Friday Five

This week really seemed to drag on for me, so I am pretty happy to see that the weekend is almost here. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. The weather forecast for New York is no so great, so I will be using this time to Spring clean! Here are my five favorite things for this week:

1. Mega Millions:  I  have lottery fever! With a $540 million jackpot, how can I not? I know the chances for winning are slim with 44 states/jurisdictions playing, but I can dream. I've been dreaming so much about winning that I already spent a chunk of the money before the numbers were even announced. Good luck to all of those who are playing.

2. Fiona Apple's Comeback:  Hands down Fiona Apple is my favorite female singer ever ( sorry Babs). I listened to Tidal  and When The Pawn  so much that my mother begged me to stop listening to "that depressing woman that makes you cry all night." She moves me. I was at Roseland Ballroom the night Apple stormed off stage never to return, leaving me and about 3,000 other fans sad and angry. I did not hate her for it; this only served to make me long for songs even more. Well, my girl is making a comeback  - in a big way. Her New York show sold out so fast and I was sad that I could not get tickets, but she is performing at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York this June. I will be there. There are nothing but positive reviews about the new songs she is playing off her upcoming album, The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do. Yes, that is the title. In true Fiona style, she has entitled another album with an outrageously long name and if it is half as good as When the Pawn (the title was shortened from an eight line poem) I will be one happy fan.

3. The Impossible Project: The Impossible Project is this amazing group of former Polaroid employees who came together after the closing of the last Polaroid factory to create a new instant film for traditional Polaroid cameras. These guys DO NOT DISAPPOINT! Every single edition of film they create excites me. Think that white border on Polaroid images is boring? Try the Gold  Edition set. That's not bright enough for you? Try the limited edition Nigo color shades featuring bright colors like hot pink an turquoise. In addition to Polaroid film, they sell cameras, accessories and books. The New York Impossible Project Space is amazing. Not only do they sell Polaroid related items, but they exhibit some amazing Polaroid photographs.

Impossible by nigo edition PX 70 Color Shade

4. HouseParty.com: If you are not a member of Houseparty.com then you are missing out on a lot! House Party makes it easy for you to have a party in your home by pairing you up with sponsors and providing you with products and goodies that you and your guests get to try and keep. You do not pay for anything. You are not having a party to try to sell a product. You simply enjoy the products that were sent to you. There are several parties to apply for at any given time. You sign up at the site, apply for a party and if you get picked, House Party will send you a party package. Invite your friends over and have a good time. I was picked for a Benefit Cosmetics House Party and it was amazing. Tons of free samples and full size products. It was definitely party worthy!

5. Sephora Pantone Universe: Sephora has paired up with Pantone, the authority on color, to bring makeup lovers the most amazing collection of tangerine makeup, nail polish and accessories. Everything in the collection is colorful and fantastic - even the make up brushes have tangerine bristles! I am personally excited for the nail polish set, which includes four versions of tangerine in cream, shimmer, glitter and matte. They are perfect for the spring and summer.

Color of the Year Enamel Set

Personalize It

I love jewelry - what girl doesn't? I have always been specifically drawn to personalized pieces. I still wear my name ring that my parents bought for me as my 8th grade graduation present, so this should come as no surprise. I waited for years to get a nameplate and I wore it up until a few years ago when it broke. To me, name necklaces never went out of style. Carrie Bradshaw never had to "bring them back" because they never left.

Over the last few years, I have been collecting some personalized jewelry and I do not see myself stopping - there are so many more ways to incorporate your name, your spouse's name, or your child's name in to your every day jewelry. Below are three of my favorite items.

 Silver monogram charm (maiden initials) purchased from etsy, Rose Gold monogram charm (married initials) gift from my husband,  Montmarte Double Wrap bracelet from Delicate Raymond.

Helen Ficalora Alphabet Charms

 Personalized Mother's Bracelet from newhopebeading on etsy

Jordann Turquoise Enamel Large Pendant Necklace from Max & Chloe

 Lana Ring from Sarah Chloe

There are so many places online to get personalized jewelry. Etsy is a great place to find items at all price points. In addition to etsy.com, I highly recommend DelicateRaymond.com. There are so many gorgeous options and the site frequently offers discount codes and specials. The items are beautifully made and so unique. I always get compliments on my double wrap bracelet. Personalized jewelry is such a nice way to show your love for that someone special or just for yourself!

Friday Five

Happy Friday Everyone!!! I could not be happier for this weekend to be here. Here are my five favorite things from this week:

1. Andy Pettite back on the Pitcher's Mound: New York Yankee fans were beyond thrilled last week when it was announced that Pettite would return to pitch for one more season. Personally, I heard the news and already imagined another World Series Championship.....yes this is premature but that is how integral I think Andy Pettitte is as a Yankee.

