Gougères

YAY! It's our first French Fridays with Dorie recipe: Gougères!

I made them last week, tweeting along with several, long-time TWD-ers and it was so much fun. These little bites are un'esplosione di formaggio. I was extremely surprised by their texture; akin to a cream puff, as they were hollow and slightly damp on the inside but golden crisp on the outside. I made them with gruyere (most delicious cheese everrrr) but am intrigued to experiment with other cheeses as well (my Dad is not a big gruyere fan. In fact, he's not one to really branch out much in the realm of food and cooking, which should make this experience highly interesting. . .). In any case, I hope I don't get yelled at because I didn't get a picture of the finished product before these babies were devoured. I won't make that mistake again. I do, however, have an image of my *in progress* dough on the stove. I hope this will suffice for this week and I'll be good next week, taking plenty of pictures of Gerard's Mustard Tart.

Bon appetito i miei amici. xo

P.s. I may be whipping up some cream puffs in the very near future. It is such a perplexing, yet very easy dough!!!

Hey Liz Stanley, you're a genius!

I'm pretty positive that anyone who has come into contact with me is aware of the fact that I am a Hello Kitty fanatic. In my undergrad course, Art and Cultural Criticism, I even conducted a study and presentation about the visual culture and identity politics of Hello Kitty (and made Kitty White a facebook page that I still update here and there, despite the fact that I took this course three years ago; friend her here). I don't mess around with the kawaii. . . ;) At any rate, along with my fascinations with the image of HK comes a love for ginormous bows. Liz has created the ultimate Big Bow Pencil skirt that is nothing less than perfection!! Check out her post!! This whimsy yet sophisticated skirt will be made and it will live in my closet!! Thank you, Liz!

I will leave you with a bit of joy which I found and incorporated into my presentation on HK. It is amazing. I hope you like it!

The first time I saw Hello Kitty, the temptress, was in 1982. She seduced me from my Japanese roommate's notebook, managing to get me to rush out and buy a yellow and pink Hello Kitty wallet. I preferred her right away to Minnie Mouse who wore a boxy red polka dot dress and way-too-big red pumps. Hello wore a jumper slipped over bare arms. It was a new wave frock, no doubt about it. Even her double set of whiskers seemed trendy, even her cone-shaped ears exuded cool. Even her poor excuse of a nose (yellow button boxed in a black circle) was fabulousness, pure girl-fun. Chinatown became the preferred shopping mall of the twenty-somethings concerned with Hello Kitty fashion. A yellow daisy sometimes graced Hello's bodice so she doubled as a 60's peacenik, a mammoth yet miniscule symbol, a kitsch-princess who stayed frog free. "You're putting too much on me," Hello Kitty might say, if she could slip out of feline city. "Try another temple," she might meow, her tiny voice raw and red.
But Hello doesn't have lips, those double delicious pink worms that girls paint red for special occasions. She can't yell if she's in trouble or kiss Mimi on her temple. Without a mouth, Kitty's not able to confess her secrets. But dissecting Hello is slippery business. Feminists surely prefer girls who are able to make noise, like me. But who knows? Monks might find Hello pure Zen, the way she smiles without teeth, going to and fro with Kitty purposefulness- content on pencil boxes and purses, holding her world together, managing to keep perfectly still. No slip of the tongue possible. Hello is manufactured in China, but she was conceived and born in London, much like a box of Cadbury chocolates. Post-Shirley Temple, Hello is a whole industry, frothy and competitive as shampoo or beer. -Denise Duhamel, Screaming Monkeys, pg. 244-245.

drooling over. . .

. . .this (and everything in her store).


And, that.

children as photographers

As Summer Allen-Gibson says, this kid is oozing coolness!!! I cannot wait to have a class full of kids to give cameras! Oh, the possibilities!

I heart you, Shabd Huipil.

Shabd Huipil creates gorgeous watercolor effects, as demonstrated in this blouse. Definitely a must-have (seen here)!

Hear, hear!

"Yes. Yes I am. I am a feminist. I reject wholeheartedly the way we are taught to perceive women. The beauty of women, how a woman should act or behave. Women are strong and fragile. Women are beautiful and ugly. We are soft spoken and loud, all at once. There is something mind controlling about the way we’re taught to view women. My work is, both visually and musically, a rejection of all those things, but more importantly a quest. And it’s exciting. It’s exciting because all of the avant-garde clothing, and the lyric and the musical style that was at a certain time, and at once considered weird or odd or unattractive, uncomfortable, shocking, it’s now trendy. Perhaps we can make women’s rights trendy. Make women’s rights, feminism, strength, and security, and the power of, the wisdom of the woman. Let’s make that trendy." -Lady Gaga

Gaga

This may be out of the blue or perhaps slightly out of context, but I just have to share this interview by SHOWstudio of Lady Gaga. It is quite long, though very wonderful for those of you who are interested in her or are interested in music, fashion, art, and/or visual culture. I believe that many people have misconceptions of Gaga as an artist and too, many people are prejudiced of who she is and what her ambitions and goals encompass. Though to be quite frank, I am completely inspired by her and am publicly and loudly a fan and follower of her work. As someone who studies art and visual culture, Lady Gaga is an active member of our contemporary culture and I take complete, almost obsessive interest in her impact upon our media and visual culture, with her involvement in artist collectives, and in her mission as a solo artist, as she is revolutionary, at least in my eyes. Too, she is a very articulate, well-educated, intelligent and quite eloquent individual for whom I have the utmost respect. After watching this interview and upon reflection, I realize that I am so extremely passionate about art and visual culture- especially through the lens of Gaga. It's not even funny!!!!! I am so happy and fortunate to have studied in my undergraduate years what I am truly passionate about and what I will continue to study and research throughout my life.