New Beginnings

UPDATE: I have moved! Please find me over here: www.virginialucashart.com

 

Hi, all --

Happy it's Friday? Gosh, I am. Tell me your fun weekend plans! I have a brunch date with a girlfriend (at one of my favorites) and I might be going to this movie with the boy. I somehow pulled something in my neck (I currently move my head like a robot - it's real cute) so I need to fix that with some good stretching at the gym. Speaking of, I had a bad case of the hiccups late last night and my neck hurt so much with  each  startling hic-cup, I totally lost my marbles and nearly passed out in laughter. And there was Patrick, video-ing the whole awkward experience on his phone. Pat-hicca-rick! He promised he'd delete it after showing his fam. (Greaaat, haha!) Other than that? I have a few errands to run and projects to work on, including getting the new site ready for its launch (can't wait!), but I also have a very important date with my couch, a fluffy pillow, and the July issue of Real Simple that arrived yesterday. A little R&R is definitely in store :)

:: LINKS ::

I am currently obsessed with this blogger's style.

refuse.

but I can't wait that long!

rare photos of celebrities. (my favorite might be Jennifer Aniston as a little girl.)

I love it, too.

if you want to be successful.

my mom & I now own matching pairs of these sandals. everyone is so right, they're as comfy as can be!

my new favorite Instagram account... :)

enjoyed this post - "what is your unique selling proposition?"

5 gifts guys secretly want for Father's Day. (don't forget - it's Sunday!) ...likin' this gift guide, too.

look how much the Superman 'S' has changed over the years.

this jewelry pouch would make an incredible gift.

oolala! i love this bikini, this one-piece, & this maxi from asos.

i leave you with this.

p.s. This is my 665th post. Which is crazy. I honestly never intended to stick with this silly hobby & outlet for so long... for anyone out there considering starting a blog, do it.  I realize that my future chapters might be a far cry from the one I'm in now and to have this to look back on? It's priceless. I have thoroughly enjoyed blogging as the little lady in the big apple and will never, ever forget what personal doors this site has opened for me. How will you find my new website? I will update this when it's live with a link to redirect you. Please check back next week. And hold on, why am I even moving to a new site, you ask? Am I leaving the city and thus, just ditching the name? No. Not yet, anyway. It is time for me to take a step forward in my personal endeavors; my new website will be the foundation and platform for my business, From the Hart.

 

Cheers to new & exciting beginnings! I hope you can follow along...

 

- little lady

It's Almost Time...

...to say goodbye to Little Lady!

original header :)

Tomorrow is my last official day as the little lady in the big apple. (sad!) Before I publish my final Friday post before we make the transfer (...we're bringing all the old posts with us to the new "home" in case you want to look back like I did this week and snicker at how awkward I was still am.), I wanted to circle back to the very beginning... October 16th, 2009 when I needed to vent about my stupid radiator and thought heck! I'll start a blog.

 

I Hate My Radiator

First of all, welcome to my blog! I graduated from college in 2007 and am in the process of learning what it's like to be a grown-up, a triumph I highly recommend avoiding for as long as possible. I do not necessarily know all that I intend for this blog, but I hope it can at least provide a sort of "inside scoop" on my life as a young woman in New York City -- or better said, a little lady in the Big Apple.

Now on to more important things -- like how much I hate my radiator.

There comes a time each fall in NYC when your landlord or superintendent deems the temperature cold enough to turn on the heat. On such day, you wake up circa 4:00AM to a very loud and disturbing noise. In your delirious state, you search your shoebox-size-of-a-room for the intruder you're certain has stolen your trusty tool bag (a gift you received from a concerned relative after you confessed you used a hot pink stiletto as a hammer), emptied its contents and gone to town with smacking every object in your vicinity in hopes of terrifying you before actually killing you.

If this is your first cold season in your city apartment, then it may take longer for you to realize that there is no actual intruder.

Good luck with that.

If this a repeated offense, it will soon dawn on you what is actually making that horrid noise.
Yep, it's that makeshift surface you've been using all summer as a strategic storage space.
Yep, it's that object under which you will never be able to keep clean no matter how hard you try.
Yep, it's located way too close to where you sleep.
Yep, it's your radiator.

In addition to the clanking and hissing radiator, you must also now avoid the few hot water pipes that run floor-to-ceiling in various nooks of your apartment. Normally, they are tucked away in places you don't usually go -- like that corner of the kitchen that has the weird smell you can never quite identify.

Or if you're like me, you may not be so lucky.

I recently moved into my own tiny apartment on the border of Chelsea and the West Village and although this is my third winter in NYC, it's my first in my new place. I really do love my apartment, but I do have to endure a bit of "quirkiness" in lieu of paying even more of a fortune for rent. One such quirk is the fact that I have a room with a purpose entirely dedicated to the toilet. Not surprisingly, I call this room "the toilet room". The bathroom, a completely separate room on the other side of the apartment, contains the shower and sink. The toilet room contains the toilet --- oh and four walls, one of which my legs are forced up against --- oh and suitably, a hot water pipe. Perhaps they (not really sure who they are, but someone had to do this to me) could have placed the hot water pipe behind the toilet or maybe they could have realized that the 2x3 foot room may not be the prime spot for a heat source. Undoubtedly they decided it would be more fun to think of us all roasting while using the loo. It's a surprise the landlord didn't advertise the layout as having a "toilet room and sauna all-in-one"! The hot water pipe runs inches from the built-in toilet paper dispenser, located directly next to where you already have to somehow position your legs. Not only do I now have to stumble up the two stairs and back in to the coffin-sized room every morning, I have to do so carefully so as not to burn myself on the scalding hot water pipe! You better not grab for the toilet paper too fast, ladies and gents, because that innocent-looking fixture WILL burn you. And with me being a "little lady", it's even more of a sight to see my 6'3" giant-of-a-boyfriend make such attempt.

So yes, I hate my clanking/banging/hissing/clicking radiator. And yes, I hate the not-so-conveniently placed hot water pipes. And if you're unfamiliar with anything other than central heating, you guessed it - I hate you too.

until next time,
-g

Slow Down

"Slow down!" - my mother

"It's stress-related. Are you taking Vitamin C with rose hips every day like I told you?" - my father

"8 hours of sleep. No excuses." - Patrick

Seeing as I was tested for a stroke today, I think I need to start listening to everyone -- don't worry, I'm perfectly fine & healthy -- but they have a point. I do need to suck it up & slow. it. down.

I lost my vision today in my right eye and it was the scariest and most disorienting thing I've ever experienced. Everything became blurred and blank...I couldn't focus...and there was a flashing blind spot directly in front of me. I was in the middle of reading a work email and all of a sudden, I couldn't see...anything! I tried closing the one eye to get rid of the flashing, but the shakiness made me feel sick to my stomach. I stood up and walked away from my desk, thinking it was just eyestrain from my computer screen, but I quickly became dizzy trying to navigate myself down the hallway. I tried talking to coworkers, feeling embarrassed that I couldn't focus on their faces. I have 20/20 vision so what on earth was happening? 

The symptoms eased up after about 30 minutes, but I finished up at work and went to the eye doctor where they ran what felt like 17 obnoxious and eye-watery tests. Thankfully, they ruled out all the scary stuff, but did tell me that I experienced an ocular migraine, where the vascular spasms affect the blood supply to the vision center of the brain. Have you ever had a regular or ocular migraine? I'm pretty sure the same thing has happened to me once before, but there certainly isn't enough of a pattern for me to know what might have caused this or for me to know the chances of it happening again. (Never? Please??)

After all the tests and a group of students looking at the back of my eyeball since I apparently have something rare called "CHRPE bear tracks" which look like freckles on the back of my eye (so that's where my birthmark is - sneaky, sneaky!), Patrick picked me up and brought me home, propping me up with a heating pad on my neck. (Bless him.) So yes...I don't know what caused that terribly mean migraine, but I suppose me slowing down couldn't hurt.

So I'm off! ...to slow down, order some vitamins on Drugstore.com, and go to sleep :) Goodnight, all.

until next time,

g

Mane Message: Patterned Hair Ties!

Mane Message

has released an adorable collection of patterned hair ties! 

images via

 Do you have a favorite? I love the one with arrows!

Shop here.

until next time,

g

Tonys 2013

Did you watch the Tony Awards on Sunday night?  We didn't get a chance to, but we sat up and watched some incredible clips last night. Check out Neil Patrick Harris' show-stopper opening act below. (Make sure and watch the whole thing!)

 

P.S. Want a taste of Matilda on Broadway? Watch this!

until next time,

g

Weekend Recap!

 

This past weekend was a jam-packed, fun and unforgettable myriad of festivities. While I still wish I captured more pictures of moments & people (you're gonna be like, more pictures?!), here is a selection of a few things we did, divvied up in chapters.

Chapter 1 - traveling home

I spent Thursday morning at the post office, packing and doing other important things like getting my nails done - loving this color!

 

And then I caught up on my guilty pleasure, gossip mags. The train ride felt never-ending - we somehow ended up in the quiet car with some not-so-pleasant folk - but! ...we finally made it. We sprinted from the train and through the rain (like my little rhyme?) to our favorite chicken wings restaurant in our college town (nothing comparable in this big city) and caught up with my parents.

 

^^^These were in my room...

Coming home is always such a treat - little things like this are everywhere.

That mama of mine makes everything special!

 

^^^breakfast spread.

 

The next day, Patrick & I had lunch with my dad in WV and then headed with my mom to see my sis-in-law and meet her little man. My sister & her boys joined us, too!

 

Chapter 2 - meeting my nephew, Oliver

and - justlikethat - I fell in love.

