Archive for February, 2011

PR!

I ran the Al Gordon 4 mile race in Prospect Park yesterday and set a personal record of, officially, 8:19 min/mile. Unofficially I had my pace at 7:57 min/mile. It was a good course, we got the north hill out of the way in the first mile and then got to coast downhill the last three miles to the finish.

This race is my fifth of the year, which means I am well on my way to qualifying for the 2012 ING NYC marathon. I am not sure how I feel about running a marathon, but there is no way I could pass up the opportunity to run in such a fun event, given the chance.

Next week I am heading up to Washington Heights to run in a very hilly 5k race. I am hoping to get an official sub eight minute pace, but we’ll see just how hilly it turns out to be.

spring fashion fantasy

It has been a busy week (what’s new) and I am feeling under the weather, so I decided to have some fun today compiling some of my ideas and fantasies for my spring wardrobe…

Why is it that even in my fashion fantasies, all my clothing is casual? I guess this would be the REAL fantasy… my Oscar gown by Jason Wu!

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30 while 30

You may remember that about six months ago I wrote down a list of 30 things I wanted to do before I turned 30. Well, I didn’t do so great completing the list… but I’m not beating myself up over it. I am flexible. I am revising the list to be a “30 while 30″ list. I have crossed out the items that have been completed and added more items to replace them, creating a new list of thirty things that I would like to do before I’m 31. … Or, at least before I’m 40!

My 30 while 30:

Redesign the Swap-bot homepage.
Go to dinner at Al Di La.
Get super-comfortable using our DSLR camera.
Run the NYC marathon!
Be noticeably sweeter to my husband.
Take my donation pile to the thrift store.
Visit The Cloisters.
Lose 15 pounds. (Isn’t this on everyone’s list?)
Buy a really beautiful and practical dress.
Make marinara sauce from scratch.
Take an overnight trip with my husband that is not at a relative’s house.
Visit the Bronx Zoo.
Watch every episode of Tosh.0.
Get the Florence + The Machine album on vinyl.
Make Crusher a super-cute Halloween costume.
Try to live in the moment.
Make blueberry pancakes.
Start taking a weekly yoga class.
Figure out how to style my hair in loose waves/curls.
Watch Meet Me in St. Louis again.
Do all of my mending!
Drive upstate to see the autumn foliage.
Make cupcakes with some sort of filling.
Reduce my internal negativity.
Call my brothers and sister-in-law every week (or at least more frequently).
Visit all five boroughs in NYC (should happen during the marathon).
Get a new laptop.
Read a novel. (Maybe this one?)
Reduce the amount of time I spend on Facebook.
Vote!
Promote peace.
Get a unicorn face painting!

New items:

Run a sub-2-hour half marathon. (This may be impossible.)
Set up an online Swap-bot merch store.
Force Travis to watch Star Trek: Generations with me.
Eat less candy.
Attend a taping of the Wendy WIlliams Show.
Buy awesome, new, flattering jeans.
Visit the New York Transit Museum.
Bake a loaf of bread from scratch.
Become an adult.

What do you think? What else should I add to my list?

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poetry

I am still trying to figure out how I feel about being thirty… or maybe I’m just trying to be ok with time passing.

These words (from our favorite urban lyricist, naturally) are really speaking to me today:

May the best of your todays
Be the worst of your tomorrows
But we aren’t even thinking that far… know what I mean?

So we live a life like a video
When the sun is always out and you never get old
And the champagne’s always cold
And the music is always good
And the pretty girls just happen to stop by in the hood
And they hop their pretty ass up on the hood of dat pretty ass car
Without a wrinkle in today
Cause there is no tomorrow
Just some picture perfect day
To last a whole lifetime
And it never ends
Cause all we have to do is hit rewind
So let’s just stay in the moment, smoke some weed,
Drink some wine,
Reminisce talk some sh-t forever young is in your mind
Leave a mark that can’t erase neither space nor time
So when the director yells cut,
I’ll be fine,
I’m forever young…
– JayZ

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be my valentine

I had the most fun birthday weekend (thanks to wonderful friends and family) and I can’t wait to tell you about it, but today I am thinking about all the things I love…

I LOVE sunny skies and melting snow!
I LOVE my little dog, even though he did NOT enjoy his Valentine portrait.
I LOVE leftover birthday cake. (And the awesome friend who made it!)
I LOVE leftover birthday balloons.
I LOVE texting <3
I LOVE heart-shaped candy.
I LOVE my new Ernie the envelope buttons for Swap-bot.
I LOVE this.
I LOVE that Justified is back on.
I LOVE that painter, Jasper Johns, is receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
I LOVE take out for dinner!
I LOVE staying in on Valentine’s Day with my true love.
I LOVE you!

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links from the FABB conference

A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) when I first started this blog, I had wanted it to focus loosely on fashion. I wasn’t very successful at staying focused and this site has pretty much morphed into covering my wide range of interests and my daily personal life. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to be 100% focused on a single topic, but I do still enjoy fashion… which is why I was really excited to attend Lucky Magazine’s Fashion and Beauty Blogging Conference yesterday.

I was nervous that I wouldn’t fit in with the super-stylish crowd and that the info at the conference might not help with my more general online endeavors, but the event was actually a lot of fun and very interesting.

