keep shining baby

and one that they might not be too embarrassed about. although they might not think the hat is so stylish in about 20 years. but doesn't dad look hot? {see previous post to make sense of this post.}

embarrassing the children

these are the photos that make kids say 'my parents were such dorks'.

bring us a shrubbery!

merry christmas from the apartment shrubbery!

seriously, another great year of writing about my mishaps and creations, disappointments or accomplishments, life or lack thereof. but it wouldn't have been nearly as gratifying without all of you actually listening to me! thanks a bunch, i'll try to write to you all before the new year but if i don't, have a happy one of those too!

cheers!

some last-minute gift making

i've wanted to make these for a couple of years now and i finally got to it. talk about procrastinating. i love them so much i'm thinking of making a bunch with labels for my own photo storage needs. topped off with tinker tags and vintage buttons and these are finally ready to give.

brrr baby brrr

i woke up completely disappointed at the utter lack of snow on the ground {not even a dusting, really?}. then i went to work and it started to snow {hallelujah}. then work closed early! that never happened in syracuse! not even in the worst storms!

so here i am, cozy and warm in my oswego sweats, drinking hot cocoa and listening to christmas music while waiting for the christmas shrub to dry out. i did it, i broke down and bought a leetle potted tree and some lights. i'll create a warm christmasy glow in this tiny apartment if it kills me. which it won't. but it will make me warm and fuzzy inside. just like this hot cocoa. cheers everyone!

snow day, please and thank you, a post about niceties

so we're supposed to get some big storm tonight. like a whopping 6 inches. phhbbtttt. please. that's like piddly snow. but i'm hoping it cripples the city transportation and i get an extended weekend out of the deal.

and shame on all the rude christmas-time new yorkers. seriously people, am i invisible or are you just too rude to avoid barreling into me? maybe you could stand around some more {directly in the way, of course} and try to figure out where you are or where you're going? because none of us have to be to work on time or would like to get into any one of several entrances you are blocking... and men, oh you sad cruel men. you should be ashamed. plopping your big fat butts down on those subway seats and making those of us who have struggled in high heels all day long stand? yes, stand. shame. may you all get a big hairy fat rat in your stockings. or maybe just in your apartments. there's some christmas spirit for ya.

half past five hundred square feet

city life is exhausting. even on the weekends there's not much relaxing going on. i mean, i guess sleeping until one in the afternoon counts as relaxing, but strangely enough, i'd rather be reading books on my sun porch. of course, our sun porch would now be frozen solid amidst two feet of upstate snow. and there would be no sun.

can i tell you how much i am missing having enough room for a big ol' Christmas tree? i'm so tempted to buy a little charlie brown tree and light it up, for nostalgia sake. sad little apartment with no little tree. the husband does not see the downside to this, he only sees a lack of pesky needles to coax out of the carpet, no wasted dollars on an already dying piece of the forest, no ornaments to unpack and repack. i miss the lights most of all.

but it's not all depressing inner monologue around here! we rearranged the bedroom this weekend, which really helped with the whole "we're cramped and need a bigger place" feeling. seriously. never underestimate the ability to walk around the bed. and night stands: they sure are handy.

black and blue and blue

a couple of the funky ladies from the pah tee. so lovely and fun. i dig these chics, they're super easy to hang out with and frankly that's a huge quality i look for in a friend. AND they love target, starbucks and exchanging little gifts, just like me.

off to another sample sale tomorrow am! hoping it's a good one and i can finish up the christmas list, wrap some gifts this weekend, order the gift cards and reLAX. trying to simplify this christmas for sure. i heart sample sales. i bought some fantastic keihls lip gloss for 3 dollars which apparently lists for 17.50! i felt like such a bargain shopper, and it's super nice and not sticky so i bought all the colors they had and chucked the old stuff. cause i'm efficient like that. actually, that was pretty wasteful of me. now i'm ashamed.

it's a party, my dear.

wait, you mean i haven't told you all about the party?!? so sorry, but it's been crazy since the moment we got home.

so the gist of it is this: it was a lot of fun and work and leftovers. next time i think i need to be more organized, but the place looked great and the crowd was stellar. mostly it was friends and some women from a dental office (host works there), but everyone bought something which was great. i ended the night with a lot less inventory and a lot more ideas for the next one.

