Two Stanleys in One Day?!?

So.

There was a (shit)(rainstorm) yesterday. And there was Game 5 of the NHL Playoffs. AND THE KINGS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!! 

Thus, this morning was dedicated to slowly sipping coffee and reading funny hockey commentaries. And a bit of catching up on the World Cup, too. 

HELLO, BOYS!
Source.

I like hockey a lot. Not a total diehard fan, but fan enough to enjoy watching a game from time to time. I know, I know, Rangers are an OK team (I guess), they have a mighty fine-looking goalie and they ARE my town's team. But blood is thicker than water and LA Kings have Anže on their roster, so there you have it - me is LA supporter smack in the middle of #rangerstown. 

Anže is a big hero back home and he brought the Stanley Cup to Slovenia in 2012, which was all kinds of awesome. And he's bringing it home again this summer. AND he looks way better when he does not shave.  As do a lot of men.

Anže being adorable again.
Source.

In case you are craving more bearded Kings, Heather of the Fug Girls compiled a lovely gallery. The title of the post says it all: Well Played, Jubilant, Oft-Toothless Men in Beards: The Los Angeles Kngs Win the Stanley Cup. You are welcome. 

Why so sad, "king" Henrik?
Your team lost, but at least you are still very pretty.
Source.

On another note, today is a lovely Saturday. The nasty storm left behind crisp air, no humidity and streets without dust. Which can only mean one thing: take Stanley (not the cup, the bike) out for a spin. After the beard and coffee and that-other-Stanley overdose, of course.

First stop was Central Park (obviously), where I, by some miraculous stroke of good luck, managed to find a not-too-crowded spot in the otherwise-extremely-crowded Park to sit down, crack open my book, and read for a while. I boycotted the iPOD for once and listened to the birds instead. 

Chilling in Central Park with a book.

My next stop was the UWS Whole Foods. I do not shop there often, as I find the whole experience a tad pretentious and many of the things that I ordinarily buy are severely overpriced there compared to my local grocery store. But they do have virgin coconut oil that my local grocery store does not stock AND that does not cost an eye. Also, peonies.

Hipster Stan!!!

I came home late in the afternoon, just in time for some early dinner. Colorful veggie stir fry, roasted on my new coconut oil. Made the whole freaking house smell of coconut instead of onion and broccoli. 1:0 for coconut oil, I guess.

Having a Blair Waldorf  moment. 

Veggie stir fry. Made with coconut oil.
Joyful!

Now it's 9 pm and it's still light outside. Adore!!!

I'll probably go for a quick run now, since I have been a lazy ass for the past few weeks. 

And tomorrow is Sunday brunch-day!

Gotta love weekends. 

Jules

The Amazing Sunday

Perfect Sunday alert!

Oh, yes. After a wild, gin-infused Saturday night (ohmyiactuallywentouttoparty), sleeping in until 10-ish felt amazing. So did waking up with a clear head and a calm stomach. And so did having coffee and grilled cheese sandwiches in bed while binge watching three episodes of Scandal.

But enough is enough and three episodes were enough. Time to slap on some sunscreen and leave the house. And leave Manhattan, too. A bumpy ride on the 4 train and another one on the 2 train took me to Brooklyn Botanical Garden where the cherry blossoms are still blooming amazing. 

I headed directly for the cherry esplanade, found a spot under a tree, spread my blanked, took off my shoes and lay down. 

A minute and a half later (yes, those pink-clad branches against the blue sky demanded a bit of attention) I switched temptation of by activating my phone's airplane mode and cracked open a book. 

 

I zoned out for a few hours. Reading and sipping a chilled ginger lemonade. The only thing that disturbed my bubble was a freaking bird that parked its butt on a branch right above my head. 

Yes, it decided to take a #2. Which landed two inches away from my head. Could've been worse, I guess.

Yeah, for a person who zoned out for 3.5 hours, I took an astonishing amount of pictures. But dudes, look at all the pretty pink fluffy blooms!!!

Since I made the trip to Brooklyn and paid for the ticket, it occurred to me that there's more to the Garden than just the cherries. So, after 3.5 hours of pure bliss (minus the freaking pooping bird), I burst my bubble, folded up the blanket, removed some fallen blooms from my shoes (and my hair, and my butt) and left my slice of heaven. The stroll through the park's grounds was delightful, although it was quite crowded. But it was not half bad. Actually, the rest of the garden was just as beautiful as the freaking cherries.  

