THIS IS INCONVENIENT

I can't update this the way I want to because the blogger app sucks and my internet got knocked out in the storm, but the new Lilly Pulitzer sorority prints are out and I AM SO EXCITED. More on that aaaaand a hurricane post when I get my internet back and can use a real computer.

Oh, dear!

That title was my placeholder when I was going to make this entry about how I've been home for two months exactly and I still haven't managed to find a new, more appropriate name for my web catalog of musings...little did I know how appropriate it would become!  You see above a picture of where I was sitting when I felt the earthquake today!  (Yes, those are my little toesies.)

Honestly, I have to admit, I was kind of pleased by the earthquake, it seeming to me not to be terribly severe, since I had to ask myself if it wasn't just the wind shaking my chair.  My joy is borne of the fact that the two earthquakes that hit the Chicago area while I was in school both failed to wake me from what was apparently very heavy slumber.

I do not, of course, take lightly the effects and earthquake can have, and my heart still goes out to the people of Japan and Haiti.

Happy Tuesday,
Harris

I'm baking my way into Fall.

You'll notice that I made up for doing two posts in one day by casually going ten days between posts.  I really feel like you guys -- if there are any of you left -- have become familiar with the sweet taste of neglect this summer.  So perhaps you won't mind that my cooking seems to be veering into fall territory.  My former (nooooooo) roommate Kelsey made these pumpkin muffins at the end of school when I was sick and I found them immensely comforting, although I, being the strange woman I am, had to beg her to leave chocolate chips out of some of the muffins since it's not my favorite thing.  Whatever, shut up.  She made them from this Smitten Kitchen recipe, but I'm gonna write it down for you here the way I did it, because I made some mistakes, and I kind of like the result better.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin pie filling
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt



Preheat oven to 350° F.  Spray nonstick cooking spray on muffin cups (you can also grease them with butter, but I found it easier to just use PAM).

In a medium bowl, whisk together baking powder and flour.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin pie filling, vegetable oil, eggs, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, baking soda, and salt until smooth.  Then, add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

Spoon batter into muffin cups until 3/4 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool muffins for 5 minutes in muffin tin, then remove and cool on rack.

I realize now that I used approximately twice as much pumpkin stuff as the original recipe called for, but I don't care because mine do not taste overly pumpkin-y and they have a delicious texture.  Now, this is the second time I've made these, and the first time I accidentally left out the baking powder, which resulted in a much denser goodie.  While the ones I made today are definitely more muffin-like in nature, I personally enjoyed the first round, and would encourage the absence of baking powder as a welcome variation if you so chose.

I die.

I know what you're thinking, "Shut the fuck up, two posts in one day?"  Yes, in one foul swoop, I've broken some of my blog malaise and make this blog child-unfriendly.  BUT, the e-mail I got on my phone this morning that woke me up earlier than I wanted to be awake informed me that Rachel Zoe's collection is live on Piperlime.  Here are some of my favorites from what they're showing.

Cheryl Asymmetrical Coat

Melissa Handbag

Elizabeth Dress

Can I afford any of it?  Absolutely not, but I can barely afford my own spit at this point.  The designs seem pretty accessible though, which is nice since they could easily have gone the route of only fitting human hangers like Rachel Zoe (damn, Harris, "human hangers" twice in one week?  For shame.).  Bravooooooo, bring me a new season of The Rachel Zoe Project so I can look at pretty clothes and that crazy, trendy woman!  Pleeeeeeeeeeease!

Blue with Envy

So I awoke the other day to find this gem sitting in my e-mail inbox.

The NARS Fall 2011 collection has arrived!  NARS e-mails are the only ones I allow to come into my inbox with the images already displayed because they're sooooooooooo prettttttttyyyyyy.  I sauntered my way on over to the website to peruse the collection (because let's face it, I couldn't stop at this picture, I'm not about to slather that much --or any -- blue eyeshadow on without supervision), and there's a couple of items I'd like to give a spin at the make-up counter.  In particular, the lip gloss in Oasis looks super fun and the matte lipstick in Mascate seems like it could pack quite a punch on the red lipwear front.

Even though I hate to see summer go, I love all the rich fall colors that are starting to show up, and I'm excited to be able to look nice without sweating my skin off.  Am I the only one thrilled to see new fall makeup and looking forward to changing leaves?

Kate rhymes with awesome.

I'd like to take a moment to talk about something really personal. Something that perhaps I shouldn't be revealing. I mean, as far as I can tell, it's something society finds really reprehensible, and most bloggers seem to try to avoid this very fact. But I must come clean.

Truth: I wear items of clothing, even special occasion items, more than once. Sometimes, more than once in the same week.

Another important fact: I keep up on my celebrity gossip. I'll leave it at that. One of the things I've started noticing more and more is the attention paid to a celebrity/celebutante/unicorn when she -- and it is (anecdotally) always a woman -- wears something she has worn before. Which leads me to my main point.

Thank you, Kate Middleton.

Here, we see her wearing the same green Diane von Furstenberg dress twice in the same month. Cue shock and awe.  Seriously, feel free to click through to the story from which I pulled this picture.  Despite the fact that Duchess Catherine seems to have turned from an attractive, shapely young woman to a living hanger since the beginning of her courtship, I am pleased that she is revealing to the public the fact that even those with unimaginable wealth at their fingertips sometimes wear the same clothes more than once.  For most people, including me, this is a necessity.  Still, everyone has favorite items of clothing they wear as often as they can get away with, either because they're insanely comfortable or the way they look is fabulous.

So thanks, Kate, for showing us that we don't have to hold ourselves to the impossible standard of wearing something entirely new every damn day.  You may reward yourself with a cheeseburger.

Sincerely,
Harris



Also, her hair is really shiny.  I want that.  kthxbye.