neverending stories

cupcakes and cocktails

I swear it upon Zeus when you ask me how old I am I don’t know the answer. Usual I will answer you I was born in 19xx so calculate. Birthday is a day when everyone knows your age, including you. That’s why I bought candle with little clown wearing polka dots and carrying the number one. I am not trying to camouflage my years spent here on the Earth; I just feel like a one-year-old, I said to my friends. At least, as I am getting older and every time I look upon the starry sky I realize I don’t have a clue about life. Clueless like that I woke up on a day of my birth day at 9 am. Went to bed the night before at 3 am, because I had to make candied violets. My boyfriend said I look like a Wisteria Lane housewife and I answered he didn’t have violet cupcakes for his birthday. My friends came at 3 p.m. Started like polite tea party with cupcakes, lemonade, coffee and strawberry cheese cake, it ended about 3am with empty mojitos and deviant 30-year-olds. “Sing along you fools”. Politeness is overpriced anyway.

P.S. For Jelly hearts strawberry cheesecake I used recipe from here, and for cupcakes with candied violets from here (just replaced rose petals with violet ones)

Dear misslikey, it's your 2nd birthday

Dear misslikey,

Yesterday was your 2nd birthday and I was lighting candles again. To celebrate the bond between us. That bond is maybe bit too emotional that when I recently received the bad critiques from dear friend of mine, for one moment he became not so dear of mine. Friend said he doesn’t likey you are too ordinary and tidy, nothing like on the beginning when you were poor little messy brat. Companion also accused me for not transmitting you values of creativity. Partially, he may have said the words of wisdom but I believe that babies are much more wiser than grown ups, so sometimes I just let you have the word. Talking about babies, if somebody told me few years ago that I would rather spend time with little kid than in a room full of clothes, vogues, smokes, surrounded with papers, pretending I am a writer, I would immediately proclaim him as insane. But oh dear Misslikey, you haven’t met my niece. When Lea enters the room, André León Tally could easily become person on hold. Honestly Misslikey, I didn’t have much time because I have to call Lady Gaga all day and ask her to confirm that she ate lot of veggies when she was Baby Gaga. I have to sneak around and find Hello Kitty at different occasions instead of clothes for different occasions. And believe me Misslikey, if you just saw her knocking on piano creating sounds P-P-P—POKA, you wouldn’t be mad cause I am rather hanging with her than with designers.
Talking about designers, seems that these days to be a designer all you need is to have a closet full of vintage clothes, model and Polaroid camera. Then you reproduce clothes and you make a handsome lookbook. And if it’s not to pricey, there is nothing sinful in that cause fashion did become little overrated. Thousand of dollars for a thing that doesn’t have even H of handmade. And we have so many things. I mean why do we need 10 jackets, when we can just put one on ourselves? Or pairs of shoes like we gonna walk 10 lives? Is something deviant in it, or it’s just me making cakes this year?
Know Misslikey, when I said last year in a letter that I am good as dates same as with cooking? This year I made an apple pie and it was actually delicious. When I am under the stress I work in my little garden. When I feel I have to create I make flowerpots. Oh dear, now you probably think when did she become Bree Van der Kamp or Stepford wife, but Misslikey, if it was something this year that gave me inspiration it was one thing that my friend Z taught me: how to not lose a heart in the heart of desert. Whining doesn’t help, acting helps.
You realize now Misslikey, It was truly hard year, but it was also educative and actually, really happy when I think about it now.
When you look yourself into the mirror in small place like one I am living in now, there are few things that you cannot hide and probably most obvious are patience, honesty, and loneliness. Differences among people are biggest when you are not able to choose with whom you will be surrounded. At the beginning you want to do some serious punching in the face and one moment you realize you are most likely to not care. Since the person you are seeing most on the street is you, no one really cares how many social roles you play. Except you. So it’s You that person that wakes up every morning and it’s creator of the day, it is You that has to have a coffee when you don’t have a coffee shop, and it’s You that has to shop when there are no shopping spots. And it’s You that has to be inspired, so it is you that sneaks into the closets full of vintage clothes in your boyfriend house.
Mostly of all dear Misslikey, you realize and you are always learning that most important and the only thing you should or you have to do is to be here and now wherever you are.
And it is You dear reader, which chooses how to spend your precious time. And if it is You that pops here in your spare time to see the new scribble I made, it’s no one else but Me...very grateful to you.

