Links I Like Friday

Girls on Bikes :30 HD from Loeffler Randall on Vimeo.

If you've ever dreamed of riding a vintage bike with a designer purse in the basket, this video is for you.  Maybe my bike needs a basket, and then if I do that, the designer purse will follow.

I've been riding my bike more lately. We have a love/hate relationship. I love the idea of the bike but I feel like it is the wrong bike for me. It has the boy-style cross bar and I feel like I may tip over every time I try to get started after a stop.  It's because I'm so uncoordinated and I need to start pedaling before my butt is on the seat but I can't do it.  My bike bell used to say "I ♥ My Bike" but the ♥ faded away, which is very apropos. Joe says I should write "I Ehh My Bike."

This week, I chatted with "Bachelor Pad" stars and the front of the house team at Elisir in Penn Quarter for Eater. And I ate jambalaya at Georgia Brown's and name-dropped Beyonce for a Scoutmob deal.

The rest of the Internet:

I always love Lauren Moffatt's fashion lines, and of course, her home is gorgeous as well and so unique. Lots of painted white brick! I had a painted white brick wall in my bedroom in my last apartment and hope to have that again in some future home. Also, Lauren's beautiful bubble chandelier is available at an (almost) reasonable price here. I sent the home post to Joe, because well, Debie wasn't online yet. He said, "He needs to chill with his collection of sneeks." [DesignSponge]

More Lauren Moffatt here, talking about being a mom. [The Glow]

OK, so this girl wasn't exactly working in the coal mines, but just because unpaid fashion/media internships are the way its always been doesn't mean it's the way it should be. [NY Mag]

Richard Cohen thinks politicians' "I was poor once" stories are out of touch: "Michelle Obama recalled that Barack used to pick her up 'in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by in a hole in the passenger-side door.' Of course, the couple in that car had both graduated from Harvard Law..." [WaPo]

I visited the lovely new Mount Pleasant library yesterday, which just opened on Wednesday after a renovation.  It's so pleasant!  I randomly spent five minutes reading a Kirsten Dunst profile in a January edition of Lucky on a library shelf, and I'm recommending it for Kirsten fans.  The author writes a nice little take-down of celebrity profiles, and Kirsten genuinely seems like a cool girl. [Lucky]

Links I Like

This is not exactly a glamour shot.  The cake I made this week tasted alright, but it is not very pretty.  And the inaugural voyage of the new bundt pan too!  Something went wrong with the whole make your own frosting deal.  And then I got frustrated and took the frosting bowl, overturned it on top of the cake in one flip, and let gravity take its course.  The hole in the center was full of frosting.

I told Debie my new career is domestic goddess.  That was before I did that to the frosting, set off the smoke detector, and opened the fridge, somehow breaking one of the shelf doors so that all the condiments fell out onto the floor, mustard and jam and ketchup bottles everywhere.

Anyhow, the chocolate sour cream bundt cake tasted good, that's what counts.  The recipe is from my beloved Joy the Baker cookbook.

This week, I wrote about a really nice, brand spankin' new hookah place on H Street for Scoutmob.  Highly recommend if you are in a hookah-smoking mood. [Scoutmob]

I visited the new rustic and manly Epic Smokehouse in Pentagon City. [Eater]

I also photographed some of the crazy fun of Fashion Night Out in Georgetown [BizBash]

A ton of links from the rest of the Internet:

So I made it all the way to the end of this gif-based tumblr about how everyone is married. [#MyFriendsAreMarried]

Stumbled on this interview with writer Molly Young, and it made me want to read her work.  Loved her articles (1, 2) on Cosmo's Helen Gurley Brown! [Into The Gloss]

Bet you can't read this eulogy about a horse who loved children without tearing up.  Big fat tears rolled down my cheeks while reading this at the Pentagon City mall food court. [WaPo]

In case you want to look like Kate Moss.  Well, the makeup and hair at least.  Seems more attainable than the pricey wardrobe and extreme thinness.  [WhoWhatWear]

NOOOO! They are my Brangelina. [NY Daily News] 

Snarky take on the dead-horse VMAs: "Recoil at the torrent of teenaged girls stuffed into outfits every color of the day-glo. There are streams of Snookis." [Spin]

Love Design*Sponge's Grace Bonney, and here's a quick interview with her on an interesting website that uses a questionnaire answered famously by Marcel Proust. [The Proust]

Scoutmob grades D.C. politicians' Twitter accounts. [ScoutmobDC]

Links I Like Sunday

 If you live in D.C. and love decorating your home, please check out my exhaustive Refinery 29 list of some of the coolest home decor stores in Washington!  This was my dream assignment.  I had so much fun going shopping and putting the list together.  There is a gilded chair at The French Apartment that is calling my name.  And I'm headed to Trohv again tomorrow to window shop with my friends.

And because I love office supplies, I pretended I was going back to school shopping for this roundup of seriously cute desk accessories.  Click here for neon pens and polka dot staplers.

For Eater DC, here's a first look at reviews of Todd Thrasher's intriguing new TNT Bar.  There's a $17 cocktail! 

And the rest of the Internet:

I think Lady Gaga looks gorgeous in these backstage photos. [Terry Richardson's Diary]

The new anti-texting and driving commercials are so scarily effective, especially the "Yeah" commercial.  What a nightmare.  Here's an article about why reckless driving laws in Virginia may be changed. [Washington Post]

Which of these design-y chairs will stand the test of time? [NY Times]

Ohhh... advice columnists (including my favs Dear Sugar and Dear Prudence) talk shop. [Hazlitt]

Going to attempt to make this mango flan cheesecake on Monday. [Design*Sponge]

I've always secretly liked Pink.  Find out why she puts more than half her earnings in her "F You" account. [EW]

Links I Like Friday

First of all, drumroll please... my Refinery29 Dating Coaches article!  I got helpful dating tips from an awesome group of D.C. dating coaches.  Which ones appeal to you?  Personally, I think you should always go on the second date (as long as your date wasn't a total oddball).  It's good to give people a chance.

Other interesting articles I read this week:

Venus and Serena are such remarkable people, not even considering their freakish tennis talent. [NY Times]

This article perfectly sums up how I feel about Cat Marnell. [NY Times]

This may be a smart savings strategy but boy, does this couple sound boring. [Washington Post]

Poppy Delevigne is effortlessly stylish. [Refinery29]

Maybe U Street isn't being "swagger-jacked." [The Atlantic]

This "gastro-bar" sounds more up my alley than the original Rogue 24. [Eater]

Links I Like Friday

 I'm excited to share the things I liked online this week.  First of all, in shameless self-promotion, here's my fun facts about the revamped Julia Child kitchen exhibition at the Smithsonian for Eater DC!

And now, the rest of the Internet:

Chris Rock talks about how he hates credit and misses Chris Farley in this thoughtful interview [Details].

A North Korean immigrant's unlikely turn as a gangsta rap mogul. [LA Times]

Cah-yute prints and posters.  I think I like the "Bonjour" one best, what about you? [A Beautiful Mess]

Are freelance book reviewers afraid to be critical? [Washington Post]

Finally, someone else thinks sock monkeys are tres chic. [Design Sponge]

Andy Murray's puppies stole his gold and silver medals. [Deadspin]

NYT says backyard weddings are where it's at. [New York Times]