Have a Very Leisurely Holiday

Here is what I have been doing to prepare for the upcoming holiday! Our Christmas tree is only 3 feet tall but I love it just the same. I made amazing peanut butter chocolate cookies and sugar cookies with neon icing. I made some really cute holiday cards for our loved ones. I decorated our wreath with some silver ornaments to spruce up our stairwell. I sure enjoyed that winter snowstorm, and didn't even need to leave the house all day! Phew! I think I am ready. Now I want to be relaxing by a fire with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa. I think you should do that now too. Happy New Year!

I Notice Things Now

I was walking in my favorite neighborhood, Chelsea, the other day and I noticed all these cool things I had just been skipping over before. I used to be in a mad rush all the time, on the verge of tears because I was always late, just stewing in my yucky thoughts. I feel like I just woke up again. I used to live in Chelsea for many years, and it has always been an area that is so beautiful to me (even before all the galleries took over). The quality of sunlight on 23rd Street between 8th and 9th Avenues is so clear and fresh and cheerful in the morning. So I decided to snap some photos of things I noticed, some for the first time. It's so nice to be out in the city during the day, and not chained to a desk or in a meeting.

Giving Thanks

It's that time of year again, and I have lots of families to see up over the holidays. We spent this Thanksgiving with my Dad and Stepmom up in the northwest corner of CT. The rest of my family spent the day together in another part of Connecticut. Since I knew we wouldn't be there, I sent my Mom two of those paper fold-out turkeys and wrote "Matt" on one and "Christina" on the other. I asked that the family put them at our places, take pictures with them, and send us the photos. I think I started a new tradition. My zany family went one better and here is one of the photos I got:

It's Almost Christmas!

I was going to work yesterday in Herald Square, near Macy's, and I noticed they were just starting to decorate the little park at Greeley Square for Christmas! The air was cold and crisp, and to see those festive decorations really made my morning. Here's a couple pictures I snapped. I am very excited for the holidays this year!

Let's try some cards

Here are some cards I made yesterday. I am kind of into rubber stamping right now. I wish I had lots of money to spend on all sorts of stamps and inks. I am selling these at Treehouse on Graham Ave. in Brooklyn. Soon I guess I'll make some holiday cards. Maybe I'll send one to you!

Halloween, Sorry so late!

Halloween was pretty great this year. I was in my costume roaming the neighborhood by 3pm. I was joined by my fellow at-home-worker Amy Sperber. As you can see, I was Pippi Longsticking. Amy was Little Edie Beale, of Grey Gardens fame. We went to coffee and walked around Graham Ave. The children of the neighborhood were out in full force. So many cuties! We passed out candy to trick-or-treaters and hung out in the front yard. We were soon joined by Heather, Greg, Kate, and the party kept growing into the night. I ate my fair share of candy. A woman from one of the neighborhood salons liked my costume so much, she gave me a bag of Doritos! Check out my fellow characters:







How lucky I am to not be working! I could play all day with my friends! My costume was part store-bought, part-homemade. So I didn't spend very much, but I was very happy with it. The wig was key. What a great day!

Halloween - My Favorite Holiday

My obsession with the Nightmare Before Xmas and Matt's obsession with the Misfits manifest themselves in this year's pumpkins. We carved them last weekend...they are starting to go. Luckily tonight is Halloween!!! I will be dressing up as Pippi Longstocking. Pictures tomorrow.

My Natural Habitat

Oh I was in Heaven last week! We went to Topsail Island, NC with Matt's family for a few days. The beach is my true home. Everything else in the world falls away when I am near the ocean. The incessant stream of thoughts of what I am going to do with my life stops, and I am able to just be there. This is why I love going to the beach so much, and why I want to travel to every beach in the world!

The house they rented was right on the beach. We had sliding glass doors in our room that opened up onto a deck overlooking the sand. At night, we kept the doors open and fell asleep to the most soothing sound in the world - the waves crashing on the shore.

The first day was so warm we were able to go into the ocean and boogie board!! Quite possibly my favorite thing to do in the entire world. The next few days were cooler, so we rode bikes to the fishing pier, the longest fishing pier on the east coast! They were catching skate like crazy. I asked if I could take a photo...



I am not sure if I can ever eat skate again. I heard that it was flat like a ray, but I didn't know it looked exactly like a stingray!! Yikes.

The last day was rainy, so we had a major crafternoon. Peggy and I made greeting cards with all kinds of craft supplies, and Matt and Myron put together a 1000 piece puzzle in a matter of hours. Good clean fun.

Apple Pie

A few weeks ago, Matt said he wanted to go apple-picking and then bake an apple pie from scratch. It sounded like a good idea to me. We went to Connecticut to visit my oldest brother and his partner, and they took us to a nearby orchard. We had a wonderful afternoon of apple-picking, and we got a few pumpkins to boot! The best part was the homemade apple cinnamon doughnuts at the orchard. Our camera was broken at that time, so unfortunately we have no photos from that day. We picked a bushel and 1/2 of 3 or 4 different kinds of apples, including some delicious Japanese green apples.

Matt's mom is a master baker, so we knew we could get a recipe from her. We got everything we needed for pie baking right here in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at The Brooklyn Kitchen on Lorimer St. We purchased a pie pan, a rolling pin, and a pastry blender...items I never thought I would own. It was great to be able to buy everything in our own neighborhood, and not have to go into the city.



The recipe looked fairly simple, as all delicious things are. I was nervous though, because I haven't done a lot of baking in my life. Matt had grown up watching his mom bake all sorts of things, so he remembered a lot. It turned out to be pretty easy. The house was filled with a warm, wonderful aroma. We could hardly wait for it to cool. It was amazing!! I couldn't believe we made a pie from scratch with apples that we picked from the trees ourselves!

The Great Outdoors

If anyone is reading this, sorry I haven't written in so long. September was a long, hard month for me. I was not very leisurely. I forgot what that meant for the month. I started to worry a lot about what I am doing with my life. I tend to do that a lot...worry about stuff instead of doing it. One great thing that came out of it, though, was that I learned how important and healing Nature is for me. I could feel the need to be among the trees, far away from concrete sidewalks and the noise of construction and neighbors.

I escaped Brooklyn twice in September - once I went to West Cornwall, CT to my dad and step-mom's house. They live on a big hill surrounded by woods. One day I sat in the front yard on a lawn chair and watched the wind blow through the trees for a few hours. I also did a few crossword puzzles. That's all.

Another weekend, Matt and I went camping near Bear Mountain, upstate a little in NY. That was lovely. We cooked and ate our meals outside. We slept in a tent. One day we hiked to the top of Bear Mountain. That was kind of hard, but we did it! It was quiet in the woods. We were on a part of the Appalachian Trail. It got pretty cold at night.

I felt more like myself again after I spent those few days in the great outdoors. It was like pressing the reset button in my brain. I forgot all my petty cares. I am trying not to think so much about what I am doing with my life, and just live it.

Leisure Society the company is slowly coming together. I have a new idea that feels more "me", and I hope to get the ball rolling next week. I am planning to make a few different shapes/sizes of throw pillows using these vintage fabrics I have been collecting. I am also thinking of doing some hand embroidery on them myself to give them a bit more surface interest and humor. I really like the idea of the embroidery because it is very leisurely, in a Jane Austen sort of way.

Not Being Very Leisurely

Even I, a self-proclaimed lady of leisure, have trouble remembering to take it easy sometimes. The notion that work makes you a good person, and therefore not working makes you a bad person, is so ingrained in me. I am still plagued with thoughts of "What have I done today? What have I accomplished today?" I get sucked in by the critics in my brain that tell me I am lazy, that I haven't done enough each day, you know the stuff.

I've been trying to fit in some "being" time each day, trying to allow some time to just check in with myself and be present. Yesterday, it was so beautiful outside. I had been putting off making this excel spreadhseet for a possible vendor for 2 days. I decided I would just start it, just do a little bit. That's a problem I struggle with, getting things started. I make things into huge insurmountable tasks and then I'm terrified to even begin. So I got the music cranking, started it, and ended up finishing it before I knew it! Then I realized I haven't really been practicing what I preach, I hadn't been doing anything that brought me enjoyment.

I picked up my little folding beach chair and headed out to East River Park, a little gem of a park that has a spectacular view of the majestic City. I bought a good book - The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg - and made myself comfortable. I took breaks from reading to just look at the City. It looks small and quiet from across the water. It felt good to be outside it, instead of trapped on the island in an office or fighting my way through the 34th Street area. I could admire it from afar. I also looked at the clouds alot. There was a pattern in them that reminded me of the leather used on my beloved handbag. It is really wrinkley and textural. It's skin, OK, what do you want. It reminds me of a rhinoceros's hide, and that's what the clouds looked like yesterday at East River Park. After about an hour and 1/2, I headed home and I felt much better about life.

Progress

Leisure Society the company is still a work in progress. I know this, I want to encourage people to live life well. It's not all about working. It can't be! That is so boring. I am freelancing for a company I really like, and still it's a struggle to go to an office every day after working at home for so long. Ugh.

Scott's Lake House

2 weekends ago, I went to Scott's Lake House resort in the Catskills with my best friends. We all stayed in an old farmhouse on the property, and it was the most fun I've had in a long time. Amy and I went tubing, where you get pulled by a motorboat around the lake, and I was so happy! Look at the picture of me in the water above. It was taken right after the tube ride. I felt free. No worries about business or money or family. I was totally in the moment, and it was exhilarating!