 

(and then I melted.)

 

^^^baby toes!

 

so teeny-tiny!

 

^^^with his Baba.

 

...already missing this peanut.

 

He's showing me his itty bity hands!

 

Stay little, okay?

(handshake to seal our pact.)

 

We stopped by to see my brother where he was working. He's extra-smiley these days which I love.

 

^^^our view on the way back to Virginia.

 

Chapter 3 - my nephew, Christian, graduates!

 

It rained all morning and we thought the graduation was going to be moved inside, but the skies cleared so they took their chances...and the second all the graduates filed in their seats, the sun started to shine. It was amazing, really.

 

Congrats, Christian!!!!!

We were determined to scream the loudest when they called his name.

...which isn't a hard feat considering the size of our crew :)

 

^^^proud fam!

...just missing his older sister who left the day before for her summer job. Patrick & I thankfully got to see her the night we arrived so I could give her a much-needed squeeze and her birthday present. She turns 20 this week...yes, 20!

 

^^^proud grandparents.

 

So excited for him.

In other news, I feel short.

 

^^^with my stepdad.

 

^^^Patrick and my "big" sis...what you can't see is how much he's crouching for this photo.

 

We had a fun graduation party with family & friends at my brother's house. They're moving soon (in fact, their realtor showed their house while we were at graduation - talk about a lot going on!) so it was especially nice to gather at their beautiful home with everyone.

 

Chapter 4 - meeting my Godson, Stowe

 

After the party, my parents drove us about an hour and a half to our final stop of our trip. We met up with my girlfriend/first NYC roomie/and mama to four, including my Godson who I have tried twice to meet before but my plans were thwarted by weather-related problems. ...not this time!

 

^^^How cute is he?!

 

He crawled on my lap, facing me, only after I showed him how he could talk to Siri on my phone. And I'm pretty sure he said hello back even though it was a grunted version :)

 

Patrick was determined to make Stowe like him better by bribing him with cookies. Cheater! ;) 

 

If only I had a video of my friend leaning over trying to show Patrick where the emergency brake was. (something out of a sitcom!) 

 

 

Chapter 5 - my 10-year high school reunion 

^^^my girls.

 

it was so nice having Patrick there, too.

 

^^^NYC ladies!

 

^^^the newly engaged couple I mentioned here!

 

oh and this (^^^) happened... :)

 

^^^ look at this little snack tray in our room!

We stayed with my friend's parents who are just as cute as they can be.

 

^^^future illustration models,

Cricket & Pippa.

They're white goldens which I've never seen before - so pretty!

 

Chapter 6 - back to NYC

I had plans to watch Dexter and organize computer files, but instead I read Ellen's book in one sitting and took approximately seven cat naps. Ohhh, it sure was needed.

And then Patrick snapped this gem (^^^) in Penn Station. Lookin' REAL cute, right? Ahem.

Watch out, New Yawk, I'm baaack.

until next time,

g

See You Soon!

via

I'm signing off early this week! Patrick & I are headed south for a number of fun festivities. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! If you'd like, you can follow my adventures here. Three quick little links before I go ~

"Don't try and fix it. I just need you to listen." Familiar, anyone? I thought Patrick was going to bite through his cheeks when he was showing this to me. Wha? Who, me? ;)

We need someone to come do this to our apartment!

Now that's talent.

xoxo!

until next time,

g

Recent Pics

just a wee bit of life lately via Instagram --

They were filming Anchorman 2 outside my office one day. Check out those old-timey taxis!

red + pink = my new favorite combo.

I'm loving his longer hair.

Wear some love!

...an old pic in honor of this cutie (Patrick's little sis) who turned 13 last month. 

Can't believe it!

Sunday morning coffee run.

pretty wrought iron in the neighborhood.

uber blonde & ready for summer.

A run on the water on a gorgeous day? Instant day-maker.

As much as this city drives me bonkers sometimes,
I feel fortunate that this view is walking distance from our home. Hard to beat!

Look how cute!

Meet my adorable friend (& amazing photographer). Our hello-hug was so big in my apartment doorway that an entire Grande coffee went flying everywhere. Nothing to do but laugh!

Hey, handsome.

When I was a litle girl, my oldest brother played a foot soldier (one of the bug-eyed bad guys) in the Ninja Turtle movie. Naturally, I thought he had super powers. I had Ninja Turtle posters in my room and even brought his mask to school for show & tell. I wanted to make sure his son knew his dad was magical as well so I designed this onesie for the little man. It looked SO teeny when I got it - hard to believe he's even tinier!

With the new Citi Bike right on our street, it might be a sign that I need to learn how to ride one of these things even though that's the scariest thought ever. It's a shame they don't come with training wheels...you think I'm joking, don't you?

Our new favorite fish seasoning? Truffle mustard!

Check out that grin. My mom says he's smiling because angels are whispering in his ear :) See you oh-so-soon, little one!

until next time,

g