J. Crew on Film: "Shiny Ponies"

Hello all!

I was cruising the J. Crew website looking for a design detail I wanted to use on a sketch when I stumbled upon their latest #jcrewonfilm video. I normally don't watch a whole lot of videos- I find most of them tedious but I was really intrigued to see and hear Jenna Lyons. That might seem kind of weird and I'm sure most of you have seen videos with her before but I haven't. You know that feeling when you know who a person is and you know what they do but you have no idea how they are in real life? Well that's why I was compelled to watch this video... and because it's title is "Shiny Ponies", I really couldn't help myself! I found Jenna to be completely charming and I'm not gonna lie I kiiiiiiind of want to run out and get myself of "business in the front, party in the back" heels. Please watch and enjoy!

Kate Upton is a Goddess

I was just starting to think that Harper's Bazaar was losing its luster. And I will say that as a mildly OCD person, it's slightly larger than 8 1/2" by 11" format sort of drives me crazy when I'm filing tear sheets. But in any case when I pulled this months issue from my mailbox last week, I was pleasantly surprised to see Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover. And then when I opened it, lo and behold Carine Roitfeld had styled an amazing editorial with one of my very favorite models: Kate Upton. Please soak in all this amazingness yourself and check out the rest of the shoot here. And also please enjoy this gif.

 

Photos via Harper's Bazaar, gif via Terry Richardson.

What I'm Cooking!

♥ My first official "real meal" of the season: Rigatoni Bolognese!

New York has cooled considerably in the past couple weeks and I've actually been cold by the time I get into bed at night which I haven't experienced since April or so. But with this cool weather brings my renewed interest in using my stove top and oven again. The first big meal I decided to tackle was Rigatoni Bolognese. Anyone who knows me knows that I usually go through phases of eating the same food frequently for a few months until I get sick of it and move on to something else. Over the last year it has been burgers, steak, sushi, sandwiches, pizza and now it's pasta with meat sauce. This phase may have something to do with the fact that I've been watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" a lot and Marie, the Mom, is constantly making lasagna or bragioli. I've had bolognese at Cafe Minerva and Extra Virgin (both in the West Village) in the past couple weeks and I just can't get over how good it was! I used this recipe from Epicurious and it turned out amazingly well. I used one less onion than the recipe (because I only had one) and instead of white wine I used a cap-full of white vinegar and another cup of water. I was so excited about it that I made a big meal out of it for my boyfriend and I a couple nights ago, complete with a salad of romaine lettuce with avocado and Gorgonzolla cheese and garlic French bread and (reduced-guilt) brownies for dessert. I spent about $20 on the ingredients for the bolognese but I think technically it serves 20, so you can freeze some like me or just half or quarter the recipe.

Have you tried any noteworthy recipes lately? Do any of you go through phases of eating a specific kind of food? I'm curious to see what you've been cooking and if any of you are as weird as I am!

Instagram Rewind - Labor Day Weekend

From top to bottom, left to right:

♥ 1. A couple friends and I went to Brother Jimmy's (again!) on Saturday for happy hour wings and a bowl of "Swamp Water." Right as we were paying our bill, the waitress brought over another fish bowl and said someone at the bar bought it for us!

♥ 2. After happy hour, we met my boyfriend at the Frying Pan. It's a bar on the Hudson River on a boat. It has an amazing view and the weather was beautiful! I had a couple Bluepoint Blueberry Ales and if you can I highly recommend you try it!

♥ 3. Our view of the city from the Frying Pan at night.

♥ 4. On Sunday, my roommate wanted to go to the Brooklyn Flea and I happily obliged as I love any kind of vintage or thrift shopping. Artists & Fleas is another market on the same street.

♥ 5. A sketch I did of a glass of soda pop!

♥ 6. At Target, Campbell's released a limited edition run of their tomato soup with labels by Andy Warhol.

♥ 7. My exciting Labor Day meal was a classic BLT sandwich.

♥ 8. I finally finished my deerskin tote bag that I started a few weeks ago. Now I can bring a book and my sketchbook with me on the long train rides downtown.

