Kitchen Curtains

Piece-y felt curtains like this in white would be perfect for our newly painted kitchen. I'm doing strands of felt circles as garland for the photo wall at the wedding, so if all goes well, I'll extend that project to our post-wedding kitchen.

Image via Design*Sponge.

October To-Do's

Despite being in the middle of wedding madness, I have some friends coming and am preparing the apartment! So this October to do list is a bit belated; however, it's already a work in progress.

1. Re-paint the kitchen
(Alex painted for me! I'm impressed!)
2. Organize hardware/office space
3. Organize art space
4. Organize linen area
5. Put up wall decals
6. Organize vanity area
7. Clean front entry way
8. Finish landscape painting (yay, done!)
9. Wedding Craftiness
10. Swap-bot ornaments

40 Years in 40 Days

An incredible photo from the series 40 Years in 40 days.

Photo via Hyperbolic Pants Explosion on Flickr.

Madison Square Market

Very excited about the seasonal Madison Square Market scheduled to open here in NYC Oct 9th.

All my favorite things, outdoor markets, the park, gourmet food and handcrafted items. I definitely intend on having either a crepe or Wafels and Dinges. My favorite.

Isn't it too early for Christmas prep?

I signed up for a Christmas ornament swap on swap-bot.com ages ago. I LOVE handmade Christmas ornaments and just thought it'd be fun all around.

The premise of the swap is that you make one ornament for ten different people, then in return you get ten different ornaments.

I've gotten one so far, the swap started waaaay back in the Spring. It seemed like I had so much time to make my ornaments, but now, somehow, it's October and the deadline is early November.

So, despite wedding craftiness and chaos, I need to get cracking on my ornaments. I just realized that they are actually due the week before the wedding. Better to get them out of the way now.

So, all of that is a long-winded way of saying, wouldn't this ornament craft project be perfect? I just found it on Zakka Life. I'm pretty good at felt work and softies, so I hope this project will be suited to my skills. I of course want to wow my swap partners!

Wish me luck!

A New Shelter Magazine from the Editors of Domino

Given the state of the magazine industry these days, some former editors from Domino (RIP) have just started a new shelter publication called Lonny Magazine.

The catch, however, is that it's online only. Not a website or a blog, but a "zimbria magazine." It looks like a print piece, but you can flip the pages electronically. See what I mean here.

Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf

Alex and I are currently debating Halloween costumes, and we're leaning toward Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.

What are you planning for Halloween?

Love this photo from Flickr...

More artwork inspiration

I'm drooling over this large piece of artwork behind reception at The London Hotel. I just posted to our wedding blog that my friends just rented a suite there for my bachelorette party! yay!

I'm also inspired to reproduce this piece for our apartment. That'd be a lovely reminder of a fun time!

September To-Do

So I'm a bit behind in posting my To-Do's for September. As I mentioned in my last To Do post, I took August off.

However, the beginning of September came and went, and I have yet to share my goals for the month. So here they are, belatedly.

1. Paint the kitchen
(so far, not going well, it's neon yellow! Next up,*repaint* the kitchen!)
2. Refinish the dining room table
3. Sand and finish the coffee table
4. Organize hardware/office space
5. Organize art space
6. Organize linen area
7. Order and put up wall decals
8. Design and mail wedding invites
9. Finish cleaning entryway to yard
10. Sell stuff on Ebay

The photo above is not my apartment, but it is an inspiration. That's what I want our dining room table to look like when I'm done with it. Good luck, I know, but it's good to have goals. Plus, we have gray walls and a bookshelf right there too. Just picture it with orange chairs instead!

And...I've already got October's list in mind, but since this one is already pretty aggressive, I'll leave it as is!

Wish me luck!

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig

Just got home from seeing the play A Steady Rain on Broadway. Personally, I'd recommend it. I found the play itself to be quite compelling, and of course sitting how many feet away from these two men isn't bad entertainment either.

