Playing Grown-Up

For the next couple of weeks I'll be playing grown-up. My parents will be away which means I'll be grocery shopping, cooking (or "cooking" as the case may be some days), doing laundry, dishes, etc, etc. It's really not all that much different than what I do when I'm away at school (though much closer to how it will be next year in my apartment versus the past two years of dorm/sorority life) but I felt very much like a grown-up today going grocery shopping and making food. Sometimes playing grown-up is kind of fun but a lot of the time I'd rather play kid again and build a fort from sheets and read Narnia for the umpteenth time or something. Oh well, guess I don't really have a choice.

Anyway, for the past few days I've been wearing:

{Mom's hat, second hand vest, old urban tank top, coup de cour skirt,
shoegasm sandals, hand-me down bag from mom}

This bag is one of my best friends this summer, I love it. I actually wasn't using it here (noramlly it would be slung across my body and stuffed full) but ended up carrying it around empty all day because I tried to go to the shoemaker to get it fixed (it needs a zipper replacement) but apparently I need to go to a luggage place. I need to get on that soon so I can use it again... wearing my backpack to work today made me a little sad, haha.


{h&m blue button down, second hand belt, zachary's smile attic sale skirt, target sandals, mom's bag}

This was my fourth of July outfit. I actually bought the skirt for $5 (!) at the Zachary's smile attic sale the day before. The sale was a little underwhelming actually, but I did come away with this (which is a bit big but the belt does just the trick) and a little, girly, pink dress (perfect for playing grown-up of course, haha) for $5 each so I was satisfied. I also rode my bike halfway across Manhattan (ok, not quite... but it was definitely a few miles each way) in this, and I'm pretty sure my face was as red as the skirt when I got on the train after the first part of my ride. hahaha. The ride back in the evening was however, much nicer although I ended up losing the ribbon in my hair at some point during the day.


{buffalo exchange (brooklyn location) dress, target sandals
(yes these are the same ones as above in a different color... haha), mom's bag}

This is one of my favorite dresses. I bought it right before my 17th or 18th birthday but sadly it hasn't fit me for the past 1/2 a year or so. Well, it fit, but in an I can't sit down or breath if I wear this kind of way. I was excited to find it only a teensy bit tight yesterday but made the mistake of wearing it to my friend's 5th of July BBQ... let's just say I was rather uncomfortable after gorging myself on delicious food. haha

My mom's little straw backpack and that denim vest are also quickly become summer staples of mine. I'm still in a bit of disbelief (how 90s they are!) but I kind of love it ;)

I've been eating:

{boiled egg, kashi blueberry waffles, strawberries and blueberries, syrup,
greek yogurt, veggie bacon, and of course a big mug of coffee}

After talking about how I should start taking pictures of food, I couldn't resist photographing the 4th of July brunch I made for myself... it was just so colorful, festive, and delicious!

Also as mentioned, I went to my friend's barbecue on the 5th and indulged in a yummy mixture of American and Asian grilled goods such as broccoli (with garlic sauce), corn, chicken, shrimp, sweet potato, eggplant, Asian tea and lemonade, watermelon and cherries. SO GOOD. I was SO FULL.

On the 3rd, after going to the aforementioned attic sale (with the aforementioned friend who was the barabecue host), I also payed my first visit to yogurtland which was really pretty good- it's like a self-serve and way cheaper (!!!) version of pinkberry!

I've been seeing:
(alright so that tense doesn't really work with this one but too bad)
Jenny Lewis open for Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band in Battery Park on July 4th. She was AMAZING and Conor Oberst was pretty good too. Then I rode my bike back (only half way though, because it's far) home along the esplanade (yeah, the part I ride on is the narrow park with sinkholes that they mention... haha) and the sun was so beautiful over the water and it was great. :) I wish the weather would stay this nice and I could have more free time to do stuff like this...

But overall: Good Stuff :)

Regards,
Freddie

A Very Belated Birthday Post

So wow, it's been a while. Since my last post, I turned 20.
I had to work, which wasn't very exciting except that one of the other interns made me a birthday cake (yellow cake with chocolate frosting). yum. :)

I wore this and it was very wet and rainy out:

{Hanes men's undershirt, target belt, shortened Manhattan Vintage Show culottes
(yes those are shorts!), keds, uniqlo umbrella, crown from a long ago high school show}

Someone at work asked me if it was my birthday. When I said yes he said something like, "wow I was just guessing, I mean, you normally wear things like that anyway." haha (Referring to the crown of course).