The place was so inspiring for Leisure Society, because it was basically a turn-of-the-century vacation compound. Every morning, Matt and I went for peaceful canoe rides around the lake. We all jumped from the high dive, which was a bit scary I have to admit. But I didn't think about it, I just went for it. I thought to myself, I'm going to have to remember all of this and try to bring a little of it into my every day living. At night we played charades in the living room and I laughed harder than I've laughed in years. It felt so good to be with my friends, and to just be myself. No computers, no TV, no phones, just nature and good friends.

If you'd like to see the whole slide-show of the weekend, click here.

I Need a Leisure Getaway

I have been dreaming of a beach house on the ocean. What a life that would be. Someday after I do my exclusive collection for Target, I'll get one. But for now, I am trapped in Brooklyn, claustrophobic and sweaty. We all need to have dreams though. I would settle for a house in the woods near a lake. Far away from the neighbors.

Independence Day

This 4th of July could very well be the best one yet! It was the perfect leisurely escape. Matt and I flew to North Canton, OH to spend the holiday with his family. His mom and dad had come up with a truly inspired itinerary of All-American activities that the whole family could enjoy. First, there was the North Canton 4th of July parade down Main St. It wasn't too exciting, but did feature some cool old tractors and Model T Fords. After that, we went back to the house for lawn games. These are fairly new games to me, since I did not grow up with them as Matt did. The games were Corn-hole (not what it sounds like) and Ladder Golf. If you don't know what they are, I highly suggest looking into them if you enjoy spending time outside playing peaceful, not-too-competitive games that do not require too much energy. They are on par with croquet in my book.

My favorite activity of the weekend was the wooden boat race. Matt's dad made us little wooden "boats" out of 2X4's and we decorated them with markers. Little American flags became our sails, then it was off to the stream behind the house for the races. My boat was christened "Bird of Paradise", quite possibly my favorite name ever. Please do not steal it. It had one good run, then became the 2nd vessel to be eliminated. Oh well, it tried its best. Matt's brother's boat "Gunboat" was the winner in the end. It was a very seaworthy ship.

We went to see the town fireworks, which were pretty good. It was all so calm, people so well-behaved. What a difference from the 4th of July debauchery of New York City. It was lovely to watch the fireworks with my sweetheart!

The final day's activity was a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Pretty cool! It wasn't as "rockin'" as it could be, but it was still fun to see all the memorabilia. I got to see a couple outfits Madonna wore on the Blonde Ambition Tour. They were designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, the man responsible for my teenage interest in fashion! Yes, one could say it was that one-piece "undergarment" with the pointy bra that made me want to become a designer. And I actually saw it in person that day. My other faves were Johnny Cash's outfits and the "punk/grunge" area.

Alas, all the idyllic fun had to come to an end, and here I am back in dirty, sticky Brooklyn. I should be at the beach. Or at least in the park playing Ladder Golf.

A Clumsy Shy Girl's Dream Come True

12 years ago the one and only leisure activity I was interested in was going to rock shows. I went to a few a week. Ah, the good old days. All those places are gone now - Brownies, Coney Island High, Trammps, the Cooler. Coney Island High was pretty much my favorite place to see shows at that time, because I really enjoyed the pop punk. It was there that I fell for Weston. They embodied everything I loved: nerds, painful crushes, silly lyrics, rock-star posturing, fun. I could sing along with them at the top of my lungs and rock out and not feel stupid for once. It wasn't about being cool at a Weston show, it was about being yourself and having fun. Well, that's what it was about for me. I went to a lot of other indie rock shows at the time, ultra-cool bands like Blonde Redhead and Magnetic Fields, and that was all about fashion and standing there with your arms crossed.
I was the only person I knew who appreciated Weston's brilliance, and I usually had to go to their shows alone. Sometimes, I could bribe a friend to accompany me. I didn't mind going by myself though, because once they took the stage it was just me and them. I would stay safely on the edge of any mosh pit that happened to form, and jump up and down and bop my head back and forth. I can't believe I just typed the words "mosh pit". Do people even say that anymore? I was going to just say "the pit", but I thought there was a slight chance that a few people might not know what that meant.

