Tarot Girls: The Major Arcana

Photo by Lilly1975 Everyone seems to have their own interpretation of tarot cards. Something about those little pieces of paper seems so mystical, so omnipotent, and every card seems to have a life all of its own. Some cards are tiny girls with swords unsheathed, some are boys with electric manes like lions - nevertheless, these seemingly harmless cards can be potent parts of our lives; fortune tellers and iconic figures. They can be girls and boys who we know and recognize - maybe best friends, maybe strangers; they can be ourselves - and whether we lay out ancient spreads every morning or play "pick-a-card" with our baby niece, tarot cards can spill their secrets to those willing to listen. Each card has a life of its own, and through this on-going series here on Cocoa I'll share what each card says to me in lullaby highs and hushed lows. This is the story that the Major Arcana tells. The Fool

- A daydreamer - Full of potential and possibility - Almost blind to impending dangers - Childlike - Optimistic - Naive Emily believed that the absolute best way to calm a charm bracelet of jittery nerves was with a big bowl of chocolate gelato and a night spent whizzing around the nearest roller rink. The gelato wasn't hard to find - there were tiny gelaterie everywhere, boasting spectacular names like "Michaelangelo's" or "La Dolce Vita", tucked away in the sullen corners of sleepy city streets. The roller rink, though - that was a whole different story. In this glorious age of twenty first century thrills and chills, she found that most folks had long ago traded in childhood classics like roller rinks and ice skating for more the age-appropriate pursuits of Blackberries and pub crawls. While other women her age spent their weekends picking out Yves Saint Laurent lipstick in deep raspberry shades, she sucked down ballerina pink cherry sodas and gazed dreamily at glossy magazines, transfixed by the fizzing whirlwind of electric color. She realized that in this ever-changing marquee of a city, even children weren't allowed the luxury of childhood - it seemed as though everyone had already grown up before they even had the chance to be foolish and wild. Staring wide-eyed at her favorite childhood roller-rink, plywood nailed to the doors and neon spray-painted pictures of high-rises and superheroes thrown across the walls, Emily vowed that she would never fall victim to the disease that is adulthood. With one hand on her magazine and another over her heart, she swore to swing through the childhood that, much like her favorite roller rink, everyone else had abandoned. The Magician

- Self-confident

- Powerful

-Skillful/talented

- Provides the tools for change

- Creation

- Smooth-talker

- Open/revealing

The very first trick Kate learned, at the all-grown-up age of eleven and a half, was to make a coin disappear. After French lessons and piano practice and college level calculus taught by a charmingly tousled tutor - a sweetly awkward English twenty-something to whom Kate felt superior to in every way - he would lead her out onto the peppermint-scented lawn for a lunch of mushroom pate and warm baguettes and pineapple salad and chocolate mint eclairs and, between the rows of honeysuckle and baby's breath, he would show her magic. He palmed coins and produced scarves and turned cards into flowers, and deep down inside, rumbling with the aftershocks of not fully understanding something for once in her life, Kate burned to do the same. Her head, with its world-class education and radiant sharpness, purred that these simple parlor tricks were child's play and could be deconstructed into their smallest parts, and so snuck quietly to her room, her tutor's coin in hand, and practiced until the sky darkened and her hands ached. After the next morning's Mandarin and classic literature and viola lessons in the parlor, she pulled the coin from her dress and, like a seasoned magician gracing a crowd with mysteriously foreplay, waved her hands until the coin shimmered out of existence. Her tutor, a glint of pride in his eyes, clapped politely, but it wasn't until he began searching for his coin (of which he assumed she had palmed or slipped into her sock the way children often do) that true confusion began to set in. Opening the piano seat, peeking behind keys, plucking at each taut string until they confirmed, with a polite D, F, or G minor, that the coin was not there, he turned his gaze on her and demanded the coin. I made it disappear, she declared, smoothing out her dress - isn't that the trick? The coin, by now most likely tarnished by age, was never found, and even Kate can't quite account for the items that she makes disappear. All she knows now, standing on stages and in front of tail-coated gentry, is that she found her magic, and no textbook could ever teach her the same.

The High Priestess

- Beauty

- Mystery

- Omniscient

- Intelligent

- Psychic powers (intuition and secret knowledge)

- Secretive

- Eccentric

- Insightful

- Unpredictable

Sadie was a curbside prophet, a Saturday-morning dreamer who spent every weekend exploring the city that she loved like a first-time lover. She would wander barefoot through farmers markets that blocked off entire roads and come home with funny hats and bohemian scarves and vegetables still wet with morning dew. She would watch passion plays in the park and sing along with every musician she passed, beating with them on bongos or slapping at her thighs. She bought tickets to independent movies playing at theatres no bigger than her flat, only to give them away to strangers on the street right before showtime just so she could stand under the marquee and its hundred-year-old bulbs and watch the crowds rush in. At night, she would swing through cafes that seemed aglow with dim electric light, sipping cafe au laits and holding existential conversations with complete strangers, only to slip out quietly when they weren't looking and do it all again somewhere new so that when they turned back around they could only wonder if she was there, with her wild hair and crow-black eyes, or if she was just a strange and wonderful dream.

