As soon as I learn to speak Dutch things are gonna get rough.

Whether fashion is art is a crux that is explored time and time again. Whatever the answer, it is more interesting to keep exploring than to arrive at a conclusion.  Undoubtedly fashion and art are inextricably linked.  That said, I am just hoping to wake up with a face like a Vermeer girl, but I digress, because today is about Van Gogh (yeah, I said it Vun Khokh).  In the interim, let's make like Abbie Hoffman and steal this fashion? Art? Both?

PORTRAIT OF AUGUSTINE ROULIN, LA BERCEUSE

vangogh2 by sayhellotomylittleblog featuring short dresses

Over the rich history of this blog (we are clocking in at like six weeks now), I have not been shy about how charmed and fortunate of a life I am living.  This past summer, I saw countless Van Gogh's, with the Van Gogh Museum as an obvious highlight.  I hadn't been to Amsterdam since the summer I spent there in 2002 above the Greenhouse Effect (I'll leave it at that), so needless to say this was a richer and far more memorable trip, as in, I remember it, and I wasn't tripping.  Can't handle the jet-set?  No worries, the Google Art Project updated their Van Gogh files last year with top notch clarity.  

 LA MOUSME, SITTING

vangogh1 by sayhellotomylittleblog featuring a navy blue blazer

I think at this point any self-respecting admirer of Van Gogh would have to say a little something about his sunflowers.  But I don't have a ton of self-respect and quite frankly, who wants to go head to head with Donna Martin or Mayim Bialik? No one, that's who.  What I do think worth mentioning here is a little ditty called Jumpin' Jesus by Sordid Humor.  Anyway, Counting Crows covers it, so you can find it here and the line "He likes sunflowers, big picture frames and Van Gogh" has been, like, haunting me since 1997.

WOMAN AT THE CAFE DU TAMBOURIN 1887

vangogh by sayhellotomylittleblog featuring avon

Sometimes I think blogging requires extensive volume, perhaps even to the detriment of quality. But today I actually imparted some serious knowledge.  Consider it dropped.  There is an amazing, teeny tiny feature in the New York Times Sunday Magazine that offers one sentence book reviews.  I heard a rumor that blog posts get an average of 90-120 seconds to be read.  In the immortal words of Mr. Hall, via Cyrus Rose, "Not Enough."  So, I'll bite.  This post in one sentence:  Mildly schizophrenic girl makes claims, remembered and forgotten, about the connections between art and fashion with a side of anecdotal music.

That's My Jam: V-Day Edition

Teaser Tuesday: Accidental Death of An Anarchist

I saw this wham-bam-thank you ma'am styled meme over on Angie's blog, so I'm giving it a go.  More later on how I deplore the use of the word ma'am.   

Pg. 41, Maniac: "Naturally I assumed as any citizen would reads the papers and watches TV would, that these were the sounds of suspects being beaten under interrogation by brutal country copppers.  All to clearly now I can see how mistaken my impressions were; those shrieks I heard were shrieks of laughter, the screams were screams of merriment and mirth accompanied by thigh slapping convulsions of humorous hysteria."

reykjavik, iceland.

A couple of years ago my boyfriend asked me what I wanted for my birthday.  "I never ever saw the Northern Lights," I said based on a very random playing of Farmhouse we heard at a dive bar the week before.  Off we went.  This was one of many ridiculous vacation inspirations; I will discuss the AbFab Morocco trip in a separate post, but I digress.  

As for Miss. Aurora Borealis, she is a fickle temptress.  Don't rely on hooking with her, do it for the thrill of the chase.

Sleep.      Hotel Borg.

See.  Northern Lights, View from Hallgrímskirkja.

Do.  Snowmobile, Blue Lagoon, two words: Iceland Airwaves.

Eat.  Fish Company, try some local oddities, you're on holiday. Late night snack? ask a local for Vinarbraud.

Drink.  Get boozy anywhere on Laugavegur, but here is an amazing guide.

Shop.  Bad Taste Records (Smekkleysubúðin), Rokk og Rósir,  Ófeigur, Kraum (vintage), Útúrdúr, etc.