Weston made me so happy. Then somewhere along the way I got it into my head that I needed to grow up, act my age, or something. I stopped going to shows, I stopped wearing my uniform of T-shirt, jeans and Converse, and I stopped having fun. I sort of forgot about Weston!
Luckily, 3 years ago I met an amazing, nerdy, shy guy named Matt. In the course of getting to know each other, we talked about music, of course. Turns out he loved Weston too! It was fate. We broke out our old CD's and I remembered every word. I remembered how awesome I felt after a Weston show. We dreamed of their reunion. Little did we know they had already reunited. Did they ever break up?
I reluctantly joined Myspace.com for the 2nd time partly so I could keep tabs on my all-time favorite bands and not miss their shows anymore. Being a part of the Leisure Society affords me much more time to listen to music, as well as obsessively search the internet. So even though I hated it at first, I have to thank Myspace for getting me back "in touch" with Weston. For it was there that I learned that they were playing at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ Friday night. Yeah. And they were going to be recording the show for a live album. It was gonna be a sing-along. And this time, I wouldn't have to go alone. I could go with my sweetheart!

I was super-nervous for them. I always got nervous before shows. I knew they would open with "Retarded" just as they used to. I was standing on the bleachers on the side of the room at Maxwell's, and as they played the intro I was overcome with the physical memory of just exploding on that first crash of the cymbals. I almost fell off the bleachers. It was like no time had passed. They played all the hits, Dave Weston did his famous strum-and-point move that I had forgotten about, and we all sang our hearts out. The silly jokes were flowing, my favorite being "Who's D to P?" as in the abbreviation of "Who's dying to party?" I think they had as much fun as we did.
We got home at 3am, which is the latest we've stayed out in years. We couldn't hear a thing for 2 days, and my neck was sore from rockin'. All true signs of a good rock show. Thanks Weston!!

Dreaming of the Beach

Today is a rainy day and it's making me daydream about the beach. A beach on the ocean is where I feel most like myself. That's it for today. I have to do my Italian homework.

Inspiration

For the past 10 years I said I hated art. But I guess that's not true. The truth is that I am so intimidated by art and artists that it's easier to write it all off. I never considered myself an artist. My high school art teacher told me I wasn't very good at it and I believed it.

But this year, I have rediscovered my own personal love of art, the love that led me to express my creativity through fashion. This love fell by the wayside in the rush of the corporate cycle of shop, draw, make, sell, repeat. When I worked in fashion, I only looked at fashion magazines or for inspiration. I didn't really have time or the brain space to look at much else.

Now that I have my own company, I try to look at lots of different things for creative inspiration: things that are important and interesting to me and only me. You know, I forgot what that was! It's amazing. Right now I have 2 inspirational loves. The first one is Olafur Eliasson. I went to see his show at MOMA 2 weeks ago, and it blew my mind. It sort of went along with a whole theme of mine lately: to really LOOK at things, situations, etc. The yellow light that washed all the color out of everything was my favorite. I had bright blue shorts and orange shoes on, so it was really fun to watch my colors change from room to room. Today, Matt and I are going to see his show at PS1.

The other inspirational love is this Sundance documentary on Marc Jacobs that I just watched this morning. Wow. The man really is a genius. I'm in this phase right now where artists and "real" fashion designers are so fascinating to me because they experiment, they tinker, they think, they play. I really want to do this too! It's their process and way of thinking that is so inspirational to me.

So this is what I am doing with Leisure Society. I want to dream, play, experiment. I am trying to approach it like an art project rather than a "business" at this point in time. It'll be ready when it's ready.

Today I work

It has come to that time in the development of Leisure Society, LLC (the company as opposed to the blog) that I am going to have to get off my butt and do some good old-fashioned designer work. Update for those of you I don't talk to on a daily basis: I got 2 yards of each fabric I designed so I can get samples made up. This fabric is kind of pricey though. I've been struggling with costs lately, not wanting my finished products to be too expensive. The fabric has been printed digitally, and this technology is still new and therefore, more money. These people make life really easy for me though. They supply the fabric, print it, and ship it to my doorstep.

In an attempt to see if I can get costs lower, I have gotten in touch with a screen printer here in Brooklyn. I am going to go visit his work room today. If I go with a screen printer such as this, I have to provide the base fabric. That means that I get to play designer today and hit the fabric stores in Manhattan. In an ode to Project Runway, I will visit Mood first. I have to admit that I don't think I have ever been there! Ssshh, don't tell my other designer friends. I have a short list of other places to see as well. Then, last but not least, I must get zippers for the pillows I plan to make.

As some of you may or may not know, I am designing a little collection of Home Accessories, including but not limited to: pillows, aprons, napkins, placemats, oven mitts, pot holders, and book totes. The first collection is going to be about hosting a fabulous outdoor dinner party or BBQ or what-have-you. Who knows what's gonna happen? I have to try this though. I have to try to make a job for myself so I never have to go back to "work" again. Know what I mean?

All my anti-work talk boils down to wanting to be in charge of my own time. With Leisure Society, if I want to work I do and if not, I go to the beach. I'm figuring it all out as I go along here. That's fine with me. I'm free.

The Parthenon Slide Show