There's nothing to say! I have no excuses, except that a whole ton of stuff has happened since I last wrote! I went to Europe for two weeks for work, moved in with my boyfriend, went to a three weddings and a funeral, took over for my boss while she's on maternity leave, but mostly it feels like my life has been consumed by the change in homestead. Just trying to make a new place feel like home is all-consuming.
In an attempt to get back on the bandwagon and get in a habit of writing regularly, let's do a little "Things I Love..." Probably, the whole gist of this blog is going to change in the next weeks. I'll start simple, though!
- IKEA! Um, there are of course the Swedish meatballs, but then of course there's the fact that you can spend hours there on a Saturday afternoon and fill your cart and check off a whole bunch of needs from your 'list.' That's a good Saturday in my book.
- Our Christmas tree. I've covered it in beautiful glass fruits, vegetables, flowers, bees, and a fireman. The fireman simply seems nostalgic to me. Did I once have a fireman ornament in my wee childhood? I don't remember, but he feels like he's been with me forever.
- Planning a party. I haven't had a real party at my own home for years. We're throwing a New Year's shindig that won't be crowded by any means, but we actually have about as many people as we think we can seat comfortably and a menu that makes our collective mouth water and tons of little candles and fun paper napkins.
- Clearing through my closet. I've got a clothing swap planned for January and am really into the idea of less is more, and trying to only keep the things that ACTUALLY work for me. All of the other stuff that I either never wear or wear when I'm feeling scruffy is just bunging up my view of my wardrobe as a whole. There's little I would like more than to just have things I absolutely love to wear in my closet. This means getting rid of the fancy silk designer shirt my grandmother gave me that just. doesn't. work.
AND... drinking a cold beer from a tiny glass; my new sheepskin that I've got draped over my molded plastic Eames eiffel chair; getting back into this!!; approaching the New Year ready to get some sh*t done, lists blazing; deciding what could make me feel the most like me, setting incremental goals and moving forward (is that the same thing? I don't care - I feel this churning determination starting up); Flight of the Conchords is starting up soon; The City is starting up soon - will it suck?; nearly being done paying off my credit card bills from too long ago; trying to get my mom to come over to see my place (she hasn't seen any of the places I've lived for a good eight years!); beginning my yoga routine again and making that gym membership worth it.
I can't imagine that anyone is out there now, but if you are, feel free to say hi!
XO,
Roro
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
I'm preparing for a business trip to Europe and have started compiling a list of things to bring. Of course a huge concern of mine is what to wear from day to day, one experience to the next. I normally prefer to pack on the light side, and haven't even checked a bag in at least three years of travel. But this clearly calls for something a little bit different. During a nearly two week trip, I'm getting the feeling that even my pajamas will have to be just right. Does anyone travel regularly for work? What are your most treasured tricks for getting around in style, avoiding the I-just-pulled-this-from-a-suitcase look?
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Probably Not Mutual
A crush has been born. This one will not result in any romantic rendez-vous because the object of my adoration is not so into my type. My type being a girl. But it's nice to dream from afar, and especially to daydream about what got it all started. Some coworkers and I went to see a designer's studio today, and to say that I admire him is an understatement. He took his business from his bedroom as a one-man gig, to a beautiful studio in Dumbo with 160 employees. Wow. People like that get me thinking thinking thinking every time. How do they ever know that what they've got going on is enough to sustain themselves? There are always so many questions, doubts, problems to deal with when starting your own business, and they pushed past them and made it work. I think I could take a tour of a designer's studio to see their inspiration, their set-up, and the process that goes into production every day and be happy. Well, until I have enough energy built up to send me FLYing forward, ready to take on the world. I'm part way there already, just need some momentum to really get things going.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Torn
I'm terribly torn between being good and being bad. The hard part with this dilemma is that both sides leave me feeling satisfied in a different way. These days, being good means sticking to my goal of finishing off my credit card debt once and for all, so that I can go back to using credit cards only for what I'd originally intended them - large purchasese which I could pay off in one or two max billing cycles so that I get the good credit and the miles, and for emergencies. The last three years, my spending went out of control and then has never caught up enough to clean the slate. I'm close now, and I just made that first payment that took me to a balance of below a grand. Nice! Right? But that was yesterday, literally, and then today I've gone and bought two pairs of cute summer heels at my favorite shoe stores' summer sale. How could I not? Right? I'm still within reach of my goal before too long, but here is where we see that as good as being good felt - reaching goals, yeah! - having cute summer shoes feels good, too. I've been sadly without shoes that are not broken and that don't give me terrible blisters and make my feet into a furnace in what has suddenly become this hot summer. Spending, especially in the fashion lovers world... to do it or not to do it? I guess this won't kill me and I'll go back to saving... NOW.
