But Can She Do it??

I know... I promised photos of the new dresses and hopefully will get them up tomorrow, but first this. While Erik was home, he/we received our first wedding gift...a surfboard!!! I'm VERY excited to start trying... even though I'm totally scared and convinced I'll fall off or not even have the power to paddle out... we'll see.... This morning we drove into Tel Aviv to buy fins and rash guards. Despite the name ( I hate the word 'rash' I think of the 'dude' sitting in the back of Lebowski's limos saying "yeah, i got a rash....") these garments look adorable... a top on a bikini that makes you look like you surf! I need to learn now though... nothing is worse than pretending... actually yes.... breaking my neck and being eaten by sharks is worse... but I'll look AWESOME!.
photo from Blue Crush... when Kate Bosworth looked good and athletic with some meat on her bones...

I'm Here!! (but not here)

Sorry for dropping out of the loop for a couple of days. Guests, Erik's arrival home, work, traffic jams... you know. Tonight is the start of our weekend and we left work, so excited... Yeah! Weekend! then the traffic hit... after about an hour... it was more like... meh... weekend... woo hoo? But we are home now! And will not let the time or the fricken heat wave slow us down! We're fun! and exciting! we're both in our pajamas on separate laptops trying not to move too much in the heat or let our martinis get warm... ah the exciting life... Ah HA! But tomorrow, I have 2 new dresses, and a new bag to show you... get excited... I am!
Photo from Living Etc...I wouldn't mind being there right now... want to meet me there for a glass of prosecco??

Cover'n Up

Before Dana's arrival and with Erik out of the country, I had gone on an intense diet and work out plan. I had dropped about 3 pounds ( yes, yes, I know... you'll gain it back, blah blah... I like instant gratification) And I felt great. I was eating only vegetables, fruit, yogurt, no bread or carbs. I was running 3 miles a day and also doing pilates and weights. However... since Dana has been here, I've been slipping a bit... not that I blame her... I can only blame myself. It's because we've been eating out so much and well... bread in Israel is a-maz-ing. But I do feel bad complaining about wanting to lose weight to a pregnant person... especially when I do know I don't need to, I just want to tone up. But when she feels like her ass is growing as rapidly as India's population, I will do my best as a friend and help her out with dessert. Tomorrow we have plans to spend the day by the pool, so I will need a helpful cover up like this one from Monsoon.

7 Hours of Walking in Tel Aviv

That's what we did. But it was worth it. We found some great shops with some really inspiring pieces, and did a bit of shopping as well. This is a pillow case I bought at the shop, Hafatzim. Unfortunately I lent Erik my camera for his trip, so while I couldn't take any photos of the shop, you'll have to take my word for it; it was fabulous. The shop sold all house accessories which included Moroccan plates, glasses, candles sticks, and lush velvet pillows and bed covers in bright colors that you just want to eat. It's located on Chaloshe St... Oh also something we learned.. on maps, in Time Out and on the actual street signs, no names are spelt the same... so that made things oh so easy to find...hmph.
I also bought some comfortable bright green pants and a really cute skirt that for some reason didn't come out in the photo, but I'll take another snap of it and put it up eventually.

We also went to an enormous home store called Hadarim on Shalome St (or maybe it was Salome St...) Just to go in and see the ceilings is worth it. Shabby chic pieces with some Kitch Kitchen thrown in. Very interesting.
But my favorite of all was the childrens store Carousella on Rothchild Blvd. They had a lot of these animal pillows by Moroccan company Zid Zid. So adorable... it made the idea of having children not so scary and more fun with the promise of wonderfully unique toys.

Today we are off to the Eretz Museum for some culture....

Shopping and Sun

My friend Dana has been hanging out with me the past 2 days. She's 5 months pregnant and is perhaps the most adorably stylish pregnant person I've seen. She refuses to wear traditional maturnity clothes and has instead been pairing roomy Velvet dresses with chic Prada sandals. We spent yesterday at the beach reading and napping. The nice thing about hanging out with pregnant people is that they are really into napping and eating, so I've been happy... Today we are going into Tel Aviv for a day of shopping... Hopefully we'll come back with some lovely pieces....see you soon!!!
Dress by Velvet available here.

