Writer's Block + Linoleum Blocks

I recently took a linocutting class at the Brooklyn Brainery and am now obsessed. This means that along with night classes my schedule has pretty much been: stay up till 2 a.m. writing poetry and linocutting, sleep till noon, write more, print more. This also means I've been posting new stuff to the Etsy shop! Expect a whole slew of cards and notebooks and whatever else I find around that I can print on. I'm thinking my next experiment will be leggings...

My Break As Told By Instagram

First day back in NYC after a lovely break! 1) My brother on Christmas morning wearing my awesome lavender fox fur head wrap 2) Me & my BFF Gina 3) Me & Christian 4) Me & my brothers on Christmas 2010 5) Me & Gina in the open space by her house in Golden, CO 6) Mona's in downtown Denver--highly recommended 7) Gina's baby Christmas tree 8) My family's dog Simba 9) Snow-covered mountain side 10) Friends outside Bar Bar in downtown Denver 11) Driving into the mountains on a snowy day 12) My brother looking snazzy 13) Chad's laser-visioned cat Apollo 14) My bro and a Christmas tree with giant googly eyes in Lacrosse, Wisconsin 15) Gina being excited 16) Gina outside Beaujo's Pizza in Idaho Springs, CO

My Fall As Told By Instagram

Summing up my fall:
Learning to knit, me & my cousin's collaboration on our Jack o' Lantern and our friendship rings, the first snow of the season, apples at the farmer's market, our backyard fire pit, love in Dumbo, and hanging out with friends.

Washington D.C.

After Thanksgiving, I went on a mini-vacation to Washington D.C. It was great to get out of the city for a bit. D.C. is a freakishly clean city--we only saw like one pigeon and one piece of trash on the street. Aside from admiring its pristine-ness, we made a sad attempt at fulfilling our patriotic duty by seeing all the monuments, but we only made it as far as the White House. We could see the Washington Monument in the distance more than once, though.

We did visit the National Portrait Gallery and the 40 Under 40 exhibition at the Renwick Gallery, both of which were AMAZING. I have never more thoroughly enjoyed a museum than these two. The other highlight of the trip was dancing to live jazz at the Eighteenth Street Lounge. Definitely the best night I've had in a long time.

Even the bus ride was a blast.

One of many statues in parks.

Still in the dancing mood after meeting a new friend with a lovely apartment.

Walt Whitman in the Modern Poets exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

The State Department Building or something like that.

Jeffrey Clancy, Tea for One, 2002

My Life of Late: Post-Sandy

Well, I did get to go to one Halloween party dressed up as (surprise!) a fortune teller, but because of Sandy, actual Halloween was spent at home eating candy. I did make a Halloween crown and wear it, though.

I'm extremely grateful that the worst of my Sandy experience was missing out on Halloween, plus a couple minor inconveniences (honking and lines for gas). A lot of people are still in need, so I've been using that as an excuse to attend some awesome events where all proceeds went to Sandy relief efforts.

This weekend I'm going to the Powerhouse Arena in DUMBO for their Sandy Hates Books fundraiser to help save their bookstore, which was completely devastated by the storm.

The Powerhouse Arena in a very sad state :(

Thankfully New York is bouncing back (as is its nature), and we can start looking forward to the fun things yet to come! Hooray.

My Life of Late: Instagram

 

Highlights of the past few weeks:
Mexican corn at Cafe Habana in SoHo
Trivia night at Pine Box Rock Shop in Bushwick
Janelle Monae at the Afropunk Fest
(Catching the end of) the West Indian Day Parade
--and-- the usual nonsense

My Life of Late: From Unemployed to Overemployed

I have somehow managed to go from scraping by and wallowing in self-pity to having too many jobs. Not that I'm complaining, but I have been extraordinarily busy. I've hopped on the barista bandwagon and am working at Beny's Delice in Fort Greene. So far it's going well and no one has complained that their cappuccino is actually a latte, yet.

I'm also working on a couple freelancing projects, and I hope to keep doing more. Luckily one of them--a gig at Paper & String--might turn into a full-time job (fingers crossed)! Paper & String sends out weekly newsletters about different neighborhoods in New York, so sign up for your favorites. I'm going to start writing the Williamsburg newsletter, so any suggestions about your favorite Williamsburg spots and events would be greatly appreciated.

