panties + vodka

well, haven't i been living the life? last week, i hit up two concerts. That's the great thing about living in the city - there's never a shortage of cool people rolling into town. if sinead was all about the power of voice, morrissey is all about the power of lyrics.

well, honestly i didn't grow up listening to morrissey. so his lyrics were lost on me. i felt like a mute, because i could hum along but frustratingly could not sing along. it was like when i went to hear the gipsy kings years ago - but they sung in spanish.

nonetheless, there was a whole crowd of gloomy emo-types that were swaying and singing along.

the best was at the end when the stage got bum-rushed by fans climbing to get a hug. mos decided to shed his sweaty shirt off, too.

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our bambino turned 100 days old yesterday.

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i was looking for costume ideas at the Patricia Field store.

for those who don't know Pat Field, she was the Oscar-winning costume designer / stylist for Sex and the City (and for the film). but for those of us who grew up in NYC, she's way more than that. her drag queen-run Greenwich Village shop had been around for 30 fantabulous years (it's now closed) and was THE place to go for club gear amongst other things. She reopened the store on the Bowery last year

I met her a couple years ago and totally geeked out on her but I guess she's used to that.

Any way, peruse her website and find this Ho on the Go bag (Hogo for short):

a thong, some condoms, toothbrush and toothpaste. the clincher? the moist towelette.

but what i'm really going to buy?

I just haven't decided if this is for halloween or for usual wear........

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it's a pretty well-known fact that the most efficient way to grocery shop is by 1)making up a list before you go and 2)not going when you're hungry.

well, these rules still apply to NYers except when shopping at Trader Joe's in Union Square.

follow by these guidelines and you can be in and out of there in under 30 minutes!

1)make sure to take a partner. that could be your roommate, your husband, girlfriend or just friendly neighbor.  this is very important  - this rule alone can cut your time by half.

2)as soon as you enter and grab your grocery cart, one of you must go to the end of the line that has snaked all the way around the store. if you're planning on buying 12 items or less, make sure to stand in the express line. there's usually a guy with a big sign post waving it by the cheese section so you don't waste your time by standing in the longer line.

3)once you've grabbed your position in line, take turns to dart off to the different aisles and grab whatever it is that you're looking for. if you and your said neighbor, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, etc have the same taste, you can also split the foods up later. A lot of the food come in bigger bulk and won't go to waste then.

4)while standing in line, make nice with the williamsburg-type, hipster kids working there to make time go by  faster. everyone there is super friendly.

5)get nods from standers-by and workers when you refuse plastic or paper but pull out your own eco-friendly shopping bags.

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wow, i forgot about this one. i really don't have the time but i'm all into this blogging these days. i'm sifting through photos (electronically on my computer) and found this...

i blogged about my friend's 40th birthday we had last june...

young and his best friend, mike went to yale circa 1989 (anderson cooper was amongst their classmates). they're now brothers-in-law but that's a whole other story.

 
any way, mike handed this to young as his birthday present. it's a photo of them doing shots as members of the Yale Drinking Team. Notice the guy in the middle with a stop watch.

 PRICELESS

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i know hundreds of bloggers and publications have already covered the Korean fried chicken phenomenon but... I can't resist.

I grew up eating this stuff and can't believe people's fascination with it. Korean fried chicken is great - it's somehow never as heavy as Southern fried chicken, which I love equally. It's crispy, tasty, juicy, and any more adjectives will just make me salivate.

But when I hit Bon Chon last night in Koreatown I was in for one of the best surprises ever. It's just a completely different level of fried chicken. For New York magazine's full coverage, click here.

we got three large combos and some extra dishes like spicy rice cakes and french fries

The chicken on the left is the soy ginger chicken and the one on the right is the spicy chicken. They're both excellent but the spicy is so hot that you have to eat one and then go for a soy piece - you can't have two back to back. But that burning tongue sensation is so addictive, so you keep going back and forth until they all disappear as they did below... 

those little white squares are pickled daikon radishes that are a staple with korean fried chicken.

the crazy thing is that when you're done, the wax paper it comes with hardly has any grease on it. now isn't that great? less guilt... wait, or maybe I just didn't see it because of the mood lighting in there? hmmm....

must go back. anyone game? - no pun intended.

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i don't know, i haven't been feeling halloween this year.

maybe i'm bummed that i haven't come up with a fun costume idea yet.

last year's costume was fun but defintiely the most unsexy costume for a girl: i was flava flav.

here i am with another version

here are some ideas we have at azaleas:

 BOXER GIRL - Splendid Robe, Deborah Marquit Vinyl Bra, and Malicious Designs Boxer Short  

or Sailor Moon - Malicious Designs Sailor Dress

or School Girl - Jezebel Satin Doll Set

Well, we'd suggest wearing only 1 piece of this set. otherwise, you wouldn't be a schoolgirl, you'd be a ....

