Empire State of Mind

A couple of weeks ago I took the (awesome) Acela Express up to NYC for the ME* Conference. Hosted by Ad Age, the conference confronted the evolution of media as it becomes more digitally focused and personalized. Needless to say, I was in amazing company. If I was more of a big wig, I may have recognized a few more people in the audience, but I did see the Media Director and President of The Martin Agency, and heard several questions being asked from the head of digital at Hearst International. I mean check out this single panel:

Besides being trapped in the beautiful Metropolitan Pavilion all day, I was able to meet my Uncle Al in the city for a wonderful dinner of tapas and wine at Boqueria in Chelsea. Apparently, I did not know dessert like I thought I did because there may not be anything better in the world than Churros con Chocolate.

Image borrowed from hollydanger

He also leant me Seth Godin's new book, Linchpin, which I'm now reading furiously. I love a good motivational business book read admist heart breaking novels.

Fan-crafts-tic!...Does that work?

Austin got this:


So I did this:

Thanks for the inspiration Effortless-Style

Beauty in books

Currently reading another of Jonathan Safran Foer's books: Everything is Illuminated. His writing in this book is strickingly different than his writing in Extremely Close...but I can sense the similarities. He writes from an uncomfortable perspective-in ECIL, it's an (I'm assuming) autistic's 10-year-old mourning point-of-view. In Everything is Illuminated, it is from the POV of a young Ukranian who takes on English as a second language. Read the first paragraph:

"My legal name is Alexander Perchov. But all of my many friends dub me Alex, beause that is a more flaccid-to-utter version of my legal name. Mother dubs me Alexi-stop-spleening-me!, because I am always speening her. If you want to know why I am always spleeing her, it is because I am always elsewhere with friends, and disseminating so much currency, and performing so many things that can spleen a mother"

I think the uncomfortable produces beauty.

Some of the next books on my list:
Beauty from a cover..

 Beauty from the unknown..

 Beauty from experiences..

Why yes, I did see something I liked

I know I'm in advertising, but am I the only person freaked out by West Elm's "Take another look at..." emails? I received one from Pottery Barn earlier this week, too. Yes, I've been on both of these sites this week. I didn't add anything to a shopping  cart. I just clicked on a couple of items of interest.

Like, I said, I'm in advertising, and I know that I'm getting this automated e-mail because of the cookies stored on my computer. But I have to wonder if the average person knows what's happening behind the scenes here. Either way, another win for super targeted ad delivery, meanwhile, making my job of traditional media planning a soon to be thing of the past. And another win for West Elm, because now two days later, I'm thinking about those pillows again...

Goodbye, Mark Rothko

Austin said this painting made him feel sad, and therefore, it is no longer living in my "Things I want" bookmark page that I should really take into the digital age and turn into http://www.wists.com/

via allposters

Veterans Day Road Trip

Yesterday, Austin and I drove to Fredrick, MD to take advantage of the fact that the government pays our salaries (Veterans Day). We had reservations for VOLT, Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant. It was everything I hoped for and more. First course, goat cheese butternut squash ravioli paired with a crisp white wine; Second course, chicken sausage and seasonal vegetables including potatoes confit, paired with a light Pinot Noir from St. Lucia (random); Dessert, a gala apple tart with mascarpone ice cream with an amazing dessert wine that complimented it better than I could have wished. Lastly, he sent us home with some cookies, enough for Austin, but all for me:
 

Also, when we were wandering around at the cute shops in Fredrick, I spotted some post it notes that may end up in my mom's stocking for Christmas.


And we attempted a hike, but after decadent food and a glass and a half of wine I let the fact that the trail was covered in slippery leaves be an excuse to head home. I have some pictures of that too, but I'm trying out my dad's old SLR 35mm, so it's going to be a process to get those online.

Guess who's back

I've decided to start blogging again, even if no one reads it. There are three reasons:

1) Looking back at my posts from Spring, I have actually obtained several of the products that I featured. This has made me realize that when I think about what I want long enough before I get it, I will still like the product in 6 months at least.