Photo c/o Corey Sipkin - New York Daily News

2. Keith Haring's Journals on Tumblr: In connection with the Brooklyn Museum's Keith Haring exhibit, the Keith Haring foundation has scanned some of his journals from 1971-1989 and they are posting a page a day for the duration of the show on tumblr.  The exhibit entitled, Keith Haring: 1978-1982, is the first large-scale presentation of Haring's early work. The journal pages, some of which are featured in the exhibit, give us a glimpse in to Haring's teenage years, his involvement with the Jesus Movement, and his time at the School of Visual Arts. Check out the journal pages here.

 

Keith Haring (American, 1958–1990). Untitled, 1982. Sumi ink on paper, 107 x 160 in. (271.8 x 406.4 cm). Collection Keith Haring Foundation. © Keith Haring Foundation

3. iPhone Shutter Release Remote: As I have said before, I am a huge fan of phoneography. The cameras on phones are getting better with each new model and there are so many great apps to edit photos, so taking a great photograph on your phone is entirely possible. The geniuses as Photojojo have brought us yet another product that will make taking photos with an iPhone even easier - the shutter remote. Now you don't have to hold out  your arm to take photos by yourself or with friends. It even controls the video on your phone. Buy it here.

4: Spring is Here: While New York has had an unseasonably warm winter, I am happy that Spring is actually here. I am looking forward to all of the wonderful things that happen during the Spring in New York, like reading a book while sitting on the grass in Sheep's Meadow, dining outside in Little Italy or catching a Yankee game. New York may be famous for its magic during the holidays, but I prefer the magic of New York in the Spring.

photo found on http://lulahappy.wordpress.com/category/modern-new-york

5: Le Bunny Bleu Shoes: I seriously cannot think of anything cuter than the ballet flats sold by Le Bunny Bleu. The logo is a bunny rabbit! In addition to cute ballet flats, Le Bunny Bleu sells oxfords in gorgeous color combinations, polka dot slip ons, colorful rain boots and flip flops with a gold bunny emblem on them. Styles seem to sell out fast, but that is just a testament to how adorable these shoes are.

Le Bunny Bleu Kassay Flat

Art Lessons

Almost two weeks ago, I visited the Volta and Independent art fairs in New York (I missed the Armory show and I am still bitter about it). I was exposed to an enormous amount of talent and art that I had not seen before. Out of the two fairs, I enjoyed the work at Volta more. There was a wide range of work, from photography, to painting,  to digital art displayed on iPads. Everything was inspring and kicked my creativity into high speed.

I was seriously blown away by the artist Christa Joo D'Angelo, who was featured in the Galerie Suvi Lehtinen booth at Volta . D'Angelo made such an impact on me, that I am doing one of my final projects on her for school.

SURROUND SOUND  4.5 x 5 in,  C-Print, Edition 20  - 2011

In her montages and collages, Christa combines editorial images and photography to create fine art mixed media pieces that are both appealing to the eye and intriguing. There is depth to each work. Each image has multiple layers of clothing and people, but when looked together as a whole, they come together to form a singular being. In some collages their are faces, but many are faceless fashionistas that D'Angelo has created by combining various editorial images.

 

Facehunter, 2012, Collage on Paper, 9,84 x 19.76 in/ 25 x 50.2 cm

D'Angelo's multi-layered work may very well be influenced by her multi-cultural background. The artist was born in South Korea of Korean - Italian American descent. She was raised in New York, attended college in Maryland and lives in Berlin, Germany. Her work is very conscious of society's lust for celebrities and constant visual appetite. Check out D'Angelo's blog here.

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess

There are few authors whose work equally appeals to and impacts both children and adults. Dr. Suess was a rare human being. His magical writing and illustrations are as relevant and exciting now as they were in 1937 when he was first published. Dr. Suess first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected over 25 times before Vanguard Press decided to publish it. We should all have the courage to keep on going after all that rejection.  Today marks Dr. Suess 108 birthday.

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Suess is the first person to coin the word "nerd" and this self-proclaimed nerd could not be any more pleased that it came from such an amazing writer.  People of all ages can relate to the writings of Dr. Suess, whether it is learning colors and numbers from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, or pondering their future when reading Oh, The Places You Will Go! Dr. Suess' books still inspire me with their fantastical rhymes and wonderful outlook on life.  Thank you Dr. Suess for the phrase which I choose to use as the motto for my life; "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"