Back to School Vol. I

Listening to: Upward Over the Mountain- Iron & Wine, Terrible Love- The National, Going to Queens- The Mountain Goats, The Youth- MGMT

(Oh, and I'd like to address the issue that my delightful new playlist to the right- has some serious errors due to the fact that the people who submit to playlist.com are morons. So please know that the mistake of calling Arcade Fire, "the arcade fire" and misnaming several other bands, was not me. Enjoy!)

At last! Fall/Winter '10 collections have arrived! Being a Portland native, my comfort zone consists of overcast, chilly air, and frequent showers. Therefore, I couldn't be more pleased to see the heat waves cool down to the coziness of fall. One of the highlights of fall/winter in Oregon would be the delightful apparel, such as over sized cardigans, knit tights, thick leggings, and leather footwear. My wardrobe for fall will most definitely include all of the above, especially warm winter sweaters and knit socks. Unfortunately, with the weather comes a new school year, Junior year, to be exact. While I'm thrilled to be moving beyond the dreaded years of underclassmen status, I can't help but feel that high school will never, ever come to an end. Though all the adults in our lives say, "high school is just a blip in your life, it will be over before you know it!" I still feel the resentment of counting down the 172 days of my year till it will be summer again. Missing the freedom and spontaneity of summer, but not the weather, all I can do for now is hope I have enough to look forward to in my busiest school year yet. I'll try to keep blogging, even with my little free time. In the mean time please, enjoy these photos, compliments of Talula and TNA (as always), as well as various vogue and lookbook.nu, they're sure to get you in the mood for fall fashion.

The Petite Portlandian.

Summer in the city Part 3: Summer markets and community artwork

SumMORE Music: (I'm so clever)
Hungry Mouth- Nurses,
California Dreaming- Mamas and the Papas,
Bleecker Street- Simon and Garfunkel

Today I took a trip to Washington Square Park and the summer street fair in the village with some pals. Now, realize that the trip to the park was unintentional, being confused by the name "The Washington Square Summer Fair" which was really over near Bleecker. So we started our Saturday afternoon at the park where we saw an epic medieval reenactment on the lawn. Following that we discussed where the mysterious market could be hiding. While searching through the village we came upon several talented street artists and musicians, and spent time watching one artist work.

We set off again in hope if finding the summer fair and 25 minutes later we saw the tent lined street. At the fair, we purchased cheap rings and beaded bracelets and found tribal dresses that can be worn several different ways. Even better, everything was under $10!

Later, we discovered a very unique vintage shop. All the pieces in the store were genuine and everything seemed to vividly demonstrate the time period that it came from. Here I fell in love with a suede fringe vest from the 70's. Due to my tight and pitiful spending budget I could not get it, but instead, acquired a green leather Dooney & Bourke satchel one you would find in the 80's.

Thrilled with my new purchase we decided to get a bite to eat and came across the most memorable landmark we saw all day. A chainlink fence with painted tiles made by, anybody. Honoring those who where involved with 9/11. Here are some photos of the inspirational pieces of community artwork.

Having a successful day in my favorite neighborhood in Manhattan, we returned to the dorms with 5 minutes to spare for curfew.

Sending love from the Upper West Side/ Lower East Side all the way to the great Northwest,

The Petite Portlandian

Summer in the City Part 2: The coolest day ever, and then some.

Tunage: For Emma- Bon Iver, Summer in the City- Regina Spektor, Summer Skin- Death Cab, Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare- Matt & Kim

Yesterday was the perfect ending to my second week. After unbearable heat, pouring rain, and intense rehearsals it was nice to have a day off. As promised I went to the Siren Music Festival with my dear friend Gav hoping to see some of our favorite music. Unfortunately due to a subway set back...(I've been living here for two weeks and I still get confused) we had to miss Surfer Blood. Then we came across a topshop van in which they were giving free festival makeovers. Seeing the radical tribal looks, we had to jump in line. We waited for a good twenty minutes before we realized that we had a long wait ahead of us. Suddenly a girl in a striking cut out dress and feathered shoulder pads cut in front of us as a VIP. Turns out she was a famous blogger...her outfit definitely gave that one away. One hour later we emerged with trendy festival face paint in which we were asked to pose for topshop's fashion blog. Later, we strolled along the boardwalk munching on churros and sweet potato fries, while Gav told me of her favorite blog, Mr. Newton, a street photographer, with a face hunter-ish type blog. While discussing fashion blogs a stylish looking man approached me, and asked if he could photograph my outfit for his blog. I immediately said yes and soon found out it was Mr. Newton himself! After the total shock of meeting him and being photographed, we returned to the concert, energized by our string of good luck. We pushed our way through the crowd to a decent spot where Matt & Kim would be remotely visible, despite the raging drunk man (not really fitting in with the crowd, due to his age) who refused to simmer. The concert ended with "daylight" and looking around at the lit- up festival I felt delightfully content with the day's events. The sun set over Coney Island and the rides sparkled, looking out of the subway window I thought of how much I love New York. Though, nothing holds a candle to my home town Portland.

