Holiday Sweater Time

Remember when it was before christmas and not actually February already? Somehow time just ZOOMED on by and I couldn't even get any decent blog-a-loging in. First and foremost, hello to all the people who have just started reading! I can tell I already like you, mostly because you feed my narcism.

Secondly, its like, been a hot minute, but not taking a few minutes, however seasonally un-appropriate, to talk about the fabulous Holiday Sweater Party that Blaine and I threw would make me a Grinch. Why, it would be down right Scrooge-like!

My dog was not invited- but on Christmas he wore a sweater because he likes to and it makes him look handsome. Plus its got pockets for all the things he has to carry.

This is Blaine- and he takes me on the best dates. You might think you have taken a lady on a date that knocked her socks off, but you didn't because you're not Blaine.

That lipstick that Blaine is wearing, the color is called Leading Lady, he stole it from me on my birthday. This is what he had to say about the subject-

me: lets go to the bar we went to for my birthday

where you STOLE LEADING LADY

Blaine: STOLE!?!?! more like drunkenly liberated and applied to everyone in sight

i offered to give her back!

ten minutes go by

Blaine: we have duel custody over leading lady

What is even more important to know is that Blaine was the one who originally gave me the lipstick because he felt he no longer had a use for it, as in he went to Sephora and spent 22 dollars on it because there was a time that he had need for it. And then he needed it back because I had to go to the Sephora and buy another tube. I am realizing that I could actually write a whole post just on Leading Lady debauchery and funny texts regarding the lass, but this is about Holiday Sweaters, which it must be noted encompasses Ugly Sweaters, but casts a wider net. These subtleties should be recognized.

Our facebook invite to the masses went like this-

Because we have an unlimited supply of love for holiday sweaters but not an unlimited season an event must be had.

this is not a holiday celebration
this is a celebration in honor of holiday sweaters
I think the distinction is important
a celebration of awful holiday sweaters
co-sponsored by grandpa's and bad taste everywhere

Specialty cocktails and a bar crawl come free with your participation. And obviously there is a dress code, don't be a douche, we're giving you plenty of time to get your act together.

Crafting was especially encouraged, and I crafted the goddamn shit outta this amazing sweater Kirsten had lent me last year. That fucking cat needed a santa hat so hard. Also please note the sweet stockings Blaine hand personalized for the occasion!

Laura gets first place in the crafting bonaza. She made zomie santas and brains presents. HOLY COW! I also had no idea that Laura was into zombies, so I learned something new about Laura.

Grand Crafted Sweater Prize, however, went to Caleb and Jackie for making a hat that lights up, a 40 oz holder that is a stocking and sewing actual christmas bobbles onto a sweater. Plus matching outfits were all the rage! Just ask Rosalie and Lester....

... uh I mean Lisa and Isaac. Lisa found these amazing vintage holiday sweaters that were actually once her parents. If ugly sweaters are wrong, I don't want to be right! I mean the detailing in Lester/Isaac's sweater, those are PEOPLE either golfing or ice skating, being watched by other people! In a park! Near an office building!Roz was on "anti biotics" and "wasn't drinking."

Jealous of Santa, we tried to make our own beards from Jackie's garland.

In fact Jackie was so jealous of Santa she later did this-

Its ol' St.Jackie on her dresser/sleigh with three tiny "reindeer!"

And her voice lifted through the cold New York air with cheer-

ON BLAINE! ON CALEB! ON ASHLEY!

HAPPY SWEATERS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Why don't we do it in the road?

A little teaser...

Duck Eggs

Yes, yes- I've been naughty. Its been almost a month! So much has happened- including a new job for me! (and fashion week, bastille day at le bain, weekend trips to visit friends, plus next month is do it myself month, but more on all this later) That is part of the reason that I've been MIA, trying to adjust to the new schedule, making sure I have my ducks in a row (digression, the co-op had a sign next to the eggs section claiming they had duck eggs. I searched for them and upon finding none, asked a receiving coordinator for them- to which he replied "There are no more." Dejected I continued shopping only to be paged over the PA minutes later "Will the shopper who requested duck eggs please find me, we have them!" BALLER! I took the massive box from this hands and let me tell you, the box is huge because THEY ARE HUMUNGOUS! I brought them home and have yet to eat any. Truth be told, I am a bit nervous- but I'm excited all the same. I was also away all weekend so I was not duck egg-ing it up. I'll try to remember to let you know how it goes).

Anyways my first day of work I jumped right in and went to a party with my new co-worker. We headed into to SoHo to the NY Spaces fete at Sicis' showroom. YES! That amazing tile showroom where they do things with tile you never thought possible.

