magazines and paint

So as I am rounding up my first full year (emphasis on full) in New York I have noticed that I have "collected" quite a few possessions. As many of you know, I am a "tosser." If I haven't worn it in two years, it's more than likely going to be donated, unless I have some kind of attachment to it. I am not sure where I got this gene of cleaning and tossing, but I know it is NOT from my family. My grandmother (Patpat) hasn't thrown anything out in decades, which has actually made for great attic finds and fabulous vintage finds. Whereas Patpat has oh, let's say 5 or 6 times the amount of space I do, she has more room to "collect." Why am I rambling about this? Because I have been going through a few hundred magazines and trying to decide whether to keep or toss. From several of the 2009 issues I have torn out inspiration pages and layouts that I like, but as for the 2010 issues... it's not working out so well.

Again, if you know me, you know I like change. I have rearranged this apartment so much that it is useless to continue updating the pictures on my blog. Yesterday I went ahead and moved a bookcase to the opposite side of the main room to define the space that I hope will soon be filled by a comfy chair.While I sift through many, many magazines each evening I also stare at these white-ish walls. Me and white walls? Feel free to laugh now. From having "fire-engine" red walls AND ceiling in my bedroom in Arkansas, a year with these white walls is now really bothering me. I can't decide if I want to do two large, bold vertical stripes. One idea is a three foot wide and a two foot wide stripe of orange paint from floor to ceiling. I'm actually leaning this way right now. You may not be on my wavelength with this description, but I have good taste. I mean, have you met my mother?

Another idea I have is to gather inspiration from this chair and rug from CB2. Maybe I should suggest to my parents that they cancel their plane tickets for their August business trip and instead road trip to New York with the upholstered orange chair that we already have (and don't currently use). Yeah! I doubt it will fly, but maybe this orange chair will be a nice reminder.

Rug = perfectly matches my color scheme and would look FABULOUS in my apartment. Agree? Just agree and then I'll have you over for a glass of wine and we can fight over who sits in the pretty orange chair. Sound good? It does to me. One can only dream!

writopia

While I have had plenty of work to occupy my time I have also had some time to play. I went to Long Beach with a few friends for the fourth and then went down to the Hudson River to watch fireworks. The weekend was great, but it is back to work this week. I have been freelancing for a not-for-profit on the Upper West Side, Writopia. Last week I finished up several elements for a window display at Barnes & Noble in the West Village. Check out Writopia Lab's web site for more info or check back soon.

i forgot to tell you

Part of the reason my Mom ventured up to visit was because of the ballet. We have both been to ballets before but neither of us had seen the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). We were able to enjoy three smaller programs included in the ABT Premieres Repertory. The Brahms-Haydn Variations, choreographed by Twyla Tharp started the evening. Alexei Ratmansky's all-new production of Sergei Prokofiev's On the Dnieper followed. Last, but not least was a rendition of Jerome Robbins' first ballet, Fancy Free. The lively and upbeat performance was icing on the cake. We both agreed that it was delightful to see three very different varieties of ballet.

birthday bliss

I guess I can call this one "Mom's week(end)." Last Tuesday my Mom flew in to visit for a few days over my birthday. Bottom line... it was fantastic. After seeing her for less than a day between Christmas and now, this was a well needed visit. I had everything planned. Once she arrived at my apartment, which she hasn't seen in nearly a year, we walked around the corner to have high tea at Alice's Tea Cup. I have only been there for scones and breakfast, but never for lunch. We had petite chicken curry salad sandwiches, egg salad, scones and Casablanca tea. A meal fit for a queen!

After indulging in sweet treats we ran a few errands and then ventured over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the current Picasso exhibit as well as "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity. This was my favorite part of the whole trip. The best part was the bamboo exhibit on the roof of the Met (pictures below). We ended the night at Little Owl for dinner.

Wednesday, Mom and I slept in a bit and then I took her on a four mile walk through the park and the Upper East Side until we made it to Sarabeth's for brunch on Central Park South. We paused in the park for a snapshot.

