New York Uniform

It is very unlike me to wear all black. You see a whole lot of all black ensembles in New York. I'm always impressed when someone is darkly decked out head to toe yet still manages to look fresh. One of my roommates is one of those people. She often wears all black but still always looks effortlessly chic and put together. Anyways, I recently bought this shirt and perhaps need to do laundry for reasons that will remain unknown, I decided to give the all black look a try. 

black zipper tee {Zara} - black skinnies {Old Navy} - sunnies {H&M} - blue belt {Loft} - brown boots {Aldo} -

 elephant necklace & blue leather bracelet {flea market, NYC} - beaded & chain bracelets {DIY} - photo credit {Kiki}

Clearly I had to take baby steps into this dark world by throwing on a bright blue belt, brown boots and loads of colored bracelets. After all, I've always been a little afraid of the dark (actually though, I slept with a night light until an embarrassingly old age...). I'll admit, though, that I am kind of loving the pseudo-gothic new me. I just may don the darks a little bit more often. It's just too bad I figured this out when Mother Nature* started cooperating and giving us sunshine.

j.

*Umm...Mother Nature, if you're reading this, don't worry I can save my black for Fall so please keep the sunshine coming.

Crafty Chains

I love crafts. I always have and probably always will. It was my absolute favorite thing to do when I was a kid. Make things. Anything, from sewing projects to jewelry to countless decorations for this holiday and that holiday and often just for fun.

I did bring a bit of my crafting supplies with me to NYC, just in case. And this past weekend, I got to crack them open with my friend and fellow craft queen, Sesame. She saw this bracelet on one of my favorite blogs, Honestly...WTF, and showed it to me. Little did she know, I was familiar with this DIY blog and had already successfully made these puppies a few months back. I had also already seen this bracelet and had wanted to try it.

So, what better time than now to give it a whirl? We had stumbled upon an amazing trim shop on the weekend during a flea adventure where we picked up basic beads and made a few simple bracelets to whet our crafting appetites. We knew they sold the chain so we planned another trip there and set our crafting date for Wednesday morning. Well, Wednesday morning came and I made two bracelets and Sesame made a necklace. We spent our "group meeting" making jewelry instead of working on our project due next week. Then, when it was about time for me to leave for class, the most wonderful of things happened. I received an email saying that class had been cancelled. We both looked at one another and at the same time said, "wanna go get more materials?". Yes, yes we do. So, off we went for the third time in five days to the trim shop we were starting to know and had loved since the first chance encounter. We made more bracelets and more necklaces and called it a night nine (!) hours after we had first begun. What fun we had crafting the entire day away. And we have so many more ideas to come!

leather detail tee {Zara} - necklace & jacket {Forever 21} - black skinnies {Old Navy} - tan riding-inspired boots {The Bay} -

neon & chain bracelet {DIY} - watch & teal leather bracelet {flea market, NYC} - scarf {market, Spain}

There was tea and hot chocolate, lemon poundcake and red velvet cupcakes too. Dinner from the Indian take-out place, Clay Oven, just down the street. Lots of chatter. Too many new ideas. And promises of more crafts to come.

I can't wait to show you what we make next!

j.

InstaLife Lately

I know this type of post is really popular among the blogs right now and I hate myself just a little bit for doing this. BUT, I have a serious Instagram addiction. I mean, SERIOUS. So my iPhone is loaded with photos. I'm talking jam packed of square-shaped photos filtered by "toaster" or "valencia". I even discovered another app that allows me to make photo collages and upload them straight to Instagram. The photo insanity is at an all time high. And I'm kinda loving every second of it...

Ready for it? I'll give you the reader's digest of it, starting at the top, from left to right:

• A guilty face. Yet another chai before class.
• Fro Yo, YO! (No guilt there.)
• Field trips aren't just for eight year olds. Materials Connexion for Textiles. Basically a museum of all things material. Pretty cool, actually!
• More takeout than I care to admit. And a reminder to be dependable. Because people rely on it.
• Interview nautical.
• Pretty fountains AND flowers. Win. Win.
• Taking two new flea finds on a sunny Sunday walk.
• Started making bracelets with Sesame. Just wait until you see what we're making tomorrow!
• Mixing patterns and waiting for the train.
• Shadows = Sun = Happiness.
• Cherry blossoms. See equation above.
• Apartment hunting with Kiki. And very large teas. It was way too early for a Saturday.
• Being a fleaster. And making up new words...
• Quiet study sessions on sunny days in my favorite cafe.
• A beautiful sunset over the city. And a beyond amazing,definitely enviable view from a friend's apartment.
• Fashionable friends inbetween classes.

