Ella Street Social Club

Nothing prepares you for what can happen, but feeling crappy 2 days later is sometimes the price you have to pay.

Back to the Future

I took a stroll down memory lane via iPhoto this evening and look what I found!

Behold! The origins of Tinsel Tantrum:



That's Chris and I four years ago! What innocent young women we were! And look at us now:



Shazaam!

Right Back At Ya

(This is my cat Jose and me trying to high 5 him)

See you tomorrow, Tinsel!

Today was also my last day of working at my law firm til after the bar
exam. Now all I'm gonna do is study & post stuff on the blog when I
start feeling a little crazy in the head.

Word.

Freaking Friday

this post is a internet high five to all our faithful readers. So Nicole here is a galatic interwebs motherfucking high five! Good morning happy friday and i am off to portland way to early tomorrow!

love,

tin

food philosophy

my friend found this in Berkley and met her. Sharing is caring. 

Love,

Tin

Do you like to shop?

Then click on this link: Gilt Invite

For reals, this is the best online sale shop out there. Gilt has these limited time only sales on HUGE designers and their stuff is CRAZY BONKERS BEZERKER cheap. For instance, I bought a Gryson bag for $168. Retail? $800. See wha' I mean?

And it's invite only. Everyone likes feeling exclusive now and again.

Miss Manners

This is what you get when you're nice to me: peanut butter chocolate
chip cookies. I made these for my friend who took care of me the
last two days. I kid you not -- they taste & smell like reese's
peanut butter cups.

Bananas an' Shit

In times of stress and uncertainty I like to bake and cook. I decided to go with baking this evening since my buddy is under the weather and thats what she would do. BAKE! It's not just for when you are hung-over!

I came across 6 bananas that were too ripe to eat at work so I took them home to make banana bread. I also got 4 totally black frozen ripe bananas from my friend Jesse. I used a very simple old basic recipe and added a couple things.

The recipe calls for 

1 cup butter (never use margarine)

2 cup sugar ( i always use 1 - 1 and a 1/2 cups)

4 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

4 cup flour

6 large bananas

1 cup nuts ( i use walnuts)

1. mix butter and sugar then eggs

2. mix dry ingredients then sift into wet ones

3. add bananas, i took the 4 frozen ones put them in my oven safe bowl and rinsed with hot water so they start to get soggy, then i put over gas stove and mash till it's a warm smooth liquid banana soup. the other 6 not totally ripe ones i mash into mix but leave some chunks the size of quarters. 

4. i add a tsp of real vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, ginger, lemon peel, cardamom and nutmeg for my extra special spice.

5. grease the pans heavy with butter!

325 degrees for 1 hour and fifteen min.  this recipe will make 2 large loafs or in my case 1 normal and 2 small.

FEEL BETTER TAN!

ENJOY!

love tin

Cops and Tinsel

My mother came to visit and we walked to the Ferry Building to check out the saturday farmers market which is pretty amazing in itself when we came across the protest to the bailout. I love the weather in SF and I love that everyone I know is getting married. Fuckin A!

High Fashion Vanity

I just got these pictures back from Josh Elliott, the photographer who shot these pics from a photo shoot we did for Emily Katz. We did this shoot in December. It was FREEZING. But I survived. Anyway, I kinda like the prostitute-on-the-farm look we had going on here. Notice, the Dries Van Notens I'm wearing. This is where my love affair with these shoes began.

Mr. Clair and Mr Morgan as their easter best.

You can't tell...

Because of the glare, but tinsel is getting her picture taken next to a
man with one of the most impressive mullets of all time.

I would post more pics, but I forgot my camera in sf. Of course Tinsel
could upload them in my stead, but..,

City of Angels

We are on our way to destroy LA. Hooray!!

The Proof is in the pudding.

I miss you so much but this is a mild version of the disaster you wake up to every day.

L,

Tin

Card Games or Mind Games

The 2nd evening in SF was awesome as no surprise. We went to a bbq and played cards alone because thats how we roll.

Now we are have been on speaker phone for the last hour with Richard. He is sad about his accidental mullet but you know shit happens. We forgive him just like we forgive so many others. Don't be sad you have a mullet be sad your 38 and give a shit about what we think..... 

What the fuck do I know?

LA is coming up this weekend so it's time for my new jean shorts and sweet flea market. Todd is planning a trip to the abandoned zoo. Apparently you can climb into the cages. It's animal bananas!

Love Tin

Frye Slate Riding Boots

I want these as my spring/summer boot.  They will be mine.....

Yes Please

Who needs pants when you have these crazy Stella McCartney thigh high boots?

