Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2009. Show all posts

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Indulging in New York

I haven't really talked much about what we did or gave each other for Christmas. That's because my main present from the hubby was a surprise trip to New York for New Year's Eve and to visit with Miss WendyB.

We flew in on the 30th and stayed downtown at the Smyth Tribeca. It's a new hotel, just under a year old, and a bit "hipster". But the location was good and the service was great. The sheets were very soft. I could use with a bit more closet/dresser top space, all in all it was great.

Our trip was totally centered around food. The first night I had made a reservation at Pure Food and Wine. I've been dying to try the restaurant for the past few visits and have not been able to make it but I'm so glad we did this time!



We did the five course chef's tasting meal and it was spectacular. Everything was divine and we were amazed at some of the dishes. I will be making sure to go back on my next visit.

The next day, New Year's Eve, we woke up to snow. Our days were planned around going to my favorite museums and our main goal was to see the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA because the hubby is a HUGE fan... well, so am I. I was going to get timed tickets in advance but they were all sold out for the 31st and the online system wasn't working. We took our chances by heading for the museum to see what was available but when we got there the line was down the block.

We did have a back-up plan, however. Instead of standing out in the snow for an hour, hoping to get in, we went into the store and bought a MoMA membership for $60 and a guest pass for $5. This gave us full access without having to do a timed ticket. The membership is good for a year, so I can go back in February, and it also gives you discounts at the stores too. The regular timed tickets are $20 each, so for just $25 more total we got right in.



The exhibit is great. Filled with iconic pieces from Tim's movies but also tons of tiny details that showcase his wit and talent and strong design sense. Truly a must-see for any fan.

After we left the museum we went uptown and popped into a few stores. Bergdorfs and Saks were both having big sales but I didn't see anything on the sales racks or in the stores I wanted so we then walked around, saw the Rockefeller Christmas tree, bought some macarons and had a delicious lunch.

Then we had to head all the way back to the hotel so we could grab a quick disco nap before getting ready to go out to meet up with the Wendy and Mr.B party at Balthzar. I wore a sequined Sonia Rykiel dress with white collar and cuffs paired up with black tights, Manolo Campari black patent mary janes and WendyB Swear rings.

The hubby looked smart in his new suit and "It's-a-real-bow-tie-I-tied-it-myself" Chinese Zodiac symbol bow-tie.



We partied until about 2am and then totally crashed until the next morning. I was hoping to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art but it was closed! The info must have been buried somewhere on the site because we were not the only kind-off pissed-off and surprised people milling around outside the museum doors.

So, since that didn't pan out, we crossed the park and went to the Natural History museum... along with everyone else, I guess, because it was a madhouse. Sadly we got hungry while we were there and braved the food court. See this picture... It was nothing like this. It was total chaos. Best not to go into the whole ordeal.



But we did get to end the trip on a high note due to a delicious meal at Candle 79. Delicous and easy to see why they were voted as top vegan restaurant this past year in VegNews.



All in in all it was a quick trip but so fun because my Sweetie went with me to one of my favorite cities. Now I just need to drag him up there more often!

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

2009 - The Year To Get S**T Done

Everyone is writing their resolutions. But I don't like to do resolutions... I've always written goals. In fact, I write down my goals each year. I then save them in the same place so I can pull forward the long term goals that carry over from year to year. And I believe in the power of intention... of writing things down and watching them happen. I've put what I want out there and time and again I've been surprised by what happens. It's amazing in such a positive way.

And this upcoming year seems as if it is going to be one heck of a year! I'm already so inspired by the level of positivity and energy that is out there for 2009. So inspired that my list of goals is HUGE! But in a good way. I'm trying something new for the year; I'm breaking my list down into sections. I usually do a big long list and then organize it by month so they are more concrete. A lot of this year's are all year long so I will need to put some more structure to them. Oh yeah, they range from huge to terribly mundane.

Here we go!

Home - House interior, exterior, improvements, furnishings



Get our living room fireplace lined so we can snuggle in front of it

Get our gravel drive redone

Build a "secret garden" with a boxwood hedge and chairs under the wisteria

Create a Victory Garden to help eat vegan and share produce with friends and neighbors

Finally clear out or sell some of the stuff I've been hanging on to that doesn't have a place


Financial - Money in, out and the future

Pay off what I owe

Save more money

See if I can incorporate more monitization elements to my sites without compromising the site from a holistic standpoint

Social - Travel, Connections, Friends, Social Media

Meet up with folks from my old city that have moved to NC like me

Have more tea parties

Continue the Backyard Movie Nights (wanna come?)

