A CELEBRATION OF MOTHERS

Annie and I have a great affection for our mothers, a fascination with who they were when they were our age (which Annie explores here), and an admiration for all that they have done for us. My mother, I am convinced, should be hailed as a saint. She is kind, patient, and a strong woman. There are a few things that I find curious about her (like how she administered urine tests as a job after college and how she tried to become Sheriff), but I love the idea that she is more than just a mother - she's a woman of the world! Horrah! I can only hope to have a heart like hers and the courage to love BIG.

Here she is with my father. Cheesy picture, typical Dad

The more I think about it, the more I believe that mothers are the strength of our world. Whether we have good or bad relationships with them, these women shape us to be who we are and introduce us to who we may become. The more that I struggle as a post-grad young adult in this scary world, the more she reveals to me about who she was before her stinky kids came into her life. Heck! Before many people came into her life. Secrets, secrets are no fun. Wait, yes there are! Let me in!

Love my mom's style here with my great-grandmother, aunt, grandma and father

And isn't it really something to see generations side by side? Think of the history! What I wouldn't give to meet my nana in the Nebraska dance halls or my mother when she first moved to California!

Three leading ladies - oh how we have and will change the world

But what's more, let's not forget about the women in our lives who have raised us like their own. They have been our grandmothers, our coaches, our teachers, our friends' mothers, our mothers' friends, our step-mothers, our aunts...and they are our inspiration!

Truly Optimistic,

-L

birthday boots

This month a lot of things went my way and I found my finances in a nice, comfortable spot. Since it was my Michael Jordan birthday, which has precedence for being a pretty important year (see evidence here and here and here)*, I marched straight over to vintage wonderland No Parking on Pike Street and bought myself a pair of heavy-duty grey lace-up ankle boots I'd been eyeing for months.


They're really good.

The shopowner, Ben, has some really amazing stuff and is constantly updating the space's layout and themes. There's always something perfect hiding in the jewelry boxes and under tables and you have to spend some serious time in there to see it all. I want a lot of things in there that I can't afford and Ben is always patient with Lizzie and I when we paw through it and tell him how great his stuff is. We especially like hearing his stories of how and where he tracks down different treasures.

I feel really powerful in these boots. The soles will NEVER wear out, that's the Justin boot promise. It's a brand for farmers, as I understand. Plus, when I wear my glasses at the same time, I AM DARIA.


I'm trying to get Lizzie to buy a pair so she can be Jane Lane!



*Sometimes, you turn 23, and you go on an all-day birthday adventure with Lizzie, and you happen to run into someone you sort of know who works at a diner that you went into looking for a milkshake, and he goes on, out of the goodness of his heart, to make you lots of fruity drinks at 3pm.

Here is part of the adventure:

Sorry, Mom.

A

Canary Sing + DOP

Dude.

Day by day we are reassured that our young lives--hell, all our lives!--should be dedicated to making things with our besties. Here is one such beautiful collaboration: our dear Katie and Ben, over at Department of Projects in Portland, just put together the album art for the latest EP from our dear Hollis and Madeleine of Canary Sing. DOP's design is spot on, and these are indeed beautiful babies!

The release party for the Beautiful Baby EP, presented by Hidmo Entertainment and Members Only 206, is happening Mother's Day, May 9th!, at Chop Suey. We're stoked. Canary Sing has a lot of big awesome stuff planned for the coming months, including a three-week show-tour-crazy-cool-adventure-time in Minnesota, NYC, DC, and Jamaica.

AAAND: here are the boss ladies last night rocking Moe Bar:

Love 'em.

A & L

coming soon

LIZZIE: JETSETTING THE NATION: AN EPISODE IN 2 PARTS: EAST COAST TO BEST COAST

ANNIE: ON OVERDRIVE: LIFE ON PIKE STREET + FINDING A PARKING SPOT ON QUEEN ANNE IS HARD: BUT COLLABORATIVE ART IS REALLY REALLY COOL





and that's a promise.

Ramblin' (Wo)man

Life has been busy for us Samstag gals. We’ve been watching doors open and close during these past few weeks and whew (!), things are really changing. When I was a young (and much tanner) kid back home in San Diego, my dad with all of his fatherly wisdom would talk about life being a giant book, with chapters beginning and ending, characters fazing in and out, and everything eventually coming to a close. I always thought, “Aw man, that’s such an old folk thing to say” but you know what? That guy really has something goin’ there.

I’ve spent the past three months working at Duo Public Relations as an intern for a team of wonderful, intelligent and creative women, but last Thursday was my final day, and sure enough Pops, that chapter has come to an end. Can I just say this? This one thing? Working at Duo was such a great experience and I am one lucky kid to have landed an internship there. We had dogs in the office, wine on Fridays, and lots of fun...and of course I learned lots. So what did I do to celebrate? I went to Disneyland! No, not really, but close! I went to New York City to celebrate a few great things in my life, and of course to just be a tourist!

Talk about spontaneous. I bought my plane ticket on Tuesday (with flyer miles! What, do you think I’m made out of money?) and landed Friday afternoon. I haven’t always been a light packer. My family would probably tell you that I’m a just-in-case-the-world-ends kind of packer, but those days are behind me. Needless to say, I showed up with a pre-schooler’s sized backpack and just went with it! Because no matter how hard I could have tried, nothing compares to the style of New York City women. Seriously. Seriously. I must have looked like a dirty old man lusting after all of the spring jackets and high heels. Somehow, the women seemed to just pull everything off so effortlessly. Maybe I was just excited, but I doubt that my eyes deceived me!

I swear that we spent just as much time window shopping in the Meat Packing District as we did site seeing. Anyway, I’m still dreaming in that Empire State of Mind (See: Jay-Z). Maybe someday, Queens and Brooklyn and everything in between will be so lucky as to have me grace their bubblegum sidewalks again. Yeah, real lucky.

View of the city from the Williamsburg Bridge

Times Square!

A humble view from the Empire State Building

Excited

ALEXANDER MQUEEN

ALEXANDER MQUEEN

I wish I had written down or could remember the names of the rest of these ridiculously awesome shops on 14th Ave, but in the moment I was just racing around like a kid in a candy shop! So please, enjoy these photos.

Until Next Time,

-L