To view the photos taken by Mr. Newton, go to:

mrnewton.net/forever-summer

Wishing you safe travels where ever you may be this summer,

The Petite Portlandian

Summer in the City Part 1: Dorm life and such

Daily Mix: For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypslianti- Sufjan Stevens, One Read Thread- Blind Pilot, Evil- Interpool

The song that I continue to listen to and drive my roomates crazy with, Summer in the City- Regina Spektor...the title of this post is named after the genius work by Regina, I highly suggest you check it out:

youtube.com/watch?v=syqLReA_okU

Now back to buisness, I apologize loyal readers (the few of you there may be,) for not writing as often as I promised! I've simply had no time to blog since I've been here and only now discovered the glorious wifi passcodes to my room. The first week with Joffrey zoomed by faster then I could blink, and looking back it seems like forever ago. A side from dancing 7 hours of the day I've been occuping my time by discovering the many different neighborhoods of Manhatten. For example, the dorms are located in the upper west side, were I spend a great deal of time groccery shopping or eating out. Every day I'm in greenwich village, where Joffrey and Tisch are located. When I'm not in the studios I love to walk through the village, visiting an assortment of little cafes or vintage stores. And on the weekends, I'm all over the city, my favorite areas would be soho, where I've found the best shopping in the city to be. On my last outing to soho we started out discourged by the beautiful but very pricey boutiques. Luckily, we came across amazing deals and, (angelic music) topshop. My haul that day included, a free people ballerina dress (originally $120- marked down to $35), a floral printed denim jacket from topshop, (orignally $90, marked down to $18), and anna sui graphic tee shirts for only $20! It was indeed a successful first saturday. Above are some photos of my dorms and soho, but there are more to come I swear!

The Petite Portlandian

A very large and detailed miscellaneous post on summertime.

Summer Jams: Pot Kettle Black- Tilly and The Wall, Where is my mind?- The Pixies, Swim- Surfer Blood, Ooh La La- The Faces.

At last, the sweet freedom that is summertime is here. Though the weather is somewhat dismal...(we live in Portland what do you expect?) I am adapting to the living in the easy state of mind, quite easily in fact. It's undoubtedly splendid being done with school especially if you're like me and well...lets just say I decide to be proactive when necessary- as in, when finals roll around. I've enjoyed these first three days of freedom by being considerably less proactive then in the start of the week. While lounging around at home, much to my mothers dismay, I did some cultural research. So far, I have planned for a summer full of culture, art, literature, music, dance, fashion, and anything else that strikes my fancy. So for those of you who have some free time on their hands, and actually care about reading this compulsively long blog, below I have an assorted list of summer reading, concerts, events and what ever else I choose to throw into my pot of culture soup. First off, I think I will have many opportunities to experience all sorts of art in New York this summer so here is what I'll be doing when I'm not dancing for 7-8 hours.

(Yes, I have a picture of Kate Moss shirtless to symbolically express summertime, your point?)

Reading list (work in progress):

Some of these books are promises I made to myself that I would read, and some not so much...

• 100 Years of Solitude (preparing for junior IB English, oh joy)
  

• The Electric Kool- Aid Acid Test (A good following book to Ken Kesey)


• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (I feel really awful for saying I read this in 8th grade and this year to get extra credit so... I owe it to myself, my English teachers at least, to thoroughly read this one)
  

• Harry Potter and The Half- Blood Prince and, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (Summer tradition to re-read, and then I will most likely re-read the entire series in reverse order)

Summer Concerts/ Music Festivals

This summer I have the luxury of being in both Portland and New York which means, more music! And good music at that. As shameful as it is, I must confess that last summer my taste in music was er...questionable and I didn't quite grasp too many opportunities to experience good music. But this summer will be different! While still super busy I have saved time for some kick-ass concerts/ festivals.

• She & Him 7/7 New York, NY


• Siren Music Festival 7/17 New York, NY (Featuring, Surfer Blood, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Matt & Kim, Screaming females and more. It' free, and at Coney Island, what could be better?)


• Vampire Weekend 8/31 Portland, OR (outdoor concert at Edgefield, perfect way to end summer)


• Musicfest NW 9/8-9/12 Portland, OR (held at various venues in the Portland area, includes Ra Ra Riot, The Thermals, Tallest Man on Earth, The National, Okkervil River, The Helio Sequence, and basically many other of my faves)
  

And as for some of those miscellaneous activities you will find me doing this summer and those of which I recommend you experience as well include:

• Seeing a variety of shows on Broadway such as, Billy Elliot, West Side Story, The Addams Family, ABT's Romeo and Juliet and whatever else comes along the way...
  

• I love going to markets during summertime and there are plenty in New York and Portland. For my Portland friends I suggest the Saturday market and various farmer's markets. And don't forget to hit up our food carts! In New York I'm planning on visiting the Washington Square Summer Fair and to be perfectly honest I have no idea what's in store though I imagine I will get many promising photo opportunities.
  

• As far as cooling off in the heat I'm SOL during my time in New York so I think I will resort to sunbathing in central park.

Happy Summer!

The Petite Portlandian

And so the challange begins.

...More Tunes: Little Lion Man- Mumford & Sons, Girl You Know It's True- Sexton Blake, Great Lakes- Telekinesis! Steal Tomorrow- The Tallest Man on Earth

I taste summer, sitting on my deck with an iced chai and eating completely melted phish food out of the carton, think what you'd like but it's delicious. Though it is frustrating, being fooled by the weather (and my new summer wardrobe) that it's summer because IT'S NOT. Not yet, at least, two more days of finals...I finally found high waisted shorts! On sale at Aritzia! (note the lack of a segaway there) Possibly the most thrilling fashion conquests recently. Thinking of clothes for my long summer in New York a new challenge awaits me. Not only will it be sweltering on the subway to and from Greenwich and the upper west side, every single day, but I need convertible outfits. Why? Because I need clothes to pull over my leotard and tights and not upset my conscience, which trust me, gets easily flustered by poor clothing choices. So, below I have found some idea's of erm...ballerina chic? Or comfortable summer dance wear? Or cover-ups? Whatever you want to call it, go for it. Often I wear cut-up old printed t-shirts and a skirt, or leggings but I think I'll need to be a bit more creative and practical for the given conditions. We'll call this an experiment shall we? Photos from Wilfred (one of my favorite new lines) or lookbook.nu Oh and I have some not so practical but just as stylish photos in this bunch...

Wishing you a happy summer,

The Petite Portlandian