Living on the Edge

I did some painting today, all are still kind of in process. I need to look at them until I'm bored of them and then make any changes I need to...hopefully tomorrow.

I woke up early today and went for a run and have been constantly moving so now, my eye lids are starting to droop in the late afternoon heat. I will have to take a nap in my most favorite take-a-nap place; Our couch in the sun drenched living room that has a constant breeze in it. Lovely...

But I better make it quick, my college friend Dana, is in the country with her family for a wedding and she'll be staying with me, so tonight I have a play-date. A friend! Alright!

Good Eats and Books

My amazing, and so incredibly thoughtful friend, Susie, sent me the best package recently. These two books; Julie & Julia, a book about one woman's attempt to make all 524 of Julia Childs recipes in her 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. The other book is My Life in France by Julia Child. I'm SOOO excited to start reading them. And I will soon, I'm almost done with my Lord Peter Wimsey murder mystery which is very good. I'm hoping to get inspired by the books and become a great cook. (by the Julia books...not the murder one.)

If You Wait For It, It Will Come....But will you still want it?

So finally, my dress that I ordered arrived at Mango. I had gone in earlier this week with no luck, so the guy working there wrote down the shop phone number and his name so I could call and check later. So all this week it totally looked like I scored some guy named Yoav's number. Good thing Erik isn't around. Anyway, I went in today and tried it on and well....eh. Just, eh. I didn't love it. But I had been thinking about it all week and felt like it needed me. The size was a bit big... and well honestly, looked bad on me with the belt that came with it. But the shop girls were like No, you have to tie it... I looked like a blimped up Holly Hobby. Nice. But I thought I would give it a try...So back home I went and out came the sewing machine. After many pins, a few stabs and some eyes verging on spilling tears, I fixed it. I think.... I did a pretty crap job of bringing in the sides, but it looks better. I hate when I buy something that isn't perfect with the thought that I can change it myself. I should have learned by now, You can't change men, you can't change the weather, and you can't change a bad dress (well maybe Molly Ringwald can for the prom, but then again that dress was debatable).

You're Kinda Cute...How about a Night on the Town...

When I lived in NY my friend Lisa and I both had summer Fridays... Oh how I loved those... So we'd meet up, shop at Forever 21, watch a movie (but definitely nothing like The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants...of course) and then we'd have wine until our less lucky friends who had to work normal hours came out to play. Ahhh it was perfect... I'm hoping to re-enact this summer when I'm back... and maybe I can see if this dress is all that. Also, right now I'm dangerously close to ordering some shoes online.... and I haven't even had any wine....oh dear....

Paperchase Kitchen Fun

I've always loved everything from Paperchase, and when Borders Books started selling their products I was an overjoyed muppet. I was in there so often the people working there recognized me and my border rewards card got more of a work out than Richard Simmons. Here are some adorable tea towels and mugs.

Going Dotty...

So despite my predictions, I am not freaking out at all. Sheila sent me a reassuring email after visiting the wedding site and meeting with the new woman working there, so I'm fine. Well, fine with that... I'm dripping sweat all over the keyboard, I know, sorry....gross. I got back from work and then went for a run on a hot day...dumb, I know...and then I ate soup...again, dumb... and then I realized that I sat through an entire Rick Astley video on VH1 without changing the channel and caught myself singing along... is it the heat?...someone please help this girl...
In other news, I kind of like this swimsuit that I saw in In Style magazine. It's from Princesse Tam-Tam. It's called 'Arty' which I found funny. I like the colors... they remind me of those faded playground animals toys that bob about on springs.

Happy Monday!

Today I'm off to work at the archive. I'm learning how to repair old pieces and right now we're fixing the lace on a dress from 1911, so that's exciting for me. With Erik gone this week, I'm sure I'll be painting most nights...not that I can't when he's here, but with him gone, I can make a huge mess and completely lose track of time. And in the meantime, I'm thinking about these....

We Love Turquoise...

We really do. And this was made more evident to me when I looked at what I had put in my shopping basket last night on the Old Navy website. I needed to get a new bathing suit because as Erik so kindly pointed out, when your bathing suit is begining to rust, it is probably time to invest in a new one. Not that you're majorly investing at Old Navy, practically everything I bought was on sale. Although because of that they are lacking in many sizes.... Ah well, I was happy in the end. No more rusty suits...or scuppers...