Yours truly,
Nina

Dear misslikey, its your 1st Bday

Dear Misslikey,
Despite of the fact that I am good with dates same as with cooking, when I woke up this morning I remembered today is your first birthday.
We started in September last year with first post of Miss Golightly. Back in the days nobody was actually reading except of my supporting chicks, and cute boy M I used to be in love with. Ohhhh, pooor little US in those days of non reading, we would spend the whole night with double coffee latte and pack of cigarettes. But we continued.
Your birth was pure love and topics to write were instinct. Those like real mothers have. And I really sometimes felt like a mummy. Did entire day pass that I haven’t check on you?! Well, maybe few times, but Dear misslikey you happened completely genuinely, as my fashion diary and personal inspiration, the way I saw things that I wanted share through you with fashion lovers. Normally that my taste and my likes are sometimes varying. That's why misslikey you are changing with moi. And if I sometimes act classically like egotistic parent does, I would like that readers admonish when they feel that. Because we don't have same taste and we like to live in the world of diversity. Who can really portray beauty? And who is enough in-the-know to judge about what is beautiful in the fashion?
There were moments when I just wanted to stop, to not believe in fashion any longer, to erase all those days of studying runaway shows as kid and tearing sheet into tank tops with Like a Virgin slogan. Why? From the time when was just one unique idea and heavy sewing machine, things had pretty changed in the world of fashion, like in every other industry that is led by the cash. It’s not strange that people have divided outlooks, objects, issues and many times disapprovals about fashion industry. I do feel now and then like I have double standards.For instance when model is too bony I go back in the time and I clearly can see a 5-year girl with messy-blonde hair and crying eyes. How would she feel about that and what affect would that make in her teenager years? Would she be miserable because of her chubby cheeks? Sometimes I can feel the pain on the fingers of those third world children working in the fabrics, and my body trembles just with the thought of that.

Dear misslikey, you know I am some sort of humanist and I have a certain problem about dealing with negativities, not only in fashion world but in normal world so I've realized that I cannot change the world. Myself is only world that I am able to change. And in crisis of those moments when I no longer wanted to be part of the fashion, I’ve ran into some individuals that not just breathe fashion, but their love is creation turned into a piece of fabric, rock or photo. In those turnovers my love for fashion grows and I wouldn’t stop for nothing in this world. Our constant readers remember over the year stories about Fay, Liv, Lara, Elisenda.I hope for more upcoming posts like those.
Fashion needs bloggers, our thoughts, opinions, and conscience. That can improve some things. That is why I am thankful to you, misslikey and readers because you are enhancing in me further interest for eco-clothing, vintage and recycled. One more thing that misslikey learn me is that there are many lovely people worldwide, either those that are sending me pleasant emails or supporting what I do. And I want to thank for that.
Some think that issues of clothing on daily basis and issues What Would I Wear are shallow. Yes, for sure we would be happy if there are extra days in the week when we just do some overlay in the morning and we look incredible. But there are those moments in which I used to yell at myself before; Why you don’t have normal pants and normal shirt in your closet, and why you cannot dress in 5 minutes? But why would be the ritual of dressing petite and simple if our lives are everything but petite and simple, we are existing dressed up; we work, love, create and make memories; all in our outfits. Blogs are amazing for the presence of those moment when we are not in alluring inspiration and with question how to wear x you would google something that will rouse your creative ideas. Similar to that when few pieces of your clothes end by coincidence or laziness one over the other and you say; oh this looks beyond together, how didn’t I notice that before?! With thinking of wearing we value more our clothes; we create our personal style which is very not connected neither with riches nor designer clothes. What is more gorgeous when delaying delight by buying something and saving it for certain occasion or just for the days of your work week when you are doing something special? Cause beyond how industry that is led by money often presumes woman as low self-confidence consumers, we certainly do know how to enjoy in that process.
And misslikey, I am very aware I am sometimes writing about clothes that average folks cannot afford, but that’s no reason to feel sad or desperate. Even if we could find the money for anything we want, there is always craving for more. That is just part of our human nature.
At the end misslikey you are for me dream world, and I hope I’ve managed to transfer part of those dreams to You, my reader.
Yours truly,
Nina

Photos; Eniko Mihalik in Forever Young by Sebastian Faena, Wildfox couture collection, Anna Jagodzinska as Diane Keaton for the September issue of Vogue Paris