Taking Life, Love, Fashion And Fun Wherever I Go!

New Year's Resolutions NOT To Make...

2009-01-12T13:19:00.001-05:00

It’s that time again. Another year is over and a new one is just begun. Millions of people around the world are making empty promises to themselves about the things in their lives that they want to change, how to better themselves and in turn, make their existences here on Earth a little fuller, a little kinder, a little thinner. Well, I don’t know, if you ask me, its all a bunch of crap. Listen, I’m not usually this cynical, I tend to be the one amongst the group that looks to the future with bright eyes and thoughts of change on the horizon. But I just feel like, every year, I make the same damn resolutions yet I never follow through: And something tells me I’m not alone in this. So therefore, I’ve decided to touch upon some of the ridiculous and most-likely-not-to-happen New Year’s resolutions that I think most of us should just stay away from.
First of all, and this is a big one for me, stop saying that you’re going to quit smoking! Seriously. While I encourage the ambition to do so, and have been struggling to do so myself, its just not gonna happen. When you think about it, if you really wanted to quit, you would. It wouldn’t have to be a holiday, you shouldn’t have to set a future date of, “On this day, I’ll have my last cigarette.” Truth of the matter is, is that yeah, I do want to quit. But unfortunately, at this point in my life, the addiction has a greater hold on me than my desire to be smoke free and healthy does, and being that smoking is, for many, a common stress relief, this is positively, absolutely, 100 percent the worst time of year to try and kick the habit. Come on, who are we kidding? Christmas, New Year’s, all the hustle and bustle and preparation for family gatherings, the worry over falling financially short while trying to buy gifts for your loved ones; it’s a smokers dream! I can’t even get two feet into any mall this time of year before I’m looking for the nearest exit to go outside for a quick fix! So, keep it real. Admit to yourself that you either truly want to quit or you don’t. If it turns out that you do, you will. Its just that simple.
Another popular New Year’s resolution: Losing weight. This one is a huge pet peeve of mine. As someone who works out regularly, I just don’t have the patience for people who complain all the time that they feel fat, shovel a shitload of Christmas cookies down their trap, and then do nothing about it! “After the New Year, I’m joining the gym and losing 20 pounds.” The way I see it, there’s no time like the present. I respect and admire people who make a conscious effort to stay in shape. But putting it off will get you nowhere. I know you think that setting a goal for yourself will do the trick, but it won’t, because as soon as New Year’s comes, you’ll hit the gym for the first few weeks at best only to fall right back into the same slump you were in the previous year. If you want to get healthy, go join a gym today (I realize this is a bit contradictory, being that this issue hits stands on New Year’s, but remember, I’m writing this a week beforehand, so technically, my foot is out of my mouth).
“I’m going to be a nicer person.” Really? Well thanks! But fuck you for being a complete asshole for your entire life before this. You should be nice, all the time, and it shouldn’t take the dawn of a new year for you to do so. Karma is a bitch. Period.
Racking up the bills, are we? Well shit, you know how much money you make and what you can afford to spend. So if you’re living about your means, that’s your fault. People have just become way too greedy, if you ask me, and trust me, I used to be one of them. I like nice things, sure. I’m a girl, shopping is what I do best! But lately, being that this is my first year out of my parents’ house and on my own, I haven’t really had the extra cash flow to buy all the things I’d like to. And you know what? I’m no less happy now, than I was when I could afford certain luxuries. It was hard at first, but you get used to it. There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself, that I firmly believe. But if it comes down to paying your PSE&G bill or buying that new pair of shoes, stop and think. Credit cards do not equal free money and unfortunately, many of us had to learn that the hard way. Stick to the necessities and learn how to save a bit and you’ll find the quality of life you lead is just the same in last season’s shoes.
To sum things up, I’m all about the New Year. I look forward to a new beginning and the chance to make positive change in my life. It’s just my personal experience that tells me if you relate your goals to a holiday beginning, they usually don’t come to fruition. So promise yourself you’ll lose that weight, go a head and quit smoking and open up a savings account. Just do it now and stick with it. Have a happy and healthy New Year and good luck!

Amy Regan @ The Living Room, NYC 12/13/2008

2008-12-09T15:31:00.002-05:00

Check out this soulful songstress at NYC's the Living Room on Dec. 13!

Montclair, NJ's Indie Craft Market

2008-12-02T11:49:00.005-05:00

Having trouble finding the perfect gifts for your off-the-wall friends and family this holiday season? Well, look no more! This Sunday, Dec. 7, the first ever Indie Craft Market is being held at the Parlor Hair Studio in Montclair, NJ, featuring local, independent designers selling revamped jewelry, clothes, handbags, housewares, photography and more!

The event, the brainchild of featured designer, Michelle Iervolino, founder and creator of Red Delicious Things, is one that is sure to mark the dawning of a new day in the Northern NJ region, for she, along with all of her crafty friends, are going to bring local consumers their fabulous one-of-a-kind designs for all to enjoy. There’s surely something for everyone, from Michelle’s true-to-the-core DIY creations to other participating designers’ inspirational work. In perfect timing for the approaching, dare I say, Christmas holiday, this Indie Craft Market is the place to be to get all of your funky, unique and sure-to-please gifts-it’s a one-stop shopping bonanza and hopefully an event that will only continue and grow with time! Check out a list of the designers that will be there for your shopping pleasure:

As mentioned above, Michelle Iervolino’s Red Delicious Things brings you a vast array of vintage, comic book inspired jewelry, clothes, handbags and shoes, all hand crafted and created using things found while Michelle’s out and about, gallivanting through town. Her creations are developed out of ripped pages from her favorite comic books, local yellow pages, foreign newspapers and pin-up magazines. A true artist at heart, Michelle takes anything old and makes it new by adding her signature touch and sparkle of creation so be sure to check out her fare at reddeliciousthings.etsy.com and don’t forget to stop by and see her this Sunday!

Kristi Ellis’ Retro Rocket Girl line, boasting the motto “Reuse, Recycle, Reinvent,” is for the old soul in every girl. Inspired by her grandmother’s impeccable taste, and playing dress-up in her closet as a young girl, Kristi’s creations are a vintage gold mine, and perfectly fitting for those who just want to stand out! With an ample background in fashion and merchandising, Kristi knows her stuff. Once realizing the full potential of her dreams she created and is now the proud crafter of Retro Rocket Girl. Check out her designs at retrorocketgirl.etsy.com.

Got a friend with a bun in the oven? I dread baby showers, only because I’m sick and tired of going to your local franchise and walking out with a 100 percent guarantee that you’re not going to be the only one giving whatever gift you bought for the mom-to-be. Well ladies, our prayers have been answered. Daniela Fulam’s Little Punk People provides us with the most badass baby gear we could ask for. With onesies adorned with the oh-so-popular skull and crossbones and other punk-inspired designs, to awesomely created child-friendly paintings (ones that a funky mom and dad will enjoy too), Little Punk People allows gift-givers to finally have identity and style, and throws all that run-of-the-mill bullshit right out the window. Check out Daniela’s designs at littlepunkpeople.etsy.com.
Michima, a fabulously creative line of felted letters, cutesy little animals and such, as well as shoulder bags and more, is yet another great provider of all things child-friendly. With founder Anna’s interesting take on educational children’s toys, as well as fashionably fun messenger bags and more, Michima is a great source for gift-givers galore: Stocking stuffers, anyone? Check out these awesome goods at michima.etsy.com.

Growing up with both of her parents being accomplished artists, Sharon Fox Rogers has always been inspired to be creative. Once realizing that her true passion for design involved making jewelry, she launched her business, SFR Creations, and has been manufacturing a wide variety of modern, fashion inspired, and natural necklaces, earrings and bracelets. With three different categories of product, Sharon has something for everyone, from the up-with-times, modern fashionista to the diva extraordinaire to the earthly goddess who loves things made of natural elements. Check out her designs at jewelrybysfrcreations.com.
Coasters, stockings, wreaths, sunglass cases, baby toys, banners, magnets: The list goes on and on. Claire Baker’s Copabananas has it all. With unique and crafty, textile-inspired knick-knacks and more, everyone is sure to find something here for that special someone, and while many of her designs could be interpreted as holiday-themed (i.e., the hanging stockings and wreaths), they’re just so damn cute that I’d leave them out all year round! Located at 547 Valley Road, Upper Montclair, NJ, you can stop by and visit anytime. The store is chock full of one-of-a-kind children’s toys, party supplies, cards, gift-wrap and more! Check out Claire’s masterful and fun goodies at copabananas.etsy.com.
We all know that being conscious of our environment and taking care of Mother Earth is so unbelievable important that many of us have been “going green” to help save our natural surroundings and stop contributing to the pollution of our air, water, etc. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the environmentalist in your life, check out the designs by BomA, an environmentally-friendly apparel line, the focus of which is to merge style and responsibility through organic clothing creations. Check it out at bomawear.com.
Last, but certainly not least, is Erin Boyer Wells’ photography. Like any artist, her inspiration comes from life and all the things in hers that she enjoys. Stop by and see her work which features so many of her loves including classic cars, beaches, dogs, tattoos, music and more! With no website available, you’ll have to drag your thrifty self down to the craft market and check out her amazing work in person!

Ditch the malls! If you’re looking to be inspired and find the perfect one-of-a-kind gift this holiday season, head on over the first ever Indie Craft Market at the Parlor Hair Studio at 223 Glenridge Ave. in Montclair, NJ, this Sunday, Dec. 7. Whether you’re shopping for someone else, or just looking for yourself, all of these wonderful and talented designers are sure to have you feeling bright and cheery and going home with something fabulous!

2008-11-26T14:11:00.006-05:00

Change: Unexpected yet oh-so-wonderful! I’m not going to write a lengthy article to describe my fabulous new finds, instead this week I’m going to let the pictures do the talking. But I will say this: There is absolutely no other reasonable way for me to ever shop for home decorating goods again, other than riding around on lazy Saturday and Sunday afternoons and rummaging through other peoples’ garbage. Yup, that’s right I said it: I garbage pick and I’m proud of it!

Garage sales, estate sales, Craigslist, oh my! This is where its at, people! Major department stores? No way! Small local designers? Sure, you may get a one-of-a-kind piece, but you also may spend an arm and a leg. But yard sales and the Internet, that’s where the real gems can be found. I just scored a brand new- when I say new I mean new in the sense that I’ve just recently acquired it-living room set for under $200. Try even getting a couch cushion for that much at your nearest furniture outlet-good luck!

If you’re not into antiques, then this in no way applies to you, but if you are, just sit back, relax and enjoy, for I think I have the most badass vintage living room set around. But wait! That’s not all! Head on over to the dining room and you’ll see the gorgeous new credenza and buffet that I stumbled upon in a driveway on my way home from the local pancake hot-spot in town; after that, peek into the bedroom and you’ll notice that that shitty bed I used to sleep on is long-gone and my great grandmother’s antique frame has taken its place.

The couch, a beautiful golden, velvety wonderland, was literally covered in plastic when I found it (actually, to be honest and give credit where credit is due, my neighbor is the lucky one happened to uncover this fabulous piece of furniture, I just bought it!). It’s in perfect condition and provides a cozy and history-filled place to park your bum and relax. The intricately designed chairs, also from the same plastic-enthusiast, are the most fitting of accent pieces to help fill out the room , and positioned on either side of the awesome antique radio box I scooped up on another garage sale outing, the entire set-up provides a great focal point to tie the room together. Also, as you can see, my mother went out on a limb and grabbed the lovely table that sits in the middle of it all and makes the room feel complete.

On a lucky ride home from a Sunday afternoon breakfast with my girlfriends, we drove past a house, the owners of which, were selling the finishing touches to my dining room. That day, I took home a credenza and buffet table for 100 bucks – you can’t beat that! And finally, I hated the bed I was sleeping on when I first opened the doors of my home to all of you. It was from IKEA-enough said. I always had my grandmother’s beautiful antique frame, but chose to leave it at home when I moved out. Well, it made its way back into my life, and now sits gracefully in my bedroom and I’ve never slept better.

There’s just no getting around it. When this column first began to appear in the pages of the AQ and I did a lovely little series called “Design On A Dime” there was no character to any of my furniture, no personality. It said nothing about me. But now, well now I have furniture that says I’m crafty, an old soul, eclectic and funky. Now I have furniture that, when you walk into the room, actually grabs your attention and begs for conversation. Though the complete vision is still a work-in-progress, just take a look at the most kick ass furniture from Grandma that you’ll ever see!

Gaslight Anthem, Thrice, Alkaline Trio, Rise Against/October 13, 2008/Roseland Ballroom

2008-11-19T16:06:00.003-05:00

NEW YORK, NY-A quick ride on the bus, a short walk, some scurrying in the door and there I was at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC-I think quite possibly my favorite venue, by the way-to see what was slated as one of the greatest line-ups in a while. I showed up what I would like to say is fashionably late (although I actually was trying to be on time, but don’t tell anyone) so I missed the Gaslight Anthem and once I got inside Thrice had already begun their set; the crowd was squished all the way up front, there was no getting in there. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people there already because most of the time the place tends to stay somewhat empty until it gets closer to the time of the headliner’s performance.
As much as I love Thrice, like really, really love Thrice, I was a little disappointed with their set. They played really well and they put on a great show, but I think they could have had a better set list. Granted, when you only have 40-or-so minutes on stage, its hard to give every fan what they want, and the majority of the crowd seemed more-than-pleased with what they delivered, but for me, someone who’s been a fan since day one, I was hoping for more of an eclectic mixture of Thrice tunes. They pretty much stuck to the new stuff off their latest, The Alchemy Index, with a few oldies here and there, but honestly, with “Deadbolt” being a no-show, the night just didn’t feel complete. Either way, still a kick ass performance from the band and well-worth the trip.
Alkaline Trio was next and I’m sorry, but I’m not really a major fan and so although they also played really well and sounded tight, I just wasn’t able to get into them either. Regardless, as for Thrice, the crowd ate it up, dancing, crowd surfing, singing along; they definitely hit the mark and gave the people what they wanted. I think the only thing that doesn’t sit so well with me is that they’re maybe a little on the poppy side for my taste, but hey, to each his own, right? Good stuff from the Chicago troupe.
Allow me, please, to digress a bit here, just for a minute. In-between sets while hanging at the bar or using the ladies room, I had a bit of an epiphany at Roseland this very evening: It hasn’t been a while since I’ve been to a show, so that can’t be the reason, but somehow, suddenly and seemingly overnight, I became the “old girl” at the show. While this has nothing to do with the music, it really contributed to the overall quality of the evening because, as I was standing at stage left, I thought to myself, “Why is it that I’m off to the sides tonight? Why am I not squished in the middle of the crowd, sweating, yelling at the top of my lungs and jumping around like a flailing idiot?” Well, I don’t want to say I was scared, but rather just entirely uninterested in coming home bruised and banged up and breathing like I just ran a marathon when in fact, all I did was attend a good show in the city. This is all new to me. It felt weird, that’s all.
Back to the show-after I realized that I was old at a mere 24 years of age, I stayed towards the back with the rest of the geezers for Rise Against: Absolutely, 100 percent justifiable that this band headlined. Wow, were they good! In between songs, some may think they were a bit too politically charged, but at a time like this when our country is on the brink of history-in-the-making and musicians have such a profound influence on the generation whose vote is most needed, I think it was entirely appropriate and well-presented. The crowd, for the most part, seemed to agree with fists raised in the air in unison as lead singer Tim showered us all with his thoughts on the subject. Besides talking about politics, though, it seems this group actually plays some music, too! All eyes were on them as they serenaded the crowd with a great mix of songs, old and new, and, granted my wish as they ended the show with two of my personal faves, “Swing Life Away” and “Prayer Of The Refugee.”
All in all a good time was had, plenty of beers were drunk and I walked away with a buzz and a new outlook on life-I’d say the night was a total success!

Happy Fall Y'All!

2008-11-04T11:56:00.004-05:00

Fall is officially here. There’s a brisk chill in the air, I have my first cold, the leaves have all begun to fall, porches are delightfully decorated with corn stalks and pumpkins in celebration of the season and, of course, the approaching holiday, Halloween. I feel like once Halloween comes and goes, its all down-hill after that. Not in a bad way, but what I mean is, the holidays just start coming, one after the next until, before you know it, you’re broke, tired, probably fat from all the yummy food that you ate and packing away your winter clothes preparing for another summer. It all just happens so quickly and costs so much money!

With the economy being in such a slump this holiday season (and oh boy, I can’t believe I’m saying those words…) and everyone pinching their pennies, the thought of shopping for gifts for loved ones this year and finding ways to entertain without burning a hole in your pocket are pretty scary. Well, thankfully, with a little bit of thought and craftiness, there are plenty of alternative options to keep things going this year and still be able to afford your rent!
If you think about it, what can you really buy someone that they can’t buy for themselves? If it’s something they really need, don’t you think they’d just go out and get it? So, instead of picking up that sweater or bottle of perfume or new tool kit or pair of shoes, how about putting together a basket of thoughtful trinkets and goodies that you made yourself instead of some mass produced, store bought generic gift? I think that will have a much larger impact and personal appeal and, best of all, keep your money where it belongs-in your pocket!

A great idea for anyone, man or woman, son or daughter, brother, sister-you get the idea-is to go to your local arts and crafts store and pick up some baskets to fill with lots of homemade items. What sort of items, you ask? The possibilities are endless, but some of my favorite ideas are as follows: Handcrafted soaps, lotions and candles are incredibly easy to make and smell so good, they’re perfectly fitting for a holiday gift basket. Also, you may want to think about including some homemade treats like cookies, spices, oils, fudge, jam, etc. Anything that you’re exceptionally talented in baking or cooking will do and let’s face it, who doesn’t love homemade, yummy treats? I know I do! However, if you’re really not a great cook, that’s okay too. I recently attended the Fall Fine Art And Craft Fair in Brookdale Park that I previewed a few weeks ago and I picked up some great items that would be perfect for a gift basket like this and aren’t too pricey. There was a great vendor selling wonderfully delicious homemade dips and basically, what you do is buy the packet of flavored powder and mix with either cream cheese or sour cream and viola, you’ve instantly made a great bagel spread or chip dip. A great way to present this gift is to put it in a decorated holiday gift bag and include the mix, the cream cheese or sour cream and the chips, pretzels or bagels to go with it! Didn’t you ever hear that saying that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? Well, I happen to think that’s true of all genders so cook away, holiday gift-givers!

But what if you’re okay on gift-giving? Maybe instead you’re looking for something for you and your friends to do on a beautifully crisp fall weekend that won’t cost you a bundle? Please, this is so simple. Those cute porches up and down the street with pumpkins and corn stalks and such as decorations? That could be your home, too, you know! Why not have the girls over for a pumpkin carving party? It may sound juvenile, but it serves as a great way to just gather around the table and do something while you sip on something cozy and chat the day away. Everyone can bring their own pumpkin and carving tools, maybe a dish each, as well, and you provide the drinks and the place to meet and there you have it, an instant social success!
There’s really so much that you can do to pass the time during this time of year. I don’t know about most of you, but I just love to be outside, see the changing leaves, breathe in the fresh air, and I absolutely love the smell of leaves burning as you pass by your neighbors’ houses. I’ll do anything, really, just to be outside and enjoy it! I actually don’t mind working in the yard, raking the leaves, pulling the weeds, it’s entirely different experience when the weather is like this-bearable; summer yard work? No thanks.

Its hard for all of us this year, I think. Maybe you’re used to heading out for a little fall getaway each year, but it’s just not possible now with prices on, well, everything, being so high! Don’t fret, because although it may not be ideal, the idea of a “staycation,” at least it’s time off to spend with your loved ones and try something new. Honestly, if you’re really not into any of this, then forget giving gifts, forget getting together to really do something-instead, go down to the liquor store, spend eight or nine bucks on a decent six-pack, light up the chiminea or fire pit and chill out in the back yard on a lazy Saturday afternoon. If that’s not the life, then I don’t know what it is.

Join The Club

2008-10-07T12:06:00.005-04:00

For those of you, like me, who were born in the ‘80s, the classic iconic jacket of that time, introduced by Members Only, isn’t even a distant memory, it’s almost entirely unknown. But, for those of you, like me, who seemingly worship anything ‘80s, and fashion in general, Members Only is a well-known trend of the past that will forever be a staple in basic fashion know-how. Well, a thing of the past no more, the company recently re-launched a new line of jackets to kick off a brand new phase of the Members Only trend, still swearing by that familiar tag-line, “When you put it on…something happens.”

I just snagged myself a classic nylon jacket, surely a must-have for the approaching fall weather. Its perfectly light and airy, fitting for a tank-and-jeans look that draws that ‘80s relaxed vibe out and meshes with the modernity of the fall 2008 season. Revamped and re-launched, the company has already been the talk of “Tinsel Town” for quite a while now. Stars like Cameron Diaz, Miley Cyrus, Rumer Willis, Mariah Carey and more have all been spotted sporting the sexy and sleek jacket, either in classic black or shiny gold lambskin, among other colors.

It’s pretty interesting, when researching the early stages of the Members Only phenomenon, to see how much of an impact one single article of clothing can really make. It’s like the platform shoe or the skinny jean, the oversized sunglasses or the enormously large shoulder bag. These are all styles craves of the past that have somehow managed to resurface and make an even bigger statement than they did when they first hit the scene. The only difference is, is that this is something you can only get exclusively through one company, instead of a style that is produced by the masses of designers out there. Designer and Creative Director Kellie Delaney has really stepped up to the plate here and shown us what she’s got. After all, she’s spent over 14 years in the fashion biz, whether it be writing about or designing, she knows her stuff. Delany has spent time as an editor, holding a seat on many well-known publications that cover all things fashion, beauty and celebrity trends, such as US Weekly, Star Magazine, and her own concept, Celebrity Living Weekly. Needless to say, she’s a pro-covering celebs for a living makes fashion first and foremost in the world of and Editor-In-Chief, and so naturally, designing was the next logical field for her to progress into.

She’s been able to effortlessly keep the recognizable aesthetic of the jacket that was originally crafted in 1975 and turn it into something vintage, but with that up-to-date twist-check out the quilted leather Bomber and the Liquid Leggings.
As of right now, Members Only is more female-friendly, but in the fall ’08 season, the men’s line will be available and then all “members” of both sexes can enjoy this terminally hip fashion statement. Simplicity at its best, the new line features an old favorite, the Bomber Jacket, as well as other core pieces such as deep v dresses and the oh-so-popular ‘80s throwback, the legging, or in the case of Members Only, the Liquid Legging.

I know it’s a bit early to think about, but the holiday season is approaching faster than you think, and at affordable prices and easy online availability, a hip and edgy piece from Members Only under the tree just might be the perfect gift for that special someone who lives, breathes and dreams fashion!
Check out the goods at membersonly.com.

Bloomingdales Takes on The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil

2008-10-02T15:15:00.004-04:00

Ever heard of Cirque du Soleil? I’m sure you have. How about this; the Beatles? Now I know you’ve heard of them, right? Please, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last, oh I don’t know, 50-or-so years, you must know who I’m talking about. John, Paul, George and Ringo, four names that will go down in history and that still to this day hold significant meaning in the music industry and amongst music enthusiasts.
Cirque du Soleil, which is French for Circus Of The Sun, on the other hand, is a bit of a newer phenomenon, but has still created just as much of an impact as those four mop-tops from England did in the ‘60s. The show, originally formed in 1984 by performers Guy Laliberte and Daniel Gauthier, has become an international “must see,” and has grown immensely in size and popularity since its humble beginnings. As most things do, the show started off a small enterprise, employing only 73 performers and has since become a production boasting over 3,500 employees and 15 shows throughout the country.

In essence, the circus is a combination of performance styles inspired from all over the world, yet each show tells a very specific story, the most recent of which, has been that of the Beatles. The latest and greatest storyline, the history of the Beatles from their 1969 invasion of the United States to their eventual break-up in 1970, has become a smash hit and is attended regularly by intrigued Beatles and Cirque du Soleil fans alike. Stationed securely in Las Vegas, the show is nothing short of a major success, and in honor of the success of The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil and, of course, The Beatles themselves, one of the nation’s top retailers, Bloomingdales, has secured the rights to all of the Beatles’ music, art work, etc. through Apple Corps, the first partnership ever of its kind that the famed company has ever entered into.

