It’s practically creepy how quickly Halloween came around this year. Luckily, Megan Nicolay,  author of Generation T: Beyond Fashion and Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt, is on hand with some quick and easy costume solutions.

You’ve got a whole week to put together a Halloween costume, but if your procrastination skills are anything like mine, you’ll still be wanting for that perfect costume accessory come Friday night (or Saturday afternoon, even?). And who has the time or resolve to battle the last-minute chaos and crowds at costume stores? Here are two super-cool, super-quick, no-sew projects from Generation T: Beyond Fashion that you can make with old T-shirts from your closet—so you can whip up a homemade Halloween costume on the fly. Speaking of fly…

How about a superhero cape? Superheroes are always fun (make a mask, too!), but this cape could also transform you into a dashing Dracula, a mister mysterioso magician, or even crowned royalty! Let the cape be your statement or personalize your look with some fabric markers or iron-on letters.

If you’re trying to channel some warmer weather with your costume, how about this fringe dance skirt? Pair it with a bikini top (which you can actually make using project #49 from Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt) or other tropical attire and you’re ready for a luau. Aloha!

For more T-shirt transformation ideas, check out www.generation-t.com!

–Megan Nicolay

Via the New York Times, here’s a piece about a woman nearing the end of her quest to read a book a day over the course of a year. You can go to Nina Sankovich’s blog, www.readallday.org, and browse her choices and reviews there. (Mostly fiction, with a decidedly literary bent, though Twilight and a few other pop icons do make the list.)

And for a random dose of defiant bookworm spirit, here’s a storefront sign from Jackson Street Books in Athens, GA.

Attention, music lovers–looking for something new to do this fall? Tom Moon, author of 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, has created a wonderful guide to starting a listening group. If you want to get fancy, go ahead and call it a “salon.” (Pronounce that in the manner of the French.) All in all, a smart, budget-friendly way to enjoy great music and company.

Check out Tom’s pamphlet below, and if you’re looking for further diversion, go here to read his always-interesting blog.

Tom Moon’s Listening Group Guide

Seems like theme parties are all the rage these days. From clothing swaps to friendly (or not so friendly!) iron-chef throwdowns, people are experimenting with creative ways to entertain on a leaner budget. Now it’s scissor time. Here’s Megan Nicolay, author of the Generation T book series, with a rundown on how to rip the seams out of your next birthday party or girls’ night.

Get ready:
Give your friends fair notice so they can dig deep into the back of their closets for good material! A few things you’ll need to attend to in preparation for your T-shirt refashioning rager:

-Invite all guests to bring a T-shirt or two from home (fitted or baggy, depending on the project they want to make).
-Familiarize yourself with a few no-sew projects from either of the books.

For refashioning beginners, I recommend these two projects from my first book, Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt
#2 Brokenhearted T-shirt, page 30
#16 Outerlace tank top, page 56

And these three projects from my new book, Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-shirt
#1 Pinup Girl halter, page 28
#30 Pillow Talk knotted pillow, page 98
#101 Back in Action T-shirt, page 260

Get set:
In terms of materials, you can get by with providing the bare minimum: scissors and safety pins, but here’s a suggested list in case you want to have a whole spread.
-copies of the books (for guests to flip through in case there’s another project they have their heart set on)
-scissors (sharp ones, not the pair you’ve been cutting paper and cardboard with for the past 3 years)
-chalk
-safety pins or 1″ round punk pins/band buttons
-ruler (or other straightedge, if making Brokenhearted tee)
-stuffing (if making Pillow Talk pillow)

Get extra credit:
Make a DIY playlist, mix your tee with some tea, or make a paper runway–whatever puts you in the par-tee mood. And don’t forget to charge your camera battery!
-Play some tunes
-Serve some iced tea to go with your Tee Party
-Have an impromptu fashion show
-Take pictures!!

Go:
-Get your craft on.
-Get your party on.
-Take home the best party-favor ever: a one-of-a-kind, made-by-you design!

P.S. Megan’s blog has lots of pics of some of the tee parties she’s been hosting while on tour.