I got these cards:

{the necklace I wore with the above outfit also pictured- it has a charm with my (real) name, spelled correctly--a rarity, and a unicorn charm}

The most appropriate card was from my mom who also got me a delightfully huge and floppy hat:

{She was caught in a love triangle. She was torn between her love for him and her love of shoes. But she had to choose... And frankly he just didn't match her purse. Happy Birthday}

My best friend came over and we ate sushi and cupcakes my mom brought home from the cupcake truck. I really need to start remembering to take my own food porn pictures for this blog. hahaha. Of course, my rainbow roll, edamame, and shrimp shumai weren't quite this pretty but the cupcake is pretty darn close.


lunch.com, martha stewart, laceilbleu, cupcake stop

Then, I went to bed early... before my birthday was even over (!) because I had to wake up at 6am the next day for the craziest day of work ever: the opening night of twelfth night. I worked from 7:30am on June 25th to 4:30am on June 26th. I spent a lot of time walking trucks through central park and having people warn me that there was a truck behind me (oy!) and arrived home exhausted, but feeling very accomplished, to find the Friday morning paper already at my doorstep. It contained this fantastic review which made me very happy and proud, as well as the front page news about Michael Jackson's death, which was of course quite sad.

After I slept away a lot of Friday, my friend Corinne arrived (she was staying with me until yesterday afternoon which further explains the lack of posting) and we watched The Virgin Suicides and made plans for her stay. On Saturday we had a lovely picnic in the park (like I really needed to go back there... haha) with another friend and celebrated my birthday with a whole crew of lovely people in the evening. We ate rickshaw dumplings, went to UCBT and had birthday cake made by my mom - ginger cake with decadent chocolate frosting. YUM. Like I said... I really need to start taking food pictures. haha

edited to add that I have a cake picture (and a picture of the upper half of a dress I have not shown you yet) courtesy of my mom -- yay!

Tight cropping to be kind to my friends (beautiful people making awkward faces) but Jessie who is taking a picture right behind me (and who I affectionately call my twin... people who don't know us get us confused/think we are related) looks too cute ;) ... and not just because she kind of looks like me :P haha

A few friends slept over and we had homemade blueberry muffins (thanks to my lovely mother once again) and fruit salad in the morning. We then went to the Gay Pride Parade which was a ton of fun and tried out the new flavors at pinkberry. On Monday I resumed a more human work schedule (10am-6pm, M-F) and went to dinner with friends at RICE. Tuesday we hit up Chinatown for vegetarian dim sum and ice cream (almond cookie ice cream is the BEST) at two of my favorite places. Wednesday was Corinne's last day in town and today after work my parents and I finally had time to have a birthday dinner with just the three of us. We went to apiary which was totally cute and had a molten, flourless chocolate cake desert which sort of made me die. In a really good way of course. The rest of my meal was also delicious: a warm chevre and roasted beet salad followed by mushroom risotto.

the gotham plate

This photo really does not do it any sort of justice. And mine was complete with a pretty pink birthday candle stuck perfectly to the plate (so as to not mess up the cake) in between two of the chocolate blobs.

Anyway... now that I seriously need to go on a diet (or at least to the gym on my slightly surprise day off -- woohoo! -- tomorrow) my birthday celebrations are "finally" over and life (and hopefully blog updating) can resume to some degree of normalcy. I'll post more from my photoshoot soon of course, but this post is too long and too full of food to fit anything else in it ;) haha. Hopefully I'll have new and fun fashion things to share soon as well.

Regards,
Freddie

P.S. My crazy work day, and the day after my birthday, was the birthday of fellow blogger and my almost birthday buddy, Amelia! yay! Happy Belated!

Pants Party (and photoshoot part 1)

So, I will preface this post with a complaint about the weather to get it out of the way: the weather has been awful, which is even worse when you work outdoors which on many days therefore results in a cranky, unfashionable me. Ok, done.

In other, "sunnier" news: this past Monday we were given a surprise half day of work and I decided it was the perfect opportunity to recreate some outfits and have a photo shoot! The setting isn't ideal and I couldn't remember all the outfits I might have wanted to recreate, but I did take quite a few pictures :) I'm not going to show them to you all at once though because they may have to last me quite a while. haha.

So, for now, inspired by the crappy weather I suppose, I'll start by showing off some outfits with pants, which seem to be a rarity on this blog. I also did get to take some real outfit photos on the roof yesterday before work which helped improve my mood, not to mention it was actually a pretty nice day :D (Though we were working downtown and inside for once... haha)

This was I was wearing for real on the day of my photo shoot:

{XL men's undershirt, old urban blazer, old hat and necklace - ??,
urban renewal belt, striped jeans, vintage boots}

Prepare yourselves for many more awkward goofing around in front of a white sheet type photos in the coming week or two ;)

And this was what I wore yesterday:

{thrifted denim vest, ? old green tank and necklace, sample sale pants, manhattan vintage show saddle shoes, etsy sunglasses, earrings my mom brought back from Turkey}

My mom bought these pants for me for $10 at a sample sale but unfortunately we got what we paid for: three of the buttons on the pockets fell off in the wash (though I do have one replacement) and the fit is a little funky and big (especially by the end of the day), but I just love all their cool details, like the pockets and the cuffs which you can see best in the bottom photo. Also, if you noticed- my old watch is fixed! I've been wearing it to work as to not ruin my "new," nicer one with painting and building and moving things and such.