Bridesmaids and Such....

I thought I was doing pretty well with this whole wedding thing...until I had a minor freak out today. I think it was a combination of realizing I have no idea what our vows will be and what music we'll play and that fact that I'm so far away. I don't recommend planning a wedding from across the world. And while I have 2 months to go, which should be plenty of time, I still haven't even SEEN the bridesmaid dresses! Or tried on my shoes, I'm hoping they fit... Also I'm hoping Sheila will send out the invites this week, but I feel bad that she has to do it...I should be doing that. Ugh, complain, complain....I'm hoping to get some stuff (that I can) done this week. Erik is going to the states for work and his bachelor party and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to see me in what I can only imagine the state I will be this week...in a mess on the floor surrounded by Martha Stewart Wedding Magazines, chocolate wrappers...drinking wine and crying while listening to cheesy love songs on You Tube...oh boy...
Above is a fun bridesmaid dress from J.Crew. Although I have to say, the model looks like she's had one too many and is either going to start dancing on the table or duck into the bathroom with the groomsman from Ohio.....

Turn This Room into An Outfit...

That was my first thought after I took this photo. I was laughing uncontrollably while Erik stared at me confused and a little frightened...'Like in Domino Magazine... you know? how they do that? oh never mind...' We spent today changing our apartment around. I wasn't so into it at first because I liked how it looked and didn't feel like moving heavy furniture, but after a while I warmed up to it and got way into it.... Maybe a bit tooo into it... I think I'm getting loopy from being inside all day, we'll have to get out soon.
Anyway, we're enjoying our weekend, and hope you will enjoy yours too.

I'm now waiting for a certain shop to call me to to tell me that the dress I ordered is in... why don't you ring phone....ring dammit!

Yom Hameeshi!

That's Thursday in Hebrew (and about the extent on my knowledge despite weekly lessons). We love Thursdays because it's our Friday. I'm off to the village in the mountains... and I swear, this time I'll remember to take a photo....

Cleaning Day

I don't work on Wednesdays, so this has become my cleaning day. I am by no means a fussy cleaner...as Erik says, I'm more of a clean-around-the-furniture, rather than under it. I do wish I could be more like Martha Stewart, and have everything organized perfectly, however, I'm not sure I have it in me. I get overwhelmed at simply cleaning this apartment. Why, you may ask? Because we in live an area with a lot of sand storms, and as we're by the sea, a strong breeze (which we love instead of using the AC) which blows dust right through one side of the apartment to the other. By the time I've cleaned on area, I get to where I started, and it's covered again in a thick dust... if you came here and did a white glove test, you've be convinced I hadn't cleaned in months, when really it was only the previous Wednesday! Weekly Wednesday! Argh... However, after cleaning, building a fan (wait, do we need more blowing air??), staring at some of my shoes,

I'm ready to sit back and take turns reading my Vogue, and my Lord Peter Whimsey murder mystery...ahhhhh Wednesdays....

So Sad...

I just found out this morning (how did I not hear sooner?!) that my absolute most favorite artist in the whole world, Robert Rauschenberg, died on Monday, May 12th. He (along with my mother, Sheila) was the biggest influence, not only on my art, but also in my decision to be an art major and make a life out of creating art. Interesting that now that I've gotten back into the painting and creating (and trying to do less of the computer graphics for fashion), he's gone. Not that it was a surprise, he had a pretty long prolific career, despite a stroke 2 years ago. A very admirable artist indeed.
"I think you’re born an artist or not. I couldn’t have learned it. And I hope I never do because knowing more only encourages your limitations.”- Rauschenberg.

Paintings for a Tuesday...

Off to work in the mountains today... Every day as I'm driving home, I see right as I get to the top of the mountain there is this incredible view of the town below. I keep meaning to take a photo.... let's hope today I do.

Holiday Weekend

After all of my grumpiness (which is gone today!) I forgot to post photos of our fun holiday weekend. Oops. Last Thursday was Independance Day and also the 60th anniversary. From what we witnessed, it was a lot like the 4th of July- BBQs, family, beach, fireworks, etc.

