New Shoes, New Books

I think my favorite books to read are the gritty rural Southern coming of age stories, especially if the protagonist is female. You know, the quintessential Oprah Reading Club book. Here are the books I got (from the library) to have to read at the airport:

1. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
2. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
3. Icy Sparks by Gwen Hyman Rubio (this one actually is an Oprah Reading Club book)
4. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
5. The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan

Tomorrow I'm taking a half day at work, going to get a delicious lunch somewhere, and then going to the airport where I will get a Starbucks. That is my airport ritual.

Here are pictures of the sandals I just got for summer:

The Bar Method

Just a quick post to:
a) explain where I have been going after work every M,T,W after work. I have been going to the Bar Method.

b) note my favorite star, Eta Carinae:



c) show you some Wycinanki inspired home decor I found at Urban Outfitters.




Kocham!

Update

I only managed to finish the muslin pattern for the shirt today. Here is what it looks like. Kind of, as Dylan said, baggy. I don't care. Baggy is in these days.



Here is the fabric that my shirt will eventually be made of:




Here are some photos from dinner and the magic show. The magic show was ok.







We ate dinner at a restaurant called the House. Those are pictures of D's and mine dinners. There is also a picture of the theater balcony, D and N, A's husband, and A, the interior designer at my firm and a POLKA. Mowimy po polsku razem!

More Blobbing

Blob. It's like a cross between the words "blog" and "blab". Dylan is sailing all day today. I thought about going to the beach with some friends, on this inordinately warm of spring days, but decided against it in order to stay home and get started on some sewing projects, my rational being that there will be many more beach days to follow. But in retrospect, I'm not so sure. Last night in the city of San Francisco it was warm enough at 10 pm to wear short sleeves . There may never be another weekend like this one. I don't care. I want to sew, so I will sew. Besides, while here weather as aforementioned is an incredibly rare occurrence, in NM it is effortlessly quotidien.
I love making lists. Here is a list of the things that need to be sewn:

2 shirts.

1 brown and pink one that looks vaguely asian.

1 that is made out of ikat with "bobbin work" (For an article explaining this in detail click here Basically, it's putting a thicker, decorative thread in your bobbin, even a thin ribbon, and then sewing "upside-down.")embroidery on the collar that is roughly the same shape as these ones from Anthro:




Some chair cushions for our patio chairs made out of oilcloth. (Image from oilcloth.com via ohjoy.blogs.com)



And a curtain for our bathroom to match the one you saw previously:



Except this curtain will be striped with a scalloped hem. Same colors, though.

And Dylan's pants need to be hemmed.

And I'm going to make some more pillows and stuffed animals with some leftover fabric that has already accumulated. And sell them.

Today, I'm going to try to cut out the muslim pattern (before I start tearing into the more expensive fabric)for at least one of the shirts, and hopefully finish the curtain. And if I have time, start on one of the oilcloth cushions. I think those are realistic goals. :) KOCHAM!

A Short List of Things

Things I like:

We (that is, my firm) are using Niche Modern (maker of the lights shown above), for the lights at a fancy wine/tapas bar. These lights are seriously expensive, and what I really love about them is the bulbs, so....




I found these lightbulbs at www.1000bulbs.com and they look the same and cost a dollar!

Some skirts I love below from Puddingtown



A cute Dutch bike from Jollybike



And finally, some work from Alabama Chanin, the company of Natalie Chanin, who I mentioned in my previous post: below.

My First Post

I (and Dylan) am starting this blog so that my family and friends can know what I' m doing because I am really bad about keeping in touch. I will try to post at least once a week. Today: yesterday I went and had a meeting at FIDM (Fashion Insitute of Design and Merchandising) because I am still trying to figure out what I want to go back to school for. I feel less sure about architecture now and am thinking I might do a two year degree in fashion design. My ideal job would be to own my own boutique, design my own clothes and jewelry, and write on a free-lance basis for a magazine or two. The skills I would learn would make me marketable for other fun jobs as well, such as arranging the "look" of certain stores (Anthro) or businesses (Google- see below for some pictures of their offices) And contract for Anthropologie! Tonight I have another meeting, this time at the Art Insitute.

On another note, this woman is one of my new heroes: Natalie Chanin, who makes beautiful clothes out of old t-shirts using reverse applique. She does it all in the South, sustainably, by hand. Click here to check out her website: Alabama Chanin.

Here are pictures of the Google office: