from denmark with love

sometimes food is good enough to talk about. 

who am i kidding, most of the time i'm talking about food...

but it's rare that i talk about junk food.  this, however, is one of those fine occasions. 

my lovely coworker lillian just got back from a trip to denmark and has subsequently treated the office with little goodies since her return. first she shared with 'daim' candies... little chocolate-covered toffee bites.  every time we picked a nibble out of the HUGE bag she brought home, a loud "daaaammmmmnnnn!" exploded from the candy-eater.  they were delicious.

but then yesterday, lil supplied us with the treat of all treats.  SOMBA cookies.  you see, i am a girl who grew up on mallomars, the greatest cookie of all time.  this is an item that somehow says 'new york' to me.  (who knows why... maybe because they were referenced in 'when harry met sally'?  i'm not totally sure.)  anyway, though i thought mallomars were the greatest cookie item on earth, i was proven incorrect yesterday when i met SOMBA!  the ultimate mallomar:

a marshmallow fluff tower
(not a regular marshmallow like that found within a mallomar)

set atop a wafer
(i do prefer the graham bottom of the classic instead)

topped with a thin chocolate shell. 

(a bit more sugary than that which encases mallomars)

HOLY MOLY THESE WERE OUTSTANDING! 

i wish i could have one for breakfast right now...

look at the height on this guy!

and that inner mound of fluffy, whipped goodness...

em, if you can find these in fr, DO! 

THE ARE HEAVEN!!

wonderful wednesday

i stumbled upon this oldie but goodie song yesterday 

when it started blasting in the middle of the best yoga class i've taken in a while.

i.love.this.song.  

from nose to toes, i love this song!  

hope you enjoy 

"Home" 

by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

wishing you the best wednesday

(also wishing katie pollet a marvelous 25th!  

20 years ago i saw you outside of miss gancey's classroom 

and i knew we were in for a good time!)

xxa

tuesday ditty

i've recently become quite fond of METRONOMY
a funky hipstery band hailing from britain.

Metronomy - The Look from lorenzo fonda on Vimeo.

i think this song is so lovely and get a kick out of the sea gulls!

hope everyone's tuesday evening is mellow and lovely!!

xxa

99 red balloons part 2

lovers, here's the director's cut from the commercial i recently played along in... 

you can even see bitty shots of yours truly here and there!!

(my smile around the opening and later and my arms and back throughout...

keep your eyes peeled for a white t-shirt with a lacy white top)

Pop Directors' cut from Raul Martinez on Vimeo.

i am so thrilled with how this project came out and think robert and raul are immensely talented!

i genuinely have a limitless number of good things to say about each of them!!

good luck, fellas, you're gonna be big stars!!!!!

NOW THE IMPORTANT STUFF!
please vote for the video here:
POP

xxa

weekend love...

this weekend while tooling around barneys coop 

(after a scrumptious molly/sarabeth's brunch)

i happened upon the Jas M.B. Large Peggy Handbag.

**t'was love at first sight**

don't we make a darling couple?!

i know where my tax return will be going.....

xxa

bliss

"and he will enjoy that breath
more than any he has taken
in his entire life.
and her life's work is more than a flash drive.

'my life's work,' she says, 'is the impact that this has.
this is not about what i produce.  it is all about what others receive.'"

click HERE

**i suggest listening to all at once***

have a beautiful weekend!

xxa 

This is it !

american rustic...and swooning!

New York Times Thursday Home & Garden,

thank you for making my commute so easy this morning.

i feel like this article describes spaces that are cousins

to my very own apartment.

i loved the warmth of the photos,

descriptions of materials, textures, and items listed.

great ideas for updating the pad!

**(and my beloved moon river chattel was mentioned to boot.)**

i. am. satisfied.

Fair(s) enough

What is there to do in Paris in the upcoming weeks :

Going to Art Fairs. Indeed it is that time of the year again. Not like the first time in the Fall but like that time in the Spring. Paris will, starting this week end, be living at the art rythm. First Drawing Now, contemporary fair for... drawing. Then we have ArtParis + Guests and then Chic dessin an other drawing fair.