and thanks to everyone who showed! sorry about the crappy photos, i got home and realized i hadn't taken any pictures of all the great fattening food that nobody wanted to touch, or the host, or for that matter many of the guests. i was just buzz buzz buzzing around the whole time!

fob ulous

some more stock for the party. but that's it. i have to stop or i'll end up with too much stuff and not enough people to buy it. although, the attendant list is getting longer and longer by the day. i'm really excited about this whole thing. i'm hoping it gets a good response and creates some buzz.

i have so much left to do and no time either, work party tomorrow night! well, we're leaving for ct first thing saturday morning, so i guess i'll have all saturday to prepare and i have a few helpers as well, so it'll all work out, right? i just want it to be perfect, or close anyway. can we say nervous?

looking forward to seeing you all! (well, some of you all.)

saint patrick was rich

we had a chance to explore the interior of the cathedral when our guests were here last week. mostly to get out of the cold and partly to break up our 5th avenue walk. it's an incredibly beautiful building and the details are inspiring. you really have to appreciate all the hard work (and money) that's gone into the makeup of the cathedral. i almost felt like i was a tourist in Rome.

so in other news, with all the free time we don't have, we cut down our tv watching schedule. shows that didn't make the cut, because basically they suck this season are: heroes, pushing daisies, my name is earl, fringe, and the biggest loser. the ones that made the list: greys, private practice (which might be on it's way out after lastnights episode), the office, how i met your mother, chuck, house, new adventures of old christine (might be cut soon) and life. i may be missing some, but i'm getting sick of tv. anyone else? i think it's just the hustle and bustle of this time of year. i feel there are so many other things that need to get done. oi.

sneaky peeky

of some items appearing at the (uber fabulous) shop party this weekend in connecticut. cute patches on onesies and fantastic ribbons made into useful hairclips. i've also got a bunch of pendants, along with some gretta bags and more barrettes. then there's eye pillows and key fobs and earrings, oh my. won't you join me? i'll give you a cupcake!

ps: i've also received some shop love here: kojodesigns.

bag in action

as seen on the streets on manhattan worn by my husband. he's so chivalrous. usually he offers to carry my bag for me with reluctance but this one he's so proud of he's more than willing to sport the man-bag look! doesn't he look dashing?

there's always a first

like our very first hosted thanksgiving day dinner. check out all that sweet potato casserole. lots of leftovers too, mmmm.

happy turkey day

here we are, bright and early at the macy's day parade! note to self, get up earlier for better views, don't let people push in front of you and bring better gloves.

by the time we left all our extremities were rendered useless and we were starving, so we grabbed some hot cocoa, a pastry and headed back to the eerily empty subway. all in all, i would definitely go again, but i think someone with children would enjoy it immensely (hint hint carrie or sarahs). it was a fun experience and not at all as difficult as i would have imagined. and the balloons are HUGE in person.

so now we're back home cooking turkey! happy thanksgiving everyone! (and happy black friday shopping tomorrow!)

just hanging around

actually that's a lie. i've been baking and getting ready for my first full thanksgiving dinner prepared entirely by me. and trader joes.

also going to the parade tomorrow morning, i'll let you know how insane the place is, and probably post some photographic proof. see you on the subway at 6am!

finally

the date's been set, so for anyone who's interested email me at tinkerellen@yahoo.com for the street address. carrie was kind enough to lend me her house for the night, so i thought i would be nice enough to not shout her address around the internet.

mb and sarah, i fully intend to see your pink-lovin' butts there.

to walk like a new yorker

apparently you must keep your head down. at all times. the problem is, i always look up. always. but who could resist giant hanging snowflakes?

some crafting goodness

so i've been working all weekend on building up my inventory for the upcoming sale, but along the way i needed to get a couple of projects done for my apartment and myself. since the futon stay-put tabs are a bit of a snoozer, i'll show you my new messenger bag.

i fell in love with this plaid from the thrift shop across the street and they just happened to have a complimentary canvas bolt, all in all i spent about ten dollars on the materials. and nothing went to waste. i used the fringe edges of the plaid to create the trimming for all the pockets. and oh the pockets. there's the one for my mini-wallet, my metrocard, my reading material and my sunglasses along with some miscellaneous pockets thrown in there for good measure. oh and there's a leather bottom. the husband's not normally impressed with all my crafting ventures but he seriously didn't believe me when i said i made this bag. and if it impresses him {the man who never lies to make people feel better} then i'm proud of my handy work.