After brunch, which was amazing, we decided to go shop along Fifth. Well, leave it to Mom to check out all the crowds and figure out what's going on. Turns out Christina Aguilera was doing a concert for CBS outside their studios. We stopped for a bit and listened to a couple songs, but we didn't stay long as it was about to pour down.

Thursday was my birthday. We enjoyed scones in bed from Alice's and then went to my favorite store in the neighborhood, Olive & Bette's to pick up a couple birthday goodies. Afterwards we headed down to Soho to play before our lunch reservations at Balthazar. Mom hadn't been before so she was in for a real treat!

The first time I ever traveled to New York was with a small group led by one of my favorite high school teachers. Ms. B's theatre tour in 2004 was phenomenal. From that trip forward I knew I would live in New York at some point. During that trip I turned 17. Six years later she is still bringing groups to New York to experience Broadway. I was unable to make it home for her retirement party last week, but seeing her in New York on my birthday was icing on the cake. The three of us enjoyed drinks at the W hotel and caught up. To Ms. B: Congratulations on retiring! You have impacted thousands of students lives and given encouragement to so many. You inspired me to step out of the box and go to Mizzou, reach out and move to New York, and above all, you've always told me to follow my dreams. Thank you.

Ms. B and I outside the W

Mom and I outside the W

Thursday evening Mom and I dined at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain. We enjoyed champagne cocktails, soft-shelled crab salad, perfectly cooked steak, as well as a glutenous piece of German chocolate cake with homemade caramel sauce. It was by far the best birthday cake I have ever had! Thanks Mom for such a wonderful birthday!

Before Mom had to leave on Friday afternoon we woke up bright and early to see Norah Jones and Sarah McLachlan perform in Central Park for the Good Morning America Summer Concert Series. Each played four songs and gave a great show. Mom and I are kind of hooked on Sarah McLachlan. She gave an awesome performance.

It is always fantastic to have visitors, especially when it's family. You made my birthday oh, so special Mom! Thanks for visiting and staying with me. And thank you to all my friends and family who made me feel so loved on my birthday! Thank you for all the phone calls, cards, and birthday wishes.

kansas city reunion

The weekend in Kansas City was perfect. I've posted a visual overview for you all. Enjoy!

Night one to the reunion. Julia, Lauren and I. Meeting back in Kansas City after a year apart made for a great reunion weekend. Saturday we spent the evening in the Power and Light district catching up and reminiscing while making new memories.

View from the bridge above the patio at Power and Light.

Julia and I

Our gift to Annie and Matt. We each contributed a photo to create their anniversary date, May 20, 2010. Congrats Annie and Matt!

The beautiful bride, Mrs. Annie Sidesinger.

For Phil. Lauren, Julia, Annie, me and Aimee -- the 2009 magazine design crew

"Our weakest link isn't weak." Night two to Annie.

Lauren and Sara. Both are designers and work with Annie.

A photo booth at the wedding is genius Annie! So much fun. I believe the DVD of all the pictures taken in that booth will make for many laughs for years to come.

Mr. Matthew Sidesinger. Classic.

Julia, me and Aimee. Wigs, hats and glasses, oh my!

the arts

Starting off the day with a few wake up calls from Jake while my alarm was buzzing for over twenty minutes I finally realized if I didn't get out of bed I was going to miss Sugarland's concert in Central Park. Thursday night I asked my new friend Jake, a recent graduate from Hendrix who moved to NY only 14 days ago, if he wanted to go to the GMA Summer Concert Series the next morning. His enthusiasm got me pumped up and excited to return to the beloved Friday mornings of music. This week was Sugarland, a popular country band from across the South. Going to the concert was like a blast back to college. If my friend Jordan and I were stressed or just needed to get off campus we would jump in the car, roll all the windows down, pump the volume and keep Sugarland's album Twice the Speed of Life on repeat while we sipped on frozen Coke's from Burger King. After Friday's early morning concert I have a few more good memories including Sugarland. Jake and I plan to go to a few more of GMA's concerts this summer.