Brandon Holley, the new editor in chief of Lucky, did an exceptional job hosting. She was funny and relaxed and even came up and chatted with me during breakfast. (wow!) The panels were each interesting (I liked hearing from Tory Burch and Joan Rivers the best. Sadly, I had to leave before Jenna Lyons, J.Crew’s Creative Director, spoke.) and they even served delicious ‘wichcraft for lunch! To top it off, we got to take home a generous gift bag! I will definitely be keeping my eye out for their next conference, which is supposed to happen in September.

Here is a list of some of the new sites and people I discovered at the conference:

I am sure that I am missing some good links… but that is a start. What are some of your favorite fashion blogs and sites?

I didn’t take the best photos, but you can find them all in my Flickr set.

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fashion & craft

I have a double-header day today! Right now I am thrilled to be at the Lucky Fashion and Beauty Blogging Conference. (In the photo above is Brandon Holley, editor of Lucky Magazine, Kerry Diamond from Lancome, Mallory Andrews from Bergdorf Goodman, and David Duplantis from Coach.) I am not technically a 100% fashion blogger, but I would like to bring more focus to this blog and I love fashion and beauty… We’ll see how today goes. If you want to “attend” the conference, too, check out the live stream here.

In the afternoon, I am headed to Etsy for the Etsy Success SYmposium. Swap-bot (i.e. me) is hosting an in-person swap at the end of the day with the attendees. I am excited to meet all of the Etsy sellers! (You can also watch the Success Symposium live on the web here.)

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february fatigue

I’m in trouble. I’ve over-scheduled my February and I’m already starting to feel burned out. Today was not a happy day at my office — thank goodness I work alone! Thankfully, I got to steal away some time for crafting. I made the two twin matchboxes above for my February Love Matchbox Swap. I’ve been hosting the same swap for years, but I still enjoy it. The matchboxes are such a quick project, but they are fun to customize and fill with little trinkets. It is fun to create pretty, little things. And to photograph them, too.

I was supposed to head into the city tonight for a social event, but I am “calling in sick” and cooking some healthy, hearty soup. I need a night to myself to relax or I am afraid I am going to get sick. It sounds dramatic, but I have a full weekend of running and a really busy next week, including the Etsy Success Symposium. (Swap-bot is a sponsor!) Fun!

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gotta get it together

I just ordered these shoes on a super sale and I am absolutely convinced they are THE perfect shoes for the winter-to-spring transition. (J.Crew has a similar pair here, and so does Madewell, but I got mine for a lot less…) They seem really casual, but they are actually quite flattering with just enough heel to give some lift, but not more than is comfortable. They look good with skinny jeans, rolled up or tucked in. But that is where my spring plan suddenly stops…. Shoes – check. Jeans – check. Any other clothing – no idea.

I feel like I have lost all fashion sense. Not that I had a ton to begin with, but I walked through some stores yesterday and couldn’t find anything that I liked beyond jeans and white t-shirts. I need some ideas. What pieces should I try for spring? What are you wearing once we can take off our winter coats for a minute? Keep in mind, I can’t spend a ton and everything I buy has to be pretty flexible and practical. I work from home, so I don’t need anything fancy, but I want to at least attempt to look pulled together. I just don’t know where to start this season….

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another trip down Martha lane…

I was lucky enough to attend my second Martha Show taping yesterday. (You can read about my first taping here.) I follow TheMarthaShow on Twitter and they often tweet about upcoming shows that have seats available. If you live in the New York area and have a flexible schedule, you can contact them when you see a tweet about available tickets. As a single attendee, like me, I think it is easier for them to squeeze you into less than full audiences.

I attended the afternoon taping (they had taped a live show in the morning, too) and was at the studio for almost four hours. It took a big chunk out of my workday, but it was totally worth it. I love seeing Martha and her team in action. They are all so professional and nice. (They also all dress extremely nice – casual, but completely fashionable and neat.) They really work hard to make sure the audience has a fun time.

The show will air tomorrow, Thursday, February 3rd at 10 am on the Hallmark Chanel. I am sitting in the front row of the upper audience section and I think they caught me on camera a few times… I hope I don’t look too dorky. I think I was wearing too much blush and I really hope I don’t come across as someone desperate to be on tv….

Anyhoo, the show was great. The girls from Crafternoon were there to make vintage-inspired valentines and Grace Young, a Chinese chef, was there demonstrating two kinds of stir fry. The best part: we got to take home a bunch of free gifts! I try not to get my hopes up for free stuff, but it is definitely always welcome. We received the Crafternoon book (yay!), the cookbook, Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge, and a handy, little slicing tool from Grace Young, and a Sony Pocket eReader!! Martha had on Abraham Verghese, the author of her latest “Books I’m Reading” selection, Cutting for Stone — which looks very interesting — and we got an e-copy of his book on the eReader! Very cool! I am charging mine right now and can’t wait to play with it and start reading.

An exciting tidbit: I got to ask Martha a question after the show! They allowed a little time at the end to ask her a few questions and I raised my hand to ask about her lip. She had cut it pretty bad a few weeks ago and posted about it on her blog. She says it is pretty much healed and it does look fantastic — you couldn’t even tell she had been cut. One more exciting tidbit: maybe I shouldn’t share too much, but Martha used the word grandchild during the Q&A session!! Sounds like she may have some good news to share soon!

All in all, it was another great experience at The Martha Show, but I have a question: how many tapings do you think you have to attend before they put your name on the “crazy fanatic/groupie/stalker” list? I sure hope I’m not on my way down that path! I do love Martha, but maybe I should tone down all of the Martha tweeting and Martha blogging… what do you think?

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