The friendship between Harrison and co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte, is what initially inspired the creation of The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil, and in turn the show inspired Bloomingdales Executive President and General Merchandise Manager to reach out to Apple Corps for the rights to basically anything that has anything to do with the Beatles. Hence, you have Bloomingdales’ Fall 2008 Apparel line, inspired by The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil, and brought to life by some of fashion’s most well-known and praised designers. The project involves a complete fall men’s line of entirely Beatles-esque threads, a revamping of the store to reflect the new inspirations and, of course, Beatles music to be played through the department store speakers.
The line, created by participating designers such as Marc Jacobs, Psycho Bunny, Hickey, Katherine E. Hamnett, Trunk, Outpost Trading Company, Alan Aldridge and Jon Varvatos for Converse, features specifically designed garments such as t-shirts, ties, jackets, handkerchiefs and cufflinks, all adorned with something Beatles-related, whether it be a graphic tee with Beatles album art or song lyrics to ties and cufflinks sporting Beatles-familiar logos and images. It’s the perfect tribute to the group who, upon arriving in the U.S., sparked the nation’s interest immediately and spearheaded a new musical movement into the much loved rock and roll genre. Being that this is the first ever partnership of its kind amongst Apple Corps and any outside retailer, these fantastically designed clothes are well-worth picking up for any Beatle fan’s memorabilia, even if some of the items are a bit on the pricy side (a jean jacket from Converse for $295? Dad won’t be getting that for Christmas this year!).
Look out for the Beatles-inspired gear at Bloomingdales stores by late October 2008.

The MTV VMA's: Disappointing On All Levels

2008-09-19T13:35:00.002-04:00

I don’t know what I was really expecting to see at this year’s Video Music Awards, but whatever it was and whatever actually happened were certainly two entirely different animals. I guess all the hype about Britney’s comeback, the fact that it was the 25th anniversary of the show, and all of the past award show’s antics kind of had me hoping I would be blown away, but really, I wasn’t. First of all, whoever the hell this Russel Brand guy is that hosted the show this year, sucked. The London-based comic, I thought, was entirely unfunny, in fact was entirely a major tool, and completely rude and offensive in most of his half-witted remarks, especially in his attack against the Jonas brothers’ vow to save their virginity until after marriage. There’s a time and place to joke about sex and relationships, but in this day and age when another teen mom emerges every other day, I found it to be quite unnecessary and incredibly irritating: And, I think the audience and the Jonas troupe shared my discontent. American Idol winner Jordan Sparks even made it a point to address the vulgarity during her time on stage as a presenter, which I applaud, because it needed to be said.
Moving on, I thought that there would be some big to-do at the beginning of the show with Ms. Spears as the opening commentator. However, her entire “performance” was really kind of dull, in my opinion. They call this a comeback? Sure, she won a bunch of awards and handled herself with grace and poise, but I still just think that after all she’s been through in the public eye and after last year’s disastrous performance, that she needed to do a little more than just show up and look pretty to win my vote back. I was really disappointed.
Keeping in line with my massive amount of bones to pick regarding the 2008 VMAs, the whole red carpet pre-show was a pill also. The only person that really had their game on, was MTV veteran announcer, Sway. As he hovered above the Paramount Pictures property in a helicopter keeping the audience at home informed on the who’s who in the limo line, he made phone calls to some of the stars as they patiently waited to make their appearance on the red carpet. I didn’t see every interview, but I did catch him talking to Katie Perry and the Plain White T’s, coaxing both of them to pop out of the limo a bit and prove that they actually were on the phone with him. Other than that, I think Kim Stolz was a bit shaky and nervous, and just not up to snuff for the whole event, and I think Taylor Swift, cute as she is, seemed a little timid as well as she manned the designated fashion central area of the carpet, interviewing her musical peers and asking of course, “Who are you wearing?” And so while we’re on the subject of fashion, I really wasn’t impressed with anyone’s outfit at this year’s Video Music Awards, either. I mean, come on, this is a time to really let your personality shine and to do something outrageous, but I felt like a lot of people played it either too safe, or went a bit too overboard. Sure, there were a select few that I think got it right, i.e. The Hills star Lauren Conrad always looks classy, I think, Christina Aguilera debuted a new, edgy look, far different from the ‘20s glam vibe that she’s been sporting as of late, and Miley Cyrus looked sophisticated and well-put-together, which is more than I can say for who she arrived with, Katie Perry. The “I Kissed A Girl” songstress showed up in a thrift store ensemble that she boasted was put together on her own, something I would have much rather blamed on a stoned stylist. If she was attending a Halloween party, I would say that she looked adorable, but for the VMAs, though a risqué and liberal venue for fashion, Perry’s look just didn’t fly with me.
The entire show wasn’t completely horrible, however. I did think that it was kind of cool that some performers like Pink and the Jonas brothers staged their performances on the back lots of the Paramount Pictures grounds. Although, I don’t know how exciting that could have been for the attendees who were presumably stuck watching on a big screen inside the theatre. Either way, though, it was something different and for that I give the show credit. I thought Christina Aguilera and Rihanna gave good performances inside, but that’s really all I caught of the show because to be honest, I was so disinterested in what was going on that I shut off the TV and went to sleep around 11:00 p.m. I did, however, manage to catch the most annoying band of all time, Tokio Hotel, take home the award for Best New Artist. That pretty much did it for me.

ZO2: The Jekyll And Hydez Of Rock And Roll

2008-09-09T13:37:00.003-04:00

Hailing from the busy streets of Brooklyn, brother’s Paulie and David Z. and long-time friend Joey Cassata are trying their very best to make it in the rough and tough world of rock and roll! With two albums under their belt, 2004’s Tuesday And Thursdays, and their most recent release, Ain’t It Beautiful, a comedy series airing on IFC (Independent Film Channel) called Z Rock, and a fall tour on the horizon, Z02 seem to be on the road to success. Things weren’t always so easy for them, though, and so the trio doubled as a popular children’s band, Z Brothers, during the day while rocking out at local Manhattan venues at night. They got their big break, however, when their album was slipped into the hands of Paul Stanley of KISS, and suddenly kiddie parties were a thing of the past as Z02 headed out on a 40-date tour with KISS and Poison.
Since then, they’ve been met with continued success and have been able to ditch their dual lifestyle and focus on the real matter at hand, their rock and roll lifestyle as Z02, now signed to Riker Hill Records. Here, Paulie, David and Joey took some time out to discuss their road to glory and all the adventures they’ve experienced along the way.
You guys have a new album out and a television series, Z Rock, that starts on the 24th and a fall tour ahead. Things seem to be going pretty good, are you where you want to be in your career right now?
Paulie: Yes, if someone would have asked us, you know, five years ago when we started, ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ I don’t think any of us would have said, ‘Well, we want to have a TV show and all that stuff,’ so I think this is definitely a surprise, you know. Its an addition to what we wanted so to be able to be playing the kind of places we’ve been playing now and we have a record label, our CD’s in stores across the country and to have a real major booking agency behind us, that’s the kind of stuff that was part of our goal, and to have a television show is just a big bonus.
So Paulie and David, your father actually played in a trio with his brother too called Z, right?
David: Yes, that’s actually where we got the name.
Would you say that you’re continuing a family legacy?
David: Absolutely, for me Z02 definitely comes from there because, like you said, our father and uncle had a band called Z and the funny part of it was they had an Italian drummer named Joe, which is really funny. But Z was sort of created at the end of 2002 so this is sort of Z 2002, or what we like to call it, Z, the second coming or Mach 2, you know?
And so since coming together and recording your debut, Tuesday And Thursdays, you guys have already toured with Kiss and Poison, what was that like?
Joey: It’s really everything you could ever imagine it was. The funny part was when we first recorded Tuesday And Thursdays we put it out on our independent label and we had only played about five or six live shows at that point. We were just playing local shows in Manhattan, and we then heard that we were getting the Kiss tour for the whole summer for 40 dates.
What would you say was the most memorable moment of the tour?
Joey: I think the very first show because I remember driving there, we had rented an RV to drive there, we did 40 hours straight, and the whole time going there I still didn’t believe it was really happening because Kiss is basically all three of our idols. It’s the biggest band, that’s why we all play music, and the whole ride there I just remember saying to my self, until I’m actually on stage and hitting the first note I don’t believe this is going to happen. So I think hitting the very fist note, and I think it was San Antonio, Texas, until that happened, I really don’t think I believed it, so that’s my biggest moment.
David: I think I definitely agree with that, I mean that was the most exciting and that was where we realized that it was for real. But I think all of it together definitely played a part. I remember when we were sitting backstage and we were just sort of, they had like couches and a coffee table out doors, really neat, and Gene Simmons came over, and sat down right next to us and threw out a bunch of Polaroids. And you know, Gene’s, for those people that don’t know, he’s kind of known for the Polaroids, where it’s pictures of his escapades from the previous night or women he was with, and so he throws this out, which I guess was a sign that were part of the club now and that was a lot of fun. That, and also another very memorable moment was when we played Wiffleball with them, with Paul and Bret from Poison and Gene took the Wiffle bat and started balancing it on his nose.
Paulie: I think winning $20 from Gene Simmons in a bet was my highlight.
Even with all that success, Z02 still had day jobs and were working as the popular kids band, the Z Brothers, to make ends meet. If you had to pick which version of the band you like playing in best, which one would it be?
David: That’s no contest. I definitely could speak for all of us on this, Z Brothers, the children’s thing, strictly was just to make money and a way to make a living and not have to do a nine-to-five. Z02, our rock band, that really is what we do for real. The thing about Z Brothers, the reason we did it and gravitated towards that was, number one it paid very well. Number two it allowed us, because we made our own hours, and even doing a party, we were there for 45 minutes sometimes an hour, and what it did is it allowed us to still tour with Z02 because we made our own schedule. So if we had a tour coming up we just wouldn’t book anymore, it was as simple as that. And lastly, we still got to play music, so at the end of the day we still got to do that.
Were you ever worried about being pigeonholed and having more success as a children’s band as opposed to being a part of Z02?
David: Absolutely. That’s why when we were doing Z02 we never publicized that we did children’s music and the funny thing about that is even though we didn’t publicize and we never spoke about it, work was coming in constantly. I mean, there’d be times where we’d have five or six parties in one day and on the flip side of that, we’re fighting tooth and nail to get every little inch as Z02, and I think because that was the case, it was such a funny duality. I think that’s the reason we wound up getting our television show.
Can you guys just tell me a little synopsis of the show [Z Rock]?
Joey: It’s really like David was just telling you, it’s based on our real lives, we did do Z Brothers during the day to pay for the bills at night. So it’s really a culmination of all of the stuff that happened to us and all of the adventures that we went through to get to the point where Z02 is now. We like to say that it’s Z02 kind of like a year and a half, two years ago, cause we are signed to a record label now, Riker Hill. So in the show we’re actually a little less successful than we are right now. So it’s kind of building up to where we are probably now. The show really just takes place in the life of Z02, but its exaggerated versions of all our stories. It has to make good TV, it’s just like Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He is Larry David in the show but he plays the character Larry David.
In the show you guys seem pretty wild. Are you guys that wild and crazy in real life?
Paulie: That’s actually pretty tame for us. I remember when they were asking us to give them the stories and stuff, some of things we told them, they looked like deer in the headlights. They’re like, ‘We can’t do that.’ I said, ‘Yeah but you’re IFC I thought you’re uncensored, you’re uncut!’ He said, ‘Yeah we’re IFC but we’re not the Spice channel!’ So for us its funny because a lot of people ask us, ‘Are you really that wild or is your life that crazy?’ and the truth is that that’s a very tamed version of what is was really like.
You guys have some pretty well known names on the show. On just the first episode was Joan Rivers and Sebastian Bach. How did you get these people to be involved with Z Rock?
David: From what I heard, a lot of them actually contacted the show, because what they did is they put out sizzle reels and the idea to agents across the boards. It was great for us when we heard that Joan Rivers had contacted the show, she is an icon in the industry. So when we heard that we knew that we had something good on our hands and then, basically, once you get one its easy to get the next one. So once, Joan Rivers was on board, everybody else started saying, ‘Oh, well she’s doing it so I’m doing it.’ Now you have two people, now you have three people and so on and so on. We’re very lucky in that sense and I know we actually, a lot of other people were approached, and from what I heard nobody really said no, the only reason they couldn’t do it was because of scheduling problems.
So what’s next in store for you guys? You’ve been on tour, you’ve recorded two albums and have your own TV series, what are you guys looking forward to in the future?
David: World domination! Does that count?
Paulie: Basically, what we would love to see happen is the TV show, as much fun as it is and as great as it is for us, we would really love to have this become just another tool to get people to recognize Z02 as a real rock band, what we really do. Come to the shows and hopefully buy the CDs and play them loud and enjoy them. If everything went perfect in a perfect world, we could do both-tour in the summer and fall and film another season and record a record. If we could do that every year, a season, a record, a tour, and then take a month off to come home for a little bit and then do it again, I think we’d be happy boys.

Fall Fine Art And Craft Fair

2008-09-09T11:34:00.004-04:00

Keeping in tune with my love of garage sales and unique finds on the street, this is something that I think everyone needs to know about. Every year, a few times of year actually, there is this great Fine Art & Crafts Fair in many of the surrounding towns of the area. Set up through Rose Squared Productions, a husband and wife enterprise, which brings quality vendors and exhibitors to many of the parks throughout the Essex and Union County areas.
The first of these shows that I attended was a few years back in Brookdale Park, located in Montclair, NJ. Fist of all, Brookdale Park is a phenomenal location for this type of event because it’s just so big and beautiful to begin with, that’s its always crawling with people on a warm summer afternoon or even a breezy fall day in September and October. The thing that I like best about this craft fair is that its not filled with your average, run-of-mill junk that you could quite possibly find at many shoddy flea markets and fairs wherever you go. Instead, owners of Rose Squared Productions, Howard and Janet Rose, take a serious interest in what their customers’ likes and dislikes are and seem to be very conscious of what kind of vendors they allow to participate. And that works on both ends of the spectrum, when you think about it. The couple takes careful consideration as to whether or not fair attendees will respond well to the exhibitors, as well as makes sure that the exhibitors have the potential to fare well, also. It’s a win-win situation.

Anyway, the Rose’s produce up to six shows a year with upward of anywhere from 140 to 175 exhibitors at each show. Trust me, there’s plenty to choose from. The types of goodies you’ll find at one of these events range from finely hand-crafted items such as dolls and toys, furniture, pottery and sculpture, painting, jewelry and more. In addition, what kind of fair would it be without food things alike to keep attendants’ senses thriving in every which way. I remember when I stumbled across the Brookdale Fine Art & Crafts Show a few years back, I found a great food and beverage vendor from the Caribbean Islands who sold a delicious assortment of sauces and dips, among other things. I got a wonderfully tasty jar of mango salsa to enjoy with chips, celery, whatever you so choose! It was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy with a little kick and I just ate it up! I’m a big sauce person, hot sauce, sweet sauce, you name it, so I was thrilled to score this yummy jar to take home and share with friends and family.

Contrary to what you might think, though, I didn’t spend all day milling around the food and beverage tables like a vulture in the desert, I managed to make my way through the entire fair and pick up a few other items for the house, things that are certainly not edible! I remember one of my favorite vendors was a great little online boutique that created these adorable hand painted clocks. There were so cute and funky, so unique-that’s the greatest thing of all about these events, as I’ve said before about garage sales, is that you find things that no one else will have! It’s basically just a garage sale with a prom dress on, I guess you could say, but I don’t know if that’s doing this particular event quite enough justice. Anyway, these clocks were $40, not too bad, but keep in mind that although I just compared this to a dressed up garage sale, it certainly is not. These people do this for a living and the woman who was selling these amazing little clocks had hand-painted each and every one, so it was undoubtedly worth the money. The designs were all different dogs on the faces of the clocks and then, of course, a swinging “tail” penjulum hanging on the bottom; I couldn’t resist.

Some other vendors included a woman who sold pottery that she created. Again, I’m sorry but I can’t remember the name of the company, all I can tell you is that she had these wonderful candle holders that had beautiful cut outs of trees so that when a tea light is inside, the shadow reflects on the wall-another must-have, for me, anyway!
With so many vendors and exhibitors, as I stated earlier sometimes as many as 175, it would be impossible for me to tell you about all of them. But what I can tell you is this: The Rose Squared Productions Fine Art & Crafts Fair will be coming to our area a few times in the coming months and is entirely worth going to, especially with, if you can believe it, the holidays being not-so-far-away! The first upcoming fair will take place in Anderson Park in Upper Montclair on Sept. 20 and 21, followed by another at Nomahegan Park in Cranford on Oct. 4 and 5, and then finally back in Montclair at Brookdale Park on Oct. 18 and 19.
For more information regarding the fair, you can visit rosesquared.com for a full schedule through 2009. See you there!

The Early Bird Gets The Worm!

2008-09-02T16:59:00.001-04:00

I know I’ve talked about this before, but I just can’t help mentioning it again! This past weekend, my neighbor, mother, her good friend and I decided to wake up at the crack of dawn and go hit some garage sales! Trust me, its so much better rummaging through someone else’s garbage, because there, you find things that no one else will ever have. There are always interesting, funky little trinkets, art, furniture and more that you’d never find in any department store, and best of all, most likely its one of a kind!
This particular weekend, I was on the hunt for something great for my apartment. Well, when I tell you I hit it big, I really mean it. This isn’t some vintage baby stroller (which is the treasure I picked up last time), its way better! Amidst my travels, I came to the last garage sale on the list: Yes, we were smart about this. My neighbor and I mapped the whole thing out, searching the classifieds first for the sales we wanted to go to, and then printing out directions from one to the next, as to make the trip a smooth one, and it totally worked!
Anyway, I was a bit unmotivated after we hit the first few, because everyone else seemed to be finding such great stuff and I had yet to score big! I picked up a hat and a beautiful jeweled bottle opener, but my mother walked away with probably $500 worth of copper cookware for $60. My neighbor found a great rocking chair for $20. My mother’s friend picked up a few trinkets here and there and a great hat as well. But I wanted something big, something I could really show off, something grand!
First of all, we decided to hit sales all over West Orange and the surrounding area, that’s where there seemed to be the most going on within relatively short distances from each other, and so that’s the section we attacked. We got up super early and hit the road because as they say, the early bird gets the worm. It’s so true, I must say, because it was indeed obvious that we weren’t the only bargain shoppers out on the prowl that day. We must have arrived at the first home a little after 9:30 a.m. and it was already lurking with shoppers galore. This happened to be an estate sale of an old woman who had recently passed away. It was entirely obvious from what was being sold, that she had taste. This woman certainly wore her Sunday best every day, and paid great attention to detail. She had lots of great things, however, the people handling the sale of all of these items had them entirely overpriced. I stumbled upon a chair that I was interested in, total antique beauty, but it was $300!
So, we headed out to our next destination, which is where my neighbor picked up her new rocking chair. I have to say, we learned quite a lesson at this one: Never judge a book by its cover. As we approached the area, it was a bit run down and didn’t look to promising. But, we parked the car anyway and headed over, and to our surprise, came across some great finds! I didn’t actually buy anything, but the other three in my troupe did.
Like I said, I was feeling a bit discouraged, but that all changed when we pulled up to the next stop on the list. As I got out of the car and walked over, I didn’t see much that caught my eye. I quickly gave all of the items on display a once-over, and thought I’d be leaving empty-handed, again! But alas, as I was getting ready to leave, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a great piece of furniture that had gotten past me the first time. I stood there, looking at what almost looked like a buffet table that would be an additional piece to a dining room set, but as I got closer I realized it wasn’t that at all-it was something even better! What I found just so happened to be a 1950 Phillips radio and record player. It’s in perfect condition, working and all, with all of the original paperwork to go along! This is a great piece of furniture, a true conversation piece and full of history. When closed, it looks like just another cabinet, but when opened up it boasts the tuner radio on the top half, and a record player on the bottom that slides out on its own shelf. Like I said, it came with everything, original paperwork and even the little round plastic adapters to play 45s!
I peeked at the price tag and thought, “Oh great, I finally find something great and can’t afford it.” I thought the sticker said $250, but I asked the owner anyway, and am so thankful I did! It was only $25-what a steal! In a burst of excitement I blurted out “Sold!” and graciously paid the seller. It was quite clear that this was a cherished family heirloom because she was actually crying a little bit when I loaded it in the car and took it away, but I assured her its going to a good home. I will cherish this just as much as they do.
As I was walking away, the woman who sold me the radio said, “Go home, sit next to it with a mojito and enjoy!” I said, “I plan on it, but it’ll be a bloody mary, instead.” Her response, “That’s actually my favorite drink!” and so I said, “See? I told you it was going to a good home!”
The Phillips radio is now proudly displayed in my dining room for all to enjoy and I couldn’t be happier!

So Long Summer...Good Riddance!

2008-08-27T15:06:00.001-04:00

Well, it’s that time of year, again. Summer is coming to an end. Say goodbye to hot days and sweltering nights. Only a few more weeks of spending your time off lounging by the pool and the nights sipping cocktails in the back yard (well, maybe scratch that second one-cocktails are good all year round). While it’s sad in a way, I’m also slightly excited for the change of season. I love the fall. As soon as we start getting those first few days in September when the weather cools off a bit and a breeze blows in, I just feel good. Summer is great. But the fall, I don’t know, there’s just something about it: The changing of the leaves, the crisp smell in the air, trading weekends by the pool for days off spent hiking or working in the yard, its just different. Change is good, for all you summer-lovers. Sure, those four months are some of the best of the year, but a little variety never hurt anyone. And, I don’t know about the rest of you, but the fall and spring seasons are some of my absolute favorite when it comes to fashion, and decorating too!
The weather is perfect for creating the greatest outfits ever. The thing is, in the summer, it’s just so damn hot all the time that you hardly want to wear anything at all. You’re lucky if you find me in anything more than a bathing suit half of the time, or just a light and airy dress with flip-flops. But the fall and spring, well it’s just the most ideal time of year for fashion, in my opinion. The sun is still out and the days are still slightly warm, the nights are breezy and cool, but not freezing. It’s the best time to take out the bikes (bicycles or motorcycles), it’s great for walking the dogs and instead of a cold drink I like to sip on a nice cup of tea or hot coffee or apple cider-I’m definitely a fall/spring kind of girl.
I just went shopping; thought I’d hit the end-of-season sales. Well, turns out I missed that boat. Most of the summer wear was already gone, either sold or taken off the floor to make room for the latest in fall fashion. So, I figured I’d just get a jump start on beefing up my sweater collection! I really didn’t go to many stores, like most, I’m a bit strapped for cash, but I did manage to hit just a few good yet inexpensive ones like Forever 21, H&M and Target.
To be honest, I was a little disappointed in my findings. There really wasn’t much that caught my eye and so, needless to say, I didn’t buy very many things at all. However, I still came across a select few things that I had to have. My tastes in fashion seem to change every now and then, but there’s always been a solid foundation to build upon of just wanting comfortable, everyday, functional fashion. So, at Forever 21 I got just a basic necessity, the sheer black blouse, something every girl needs in their closet-that and a great black and grey striped cardigan. To me, the perfect fall outfit is simple, a good fitting jean, a tank with a cardigan (preferably a longer one), and simple shoes whether you’re like me and you wear flip flops until the first snowfall, or you prefer a cute ballet flat or something like it, either way, that pretty much sums it up. I’m partial to hats (fedoras, or as I like to call them, old man hats) and I love big comfy scarves.
You can see that I’m not reinventing the wheel here when it comes to fashion, because as I grow older I realize more and more that simplicity is best. Less is more: Live by it! There’s no need to get all dolled-up for an average day of running errands or going to work (depending on your job-we’re pretty relaxed here at the AQ), but hey, that’s just me. I’m also a true and firm believer of just doing what’s right for you. So, if you’d rather wear tights and heels and skirts every day for the rest of your life, be my guest, fashion is, after all, about expression!
The fall/winter home décor is something I look forward to, as well. The smells in the stores from all of the warm-scented candles are so delicious. I happen to be partial to anything slightly resembling pumpkin, pecan and cinnamon! With one chunky candle, you can make the whole house smell good, and top that off with the lingering sweet odor of freshly baked cookies and you’re set!
I love draping warm fuzzy throw blankets on the bed and the couch, and I love using earth-toned colors everywhere like deep browns, reds, oranges, golds, etc. This is exciting for me because it’s the first time that I have my own place to do all of this too. Granted I still haven’t gotten curtains on my windows, so I should probably do that first before I go out and get all new seasoned decorations, but I’m just so looking forward to this. I get bored pretty easily, I’ve always been that way, and it seems that, to me, the change of season always comes just in the nick of time; the chance to move things around and switch things up a little is a constant in my life, and so four chances a year to do that, well, that’s just what someone like me needs!
The other thing that I really love about the fall season is being outside: As much as possible. I don’t even necessarily need to be doing anything at all. It’s just that, as I’ve already said a million times, the weather is so perfect. My neighbors and I have set up a nice little area in the back of our building for barbeques and the like, and so I think that for the coming change of weather, we’re going to look into two new additions to the place. First of all, we were talking about getting a gazebo. It’s just nice to be able to kind of close your self off from the bugs and whatnot, and then inside, we’re planning on getting a little fire pit to sit around and sip on some Brandy-that should certainly warm us up, you know, just in case the fire goes out!
So bring on the chill, I say! Fall is upon us and I couldn’t be happier. Pack away your swim suits and reorganize your closet, redecorate your house and get outside! This is the absolute most beautiful and perfect time of year!

Rock And Roll Nuptials!

