Inspiration, Thy Name is iPhone App

I'm no technology wizard, but when Geoff got the newer version of the iPhone, I inherited his old one. And I usually only download Apps that are free, as I am a cheap bastard thrifty. But this one was worth $1.99 if it brought my mojo back.

The Hipstamatic Camera App takes photos that somehow look like they were taken with just that. I somehow missed out on this apparently beloved toy camera when it came out in 1982 (thank you, google for educating me about it). But I am loving it now. It makes anything look interesting. I mean look at this picture of my desk.


And the bathroom sink at work...


Cool, right? More snapshots of my day yesterday...

Auditions...


From my walk back to the office...





Apparently there are different lenses and films you can switch to for different effects. I haven't even tried those yet. What fun! I'm probably super late to the party on this App, but just incase you hadn't heard of it....now you can share the joy. TOTALLY worth the $1.99. And coming from me, you know that means something.

Blogger's Block

I have it.

I really do. There's no use denying it anymore.

Blogger's block + extremely busy work nonsense = I just can't.

Thought of something great to write about yesterday but there was no time and I wanted to do it justice. Hopefully I will get to it soon.

But on top of that, I'm lacking a little in inspiration, to be honest..... I've been living a little more in the real world than the blogsophere the last few weeks. Which is good for living in the moment, but not as good for three months (or years) from now when I won't remember the wonderful and monumental talk Geoff and I had on Monday night because I didn't write about it here. There's something to be said for the blog-as-history aspect to this whole thing.

And for that reason, lets hope that work chills out soon. And that I get my mojo back.

Hey Ma - Guess What I Did Last Night?

Yup. You go to a rock star party, you end up doing crazy rock star things. Like getting a tatoo.
Of course, given the degree of rock star in my blood, this one obviously lasts 3-5 days.

Last night was the opening of American Idiot on Broadway. It was pretty stinkin' awesome.

The cast at curtain call. Billie Jo Armstrong (Greenday) in all black on the right


At the party there was a grafiti artist making a mural on the stage all night at Roseland. Which was amazing. I swiped this picture from my friend Quinn's Facebook album.


I bought a special "rock" outfit. Which was basically all black with a studded belt and big ole earings. Big hair and smoky eyes too. Naturally.

Me and Jillian, one of my co-workers


Oh, and in addition to the grafiti artist, there was a drag queen DJ dressed as a majorette. Or something. Makes for a good party.


I took a bunch more pictures on Jillian's camera, (since I'm an idiot, no pun intended, and forgot mine) so more pictures may be forthcoming if her little point & shoot got anything good.

The show was great, the party was great and I got home at 2am.

On a Tuesday.

That's right. Rock Star.

El Weekend

FRIDAY NIGHT: Drive to CT. Briefly glimpse niece & nephew as they are sleeping. Marvel at the cuteness.

SATURDAY: Shoot wedding north of Hartford. Leave Geoff to finish off the reception on his own while I attempted to make my way to a mall to buy an outfit for the opening night of American Idiot. Get lost both ways. Succeed in buying an outfit that is far more rock and roll than I actually am. Drive home with Geoff. Order in. Fall asleep watching The September Issue.

SUNDAY: Get to 34th Street & 8th Ave by 1030am. Meet best friend from HS (Tiffany) who is in town for the weekend. Take her to brunch at Good. Talk. Reminisce. Laugh. Learn from said high school BFF that Greenwich Village and the West Village are two different locations. Refuse to fully believe it. Wander BOTH Villages. Take picture for Mom.


Get on a train to Brooklyn. Purchase some vino. Arrive Alison's apt for her first cookout of the year. Feel slightly low energy, anti-social & turtle-ish, but revive quickly at the suggestion of Bloody Marys. Purchase world's best Bloody Mary mix, olives, pickles (YUM!) and return to attempt and recreate Clay's special Bloody Marys that first rocked the world last summer. Basically succeed.

Talk with Alison. Make veggie kebabs on her adorable back deck.


Enjoy time with friends, despite the chill in the air.




Appreciate the master chef


Enjoy the wonderful food: Gorgonzola stuffed burgers (picture at top), veggie kebabs, bacon-wrapped asparagus, roasted sweet potatoes (not pictured, as they vanished too quickly) and Guinness chocolate cake with cream cheese sour cream frosting. Die from happiness.



