I'm a homebody. I like my sweatpants and bed a little too much. I rather go home after work then go out and have some fun. Not going to lie, more often than not, I am exhausted but I live in the most amazing place in the world. Most young people my age would die to be in the position I am with my career and personal life. It is time for me to become the true city girl I am meant to be, I walk down the street and see someone with a cute outfit and then I think about it-- i have the same pieces at home but don't wear them. Time to lock away my hoodies and bring out the heals. I may not have a million bucks but I can damn well try to dress myself like I do.
My New Year's Resolution...
- I work hard therefore it is time that I play as hard... and look good while at it.
- To keep kicking ass at work, only one way to go and that is UP UP UP!
- To make more of an effort to spend time with my girlfriends and sisters.
- To stay the healthiest I possibly can.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
photo dump of break 11:52 AM
We went to Brook's BBQ Chicken in Oneonta to visit Ian's grandparents. I had to take some shots of the ribs that I got and of Ian's chicken for Monica!! When you come to Saratoga in the summer, we are taking a ride out to Brooks. They are world known for their chicken. We had a game night and played Yahtzee 2 nights ago. Ian created his own drink, we are calling it the Sour Patch Kidz drink. It even had a red and green one to go with the occasion. We also spotted a deer across the lawn.
relaxation.... at last 11:21 AM
HALLE FREAKING LUJAH for the Holiday Season. I have been going sooo non-stop that I was headed straight into a messy crash and burn. i had a feeling that if it kept going, it wouldn't have been a pretty sight. Fortunately break arrived just in time. Ian and I left for home Tuesday at 9pm. We had little by little brought my bags over to the office, that way I wouldn't have to deal with 3 large bags in the L morning commute. For once, I didn't have anything to do at work Tuesday [very weird and surreal, i know] and just hung around with Jacq and Sung. I went to Barnes and Nobles and bought New Moon of the Twilight Saga. I was halfway through that when Jacq suggested going to the movies. We saw Seven Pounds with Will Smith and Rosario Dawson. I cannot explain what the movie is about without giving it all away but it is NECESSARY that you go and see this movie. It is heart warming, inspirational and could possibly change the way you view your life. It made me think about mine. It's been hard to get Ian's family to go see it and not being able to tell them what it's about.
When we arrived at home, allergies immediately hit me. I wasn't sure if it was it or me finally crashing and burning. Regardless to say, I've been in a fog this whole time home. It's been quite a bummer but I'm sort of used to. I'd rather have allergies the whole time than not be here at all. Christmas eve we spent it with the whole family at the Montgomery's where we had our Chinese Auction. It's very similar to white elephant gift exchange and it is a tradition of this family for many years now. Poor Ian, he got his gift stolen and ended up with a bag of coals. Tee hee hee.
The next morning we got to open our gifts at home. I will say that by far, this has been the best Christmas ever. Not only did I get some very kick ass gifts, but Ian and I were able to give everyone the gift we wanted for them. We didn't have to settle for less.
All in all these are what I can remember off the top of my head...
- nikon s60
- matching bracelet to my ring.
[My first Christmas with Ian, he bought me this beautiful hand-made silver ring. It was made by a jeweler in France. We saw last year that my favorite jewelry store here in Saratoga Springs had a matching bracelet for it. When we found out that the store was closing for good, we went to find the bracelet over thanksgiving break. I got very sad when I saw that it was gone. I nearly cried because I really wanted that bracelet. Well it turns out that Ian had his parents go and buy it for me.]
