rainy day mixtape tiiiiime.

image courtesy of the posh peddler.

songs that i'm listening to on repeat when it's galoshes and umbrella time:

+we are not a football team, minus the bear: because it's good for walking on the sidewalk and splashing through puddles on accident.

+dreams old men dream, cold war kids: because it's a perfect blend of discordant and comforting.

+fidelity, regina spektor: because you need something chipper if it's real, real nasty out. that, and i recently re-discovered spektor's 2006 release and have subsequently re-ignited that torch i'm carrying for the piano playing empress of the east village.

+skinny love, bon iver: because yeah, this may be the quintessential break up song, but this heartbreaker is the definition of melancholy. also, it sounds best when you're inside and there's one of those awful cinematic moments brewing where you look out a window that's being beaten by raindrops. [well helloooo, emo. haha.]

+silver lining, rilo kiley: because clouds have to dissipate SOMEtime.  also, rilo kiley is the best for combatting nasty

+lost coastlines, okkervil river: because this song would be PERFECT to listen to if it stops raining when it's still light out and you can see the sun reappear.  PERFECT, i say.  don't believe me?  try it the next time you're walking down mass. ave. in the rain, or, preferably, over one of the bridges, and tell me it doesn't make you love your life.

+beast of burden, the rolling stones: because it's gentle, sad and ever-wanting. (also because it is my favorite rolling stones song, ever. ever ever ever.)

+dance dance dance (live), lykke li feat. bon iver: because a) live recordings are so much better than the studio track, in my book, anyway and b) this song is great and pairs two of 2008/2009's heavy hitters in a bubbly, big energy number.  this may inspire puddle jumping a la age 5.  many thanks to dan over at amfmpm for sharing the goods; head over to his blog for an exclusive listen.  (also, amfmpm is just great in general and you should check it out anyway.)

+santa maria da feira, devendra banhart: because this is another uplifting ditty whose chipper attitude transcends language barriers. (the lyrics are en español. amor.) i know i've swooned over banhart before, but gimme a break and give it a listen.

+thick as thieves, weak end with no end: because this is another gritty but pretty track which reminds all of us that it's gotta get a little murky before the light.  i like cambridge, i like these guys from cambridge, and i can't wait to see them and hear this song live. preferably in cambridge. they ARE playing upstairs at the middle east in april, so we'll see.

what're you guys listening to when the weather outside is frightful and you've got no fireplace to make you feel delightful so you turn up the volume?  share.

we found nemo.

hahahahaha.

gummy clown fish courtesy of a drunk jessie's cravings and the gourmet market on mass. ave. in porter. (these have been sitting on my coffee table for a week or so.)

it's dreary outside, but i'd rather it be dreary and warmish than snowing and pretty.  it's almost april and i can honestly say that i've never, eeever been so happy to put a winter behind me as i am this spring.  winter of '09, you are officially going down in the record books as the worst three months i've experienced consecutively, ever.  as a result, this spring is going to be phenomenal. i can feel it.

anyways! april is so soon, which means that the wifey's birthday is so soon (cough thursday).  i got her an awesome birthday gift. (she does read this little blurb occasionally, however, so i'll wait until after she gets her present to talk about the gift and the ridiculous place where i found it.)

today is all about figuring out unemployment stuff (which never seems to end, ugh), eating a sandwich, going to the gym and returning my sad minnetonka's to nordstrom.  tomorrow i'm getting a much-anticipated haircut at marc harris with my girl rogue.  i can't decide if i should do something drastic or just get a trim.  we'll see.

oh, also! speaking of hair! los recently went to shag in south boston to be a hair model and came home with a gorgeous, newly red-hued head of hair.  (she was blonde/dirty blonde before and wanted a change.)  the deal is you go in and you have to be open with color options and the stylist literally has a field day making your hair look pretty in different colors.  los' hair looks so good that i was seriously considering doing it myself (i've been wanting to dye my hair for awhile now) but my locks are fiiinally back to their natural color and i feel like i should be kind to them for a bit.  so, to anyone who's looking for a change on the cheap, head over to shag and offer your scalp up for hair model services.  it's fun, free, and you'll look pretty bangin'.

...and now i have to go be a productive grown-up.  on a rainy day.  lame. 

this FACEPALM is brought to you live on saturday night.