And of course those striped jeans from the first picture are a go to item for lazy/rushed days all year round. I suppose pants aren't all bad after all ;)

Regards,
Freddie

The Model as Muse

So, today at work (yes I have to work on Sundays sometimes) there was nothing for us to do, as is often the case (...then why make us come in on Sunday?) so our boss gave us interns some petty cash to spend the afternoon at a museum, which I'll admit, was pretty awesome and considerate of him. Despite the mob scene that was 5th avenue due to the Puerto Rican Day Parade, we made it to the Met to see The Model as Muse exhibit which I've only been talking about wanting to see since I got back from school. We also made it to see the current roof garden sculpture which was very cool, though I'm still sad I never saw the giant balloon animals.

Anyway I must say that I was somewhat underwhelmed by the exhibit and wish there had been more of the older, more classic stuff (ie: before the 1970s), but I still thoroughly enjoyed myself and even got to go see it on the job- sweet! Overall, the exhibit was a nice combo of photographs, historical information, old fashion mags and actual garments. Here were a few of my personal favorites:


Lisa Fonssagrives photographed by Penn Irving, Dovima photographed by Richard Avedon


Sunny Harnett photographed by Richard Avedon in a Madame Grès Evening Gown, 1954


Twiggy photographed by Melvin Sokolsky and Gosta Peterson

I would post so many more (including some of I think, Naomi Campbell with a feather boa and a couple other more recent photos), but it's hard to find all the photos online and sadly they wouldn't allow you to take pictures of the exhibit. There was also a book, but I didn't really have $35-$50 to spend... though it would have been lovely. haha.

However, you can check out a mini virtual tour of the exhibit (cool!):

Anyway, my apologies for falling behind on my blog reading and commenting... I tried bringing my computer to work today and got all excited thinking I would catch up, but unfortunately I was unable to get the internet connection (I connected but it was local only... boo.) I guess that's to be expected when you work outside. Alas, we all know I'll get there at some point, and for now, I'm just going to blog (and read) what I can, when I can, and if anyone wants to read it, that's great, if not, oh well, that's ok too ;) And some day you'll see my shopping... someday... haha

Regards,
Freddie

P.S. My other boss has coined a nickname for me: fashintern. haha. I like it.

Rain rain go away come again another day (preferably one that I'm not working k thanks)

So I was about to post the two outfit photos I took this week showing off my new (ok I can hardly call them new anymore) topshop shorts and jumper as well as a denim vest (what? Some slightly 90s inspiration is hitting me from somewhere but I don't know where that is...) I thrifted on a whim, but the pictures were so horrible I couldn't bring myself to do it. Snapping a quick photo in front of a messy chair in the morning just isn't cutting it for me at the moment... especially because it's summer and I don't feel like I have an excuse for a crappy, poorly lit photo. Though I must say the weather has been incredibly dreary, rainy, and miserable the past few days... and everything in life revolves around weather when you work outside, so I'm going to leave you with some dreams of vintage umbrellas instead.

Thrush, itsastitch


Pudding, JessJamesJake


JillRuth, bellalulu

And of course no umbrella post would be complete without a mention to everyone's favorite umbrella girl, the Morton salt girl, who has looked lovely in absolutely every era.

1914, 1921,1933, 1941, 1956, 1968

Unfortunately, pretty little umbrellas are just to precious for the park (and not useful when you need to work with your hands) where what you really need is a north face shell or poncho type thing (which of course I do not have and therefore I get wet). So, while this job isn't doing wonders for my fashion (and I'm falling behind on reading blogs again-- I'm sorry!) it has resulted in some cool things such as learning that Anne Hathaway goes by Annie and hand delivering Audra McDonald's laptop and foundation to her. HAHA. Oh the life of an intern.

Though I do have to say, the days I do get to rock things like the jumper, my pink hat, or a big flower on my head at work, the everyone at the Delacorte really seems to get a kick out of me ;)

Anyway, I have tomorrow off (and it's supposed to be nice out!) and am going to go to the Renegade Craft Fair with a friend which will hopefully result in some fun things to share :) I got this dress at Renegade last year.

Regards,
Freddie

P.S. The one good thing about today's horrendous rain was that my intern team of three lovely ladies who was supposed to be staying late, ie: until around midnight tonight, got released at 5:15! Almost makes the 7-ish hours we did work in the rain worth it. Almost...