2008-08-19T14:26:00.004-04:00

If there were ever a time in my life that I did something entirely related to music, then attending my dear uncle Roger and now-aunt Rebekah’s wedding is definitely it. This was not a typical ceremony, not your average run-of-the-mill “I do” at all. All of the hype leading up to the special day had everyone buzzing since the moment I received the invite in the mail, a concert ticket, I couldn’t wait! In minimalist fashion, the bride and groom-to-be opted for a low-key ceremony on a sultry Friday night in August. The guest list was small immediate family and the closest of friends only gathered to witness these two love birds agree to be bound to each other for life a decision that far too many enter into lightly, but I know this marriage will last. I wasn’t there that night; all the “kids” were summoned to the after party, which took place the following night (they certainly saved the best for last!).
Following the nuptials was an intimate dinner with their honored guests, a time to rejoice and reflect on the importance of what makes us happy in life and for Roger and Rebekah, it’s quite clear¬ friends, family, their children, finding the love of your life, and of course, rock and roll! On Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008 a little over 100 people gathered at the Carriage House in Totowa, NJ, for an evening filled with just that. The venue was beautiful cathedral ceilings graced us overhead and on the floor were simple and elegantly decorated tables aligning the dance floor, which hosted the majority of the party (well, that and the bar). Upon entering the Carriage House, guests of “Souled Out,” as they cleverly called it, were given CDs with a picture of the newlyweds on the slipcase, and the disc was filled with many of the songs that were played throughout the evening; they had everything on there from the Beatles to AC/DC to Eric Clapton and more. I happen to think that it was the perfect little treasure to round out the event, because as I said earlier, yes, we were celebrating the union of two people who are very much in love, but at the same time, we all came to rock and that’s just what we did. So to have that CD as a reminder of the entire evening is a sweet touch and, I think, a well thought out gift from the bride and groom.

As most newlyweds do, they of course made their grand entrance and had their first dance as husband and wife, but believe you me, that was the only “traditional’ aspect of this affair. As soon as that tear-jerker was over, the band plugged in and kicked things off. First up, we had Force Of Habit, who have been gallivanting around the local bar scene for some time now they’re long-time veterans of playing music and they’ve still got what it takes to keep an entire room of people’s eyes on them! My other fabulous uncle John fronts the band, and there was even a special guest performance, upon request from the groom, by his daughter Jackie, who nothing less than kicks ass on the mic and she did an awesome rendition of “Rock And Roll” by Led Zeppelin. After a few high-energy sets from them, which included one of the greatest covers of the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right (To Party),” perfectly tweaked to get that Force Of Habit name in there (“Mom busted in and said ‘What’s that racket?’ Oh, mommy don’t worry it’s just Force Of Habit”), Green Tree Road took the stage for the second portion of the evening. With the dance floor full, the band, featuring three very special performers, my dad on the drums and the groom and his son on guitar and bass, performed a badass set of classic rock, as well as some more contemporary tunes, that had everyone singing along and dancing their asses off! This wasn’t a wedding at all, which is why it was such a great one (does that make sense?). There was no “chicken dance” or “electric slide” (although I do kinda like that one); there was no introduction of the bridal party and all of that hoity-toity bullshit. It was totally casual, totally relaxed and the perfect start to a happy life together.

The Carriage House is a great place, by the way, to have a party. It was just a really cool banquet hall, with a big foyer right when you walk in and then, of course, the lovely banquet room but the best part, I think, was the big glass window doors all along the back of the room which led to a nice patio area where guests could go for some fresh air or, more often than not, a smoke, and right across the walkway was the outdoor eating café area of the Barnyard Grill, which is part of the venue as well. So you don’t even have to be attending an event to enjoy this great atmosphere, you can just head on over for an evening cocktail and a quick bite-I think that’s part of what made the whole atmosphere so relaxed. That and the fact they we were under specific instructions not to dress up. I couldn’t resist, though, so I wore a dress, but I dressed it down with flip-flops, so I think I pulled it off. Many of the guests had on just jeans and a t-shirt, which was great, because who wants to be singing and dancing and drinking in a suit? Kudos to Roger and Rebekah for that one!
I have to say, the only slight regret I have, is that I didn’t spend more time with them during the night. But I couldn’t help it, I don’t think I left the dance floor once – the music was just too good and the boogie was in the air! Other than that, though, I had a great time, and I truly believe everyone else did as well. So take a cue from these two, if you want to have a great wedding and just enjoy some time with family and friends, don’t make such a big friggin’ deal about it – just relax, get some great music and have fun! That’s all you need!

The "Skinny" On Being SKinny

2008-08-12T13:53:00.001-04:00

I’ve been enlightened. A friend of mine gave me a book to read that changed her life, and it changed mine too. Skinny Bitch, written by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, is the most influential book that I think I have ever read in my life. While you may think it’s about vanity and good looks, it’s not, not entirely. Sure, it has witty banter about being fabulous and fitting into your “skinny” jeans, but it’s not a materialistic read at all. In fact, it’s full of useful, intelligent, well-rounded information regarding the food industries and what we are eating. Skinny Bitch unveils the horrors of inhumane slaughterhouses, unravels a web of lies that governmental information agencies are telling us and gives readers the “skinny” on being healthy. Be prepared because what you thought you knew, quite frankly, is bullshit.
I’ve always been a big meat eater. Ham, pork, steak, chicken-I love it all. After reading this book, though, I don’t think I’ll ever eat meat again, seriously. I guess I always kind of knew in the back of my mind that animals aren’t necessarily slaughtered in a “nice” way, if there is such a thing, but I think that I somewhat ignored the idea or just chomped on a burger in blissful denial. Well, that’s all changed now. After reading Skinny Bitch, the realization of what actually goes on behind closed doors at slaughterhouses was brought to my attention and if for no other reason than the fact that these poor animals are brutally murdered in cold blood, I’ll do my best to steer clear of eating their flesh for the rest of my life. Did you know that by not eating meat, you alone can save about 90 animals a year?
There are other reasons, though, that I’ll no longer indulge in eating meat. There are guidelines that are meant to be followed in order to lessen the brutality of the killing process, many of which are ignored. For instance, animals are supposed to be stunned with a long metal rod that renders them unconscious before they’re slaughtered, however, when trying to catch hundreds of frightened pigs or cows at a time to stun them so that they don’t feel the pain of being skinned alive, it becomes much easier to “accidentally” miss and send them in to face their fate fully awake and aware of what’s happening to them. Try to imagine that the next time you order a juicy burger or a nice steak; kind of makes you lose your appetite, huh?
Well, there’s much more to tell, but I’ll leave it up to the experts. Read the book. Besides just telling us what not to eat, Rory and Kim give readers a guide of what kind of food we should be eating, as well as many other helpful tips on how to stay healthy and what kinds of things to look for in the food we’re eating. For example, the foundation that we build our diet upon should be mainly plant-based. Our entire intake should consist of all natural, organic, and unprocessed foods. It’s a tough life to live, but forget the cookies, forget the brownies and don’t even think about junk food. It’s pretty scary when you realize that many of the ingredients in the food we’re eating are actually carcinogenic. That alone keeps me up at night and would be enough to make me change the way I eat. Of course, I’m not perfect, I still crave cookies and sweets, and thankfully Skinny Bitch maps out an entire world of authors Rory and Kim call “acceptable junk food.” First of all, you may not think of this as junk food, but how about instead of going for that cookie you grab a piece of fruit instead? Think about it. Fruit contains sugar (the good kind) and its pretty sweet to taste, so why not? If that doesn’t do it for you though, there’s plenty of manufacturers of natural, soy-based, organic “junk food” to satisfy your cravings. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s worth it in the end.
One of the main reason I think this book made such a huge impact on me is because it really focuses on just feeling better and creating a whole new lifestyle. I’m pretty big on exercise and leading a healthy life, and I think that too many people aren’t active enough. Trust me, if you’re feeling that its time for a change, read this book. You’ll be a different person afterwards.

2008-08-12T13:43:00.005-04:00

Einstein said that when there are no more bees the world would soon end. Well, as of now the honey bee is an endangered species does that mean that we’re all about to die? And if we are, have we done what we were put on this Earth for or have we just simply wasted time? Andre Mistier, lead singer for NY-based band Ism, questions all of us on the group’s sophomore release through STM Records, Urgency. A call to arms, Urgency spits in the face of all of the bad we see on a daily basis, and puts forth the idea of change, asking all of us to reevaluate what’s really important in life.
Of course, this answer differs amongst the people of the world, and Andre took the time to tell us about what’s important in his life, as well as what’s in store for the band as they head out on tour in support of Urgency.

So where are you guys right now?
We’re in L.A.

And how’s the tour going so far?
Good. We had one show but it went really well. We played at the Viper room.

I’ve never actually been to L.A but I could imagine that its awesome.
I’ve always had a really good time in L.A., but I don’t think I’d ever live here. Not really my kind of thing.

Really? A little too slow?
No, it’s a little too superficial. Some of those stereotypes are true. But that being said there’s still a very vibrant-it’s a weird mix I feel like-part of the city is very kind of superficial and fake, but at the same time there’s a very vibrant, burgeoning art scene. Clearly there’s the movie thing, but there’s so much music and there’s a lot of art and painting and sculptures and that kind of stuff going on. So it’s cool.

So you described your music as ‘music for the dance party at the end of the world.’ Can you tell me about that?
One of the types of music that I really feel the most is music that kind of has that soaring quality to it, of which, you know, U2 is the first example that comes to mind, but I think there’s kind of soaring in somewhat of a positive sense and soaring in somewhat of a darker sense, and I would say, to me, like Radiohead has that same feeling of soaring as U2 does, but in a much kind of darker meaning. For some reason that kind of darker soaring has always felt vaguely apoctolyptic to me. I kind of describe it as like apocalypse rock. And I feel that our stuff very much fits into that same category.
At the same time a lot of the content and meaning behind this album is the idea of it were your last day on earth…

What would you do?
What would you do and what are the things that you currently do that you would still do?

That theme in the album, is that because of a personal experience of yours? Where did that come from?
It came from, for me, actually, a few years ago my dad died.

I’m very sorry.
Thank you. I appreciate it. It ended up being a really-its weird to say this-but it ended up being a really positive experience for me in the end. I don’t mean the death, but in terms of how it related to my life in that I kind of felt that all the ways in which I was like him were presented to me like a mirror, and it was so clear which things of me came from him that I was able to keep them or change them because I couldn’t look away from it. And the next logical feeling to me was like, ‘Alright, well if that true for my dad then maybe everything that I think and value and feel about the world comes from somewhere else. Maybe its from my dad it could be from my mom, you know, school, tv, commercials, friends-whatever, take your pic-so how do I know that any of things that I feel are what I really feel or what someone has given me to feel?

Wow. That’s deep.
(Laughs) So I went up to California to kind of have a primal experience off in the woods and basically I got the point of, ‘Alright, I’m just starting over, I’m gonna have babied eyes of the entire world. And from the ground up I’m gonna build what I think about everything. And it doesn’t mean that everything is different from how it worked before, there are a lot of things that are exactly the same, there are a lot of things that are different. But, the difference for all of it, is that I know why I feel everything that I feel and I know for a fact that they’re what I feel.

Well good for you because a lot of people don’t, I know I sure as hell don’t always know all the time.
(Laughs) Yeah its hard and unless you have the time and the impetus to actually dedicate yourself to that-and if my dad hadn’t died I wouldn’t have done that- you can’t just like hope that happens, you have to dedicate some time and some space in your brain and your heart to do that otherwise its not gonna happen.
So after that I kind of, to some extent this album is kind of my guidelines, my process, for starting over and most of the album is what I’ve seen in myself and in other people throughout the process and I think that the biggest thing that I found is that people aren’t very conscious of their deeper motivations. And that’s kind of, I think really what this album is about, is getting conscious with your self. And these are the kind of things that like, its not that they’re that difficult to do, they’re that difficult to set aside the time to do.

Right. Well, because everybody’s just so busy, you know?
Yeah, totally.

Life actually gets in the way.
Yeah, but what are you really busy with? You know what I mean?

Meaningless crap.
And to me its more worth your time, I think you actually end up speeding up your life and probably achieving your goals much quicker if you take some time and stop and rather than just go with your head down, take a moment and figure out what you really want and why that is and get, basically, if you clear out the clutter you can walk in a straighter line. And so I use the idea of the end of the world is, to me, like the best possible metaphor for ‘Do it now,’ because you may be completely clear as to what you think happens after we die, in which case great, good for you, but I’m not. I’m very debatable on that idea and unless you’re 100 percent clear, and debatably even if you aren’t, you have to conclude that when you die, to some extent, the world ends for you. Right, so whether this is, you can talk about modern political stuff and modern environmental stuff and worry that the world is actually getting closer to an end, but to me this is really about a personal idea of the world is ending. Basically if you say, ‘Figure out your shit now,’ you just say that in the regular world, people go, ‘Ah, I have time I can do other stuff.’ But if you say, ‘This is a fictional context, if you don’t figure things out now, you’re going to die and the world is going to explode,’ it suddenly has a different meaning.

You said this is kind of a new beginning to you. Your music from the last album to this one seems to have shifted a little bit into a more electronica-infused type of sound, so why did that change come about?
Actually the experience I had with my Dad was before the first album and I feel that as I look back into the earlier music that I did, and that album as well, as kind of the progression of getting to be at the point skill-wise and understanding of myself-wise to actually say it, it took a while to digest the whole thing. And I think that even if I was trying to kind of say some of the same stuff in the last album I feel that I both figured out how to say it and figured out what I’m trying to say by now.
We’ve always been interested in mixing rock and electronic stuff. Kind of the idea as I describe it is to speak to modern ears you need to use the spectrum of sounds that modern people hear and I think that as humans we all respond to the human voice, we all respond to a piano, you know organic instruments have this residence for us so I think they always will. But at the same time we live in a world of-I mean I’m talking to you from a cell phone-there are elevator booths there are construction noises all over, there are these electronic beats, words, cracks, whatever in our world and I think to not use both is to not fully tell the right story to people today. And I think really looking back, the thing about the first album is that we kind of used the wrong pieces to tell the wrong pieces of the story. We put the live instruments down first and then put the electronics up on top of it but that meant that the live instruments had to fit very tightly into a grid because the electronic stuff is very tight and on a grid and to put that on top afterwards, the rock stuff had to be a little lighter. What we did to play that stuff live is we took the electronic stuff and triggered it live and had it as kind of a base and then have the live instruments on top of it and that really I think was the beginning of all of this stuff making sense and being right. Part of that was we took away some of the electronic sounds and tried to see what we could recreate ourselves live and see what either was the same instrument and same sound or if not the same sound the same feeling and then what things should we keep with electronics. And I think we really started to get an idea of that but also it’s the idea that the live instruments were on top and kind of had the room to be free and the electronics stuff was kind of the repetitive foundation below it and it just made sense. And that’s what we did with this album was put the electronic stuff down first and played the live stuff on top and I feel like, to me, this album is actually both more rock and more raw and more emotional and more electronic at the same time. I think because those pieces are in the right places now and they both have the freedom to do what they’re best at.

Why did you guys choose Sacred Cows as the single?
Huh. I mean, I think, I’ll be honest that was a joint decision between us and business people, but it’s clearly and immediately catchy. We’re staying out here with a friend and he listened to our stuff and he’s a musician as well and the line sacred cows just keeps catching in his head and he wants to say it, it comes up in the second half of the chorus, and every single time, even though he knows it by now, every time it comes in the first half of the chorus he sings that anyway, and so I said to him that’s the mark of a good chorus is that its getting caught in him before it even gets there. So that’s great. If you pick one song to kind of express what this album is about, I think there are a few songs that do that well, but I think that ‘Sacred Cows’ is one of the best of those. It works as kind of a call to arms to wake up.
You guys worked with a new producer this time around. Last time was Mike Rogers and this time Phil Blaney. How was that different?
Well, Phil Blaney did a great job. I’m very grateful for what he brought to this project and part of that is just, you know, he has so much experience, I mean he worked with The Clash, he worked with Prince, he worked with the Beastie Boys and its not just that he has this experience and this wealth of knowledge to come to, he kind of has seen and experienced enough music that, I think, the best thing a producer can do is not to redo what you’re trying to do but kind of to listen to the ideas that you’re doing and to help them actually come to life more than you could before. And sometimes that means that we did things that were completely different than what we thought we were doing in the first place but the moment that we’d hear it, it was very clear that that’s what-that made the idea that we were trying to do even more clear than what we thought we were trying to do and I think that he kept our idea very much in mind and with kind of drawing from his breast of experience and wealth of knowledge, he knew how to bring out some of those ideas best.
Well I read that you have some prior experience with production as well, so were you very hands on with this or did you kind of give the reigns up a bit?
No, no, no. (Laughs) I was very hands on. I mean, he definitely produced but I was involved in every step of the way. I really think that the right way to do an album is to have somebody objective in the process, and I’m sure this is different for different people, but for me, um, I have such a specific idea of what I want of this that I don’t think anybody else doing it separately might get exactly the same thing.
What happened with Mike because he played drums on the album but not you replaced him with Greg Evans.
Yes. Not Mike Rogers, Mike Higgins.
Right. Can you tell us why he left?
I’m actually completely still friends with him. I had dinner with him a couple weeks ago. Its totally cool, its just kind of different directions and stuff. He wanted to pursue his own writing stuff for a bit. There’s kind of nothing more simple than we just needed to go in different directions.
And do you think that you guys will ever come back together in this project or even in another one possibly?
I guess I could say I have no idea. But my first thought is, the direction since then, which seems to be in the way that made sense more split, once both sides got free to do what they were wanting to do, it seems to just make more and more sense because of what people wanted to do is more different. I don’t think that will happen, but its certainly possible.
Up to this point you’ve had a lot of success. How does it feel to be received so well?
You know, now it feels great. Its interesting, I remember the first song I ever had on the radio was even actually before an album was even done, this was actually how we met our label, when Mike and I recorded some earlier stuff we released a song called ‘Monkey Underneath,’ which ended up being the title track of our first album in a different form, it was a completely different version of the song, but the early version of the song was released on the radio and it started to get some success and after that happened I couldn’t write. For three to six months I could not write a thing. Everything I tried to write was terrible because I had this idea in my head that everything I wrote had to be a hit. And I had this external judge that made it impossible to listen to myself. And that was really kind of an important idea to me, I really learned how useless that is, so now that, this is actually working much more now, I’m much more comfortable with it.
The other thing, though, is this is the first album we’ve done that sounds to me to be completely right. This sounds 100 percent like what I want it to sound like, and in any music I’ve ever made I never really felt that way before and its really changed my feeling about it. I don’t mean this in a bad way, but I don’t care at all what anybody thinks about it. It sounds exactly like what I want and so if somebody doesn’t like it, that’s a disagreement of opinion, whereas I think if it didn’t sound 100 percent like what I wanted and someone didn’t like it, I’d think well maybe this isn’t good, but now to me, if this was somebody else’s music, I would be really excited to listen to it. Its just music that I like, so that changed everything.
What are your plans for after the tour?
Well, in the next couple of weeks we’re gonna be shooting the music video for ‘Sacred Cows’ actually out here in L.A. and then touring, I mean, this is just the very beginning of the touring. We’re out here for a month, then we’re coming back east and then we’re touring in the mid-west and Ohio for a bit, we’re gonna be kind of going up and down the east coast, but our touring has just begun, we’re gonna be touring for a while.
I’m actually, I’m finishing up the soundtrack to a movie that’s going to be coming out so…

BLake Lewis Live @ The Canal Room!

2008-08-11T11:22:00.000-04:00

NEW YORK, NY-I guess the new thing to do if you want to become a famous musician is to get yourself on some kind of reality show. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you get that exposure and introduce yourself to the world through those big shiny television sets. It may seem like a cop out, it may be frowned upon by the people that paid their dues and worked their way up, waiting tables and scrubbing toilets, only to then go play a show to only three people that probably didn’t want to see them in the first place, but that’s a sham! Yes, there are some fakers that slip through the cracks, but there’s a lot more “nobodies” popping up all over the place that do have some serious talent and they’re zeroing in on a whole new method of “making it.”
I saw Blake Lewis the other night. In case you don’t remember him, he was a contestant on American Idol; just think Michael Jackson beat-boxing and Bon Jovi being looped over and over again, add in heavy bass beats and a lot of reverb and there you have it-Blake Lewis. Initially, I wasn’t planning on attending-this style of music doesn’t really tickle my fancy. But, alas, I was convinced otherwise and headed into downtown NYC to check the show out. This was, in fact, Blake’s first performance as an artist, not an Idol contestant, since the famed TV phenomenon aired with him making it to the finals on the sixth season-Blake was the first runner up, beat by Jordin Sparks. So, it was certainly a special and exciting night for the performer and his fans. And boy does he have fans! The Canal Room was pretty much filled with screaming “Blakies” (I don’t know if that’s what they’re called, but the media always makes up some ridiculous name to describe which contestant you’re a fan of, and so I came up with this), and much to my surprise, there were quite a few guys floating around in what I thought would be a sea of women.
At first thought, it’s easy to assume that maybe the guys were all there to see opener Brianna Taylor, but if that was the case then why would they have stuck around for Blake? There’s no denying that he brings a loyal fan base with him and that’s a good sign. But let’s just back up for one second here. Brianna Taylor. Recognize the name? She was most recently on MTV’s The Real World Hollywood, sporting bleach blonde locks and an in-your-face attitude, but trust me, she’s since changed. A good dye job made her hair a warm shade of reddish brown and that tough-girl act was wiped away with the first note she sang. Brianna took over the stage and captivated the crowd with her beautifully executed acoustic songs, something I wasn’t expecting at all. She’s actually got a really great voice and I’m sure that good things will come her way. She sang an intimate and soft version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” a favorite among the attendants. Her set was short, and as soon as she was done she graciously thanked the crowd and introduced the man of the hour, Blake Lewis.
It was actually really interesting to see what it is exactly that he does on stage. On American Idol we weren’t treated to seeing how talented Blake really is, because for each performance the backing tracks and sound effects were pre-recorded or he had a band supporting him. However, on this night, we saw a whole new side of Blake Lewis, the entertainer. He stood on stage with nothing else to back him up other than his voice, his acoustic guitar and his loop pedals as he proceeded to “wow” the audience. He starts off slow, coming up with a beat and spitting it into the mic, all the while focusing on recording himself as he sings. Once that’s recorded he loops it so that it plays continuously, and he then comes up with another element of the track, whether it be a human-made guitar chord, bass or drum effect. Once he records all of the different combining elements that in the end make the background track to which he’ll sing over with actual words, he does just that. So, what it is that you witness when seeing Blake Lewis live, is the creation of a song from start to finish, every single possible sound and element of that song being something that comes directly from him, it’s all his voice- pretty impressive.
There were a few slip ups along the way, like when he accidentally hit the wrong foot pedal and jumped right into a completely different beat that he had recorded, causing him to improvise much more than he had anticipated, but, the somewhat seasoned performer (I guess we can call him that now) recovered without hesitation or flaw and just mixed things up a little bit, creating a whole new, unexpected sound and song, making the crowd to go wild in support.
In retrospect, although as I said earlier that this genre of music isn’t what I’d go for first, it was still worth checking out and being introduced to a whole new means of entertainment, and I do have a new found appreciation for Blake Lewis (and American Idol for shedding light on talented people that would go otherwise unnoticed). He’s good.

Kittenfest '08!

2008-08-01T15:40:00.006-04:00

Like the good girlfriend that I am, I follow my boyfriend around to all of his gigs night after night. Dating someone in a band? You know what I’m talking about then. The only thing is, it’s a little different for me, because not only is my beau in a band, but so are a lot of his very close friends, and so we’re constantly out and about, driving from one obscure bar to the next, rooting our troupe on and showing our support.

Well, this Fourth of July weekend was no different. Another gig, another bar-at least to kick things off, that is. Things took a little turn this time around and we ended up at a house party in Lake Hopatcong called Kittenfest. Now, I had never heard of this before, but apparently it’s an annual thing. At first I was a bit skeptical, I have to admit, I thought it would just be another lame drunken group of kids milling around and acting like asses, and while I was right in one respect (we were the drunken morons, I’ll get to that), I was quite wrong in many others.

This actually wasn’t lame at all. In fact, I have to give credit to Sarah, the girl whose home we invaded Saturday afternoon, because she was quite organized and put together a well executed event. This was a proper display of DIY at its best. First of all, as I said, the show was in Lake Hopatcong. This was my first time there, so I didn’t realize that there was so much property to many of the homes along the lake. We pulled up and herded all of our cars into the parking lot which precedes the grounds where the show was. As we walked toward the area that was designated for the bands and the guests, I noticed a few things. First of all, the homeowners went through so much trouble as to provide Porta Johns; totally didn’t expect that. Next, it was a rainy day, so there were two makeshift stages set up on opposite sides of the property, both amply covered with tarps so as to keep the bands’ equipment dry while they played. There was a bar set up where they were selling drinks and pizza slices, and, the best thing of all, is that they actually had wristbands that you had to pay for to get in, which makes total sense-you should be able to get a bit of your money back after going through the trouble of setting this up for other people to enjoy. So it turns out that Kittenfest is a two day deal. Show goers camp out in the yard of this hospitable person’s home and just hang out and listen to music for the duration of the weekend.

