The Best Weekend

This is how I feel right now ...

Hello. I've met my prince charming.

Imagine your perfect weekend. Now imagine it being magnified times 1,000. That's the weekend I just had. I've finally made it down to Philly to see my gorgeous man that I've had the biggest crush on ever since I met him. We have been friends for about two years now, but because of the distance, were never able to actually see each other enough to start anything "real". Ok, this is getting personal, let me skip to the good stuff.

So, Friday night I made a trip into Philly to see Sir Loin (I have to call him that, otherwise I'd call him "my gorgeous little man" and he just hates being called little to death. He was amazing the entire weekend, from start to finish. He found this incredible incredible incredible restaurant for us to eat at, called Pod. The most amazing thing about it, is that he was looking for a nice place where they accommodate people with Celiac's disease. I was incredibly impressed with how amazing they were in taking care of me. They literally changed dishes around so that I can eat them. They deserve a major award or something. I want to bring my waitress a present the next time I go back there for her amazingness. It really blew my mind that he even thought of that. People just aren't that thoughtful, especially men, no offense dudes. 

Not only was the dinner literally the most amazing meal I have ever eaten in my life, (AND I was able to enjoy the rest of the night stomachache free!!!), the restaurant was absolutely mind blowing. It was 1,000% modern. You have to check out the website. Click on Restaurant Tour: http://www.podrestaurant.com/ I was seriously impressed. My date is a genius. The rest of the night was just as perfect. We hung out with his roommate, who is the nicest, funniest person I've ever met in my life. (Hey ladies he's single!!) It was really nice to be surrounded with really amazing people, for a change.

Saturday was SO MUCH FUN!!!! We slept in late, and then Genius boy got word on this craft/fashion show that was going on at Penn's Landing. The weather was PERFECT, so we spent all day walking around this amazing little place. It was like a huge outdoor fair with all of my favorite things in the world, independent designers selling their stuff and surrounded by artsy hipster kids. I was in heaven, holding hands in a sundress and gladiators, sipping on strawberry smoothies and soaking up the sun and the good company. Sometimes I wish I could just quit my job and do that on a daily basis. I live in a dream world.

It's been a pretty incredible weekend, and I have one person to thank. John himself. You are most handsome man I know. :)

The CAT Scan Adventure. WARNING: This is a SERIOUS adventure.

My "Morning Coffee" this morning. 

Barf.

There is something about me and doctors ... we just automatically click and get along really well. Every single time I meet a new doctor, they tell me that they wish they had more patients like me. Aww. How sweet. Is it because I'm paying for your child's boarding school tuition, or for your Mercedes that I saw parked out front? 

Most people sit down and start rattling off their symptoms and then sneak in their life story somewhere around 20 minutes into the rattling, which is the patients response to a question the doctor never asked in the first place. Sometimes I think people go to the doctors because their family and their co-workers stopped listening to them complain. You have chronic headaches because you're listening to you complain about yourself. Now take some tylenol and stop it.

Before I begin, I have to tell you ... I have been to so many doctors, been in and out of so many hospitals, and have had so many procedures and procedures done, that I've learned to just make the most fun out of these kinds of situations that I can. If you know it's going to suck, at least try and make it fun, right? I must also tell you that this is a true story. No names or quotes have been changed. The quotes are in quotations for good reason. 

Today, I had a date with a CAT scan machine. I don't get nervous or scared for doctor visits, procedures, or even surgeries anymore. It's so second nature to me, that it's like going to visit my grandma, minus the twenty dollar bill that gets slipped to me at the end of the visit. I walked into my CAT scan totally prepared. I knew that if you had anything metal in or on you, you had to take it out, or off. I only remember this because when I was little, I had a cat scan done and I had a piece of metal in my eyeball (long story), which was taken out, but when I heard about this psycho metal sucking machine I was being slid into, I freaked out because I wanted my eyeball to be in tact by the time I came out. And I was questioning whether the eye doctor got all of the metal out. I think I remember my mom telling me that I can be a pirate if he didn't get it all out, and it would be fun to be a pirate. So this time, I came totally prepared. I took out my bellybutton and cartilage ring, I took of my arm full of bracelets, and I came dressed in gray leggings, a men's white v neck tee, and a long pink cardigan: metal free. I was metal free and ready to roll.