It's definitely a dark story about two Chicago cops. There are a handful of pretty disturbing moments, but I liked how perspective came into play in terms of whose truth is real. The interplay between good and bad and how they can be intermingled was also quite interesting.

I snapped the shot above during the curtain call. Then we waited by the stage door to try and meet them. It was definitely WAY too packed for that, but I did snap a few shots of Daniel Craig (below). My pics of Hugh Jackman aren't even worth uploading!



Fastquez on Flickr got better photos of the two during an earlier matinee. Check out his pics here!

A Steady Rain!

I'm trying to prepare myself for tonight. Both Daniel Craig AND Hugh Jackman in a Steady Rain on Broadway! Just one more reason I love living in New York!

Beforehand, we're going to Casellula for dinner. I posted it about it last year. One of my favorite restaurants!

Perhaps I can convince Nora to wait at the side exit and see if we can meet them afterward. It worked when I saw Mark Ruffalo in Awake and Sing a couple of years ago. AND I got an autograph!

Apartment Therapy Inspiration

I posted recently about this wall decal that I ordered and was reminded of it when I saw this great work on a house tour today on Apartment Therapy. Except, upon closer inspection, the tree branches are actually painted on the wall rather than being a decal.

I'm also quite smitted with this artwork above the fireplace in this second photo below. I'm always drawn to black and white and numbers.

I just enrolled in photography school!

I've just enrolled at the New York Institute of Photography today! Very excited. I've included some photos from other NYIP students on Flickr.

Soon I'll be sharing some of my own assignments here.


First image via L S G. Second and third images via prcrash on Flickr.

PopWall's Bird Decals

Super excited! Just bought this very inexpensive set of wall decals from PopWall on Esty.

I've been wanting a set of birds for a while and this is one of the best ones I've seen. It'll be perfect for behind the TV. Otherwise, that's such an awkward space to put anything, but it's a bit too bare to leave alone.

New Audrey Niffenegger Novel!

I was very excited when I came across Audrey Niffenegger's new novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, on Goodreads this evening.

I know some of you are familiar with her first novel, The Time Traveler's Wife, one of my favorite books.

I'm going to put her new book on pre-order on Amazon, as it doesn't come out until September 29th. So I'm going to get it for myself as an early birthday present!

I just sold my first photograph!

I discreetly opened an Etsy shop a while ago, but I'd been waiting until I had added more inventory before I began promoting it.

However, this weekend, I had my first sale, the Brooklyn Bridge photo above that I took as a part of a series of industrial Brooklyn photos. See more from the series here. There are more I haven't uploaded too. I should definitely add them to Flickr.

Last year, I sold my first painting which was also super exciting! But that wasn't through Esty. I'll have to find a photo of that as well!

I'd love to do more selling online as it's a great way to motivate myself to be creative. Definitely a goal to increase my inventory post wedding! In fact, I'm actually planning on enrolling in photography school. Very excited about that. More details to come...

Bookish Street Art

Graffiti isn't always what you expect. Like this above or the French graffiti I posted about previously. I actually came across one of Banksy's rats in Chinatown near where I work, but the building owners immediately had it painted over. I wonder if they realized what they were painting over. (Here's a shot of it before it was "erased.")

Image above by Paper Twins. Check out their flickr page for many more phenomenal pieces of street art.

Tania Alvarez's fabric type

These lovely "fabric type" characters by Tania Alvarez are set apart by the pen illustrations overlaying them.

Image via the Behance Network.

Future Lifeguard

I've got to get one of these for my niece McKenna.

Image via The Bride's Cafe.

Abstract in C

Abstract in C / 20090825.10D.51828.P1 / SML, originally uploaded by See-ming Lee 李思明 SML.

Just stumbled upon this striking piece of art via the Brooklyn Art Project.

Image by See-ming Lee from Flickr.

Turning 35...New York foodie heaven

This is the year I turn the big 3-5. While many people I know got freaked out by the prospect of turning 30, for me, that was a breeze. However, in my mind, 35 is somehow when I really hit middle age. I'm just not young anymore. (Or I won't be come October 16th).