now, back to more laundry and general cleaning in preparation for our guests this week!

ketch up

what a busy life we lead. i'm looking forward to a productive yet relaxing weekend. then we have friends coming in all next week for thanksgiving so it starts all over!

so this past weekend we took a last-minute trip to connecticut. love that we're only two hours from home now BUT you really have to leave super early or fairly late to avoid any traffic. in other words, it took us three hours this time. BUT we made it in time for our double date with ben and carrie. dinner and a movie! we went to see 'fireproof' which i highly recommend if you can make it past some of the forced dialogue and so-so acting, not on cameron's part of course. the message of the movie trumps all of that anyway, so go see it.

the next day we spent at the outlets (stellar deals at the RL outlet, although the line in GAP was too ridiculous to stick around) and then church twice in one day! we haven't done that in forever, but it was really nice, we're still having trouble finding the type of church we're used to here in the city. anyway, that night i handed over the pictures to the excited bride from back in October. she's so happy with everything which in turn makes me SO glad that i did it, although i'm worried she's going to plaster her walls with the photos and then you'll really notice all the imperfections.

another announcement: i'll be having a tinkerwiththis sale in bristol, connecticut sometime in the beginning of december. i'll send around invites via email, which you of course can forward to anyone you know who would be looking for cute handmade Christmas gifts! i'll be finalizing a date and sending out invites (along with making some more inventory) this weekend SO if you want to be included on that list, email me: tinkerellenATyahoo.com (i'm really looking forward to meeting some online buyers in person!) OH! and i had an email this morning, my pendants will be featured on a blog sometimes next week. i'll let you know when and where that is once it's up :)

well, if you've made it this far through my photo-lacking extended blog post then there's something in it for you. i have passes to a ralph lauren sample sale that's taking place here in new york city on december 3rd and 4th. it allows you access to the sale and they accept visa and mastercard. from what i hear it's a great sale and they have everything from home & accessories to men, women's, kids and baby clothes. if anyone of you wants a pass, and think you can make it into the city either that wednesday or thursday let me know! better sooner than later too so i can get the pass to you in time. tinkerellenATyahoo.com. just think, a fun day of shopping in nyc, plus the opportunity to pretty much do all your christmas shopping, what's better than that?!

the ominous walk home

scary looking right? it was actually quite nice. thanks to the drizzling rain there weren't that many people out and about. i loved this street too. a quiet dead end with huge trees on either side and giant brownstone apartments.

oh and there's something wrong with my flash. i never really liked using the flash anyway, so i'll be experimenting with dark images and keeping a steady hand.

as if

the bags weren't ugly enough, they splattered the walls of their fifth avenue store with japanime throw-up.

anyway, today was pretty uneventful. i did however eat at a 'hale and hearty soups' for the first time. and i checked out this paper shop on 57th which turned out to be a great place to spend money but i'm on a budget so i walked out empty handed (i'm saving up for a sample sale in a few weeks...cause i need more RL digs).

oh and i learned if you must wear light pants on the subway, do not lean against the wall.

blue skies shinin' on me

well thanks for the encouragement of one! no, seriously though melissa made a great point. since i have a very very (very) short-term memory i worry about forgetting all the small things i'll cherish about living here.

so i really am going to try to do this, i even set up an album template so i can print them out and eventually bind them. sorry if the photos are lacking, but i'll be relying mostly on my small point and shoot.

this is obviously central park. i waited forever for the leaves to change and then i got busy and now the leaves are falling and i'm so upset that i missed peak. i'm also upset that it's starting to get chilly. but i can't complain, it's been such a long summer here!

the 4/5

i'm thinking of documenting my time here in photos (as if i didn't do that already). i want to create a sort of image diary, one photo a day. i know i won't get to posting them every day but it's worth a shot. i want to follow through with this project so i have something to flip through at the end of however long we'll be here.

blogtastic

so now that you all think i live this hugely exciting life here in new york city, i thought i would set the record straight. i spent the other night cleaning out the fridge. then i walked to trader joes in the rain and went grocery shopping since we were in dire need of pretty much everything (i was fairly happy about this since it was a good excuse to wear my uber-cute rainboots). now i'm waiting for the laundry to finish. i know it, you guys are all so jealous.