My name was called, I followed the radiologist into the room where the "magic" would happen. He showed me my "bed", and I sat down. "I have something for you to drink." "Ughh, great. I thought. I JUST literally chugged an entire 450 ml. of orange flavored chalk. I hate you.", I thought to myself, slumped over with the worst possible posture on my pathetic little bed. Chris, my radiologist, walks in with a red cup. "I didn't know we were partyin'!", I said to Chris. "Here's some crystal light and iodine", he said with a smile. "Cheers!" I stare down into the cup. "Well, at least it isn't white chalk.", I thought, happily. I took a sip, with Chris still watching me. My face that I unconsciously made, made him burst out laughing. "You are the worst bartender ever." I said with a cringe on my face. He lost it.

Chris had me lay down on the bed to prep me for my scan. "Head goes here on the pillow, feet go down there." He says, matter of factly. "Is it that obvious that I haven't gotten any sleep this week? I think I actually have forgotten how to use a bed. So thank you for the directions!" I said, half serious, with a totally straight face. It was 11:00am and I had just woken up an hour earlier with no coffee, just white chalk in my system. How was I so on with these jokes? "Stick out your arms, lemme see what kind of veins you brought with you today." I show him my arms. "Take your pick. Nurses tell me that I have the best veins." True story. So he took the arm to his left, closest to him. "Some cold alcohol......wait, this needle is way too big for you. Hang on." So I hang. "I have underwire in my bra, does that matter? Do I have to take it off?", I ask, thanking God I thought of that. "Nah, you should be good. I mean, not unless you have like, super mega lifting steel wire in your bra.", he says, totally joking and not being a perv at all. "Ohh, then I should probably tell you that my underwear has chains and metal heart charms all over it." I said with a dead serious face. Chris loves me as a patient at this point. He's having the best day ever. 

We finally get the IV in me. "The IV is for the Iodine that I'll be injecting halfway through the scan." Oh? I had no idea that I would be having more crap pumped into my body. Will I like, glow in the dark after this scan? Because I'm already feeling a little full in the vein/stomach region. You had me tapped out with the chalk you had me chug this morning, followed by an iodine cocktail that sucked.

We're all set, I'm being pushed into the machine. The machine is scanning away, telling me to hold my breath, when to breathe. A robot woman voice owns my life for the next few minutes, allowing me to breathe, and then not breathe. Scary. Then I hear over an intercom, "We're going to inject the iodine now, wait one minute, then scan you again. You might feel a little warm, maybe a little cool, you may get dry mouth. Just relax, it's a side effect that will go away in a few minutes." Cool. I can handle that. Bring it. "Ok, we're injecting it now." Ok, hold on a second. That totally scares me that you can inject something into a person that's in a totally different room than you are. I'm waiting for some cold or hot rush to go through me, like I would imagine a ghost would or something. "Am I scaring you yet?" Chris says. "Nope." I answered. I close my eyes and relax. I eyes shoot open. "Did I just pee my pants?" I thought to myself? I felt my eyeballs shooting from left to right, not sure what to do, where to look, what to say. Is there a camera on me where I can be like, "Hey, Chris, did I pee my pants? Because I think I just did." No no, that'd be way too embarrassing. "This is so horrible." I thought to myself. "I just peed my pants and I'm wearing GRAY leggings. I can't even hide it!!!!" I was freaking out. I still had the peeing feeling. "I just peed my pants. I JUST peed my pants." I couldn't stop repeating, in shame, in my head.

It was finally over. Chris walks over. "Ohhhhh gosh. He's going to say something. This is SO embarrassing." Chris didn't say a thing. I had never been so relieved in my life. "I really thought I peed my pants.", I confessed. "Ohh yea, some people get that feeling." he said, like it was no big deal. "Well I wish you shared that little fun fact with me sooner!!!" I jokingly yelled.  "I wish I had more patients like you. You're awesome." Chris said. Cha chiiiiiing. There goes another one.

Chris the radiologist sent me on my way, telling me that my doctor will call me in a few days with the results, and to drink lots of extra fluids for the next 2 days. So, I headed over to Starbucks and instead of the usual tall coffee, got a venti instead. Hey, Chris said it, not me. 

Regardless of how "fun" this CAT scan was, I'm not looking forward to another. I'm going to spend my friday/saturday in Philly and then focus on my clothing line ALL weekend. I'm going to need to retire by 27 at the rate I'm going.

Toodles!

P.S. - You all need to listen to Matt Nathanson "Come On Get Higher". No, he's not my friend (gees). I'm just insanely obsessed with this song. It puts me in the best mood ever and drives any though processes to my little love that lives way too far away. :( I hope you love it as much as I do. 

