KITTENS AND GIRLFRIENDS.

it's been way too long. I'm posting from my phone at 3am so this shall be very short and sweet.
there is a kitten asleep on my lap and a sleepover going on to my left. I haven't slept more than a few hours in the past two days so i am chanting for unconsciousness and quickly.
so i have much to share i can't wait.

THE NEWEST YEAR

I AM NOT CYNICAL I LOVE THE NEW YEAR AND I MADE GOALS FOR THE NEXT 365. 364. 

so i know the new year is sometimes an excuse to party like an amateur or throw a killer shindig that ends at 7am or stay home sulking or stay home relaxing or if youre like me you had a party to go to but were super sick and made the first good life choice in a while and stayed home and slept early and often. now its the second and i am much improved and not even remotely hung over.
my point is i guess its a cliche to make resolutions for the new year but in my life and friend circle its not even mentioned let alone thought of. resolutions are for those whom i do not know, have never known and probably will never know. however, i am not remotely above a significant life change which i am interested in making and now is as good of a time as any. so i am using the new year as a moment to implement long intended healthy habits into my routine along with some weird meditation and self reflection. i hate this post so now its time for pictures. i wish i were in sweden.

i love balloons. they are alive. i make them real.

i used to do this. i would like to again. its a new year.

DOWN TIME.

THANKSGIVING IS NOT A SEASON ITS A DAY AND DONT MAKE ME THINK OF CHRISTMAS UNTIL BLACK FRIDAY.

so a friend of mine mentioned today 'im sick of people saying they are so stoked to be crossing names off their christmas list'. wha? halloween was four days ago. are you seriously thinking about christmas? fuck that. this is what i like to call a holiday void. its awesome. the month post trick or treating pre overeating is this killer absentia of responsibility and holiday pressure that i refuse to let go of. thanksgiving is not a 'season'. you dont pull a sepia plastic tote from target out of the basement full of turkey decorations and whatnot. and if you do, stop it. most of us dont. im really into the move some people pull where they dont put up monsters and cobwebs for halloween but play it safe with a haybale and a gourd or two from whole foods. maybe an uncarved pumpkin. these folks are smart because they can just ride those decorations through october, past halloween and straight through november without so much as a glance at their front porch knowing hey, i am festive, i am fall, im all set. no one will say shit i guarantee and more than likely youll get approving nods from the neighbors. can we please silently protest the obliteration of a holiday-less 25ish days with no pressure where we can enjoy your friends and drinks and dinner and sleep and just go to work and come home and not have to think about anything until someone tells us to come over and eat and watch football in detroit. yah? thx. ps- i go out to eat on thanksgiving. 

this

and a few of these

equals this. good times.

FLATFOOT.

so some of you may know that i have an obsession with shoes, specifically heels. this is not an average four or five pairs, i am heavily invested in my shoe collection which is ever growing.
some examples-

geranium prada. spring2012

louboutin fall2008

louboutin pigalle 120mm. timeless.

balenciaga space shoes. fall2010.

givenchy. spring2010. lace magic.

so this is a bit of minutia shoe info regarding me. i love heels i love wearing them i love being seen in them i would sleep in them if someone were watching. however- because of a new job which i adore i need to expand my flat/ankle boot/ loafer repertoire. currently i own several inexpensive unsupportive no name flats which serve their purpose. i have some glorious bejeweled satin lace flats from my days at anthropologie, a pair of unimaginable vintage prada ankle boots bought for $7 at a detroit thrift store. the rest are either minnetonka moccasins which are great but not appropriate or cheap flats that only bide my time at work until they fall apart. 

my current obsession is loafers. like smoking old man loafers which brings me to my current look (coined not by me but a friend) 'grandpa chic'. yah i wear a lot of cardigans, super sweet ones i might add, but the smoking loafer addition is going to push it over the edge potentially. i am ok with that but have to watch my step because its a slippery slipper slope from grandpa chic to bitchy lesbian chic which is totally fine but not the look im going for. 

so lets talk loafers! here is my first acquisition which i am currently awaiting not so patiently in the mail-

hellraiser loafers by way of unif.

bad ass right? so excited. so lets do this! all flats in all forms i want to hear about faves and i will continue to update successes and failures. 

NOT LEARNING TO DANCE HAS RUINED SOCIETY.