As I approached the stage to the far left I noticed an actual band schedule posted with at least 15 or 20 names on there, each allotted a set amount of time on stage. All local acts, I assume that the way these bands are booked is by word of mouth, really-a friend of a friend of a friend, you know how it goes. That’s how my friends’ bands, Something About Champions, Satterthwaite and The Big Dangerous booked the show-apparently The Big D played here in the winter for a similar show called Mittenfest. Who would’ve thought?

Anyway, so it turned out to be a great time. Something About Champions killed it on stage with a kick ass clean set and a crowd that thoroughly enjoyed their performance, Satterthwaite rocked it as usual, and while the boys of The Big Dangerous didn’t get to actually play the Kittenfest stage (the cops came and shut us down), they graced us all with an instrumental show at our good friend Scott’s house who happens to live on the other side of the lake.
Ah yes, the lake. So, as I said earlier that there were some idiots there, well, that would be me. My crazy neighbor and I, in all of our drunken glory, decided that it would be a great idea to jump in! Some of the boys were kind enough to lend us their swim trunks and off the roof of the boathouse we went. Well, while the water was nice, it was rough as all hell, and the 50-or-so-foot swim from the dock to the neighbor’s floating trampoline was a tough one. It was worth it when we got there, but the aftermath far exceeded the fun. I woke up on Sunday morning, barely able to move, and sick as a dog! I was already fighting something off and my little excursion in Lake Hopatcong did not help the situation at all. In fact, its more than two weeks later and I’m still coughing, sniffly and feeling ill. But, at least I know in my heart that I’m not the only person who’s ever done something stupid due to the influence of alcohol and that comforts me.

So, in conclusion, I have to say that out of all the DIY-type shows I’ve been to, Kittenfest takes the cake (well, that is if we don’t include my parents’ house parties). This is a new age-not house parties, but creating your own little version of an overnight music festival right in your own backyard is, so cheers to Sarah (last name?) for hosting us all and setting up a pretty badass concert!

Back In Action! Weston Record Live CD @ Maxwell's!!!

2008-07-15T12:42:00.003-04:00

HOBOKEN, NJ-June 27, 2008: A day to remember! Not only was it my greatest friend Nicole’s 24th birthday, but it was also the day one of the greatest bands, ever, Weston, decided to take the stage and record a live album at Maxwell’s, right around the corner from us in Hoboken, NJ. My friends and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate with our dear Nicole (Happy birthday again, by the way)!
For those of you out there who’ve never attended a show at Maxwell’s, it’s great. The restaurant is packed with plenty of tables to enjoy a quick bite before hand, and a full-service bar on the far left side when you walk in, perfect for enjoying some quiet cocktails with friends before you go into a show. For us, my friends and I, this night was everything we’d hoped for. Great people, plenty of drinks and awesome, awesome music! While we were all gallivanting around the Maxwell’s bar in the restaurant, we suddenly noticed that the band was hanging out alongside of us as well. Of course, like a bunch of star-struck teenagers we swarmed them, saying hello, seeing if they’d remember us from the last show we were at: I know its lame, we must have looked like the biggest groupies in the world, but who cares? The Weston troupe may not be on the cover of every magazine like your average pop star these days, but to my friends and I, they’re it! They are the band to see. We grew up listening to them. In high school, in college, and still to this day, their music gets into our hearts and feeds our souls, it’s just so much fun to listen to, to dance to, to sing along to, to blast in the car on the way to work, to listen to at the gym, to, well, do anything to. The great thing about this band, in the midst of a time when a new pop-punk act is emerging out of the abyss every other fucking day with no good songs, singing about bullshit and just complaining about how their life sucks because their girlfriend just dumped them for some other dude, is that they have staying power. Weston is a band that kicked ass when I was a crazy teenager trying to figure out life, and they still kick ass today, now that I’m a crazy adult trying to figure out life. If you like them, really like them, you’ll be a fan forever.

So, as I said earlier, my friends and I? We were totally psyched to see them play and record a live record! And what a record it’s going to be! The band must have played the entire Got Beat Up album from years past, along with a slew of new songs that are equally amazing and still posses that signature sound. They’ve changed and progressed, but they haven’t lost or thrown away that thing that makes them who they are-they’ve still got that same old vibe and when you see them on stage, they’re just as good as ever!
I have to say, though, that I was a bit unprepared for the intensity of the night. The fans, packed like a can of sardines in the tiny back room of Maxwell’s, went crazy! I showed up in my little black dress and sandals which, in retrospect, was a bad idea. I never left the mosh pit once, I spilled beer all over myself, and everyone else for that matter (sorry), my toes were stepped on, I got hit in the face by a crowd surfer-it was madness! It seemed as though everyone was there for the same reason, to see their favorite band and to show their support as they recorded the show live! It’s almost a week later and I still have terrible bruises on my knees, cuts on my feet and am sore all over but it was so worth it!
In addition to playing a great show, nice as they are the band obliged and sang “Happy Birthday” to my friend Nicole-the whole crowd joined in as we all serenaded her at the top of our lungs, which made the night all the more special for her and for all of us, so thanks Weston! And, since I hung around like a groupie after the show, I was able to get myself a nice poster (which, by the way, are still available in limited quantity so check out the band’s MySpace page for details on how to snag one) and have it signed by all of the members, something I’ll cherish forever!
Maxwell’s was just one stop amongst many for the band, but it was by far the best, because New Jersey had the pleasure of being a part of the music they played that night forever, and I’m sure everyone that was there can’t wait to get their hands on a copy of the album when it comes out!

Weston will be playing various dates along the east coast throughout the summer. You can catch them on Aug. 23 at The Khyber in Philadelphia, PA. For more info visit myspace.com/westonrockspa

Mike Rayburn ROCKS The Rockwood Music Hall!

2008-07-08T14:37:00.007-04:00

“What if Led Zeppelin decided to sing Dr. Seuss?” “What if I tried to trick the people that are listening to me play my guitar right now, to see if they’re really listening?” “What if, I don’t know, Tom Petty was a country singer?” These are the burning questions that fuel musical talent Mike Rayburn, “The world’s funniest guitar virtuoso.” On Monday, June 23, I had the chance to check out the comedian/musician at the Rockwood Music Hall in NYC. The setting was an intimate one, the room was small and hosted no more than 30 or 40 people, at best. It was the perfect venue for this masterful guitar wizard and jokester to showcase his unique take on entertaining a crowd.

Hailing from Virginia, Rayburn has been classically trained in the art of playing guitar and attended college to perfect his craft. He’s certainly not what you would think a serious, classically trained guitarist would behave like at all. Far from it. In fact, Rayburn is like no other in the industry and I think that’s what makes him so successful. What I saw that night at Rockwood Music Hall was like nothing I’d ever seen before. His philosophy is something along the lines of this: “What if?” It’s that simple, yet that complicated.
Mike draws inspiration for his act from all aspects of his life, from his children to the drunken patrons that he plays for at bars around the country-some of his best work has stemmed from a drunken bar crowd yelling out absurd requests at him that he was actually able to bring to life. You see, one of the biggest themes of his performance is the art of imitation. It all lies on a steady foundation of that one question that drives him to create, “What if?” For example, while driving in the van one day with his children, to whom he frequently reads books by Dr. Seuss, a Led Zeppelin song came on the radio. A rocker at heart, Mike said to himself, “What if Led Zeppelin was a child entertainer and sang Dr. Seuss?” From this unsettling thought came Rayburn’s version of Green Eggs And Ham, now the song, sung by Led Zeppelin-it’s hysterical. And he doesn’t stop there. I’m not sure if this is a true story or just a great way to introduce another bit, but Mike claims that he had a friend named Felipe who was waiting on news of whether or not he had fathered a child. When it turned out that he didn’t, Mike, in a way only he can, came up with this little diddy for the father-not-to-be, “Felipe’s Not A Dad.” Just think for a second. It’s pretty good!

Mike Rayburn is a funny guy. There’s really no better way to say it. He hams it up on stage for a living-could there be a better job? The great thing about him, though, is that he’s not just some “Jack” off the street who’s kind of okay at playing guitar and has made a few friends laugh and then figured he’d cash in on his God-given talent. Rayburn is a serious guitar player, he’s got impeccable skill and takes pride in his craft, so much so that he’s come up with some of the most interesting and wildly entertaining pieces of music that I’ve ever heard or seen played live in my life. He concentrates a lot of his playing on the frets, which I’ve never really seen done before. It allows him to play quick and concise tunes, and has even aided him in coming up with a great bit featuring battling banjos, a crowd request, as mentioned earlier, that he took home with him and perfected. “I’ve got too much time on my hands,” he said after the duel. Well, Mike, all that time has paid off, because I was laughing my ass of for the entire hour-long show, so much so, that my face actually hurt a little after, seriously, because I was smiling the whole time.
Now, he doesn’t just do covers, although he could thrive on them because they’re so damn funny, he’s actually got some original work that hits just as hard as his swapping stars bit, such as the song, “Bad Luck.” When introduced as a love song, you think you’re going to hear the same old tune, be told how much he loves this woman and so on, maybe actually have a moment of seriousness in the show, but that’s not the case at all. Instead, whatever poor soul this song is about, is torn apart, in a nice way (if there is such a thing), and told how much she just, well, sucks. Like a typical guy, Mike blames all his life’s ailments on her with lines like, “Girl, you know you’re just bad luck.” I hope this is a fictional character that he speaks of, because he’s got the masses pumping out belly laughs at her expense-poor girl. He also rips on his dear mother. The shame! Mike’s got this song called “Tattoo,” and I have to say, this was one of my favorites because my mother, young as she is at heart, inspired the family to start getting inked when she came home one day, in her 40s, with a brand new tattoo. Now, I don’t see anything wrong with this, you only live once so enjoy yourself and do what you want, but Mike’s take on it was just too much! He comes up with these ridiculous scenarios and visualizations of his dear old mother getting tattooed and he sings about it with such seriousness, as if he’s really trying to relay this message home. That’s the other great thing about Mike’s act, he chooses topics and ideas that are relatable within the crowd to which he’s playing. Everything he mentions is something that at least a few people in the audience could share an experience with, and that’s part of what makes him so good at what he does, he’s making the run-of-the-mill, everyday things that we all know and see, funny! Really funny!

Rayburn has been performing for a while now and averages about 120 shows per year. You can catch him all over the country, not only doing his comical guitar act, but also as a motivational keynote speaker at corporate events and such, where he relates the skill and dedication that it took him to get where he is, and applies it to whatever the topic of discussion is for each event. He recently played Carnegie Hall, a venue size which he seems to prefer because, “It’s easier to make 300 people laugh than it is 30.” The show was recorded and is now available on his CD that just hit stores, Mike Rayburn Live At Carnegie Hall and I strongly recommend picking up a copy.
For more info about the performer and for tour dates you can check out his website at mikerayburn.com.

Sweet Avenue Bake Shop's Cupcakefest!!!

2008-07-01T15:10:00.002-04:00

Remember that fabulous little cupcake boutique I wrote about a while back? Remember how I said that they are so great and have the yummiest cupcakes and the cutest little shop in an awesome location and I told you how much I just love them? Well, things over in Rutherford, NJ, just keep getting better and better and it’s all thanks to Jake and Danielle Vance, owners of this sweet-treat haven, because this past weekend they organized a public event, sponsored by their shop, to promote good times, good cupcakes, and above all else, good-doing!
The first ever Cupcakefest took place on Saturday, June 21, in Lincoln Park in Rutherford, NJ. The park, located directly across the street from the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop, was home to the town residents and visitors from afar that Saturday afternoon from 12:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. as they all gathered to enjoy a day out in the sun and support a good cause. Jake and Danielle were buzzing around, making trips back and forth between the shop and the park, each time carrying massive trays of mini cupcakes. Their efforts, supported by such organizations such as Leafy Green (leafygreen.info), among others, were 100 percent selfless Jake and Danielle’s main goal in throwing this event was to raise funds for a local charity called Rock N Renew, a program which was developed by musician Johnny Dubowski that spreads the word about living a more healthy, long-lasting and environmentally protective lifestyle. If you visit their homepage at rocknrenew.com you’ll see in their “About” section that the goal of the organization is to “generate excitement about green solutions as we custom-design eco-blueprints for concert tours, schools, businesses, and events.” With a huge musical and artistic influence behind the Rock N Renew team, the idea for Cupcakefest couldn’t have been more fitting for the cause!
The day started of great. The weather was beautiful and the town’s people were out and about. The Hutzel Memorial Bandshell, erected in a corner of the park, was home to five musical acts throughout the duration of the festival, each different and talented in their own right, and each making for some great entertainment for show-goers. First on stage was Brian Keith, a local musician that brought us a beautiful acoustic set of covers. Though he was onstage alone, he still managed to captivate the crowd and keep all eyes and ears where they should be-on him (myspace.com/brianlapierre). Next up was female-fronted punk/rock band, And Then There Were Machines, who just recently finished playing big festival shows such as the Warped Tour and Bamboozle. They rocked it with a set full of upbeat original songs and, though I hate to do it just because I’m sure they’re hearing it from everyone, their lead singer has some pipes on her and I couldn’t help but think of that cute little redhead that’s blasting through everyone’s speakers right now. I’m sure you all know who I’m talking about; I will, though, say that they do have their own unique sound and are definitive in their own style and presence and that the comparison is meant to be a compliment based purely on vocal ability, that’s all (myspace.com/andthenthereweremachines).
When And Then There Were Machines vacated the stage, another solo acoustic one-man band took over-Keiran Hobler (myspace.com/keiranhobler). It was actually a real treat seeing him sing, as he graced us with covers of songs by well known artists like Gnarls Barkley and many others. He conveyed the songs of popular music icons and brought them to us by sharing his point of view which came across beautifully.
Lincoln Park was the place to be this Saturday afternoon. In addition to the musical talent, Jake and Danielle commissioned a few vendors to set up shop underneath the trees as well, making for a nicely executed event. In addition to Sweet Avenue’s table, where they sold raffle tickets to support Rock N Renew as well as their delicious free mini cupcakes, there was Leafy Green, who we mentioned before, a crafty little stationary company run by Kate Baldwin called I (heart) Papers, selling beautifully designed “Thank You” cards as well as some other cutely designed note pads and some chocolates (iheartpapers.com). Community Energy was there to give out info on going “green” (njwind.com), as well as the NJ-Veg Social organization, which is a group of vegan enthusiasts that gather for local events, such as the Vegan Social Prom that they’re hosting on Saturday, July 12, at the American Legion Post 458 in Trenton, NJ. Unfortunately for readers, the event is sold out, but you can find out additional information about the NJ-Veg Social group at myspace.com/njveg. Finally, since I was going to be there to review the event, I decided to set up shop with my clothing company, Archive Clothing, as well (archiveclothing.bigcartel.com).
Around 4:00 p.m. or so, while native Rutherford residents were enjoying their sweet treats and browsing through the available goodies as the vendor tables, the next band, Montclair-based Thing One, took the stage. The ensemble’s quirky mixture of electronica, jazz, funk and rock really livened things up and took the show to a whole new level. Singer Joey Palestina owned the stage with his diverse vocal range and jumping around antics, and members Spencer Miles, Tim Alworth and Adam Arcano supported their frontman with great musicianship as well. The band, who seems to have a pretty loyal following (I met some friends of theirs that traveled from PA just to see them play) have an upcoming residency at Piano’s in NYC on July 2, 9 and 16, so be sure to check them out if you’re in the area (myspace.com/thingone).
To wrap things up at the end of the day, another local cover band from Denville, NJ, Junkpunch (myspace.com/junkpunch), took the stage bringing us awesome covers and an amped up performance. Kicking things off with a cover of a Metallica song, Junkpunch played one great classic after another, making for a great set and a great way to close out what turned out to be a wildly successful event.
As if all this fun and entertainment weren’t going to be enough, Sweet Avenue Bake Shop owners Jake and Danielle Vance also worked with sponsors to be able to include some great giveaways at Cupcakefest, including a digital camera, a pair of Simple shoes, a gift certificate to their cupcake boutique and more, so needless to say there were some very lucky attendees who walked away with a lot of awesome prizes! Not too bad of a deal for just hanging around your local park on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
As I said earlier, this was the first ever Cupcakefest, and being that things went so well, let’s hope that this turns into an annual event. In addition, however, you can look out for the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop to be throwing other similar events, specifically this August, as they will be celebrating their one year anniversary! For more info and to check out their unbelievably delicious, 100 percent vegan cupcakes, log onto sweetavenuebakehsop.com or check them out in person at 153 Park Ave. in Rutherford, NJ.

The Music Elitist

2008-06-24T15:36:00.002-04:00

If you ask me, this term shouldn’t even exist (or rather, this type of thinking). What is this, the music elitist? Well, if you can’t figure it out just by what the term appropriately implies, then you’re probably an idiot. But, for kicks, it is simply this: A person who, by their own standards, rejects or thinks lower of others’ taste and knowledge of good music if they don’t like and listen to the same genres and the same bands as them. The music elitist is a person who takes the joy out of what music does for us by turning it into some sub-categorized, over-analyzed, new way to form cliques within yet another realm of our lives. I can’t stand it.
I don’t like being put down for the music I like, or don’t like for that matter. I don’t like being made to feel as if I hold less intelligence on the subject because I don’t know some obscure band from the middle of nowhere that no one else has ever heard of either, but because it’s me you’re talking to I’m the idiot this time around. I don’t like when people sneer or make faces or flat out say to your face that they don’t agree with your choice on the jukebox or the decision to leave that radio station on because you actually like the song that’s playing. I don’t like people that don’t even listen to the radio because they somehow feel that their musical standards are above most of the shit that plays on the airways these days (although, at the risk of contradicting myself, I do somewhat agree that most music on the radio these days is shit-but I’ll never give up my classic rock, so when I leave Q104.3 on because I can’t get enough of the 12:00 Beatles Block, shut the hell up).
I was out at a friend’s house the other night, pleasantly relaxing, having a few beers, when I got into a conversation with another person who was there about music. All this ranting and raving that precedes this is not directed towards him, he was quite nice, actually. But I will say that he inspired this column topic because he openly admits that, if you don’t like the music he does, if you’re not on the same wavelength, then, well, it’s just pretty much a doomed relationship. I found this shocking. He openly admits to being a music snob-the worst of all music lovers. Granted he wasn’t that bad, but there are far worse, and it’s those particular people to which this column refers.
He and I talked of our favorites, we talked of our influences. I cited, of course, Weston, who, in case you don’t know them, are a great pop/punk band that were consistently streaming through the speakers of my stereo all though high school, and Thrice, who, now that I’m older, reach me on a more mature level with their socially conscious and heavy-hearted lyrics, as well as their newly found raw and blues-y sound. These are two bands that are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum, but both of which manage to continuously hold my interest. He talked of others whom I had never heard, told me how great they were and how much he thought I’d enjoy them. I promised to give a listen (and attend a show). Things were going well because we managed to discuss our commonalities and we were on equal levels of the playing field. But that all changed when, and I may regret saying this but, I mentioned the unmentionable: American Idol. Listen, I think David Cook is a great singer. I think he’s handsome, I think he’s got a fantastic voice and I think he’s sincere. Am I missing anything that makes someone a noteworthy musician? What if he had become well known the way most others have, by playing underground clubs and waiting tables to pay for studio time, then would this be an acceptable infatuation?
Hey guess what? I also really like Miley Cyrus and New Kids On The Block. I think Britney Spears sucks as a person, but some of her music is fun to dance to. Of course I listen to Z100 and KTU, not often, but I do. Is there something morally, and musically, wrong with that? My taste in music jumps all over the place and I draw influence from lots of different sounds. I don’t care if its popular music or someone that no one has ever heard of, or my cousin’s recorded tracks that she made in her living room: If I like it, what does it matter to you?
The point I’m trying to make here is this: Why do people have to get so chi-chi about their music? It’s supposed to be a common ground. It’s meant to be a uniting force among a world so torn apart. It’s not supposed to serve as yet another way to separate me from you, and you from that guy over there, and him from someone else because they listen to something he doesn’t, and so on and so on. This is why the music elitist really pisses me off.
Has anyone ever told you, Mr. Music Elitist, that you’re the worst kind of music fan there is? Has anyone ever let you know that you don’t appreciate music at all, really? You think you do, but in actuality you use it as a tool, a segregation tool, and instead of hearing the deeper message and listening beyond the lyrics, you just think to your self, “Well, this sounds pretty damn good. That’s right. I declare this music as good and, therefore, I also declare anyone who doesn’t agree with me an asshole.” But the truth is, Mr. Music Elitist, that you’re the asshole. You’re the one stripping music of its heart and soul, you may not realize it, but you do. You do when you get into those heated conversations and are ready to throw fists with your best friend when he disagrees with a particular point of view you might hold; you do when you make others feel as if they’re stupid or un-cool because they don’t like what you like. In simpler terms, you suck.

Carrie And The Girls Take Over The Silver Screen!!!

2008-06-24T15:31:00.006-04:00

As promised, and as a faithful fan of four single women searching for love in New York City, I ventured out last night with my girlfriends to see Sex And The City, the movie! Trendy as we are, we met up a few hours early to enjoy some appetizers and cocktails and catch up, just like Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda! The buzz was in the air. It was all we could talk about, how excited we were to see the film! Actually, a few of within the group had already seen it days ago, flocking to the theatre when it first came out, and they loved it so much that they joined us for take two!
The theatre was, of course, packed and surprisingly enough there were a few men in the audience (although, whether or not they were willingly attending I can’t say as most looked to be on the arm of their girlfriends). Things started off a bit shaky and we had huge scare when the film reel didn’t seem to work the first five times that the theatre attempted to get it started. Gasps were heard throughout the dark room as we all sat, waiting patiently and whispering to each other of our discontent. But alas, the countdown began and the previews commenced-too many of them, by the way, but they just add to the hype, I guess. Then we heard it, that all-too-familiar score of music that has played at the beginning of every single episode of Sex And The City and we all cheered!

The movie started out with Carrie, everyone’s favorite writer and single gal in the city, strolling the streets of New York, impeccably dressed, and showing off her phenomenal body (SJP has the most killer legs I’ve ever seen in my life!). The writers of the film were smart, because I knew the show was 2 hours long and I was dreading the fact that it might lag and take a while to get into the real storyline, but it didn’t. Right from the start we’re thrown back into the lives of these four women and things pick up right where they left off. Carrie and Big (who we now know is named John James Preston) are living out their lives, together, in the city of love. Charlotte, who when we last left off was about to adopt a young girl from overseas, is now living out her days in domestic bliss with doting husband Harry and their beautiful daughter, Lily. Miranda is still in Brooklyn with Steve, Brady and Magda, and Samantha has relocated to LA with Smith to follow his career.

All four women seem to be just where they want to in life. But what kind of movie would it be without any drama? Things start to fall apart quickly and we are left to wonder if there really will be a happy ending after all. After Big proposes to Carrie they decide to have a small wedding of 75 guests-no hoop-la, no big to-do. However, when designer Vivienne Westwood gives the bride-to-be a fabulous designer dress to wear for the occasion, things start to spiral out of control. Suddenly the guest list is at 200 and Big is starting to feel the pressure (this is, after all, his third time around the block).
Miranda’s happy marriage, or so she thought, is torn apart when Steve confesses that he slept with another woman due to their lack of intimacy. She immediately leaves him, moves out into a new apartment with Brady and settles into a downward spiral of depression and anger. Samantha, after having spent five long moths living in LA, away from her friends, away from her beloved New York, begins to feel uneasy about the direction her life has gone in. For all of her 49 years she’s prided her self on being a single and confident woman, but lately she finds herself focusing more on Smith and his career (she’s his manager as well as his lover) and not so much on herself. Charlotte, on the other hand, is not included in this slump. The worse thing that happens to her in the movie is she shits her pants from accidentally drinking some Mexican water while on Carrie’s honeymoon.
Why is Charlotte on Carrie’s honeymoon, you ask? Well, put two and two together: Big stands her up on the day of their wedding-completely unexpectedly (at least from Carrie’s point of view-we all knew it was coming). So the girls come together and do everything in their power to keep her from offing herself and they all pack their things and head off to Mexico for a vacation together, one that should have been Mr. and Mrs. Preston’s honeymoon. Needless to say Carrie is bedridden, overwhelmed with depression and sadness. Soon, though, she starts to snap out of it and she finds a way to laugh again, thanks to Charlotte who, as we mentioned before, drops a load in her panties in front of the troupe!