Happy birthday Mister President.
So in addition to amazing displays they had rows where you could just help yourself to tile samples. And it was just beautiful to look at. And rainbow bright-y.

Tie Dying

Rebecca is one of those fantastic ladies who while sometimes takes a wild ride on the train to crazy town, most of the time its a good kind of crazy. She's always making. She's a maker of things. If you want to feel inspired, watch her finger some new fabric she's just bought, or pull out plastic baggies filled with different kinds of beads and talk about its potential, her plans for its future. The best part is unlike most, she follows through. If you stop by a few weeks later, you can see the finished product, a gorgeous skirt, or a stunning necklace. There is no bullshitting in Reboc's world.
She decided that the latest thing of interest, besides learning French (she's in Paris right now, don't you know? Avoir l'amusement ? Tu me manques! Et dites bonjour a Agathe pour moi!), is learning how to tie dye. She invited her "besties" over for a day of fun in the sun and Avatar-blue hands.
When I got on the roof I was, admittedly, a few minutes (or an hour) late. But this is how I roll. Everyone was already tying up their tee shirts and pillow cases into little cloth sculptures in order to block the dye and control the pattern. We soaked them in a bath to prepare them for dying.
There were two kinds of dying to try out:
Tom here is doing an indigo bath, which I didn't realize wasn't just dying something blue. I learned that it actually needs to oxidize in order to achieve the correct color. When placing your garment in the bucket to dye it cannot be moved because that will introduce air into the mixture and oxidize the bath. It also cannot touch the bottom because some of the chemicals will have settled to the bottom and I guess its better to leave them undisturbed.
After the garment comes out of the indigo bath we laid them out to dry on this plastic sheeting. The pieces actually came out this awesome neon green and then we WATCHED them turn blue as the air activated the indigo. HOW COOL IS THAT?! Some of us lamented that we wished we could hold on to that great green color to which Rebecca replied "Its indigo, get over it!"
Jon tried out the other kind of dying, which is your more garden variety, sleep away camp style tie dye. We had a reddish purpleish and a yellow to play around with.
While we waited for our clothes to accept the dyes the sky put on a magnificent show for us.
And one trip to the laundromat later, we were Tie Dye Champions!
Oh yeah, I cut my hair. Its actually been short for a while, and check it, there's some pink in there too.
All in all this was a most fun day of making and hanging and drinking beers- and summer's not quite over so GET ON IT!

Camp Lo

One day, way back when snow was still on the ground, I got an email asking me to come to Camp Lo from Terry, my Boston pal. Not really knowing the fuck Camp Lo was I inquired and I got this email responding to my inquiry-

hey nora,

camp lo is the best time of the year.

charlie or ashley never told you about it?

you should come... seriously,

terry-

So Camp Lo was to remain shrouded in mystery...
After some back and forth with Charley and Jersey (no one I know calls her Ashley...) I figured out it was like a sleep away camp for "grown ups" complete with an arts and crafts table, boating, tubing, hiking, and drinking. Lots of that.
And then I forgot because snow and cold doesn't make me want to leave my well heated apt and think about living on an island on Lake George.

Fast forward several months- the gang's all here, in size order, on a dock.... waiiitttinngg for the mystery boat to pick us up with our gear.
The prep email we all received said something to the effect of
"You don't have to call, just be there by 4 and you'll get on the boat. If you miss the last boat, you don't get to come to the island until the next day."
To pass the time Charley had the really awful idea of playing badminton with himself right on the edge of the dock.
45 minutes later we decided to call.
And our trip was able to begin! Being a city gal, getting on a boat to get to an island where there is nothing really like civilization at all is really exotic. Even if is only a ten minute boat ride tops. And a walkie talkie. And iPods.
The NYC kids (us) were supposed to be on clean up duty after dinner, but I missed the memo and came too late to really help. I contributed by taking photos of Babs cleaning the skillet. She seemed to be having such a good time I didn't want to impede on her fun.
And later that night we played round after round of 13-person-teamed Flip Cup. It was my third time playing. Ever.
I loved it!
We must have played close to 10 rounds of the game. My team won all but 9 of them.
(see what I did there?)
The next day it RAINED every single moment. This didn't stop anyone from going on a boat, tubing, or swimming in the lake. The weather just contributed to making me sleepy as fuck, resulting in the most EPIC NAP EVER! Now that's what I call vacation.
Babs made her beer can carpet all by herself! Babs also loves skull caps and Joe Boxer bathing suits.
And any favorite rainy day activity- FACE PAINTING TIME! By the time I left most ladies had facial hair. Its tres chic indeed.