SOCIAL GRACES, ETIQUETTE, AND HOW WE ALL SHOULD STRIVE FOR EXEMPLARY LOCOMOTION.

so ive been thinking. what the fuck is wrong with everyone? the other night a friend and i were discussing their boss and bosses boss etc. and how though very capable at the technicalities of running her company these people are one hundred percent socially inept. and not just amongst strangers but in dealing with their co-workers, delegation of duties, all basic human interaction. no clue.
awkward, borderline rude, and terrible communication skills. wtf? how do you get so far in life and become so successful without learning to schmooze? as someone who would have nothing if it werent for knowing how to work a room this lack of a need for charm is perplexing. i also think it is unacceptable. we need to get back to a place where the ability to tactfully and skillfully interact with others is not only valued but expected. a time where if you acted a fool and showed up to a restaurant under dressed you would feel shamed by your peers and not only rectify the situation but never let it happen again.

all right losers, watch and learn.

as it turns out right here in our own little back yard professors at mit, yes mit, looked around and noticed that their students were lacking in the social graces and decided to start a charm school. there is a deportment class (look it up) which set out to rid the students of what was deemed the 'institute shuffle' that unsightly hunched over gait that is typically reserved for super tall 13 year old girls and the horribly awkward. (unrelated side note- those 5'11" middle school girls should stand tall, if you play your cards right you could be plucked from your podunk town mall by a sleazy talent scout and become the next kate moss.) other classes include 'buttering up big shots', 'flirting 101', and this gem, 'how to tell somebody something they would rather not hear'. now if there is one thing a socially awkward evil genius knows how to do it is to tell somebody something they absolutely do not want nor probably need to hear. its remarkable actually and ive personally seen it in action many times. your having a cocktail party so you invite some coworkers and the programmer or tech guy or fill in the blank shows up and within five minutes has completely dominated the conversation and asked your girlfriend what is wrong with her face. i imagine the purpose of this class is more to teach the methods of delivering unpleasant information tactfully and with appropriate timing. of course.

i say you go mit, i run past that campus weekly and its a sad state of affairs over there. these people are going to/already do run the world and it would be great if when the world is ending because the robots they invented are going to eat us and live out eternity in our apartments they could deliver the news in an appropriate and pleasing manner. and while wearing a well cut suit. 

all right losers, watch and learn.

what i am trying to say is that in all occupations you find it. not just the afore mentioned science and math fields. in fashion, restaurants, finance, your local coffee shop, basically everywhere people have lost the abilities of general social etiquette and i think we would all benefit from going to charm school for a couple of weeks or six months. there is a series of ebooks i like called 'britiquette'. i think the name says it all but if not they refer to themselves as 'the slightly rude but much needed guide to good manners'. you can kick it old school and just visit the emily post website (emilypost.com) where her etiquette books are in their 18th editions. homegirl got started in the twenties. these are both supremely feminine and if i were a guy would turn away immediately and since i think the future gentlemen of our society are in some dire straights i found an excellent introductory book for the fellow interested in learning how to kick it proper but not trying to go over board. it is 'how to be a gentleman: a contemporary guide to common courtesy" by john bridges. written by a guy and taking courtesies of the fifties and sixties but modernizing them for todays societal situations.

another excellent resource which is simple, elegant, and old school is esquire magazine. i think men and women alike would do themselves a favor by getting a subscription. they publish a style handbook twice a year which can be an indispensable tool for men who like to wear clothes and look better than their friends while doing it. it also consistently has advice about etiquette, amazing products, and is slick and pretty. what more could you ask for.

you could ask for more but sadly alberto vargas is dead.

hopefully this post made you laugh a bit but i couldnt be more serious about how detrimental i feel the general lack of social ability is to our society. its crippling us in the way of communication (i refuse to blame emails and texting, that just fuels the fire) and it makes us look like shit. you dont want to look like shit do you? of course not. now go learn how to dance.

ABSENCE MAKES THE BLAH BLAH BLAH

i moved. again. five times in 2 years. thats why ive been gone. sorry. but we did relocate to a righteous pad in southie so it feels like coming home and im stoked. anyways, on to the future!

the movies are fairly accurate.

WINDSOR STREET WHY YOU SO STANK?

WHATS THAT SMELL?

so if  youre reading this you probably are aware that i like to run. i run a lot. and i run the same routes over and over. i like to zone out and daydream while i run, not vigilantly monitor the sidewalk, so i take the same paths and after a while auto-pilot kicks in and viola; a relaxing run. anyways about an hour in i turn off massachusetts avenue and take a right down windsor street. i dont know what is wrong with this road but it stinks. its not a forgotten dumpster type of stink either but each week it is something different. a couple of weeks ago it reeked of cat litter, last week it was a mixture of diapers and bleach. today it smelled like garbage and more garbage. this is a pretty normal street with a couple of schools and some multi family housing. there is however a large quantity of doritos bags on the ground and crap lying around so perhaps this is a clue. whatever the street is gross. 

windsor street. i left out the funyuns bags.

SHIT I FIND.

so for some reason i have been blessed with the gift of being able to find weird things on the ground. i dont mean bugs and garbage but random items that people (or wizards or witches) leave behind on the street for what ever reason. a good example would be this note i found today-

i wonder what 'it' was.

or this one time i found a smattering of clothing which included black pants, a cheap black button down (mens) a wine key, and some ladies underpants and a bra. it seriously looked like a cross dressing waiter disappeared into thin air. i suspect this skill has been bestowed upon me not because i am the chosen one of the trash can gods but because i am outside a lot. i run almost every day and i walk everywhere. i am also fairly observant and enjoy taking photos assuming that anyone gives a shit about the crap i spy laying around in boston. good times!
here is a smattering of some interesting finds.

if its not broke dont fix it.

such a waste of yumminess. or is it???

straw.

babies.

fuck that mandolin.

see you next time.

i wish i would have taken that sweat shirt.

bunny friend.

my favorite thing ive found recently. 

christmas decorations.

not a nap. rip.

one point.

every time a bell rings a fairy disappears into thin air.

omens.

fat.

MY WOODEN ANNIVERSARY.

THE FIFTH YEAR.

i am coming up to my fifth year in boston and if you werent aware this is the anniversary where a couple would receive wood as a gift. i am a little disappointed because year four was linen or silk and year three was leather (where was i at year three!?!?!) and those seem a bit more elegant than wood but i am into bamboo and other such modern stems so i am sure something elegant and mid-century can be procured. i am going to take a trip to the cambridge antique market and search around.
to be continued....

cool.

pretty cool.

awesome.

A COCO A DAY

typically i take a photo each day of the outfit i wear to work. i am aware a million others do as well but this isnt their blog its mine so even though i instagram it (cocotalon, #acocoaday) i am going to give everyone here a glimpse as well as information and the ability to ask questions. woo hoo! i am also going to back track a bit so lets look at some of my great and not so great working girl ensembles. i wont bore you with opinions but will give designers.

sweatshirt- superior belly, shorts- wayne

socks- american apparel, shoes- prada

jacket- band of outsiders, leggings- j brand, briefcase- want essentials, moccasins- minnetonka 

cardigan and tee- american apparel, denim- current elliott, moccasins- minnetonka

dress- opening ceremony, denim- j brand, wedges- costume national

top- helmut lang, trousers- vintage yves saint laurent, shoes- christian louboutin

samesies.

glasses- chanel, tee- marc jacobs, skirt- mina stone

dress and shoes- anthropologie label

top- estuay (S2A), denim- rag & bone

sweater- target, trousers- filippa k, shoes- christian louboutin

infinity scarf- anthropologie, jacket- american apparel, denim- j brand, shoes- toms

scarf- ann taylor, sweater- anthropologie, denim- joes, shoes- toms

scarf- anthropologie, tunic- acne, denim- j brand, shoes- balenciaga

sweater- vintage french, trousers- brooklyn industries, shoes- acne

sweater- banana republic, skirt- acne, shoes- kris van asche

jacket- wayne, denim- joes

top- wayne, denim- ernest sewn, shoes- fifth ave shoe repair

scarf- we are owls, sweatshirt- brooklyn industries, leggings- j brand, boots- chloe

jacket- built by wendy

sweater- brooklyn industries, denim- j brand, moccasins- minnetonka

skirt- united bamboo, booties- prada

top- acne, fox stole- vintage, skirt- opening ceremony

hat- alexander mcqueen stole, sweater- lutz and patmos

hat- kangol, sweatshirt- kai aakmann, denim- joes, boots- vintage prada

skirt- urban outfitters, socks- american apparel, shoes- givenchy

top- american apparel, denim- rag & bone, cocktail ring- alexander mcqueen

dress and cardigan- maison martin margiela, shoes- fifth ave shoe repair

top- under ligne, infinity scarf- cardigan

glasses- chanel sweatshirt- kai aakmann, denim- j brand

shoes- betty mueller

top- vintage dvf, trousers- filippa k

sweater- banana republic, skirt- steven alan, socks- american apparel, boots- vintage prada

sweatshirt- fifth ave shoe repair, trousers- rag & bone, shoes- ld tuttle

dress- american apparel

booties- balenciaga

booties- kris van asche

top- helmut lang

dress- opening ceremony

dress- filippa k, booties- acne

dress- anthropologie

dress- opening ceremony, socks- american apparel, shoes- givenchy

cardigan- lutz and patmos, tank- alexander wang t, trousers- rag & bone, shoes- costume national

tank- josh goot, skirt- mina stone