- mario kart for the wii
- lots of clothes, business attire stuff
- new earring rack and a total of 6 sets of earrings to go
- back massager
[monica, i will most certainly share this gift with you :-)]
- george forman grill
- lots of kitchen stuff
- kanye west's new album
[good production, he SUCKS at singing, i kinda wish i could mute his voice]
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard
[J.K.Rowling dropped the ball with this one, I haven't even been able to finish it]
- shamwow
- a framed, signed photograph of Bernardini as he's crossing the finish line at Travers race in Saratoga Springs
[Bernardini was my favorite horse on the property the first year Darley had their horses here for the summer. Bernardini has since been a great race horse almost winning the triple crown. It is now retired and making babies for LOTS and LOTS of money. I credit his success to all the extra carrots I'd give him daily]
- bright colors nail polish set
and many many gifts.
We were able to give Aunt Lorraine, Aunt Barb and Nan a day at the spa. We gave Jim the Neil Diamond box set. I have become a huge fan of Neil Diamond since. We got Dylan a set of speakers to go with his new Mac laptop. We got Pop Pop a traveling blanket and pillow and the Kite Runner book. We also got Nan a fondue set and we put it to work last night. Again there were also many many gifts. Each of the kids got one too.
Christmas is not about material possessions, it is about spending time with your loved ones. In years past I have wished that perhaps I had gotten that one gift I really wanted but this year, I could have done without all of my gifts. There has really been a change to who I am as a person within the past year. It's hard to explain but I know that I'm not the same person who I used to be. Not sure why I feel this way but I just do. I hope that everyone has had a a wonderful holiday. I know Kim did, her and Mike are engaged now. YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAYYYYYYYY!
When we arrived at home, allergies immediately hit me. I wasn't sure if it was it or me finally crashing and burning. Regardless to say, I've been in a fog this whole time home. It's been quite a bummer but I'm sort of used to. I'd rather have allergies the whole time than not be here at all. Christmas eve we spent it with the whole family at the Montgomery's where we had our Chinese Auction. It's very similar to white elephant gift exchange and it is a tradition of this family for many years now. Poor Ian, he got his gift stolen and ended up with a bag of coals. Tee hee hee.
The next morning we got to open our gifts at home. I will say that by far, this has been the best Christmas ever. Not only did I get some very kick ass gifts, but Ian and I were able to give everyone the gift we wanted for them. We didn't have to settle for less.
All in all these are what I can remember off the top of my head...
- nikon s60
- matching bracelet to my ring.
[My first Christmas with Ian, he bought me this beautiful hand-made silver ring. It was made by a jeweler in France. We saw last year that my favorite jewelry store here in Saratoga Springs had a matching bracelet for it. When we found out that the store was closing for good, we went to find the bracelet over thanksgiving break. I got very sad when I saw that it was gone. I nearly cried because I really wanted that bracelet. Well it turns out that Ian had his parents go and buy it for me.]
- mario kart for the wii
- lots of clothes, business attire stuff
- new earring rack and a total of 6 sets of earrings to go
- back massager
[monica, i will most certainly share this gift with you :-)]
- george forman grill
- lots of kitchen stuff
- kanye west's new album
[good production, he SUCKS at singing, i kinda wish i could mute his voice]
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard
[J.K.Rowling dropped the ball with this one, I haven't even been able to finish it]
- shamwow
- a framed, signed photograph of Bernardini as he's crossing the finish line at Travers race in Saratoga Springs
[Bernardini was my favorite horse on the property the first year Darley had their horses here for the summer. Bernardini has since been a great race horse almost winning the triple crown. It is now retired and making babies for LOTS and LOTS of money. I credit his success to all the extra carrots I'd give him daily]
- bright colors nail polish set
and many many gifts.
We were able to give Aunt Lorraine, Aunt Barb and Nan a day at the spa. We gave Jim the Neil Diamond box set. I have become a huge fan of Neil Diamond since. We got Dylan a set of speakers to go with his new Mac laptop. We got Pop Pop a traveling blanket and pillow and the Kite Runner book. We also got Nan a fondue set and we put it to work last night. Again there were also many many gifts. Each of the kids got one too.
