Ladders

Albert Nipon dress ~ Georgetown flea (no longer there, Washington, DC)
Etienne Aigner sandals ~ Bentley's (Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights)

I Turn My Camera On

(Yesterday)

holly vest ~ Beacon's Closet

xhilaration t-shirt ~ Target (Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn)

Alberto Makali skirt ~ Secondi (Connecticut Avenue, Dupont Circle, DC)

Etienne Aigner brown sandals ~ Bentley's (Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights)

Can't Quite Put My Finger On It

Single dress ~ hand-me-down

American Apparel brown tank

Bandolino sandals ~ Bentley's (Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights)

Gotta Leave the 9-5 Up on the Shelf

kersh top ~ anthro-po (anthropologie.com)

Gap jeans

N.Y. V.I.P. (that's me) sandals ~ Bentley's shoes (Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights)

Where Are My Keys I lost My Phone

Yesterday

Peeler Gear t-shirt ~ (Union Street near 8th Ave. ~ $5 ~ www.peelergear.com)

Gap jeans ~ best purchase of the summer ($24.99, thanks, again to TSR)

Bobbli Blu sandals ~ anthropologie.com

When the Weekend Had Only Just Begun

Friday

Top ~ Beacon's Closet (5th Avenue, Park Slope)

Gap jeans

Tracy Reese sandals ~ sample sale

Hello I Must Be Going

Ali Ro top ~ Beacon's Closet (Fifth Avenue, Park Slope)

Benetton jacket

Matt & Nat bag

7 for All Mankind jeans ~ Fisch for the Hip (W. 18th Street and 7th Ave.)
Tracy Reese bronze sandals ~ sample sale

Finishing Bronze

Tracy Reese bronze sandals ~ sample sale - thanks, Racked!
I bought these last night. Sale is still going on.

Yesterday
Humanoid cardigan ~ Beacon's Closet (5th Avenue, Park Slope)
The Limited polka dot blouse
7 for All Mankind jeans ~ Fisch for the Hip (W. 18th Street and 7th Ave.)
Tracy Reese bronze sandals ~ sample sale

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me

Gap jeans ~ Just like at TSR

Voxx racer back tank ~ Coqueta (Mulberry Street, Nolita)

Urban Outfitters tissue tee

Bobbi Blu thong sandals ~ Anthropologie

Daydream Job

Q's Daydream is the best blog. I stumbled upon it when I did a search for H&M sailor pants like the ones I'm wearing in the previous post. She has an incredible aesthetic both in her personal style and her amazing photographs. Very inspiring. Makes me want to take more pride in -- and more time--in whatever I'm going to post. We'll see if that happens.

I Need to Get Out More

J.Crew navy Jackie cardigan

H&M pants ~ Beacon's Closet

Etienne Aigner sandals ~ Bentley's (Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights)

patent leather belt ~ hand-me-down (Joan)

Fat Black Pussy Cat, Almost

Sisley jacket ~ Benetton (Connecticut Avenue, Dupont Circle, DC)

xhilaration t-shirt ~ Target (Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn)

Blank jeans ~ Goldy + Mac (Fifth Avenue, Park Slope)

Gap wedge sandals

Open Toe Revival

Friday

Sinequanone turtleneck ~ Beacon's Closet (5th Avenue, Park Slope)

J.Crew jodhpurs

Privo Mosie flats ~ Foot Gear Plus (First Avenue and St. Marks's Place)

Bird on a Wall

United Colors of Benetton suit
Spence blouse ~ Lord & Taylor
Etienne Aigner sandals ~ Bentley's (Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights)

Three Blind Mice

Spence top ~ Lord & Taylor
Gap jeans

Hang Ten

J.Crew Perfect Shirt button-down

Argyle sweater ~ hand-me-down (Steph)

Paper Boy pants ~ Anthropologie
VanEli flats ~ Bentley's (Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights)

Sip 'n Shop

Council Boutique on Atlantic Avenue is having a wine tasting and shopping event tomorrow featuring a wine by Parlay Wines of Brooklyn.

Ta Da

Concluding the pillow project I started this weekend, here is pillow #2 with a modest embellishment of trim with pom poms...I only had enough for one side.

Here it is up close before I blind stitch it up.

And again.

Like husband and wife.

And this is what I wore.

Converse sweat shirt ~ Target (Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn)

Voxx tank ~ Coqueta (Mulberry Street, Nolita)

leggings

More Pillow Talk

To dress up the living room couch, I bought two pieces of fabric (above), one yard each, and two 18" square pillow forms at Mood Fabrics (as seen on Project Runway) on my way home from work the other night.

Here's pillow # 1 in progress -- pinned and ready to be sewn.

I finished the pillow with a hand sewn blind stitch while watching reruns of the Rachel Zoe Project on Bravo.
And voila! My first pillow. (Not including the ones I sewed by hand for my stuffed animals when I was little.)
Here it is with the other side showing.
And here's how it looks with the couch.