Sleepless Nights For The Most Fun Lives

I think it's safe to say that this little world I live in is way too big. I'm exhausted today. Beyond exhausted. SO exhausted, that while I was working, my eyes were literally shutting closed ad I was forgetting what I was saying mid-sentence because my brain was nonfunctioning. While there's tons and tons of fantastic things going on, there's still normal, everyday life to be lived. I'm practically working two jobs, one (my clothing line) which I'm not raking in money for...yet. And it definitely doesn't help that I've been sleeping terribly lately. I think I've racked up a total of 8 hours this entire week so far, if that. 

On the bright side, I laid eyes on the dress above and just about died. I think I saw my name flash across it when I first saw it. Mine. I love it. Throw on a black BCBG belt to add some shape, and you're set. Then I found this sweet little necklace. I've been searching ... wait ... stalking out every store/online webstore for a necklace like this. Mine, #2. An incredibly successful day. 

Best jewelry find thus far.

It's only 8:04 pm, and I'm already contemplating bed time. I really should, considering I have a date with a CAT scan machine tomorrow morning. Not thrilled. I'm going to need a big cup of coffee after that one ... the only thing I'll be drinking, is a big tall bottle of contrast. Yuck.

Toodles!

Memory Fashion Statement

The armful of questions....

If it's not my outfit that first catches one's attention, it's my wrist-full of bracelets. I am constantly asked, "Do those bracelets have meaning, or do you just pile them on?" To answer this frequently asked question, the answer is yes, and yes.

Each bracelet that I wear on my left wrist literally holds a true meaning to it. All but one. Let me break it down for you. Here's a bit more of a spread out picture so that I can explain them all, one by one.

Starting from the left: The brown square beaded bracelet is handmade from India. When I worked in Manhattan in the fashion industry, the owner of the company that I worked for went to India and London. He brought back this bracelet for me, a gift from India and a coveted jewelry item of young girls my age there. I love it, though it's been through a lot!

The next one, you can't really see, it's brown rope with colored beads. It's called a Salvation Bracelet. There are 6 colored crosses: yellow, green, blue, white, red and black. Each color symbolizes being saved through Christ, from creation, to sin, to death. It was given to me in El Salvador at a home bible study at an El Salvadorian families' home. It's my favorite bracelet on my arm.

The next one, a navy multi-stranded and silver beaded bracelet was a find at a vintage shop. It's totally stretched out, but I still love it.

The sky blue and gold chain bracelet was one of those things that you spot, grab, and just buy. I think I paid $3 for this one. It kind of cheers me up, in the simplest way.

The tan leather and sterling silver bracelet is one that my mom surprised me with one day. My mom never really buys me gifts, so I wear this one all the time, it reminds me that she loves me!

The purplish looking one is actually purple and yellow and a little bit green, although it's fading. This is actually from my very first Grateful Dead concert. I went with my sister and my bro in law. I'll never ever forget it. We tie dyed clothing, and I made this dress. It was SO hot the day of the concert, so I cut the short sleeves off of my dress, wrapped red silk fabric around the back, turning it into a racerback dress. I tied a piece of the scraps around my wrist and lever took it off since. Not only do I have this bracelet to remember this day, but I also have a huge scar on my toe. That's a whole different story....

The white and red/orange beaded one is a bracelet that I made while in between surf session breaks on the beach one day a few summers back. I had this necklace, which had these beads on it. It broke one day, and I just threw all of the beads and the string into my bag and never took it out. One day, I found it while looking for something on the beach. I whipped up a quick bracelet, threw it on, and it's been in tact ever since. That same week, I saved a kayaker's life. Definitely the coolest week ever.

The blue beads used to have an angel wing, but it's lost somewhere now. I still look at it and think of the angel wing and am reminded it that I'm always protected. 

The green cat's eye bracelet is something I've had for AGES. I remember being like, 10 years old and having this bracelet. I look at it and think of growing up.

It's pretty mind blowing what a bunch of bracelets can hold. You may always have your memories, but for some reason, I always have a bracelet to match a memory. I wear my memories with pride.

For All You Babies Of The 80's

Really? American Apparel ... you're serious with this? Scrunchies? You've been successful in bringing back just about every era of clothing, from the 1920's to the 1990's, but I'm pretty sure that there was a good, solid reason that scrunchies did not have a long lived life. 

As a baby of the 80's, I'd naturally be ecstatic for anything 80's to come back into style. Leggings - couldn't be happier. Oversized tees for girls - best comback ever. Headbands - totally rules. Scrunchies - We were doing totally ok without you.

I swear, if I see 80's neon colored scrunchies on the runways, I'm redirecting my career path, pronto. Who knows .... maybe the comback of scrunchies won't be so bad. (See? I have hope.)

