my hairdresser says everything will be turkish this year

 
this is probably my favorite movie of all time.  check out the relevant scene beginning at 38:13 until about 40:00.

it's march.  know what that means?  right.  time to pin down 2012's first quarter trends.
 
1) fasting--every day for seven days some one has mentioned fasting in my presence.  two people said it improved their migraines, one person their allergies, i heard about it from two different yogis, both irl and online, and radio west had an hour long program on fasting this week.  i'm calling this one.  it's an official trend in white people problem solving (migraines, allergies, body hatred in general.  is that too harsh, too sweeping a claim,  or is it wrong?)

2) savory sweets-- seriously,  people, has anyone been to a serious eatery in the past year that didn't offer a dessert featuring sea salt, chilis, or herbs?  think about it and get back to me.  i remember a couple years ago the ny times fleur de sel chocolate chip cookies were big, but i think 2012 took the movement of savory sweets into full swing.  lula made these rosemary cookies yesterday, and i just ran into this savory/sweet roasted chick pea today.  i would venture to say that if you're an old school piece of chocolate cake ungarnished with a salted carmel or a red chili/dark chocolate ganache, then you're a laughingstock of a dessert.

3) mid-calf skirts/lady clothes--i've been seeing them on julie's blog, in the mags, and then when e. and a. came to visit for spring break, and came home from the deseret industries laden down with arms full of 90's sisters in zion skirts and dresses, i figured the deal was already done.  i'm preparing my self for jumpers, frankenstein shoes, and shortskirts/long jackets.  this has probably been going on for ages in n.y.  we're slow to adopt and slow to let go of trends out here in the wild west.  i won't complain, though, as the 90's were pretty damn good to me.

4) barre workouts--you already know how devoted i am to yoga.  it's changed my mind, my heart, my life.  but some time soon, something new will take root.  there are all these people hating on yoga lately, like here in the ny times (btw, i don't condone this article.  if you care, ask me for my rebuttals), and then there's a lot of talk of barre workouts.  i like to think yoga is true and real, and not just a trend.  we'll see.

5) alternative grains and flours-- & not just for gluten allergies any more.  folks are exploring some rad flavors and textures in quinoa, nut flours, chickpea flour, rice flour, and i'm sure lots of other stuff i haven't worked with yet.  i'm all for experimentation and bio-diversity, but also look askance at poor people's food that is suddenly selling for 11 bucks a pound at whole foods.  nevertheless, i'm making this recipe as soon as i procure 7 cups of walnuts.

6) jeremy lin--i have nothing whatsoever to say about sports, but if i've heard of an athlete & i know what sport (s)he plays, the trend is perhaps already over.  plus i need to get all the way up to ten things on this list.  this one's an act of desperation.

7) pinterest--like sports, i don't do crafts, but apparently there's more than just craft(work) ((craftwork=satan?)) on this site.  a lot of people i respect are devotees.  i may become one yet, especially because yesterday my co-work sauntered into lunch and made me uber-jealous by eating this idea from pinterest:

8) salad in a mason jar--on the bottom layer of the jar marinates mushrooms and avacado in vinaigrette.  clearly the mushrooms are becoming plump and savory while the avocadoes are refraining from turning brown.  wickering atop the mushrooms and avocadoes is a layer of red peppers looking beautiful and also adding some sweet crunch.  then a light frost of crumbled roquefort protected by a roof of spring greens.  when you're ready to eat, upend the jar to distribute the vinaigrette.  clearly anything in a mason jar is of the moment.

9) having crushes on ugly people--i heard that this is a thing from my college-aged daughters, and who am i to question their wisdom? plus i've always believed it myself, and i love it when a thing i approve of already becomes a trend.  remember the opera singer in amadeus? "oh, but herr salieri, looks don't interest me! only talent interests a woman of taste." (when salieri questioned her crush on the apparently unattractive mozart) ((check out the clip up top)).  i've always found steve buscemi and bill murray quite attractive, and, though i would never date him because he's clearly a d-bag, woody allen seems to have no shortage of hot dates.  also, in the t.v. world, there's nurse jackie and her younger, hotter husband.  

yay for ugly women with hot men.

10) kale-- i mean,  i never personally want to eat this green without frying it in a big scoop of bacon fat, but all the healthy white people are drinking it, making soup with it, baking it into chips, and letting it soften in lemon juice and eating it raw.  





legwear:  black tights, before it got too hot and i had to take them off

inspiration:  the cultural markers of 2012

looking forward: to hearing simon shaheen play tonight