#1 Fan

I thought about this post for a while. I thought maybe I would tell you a thrilling story about how I spent the last 1.5 months without a computer. Maybe I would wax poetical about all the major life events that happened in 2012 or even just chat about my Christmas. Instead here are some pictures of my face. You can all shut up now.

Oh hey

So remember when I actually took pictures of my outfits and posted them on here?

I've got a confession to make, I've gotten lazy. I've been relying on outfits that are easy and safe and cute enough. My long hair is no longer new and fascinating to me. And most mornings I'd rather sleep until the last possible minute than apply fancy makeup or take pictures awkwardly in my tiny Brooklyn apartment that only really gets light in the mornings.

On one hand I like the ease of this lifestyle and feel slightly vain when I go take pictures of myself... but on the other I really miss curating outfits and pushing the interpretation of my closet. My brain is often so busy just trying to figure out the innerworkings of my day that I forget the simple pleasure getting dressed up. Of taking those extra few minutes in the morning to feel confident and put-together all day. If I feel good about me, then I will feel better about everything else. 

I think it's worth reminding myself of that. Maybe that means more pictures on here, maybe it's just an attitude adjustment that will inspire me to post here more (with or without pictures of my face).

Weather is Neat.

Let's pretend I've updated more since the end of summer and that the snow out there doesn't really exist. It's still fall you guys, right?! Thanksgiving? What is that?!

To be completely honest, life since my last update has been overrun with stress and work and more stress and more work... and then maybe a few much needed nights spent with friends, good dancing music, and cold drinks that makes you feel warm on the inside. Which is why HURRICANE SANDY couldn't have come at a better time. Sick, sleep-deprived and nostalgic for the South, I was absolutely giddy with excitement for this hurricane. And it did not disappoint. Wind! Rain! Bonding with friends! More sleep than I could ever dream of! Luckily our neighborhood remained incredibly safe and dry. Other places not so much. One of the eeriest things I have experienced has been walking down to the East River as Sandy only quietly roared, Brooklyn streets virtually peopleless and half of Manhattan in darkness. Manhattan! That shining beacon of life transfixed into a visual ghost town.

My office, however, is in a prime Zone A location and has been majorly affected by flooding and the Great Manhattan Blackout. Oh and hey, the L train, my lifeline to the city, is the only train not back up and running. After being closed for over a week, our office finally opened for business yesterday afternoon, and I found some way to get there that didn't involve swimming or submarines. Except there is no heat. Something that wouldn't be too bad if New York were not suddenly being pummeled by WINTER STORM ATHENA. (I want to say again how awesome the winter storm name list is. Haven't seen it? Go look it up. And hope for the sake of all things comedic we make it to Winter Storm Gandalf.) It's snowing outside, you guys. SNOWING?!!

And I am cuddling up under blankets as I work from home, grinning like an idiot and having flashbacks to my childhood Christmases spent up North with my family. Funny since a week ago I was acting out a similar scene but with memories of Katrina and Gustav. In the past two weeks we've had a crazy loud Southern storm jumbled up next to a nice peaceful Northern storm. And I can't ignore the parallels to my own life. The weather might just understand what it's like to be a Christine.

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for...

 Ice cream!!!! (Yes. I was one of those annoying kids who sang that ALL the time.)

The Setup
I figured that since fall officially started this weekend, it was about time I shared my summer project. It all started this list. At the beginning of June the Village Voice posted a list of their top 10 Ice Creams in NYC, and from there two of my equally sweet-toothed friends and I set out on a quest to eat them all before summer ended. Ice cream structured our free time and gave it a purpose, often leading to sugar-fueled giggle fits and other adventures. It made bad days better and our weekdays more exciting. It brought other friends into our schemes. It gave us a reason to travel to parts of the city (mostly in Brooklyn) we had never been to or didn't really have a reason explore. And now I have a plethora of options to take friends and visitors to!

The Ice Cream
(In order of appearance)

#1 Victory Garden - Cantaloupe Sorbet + Salted Caramel Soft Serve- Goat's milk soft serve that was light, interesting and refreshing.

