Perry Ellis

And to end my fashion week coverage- Perry Ellis. Nothing stunning, but I'm into the clothes. Or the models. Or like the music, whatever.

Hey did you know?

I kinda started Tweeting, which is something I said I would totally never do, but now I do. I promise that in general they won't be "I'm brushing my teeth." Except when I feel that teeth brushing would be interesting. Which it probably isn't.

Anyways- here is el link-o.

Since Fashion Week is quick appropaching...

... and I still haven't gotten all my stuff about last fashion week up because I'm a lame-a-tron and also tres busy. The thing that has been taking up all my hours? Oh, I'll share in due time because I'm oh so excited about it.

I was also excited about the Betsey Show because it was bicycle themed and I love me a bike. The end of the show featured a collection that was about what one should wear for New Years Eve. They probably wouldn't really work with a bike but I'm not going to be picky.

RIGHT? How much fun is that collection? And then in typical over the top Betsey Johnson fashion (pun!) she went kuh-razy with the matching outfits at the end and also did her cartwheels as per usual. Yeah- a grandma who cartwheels. No big.

I mean is it high art, and sophisticated? Does any one wear all yellow checker cab outfits? No, but who the fuck cares, hey?

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!

Penguins are RUDE

11:50 AM Ankura has joined

Charles has joined

Charles: hi!

me: I want to talk about the ginger bread man chase all together

me: that was a good day

Charles: awww!

me: a great day even!

Ankura: hahahaha

Charles: super day!

me: as you can see I'm working relaly hard today

Ankura: i wish today could be like that day

Charles: better than squirrel appreciation day!

11:51 AM

me: OH CHARLEY

Charles: OH NORA

me: you have to fucking buy your dman tickets to boston

babs and I bought ours

me: if you're not on the bus with us drinking vodka you're not our firend

Ankura: superbowl weekend! in boston!

Charles: aahH!

hahah

11:52 AM Ankura: hot toddys will be drank

me: drink drank drunk

Charles: yay!

Ankura: and socks will be worn, to terrys party

air mattresses will be inflated

and space heaters will be used this time, haha

Charles: haha terry throws me off by sending evites and not facaebook invites

hahaha

Ankura: its because he's over 30, hahaha

11:53 AM Charles: haaaha

me: hahahahaha

HAHAHAH

I love ankura

Ankura: i love nora

Charles: i'm in love with nora

Ankura: i

oops

i'm in love with a gingerbread man

11:54 AM me: OH SNAP

as in ginger snap

wokka wokkame: FUCKING BUY YOUR TICKETS

Charles: listen woman

11:58 AM Ankura: have you guys ever had Bison Grass vodka?

me: don't think so

11:59 AM Charles: moi auci

me: aussi

dummy

Charles: you're a dummy

me: that's true

Ankura: haha

in quebec they spell it auci

(thats a lie)

Charles: hahaha

12:00 PM OUE OUE OUE

Charles: i got home 3:40am last night! boston doesn't exist after 1:30AM

me: charley, did you buy your ticekts yet?

Ankura: i know, it kind of falls off the map

Charles: it enters a temporal shift

Ankura: haha or that

Charles: and reappears at 6AM

Ankura: just in time for the T to start running

12:08 PM Charles: haha if a city's metro isn't running the city doesn't exist

fact

Ankura: so that means boston doesn't exist after midnight haha

Charles: it's like the whole if a tree falls in the woods thing

woa this random hot guy just walked into the office

12:09 PM Ankura: get his digits

Charles: he's just so attractive

me: CHARLEY
DID YOU BUY YOUR TICEKTS?

Charles: NO

let me get on that

me: this might be as important as your hot coworker

Charles: haha, i need the tough love

me: or you're gonna have to take the china town bus by yourself like last time

and babs and I will be on a honeymoon

Charles: nooo!

12:10 PM me: and you will have to hold hands with a crazy smelly person

Ankura: yes, you'll be forced to

Charles: it's true, they enforce handholding

Charles: this guy needs to stop being so good looking and in my office

me: because hes distracting you from buying a ticket?

Charles: hahaha actually yes he is

12:12 PM Ankura: clearly

bring him on the bus with you

Charles: he's totally unexplained too! i have no clue what he's doing here

12:14 PM Ankura: i sent him there

Charles: i bet you did

12:15 PM me: CAN YOU PLEASE SEND HOT MANZ MY WAY?

12:16 PM Charles: well my guy just left i'm sure he's on his way to your office nora

to just inexplicably show up, look hot for a while, then leave

Ankura: oooh, too bad i dont have an office

Charles: the world is your office

Ankura: maybe he'll show up looking hot in my house

12:17 PM me: and then things can really get serious

in a house as opposed to an office

Charles: wooo!

Ankura: this is true

i'm sure he's heading to port authority right now

12:18 PM me: I read that as the pot authrority

me: which was confusing

but not THAT confusing

Ankura: pot authority

nyc needs a pot authority

12:19 PM Charles: at the port authority

Ankura: yes, thats exactly were it should be

12:20 PM me: you're right

12:21 PM Charles: I BOUGHT MY TICKETS NORA

12:22 PM me: I just peed my pants

in excitement

Charles: clean up before the hot guy shows up

12:23 PM hot guys don't appreciate pee on the pants

they do appreciate squirrels

2:32 PM Charles: haha

12:34 PM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11xs9mFKObs

just look at that penguin

12:36 PM digest that for a second. i'm going to grab a sandwich.

me: la la lives here

and this king penguin is really living like a king

I CANNOT DEAL

they gave him a backpack

that is PENGUIN shaped

Charles: I KNOW

12:37 PM me: and then he just SWALLOWS A WHOLE FISH

and walks away

and doesn't say thank you

Charles: I KNOW

hahha

me: he's a rude penguin

Charles: penguins are nature's assholes

12:38 PM me: hahahahHAHAHAHA he left his change in his other suit

and who names a male pengin LALA?