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speaking of daft punk...

we met the designer / artist behind that cool a$$ pyramid while we were at a party in paris...

it was an anniversary party for these 2 designers's workshop. well, it quickly turned into a french house party. what's that you ask?

it goes a little something like this:

put out as many as one bottle of wine per attendee.

make chit chat with new french friends. but this small talk is different from the stateside small talk; you talk about things that matter like facebook and music. never once did it come into conversation what i did for a living.  

then after you're done with that, make someone run out and grab some bottles of vodka.

if you're american, you should be fluent in french by now - like i was.

turn up the ipod that's been playing stuff like kanye all night and switch it up to the french version of the 80s music.

stand around in a circle and clap your hands and dance like you're at an eighth grade dance party, like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNu1hiuBSvI
 

and then get the brilliant idea of building a human pyramid with your new french friends:

and then go home and pick up some crepes on the way: one with cheese and ham and the other with bananas and nutella. yum and gross at the same time.

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Until last night, I forgot all about the power of voice. No joke.

We went to see a SOLD OUT Sinead O'Connor show last night. Whenever pete suggests a concert I shouldn't be dubious (like that time we went to see daft punk) and just go along.

Sinead sang her heart out to the irish men's content...yeah, a lot of irish came out to support. nice!

I didn't know any of the songs she sang except for the well-known "nothing compares 2 you"  but i was thoroughly intoxicated by her voice. The sound system at beacon theater's pretty horrible - I couldn't really hear any of the lyrics but it didn't matter. It's crazy how someone's tone can overwhelm you and bring back memories you forgot all about.

well, i got to thank sinead after the concert and tell her how amazing she was.

look! she's my size.

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Our  journey to Paris was for inspiration; to find my mojo; to feel passion for fashion again.

Well, I've found it but not in the most obvious of places.

I had a very long list of shops to go to in Paris (and I'll share them with you in a shopping guide to come), but it wasn't really in the trendy boutiques that I found it. It was literally in the air.

You see, French women wear perfume... and lots of it. Perhaps it's because they want to smell nice even after a night out at the smoke-filled bars. But it's never over-powering; it's just mesmerizing almost spell-binding. The French women take better care of themselves.  I got inspired by such little things.  The perfume was one detail.

Another was the healthy nature of life. The idea that Europeans take their personal life seriously is not something unknown.  Older women biking on the streets is common. People looked healthier, more relaxed there. Working hard is important, but playing hard even more so.  We need to take both into consideration to be happy - and look great. We took part by riding the free Velib bikes that are stationed all over Paris. We biked from our area of le Marais to the Eiffel Tower. Such tourists.

Also, I wasn't looking to buy anything practical while I was over there. But it was so darn cold, my flimsy (but seriously cute) trench coat with its 3/4 length sleeves weren't going to do me any good. I found this one shop Comptoir des Cotonniers and what must have France's best-selling salesman. He sold me a coat with his chic gay Parisienne style and persuasive French accent. The way he tied a scarf around my neck just so. When the French tie a scarf around the neck, it's not just wrapped around for warmth. It's tied perfectly to make a statement, whatever that may be. Even if it's messy,  that's been done on purpose.

My conclusion?

1) spray yourself with some annick goutal

2) Expore the bike share program in nyc  

3) Learn how to tie a scarf

and live hard, play hard. panties and vodka!  

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you know you've gained weight when the hardware on your heavy duty jeans break...

and the winter hibernation season hasn't even begun yet.... argh... 

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Last night, my boyfriend informed me that his assistant had found the holy grail of shoe sales at the Charles David warehouse sale. Like, 2 pairs for $60, boots for $80 kind of sale. So this morning I turned into a nondescript office park cul-de-sac in Culver City and saw a sea of women the likes of which I haven't seen since first-year orientation at Smith College. There was no parking. For a moment I thought I'd actually have to walk a block or two and by LA standards that's just crazy talk.

Anyway, I finally found a parking spot and joined the throngs of agitated women lining up for the shoe kool-aid. It was kind of like being in a pack of hungry lions trailing the scent of dying wildebeest. No talking, unless it was on cell phones informing the rest of the pack where to go. Imagine an entire parking lot filled with tables upon tables stacked with shoeboxes. I am going to hell, but in my mind it resembled a Katrina-like shelter situation, only instead of sleeping bags and refugees, it was just TONS of shoes and crazy women. I joined my fellow wee-women in the size 5 section and then I realized something: I'm old. Back in the day, I had a pair of Charles David heels that were beyond painful to wear, but I sucked it up because they looked hot. Today, I looked through the high high heels, the bedazzled and bestudded piles of shoes and was like, "eh."

So I left the warehouse and with it, apparently my twenties. Is it just me or is this the natural progression of things? Now I don't care if shoes are on sale (well, I care a little) as long as they are reasonably comfortable. I'm not talking nun-shoes, but i just have to be able to walk in them for at least 15 minutes. That's a very long walk in LA.

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too cute... tongue in cheek is the kind of fun we like at azaleas.

whatisblik.com has a bunch of fun, affordable wall decals

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We need help.

Our tiny NYC-size dressing rooms have seen the glory days of boys' polaroids posted on its walls. (They can now be viewed on our website). But after we decided to paint the walls with our signature Azaleas pink, the boys never came back.

We want some equally fun(ny) ideas and someone willing to do it. This is unpaid - which is why we are sadly looking for an art student wishing to add to their portfolio. Please send us your resume and photos of past work. Email us with any questions or come by the shop and take a look!

email: resumes@azaleasnyc.com 

Posted by cindy at 04:29 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

so our fellow blogger helene has come up with genius sweatshirts that we can't keep stock of. These are all one of a kind and sold in-store only (sorry web shoppers!). Well, for now any way. If you're dying to have one of these, give us a call at the shop and we'll see what we can do.

In all sorts of color combos...(we just sold this one today!)

this is what helene has to say about these:

"Mittens are hand knit from Huntington, Indiana, USA. Great for storing cell phones and chocolate kisses.

Sweaters are 100% cotton and brand spanking new."

Check out helene's blog. 

Posted by cindy at 05:33 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

  Yeah, I'll brag a little. I went to Paris to look for some (fashion) inspiration. Found some but along the way, I fell in love with the city.

There's too much to blog (maybe some of it's not that interesting) but I'm going to drag this trip out into several entries so get ready.

We're pretty low-key travelers; not necessarily basking in luxury because either we can't afford it or it's just not our scene. So this is the Paris guide for people who like to take the road less taken and have a fearless appetite for food.

Where to Stay:

There are hundreds of options but we decided to rent an apartment in Paris. How can you beat having your own kitchen and stocking it with your store bought drinks? I don't believe in mini-bars unless someone else is footing the bill.

This one's from a website called http://vacationinparis.com 

1) you get your keys and instructions before leaving the States.

2) Location for our place was amazing - 2 blocks from the Centre Pompidou and on a tiny little street with a cluster of equally tiny galleries.

3) what won me over? the free bottle of wine they give you as a welcome gift. gotta love it.

4) of course, there were bakeries, markets all around for us to get snacks.

5) under $150 a night.

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the best thing about flying cross country on Jet Blue is the direct tv. the worst thing about flying on Jet Blue is the 5-6 tv shows that you never would have seen otherwise.

it's sad and pathetic but i'm going to try and list my current tv passions...

heroes

the office

30 rock 

a shot at love with tila tequila

the hills (now that i watched the cram session)

salt'n'peppa show

gotti's way

tim gunn's guide to style

project runway (coming back in november!)

america's next top model

weeds

ramsay's kitchen nightmares

grey's anatomy

 talk soup

i think i'll stop there.  i'm ashamed.

hi, my name is cindy and i'm a tv addict.  

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An email we received recently...

"Hi,
I just wanted to send a quick note to say I'm really very satisfied with my experience buying from your store. I wanted a lingerie piece that was scandalous and wouldn't break the bank, and have had bad experiences buying items like this with big brand name online stores. You guys had exactly what I wanted, the buying process was easy, and I received the product very promptly. I really appreciate it, and I think my boyfriend will too! Thank you! B---- O'-------"

Occasionally, we get disgruntled customers for whatever reason. Hey, we're only human. Hate-mail is never fun to open. Don't hate!

Posted by cindy at 11:46 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Not!

it's more like

oh football, how i abhor thee! let me count the ways...

-the biggest mistake i made after getting married was throwing out our 2nd tv. i figured it'll help out with the QT, but boy, was i wrong. Sunday (all-day) & Monday (all-night) TV is hogged by my football-obsessed husband. Forget about relaxing and catching up on all my latest tv shows. And God forbid we have plans on Sunday or a Monday - my tv shows still have to wait until the tivo'd games have been seen. and we're lucky to live in a 1 bedroom in Manhattan, but that doesn't mean that going to the bedroom will drown out the sportcaster or the occasional yelling at the tv. Like that helps!

-and even during our regular QT tv-viewing, Pete's still fingering the mouse to check live stats rolling in for Fantasty Football.  

-what about those late-night homo-erotic text messaging with his Fantasy Football league? it's like their own community of teasing, flirting, d**k slapping and hating/loving on each other's plays and playahs. tres strange.

-by the way, not wearing my ring today was totally by coincidence!

Posted by cindy at 09:58 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

ok enough of this. sorry for the long hiatus from the blog. i've got so much in my head to blog but not all the time in the world. we'll try to update as much as possible.

fyi, i'm writing my spring orders. I'm sure you guys have read all over the US weeklies, fashion blogs, etc. that Lauren "LC" Conrad from The Hills has launched her own line? Well, it's darn cute. But by principle, I can't get myself to write the line. Any interest out there?

I just cringe when I see celebrity-designed lines. Not to say I don't buy them personally but they're also never really "designed" by them. Most likely, the line is designed by a group of corporate designers that  try to capture the look or feel of that celebrity. But we are certainly delighted here at Azaleas with the Elle Macpherson intimates line. I love love love her stuff. So why not Lauren Conrad?

let me know if you'd be terribly offended if we carried the line!

oh, here's the link to her website: http://shoplaurenconrad.com

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