Hot Town, Summer in the City

I really like Mary's little "I wore, I thought, I saw" format, it's very nice and straightforward, so I'm going to try a little something like it, though I mostly have a lot of "I saw" and a little of "I wore."

So, I saw:
Thursday: my old high school's band concert and a lot of old friends. My old band teacher is retiring and a lot of alum came out to support him. It was really nice and afterwords a bunch of us (including our old yearbook teacher) went to our favorite local diner... and our old teach paid for our food on the school's dime! Haha, shush, don't tell :o

photo credits: school website, wikipedia

Friday: my old crew of high school friends for a sleepover in forest hills. We made sandwiches with brie, apple, and caramelized onions as well as chocolate banana boats. Yum.

photo credit: another print please

Saturday: Exit the King, my first Ionesco, which was SO fantastic, brilliant and absurd. I loved it and highly recommend it to anyone looking to see a really interesting, unique, and moving play which is both funny and terribly sad at the same time. The NY Times review does a better job than I can in describing it.

Geoffery Rush and Susan Sarandon

Lauren Ambrose and Andrea Martin

pictures: Exit the King on Broadway

I waited for them all at the stage door and they were just as wonderful in person as on stage. I got autographs and saw Susan Sarandon's whole fam, complete with a cute little white puppy dog and learned that Andrea Martin rides her bike to and from work - just like me! Also, Lauren Ambrose has played both Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) and Ophelia (Hamlet) at Shakespeare in the Park, where I am working this summer, and I think I officially want to be her.

Sunday: a great friend from school who just got back from Rome. We had lunch at Eli's, I satisfied my craving for a rainbow sprinkle cone, we wandered about and tried to see UP with two other friends, but it was all sold out. Movies are too expensive for me here anyway... $12.50, really? I just saw a freakin' Broadway show for only $26.50!


photos: Eli's Vinegar Factory, Pardon Me for Asking, The Girl Who Ate Everything, wikipedia

Also, I've been running into people left and right the past few days! I love how small this city is sometimes.

I Wore:
Sunday:

{vintage blouse, second hand reconned skirt, hand painted silk scarf, target sandals}

The blouse was my Aunt's way long ago, she bought it in Mexico when she was a teen, and gave it to me four or five years ago. It has the most gorgeous hand embroidery (I should have taken a close up) and must be around 40 years old by now. I used to wear it all the time, but now it has a few holes in it and I'm afraid of how delicate it is. However, the holes are hidden by tucking it into this skirt (seriously one of my best thrift store purchases ever... I wear it to death!) and clothes were meant to be worn, right?

Anyway, next time I do a post like this I should really take some of my own photos :P but it was really kind of fun digging these up from all over the net!

Work tomorrow and tech for Twelfth Night starts Tuesday which means I'm working late 3 days a week and only have one day off (Saturday for me) on weekends. This may mean you will here from me less... wish me luck!

Regards,
Freddie

p.s. Sorry no more nice roof outfit photos... now that it's nice out, it's way too crowded up there for me to take pictures!

Coming to Terms

So, three days of work and I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm going to have to wear work clothes. I kind of expected this, but didn't want to admit it. They'll still of course be my-style work clothes, with a little twist (ie: floral docs=best and coolest work boots ever) but I'm going to have to wear jeans and shorts and t-shirts a lot of the time and just get over it. However, I hope to come up with lots of other things to post about and will certainly be dressing extra cute on my days off to compensate ;)

I did however make an effort with my outfits for my first two days and wore some of my new items to boot. The hat (which I need to photograph again and closer up--it has a cute little bow you can't really see) and short overalls are new from Urban Outfitters. The short-alls are open in the back except for the straps which cross like suspenders. They were also marked as on sale for $29.99 and rung up for $9.99... score! I really wanted to wear my new floral tights from topshop with them but they got a teeny snag while taking them out of the package and I was super worried about getting them snagged even more on some wood or something at work.

{new hat from urban, shirt by me, target leggings I cut to make shorts, navy keds}


{new overall shorts from urban, target cardigan and tights, ? white shirt, vintage floral docs}
Also, you can see my at home bike (yes, it's a different one) behind me. I've been riding to and from work everyday and it's a little small and squeeky but has a cute little basket and horn.

Anyway, work so far has it's goods and bads. I'll talk about today though because today was mostly good :) It was supposed to rain and be gross out and while it was a little chilly it got sunny and much nicer for part of the day. We also had a 5th intern join us today and so far I'm getting along really well with (almost) everyone. We hung out with some goofy guys and I learned to use a chop saw (it was hard to find a good picture- the one I used was bigger and sharper ;) ... I like power tools) :) Then we painted some stairs and the work day ended an hour early for a barbeque with AMAZING food. The park has new caterers this summer and let me tell you they are excellent! Of course, this situation is an incredibly rare occurance, but gotta enjoy it while you got it :)

Regards,
Freddie