Always,

Penelope ♥

Style Sheet - Anarchy in the USA

Believe it or not, my awkward pre-teen years were spotted with 12-inch singles, ripped jeans, and a ritual twelve-am howling of my favorite Clash song. Yes, through those early identity crises that we all go through I was a tried and true punker, shearing apart leopard print skirts and sporting combat boots, a practice which I'm sure confounded my peers who associated punk rock with Hot Topic and Good Charlotte not anarchy and an abundance of plaid. Despite my frilly, silly wardrobe today, I'm still a punker at heart who can slam dance with the best of them, and in celebration of the movement that rocked the UK to the USA and beyond, this week's style sheet is all about the underbelly of rock-'n'-roll itself - punk rock!

Tank Girl

Nothing says anarchy quite like the chain-smoking, butt-kicking, counter culture diva herself - the epitome of rock and roll and the only girl who can handle a gun so large that it occupies three different counties, Miss Tank Girl. The brainchild of Jamie Hewlett (of Gorillaz fame) and Alan Martin, Tank Girl has been breakin' backs and taking names since the 1980's, but her comics are still floating around today in the form of both compilations of the original strip and a completely new mini-series by different artists all sharing a love for the sharp-tongued mistress of punk.

Where to buy: Barnes&Noble.com

Hellcatpunks

What's a punk rocker without a leather jacket? Without combat boots or ripped tees or a lifetime supply of safety pins? This unique rock'n'roll clothing brand delivers all that and much more to both budding delinquents and seasoned rockers with an abundance of buckles, straps, and, of course, plaid. Perfect for those who dig the classier grunge look of "High Punk", Hellcatpunks will have you slam dancing and rock-n-rolling and giving the whole world the middle finger with a great big dollop of style.

Where to buy: Hellcatpunks.com

The Toy Dolls

Think you know what "classic" punk rock is? Think again. These guys have been around since the dawn of the punk movement all the way back in the 70's, and they're still rockin' today! Churning out album upon album of silly but undeniably punky tunes about everything from a brilliant circus elephant to suburbanites who can't stop watching Dynasty, The Toy Dolls make punk seem like, quite literally, child's play! (After all, nothing says punk rock like falsetto tunes and kazoos!)

Where to buy: amazon.com

Lolita No. 18

Taking the idea of a typical punk band and turning it on its head, this all-girl Japanese ensemble rocks out with the best of them and gives punk a kitschy flair that'll shake and shimmy and sway even the toughest of punks. Covering classics like "Rockaway Beach" and "Dig That Groove Baby" in swingin' sandpaper voices, Lolita No. 18 gives the "girl band" concept a face lift, complete with nose piercing and safety pin lip ring. You'll never think of punk rock the same way again!

Where to buy: amazon.com

Always,
Penelope ♥

Currently Digging

Tint of pink ♥ 10 things

♥ The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Okay, so I've always been in love with Rocky Horror - ever since I was a wee thirteeny bopper and my mother drove my best friend and I down to Miami to see a showing of it at the unheard of hour of midnight. It was playing at a little rickety theatre that had floors waxy with popcorn butter and seats that could gobble you up, but we were mesmerized by it none the less, with its throng of people in costume loitering outside the doors and sign that proclaimed in huge ink-blot letters "Rocky Horror Tonite". We stood under the marquee and wiggled with joy, running in and out of the crowd of Brad Majors' and Frank N. Furters, and laughed through the entire show, having no idea what a callback or audience participation was but loving them nonetheless. We watched as the local cast strutted in front of the screen, wearing lingerie and silly wigs, and we Time Warped up on stage until we were damp with sweat from all of the silliness and fun. Now, an uncountable amount of years later, I know every callback in the book and have started my very own cast to Time Warp the night away in our underwear, and after our first show just a few weeks ago I don't think I could ever love Rocky Horror any more.

♥ Nights In

Now that an icy 30 degree chill has settled over South Florida, I've spent the last few evenings curled up inside in an attempt to ward off the biting cold. Being homebound has it's perks, though, I like to think, like the kind of serenity that nothing else in the world can match and the privacy to be sleepy and silly all at once. I've fallen in love with sliding around the house in a pair of thigh-high knit socks and curling up on the couch under a layer cake of blankets, reading books about magical houses and storm clouds and Russian cats that walk upright on their hind legs. I love cooking fresh pasta with homegrown rosemary sprinkled on top while playing midnight jazz as loud as it'll go, humming along to Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong in their sweet lullabies. I'm going to miss this blistering cold once it's gone, but I think I can concoct an excuse here and there to spend more swollen, sleepy evenings inside.

♥ Green Tea

Nothing's better for the cold-weather blues than a warm cup of tea, and green tea is the best you can get. At dinner parties and get-togethers, my eighty five year old grandmother always whispers to me that the secret to her longevity and good health lies in bottomless cups of green tea - along with love, laughter, and happiness, and honestly I think that truer words were never spoken. She's in perfect health and could probably run a mile if you dared her, and she loves to say that a cup of green tea a day since the 1970's helped her along. I may not be able to break that kind of a record, but a cup of tea here and there never hurt!

♥ Thrifting
Believe it or not, I'm a frugal fashionista in the most honest sense; almost everything in my closet was purchased for $5 or less, with the exception of a few brand-name beauties that I splurged on. (Betsey Johnson and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright tend to always get me in a headlock!) As such, thrift stores are always my shopping expedition of choice, and I'm a firm believer that you'll never find cooler clothes anywhere else! Lately I've been surfing from one store to another, picking up itty bitty skirts covered in hearts and denim cowgirl dresses that lace up the front, not to mention a few pink numbers and sunglasses shaped like huge, bubblegum hearts. Ooh la la!

Always,
Penelope ♥

Games for Girls on the A-Go-Go

Whether you grew up with Crash Bandicoot, PaRappa the Rapper, or Pong, video games have played a part in most everyone's lives in one way or another. Despite having a reputation for belonging only to loner boys in living rooms and basements, gamer girls have been tapping out codes and saving princesses since the dawn of games themselves.

Here and now in the 21st century, being a girl that digs games is far less of a stigma than it used to be, especially with all of the darling options geared specifically towards swingin' gals. With the advent handheld systems like the Nintendo DS, though, teeny tiny baby girls on the way to school and high-heeled professionals commuting to work alike can partake in something that used to be just for those with enough spare time to plant themselves in front of the television every night. With all of the options out there today, it can be a daunting job to find just the right game to accompany you on the Brooklyn-bound G train or the public bus or the London underground or even just on a car trip across the street, but here's a list of Penelope-approved games for every girl on the go.

Princess Debut

Who hasn't had those sugary summer daydreams of suddenly switching places with a fairy-tale princess? In Princess Debut you find yourself doing just that after coming face to face with your crowned doppelgänger, a girl who looks just like you and just so happens to have your same name despite coming from a different dimension. As you take her place in her parallel world you find yourself encumbered with the challenge of learning how to ballroom dance in time to wow the guests at the royal ball, not to mention the monumental task of finding a date! Part dating sim and part rhythm challenge, Princess Debut is bound to bring out the girly-girl inside of you and will no doubt have you tapping your toes and cha-chaing around the living room in no time at all.

Style Savvy

Put your fashion skills to the test in the ultimate style challenge that'll have you reorganizing your own closet and dressing up your friends before you even know it! Work your way up the fashion ladder, starting from your first day working at a super chic boutique all the way up to managing your own shop, dressing customers, ordering clothes, and customizing your stylist all the while. Filled with styles to suit every taste, from retro go-go girls to baby pink lolitas to classy dames to gothic honeys, Style Savvy has something for every girl, goddess, and mama with a love for dressing up and being fabulous.

Rockin' Pretty

Become part of the ultimate super sweet all-girl band in Rockin' Pretty, an outright adorable slice of heaven to any girl who has dreams of rocking out on stage in a Japanese school uniform. Play as Mai, an energetic teen who can rock with the best of them, as she joins up with a Josie and the Pussycats-esque rock group in hopes of taking home the grand prize at Rockin' Pretty, a nationwide contest for up-and-coming bands. Play at gigs and dress up the band in outfits that range from adorable to out there, all the while working towards your goal to become the best band there ever was.

Rhythm Heaven

I have a personal soft spot for any kind of rhythm games, especially after growing up on ample doses of Dance Dance Revolution, Um Jammer Lammy, and Space Channel 5, but as of late Rhythm Heaven has been my toe-tapping game of choice with its catchy tunes and unique characters. Work your way through different mini-games and try to master them all, saving the world or cheering on your favorite pop star in the process, and with thrilling quests that can be played over and over again you'll never find yourself short of a catchy rhythm at just the right time!

Always,
Penelope ♥

How To Make a Comeback

Photo by Claude Estebe

After months upon months away - gone without a word, never mind an explanation - how exactly does a girl go about sliding herself back into the spotlight? Should she rush in, guns blazing, and make fireworks pop in the sky like shattering stars to recognize her reappearance? Or should she simply slip in unnoticed, wistful and nostalgic but ready to start anew nonetheless?

And what about those chronic procrastinators that we all know lurk inside of us? How exactly are we supposed to kick that put-it-off bug and fall back into what we love, whether it be baking or weaving or playing the tambourine? After what seems like a millennia of putting aside those favorite hobbies for the sake of our careers or education or family or reruns of Web Soup, how exactly should we re-approach those darling delights of ours that have been waiting patiently for us in the corner, gathering dust?

All it takes is a whim - a sleepy morning or a snowy night - and from there the rest is history.

Start Slow
There's nothing wrong with jumping right back into things, but it's important to set a pace for yourself so that you don't end up putting down your hobbies again, this time for even longer. Don't set unrealistic goals for yourself - it's important to see yourself in the perspective of the here and now, not the past. Sure, you may have used to play the drums in a ska band every other night, but now you may only have the time to pick them up on Saturday mornings. Don't force yourself to play every other day! Set a goal to get back to that peak you used to have and work gradually towards it.

Set Priorities
Remember that no matter how much you love doing what you do, life comes first. Don't be afraid to temporarily break from your schedule if your car breaks down or your grandpa falls ill. Give yourself some slack, and it'll be less stressful in the long run when accidents or unexpected events do happen. With that being said, it's important to not mistake necessary slack with an excuse for procrastination. Prioritize your life, putting your hobby or task below the most important things to you, and don't break from your schedule unless anything related to those important aspects of life comes up.