Christmas is not about material possessions, it is about spending time with your loved ones. In years past I have wished that perhaps I had gotten that one gift I really wanted but this year, I could have done without all of my gifts. There has really been a change to who I am as a person within the past year. It's hard to explain but I know that I'm not the same person who I used to be. Not sure why I feel this way but I just do. I hope that everyone has had a a wonderful holiday. I know Kim did, her and Mike are engaged now. YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAYYYYYYYY!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
do we get vino from PLUMS? 8:35 AM
Ahhh holiday parties! Gotta love them. Last night was PLUMs and it was fabolous It was at the Greek restaurant across the street from the office. The wine was good, the food was good [they kept bringing it out]. The best part of it all was the company. We all greatly missed Monica, I wanted her to be there sooooo bad. Ian joined me as my significant other and had a blast. Not until I have a point and shoot can I provide my own photos, therefore I'm stealing Stu's.
I cannot wait to leave for home tonight and have amazing food and an amazing time with the family!! Yay we get to see Layla!!
I cannot wait to leave for home tonight and have amazing food and an amazing time with the family!! Yay we get to see Layla!!
Monday, December 22, 2008
may i have this watch please? 2:32 PM
My junior year, I was thrown into the vault of H.Stern for a design competition through Pratt. I made it to the top 25 and had my work displayed in the final exhibit along with everyone else. I ever since, have been dreaming of wearing H.Stern jewelry. A lot of their pieces are beautifully detailed, eccentric and well above a price range I can only dream of ever having.
I am head over heels with their Diane Von Fustenberg collection, particularly the Sutra Sports Watch in Black or Tan. The tan one is with crazy amounts of diamonds and well about $9000. The black one is $1600. I most certainly want the black one as a birthday/christmas gift next year. I know it's pricey but that's all I want. Everyone can put all the money they would spend on me together and buy it for me. Or better yet, i'll continue to make big bucks and buy it for myself.
I got my present early... sort of 1:29 PM
Christmas has arrived early for me! I asked the boy to get me an ipod touch for xmas and then last week, we stopped by sunglass hut and I changed my mind. I am always stealing Ian's Ray-Ban aviators until now. A while back I did a spec campaign series for Ray-Ban and found some interesting facts. I love the brand and what it stands for.
Ian hasn't had much time to go get them so today after grabbing lunch with Alyssa at Chopt, I quickly walked over to Lenscrafters/Sunglass Hut on 14th and 6. It was fre fre freezing, 10 degrees to be exact. I opted for the Ray-Ban wayfarer for a few reasons, main one being that I needed a more dress-up, less attitude pair of shades. I have a few sets of aviators at home that I can always choose from. I then went into Urban Outfitters and did some more personal shopping.
My goal now is to try and convince the boy that there's no need for him to wrap it and wait until Christmas to give it to me. They look better on me than in the case. Perhaps if I let him have his Aqua di Gio now, he'll budge on letting me keep them.
Ian hasn't had much time to go get them so today after grabbing lunch with Alyssa at Chopt, I quickly walked over to Lenscrafters/Sunglass Hut on 14th and 6. It was fre fre freezing, 10 degrees to be exact. I opted for the Ray-Ban wayfarer for a few reasons, main one being that I needed a more dress-up, less attitude pair of shades. I have a few sets of aviators at home that I can always choose from. I then went into Urban Outfitters and did some more personal shopping.
My goal now is to try and convince the boy that there's no need for him to wrap it and wait until Christmas to give it to me. They look better on me than in the case. Perhaps if I let him have his Aqua di Gio now, he'll budge on letting me keep them.
Friday, December 19, 2008
this season, i challenge you 5:21 PM
I have always been creative with my wrapping. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the holiday season because it means that I will have lots of gifts to wrap. When I was in school and had access to the RA butcher paper, that's what I would use for wrapping. Ever since I've been using old magazines. In years past, we have wrapped our gifts in regular, ordinary Christmas wrapping paper. This year I have challenged Ian's parents to do all their wrapping in either newspaper or white butches paper. Nan's response was "well then it isn't colorful and pretty!". Well then add a bright colorful ribbon that can truly be reused next season. No two gifts are the same exact and you can do crazy things with ribbons. Think about it, crisp white paper with bright colorful ribbons-- how much prettier can that be. It also helps recycling and the environment. I just finished wrapping the gifts we have bought here in the city with magazine paper and I CHALLENGE ALL OF YOU to do the same!