So from this point forward the story goes like this: Carrie tries to put the pieces of her life back together. Miranda holds on to her anger and pushes Steve further and further out of her life. Samantha ponders her life and what she’s become and ultimately decides to leave Smith and move back to New York, where she can find herself again and Charlotte’s dreams just continue to come true when she realizes she’s pregnant. The girls laugh, they cry, they talk about life and love, all the while keeping us moviegoers hanging on their every word, their every move, and drooling over every outfit!
In the end, as most movies will have happen, it all works out for the best. Miranda takes Steve back after a few counseling sessions and a realization that he is the love of her life, Charlotte gives birth to a beautiful baby girl, Rose, Samantha settles back in to being a single gal on the prowl in her beloved New York and Carrie and big get married, in city hall, with no one there, wearing an off-the-rack, vintage no-name dress-no glitz, no glamour, just the two of them.

Photo Credit: Craig Blackenhorn

Sex, The City, And The Fashion!

2008-06-10T11:22:00.004-04:00

May 30, 2008 – the opening day for Sex And The City: The Movie to hit theatres everywhere! This couldn’t possibly make me happier! Like many women, I’ve been a long time fan of the show, not only for its outside-of-the-box approach to making the single life more socially acceptable and being promiscuous not such a bad thing, but more a right of passage for women, but also for the fashion! Oh the fashion! The clothes in the series are a character all their own – there’s Carrie, the sex columnist obsessed with her Manolo Blahniks, Samantha, the vixen who’s not afraid to say, do and wear what she wants, Charlotte, who reminds us all of what it’s like to be a lady and of course Miranda, the power-lunching lawyer by day turned into the sultry redhead single gal by night. I love it! Each Manhattan-bred beauty has a style of her own, creating a great eclectic array of fashion and personality, and surely the movie should thrust all of that upon us on a much bigger scale.
Though they may not have thought this phenomenon possible at first, these ladies, the new “Fab Four,” have taken over the world of couture and are constantly setting trends on set and off. Every young girl wants to be Carrie; she’s carefree, adorable and, I think, the most relatable to the average run-of-mill consumer - she’s not rich, she’s not unrealistically gorgeous, yet she captures the hearts of America with her high pitched squeals of excitement and her ruthless addiction to fashion. She’s a girl that won’t make the rent that month because she spent her savings on the latest pair of experimental shoe designs buy her new favorite designer of the week – and I love her for it! Off camera, though, the woman who brings Carrie to life in a way that no one else can, Sarah Jessica Parker, seems to be a bit more laid back in terms of her fashion choices. We often see the NYC dweller trotting about the streets in a casual pair of jeans and a t-shirt with cutesy flats, and hardly without her favorite accessory of all, her son James Wilkie, by her side. Parker recently made her iconic style accessible to the general public with the debut of her new, affordable line called Bitten. You can check out her designs at bittensjp.com or exclusively at Steve and Barry’s locations throughout the area.
Her on screen gal pal Samantha is a force to be reckoned with. She has single handedly changed peoples’ views of what it really means to be an unwed forty-something woman out on the prowl. Why, not too long ago the acts that she commits on the show were shunned, thought of as sinful and certainly not spoken of aloud. But now there are newly empowered women throughout the world standing up for their rights as sexual beings, and best of all, doing things they’ve always wanted to but may not have had the guts in the past. And her sense of fashion? To die for! Samantha is the type that can pull off any look; she easily transitions from a day time diva in the PR world to a flirty and ferociously confident temptress in the evening. She looks equally as stunning in a form fitting power suit as she does in a strapless little black dress or, as we’ve seen time and time again, in nothing at all!
The good girl of the group (or so it seems), Charlotte, keeps things a bit more covered up then the rest of the gals, but she still manages to make a grand entrance into every room she walks. Though she may be representing on the little, and now big (!) screen, for all of you girls-next-door, she still maintains an up-to-date and desirable wardrobe. The only thing that differs about Charlotte from the others is that she opts for conservative cardigans and grandma’s pearls rather than a barely-there vintage Dior mini dress. Don’t be fooled by her outside appearance, though, because Charlotte is certainly not as innocent as she may lead you to believe. She engages in just as much sexual forwardness as the rest of her troupe, she just doesn’t talk about it as much!
Last, but certainly not least, we have Miranda, the striking, fiery hot redhead who, similar to Samantha, plays the role of doting mother and powerful lawyer during the day only to turn into a girl’s girl at night, hitting the streets of New York City in her high heels and classically revealing attire, just with a little less sexual adventure (well, a lot less now that she’s married to Steve). She embodies a little bit of all the girls, in my opinion. She’s got that powerful diva vibe when she needs to strike a deal at work, she’s got a slightly conservative side to her that embraces her in Charlotte’s world, and she’s got that flighty, free spirit airiness about her as does Carrie, her long time confidant.
Sex And The City, the series and now the movie, has catapulted these women to the forefront of the fashion world. They continuously grace the pages of the hottest fashion magazines, they’re always sighted seeking out the latest trends front and center at the runway shows for some of the most respected designers – they are this generations fashion icons! I can’t wait to see the movie, which is in theatres now, but I plan on waiting at least a few days for the buzz to die down so I can get a seat! I promise to be back with a full report of (hopefully) my satisfaction or (hopefully not!) my disdain. Either way, whether or not there’s a happy ending, there’s sure to be some out-of-this-world fashion, and that alone makes it worth the trip and the sticky floors if you ask me!
Photo Credit: Craig Blackenhorn

Check it out!!!!!!!!

2008-06-02T16:14:00.004-04:00

Hey Everyone!

I've never really mentioned it here, since it wouldn't really be ethical to plug my own line in my column each week....but, my partner and I (my wonderful boyfriend, Angelo) have been working really hard to create a clothing line all our own.

I guess you can say that we've realized our dream, and thankfully, its one that we proudly share, and that's to be a brand, a lifestyle, a higher level of thinking through expressionism and fashion!

So we bring you our first ever line for the Spring and Summer of 2008 by Archive Clothing! (archiveclothing.bigcartel.com)

This is just the beginning! We're already coming up with bigger and better ideas for the Fall/Winter line, hopefully to be launched sometime in October 2008!

We appreciate the great response we've been getting so far - it means a lot to us, really, so thank you to all who are interested in us!

So be sure to stop by and check us out at archiveclothing.bigcartel.com and you can let us know what you think at myspace.com/archiveclothingnj

Garbage Pickin' Days...

2008-05-27T11:41:00.003-04:00

You know, this really is the best time of year for many reasons. Its warm, its sunny, and best of all, its garage sale season mania! The other day, I was walking my neighbor’s dog early in the morn when I stumbled across a great find! Right there, sitting on the side of the street, was a great antique looking end table. I couldn’t resist, and as I walked over to check it out I realized what I had just found! On the front of the table was a sign that said, “Free working sewing machine inside, all parts included.” Score! I’ve never made a dog do his business so damn fast so that I could rush back home, grab the car and head back around the corner to scoop up this fantastic piece of furniture before some other garbage picker got a hold of it! Fate was on my side that day as I pulled up slowly, the sewing machine still there, and packed it into the trunk of my car! This was, by far, a very successful Sunday! It was a great two-in-one deal; not only is this a great looking piece of furniture, but it’s also a fully functioning tool that can be used for so many different projects around the house. I can sew curtains, make pillows, design clothes – the possibilities are endless!
So anyway, my point is, although this particular item happened to be free (lucky me), that if you’re looking for some new pieces to spruce up the house or even if you’re just bored on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon, you need to get out there, take the dog for a walk and check out the goods around town. They’re all over the place. The best thing is, is that most of these people don’t even realize the value of what they’re getting rid of, which is great for people like me who absolutely do!
A few months back, an elderly woman who lived across the street from my parents’ house was relocated to a senior home, therefore, causing her children to clean house and get rid of things that they deemed “garbage.” Huh, morons! They left out, right on the sidewalk, an Antique’s Road Show watchers dream; lamps, tables, knick-knacks, kitchy little trinkets and, best of all, an antique, 1920s baby carriage. What the hell were they thinking? People pay big bucks for replicas of these sort of vintage pieces ¬– it’s all the rave in Hollywood these days – a few years ago it was the Bugaboo that was making headlines, but these days with celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefanie popping out kids left and right, their styles reflect something a bit more classy, and so they’re shelling out mucho dinero for strollers that only look like they were manufactured 70 or 80 years ago, where as I got mine for free! Suckers.
Here’s a little food for thought, though, even if I had paid for these two things, if I found them at a garage sale in town, do you really think I would have spent more than, oh I don’t know, $20 on both items combined? I think not! And that’s the great thing about garage sales, you can pick up some unbelievably cool stuff for a ridiculously low price; you walk away smiling and raving on the phone with your friends, telling them about this awesome new painting you got, or this fabulous lamp, all the while the ex-owners (idiots) are relishing in the feeling of sweet relief that they finally unloaded that junk!
A little tip for all you garage sale shoppers out there, although, if you’re into this as a hobby, you probably already know what to look for, but if not, if you’re new to the garbage picking world of wonders, here’s what you need to know: first of all, most of the time the prices are pretty reasonable, but if they’re not, always negotiate; remember, these people want to get rid of this stuff, so chances are they’re going to be willing to lower the sale price, all you have to do is ask. Second, anything that looks like it was kept in a box for a reason, anything that slightly speaks of “collectible” when you look at it, any paintings that have signatures or markings on them from the actual artist, these are things you want to really take a look at – someone might be throwing away a piece that they believe to hold no monetary value whatsoever, when in actuality it’s worth a fortune – you just have to know what to look for. Lastly, don’t be too cheap. Although I’m telling you to negotiate prices, keep in mind that this is still a sale, these people are looking to make a buck or two, so when something costs $2 don’t be an ass and offer .50 cents – that’s just rude.
You’ll be surprised, really, at what kinds of treasures you can find in a pile of someone else’s junk. So get out there, bring some cash and start shopping. After all, ‘tis the season!

I Survived Bamboozle...

2008-05-13T13:57:00.003-04:00

Barely. This was yet another weekend that has brought to my attention the sad reality that I’m no longer a carefree young teen, but rather an aging raisin-wrinkled, mushy and stale! Well, that’s actually being a bit harsh on my self, but running around for three days with teenagers certainly brings out the old lady in me.
Besides coming to terms with my demise, however, the weekend was great! As always, the powers that be who work extremely hard to make this event happen put on a great show and provided three whole days of music and fun for north Jersey concertgoers. To kick things off, a secret Friday night show, called the Hoodwink Festival, was held in its own private area of the Meadowlands parking lot where the festival grounds were mapped out. A nice showing of over-anxious tweens made their way to the area that night in the hopes that some of their favorite bands would be playing, but not knowing for sure as the true identity of each special performer was kept a mystery until they were actually on the stage. I, however, was not enjoying the music firsthand, but instead working behind the scenes, checking in the weekend’s vendors who were able to show up early. But I’m not bitter, oh no, because I actually got to have a lot of fun. The night consisted of having free reign of the parking lot in my boss’s personal golf cart, so needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed my self. It was a wee bit chilly outside, so that could have caused for some drab conditions and low levels of enthusiasm, but alas, good times prevailed! I did, though, begin to loose motivation towards the end of the night, knowing that such little sleep would be had and an early start was scheduled the next day-and mind you, this was only the beginning…
Saturday morning started bright and early at 5 a.m. when I woke up, groggy, grumpy and entirely dreading the weather because I looked out my bedroom window to a cold and dreary sky. Thankfully, though, after the morning hours passed by, the sun came out and the temperature rose to provide everyone who was at the show with a beautiful day of listening to music and, in mine and my friends’ case, binge drinking, as usual. I, my self, actually didn’t drink too much on Saturday – you know, first day and all, I had work to do-but believe you me, I got my kicks in later on, that’s for sure! Anyway, I didn’t even get to listen to that many bands, and to be honest I didn’t really care to, but I did manage to catch a glimpse of a select few acts that were well worth it. Jimmy Eat World took the Now What Stage right across from where my friends and I had parked for most of the day, and they were awesome – totally worth the wait! That was actually the first time I’d seen them live and they were entirely in synch with one another, they sounded great and the crowd loved them, as did I!
Later on Saturday night, to close out the official first day of the Bamboozle 2008, the pimp of all pimps, Snoop Dog, took the Asbury Park stage and he was nothing short of awesome! I had never seen him live either – I was blown away! Of course he came fully equipped with his entourage and blinged out mic, and the best part was, was that he mostly played all old school shit! Snoop owns the stage; he’s smooth, cool and collected and he manages an entire crowd of people, all of whom are enamored by every move he makes and every word he raps! Definitely a good choice for the closing act of the night, for sure.
So Sunday, oh Sunday, I was tired. What can I say? I had been working for so long leading up to this much-anticipated weekend, and then once it finally came I was working (we’ll use that term loosely) all weekend long as well! Sunday, though, I did manage to have a bit of fun. I figured, “What the hell,” all the vendors know the drill, they’re all settled in and enjoying themselves, so why don’t I try to have some fun too? Well, this turned out to be a great day for me. I checked out an old favorite, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, I was surprised with a phone call from a new friend who is involved with a great non-profit organization called Invisible Children and they are currently on tour with my favorite band, Thrice, who happened to have a time slot on this year’s festival! So, we met up, had a beer and headed back stage to chat and then right on the stage as Thrice was playing. Their set was awesome, consisting of new material from their recently released Alchemy Index, and of course some older songs as well that are always crowd favorites, one of which is my personal fav, “Deadbolt.” I don’t think, in fact scratch that, I know, there has never been a time that I’ve been disappointed when seeing Thrice live. They always manage to raise the bar a bit for the other bands that they share the stage with, in my opinion. They present a new sound with each new album they release, they put a new social message into music and lyrics with each new song they write and they always, always seem to play with such passion and drive – there’s just no other comparable group in the genre, if you ask me.
Other than that, I got plenty drunk on this, the last day of Bamboozle, I had some fun with my friends, I sold some clothes (Oh yeah, my boyfriend and I started up a new clothing company called Archive Clothing that we debuted at this year’s festival) and I made a lot of new friends. All in all I would say it was a complete success! I may have been tired as hell, I may still be recuperating from a long weekend, but I had fun and I survived! So, see you next year!

Bamboozle 2008

2008-05-05T13:15:00.010-04:00

Well, my partner (who happens to also be my boyfriend) and I just got through our first successful Bamboozle event as new clothing designers. Our company, Archive Clothing, debuted at this year's festival and was met with a great response from the crowd! We couldn't be happier with the way things went and we're looking forward to many more events to come - we're officially launched and in business, and we hope to bring you all lots of great clothes, cute accessories and more for a long time...be sure to check us out on our website, archiveclothingnj.com, which should be up and running by the weekend, and let us know what you think! Thanks to everyone for all of their support; this is just the beginning...

Me and Angelo...and our fabulous designer, Marissa!!!! Archive Clothing 2008

Angelo and Vinny...one of our many friends who helped us out so much this weekend!

Vinny and Val - the dream team!

Nicole, Roe and Marissa...my amazing girlfriends who were out and about supporting Archive Clothing!

Me and two of my best girls!

Awesome Val!!!!

A bit of our booth with our awesome banner!!!

My "Teenage Love Affair" With Weston Revisited...

2008-04-24T10:04:00.003-04:00

As they so cleverly state on their MySpace page, “If you’re not a teenager, you are tonight,” Weston, my all-time favorite band from high school, and still to this day, in fact, took me on a trip down memory lane the other night when my brother, my good friend Rosanne and I went into Brooklyn to Europa Night Club to see them play for an all too-short weekend cluster of gigs. This was, sadly, the first time that I’d had the opportunity to see this band that I’ve idolized for so long and they were everything I could have possibly expected and more! Never in my life have I sung so loud, never in my life have I danced so much (so much so that I managed to pee a little, that’s how hard I was dancing, and yes, like a drunken fool I told the band that, as if they would feel complimented by some intoxicated fan pissing her self on the dance floor) and never in my life have I just had such a great fucking time!
Weston is the ultimate, number one, teenage-angst band. If you have a bad breakup, you listen to Weston, if you’re a dorky nerd and no one likes you, you listen to Weston, and if you just like kick ass, old school pop-punk music that hasn’t morphed into some shitty ass excuse for a wanna-be band, you listen to Weston; and if you don’t, well then you really should. How else can I say it; they’re just so good! When my girlfriend Roe and I heard they were coming to town we were so thrilled because she had never seen them either; and when I called my brother up for some directions, because I’m apparently a moron and can’t look up the train schedule to Brooklyn, and he asked who I was going to see, I told him it was Weston and he instantly said, “I’m in!”
It’s sad, but I really don’t think that they get as much attention as they deserve. Though I’m focusing on more of their past efforts because I love them so much, their 1996 album, Got Beat Up, on Go Kart Records, is one that will forever remain a legendary record in my book. I don’t really have that many albums that I truly love; there aren’t many CDs that I can just listen to straight through and not skip one song, but Got Beat Up sure as hell is one of them! And on this dreamy Sunday night, April 6, 2008, they played, along with some newer tunes that were equally amazing, almost the entire, if not the entire, Got Beat Up record that I fell in love with so long ago. Everything from “Superstar” to “Heather Lewis” to “Just Like You” to “Retarded,” they played it all!
That wasn’t the only highlight of the evening, however. It certainly sits high as my favorite part, but luckily we didn’t have to sit through a bunch of crappy bands while we were awaiting the one we really came to see. The three of us got there just as the second band was finishing up, so I didn’t get to hear much from them, and I honestly don’t even know which band they were of the two that we missed. It was either Scream Hello or General Miggs, but even though I only got to hear the last little bit of their set, they sounded great so I’m sure it was a kick ass performance. The third band, though, that came on just before Weston, caught all of our attention immediately. Love Automatic took to the stage and instantly amped up the crowd. They were loud and energetic and Brent, the lead singer, has a great voice. They sounded really, really good and when I found out they aren’t signed yet I was actually pretty shocked. Brent told me, however, that they just finished mixing their new EP and that it should be released shortly, so be sure to check it out when it becomes available!
So as the night went on I just had more and more of a great time; maybe a little too great, I didn’t get home until almost 5 a.m. and I was in pain the next day at work – but it was worth it! We stayed after the show and hung out a bit with the band, had some cake for Jesse’s birthday, and my brother Ricky and I, lame as we must have sounded, were actually buzzed enough, or flat out drunk enough for that matter, to ask James (vox/guitar), if they would play Ricky’s approaching high school reunion. Could we seriously have acted like any more of a couple of losers? I think that would probably be the biggest high school reunion that Nutley High has ever seen, because not only would the class of ’99 go, but every single Weston fan in town would for sure show up; and there’s quite a decent amount of us! I wonder if the guys from Weston know the guys from Bigwig. They’re from Nutley originally, so maybe they’d want to play too! You never know…
I think I’m starting to get ahead of my self, I need to stop. Its okay to dream but come on…either way, all I wanted to say was that this was probably one of the most satisfying shows that I’ve ever been to. I had the time of my life and came across a great new band that I didn’t know about. I got to have some yummy cake and meet the dudes from a band that I love! You can’t really ask for more than that….

Hung-over, Hungy and Grumpy...

2008-04-15T15:03:00.005-04:00

My boyfriend and I have decided to start our own business. We’re venturing out into the world of entrepreneurial bliss, complete and total creative freedom and the opportunity to be in charge of our lives entirely. We’re working with a few friends on this because we just happen to have some wildly creative and genius people in our camp. So last night we had a little meeting, if you will, a gathering of girls (and guy) to go over some last little details and get this thing rolling! Well, as you can imagine by my headline, things got a little loose as the night went on and now today I’m slightly suffering for my irresponsibility.

The thing is though, I really like to drink. I’m not an alcoholic, but rather a social sipper, the only problem is, is that I don’t just sip on one or two cocktails and then call it a night like any normal working professional would do who had to be up early the next morning; no, instead I polish off the last few beers that are left in the fridge, catch a buzz, and then go for whatever I can find which, in this case, happened to be a half empty jug of Sangria (obviously, empty now…). At the time it seemed like a great idea, I wasn’t feeling overly intoxicated, I was just frisky enough to be enjoying my own company and to be crunching out design ideas for almost 4 hours with my colleagues. Not that this wouldn’t have been a blast regardless of whether or not alcohol was involved, because I love what we’re doing, but the added influence of good seasonal beer and fruity Sangria just made it even better. We had the tunes going, the TV on, the computer all fired up – we were having ourselves a little party and with all the commotion and outside energy flowing in we managed to come up with some really cool shit. But now, now that I’m sitting at my desk on this cold, rainy and all around crappy day, writing this column, writing about this because I got too loaded last night to come up with anything other than this that might seem mildly interesting and entertaining to readers, I’m regretting my on-the-fly decision last night to act like it was a Saturday and get hammered.
I’m cold, I’m grumpy, I’m tired as all hell, I look like crap, I have a full day of work ahead of me, I have to leave for a bachelorette party in Atlantic City in about 8 hours (where I will, presumably, continue this irrational and irresponsible behavior and proceed to get doubly hammered for an extended period of two days), I have so much to do for my company, I’m super hungry and contemplating skipping out of here for a quick bagel run to soak up the left over alcohol in my stomach, and I really don’t want to do anything but crawl back into bed and sleep away the pain.

You would think, after all I just said, that I would learn from this ridiculous behavior and this never-ending hangover, but alas, as we all know, I’ll do it again…and again, and again, and again pretty much forever until I die, because as I said in the beginning of this column, I like to drink. It’s funny though, because I’m not usually the type to behave so badly during the week, but for some reason last night I just threw my impending morning hangover out the window and got a little crazy!

I feel bad for my co-workers, though, because now, I’m hung-over, I’m tired, I’m starving and I’m just in a grumpy, frumpy mood. I will not, however, let this affect my productivity for the day, I’ve only been here for about an hour and I’ve already gotten a sizeable amount of work done, but I do see my self dragging my feet and keeping my hood pulled over my head all day in an attempt to block the outside world from reaching me. I wish there was a cure for a hangover, some kind of pill or special drink that you could take in the beginning or at the end of the night to deter the inevitable feeling of shit the next day. Although, if something like this were to exist, would all the world be a mass group of stumbling, mumbling drunken morons each and every day because the harsh effects of alcohol will no longer be a problem? I wonder…
As of now, though, this magic little pill, this deliciously genius drink does not exist. So I, and everyone else who acts with complete and utter stupidity on Thursday nights (or any other night of the week that suits you), will have to suffer the consequences. We will though, even with the knowledge of what is to be endured the next day, continue on this path of being young, reckless and drunk, probably until it just isn’t fun anymore…I don’t see that day coming any time soon so until then, another beer anyone?

Not Enough Time...

2008-04-07T13:52:00.002-04:00

I swear, I woke up this morning and had a revelation. It seemed as if just yesterday it was that groggy Monday morning, the first day back to work after a weekend of whatever, and I was depressed that there were still so many days left until I was able to enjoy yet another relaxing two days with nothing to do, no obligations – just time! But suddenly, as the coffee kicked in and I began to actually open my eyes, I came to and reality struck! It’s Thursday! Well, “This is great,” I thought to my self, “There’s only one more day until that weekend that I crave so much.” But then another harsh reality settled in; where the hell did the time go? What on Earth had I done between that lazy Monday back to work and this exhilarating Thursday as the week comes to a close once again? I’m thinking and thinking about my days, but I just can’t seem to put it all together. Strange. As I get older, time just doesn’t seem to stand still as much as it used to, it’s actually passing me by and I’m not really adapting to this well.
I feel almost as if I’m beginning to develop a slight case of Alzheimer’s disease. Seriously, I’m not joking and this is no laughing matter. I’m only 24 years old, yet I feel as if I’m operating on a scale comparable to that of an eighty-year-old. This is so not cool. I’ve been adjusting well to this whole grown-up thing. I’m living out my days in domestic bliss, getting up and going to work like an adult, coming home and spending time with my significant other, cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, going on Saturday afternoon outings with my mother shopping for curtains - and I’m happy; these things, I like. But all of this other shit that comes along with it, I’m not really warming up to.
I don’t think that I actually have Alzheimer’s, but I do think that I know where the problem is coming from. I’m too damn busy – plain and simple. My days are so jam packed with things to do, places to go, dishes to wash, that life is just passing me on the right like a car speeding on an open highway. I don’t even have time to do the things that I love most, lately, like sit around on a rainy afternoon, or even a sunny one for that matter, and read a book, or go to the gym, which is killing me because I’m one of the biggest work-out-a-holics you’ll ever meet, or spend my weekends being lazy and not even leaving the house (or showering), I can’t find the time to just chat on the phone with my girlfriends about our love lives and school and work, I don’t even remember the last time I got my nails done. Is this what being an adult is like, because if so, I pass; skip me, on to the next one. I’m perfectly content staying young and vibrant and knowing what damn day it is!
I’m starting to wonder about so many things. There’s so much that I want to do in my lifetime; I want to travel to Europe and Alaska, I want to go skydiving, I want to live somewhere else for a while, I want to run my own business, I want to not do anything for a bit, I want to live! I feel like all this hustle and bustle of everyday life is taking away from the quality of the life I’m actually living. It’s entirely unhealthy, it’s certainly not ideal, and I think I want to make some changes to prevent this from continuing on. But what can I do, really? Quit my job? No, because number one, I can’t afford to and number two, I actually love what I do and wouldn’t want to give it up. So what else can I do? Move back home and return all these burdens unto my parents? I highly doubt that shit’s gonna fly. You know what would be great? If I could get a clone, if I just had one more of me to balance things out; she could stay home and maintain the apartment while I go off to work each day. She could make sure the dishes get done, the laundry is fresh, the toilet seat is put down (I hate that the most!), she could fill in for me with my business partner and clue me in when I get home from work, she could work the extra job on Friday nights for some pocket cash so that I wouldn’t have to quit because I’m just too tired. She could do it all (well, not everything, I’d still like to be the one who gets the good stuff, if you know what I mean); but she could keep me in shape at the gym every day, she could eat all the healthy food so I could enjoy the treats, she could go to those annoying annual doctor visits where you make an appointment for 10 a.m. but don’t actually get into the exam room until noon (and then wait another 20 minutes for the doctor to give a shit that you’re just sitting in there, snooping around), she could go to the Gyno, oh what a blessing that would be – basically, she could just do all of the mundane, day-to-day shit that I’d rather not be worried about so that I may enjoy a relaxed and fulfilling life. She could be the one to take on all the stress, all the heartache, all the worry and she wouldn’t feel bad about it either because that’s what she was created to do – she’d be like a robot (but not an actual one that could morph into some sub-human robotic species and take over the planet, oh no, she’d still have my morals and values and all that good stuff that keeps the peace, she’d just be immune to the common everyday annoyances of life).
Sounds good to me. I want to be able to wake up each day, breathe in and breathe out a sigh of relief; relief that I have an easy-going, stress-free day ahead of me, a day that I can do nothing else but enjoy, a day that I’m in control of and one where I am unhinged of countless obligations and “things I have to do.” Imagine the possibilities (but let’s not think about the possible pit falls of this wildly outrageous idea, that’s for her to do)! See? It’s already working…

Bathing Suits...already?

