Tae Kwon Do in the Mountains

Every year I go upstate to kick some trees with my fellow TKD'rs. This year was no exception, and I had a blast.
The time upstate consists of making lots of really fatty foods (like OMG the most amazing french fries ever- home made with sea salt, rosemary, and honey- yeeeaaahhh. And chocolate bombs, fettuccine alfredo...), hanging out with people I only see once a year, and sleeping under the stars. We usually stay up until well past 3AM, singing with the guitar, pigging out and being goofy. Or perhaps someone will lead a midnight hike through the woods with no flashlights, or late night ninja practice. I always get deligtfully scared (and also actually just scared) because I think the woods are totes haunted and I keep thinking there are witches watching us run a muck through thier woods and they don't like it and will wait for one of us to get seperated from the group and abduct us...
I only watched the Blair Witch Project once.The last day always ends with a big exhibition and black belt test in the local high school gym. From the high school you can see a farm. That's how rural it is...
During practice we all just do all our forms in the middle of the woods. Start at our white belt forms and go all the way up to your very last without stopping. Me and my ma are black belts, so there are a few. But not as many as some of the upper black belts, who have almost double what we have to do. Its exausting in the best way possible.
Sometimes we just drink tea, sit in the cabin and listen to our headmaster - that's him with his arms crossed.
Its very relaxing, and totally not the city. These aren't the people I normally hang out with even though the majority live in the BK. We don't have much in common, I'm fashion city gal and they are Bay Ridge folks, and I'm always the girl who forgot sweat pants (because I think I own one pair, somewhere... I don't really own work out clothes, or pjs). The trip is like visiting family, I love them no matter who they are, and they love me. I won't take them dancing at the clurb, because that's not thier scene, but we can still kick some trees and go for three mile runs up hills, and that will be awesome.

And now for something completely different

Ghosts? No. Just some Tae Kwon Do-ers, doing forms rapidly in the woods. Totally creepy.

a Year in Review

As my beloved Katie did, I wanted to make a photo journal of the fawesome year I just finished up.
The year started off with bang at my very first Winter Black Belt camp. Very cold, very exciting. A new form, the first of its kind- a two person form- was debuted. I witnessed history.
The Yale club black and white masquerade ball aka Barbara's bizzirthday par-tay, complete with best friend bonding, sexually deviant acts, and cell phone throwing. A good time was had by all, for what we can remember of it.
Oh, and I wore Chanel for the first time
Great and many trips to the Brooklyn Museum for its first Saturday's were had. I saw Judy Chicago's Dinner Party more times than I ever thought I would.
In March I headed over to Chi-city (and started this blog upon my return) to see some art and holler at my some of my most favorite people ever. My heart force.
Sura and I attended a few open studios including Parsons, SVA, Bars, Columbia and Hunter (above.)
As the seasons became warmer I bonded with the kids on the block.

I went to Chicago again, on my very first business trip, and attended Neo Con, contract furniture galore!
I saw the best thing you will ever see.
And then a miraculous night, I saw Agyness Dyen and met Katie. And got really really drizzunk.
I.D. Annual Design review, fabu!
I made out with Diplo.


No I didn't, but I did see him on the ones and twos. Baller.
My best friend came to visit and we went to the farmer's market, DUMBO and much much dancing.
TKD in the mountains summer trip, some new black belts were made!
Oh yeah, New York Paris Tokoyo- Baby, I'm the way to go... or something I don't really remember the lyrics to Richie Rich's one song, but I do remember an amazing time.
Oh yeah, backstage at Fashion Week, the most exhausting week of my life. And so much fun. And so inspiring. Just you wait, February, here I come.
Montreal, a very cool city indeed, received a visit from me and Nick. It was happy to have us. So was Tim.
For the second time this year I saw Michel Gondry, and for the second time in the year I couldn't really breathe, and got all butterflies in my tummy-ish and swallowed all my words and didn't say a word to him.
We added a new member to the fam fam.
The year ended with Katie's quarter century (by they way, that's Tracy on Katie's lap, a most fabulous and amazing lady in her own right, another new friend of the year- and an amazing one... and its totes, not toats)

Here I am, pretending to be Kanye, welcoming you into a new year, new york, new you, new me.

Breakin' wood

Us TKD'ers can kick ass. This is two of my favorite guys, breaking wood.

Alex breaking three inches with his PALM!


Evan, breaking five inches with a CHOP!

Bizzirthday par-tay!

It was basically the ballerist of parties. You wish you were there, or something. My brother came, my ladies came, my TKD'ers came. I love on them. And also, drank eight different types of booze, amazing.

TKD in the mountains

After a very long day of running (6 miles up and down hills) we ended the day with an electric concert at the local campgrounds. This is a photo of the pavilion, I really liked it.
What was amazing about being upstate is that the sky is so dark and the stars are actually visible. Maybe us New Yorkers are so self-important because we have no perception of small we really are.