3rd Ward Music Machine

About a zillion years ago I headed over to the 3rd Ward to check out this interactive music installation they were raving about. Guess what!? I totes loved it.
The artist had created this electronic board that was basically like a metal piano keyboard that did not move. When a key was touched, it activated the kinetic parts, mallets hitting the metal curved bars. What was really cool is the sculpture went all the way down the hallway, taking over the whole space, creating pathways and visual interest.
There was a nice moment where everyone shut up and the artist played for us:

The Creator's Project

I got an email a few weeks ago saying I should sign up now for the Creator's Project. I read the rundown, Interpol, Mark Ronson, XXXchange, NASA, Sleigh Bells, Spike Jonez, Graffiti Research Lab, arts, all at Milk Studios. Plus free booze. Yeah- I signed up right quick.
Little did I know exactly how cool this event was going to be. It well surpassed my expectations. Its impossibile to explain everything that happened here because it was a total sensory overload and there was SO much going on at all times, but I'm going to make the attempt.
Also- I have to say never have I been so pleased with the staff. The security guards were helpful and polite instead of assholes, the event staff were super chill and calm instead of stressed out. In fact, I'd say they were happy to be working the event. It was so well organized, everything came together with close to perfect timing. No waiting around for an act or event to start, and the crowding was kept to a minimum. Whoever organized this event, you go girl, it was as close to perfect as you could have hoped, and the people working it made all the difference.
Spike Jonez screened a really sweet film about robots in love. I won't ruin it for you but I will say it tugged on my heartstrings. The short featured a band that played during the movie and provided much of the sound track. The last scene had a really charming song to bring the film to a bittersweet end and as the last frame flickered against the screen, the screen rose to reveal the band playing behind it. The had actually played the last song live. It was a beautiful surprise. AND THEY WERE WEARING GOLD JUMPSUITS!
This was a really interesting/creepy installation. These two very attractive models would stand, android like, in front of the Plexiglas cone. As one approached it the boy on the right would take you into the cone, seat you down and say "Look into the scanner." Then everything went dark and the participant would be almost blinded by the light of the scanner. A curt motion was made to leave and it was over. A minute later a distorted version of the face of the participant would be projected above the cone on a circular screen.
This was a nice video installation that was a nice escape from the loud noises and crowds. Very calming in a way.
I might have enjoyed this interactive installation the most. A cube made of LED lights strung from the ceiling that the viewer could walk into and have an experience. While I was waiting my turn to go inside I could watch everyone else. It appeared that once a new person entered the piece the cube would choose a new sound-and-light show for each viewer. This is what happened when Barbara went inside-
This installation disappeared itself once the shows really started going. Basically one could play these instruments and they were connected to a video panel on the wall. When a drum head was hit it would play a short video clip. Very cool. There was a lag that was almost a full second so you couldn't quite get a rhythm going. Very annoying.
The only installation I didn't play with was the video game hacks. They were obviously popular becuase there was always a line and I hate waiting on line really. However, it is with regret as they did look creative, well produced and fun to engage with.
Remember how I said the Creator's Project was well organized. Let me elaborate on that a little bit more. They really took technology to the next level. There were interactive touch screen kiosks on every floor that had a schedule of when and where things where taking place, a map of each floor and information about each of the events. There were flat screens hanging on the walls saying "Hey! Check out this thing going on here right now!" to remind us what was hot and happening. Plus instant updates from their twitter feed right on the wall screens. PLUS instant live video feeds of other events happening in different parts of the building. The second Interpol's set was over a screen flew down and we were able to watch the end of Die Antwood's set, which was probably more fun to experience in person, but still cool that we could watch it, as it was happening, instead of trying to run through a crowd of people trying to get up stairs to catch those last sweaty minutes. Very very well done, you can color me impressed.
ON TO THE JAMZ!
We caught some of Sleigh Bells. Now I am in love with their music, I can't get enough of A/B Machines. I think they have put together some catchy-as-fuck tunes and my co-worker and I often have them blasting out of our computers and giving our office a swift kick in the ass. If only I could say their live show was as good. Because its not. Its kinda just noise. Letdown.
Oh man, Interpol. Can I just sum it up like that? They were number one on my list of bands that I had to see. It was my first time seeing them, and it was so good. Words cannot express. Neither can my photography really. What can I say... I was in le moment.Neon Indian puts on a damn good show, complete with Theramin playing.
And Mark Ronson ended the night in the most perfect way. The hugest, sassiest, balls-to-the-wallsiest dance party. I can't decide what was the best part- oh wait yes I can. Dancing really hard to "Work It" by Missy, making eyes at a really hot dude, and then realizing that dude is Josh Hartnett. Yeah, that was the best part.
I dare anyone to top this festival. DARE YOU TO. And if you do, please be sure to invite me, darling.
Video coming soon!