2008-04-04T12:48:00.005-04:00

Okay, now I know it may seem a bit early to be talking about this, since it’s still kind of chilly outside and winter is not such a distant memory yet; but honestly, it is April and swim wear season is just around the corner. Actually, for me it’s right now, because I have a bachelorette party this weekend in Atlantic City, and we’re all geared up for two days of bikinis and cocktails by the pool at Harrah’s. So naturally, this has gotten me in the bathing suit mood and of course I need to get a new one each year to add to my already massive collection, so I’ve decided to do a little research to check out what the latest and greatest trends are in swim wear this year. To be honest, what I’ve found is not much different than what’s been hanging on the racks for the last few seasons, but how much can beach fashion really change and evolve, there’s barely anything there in the first place, so designers don’t have much to work with. Nonetheless, I did manage to find some great styles at some great prices (I’ve also thrown in a few that are a bit higher on the pay scale for those of you who have the cash to drop on designer duds), so get ready, start thinking warm weather, sunny days and ocean side drinks because we’re heading full throttle into the world of beaches and bikinis!

First of all, how many different styles of bathing suits can there really be? More than you would imagine. There’s cut outs, bandeau tops, string bikinis, full coverage, thongs (if you have the guts, and the ass!) halters, one-pieces and more! It’s all about the fit and what looks right on your body! For women who are a bit curvier, I would suggest either a great tankini or halter top to hold everything in its place; for those who don’t have so much going on in that region, a great push-up top or bandeau topped suit is perfect and for those of you who have that little extra junk-in-the-trunk, well there are adorable skirt bottoms and full coverage bottoms that offer not only a great amount of cover up, but that still flatter your figure and enhance your shape so you look great strutting your stuff on the sand.
Bathing suits, however, are not the only thing women will be shopping for this season. Another factor to consider when purchasing a suit is that it’s not only the swim wear that makes the look, but rather the cover up and the beach bag and the sandals as well. You wouldn’t think that so much would be involved in sporting great beach attire, and to be honest, there really shouldn’t be, but with us girls everything’s a fashion show, right? There are hats, shades and towels galore that all factor in to making you look like you just stepped right off the runway and onto the sand.

So where is the first place to start this bathing suit shopping spree? Well, Victoria’s Secret, of course! Each season I eagerly anticipate the arrival of my new catalog, showcasing the best new suits and cutest accessories, and once it arrives my eyes are glued to the pages until I find exactly what I’m looking for. The great thing about Victoria’s Secret is that they are literally a one-stop shopping catalog. They offer a great mixture of styles of swim wear for women of all ages, shapes and sizes; both my mother and I always manage to find something that looks great on each of our bodies. She usually goes for the classic tankini with a skirt to cover up her bottoms, giving her the right amount of coverage and looking age appropriate, but still making her look like a fox while lounging by the pool. I, on the other hand, usually opt for something a bit more revealing, something a little more fun and certainly more in the 24-year-old category. The prices that they offer are usually pretty reasonable, however, once you start gazing at the signature designs that they create each season, the ones with all the glitz and glitter, the prices start to rise. Don’t be discouraged though, just shop within your price range and you’re sure to find something that suits you!

Another great place to find a fabulous bathing suit is, believe it or not, Target! Not to speak badly about the store, because I love it and shop there all the time, but for some reason I just didn’t think I’d find good swim wear inside. They actually do, though, have great styles that fit well and flatter a wide variety of figures. The prices are pretty much affordable all around and they have everything you need – the suit, the bag, the towel, the flip-flops and probably a great pair of shades and a cute hat to go along as well! So if you’re on a bathing suit budget, definitely check out your local Target store – you’ll find more than you might think.
Speaking of great suits for great prices, last year I got an adorable, designer suit at TJ Max. Either here, or Marshall’s, is a great place to look for higher end swim wear that is affordable on an average person’s yearly salary. They have great styles - the only problem is that you kind of have to search through a lot of shit before you find something wearable. So if you’re planning on picking up your next beach outfit at one of these stores, be prepared to head in there guerilla style and start sifting through the racks and racks of what Granny would wear to the shore before you find something suitable for you – but keep this in mind, once you come across something great, it’s like a diamond in the rough. They have some amazing bathing suits at equally amazing prices!
As for a beach bag or a towel, these are things that I’m always willing to spend a little more money on. Why? Well, a beach bag, if it’s something neutral and classic, can last through more than one season, so it’s worth it to get one that’s a little bit higher end, rather than some cheap and poorly made accessory that won’t even last through one summer. There are lots of places online where you can get a blank canvas bag and have it monogrammed and there’s also plenty of super cute designs at all of the department stores in your local mall; the bag doesn’t necessarily have to go with the suit, but its pretty hard to get one that doesn’t transfer easily between all the different options you have; just keep it simple. Something in a solid color, straw or a great black and white design is great because, that way, it will go with pretty much everything!

Finally, there’s always at least one store that stands out for each different thing that I happen to be shopping for at the moment and this year, it’s Urban Outfitters. I’ve actually never bought a bathing suit from the store in the past, but this year that all might change. I just checked out their website and they are housing a unbelievably cute and fashion forward collection of great bathing suits from an array of designers. One of their top selling labels, Lux, has created an entire swim line that looks as if it’s been taken right from the pages of an old magazine from the 50s and 60s. They, along with Diesel, Betsey Johnson, Salinas and Roxy have suits with high-rise waists, ruffles and belts, polka dots and flowers, fun patterns and more! I love the fashion of past eras and I think that we should all take a step back in time to see what truly classic looks really are, so when I stumbled upon this year’s swim wear collection at Urban Outfitters I was thrilled. The prices tend be a little on the steep side, but it’s totally worth it for a vintage-looking suit that will be sure to have you grabbing the attention of beach bums everywhere!

Design On A Dime, Part III: I'm Finally Home!!!

2008-03-18T11:00:00.007-04:00

It’s been a long and hard process, but I’m happy to say that I’ve finally moved into the new apartment. It’s a great feeling – being on my own, feeling in control and just taking the next step forward in my life. I couldn’t be happier. Although, getting here was no easy task, let me tell you. I worked day and night, night and day and for a while it seemed as if the place would never get done, I didn’t think move-in day would ever come. But alas, it has and now I’m enjoying getting things organized and in place and just feeling great!

I have to say, I don’t think that this was such a normal process – from what I understand, most people move into a new place with ease and light stress – they just move their shit from one place to the next, right? Well, not me, as you know. Unfortunately, the entire ordeal was extremely stressful and distracting, it took over all aspects of my life for about a month and a half and I’m so glad that it’s finally come to a happy end. Now I wake up every morning, grab a cup o’ Joe out of my brand new automatic coffee maker (which I love more than anything because I can’t even begin to function with out at least 4 or 5 cups of coffee a day; it’s a horrible habit) and just look around at what I’ve (along with family and friends who so generously helped) created and I feel content.

Now, I know that I seemingly complained quite a bit about this whole endeavor, and I’m sure my coworkers are pretty much fed up, sick and tired even, of hearing me bitch and moan about some new problem that arises day after day, but I do really think that, in the end, now that I’m good and settled, that it was most certainly worth it. The building that I moved to is a treat – I love that it’s so old and has a great history behind it; it’s a family owned and operated property so it’s nice. Inside, although a bit outdated (supposedly due to be fixed up), the walls and the four very different apartment units are full of character. Every wall in each home has great frame molding throughout, old gas burning sconces here and there, and quirky positioning that makes for an interesting aesthetic (and poses a slight challenge when arranging furniture – you can’t tell in the pictures, but many of the walls are quite crooked). I love that every apartment is different; there’s some comparisons from one to the next, but the actual layout varies from unit to unit, the sizes are all different and the overall feel changes as you walk through each front door; I’d say the place is very eclectic!

So now that I’ve crawled out from under the protective wings of my parents and I’ve forced my self into true “adulthood” I’ve learned a few valuable things about life and about the way things work in the real world. First of all, as I mentioned earlier, an automatic coffee maker is an absolute necessity in anyone’s life that, like me, can’t function without a large dose of caffeine in the morning. Also, food shopping is actually fun, but expensive, and I’ve become partial to the findings at the dollar store around the corner, because there I can buy simple things like soap, toilette paper and paper towels for a much more reasonable price than I’d find anywhere else.

More importantly, though, I’ve finally realized why my parents would get so angry when I’d leave the house looking like a bomb hit it and yell at me to clean up my mess, because now that I’ve put so much hard work and effort, blood, sweat and tears into fixing this place up and making a nice home for my self, I want to keep it nice; I want to keep it clean and I’ve become super anal about tidying up every day – I’m a bit taken-a-back by it; at home with my parents, things just used to “magically” happen. I would leave the house in the morning in a big rush and leave behind a trail of crap, but when I came home it was always clean. Well, much to my surprise, there was absolutely no magic involved; in fact, it was my wonderful parents who would clean up after me every damn day and now that I’m on my own and doing it my self, I can finally say that I understand, and I’m thankful.

I’ve also learned that as an adult, without being able to rely on my parents for every little thing anymore, I’m finding out a lot more about my self and about what I’m capable of. There have been some slight issues here and there and I must say, I’m quite proud of my self for stepping up and not taking anyone’s shit, because out there in the real world, it’s every one for them self, and if you just let people walk all over you you’ll never get by – so cheers to me for putting on my “bitch” hat and letting people know that I’m the boss in my life and if you don’t like it, tough!
My advice to anyone looking to move out for the first time is to take someone with you who’s done it – because landlords can smell fear, they know if you’re new at this and they’ll push you around so show up prepared and with back up!

P.S.

2008-03-06T13:16:00.001-05:00

It's beautiful and sunny out and I couldn't be happier that winter is almost over - although I love the season, it's too dark, too dreary and too damn long!

Dear Vacation: "I Miss You!"

2008-03-06T13:10:00.006-05:00

Well, on a day like today when it’s snowing like mad outside and the inches are just rising and rising, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than at the top of a mountain with my board, ready to hit the slopes and have a great day of fun! I actually just got back from an awesome vacation in South Lake Tahoe, CA, and it was probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. For an entire week I did nothing but relax, hang out and get in a couple of great days on the mountains which, by the way, boast the most amazing views.

California is a lot different than New Jersey. It’s funny because, to be honest, I was shocked the most by how nice the people were. Everyone you pass on the street gives a smile as they walk by or whispers a nice morning greeting to a stranger; the overall atmosphere of the place and the attitudes of the people are just so much more laid back than they are here in Jersey. Why is that? Is it because they have the luxury of looking at a beautiful, clean and crisp lake and snow-capped mountains every day of their lives, or is it just because that’s the way of small town people? Here, there’s so much hustle and bustle, everyone’s always in such a rush and it’s just so fast paced – it took a little getting used to, but once I did I was in love.
So Tahoe has some great things to do, and although it’s a small town whose main attraction is the mountains and the millions of trails to ski or snowboard, if you’re not exactly the adventurous type, there are plenty of other things to occupy your time. For instance, off the south shore of Lake Tahoe is a small island called Emerald Bay. It just so happens to be the third most photographed place in the world and it’s a great activity for those who choose not to spend their days atop one of the various mountains. There are a couple of ways to get there – either you can drive, which is really nice to do so that you can see all of the town and take a nice ride through the windy mountain roads (although, this is not always an option because the Lake Tahoe area gets a significant amount of snow throughout the winter and most of the time the streets leading to Emerald Bay are closed off), or you can take a leisurely boat ride across the lake and enjoy the beautiful views and have lunch and cocktails on the ride over. It’s about two-and-half hours total, there and back, and entirely worth the time.

If that doesn’t grab your attention though, fear not. There’s more. In the center of town in South Lake Tahoe, where the main gondola that takes you up to Heavenly Mountain is located, there are lots of little shops and eateries and art galleries to keep you busy throughout the day. I actually stopped in to a great little art gallery called “Oh My Goddard” which was the home to many of the works of Michael Goddard, a contemporary artist who has become very well known and has a huge cult following. His art is displayed throughout the space and is joined by the works of many others including a young female artist named KAT, who happened to be there doing an in-store demonstration of her painting. She’s extremely talented and paints portraits of iconic musicians such as the Beatles, Janice Joplin, Bruce Springsteen and more. So, if you’re into that kind of thing - wasting away the time on a snowy afternoon with a glass of wine and a day at an art gallery, then this is the place for you.
For those that don’t mind taking a bit of a drive Sacramento is about two-and-a-half hours away and San Francisco is just about another hour or so from there, so if you’re like me and you have reason to head out that way (I visited my grandmother) then it’s a nice day trip to take.
As for night life, I have to be honest I was a bit lame in Tahoe. I wasn’t in the bar all night partying because that’s not what I went for. I did, however, manage to get a few good nights in at the two major casinos right over the Nevada state line, Harrah’s and Harvey’s. I became addicted to roulette and didn’t win any money – but it doesn’t matter because drinks were free and I had fun!
So all in all Lake Tahoe was a successful vacation, and as I look out the window at the snow pouring down, with no sign of stopping, I long to be back there. It’s back to life and back to reality for now though, and about another year until I can revisit the beautiful little lakeside town in California. So, goodbye for now but rest assured, I’ll certainly be back!

Spring Is Almost Here!!!!

2008-02-27T12:31:00.007-05:00

Okay, I know it’s only February, but it is almost March and that means it’s almost spring! I have to say that spring is my absolute favorite time of the year. I just think that it’s so refreshing; you start waking up to sunny days and the early morning songs of the birds sitting outside of your window and it just feels good after a long, cold winter. So, needless to say, I’m super excited about this time of year, and I can’t wait to go shopping for the season because, although I love the eclectic mixtures of style that are created all year long, I think my favorite fashion-time-of-year is definitely spring.

It may be hard for many of you to think about this so soon, but come on, it’s kind of hard to ignore. The stores are already displaying bathing suits! Now, I’m not about to skip that far into the future, because that would just make me sad to think about since I still have to wait so long until it’s warm enough out to swim and sunbathe, but I will, however, attempt to excite you and give you a little preview of what I’ll be wearing come mid-March.

One of the biggest things about this time of year that gets me going in terms of fashion is all of the color. I tend to, during the winter, dress in a lot of dark, neutral tones and although I love blacks and browns, it starts to make me feel a little drab after a while and it’s right around this time of year, as winter is slowly but surely fading away and the warm sun is beginning to peek its head through the clouds, that I start to crave some color in my wardrobe. So, I’m eagerly anticipating all of the bright reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, greens and blues that are about to make their way back into my closet! I don’t know if I would call my self a girly-girl per say, but make no mistake, I am a female, and so it’s almost as if it’s imbedded into my DNA to like some shade of pink, purple, yellow, etc. So, come warm weather I take full advantage of wearing colors that I wouldn’t dare don during the dismal days of winter.

I think if I had to pick my absolute, no questions asked, never-fail-to-look-cute, almost-any-occasion outfits, it would certainly be a light summer dress with either a pair of flip-flops or sandals – hardly any make up and simple, easy-going hair. No fuss; just clean, quick and painless. And so during the month of April, pretty much straight through August, for the most part, that’s what you’ll find me in. The thing about it is, is that it’s just so damn easy. I feel like in the winter it takes so much work to create a good look. You have to layer, and coordinate colors and find a great pair of shoes; and let’s not forget about the hair. It’s cold out, so odds are it’s almost always going to be down to cover your neck or plastered under a hat to hide how hideous it looks during the wet, rainy and snowy days of the winter season. Don’t get me wrong, there plenty of things about winter that I love. I think it’s great to cozy up in a warm chunky sweater with a great pair of slippers, I love being out in the snow and heading to the mountains for the weekend for a quick snowboarding trip and I love laying in bed all day and just letting time pass you by without feeling like your wasting the day. But, to me, spring is a chance for a fresh start. It’s the time when everyone that’s been hibernating in the warmth of their homes all winter comes out to play!

Light cardigans, sweet dresses, flip flops and sandals; cool sunglasses, bright colored bags, scarves in your hair and barley and make-up; warm sunny days, fresh flowers in the yard, the chirping of birds and the buzzing of bees; what’s not to love? Well, here’s one more thing. Luckily for people like me who don’t care to spend a ridiculous amount of money on clothes (you wouldn’t think it from how much I love fashion, but I don’t think it needs to break the bank – be realistic!), spring time fashion is a lot more affordable than winter threads. Maybe it’s because designers use less material? To be honest, I haven’t got the slightest clue, but it makes me happy to know that I can run down to my local Target, TJ Max, Old Navy or even Marshall’s and get some great spring things. Of course there are, as always, a few important pieces that I’m willing to spend more money on such as a great pair of sunglasses (which is my big buy this year because I’m tired of wearing my $5 aviators from the Meadowlands Flea Market), a bright and cheery spring jacket or a fantastic carry-all bag, but for the most part, it’s easy-pickins and light on the wallet!

So, to wrap this all up, I’m going to tell you my favorite go-to store that I can’t wait to rummage through and gather up my new spring wardrobe from. This year it’s….Old Navy! The Spring 2008 Collection called Urban Explorer has completely caught my attention! The entire line revolves around the safari-look and I couldn’t possibly love it more. From the dress to the jumpsuit to the capri pants and the shoes - I love it all. And, best of all, almost everything is under $35. You can’t beat it!

Design On A Dime, Part II: What Did I Get My Self Into???

2008-02-20T12:54:00.005-05:00

Dirt, cat hair and rust; oh my! I got the keys to my new apartment the other day so let the work begin! All I can say is, “Wow!” I’m starting to wonder exactly what I have gotten my self into. First of all, this whole idea of “design on a dime” is completely thrown out the window. I’ve already spent over $200 on paint and supplies - and that’s just the beginning. Regardless, though, I’m still thrilled to have my own place, with no one to bother me, where I can just come home and do whatever I want; so in that respect it’s totally worth it.

Anyway, as you can see I have provided some lovely photos of what the place looks like right now and it’s not that pretty. I’ve started to rip up the carpet – that was the first order of business because why on earth would I hide parquet wood floors? However, it’s not the easiest thing in the world to do because it seems that there were some closets added to the living room and bed room which were built in over the carpet – great! It’s all good though, I’ve got my box razor, some good old elbow grease and a lot of determination - so that nasty carpet is coming out! To be honest, as soon as I started ripping it up the place already looked a million times better – so it’s definitely got potential. It just needs some major “TLC.”

So besides the carpet issue, the walls are quite cracked and dirty. So my next project is to scrub those suckers until they’re shining like the sun. See, the problem here is this: when I went to look at the place it was still full of furniture and the previous tenants’ belongings; so what I’m figuring is that although it looked like it needed a good scrub, the bigger problems were totally hidden. The cracks in the walls were covered with pictures, the hole in the dining room floor was masked with a table, the paint on the would-be beautiful floors in the bedroom was covered with carpet. So I’m less than amused about the fact that this is going to be a lot more work than I had anticipated. But looking on the bright side – it’s mine, all mine! So who cares, right?

Now, I really don’t want to gross you out; but I need to talk about the bathroom for just one minute here, because that’s the worst part of all. The tile isn’t that bad. Granted the sky blue tile isn’t my favorite, but I can deal with it. The grout, though, is in need of some long overdue attention. It’s not so much white anymore, but instead a grimy brown mixture of soap scum and dirt – yuck; and the tub? I don’t know if I even want to go there – its entirely filled with grit and grime from, probably years, of not really being cleaned – ick! No problem though, because I threw an entire bottle of bleach in there and have been letting it sit for about two days now – tonight is actually when I’m going to clean it out, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that it’s in good shape, otherwise all bets are off (either that, or I’m going to be requesting a whole new tub!) In addition to that, as if it could get any worse, the window in the shower has started to show some mold. Now, luckily the landlord is a good guy, and has agreed to replace the window as well as the entire top and bottom vanity and the knobs in the shower. He also let me rip down the mildew covered shower doors to replace them with a curtain – so that’s good.
Thankfully, he’s being honest about what needs to be fixed up and he’s doing the work that was agreed upon. I walked in to find a brand new stainless steel, digital stove and he’s been doing some electrical work, as well as replacing the carpet and tiling the entire hallway and stairs throughout the building. It seems that the entire place is being updated a bit so I’m happy as hell about that!
Other than that, things are pretty good. As I told you in the first part of this series, I’ve been super lucky to have such generous people in my life that have given me furniture, appliances, etc. which was such a major help, because if I had to buy all of that stuff on top of what I have to take out-of-pocket just to make the place livable, I’d be out a lot of friggin’ money.
So, here’s a word of advice to anyone looking to move out soon; look at everything! Inspect that place with a black light and a white glove and make sure that you negotiate within the lease arrangements to have whatever work needs to be done, done – before you move in! I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining or unhappy with my new home – because I’m not. I love it! All I’m saying is that I was a little naive, and I wish that I had known all of this beforehand.
So stay tuned for the last part of this riveting series, in which I’ll show you the finished product and hopefully be able to give you some tips on how to cut costs and still have a great looking place.

Fashion For The Girls That Like To Have Fun!!!!!! An Interview With Jessica Louise Clothing...

2008-02-07T11:38:00.000-05:00

They say necessity is the mother of all invention. When it was too dark, we needed light. When it was too cold, we needed heat. When walking was too far, we needed vehicles. And when stores don’t provide us with interesting things to wear, we need to make our own clothes! Jessica Louise is an independent fashion designer making magic in a studio based in L.A. She’s never been the kind of girl who liked trying on clothes and she’s never been completely satisfied with what stores had to offer.
So when she found her self longing for something more expressive to wear, a little more fun and certainly much more unique, she decided to take matters into her own hands and began sewing and manufacturing clothes for her self. Soon she developed an unexpected passion for the craft and began sewing for friends, family and whoever requested a tailored garment by her. Fast forward a few years, and this DIY entrepreneur is working diligently to fulfill online orders, wholesale accounts and more!
She’s had celebrities such as Avril Lavigne pictured wearing her designs as well as been featured in an iPod ad in which a model wore one of her most popular items, the Contrast Bear Zip Up hoodie. Her creations are flying off the racks at a select few stores throughout the country and she’s working round the clock to keep the buzz going. Thankfully, in the middle of sewing and manufacturing something fabulous, I’m sure, Jessica took the time to chat with me on the phone about her company, her inspirations and her future plans as the next big thing in the world of do-it-yourself fashion.
Tell me a little background about yourself and how you got started.