I'm also working on an article about urban farming for The Park Slope Reader, which has been rather fascinating, so check back for a link to that once it's done. Until then, wish me luck making it through the week without any days off.

Gina, My Jewel

The best part about Colorado is getting to see my best friend Gina! She is my sanity. When I'm in Colorado I practically spend every second with her. I'm really lucky to have such a good friend--one thing I've learned in college and after is that a lot of people don't know how to be a good friend or even how to have one. I'm so grateful to have Gina in my life.

In honor of our amazing friendship we bought matching friendship salt shakers at an antique store. We share a mutual love for tomatoes with salt, Gina perhaps a little more so than I, so they are perfect. Except that the receipt read "pumpkin salt shakers," which is why we documented them next to this twin tomato from the farmer's market in Golden. Proof that they're totally tomatoes.

The Sun is Deceptive

I went to California expecting to leave with the tan I've been waiting for all summer, and then it was too cold to go to the beach. The one day I went with my cousin Jessi we didn't even bother to put on bathing suits, but we braved it until the wind picked up and it got too cold.

I actually got way more sun in Colorado than California. Now I'm back in the humidity where I'll slowly lose whatever color I got as I hide in front of the air conditioner. The good news: Jessi just moved to Brooklyn, so we can hang out all the time! Maybe I'll have to drag her to a beach out here on the east coast so we can actually suit up and appreciate the water.

My Life of Late: Sleep Deprivation + Encroaching Unemployment

Things That Are Wrong:

1) Writing complete sentences feels burdensome

2) T-2 days until unemployment

3) Job search sucking out my soul

4) Leg cramp indicative of unknown vitamin deficiency

5) Societal notion of success too deeply ingrained in my brain.

Some of My Favorite Etsy Purchases

These are just a few of my favorite purchases from etsy. I've been buying things on etsy for years, so I've also had some purchases gone horribly wrong (read: shoes with soles secretly made out of styrofoam). But these are some real gems, including a vintage dress I bought probably five years ago that I still wear:

Papier-mache bowl from etco.

Brown woven leather brogues from streeturchinvintage (with some Caffe-Reggio-green paint I got on them).

Vintage binocular case (seller no longer exists) and vintage sunglasses from American Deadstock.

Velvet chunky heels from kaleidsocopevision.

One of my favorite floral vintage dresses that I bought so long ago on an old account I don't even know what shop I got it from. 

Mr. Roger's Neighborhood

In Bushwick we lived two blocks from the Marcy Projects where Jay-Z grew up, but we were also in  the Hasidic neighborhood, which meant that there was no need to think twice when entering a stranger's house as there is nothing sick and twisted about turning off a light switch on the Holy Sabbath in exchange for cheesecake or bananas. Entering a bathhouse full of naked men and boys to switch off a light is another story, but thankfully I was not the one asked to do this.

Now we live in Bed-Stuy, albeit on the edge of Clinton Hill just a few blocks from Pratt, but Bed-Stuy nonetheless. If you are not a New Yorker you may not be aware of Bed-Stuy's reputation, but it certainly has one. Thus far the worst we have had to deal with have been rats in the apartment and a rock through my roommate's car window, but a little duct taping under doorways and not parking a Mercedes in Bed-Stuy have taken care of that. We're learning. 

Unlimited Prosecco at Black Swan on Wednesday nights = dangerous.

There is an airplane in a lot around the corner from my apartment. In Brooklyn.

Shoes on power lines and bottles on fence posts.

The Spencer Street Community Garden, nice to walk by but reportedly full of rats, like my apartment.

One of many Occupy graffiti sightings, on Nostrand and Dekalb.

A Little Slice of Bed-Stuy Paradise

I spent this past weekend moving into my new apartment! We don't have internet yet, so excuse me being a little MIA. I've also been super busy unpacking and organizing. Saturday I went on an all-day IKEA excursion and I'm pretty sure I've been to Home Depot at least five times this past week. But it's finally coming together, especially our beautiful garden! It may not look like much, but trust me, this is prime real-estate in Bed-Stuy.

Post-weeding cigarette break.

Clover torso.

We decided our backyard is graveyard-themed.

Sunny spot in the corner for the tomatoes and herbs.

We're making more additions to the garden daily. Next step: an awesome grill and some more chairs, and then we'll be all set to have a backyard barbecue!