Wild Things

Balmain, himself, after his Fashion Week fashion show.

I mean, I was kidding about the crack in the coffee, but by the looks of this picture, it might not be a joke....Regarldless, nice boots!

One word: Balmain.

I get goosebumps when I look at his collections. Lazily flipping through Vogue in my black, gold studded bandeu top and how-low-can-you-go bikini bottom, spotting a piece on that glossy page that is capable of making me stop, stare, and drop my jaw in awe, it is, of course, by Balmain. 

How does he do it? Is it just in his blood? Is it the cereal he eats every morning? Does he put crack in his coffee? I want ... no, I need to know. I, too want to pump out garments that can easily be mistaken for art, making women all over the world's eyeballs pop out of their head jut a little bit when they see a piece from my collection, making hearts flutter when they try on a dress in the dressing room of Barneys. Not that I'm competitive at all, I think it's people like Balmain that give people a super extra jolt of ambition, not to be better than that person, but to prove to yourself that you can be the best that you want yourself to be.

Inspiration is everywhere. It can be a person, a book, a piece of art hanging on a gallery wall, a garden, a garment, literally anything. Look for it, and run with it. I promise that you'll surprise yourself. 

Last night, I had a little party/get together/shindig at my place. It was nice and low key, but at the same time, not at all. We had never laughed so hard in our lives. My face hurt and was actually stuck in a smiling position by the end of the night. I also found my laugh muscles, and they still hurt. I had a house full of my best buds and my little love. I've never been happier. Really.

Today I did absolutely nothing. I woke up, made my friends coffee and cinnamon buns for breakfast, then laid by the pool in the sun for 5 1/2 hours, reading Vogue and drifting in and out of naps. The most amazing day, hands down. I live for days like these. It forces me to reevaluate my life, where things are going, where I plan to be. I think it's that extra bit of alone time while doing something you absolutely love doing that makes you make sense of things. Everyone needs days like those. You know, to keep our sanity in check. 

Oh, and just to squeeze a little more goodness into today's blog, my show obsession has not eased up one bit. I am still stalking out the cutest, craziest, and most fabulous shoes. Here's a little peak at what I'm currently obsessing over, each of which needs no explanation what-so-ever.

Pure genuis - leather apron pump by Omelle. Amazing.

L.A.M.B.'s super chic net bootee.

I'd sell my eggs for these flats by Omelle. 

The satin bow is just so charming!

Lazer cut amazingness with a gold metal tap heel by Berny Demore.

The chunky platform sandal that will go with everything, wild thing. 

By Nanette Lepore.

Toodles, my little babies!!!

Unicorn: A Horse With A Head Tooth

I'm becoming pretty obsessed with unicorns lately. It's a horse with a head tooth ... really, what's not to love?

I can't really complain about today. Although, I did start my day off by complaining, solely for the fact that it was Monday morning and I was nowhere near ready to start my weekly week routine ... again. Maybe it's just me, but I have a habit of being completely over my routine after about one year of "routining it". I hate routines, yet I love them at the same time. They keep your butt in check, but their so boring. I can totally live without a routine, but I can't live with one. I know, I can't figure it out either.

There has to be some kind of scientific name for it, or some psychological explanation behind it. I am literally just completely over my job/life routine that I inhabit after one year of following that very routine. It's not that I don't like my job, I just like a change of pace ... yearly. I couldn't tell you what or why, I just...do. Maybe it's human nature, or maybe I just love a change of pace. This is why I need to be self employed, really. Not-so-coincidently, I will be at my job for one year on June 8th, and I'm currently in the process of starting a new job. See? It just, happens, I guess.

On a different note. I am totally bored with social networking sites. MySpace - over it, Facebook - old news, Twitter - when the thirteen year old girl found and "followed" me, constantly tweeting about how she was "sooooo bummed out because she had to do her math homework. Oh em gee!!!!!!!! - whateverrrrr.", I was instantly over it. Social networking owned my life for about two months, and then it all just kind of, crashed all at the same time. It just gets old. We are the babies of the 21st century people, you have to stay on your toes and keep us entertained. Give us a robot to talk to and interact with, for crying out loud. What really scares me, is that even my Blackberry is getting old. Is the 21st century human race too fast for technology to keep up with? Or are we just that obnoxious....

