Heppy Weekend!

Had a relaxing Friday night drinking rootbeer floats with my brother and my guy. Isn't my brother so handsome? Yeah, I think so too.

Have a great weekend everybody.

xx D

Heppy Fry-Day

My song of the moment.

I see a DIY project in the future...

By now you all know that I love shiny things, especially in very large quantities. While browsing through Apartment Therapy (which I hadn't done in ages), I stumbled upon this fantastic chandelier by bsweden. I'll be moving in a couple of months (where, and exactly when I don't know), but I see a perfect opportunity for a DIY project.

I'm going to see if I can find some cheap Japanese lanterns, superglue, and some mirrored glass tiles. I'll let you know how it works out.

What about you? Do you have any fabulous apartment ideas? Please share!

New blog obsession

You will either love me or hate me for this.
cupcakestakethecake
cupcakestakethecake
cupcakestakethecake

In my dreams...

...and very soon my reality.
Paris, ca me ferai super plaisir de vous revoir.
{photo courtesy of Jak&Jill}

Free Stuff!

My friend Meghan from Newbie New Yorker is giving away the most adorable Flip and Tumble bags to celebrate her 200th post. Yay Megs!

Not only are these bags reusable and environmentally friendly, they're super cute, machine washable, and can be rolled into a ball the size of a peach. Perfect!

Here are the rules:

1. Leave a comment with which color you'd prefer (aqua, raspberry, brown, black or lime) and your email address and you'll be entered ONCE

2. Become a follower, and you'll be entered TWICE (make sure to let me know if you're a new follower in your comment)

3. Write a post on your blog about my giveaway, and you'll be entered THREE TIMES.

Personally, I'm a big fan of the black and the lime.

Good Luck!

mintandlime: new Etsy shop alert!

My boyfriend's sister alerted me to this new Etsy shop, mint & lime, because she knows I love Etsy and pretty, shiny, sparkly things. If you're interested in unique, simple, homemade necklaces, this is the shop for you.

The pieces serve as a reminder that things do not have to be overly engineered to be beautiful.

Plus, for all of you Boston/Cambridge folks, if you email mint & lime, you can avoid shipping costs!

The pictures above are of my favorite necklaces.

{photos courtesy of mint&lime}

ZooBorns

In my daily VSL email, I got a post about this blog. ZooBorns has the most unbearably cute baby animal pictures known to man.

I mean, Tawny Frogmouth Chicks? A tiny turtle? Baby GIRAFFES? I am voluntarily overdosing on the cuteness. You should too.

ZooBorns

Michy's new haircut.

GUARANTEED that 600000990000 people will have this haircut tomorrow.
{Photo: Chicago Tribune}

Lovely Ladies and a Slumdog

So, I amazed myself and stayed up to watch the Oscars in their entirety. I can't say I was surprised about any of the wins, except for Sean Penn who won for Milk (in yo' face Brad Pitt).

However, I'm not going to lie. I mostly watch the Oscars because I like to see a lot of pretty people in pretty dresses. Call me shallow, but my princess fantasy just will not die.

{Photos from top to bottom: Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz; Anne Hathaway; Amy Adams; and the cast of Slumdog Millionaire}

For the record, let it be known that I love Marion Cotillard. She is just too adorable.

Weekender

FUN.

Going off the deep end.

While flipping through this month's O Magazine ( yes, I love Oprah, no, I'm not 45), I came across Bookswim.com, a website that lets you organize a pool of book titles you'd like to rent, Netflix style. With plans starting at $9.95 per month, you'll receive 2 or more books at a time. Shipping is included in the subscription fee and if you REALLY love the book, you can purchase any title you want for one click.

If you're broke but voracious reader like I am, I'd suggest that you check out this site!

Why I love Jezebel

Because their website is just so darn snarky.

The yummiest cream cheese frosting.

That's it, I'm making Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting tonight.

Here is the most DELICIOUS recipe for cream cheese frosting from The Delicious Life.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 c confectioner's sugar, sifted (after measuring)

1. in mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla.

2. gradually mix in confectioner's sugar. 2 c is a guideline; use more or less to get desired consistency for frosting.

Visible Man

I am really proud of Eric Holder for speaking so bluntly to the members of the Justice Department on Wednesday about the level of racial discourse in America.

“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot,” he said, “in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards.”

Despite the fact that Obama is President, voluntary segregation between ethnicities, especially black and white, is still very much present.

We as a society mulled over Obama's biraciality, his articulateness, and the question of whether he'd be black enough. However, as much as we discussed these issues, and as much as Barack addressed them, he never went to the level that Holder did in his speech.

Perhaps his speech seemed angry. To me, this speech was the truth, and it's a truth that still needs to be repeated, over and over again. America still has an uphill climb regarding the issue of race in America, yet it seems to turn a blind eye to this fact. It cannot be swept under the rug, nor can it be solved only because Barack Obama is President.

Tell me what you think. I'd really like to hear what you all have to say.

{And for those of you who don't know me, I consider myself both black and multiracial. Black because this is how American society sees me, multiracial, because my mixed roots are too prevalent to deny. I prefer to define myself as multiracial.}

Read "Visible Man" here.

These people are Sofia Achaval and Thibault de Montaigu...

...And when I go to Paris, I want to live in their library.

{courtesy of The Selby}

Bloom where you're planted.

There are few things I love more than beautiful blooms.

{all photos from L.A. In Bloom}

Banksy.

Balloon Girl

Flower 01

Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a fucking sharp knife to it.

—Banksy

Banksy is a pseudo-anonymous English graffiti artist who is well known for his satirical style on topics such as politics, culture, and ethics.

I find his work to be amazing and incredibly moving.

See some of his artwork here

Selling my goodies {on eBay}.

I've put up a few items on eBay for sale, and you should check them out! I am guilty of having a ton of clothes that I never wear and very little money, so I've decided to post them on Ebay.

All of my clothes are very gently used, very well loved, and very pretty.

Please check them out if you're interested! The dresses above are on sale, and they're good deals ;)

I'm danims430.

Tonight

I love her.

Reading My Tea Leaves

My oldest, loveliest, dearest friend Erin has started a blog, which I highly recommend you read.

She's a great writer, and has already put my little blog to shame with her beautiful pictures, lovely words, and insightful posts. Please read, and send her a little love.

{photo courtesy of Reading My Tea Leaves}

Tuesday (Monday) morning.

Good morning chickadees, I hope you had a lovely and relaxing long weekend. I was hoping that I would have some pictures for you of what I did this weekend, but when I packed my camera, I forgot to pack my charger. Therefore I have one photo of John standing next to a store with millions of religious figurines in the window, which I can't post because I'm at work and should probably be doing something more productive with my time.

Spent Valentine's Day in Connecticut with John. John and his father cooked me and his mother a delicious steak dinner while we speculated when his sister (Hi Katie!) was going to call and tell us she was engaged (this didn't happen until Sunday...imagine the stressssss). On Sunday, J and I traveled down to see my parents (it's convenient that our parents live 40 minutes apart). We had a "family dinner" (J's parents, my parents, me and J), and promptly fell asleep.

I had the loveliest weekend.

John also made me the best mixtape.

For some post Valentine's Day love (and some interesting facts), click here.

Valentine's Day

Happy, happy Valentine's Day.

May you all spend it with someone you love.

Uh, it's because I'm addicted.

Situation: Danielle brought in candy to the workplace today as a Valentine's and "Let's Combat Friday the 13th" Day surprise.

Problem: Everyone in this office seems to be on some sort of diet (or worried about their teeth).

Solution: Danielle eats all the candy in the office.

End Result: Danielle feels sick and needs 3 advil and her tummy rubbed.

FAIL.

Magnetic Guinea Pig

I am reblogging this from Ingrid's blog because this is just too funny:

"My friend Caitlin wanted to know how she could get a blog mention. Well, Caitlin, that story you told last night was blog-worthy:

"We had a guinea pig in the other day who had eaten a magnet. The owners didn't realize it until the guinea pig was wandering through the kitchen, and it got stuck to the oven." "

Valentine's Day

I feel like I am singlehandedly responsible for giving everyone cavities in my office, but I just love a commercial holiday.

Last night I attempted to be crafty and failed miserably, making Valentine's Day "snowflakes" instead of hearts. I mean, there were some heart shapes involved. I gave one to a friend today and was told, affectionately, that "This is some real old-fashioned kindergarten shit". My heart swelled. Seriously. Needless to say, I bought the rest of my valentines.

Valentine's Day is one of those holidays that is COMPLETELY unnecessary, but I like to spread the love {ha!} any way that I can. My coworkers got roses, and my office got an assorted supply of candy. John's getting his mini valentine tomorrow, and you'd best believe it will be cavity inducing. I feel like this holiday can be such a bummer for people, and I acknowledge that being single in your 20s on a holiday like this can admittedly be pretty crummy.

