classy

per my new year's resolution to learn web design, i just wrapped up a web design class through parsons and will be starting a wordpress design class in a couple weeks. my goal is to work on some more prints/stationery this summer and have my online portfolio/shop up and running by august, so stay tuned for more updates. (check!)

i also took a super fun terrarium-building class at sprout home in williamsburg last month.  i loved it so much, that i decided to sign up for another class in a couple weeks with my friend amanda. if i had it my way, my apartment would be covered in these little guys...

(aaaand check!)

chicago: a first

i visited the windy city for the first time in mid-october and practically fell in love. i wish i had had more time to explore (hard to do so when you're there for work), but perhaps i'll return sometime in the not-too-distant future?

a few highlights for me were eating dinner at big star in wicker park (think tacos and margaritas on an open-air patio), and eating/drinking/staying the night at longman & eagle in logan square. their modest six room hotel situated above the restaurant/bar is beyond hip. the little details (down to your very own pair of ear plugs for light sleepers) were greatly appreciated. i will definitely be staying there again on my next visit.

{requisite "bean" sculpture photo, chicago}

{millenium park, chicago}

{room at longman & eagle}

{longman & eagle}

{in-room amenities, longman & eagle}

{longman & eagle}

adventures out west

my final work trip this fall was a three-week jaunt to the west coast (los angeles, san francisco, and portland with a few personal days in seattle). here are a few highlights:

{LACMA}

 {halloween cupcake, west hollywood}

 {little brother weekend visit in los angeles}

 

 {san francisco}

{golden gate bridge, san fran}

{powell's books in portland}

 {my sweet friend claudia at the ace hotel, portland}

{voodoo doughnuts, portland}

{pdx signage}

 {mt. rainier, train to seattle}

{train to seattle}

{public market, seattle}

{space needle and me, seattle}

you say you want a resolution

i finally finished reading vladimir nabokov's lolita after having
put it down some months ago. (one of my resolutions is to finish
reading books i've only read half-way through.) next up? faulkner's
as i lay dying. and after that? what is the what (eggers),
bel canto (patchett), life of pi (martel), etc.

oy vey! i'll get through this in a year, right?

in other news, my sister ginny came for a visit this past weekend.
we had a delightful time hanging out with my co-workers
(as evidenced by alex's photos below), and i can't wait to see
her and her hubby jesse again soon soon soon!

*sisters "talking" on the pay phone

{photos courtesy of alex}

highs, lows and uh-ohs

while 2009 certainly had its ups and downs, i'm more than ecstatic to have ended it on such a high note. what could be better than ringing in a new year with some of your nearest and dearest?

my sweet friend jocelyn (who is quite the talented designer--graphic, jewelry and otherwise) took a couple snapshots to remember our night by.

{photographs courtesy of jocelyn negron}

for several years now, my friends and i have played this game called "highs, lows and uh-ohs" (which originated during our weekly family-style dinners in college). we would go around in a circle and share the "high," "low" and "uh-oh" moments of the week.

in keeping with tradition, we did the same for the year 2009. my "high" moment of 2009 was hands down starting my new job at the new school; the "low" moment being the dark time when i was sad about my old job; and the "uh-oh" moment being eviction from my month-old apartment situation in late september (and, consequently, being homeless for three weeks until we found a new place) because my landlord failed to comply with city building codes. sheesh! some year, huh? t.g.i.2010!

here today, gone tomorrow

i've been on the road traveling for work for about two and a half weeks already, and i'm nearing the end of my last leg. i'm currently hiding out at a coffee shop in winston-salem, nc, crossing my fingers that the worst of hurricane ida's rains have passed. my trip south started off on a good note: highs in the 70s with clear, sunny skies. that all changed yesterday when our friend ida decided to beat the carolinas with all she's got. eek!

i'd be lying if i said i wasn't trying to prolong my stay in winston-salem for fear of bordem in the hotel room that awaits me in charlotte. i've mostly enjoyed my solo adventures (read: recruitment travel), but i'm ready to get home at this point. i still have a few more days left of my north carolina travel... once saturday rolls around, though, i'm heading back to le city. mmm can't wait to finish the sewing projects i left behind (new curtains and [gasp] an anthropologie-imitation quilt, perhaps?).

i swung through athens this past weekend to see my family (my sister and brother-in-law were down from baltimore, and my brother lives there now). what. a. treat. i stayed with my dear friends nathan and bridget, whom i've posted about previously. i always laugh about it, but the only thing i really ever feel like doing when i visit athens is eat at all my favorite restaurants... go figure! my friend andrew even told me that if someone was on the hunt for me in athens, they'd know exactly where to find me. my route is much too predictable, i suppose :)

alright, time to brave the weather/drive/boredom (in that order).

before you go: i just put together this slideshow for my friend katharine, who recently left to teach english in tolosa/san sebastian, spain for a few months. her birthday is coming up, so i made this little gem for her... set to the tune of "only you can make you happy" by au revoir simone.


happy birthday, love.

newness

i feel like i have a renewed sense of purpose.

ok, that sounds cheesy now that i re-read it, but it's the truth. there have been a lot of changes in my life recently (some great, others not as great), but overall, i'd say i'm pretty excited for what's in store...

i moved into a new apartment about two weeks ago in greenpoint, brooklyn. my roommate/college friend daniel and i are prepping for some awesome home improvements and decorating this weekend, which is going to be a blast!

i also started a new job this week. i now work for eugene lang college - the new school for liberal arts. it's a total breath of fresh air. after working in admissions for two years when i was in college, i'm jazzed i get to slip back into higher education. the people i work with are delightful, the new school is the jam, and i'm planning to take some classes through parsons the new school for design in the spring (one of the perks of being a new school employee). the best part is that i finally have the time and resources to explore hobbies/endeavors that have slipped by the wayside in the past year or so. whatever those may be.

[sigh] life. is. good.

{photo courtesy of paper tissue}