And yet, another note. You know what makes me mad? People who don't have their own dreams to follow, so when you tell them about yours and that they are about to happen, they pour their encouragement down the drain with their cold morning coffee and tell you that your dreams are "stupid and will never happen the way you want it to." Alright, Debbie Downer, go rain on someone else's parade. Even more depressing, is when you have that one friend or family member who, no matter what, just won't give you any support, whatsoever. They just keep twisting the knife into your side, waiting for you to buckle. I swear, I have LCD's (Little Clouds of Doom) following me everywhere I go. Brighten up, people. Some people in this world have ambitions, and can actually grab a hold of them and make them  a reality. So when an LCD is stalking your every dream, remember this:

Just an update, the label is coming along slowly but surely. I've been sketching my brains out - You should see my note book for church/bible study. My pages are covered in sketches. I actually think I sketch better when I have something to listen to, like in church or music. Inspiration, maybe? I want to learn to sketch like this:

So simple, amazing, straight and to the point. I'll master it, one day. 

It's time to tuck myself in, my little babies. I hope you're all planning to play outside this week instead of watching your skin turn whiter and whiter as you sit on Twitter, waiting for someone to @reply you. It's supposed to actually be spring this week! So go play outside, create a dream, and make it happen!

Toodles!

Which Way To The ConBrainer Store, Please?

My toes and I under the pier.

What a weird weekend. 

So many random things just happened, I think I just loved 6 people's lives at the same time. 

Have you ever experienced pretty much every emotion that the human  body can experience ina time span of twenty four hours? I did. I was happy, mad, impatient, angry, thankful, hopeful, hopeless, excited, let down, hyper, tired, lonely, overwhelmed, sad, upset, pleased, disappointed and ecstatic, all in one day. Not that I'm bipolar or anything, I just have a lot going on. My brain is cluttered. I need the container store to come reorganize my thoughts - the conbrainer store.

It is currently May 17th (for about 12 more minutes), and I have to make a life changing decision in less than twenty four hours, so that if my decision is yes, I can scoot my little life over to Virginia Beach and start it all over again, alone, and on a beautiful beach....by June 1st. This is hard. This is reeeeally hard. Help?

Hmm what's next on my list. Oh, men hate me. That's pretty self explanatory, so we'll leave that one alone.

Oh! Today I went to the beach to sit under my favorite pier. The one in Belmar that's right next to the channel. That's my spot. I've been going to that spot for YEARS. It's the only place that I can actually let all of my thoughts out. It's the only place that can make me feel small. I used to surf between the jetty (next to the channel that runs between Belmar and Avon) and the pier. (SO super dangerous. Not recommended. You gotta think fast, or you'll lose your face on a jetty! I've seen some gnarly accidents there.) Anyways, I'd sit there with my buddies for HOURS, talking, then running back in when the waves got good again, then came back and talked. It was the best little spot in the world. I'd always stay real late at night after everyone left. After a while, whenever I had to think or just wanted to get away and disappear for a while, that where I'd go - that little spot under the pier.

Another random thought...So when I asked someone why men don't even seem to glance in my direction anymore, why they don't even smile back, why they just ignore me all together, or they disappear after 48 hours of knowing me, I got the strangest answer. "Your very intimidating. You're almost too good looking for guys. They automatically think they have no shot with you." EXCUSE me??? That can not be truth. At all. Is he like, kidding with me. Is that a nice way of telling someone that they need to wear a bag over their head before starting conversation with the male species. Is it opposite day, and you really just told me I was hideous? For the first time in my life, I wish I was an ugly chick!!! I mean, they are the ones with all the guys, no offense. 

I give up! Bah humbug!

Ketchup ... Catch Up?

I guess I can say goodbye to colorful yummy goodness, like this. How can you even say no to that??

Holy Toledo!

It's been a few days. I've been wrapped up in SO many different things. Grab a cup of coffee and your favorite blanket, I've got quite a few exciting stories to tell.

The Logo is DONE for Prim Suspect. The first major project is finished! After almost having a heart attack because it was a week late and I could have sworn that I had been peaced out on by my graphic designer, it turned out that he was just diligently making dozens of mock ups. He gets major brownie points for knowing exactly what my partner and I want and narrowed it down to two. One of which was the winner. I'm THRILLED with how it came out. Absolutely perfect. Now we can get our one million next steps going.

Hurley is still a huge, open option, work wise. I'm nervous about the big move now, you know, not knowing a single soul in a somewhat "southern" state, even though it's near the beach. I really don't want to be called a "yankee" or something derogatory on a daily basis. I heard southerners can be quite the harassers. I'm praying that they welcome twenty four year old females from New Jersey with open arms into their hometown. Anyways, Hurley keeps calling me and offering me more money, because I keep telling them that I'm nervous and I don't want to move away and struggle. Another nice little fun fact: The dude who's getting me the job said that he showed my resume to his boss, and she wanted to hire me before she knew anything about me. That's gotta be a good thing, right?