Don't Make Excuses
There's no need to answer to why you stopped doing your hobby in the first place - all that matters is that you're back into it now. Remember that you don't have to explain yourself to anyone but yourself because you're the only person who is instrumental in getting things done. Plus, not telling the whole world exactly what happened adds a little bit of mystery which is supremely unconquerable!

Do Something New
Give your old hobby a new twist to liven it up! Try a new sewing technique or learn a new type of dance - the more unique and new you can make your hobby, the more likely you are to stick with it.

Do What Makes You Happy
Because in the end, happiness is all that matters.

I've missed you girls, and I'm thrilled to be back.

Always,
Penelope ♥

Frida Kahlo Photoshoot

Frida Kahlo has been one of my all-time favorite artists since before I can remember. Something about her eye-poppingly vibrant yet deeply emotional pieces captivated my art-loving heart and still hasn't let go to this day. The first time I paid a visit to the MoMA in New York City, I remember literally running through the Chicano and Latin American section, searching wildly for a piece of hers, any piece of hers, to no avail. I dreamt of throwing myself at her stories and tales, her vivid, palpable, heart-thumping emotions meticulously carved out on each and every canvas. I'm sure that if I had found a painting of hers I probably would have been thrown out of the museum promptly for running my fingers over each and every brush stroke, feeling for the thought and emotions behind them.

In their March/April issue, Dujor Magazine featured an absolutely stellar photoshoot inspired by Miss Kahlo herself that I think truly captures both her uniquely Mexican style and the electric color that filled her life, through good times and bad. Kahlo was a testament to the strength of womanhood, exemplifying to us all that even through the hard times, the mistakes, the accidents and the unavoidable flaws, there is beauty everywhere to be had.

Always,
Penelope ♥

The Cocoa Guide To Tutus

Photo by Abby Lanes

"I see you like tutus! Any recommendations for really nice ones? I've been on a hunt for vintage-styled ones, but the best I've come across thus far are right here and I figured it couldn't hurt to ask if you, perhaps, had suggestions!"

Only recently have tutus become style essentials for unconventional, eccentric, and all around fabulous girls, but their history stretches all the way back to the dawn of ballet and beyond. In the 14th century their brethren, the petticoat, were worn under huge creampuff dresses to create a more desirable shape, but strangely enough, in modern times the terms "tutu" and "petticoat" have become interchangeable, meaning short, fluffy skirts made of tulle, crinoline, or silk. Nevertheless, these swingin' circles of sugary-sweet fabric have captivated so many and still somehow hold the power to make any girl the center of the room. Looking for your very own tutu or, for you DIY girls, directions on how to make your own? Look no further - here's the Cocoa guide to the sparkling, shimmering, cotton candy joy that is tutus. 

♥ Making A Tutu

For the No-Sew Girl

As crazy as it sounds, no-sew tutus are incredibly easy to make and require so much less time and effort than full-blown tiered ones do. All you need to make one of these fabulous, fluffy skirts is a few yards of tulle your favorite color (or colors!), a pair of scissors, and a piece of elastic long enough to fit around your waist with room to spare. Simply knot the two ends of the elastic together so that it makes a neat little circle, cut the tulle into strips, and tie them one right next to another on the piece of elastic, as shown here. Easy as that! You can embellish your brand new tutu with just about anything you can think of, if a plain and simple skirt is a little too boring for you - tie pieces of silky ribbon in-between the strips of tulle, hand-stitch a loop-de-loop design around the bottom, or even make flowers out of the remaining scraps of tulle and stitch them into elastic!

For the Sew-Happy Girl

Take it from me, sewing your own tutu is not a good idea unless you're both super experienced with sewing and extremely patient. I took the plunge and made an attempt to sew my very own a few months ago and, while it came out with only a few little flaws, it took about seven hours and bundles upon bundles of tulle. If you have the time and experience, though, the possibilities are endless - you can make tutus from just about anything, from old t-shirts to kids bed sheets to your favorite curtains to vintage kimonos. There's a fabulous tutorial on how to do exactly that over at Instructables, covering all of the basics and displaying some amazing tutus to jump-start your creative juices, as well!

♥

♥ Finding The Perfect Tutu

Believe it or not, vintage tutus are everywhere - the trick is to know where to look. Antique shops, vintage clothing stores, and even thrift stores usually have these tiny gems hidden in-between 1970's aprons and pencil skirts, sometimes even dangling from the ceiling like gauzy halos of tulle. Not up for a hunt? My all-time favorite tutus come from the online retailer Sock Dreams, featuring everything from victorian-style petticoats to sweetly short crinolines all for a super-reasonable price. In terms of the mainstream, Hot Topic has a genuinely funky selection of tutus that are just short enough for us under-5'5'' girls to pull off without looking weighed down by our huge skirts, but if you have the cash to spend and want to go all out, Lacey's has a gorgeous collection of super-pouffy bubblegum colored tutus perfect for any eccentric fashionista.