F A C E P A L M.

while getting ready to go to some "gold"-themed BC birthday party in allston with marcy, i was blasting guns n' roses/bodega girls/madonna (1984-1988, not any of this disco revival shit) and i somehow COMPLETELY lost track of time and am now sitting on my couch smacking myself in the face because i should've left my house an HOUR AND A HALF AGO.

lessons learned:

+ "sweet child o' mine" on repeat is a procrastination enabler.  it just makes me make my hair all huge (or huger, i guess), dance like a maniac in front of my full length mirror for an hour and scare my neighbors when i scream the high notes with axl in the last 1:20 of the song.  

+ i own several articles of clothing/pieces of jewelry/assorted accessories that would be appropriate for a "gold"-themed soiree.  why this is unfortunate: a) my gold sequined tom's are now so rank and disgusting that i can't even take them out of my closet they reek so bad b) my necklace with the huge pearls wrapped in gold filigree leaves royally snag on my hair/various articles of clothing and as a result the necklace is boasting hunks of bright purple thread leftover from when i wore the necklace with my flapper dress on halloween, ugh. c) the gold jewelry i do own isn't ostentatiously gold (a la "bling bling." word.) or relatively classy therefore it looks kind of awkward as most of it is vintage-y or weird. i do, however, own the best purse ever for this kind of affair:

um hi impromptu vanna white? ok.

+ TURN THE RADIO OFF AND GO HANG OUT WITH YOUR FRIENDS, DAMMIT!  IT DOESN'T MATTER THAT YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE 66 TO GET THERE!  JUST GOOO.

ok! and now a buddy is swinging by to save me and take me to a party in somerville? did my saturday night just get salvaged?  wtf life.

um.

a couple of things:

#1. anyone else in boston watching "the office" right now?  because they definitely had a commercial for the massachusetts tourism bureau (www.massvacations.com/) playing in ... uh, massachusetts.  what?  that's dumb. they should be playing that shit in florida or texas or somewhere else.  who FROM massachusetts is going to book a vacation TO massachusetts? stupid. [i do understand that this could be a national advertisement, but i highly doubt it. c'mon people.]

#2. i was just pokin' through apartment therapy, which i make a point to browse through every couple of days, and found this:

and promptly swooned.  what i wouldn't GIVE for my apartment walls to just be bookcases filled with books assorted by color.  brilliant.

anyways, that's all.  tomorrow is friday, meaning i've got another three days in store that'll consist of dance parties, fantastic live music and brunch with my three favorite people on saturday.  jessie, los, maya and i, together at laaaast! 

"she left those white boys/back in lexington"

walking home from inman today i passed someone's front stoop and saw theeese little babies.

crocuses! crocii? (good question, jessie.)

anyways, point being, it's finally finally finally finally officially spring.  no more snow, please, o benevolent new england weather gods.

i know everyone's been going bonkers over passion pit and after seeing them in action downstairs at the middle east a few weeks ago i can understand why... but, honestly, i feel like bodega girls stand a shot at overshadowing the hub's resident favorite when it comes to keeping hipsters on the dance floor.   last night was the second wednesday i've spent shakin' it at middlesex to the tunes of bodega girls and jessie came with me this time around.  we weren't there for the whole show, but we made it for the majority of their set and stuck around for the dance party that ensued after the live portion of the program ended.  bodega girls get major points in my book because they actually stick around and dance WITH their fans after their shows, and their "drink, dance, fuck and be merry" attitude is friggin' great.

anyways, here's the music video for my favorite track of theirs, she's into black guys.  bodega girls' next show in the area isn't until may 1st when they play harper's ferry over on brighton ave, but they're playing at the iron horse in north hampton if all you kids out in amherst feel like gettin' down on a school night.

YEEEEEEEESSSSAH!!!!!!!!!!

image from the collider.

OHMAHGAHDOHMAHGAHDOHMAHGAHD.

so excited.

the happy list, march 23rd edition.

1.  apparently my alma mater got a mention on tonight's episode of gossip girl.  i didn't see it because i was too busy enjoying the company of los and claudia while scarfing a delectable bowl of mac n' cheez at redbones.  (it's actually "mac n' cheez" on the menu.  love.)

2.  tomorrow night, i'm going to see "i love you man" with marcy, jessie and potentially los. we're having a mexican feast at on the border beforehand.  guacamole and the glorious pairing of paul rudd and jason segel? good GOD yes.

