I just discovered the wonder of wedges. They are like high heels, but you can walk in them! I love having a painless little two-inch boost. There are so many styles, from classy to whore-y. They can function as high heels for a nice dinner, or sandals for dress-down days. And they come in so many colors! There is basically an entire aisle of them at Target for $20-30.

Here are some I found on the internets:

1. RED Canvas Lace-Ups, Anthropologie, $168
2. ORANGE Freed From Amber Wedge, ModCloth, $145 (A little pricy, but ModCloth is wedge-city, esp for unique styles and colors)
3. YELLOW Ed Hardy Casablanca Wedge Pump, Amazon.com, $60 (also comes in hot pink) (PS Ed Hardy is a retired tattoo artist)
4. GREEN, Cork Principles Wedge in Thyme, ModCloth, $104
5. BLUE Tie Dye Stripe Espradrill Wedge, Calypso St. Barth for Target, $30 (many more styles with the new Calypso line, which is very beachy)
6. RED? INDIGO? VIOLET? TOMS Wedge
7. BONUS RAINBOW WEDGE Spectacular Spectrum Wedge, Mod Cloth, $150

Also, I want to remark on the brown and sandaly wedges… these are good for summer. Also, the gladiator sandal trend looks TERRIBLE on me and my thick runner legs. They sort of make your feet look all bound up and cut off at the ankles, so you kind of end up looking shorter. These kinds of sandals look much better on me in wedge form because of the added inches. Another hint: if you get the shoe in a color similar to your skin, it makes your leg look really loooong instead of looking cut off.

(Left to Right, then Top to Bottom)

1. Traipsing About Town Wedge, ModCloth, $55 (that’s half off!)
2. Ecote Gladiator Wedge Sandal, Urban Oufitters, $38
3. Classified Jec Gladiator Wedge Sandal, KMart, $30
4. MIA ‘Viking’ Gladiator Wedge Sandal, Overstock.com, $45
5. Nicole  Hot N Heavy Gladiator Sandal by nicole, amazon.com, $45-105 (looks like the coral version (not pictured here) is much cheaper)

I know, I haven’t posted in EONS! But I am obsessed with JewelMint. I found them first in Teen Vogue, which, YES, I still subscribe to even though I am in my MID TO LATE TWENTIES.

The basics: it was created by Kate Bosworth and a friend, and is like the Columbia House Records of jewelry, but not quite as sneaky as Columbia House when they send you like 10 CDs you never asked for. You begin by taking a quiz, and then each month new jewels are selected for you, but you don’t have to buy them. I never buy any of them because I don’t have $30 to spend at the moment (sometimes they email you a coupon and you can get them for $9-18), but I think one day I might. I just look at them online. (You can look at all selections and don’t have to buy the one they suggest.)

I *love* this jewelry because there are some unique BRIGHT COLOR options, but there are more classic designs, too, and lots of silvers, blacks, and golds. They also suggest what you can wear the jewel with, and have pictures of the jewelry close-up as well as on a model, or occasionally a celebrity.

Just wanted to share!  (Maybe I’ll do another post soon — my year in grad school is just finishing and my computer just came back from the shop.)

I say, the holidays should be full of shine – especially New Year’s Eve. Here is some of my favorite SHINE, links & detail pictures below.

Knock Your Socks Off Heel (Modcloth.com, $135) – Because simply sparkling is not enough. One must sparkle in a multitude of colors.

TOMS glitter shoes (TOMS, $59) - Also in silver, pink, & black glitter varieties! If you buy a pair, another pair goes to a child who needs shoes. Good deed for self, good deed for another.

Happy Birthday Deborah Lippmann Nail Color (amazon.com, $18) – Confetti nails! (Make sure you select “Happy Birthday” from the drop-down list.) (If you can’t afford the confetti shoes maybe you can make some of your own…)

American Apparel Shiny Ruched Front Tube Bra (american apparel/amazon.com, $14) – I picture wearing this under a dress with an open back (ie, the one below).

Tinsel Town Dress (Modcloth.com, $90) — Too much? Or too perfect?

I usually am apathetic towards Spring.  I enjoy Spring LIFE (tulips, bunnies…), however, I hate stuffy noses and ceaseless strings of sneezes.  But if there’s anything that can get someone more excited for Spring, it’s Lula Magazine.

What was once a magazine of questionable existence to me (I used to cross my fingers that liebemarlene would post about it, since she seemed to have better luck than me at finding a copy), Lula is now mine!  It appeared at the Borders near work on the exact date that the distributor gave me as its release date (yes, an embarrassing amount of effort to obtain a magazine).  Although we are technically in the last month of Spring, thus making the previous anecdote irrelevant in a temporal sense, the Chicago Spring hasn’t kicked in yet.  It’s the second week of May AND I am sitting on my back porch AND my nose feels like a dog’s AND I am wearing heattech tights AND legwarmers AND a scarf.  Sustained warm weather, where art thou?