So from this week end I will be wearing my walking shoes(who am I kiding... i don't have walking shoes) and will go see what's out there and report.

99 red balloons

saturday evening 
was one of the best nights i've had in a long time.  

incomparable robert, whom you already know i adore, happens to be a very talented artist - photographer, cinematographer, producer, filmmaker.  his bright energy pervades everything he does. obviously that vibrancy attracts equally talented, luminescent people - cue raul.  these two are the best, most alluring, and wildly energizing directors i've ever met (no wonder they snagged themselves two of foinest women in the game!!) 

***

this weekend, robert and raul were shooting a short film that was essentially a party scene set in a room filled with thousands of red balloons!  

champagne bottles exploded and music blasted.  

we danced, played "flip cup" in our spare time, and got glitter-fied into the wee hours, all in a loft nestled high above soho's sleepy streets!  

here are some photos from the night:

*stills from the film*

the fearless leaders:

pensive robert (long hair)

raul (striped shirt)

*one more astonishing fact about raul:

he's such a renaissance man he even makes his own clothes!

check out that rockin gradient-striped number! ha 

for japan with love

the recent devastation in japan leaves me with little to say.

it's shocking and painful to read about the daily additions

to an already inconceivable slew of jaw-dropping tragedies.

we are so blessed to have our loved ones near by,

to know all are safe and sound

*(dave, so glad you, your friends, and their families are all alright!!)*

on this end, i can pour over the photos,

read the articles,

engross myself in the daily updates...

and then turn off my computer, put away my newspaper,

or simply call my mom.

but in Japan, this is an unending nightmare.

if you can help the relief effort, please do!

i would be more than happy to connect any readers with

for japan with love

where donations can be made easily!

wishing lots of love and hope to all this friday afternoon!

xxa

biondi bowing out

“A photograph is an entity. You don’t crop it, you don’t butcher it, you don’t plaster text over it, you treat it with dignity.”

-Elisabeth Biondi





earlier today it was announced that Elisabeth Biondi, the brilliant Visuals Editor at the New Yorker, will be leaving the magazine.

her eye has impacted this literary and aesthetic publication for the past 15 years.  it is truly worth your while to check out today's Photo Booth blog entry to learn more about this influential member of the arts community.

here's looking forward to the next phase in Biondi's career... as a curator...

Coordination

Ce qu'Arielle veut Arielle a

What Arielle wants Arielle gets

Un post en francais, un qu'elle puisse lire...

A post in French, one she can read...

55 mots

55 words

Pas un de plus pas un de moins

No less, No more

bras, jambes

arms, legs,

Coordonnés?

Coordinate ?

Toujours?

Always?

Boum

Boom

Little Joy

all i want 

is to do the twist

to this song

in my living room...

summery rum drink in hand...

avec vous...

lovelovelove, me

springing forward my dudes and dudettes

today, lovely danny and i had a rather in depth discussion

about what we love most about the spring.

we're both gladly sluffing off these last few bits of winter

and cannot wait for the onset of the best season:

spring

{aviv, primavera, becha, wiosna, bahar!}

here are some of our most favorite things to look forward to as spring springs towards us:

picnics

sidewalk chalk

lazy afternoons spent at east river park with a great mag or book

riding bikes

bulbs starting to bloom

daaaaaafffffoooooodiiiiiillllllssssssss

hyacinths

any bloomy flowers, really

fresh beautiful herbs being sold at the farmers' market

[that can be planted in my window boxes (hooray!)]

watermelon with pits (half the fun is spitting those suckers out!)

bare feet + grass

pig tails or big, fluffy buns on top of my head (ari)

short-cropped hair cuts (danny)

strawberries

heirloom tomatos

sangria and fish tacos and coronas

ghetto gold + spring dresses (ari)

shorts + hoodies (danny)

strolling around with chocolate malt milk shakes

arnold palmers

homemade ice cream

yoga with the windows open

SEDERS (and various passover delights... we're weird ol jewbies)!!