Plan a trip (???) to Austria/Germany for next Christmas

Try and organize outings with my online friends when I travel

Family - Pets, People, Future



Make sure the pets are getting all the health and dental they need, especially Bailey who is 15

Train Napoleon to do more tricks... is walking on a leash far off?

Catch up with my elderly cousin in Ireland

Definitively answer some lingering open questions


Spirit - Emotional, Service, Donations, Volunteering



Get my "A Gentle Paw" pet therapy group off the ground

Develop a vegetarian/vegan group for my area - it's the South... veggie lovers need all the support we can get and people need a way to be exposed to the idea and learn together.

Budget in money to donate to my favorite causes

Budget in money to surprise and delight people

Become more active in the causes I support


Physical - Health, Food, Exercise



♥ Meditate - it's really hard for me to work this in

♥ Do more yoga

♥ Walk and get back to running - maybe a half-marathon by 2010?

Do a Juice Feast - Starting with 30 days but will keep going up to 92 days if possible

Keeping vegan but focusing more on raw, whole foods fewer processed foods

Try to create more boundaries between work and home

Get more sleep

Take fencing lessons again starting in the summer

Learn archery


Personal Growth - Learning, Languages, Reading, Culture



Learn French - our long, long term goal is to move to Paris so I'm laying the groundwork

Read all the exising books I have

Continue my British history reading plan

Listen to all the book and history podcasts I downloaded from iTunes

Journal more

Take a course in beekeeping so we can have an apiary

Watch more old classic movies that I've never gotten around to

Take a class in cordwaining (???)


Creativity - Outlets, Projects, Expression




Write more

Attempt to do quilling

Get the tattoo I have planned

Plan my outfits in advance so I can incorporate more of the cool stuff I have that I get too rushed to remember

Bake more and work more with my cake decorating skills

Plan out the colors and elements I want for Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter

Do more photography (get a macro lense if possible)


Professional - Work, Sites, Teaching, Writing



Find an illustrator for the childrens' book I wrote and self-publish if needed

Grow my Technorati ranking and audience

Transfer my sites to a new platform

Reach 1000 posts by my 2 year anniversary in July

Go to BlogWorld

Teach a class on Social Media

Submit a post to IFB at least twice a month


I have more (if you can beleive it) but these are the main ones.

Have you made your plans? How do you organize them? If you haven't, get on it! Let's get some stuff done!


Photo Credits:
- My House by Me
- Ile St-Louis Stairs by Mohsan
- St. Anton am Arlberg, Tirol, Austria by Kruhme
- For Like Ever poster by Village
- Hand to Paw by Jim Dutcher
- One day's worth of produce by David and Katrina
- Eiffel explosion of stars by Ingiro
- Simple by Messaround
- The Magic is in the Telling by Yulia Brodskaya

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Pantone Color of the Year 2009: Mimosa

It's always exciting to see what Pantone announces as the new colors for the year. These are the colors you are going to be seeing in fashion and in your home accessory options. Typically fashion leads the way and trends are then translated into decor but you are beginning to see this lag shrink significantly.

As the "global authority on color" we use Pantone products every day in my agency.

When selecting the color for the year, Pantone looks to world trends but they also choose colors to influence the world too. And with this upcoming year's choice, they are certainly doing that. They did not go with a color reflecting a cautious fearful mood, but a strong hopeful one.

The deep, warm, bright yellow, the color of fresh juice...



And the color, perhaps, of hope? The color of change? I think so!



Pantone is not only for art directors or interior designers, although many of their tools are aimed for these uses. They do have a great little Shopping Color guide which is only $20. I bought this deck and it is fun to use to plan out new outfit color combinations and inspirations. They have some books that you should check out too.



If you really want the in-depth coverage and to be ahead of the game, you can download the Fashion Color Report for Spring 2009. This pdf contains the inspiration, prominent colors, signature colors and color philosophy of many of fashion's top designers. It's a great cheat sheet to help guide your choices going into next year.


I'm just going to be reading it because I have a great love of color. I sometimes wish I could narrow down my wardrobe to a more streamlined palette but then I get seduced by a teal or a pink and the black/grey/green parameter goes out the window!

Do you have a favorite color for Spring?

More to learn:
- New York Magazine coverage
- Vogue.com coverage
- Color Matters
- Color Voodoo
- Search Flickr by Color

Dress: Ossie Clark via Vogue.com
Photo credit -Barak and Michelle Obama - EPA via
Telegraph UK