Therefore, HAPPY EARLY VALENTINE'S DAY, and I hope you all get some candy or some roses, or a big smooch from someone special in your life.

Spreading love all over the internet,

D {xoxo}

Vat I'm reading RIGHT NOW.

Current List:

Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment- Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D.
Diary of a Bad Year- J.M. Coetzee
Blonde Roots- Bernardine Evaristo (NOT a chick-lit book, but a book about if the transatlantic slave trade had been reversed and Africans had enslaved Europeans. Don't know how this is going to work- some people loved it, some hated it.)
A Piece of Cake: A Memoir- Cupcake Brown

Vat I'm listening to RIGHT NOW.

Check these out:

Air France
Benoit Pioulard
Sondre Lerche
Slumdog Millionaire Sountrack
The Bird and the Bee
The Kills
Lily Allen
Beirut
Passion Pit
The Blow
Jenny Lewis
Devotchka
The Bug
Vampire Weekend

xx

Happy Birthday Darwin!

Today marks the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. A global celebration of the man who first described biological evolution via natural selection, Darwin Day expresses gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity.

Take a few moments to browse through Charles Darwin's significant contributions to the field of science:

darwinday.org
The Origin of Darwin- nytimes
Wikipedia- Charles Darwin
aboutdarwin.com

Language/Grammar

My goal for my next few posts: EDIT EDIT EDIT.

A Change

This is by no means only a style blog, but I do love fashion. I don't love the fashion models (too unhealthy), but I love the way clothes are made, how they look, hairstyles, etc. I feel really guilty about this, mostly because I suffer from "I Don't Want To Be Seen As Vapid" (IDWTBSAV) syndrome. Blame it on the fact that I'm a very large academic snob (I can't help it).

ANYWAY, I have decided that I'm going to get a mini-makeover. I've had the same hairstyle for the past 24 years. The texture of my hair has changed, yes; it moved from puffy/wavy to curly to REALLY curly to unmanageable back to curly, and now it's somewhere between wavy and curly (damn my genes!). I've kept it long because of my round face, and have refrained from permanently straightening it, mostly because I'm afraid that it will look "fake". I LIKE my curly hair, but I'm tired of it, so I've decided that I'm going to do a Brazilian Keratin hair treatment that will render my hair straight for about 4 months. Not only that, I'm chopping it off (well, to shoulder length) a la Jessica Alba.

Let's actually hope I'll go through with it.

photos courtesy of people

Taza and the Prince

So excited for this to come in the mail! Naomi from Rockstar Diaries has set up an Etsy shop called Taza and the Prince, where she sells her delightful self-made headbands. I was lucky enough to snag the last one in her store (which happened to be my favorite), but she updates her stock every 2 weeks or so. You should also check out her blog which is chock full of unironic adorableness.

An unfortunate turn of events.

I don't think I will ever be able to fulfill my dream of actually being a ballerina. Yesterday in class, we had to spin across the room and I got motion sick.

Photos on ffffound.

Visual candy for the day.

Oh hey, dirtbag!

Well, well, well: everybody's favorite baby-faced crooner with the nasty moves, Chris Brown, has allegedly beaten up his girlfriend, the beautiful Rihanna leaving her with visible injuries. He was arrested for felony battery.

Apparently in 2007, Chris Brown told Giant magazine: "[My stepfather] used to hit my mom. He made me terrified all the time, terrified like I had to pee on myself. I remember one night he made her nose bleed. I was crying and thinking, 'I'm just gonna go crazy on him one day…' I hate him to this day."

Looks like domestic violence runs in the family.

Rapper David Banner says: "One situation doesn't define a man and I really want American to stop doing that to people. As humans, none of us is perfect."

UM. YOU DO NOT HIT WOMEN, ASSHOLE {also, I barely understand your sentence: -50 points}.

DISGUSTING.

For a roundup of articles on this POS, check out Jezebel

WEEZY F.

I have a confession to make. I have an unhealthy obsession with Lil' Wayne. I'm not really one to go for raunchy rap, but Weezy injects his rhymes with such clever wordplay that I can't help but love him. Therefore I was SO HAPPY that he was a big winner at the Grammys last night. Did you also know that he went to college for 2 semesters? I feel like I can totally back him up now.

Here's his interview with Katie Couric for your viewing pleasure.



I <3 Weezy

Tippy Toes

{le love via weheartit via ffffound}