Laugh at the funny things that are being said.


Love this picture (and this trio) the most.


Laugh mostly at the antics that ensue



Marvel at how pretty your friends are


Laugh at how hard they laugh


Go inside when it gets too cold. Continue many discussions, both serious and fanciful. Discover that perhaps my husband is right and that we SHOULD get an iPad, as there is a bad-ass running spy game on there that is my new obsession. Finally head home. Bring the pickles with me. Fall asleep before 10pm, tired but content.

(Admit to the world that I did not take a single one of these amazing pictures, but stole them from Alison and Stephen. Which they let me do because of their great love and friendship towards me. Which I am forever grateful for.)

Sunday Morning Muffins

I made these.

Banana Blueberry Oatbran muffins.

And now...a bike ride to Brooklyn to see Alison for a late lunch.

Gosh, it's nice to have time to have a life on the weekends.


PS - Per your requests, I found the recipe on Epicurious. After reading the reviews, I substituted 1% milk for the soy milk, and wheat flour for regular flour. I used 2 bananas instead of 3 and subtracted 1/4 cup flour in order to have a full 1/2 cup of oat bran. (So 1 & 1/4 c wheat flour, 1/2 c oatbran instead of 1 & 1/2 c flour and 1/4 c oat bran) I think next time I'll add a few more blueberries and maybe some oatmeal on the tops for some texture.

And true confession: of the 12 we made, there are currently only 3 left.

Living Vicariously

So, living in a 650 square foot 1 bedroom apartment can make you really start to daydream about things. Things like a yard. A kitchen with more than 1.5 feet of counter space. Storage. Of any kind. A garage/shed so your bikes don't have to hang from a pole in your foyer. You know, things like that.

Now, there are zillions of design blogs out there and I frequent several of them. It's so fun to dream and see all the pretty-ness. Some examples of pictures that make me drool a little bit....

Can you tell why I would love a blog called House of Turquiose? Shocking. The next 3 rooms make me, as Alison says, *le sigh*. (please - i'm in absolute LOVE with this backsplash)


those chairs...


beadboard and an angled ceiling...


I'm a huge fan of Brooklyn Limestone. She chronicals her adventures in renovating one with her husband. They have done an inspiring job. And they also take amazing long weekends in fabulous foreign cities. *le sigh*, indeed. This was a door she loved in Notting Hill on their trip to London, I believe. (breaking news: I am loving gray almost as much as blue these days)


A loft that I would love to get my hands on from ...Little Green Notebook


I also go nuts for built-in bookshelves. Completely nuts. Hence my love of these I saw on Black White & Yellow


And White Kitchens? Forget about it. Possibly the ultimate *le sigh*, like these at The Inspired Room...



This is just a snippet of all the fun stuff I like to daydream about. I think I'm gonna go dream about it some more now. Might even work on my "dream" book that Geoff bought me at Michael's to put all my "inspirations" in for future reference.

*le sigh*

Not a Ton...

...has been going on. I've been not-so-feelin' the blog world lately. Not real sure why. I haven't been doing much photography or cooking...both of which can inspire a fun post. So what have we been up to?

We have joined a gym that we like.
I have discovered spin class. Holy moses.

I've also discovered that if you need motivation to run on the treadmill, just make sure you're watching that MTV show "16 and Pregnant". Holy smokes. I've seen it before, but it was such a trainwreck that I didn't even realize I was still running until the commercial came on.

We have been trading a cold back and forth.

We both lost 3 pounds this week.

My friend Andrew sent me a picture of this puppy that made me die a little. How soft does her butt look? I can't stand it.


We accidentally bought a new living room at Target two weeks ago. And by that I mean a rug and throw pillows. Totally new color scheme. And I heart it.

We shot a wedding that almost got cancelled but then didn't.

We have a hot date at H&R Block tonight.

I saw my friend Ali's Easter pictures of her kids and found my heart doing this new "yearning" thing that normally only happens with puppies. Hm. Wonder what that's about?


That's pretty much all you've missed.

Happy Weekend!