Baby Stumpy

Here is the little guy I conjured up yesterday, with the help of a very simple pattern I found in an old book from the 60's. I have blessed him with the name Stumpy, for he turned out with one hind leg slightly shorter than the other. This baby elephant is a gift for my aunt to give to a friend's baby girl. I will certainly be sewing up a few cousin's for Stumpy this holiday season. If you would like a stumpy-kind of your own, please contact me. I will be exploring a little more with materials, etc. The fabrics & wooden-buttons I used on this little guy are things that I have owned for quite sometime- just waiting to be put to use. I will post any new additions as they come. Happy Wednesday!!

Fantastic Mr. Windows

I had an early start to my day, beginning at the Post Office, where I went to send pen-pal notes to the other side of the earth and to collect a package full of beautiful ribbons, sent by my lovely mother, Ginger. Then I headed to the supermarket for the few things I forgot to pick up on yesterdays visit. At 11am my roommate Blake and I met Emily Uptown on the corner of 5th Ave and 58th Street for a sweet little surprise...
In the windows of Bergdorf-Goodman's Men's store is a sneak peek into the world of Fantastic Mr. Fox!! I can't wait to see the movie, and if these windows are only a peek into Wes Anderson's latest magic, then the movie must be a real visual thrill! After our visit with Mr. Fox and friends, Emily and I enjoyed lunch sitting in the sun in the middle of Bryant Park. I then came home to finish a little project that I will share later, a commissioned piece for my Aunt Carmen. It came together nicely. Today was a good day!
All of these great images from About.com, because I forgot my camera- again!!

A New York Kind of Weekend

This past weekend my Uncle Carl, a flutist and piccolo player, came to New York with The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to play at Carnegie Hall. The symphony played alongside Yo-Yo Ma for the opening piece of the evening, composed by Angel Lam and Stravinksy's opera, The Nightingale, followed. For the very first time I saw Carl in concert and it was so fascinating to watch him switch back and forth between flute and piccolo. Also, to see this massive group of musicians working together to create such a masterpiece. It was truly beautiful and mesmerizing! I only wish I had one one-hundredth of Carl's musical genius.

I spent Friday night at the Broadway showing of Mary Poppins with Carl and his friend Bob, which called for lots of time spent down at Times Square (not my favorite place on earth, but the buzz keeps you awake and warm!). It was a pleasure to meet Bob and to spend time with Carl. After the concert on Saturday evening, my friend Emily and I went for a late night snack at the New York Diner Applejack's. It was such a treat and it felt very New York!

Also, I might note that The Yankee's won the World Series (I know you are wondering why I am talking about baseball, I'm not even sure what a baseball looks like...), but it was an exciting win for the city that I currently populate and I wanted to point out the strange parallels that exist between my life and the World Series. You see, last year I was living in the city of Philadelphia during the Series and the Phillies played the Tampa Rays (my home town)- The Phils won and it was so much fun to be a part of the celebration, I must say that Philly takes the ticket as biggest supporters! This year, I am living in NYC and the Yankees played up against the Phils, NY won. Though I only heard one hoot in the streets of Brooklyn, I heard that in the city the fans were living it up, and the day of the parade, I knew that I was once again amongst some very happy fans, even though I was less than happy to be sharing a 45 min. subway ride with them- standing all the way! Do you see here the parallels? and do you agree that I just might be the good-luck charm for the series? I am almost certain.

I am really loving NYC.

Halloweenie 2009

Like always the fun in this years Halloween was the pre-party and the costume making just minutes before heading out the door! A few of my favorite people came in from Philly to celebrate with us here in NY and it was such a treat having them. By the time we actually made it anywhere, the majority of us were all tuckered out and ready to head back home, but the subway ride alone was enough fun to last me until next year. I love seeing everyone dressed up and so many people are more willing to talk and ask questions. My favorite costumes outside of our own group were Marge Simpson's sisters, Patty & Selma- (whose names I can never remember- thank you google), I wish I had pictures. Anyhow, here are some pics of the pre-party- enjoy!
above: chelsea as a sea witch, emily as a puppet
below: 1 haylie as a rat, halli as a band leader/ majorette &emily
2 murphy as a bat (awesome costume made from an umbrella)
3 maura as the owl from owl and the pussy cat, her cat stayed in philly:(
4 adam, not dressed & josh as a beat hockey player

Greetings at Greenwood Cemetery

This Halloween I met Ginny (a.k.a. Lynn Yeager) and Chelsea in Greenwood Cemetery of Brooklyn for a perfectly creepy morning! We couldn't have asked for anything more morbid, magical and spooky to start the day off right. Ginny brought pumpkins to leave for the dead and Chelsea greeted each of us with a mini harvest bouquet. We each left the cemetery rather satisfied. The only thing that could have made things a little scarier was my Ouija board, but I think most spirits were probably still in bed when we arrived there so bright and early!

The Ghost of Halloweens Past

I love myself some good home-made Halloween costumes! I have been rummaging through my old photos to be inspired and to get excited for this year, and here are the things I have found! I love making my own costume, I usually wait until the very last minute every time, but I think it makes it that much better when it all comes together minutes before you step out the door!!

Here is the year of the Arkansas quarter, as in the coin you insert into the slot of a gumball machine! It was a three partner costume, but the deer got sick and the duck must have been wandering. This was not my idea, Haynes Riley was the master mind, and the sick deer. Anyhow, I was the diamond. Next time you get an AR state quarter, check out the tail side and you will have a better understanding! Also know that Haynes is an AR native and I was desperate for a costume. Pictured above are Brittani/Bear in Lederhosen, Me/Diamond, Ginny as Pretty Baby, & Lily/ Fantastical Unicorn.

This is my best costume by far! Halli and I decided last minute to go for Halloween in our new city, Philly. In an hour and a half we threw together the sweetest costumes we could come up with. It was pretty intense work, Halli is a lollipop and I am cotton candy. Our friend Kara joined us this Halloween, dressed as a cat. It was more than funny, hysterical is more like it. One of my favorite nights ever!


Above are the crabby waitress, secret agent squid, and the flapper fish. This was a year of new friends, when my sister and I met one of our very dearest, Mr. K.P. Millsap in Savannah, Ga. I think this wins for the best group of all time!!

A cloud. This by far is my favorite costume of all time. This is Haynes Riley, the year I met him. The best part is that he told a friend over the phone that he was planning to be a cloud, only she heard clown and so we were really surprised and a little relieved when we were greeted by a cloud at Mr. Riley's Halloween party! Hats off to you Haynes. We all wish you were here in NYC to celebrate with us.

In The Room Where You Sleep

In preparation for Hallow's Eve I want to share with you the music of Dead Man's Bones, a collaboration between actors Zach Shields and Ryan Goseling. Before I left for Paris, Savannah shared with me their debut album, which I immediately added to my ipod. It wasn't until I got to Paris that I realized I had erased my entire ipod's contents and replaced them with the Dead Man's Bones album. It was rare that I had the chance to listen to my own music over there, but when I did it was these guys who helped me through a very tough week abroad! Please watch the simple and brilliant videos (below) of the guys with the Silverlake Conservatory Children's Choir. In the Room Where You Sleep video is very reminiscent of the old group photos taken at Halloween parties, which seem to have been very popular in the thirties and forties.

I love Halloween so much, yet I haven't had a chance to think about what I want to be this year. What are your plans for a costume? Also, if you have any ideas for me, please do share!

click here to see the Name in Stone video too!