3.  so that this list doesn't primarily consist of food, therefore negating the fact that i am a fatty-fatty-no-friends: one of my best friends from granada, nico, is celebrating his birthday on the 17th of april, and i may fly out to chicago for the festivities.  chicago is one of my all-time favorite places to be, and i'm eagerly anticipating the opportunity to score a party dress for the occasion and buy one of my favorite fellas a round of man's ruin to ring in his 23rd at probably the coolest speak easy in existence. 

4.  despite splinter making an appearance in my kitchen yesterday afternoon, my weekend was glorious and included surprise visits from dear friends heading up from providence, two great shows (the rex complex at toad and, as always, the sea monsters at precinct), ignoring the alarm clock each morning and hosting impromptu burrito/makeshift screwdriver (read: rubinoff and orange fanta cocktails) parties until 4 am.  oh, the life i lead.

5.  there are still tickets available for the cold war kids' show at the wilbur on april 2nd, so i'm trying to figure out if it'd be ok to go and then head to los' birthday shindig immediately after.  asdjfadfs SO HARD why does one of my favorite bands have to play a show on my best friend's birthdaaay?!?!

it's been a long day and tomorrow i have to get up and do grown-up things (pay bills, deposit cheques, go to the gym, straighten out dental insurance, etc...) 

"it's like bigfoot."

I. HAVE. MIIIIIIIIIICE.

EW EW EW EW EW EW EW.

I WAS SITTING ON MY COUCH WHEN I SAW THIS MASSIVE CREATURE ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF MY FOOT SAUNTER FROM MY STOVE TO UNDERNEATH MY FRIDGE. I'M HOPING THAT IT'S NOT THE DADDY MOUSE AND THAT BABY  MICE AREN'T HANGING OUT UNDER MY FRIDGE WAITING TO POUNCE ON MY SHOES AND POOP IN 'EM.

I AM ALSO REALLY HOPING THAT THIS CREATURE IS NOT A RAT. IF IT IS A RAT, I AM VACATING THE PREMISES. FOREVER. Alksdjfalksdjfaljf;l.

MY PARENTS ARE ON THEIR WAY OVER WITH TRAPS. AND PEANUT BUTTER. AND THEY'RE GOING TO LAUGH AT ME.

I AM NOT GETTING OFF MY COUCH UNTIL THEY GET HERE.

I DON'T CARE IF THAT MAKES ME A PANSY THERE ARE CREATURES LIVING IN MY HOUSE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

JAS;DLFJKASL;DKFJAL;SKDJFAL;SJKDFAL;FJKSD.

my rockstar friends are, like, soooo dreamy.

photo courtesy of mcalister drive's myspace, which can be found here.

i've been kind of bouncing around like a crazy person this week, so i haven't had the chance to write up a decent review of a fabulous lil' show i attended at bill's bar last weekend.   a week ago today, jessie and i dolled ourselves up and scooted over to see the supremely talented val emmich and the adorable poppy-punky-hearts-a-fluttery musical stylings of our friends mcalister drive.

a few things about the show, the venue and crowd in general:

1) i may be biased in saying this seeing as these guys are pals of mine, but mcalister drive is a breath of fun, fresh air in a sea of brooding hipsters wailing about their ex-girlfriends while clutching their teles to their chests.  the band of buddies hails mostly from the greater boston area and they sold out three shows (three!) before their appearance at bill's last saturday, so things are only looking up for the foursome from here.  their recently recorded "i wish i knew" is up on their myspace, so give 'em a listen and getcha dancin' shoes on.

2) val emmich was f*cking fantastic.  i'm kind of a sucker for anything remotely rockabilly, and emmich, who's kinda blowing up right now and getting his tracks featured on "ugly betty" episodes and everything, definitely delivers in the rustic/twangy/sultry/steel-stringed grit department.  i haven't been able to take "hurt more later" off repeat on my iTunes since last saturday, so give that a listen, too.

