July Desktop Wallpaper 2011

Tomorrow is July!

It will also the beginning of the second half of this year - and the perfect time to reestablish your resolutions, goals, and hopes for 2011.

Are you spending the 4th in NYC?

The 35th Annual Macy's Fireworks will take place between 9:00 and 9:20PM on Monday, July 4th. 40,000 fireworks will be set off from six barges located between 20th and 55th Streets on the Hudson River. For the best viewing, head to 12th Avenue below 59th Street and enter from one of the access points along 11th Avenue:

24th Street

26th-30th Streets

34th Street

40th - 44th Streets

47th - 52nd Streets

54th-57 Streets

The event will be hosted by Nick Lachey and there will be performances by Beyonce and Brad Paisley.

Not in NYC? Tune in on NBC at 9:00PM EST.

Things to note:

• The Westside Highway will be closed from 22nd Street to 59th Street beginning at 4:00PM.
• The High Line and Rainbow City will close at 6:00PM on Monday, July 4th.

Have a wonderful and safe celebration!

And find ya'self a flag & romper like this month's little lady:

until next time,

g

Recent Adventures

I wanted to share some of my recent adventures 

in this crazy wonderful city I call home.

Spiderman 

on Broadway

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this show -

fun-filled and jaw-dropping special effects.

Rainbow City

It's an installation / inflatable magical land right by the new section of the High Line. 

that's my friend - isn't she cute?

that's moi...

...and I swear we didn't plan the stripes.

Go here to see more.

Alexander McQueen's

Savage Beauty exhibition at the Met 

...and then I had to put my phone away.

...and then I saw quite possibly my favorite exhibition I've ever seen.

(It was very dark - at times chilling - but also whimsical 

and intensely clever.)

...and then I bought a book.

This will be a great coffee table book! 

Now I just need a coffee table!
(-.-)

The front of the book is a hologram.

creepy, yes?

I will only show you two of my favorites, because you really need to go see it all for yourself if you haven't already.

In the words of McQueen:

And yes, I wore my Alexander McQueen skull scarf like a total groupie.

 I had a gift card to use and picked this out two days before Kate Middleton wore her McQueen gown.

(A fashion premonition? I think yes.)

Click here to learn more about the exhibition. 

I also went to my favorite go-to brunch spot:

Cafe Cluny

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If you've ever visited me in the city, I have probably taken you here. I simply adore everything about this neighborhood restaurant from the summer ice cream stand outside the entrance to the waiters-in-stripes to the incredible food to the friendly ambience. 

You can check out their website here.

I've dined next to a few celebrities at Cafe Cluny, including Cameron Diaz, Mary Kate Olsen, Amy Poehler (my mother completely startled the pregnant Poehler with a "Haaayyyyyy!" you would shout to your best friend you ran into after not seeing him or her for 17 years), and yesterday, Stephanie March from Law & Order:

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she's beautiful!

I also saw two other random celebs this weekend:

Fred Durst

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&

Peter Dinklage -

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- aka Miles Finch in Elf.

I am a huge fan of the movie Elf (my family seriously starts watching it come Halloween to properly prepare for the holidays), but as I attempted to stop him in his tracks, I couldn't think of a PC way to tell him that.

"You're the angry elf!" 

nah...

"You're in Elf!" 

(and he would hear "you're an elf!")

nah...

Instead, I just awkwardly walked in a semicircle around him like the spaz that I so often turn into.

So, that's about it. 

Go see Spiderman, Rainbow City, and Savage Beauty.

When you work up an appetite, go to Cafe Cluny.

And try not to scare the celebs.

until next time,

g

Get Your Nude On

Nude dresses, that is.

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To check out these dresses and much more, shop ASOS here.

until next time,

g

First Day of Summer!

I decided to ring in the new season with a change...

so what did I do?

I chopped off some hair.

dundundun

It seriously looked as if a small animal had died on the salon floor,

but boy, does it feel good!

before:

after:

My inspiration?

She's one of those people you sort of want to hate, but can't.

I look nothing like her, but I still genuinely adore her sense of  personal style.

Olivia Palermo

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It's not just the first day of summer today, but also a good friend's birthday!

Remember my Christmas little lady?

Meet her birthday twin.

Birthday cheers & squeals, Mrs. A! (:>*

until next time,

g

Our Heros

Happy Father's Day to all dads and people who play that significant role in someone's life. 

We all remain children at heart; you will forever be our heros. 

You've most likely already seen this commercial, 

but it's one I can watch over and over again. 

Well, as long as I have a tissue nearby...

I want to give thanks to my older brothers, my stepdad, and my dad. I feel abundantly blessed to have four heros.

until next time,

g

Celeb Inspiration

Sarah Jessica Parker is one of my all-time favorite celebrities.

(I mean, of course she is. I'm a girl and I live in NYC!)

But she did tell me back in 2008 that I smelled freshly showered...

...and to this day, it's the best compliment I've ever received.

Also, please note how gargantuan I look standing next to her. (!!!)
Watch out, New Yorkers, laaarrrgggeee lady in the big apple.

Remember the scene in the first Sex and the City movie when Carrie tells the girls that she's engaged?

And she's wearing the pink dress with the opera-length pearls?

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Since I'm such a fan of her & her character's daring style, I recently attempted to channel her pink-dress-look

for my niece's graduation...

I have since stumbled upon a fabulous studded belt

 that I am going to try next time... ;)

Where did I get the dress? From Zara!

I blogged about the store here back in April and it has continued to be full of great finds.

Oh and guess what?

My dress is also featured in this week's US Weekly...

GASP!

 I have a feeling I'm going to see this dress
everywhere now.
That's what I get for cramping SJP's style.

TGIF & happy weekend, readers!

until next time,

g

Letterpress Project: Beginning Stages

I finished my "last" letterpress class last night. 

I'm only taking a short break, however, as I'm starting the same one again in a few weeks. I've spent most of this class learning what the heck I'm doing (I've quickly remembered my ineptitude for measuring) and even though I'm still figuring many things out, I have finally been able to start my project.  

What is my project?

I'm making calendars. And part of each calendar page will be sendable.

(Yes, I'm encouraging snail mail since half the world has forgotten how to send a note the old fashioned way. Disgrace! The little lady is out to set things right!)

Until I'm confident enough with my greeting card designs to mail them off to companies, I'm starting with something I can print by my little ol' self.

These are 180 prints that I made last night. 

(hello, arm workout!)

I will make a total of 600 prints of that one plate. 

And then I have multiple plates to print on the other side.

And then I have to cut them down, figure out packaging, etc.

Needless to say, it's going to be a long project. Wish me luck! I've been working my hiney off so I'm very excited that it's *starting* to come together.

Please stay tuned for updates!

until next time,

g