The best quiche you'll ever have

Image source

•  9-inch pie shell 
• 1 head of broccoli 
•  1 cup milk 
• 3 eggs, beaten 
•  2 tbsp butter melted 
•  1 tbsp flour 
•  1 tsp salt 
•  1/2-1 tsp pepper 
•  1/4 tsp nutmeg 
•  1/4 tsp cayenne 
•  2 cloves garlic 
•  3/4 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar (divided) 
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake pie crust about 10 minutes or until bottom is slightly brown. Let cool. Cook broccoli in boiling salted water 4 minutes. Drain broccoli and rinse under cold water to stop cooking, then pat dry, when cool to the touch chop into small pieces. Place 2 tbsp on butter in pan and when melted throw in garlic and saute for 2-3 mins until softened, be careful not to let it brown. Combine milk, eggs, garlic butter, flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and the parmesan; whisk until well blended. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over crust. Layer broccoli on top and pour egg mixture over. Bake at 375° for 35 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. 4 to 6 servings.
 *NOTE: Continue to check on quiche as it is baking, you may need to cover the crust with aluminum foil to prevent it from browning (i.e. burning) too much.

Quote of the Day

"I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman" - Former IMF head and all around jackass Dominque Strauss-Kahn (source)

Now he's not denying that he has had sex with these women, he's just denying that he knew they were prostitutes and claiming they were "paid for out of corporate funds from a large construction company".....right. Just like he didn't assault that maid in New York last year.

Choice feminism and the infantilization of women

I thought this recent Klausner piece on Jezebel was right on. It's about the trend for grown-ass women to dress and behave like little girls.

There's so much ukulele playing now, it's deafening. So much cotton candy, so many bunny rabbits and whoopie pies and craft fairs and kitten emphera, and grown women wearing converse sneakers with mini skirts. So many fucking birds.
Girls get tattoos that they will never be able to grow into. Women with master's degrees who are searching for life partners, list "rainbows, Girl Scout cookies, and laughing a lot" under "interests, on their Match.com profiles.

Now I don't agree with everything the author attacked in this piece, but I do agree it raised some good issues on the larger context. Of course the article created quite a stir, in part due to the fact that the whole "panic pixie dream girl" is in vogue right now, and partly because we want to believe that we chose our own choices. "In this case, that means that some women want to believe that their predilection for rompers and kittens and baby voices reflects their individual personalities and not some trend toward retro, non-threatening femaleness." (Source) Unfortunately, no one chooses their choices in a vacuum. This got me thinking about the phenomenon of “choice feminism,” where women argue that even anti-feminist behaviors are feminist because “feminism is about choice.” If you choose to infantilize yourself - or if you decide that it's ok for others to infantilze you - that means that it isn't misogynistic, because anything you as a woman choose to do is feminist. In fact, the real misogynist is the feminist who’s trying to tell you that the infantilization of women is bad. I've never been entirely comfortable with the idea of labeling some life choices as "feminist" and others as not feminist. Feminism is about how to achieve total legal, social, religious and economic equality for women. Then again, I have no problem saying that women who claim the mantle of feminist but actively support the patriarchy and denigrate other women as making unfeminst choices. But in this case I think it really comes down to the larger issue -

it is a lot easier for men -or even guys or bros-to demean us, if we're girls. It's much harder to bring down a woman, or to call her a moron, when she's not in pigtails and Ring Pops.(source)

You should be able to make the choices that are right for you and that includes dressing how you want. Where choice feminism falls down, though, is in assuming that any of those things are actual choices right now. They're not. You can decide to be OK with it, or you can decide to fight it, but the options aren’t equal -- one of them’s going to make for a much harder life, including being on the receiving end of hostility from people who think you shouldn’t complain. So if you want to wear rompers, talk in a baby voice, and in other ways act like a child. Go ahead! It's your choice! But don’t fool yourself that you’re doing so of your own unconstrained free will.