myst-erious

come on, who doesn't love the ocean AND fall?!? it's a lethal mix for me. so much so that i forced the husband out of the car in bitter cold windy weather to snap some pictures. i think he's regretting nurturing my photo habit with expensive toys.

i love those 'touristy' coastal towns in the fall and winter. it's just locals and half the shops are shut down for the season but i love the serenity of empty streets and beaches.

there were several houses on the market in this area. can you imagine waking up to this every morning?! or biking to the beach? or all that fresh air??

toothache

is this little girl sweet or what? i'm glad i got plenty of pictures before they started eating...

it's fall around you

we're back from another whirlwind weekend. went to a wedding in the boston area. our hotel was on the ocean people, i was in heaven. i can't even explain my love for the ocean, i'm a bit obsessed frankly. anyway, everything was beautiful, there were a few good stories in there about the traffic and the rehearsal, but i'll leave that for another time. for now i'll leave you with a picture of us, with j looking not so annoyed as last time. and my hair looking quite fantastic don't you think?

i give you sheep!

because i have nothing else right now.

i'm only happy when it rains

it hasn't rained not one bit UNTIL we have visitors who want to see central park. then it pours. but we still got a little site-seeing in before the weather went to crap.

the results are in

The bride loves them! All of them! This is a huge relief to me. It's like you can work really hard on something, put your heart into it, but until someone gives it the seal of approval, it doesn't even exist.

Oh and, still sick, still bored. I can't take another day of this, but from what I understand, a lot of other people are under the weather as well.

baby keyfobs

I'm cooped up in a tiny apartment with bad daytime tv and a box of kleenex. So I crafted a bit. Finally finished a couple of grettas so those will be up on etsy in time for Christmas shopping. Watched Mansfield Park again, lucky for me it was on some random channel. Made some ribbon bands for my new watch. Came up with these little mini-keyfobs with some scrap webbing and ribbon. I think these will be useful for wrapping a finger through and pulling out of a dark purse.

so basically, i'm bored.

hot water + fresh lemon juice + honey

A trick to soothing your throat and keeping your voice from sounding like an 80 year old smokers.

Feeling a bit under the weather but I managed to spend most of the weekend outdoors in the crisp fall air. I know I know, it sounds ridiculous, but it's the only thing that seemed to make me feel better. Oh and it's pretty handy to walk only a couple of blocks when you're feeling lousy and need some meds.

A trick I learned this weekend: 'No Pudge' fudge brownie mix made with raspberry soy yogurt is ABSOLUTELY delicious. And although I didn't get to make an apple pie this weekend, the brownies more than made up for it.

Kudos to Jen, the New Zealandite

This is one of the funnest birthday gifts i've ever gotten. Not just because i love pink, and Coach, and wallets in general, but because it's so well thought out!

My lovely cousin who used to be a new yorker was bagging on me about my mondo-hugo wallet the last time she came to visit. "What are you doing?! You can't just whip out your wallet in the middle of manhattan!" Apparently she thinks i'll get mugged for my bank card and my five dollars in quarters, oh and my checks, my khols card, old navy card, polo ID, my extra Subaru key, ok, so maybe it IS one big hot mess.

So she suggested a small teeny wallet with an all in one compartment, easy to pop in and out of your bag inconspicuously while paying for that street vendor hot dog, hold the mustard. So this is her gift to me, as cute as can be and so very useful. There's a separate pocket for my metrocard, a zippered compartment for some money and a debit card along with a tres chic plaid interior.

I LOVE it Jen! if you weren't so freaking far away I would give you a hug. Move to nyc please?!

everything that's wrong with me

or things i do poorly: {as requested by someone who should know i'm not all fabulous and together...)

i'm never on-time. well, rarely. if i have ten minutes to get ready, i'll take 15, an hour, an hour and fifteen. basically i could have enough time or not enough and i'll always be ten minutes late. and my husband's not the punctual type either, so together we're a dynamically behind-schedule duo.

i hate to clean the bathroom. absolutely loath it. so my mirrors are always spotted and the floor is always covered in grime. hey that's what bath mats are for.

i'm bad at remembering birthdays. horrible. i've made books over the past with everyone's listed BUT then i forgot to look in the book. so unless i love you dearly and grew up going to your birthday parties, don't expect a call. i wish i was better at it, because everyone loves to be pleasantly surprised on the day they dread most.