Jury duty continues to drag on, and I continue to be amazed by my fellow juror who comes in wearing white lace shirts with nothing but a white bra beneath. My boy thought it was strange that I bothered wearing anything decent at all, saying if he didn't have to go to work he would look like a slob. I enjoy dressing up! This is my chance to have more time in the morning to put together fun outfits. It's giving me an inspirational buzz that I hope to hold on to.
Jury duty continues to drag on, and I continue to be amazed by my fellow juror who comes in wearing white lace shirts with nothing but a white bra beneath. My boy thought it was strange that I bothered wearing anything decent at all, saying if he didn't have to go to work he would look like a slob. I enjoy dressing up! This is my chance to have more time in the morning to put together fun outfits. It's giving me an inspirational buzz that I hope to hold on to.
Monday, June 30, 2008
A Collection of Thoughts
Do you know how when you go away to a new place, it often requires a new mode of dress? And if you're there for long enough, you find that coming back to the reality you knew before and what your usual life requires in dress to be difficult to get used to again? I remember this very distinctly when I moved to Washington, DC for about five months. Coming back to New York involved changing characters, in a way. No offense to DCers out there, but I had felt that our Nation's capital had sort of sapped me of my fashion mojo. I had become too used to plain gray slacks with button-ups or sweater set type ensembles that my work seemed to require. It was a sad state of affairs.
More recently, I went on a trip to Costa Rica and found, of course, that the laid back, connected-to-nature lifestyle there required that I get used to walking around unshowered, slathered in sunscreen, with something not too fussy covering my bikini beneath. At first I resisted, but by the end I had worn the same dress days in a row until it got splattered with mud and didn't want to have to think about the day I would return and need to figure out what belt to wear with my top or what shoes to wear to make my outfit work appropriate. Ugh. I do love fashion, but it really is a habit of sorts. When I was away, not only did I see the beauty behind leaving all of this fun stuff behind, but I also returned to find myself terribly bored of fashion mags and blogs. In the end, I'm back to reading nearly every one of my old standbys again, but I've streamlined the whole thing a bit. Rather than read every one that has any validity in my mind, I read only the ones that really seem inspirational and thus, worthy of my time.
In the name of looking at the habit that is fashion/fashion-reading, I am also going to do what I can to write here more often. Rather than expect myself to create a slew of readable posts that tie together and are well-illustrated with drool-worthy pics, I'll just try to let the words flow and see where this takes me. After all, I'm always telling myself that I want to write more, make more art, but I get stunted and don't write or make a thing for fear that what I make will be a failure. That's a bad way to think and never the way that any artist has gotten ahead. So that said, excuse me as I make this partially fashion, partially just personal rambling.
I am serving on a Grand Jury these next two weeks, and it's a small piece of hell, in that I have to sit for hours on end doing nearly nothing. I can't speak about the cases themselves, but they are not fun things to hear about. I guess the gravity of the cases makes it feel more worthwhile - we actually have the power to change a life, to help to bring justice to those who deserve it. I don't think it had hit any of us how serious this business was until the first witness came to the stand and suddenly... This is not someone smoking a doobie in a park. The Jury is made up of an incredibly strange mix of people. I seem to be the only one who can keep our simple lunch and break schedule straight, which worries me slightly. If they can't do that, then... But one thing I find very interesting is seeing each character's unique approach to the idea of "appropriate" attire. One man sits warmly in a suit all day (though it is chilly in those courthouses), a nearby woman swans about (well actually, we all do a lot of sitting, I just like that word) in a spaghetti strap tank, no bra. There is one woman with a closely shorn head of non-hair, enormous black glasses and dramatic tribal earrings.