Darling Ranges Dress

Megan Nielsen makes a lot of wonderful maternity patterns and has several great DIYS for expecting moms on her site as well. I think this is one of the first patterns I've seen for a non-maternity dress and it's lovely. As an added bonus it's perfect for nursing. I think it would look great in a airy cotton with a muted print and it would also provide good practice for making button holes.

Knit-Along

I'm participating in Lladybird's Knit-Along


And although I may be shooting myself in the foot since I'm not completely in love with the Agatha pattern, I have decided to knit the free Miette
So pretty! Hopefully someone else will be working on this pattern as well since this is my first knit garment I'm probably going to need some troubleshooting assistance.

Blog for Choice Day 2012

To those of us who came of age during my generation the notion of illegal abortions in an abstract one, regulated to scenes from film and television, not something that could happen in real life. Collectively, we breathed a sigh of relief and got on to doing other important work to fight for equality. However, taking Roe v. Wade for granted and not maintaining vigilance over it has had consequences. Ever more legislation is being passed that imposes draconian rules over a woman’s right to choose. In 2011, the House of Representative voted 8 times on choice-related issues and 26 states enacted one or more anti-choice measures. These have not been small measures either, but laws that erode the very fundamentals choice is based upon. House Bill (H.R. 385) would let hospitals refuse to provide emergency abortion care even when the woman would die without it. Texas recently enacted a law that requires women to receive pre-abortion sonograms, which yes means women have to undergo an unnecessary vaginal probe to
acquire a legal medical procedure.
If we don’t remain vigilant the War on Woman will continue and the effect on choice may be disastrous for years to come. The news isn’t completely grim however, we are strong and we can win if we let our voices be known. In 2011, Mississippi voters rejected a “personhood” ballot measure that would have banned abortion and many types of birth control. Last week, President Obama listened to those of us who had been actively petitioning him to ensure no-cost birth control access for women and stand firm against the heavy lobbying of anti-birth-control organizations. In 2012, everyone should make a commitment to help elect pro-choice candidates and repeal measures that hinder a woman’s right to choose. It is important to become more aware of the attacks on choice that are taking place, don’t let the fact that such measures aren’t being passed in your state make you any less active. If we continue to let anti-choice legislature pass in other states, all will follow suite before long. Enquire into the voting records and statements on choice of politicians, it is important to elect more pro-choice candidates in every type of office. Spread the word. Take a few seconds out of your day to blog, tweet, facebook about issues related to choice. Sign petitions. Start your own. Let this be the year we work to pass an amendment to extend civil rights to woman and lay this issue to rest once and for all.

Feminsit Fashion: What about the workers?

I stumbled upon the old post from Feministe entitled Lipstick Feminism and Dressing the Part Which discuses beauty and fashion as it tends to be debated amongst feminists and others:

"Beauty as power is something that is taught to every young girl. Common adjectives that are used to compliment girls often refer to how pretty, sweet, or kind that they are. Very seldom do we reward girls for their intelligence, assertiveness, or passion. As a child becomes a woman she internalizes the idea that is what is most valuable about her, is her physical appearance."

"Feminism has engaged with beauty on many levels. Some feminists feel that performing beauty even to gain personally is internalizing the male gaze. Others feel that the daily ritual is a sign of their autonomy in that they actively chose which beauty procedures that they will adhere too and which they will reject based on personal desire. The debate between the lipstick feminists and the I will not subject my body to social discipline feminists has been waged since the 1970′s.

What is beauty without the finery and the flash? Each season the fashion industry deploys an army of models to inform us how to best maximize on our feminine whiles. One simply cannot be caught wearing the wrong shade, or sporting a purse that is the wrong size. On the other side of the equation, you have women that are blissfully unaware of the fashion trends and dress for comfort over style. These are the “utility women,” who find power in thwarting the seasonal call to the mall. Utility women take pride in dressing only in what makes them feel comfortable, while at the same time voraciously attacking their dolled up sisters as patriarchal dupes."

