Marquez, Banerji, and Esquivel.

Books are the best. Over the last few weeks I've been sticking to reading a book a week and its taken me on quite the adventure.

For October I first read 100 Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I read the english translation, but the original (left) has such nice a cover. This book left me a little speechless. Marquez never lets up, describing each hair on the characters head in extreme detail and then taking his life in a sentence. He gets you attached and then leaves you offended. While it is the sad story of the Buendia family in the fictional town of Macondo, it is much more. You can feel the heavy messages intertwined and symbols implied by Marquez's own life and the world around him. READ IT!





To take a break from magical realism and put my feet back on the ground, I finally finished Eating India. I had been pecking away at this book for sometime and finally took the time to get myself educated in the ways of indian food. Non-fiction always takes a little more determination for me to get through and anything is hard to read after spending a week with Marquez, but in the end I learned so much and was moved to take a trip to Little India in Jackson Heights, Queens where I tried lots of sweets that Chitrita Banerji marveled over and explored the best Indian Grocery in all of New York, Batel Brothers. I now know that there is so much more to the cuisine than the popular tikka masala and will never be able to walk into an Indian restaurant and not wonder what region the food is coming from. Foodies will totally dig this book.



To finish off the month, I plowed through Like Water for Chocolate. I LOVED IT. Laura Esquivel is a total romantic and tells an epic lovestory in monthly installments filled with scenes from the kitchen and recipes that make you hungry. I finished this book in about a day and a half. I couldn't help myself. Women will love this book, as well as the few romantic men that love to cook that are left on the planet : )

you better sang!

Ahmad Jamal

For me, If there is one musician that doesn't speak a word but says a whole lot, its Ahmad Jamal. My little ears are pretty simple and to be spoken to so clearly by a piano puts him in the category of beautiful and open. I am constantly disheartened by the little cave that jazz musicians can crawl into once they begin to really learn their instrument. Since there are howevermany buttons/strings/frets/keys, it is tempting to count them and see how many one can play at how every fast a tempo, but to jump into the river of longing and to work toward expresssing it without words is something i instantly fall in love with.

genius.

This woman blows my mind. I so wish that i was as awesome as Sydney Albertini. Her quilting is ridiculous (along with her ceramics, fiber art, and paintings). She's a total savage (thats a good thing).

Put A Dress On Me!

So excited about this. My adorable band and I spent some time at Camp Street Studios and this is one of the tunes that we spent some time with. Enjoy!

Its been too long

these two women are a little too badass. rose polenzani and rose cousins covering the wonderful Feist song

thank you hustle.

what is it about life that throws my hands up in the air, turns my head towards the sky, and makes me ask, "What the #@$%!?" as the days go by, the curve balls keep coming and life only gets more interesting. while i feel fortunate to have had a smile on my face for about 90% of my lifetime, sometimes the shit hits the fan and i'm left feeling helpless. these are the moments that a girl's gotta hustle. nothing too shady, just make it work. i dedicate this to Karen. a woman thats keeps gettin up even after i've told her not to.

fashionable inspiration

gucci, prada, chanel...all such funny little words. I like myself a good plaid men's shirt and a pair of oversized khaki's. regardless of my comfy ways, I have such a soft spot for beautiful clothes and their makers. while the industry behind designer clothing does not sit well with me and the body type encouraged is unhealthy, the garments are works of art. one side of me wants to kick and scream, arguing that money spent on sequins and silk should go toward the hungry and homeless, but that just isn't so. when someone tells me i should put away the guitar and do something that matters, it breaks my heart.

I recently watched the VOGUE documentary called "The September Issue" and fell in love with Grace Coddington, the creative director of VOGUE. she's so beautiful and such a genius. i can't help but hating on the superficiality of the fashion scene, but when i found out about her it gave me hope that one can love clothing and still be a good person.

know my name

know my name.

ask me for it.

when you walk and forget my face
Come back with the grace
to ask me for it

Know my name.

Ask me for it.

Letters combined to label my kind
that speaks a truth from my lips only
that leaves a man fulfilled and lonely
that touches his head like a priest holy
and pushes him back like a temptress solely
to hold my own hands

Know my name.

ask me for it.