Jessica Louise: I was raised by a single mom in Santa Cruz, CA and my mom is an art education professor for Santa Cruz State University and has been for the last 19 years. So, I was always encouraged to be artistic growing up because she’s an artist too. I just kind of started doing fashion on a whim. I don’t know if most girls are like this, but I hate clothes shopping and trying on clothes. I worked for Betsey Johnson for five years and was the head sales girl and I wouldn’t even try on clothes there. I would just get my size that I thought I was and bring it home and try it on later. I just kind of started making clothes out of convenience for my self, because I would have an idea for something that I wanted, and then I couldn’t find it anywhere, so I was just like, okay, I’ll just try to make it. My sewing skills have definitely improved over the last five years [laughs]. I’ve been sewing since I was eight years old and I have an old Singer sewing machine that my mom got me.
So you’ve had no formal training?
I have never taking a sewing class in my life. I’ve never taken a fashion design class or pattern making class, nothing.
You’re completely self taught then…
Yeah, I mean I’ve taken art classes and I was a studio arts major in college and I was a printmaker. So I’ve done etching and lithography and illustrating fine arts and the silk screening so like, you know, if you know how to silk screen you can silk screen a t-shirt; it’s a little bit different than doing paper but it’s basically the same principle
So how did you get started with the company?
I started making clothes for my self and like my roommate and people just started wanting my stuff. I think every sort if indie designer starts off just making custom pieces, and I didn’t have size ranges or anything. I just made everything that fit me [laughs], because I didn’t have a dress form or anything so everything was size small and I do custom pieces with just special fabrics that I just buy a couple yards of. I put them in a shop in Silver Lake called Sirens And Sailors in Los Angeles, I had them on consignment, and then my friend worked at a store in San Francisco and I started doing consignment there and I just got a really amazing response. After a while I was doing trunk shows every six months up there and I started to be able to pay my rent. It was amazing. I was working four of the weirdest jobs ever, and trying to do my line, so when it got to the point where I could just do my clothing line and not have to do a side job it was amazing.
That must be great to get to that point.
Yeah but it takes a lot of hard work. I didn’t ever think I was going to be super successful at something I’ve never had any training on. Something that became a passion of mine and I was able to be creative and it made me feel happy to be, not having to answer to anybody; I don’t have to pay attention to what trends are or what other people are doing because I just have always wanted to do my own thing, so it’s kind of liberating but it’s also scary because now I’m just like, ‘Okay, this is my career.’ So now I have to do things a different way and I’ve definitely learned its trial and error and everyday I learn something new, still.

So how would you describe your clothes to someone who has never seen them?
Kind of like story book, bright colors and really girly with a little bit of an edge
Who are some of your favorite designers, past or present, that you pull inspiration from?
Who I really admire a lot is Betsey Johnson. I get like, ‘Okay, I can do any colors I want. I can do bright colors and do things that make me happy.’ That’s something that I just learned from working for Betsey for so long and I’ve met her a bunch of times and she’s just an amazing artist.
I actually had the chance to go to one of her fashion shows in Bryant Park for Fashion Week.
How was it?
It was the most amazing thing that I’ve ever been to in my entire life. It was just so much fun.
That’s another thing about her too. She makes it fun and not serious, because people in fashion tend to take them selves so seriously and it’s like, I’m sorry, but a garment is not going to solve world hunger or whatever. The reason that I make clothes is because I, in my small way, can make a girl feel good about them selves, or they feel cute or special in one of my garments and that’s another inspiration for me too. If I can make someone feel good about them self, and make them feel attractive in any way, I feel that that’s my job and if I’m too serious about it, it kind of defeats the purpose.
So what would you say is your favorite fashion era?
Gosh I don’t know. I like elements from everything, except maybe not the 80s so much. I’m not really into acid washed jeans. But probably, I think the 50s because there was a lot of detailing in the 40s and 50s and the fitted garments. The 90s in Japanese fashion was really cool to me; all their shapes were really cute and all their street wear stuff was really cool.
If you could only wear one designer for the rest of your life, not including your self, who would it be and why?
Vivian Westwood. She’s really classic. The shapes are really classic and they’re a little bit edgy and all the pieces are beautiful and I think her work is incredible. She’s another huge inspiration to me, just her perseverance and who she is – she’s a fashion icon. I got to meet her once too. I worked for her son’s company for eight months and she used to pop in the store in Los Angeles.
Now, on your website you mention that most of your items are cut to order. So does somebody place an order and you make it specifically for them rather than having it in stock, is that how it works?
Yeah, because I want to be able to offer things to my customers that they can’t go buy in a store, you know. I do have wholesale accounts too and other stores and other websites order stuff and carry my line, but I like to have special stuff for my customers.
So is it only a few certain things that are like that?
A lot of stuff on my website is cut and sew. I’m starting to outsource and I’m having stuff manufactured other places and I have contractors that I use. I have a sweatshirt called the Contrastor Hoodie, it’s like a little sweatshirt with little bear ears, I get so many orders for those that there’s no way I could cut and sew those because I have to order like 200 of those at a time, so I obviously have to have someone make it. But if I don’t get a lot of orders for something I can’t put it into production and keep it in stock, but I want to be able to offer special things for my customers so I have a wait time on my website because a lot of things are still cut and sew.
How long does it take from the time that somebody orders something until you can make it and ship it out?
Generally one to two weeks.
Oh that’s not bad at all. I was thinking you were going to say a month or two!
No! I mean if it’s a huge amount of stuff, I do have a couple of customers that have been my customers for a long amount of time, and if they order 20 garments it will take me a little bit longer but they already know that. And if someone orders a large amount of stuff I can usually split ship where I ship half of it so they have it right away. I’m trying to really cut down my production time and get caught up, which is hard sometimes, but I’m trying to keep it between one and two weeks, if not sooner.
In doing some research I saw that you’ve had a lot of press and a lot of attention devoted to your designs. I’ve seen that Avril Lavigne was pictured wearing your clothes and you were in an iPod ad…
Yeah it was in an article in Time Magazine on the invention of the year and the picture that they chose was of a girl wearing the bear hoodie and talking on the iPhone. I didn’t even know about that – one of my customers told me about that. I get a lot of people that tell me, ‘Oh, did you see this?’ and they send me the magazine. I had Avril wearing one of my shirts on the cover of Japanese Rolling Stone and I would have never seen that except that there are girls in Japan who wear my clothes and know what my stuff looks like, and in another magazine, In Rock, she was on the cover wearing another piece.
So what’s your reaction to all of this?
I don’t know; it’s great! Any kind of press is good press. It’s nice to know that people appreciate what I’m doing.

Do you only make clothing or do you have shoes, handbags, swimwear…
I’m starting to do that kind of stuff and I just partnered with a licensing company so we’re trying to get more different hard case goods; I want to do toys and all that stuff.
Your line is carried in a couple of different retail stores throughout the country; do you have your own store or do you just work out of a studio?
I just have a studio in downtown Los Angeles and eventually I hope to have a street shop, but it’s me and one other person running the company so it’s hard to do everything…
Obviously success doesn’t happen overnight, so do you have any advice for up-and-coming designers?
I’ll get so many positive emails or nice messages, and then sometimes I’ll get the meanest thing ever with someone just saying that I suck or my clothes are ugly; you’re going to get negative feedback and you’re going to have times when you’re not feeling creative or you’re not where you want to be and you just have to be in it for your self. If you start something, anything, and you’re just in it to make money, especially if it’s an artistic career, that’s the wrong motivation. You should be doing it because you love it and it’s your passion and just know that if you work hard and be perseverant that you’re going to get somewhere no matter what.
Now this is just for fun. I know you’re engaged so are you designing your own wedding dress and bride’s maid dresses or are you having someone else do it?
Oh yeah! I’ll definitely do the drawings but I’m going to have someone else sew them.

Obviously fashion is a form of expressionism – it’s art. So what do your clothes say about you?
If you know me at all and you know my personality, I’m pretty easy-going and I think that my clothes are pretty expressive and light hearted. I just feel like its just fun and not serious and to make you feel good.

To check out Jessica’s designs you can visit her online store at shopjessicalouise.com

Upcoming Show - Matt Colligan

2008-01-29T12:13:00.000-05:00

Going out for a few drinks with the girls the other week proved to be much more effective than I had originally planned. Besides catching a great buzz and engaging in some much needed girl talk, I stumbled upon up-and-coming-artist Matt Colligan, whose music is just as potent as the shots he made me that night. Check him out at Ace Of Clubs in NYC on Feb. 6 where he’ll be performing as part of his label showcase with River Edge’s Visionary Music Group.
Colligan, who hails from Clifton, NJ, has been a mainstay in the local music scene ever since he strummed his first chord on the guitar at 16. It was love at first sound, and ever since he’s been writing and playing his music at local venues throughout the tri-state area. He’s currently on the schedule as a regular performer at Clifton’s newest drinking well, The Shannon Rose, where he performs acoustically on select Monday nights. In addition, Matt is currently in the process of recording with Visionary engineers Tom Gioia and Andy Snitzer who have worked with such artists as New Jersey’s own Bon Jovi, as well as Beck, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon and The Rolling Stones. Together the trio brings to life Colligan’s heartfelt lyrics and honest sentiments through his music.
Ace Of Clubs is located at 9 Great Jones Street in NYC. For more info and to check out some of Matt’s music visit myspace.com/mattcolligan

Photo Courtesy of Cole Photography

Chick Lit At Its Best - Check Out Kyra Davis' "Sex, Murder And A Double Latte"

2008-01-29T12:07:00.000-05:00

I hate being sick. For the past couple of days I’ve practically been on my death bed and I was feeling so unbelievably horrible that I actually cried; I know, I’m a baby. But I had a sore throat, a stuffy nose and a horribly painful cough – and, as if it couldn’t possibly get any worse as the days went by, this just so happened to be my time of the month. Too much info? Maybe. But if you ask me, it’s a vital part of the story, because that happening to me at a time when my immune system was operating at its absolute lowest capacity, is what put me over the edge and caused the waterworks. Anyhow, I tried to make it to work because I’m a trooper – but it just wasn’t happening. Each day I came in, coughing and sneezing, feeling like utter shit, and ended up heading home early to rest and get well. Though I despise the down time and boring day time talk shows that were my only form of mild entertainment, I did manage to do some good while laying in bed all day indulging in my sorrow. I had recently picked up a new book – just a spontaneous purchase one day at the book store. To be honest, I had no idea what I was in the mood to read and so I picked out a title called Sex, Murder And A Double Latte mainly because of the pretty pink cover and the cute coffee stain on the back. Shallow as it may be to “judge a book by its cover,” I don’t really care, because I accidentally stumbled upon an author who is now at the top of my list, and I can’t wait to read the rest of her books.

Kyra Davis, a San Francisco native, penned this captivating murder mystery and has become my “chick lit” hero. Though there was no real epiphany realized after reading this book, and though she didn’t have anything life-altering to say, she still wrote a page-turner – the type of book that you just can’t put down and one that you actually look forward to staying in on a Saturday night and reading. I’ve always liked murder mysteries. When I was in grade school I remember that I had a huge collection of R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series and when I wasn’t studying or doing some other extra curricular activity, you could most likely find my nose buried in one of those books. They were full of suspense, drama and entirely unrealistic events and I loved every word of it. However, for some reason I took a very long break from reading all throughout high school and college, only to re-establish my love of the written word after I graduated. Suddenly I was reading all the time, whenever I got a chance – on the train to work in the city, on my front porch to pass the time on a cool summer day, in the backyard by the pool while soaking in the sun – but I was reading books that actually made you think, you know? The issues that they covered and the situations that they portrayed were actually quite realistic and so, in my opinion, even though it was quite enjoyable to read these books, it was also a lot of work. So when I saw Davis’ pretty pink novel with the catchy title, I just grabbed it and didn’t look back.

Sex, Murder And A Double Latte is the epitome of a guilty pleasure read; it’s one that doesn’t take a lot of effort and doesn’t make you think too hard or ponder life’s unknowns, but it certainly does suck you in and leave you hanging on every single word written. In the beginning of the story we’re introduced to Sophie Katz, a novelist living in the eclectic city of San Francisco, CA. She’s not much of a stretch from her creator, Kyra Davis. Her vices include talking to her cat, Mr. Katz, drinking entirely too many caramel brownie frappuccinos from Starbucks, and indulging in her warped imagination as she pens best-sellers for the reader who loves a good, steamy and twisted manslaughter.
Davis doesn’t mess around taking her time to hype up some big action sequence that doesn’t satisfy in the end – instead she jumps right into it. From the very beginning Sophie starts questioning whether or not she is being stalked by a crazed killer, a fear that begins to take over her life as strange things start happening to her and to the people around her. At the time that we meet Sophie, she is in the process of turning one of her best-sellers into a motion picture, and she’s been working with a very well known Hollywood producer. However, her plans get put on hold indefinitely when Tolsky, her Hollywood hook-up, is found dead in his LA home from what appears to be a suicide. Sophie, however, with her untamed imagination, feels uneasy about the whole situation and starts putting her nose where it doesn’t belong in an attempt to uncover the truth about his death, which she believes was actually a murder disguised to be a suicide. In fact, what she thinks really happened is that someone purposely killed Tolsky in the same manner that one of his movie characters had died in, therefore re-enacting scenes from his work.
Throughout the entire book, we go along for the ride as Sophie becomes more and more suspicious that someone out there is on a killing spree, making his or her craft a copycat routine of the artistic works of some of the most well-known public figures. First there was LA producer Tolsky, next was famous rapper JJ Money who was killed in the same way that he described a death in one of his songs, and now it seems that this psychopath is after Sophie, a popular murder mystery novelist, as she starts experiencing things that happened to the main character in one of her books. When the SF Police Dept. doesn’t take Miss Katz seriously, it’s up to her and her friends to investigate and crack the case them selves, all the while putting everyone they know in grave danger. The book is full of cliff hanging episodes, intense drama and, of course, some light hearted humor to round it all out.

Now I’m obviously not going to tell you how it ends – that would just ruin it for everybody. It’s up to you to find out. So, if you’re looking for an easy read with some sassy twists, pick up a copy of Kyra Davis’ Sex, Murder And A Double Latte, and you’ll find your self lost in the eventful life of San Francisco novelist Sophie Katz; and if you really like the book, be sure to pick up the next title in the series, Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate, which is in stores now. Oh, and just one last thought: I think it would be reasonable for Davis to team up with Starbucks and include a gift card inside each of her books, because Sophie’s caramel brownie frappuccino was just as much a main character as anyone else in Sex, Murder And A Double Latte – plus, all that talk of it made me really want a good cup of coffee while reading the book! Just a thought…

I LOVE Miley Cyrus....

2008-01-25T15:51:00.000-05:00

That's all...

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!!!

2008-01-22T11:59:00.000-05:00

Ah, the birthday. It used to be a day for celebration and cake; but as you get older, and wiser, it’s not so much about getting presents anymore or going out with friends and family to toast the new year you’ve entered; instead it starts to become a ticking time bomb – more so for women than men, I think. We start to examine our lives up until this certain point and question whether or not we’ve accomplished all that we wanted to by this age. We start to get nervous and depressed that we’re getting older and that our bodies are going to shit; a new wrinkle here, some fat rolls there. It sucks. I have this strange relationship with age – I’ve always said, for as long as I can remember, that I won’t feel like a true adult until I’m 25 years old. Why? I have no clue; there’s absolutely no possible way for me to rationalize this bizarre train of thought. But either way, in my warped mind, even though I’ve really been an adult for quite some time now, I’m still a kid. So I’m going to do what every other normal kid does around their birthday, and create a list of all the things I’d like to have. Now I realize that a few of my requests are pretty much unreasonable and just fantasies that I could only hope would one day be true, but knowing that I’ll never receive any of these things is fine – a girl can dream, can’t she?

First, and most important, I’d really like for someone to give me the Chi by Farouk hair straightening iron. It’s almost a crime that I don’t have this fabulous styling tool yet, because it creates the most sensational hair styles that I’ve ever seen – I need it!

Next, I think I’d like to have a new car; a car of my own, because right now I drive both of my boyfriend’s cars, and although I’m very appreciative of him letting me use his vehicles, I’d rather just have something that’s mine. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just as long as it’s good on gas, has a manual transmission and isn’t too girly – I’m not that kind of cutesy car owner.

Third, I’d like some new work-out clothes for they gym. I know it’s not a fashion show there, but some of the girls have some really cute sports bras and pants and sneakers, and I want some too.

Fourth, I’d like some money. I don’t care how much, whatever you can afford is fine – preferably cash, please.

Fifth, I’d like for my tattoo artist to give me a really great deal on finishing my sleeve. Everyone I know that gets a lot of work done eventually gets some great deal from the person who tattoos them. So Chris, I think I’ve given you plenty of business over the years – so please, for my birthday, can you finish my arm for, I don’t know, let’s say, $150?

Sixth, I’d really like to go on a shopping spree at someone else’s expense. I certainly don’t have the money for it, but I could really use some new clothes – so who wants to be my sugar daddy?

Seventh, I’d like for every single abandoned, abused and/or neglected pet to be provided a safe and loving home. It’s terribly sad to watch these ASPCA commercials and see that there is so much cruelty to animals taking place in this country. If I had the space, I’d take them all in, but I don’t, so I can’t – and I’m asking you to help me out on this.

Eighth, I’d like my dad’s band to play a friggin’ show already! You guys kick ass and I want to see you outside of the studio, in a bar and rocking out!

Ninth, I’d really, really love for my manicures and pedicures to be paid for - for life. Seriously. Even though it’s a pretty miniscule amount of money to get your nails done (well, only if you just do a manicure – when you throw in the tootsies it adds up), it’s something I just don’t always want to spend the money on – but I hate having ugly, un-kept nails. So, for the next 60 years or so, I’d really love to be able to primp my nails and not pay for it.

And finally, I know I really shouldn’t ask for this and that it’s kind of tacky – but I don’t really care. I’d really love it if my boyfriend would pop the damn question already. Come on Angelo, it’s been over 10 years buddy; shit or get off the pot!(Oh, and as a small side note: I'd really love it if Dustin Kensrue would serenade me at the wedding!!!)

So there it is. I must say, I don’t think that my list is really that unreasonable, after all. So maybe there’s a slight chance that I might actually get something from here that I really want! I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Other than that, I guess I better live it up, because this is officially, to me anyway, my last year of being a kid – from here on out it’s adulthood all the way. That sure came fast!

Jersey Boasts Its Very Own Brand Of Soda....

2008-01-17T10:59:00.001-05:00

Well, it’s official. We have Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, The Sopranos, Martha Stewart and now, the final addition to our growing cult, New Jersey finally has its own brand of beverages! A new company, whose headquarters are settled in Totowa, NJ, has emerged from the grimey, litter-filled ground and is providing New Jerseyans everywhere with their own branded, state-pride inspired sodas.
Understandably named Jersey’s Food & Beverage, LLC, this new developing soda brand draws inspiration from the typical Jersey attitude and well-known landmarks and myths and uses them to create specific flavors and concepts for beverages to be distributed throughout the state, as well as the country. Owner Mike Snell and Roy Van Tassel are well aware of the fact that NJ, or even the country for that matter, is certainly not in need of another soda outlet. However, they do believe that they have something unique to offer to a population of people that take much pride in where they come from, and so they figured they’d give it a shot.

The original plan was to take their ideas to a popular beverage company in Moonachie, NJ, named Boylan’s. However, when their pitch didn’t go exactly as they had imagined, they didn’t walk away feeling defeated and discouraged. They simply agreed with one another that it was going to take a bit more effort, and that old saying, “If you want something done, you have to do it yourself.” And so that’s exactly what they did. So, how they doin’?
In a short period of time, about six weeks to be exact, Snell and Van Tassel had a delivery of over 1500 cases of soda. Produced in New Jersey, of course, and stored in a north Jersey warehouse. The sodas are now on shelves at over 25 locations throughout the state; a feat the pair accomplished by personally going door-to-door and selling their product to store owners.
Now, tell me this. When you walk into a deli, a supermarket or anywhere that you can purchase a can of soda, if you had to choose between either some other brand of orange soda, or South Orange, with a picture of NJ right on the bottle, which one are you going to choose? I think the answer is pretty clear; and that’s the driving force behind the success of this new company. People everywhere are starting to take notice only after such a short time in business. “The Newark Star Ledger gave us a 2 inch by 2 inch blurb in their food section and the phones rang off the wall. Industry people, flavor companies, distributors, restaurants, delis, and even an investment firm from NY called. The reaction we had received confirmed our idea, that Jersey people love Jersey things. It is in our blood I guess,” said co-owner Mike Snell. And boy is he right. Face it, we have a bond, us Jersey bred. We have a belief and a common thread sewn between all of us, and I’m pretty sure it’s been said more than once, that out of every state in the country, Jersey’s accent is the most recognizable wherever you go – now that has to count for something!
Among the available flavors are Route 46 Root Beer, South Orange, and Bada Bing! Black Cherry (which seems to be the favorite so far). Though the selection may seem small, this is just a jumping off point and the company is sure to grow considerably. Currently, owners Mike Snell and Roy Van Tassel are working on developing some new additions to the beverage line, such as Passaic River Punch, which will be a “dingy green soda that looks like river water but tastes like fruit punch,” Jersey Devil Berry, which is “a bright blue raspberry flavored soda,” and a diet version of the South Orange flavor. Things seem to be rolling along quite nicely for these do-it-yourself entrepreneurs, and Jersey should be proud!

So far, Snell and Van Tassel have been relying on intuition and spirits to get by and they’re still developing the business as a twosome. However, they’re hoping to find the right match for them, an investor as well as a partner who has more experience in the food and beverage industry, and who can coach and guide the pair so as to take Jersey’s Own Food & Beverage to the next level.
For anyone interested in placing an order, or just getting a glimpse of this new and growing company, check out their website at jerseysownsoda.com. Also, the Bamboozle Festival is set to hit NJ this May, and Jersey’s Own Sodas will be there keeping all concertgoers hydrated and energized, so be sure to swing by and check them out if you have a chance!

Photos Courtesy of: www.candylust.org and Andrew Krapsho

Design On A Dime, Preparing To Move Out Part 1

2008-01-08T12:40:00.000-05:00

So, I’m thrilled, elated, ecstatic, overjoyed and proud to announce that I have finally purchased my very own apartment! Oh the joy – it’s almost unbearable! Though I truly love my parents and am grateful for all that they have done for me, I’m a blossoming flower and I just need some space to bloom, bloom, bloom; you know what I mean, right? It’s almost like a rite of passage, an adventure one must embark on to become a true adult – and I’m heading out into the wilderness this February!
It’s not that simple, though, you see. It’s not as if I can just “poof,” move in and have fabulous furniture and amazing artwork and all the appliances I need. No, no. It’s going to take work; it’s going to take diligence and most of all it’s going to take money. Now, this apartment is great because it’s old – it’s got that antique feel to it. The walls are thick and sturdy with crown molding and frame molding in the center; the floors are parquet wood and in great condition; the set up is cozy and it’s just the perfect place for me to start living on my own. But, the fact that it’s old is also a slight down fall – those sturdy, thick walls have a few cracks in them, the floors, though in great shape, could be cleaned up a bit (and are currently covered in old carpet that needs to be ripped out), and the bathroom, well, let’s not even go there. That’s a picture you’re not going to see until the project is finished. Nonetheless, it’s a space all my own; it’s space where I can come home to at the end of the day and just relax; it’s a space where, if I really want to, I can just walk around in my birthday suit all day long and no one can bother me; it’s a space where I can be free!
Now, here’s the issue: I need to decorate and furnish the place, but my funds are a bit low so I’m trying my best to come up with interesting, creative and money-saving ways to have a fabulous apartment on a 23-year-old’s salary! I’m pretty handy, so I’m not going into this project completely un-knowing of how to use a hammer or how to spackle some cracks in the walls. Over the summer I laid down new floors, all by my self, and they came out pretty damn good if you ask me – so I’m confident that this will be a job well done. However, there’s a lot to be done, and the more help I can get, the better. So, I’ve decided to begin a small, three-part series in which I will document my experiences as I flee the nest, as I brave the real world, as I let all of my fears, worries and skeptical thoughts out and as I…move out!!!

I’ll admit it – I’m totally scared. This is a huge step for me. I’m worried about paying rent. I’m worried about buying food. I’m worried about cooking the food. I’m worried about growing up. But at the same time, I can’t wait! I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, and it’s finally happening – finally!
So where do I start? Well, let me tell you. I’ve never noticed how many great people I have in my life until this point. Everyone is lending a helping hand; offering unwanted furniture, offering time and aid in moving said unwanted furniture, offering money to pick up a few necessities to get started – I hit the jackpot! Honestly, though, I couldn’t appreciate it more, so thank you to everyone involved!
That being said, tapping into your family resources and heirlooms and any outlet you can think of through which you can take something off someone’s hands is a great way to score some otherwise unaffordable stuff for your first place. And, if you’re anything like me, you’d rather have the old stuff with a little history behind it, rather than some over - priced, low-quality factory furniture.

