HAILIN' IN HARLEM.

Amy Ruth's @ 113 West 116th Street, Harlem, NYC.

Chicken&waffles.

...With a side of candied yams.

Fried chicken with baked mac&cheese and potato salad for boyfriend.

The Studio Museum in Harlem @ 144 West 125th Street, Harlem, NYC.

Alterscapes Stories: Spilling Waste - Otobong Nkanga, 2006.

The Reading Room of the Studio Museum.

The Green Dress - Cauleen Smith, 2005.
35mm film transferred to DVD with color and sound, total runtime: 14 minutes.

Untitled (Black Love) - Carrie Mae Weems, 1999/2001.

He's Actually Very Intelligent - Tanea Richardson, 2007.

We've had enough of Harlem - Mainly because it started hailing... Heading home.

Yes, I dragged my boyfriend all the way to Harlem... Just for some chicken and waffles (amongst other delicious specialties), which were all well worth it, might I add. I had heard some amazing things about Amy Ruth's, so it was a must to try since I'm a foodie. The food was a tad on the "sweet" side, but I'm a major sugar lover, so I was extremely satisfied. Since we were all the way in Harlem, we visited the Studio Museum. Warning: You are NOT allowed to take photos in this museum, but I am a sneak... Sorry! Anyways, the visit was pretty delightful, especially because it was new. This was my first time visiting this museum and I had been planning to for quite a while. The museum itself is pretty small, but it holds the works of some young artists expressing powerful messages. I enjoyed the 14 minute film that we were able to watch (The Green Dress by Cauleen Smith) and a few of the photographs and paintings that were out on display. The employees were super welcoming and the environment was relaxing. Upon leaving the museum, we had planned to stroll around and maybe take some photos of other historical sights to be seen... But then it started to hail! Visit over, so we hopped the train right back home.

Thanks for reading.
XO

IS IT SPRING YET?

Shake Shack @ 691 8th Avenue, NYC, 10036.
The cheeseburgers, cheese fries + strawberry milkshakes are amazing!

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) @ 11 West 53rd Street, NYC, 10019.

Evening, Honfleur - Georges-Pierre Seurat, 1886.

The Starry Night - Vincent van Gogh, 1889.

Picture with an Archer - Wassily Kandinsky, 1909.

The Sleeping Gypsy - Henri Rousseau, 1897.

Mme Kupka among Verticals - František Kupka, 1910/11.

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space - Umberto Boccioni, 1913 (cast 1931).

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon - Pablo Picasso, 1907.
Of all the times I've been to MoMA, I had never seen this painting in person until this day.
I was in awe over how huge it is in size - 8 feet x 7 feet, 8 inches.
Sometimes my textbooks make artworks look bigger than they actually are,
but for some reason, my textbook had me under the impression that this was a medium-sized painting.
It was a lovely surprise.

The Dance (I) - Henri Matisse, early 1909.
This is yet another painting I finally got to experience in person for the first time...
Once again, I was in shock over how large it is.
8 feet, 6 1/2 inches x 12 feet, 9 1/2 inches, to be exact.

Large Seated Nude - Henri Matisse, 1925-29.

Constellation with Red Object - Alexander Calder, 1943.

Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair - Frida Kahlo, 1940.
One of my favorite Frida paintings, it's so liberating.

Abstract Painting - Ad Reinhardt, 1963.
Abstract Painting contains three distinct shades of black, which become visible only after prolonged looking. Reinhardt was intensely sensitive to such subtle variations. He explained, "There is a black which is old and a black which is fresh. Lustrous black and dull black, black in sunlight and black in shadow."

Number 107 - Ad Reinhardt, 1950.

Le Gros - Franz Kline, 1961.
One of my (many) favorite paintings... I really love this one.
So glad I finally got to experience it in person.
I'm obviously a sucker for Abstract Expressionism.

Chief - Franz Kline, 1950.

Foraging (The Air Itself/The Dark Version) - William Pope.L, 1995.

Boyfriend.
(Featuring: Fluxus Wallpaper - Yoko Ono & George Maciunas, circa 1973/reprinted 2010).

Featuring: The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II - Frank Stella, 1959.

The MoMA Design Store/gift shop is the BEST, especially for presents.

Since the weather was so beautiful (65 degrees!), boyfriend and I stopped for some Pinkberry.
I'm not a big fan of their "original" frozen yogurt, but since the last time I've visited,
I noticed that they've added some new froyo flavors.
I decided to have the mango frozen yogurt with strawberries and Cap'n Crunch...
It was PERFECT - Their mango froyo is definitely a hit, even on it's own.

This warm and tricky Friday was definitely a scam...
The following day it was right back to 30something degrees.
Such a letdown, but it was nice while it lasted.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend.
XO

LATELY THIS IS WHAT I'M INTO: FEBRUARY EDITION.

(From left to right)
Top row: Lanvin, Golden Goose, Givenchy, Sergio Rossi, Givenchy.
Bottom row: Yves Saint Laurent, Dolce & Gabbana, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Gianmarco Lorenzi.

Top row: Halston Heritage, Nightcap, Givenchy, Carven, Beyond Vintage.
Bottom row: 3.1 Phillip Lim, Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, Preen Line, Valentino, Elizabeth and James.

Top row: Alexander Wang, Marni, Rick Owens, Christopher Raeburn, Vivienne Westwood.
Bottom row: Marni, Stella McCartney, Yigal Azrouel, Fendi, Alexander Wang.

Top row: Anndra Neen, Fenton, Chloé, House of Harlow, Faliero Sarti.
Middle: Elsa, Delfina Delettrez, Alexander McQueen, House of Harlow.
Bottom row: Samantha Wills, Alexander Wang, Yves Saint Laurent, Dagmar Kestner.

Top row: Chloé perfume, Chanel Le Vernis nail color in "Fantastic" and "Orange Fizz",
Philosophy's "Raspberry Sorbet" 3-in-1 shower gel, shampoo and bubble bath, Urban Decay
eye shadows in "Free Love", "Ecstacy" and "Woodstock".
Middle: RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek in "Illusive", Physician's Formula Happy Booster Glow
and Mood Boosting blush in "Rose".
Bottom row: Bobbi Brown lipsticks in "Slopes", "Hollywood Red" and "Red", Bobbi Brown Beach
body oil, Benefit "Bella Bamba" blush, Shu Uemura "Sunset Gold" palette.

What are you guys currently into?

Hope you all enjoyed my "loves" of the month.
Stay beautiful.
XO

GOODIE CENTRAL.

Yes, the time has come! I've finally brought myself to vlog for the first
time in forever and give you guys a little bit of a "favorites" haul.
It's a pretty long video and I am sick, so I do apologize.
Also, I recorded it using my computer instead of my camera;
It was just a lot easier that way...
Bear with me and thank you for watching - Enjoy!

Just some updates:

• School is starting up again soon. February 28th, to be exact. I'll be taking: Modern Art I (1880 - 1945), Modern Art II (1945 - Present), History of Women in Art and Environmental Politics. These classes should be a breeze. If anything, the most "difficult" would turn out being Environmental Politics, but I'm sure I'll be fine.
• My trip to Paris, France has been booked, all thanks to my lovely mother. I'll be there from April 19th until April 25th. April 22nd is my birthday, I'm a little torn because I won't be home for it - But I guess the next best place to be would have to be where I'm going, right?!
• I need to develop the film from my fisheye Lomography cameras. I'm anxious to see what the pictures are like. That's the best part about manual/disposable cameras - The suspense!
• Crystal Castles has a show coming up, here in NYC. I've been waiting so long to attend one of their shows and every time I have a chance, something ridiculous either comes up or goes wrong. I'm definitely not missing this one... Plus, my boyfriend is into attending with me, so I'm even more excited (and appreciative, of course - He's so wonderful!) - Definitely can't wait.
  
• I'm hoping to throw together a "Favorites" of January/February video before the month is up and I'm planning on documenting another baking episode of mine. I'm making strawberry champagne cupcakes for Valentine's Day. If all goes well, I'll definitely be sharing the details/recipe, as well as photos.
• I'm so excited for Valentine's Day!
• Lastly, I've recently made an Tumblr that's something similar to an "art diary" for me. I document all different types of art, different styles and an array of different artists - Some that I have experienced on my own and in person, and some that I have not or have yet to experience. If you're interested, feel free to follow (as well as ask questions and recommend styles/artists, etc): http://www.soulhospital.tumblr.com.
  

Thanks for sticking around, darlings.
XO