#2 BKLYN Larder - Almond Gelato + Unnamed Ice Cream Sandwich - Millions of delicious flavors arrayed before your eyes. Too bad the shop is located in an out of the way location or else I'd be taking home pints from here all the time.

#3 Sundaes and Cones - Lavender + (I can't remember) - Reasonably priced, conveniently located, and the only place to sell floral ice cream!! A favorite of mine ever since my Leopold's days in Savannah.

#4 Big Gay Ice Cream Shop - Bea Arthur + American Globs - The soft serve itself is okay. I'd only go again for the novelty and upbeat atmosphere.

#5 Ample Hills - Nanatella + Mexican Chocolate Milkshake + Mint Chocolate - This one wins the chewiest award. It was dense and delicious, but not very creamy. I loved the flavor assortment though!

#6 Van Leewan - Cinnamon + Strawberry + Hazelnut - The old standby. Having a Van Leeuwan truck inside my workplace and running into the truck everywhere, means I've had this several times. Their ice cream never disappoints though.

#7 Momofuku Milk Bar - Cereal Milk - We weren't a fan. Please don't throw shoes at us. it just tasted like really cold milk. but I'm very eager to try the new Blueberry Pancake flavor.

#8 Blue Marble - Strawberry + Vanilla - Hands down the best strawberry ice cream I have had in my life, creamy and intense.

#9 Sky Ice - Chocolate Brownie + Raspberry Cilatro/Thai Iced Tea - I was sad to get there at 7pm on a weeknight to find they had sold out of about half of their flavors. Including some of the more special/thai-themed ones.

#10 Steve's - Sundae Morning + Bklyn Blackout - Too sweet. Too rich. Too much.

That's all folks! We had so much fun with this list that there just might be more in our future!

And the Results are In!

As you may know, last summer I had the amazing opportunity to intern with Lilly Pulitzer (there's a nice long post about the experience here). For a print designer who likes flowers and bright colors, Lilly was a paradise. By end of my time there, one of my prints, "Hush", had made it into the Fall 2012 line. And I have been waiting eagerly for this August when it would finally hit stores!! A print that's 100% my creation being sold to Lilly-lovers everywhere. It's things like this that remind me why I love creating prints. Here it is, from artwork to print to product!

Anniversary

When I first moved here I would sporadically go for walks (usually in my Brooklyn neighborhood but sometimes in Manhattan too), exploring with one of my film cameras. I spent about three months slowly building up a roll of haphazard double exposures. It's a technique I stumbled upon accidentally when trying to do a simple double exposure a while back. Photos like these are my pattern-orientated brain's answer to photography. It's less about composition and lighting and more about layers, depth, and a story, a bundle of experiences in one frame. I finally got my roll developed at the end of last week and it was very serendipitous timing because this past Friday was my 6th month NYC anniversary!! It's been a jobful and adventureful 6 months. So thanks New York for being my best Valentine ever.

Here are some of the photos, check out my flickr for more!

On NOT Being a Maker

This past weekend, my coworkers and I were given a surprise Friday off. As I left work on Thursday, my brain was abuzz with all the projects I could accomplish in those extra hours. I would finally be able to pull out some of the art supplies I haven’t touched in months!

What did I actually do on Friday? I lazed in bed watching some movies as it thunderstormed, talked to my mom on the phone, and feebly attempted to paint and to cut some stencils for screen printing. Not the grandly and creatively busy day I had dreamed of. Maybe it’s a copout excuse to say that I wasn’t inspired, but I just could not get my mind going in an innovative vein. Everything felt trite or forced. I sat here at my desk frustratingly trying to do SOMETHING of “merit”, I couldn’t help but wonder the definition of merit and if this is really what I want to be doing with my free time?

I spend my weekdays making. Sure it’s making something for someone else in a particular style that’s only sometimes in sync with my own, but it’s still making. Also, my work is often relatively solitary. While I talk and laugh with coworkers, majority of my work time is just me, some music/podcasts and Photoshop. I have been finding that when I come home at night, I don’t want to make. I don’t want to sit at a desk by myself some more. I don’t want to make more patterns. What I want to do is socialize with friends, explore the giant city at my fingertips and relax. As with most things I crave a balance, a little bit of everything. 