A year in review

Despite how tired the idea that a year has flown by, I must admit that I subscribe to this cliche once again. Last night I finished a most delish meal (at Northern Sky in the East Village, you should all go, it is my new favorite place, especially since my old favorite place, Corner Shop Cafe, has yet to reopen) and a very good glass of wine. During dinner the conversation was mostly about travel, about the best places like Barcelona and New York, and the places I cannot wait to go to, like Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Greece, and the travels I am about to embark on in just a few days- Paris and Berlin! With a full stomach, a sleepy head, and good company I repeated a sentiment that has been happily coming out of my mouth more and more often.

"Life is good."

The same feeling when I'm hung over, but not that hung over and I'm eating good pizza and drinking wine and know I'm going to ride my bike again. Or when I'm at a party really good friends and I've drunk wine and dancing is happening and there is a really cute guy who wants to dance with me. Or I just watched a friend drink a whole double shot of oily gin to get the team back in the bingo game. Or just brunch. I fucking love brunch.

Maybe drinking is a running theme...

I don't know if I am the kind of person that is just wholly content ever, but I certainly feel like I'm on the path. Not to paint this year too rosy, I had a couple of months where I was not sure if I was making the right decisions. I lost my internal strength and my motivation, and with it I lost my way- but with faith that I would come out of it I let that weirdness take its course.

While it was happening I fell in love with rock climbing, which is the most best thing ever, and I'm totally obsessed. Right now I'm just a plastic puller, with occasional trips to a rock face which usually scare the crap out of me. After almost a year of climbing I still cannot do a single pull up, but I manage to climb hard anyways, developing my technique despite my muscles. There has to be a metaphor in there somewhere about finding your own path. I actually took trips out of the city- that's right, I desired to be in Not New York City- upstate to climb the 'dacks and go camping, which were mostly foiled by rain, but such is life. I talked about food politics, classical music, and how the human population's stupidity never fails to amaze instead.

I took a trip to Israel- which is such a weird, interesting, and nutty country that I encourage at least one journey there. I didn't fall in love with the place like many do- although the desert is just WOW- however I did fall in love with my travel companions. While ten days of non-stop bad food combined with long bus rides seems like a set up for no fun it just made us love each other more. Because of the relationships I made I have been to Upstate NY, Philly and Baltimore, with trips planned to CT, Boston and New Orleans. I have a friend who wants to join in on the baller "Buy a Brownstone in Brooklyn" plan, which will fucking happen goddamnit. Unless the "Buy a Plot of Land and Live in a Shipping Container" plan happens instead.

I switched jobs- my first adult job switch. If I thought asking for reviews and raises was scary, switching jobs is terrifying. I loved my old job dearly. My boss took a chance on me- as I was wholly unqualified for the position- and taught me the ropes, and eventually let me start steering my own ship. Now that I'm in my new position the lessons I learned are continuing to reveal themselves even though I hadn't realized I was learning something at the time. Funny how that works. Now I am really starting to feel settled in my new place of employment and while I had to trade in my short in-boro commute for an awful MTA trip twice a day I now have a window with a view of a park. We all have to make concessions.

Speaking of jobs, Phil and I were hired to make another video! As in, we're getting paid for our work. As in someone saw what we did, liked it and sought us out to make another one because they believe that it will help them sell their product. As in I couldn't be more flattered. And bonus- I get to make another video with my best friend, Philip!

I cut my hair and dyed bits of pink. I thought it was fancy. Someone still hired me with pink hair.

Last night when I was in the the lawn in Prospect Park at 2:40 am watching the first Lunar Eclipse on a winter solstice in 400 years with two of my friends who had also ridden there on bikes.

Four years ago leaving college was a very upsetting moment for me. I was SO happy to enter the real world, get back to NYC, and enter the next phase because I was done with Chicago- but I was heartbroken to leave my college friends. My fourth year I had a core group of friends and much like a well curated museum they all fit together and I fit with them. I loved them so hard and I knew I was leaving them. Last night I felt like I was close to cultivating those relationships again. I have found people who ride bikes (on 42 mile long 5 boro bike tours), climb rocks, like making things (and want to start collectives), wear wigs, fancy shoes, and might spend too much on a coats. Friends who will craft sweaters for holiday parties, and have me over for long platonic dates with cooking, eating, drinking and movie watching that rival any romantic date I've had. Friends who want to go camping on islands and friends who want to go on ski trips. Friends who fly in and take me to fashion shows, come to roof top parties at the Standard and basement parties in SoHo. Friends who call me from Brazil, Germany and France. Who are doing amazing Peace Corps stuff in Ghana. Going to grad school in Boston and Baltimore. Who work on Daft Punk music videos. Who go to all day concerts with me and let me take naps in the middle of Union Square park. Could I have more amazing people in my life? Probably not- I challenge the universe to throw some more at me. I think I can handle it. 2011, bring it on!

Also- Hot Toddies. Those make life good and will cure your colds. Get on it.

Why don't we do it in the road?

A little teaser...