I recently purchased a beautiful new phone, which I would highly recommend to anyone and everyone. It is the PalmCentro. I love it.
To wrap this all up in a neat package and say once and for all if I haven't here yet, I am so looking forward to moving to a new place with my boy. We are ridiculously happy, something which has never been more true than now, and planning this all out has been such a great thing to anticipate. Not only will I be living with my best buddy and making a wonderful little home, but I will have an art studio (which should mean DIY coming the blog's way), and I will have all of my clothing reunited in one place. If there is any situation that has altered my dress, it is having half of my closet in one place, half in the other. I may want to wear a certain dress at my house, but can't because the only bra that works with it is at his house; or I may have only one pair of shoes that will work in the downpour I wasn't expecting (worse, no shoes! Then I have to figure out which pair to sacrafice). I feel as though I'm constantly camping out and having to make do, and I'm constantly lugging an enormous second bag with me to try to avoid these "catastrophes" that somehow manage to happen all the time regardless.
Love,
Rora
More recently, I went on a trip to Costa Rica and found, of course, that the laid back, connected-to-nature lifestyle there required that I get used to walking around unshowered, slathered in sunscreen, with something not too fussy covering my bikini beneath. At first I resisted, but by the end I had worn the same dress days in a row until it got splattered with mud and didn't want to have to think about the day I would return and need to figure out what belt to wear with my top or what shoes to wear to make my outfit work appropriate. Ugh. I do love fashion, but it really is a habit of sorts. When I was away, not only did I see the beauty behind leaving all of this fun stuff behind, but I also returned to find myself terribly bored of fashion mags and blogs. In the end, I'm back to reading nearly every one of my old standbys again, but I've streamlined the whole thing a bit. Rather than read every one that has any validity in my mind, I read only the ones that really seem inspirational and thus, worthy of my time.
In the name of looking at the habit that is fashion/fashion-reading, I am also going to do what I can to write here more often. Rather than expect myself to create a slew of readable posts that tie together and are well-illustrated with drool-worthy pics, I'll just try to let the words flow and see where this takes me. After all, I'm always telling myself that I want to write more, make more art, but I get stunted and don't write or make a thing for fear that what I make will be a failure. That's a bad way to think and never the way that any artist has gotten ahead. So that said, excuse me as I make this partially fashion, partially just personal rambling.
I am serving on a Grand Jury these next two weeks, and it's a small piece of hell, in that I have to sit for hours on end doing nearly nothing. I can't speak about the cases themselves, but they are not fun things to hear about. I guess the gravity of the cases makes it feel more worthwhile - we actually have the power to change a life, to help to bring justice to those who deserve it. I don't think it had hit any of us how serious this business was until the first witness came to the stand and suddenly... This is not someone smoking a doobie in a park. The Jury is made up of an incredibly strange mix of people. I seem to be the only one who can keep our simple lunch and break schedule straight, which worries me slightly. If they can't do that, then... But one thing I find very interesting is seeing each character's unique approach to the idea of "appropriate" attire. One man sits warmly in a suit all day (though it is chilly in those courthouses), a nearby woman swans about (well actually, we all do a lot of sitting, I just like that word) in a spaghetti strap tank, no bra. There is one woman with a closely shorn head of non-hair, enormous black glasses and dramatic tribal earrings.
I recently purchased a beautiful new phone, which I would highly recommend to anyone and everyone. It is the PalmCentro. I love it.
To wrap this all up in a neat package and say once and for all if I haven't here yet, I am so looking forward to moving to a new place with my boy. We are ridiculously happy, something which has never been more true than now, and planning this all out has been such a great thing to anticipate. Not only will I be living with my best buddy and making a wonderful little home, but I will have an art studio (which should mean DIY coming the blog's way), and I will have all of my clothing reunited in one place. If there is any situation that has altered my dress, it is having half of my closet in one place, half in the other. I may want to wear a certain dress at my house, but can't because the only bra that works with it is at his house; or I may have only one pair of shoes that will work in the downpour I wasn't expecting (worse, no shoes! Then I have to figure out which pair to sacrafice). I feel as though I'm constantly camping out and having to make do, and I'm constantly lugging an enormous second bag with me to try to avoid these "catastrophes" that somehow manage to happen all the time regardless.