Lead singer and guitarist of Sugarland.

After the concert Jake headed to work and I went home to pack for my trip to Kansas City and then by 11:00 a.m. I was seating in the theater awaiting Sex and the City 2 to begin. Don't worry, I know it is still early and everyone hasn't seen it so I won't give any spoilers, but I will say hands down Liza Minelli was hilarious and just might be my favorite part of the sequel.

I met a few friends atop the Metropolitan Museum of Art to enjoy a cocktail as well as view of the city. The new rooftop sculpture is fantastic. Doug and Mike Starn have created a Bamboo installation that will be a work-in-progress throughout the summer. The excerpt below is from metmuseum.org.

More about the Exhibition
Big Bambú is a growing and changing sculpture―a vast network of 5,000 interlocking 30- and 40-foot-long fresh-cut bamboo poles, lashed together with 50 miles of nylon rope. It will continue to be constructed throughout the duration of the exhibition. The first phase of the structure―measuring about 100 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 30 feet high―was completed by opening day, April 27. The artists and rock climbers are continuing to build up the eastern portion of the sculpture to an elevation of 50 feet. By summer, the western portion of the sculpture will be about 40 feet high. An internal footpath artery system grows along with the structure, facilitating its progress. The evolving state of the work is being documented by the artists in photographs and videos.

I arrived in Kansas City a little before 9 a.m. this morning and have already indulged myself with a Boulevard Wheat (with a lemon) from the local KC microbrewery, Boulevard Brewery.

Not a lot has happened in the past few days but there are many events coming up that are keeping my excitement levels high. Saturday morning I am leaving for Kansas City to reunite with a few wonderful friends/designers. Of our college design group Annie will be the second to get married. Her fiance, Matt, is a great guy and put up with a lot of gibber-jabber about design and more than likely still does!

I will be in Kansas City until Tuesday morning and then I'm back in the city for a while. I am looking forward to another summer in New York. Today was the first "hot" day we've had. It 90+ outside and very sunny.

I am looking forward to free concerts, movie nights outside in the middle of Central Park, fresh gelato and street fairs. Mom gave me a tip to check out the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn next weekend (June 5-6). I checked out their Web site and it looks right up my alley. Vendors include some of my favorite bloggers and online artists, including Etsy. Check out the list of over 300 artists that will be there. My birthday is the week following so I'm hoping to find a new piece of art for my apartment or a few knickknacks.

Speaking of my birthday, my Mom has decided to come visit for a few days over my b-day. We already have a few things planned, including the American Ballet Theatre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and dinner at Little Owl. Mom has been trying to get into Little Owl over the past two years and still hasn't been there, but third times the charm because I was able to snag us reservations the first night she gets in town. There is also a new exhibit at the MET: "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity" that both of us will really enjoy. Below is an excerpt from the exhibit summary:

"...the first Costume Institute exhibition drawn from the newly established Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Met. It explores developing perceptions of the modern American woman from 1890 to 1940 and how they have affected the way American women are seen today. Focusing on archetypes of American femininity through dress, the exhibition reveals how the American woman initiated style revolutions that mirrored her social, political, and sexual emancipation. "Gibson Girls," "Bohemians," and "Screen Sirens," among others, helped lay the foundation for today's American woman."\

If you follow this blog regularly then you know that I am basically obsessed with Alice's Tea Cup, which I must say for the record... my Mom discovered the "scone gold-mine" first and I just happen to stop by as often as possible. Olive & Bette's and Anthropologie are sure to be stops for shopping along the way as well as lunch at Balthazar the day we're down in Soho. I haven't decided where to go to dinner for my birthday, which I need to figure out soon so I can make reservations, but I'm not sure yet. Heard of any new, fun places that I should try? All suggestions welcome!