3) bartenders at bill's bar: you pour shitty beer and your attitudes suck.  i'm not a fan of you, and i don't plan on buying drinks from you or tipping you if i'm back for a show in the near future.  the guy who served us was rude/borderline aggressive and the guinness i had before the show was the worst pint in HISTORY.  granted, it's not like i was there for the beer and i wouldn't recommend bill's bar anyway unless you're going to see a band in particular due to its landsdowne location, but the service and the drinks were just bad. juuuust bad. 

today, i met up with meg, my childhood bestfriend/neighbor/partner in crime, and we spent over three hours chatting it up in the vault room at bloc 11.  tonight, pato and jessie and i are making a scrumptious cuban dinner and then heading out in the night to do stupid things, most likely.

how's your weekend?

GUYS GUYS GUYS GUESS WHAAAT

IT'S SPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

now go play outside.

love/hate: st. patrick's day.

reasons why hil loves st. patrick's day:

+ this is the only day of the year where i can actually do an irish car bomb and be excited about it.

+ i look good in green, which makes dressing for the festivities easy.

+ my dad's family is kind of old school north shore proud to be irish american and he's making corned beef and cabbage tonight and he's all cute about it.  i can't go for dinner, but it's sweet to see him get all excited.

reasons why hil hates st. patrick's day:

+ this is the only day of the year where i can actually do an irish car bomb and be excited about it.   (yes. i know that i wrote that twice.)

+ i will punt a small child/puppy/something else wholesome and good if i have to listen to the dropkick murphys' "shipping up to boston" or "the state of massachusetts" ONE. MORE. TIME.  i will beat a stranger into submission with my bare hands if i have to listen to them trying to wail either song on the T/on the bus/in the general vicinity of my apartment.

+ overhearing the following in line at the coffee shop, on the t, at the grocery store, and most assuredly at the bar later: "OH MY GAHD DOOD I'M SO IRISH.  I'M 110% IRISH.  110%. LIKE SO WICKED IRISH. LIKE I KNOW ALL THE WORDS TO DANNY BOY AND I DRINK GUINNESSS LIKE WATER AND "BOONDOCK SAINTS" IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE DOOD AND I HAVE A SHAMROCK TATTOO FOR MY HERITAGE BECAUSE I'M SOOOO IRISH. MY LAST NAME IS Mc-/O'- SEE I'M MORE IRISH THAN YOU ARE."  you are not from ireland.  your parents were not from ireland.  i highly doubt your great great grandparents were irish, you tool.  i bet you're about as irish as i am at best, and even though i have so many freckles that it looks like someone threw mud at me through a screen door, i'm not gonna parade my "heritage" around suffolk county to impress randos and try to get laid for love of the republic.  jump off the MGH bridge, brah.  or go back to the suburbs.  i don't care.  stop existing.  you give my city a bad name.

+ nothing good can come from this holiday except for an upset stomach from corned beef and cabbage and a blistering hangover.  three years ago (when i was still in college and therefore didn't know better, c'mon), i woke up the morning after st. paddy's on a balcony in astoria with a shamrock painted on my face.  no one needs that. ever.

so, for those of you looking to avoid what's sure to be an incredibly unpleasant scenario, avoid the following bars/neighborhoods tonight:

1) faneuil hall/causeway street/the north end.  any bar (the purple shamrock, the bell and hand, kitty o'shea's, emmett's, hurricane o'reilly's) that's anywhere near faneuil hall.  this goes without saying.  any self-respecting bostonian avoids faneuil/government center like the plague anyway when it comes to nightlife and st. paddy's day is hardly the day to make this mistake.  lines, college kids and cover charges? hellllllll no.

2) landsdowne street.  do you want to get puked on by some sorority girl from one of the colleges of the fenway who can't match her brah of a boyfriend baileys shot for baileys shot? do you want to get shoved around by drunken buffoons in scally caps only to get punched in the teeth by one of them in front of the cask and flagon?  i didn't think so.

3) the intersection of brighton ave/harvard ave in allston.  i don't mind the bars in allston on the week nights when it's a bit more chill and especially during the summertime.  with that said, two that i refuse to ever go to are the kells and the joshua tree. (j-tree isn't on brighton ave, it's actually on comm, but it's close enough.)  expect to see/hear a lot of drunk girls crying on the sidewalk because the bouncers took their fake ids. 