So I'd like to do something significant to mark the occasion. I've planned my bachelorette party that weekend as I think it'll be a good weekend to be festive and great timing to have friends in town. However, I've also been wondering what I can do on a smaller level to celebrate the birthday itself.

My thoughts keep returning to Thomas Keller's Per Se, known for being one of the best restaurants in America. I just checked open table and they do have availability; however, their pre-fixe menus are pricey. I haven't ruled it out however as the lunch-time pre-fixe is less and they also have what they call a salon menu, which is significantly less, but reservations are not available for that "lounge" portion of the restaurant.

In considering Per Se, I also came across an inspiring post on Grub Street, one of my favorite food blogs (from the good folks at New York Magazine).

It seems as though two former Per Se chefs, Jennifer Scibelli and James Vellano, have opened their own private catering business called Maison Prive. I think it would be a lot of fun to get a group together and plan a special evening with their services!

My mind is racing with ideas, and I've contacted them to see how it all works. I'm envisioning a dinner party in our back garden (looking something like the image above.) Not that Per Se has been ruled out yet entirely either however.

Photo via Gerard312 on Flickr.

Los Angeles Fires

It's amazing how something so terrible and devastating can in other ways be so beautiful. Check out this time-lapse video of the fires below and the glow in the skyline.

My thoughts go out to family and friends in LA.



In addition to this video, the Flickr blog features a series of really phenomenal photos of the fire.

Apartment Therapy House Tour

One of my favorite blogs is Apartment Therapy, particularly their House Tours. One of their top current features is "Kevin and Dop's Playful Uptown Loft."

I've actually had my eye on a set of bird decals from Etsy, just like this one above. It's the perfect thing for behind the TV.

I'm also in love with this wire iron artwork below.

Check out this house tour for lots of other fun details.

My heels are planted

Well, they aren't my heels, but I find this hilarious!

Image via GiddySpinster on Etsy.

I sewed my first little something today!

Yay! I just learned how to sew (again) today.

Mom is here visiting and I tried a new machine this time, and voila! I learned how to sew! (I actually had two machines...but one didn't work unfortunately).

Very exciting! Not only did I make this little pouch (a variation of something I have planned for the birdseed toss for our wedding), I also cut off a pair of pajama bottoms, hemmed them all by my lonesome and made them into sleeping shorts.

I'll continue thinking of things that I can sew now that I can!

DIY Ruffles

I'm seriously inspired to make this sweater, though maybe in white. See below for a white version.

Instructions available via Mighty Girl.

Marilyn gives thanks

This one is for Nora since she's such a fan of Marilyn Monroe. Just came across this on the website The Paris Apartment.

A thank you letter from Marilyn...

Bugs in Flight, Bugs in Light

Even*Cleveland just posted the coolest video tracking the flight patterns of bugs under a street light. It's surprisingly beautiful and crazy random.

Must've taken forever to produce though.

Watch the video below.

Created by Michigan-based filmmaker Charlie McCarthy.
Visit his Vimeo page here for more of his wonderful work.

flight patterns from Charlie McCarthy on Vimeo.

It's all in the packaging

Next time you hand-deliver flowers to someone, try giving them wrapped up like this. What wonderful presentation!

Bay-Area florist Erin Rosenow of Rosenow Floral.

Link via Ruby Press.

Baby Luncheon Invitations for Liliana

Alex's sister recently had an adorable little girl named Liliana. Although I can't be there, I wanted to contribute in some way to the luncheon that Alex and his mom are hosting, so I put together the invitations.

It's going to be a "meet & greet" for friends to meet the baby.

See below for the invitations. I used pink pochette envelopes with a photo of Liliana at the top of the invite with a full bleed. The envelopes are sealed with a ribbon and a silver seal with an "L."

My favorite part is the pink and white striped ribbon!