1) “The Southport Weekender”

I popped into Colette with a friend during the Paris shows to snap up a copy of  “Too Black for B.E.T.” (see point number 2), and heard the most booty-shakingest house music blasting from the sound system. When the salesguy told me that the music was new Jazzanova, I had to snatch it up. Turns out, the two-disc set is not completely Jazzanova. It’s two CD mixtapes: the first one is a playlist put together by the Berlin-based production duo and the second one is a mix created by rare soul DJ Mr. Scruff. And I’m so glad I didn’t listen to my inner voice that was telling me to wait and buy it on iTunes once I returned home. It turns out, the album is one of those rarities that’s only being sold in obscure record stores and on random house music Web sites. You can listen to a sample and try your luck ordering a copy online here.

 

2) “Too Black for B.E.T.”

Jayson Scott Musson is an artist living in Philadelphia whose work takes on many forms—music, wordplay, Xerox, silk screens, illustrations, drawings, you name it. One of his latest pieces is the hilarious, “Too Black for B.E.T.,” which is a series of visually cool posters that double as social commentary. The best thing is that you can cop one for only $12 (including shipping and handling if you purchase one here).

It’s the most recession-friendly art ever or in Musson’s words: “the best toilet reading you done ever bought in your entire life, or you can put it on your coffee table and impress your black friends, cracker.” His blog is worth checking out too. 

 

3) Eating foods that are in-season

Since moving to London, my guy and I have started a weekly ritual in which we go to Borough Market (an amazing outdoor wonderland of fresh goods from local farms, butchers, bakeries and cheese-makers) to get our groceries and then try out exotic recipes from epicurious.com. More than the stalls of fresh foie gras, blue cheese, free range beef and freshly caught oysters, though, I’ve been the most excited about all of the amazing produce we’ve been getting. It’s so cool to eat in-season. This past week alone we’ve had an amazing frisée salad (just add a tablespoon of olive oil and half a lemon’s worth of juice as dressing; shred a little Pecorino on top and mix in a chopped up fig, a little salt and pepper), a wholesome and totally filling sweet potato (cut in half; boil; take the halves out and top with a little honey; pop in the oven and broil until the honey glaze gets a little crispy); and homemade gnocchi topped with sautéed porcini mushrooms and zucchini flowers (my guy, who used to live in Italy and is a ninja cook, made the gnocchi—I could never claim that one—so I’ll have to get the recipe from him). Eating in-season from a local farmer’s market is great because A) it’s healthier B) you know where your food is coming from and C) it’s pretty cheap (our gnocchi and porcini mushroom dinner for two, with appetizers and a bottle of wine would have easily set us back £85, while the cost to cook it all at home only cost us £20). 

 

4) Riding boots

After buying an insanely sexy pair of patent Miu Miu stilettos, and nearly busting my arse in them not one, but three times, and after seeing countless models fall down on the runways after attempting to walk in ridiculously high heels this past month, I’ve decided that my riding boots will be my best friend. They’re warm. They work in the rain. They don’t make me teeter when walking on cobblestones. And  they work with just about everything. The following pairs by Corso Como ($285) and Joie ($525) look very similar to the several years old riders I plan to rock again this fall and winter.

 

5) WNYC live streaming

Listening to live broadcasts of our favorite public radio station online keeps the nerd inside of us satiated and keeps us connected to home.

Posted: October 13th, 2008  Category: Inspiration  Comments: No comments#