4) southie.  don't be stupid.

whoooa.  that's a lot of saint paddy's day hate.  sorry for the negativity, guys, but i had to get it out.  should you chose to frequent one of the previously mentioned establishments this evening, get housed before you go.  it's the only way you'll enjoy it/make it out alive.

erin go bragh,

hil.

no words.

los in this is just pure gold.

huminahuminahumina.

i've been a huge fan of the latest annie liebovitz louis vuitton ads.  my favorite until recently was the keith richards one, which shows the rolling stones' lead guitarist exhausted in his hotel room with a cup o' tea resting atop his vuitton guitar case... and then i picked up the april issue of esquire at the out of town news stand in harvard square yesterday and found THIS on the back cover of the magazine:

image courtesy of the insider.

i feel like if hemingway were still with us he'd put down the scotch for a second and tip his hat to liebovitz and say "good show, old girl."  and then he'd call sean connery, schedule a hunting trip and ask him where he got that carry-on. 

this is what happens when you're bored on a monday night.

couch fort? why, yes. yes indeed.

things i should be doing instead of building another hangover induced couch fort and watching law and order svu episodes before marcy and los come over and we make brownies:

+saving my apartment from the hellish mess devouring it at present.  it was created by a merry band of spaghetti-and-meatball-eating friends who wound up at my place after another rowdy sunday at precinct for tiramisu and hookah and, apparently, leftovers.  my kitchen is D E S T R O Y E D.

+picking out a green outfit for eighties st. paddy's dance party tomorrow evening at phoenix landing.  

+taking a shower.  i'm still wearing my makeup from last night and my hair looks ... interesting.  that requires leaving the couch fort, though. hmmm.

+committing to memory the list of reasons why i never, ever need to go to southie ever again after going to the parade yesterday.  as a local, i grew up with parents who forbade trips to southie for any reason whatsoever and who frowned upon the annual saint patrick's day parade because they deemed it an obnoxious, booze-soaked walk of shame perpetrated by good for nothins' and stupid college kids.  my parents? kind of right.  if i see one more wasted girl with flat-ironed hair, an oversized paul pierce/kevin garnett jersey, leggings and uggs, i'm going to vomit.  on their uggs. on the green line.  on the way back to suffolk/bu/bc.  which is where they can be found in their natural habitat. ugh ugh ugh hate so much hate so much seething searing hate.

+going to the gym.

+cutting up my credit card. NO MORE SHOPPING FOR A LONG LONG LONG TIME.  the stuff (headband, belt, dress and shirt) i picked up at urban today is grrrreat and completely unnecessary but i had to have them. a;sjdfal;sdjkf.

+getting coffee. 1369 please.  the starbucks on somerville ave made me want to eat glass a couple of days ago and i haven't been back since: basically, the girl working the bar (read: making the drinks, putting them up on the counter for customers to collect 'em) was real bad at her job.  i hate when people bitch and moan about food service ("how hard can it be? you work with coffee." "how long does it take to heat a croissant?" etc.) unless they, like myself, have actual food service/bartending/waitressing experience and they can tell the difference between someone who's awful at their job/lazy and someone who's slammed/unlucky/having a bad day.  this girl was either stoned or lazy or both.  laaaaaame.

+sending in my audition tape for rock of love four.  jessie and i are going to romance bret michaels.  (just kidding! we like/respect ourselves too much to do that, i think.)

i love this song.

the happy things list is still totally in effect, but for some reason this song can't get out of my head today.  i've been listening to the avett brothers for a couple of years now and their 2007 release, emotionalism, is one of my favorite albums of all time.  the following performance by seth avett is of one of only songs ever that actually move me to tears.  (you won't know the other ones unless you know me really well, and even then there's some guesswork involved.) "the ballad of love and hate" probably tops the list of the most beautifully tragic and gently heartbreaking ballads i've heard, ever, and the lyrics to me are pure poetry.

so, without further ado, here's the words to the avett brothers' ballad of love and hate.

Love writes a letter and sends it to Hate:

“My vacation’s ending, I’m coming home late.

The weather was fine and the ocean was great,

And I can’t wait to see you again.”

Hate reads the letter and throws it away.

“No one here cares if you go or you stay.

I barely even noticed that you were away.

I’ll see you, or I won’t.  Whatever.”

Love sings a song as she sails through the sky.

The water looks bluer through her pretty eyes

And everyone knows it whenever she flies

And also, when she comes down…

Hate keeps his head up and walks through the street.

Every stranger and drifter he greets,

And shakes hands with every loner he meets

With a serious look on his face.

Love arrives safely with suitcase in tow.