Starting from the beginning 5:01 PM
It's interesting for me to think that this blog started almost a year ago for Sebastian Kaupert's Business, Design, Results class. When it all began, it served the purpose for everyone in the class to see what the rest of us were up to and to post up the answers to the thought provoking questions and he research he would have us do. I still have all of those sheets and continue to ponder on those same questions. The answers have changed as time has passed by and I've gained more experience and skills.
One of the main purposes is for all of us to post the photograph of the week. One related to the previous one. Since I am no longer in class and often time I get questions about my photography, I will now start posting one or two shots from different shoots I've done/currently doing. I'm hoping that this will help me get back into shooting more often because honestly, I miss photography like WOAH!. It was my second passion... dancing being first. That's my next goal, to start taking classes again-- after all I'm right around the corner from the studio.
Summer '08
One of the main purposes is for all of us to post the photograph of the week. One related to the previous one. Since I am no longer in class and often time I get questions about my photography, I will now start posting one or two shots from different shoots I've done/currently doing. I'm hoping that this will help me get back into shooting more often because honestly, I miss photography like WOAH!. It was my second passion... dancing being first. That's my next goal, to start taking classes again-- after all I'm right around the corner from the studio.
Summer '08
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Eta Phi 1:19 PM
I've been meaning to post this screen capture up. Congratulations ladies!! We did it.
my old man crush 1:05 PM
Monica and I are currently waiting for our next task at work and watching CNN. We both went OOoooOOoOo AaaAaaaA when Anderson Cooper came on. We both agreed that he's most certainly our old man crush! OOoooO la la...
what is my body trying to tell me 12:50 PM
I've been told that research shows that people in our field suffer from ADD, OCD and INSOMNIA. I thought I was lucky in only suffering from ADD and OCD. That's no longer true.
I have been soo busy with work and coming home late. I wake up at 7am [although i've been failing miserably the past couple of days] and go home 7pm at the earliest. By the time Ian and I get into bed, it's 10ish. I have always been a sound sleeper and can fall asleep ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. Well that hasn't been the case lately. I've been having the hardest time falling asleep and staying asleep.
I've been afraid to take something for it because I know it will cause for me to not wake up and miss work.
Someone HELP ME PLEASE! I love to sleep and I haven't been able to get more than 3 hours.
I have been soo busy with work and coming home late. I wake up at 7am [although i've been failing miserably the past couple of days] and go home 7pm at the earliest. By the time Ian and I get into bed, it's 10ish. I have always been a sound sleeper and can fall asleep ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. Well that hasn't been the case lately. I've been having the hardest time falling asleep and staying asleep.
I've been afraid to take something for it because I know it will cause for me to not wake up and miss work.
Someone HELP ME PLEASE! I love to sleep and I haven't been able to get more than 3 hours.
Monday, December 15, 2008
"Tis the season... 11:57 AM
The last couple of week have been a stressful, exhilarating and life changing. Work has been crazy busy and when I say crazy, I mean crazyyy.
There has been ongoing joke about how we are no longer plum but plump- because we are always ordering take-out and enjoying one too many glasses of wine at the end of the day. Well I have nothing to worry about. The other morning I tried on a pair of jeans that I never returned. When I bought them, the line was too long for the fitting room so I purchased them to later find out that they were too small on me. In getting ready for work, I wished I had another pair of skinny jeans and TA-DA, they fit me!! I did my little butt shaking and shared the news with the boy. This means that I have kept off the weight since working at Il Porto and then some!!
Monica is now working at PLUM... Yay and got to experience the craziness within her first hour. Her working there has reinforced my hunch of us being a good team. We bounce ideas back and forth and there's absolutely no baby mama drama. We've enjoyed being able to call some shots here and there and most certainly have proven ourselves worthy of being there. Although we are both under 23yrs of age, we are not letting anyone stop us. Monica and I are the youngest people in history working on the US Census campaign- that speaks volume. Like she once stated, we go together like black beans and rice!! We are the "hybrid chicas"
Last Tuesday we went to the Eargoo holiday party which was a blast. We met a lot of fun, industry people and most certainly expanded our network. We played WII sports and I lost to Monica and she lost to Nicole. Speaking of which, she's a cool chica. She also is 22 and definitely making a name for herself. She's a producer at Eargoo and working on such shows as The Desperate Housewives of Atlanta. Her office and ours is merely 10 blocks away-- lunch date soon!!
Last Wednesday was Lorraine and Taso's Copywriting Rumble at Pratt. It was amazing to seeing the caliber of work and be able to give our personal input to the students. This was my third time being on the panel of judges, yet it was different from the previous times. This time, I really got what it means to be a mentor and be able to give feedback and make a sound decision. It's interesting how much I've grown as a designer, art director and leader. I could immediately see some of the students faces when their group didn't win and went into encouraging mode". My semester- my team didn't win, Monica's semester- her team didn't win and yet look at us. We're both Art Directors, not interns creating amazing work. Stu from Pangea with whom we work with and Billy Kent, commercial and film director work the other two judges on the panel
Ian and I got all of our Christmas shopping done!! YAY! I won't share what we got for everyone because most of the family members have access to this blog! It feels great to be able to spend money on everyone's gifts and not have to look under the couch for pennies [HA, not that we have a couch or anything]. We will be leaving for home late on the 23rd and although it will be nice to get away from NYC, it won't be the same. I'm pretty certain that I will be doing work the whole time and won't really be able to enjoy home as I know it.
Monica and I bought everyone at PLUM their Christmas gifts today. We got 6 goldfishes, each one matching everyone's personalities. We went to Fish's Eddy and both an assortment of glasses that also go with everyone. We also went ahead and named them all:
Lorraine is Luda because of the Ludacris Pepsi spot she worked on
Taso is Beyonce because of a spot he worked on
Sung is Mickey because he used to work for Disney
Jacq is Gentleman Caller because of a reference she made one day at work
Monica is Rice and I'm Black Beans cuz of how we work together.
Everyone from Pipeline and THEM are probably wishing they had fishes too. Monica and I are a little concerned with the temperature change in the office at night and our new office pets. We shall see how it all turns out.
There has been ongoing joke about how we are no longer plum but plump- because we are always ordering take-out and enjoying one too many glasses of wine at the end of the day. Well I have nothing to worry about. The other morning I tried on a pair of jeans that I never returned. When I bought them, the line was too long for the fitting room so I purchased them to later find out that they were too small on me. In getting ready for work, I wished I had another pair of skinny jeans and TA-DA, they fit me!! I did my little butt shaking and shared the news with the boy. This means that I have kept off the weight since working at Il Porto and then some!!
Monica is now working at PLUM... Yay and got to experience the craziness within her first hour. Her working there has reinforced my hunch of us being a good team. We bounce ideas back and forth and there's absolutely no baby mama drama. We've enjoyed being able to call some shots here and there and most certainly have proven ourselves worthy of being there. Although we are both under 23yrs of age, we are not letting anyone stop us. Monica and I are the youngest people in history working on the US Census campaign- that speaks volume. Like she once stated, we go together like black beans and rice!! We are the "hybrid chicas"
Last Tuesday we went to the Eargoo holiday party which was a blast. We met a lot of fun, industry people and most certainly expanded our network. We played WII sports and I lost to Monica and she lost to Nicole. Speaking of which, she's a cool chica. She also is 22 and definitely making a name for herself. She's a producer at Eargoo and working on such shows as The Desperate Housewives of Atlanta. Her office and ours is merely 10 blocks away-- lunch date soon!!