However then the piece goes on to note that this debate ignores the greater implications of fashion and beauty - whether one chooses to buy designer or shop at a retail discount store they are still participating in the impoverishment of other women who work in the factories where these goods are produced.

"When women who are middle/upper class engage in a debate as to whether an article of clothing, or makeup is suitably feminist what they are ignoring is that they are in a position to engage in this particular conversation, because they exist with class privilege."

According to The Feminist Majority Foundation, “Women make up 90 percent of sweatshop laborers. Women are paid as little as six cents an hour and work ten to twelve hour shifts. In many instances overtime is mandatory. In some cases, women are allowed only two drinks of water and one bathroom break per shift. Sexual harassment, corporal punishment, and verbal abuse are all means used by supervisors to instill fear and keep employees in line.

Many of the companies directly running sweatshops are small and don’t have much name recognition. However, virtually every retailer in the U.S. has ties to sweatshops. The U.S. is the biggest market for the garment industry and almost all the garment sales in this country are controlled by 5 corporations: Wal-Mart, JC Penney, Sears, The May Company (owns and operates Lord & Taylor, Hecht1s, Filene1s and others) and Federated Department Stores (owns and operates Bloomingdale1s, Macy1s, Burdine1s, Stern1s and others).

Several industry leaders have been cited for labor abuses by the Department of Labor. Of these Guess? Clothing Co. is one of the worst offenders – Guess? was suspended indefinitely from the Department of Labor’s list of “good guys” because their contractors were cited for so many sweatshop violations.

Other companies contract out their production to overseas manufacturers whose labor rights violations have been exposed by U.S. and international human rights groups. These include Nike, Disney, Wal-Mart, Reebok, Phillips- Van Heusen, the Gap, Liz Claiborne and Ralph Lauren.

The argument is clearly more important than whether one is dressing to please oneself or others. There is no denying that basically any purchase you make comes at the exploitation of women. Why is this dialogue missing from both the feminist and style communities when we talk about fashion?

I got my first sewing project from school finished and graded, it was to make an apron. I made it in a dinosaur print with green pockets for Morgan. I think it turned out pretty awesome, but man those straps were a pain to sew.


Also, bonus peak into Morgan's room which I finally painted this weekend. This is a picture of the stripped wall, look how straight they turned out! The other two are just gray and on the 4th wall, my friend and I will be painting an underwater themed mural. The paint looks kinda blue in this picture because I took this picture in low light, but it is possibly the best shade of gray - empire state

French Style

A great little read on French style and aesthetics
French women do not dress for men. “French women don’t dress to be sexy. Of course we do dress to seduce — that’s different from trying to ‘catch’ a man by wearing flamboyant clothes. The basic attitude is different. A French woman never feels she’s offering herself. There’s never a sense of surrender, but an attitude of ‘I belong to me’.”

I think thus is a great quote and a great attitude one should have told fashion in general. Rather than surrendering oneself to the current trend or in the interest of garnering someone's gaze, it's important to rock what looks good on you and most importantly what makes you feel good.

Fall Sewing - Colette Patterns

Colette's new fall patterns are now available for sale and they all look fantastic.

I'm digging both the blouse and these cigarette pants.


Also, this version of the with it's fitted sleeves and tie-neck would make a great fall wardrobe addition as well.


This would make a great cocktail dress pattern, I'd like to do it in a jewel-toned silk fabric.


And this version is very fun, very 1960s. It reminds me of something out of Woman is a Woman.

100 Years of East London Style

A fun little video.

Poses

Fashion, although inspiring and seductive, can also be downright ridiculous. The avant-garde clothing. The obsession with youth. Now one artist is drawing attention to fashion's love for impractical mannequin-like stances.