While that is fine and dandy, the problem comes in that I feel guilty or wasteful for wanting not to make? Almost like a traitor to my Fibers degree? In art school making is what you do. It is what everyone around you is doing, and it is very clearly defined. Having been through that, there is this pressure to keep having ideas and developing myself as an artist. Why am I not doing that? Am I doing that? Is developing myself as an artist different from developing myself as a person? I wonder sometimes if it’s not that I am not making but that I am making in different ways. Different, still valid ways. I tend to get ambitious with cooking, trying new recipes or even making up my own. I still am shooting on my film camera, even though I have not been prolific with that by any means (a whole roll of multiple exposures takes a long time to fill up). I sometimes keep this blog up to date with a curated selection my outfits and adventures. Maybe these aren’t traditional markers of making, and maybe they are more recording what’s in front of me than building something new. Or maybe it’s time to define what making means in adult life. In MY adult life.

Scenes from the Life of a Working Girl

Well hey there, little blog. How have you been lately? I have missed you sorely. You see, July was a rough month for me. It started with an nice but extremely hectic vacation and ended with two 80 hour work weeks. And life managed to throw in plenty of negative and stressful addendums along the way.

Now that my evenings and weekends are once again my own and I have somewhat caught up on missed sleep and adult-life things, I have grand plans in the works. My screenprinting supplies are sitting eagerly in a corner, waiting to be used. I've got a roll and a half of film to develop, ideas in my head, and plans to do so some exploring.

Although, there are a couple things I will miss about spending all my waking hours at the office: spectacular sunset views, dancing barefoot late at night around my empty office, and the midnight taxi ride through manhattan and brooklyn.

Cheers to having free time again.

And the Living is Hot

It's really really hot outside (and inside my apartment). That is all.

And the Living is Easy

My first NYC experience was a hot summer weekend spent running around doing touristy things. My second was an even hotter summer weekend spent doing less touristy things. Now that I live here, there's something comfortable about New York in the summer. It feels simultaneously more like an place I am visiting and more like home. My favorite part is that there is so much going on that weekends can turn into a mini summer vacation: hot, dirty and full of adventures.

Ease

This skirt is probably one of the most worn articles of clothing in my closet. Dressed up, dressed down, cold weather, warm weather. I feel like there is some sort of merit in buying pieces that you can wear time and time again, that never feel old or exhausted.

In Transit

Lately, I've been neglecting the whole "record my life in pretty pictures so I can show the internet" thing. But not because I am bored with it or have no interesting content ideas, but because I'm enjoying the moments I'm living so much and living way more of them lately. I have found time to take a few instagram photos along the way, quick photos taken in transit too or from a place. So much of time here is spent getting somewhere else, and these photos are a reminder that sometimes that's when you see the most beautiful things.

Color, Pattern, Doors

Somethings start with a dream, a wild idea that you had once and think about constantly and finally get motivated to act on. Last weekend my roommate Allison and I did just that. We painted the doors of our apartment. Not without struggle though. For those of you not in the city, temperatures on Memorial Day weekend were the hottest they have been all year: 90 degrees and sunny with high humidity. Being proper New Yorkers living in an older apartment, we don't have air conditioning, nor did we have any fans yet. We were sorely unprepared for this sudden spike in temperatures. Unwilling to let that stop us, we sweated through our project with sheer will and determination. And it was definitely worth it.

Oh, and of course my door is in repeat.

Versus

I originally started this blog with the intention of keeping a daily (or nearly daily) record of what I wear. My intentions have grown since then, but I still think there's a lot of value in how people chose to present themselves to the world on an average day. Not to say that one outfit can sum up a person, but it can give some insight. This is a weekday look for me: polished, feminine, quality clothes, cute but city appropriate shoes, etc. It fits my life of commuting to Manhattan and working in crisp, clean office. Sitting here on a Saturday afternoon looking at these photos, I've realized that this is not how I dress on the weekends. Simple, comfortable silhouettes, disheveled hair, minimal accessories, barefoot as often as possible. I rarely take pictures of this look because it feels less creative/interesting, but I think it's equally as me as this one.