 

Always,
Penelope ♥

Style Sheet - Geisha Girl

Photo by Mariangela Felicity Totaro

I have to admit, this week's Style Sheet is influenced by a  passion of mine that has just recently come to fruition. I've been telling myself that I'm going to visit Japan for years now, maybe even take up residence there for a little while, dissuaded only by my weak grasp of the seemingly complex language. This past week, though, I've put my reservations aside and picked up as many instructional books and video games as I possibly can on a whim, and I'm happy to announce that I'm picking up Japanese surprisingly fast! In celebration of my non-failure (for I can't say it's a success until I've completely mastered the language) today's Style Sheet is all about those gloriously gorgeous ladies of Japanese lore - the modestly lovely princesses of Nippon themselves - those daring, darling, geisha girls!

Matsuri Geisha Hair Pin

What's a geisha without extravagantly beautiful hair sticks to don? Described as "mint green Bohemian glass beads on intricately engraved bone," these gorgeously vibrant pins are the perfect cherry to top your super sweet green-tea-ice-cream-sundae of a hair-do with. Wear them with your best pink kimono, tiny blossoms and all, for an electric night filled with sushi and sake, or with nothing at all for a tranquil gardenia bubble bath!

Where to buy: longlocks.com

Lady Snowblood

Remember Kill Bill, that swingin' Quentin Tarantino film from six years back? Lady Snowblood just so happens to be its prickly-sweet Japanese precursor from 1973, a cult flick filled with gangster geishas hellbent on exacting revenge and traveling bandits with a taste for European debutant balls. Vividly beautiful and sharply gory at the same time, Lady Snowblood shows that not all geishas are those elegant and gentle beauties that we've come to expect - they can have quite a naughty side too!

Where to buy: amazon.com

Roberto Cavalli Chinoise Print Dress
The uniqueness and elegance of traditional Japanese garb will always have its place in the fashion world - for kimonos never go out of style - but it's always fascinating to see the modern twist that designers put on these far-from-modern dresses. Roberto Cavalli spices up tradition with this amazing kimono-esque dress, perfect for hushed spring days spent under explosive cherry blossom trees or mystical festival nights where ponds and lakes and rivers alike light up with tiny paper boats, burning bright into the night with the secrets of the dead.

Where to buy: net-a-porter.com

100 Poems by 100 Poets White Teapot Set

In order to become a geisha, you're required to be well-versed in a slew of traditional "domestic arts", namely flower arranging and tea ceremony. While not all of us have the precise level of grace needed to excel in the latter, absolutely anyone can indulge in the tranquil thrills of chakai, serving sweets, tea, and a light snack to a cast of close friends. Throw your very own chakai with this traditional tea set, inscribed with one of the 100 poems from the 13th century anthology of Hyakunin Isshu, and refine your natural grace to geisha-like levels!

Where to buy: teavana.com

Always,
Penelope ♥

Weekly Wishes

Seedy Scarf ♥ Discovered

I wish... for sweltering, swollen nights spent sitting criss-cross applesauce under a blanket of hazy purpled stars, dreaming of voodoo queens and midnight seances and doe-eyed children in tattered babydoll gowns, running barefoot through bayous and turnpikes and humid everglades with their weeping willows and their hushed lullabies. I wish for slow-dances on the front porch of Santeria priestesses, first kisses under warm mangrove trees still dripping with morning rain, afternoons spent shimmying through the backyards of pastel bungalows protected by jangling painted bones and buried ancient charms - I wish for those sticky-sweet Southern summers that can only fully be experienced at night, kissed by whispered breezes and the distant hum of Creole Crow Dances.

I wish... that everyone believed in the most magical, lyrical, dreamworld, heart-thumping, head-spinning, storybook things, catching only glimpses of them but knowing that they're there nonetheless. I wish that strangers would shudder to a halt, spinning madly on one heel in the middle of the street, swinging to catch sight of pinched imps in fedoras and whistling fauns drifting past the corner of their eye. I wish strangers would tell of how boys in coffee shops steal handfuls of creamers and sugar-cubes, only to leave them in a broken trail in hopes of luring home his sweet-toothed anima. I want quiet girls to tell me in whispered words and hushed tones about how love-struck firebird boys visit them at night, whispering sonnets in their ears when they think they're asleep, and how paper-skinned pixies tell fortunes in the park to anyone who will listen. I wish the world around me would hum to life with long-forgotten tales and dusty stories and folks would tell of how these bedtime stories have cracked into the modern world in tiny, wistful specks of life.

I wish... for pink tights and cowboy boots.

In this quietly spectacular week, my sleepy boys and electric girls, what do you wish for?

Always,
Penelope ♥

Albums For Every Moment

Photo by Paul Broome

I'm a firm believer in concocting the perfect soundtrack to life - stashing away some jazzy and upbeat and melodic tunes for all of those conceivable moments that could require music. Whether it's a single song for those moments when you get the incurable blues or a whole playlist overflowing with swingin', swayin', slam-dancin' pep,  the power of music to change the rhythm of life is undeniable. The question is, what's on your soundtrack?

♥ For Electric Shocked, Bubblegum Pop, Clap-Your-Hands Moments 

Jukebox the Ghost - Let Live & Let Ghosts

I discovered this triad of merriment no more than a few weeks ago when they opened for Ben Folds at an itsy bitsy show in a local college theatre, electrifying the crowd with repeating beats and swingin' tunes. Before the show the women's bathroom had been crowded with twenty-something girls complaining about how opening acts never made them want to rush out and buy their CD, but Jukebox the Ghost shocked everyone by doing exactly that. As soon as they left the stage, there was practically a stampede of people charging towards their tiny merchandise table! 

