The Stuff of Life . . .

Tough week. Stuff to get through it.

Empire State

Nifty Thrifty warehouse sale! Steeply discounted velvet loafers inside. <3

Ring holder or glass? 

Foggy freedom mornings. 

S'Nice carrot cupcake on a tough day. Yum. 

Gramercy Park, a most beautiful NYC neighborhood.

So inviting on a rainy day. 

Photos for life. 

Flea Market Favorites

The Brooklyn Flea may be the most delightful place on Earth. One visit fills me with happiness. My only wish is that I could afford to buy even more random stuff to fill up my apartment.

Vintage cams.

Hook basket.

Me while at the BK flea. Also, a bank for storing change. 

YUM. 

Passion fruit doughnut with cocao nibs. 

Possible headboard? 

Gorgeous. 

Sweet and sour ketchup, jalapeño mustard, and mashed up potato chips. 

This lovely set of antlers came home with me. It now wears a crown of roses. 

Everything

New York is a beautiful and tragic and magical and awful place.

There are a few things everyone should know about New York that I think no one ever really talks about. It’s really cold here in January. By that, I mean it’s so utterly bitter outside that you find yourself contemplating if it is actually physically possible for bones to freeze. Also, every few blocks you need to avoid animal feces on the sidewalk, as so many people have dogs and yet do not carry doggy bags. (?) And the 6^th Ave subway often smells like pee. No grocery stores. Everything’s expensive. There’s always the uncertain risk of bed bugs. Death by moving fixed gear is a real possibility on Bedford Ave. I think the cyclists can’t see over their beards.

In spite of all that, it’s also a dreamland. As I write this, I’m contemplating the idea of ordering in for chocolate chip cookies. Only in New York can you order from 50 different restaurants, bakeries, and bodegas, whatever you want at any time of night. You can stand in a subway stop in Brooklyn and find yourself only moments later in Times Square on the most densely populated city block in the world. Or take the train a couple stops over to Washington Square Park and throw a penny into the fountain. My office in Greenwich Village, outright THE most charming neighborhood in America, is dangerously close to Bleeker Street Pizza and the view of the Hudson river is positively stunning.

I took a new route home from Williamsburg today and found a walk up vintage closet and maybe the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen, hidden away in the bustle of Driggs street.  Reclaimed hangers from Junk? Yes, please. I had a life changing hot dog that cost me 4 bucks. Yesterday, it was a Polish potato dumpling at the same price and honestly, riding the subway isn’t that bad at all. Add to that, you look across the East River and see this. You have to catch your breath.

Then there’s this amazing opportunity I keep referring to as my job. Truly, I could not stand to be more blessed. I think sometimes we ask God for something and when it finally arrives, we’re unprepared to receive it.  I have more work to do in the next month than I know what to do with. It’s going to take weekends and nights and skipped lunches. It will be far and away the most challenging task I’ve ever set out to accomplish and I wouldn’t give up a single second of it because next week I have a Skype meeting with a colleague in India. The week after that, I’ll be launching a nation wide campaign with the largest public relations firm in the country. The following week, I’ll be heading off in a tour van for 4 months to see this amazing nation we all call our home.

So I guess what I ask the world is this….If you’re not putting everything all in, what are you really doing?

New York takes everything from you and gives nothing back and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

Bryant Park

NYE threads

Punch Brothers at The Bowery

Rock Center

 

Keys to the Office 

Heart Elbow Pads :)

Sunshine in Greenpoint

Modern Anthology

Crif Dogs

This is not a Buffalo Exchange. 

Autumn Tales and Adventures Pt. 1

Being on vacation is seriously the best. I just got back from North Carolina a couple of hours ago now, but I wanted to take advantage of this moment to look through photos and blog because I have like...a second before I get ready take off again on another adventure! I would like to apologize in advance for the overwhelming amount of photos that are about to appear on the screen. If you're not in the mood for photo stalking, I suggest you stop reading right now.

Otherwise, I shall regale you with tales of the beauty and wonder that is the Blue Ridge Mountains.

riding boots/aldo  dress+jacket/UO     

My friend Brian and I had a lovely brunch at Mayfel's to start the day. Before that morning, I had never experienced the joy that is an omelette with avocado, brie cheese, and chorizo sausage. Now I have and it totally changed my life. Brian's hamburger had an egg on it. A meal for the history books. 

There is an antique store/vintage showroom in Asheville called The Screen Door that is a must do on the agenda anytime I'm in the state. It...is....legitimate, most definitely one of the best upsell stores I've ever been in. Period. Every single booth has its own really detailed point of view and the sellers actually take the time to style the items, which to me makes a world of difference and vastly sets the store apart from most of the others of its kind I've been in. Not to mention, their stock is outrageous. I've never met any of the sellers, but they must be vintage savants.

Everytime we go, I walk out with at least one purchase. This time it was the lovely typewriter featured below. I've been searching for a really old typewriter for a while and the few I've found in Jacksonville were all almost $100. I paid a good deal less than that for this one! :)

If this had a strap, it would be mine....

Oh, welcome to my palatial estate. 

Mine! <3

After we left The Screen Door, we drove up Pisgah Mountain and did some light hiking to one of the falls. I was wearing a lace dress. Genius. It was okay for rock hopping, I just had to hike it up a bit. :) We got some gorgeous photos of the sunset over the mountain. Since I was a child on family vacations, I've always found the mountain forest to be so majestic. Maybe it's because I was born and raised in a state with virtually no elevation or climate shifts (ever), or because the mountains remind me of a time when everyone was together. No parents were stressed; there was no homework to worry about or chores to do. All you had to do is smile, and skip a stone or two across the creek. Or perhaps I just watched Pocahontas too many times as a child. :) But, seriously. Colors of the Wind? Epic.