i'm chuck full of ideas, but i never follow-through. i'm a serious commitment-phobe. my husband says we would be millionaires by now if i could just translate my creativity into a business, but i can't, because then it would be work and a deadline and i'm not a huge fan of either.

i have tons of bad habits and can never create good ones. i should take my vitamins every day but instead i leave my towel on the bed. i should exercise every now and then, instead i eat a cake every now and then. i should finish projects, instead i shelve the ones i'm working on and start new ones. etc etc.

there are so many things wrong with me i could start a separate blog called 'tinkersastinker" but i'll resist. and most likely will bury this post later today with a beautiful picture of my birthday present from jen! which of course, makes me miss her even more because it's so perfectly thoughtful and useful all at the same time.

daydreaming of simple times

we've got big plans for when we finally settle down in connecticut. a couple of acres of land next to an apple farm, a few chickens, one cow, a goat and maybe some sheep. {and free eggs and milk for all our friends not to mention the prospect of a petting zoo for the kiddies.} all inspired by a weekend "breather" an hour north of the city. deep breath...ahhh.

quality of life is measured differently by everyone, but fresh air and room to spread out are enough for me. someday we'll have a fireplace and a view. and perhaps some free apples. until then we'll have road trips.

why isn't anyone else updating?

i'm 31 and entitled to try new things. like red lips. and since it's all natural and only cost me a few dollars, i won't feel guilty if i never leave the house wearing it.

things at work are going well, i really like the job and the people are great to work with. plus i love the location and the fairly easy commute. i'm buying new clothes left and right {yay} but i just unpacked all my fall stuff and realized, much to my dismay, that i do not need any more sweaters.

i'm finally enjoying "mansfield park" even though it took about 100 pages to become interesting, and then i left it at work...have a dentist appointment next week. which sounds like a strange thing to mention, but really, finding all new doctors in a new place is always a hassle.

can i just say how tired i am of being busy. i'm yearning for a break from everything, not necessarily a vacation or anything, one weekend at home with absolutely nothing to do would suffice....

well there's my rambling for the night/morning. how about some questions i can answer next post? anyone?

focus on the moment

i couldn't resist, i had to post another.

sneak peek

at the wedding from this weekend. everything went well but i don't want to give too much away before the bride sees them.

thanks for all the birthday wishes and calls. it's been a good one. here's to another year of trying new things!

we love elizabeth

well i have to say, it wasn't what i was expecting but it was fun. yay for free tickets and for trains that run from CT to NYC.

yay yay double yay

people are coming to visit tomorrow. the girls from the C to the T are coming in via train tomorrow a.m. for a taping of 'The View', lunch and maybe some general hanging out goodness afterwards....i'm sure i'll have lots of incriminating photos.

i'm so excited BUT it means that instead of lounging on the couch watching DVR'd Private Practice, or catching up on internetness, i should be packing for my trip to rhode island this weekend. remember that whole wedding photography thing, well it's THIS weekend. already. yup. crazy. and then when i get back it's the day i'm no longer 30, but in my thirties. ugh.

gimmee some tea and company

good to spend a week in manhattan, but better to be home. the more i see of manhattan, the more i like brooklyn. it's quieter here, and drastically less swarming with tourists, which i like. manhattan is so busy, but brooklyn is a place to relax. plus, i was honestly bored out of my mind, because at night all the museums close and then there's just shopping to be had.

but the commute to work was incredible. one express train stop and ten minutes later i was walking into my office. but oh well, now i'll have time to read again...

blood-gushing heart-stopping amazement

look, it's david blaine doing an interview while hanging upside down, at least 6 feet from the ground! it's amazing!! he's upside down!! what an amazing feat of upsidedown-ness. how does he do it? amazing folks, incredibly amazing.

(if you look past him - under the bridge you'll see where i eat my lunch most days...)

gone to the dogs

so i was about to post a picture of david blaine hanging upside down in central park's skating rink, but i thought these dogs were much cuter. and more interesting. and much more of an amazing feat considering none of them were barking or sniffing each others butts.

want one?

so i haven't had much time to work on anything for the etsy shop BUT i did make these little cuties a while back. SO, i thought i would just offer them on the blog, see if i had any takers.

they're both made with heavy duty cotton webbing, silver keyfob hardware and japanese fabrics. pick from either ants or hedgehogs {which are very back-to-school-esqu}. They're 1.25 inches wide and about 5.5 inches long. $7 a piece will include the shipping costs...