Let Live & Let Ghosts is for those moments of chaotically sweet soda-pop bliss - for the upbeat anarchist spray-painting ten foot smiley faces underneath bridges and on empty walls, for tiny girls sipping down chocolate milkshakes in diners and trying to explain the Socratic method to bewildered strangers, for eight year old gangster girls in Converse and tutus, stomping around the playground and cursing like a sailor at anyone who looks at her the wrong way. It's an album about the confusing thrills that make up life, whether it be parking your car in a tow-away zone or surviving the apocalypse only to find, after the dust settles, "a better world than the one you left behind."

Preview (Hold It In):

 

♥ For Sweetly Surreal, Slow-Motion, Modern Day Moments

Ben Folds - Ben Folds Live

Ben Folds has been my personal hero for as long as I can remember (I've joked since the sixth grade that one day I'll get him to come to my birthday party), with charmingly surreal tracks ranging in topic from the club-life of gothic misfits to the daily failures of a college drop-out considering joining the army. His live shows have a kind of communal spark to them that studio-recorded tracks just can't capture which makes this album, in my opinion, one of his best. It's the next best thing to actually being in the audience!

Ben Folds Live is the perfect soundtrack for those moments that require flinchingly catchy yet down-to-earth ballads - for being chased down by the hypertonic scream of a cop car, or watching a car crash shatter in front of you in steamy, dreamy, mistifying slow motion, or daydreaming aimlessly to the haunting question of "What if? What if? What if? What now?" It's music for realists and daydreamers alike, for awkward teens and ever more awkward adults, for strangers and loners confused by the sleepy complexities of life but in love with them nonetheless. It seems that those thrilling je ne sais quoi moments that life quietly slips underneath us can always be filled in neatly with a bottle of beer and a Ben Folds song.

Preview (Zak & Sara): 

♥ For Super-Charged, Ska-a-Go-Go, Save the World Moments

The Aquabats! - Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2

Whether you know it or not, most everyone with a toddler in the house has encountered the Aquabats in one way or another. As the creative geniuses behind the electrifying kids show Yo Gabba Gabba, their music has seeped into houses all across the world in the form of those tiny tunes that your baby sister won't stop humming. Their formal music, though, is far more thrilling, taking on the form of backflipping ska tracks with a full brass band and shakin', cartoon-inspired lyrics.

Perfect for thrashing, bashing, party-crashing moments, Myths, Legends and Other Amazing Adventures, Vol. 2 makes a ska-a-go-go background to a day spent playing dress-up with wrinkled costumes and kids bed sheets-turned-capes, or cannon-balling in on a hot summer pool party, or speeding towards the beach on an electric yellow moped, revving through stop signs and stop lights and crosswalks alike. For big kids, though, their music is the main ingredient to starting a sweet-and-sour slam-dance-mania mosh pit, no matter whether you're at a club, in a parking lot, or even thrashing through supermarket isles!

Preview (The Wild Sea!):

♥ For Mean Reds, Swollen Blues, and Bittersweet Happiness In-Between Moments

Luke Doucet - Broken (And Other Rogue States)

With songs reminiscent of flirtatiously dangerous noir flicks, black and white and splattered with streaks of chocolate syrup blood, Luke Doucet strums out harrowing tales of broken hearts and broken china, furniture tossed from apartment buildings in a steamy frenzy and sloshing glasses of bourbon and rum on the rocks. His characters are acoustic heroes, "martyrs and barflies" tiptoeing through a sepia city sparked by broken neon and shady, rouged girls in golden cocktail dresses. 

For those smokescreen jazz-club moments in life where the blues and the reds collide spectacularly leaving you swaying and woozy, Broken (And Other Rogue States) provides a perfect soundtrack to match your haziness and transport you to a world of sleepy strangers and broken fire-escapes. It's a world of brick apartment buildings and swaying sidewalks, of restaurant powder rooms and young waiters in tuxes and a matching fez, of jazz singers and lit cigarettes and stiletto heels and black suited men. An album for dazed moods and bittersweet blues, Doucet lights up those dark corners of life with mystifying songs and swaying guitar solos.

Preview (Emily, Please):

Always,
Penelope ♥

Peppermint Issue 2 Out Now!

My, my, I've been gone for a while, haven't I? I won't bore all of you amazing girls and boys with the rather drab reasons for my absence, but it's safe to say that things have been nothing short of hectic around here lately! I'm happy to announce that I'm back, though, and with a whole lotta stories to tell! 

First, though, I have a rather exciting announcement to make. Those of you who live in Australia might have already seen the second issue of Peppermint Magazine floating around bookstores and cafes - maybe you've even flipped through it once or twice. If not, go out and get yourself a copy right now! As of issue #2, I'm a brand new contributer with a super special article contained within its pages!

For all of you bubblegum bunnies who live in other parts of the world and are wondering what all the fuss is about, Peppermint is an eco-fashion magazine all about living life to its fullest, and greenest, possibilities, focusing on green fashion, DIY projects, and inspiration for living an Earth-friendly life. As of right now it can only be found in Australian retailers, but absolutely anyone, no matter where you live, can subscribe and receive every issue right to their front door for a super-reasonable price.

