Something something Lila Downs
Like, I'll be honest, I have completely absolved myself of doing real work for the past two days and it's been a huge relief. Every day I'm not working retail (and even those days too), I berate myself for not finishing relatively straightforward freelance projects that I picked up at the end of November. It's been a combination of overwhelm, bad brains and talking myself down, and yes, I can confirm that it's been exhausting. So, yesterday I had a 9 a.m. meeting in Williamsburg, which is an hour away by train; the meeting got done around noon, and it was just like... why go straight back home?
Very, very good decision. All these shops are having huge after-Christmas sales still, which means I finally got my hands on a pine/fir-scented candle (my absolute favorite), as well as an advent calendar in the shape of a pine tree for my dear friend K in Chicago, who loves advent calendars and who always sends me amazing care packages which I never, to my shame, reciprocate. I had some really excellent quesadillas and salad, and then found my way to -- well, the only way to describe it is I was walking down this street I've never really been on before, and this storefront just pulled me in by the soul.
Fuego 718 is basically one ideal look at how I'd like to decorate. Everything was this riot of color and shiny things and handcrafted folk art, with a truly amazing soundtrack. (Here's a video walkthrough, but that NYT photo slideshow conveys the place better, I feel.) The owner, Alex, was so unbelievably friendly and kind, and he apologized for how thinned out and sparse the store was (!!!!!), since they were getting ready for Valentine's Day, so everything was 40% off (!!!!!!!!). I really, really love beaten tin mirrors, and almost got one, but I fell much harder for a small papier-mache diorama, which Alex wrapped beautifully, including with a small paper-and-wire rose. Just glorious.
On the way back to the train, I ran into my good friend S, always a good sign, and we chatted for 10 minutes or so. Then I headed into Slapback, the store where I got that world-famous jumpsuit. It did not disappoint; not only did I finally grab a cropped black sweater I can wear with some of my incoming and present high-waisted bottoms, but I nabbed a pair of '40s work overalls, against my better judgment. LOVE.
Yes, Sebastian Stan and I have something in common, which is that we are more likely than not to look like we have black eyes if someone doesn't makeup the hell out of us. Olive skin delights!
Mostly for the rest I've just been... reading (the first Maisie Dobbs mystery has been a delight so far!) and trying to clean in general. I finished my first full notebook full of morning pages; it's gorgeous and a half out today, so I have all the windows open; I've got plans for a simple but infinitely adaptable papier-mache project in the works. Shepard Fairey, of the Obama "Hope" poster, has a new series of paintings coming together for the Women's March on Washington. You can buy any of those prints plus two others by amazing artists for $50 on the Kickstarter; I'm very, very tempted by the beautiful "Defend Dignity" image. Just. Happy sigh. I might even play my ukulele in a bit. Sometimes you've just got to actually allow yourself to unwind before you can think of getting anything done, surprise surprise.
This was originally posted on Dreamwidth, where it has
comments. I would love to hear from you at DW! If you can see this post, you can comment here using OpenID. Thanks!
Very, very good decision. All these shops are having huge after-Christmas sales still, which means I finally got my hands on a pine/fir-scented candle (my absolute favorite), as well as an advent calendar in the shape of a pine tree for my dear friend K in Chicago, who loves advent calendars and who always sends me amazing care packages which I never, to my shame, reciprocate. I had some really excellent quesadillas and salad, and then found my way to -- well, the only way to describe it is I was walking down this street I've never really been on before, and this storefront just pulled me in by the soul.
Fuego 718 is basically one ideal look at how I'd like to decorate. Everything was this riot of color and shiny things and handcrafted folk art, with a truly amazing soundtrack. (Here's a video walkthrough, but that NYT photo slideshow conveys the place better, I feel.) The owner, Alex, was so unbelievably friendly and kind, and he apologized for how thinned out and sparse the store was (!!!!!), since they were getting ready for Valentine's Day, so everything was 40% off (!!!!!!!!). I really, really love beaten tin mirrors, and almost got one, but I fell much harder for a small papier-mache diorama, which Alex wrapped beautifully, including with a small paper-and-wire rose. Just glorious.
On the way back to the train, I ran into my good friend S, always a good sign, and we chatted for 10 minutes or so. Then I headed into Slapback, the store where I got that world-famous jumpsuit. It did not disappoint; not only did I finally grab a cropped black sweater I can wear with some of my incoming and present high-waisted bottoms, but I nabbed a pair of '40s work overalls, against my better judgment. LOVE.
Yes, Sebastian Stan and I have something in common, which is that we are more likely than not to look like we have black eyes if someone doesn't makeup the hell out of us. Olive skin delights!
Mostly for the rest I've just been... reading (the first Maisie Dobbs mystery has been a delight so far!) and trying to clean in general. I finished my first full notebook full of morning pages; it's gorgeous and a half out today, so I have all the windows open; I've got plans for a simple but infinitely adaptable papier-mache project in the works. Shepard Fairey, of the Obama "Hope" poster, has a new series of paintings coming together for the Women's March on Washington. You can buy any of those prints plus two others by amazing artists for $50 on the Kickstarter; I'm very, very tempted by the beautiful "Defend Dignity" image. Just. Happy sigh. I might even play my ukulele in a bit. Sometimes you've just got to actually allow yourself to unwind before you can think of getting anything done, surprise surprise.
This was originally posted on Dreamwidth, where it has
comments. I would love to hear from you at DW! If you can see this post, you can comment here using OpenID. Thanks!