first come first buy, email tinkerellen@yahoo.com and let me know which one you want! SOLD, thanks!!

across central park in 12 minutes or less

on the rare occasion that i get to chill out with you crazy bloggers, i relish in feeling like i have 'real friends' and not just made up on the internet ones.

here i am after one sweaty walk with JEFF! would somebody else tell him that his hair is out of control and he needs to cut it. cause he's just not listening to me. and i had to explain to him why you do not eat sushi that you dropped on the park bench. nor do you touch anything in nyc and then touch your food. he doesn't get it.

typical day:

wake up too late. shower, pull hair back, throw on polo shirt, rush to catch train.

train delays due to investigation at brooklyn bridge. get to work late. no big thing. hardly anyone else is in yet. no time to grab the bagel and cream cheese i've grown accustomed to. hungry.

work hard all day long. maybe not too hard. stay late marking up retouch photos.

catch the train home. walk three blocks out of the way to try a new fish market before it closes. craving good fish, but not impressed by the market's prepackaged fillets. buy some fresh cod for too much money then pet a sweet yellow lab outside tied to a street sign pole.

two blocks over to the grocery store for some veggies of which i have none, not even the canned kind. cross the street to buy the husband some sinus medicine. guy not only has the hardest most draining assignment of his career this week, but also has an infection to top things off. misery loves more misery. and nyc likes to keep him busy.

home to the apartment, grab the mail, toss the mail, cook some dinner. wrap up some freelance work while waiting for the rice to cook according to the directions on the back of the box.

husbands home, time to eat, some tv and then off to bed. early to bed, early to hit the snooze button.

and we'll start it all over tomorrow....

juggling it all

i just deleted everything i wrote because it was pointless. instead here's a picture from central park.

at least there's always music

in a busy world.

made for walking

for mom: photographic evidence forever lodged in cyberspace. i bought the boots and indeed had the courage to finally wear them...

well here it is

don't judge me. ha. this is me getting ready in the morning so it's not quite what i ended up with in the end. mostly i've just been pulling it back since it's still stinking hot here. you want to experience oppressive heat: wait for a train underground in the dead of summer in nyc. anyway, here it is. hopefully it's not as horrible as i was describing...

a crafty few hours

fleeting hours. i haven't had much time to do any of this stuff since the job, not that i'm complaining, i love the new job...

so here's a few belts that i managed to whip up out of some leftovers in my stash.

1: a hip-hugging clip belt made out of some sweet royal blue ribbon i've been meaning to use up. i also used a decorative stitch and angled the edges, then finished them with no-fray.
2: a cotton webbing belt with some great kelly green ribbon one of you {i can't remember who} sent me during our supply destash, i love it btw and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it.
3: just in time for back to school, some apple embroidered ribbon i found online, some cotton webbing and silver d-rings.
4: this one's a little experiment, it wraps around my rib cage, giving a sort of empire waist to tshirts and tank tops. it's made out of cotton webbing, dark brown leather, a d-ring and a keyfob clip.
5: what would have been a belt but ended up too short, so i angled the edges and turned it into a little cool weather scarf.

in demand

is a picture of me with the new do, but to be honest, i haven't had the chance or the motivation to take one. i'm not sure how i feel about it yet. i do know that it wasn't what i expected. nor does it look like i took a curling iron to my head. but i'm sure once i get used to it i'll feel a bit more confident. right now i feel like everyone in the universe is staring and pointing at me as i walk by, snickering and mocking behind my back.

so yeah, i'm not used to it quite yet.

and one more for good measure

two posts in one day? you'd think i didn't have anything else to do...

aren't these girls the cutest things ever. seriously. we love these girls. they're so fun to visit and play with and we look forward to watching them grow up and harassing their future boyfriends.

ps: i'm photographing my first wedding next month and i'm nervous!

feel the love. little to the left.

i was featured on a blog! my elly eyepillow was featured here. check it out, it's a cute blog that showcases etsy items with a polka dot theme...the owner was even nice enough to inform me she had picked my product!

also check out this shop: sweet lime skin care. krista's products are all natural and have super awesome labels and packaging...stellar. getcha some!

ghetto fab

this is the hair i *think* i want. i want curl but not like a deep fried potato and i want wave but not so little that i waste my dinero. basically i want sexy just stepped off a horse hair. at least that's what the stylist said.