peeper frogs out on the farm

fire flies

hamburgers and grilling in general

THE METS + hot dogs + lemonade

cartwheels

driving with the windows down

limes

cilantro and basil

spring concerts & festivals (esp phish for danny)

out door movies (esp at bk bridge park for ari)

corn on the cob

camping + s'mores

berks (for danny)

keds without socks (fo ari)

***

what about the spring gets you most excited?!

xxa

betu-tiful weekend!

this weekend my family and i headed to vermont for our first vacation with olive betuts in tote. 


cell phones ran out of juice, the baby slept late, we all laughed, cuddled, skied, and hung... what could be better?  i basically held onto the baby the entire weekend (sometimes a fresh auntie can be a little greedy... i don't think oli's parents minded too much...) and i think she rather enjoyed it, if i do say so myself! 

here are some highlights from the weekend:

"my daddy's out of his mind... but he sure is funny"

very sleepy after the yumminess of a hot sink-bath... check out those ruffles on oli's tush!

the engle women doing what they do best.. cuddle

...ahh, perfection

***

so, after coming home to bk and kinda melting down 

with my mom about this and that:

*not wanting the weekend to be done, 

*not wanting the work week to start up again,

*freaking out about various crazy-making life things 

 (my mom is so surreally wonderful at mopping me up from the ground and setting me on the path towards rational thinking... wowzers, did i need it!)

it was beautiful to find my way back to the yoga mat 

for a nice hr long stretch out...

and later go to the market for the week's groceries... 
only to find out that daffodils are back!

spring will be here oh so soon!  

just 7 more days til the solstice...

friends, this is the week to let go of your final bits of winter bs baggage so that you have plenty of room to welcome spring fully!


ps - robert, simone, kaiti-o:
THANK YOU FOR THE EPIC MESSAGE THAT I JUST LISTENED TO...
kait, i hope robert didn't take advantage of you too badly... 
and wendy? has that ridiculous cat survived another weekend in l'house?  
girl's. got. to. go.

xxa

sometimes a girl's gotta eat... and feed her friends and family

over the past few years i've become a proficient cookie baker (if i do say so myself).  i'm not a gigantic fan of following recipes (a number of kitchen buddies can attest to this) but i do like to eat well and certainly make it a priority to cook foods that i know will ensure good eatin'.  that said, when it comes to the wonderful world of baking, recipes, like chemistry, require a steady formula.  only once you get comfortable with the weights and whistles of it all can you diverge from your original path to make a superior product.


that said, i have been trying my hand at the oatmeal cookie for some time now.  amongst other classics, like the chocolate chip, i have made a point to taste-test a number of options, hoping to ultimately make the very best version of one of my very favorite confections.  and friends, last night, i think i made my ultimate version of the oatmeal cookie (complete with dried cherries, assorted raisins, dried turkish apricots, and dark chocolate).


below is the recipe which was adapted from smitten kitchen (one of the best cooking blogs out there)!  these puppies take very little time and are the perfect combo of flavor, goodie in every bite, crispiness, and chewiness.  

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup cherries
1/2 cup apricots
as much chocolate as you damn well please (i used 2 large bars of green & black's)


Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).


*in a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. 

*in a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. 


*stir in the oats, dried fruits, and chocolate.

*now, chill the dough for a bit in the fridge.  i like to give my dough at least an hr to just settle.  it lets the flavors meld nicely!

*the cookies should be at least two inches apart on a lined baking sheet. 

*bake them for around 10 to 12 minutes.  take them out when those suckers are golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top. 

i especially recommend these cookies if: 

a) you are exhausted and need something absolutely delicious

b) your heart is on the heavy side 

and you're not doing the best job of letting the past 

(and your past's present) go

c) it's raining

d) you love cookies and the smell that lingers in your apt after baking

e) you love your friends and family 

and want them to nosh on an edible hug

f) all of the above

happy nibbles!!