Next up was a mediocre ice cream (boooooo), redeemed by some very decent iced coffee. 

Brooklyn, I really do like you. 

SOTD: The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You. 

Because it sounds just like Prospect Heights.

Before I knew it, it was 6 pm and time to make it back to Manhattan. Destination: the IMAX theater at Lincoln Center. Movie: The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Snack: salted caramel popcorn. AMAZING indeed. One of the cooler superhero movies around. Of course, nobody puts Iron Man in the corner, but the rebooted Spidey comes a very close second. Woo-hoo!

Happy Monday or whatever.

Jules

Triathlon. According to Jules

Oh, hello Hudson River.

Full disclosure: I am not even close to a triathlete. So please, do not take the title of this post seriously. 

1. BIKE:

The perfect springy Sunday. So you decide a bike ride is the best possible way to spend it, although the alternative, sitting on your ass and binge watch Criminal Minds, sounds just as appealing. In the end, you go the classy way, put on your neat helmet and shove the bike in the elevator. Pushing pedals under the cherry trees all the way up to George Washington bridge is nice. 

Staaaaaaan!

2. SWIM:

It's Monday and you're STILL totally high on all the goodness Sunday brought. So you make big plans to make it to the pool after work. Only to see your dreams shattered when you find out two of the three experiments you ran on that lovely Monday didn't work and you find yourself stuck in the lab until 10 pm. No pool. And crushed spirits. So you decide that, instead of doing laps, you'll open up a Guinness and order a pizza. Then you decide to open another Guinness and do laundry. Suddenly, it's 2 am and you decide a bikini wax will be an awesome idea. Before you know it, Tuesday rolls around. You feel bloated because of the late night pizza binge. There are very few instances when pizza is NOT a good idea. Midnight being one of those instances. But you manage to escape the lab and get to the pool for a swim. Ole'! 

Hometown glory!

Excited.

Swimming doesn't go according to plan, mostly because instead of keeping track of laps you get continuously distracted by how much you want to bang the cutie from the 12th floor. So, you give up laps and switch to sprints and butterfly instead. Because killing your own arms is a good diversion from thinking about cutie's buff arms. Holy biceps!

Sunset in Central Park.

3. RUN:

Thursday is yet another good day. And again, you make it out of work in the daylight. Time for a quickie run through the park. It is still ridiculously beautiful with trees in bloom everywhere. But since you are a crappy runner, you don't give a damn about miles, speed, breathing, interval training and all that jazz. Your run exactly as fast as you like and stop to smell the flowers (literally!) exactly when you like it. Despite all, you manage to do 5-ish miles (or so Google Maps says). Which makes you a little smug. And very likely means that a month or so will pass until your next run. 

And that, my dears, is how Jules does cycling, swimming and running. 

Now if you'll excuse me while I go stretch my stiffened legs.

Jules

Happy day, Earth

It's Earth day, y'all. 

And as much as I am aware that pretty much every day is a "something day" and who can fucking keep up with all of that, I believe Earth day SHOULD be acknowledged. Duh!

This planet is so big and the fact it exists is just such a "yeah, how could it not" concept we all take for granted. 

But, at least this one day, let us all stop for a second and remember that this giant ball of iron, water and rocks, is our home. Even when we're standing completely still, we spin around and run through space at a speed no one of us can even begin to imagine.

Source.

How cool is that?

So, big cheers to mama Earth today. I know that deep down we all love it. 

SOTD: Morphine - You Look Like Rain

So, allow yourself to be a little amazed that Earth exists and maybe show a little more respect than usual.

Jules

Red alert

Oh, hello.

It appears I am alive. Well, time to get those fingers blogging again. My life is dreadfully boring these days. Yes, I have switched boots for pumps and flats and my musky spicy wintery fragrances for a springy one despite the not-springy-at-all-temperatures (compulsory weather rant here). Other than that, no change to speak of. I still pretty much inhabit the lab more than my apartment. Fun, I tell you. 

So, since there's really NOTHING to talk about life-wise or New York-wise, let's talk make-up. Makes sense, non?

Lipstick and gloss goodness.

I have been battling a very annoying case or red eye these past few days. Nothing major, it's not an infection, but one of my eyes was swollen, red, photophobic and gross. A shitload of artificial tears have been consumed and, obviously, a strict NO EYE MAKE-UP rule was enforced. The situation is almost back to normal as mr. eye only gets itchy in the evening when I am really tired, but the NO EYE MAKE-UP rule is still in full swing, just to make sure the eye heals properly.

Leaving me to play dress up with lips instead. Not that I am complaining!

Since lippies have been in heavy rotation lately, I forced myself to make some sort of inventory and go through my stash. To keep with the "red" theme, I am sticking to lipstick only and red only. There are a few glosses in the stash and a couple muted mauve pinks and, of course, a tube of Clinique's Black Honey, but if you see red, you're definitely sensing a theme here. 

I am a red lipstick girl, have been for a long time and I don't see how that's going to change any time soon. Even before the make-up free eye situation, red lips were my jam, now I am just choosing my red consciously. I do not have a large collection by any means, nor is it a small stash. I deem it pretty reasonable. But then again, when it comes to girly splurges, I am able to justify pretty much anything. Ooooops.

But let me tell you, putting my face on in the morning is fun again, despite the fact that only the "bottom" half of it is actually being put on. 

Oh, and I apologise for the state of some of the tubes. They are battered and bruised. I carry them around a lot. 

 number of scratches = love of wearing * times worn + love at time of purchase

Duh!

Now, let's swatch away...

Left to right: 

Kanebo The Lipstick in Geranium: the loveliest orangey corally red. Vivid and saturated, but never garish. Adorable in the summer, but I've also donned it in winter. I am fearless. 

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Striking: one of the newest additions to the family. I am a late adopter of the jumbo-pencil-sharpie-crayon-thing-for-lips frenzy, but I totally get the hype. Glides on easy, lasts pretty long, is as matte and bold as it gets and does not dry out the lips. The color is one of those saturated mature tomato reds that works with a mean pencil skirt or with jeans and a tee shirt. What's not to love?  

Deborah Shine Creator in 12: Sheer, juicy but not glossy washes of colour are the bomb. This is technically a lipstick, although it feels more like a lip balm. Goes on sheer and gives the lips a beautiful, delicate but very red tint. It doesn't last, but it's soooo pretty and easy to wear. For no fuss looks.

Guerlain KissKiss in Sexy Tango: And oldie, but a goodie. I've had this lipstick FOREVAH. The tube used to be gold and bold, now it looks just old. The shade has been discontinued ages ago. And the lipstick is almost gone. Which makes me sad. I am aware that lipsticks can go bad, but this one hasn't yet. Which makes me happy. So, tons of mixed emotions around this one. Huh. 

This one was my first high-end tube and I guess I'm still holding onto it due to nostalgia issues. The colour is a gorgeous, warm, almost brick red with a silky finish that warms up my face and makes me look nice and sweet. Definitely not a man eater lippie this one. And it smells like raspberries, people. 

MAC Lipstick in Viva Glam Rihanna: MAC has this charity thing with their Viva Glam lipsticks where all proceeds go directly into a charitable fund that makes lives of HIV and AIDS affected people a bit easier and this year's launch was endorsed by Rihanna. So it's a no brainer the lipstick would be a bold red. It is a bit of an anomaly in my collection, since this has SPARKLES in it. Yes, freaking shimmer. Regardless, it does not look cheap or tacky. The colour is quite unique, a bright, but slightly blue-based, red that makes my pale skin look like porcelain. A sexy one and, well, pretty close to man eater material.

Chanel Rouge Coco in Gabrielle: Oh my. My favourite of the bunch. If I was only allowed one piece of make up, that would be it. If getting married with a cosmetic product was socially acceptable, I would seriously consider marrying this one. Gabrielle is gorgeous. It is a darkish true red. Like blood but in the best sense of the description. The colour is perfect for me, the formula is satiny smooth, but not slick or glossy or whatever. And not matte. Just perfect. Smells like roses and has really good staying power. It fades with that annoying red halo, so yes, reapplication is mandatory after a sandwich. Ok, now I am hungry.