"'Poses' is a direct criticism of the absurd and artificial world of glamour and of fashion that magazines present. Specifically, the highly-distorted image of women that they transmit through models that do not represent real women and that avoid all those who are not within their restricted parameters.

Using these impossible stances of the fashion publishing houses as a symbol of how grotesque and unreal this industry is, a group of real women transfer these poses to daily scenes: the queue of a museum, the supermarket or the bus stop, sparking off the reaction of the spectators (on the other hand, regular consumers of these images).

The aim: to make it clear how ridiculous, and at times harmful, it can be to follow these models that the world of glamour impose on us."

1920s Jazz Age Lawn Party Style

Pictures from the 2011 Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island in New York. Here are a few of my favorite shots, more can be found at the above link.

Birthday Poem

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You have only to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile, the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

– Mary Oliver, Wild Geese

Friday link

Another great process video by Product by Process. Watch Helen Rodel’s process of creating beautiful fashion pieces with yarn, thread and a crochet hook.

Documentário Helen Rödel - Estudos MMXI (english subtitles) from Helen Rödel on Vimeo.

“If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, but you think it’s a pig … it’s a pig.”

A great article on a great woman and feminist icon "On Her 77th Birthday, Seven Things I’ve Learned from Gloria Steinem" . This got me to thinking about feminism and fashion. Gloria Steinem --the feminist in a miniskirt, who worked undercover as a playboy bunny in the early 1960s to write about how women are treated at those clubs. Yet, like many other second-wave feminists, Steinem often avoided discussion of women’s bodies for decades to come. Steinem herself could never leave behind those photos of her in the bunny suit, and it was upsetting to her that her looks and her body were often so commented on. It was not until 1981, with the publication of her essay “In Praise of Women’s Bodies,” that she really began to discuss the relationship between societal pressures and how women view themselves.

The pressure on women to have it all, and do it all, can manifest itself in our relationships with our bodies, as much as it does on us to have both a promising career and domestic stability. To quote Ms. Steinem, “Women are told they can have it all, that they can do anything, as long as they also keep doing everything else they were doing before.”

Style Inspiration

Gay icon, screen siren, devastator of men, Elizabeth Taylor passed away today. A true Hollywood legend who grew up on the screen, becoming a child star after making "National Velvet" and continuing to grow as an artist as she got older. A classic bombshell, Elizabeth Taylor was quite the style icon.



I think I'll watch "A Place in the Sun" today in honor. The scene between her and Montgomery Clift were she pulls him close after he exclaims "If I could only tell you how much I love you. If I could only tell you all", and says "tell mamma, tell mamma all", is beyond sexy.

Happy Monday!

Some Nina Simone for your bluesy Monday.



The little one hit the 3 month old mark this weekend and slept through the night last night without waking up to eat once. About 10 hours of blissful freedom and much needed sleep. I don't want to get too excited, because tonight he may resume waking up every 2 hours to eat....but... I kind of feel like I'm living this Nina Simone song today and decided maybe I would finally start this little here blog that I've been wanting to work on for some time.

Danielle at Sometimes Sweet posted about 5 goals to work on for the week and inspired me to come up with a list of my own. The categories are nutrition, exercise, relationships, creativity, and me-time. This last one has proven especially difficult with a new baby, but everyone knows happy parents are the best parents, so I'm going to try to squeak in some time for myself every day.

Nutrition: Make a plan for the garden we're going to do in our backyard and begin to get plants in the ground as soon as the rain stops. That way we'll have fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit all summer and hopefully beyond.

Exercise: Add some in every day, the rain has made getting out for walks every day a little difficult, but when baby is napping I try to throw in some weight lifting.

Relationships: Help foster my partner's creativity and goals as well, he has been really amazing at working to give me some breaks to do things I love and he deserves the same in return.

Creativity: Sewing. It's been ages.

Me-Time: Read more, maybe try hitting one of the meetings of book clubs whose reading selections I've been eying for awhile.