Carrying with her the good things we know:

A reason to live, and a reason to grow,

To trust, to hold, to care.

Hate sits alone on the hood of his car,

Without much regard to the moon or the stars

Lazily killing the last of a jar

Of the strongest stuff you can drink.

Love takes a taxi; a young man drives.

As soon as he sees her, hope fills his eyes.

But tears follow after at the end of the ride

‘Cause he might never see her again...

Hate gets home lucky to still be alive.

He screams o’er the sidewalk and into the drive.

The clock in the kitchen says 2:55,

And the clock in the kitchen is slow.

Love has been waiting, patient and kind.

Just wanting a phone call, or some kind of sign.

That the one that she cares for, who was out of his mind,

Will make it back safe to her arms.

Hate stumbles forward and leans in the door:

Weary head hung down, eyes to the floor.

He says, “Love, I’m sorry.”And she says, “What for?

I’m yours, and that’s it, whatever.”

“I should not have been gone for so long.

I’m yours, and that’s it, forever.

You’re mine, and that’s it, forever.”

happy things.

hi!

i just posted this on los' fbook wall.  i figured i'd share the love with you, too.

as much as i want to write about how spontaneous and awesome it was to run to the back of the somerville theatre last night to greet U2 after their super secret surprise show, i'm too tired right now. i have no idea why, either, seeing as i got plenty of sleep last night. (ok not really but i got more than 7 hours, i think, so i shouldn't complain.)  in lieu of talking about how much i love bono and how genuinely happy he seemed to see the crowd who had come out just to say hi, i'm going to write a happy list.

THINGS THAT MAKE HIL A HAPPY CAMPER! (in no particular order):

+coffee and ginormous chocolate chip cookies from 1369.  mikey and i hit up 1369 after a fantastic visit to the ICA (see below) and the cappuccino i had was one of the best caffeinated concoctions i've downed in awhile.  (i usually consume between 4-6 shots of espresso a day, so this is big.) 

+the interlock mini skirt from american apparel.  i have it in black and eggplant and i wish it were springier outside so that i could wear either one with leggings and cute little flats and not have to worry about getting said cute little flats all muddy and gross.

+"back to the future": i own the complete trilogy and watched the first installment while awaiting the arrival of marcy, chris and andrew before our bono sighting.  los and i are thinking of going as marty and doc next year for halloween, but only if this brilliant plan falls through.  (jessie i know what you're thinking but I ALREADY HAVE THE PURPLE SKIRT AND THE GLASSES OK!)

+shepard fairey.  i went to his show at the ICA today and found it to be inspiring and humbling and it made me wanna go home and create something.  the arrangement of the exhibit was exquisite, the presentation was superb, and i absolutely plan on taking advantage of the free ticket i scored sometime next week.  his guns and roses poster is now prominently displayed in my kitchen.

+i love the sartorialist and it's one of the first blogs i check when i wake up in the morning, and i've bookmarked this photo since its original posting on february 13th.  i want a bright blue scarf!  i want a grey blazer with colorful, almost unnoticeable details! (i want the girl version, however, seeing as i am not an extremely tan italian man...)

+buenos aires.  this time last year los and i were prepping and packing for a weeklong stay in my second home.  to say that it was incredible, that whole returning-to-my-favorite-city-for-the-first-time-since-leaving-it-with-my-best-friend-in-tow thing, would be a gross understatement.  some favorite shots from our trip to buenos aires in march of 2008:

los hanging out in the hammock at our hostel in palermo.

we got to catch up with tony, one of my good friends who i had studied with while living in buenos aires in 2006, and this was the view from the roof of his apartment building on charcas.

the graffiti and street art that plasters the walls of capital federal is amazing, and this was one of the many murals we spotted on the entrance to a restaurant in palermo.

i stayed out with a bunch of newfound friends 'til dawn my last night in BsAs and was able to snap this shot while walking home that morning.  sunrise on rio de la plata? this doesn't even begin to do it justice.

so, anyways!  that's the march 12th edition of the happy list.  what's making you smile today, ladies and gents?

-H!L.

saint bono in somerville.

image courtesy of the big green.

the following phone conversation just took place about two minutes ago.

dad: ARE YOU GOING TO SEE BONO TONIGHT?!

hil: ... no.

dad: HE'S GOING TO BE RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM YOU!!!

hil: ... i have to go to the gym bye.

dad: BONO'S GOING TO BE NEAR YOUR GYM.

hil: ......

my family is easily excitable.