Remember all those left-side abdominal pains I've been having? Well, I've finally found a doctor who was actually able to diagnose me with something. This is a major MAJOR thing for me. Doctors can't ever diagnose me with anything, ever. I'm a medical mystery, apparently. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of nutrients from the foods you eat. Along with this, I can no longer have gluten. Because, you know, gluten isn't found in EVERYTHING, or anything like that. I went "gluten-free" food shopping today at Wegmans. Pre-Celiac Disease, I had the entire arena of a grocery store to scavenger for food. Now, I'm confined to a stubby two isle section in Wegmans, 1/4 of an isle in the Shoprite I usually go to. How depressing. I literally gave myself a headache reading all of the labels in there. Gluten free stuff really sucks to find. Every single food item in my kitchen now reads "Gluten-Free" in big bold letters, somewhere on the package. 

Which, ironically, Saturday morning I have to attend a food tasting for my sister's wedding, something I agreed to before I was diagnosed with Celiac. Great. Now I just get to stare at a whole bunch of really awesome looking/smelling foods.

I've had this really weird inspiration shock that hasn't stopped buzzing for a few days now. On an episode of Project Runway, Christian Siriano once said, "My hair is all business in the front, and party in the back." For some really odd reason, that line popped into my head one day, and I had this genius idea to start creating clothes from that quote, "Business in the front, party in the back." So, that's what I've been up to, fashionably speaking. Making clothing that is somewhat deceiving, but in the most pleasant way possible, of course. Would I really steer you wrong when it comes to clothes?

Tomorrow is going to be extremely productive. Meetings Meetings Meetings about clothing line stuff, food tasting, etc. So much going on! Love it!

Toodles!

 

The Jumbled Relaxing Day

So inspiring ... and totally makes me want to do a puzzle. 

I see a floral minidress coming....

Happy Madre Day!

Today was the epitome of relaxation. I met up with my sisters and my mom, had brunch outdoors, while basking in the sun, eating fabulous homemade food (thanks to the incredible chefs: my sis Nicole and bro in law Dave), and drinking mimosas all morning/afternoon. It was SO relaxing. So relaxing, in fact, that I am thinking of making it a normal weekend tradition, wake up, sit outside, get some morning sun, and drink mimosas. One day, I'll be able to wake up and do that on a daily basis, God willing, of course. Once Prim Suspects launches, I see big things happening. I can just feel it in my little bones.

Today I saw two people that I haven't seen in a very very long time. Coincidently, these are two people that are very dear to my heart. My friend Ali, who I love to death. She was the only person I knew in Jackson, until she moved to Philly and left me here. I totally understand her not missing Jackson for a second. I still, to this day, do not know one single person that is a Jackson resident. 

I also saw my friend Torey, a friend of six years who I hold so incredibly dear to my heart. You know that person in your life that has this cozy little spot in your heart, regardless if they do something to make you absolutely hate them, or if they disappear for one year and you have no idea if they are even still alive? That's him. He has a special little spot in my heart that will never be filled up by anything, or anyone else. Even if he does decide to move to New Mexico on a whim ... again.

I plan on keeping these two little nuggets much closer than I had in the last year or two. Don't let the important people in your life get away. Ever.

As for where I stand musically, I am still diggin'  MGMT (all nine songs on their album, no discrimination), Death Cab's Grapevine Fires, and Bell x1's The Great Defector. Pretty amazing tunes. Listen to them in the A.M. to ensure a good day. 

Something funny ... I had to work on Saturday, which is an extreme rare occurrence. Correction, my body just had to be in the store, I didn't actually have to work. So, sitting in my office, sketching out designs for my line, Prim Suspects, I looked up, staring at the dress forms across from my desk, day dreaming about what I could picture them wearing. Then I walked into my shop to blast the radio. Walking past the wall of fabric, a lightbulb, no, a football field spotlight, went on in my head. Myself and my fashion obsessed brain instantly put two and two together. I rummaged through the heavier-than-me rolls of fabric, and grabbed anything that I could drape onto those naked little dress forms staring me down in my office. Finding this gray with white pinstripe silk stretch fabric, and a weird fabric that I could only imagine doing a bubble dress bottom with, I instantly got inspired to do a menswear-inspired dress. Jackpot. This was going to rule. I've never done anything menswear inspired before. I ended up with a braided necked, deep v neck dress, with a huge bustle in the back (I was feeling extremely avant garde at this particular moment). I was excited with how it came out, even more so excited that I had draped it in about 40 minutes flat. I'm getting so incredibly fast at draping. It's starting to scare me. I'd have Project Runway in the bag. Here's some photos of my menswear inspired dress, completed with navy shredded fabric scrap roses that I made...

Something about this photo makes me totally want to construct something completely classy...

With frills and bows and pretty things. The simplest of dresses with intense, small details. Something that's business in the front, party in the back. The way all dresses should be made!

I will have an intense week of designing ahead of me this week, so I will try and post those for you. Any of your lovely ideas would be much appreciated. After all ... you guys are gonna be the ones wearing it!

Toodles!

Adventures!

Today was just one of those days. No ... not a crummy one. One of those days where everything just works out unexpectedly, but gratefully, better than it should.

I went shopping this evening with no particular garment/shoe in mind. I've found that I can never walk out of a store successfully that way. Whenever I am looking for something, it's just not there. Kind of like my keys on a daily basis. 

That being said, I always go shopping with a completely open mind. That is, after all, how you find the best things, the steals and deals, and the very last fuschia strapless minidress in a size small. Imagine walking into a store with the motivation of a bear hunter for a fuschia strapless minidress ..... exactly. It'll never happen. That's like finding your bear in the Hollywood Hills. The only animals you'll find there are cougars. Just sayin'.

Today, I went shopping, HOPING to find an intense, oh em gee - this heel is way too high, this will go with everything, this is the perfect shade of black, my wardrobe is complete, ankle boot. I actually was successful in finding the boot, however, they didn't have my size. I spotted this boot and literally gasped, out loud, in public. I'm not even sure if I got a look or a graze in my direction (I had to have) I was so focused on this shoe. I swear I saw it glowing. I swear it said my name. "Half on the credit card, half on my debit card.", I began justifying this way too expensive boot in my head. "Well the one I wanted in Vogue was $625, this one is way cheaper." That is so not ok.  Well at least I'm being shopper savvy! I COULD just spend the $625 on the ones that I REALLY want. 

After that, I found this amazing red belt that was $40. Now, one thing about me and belts, I rarely ever buy new belts. Almost all of my belts are vintage, my grandmothers, hand me downs, or ones that just somehow appeared in my belt drawer. (Sorry to any of you who's belts I borrowed. Yes, I still have it.) This particular belt was bright red. I don't own a red belt. That's weird. I instantly thought of my extra pouffy (like, victorian dress style pouffy) sleeved mini dress. Perfect. $40 hurts, but whatever. The register, like a slot machine in a casino, had decided that today was my lucky day. $4.97! SCORE!!!! This never happens to me. Never ever ever. I'm always the girl at the register with an insanely marked down item, only to find out it was mistakenly marked down. Yep, that's me. The girl who's always payin' more for less. 

Then, I wandered into another store, finding THE most amazing ruffled vest. I had to have it. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. I am SO motivated to duplicate this piece as soon as I get my hands on some chiffon. Maybe a wine colored one? Ohh la la!

So yesterday, my friend Victoria and I were talking about how we used to dress when we were little, and she said the weirdest sentence in the world to me. "When I was little, my mom used to get me geranimal outfits so that I could dress myself." Ummm excuse me. WHAT? You're mother used to dress you up as different animals? I had never heard the term "geranimal" before. In fact, I thought it was spelled and pronounced "grr-animal". Ali Moment. Now, knowing the meaning of geranimal, ( one who dresses in a monochomatic fashion, from head to toe.) aka: BORING. I am ashamed of myself, being a fashion guru and all, that I had not even heard of the word before. Of course, now it's my favorite word. Typical.

She gave me a look as if I myself were dressed up as an animal. She filled me in on what it meant. I was totally shocked. Shocked because I should have thought of that silly concept myself!!! Then, then next day, I heard someone call the way someone else was dressed "geranimal". I was really starting to love this word. It just rolls off the tongue, and sounds so ridiculous, yet smart. 

I hope you've enjoyed my intense adventures today. I'm going to go drool over those studded boots and start lovin' on my ruffle vest.

Toodles!

Things

I am in no condition to blog today. So, while I realize that a specifically designed dose of Hipster Sister is required on a daily basis, I'll give you a little something to read and to love. 

Who knows, maybe you'll find that we have something in common!

Heroes (Male)

The New Breed of Cool Kids. Ben & Andrew of MGMT. aka: Geniuses.

Heroes (Female)

Ashley & Mark Kate Olsen. Nobody will ever be able to measure up to their sense of style.

Boyfriend 

 Adam Brody. Loves: Death Cab, Comic Books, Sailing, Indie Music, hopefully me someday.

Favorite Animal 

Bump Head Parrot Fish. You can not look at this fish and continue having a bad day...Just look at those TEETH!!!!

P.S.- Did you know that the Bump Head Parrot Fish has teeth like that because it grinds up and eats coral, pooping it out as sand. True story. I swear. Google it.

Favorite Things To do 

Play with Dogs. Whenever it happens, I'm ready.

Watching dogs do funny things.

Making clothes.

Making Fashion happen.

Staring at amazing high fashion art & photography. 

Things That Make Me Laugh

Deer wearing Tube Socks

Mutant Oreos. 

Fruits & Veggies made into human things.

"Pageant Dogs"

Please meet: Teenage Mutant Ninja Poodle

And the Poodleacock.

Things That Inspire Me

See all of the above.

Today Is Just Dripping With Fashion

My epitome of cool, stylish, gorgeous, amazing, talented, perfect, smart, and fashionably AMAZING. I love her. I really really love her...all four feet of her.

You know of my intense love of lazy Sundays, but this one, was forced.

I've been so incredibly exhausted/run down. I was nearly falling over yesterday, and almost fell asleep while applying mascara, sitting on my floor - true story. I forced myself to do all of my usual Sunday activities on Saturday, so that I can get some extra shut eye, and just lay around.

After relaxing all day, I've managed to get this intense pressure in my head. I'm resting it out. Maybe it's the weather. It's super gloomy and gives you no reason to get out of your pj's.

Having a lazy day enables me to do one thing, and one thing only: Stalk fashion sites and drool over freshly, newly launched Spring/Summer '09 designer collections. Here are a couple of thoughts from today's thought pattern ...

- I really need to work on some better habits. For example, if I'm absolutely starving, and I just so happen to be craving smores, I will sacrifice the 10 minutes it takes to throw together a veggie quesadilla, and have smores for lunch instead. Not a balanced diet.

- I am intensely intrigued by Alexander Wang, and every last thread of his collections. He undoubtedly designs for the new breed of cool kids. There's two pieces in particular that I just can not stop looking at. I feel like they would flow so perfectly together.

Like this knit and mesh tank, with a price tag of $445.

Paired with these super skinny high waisted jeans, that have a zipper that literally runs the entire length of the jean. Alexander, you are a genius.  I wouldn't mind snagging those heels either...

- I think I'm really starting to love bleached things. In high school I used to bleach tanks and then stud them and wear them to school. With all the compliments I received, you'd think I'd run home and splatter bleach all over my wardrobe.

I am especially LOVING these jeans. This top and blazer aren't too shabby either. The entire collaboration of the pieces in this very outfit are exactly what I've been into - putting pieces together that you would never normally put together, something grunge, something pretty/punky, and something fancy and proper. Add a zillion chunky bracelets, and you're set. I'm going to make these jeans tonight. It's official.

- I'm really getting into the groove of steampunk. I'd explain it as a new era of style, including face and body paint, and army style goggles, along with other fun things, like cut off leather gloves that look like they were once your grandpas, or bike chains as necklaces. The only explanation is deserves, is through photographs. I hope you love it as much as I do. 

Basically, it looks as if you haven't showered in a day or two, and have currently been baking. Which totally works for me, because lately I have been sporting that particular look without even having to try.

- I have been spending way too much time on Twitter. First it started out as just poking around on it when I was bored, or when I was waiting for the elevator at work, or when I was waiting in line for my coffee. Now, whenever there's "news" aka when something totally minor happens, like stubbing my toe, or seeing a Billy Joel look-alike, I have to tweet about it. It's seriously addicting. Really, it's just another form of stalking. Society is REALLY taking away the idea of privacy. You can't hide anything anymore. I'm cool with it. Thankfully, I live a pretty awesome life that I love to share. BTW, my twitter name is Hipsterrr (don't forget the THREE r's!). Follow me, twitter me, tweet me.

- For someone who can care less about shoes, I have been insanely obsessed with shoes lately. OBSESSED. And I'm not talking your regular shoes, I'm talking 6 inch heels, with 1.5 inch platforms, shoes that have spikes and studs coming out of the heel, ankle boots that have cut out designs. Shoes are truly artistic to me. I find such a sense of art in ferociously constructed shoes. I think it's safe to respectfully call it shoe porn. 

This is my absolutely FAVORITE pair of heels I've found thus far. I would sell my means of transportation for these. I'll take a pair in black, and a pair in fuschia as well, please.

Rumi Neely is the lucky owner of these puppies. I have been hunting them down for months. I think it's safe to say that I will never own them. Sighhh.

Hi Kate Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii