clearly I have a very rich imagination

Pun, completely intentional.

Apparently, in my fantasies, I carry $1,240 Lanvin purses and wear Alexander McQueen earrings.
And have a rich grandmother who lives on the UES in NYC.

Just discovered Polyvore.com via Angry Chicken and Posy Gets Cozy. Also, discovered that Polyvore.com is not fire-walled at work. Big Mistake.

For some reason writing like Bridget Jones.

Alternate titles for this outfit: "Too Much Gossip Girl" or "I Could Never Really Walk Around NYC In These Shoes That's Why It's A Fantasy, Silly".

She knits! She sews!

It's true, I do both of those things. I used to write about them on this blog quite a bit, actually.

Above, you can see the latest evidence of my knitting. This is Shaylee, from Rowan Kidsilk Aura Collection book that was published in 2007. Oh, that's right, 2007. I bought it while I was still working at The Point NYC. While The Point was still open, even.

The yarn you're seeing is Manos Silk Blend, which I bought when it was still a new product. I can't even remember when that was.

What you're looking at, is my 4th attempt to knit the left side. It's seems that I just can't get it right. When I follow the directions as I believe they are written, the shaping doesn't match the diagram of the finished knit. When I tried to wing it, it came out really, really wrong. So I'm back to following the directions. The worst case scenario is that the spacing on the belt loops are a little off. I can live with that.

In other news, I made my Halloween costume this year. Or, rather, I cobbled it together from items that I already owned, made and bought on the cheap.

I was inspired by Tim Burton's much anticipated, Alice in Wonderland, and dressed as Alice. The are no current photographs of me because I just wasn't myself in that blind wig. I felt obvious and silly. (Though I secretly LOVED my costume and thought it was incredible.) I think I'll recycle it for next year, since it took a bit of work. Perhaps then there'll be photos.

A Year of Living Dangerously

Hi, friends. I'm coming up on a bit of a milestone. This coming weekend will mark one year that I've been living as a single woman in NYC (well, Queens, more accurately, but I digress).

This is a fact that still kind of hits a raw nerve for me. I didn't think it would, but this past week I've been bombarded with random mood swings and general feelings of panic and grumpiness. I couldn't understand what was wrong with me and then I looked at the calendar.

One year ago this Sunday, I moved all of my earthly belongings into my friend, Kevin's, apartment in Sunnyside, Queens and never looked back. Somehow, between the two of us, I developed a mantra that would guide me through the next year. I would in the months to come, time and time again, hear Kevin's voice in my head, "Just say yes, Rebecca."

Someone invites me to see a band I hardly know at 11pm on a Tuesday? Just say yes.
Drop everything and spend 2 weeks in Italy? Just say yes.
Face all of your fears and do the one thing you're afraid of the most? Just say yes.

And so I said yes. Every time I was too tired, or too scared, or too shy, I heard Kevin urging me on. Whether he's aware of it or not, he helped me discover a new self. Or maybe it was an old self that had just been pushed down for so long that she had become unrecognizable.

But she's here now, and she's not going away, and she's going to keep saying yes. Thanks, Kevin.

Just a few of the things I have said yes to in the last year:
I moved into a new apartment.
I spent 2 weeks in a country where I don't know the language.
I sang karaoke.
I ate wild boar!
I took up kickboxing.
I went to a party where I didn't know anyone except the host.
I bought my first computer.
I took on a project that I wasn't sure I could finish.
I ran three 5K races.
I took lots of pictures.
I raised some tomatoes.
I went to Staten Island.
I saw my friend play in a band.
I kissed a stranger.
I went to a Knicks' game.
I ate sweetbreads.
I made new friends.
I went to Long Island.
I was a bridesmaid in my brother's wedding.
I went to Texas alone to see an old friend get married.
I read a Psalm at my grandmother's funeral.
I considered the possibility of new love.
And, oh yeah, I flew on the trapeze.

Hi, friends! I keep forgetting to share this with you!!

Do yourself a favor, will you? Listen very carfeully to what I'm telling you and do everything exactly the way I describe it, OK?

First, get yourself and your special someone over to Motorino on Graham Ave. in Williamsburg. Share a bottle of wine, eat a Margherita pizza , but save room for dessert.

After dinner, wander outside, (maybe linger on the corner for a moment to share a kiss fueled by a pizza-eating induced high) and then head down Metropolitan Ave. to the corner or Manhattan Ave. If you look to your left you'll see the shining beacon of light that is Fortunato Brothers Bakery.

Go inside, order a cannoli (or two) and have a seat at one of the little tables. The lovely waitress will take your espresso order and bring your cannoli and your night will be complete.

This, my friends, is the recipe for a perfect evening. Trust me and just do as I say.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Really??????

Just a quick note for you all. I've been busier this past month than I've been in a long time. I've been struggling to push myself to think creatively and act productively.

I've been shooting almost every weekend! These are images from my latest with photographer, Kat Teutsch. Kat has so much energy and so many ideas that simply being in the same room with her inspires me.

The stills we shot compliment photos that Kat took on a farm in Nebraska. We incorporated all of the produce that they were harvesting on the farm and tried to rustic, yet sophisticated setting.

Since this shoot I've done three more!! I hope to be able to share more images with you soon. On other fronts, I haven't had time to do much crafting, since most of my time these days is spent prepping for photo shoots.

I am working on a baby blanket for a dear friend of the family. I'm about half way through and my deadline is October 1st, so that's all I'm going to be doing for the next couple of days.

I'll have photos to share with you as soon as it's finished!

Yay!!! TOOOMAAATOOOES!
I'm just a little excited about these. See, I grew them myself. Little ol' me, Queens Resident, City Gal, grew some freakin' tomatoes!

Aren't they so cute? Tasty, too! I put my two tomato plants in a very large planter that I keep in our little front yard area. It's surrounded by a fence and overwhelmed by a enormous rose bush. When my landlord saw the planter, he said, "You should put them in the ground. They'll grow a lot bigger."
Ah! Next year, Franklin. Next year.

And on to more pressing matters. This blankety-blank chalkboard that I saved up for forever and purchased a month ago. I am afraid that it's too small. I keep going over ways to make it appear more dramatic. Maybe a bigger frame. Paint a dark frame around it on the wall. Hmmm. I know! Buy a bigger chalkboard!
Yep. It's too small. I want to cry when I think about how much it's going to cost to ship it back. And how much the shipping on the bigger size is.
I. Just. Want. To. Cry.