Last Wednesday was Lorraine and Taso's Copywriting Rumble at Pratt. It was amazing to seeing the caliber of work and be able to give our personal input to the students. This was my third time being on the panel of judges, yet it was different from the previous times. This time, I really got what it means to be a mentor and be able to give feedback and make a sound decision. It's interesting how much I've grown as a designer, art director and leader. I could immediately see some of the students faces when their group didn't win and went into encouraging mode". My semester- my team didn't win, Monica's semester- her team didn't win and yet look at us. We're both Art Directors, not interns creating amazing work. Stu from Pangea with whom we work with and Billy Kent, commercial and film director work the other two judges on the panel
Ian and I got all of our Christmas shopping done!! YAY! I won't share what we got for everyone because most of the family members have access to this blog! It feels great to be able to spend money on everyone's gifts and not have to look under the couch for pennies [HA, not that we have a couch or anything]. We will be leaving for home late on the 23rd and although it will be nice to get away from NYC, it won't be the same. I'm pretty certain that I will be doing work the whole time and won't really be able to enjoy home as I know it.
Monica and I bought everyone at PLUM their Christmas gifts today. We got 6 goldfishes, each one matching everyone's personalities. We went to Fish's Eddy and both an assortment of glasses that also go with everyone. We also went ahead and named them all:
Lorraine is Luda because of the Ludacris Pepsi spot she worked on
Taso is Beyonce because of a spot he worked on
Sung is Mickey because he used to work for Disney
Jacq is Gentleman Caller because of a reference she made one day at work
Monica is Rice and I'm Black Beans cuz of how we work together.
Everyone from Pipeline and THEM are probably wishing they had fishes too. Monica and I are a little concerned with the temperature change in the office at night and our new office pets. We shall see how it all turns out.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
this makes me not want to love NY 10:32 AM
Ehh really,what's going on here. 17 million dollars for this account and yes although not all of it goes to the agency that butchered the iconic logo, that's still a whole lot of money that was wasted. Clip art comes to mind when I saw this. I was at dinner with other designers the other night and I said "hey what do you think of the I <3 NY rebranding, my friend that was sitting across from me nearly spit his food onto my face. There has been a lot of talk about this slaughtering and it hasn't been a good one. The style guide for the logo is not half bad, they must have realized that they dropped the ball and needed to make up for it.
Monday, December 1, 2008
'tis the season... 1:54 PM
Thanksgiving dinner was the best this year, the same can't be said about the break as a whole.
At home we have 2 tables- one for the adults and the other for the kids. Well the kids aren't really kids anymore. Ian and I happily sat with the "kids" this year to accomodate uncle Henry celebrating with us. Our table was the loud and crazy one. The one where manners were thrown out the window and having a good time was a requirement. Dinner was delicious and very filling. Due to my oh so wonderful wisdom teeth, I wasn't able to finish all of my food and quickly passed out. Not quite sure whether or not this is as a result of all the turkey or the pain meds- let's just say both!
I am used to having home as my getaway from work, where I can just vegged out on the couch and watch mindless tv... the place where I can take my shoes off and take walks around the property. I'm using to having the option of going downtown with Ian if I want to. I am NOT used to having to bring my work with me and actually doing it. It wasn't much of a break. Perhaps its all my fault for being the workaholic that I am and for loving what I do. When we got back last night, I was more mentally and physically exhausted than when I left. Coffee will be my best friend as I try to survive the next 3 days of crazy work, followed by wisdom teeth procedure. Maybe then I'll get some rest- although knowing me, that won't happen.
Good thing about home... We got to see how big Layla has gotten and experienced the first snowfall of the season!! It was good to also see the family.