper, and cool completely.

Lemon Frosting

+4 oz cream cheese, softened

+4 oz butter, softened

+3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

+2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

+1 or 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Beat everything together until fluffy and frost onto the cake layers!

What a hottie.

well, that she's an axe murderer, of course!

Exhibit A: Moschino Cheap & Chic Fall 2010 R/W

Look at that adorable guitar case bag! It just emanates cuteness! But yet...I feel that it looks so familiar...like I have seen it somewhere before, like say, I don't know, 19 SECONDS INTO THIS YOUTUBE CLIP?!

 

I like to think that Rosella Jardini is just like me and sits around watching Gilmore Girls reruns while eating nachos that she'd claimed she was making for the whole family, but in fact, ends up eating the whole plate on her own. 

sew u: dresses

I have the excitement of a preteen child the night before the release of the last Harry Potter book (I'm sorry. I don't know what it's called. I was partial to A Series of Unfortunate Events. Really, I can spend hours discussing the meaning behind Count Olaf's ankle tattoo, but that's for another time)! I have the first and second Sew U books by Built by Wendy and, just like the namesake line, they're so cool and offbeat and functional. 

Unlike most sewing instruction books, which are usually written in, like, pig latin and teach you how to make your very own floor length dirndl skirt out of polar fleece (!), these are written like you're talking to your easily understood cool best friend who has a vast knowledge of needlecraft and wants to teach you how to make something you'll actually want to wear. 

I plan on spending the rest of wintertime whipping up cute little dresses, and then, come springtime, I'll bust them out and nobody'll know what hit them! My world domination plan will succeed!

she comes apart, but she's so together!

Did you guys have ridiculous collections as a child? Because I did;  Beanie Babies, a brief stint with Legos, Betty Spaghetty dolls. (OMG DOES ANYONE ELSE REMEMBER BETTY SPAGHETTY? PLEASE SAY YOU DO. OMG. NOSTALGIA. INTERCHANGEABLE PLASTIC HAIRDOS. OMG.)

My mom collected Madame Alexander dolls, back when they didn't cost an arm and a leg and you could go buy one at the drugstore for like 5 cents and, like, sip an ice cream soda and ride your bicycle off into the distance. I remember I was so excited when McDonald's released Madame Alexander happy meal toys, that my mom took me there for lunch everyday for a week. We were just so set on collecting them a

ll. That and it gave us an excuse to eat french fries everyday. 

ANYWAYS, Jason Wu is designing a collection of dolls for Madame Alexander. These probably will cost an arm and a leg, but oh the cuteness IT HURTS. THAT HAIR, OH! This is unreal. I need a commemorative t-shirt immediately. And a cheeseburger. 

and if you haven't got a half penny, then god bless you!

I hope everyone's holiday was full of cheer and copious amounts of butter based food things! Mine certainly was. I promise an entire holiday themed post soon, I mean it's not like I'm lazy or toy with a procrastination problem OR SOMETHING SILLY LIKE THAT. No, no I just want to prolong the holiday cheer as much as possible! Yeah! But as a preview, here's what I wore on New Year's Eve. 

Please pardon my pseudo pretending I'm an Urban Outfitters model looking off lustfully into the distant pose here. I'm wore my sister's old Joyce Leslie leopard sweater under Rodarte for Target dress, 3 pairs of tights to protect my delicate child limbs from the cold, and boots whose brand I am unsure of, but that's alright because they give me a false sense of coolness!

That sweater is actually a  v-neck and, when worn that way, looks like something Hilda Suarez might sport. But because I'm just so startlingly brilliant, I wore it backwards and it looked like a whole new shirt, which then prompted my sister to ask for it back! Yes!

What did you guys do on New Years Eve? I spent mine feasting on Chinese food with my family and ending up on my best friend's couch watching the cast of Jersey Shore ring in the new year. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but sometimes I fantasize about having a pretty apartment and frolicking around in a sparkly dress with a tray of pigs in a blanket and noisemakers on New Years Eve. The amount of time I spend fantasizing about cute cocktail parties I want to hold in the future is inversely proportional to the amount of time I actually spend partying. Also, the amount of parties I am invited to. SHUT UP, I'M NORMAL.

P.S.

I made a Tumblr! Because I often come across nice things or have random thoughts that aren't really worthy of an entire blog post. That and I obviously need another internet gimmick to check constantly, instead of doing my homework. So add me or follow me or tumble (?) me or whatever the lingo the kids are using!