Please and thank you.

Accepting Donations

I was talking to my friend Hiromi today and she said the blog didn't have enough fashion posts. So here's one for you Hiromi -- I NEED THESE SHOES! They cost $570 at haloshoes.com

If you want to help me pay for these bad boys, I will forever be in your debt. I'll bake you a cake!!!

Today's lesson: Chocolate Rum Bundt Cake

Today is the IDES OF MARCH!!!! Beware!!!

It is also, un-assasinatedly, my father's birthday. He turned the big 5-7 today, and his birthday wish to me was that I bake him my grandmother's famous chocolate rum bundt cake. It was a cake my grandma (whom we called Mimi) made every christmas and it's the best thing ever. It evokes all these images of christmas and santa and fireplaces and turtlenecks. I could eat this cake everyday, but as it has an entire stick of butter melted into it, I try not to.

I like to think I've improved on the recipe...my aunts all use store bought cake mix but I find that to be blasphemy...why would you want to use a mix when it's just as easy and tastier to make your own? I've tried out a few different cake recipes over the years and this is my favorite one so far, it's from Food & Wine:

Ingredients

1. Vegetable oil spray
2. 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3. 3/4 cup canola oil
4. 1 cup sugar
5. 1 large egg
6. 2 cups all-purpose flour
7. 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
8. 1 tablespoon baking soda
9. 3/4 teaspoon salt
10. 1 cup strong-brewed coffee
11. 1 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray. In a small saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the chopped chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Scrape the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the coffee and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk; whisk until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely.

To make the cake with rum, I just mix in a couple tablespoons of rum once the batter is completely mixed. You can booze it up to taste.

The real magic happens after the cake is done. That is when you prepare the rum glaze. Again, my aunts use rum EXTRACT, but who the hell wants that? I want, and therefore use, the real stuff. Okay, brace your heart:

Rum Glaze:
1 stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
1 cup cold water
2-3 tbl rum (more or less depending on taste)

Throw all these ingredients in a small pan, stir until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted and bring to a frothy boil. Then, while the cake is still warm, poke as many holes in it as you can with a fork, toothpick, whatevs. Drizzle the glaze over the cake til it's soaked up as much as it possibly can. Let the cake sit for a little while, then move to your serving platter.

ENJOY BITCHES! It's so good. Thank you, Mimi. Hope you're proud.

New Tatttttt

This one hurt more. I believe it's the first tattoo without prescription painkillers and jameson handy. Picture of actual tattoo to follow someday. Or not. Most likely not. 

Miss you!

L,

tin

Sigh

I love the Satorialist and while I generally just adore the clothes and stylings of his subjects, this guy kind of made me swoon. Internet Fashion Crush!

In Contrast...

The last few guys I (this being Tantrum) have dated have all had substance abuse problems, emotional issues or just didn't like me.

Who's the big winner? I'M THE BIG WINNER!

COCO and not the lady

I realized I see a very certain pattern in the men (boys) I have dated in the present to past and very past. They all love hot or cold coco milk. I can think of 5 particular people I dated who love it. They buy it at the store when they buy groceries. They order it at coffee shops.

Am I the only one who sees this weird coincidence? Is it just the ones I date? Do I pick adult size children? I don't want to beat this point into the ground but it's funny right?

Fucking Friday

If this doesn't make you smile then you are dead inside.

love tin.

Poem of the Day

I am in a particularly bad mood today. As such, I decided to turn to some poetry to see if it would lift my spirits. It only did a so-so job, but I still want to share with all 5 of you blog readers one of my new favorite poems that Tinsel sent to me awhile back. Tinsel is great a little pick me ups. One time, after a boy hurt my feelings, she sent me a marc jacobs goodie bag. It was ten times better than that stupid boy ever was. That's what friends are for, you know?

Anyway, here is a poem by the Russian poetess, Anna Akhmatova. She's one of my faves. This poem was written in 1913 but yet feels very modern and fresh. And depressing. I love it.


We are all heavy-drinkers and whores,
What a joyless, miserable crowd!
There are flowers and birds on the walls,
And the birds all grieve for a cloud.

You are smoking your old black pipe,
And the smoke looks strange over it.
The skirt that I’m wearing feels tight,
But I hope that it makes me look fit.

What’s the weather – thunder or ice?
Here, the windows are all boarded shut.
I examine your face and your eyes
Have the look of a sly cautious cat.

Oh, what sadness I’m feeling inside!
Am I waiting for death’s solemn bell?
And that girl, who’s been dancing all night, -
She will surely end up in hell.