1. I like to imagine that Madewell is J.Crew’s rebellious little sister.  I am excited for Alexa Chung for Madewell this fall (she’s fantastic!), but for now a Spring dress.  That even has “Spring” in its name.  Spring Garden Dress from Madewell, $145

2. The secret notes I write in the Spring have to be in pastel, otherwise someone else will deem me to have a frosty, unapproachable soul.  Pastel pens for Spring!  And they write on plastic!  Pilot Latte Gel Ink Pens Pastel Color Series from JetPens, $18

3. If someone was picking my brain to find out what I consider to be the perfect swimsuit, they’d find a picture of this.  Even though this is more of a “SUMMER” item, perhaps you people who live in warmer areas can put this to use RIGHT NOW.  Perhaps it’s a good thing that I won’t be receiving mine until June (oh additional warning: it’s back ordered because there must be some global consensus that it is a perfect swimsuit).  Natalie One-Piece from Anthropologie, $148

4. This reminds me of Little House on the Prairie, and how much I disliked The First Four Years, the only other Little House book that I owned.  The Joyous Dress from ModCloth, $75

5. REALLY ADORABLE.  I came across these when searching for new plants that I could buy-and-tend-to-and-love (R.I.P. lemon basil plant named “Cutlass”).  Petit Coco Casserole Pots from Brooklyn5and10, $13

6. Is there a yellow equivalent to “nantucket red” and “cape cod blue”? Yellow Newport Cordones from TOMS

7. A SECOND QUESTION: Will someone teach me how to properly ride a bike so I can go on bike adventures?  Velorbis Studine Classic from Copenhagen Cyclery, $1300

This is kind of a currently obsessed post in disguise… but since I’ve got road trips on the brain, I thought I’d unite under a single theme.

1. The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano. I loved this book, and I think it’s the perfect road trip novel for several reasons: it’s long enough to last you, it is told in smaller snippets (diary entries and short-story-like “interviews”) so picking it up and putting it down is not a problem, and it’s about really road-trippy people. (Check out James Wood’s NY Times Review.)
2. Pack This! I love Knock Knock, and I actually use my Pack This! notepad before almost every trip.
3. Half Pink Hair. I feel like you should either start a road trip or return from a road trip with a new look. I really want this half-pink hair but know that I will mess it up. (Anyone died their hair pink? Half pink? Tips?!) (Found this on Suicide Blonde’s tumblr.)
4. Globetrotter Necklace. I enjoy wearing thematically appropriate jewelry.
5. Bright Backpack! I often carry way too many items for a purse alone, so I just got this Jansport backpack and I am thrilled with it. It’s high quality, has perfect pockets, fits my macbook pro, feels good on the shoulders, and is all of my favorite colors (except blue, but that’s okay).
6. Postcards from Penguin. Maybe you are wondering why I start trips with postcards. This is because I have to address them and stamp them before I leave or else I will never actually send any. (Besides, most local postcards use very ugly fonts.) But the real reason I’m posting these particular postcards is because I AM SO EXCITED that they are coming to America (…in October… but you can pre-order them!… Penguin always puts everything out in the UK first…). There are 100 Book Covers in ONE box of postcards! (We are pretty in love with book covers here at Stickers & Donuts!)

Note: Background for this post from Mike Swanson’s Blog’s Wallpaper collection.

Yay! It’s my very first Currently Obsessed post! I have a serious sweet tooth – as you will probably find out after subsequent posts – so I thought it fitting to relate all these items to mouth-watering sweet stuff!

1) Cupcake Car: When I saw these incredible “cars” capable of going a whopping 7mph, I actually screamed, in a pretty high-pitched voice: “Ohmygosh! They are soooo CUTE!” Because they so are. If any of you have $25,000 to spare you can get yourself the best Christmas present ever: a vehicle slower than a bike – but probably faster than your normal walking speed –  that is fully customisable so you can get a car that resembles your favourite cupcake! I’m dreaming of the day that I arrive to school in one of these…The only question that remains: Do I need a driving license for one of these?!!

2) Oreo Cupcakes: I got pretty obsessed with cupcakes this week, and these look SO delicious! I mean pink panda cupcakes that are made from Strawberry Milkshake flavoured Oreos! Can you get more mouth-watering then that?

3) Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain (Or just Amélie): I’ve just started my A-Level French course at school and my teacher said that we needed to expose ourselves to more French culture; movies, music, book etc. So I decided to watch a French movie – I’m so glad I picked Amelie! It has actually become one of my favourite movies of all time! Its about a kooky waitress in Paris who leads a simple life and decides to devote her life to bringing strangers happiness. It is the cutest movie ever – I know I overuse the word cute, but there is no other way to describe this movie! You don’t even need to speak French – watch it with the English subtitles!

4) Carmex Cherry Lip Balm: Cherry Carmex is the best lip balm ever! I have really chapped lips but this lip balm makes them feel all moisturised and smooth! Your lips actually tingle when you put it on AND it smells so good! Every time I reapply it people will go: Are you eating a sweet? What smells so good? It only costs £2 as well, I can’t find any downsides!

5) Nymph Costume: So Halloween isn’t as huge a deal here in The UK as it is in the US, but I still think it is a great excuse for fancy dress! How beautiful is this handmade, leaf-adorned tunic? I think dressing up as Greek Forest Nymph would make the perfect Halloween costume! It is obviously dressing up, it is a unique idea and its just really pretty and feminine! Too bad it’s not exactly scary!

6) Irregular Choice Shoes: Irregular Choice makes the wackiest most original shoes that I have ever seen! You need to check out their website! I love all the colours and prints and the different structures – can you use the word structures when describing shoes? – that all the shoes have, but, my favourite pair by far are the ones covered with little ice creams! I went and tried them on in the store and everything, but unfortunately I am completely incapable of walking in 6inch heels!

I hope this isn’t getting too tiresome for you non-New-Yorkers, but if so, no worries. I’m leaving here on Tuesday, and promise to be located in a much more boring town for the next two years!

In the meantime… remember when I went to Economy Candy (and then somehow ended up writing a blog post all about food in Children’s Books)? Well, a reader named Stephanie told me I must visit Dylan’s Candy Bar. Which I did, in combination with my trip to Serendipity 3 (two blocks away!).

Even though it’s a little tourist-trappy, it’s a most fabulous and wondrous place for someone with an affinity for candy + bright colors + pretending to still be a child. It’s almost like a little candy art museum: there are tubs of gumballs, stairs with candy stuck inside them!, candy murals, and even a portrait made of Jelly Bellys:

My favorite favorite part, though, was a display downstairs in which famous people filled little boxes with their favorite candies and then signed them. Such a cool idea!

If you want to visit: Dylan’s Candy Bar in NYC is located at 1011 Third Ave. (E 60th and 3rd). You can take the 4, 5, 6, N, R, W to the Lexington Ave stop. (You can take a combined trip to Serendipity 3 which is on 60th between 2nd and 3rd.)

There are also other locations in in East Hampton and Garden City (New York), as well as Houston and Orlando (but I cannot attest to their awesomeness).

After the jump, Steven Spielberg’s favorite candies!:

So I’ve been MIA because I took a visit home, & now I am sick : (. But while I was home, I went through some of my favorite children’s books, taking lots of pictures!, so I could post them here.

This week I thought I’d feature an out of print book called My Head is Full of Colors by Catherine Friend. (If you want a copy, you should troll half.com, amazon.com, and the like.) (more…)

This is a rather dorky, unartsy set, but, nonetheless, these are the things I currently can’t stop talking about:

1. I have The Biggest Loser Workout: Power Sculpt, but now I wish I had bought it with The Biggest Loser Workout: Cardio Max so I could alternate workouts. REASONS I love this exercise DVD: (1) it’s split into several sections so you can add different levels together and “make your own workout” that’s anywhere from 30 to 50 minutes long, (2) the people in the background are not perfect, in fact they’re overweight, and you see them struggling as much as you, (3) it seems easy, but the next day you feel it like-whoa, which is why my arse is sore.

2. I know I am wayyyy behind on this one, but I just read The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. It’s a great piece of pop. psych literature. Find out how Hush Puppies, Blues Clues, and Airwalks became exciting fads (“epidemics”) and why other things… didn’t.

3. So, I use my Netflix account now to get all-Documentaries, all-the-time. Recently, I watched Man on a Wire, The Question of God, and a PBS documentary on Ernest Hemingway, but my favorite was this four hour documentary on Napoleon (Napoleon: Soldier, Emperor, Lover, Statesman). My FAVORITE part is when he returns to France from exile on Elba. Oh, and that he only needs to sleep like four hours a night. AWESOME! You can find out more at the PBS site.

4.  The Omnomicon food blog wrote a post on how to create a rainbow cake. Way better and brighter than confetti cakes!

5. Kittens, Inspired By Kittens is a youtube video where a little girl looks at pictures of kittens and says what the kitten is thinking/doing (which is often random, ie “We are eating peppers and chips!”). There is no reason I should like this, and yet the girl’s very last statement has me cracking up every time.