Misc.  Before you go read The Reykjavik Grapevine for some        local scoop.

Don't trust me?  No offense taken.  I wouldn't either.  Check out Auður (and her sister Helga) of I Heart Reykjavik.  These girls are chock full of travel industry experience, Reykjavik know-how and insider info.  Auður loves RVK as much I love NYC.

I found NEMO but he just wasn't that into me.

INSTAGRAMMAR

Top:         1. "Yeah, it's more pensive.

                      Damn, I was going for thoughtful."
                 2.  These boots are made for walking and that's just what   
                       they'll do
                 3.  My new favorite store is Blue Tree, you should go  
                      there now and go there often, Mad & 92nd.

Center:     1.  These things are old and on display, does that not just  

                      about say it all?

                 2.  I really couldn't sustain a friendship where jogging  

                      was encouraged.

                 3.  The wedding invitations have been wax sealed,  

                      stamped and delivered.  Yeah.

Last:         1.  That is a beer pong table to my left, combined ages:  

                      63; mental acuity, 16.

                 2. "If she wants to go to an arboretum, BANG, I’m in a  

                       room full of trees.  God, I hate trees. So tall and  

                       arrogant."

                 3. It is shocking because of all magazines on the stands,     

                     Town & Country resonates the most with me.  Don't  

                     tell my mother, it would probably kill her.

FINDING NEMO

WEEKEND REVIEW

Do.         As little as possible?  What am I, the voice of my

              generation?  A generation?

See.        Inventing Abstraction, (1910-1925): How a Radical Idea 

              Changed Modern Art, on at MOMA through April.

Drink.    Italian Diplomat's at Jones Wood Foundry until you pass  

              out.  Just kidding, how would you get home?  

Make.    Valentines, obviously.  I am not an expert, but I found  

              these tutorials pretty helpful.

Read.     Get a copy of Hello Goodbye Hello, if you don't trust me,  

              read the New York Times review here.

Watch.   DVR'd episodes of Jeopardy.  Get smarter and heckle    

               Alex Trebek, smug bastard.

Shop.      I am loving Blue Tree right now.  Don't be dismayed by  

              the skeletal website, "the merch is amaze."  You can quote  

              me warmly and fondly on that.

sunday confessions.

1.  In the past month or so, work has picked up ten-fold and it has been very difficult to pretend to be thrilled.  I was quite happy as a lady of relative leisure.  I should mention here that I own my own business.  Counter-intuitive? Yes.  True? Also yes.

2.  I snuck into the Alexander Wang show with the help of a friend of a friend and it was worth it.  The last Alexander Wang show I went to was in 2007 (with the help of a different friend of a friend).  It was time.

2. Over the course of last ten days, I watched every single Made in Chelsea episode ever aired (including the holiday specials) and have come to the conclusion that I am still, gratifyingly fascinated in equal parts by Ollie and Rosie.

4.  It is not uncommon that I completely invent statistics to support my point.  I am a huge believer in this rule of thumb: people are 87% more likely to believe something said with conviction and supporting evidence, than without (see what I did there?)

5. I'm still waiting for Godot.

Public Saturday Announcement, Take 3.

Still totally doing my own Saturday thing...  Hold onto your hat, we take an old Public Service Announcement (they're pretty ridiculously by the way) and breakdown what they think they're saying versus what is actually being communicated  We've done this twice before here and here (amazing I know).  Let us take a look at the arts:

What this PSA thinks it says:  Among the identifiable artistic mediums available to the federally funded education system, classical music, balloon artistry and playing fetch are chief among them.  If you simply ask for more art, your child's desire to attend birthday parties, walk down the street without heckling musicians and play with their dog will dramatically increase in direct relation to the amount of artistic stimulation received.

What this PSA really says:

1.  If you dress your kid like Chas Tenenbaum, he will never be cool, no matter what, ever

2.  When uptight kid heckles a performer, you should flash a nasty to the musician for stealing your outfit

3.  Balloon animals at parties are a waste of time and clowns will always be creepy

4. Stop trying to make fetch happen, its not going to happen.

5.  Lack of an arts curriculum will not impact chores like taking out the trash.