Back in April I interviewed for a summer internship at Workman. My anxieties about the process were slightly quelled by the fact that I’d already been on a couple of interviews—and I was thrilled to hear that I had gotten the  job. But on my first day I realized that though this wasn’t my first internship, the office experience was brand-new to me—and overwhelming. I have interned at an organic farm and creamery in upstate New York and at an art gallery in downtown Manhattan, and I’ve worked in almost every type of food service imaginable. But dealing with a boss (or stubborn cows and art collectors) is one thing; a whole office of supervisors is entirely another.

One of my first tasks involved some research for the promotion of Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? by Ellen Gordon Reeves. Seeing as the interview was behind me, I hadn’t thought of Ellen’s book as being applicable to me until I noticed the subtitle: “Finding, Landing and Keeping Your First Real Job.” Keeping was the key. The last chapter, “You’ve Got the Job,” has all the office etiquette your mother would nag you about—but when it comes from a professional, you actually listen! On every topic—from what to do for lunch to communicating with your boss—she tells you the stuff you need to know but that other people won’t necessarily tell you straight out. (My colleagues were nice enough to look out for me my first day and show me the ropes for lunchtime, but not everyone is so lucky.)

I think the most valuable thing Ellen tries to convey to us office newbies is wrapped up in the following piece of advice: “Don’t forget that you are a beginner.”  No matter what, every job you start is new and different. Part of being prepared for the job is realizing that there will probably be some things you won’t be prepared for—copier jams, meetings you didn’t know about, trying to check your messages without a code. (I figured that last one out, but I’m told it takes years of practice to truly become one with the copier.)

—Olivia Murphy, Editorial Intern

All right, bonus edition might be overstating it. But we all love this book (I can’t wait to give it to my nieces), and so we were thrilled when author Jessica Hopper gifted several of us with custom-made, rocking-girl CDs. (Full disclosure: I did not work on the book and hence did not receive a CD–I’m just a nosy fan!)

Without further ado, here is the Unofficial, Totally Uncensored Girls’ Guide to Rocking Playlist.

1. “Les Petits Chevaux” by Brigitte Fontaine (click to listen)
2. “Meadowlands” by Nancy Jacobs and Her Sisters
3. “Holiday Song” by Marine Girls (click to listen)
4. “I Won’t Tell” by Tracy Dey
5. “Poor Little City Boy” by Nedelle (click to listen)
6. “I’ve Got A Feelin’” by Big Maybelle (click to listen)
7. “I’ve Just Begun (Having My Fun)” by Brittany Spears (click to listen)
8. “I Drive My Friend” by Frida Hyvonen (click to listen)
9. “What Can I Do For You?” by Labelle (click to listen)
10. “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways (click to listen)
11. “52 Girl’s” by The B-52’s (click to listen)
12. “Have You Got Someone Else On the String” by Texas Ruby
13. “Victim of Rock and Roll” by Care Bears on Fire
14. “Thank God for a Mother Like Mine” by Kitty Wells
15. “Go Tell It On the Mountain” by Mahalia Jackson (click to listen)
16. “Pink Bedroom” by Lou Ann Barton
17. “Are You Going to Leave Me?” by Shirley & Dolly Collins (click to listen)
18. “Hose & I” by Bat for Lashes (click to listen)
19. “Shadow of a Doubt” by Sonic Youth (click to listen)
20. “I Found a Reason” by Cat Power (click to listen)
21. “You’re No Good” by ESG (click to listen)
22. “A_OL” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
23. “Break In the Road” by Betty Harris (click to listen)
24. “Il Macquillage Lady” by Sister Sledge (click to listen)
25. “The Wait” [Single Version] by The Pretenders (click to listen)

A special guest post from Barbara Flanagan, author of Flanagan’s Smart Home: The 98 Essentials for Starting Out, Starting Over, Scaling Back.

I can’t wait to get outside and mess up my backyard! Summer lets me turn my little yards—front and back, neat and not—into vegetal laboratories.

This year I’ll raise my annual tomato curtain—10’ x 20’—dotted by tiny heritage tomatoes of many colors. The curtain rod is invisible: a stainless cable stretched taut between two brick walls. After planting a tight row of tomatoes, I hang panels of 10-ft. high panels of plastic fencing (like stiff netting) stacked to the ground. When plants take off, I start my daily ritual: weave the shoots into the netting, harvest the new fruit, and snack while I chat on the phone. The tomato curtain expands through October, and yields a nice supply of indoor-ripening fruit right into December.
The front yard, a former flat lawn, is a now a slope of usable herbs planted ornamentally (17 years ago, and pre-fad). I chose ornery, quasi-invasive, flowering herbs like St. John’s wort, fern leaf tansy, and thyme. Each season, I watch them try to overtake each other, then replant the winners to rebalance. Each spring I plant seeds for nasturtium vines, and watch the edible flowers trail lightly over the front yard like lines butterflies. By September, the yard is a layered with herbal perennials holding herbal annuals aloft.

At dinnertime, I harvest mesclun and arugula growing in terracotta pots at the front door. As small hedges of sage and chives rise up, I move the pots to fill empty spots as I’m adding basil, parsley, cilantro , and rosemary seedlings—and some wildly colored Swiss Chard–to the mix.
This month I’m doing two new experiments. The first: figuring out an elegant composting ritual to replace my haphazard ways of amending soil. The second: organizing the stuff I bring back from kayaking and hiking trips: beach stones, bark, rust, driftwood, etc. Maybe I can get a building permit for constructing a grotto…

–Barbara Flanagan

In the category of random shout-outs: This past weekend I had some friends over for dinner and decided to try out some recipes from A Platter of Figs. There are no leftovers. I took no pictures. But that’s not the point.

The point is: David Tanis, I salute you. My friends now have totally overblown perceptions of my culinary abilities. They pretty much think I’m a genius, and that I’m constantly going around behind their backs, secretly cooking awesome meals for myself and some other group of secret friends. The truth? Unlike the blogorific Sarah, whose casual assessment of her slightly involved weeknight creations betrays a Total Kitchen Mastery, I tend to cycle through a fairly limited repertoire. It might go something like this: Rice and beans. Pasta (with whatever I can scrounge). Omelet. Takeout. (Okay, I probably have takeout twice a week. But who’s counting.)

To reiterate, if it isn’t clear from my rice and beans rundown: My skills, they are basic.

But armed with David’s cookbook, I was somehow able to fool my friends into thinking I really knew what I was doing.

The Menu

Cherry Tomato Crostini with Ricotta

Roasted Salmon with Herbed Cucumber Salad

Blueberry-Blackberry Crumble

(Though it wasn’t in The Book, I also threw in some boiled new potatoes with olive oil and chives; in my opinion, you can never have enough starch.)

The Difficulty Meter

So easy! I drizzled the salmon with olive oil and chucked it in the oven. I chopped up cucumbers and herbs and dressed them with olive oil and lemon. The only slightly labor-intensive element was the prepping of the crostini—but so worth it. I already knew that crumbles were great desserts for cooks who can’t even handle chocolate chip cookies. But the berries really took it to the next level.

The Critical Reception

“This is officially our favorite place to come for dinner.”“I can’t stop eating the crostini.” “I didn’t know you were, like, a chef.” And, “Who finished the crumble?”

Their enthusiasm was such that, to tell the truth, I kind of felt like a fraud. I kept having to say, “I swear, it’s not me, it’s the cookbook.” They were almost angry with me for being so good, like I had been pretending to be one of them all along, when in fact, I was something much, much better.

Full disclosure: The salmon was not wild, nor was anything organic. I know that’s a betrayal of one of the book’s central tenets, and I hope David Tanis will forgive me. But wild salmon for six people would have cost over $60… I don’t like my friends that much!

Take a peek inside the New Haven studio of Rufus Butler Seder, author of the wonderful and amazing children’s books Gallop! and Swing!

Here he is at work on his Life Tiles, the life-sized medium on which the Scanimation process that animates Gallop and Swing was based.

The creation process is no less mysterious now, but infinitely cooler. (Or, rather, hotter!)