On Thursday morning we drove into Tel Aviv to see the air show while having a picnic on the beach. I was a but skeptical at first...while Topgun is Erik's favorite movie, I'm not a huge fan of watching planes...But I couldn't complain, sitting on the beach with a cold drink, watching the whole scene...very fun.
Friday we drove up north to a winery we'd been wanting to visit. We got a teeeensy bit lost (guess who was navigating...), but ended up finding it at the top of a huge hill with horses and goats around the area. Worth getting lost...

We left our hot beach-y weather, and hit rain! It was so bizaare...like being in the English countryside...

On our last day of the 3 day weekend Erik tried surfing by our house...

I swear, I will try one day...when I'm over my fear of waves, sharks, and breaking my neck. To end it all we enjoyed a nice dessert by the sea...ahh long weekends!

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day, Sheila.
lots of love,
Zoe and Konrad.

Sunday Morning Blahs...

I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but I've been in a funk since last night. I can't seem to shake myself out which is really frustrating because I have nothing to be in a bad mood about. You know?

I think because I have a lot of time on my hands, I end up overthinking everything. Should I be doing this with my time, Should I be painting that, Should I be learning more about this...etc etc.... All leading to the question "What do I want to be when I 'grow up'?" Yeesh.....

Instead of thinking, I should be doing, but maybe today I'll allow myself to be in this bad mood, as long as I promise to get out of it the minute my feet hit the floor tomorrow morning....


**images of some pieces I made when I was in a better mood...**

Full Of Color

There are some toe-twiddling inspirational colors and patterns on the Osborne and Little website. One of my favorite roads in London is the Kings Road where you can browse, Cath Kidston, Designers Guild, Osborne and Little, and many others all in a few blocks. Lovely.
Today starts our weekend since we have a holiday tomorrow. Have a colorful weekend!!

Turquoise and Yellow

I've been seeing a lot of turquoise with yellow in the shops lately and love it. Actually my new bag from Mango will go fabulously with the yellow top I bought for myself for Valentines Day... Perfect! I was glancing through the Anthropologie website, and they too are on the train. Also loving the pops of coral. Very nice.

I'm still having issues with looking at their website here (from a technical point of view, not visual...I could never have issues with that...I think these little sketches are lovely)... because I'm abroad, I can't even see a sale section (unless they stopped having one?!). So mean... so so mean....

Tip Top

I know I recently did a TopShop post, but I had to add one more thing. I was just in there today and saw some great new prints, and some really fun tops. I'm not sure if I'll ever actually buy any, but I can look. (oh how I miss the days when shopping at Top Shop was cheaper...and the exchange rate was nicer to me...) My favorites of these are the top left and top right. The red one on the right is really cute in real life, very nautical and Anthropologie. The top left grabbed me for some nostalgic reason... I think that when I was small I had a sundress in those colors....I love when you get reactions from certain color combinations. Whether they spark memories, or just clash in that perfect way. Right now I'm loving my toenail polish (clambake by essie) against my blue pilates mat. It's so distracting that instead of doing my "roll like a ball and come up" i'm gazing at my toes against the mat....hmm... maybe I need some friends here...

Here is it!

I went to the mall today and yes, the bag came home with me. I'm very excited about it and totally glad I bought it. For Passover, Erik's company gave him a bunch of gift certificates to shops in the mall (unfortunately for me, they don't include Mango, or TopSHop....darn). Well, you can guess who got their mitts on some of them...Erik and I are going to split the amount...Well... there are more girl stores anyway.. he would only have his pick of one mens clothing store and Ace hardware... Um, yeah, anyway ok, so, I managed to get myself a free pair of shorts today. Hurray!! Making the move to shorts! And with that said, I love this whole look from the Mango catalog (I didn't see if the top was actually in the shop as I was only paying attention to my lovely new blue bag...).

The colors, the print, even the shorts....

Tea Length Fun

I already have my dress for this summer, but I saw this one on Martha Stewart and love it. I'm not sure if I could actually pull something like this off, but I think it's fun and quirky. I'm also a sucker for feathers...especially on dresses...like say... ballroom dancing costumes. Love.

Go Long...Go Short....

Some great dresses from Mango. I was at the shop the other day and they had some very cute things indeed. I saw a bright blue clutch, and was thinking about it, struggling with the rate conversion... is it worth it, etc etc... after a good 4 days think about it, I'm ready. Stay tuned... perhaps it will come home with me today!