Okay, so I’m doing well with furniture, but I’m still going to need appliances: a coffee machine (something I simply cannot live without), silverware, cookware, glassware (oh wait! I got that – for $8 on sale at Target!), and surely lots of other items that I can’t think of at the moment, or that I don’t even know I will need yet. This is a lot of stuff, which means a lot of money if I’m stupid about it. But let’s be honest, being that this is my first place, I don’t need top-of-the-line goods to get me by. I just need function and durability. Craigslist is a wonderful place to find almost anything you need, so I did a quick search on there and was able to find lots of people who are just giving this stuff away – it’s amazing! I learned of this from friends of mine that just moved into a new home and were lucky enough to find a free, yes I said free, dining room table complete with chairs on Craiglist. Most of the time the only requirement is that you are able to come and pick up the furniture your self – no problem! So, if anyone else out there is looking for some new stuff, definitely tap well into this resource!
Now what about things like sheets, blankets, towels, toiletries (such as a toothbrush holder, soap dish, bathroom storage, etc.)? Well, I hit the stores before Christmas to purchase gifts for others, but truth be told, ended up finding some great things for my new place along the way. Kohls is a Godsend; when that place has major sales, they really chop the prices and so when I was there just before the holiday I scored some great must-have items to help me along the way to getting ready to move it on out! First, I found awesome bath towels – large, soft, comfy and cozy bath towels that were originally marked at $12-$19 per towel – but I got them for $4.99 each. Score! Next, I got a great silverware set with everything I need from forks to spoons to knives and more for, get this, $14 (it was originally $50) – not bad! I also picked up a cute oven mitt for $2.99, a spice rack for, well I don’t remember how much it was, but it was cheap and it came with all the spices, and some dishtowels. I’m telling you, if you want good stuff but you don’t want to pay top dollar for it, wait for a sale at Kohls and then go crazy – it’s so worth it!
Other than that, all I can say is save your money! It’s crucial to have a nice cushion in the bank should you come across some financial difficulties or anything that may cause you to need something to fall back on. And hey, if nothing comes along for a while, then feel free to use some of it to purchase something you need, in my case, like a dining room table!
I’m busy getting ready and preparing for the big move. Stay tuned for Part II which should be late this month or the beginning of February, when I get the keys for the first time and take you inside to check out my new place. I’ll be changing the entire set up, and taking you along for the ride so I can share tips and inspirations; and hey, if you’ve got any info that might help me, you can reach me at Amanda@theaquarian.com.

Oh So Yummy! The Sweet Avenue Bake Shop!

2008-01-02T14:39:00.001-05:00

Somebody better tell the cake to step up its game because it’s one and only rival, the cupcake, is about to take over the world! These mini versions of the greatest sweet treat there is are quickly becoming the “Belle Of The Ball,” and bakers everywhere are diving into the fad head on. Each day another delectable little cupcake shop is opening up all over the place. So why is it that the cupcake is out-doing its predecessor, the cake? “I think people like it because you can walk in and get ten different flavors instead of one chocolate layer cake – you can get whatever you want; you get a lot more variety.” That’s what Jake Vance, owner of a new cupcakery called the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop, thinks.

Not too long ago, a cute little shop opened up right across the street from my gym in Rutherford, NJ; just what I need, right? This irresistible temptation is staring me right in the face every day after I work out. Well, I’m proud to say that I’ve resisted their powerful lure…that is until about a few weeks ago. I just couldn’t take it anymore – it’s such a cute shop – pink and girly and full of sugary, sweet treats! I finally caved; and I’m happy I did because I enjoyed some of best damn cupcakes ever that night. Located at 153 Park Ave. in Rutherford, NJ, this amazing little cupcake boutique is the newcomer among a block lined with history and sustenance; and I believe they have what it takes to settle in for the long haul.
A family entity owned and operated by husband and wife bakers extraordinaire Danielle and Jake Vance, Sweet Avenue is the latest and greatest store front to hit the busy streets in the town of Rutherford. Inspired to bring phenomenally baked goods to everyone after being served a not-so-great wedding cake, Danielle and Jake started their new business primarily as an event catering/delivery business, while both still maintained full time positions in other fields. Danielle was stuck at a financial position which didn’t exactly provide her with the creative outlet she craved, while Jake could be found taking apart and rebuilding computers as a technical support engineer. He also runs his own web master business and did the designing for the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop internet site.

Danielle and Jake were busy as could be, splitting their time between their day jobs, while managing to maintain a successful cupcake delivery business during their off hours. When the two realized that opening up a gourmet cupcake store was their destiny, they put all of their efforts into making this dream come true. While Jake still holds his tech position, Danielle was able to leave her job in the financial industry and focus solely on the birth of a new career: owner of the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop.
Of course, it’s hardly an easy task running a successful business alone, so Danielle and Jake recruited family members to help out at the store. Ann, Danielle’s mom, signed on to handle the day-to-day work load as Sweet Avenue manager, while Kristina, Danielle’s sister, joined the team to help out around the shop as well as provide creative input for new and unusual cupcake recipes. She is the one responsible for the oh-so-yummy “Cookies And Cream” and “S’mores” cupcakes.
Sweet Avenue Bake Shop is unique in the fact that more than half of their available cupcake recipes are entirely vegan, meaning they’re made without using any dairy products such as eggs and milk. Instead they use non-dairy substitutes and let me tell you – you’ll never know the difference. So don’t be scared to step out of the box and go for a vegan treat – it’s just as good (if not better, and better for you) as the traditional cupcake. Their daily flavors range in variety to whatever they feel like having on any given day – but for the most part you’ll be choosing from creations such as Mocha Madness (chocolate cake with mocha coffee frosting), Fluffernutter (vanilla cake with peanut butter and marshmallow frosting), Little Cutie (chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and a cute topper), Carrot Cake (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and fresh shredded carrots) and many, many more! It gets better. Not only do they bake these lovely little cupcakes for all to enjoy – but their menu also includes a delicious assortment of cookies, muffins and mini-muffins. So if cupcakes aren’t really your thing, there are other options to choose from to satisfy that darn sweet tooth of yours!

Now, as if I didn’t love this place enough already, get this; Danielle and Jake must have some great taste in music, because a few of their cupcakes boast names such as “White Room,” “Strawberry Fields,” “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Dark Side Of The Moon,” and “Purple Haze.” Also, something I initially missed, the name of their store, Sweet Avenue, is actually a song title from one of their favorite bands, Jets To Brazil. Come on, it doesn’t get any better than that!
Sweet Avenue treats are available in single purchases or in quantities, such as a tier of 25-65 cupcakes, a tier of 75-175 cupcakes or a tier of 200-300 cupcakes and they do custom designs as well; so put aside your New Year’s resolutions to drop the pounds and starve your self, and head on over to this adorable, delectable, fantastic little cupcake shop and treat your taste buds to some of the best cupcakes in New Jersey!

For more info visit them at www.sweetavenuebakeshop.com

What Are You Returning This Year???

2007-12-26T15:58:00.000-05:00

So, after all the fuss, all the shopping, all the preparation, the big day has come and gone - just like that! It amazes me every year, why is it that we go to such sever lengths during the holidays to get what we need (want) when this day is just, "poof," over just like that!!!!

I don't know, I think it's all a bit excessive, if you ask me, but I do admit, I'm certainly not immune to the festive disease that takes over during this time of year, that causes us to all go mad while we shop, shop, cook and shop!!!! Well, my question is this: After all the frenzy, how many of your gifts are you actually satisfied with; And what will you be returning this year?

Personally, I was entirely smitten with all of my holiday presents this year. I usually am; my family are very good shoppers (thank God) and they always manage to get just the right little treasures to hide under the Christmas tree (or the coffee table in my own room, for that matter!!!)

My parents have adopted a rather smart way of dividing up the gift giving process for my brother and I. We have a special $$$ limit each year, and so we make a list, my parents start shopping, and when we've reached our limit, we're done! Not bad, right?

I think it's a great way to rid us all of the greed that can sometimes take over as we imagine all the lavish treats we will be showered with in praise on Christmas day!

So, I'm certainly not returning anything; And thanks to everyone that thought me worthy of a gift this year! I appreciate it and love you all!

***Merry Christmas***

Extra Butter Is Open For Business!!!

2007-12-26T14:01:00.001-05:00

You know, I have to admit, I wasn’t too crazy about driving all the way out to Long Island on the infamous Black Friday. All I could really picture was traffic, traffic, and more traffic. But thankfully, the powers that be were with me that night and the ride was quick and smooth. I was venturing out to Rockville Centre, NY to check out the grand opening of the newest sneaker store, Extra Butter. Owners Jason Faustino, Nick and Ankur Amin have come together to create a sleek and smooth sneaker freak haven in suburban New York, where collectors can come to pick up the latest and greatest in urban, hip-hop inspired foot wear.

The store, created to perfectly accompany the zestful sneaker designs that it showcases, is sleek and smooth and at least aesthetically appealing, if nothing else; but that’s not all. The walls are lined from top to bottom on either side with men’s and women’s hi-tops, low-tops, running shoes, slip-ons and more. Not only that, but they have a nice collection of clothing hanging on the walls too!

So, back to Black Friday; this was the night that the trio of owners decided to open; complete with a red carpet event that boasted a DJ and, of course my favorite thing, free booze! Though the place may be a bit tiny, it was filled with friends and avid collectors, all who came out to celebrate the birth of a new hot spot. For many, it’s a pain-in-the-ass hike over to NYC if you really want to find some dope kicks. But Faustino and the Amin bros have solved that problem. Extra Butter is conveniently located in Rockville Centre, NY, right around the corner from the train station and only about 30 minutes from Manhattan. They have brought to the area a NYC street vibe, without the NYC. Does that make sense? The point is that the store owners were looking to serve the Long Island community by providing them with a closer, local shop where they can pick up the latest in foot wear fashion.

They carry everything from Nike to Puma, New Balance, Adidas and more, as well as clothing by Only NY, Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak no Evil, Kiser and more – simply put, the store is no joke! Now, I happen to know a sneaker-head, otherwise I would honestly have no idea what I’m talking about here, but there’s one small catch; although Faustino and crew have a banging selection of kicks, they are yet to be the proud holders of a Tier-0 account with Nike. What that means, is that they would have exclusive access to some of the most sought-after, limited edition sneaker designs there are. However, Jason, Nick and Ankur certainly do display a worthy collection of kicks and gear that put them up there, and are confident that they will prove them selves as a credible account holder to Nike – so hopefully the coveted luxury will come to them soon.

In the midst of all the festivities, sneaker gazing, talking and drinking, I almost forgot that there was a party going on – that is until the music pumped up a bit and Extra Butter owner Jason Faustino and friends hit the dance floor. Suddenly the entire crowd was huddled in a circle, eyes locked on what was happening in the middle of it – so I had to get a peak. Jason, along with other party goers had broken into a full on break dancing phenomenon. They were spinning on the floor and holding crazy and extremely difficult looking poses. It was actually pretty cool to watch; I had never really seen a break dancing performance like that before. Faustino’s got some pretty good moves too; he can certainly add bad ass break dancer to his repertoire.

Almost everyone in the store was sporting a totally unique and well thought out style – you could just tell that these people have got what it takes to make it in the biz – because, not to sound like a cornball or anything, but it’s true that if you project an image of success and individuality, and you have the drive, you’re bound to make something great of your self, and Extra Butter certainly has the goods to gain the prize.

Extra Butter is located at 266 Merrick Road in Rockville Centre, NY. Check out their smooth and buttery kicks and their sleek and stylish store at myspace.com/extrabutterny or at extrabutterny.com.

Kitsch Queen: Michelle Iervolino's Red Delicious

2007-12-18T15:10:00.000-05:00

Walking into the apartment of Michelle Iervolino, it’s quite obvious that you’re stepping into the headquarters of an ambitious young designer-in-the-making. The colorful walls, intriguing artwork and scattered jewelry and mannequins all dressed up just scream creation and inspiration. Everywhere you look there’s something that catches the eye and just begs for questions; and it’s abundantly clear upon the first few steps into the realm of this do-it-yourself Diva, that something great is transpiring behind those front doors.

After only a few months of working as a manager at Urban Outfitters in Montclair, NJ, Michelle has managed to infiltrate the store with her vintage, comic book and musically inspired designs, and she’s on the verge of becoming the next big thing in the fashion industry. Whether she’s making jewelry out of remnants that were left out on the side of a building, revamping an old pair of pumps or a bag, or sitting in her apartment rocking out to some of her favorite bands like Sonic Youth, Deftones and Freezepop, Michelle is constantly looking for new ideas and inspirations to go along with her already very eclectic taste.

Heavily influenced by her two favorite fashion icons, Rebecca De Mornay (in Risky Business) and Clarissa Darling from the MTV show Clarissa Explains It All, as well as legendary comic book artist Joe Kubert, whom Michelle has had the opportunity to work and hang out with, her main focus is on taking the old and making it new by putting her own special twist on it. It didn’t take long for the buyers at Urban to realize that they had struck gold when she showed them her designs, and she has actually just finished manufacturing, all by her self, an entire line of jewelry and accessories for the popular retail store. In addition, she has been invited to extend her stay and be a guest artist, which enables her to have clothing, shoes and hand bags displayed as well for Urban Outfitter’s holiday line.

Cleverly named Red Delicious, Michelle’s unique brand is sure to please fashion savvy shoppers everywhere. Her chunky jewelry, which has been literally covered with the pages right out of her favorite comic books, is the perfect accessory for the trendy, yet off-the-cuff girl. From plastic earrings shaped like french fries and anchors, to long chain necklaces featuring gold swallows and beads, to shoes from when your mother was 17 with clean lines of comic book strips laid across the tip, to boxy bags with buttons and, what else but more comics, Red Delicious takes a Warhol approach to fashion; by taking ordinary, everyday objects and icons and turning them into wearable art, Michelle has created the beginning of an empire that knows no limits.

Her line of sweaters, which steers away from the comic book theme and more into the not-so-girly-girl realm of design, are the perfect finishing touch to any day-to-day ensemble. A self proclaimed tomboy, Michelle has figured out a way to combine her girly flare for fashion with her boyish side, and has conjured up a line of crafty cardigans to be included in the Urban Outfitter’s holiday line. Taking a cue from her own dueling personality, Michelle took items such as a man’s tie and incorporated them with a girly sweater by sewing it around the collar or by cutting and sewing holes in the waistline of the cardigan and then pulling the tie through to create a wrap sweater. She raised the hemlines and added some colorful stitching and voila, Red Delicious now boasts a unique, gender bending sweater line to add to its repertoire.

So how did this come about; did Michelle just happen to get lucky? Well, in a sense, yes, she’s very lucky to be doing what she loves and be successful at it; but this isn’t just some fluke that happened to a kid who likes to throw together a bunch of junk and call it fashion. She’s been working hard for this for as long as she can remember. Ever since she was younger Michelle always marched to the beat of her own drum and found interesting ways to create new looks out of clothing that she already had; “I would just always, if I didn’t like what I was wearing, I’d cut my shirt or paint on it in art class and people just looked at me and were like, ‘You’re crazy.’ I still have in my yearbook ‘I love your Chuck Taylors and Doc Martins – NOT!’ and I just want to find this guy and be like, ‘Who are you? What are you doing?’”

Well, if this high school heckler was to look up his class alum he’d certainly find out that she’s been making good use of her creative drive. Since those days, Michelle’s quirky personality has been blossoming and developing into a breeding ground for trend-setting greatness. She’s been able to pick up and take with her bits and pieces of inspiration and creative genius throughout her travels as she floated in and out of school, internships and jobs. She’s worked with Joe Kubert and other comic book drawers responsible for the popular X-Men and Batman series as well as indulged in a little bit of high fashion while working and creating window displays for Neiman Marcus. But it wasn’t until she came to Urban Outfitters that she seized the opportunity to make her dream a reality.

Taking a cue from the popular Urban Renewal line in which vintage pieces are redesigned to become something new, but still old, Michelle has created Red Delicious, a fabulous, trend-setting, unique take on fashion and individuality. She now has pieces being sold in Urban Outfitters by people from all over the world such as California, New Zealand, Vermont, Rhode Island, Boston and many more; and she shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. This girl wants to take over the world – or at least the part of it that’s obsessed with Urban Outfitters, aka “Urbans.” Though she loves her current position, and takes pride in helping other employees enjoy their jobs, she’s hoping to eventually move up the ladder into a buying position for the Renewal division of the company, and plans on continuing to create her kitchy designs all along the way. Be sure to keep your eyes and ears open because this is certainly only the first that you’ve heard of Red Delicious, a kick ass fashion company by Michelle Iervolino.

Check out Michelle’s super cute Red Delicious designs at Urban Outfitters stores and on the web at reddelicious.bigcartel.com and myspace.com/reddeliciousthings. Happy shopping!

Sparkle This Holiday Season!!!!

2007-12-13T13:20:00.000-05:00

Finally! Every time I think about dresssing up to go out, whether it's the holiday season or just a regular old night out with the girls, I think - shine, shine, shine!!!!! I think that sparkles and sequins just make everything look better - as long as you put the look together with class so as not to look tacky! It's fun to capture that little girl look, with sequins and satin and sparkles galore - but just make sure you still look like a grown woman when you put it all together!

Here are a few looks that I absolutley love - so check them out and find your inner sequined soul!!!!!

This dress by Betsey Johnson is the perfect holiday party outfit! It begs for attention, but at the same time it's not overdone and it looks great - plus the racerback gives it a more casual appeal!

The sequinned mini skirt - one of my all time favorite looks! They're great because they add just the right amount of sparkle to any outfit - AND...when paired together with a casual white collar shirt or plain back tee you can create a great mix of casual and super fancy for a look that's sure to make everyone saw "Wow!"

If you're not into wearing a shiny dress or skirt but you still want to add a little "va va voom" to your look, then simply go with a sparkly acent piece like this great scarf from JCrew....you can leave it on or take it off as you please - it's the perfect add on to any outfit!

So whether it's the holiday season or not, here are some great shiny finds to amp up your wardrobe - wear them to the office, out with the girls or to a great holiday party - you're sure to be the "Belle Of The Ball" at any occasion!

What's On Your Wish List???

2007-12-12T17:20:00.001-05:00

Well Christmas is around the corner and everyone's in a shopping frenzy to get last minute gifts for friends and family - to be honest, I haven't really made such a big deal of the holidays this year...and now it's coming down to the wire and I'm starting to sweat!!!! Eeeek!

So, I thought, for everyone out there who's seraching for last minute gift ideas...here are some great, inexpensive little items that are sure to warm anyones's heart this holiday season....

First of all, I LOVE slipers...they're so warm and cozy and they keep all the little piggies snug while we endure this cold, cold weather - the Gap has a great pair of bootie slippers that are comfy, cozy and only $25!!!! Check them out at www.gap.com

If you're not really into the slipper idea, although I don't know how you couldn't be (they're soooooo cozy) then check out your local Barnes And Noble - I'm telling you, they always have great little trinkets and things sure to put a smile on anyone's face. If you know someone who's into writing, reading and do-it-yourself projects - things of that nature - then B&N is the greatest one-stop shopping center! They have beautiful leather bound journals, great little pocket-sized books that have cute and quirky notes in them, a HUGE array of cook books, home decor books, games, puzzles, music, and the latest and greatest in fiction and non-fiction - there's literally something there for everyone and chances are, you can find a great gift that won't necessarily send you into the poor house....check them out at www.barnesandnoble.com

Sometimes all you need to so is just say a little somethin' somethin' to get the idea across - the Hallmark store always has the greatest cards - and I'm all about saying it with song....But, besides great cards they also provide a nice selection of stocking stuffers to fill your last-minute shopping needs from picture frames to cute wine glasses, to photo albums and great decorative sculptures....check them out at www.hallmark.com

Hmmm....what else? Well, if you're a bit more on the adventurous side, Apple Tours have these great helicopter ride packages in which you can take a tour of NYC from the sky!!!! This is a gift that's a bit more expensive, but you definitely get what you pay for...check them out at www.appletours.com

Know someone who is a die-hard animal lover??? Well, if you're looking for the perfect vegan gift - look no further....there's great little cupcake store that just recently opened in Rutherford, NJ called the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop.....almost all of thier delicious treats to choose from are 100 % vegan so now you can bring home some yummy cupcakes for everyone to enjoy - and trust me, you'd never know the difference between a traditional and a vegan cupcake...they're oh so yummy and they fill your belly with nothing but goodness so check them out at www.sweetavenuebakeshop.com

Also, if you'd like to get some great vegan inspired beauty products head on over to Alternative Outfitters. They have everything from vegan nailpolish by No-Miss to great cosmetics, handbags, clothes, shoes...you name it, they have it - and i'ts all completely animal friendly. Check them out at www.alternativeoutfitters.com

That's pretty much it for now - I hope this helps for anyone looking for some last minute gift ideas for the holidays - I know I'll certainly be running around like a maniac trying to get all of my last minute shopping done - Merry Christmas!!!!!

The New Rudolph And Santa's Elf....

2007-12-11T23:56:00.000-05:00

Moana And Lester's 2007 Holiday Card...doesn't get cuter than this!

Go On, Treat Your Self - You Deserve It!!!

2007-12-11T23:01:00.000-05:00

Good News For Shoppers Everywhere!

Steve And Barry's is having a HUGE sale throughout the Holiday season. All items in the store, and I mean EVERYTHING, are $8.98 or under - when I heard this my jaw dropped.

Come on, it doesn't get any better than this - so head on over to your nearest Steve And Barry's location to pick up some cute threads for your self....

After all your generosity this year, you deserve it!!!!!

They carry great lines like Bitten by SJP and Dear by Amanda Bynes and many, many more! Enjoy!!!!

Allow me to further introduce my self....

2007-12-11T19:03:00.000-05:00

I figure that if anyone is going to read this, ever, maybe I should first share some things about my self that might be of interest to you.

Well, I am a recent college graduate of William Paterson University - I recieved my Bachelor Degree in Communications with a concentration in journalism. I spent all five years of college (I first graduated from Bergen Community College with an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts) excelling in writing classes and completely fucking off in the rest of my curricular requirements. Who the hell gives a shit about math, science and geography anyway? Not me, at least. Now I know that this might make me sound like a complete ass right off the bat, but I have to be honest, and honestly, I hated those classes - sue me.

Moving on. I am the second child to my wonderful parents - I have an older brother with whom I've had a somewhat roller coaster relationship - but now that we're getting older (he's 26) we're starting to level off and things have been going smoothly for about the last year or so, maybe a little longer; and I'm grateful for that because it's nice to connect with the people who are always, no matter what, going to be in your life.

I have been in a serious relationship for more than 10 years! My boyfriend and I (I know, I can't believe I'm not engaged yet either) just celebrated 10 years this past October and if he doesn't slap a ring on my finger soon - he's gonna get a foot up his ass! How much longer do I have to wait, already? I'm ready, I'm ready, I'M READY!!!!!!!! Well, we're going on vacation to Lake Tahoe, CA soon and what better place to propose than on the top of a beautiful, snow-covered mountain? I can dream, can't I?

My parents kick ass. They've been married for twenty-something years; I think 28? Either way, they're great - I know at times I may complain and act like I've been dealt the worst hand in life by being stuck with these two, but I don't mean it - you know what the real problem is? Its that we all have such strong personalities and opinions, especially my mother and I, that it's just too damn hard being together all the frigging time - this, you see, is why I can't wait to move out. I'm starting to go off on a tangent here, though - what I mean to say, is that they both work really hard to provide for our family and they've taken in my boyfriend and let us live at their home together until we can afford our own place - and for that, they're the best. My father is a bad ass drummer; my mom couldn't hold a tune if her life depended on it - but I love her anyway.

Then there's the pets - we're a big dog family. My first two loves were Rosie (Doberman) and Marky (Greyhound). They were the best two dogs anyone could ever ask for - but unfortunately they both fell ill and passed away a little more than 3 years ago. It was one of the saddest things I've ever experienced in my life. We now have our newest additions, Moana (Doberman) and Lester (Greyhound) and they are completely different than Rosie and Marky but they bring us just as much joy!

***I'm just starting to realize, right at this very moment, how much I sound like my mother...scary***

Anyway, I also have a Pitt Bull that my boyfriend and I got together - his name is Casey and he's the most beautiful dog you'll ever see. He lives with Angelo's family though - because their dog Nikki just passed and we thought they'd like the company in the house.

So that's mostly it - I'm working - trying hard to find my own voice and make a name for my self - not that there's anything wrong with it, but I just never wanted to be someone who nobody has ever heard of - I don't think it's that I need the praise of others to validate my life, I think it's just that I don't want to be ordinary...I guess. I don't know if that came out right - anyway, the point is, is that I want to just be happy - with my work, with my family, with my friends - with life! Trust me, it's much easier said than done - because although this may have been a nice little chat, the sweet topping on this cake won't be here forever - I find plenty of things to bitch and moan about on a daily basis - and I have plenty of interesting, funny, informative, and just plain relative things to say.....

So that'e me - sort of....

Hello!

2007-12-11T17:29:00.000-05:00

Well, this is my first post EVER! I'm completely new to the world of blogging - and I don't know how I've managed to stay away from it for so long - I love to talk and tell people what's on my mind - and this is the perfect outlet for that!

So what can you expect? Pretty much anything I feel like saying, I guess.

Some of my interests include fashion, reading, tattoos, relationships, work and just life in general. I think that we all need to reconnect and become a stronger entity and then, together, we can make our own pages throughout history.

This may sound somewhat enlightening, but to be honest, I don't really talk all the time about subjects that are extremely deep and profound - I like to have fun and just relate to other people.

So, whatever is on my mind - that's what you'll be hearing about - and if you have anything that you'd like to say - then feel free!