Did you guys have an amazing three-day weekend? My whole life is a weekend so it's a little less exciting for me but I managed to have a lot of fun- hanging out with my roommate, my friend Olivia (who was visiting from SF) and my BF. This week will be a little more exciting because I'm visiting my family on Thursday in Seattle, so I'm sure to be busy the whole time I'm there! I'm excited for Fall but I'm a little sad to see Summer leave. Are any of you extending your Summer by doing or going anywhere this week? I hope you all have a fun, short week! To see what I'm up to, check my Instagram!

What I'm... Doing!

 

♥  My Canon Rebel 2000 film camera!

Yes, this week's "What I'm" post is a little broad in title but very specific in actuality. I am constantly looking for things to keep myself occupied and a very smart person suggested that I do something creative that doesn't necessarily have to do with fashion. As in, what would I like to creatively pursue as a hobby that is only for me? The answer is photography. I've always been interested in it and even took a couple classes in high school- darkroom and everything. I have a Polaroid camera that I love using but the film is expensive so I decided to start using my Canon Rebel 2000 film camera again. It took a little brushing up on my shutter speed and f-stop numbers but I started taking my first photos with it again last night and I can't wait to see how they turn out. I leave for Seattle on Thursday (in what is a very spur of the moment trip, so no "why didn't you tell me?!") and I'm so excited to capture some good times and share them here!

Have you been pursuing a new hobby lately? Or have you had a renewed interest in an old hobby? I'd love to read about it in the comments. I hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend!

Instagram Rewind - Wings and a Birthday!

From top to bottom, left to right:

♥ 1. My view from the West Side Highway of the New Jersey skyline.

♥ 2. My roommate Allie and I went to happy hour at Brother Jimmy's. We had some amazing wings and a pitcher of Bud Light.

♥ 3. The Guggenheim museum is Pay-What-You-Wish on Saturdays from 5:45 to 7:45 PM so a couple friends and I took advantage of that and saw some great modern art!

♥ 4. My party outfit for my friend Olivia's birthday party.

♥ 5. My view from New Jersey of the New York City skyline.

♥ 6. Olivia cutting her birthday cake!

Hello all! My weekdays tend to drag on a little bit because as my job search continues I almost feel like I'm running out of things to do. Fortunately for me my weekends are usually jam-packed! New York has so many free things to do that even living on a budget can be fun, as long as you have someone to accompany you every so often. To keep myself busy this week, I plan on setting up my serger so I can start making a dress I have dreamed up. I hope you have a fun and busy week! And don't forget to see what I'm up to this week on my Instagram @chelseapurcella!

What I'm... Reading!

 

From top to bottom:

♥ 1. My copy of "Just Kids".

♥ 2. A photo of Patti Smith's photo of the Nathan's hot dog stand.

♥ 3. My Instagram photo of the Nathan's hot dog stand, at an eerily similar perspective.

In my next attempt at establishing an editorial calendar, Fridays will be "What I'm..." post days. Anything from what I'm listening to or eating or even as broad a subject as doing. Today's post is about what I'm reading. Or in this case what I've read. I finished reading "Just Kids" by Patti Smith somewhere around the 4th of July and I felt compelled to share because it is such an amazing read! I won't lie, I didn't know anything about Patti Smith or Robert Mapplethorpe before I started reading this book. Generally speaking I am just a big fan of biographies about women who have contributed something to culture in one way or another so I bought it one day at the Strand. As I started to read it I sort of felt like a kindred spirit I suppose and it seemed that I would be feeling the same as Patti Smith had. Like needing to escape New York City to see Paris or wearing or doing things because it related to an artist I love. And in one outstanding circumstance I was at Coney Island while reading about her and Robert Mapplethorpe going to Coney Island and a few pages later she made a reference to Audrey Hepburn's clothing in Funny Face- a movie, that very night, I was going to see for the first time. And we had even taken almost the same exact picture of the Nathan's hot dog stand but 35 years apart.

Can all this be chalked up to just a lot of coincidences? Of course, but maybe it's all a part of the same journey on the way to becoming what you're meant to do with yourself the rest of your life.

Have you ever read something or watched something that seemed to relate to what you were doing or feeling at the time? Comment on any experiences you've had below!