Love,
Rora
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
This jacket by APC from La Garconne made my mouth drop open. The opening image on the page is of the jacket tucked in, and when you zoom this photo pops up.... This is exactly the loose but tailored look I want. So simple but still all about the details. Mm. Out of my budget but a girl can dream, right?
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Excuses
I've been so bad at this whole blogging thing. Then I feel like all I have to write about are excuses for not writing. Absurd and boring.
Instead of lamenting the fact that I haven't gotten it together to make this what I want, I'm going to write about random crap and let it morph as it goes. At least I'll be writing.
I went for a walk with the boyfriend to Prospect Park yesterday evening. When we got there he ran and I used his camera to take photos until he was done. It is still rather nippy, but buds were out on the trees and bushes and it made me happy. The camera time really got me thinking about how much more creative I could be if I just incorporated that into my life - looking at everything looking for a composition helps you to see interesting scale, perspective, color contrasts and light play. It also made me realize that I wish I was inheriting an SLR instead of a point and shoot, whenever that happens. When there wasn't enough light, as the sun was setting, the camera was wonky and slowed the shutter speed down to take it all in, and when I used the flash to help that it looked horendous most of the time. Sometimes it helped but it often made my compositions lose everything I was shooting them for. Beggars can't be choosers of course so I'll take what I can get. Again, whenever that happens. The operative words.
Also, I watched the end of The Departed. I never saw the beginning but R tells me it is better. The only things I could pay attention to were
- The constant use of cell phones. My goodness. For real. They were going off all the time. I couldn't help but think to the future when we all have chips in our arms to communicate instead of cell phones, and how that feature is really going to date the movie. Not that it's a bad thing, but it could seriously look retro even though it's clearly trying too hard now to seem relevant and with the times.
- Leonardo had a terrible Boston accent.
And: I just discovered my new favorite blog. I will have to write about it. My blog reading has been inspiring and I've been obsessive about it, but I think this might be the one that is actually going to make me change my life, find my calling, all that good stuff. But right now I have to force myself to go the gym for the first time in, um, 4 months? I'll be very honest and say that yes, I've been throwing my money away.
Instead of lamenting the fact that I haven't gotten it together to make this what I want, I'm going to write about random crap and let it morph as it goes. At least I'll be writing.
I went for a walk with the boyfriend to Prospect Park yesterday evening. When we got there he ran and I used his camera to take photos until he was done. It is still rather nippy, but buds were out on the trees and bushes and it made me happy. The camera time really got me thinking about how much more creative I could be if I just incorporated that into my life - looking at everything looking for a composition helps you to see interesting scale, perspective, color contrasts and light play. It also made me realize that I wish I was inheriting an SLR instead of a point and shoot, whenever that happens. When there wasn't enough light, as the sun was setting, the camera was wonky and slowed the shutter speed down to take it all in, and when I used the flash to help that it looked horendous most of the time. Sometimes it helped but it often made my compositions lose everything I was shooting them for. Beggars can't be choosers of course so I'll take what I can get. Again, whenever that happens. The operative words.
Also, I watched the end of The Departed. I never saw the beginning but R tells me it is better. The only things I could pay attention to were
- The constant use of cell phones. My goodness. For real. They were going off all the time. I couldn't help but think to the future when we all have chips in our arms to communicate instead of cell phones, and how that feature is really going to date the movie. Not that it's a bad thing, but it could seriously look retro even though it's clearly trying too hard now to seem relevant and with the times.
- Leonardo had a terrible Boston accent.
And: I just discovered my new favorite blog. I will have to write about it. My blog reading has been inspiring and I've been obsessive about it, but I think this might be the one that is actually going to make me change my life, find my calling, all that good stuff. But right now I have to force myself to go the gym for the first time in, um, 4 months? I'll be very honest and say that yes, I've been throwing my money away.
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