Nivea Beaute Colour Passion Lipstick in Cardinal: Ha, if Sexy Tango is an oldie, this one is the Fred Flintstone of my collection. Nivea has discontinued its make-up range years ago. It was never really that good to begin with. And honestly, this lipstick is seriously lacking in the quality department. It might actually be the worst one of the bunch. 

So, what is it still doing hanging out with Gabrielle and Geranium? Well, nostalgia at play again. This one is the very first red lipstick I ever bought. The year I got my BSc. Yes, it was a long time ago. But hear me out. This very humble tube opened up the world of juicy lips for me. I hardly ever wear it, mostly because the formula is quite crappy, but every time I do, I can't help but smile at the memories entangled with this one. And I still remember showing up at my grandmother's house one Christmas wearing this bad boy and one of my uncles scolding me for it, saying that it was too red and that although it looked good, it was still too red. 

I still hold on to it because I am a nostalgic nut. But also because the color is just incredible. The truest of true reds. Rich, saturated, bright. Like the most perfect strawberries you can imagine. Classic. 

Ok. Time to stop blogging and get out of the house. It's actually gorgeous outside.
Kisses (just this time, so I can stain everything red).
Jules

Bag lady

February is my birthday month and birthdays need to be celebrated. Pretty things in the form of gifts are the first to come to mind. Also, cakes. 

This past year if my existence on Earth has been a pretty special one and the one I just started looks promising, too. Which calls for some spoil-myself-rotten action. Serious splurge, yes. But I deem it deserved, since I am a very very good girl. 

5...

... 4...

... 3...

... 2...

... 1...

BAM!

Oh, Bayswater. I have been dreaming of thee for soooo long. Thou art a classic, but without the "old lady" feel. Thou art simple and elegant and perfect in every single way. And thou cost me an eye. But worth every single one of those many (many, many) pennies I left in the store. 

I went for a classic no-nonsense black natural leather since I honestly plan to carry this bag A LOT and I didn't want it to become one of those outfit puzzle pieces so many statement bags or shoes, no matter how gorgeous, become. Those who know me also know that i love me some loud statement accessories and my new Bays is by no means loud. But it is preeeeeeeeeettyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

What else can I say?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Jules

Textfull Thursday AKA life lately

Boy, is this blog neglected or what???

Let's try and fix the situation, shall we. 

In a nutshell, life 's been a bit mad this past week. Basically, I could be found in exactly two locations. One being the lab, the other being my bed. Nothing in between. Crazy, but weirdly gratifying, since long hours in the lab mean tons of experiments done. Booohoohoooo. 

SOTD: Alanis Morissette - Not the Doctor. Duh!

Of course, I might be embellishing a teeeeeeny tiny bit. Long hours in the lab might mean tons of experiments done, sure, but they not necessarily bring useful data. Often, shit does not work. But us postdocs love science, so we are willing to push it until our brains turn into something that resembles a jellyfish left on a sandy beach. Welcome to my life...

Running three projects at once. Ordinary business.

Of course, long hours in the lab ALSO mean that certain things, like for example those hardly relevant things such as housekeeping/ironing/groceries/life, are left sadly neglected.

Don't tell my mother! She'll kill me!

What is not neglected is my desk at work. Although most of the hours are spent at the bench or in cell culture, one must get caffeinated regularly. And one must scribble stuff in notebooks etc. Especially when one has a terrible, terrible short-term memory.

This one happened last Sunday while some westerns were washing. 

Although I mostly traded daylight for lab glory, I had the chance to peek out the window before leaving the apartment each morning and make an informed decision about what to wear. Yes yes, I am gifted that way.

Last weekend was very generous in terms of weather. Fortunately, it kept behaving reasonably well throughout the week. And why would that be relevant, you may ask. 

HERE's my answer: no snow = no salt = dry clean pavement = no need for sturdy saltproof snowproof boots. Enter, pretty shoes!

Pumps.
Three days in a row.
FINALLY!
Top to bottom:
Miss Sixty
Stuart Weitzman
Alice & Olivia

Now excuse me, but I have a nap to take.

Nighty night.

Jules

Bonus entry. Just because.
Thank you endlessly, AM!

Melt away!

Ha!

A warm day! A sunny day! A Saturday! All happening at the same time!

Seriously, this winter has been a serious pain in the ass so far, thus, the collision of the above-mentioned concepts that finally happened today made me beyond extatic. 

I started the day by opening my windows and taking a long deep breath. The air finally feels fresh and crisp and not bloody freezing cold and wintry stale. I've had enough of the wintry stale air.

Breakfast aftermath.

After devouring my bagel & cream cheese breakfast & coffee, it was time to take Stan for a spin. Since he's been dormant for a good two and a half months, his tyres needed a bit of air. And the nutcase needed a good dusting. 

Accessorizing 101.

After the pit stop at the bike shop (I do not own a pump, because who would ever need a pump when one owns a vintage bike, non?), it was time for the big loop in Central Park. 

Beautiful. 

Sure, it looked like all New York runners currently in existence decided to occupy the paths at 10 am this morning, but I couldn't possibly care less about the crowds. Everything was so darn perfect. Almost puke-inducing-it-is-so-saccharine-perfect. 

It was actually warm enough for short sleeves, so naturally, I exposed my pasty arms to the February sunrays. It honestly felt weird - with all the (melting) snow and with about half of the people around me still bundled in all-winter gear. But again, I couldn't possibly care less!

Bye, bye snow.
Hello blue skies!

Riding Stan (ok, that kinda sounds marginally inappropriate, but do your homework and you'll learn that it is actually not) after such a long time was really fun. And actually setting foot (and wheel) in the Park felt like returning home after a long-ish absence. Made me feel all warm and nice and gooey inside. All the biking paths were clean and dry, whereas many of the smaller, bikes-not-allowed trails were still covered in yuckily melting, sad looking snow. Good. 

And by blue skies, I mean BLUE skies.

I made it back home a bit before noon, just in time to go to the pool for a swim before heading to the lab. Because yes, nothing better than killing some cancer cells on a lovely Saturday afternoon. 

My today's thoughts exactly.
Source.

The bike ride and the swim and the sun gave me so much positive juju that the prospect of spending the rest of this lovely day in our grim looking lab did not sound dreadful at all. Phew.

This one is a bit random,
but let's all accept it is photo proof of my trip to the pool.
The pool is awesome!

Actually, I am at the lab now, running yet another western and killing some more cells. The sun is slowly sinking behind the skyscrapers and I just feel happy that it decided to show its face at all today. 

Sun, I love you and and I have missed you. Why don't you hang out here for a while?

SOTD: Zmelkoow - Čau s(l)onček. Because it's perfect!

The weather people are, of course, forecasting another shitload of snow for Tuesday, but now it's not the time to be bothered about that. We were given a perfect springy day and let's just roll with that. 

Cheers to spring!

Jules

Every landscape architect's wet dream

SOTD: Rudi Bučar - Bella Istriana mia. 

Because I looked for "Moby Dick", but it's not

uploaded on YouTube. So this one is second best. 

My girl M has been mentioned repeatedly on this lovely blog. And for good reason - she's awesome. 

Further proof of her awesomeness is a huge step forward in her life that she took YESTERDAY. And to celebrate such a gigantic step, I decided to brave yesterday's annoying snowfall and ass-freezing cold and walked the Highline, all the way from top to bottom. Because the Highline is very high on our list of shit we need to conquer as soon as she gets her butt on my side of the Atlantic (no pressure here, darlings). 

One of these Hudson-facing sunbeds shall be ours,
darlings.
Because we have coffee to drink and Gotham to
conquer!

Due to the weather (boy, are snowflakes annoying when you breathe them in and they tickle), and the sheer fact that it's winter, so plant-wise the park is pretty much barren, I sort of expected a quiet lonely walk. 

 

Rather barren in this time of year, but
eerily beautiful nonetheless.

I was wrong, there were quite a lot of people, mostly tourists, walking it. But that was kind of OK. 

I know, M, you despise hot pink. But how cute is this pink-clad girl hugging her dad so he can help her get safely off the bench?

Very cute!

I'm not going to say "the world is your oyster", M, because frankly oysters are fucking disgusting.
So, instead:
Here's to your newest adventure, M!
(I toast to you with a tall glass of gin & tonic - just because I can!)

Jules