2) I want to brush up on my writing skills. Lately, the thought that I've been so focused on advertising since the beginning of college has scared me. Living in DC, I am surrounded by incredibly smart people who are well rounded in arts, politics, and whatever their day job is--probably politics, so maybe they just have one other interest. So I decided I should have other interests too. New aspiration keeping me entertained--volunteering to be a grant writer for a non-profit.

3) My final reason for reenergizing this blog is because I have been reading nonstop--a great perk of metro riding. Yesterday I finished The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao. I'm not English major, so I'm not going to dissect the inner meaning of the book, but I appreciated the not so happy ending, and the use Spanish scattered throughout the prose to help me relate to the struggles of family lineage and immigration. Before that I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Awesome book that made me rethink what life after death will be like. I also have a slight fasination with books written from a possibly austistic child's point of view--The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night is another.

So, anyway, I hope that is reason enough for me to start writing. But since no one is reading except for maybe my mom, I don't really need an excuse, do I?

Things I want

Because it is Spring and because my sister informed me that all of my stuff is thrifted or from high school.

That's all.

Desperatly seeking a room to decorate

I have moved about 5 times in 6 years, which has completely deterred me from spending much or anything on decorating each apartment. Most of my best finds have come from Goodwill, thrift stores or (gasp) outside trashcans near college apartments. Luckily I have an eye for junk finds, and while my boyfriend appreciates it to some extent, I think he's ready for me to spend a little money on furnishing for the new shared digs. He has brown wood target furniture that is far too matchy matchy and a camel colored comfy sofa. Here's what I'm thinking:

And eventually, when I can convince him to throw out his target coffee table:

Shabby Chic or just Shabby?

I first discovered the term shabby chic in college when a friend lived in an old white victorian house that was indeed very shabby and incredibly cool and chic. Technically this term is defined as a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their age and signs of wear and tear or new items. This is a pretty general description that basically means anything that shows signs of age. When I think of the term, I think of light colored, well worn, beautiful design and cute. Apparently other people have a different idea of what it means...

My ideal shabby chic is something from Anthropology or this:

Not exactly what I was looking for on Craigslist

But you have to admit. It's a steal.

Thank you, Reading Rainbow

I've been addicted to books lately. It started with a bag full of books to read after a trip to Michigan to see my mom and has currently been accelerated by my hour long train ride to see my boyfriend. For purpose none other than my own, I'm going to list the ones I remember reading in the last several months and give a little review.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil- Awesome. Set in the old South and a murder mystery. Was sad to see it end.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- Decent. It was a relaxed read, but nothing really happend. I just got to compare my life growing up to hers.
The Best of Everything- Gossipy. With a lull in Mad Men, and my craving for a good read about drinking, sex, and the 60s, I could not put this down.
The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time- Insightful and frustrating. About an austic boy who is trying to solve a mystery of how his neighbor's dog died. He found out a lot more and I found out that I may not have the patience if I have an austistic child.
The Other Boleyn Girl- Amazing. The fastest like 700 pages of my life. I love when history is fascinating, even if it was a little distorted.
Ella Minnow Pea- Predictable. When letters of the alphabet go missing, it turns out speaking, writing, nor reading are all that much fun. Done in a week.
Eat Pray Love- Next.

1-800-DIY

Yesterday I had lofty goals of craft shopping that involved Goodwill, Home Depot and Michaels. Unfortunately, I didn't get home from work until 7, then decided I was too scared to go to Goodwill after dark alone (substantiated?), convinced myself I didn't know what color to paint the afore mentioned credenza until I purchase the afore mentioned knobs, and then decided that getting my car out of the dungeness parking garage for a trip to Michaels just wasn't worth it. So I did this instead:

My favorite part about this was I have been to the Cline vineyard in Sonoma. Yay for Spring and flowers (even if they are fake!)

Goin' downtown to china town

For some reason these days, I'm obsessed with china. Though I can't deny their resilience, I'm getting pretty tired of my Wal Mart plates and bowls from junior year of college. While I no longer have a full set, this isn't due to random breakage, but more to do with their resemblance to frisbees when drunk. Two designs that have caught my eye recently are Kelly Wearstler for Pickard:

and Poc a Poc:

Unfortunately, I will be admiring from a far for now due to their price tags, my tendency to move every year, and the fact that I'm not getting married (though my mom swears that I can get china outside of an engagement). So for now, it's just something to look at. Enjoy...