(i didn't tell my dad that i may, in fact, be ransacking davis square this evening hoping to see bono and the edge slummin' it at sligo's or the burren or something. it is free pool night at flat top johnny's, however, so we'll see.)

recipe for a dance party, brought to you by maya.

background: los, maya and jessie are my three partners in crime when it comes to most of my adventures in the Bean and in life in general, actually.  more often than not, we tend to dance around like crazy people wherever we are and whenever we're at my place you can bet that maya's playing dj and making some ridiculous, adrenaline-pumping playlist on my itunes.  

while cleaning my desk yesterday i FINALLY found the cd that maya made for los, jessie and i.  i knew it was in my desk somewhere but couldn't find it the night of my birthday when about 30 people piled into my tiny one-bedroom apartment and we were in desperate need of danceable tunes, and los keeps the disc playing on heavy rotation in her car.  so, without further ado, here's what we listen to before we go out, when we're en route to going out, when we're already out... you get the idea.

architecture in helsinki, heart it races. (this is also one of the most absurd cockamamie things i have ever seen.  that should mean something.)

hot chip, ready for the floor. (my neighbors are probably real sick of hearing this when they walk by my apartment after 5pm.)

new order, temptation. (side note: the sea monsters do a fantastic cover of this. well done, friends!)

passion pit, better things. (we saw them at the middle east a couple of weeks ago.  pretty boss.  also, the intro makes me giggle.)

beyoncé, single ladies (put a ring on it). (you do not know ridiculous until you're at phoenix landing with us on a friday night and you watch hil and jessie and company try to do the choreography to this while jessie spills her beer and hil breaks stuff.  it's absurd.)

that's it, for now.  what do YOU listen to when you're getting all gussied up for a big night out and you're dancing like a cool kid in front of the mirror in your bedroom?

ps: this is us. taken at the brazilian girls show at the paradise this past october; from left, jessie, hil, maya, los.

aw.

(also: somebody make me go to the gym. seriously.  my couch is way, way too comfortable and i can't spend another afternoon on it and still like myself.)

wintry mix? wintry HELL.

like everyone else in this slushy mushy gross city, los and i are sick. to. death. of. this. snowy slushy nasty substance we fondly refer to as a "wintry mix".

anyways, we're here learning the choreography to michael jackson's "thriller" because los has to teach her hip hop club class at the winter hill school this afternoon and needs something for the kiddos to do.  i am her guinea pig.  i am not the most mj-inclined dancer, we've discovered.

in other news: the cold war kids' hospital beds is song of the moment for me.  they're coming to town on april 2nd; seriously considering getting tickets because i'm obsessed with them, but alas it's los' birthday!  they're playing terminal 5 in new york the following night, so maybe i'll just suck it up and head down to my former stompin' ground to see the show and hang out with some favorites.  here's an acoustic version of hospital beds for your listening pleasure.  so hauntingly gorgeous.  so perfect on a day like today.

so did anyone wake up with a splitting gin and dance party induced headache this morning? because i know that jessie and i did.  to quote jessietron, blergh.

also, i give you baby on a roomba.

love, hil.

independent love, grand, and a sunday afternoon in pictures.

(photo snapped by yours truly while walking down somerville ave. this morning.)

get ready for some reeeeeeeal local love, right here.

somerville: bear my children.  i love you so very much.  today, heather came and met me at my humble abode and we walked down to union square in hopes of securing a much coveted table at the neighborhood for brunch.  we weren't surprised to see a crowd of at LEAST 15 hopeful brunchers standing outside on the sidewalk waiting for a table at union square's popular breakfast spot, and opted to keep walking in order to find a calmer meal at a less crowded joint.  

enter: the independent.  i was at the indo a couple of nights ago with the fellas, but i had no idea that they offered up a tasty brunch on sunday afternoons.  i mentioned that the drinks were great, heather was sold, and we stepped inside.