With that said, I'd like to welcome all of the brand new bunnies to Cocoa and say hello again to all of the old ones who have stuck around, even through my sporadic absences. All of you are beautiful, intelligent, and all-around amazing people, and we're going to have a lot of fun.

Stay beautiful, angels~

Always,
Penelope ♥

Style Sheet - Bonjour, Paris!

In the spirit of being spontaneous and trying something new, I've decided to start a new segment around this super dizzy merry-go-round that is Cocoa, hopeful something that all of you amazing bunnies will enjoy! The Cocoa Style Sheet will be a weekly compilation of stunning a-go-go clothes, beauty products, books, places, and anything else that I can think of all centered around a rotating weekly theme. This week? That theme just so happens to be the one and only city of art, love, and style supreme - Paris, France! 

Have an idea for a theme? For a featured product? For a new and unique cupcake flavor? Let me know! I'm dying to hear your thoughts and suggestions, my mocha bunnies! Throw your two cents into the hot Cocoa cup!


TokyoMilk Parfumarie Curiosite in French Kiss

Tokyo does Paris! This little bottle of aromatic bliss describes itself as "a sweet pucker of mandarin orange, gardenia and tuberose" - and what a kiss it is! A kiss about squeaky sleek platform heels, reapplying your lipstick atop the Eiffel Tower and oversized black berets worn by tiny girls sipping cafe au lait, French Kiss captures all of those wonderful kisses that the hometown of sizzling love has to offer.

Where to buy: anthropologie.com

Retro-Style Chanel Brooch

What would Paris be without fashion? Without haute couture and incurable style? This stunning brooch takes its wearer back to the vintage days of French mode in a way that brilliantly captures the style legacy of its company's founder, Cocoa Chanel. In the words of the decadent fashion dame herself, "A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous." Luckily this effervescent accessory just so happens to be both! 

Where to buy: chanel.com

Almondine Bakery

New York Magazine named this itsy-bitsy pastry cafe the "Best Bakery in New York" for 2009 - an all-too deserving title for the Dumbo-based shop which serves up sticky sweet croissants, oversized mugs of bittersweet hot chocolate, and sugar-dusted raspberry doughnuts daily. A heaven on Earth for those world travelers looking for the best French bite a little closer to home, Almondine is never one to disappoint, whether its clients be casual Brooklynites with a incurable sweet tooth or tried-and-true Parisians.

Where to enjoy: 85 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

almondinebakery.com

Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl

"Ever wonder what gives French women that je ne sais qua?" The back of this fabulous, flirtatious, and all-around awe inspiring book reads. "At first you might think it's the elegant figure, matchless style, and mysterious allure. Then you realize those qualities don't come from just anywhere. They come from generations of women raised to cultivate an extraordinary sense of self. French women know who they are, like who they are, and excel at presenting who they are." A thrilling roadmap to the lessons learned from a multitude of French women, Entre Nous shows that any woman can capture their unique and charismatic charm - all they need is a little bit of style, lots of spunk, and that enduring spirit that tells a girl to always hold her head high and never give up!

Where to buy: amazon.com

Always,
Penelope ♥

The Cocoa Guide to Discovering Sparkling Novels

Photo by Sara-Elizabeth Myers - my new favorite book!

There's no specific section in the library for books bubbling with lyrical prose and mythical stories, yet our hearts are still stuck onto these kinds of tales - so how, we ask, do we discover new and exciting reads? How do we find these tiny novellas and towering epics that make our heads spin and our hearts fly out of our chests? There are only so many tried-and-true authors we have under our belt and what happens when no one else is around to give recommendations and we, quite simply, get that insatiable itch to read?

♥ Where to Hunt for Fabulous Reads

+ Dig through the young adult section of your local bookstore or library - I find that some of the most dreamlike and enchanted books somehow always end up categorized there.

+ Used book stores usually have a "vintage" section filled with old kids books and ten cent paperbacks with the most curious and outrageous story-lines. Take a day and explore all of these stores in your area - you might just find some really great deals while you're at it!

+ Hit the nearest comic book store! Crazy as it sounds, most comic book stores carry the best in science-fiction and fantasy, not to mention the fact that you're more than likely to find a thrilling read at a discounted price!

+ Garage sales, garage sales, garage sales! There's no better place for thrilling novels that you won't find anywhere else.

Before you begin your hunt, here are some absolutely amazing, all-around thrilling, super sparkling books to keep your eye out for...

♥ White Oleander by Janet Fitch
If Francesca Lia Block were to write harrowing, epic tragedies, White Oleander would be her first novel. Set in Los Angeles against a hazy, blooming landscape, a mother-daughter relationship is shattered after poetess Ingrid Magnussen poisons her backstabbing boyfriend with the blossoms of oleanders. Consequently her fifteen year old daughter, Astrid, is faced with the all-too harsh realities of foster homes and adoption agencies, bouncing between dilapidated houses and all too unfit guardians for the remainder of the novel. The tear-jerking story and lyrical prose are both beautiful, but nothing short of heart-wrenching - just when Astrid seems to get a break, some terrible tragedy occurs and she's forced to start all over again. Nevertheless, White Oleander is an absolutely gorgeous work of fiction that deserves every piece of praise that it gets - if you're looking for something especially lovely to read, give this doorstop of a book a glance.