So, I love fast food breakfast...

Bacon, egg and cheese biscuits are my absolute favorite. This morning I went to Biscuitville. They probably have the best biscuits around, lets be serious. I finished it up at work, washed the grease off my hands, wiped the grease off my keyboard and decided I would look up the nutrition facts on this little bundle of joy. Not so good, as you would expect. And so, I was like... wow, I wonder how other fast food joints compare. There's nothing quite like a greasy, yummy biscuit in the morning, but is there a greasy, yummy biscuit that is better for you than another? I decided to list them based on calories, sodium and carbs. This is just a random sampling of places that I've been for breakfast at some point and time. These are all based on a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit. Here goes...

Biscuitville: Sodium-1740
Calories-585
Carbs-33

McDonalds: Sodium-1270
Calories-480
Carbs-43

Bojangles: Sodium-1250
Calories-550
Carbs-27

Hardees: Sodium-1390
Calories-530
Carbs-36

Jack in the Box: Sodium-1043
Calories-423
Carbs-35

So Biscuitville is pretty much the worst and Jack in the Box seems to be the most "healthy" in terms of fast-food biscuits (which are really all delicious, wrapped-up, heart-attacks waiting to happen, I suppose.)

Get a cupcake, a pen and human rights...

That's the kind of swag even us media folks don't get. Today, in DC, gay couples can apply for a marriage license, and after a three day waiting period, Tuesday will mark the first day gay and lesbian couple can marry in DC. The nation's capitol joins 5 states (New Hampshire, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont)  in allowing what should be a human right. Especially if that human right includes a free cupcake.

Wish i could have seen this...

"A deputy stopped a pink 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis for a traffic violation at U.S. Highway 70 and Jones Sausage Road around 8:45 a.m., said Phyllis Stephens, a spokeswoman for Wake County Sheriff's Office.

As the deputy approached the driver – identified as Randel Levone Riggsbee, 32, of 503 Sykes St. in Chapel Hill – sped away.

The chase went onto Interstate 40 West, where the state Highway Patrol took over. Sky 5 video showed at least nine law enforcement vehicles chasing a pink sedan, with a "Hello Kitty" vanity plate. The chase reached speeds over 85 mph.

Stephens said the Mercury ran over stop sticks laid down by troopers and went down the Airport Boulevard exit. The Mercury struck an SUV, then crashed into a guardrail, ending the chase around 9:10 a.m.

Riggsbee jumped out of the Mercury and ran into a wooded area, but officers caught him after a short foot chase, she said.

No one was injured in the chase. The SUV sustained minor damage, and the front window of a cruiser was cracked.

Deputies seized an undetermined amount of cash from the Mercury."

Thanks to NC_Wanted

Something old, something blue

However that phrase goes, I am super excited about my new project. Living in a big city means I have even more access to other people's junk, which for some reason is incredibly exciting to me. Also, the Olympics and The Bachelor are over, so what in the heck am I going to do on weekday nights? This:

And turn it into this:

Thanks, DesignSpongeOnline

Well obviously not that. Woodworking will not be involved. But I'm thinking about using that color pattern. I also want to take off the doors and put in a small wine rack and a place for wine glass and voila, a bar. I'm dying to use these cute owl knobs from Anthropolgie too. We'll see.

Even if you don’t agree with the beliefs of the tiger you admire his way to protest

This courageous and fiery fighter is admired by the ancient Chinese as the sign that keeps away the three main tragedies of a household. These are fire, thieves and ghosts. Thanks to and More from

Since we don't have households yet, this year we are going to work to keep those three main tragedies out of our lives, including some others possibly more typical: the hangover, the heartbreak and the empty wallet. I [Erin] live in Arlington, VA and Karli lives in Raleigh, NC and each day we'll protest something, whether it be waking up before 8am or eating a lean cuisine for lunch. Or maybe we'll protest protesting and just post something cool. Either way we both went to journalism school and are well versed in the 1st Amendment.