i'm just gonna put it out there: the beehive has NOTHIN' on the independent for sunday brunch, and i love the beehive. a lot.  the independent's brunch menu is incredibly affordable, eclectic, and serves up ample portions.  the drinks are exceptional:  i had the earl grey manhattan (jessie, you would've swooned), which consisted of jim beam that's been steeping in earl grey tea, honey liqueur, bitters and a splash of lemon, and heather was enamored with her classic bloody mary.  here's the two concoctions pictured below:

we both ordered the french toast, which was iggy's brioche prepped with orange zest and served up beneath a cloud of whipped cream and legit maple syrup, and we split a side of the frites and garlic aioli.  i'm kind of a french toast freak, and seriously, this was the best french toast of my liiiiiiife. just LOOK at it.

i think it goes without saying that we didn't finish everything, but we left the independent completely, utterly and head over heels in love with the establishment.  somervillains: forget sound bites, the broken yolk, and dare i say it, the neighborhood for sunday morning brunch.  the independent is where it's at if you want fancy schmancy food on the cheap and drinks that taste as good as they look.

on the way back to my apartment we passed by grand, which is my favorite neighborhood shopping stop to date.  i was just planning on look shopping while heather browsed through the witty screen-printed t-shirts and black and white photo prints, but i couldn't resist picking up these beauties before heading home:

they're shellacked lace earrings made by cursive.  i'm a sucker for bright jewelry and these babies match my mood perfectly at present.

leaving grand, i couldn't help but snap a shot of the store's outside wall on the corner of washington street.

reason for this photo:  i need to get to the ICA stat so that i can check out the shepard faerey supply and demand exhibit.  i know, i know, faerey's  now iconic billboard/street propaganda will be on display in town until halfway through august, but i'm totally that cool kid who waits until the last minute to see shows and collections and frequently forget about them until they've long since departed (the ansel adams photo exhibit at the mfa in 2005 being a perfect example of that. le sad.)  the ICA is free on thursdays and the museum is open 'til 9.  who's down?

tonight: dinner in allston rock city with this little one and then off to precinct for my weekly dose of sea monsters and pints of allagash. 

adventures in hair straightening.

so usually, my hair looks like this.

today i decided to try out my new hairdryer.  this is what happens when i "straighten" this mane of mine.

straightening fail.

haha.

Kendall Square: You confuse me.

last night, after a lovely couple of hours spent drinking limca (indian keylime soda, look into it as it's DELICIOUS and i'm going back to shalimar to get some more in a few) and smoking some rose and mango shisha with mike and matt, we opted to head over to kendall square to shoot some pool.  on the way there, i realized that my friends and i, uh, NEVER go out in kendall. ever.  know why?  because kendall is a royal pain in the ass and one of the most awkward areas in cambridge or boston to navigate, on foot or otherwise.

here's my beef with you, kendall: you're humongous.  and nothing of interest, with the exception of buildings important to MIT and all that, is situated anywhere near your T stop.  when i say "everything of interest", i mean everything that's not legal sea foods or the harvard coop satellite store, both of which are located on main street.  i mean the kendall landmark theatre, which is one of the best cinemas around for international and feature releases; i mean flat top johnny's, where we were last night; and i mean the garment district, which is the reigning champ when it comes to procuring vintage clothing and costumes in the greater boston area.  the fact that you gotta GoogleMap your kendall-bound destination before you even leave your house is enough reason to refrain from heading anywhere near that part of cambridge for the night.

with that said: i wish your layout was a little more sympathetic with the needs of boston/cambridge nightlife, kendall, because your location is ideal.  you're right over the bridge, for chrissakes! you've got movies, booze, pool and decent shopping! why can't you just be a little more accommodating when it comes to organizing a bar crawl or shopping on a rainy day?  

we wound up ditching flat top johnny's for the independent in union square, which is way closer to our respective homes and open until 2am on fridays and saturdays.  the food is awesome and the drinks are fantastic, and it's one of the few bars around that serves legitimate cocktails: i'll bet you $20 that a faneuil/causeway/comm ave bartender has no idea what an aviation cocktail is, let alone how to make one, and they shake up a mouthwatering aviation over at the independent.  union square, i fall a little more in love with you every day...

so, yeah. sorry, kendall.  you're kind of awkward, which is too bad because you've got some real potential. and now, i'm off to central (which beats kendall in every single solitary sense for food, nightlife, entertainment, shopping etc. anyway) to pick up some canvases, limca and some more paint.  i think i'm gonna walk there, too, seeing as it is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS OUTSIDE.  seriously.  get off your computer and take yourself for a walk, just be sure to leave the jacket at home and bring your shades.