With a View

This city is all about it's views. Tourist attractions and apartment rentals advertise them competitively. Rooftops and waterfronts are prime communal spaces for enjoying them.Views are socially important. There's something nice about stepping outside or above of the monotonous infinity of buildings and streets and people and just breathing in the entire picture.

The Start of Something Wonderful

New York City has a lot of little lessons in perseverance. Carrying your groceries back from Manhattan on a crowded L train just to save a little money. Sacrificing sleep for a social life because you never know when an evening will turn into one of those little stories you'll tell people for years to come. And then there is the big one. Coming here jobless and nearly broke but so very determined.

In February, I made the move to the big bad charismatic mecca that is this city. I held my breath and closed my eyes and tried my best not to fall off a metaphorical cliff. I trusted this city to show me possibilities. Because that's why people come here right, for the possibility of opportunity? For the certainty of adventure?

I came here with the dream of starting something, a dream of settling into a life of my own. And well... I did it. This week was my first week as CAD Artist for Martha Stewart. So far, I love it. Everyone here is hard-working and passionate and happy, and I get to make cool things all day and sometimes eat homemade muffins and cakes. I am incredibly lucky to have found something so great so soon and appreciative of all the stars that had to align for this to happen.

This week has been my happiest, most zen week so far because I am finally unencumbered by the uncertainty of the next month. I have something regular to count on, something I am responsible for. My future has a path, and I just have to enjoy the ride. It's all just beginning, and it's going to be the best.

Rainy Sundays

Quintessential Weekend

Finn

My new glasses from Warby Parker arrived over the weekend!! For those of you interested in the model, they are the Finn in Sandlewood Matte. I fell in love with them when I did the home try-on on a whim. Now I feel like such a proper New Yorker with these new frames of mine and their more updated shape. Funnily enough on the same day these made their public debut, I also fell in love with about 5 pairs of new glasses from a vendor at the Brooklyn Flea. I sense a new addiction coming along.

Haven

It's really easy to get lost in the craziness that is New York City. So many people crammed into such a small space and always in a hurry or a fuss. Everything is important here. That's why I think there is something magical about these cherry blossom trees. They are a brief oasis in an angular cityscape. They're already dropping petals, and I'll be sad when they are gone, although I suppose other trees and plants will start to bloom soon.
 
And you know, my view on cherry blossom trees is pretty similar to my view on Brooklyn. I love living in Brooklyn, even though sometimes it's a real pain to get home since walking is never an option from Manhattan. In Brooklyn there is space to breathe and places to hideaway. Your corner of the world truly feels like your own. And Manhattan never grows old or annoying or less charming because it is still a destination.

Island Coral

Bright pink on a dreary day. A return to cold weather means a return to sweaters and scarves. I don't mind.

Spring Air

I managed to snap this shot last week when NYC was having absolutely perfect weather: slightly chilly in the mornings, but warming to a glorious sunny day. The cherry blossoms have arrived ahead of schedule and other flowering plants have followed suit, including this tree in my backyard. It's not just the plants though, this warm weather has caused the entire city to bloom. Even though the weather has gotten back to more normal March temps, people still seem lighter and more eager.

MIA

Promise I'm not dead. Here is photographic proof.... well I guess these could have been taken by anybody. You'll just have to trust me on this. Went to SoHo for shopping, sight seeing and last minute exploring. Here is some Marimekko fabric I can't afford. And I also found a place called Gatsby's across the street from a place called Firefly. :)

Most of my time has been spent in the basement print studio of my fancy new offices. I'm still working out how to fit in a social life and personal time around my work schedule (hence the scarce posts lately). Social life usually wins. I'm starting to see why New York is the city that never sleeps. // Sometimes I get sent on errands on beautiful days. The weather has been fantastic! 

Aforementioned social life has been mostly making new friends and going to bars and eating delicious food. I'm not complaining, it's been fun.