Chloe's Hell's Kitchen

when you live in NYC your friends become your extended family - many of us that live here are transplants from other states/countries, in fact there are 800 languages spoken here at any given time - much like most of the US when you leave town and have a pet, sometimes your only option is to ask a friend to dog sit. Our friend Emily left town recently and left us in charge of her dog Chloe, so for the next week we are living with Chloe in her and Emily's place.

Lucky for Chloe she lives in the Dirty Thirties (that's on the West side of Midtown), right on the outskirts of Hell's Kitchen. The neighborhood is perfectly preserved with all the classic NYC brownstone's (with a few high rises going up close to 10th). Hell's kitchen is one of the last neighborhoods to still have the local Butcher, Seafood Shop, Farmers Market, and Spice Shop - all the shops are on the same avenue and it's impossible not to stop by each at least once a day to find something new.

the first few days we have spent with Chloe, i've been sick. My throat is swollen, my nose faucet is on, and i feel lousy. the only thing that seems to have helped is sitting around watching Chloe, having her here has made me laugh, and she must know i'm sick cause she likes to be near me all the time. Once i get to feeling better i can go on down to the Spice Shop and find something to get into. Until then you can comment on how cute Chloe is....

Keep Inspired

inspiration is something i collect every single day of my life. it's part of my occupation, it's part of my sanity, and it's part of being a Creative Person. As a designer, i think it's very important to always keep, and surround yourself with various inspiring objects/things - these can come in several different forms. i tend to keep several collections hanging on my walls at home, and keep interesting pieces of jewelry, clothing and hats in my reach at all times.

Recently i was talking to a close friend at work about creativity, and the possibility of our profession being a side effect of our ever working minds. He agreed that most fashion designers usually have other, stronger talents with different types of media than fabric, and accessories. with this in mind we agreed that inspiration should be sought after daily, and even seasonally - i mean without it, how else do we evolve?

here are some photo's of my inspiration for Spring:

Enjoy Life!

Traveler: Flat Stanley

After your first year living in NYC it's rare that you want to do anything "Toursity" - Times Square, the Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, and sometimes.....just sometimes Central Park become more of a production than actually helping.... in fact, these places just Piss you off. i find i only visit these spots with an out of town friend, family, or perhaps for a special occasion. it's not about being a "Jaded" NY'r, but rather knowing that these places become hurdles when you're in a hurry, and esp. when they just can't be dodged while on foot - i can think of a million times i had to walk through Times Square to catch a bus to Newark, or fighting the crowds to see the Christmas Tree, or even the window displays at Bergdorf's.

This week we got asked if we wanted to partake in a "Flat Stanley" project from two different Kindergarten children - one from Texas, and one from Alabama. In case you are not aware of Flat Stanley, he is a small guy that is usually decorated by the child and sent out in the mail with a list of instructions. You must take this little guy with you for a week and take pictures of him doing special little things, trips, etc. and keep a journal of his travels. You then send the guy back to the owner along with pics and the journal and they create a project and share with the class everywhere he has been - Of course your goal is to come up with the BEST travel to out do everyone else. So this week we are taking two Stanley's out on the town and i can hardly wait to share with you where they have been..... be on the look out for our journal.

NYC: Prospero Ano Nuevo

i have been a resident of NYC since 2004, and in that time i have had the privileged of meeting some pretty amazing people i call friends. Part of making a new life in the city is making memorable experiences - whether it be cheering on the sidelines of the NYC Marathon, partaking in feeding the homeless, Choice seats at a Broadway Show, Touring mansions, or having a birds eye view of Manhattan - these experiences shape and condition us.

one thing i have vowed to do for years is celebrating New Years Eve in Times Square. it's always been on my bucket list of things to do, and this year i accomplished just that. i was at work one day and found out that my good friend Meagan was going to be around for New Years w/ no plans yet nailed down. since i was in the same boat, i suggested that we go on down to Times Square and watch the ball drop - needless to say she agreed. Meagan did her research and found out her good friend Frank was going to be out of town and he offered us his place for the night on Broadway and 48th - We were set!

we met in Times Square around 3pm, got our bracelets (for entering and exiting the 'red zone'), picked up some groceries and sat to watch the masses collect. repeatedly we went out to the terrace to watch the crowd multiply, and listen to the musicians fill the air with waves of cheers. the time seemed to zoom on by and before we knew it, it was 11:15. we made our way down the path to the middle of Times Square - we got lucky and landed a spot dead center of Broadway btw 45th, and 46th. i finally got to take that off my bucket list - but man, it's going to be hard to top this next year.

i will never forget this experience for as long as i live. i definitely didn't experience any type of negative vibe from the crowd, in fact i felt everyone was being very respectful to one another. i will never forget that count down, the roar from the crowd was so LOUD. anyways, i attached some pics and i hope you enjoy them!
My New Years Resolutions:

1. Keep going with the Organic thing
2. Save Money for a house
3. Stop Cussing

!HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Photos by: David Y.