I'm BAAAAACK... and coming to you from NY.

GYDUN, my dearest, I am so excited to finally have some adventures to share with you! I know it's been a while, but I now have internet access and some exciting things to share.

Yesterday morning I awoke especially early to run to an emergency eye doc appointment before I headed up to New York. Don't worry, don't worry, I only have a reoccurring eye infection that has been pestering me for about a month because apparently I am allergic to my contact solution... so I am again on steroids to help ease the pain.

Eventually I was able to go home and Lauren and I packed up the Yukon and headed to DFW. Our first flight was to Cincinnati whatever airport (which is actually in Kentucky) and for the however many hours we were on that flight I read this month's issue of NYLON magazine. In the last thirty minutes of the flight we had terrible turbulence that felt as though God had grabbed our plane and shaken it up like you shake a ketchup bottle when the ketchup just WON'T come out. Naturally when we landed in Cincinnati?Kentucky? we were both feeling a little nauseated. We grabbed some lunch at Chik-fil-a, and not really remembering that the nuggets are fried, I got those... we had to rush to make our connecting flight, and we were kind of afraid that people would be angry with us for eating aromatic food on the plane. Soon after we made our departure however, we noticed that the man in our row was creating quite a stink of his own that had nothing to do with food he brought on board...

This is a snapshot of my tray on this flight... don't I look like a fun traveling companion?


It was mostly uneventful. I listened to lots of music and laughed a little aloud while reading. Damn you, David Sedaris! Oh just kidding, Davey, I think you're the tops.

So when we finally got to NY, we noticed that there was this Hacidic Jew waiting for his baggage with us and I was like... "OH, HOLY ROLLER!" (Lauren said it would be rude to take his picture... or I would have featured him here). If you don't get the joke watch the following:



After a $35-ish cab ride we made it to our apartment where we met up with Jodi and this guy named Solomon, who is the boyfriend of the girl who we're subletting from. Our room is her old "meditation room" and has a bed that has a mattress that is not a twin, but not quite the size of a full. We also have tons of room, but zero furniture or closet space. We threw our stuff in the apartment, signed our lease, and left for 5th avenue... the happenin' area of park slope. That's right, y'all, we're staying in Brooklyn. Aaaand I really like it. It's kind of hipstery and urban and it has lots of trees and feels very homey. We went to a Thai restaurant for dinner and kind of shared some food... but I wasn't very impressed with any of it. Afterwords we went to Jodi's house where we met her puppies and borrowed tons of towels and sheets.

We went home to drop it all off and then walked a half mile or so to Target where we went in looking for something to make a makeshift closet and ended up buying a 5' by 5' portable closet. I got to carry it back home where we spent about thirty minutes putting it together. I'm quite proud of it.

We eventually went to sleep, which I found difficult because it was SO HOT in our room. We had to wake up about five hours later to get ready for our day today.

OH TODAY. It was a long, long, day.
7:50am- left the house
8:00am- got on the train
8:30am~ we got to the garment district
8:45am- we got in line at Starbucks
9:00am- the workday began...
11:30am- we headed to the University store to open it
12:30pm- we had lunch at a Greek place, and it was so yummy! We split hummus with spicy sun-dried tomatoes and pesto and a really good Labane wrap
1:30pm- back to the University store where we met some really nice people and their pets. We also played dress up to see how things fit...



4:15pm- we left University to go to the Brooklyn store
5:00pm-arrived at Brooklyn store, met more pets and people
7:00pm-closed up shop
7:15pm- went to a pre-Fashion's Night Out party at a local vintage shop
8:00pm- went to din din at Building on Bond where we split a grilled cheese and tomato soup as well as some fancy avocado, sprouts, and chutney sandwich with fries... I was not a big fan of the chutney. then our waiter, mark, told us we really needed to try their Pimm's cup, so we did. After our meal we ended up talking to Mark and we found out that he was from McAllen, TX. We came all the way to Bond St. in Brooklyn to meet someone from Texas. Go figure.

What I'm Reading: June/July

This month I've been trying a concept that's a little foreign to me... I've been reading several books at once. Although my best friend is capable of reading a chapter here, a chapter there and is able to remember more of her two titles than I am of my one, I am still not sure that is my strength. I've never been too good at juggling. I once dated two boys at the same time and it was probably the most stressful two months of my entire life.

Well anyways... here's what I've been reading.

I started with The Fountainhead by the uber-intelligent and talented Ayn Rand. If you know a little bit about me, you know that last summer I read We the Living and was completely changed by it. (While I understand that Objectivism is a little selfish by nature I am fully enthralled with it.) Before I digress... The Fountainhead is about two young architects and the paths their lives are going down.


In the first section of the book we meet Howard Roark on the day he gets expelled from his college. Instead of feeling upset or angry, Howard decides that he will be a top architect without his diploma. He builds not what his clients want, but what he believes is fitting and beautiful. He builds what makes him happy. Peter Keating, on the other hand, is the perfectionist who graduated at the top of his class. He works tirelessly to advance his career and is perfectly willing to step on anyone and anyone in the process. And although he is considered to be the golden boy in the architecture world of New York, he is so self-conscious that he frequently seeks the advice of former classmate, Howard Roark.
I am in love with this book. I may be in love with Roark. He is a character that I can totally relate to and who I wish could exist somewhere on this earth. Although I have made a small chip in the book's 700+ pages, I am still far from finished. Reading an Ayn Rand novel is a huge commitment and takes a lot of focus and passion to finish! Her books are not for the faint of heart or the "beach reader". I cannot wait to finish this book! But at the same time, I don't want to finish it too soon...

For a little comedic relief, I began reading David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames after a stranger recommended it to me. We were sitting next to each other on a plane, I, of course, was reading Ayn Rand, and she, David Sedaris. So I went out and got it. I really haven't been able to get into it a lot... I'll hopefully be able to finish it this month- but so far I have slightly enjoyed it. I feel as though David Sedaris is my uncle and although he is witty and has good intentions, he can get to be slightly crotchety at times... but just like my uncles, he is quite a good storyteller. Hopefully as I read on I will be able to create a better opinion on the book.


Finally, after seeing previews for the new film The Killer Inside me (directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, and Jessica Alba), I knew I had to read the book by Jim Thompson. I couldn't put this book down. Instead of showers I took hot baths so I could sit and read while bathing. I also shamelessly asked my mother several times to blow dry my hair so that I could read during that time. Jim Thompson is such a chilling writer- I cannot wait to read another of his novels. Read this book before you see the film! You will not be sorry!

See it at the Angelika in Dallas! Opens July 16th! I'll be there with LM somewhere near the back of the theater! I cannot wait!