♥ The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
When I first picked up this tiny little gem, I expected something strictly fairy-tale-esque - something dreamy and hazy, a fantastic world that evoked Alice in Wonderland and the eccentricity and wonder of being young again. Instead, The Book Of Lost Things presented the Brother Grimm world with a fiercely woozy twist, one that's mature and real rather than mild and childlike. It evokes a slightly less gothic yet similar nonetheless feel to that of American McGee's Alice at parts, and at others it shines brightly in the same manner as the original fairy tales themselves. In black and white, it tells the haunting story of a young boy, isolated in life and driven to a state of childish jealousy when his father remarries and has a second child. The only place he can seem to find solace is in the pages of his books, dusty old things that speak to him in the middle of the night, whispering secrets and stories and tales of their lives. It is only when one night, during the all-out bedlam of a World War II air raid, that he gets sucked into their paperback world and everything truly changes, and he finds himself in charge of a life-changing decision - is it better to face the modern horrors of growing up or those shadowy ones of childhood?

♥ After Dark by Haruki Murakami
As a preface, I’m hardly exaggerating when I say that this is one of the most interesting, well-rounded, and comprehensively thrilling reads that I’ve ever gotten my hands on in my history of literacy. It’s an eccentrically simple story, following a strange brood of characters through the electric world that is Tokyo at night and mapping out their connections to each other - a Chinese girl is robbed and abandoned in a "love hotel", a quirky trombonist meets the sister of the girl of his dreams in a Denny's, a group of women with oddly unfitting names find themselves in the grungiest of districts at night, and a young woman who is trapped in a Sleeping Beauty-esque sleep gets transported into a strange and mysterious world inside of her television. After Dark is storytelling at its best, comprehensively capturing what its like to be a night owl in an electric city, from the cast of characters to the script-like narrative. Pick it up now and experience it for yourself!

♥ Mondo Barbie

I'm consistently shocked when I reference this book in everyday life and others have no idea what I'm talking about. Mondo Barbie is an eccentric, flirtatious, and sometimes dirty compilation of short stories and poems all about America's favorite pink plastic sweetheart - that go-go girl herself, Miss Barbara Millicent Roberts. The book turns a modern bubblegum twist on the doll that almost all baby girls grew up with, exposing her stunningly deep impact on twentieth century life, culture, sexuality, and everything else through sweetly short valley girl novellas printed on petunia pink paper. Because really, who doesn't want to be a Barbie girl?

♥ The Gift Moves by Steve Lyon

In a Hayao Miyazaki-esque world where buses are living, breathing creatures that pad across the country side and whole families tattoo their names and stories across their bodies, a girl leaves home with dreams of apprenticing in the city and learning the art of weaving. As she is taught how to dye fabric the most brilliant of colors and work a loom so large that it takes up a whole room by a mild old woman named Heron, secrets begin to unfold and her path in life criss-crosses in the most unexpected of places. The Gift Moves is a mystifying novel about soul-searching and the things that bind us to life, no matter how everyday they may seem, and is one of those rare electrified books that leaves you transfixed with the dreamworld contained inside of its pages.

♥ The Every Boy by Dana Adam Shapiro

There's no more cheery an example of death and rebirth than that contained inside of this upbeat recollection of fifteen year old Henry Every's life. After washing ashore with no clues to his death, Henry's parents discover a meticulously organized ledger recalling every melancholy and rapturous moment of his short yet quirky life, from his obsessive love for a teenaged New Yorker named Benna to comically illegal episodes performed with his partner in crime, Jorden. A charmingly sweet yet tragic novel, it's heartwarming in a curious sort of way that will leave you wishing for more of its kind. I promise you that as soon as you've turned the last page you'll ask why your childhood couldn't have been this interesting.

♥ Green Angel by Alice Hoffman

To all of those searching for magic in novels, for quiet tales with modern day mysticism, for daydream-esque worlds painted through sticky-sweet words, for some tiny piece of fiction that can never be categorized, never be shelved properly, something that belongs to more than just children or young adults or quiet pre-teens, Green Angel may just be exactly what you've been searching for. It's a hauntingly lean novel, telling the story of shadowy and shy Green who, after an apocalyptic fire rages in large scale, is left empty and alone. With nothing but the house she grew up in and a garden soaked in ashes, she morphs through her teenaged years into a leather-clad warrior, a negative of her former self, blind from the ash and tattooed with her sorrow. Through chance encounters and the help of other survivors, though, she rediscovers herself and finds that sometimes disaster can lead to true inner-happiness.

♥ Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I can’t say enough about this book. Neil Gaiman brings fairy tales back from the depths of history and revives them with a newfound vigor in this incredible, imaginative novel. If you’ve seen the movie and thought it was just a little too cheeky for you, then this book is absolutely a must-read – the novel version is just a little bit darker while still retaining that wide-eyed charm that most fairy-tales have. It’s so nice to see a revival of this genre since no truly good fairy-tales have been written since the 18th century, and I definitely think that Neil Gaiman is just the man to tackle its Renaissance.

Always,
Penelope ♥