so i'll either be giddy on friday night or i'll be hugging my straightening iron in the fetal position in the corner of my tiny bathroom with the checkered floor wishing i looked half as good as charlize.

in other news, i'm busy as a weak new orleans levee. not enough time to breathe forget make a fabulous dinner or clean house. and you better appreciate this thread, i looked up two words just to get the spelling right....

jumping on the "change" bandwagon

and you thought i was talking about that guy...

nope. i'm going curly. as of 5:30 next friday....

a kiss to build a dream on

aw. cute no?

calling all buttons

ok, so i have a whole office that my boss and i are trying to decorate in a cool and creative way. one of my ideas is this 'button-wall', which is really just a black tack board covered in 1 or 2" round pins. i plan to pick up these little pins everywhere i find them, but for now we have a lot of wall to cover and i want to expedite the process....

SO, this is where you all come in. have any cool or quirky pins/buttons, anything round, any size that you want to mail to me?? come on, you know you do. maybe something with your college on it? if i could get a pcc alumni button i would just about screech with excitement. maybe something from your hometown? maybe something dumb that you used to pin to your backpack in high school? something floating in your junk drawer?

anyway, email me if you need my address: tinkerellenATyahoo.com

chile cafe

so we found this great thai restaurant in a little neighborhood we've been meaning to explore. the place was great, it's decently priced, i think it was 25 dollars for both our dinners, and it has a cute candle-lit garden area in the back. also the food was pretty good. the ambiance made up for whatever we didn't like about the place, which was nothing.

the area was nice too, we found a quaint little park that i think we want to try to find an apartment next to. it would be the perfect place to cozy up with a book, and it's a little less expensive than the area we're living in now. even though it's only about 5 blocks further into brooklyn.

anyway, hanging out in connecticut today. had lots of luck at the outlets yesterday including some stellar cowboy boots on sale.

lights camera models guacamole

so i feel like the past few weeks have been a blur. it's so amazing everything that's happened to us in the past six months. some good, some incredible, some not so good and some incredible in the bad way. BUT, right now, it's ALL amazing.

i went to a photo shoot on friday and saturday, it was swell. they had tons of food around and i was pleased to see all the models pigging out. until the guacamole incident. then it was no more nachos for the models. so we had to eat them all. and then there were fresh baked cookies and fish/steak for lunch.

the makeup artist was this incredible man with one arm, and we chatted it up between shots. everyone is so nice. anyway, it was a great learning experience, my boss is tres cool and his wife is so much fun. we ended up hanging out with them in manhattan the rest of the day/night. and our stylist is great. i have high hopes that he'll help me find my style au ralph lauren...

so i love my new job. can you tell? i really do. everything's so impressive and there's so much to learn. but i'm taking it all in and trying to dive in head first. everyone around me is pretty helpful and encouraging being that a lot of this is brand new to me. but anyone who knows me is well aware of my love for fashion, er, shopping anyway. i'm not so good at putting the end product together but i'll get there hopefully.

i love the trains here. i bought an unlimited monthly pass so i feel it's a good excuse to explore every single stop on my way home. the more i use it the less each ride costs right?

alright, the husband and i are off to try another neighborhood restaurant. then it's up early tomorrow and driving to connecticut for the weekend.

ps: i'm officially OFF my target addiction. and all my other shopping addictions. pretty much. there's just no time, i don't get home till close to seven!

i told you it would get better

me, jen and maddy on our epic walk across the brooklyn bridge. the thing is pretty impressive to see so up close and personal. and the walk is not that far, i recommend it to any visitors.

it's funny, i'm starting to really get comfortable here. i love my job, i wouldn't mind a bigger apartment, there's great pizza around the corner and i live in nyc. i always thought i would live here someday. it really sunk in when i was running along the promenade tonight soaking in all the tourists and dog walkers and lights. the manhattan skyline was so beautiful, i had to stop and stare for a minute. bright lights, big city. i'm in love.

i miss you

sorry i haven't been around. this whole job thing is really crampin' my style ;)

so far i love my job. there's lots to learn and it's more management and decision making than sitting behind a computer. oh and i get to stare at clothes all day. how fun is that?

anyway, today i was in soho looking at the spring collection, and this friday i get to look in on my first photoshoot. AND i get my shopping discount soon so i get to update my look POLO style.

anyway, until i have something more exciting...