ultrathin

Do you have an ipad?  If so, do you actually use it for anything other than playing games (Crime City anyone? Moxie?  Words With Friends?) or surfing the internet while you're watching tv?  (Whoa, all my bad habits out in the open at once!)  I absolutely love my ipad and don't regret buying it one bit, but I will admit that, at least in my hands, it's hardly a font of productivity.  In Paris though, we met up with a friend of ours who was sitting at a fancy cafe, finishing up his screenplay on his ipad.  He said he actually gets more work done on the ipad because since editing is not as quick as on a computer, it helps you just move forward as you write, plus he gets much better battery time than on his laptop.  But of course, he had this nifty little keyboard.  And now, of course, I want another toy, to compliment my other toy, in order to pretend that the first toy was not just a toy at all, but rather a work necessity.  Ah yes, rationalization at its best.

 

So, do you have an ipad?  What do you do with it?  Have you checked out this amazing little keyboard?

death of an ipod

Do you even remember these? The ipod mini, from 2004.  Doesn't seem so mini now, does it?  But still, I have loved this little guy so much.  It was a gift to me, along with mini travel speakers, when I first came to Spain.  I planned on being here 4 months.  We can all see how well that plan worked out, can't we?  Regardless, this guy helped me through the loneliest days in the beginning, and has moved with us many times, bringing music to countless Madrid kitchens since then.  Recently, I am sad to report, it coughed and sputtered and then it was gone.  Rest in peace Mini.  Thanks for all the good times.

Loved you most for the sweet engraving on the back.

raw

Have you heard of raw denim?  Maybe everyone has already and I'm just super late to the game, but on the off chance that you're like me, I thought I'd share my discovery with you.

I first read about raw denim over at Dead Fleurette (one of my favorite blogs, check it out if you're not familiar with it), and she linked over to the guys at Rawr Denim, where I promptly got completely sucked in to this fascinating subculture and lost the better part of my day.

Raw denim is unwashed and untreated; it's stiff and dark, and from what I can tell, incredibly uncomfortable in the beginning.  And then, as you wear it (no washing allowed!), it conforms and molds to your body in a way that raw denim virgins like me can only begin to imagine (Levi's 501s, shrink-to-fit?  Yup, that's what that means).  It begins to crease and fade and tell the story of You.  Your wallet/coin/good luck charm in your back pocket, extra wear from the shaft of your boots, abrasions on the hip from your messenger bag... all those whiskers and fades and creases that high-end denim companies spend so much time artificially creating for us, will actually be yours, honest and authentic.  Maybe it's totally irrational for me to be so enthralled by the idea, but I'm starting to obsess.  And I'm thinking I may have to try this.  I'd probably go with the A.P.C.s, since they seem so easily accessible, but there's lots of options out there if you're interested.

After the jump, some enticing photos from Rawr Denim...

my new friend

 

Today I went and adopted a new friend.  And by adopted I mean bought.  Same difference.  I'm so excited.  And ridiculously (and inappropriately) nervous.  But in a good way.  Right now his battery's charging, so I had to use husband's camera to take his portrait, but shortly I will be flooding this space with new photos taken by me and Ralph.  Or Ichabod.  Or August.  Name suggestions totally welcome and much appreciated.



Grin.

pleather pleasure

Today I went and returned the sleeveless coat (please, it's cold outside!  I need sleeves!  What was I thinking?!), but of course I couldn't come home empty-handed.  This little baby came home with me from Zara.

I got it in black.  Honestly the photos on the website don't do it justice.  I know it's pleather, but it's high quality pleather with a decent feel to it and not nearly as much sheen as you see in the photos.  In person it reminds me a bit of an A Wang bag, like a Rocco-Brenda hybrid or something.  Maybe I'm just kidding myself here, but I'm pretty pleased with it.  Also love that I can put my camera (by which I mean my husband's camera) in it with plenty of room to spare.

Of course, a few other bags caught my eye...

stash

Looking for a new way to store your ipad?  I am.  I bought myself an ipad last month (loving it, in case anyone had any doubts) but refused to spend money on a cover.  I know, ridiculous.  Wrapping it in a t-shirt is far from acceptable.  So now I'm hunting.  I found this wonderful etsy store called Stash, and they have beautiful cases for all sorts of technological items.  Like ipads.

Gorgeous, right?  Something about the heavy textured fabrics and the somewhat masculine design just makes me want to hold them.  As in, own them.

See options for laptops, ipods and cameras after the jump...