This is a totally satisfying project! And now for the second pillow. I might add some trim to distinguish it a little. I'll post the results of this when I'm finished.

Handcrafting Justice

In response to a comment on a previous entry, I bought the long orange and white pillows in this picture (along with the green and white lamps) from Marshalls. 

The colorful appliqué pillow was made in Sri Lanka. I purchased it through Handcrafting Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women in economic and social distress in developing countries find financial independence in selling their own crafts. The works of these artisans and craftsmen are for sale online here. Read more about Handcrafting Justice here.

Sleigh Belle

Halo shirt

J.Crew jodhpur

Etienne Aigner sandals ~ bentley's (Montague Street, brooklyn Heights)

Andrea rund rug ~ Target (red hook, brooklyn)X

Hydrangeas and Cement Walls

J.Crew Jackie cardigan

H&M pants

ruffle blouse ~ Lord & Taylor

Etienne Aigner sandals

The ruffle on the blouse reminds me of Isabel (below). She has such a pretty white pouf, like a corsage or neck kerchief, though it's not visible in this photo. 

Isabel and her pretty paws

Brave New World

DKNY wrap sweater ~ hand-me-down from sister Steph

Blank jeans ~ Goldy + Mac (Fifth Avenue, Park Slope)

J.Crew Perfect Fit t-shirt ~ it really is the perfect fit -- good collar, good length on sleeves, hem hits just below hips

Puma sneakers ~ outlet (Rehoboth, DE)

lovely Begonias

Arnett sunglasses ~ Brave New World (Little Silver, NJ)

I bought these decent sunglasses because my eyes felt sunburned after wearing my cheapies all day Mother's Day. Feel like I could visit the sun and moon with these. Got them at Brave New World in my hometown of Little Silver, NJ, a great ski and surf shop.

Put the Needle on the Record

No before picture - totally forgot -ergh! 

I took these jeans up about 1 inch.

Blank jeans ~ Goldy + Mac (Fifth Avenue, Park Slope)

with this Singer model from Target:

This machine works so well and gives me confidence to keep trying things. The needle just sailed through the denim. The last sewing machine I had was my mother's, a Singer as well, which, despite two repairs, was always jamming. I finally let go of it and couldn't be more pleased with this easy to use, inexpensive gem. (Some reader reviews on Target mention problems with thread jams with the bobbin. I had a couple of problems like that that I attribute to being a novice sewer, and am now proudly singing along... no problems with thread jamming since my first couple of days.)

A Little Bit in Love with You

Nothing that a power drill and a ladel can't affix...

Penguin shirt ~ Pop (Grand and Havemeyer in Williamsburg)

Puma pants ~ outlet (Rehoboth, DE)

Durabilt 9.6 V powerdrill ~ Target (Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn)

Great investment despite having almost no weightbearing walls in our apartment.

This Again?

Sweater from Daffy's - I cut the tag out so I don't know who made it, but I liked it for the party in the back.

The ruffle neck top is from a store in San Antonio that I picked out with the help of my sister-in-law on a visit in 2001.

The purse is from my friend, the lovely Ms. TSR, aka, The Sale Rack. It's a matt & nat bag, which, if you live in the dark (or television glow) like I do sometimes, is a vegan handbags and accessories company. I didn't know it wasn't leather until my friend Jess pointed it out to me -- incidentally after being at a bar the night before where she had just met one of the founders.

Gorgeous building and plaza at W. 43rd and 6th Ave.

So Keep on Gettin' Your Paper and Keep on Climbing

I guess you can say this is what I've been up to since my last post.

Before

After: made curtains, got a couch and chair, moved furniture around

And a lot of Bravo TV. Bravo, Bravo, for Bethenny and Patti, especially. I wish Patti had been around when I was a teenager.

Have also been agreeing with every word of Lily Allen's "It's Not Me, It's You."

Slight curiosity got me totally sucked into The City --love that Whitney Port--so that I went back and watched almost all four seasons of The Hills online in under a week, roughly, and felt very much like a junkie. Have not really been digging season 5 of The Hills, but maybe that's because it's Lauren's last season and I've actually come to like her. She's grown, she's not doing another season, she's moved on, and just in time as the party is over, economically-speaking.

The City finale led to an obsession with Robyn, The Hills led to an obsession with Natasha Bedingfield and Rihanna, and I learned that I am all about mainstream, and that's okay. Or has pop just become way above average?

Finally, I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life. The simplest answer I have come up with is something. I don't want to think anymore, I just want to do.

So I'm back here, and I'm in the kitchen, and I'm at my sewing machine. Doing something.

Coming Around Again

I will be blogging again soon.
But I'm not buying another digital camera. Maybe I'll find one. Or win one. Or maybe I'll become a water colorist.

Elephants and Doggie Doggies

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/02/assignment_america/main4696340.shtml

No Laughing Matter

Still don't have a camera, and don't have time to paint. While that's no laughing matter, this here Village Voice interview with comedian Aziz Ansari by my friend Ben Westhoff is.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2009/01/interview_comed.php#more