Life, you are kinda alright at the moment.

j.

Mixed Metals

Happy Hump Day Friends!

Don't you love Wednesdays? I always did. Why? Because you're halfway to the weekend. When I was working, I found Wednesdays to be one of the most productive days of the week. Mondays are crazy. And you don't want to be there. So, basically they are the worst. Tuesdays I found highly unproductive because you're still getting back into work mode from those two glorious days off. And you're a little thrown off from the craziness of your Monday to get any real work done. But come Wednesday, you really hit your stride, or at least I did. You've settled into the work groove. Things are jiving just right. You're crossing items off that to-do list like it's going out of style. And you have that silent knowledge that tomorrow is Thursday. And you know what they say about Thursday, don't you? It comes before Friday. And Friday is the best day of all because Fridays are attached to those two glorious days we call the weekend. Plus Wednesday night always has the best shows to look forward to. What can I say? I'm a sucker for my shows.

Remember how I told you on Monday that I unpacked all of my boxes and organized my closet? Well, today I snapped a few pics of my pride and joy. Also known as my clothing and jewelry. I also lied to you on Monday. I thought I was going to use a corkboard for my jewelry but a trip to Ikea prompted a change of heart. I was in storage heaven. Everywhere I looked I saw possibilities for housing my baubles. In the end, I used a kitchen bar and hooks for my heaviest necklaces, two small white wire cylinders for hanging earrings around and that bronze 't'-shaped stand for my daintier necklaces.

That 't'-shaped stand was kind of a hassle to actually purchase. I saw it on display in a bedroom. It's tag told me I could find it in the seasonal section. Right by the check out. Once I got down there, I searched through the section. The stand was nowhere to be found. I was going to leave it. But my Mom saw that look in my eyes. The look I get when I really, really want something. It was perfect for my purposes. It was only five dollars. What more could I ask for? She quickly granted me permission to take her on a wild goose chase for this five dollar ornament stand that I had no intention of using to display ornaments. Unless you consider my necklaces ornaments, which I kind of do....anyways. We zigged and zagged our way back where we had come. Up to the bedroom section. I found the stand in one of the bedrooms. It was displaying these cute little heart ornaments. I took it to a sales associate who scanned it and told me there were eleven of them in stock. I relayed that I had been sent up there by another associate downstairs who said they were sold out. I asked if I could purchase the display one. That, they told me, was not up to them. Instead they would have to ask the Designer.

(Can we just take a moment to reflect on how amazing that job would be? Just the thought of being able to design Ikea showrooms all day. I could honestly spend days in there. And all of my money. Seriously.)

The Designer nods her approval so the associate proceeds to cut all of the ornaments off of the stand. Tells me there is no paperwork to be done, just a phone call. I witness the phone call and assume it is the check out being notified if my imminent arrival. Down we go again. Of course, the poor guy at the check out has no idea what I'm talking about and is giving me the crazy look for trying to sneak the display unit past him on his conveyor belt. Another phone call later and he directs me to another department. At least it's just around the corner. I get there and finally this lady does not give me the crazy look and even exclaims "I was waiting for you!". I was overjoyed to say the least. She takes my random display ornament stand from me and tells me she needs to print out a sticker for it. Five minutes later (are you hand-making the sticker lady???) she returns with my stand and it's sticker. She adds that she gave me a bit of a discount it being a display unit and all. Damn lady, now I feel bad for getting inpatient with you. A whopping eighty cents off my five dollar ornament stand and thirty minutes later, I am finally allowed to check out. But I could not have been happier with my purchase. It was absolutely perfect for my purpose.

So. The moral of this story is: having patience and a whole lot of time on your hands pays. Eighty cents to be exact.

j.