I took yours once and kept it close.
every letter in my book

I know your name.
I asked you for it.

-mg

rodriguez.

an old friend and a big influence. check this shit out.

so cuddly.

I love having bad ass friends. Cuddle Magic is so stellar. Bass drums on bellies and trumpets in the air. It doesn't get any better than this folks. Pretty sure they are playing in NY on the 30th. Check them out and listen in!

Epic Show Tuesday Night!

Rose Polenzani is the shit. You'll never meet a more talented and humble woman. I can't believe that we are doing a SHOW TOGETHER TOMORROW!? Thats right. I get to share the stage with Rose Polenzani. Tomorrow night, I (Margaret Glaspy) will be playing at the Lizard Lounge in Porter Square with Rose Polenzani and I'm so stoked. Words cannot describe. Do I look like I'm laughing? Check her out and come out tomorrow and support both of us. I'll be playing lots of new songs and will have the best band ever. She will be full of witty banter and  amazing tunes. 

third weekend in Brooklyn. Hallelujah.

Brooklyn. I love you. I used to go to New York and get pushed around by Macy's and Times Square, and now i go straight to Brooklyn. Carroll Gardens, Greenpoint, and Park Slope blow my mind. Will hopefully be moving in the fall and cant wait to be a Brooklynite! A few places that I loooove in Brooklyn

• The Fall Cafe on the corner of Smith and Union in Carroll Gardens is officially my favorite spot to chill. While I rested my bones after stomping around Manhattan all day, two women sat knitting on the sofa in front of me, a couple girls across the room wrote a toast for their best friends wedding, and the french couple beside me continued to fall even more madly in love. Stop by. You'll dig it. 

• Musurgia is the best music store I've ever witnessed. They have thee best selection of instruments I've ever seen and the most amazing staff. Its a little hidden, located in the Carroll Gardens/Gowanus Canal area of Brooklyn, but well worth the hunt. Getting there involves going up stairs and walking across roofs and when you arrive, you feel as though you've reached nirvana. Life starts to make a little more sense. Go and check this place out. Truly. They will get you hip to some beautiful treasures and leave you feeling taken care of. 

• The Parlour Brooklyn is one hip-ass salon. They just celebrated their one year anniversary and Nackie Karcher (owner/hair genius/stylish as all hell) asked If I would play and sing at their party. Totally did, and had such a great time. Go and get your hair did out in GreenPoint  at 72 Greenpoint Ave. You'll be glad you did.

I miss california.

Another heartthrob. Hippy Gourmet rules. 

Come on now, Goldsworthy. I'm not impressed.

By "not impressed", i mean "shamelessly in love with you".

Andy Goldsworthy rocks my world. British sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist that utilizes the environment to create site-specific art. He almost only uses found objects to create. Feel like his sculptures have an undeniably good soul to them and are so so gorgeous. 

me want cookie.

I made the most ballin gluten free peanut butter cookies last night from megkat. they were unreal. only four ingredients. really though? really?

jennah bell...my hero.

Jennah Bell is the best. this picture is from the Lizard Lounge. I just sat there and she sang to me all night and i was in heaven. she makes me wanna be better. check out her music and buy her record when she makes one. Its guaranteed to be amazing!

He's the man.

Sidney Poitier is sooo the handsomest dude in all the land. Please tell me that you all have seen "Lilies of the Field". Such an amazing actor and my heart throb. In the beginning of his career, he was rejected by theatre audiences because he was tone deaf and couldn't dance to save his life. He worked his ass though, and became the first male black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Ridiculously inspiring.

"out of print" is the hippest shit ever.

Seeing as I've become quite the obsessive reader, this site is my little heaven. The t-shirts are everything i want in a garment. New mission: read every book and buy every shirt. 

I love them too much. More then I love people, I love them. 

oh bloggy blog

look at me...blogging. oh blog. looks like i've surrendered to sharing all that i think is fabulous on a page titled "dumple bug". wow. 

stay tuned, because i'll admit i'm hip to some pretty fabulous stuff. i can't help it. its in my jeans.