christmas-zilla

it may be that this is my first christmas as an only child (big sis is at in-laws, little sis in ireland with a friend) or that it's my last christmas being had during a month-long break (crossing fingers i'll have a job by may!), but my sentimentality has kicked in to high gear.

i've always been THE BIGGEST sucker for christmas as far as the anderson house goes. i think it all started with my moms incredible knack for decorating and the holidays, but somewhere between purchasing a christmas tree for my own room at age 9 and crying when we opened our new pajamas on december 23rd rather then the 24th eleven years later, i became christmas-zilla.

i reign queen so heavily during this -- what i think should be -- month long holiday, that while centering the garland and lights just perfecting above the front door i directed my ex-interior decoratoring mother towards the scissors in the kitchen only to hear her whisper "look at the monster i've created" into my dad's ear.

with a subject line of christmas-zilla and phrases like "i reign queen so heavily" you may be thinking i run around like a terror in a santa hat. honestly, i think ive just adopted that same knack and passion for design, christmas, and interior decorating that my mom has -- and cranked it up a few notches with the hope that my home can look half as good as hers one day. she makes driving the 8 minutes to get home from college feel like the 4 hour drive most of my friends take -- well worth it, homey, and ready for the family to settle down for White Christmas for the thousandth time or for a christmas puzzle.

thanks mom, i couldn't be happier with being home.

the key to your files

check out this adorable USB.

i've always found it extremely dorky to have a USB on a keyring, but where else are you to put such a tiny thing and have it close by when needed?

enter: the USB key.

a great stocking stuffer, i must say!

pre-fall navy blues

navy blue. my absolute favorite color.

i remember going shopping with my mom in junior high and she would forewarn me before making the 45 minute drive to a decent shopping mall that i wasn't allowed to buy any navy on this trip, after taking into account its domination of my wardrobe.

some things never change. after stalking style.com for hours and pulling looks from it, i noticed that a good amount had navy blue. below are a few of my favorite pre-fall collections featuring this nautical color.

philip lim 3.1

tory burch

rag & bone

enjoy more pre-fall collections here.

"hello from texas...suckas"

was the subject line of the email that Katie and i sent to kyra and grant from dinner tonight. how lucky i am that her family lives in Bryan and i get to see her over the holidays.

two hours of catching up at pei wei made me miss summer. two months until the summer 2010 crew reunites in the city!

leavin' on a jet plane

i have been missing the big apple so much that i bought a plane ticket and am heading back for a visit in february. skipping a weeks worth of class to visit friends and see NYC in the winter -- a first for me!

i can't wait to hit up some of my favorite spots.

towels

hello again. i'm going to keep ignoring the fact that i'm not very consistent with this thing anymore and pretend that i am.

whenever i miss new york, which is often, i often find myself googling anything to do with New York, looking at the menu of The Standard, looking up plane tickets, or finding things to buy that have to do with New York. tonight, i found these:

tea towels that etsy storeowner girlscantell designed. these are handprinted towels with her drawing of the brooklyn bridge that includes fun facts and details.

she also draws other diagrams -- like hamburgers, robots, and even a towel for beer lovers.

very good gift idea if i do say so myself.

nymag street style

a few looks im loving from nymag's street style posted on friday.

layers, leather, navy blue, tights, military style, and frilly skirts and thick sweaters. so far winter 2010 is looking good.

wedding bells

in late august, my best friend from tomball -- caidee -- got engaged to her high school sweetheart and a close friend of mine, jordan. their relationship is just the sweetest thing and i couldnt be happier for the two of them! true love, i tell you! the engagement party was in austin and such a fun time to be reunited with high school friends and families.

bridesmaids dresses have been ordered, wedding showers have commenced and december 18th cant come soon enough!

back in action, baby

its been too long!

embarrassingly, the one thing that got me back in the blogging game was food. cupcakes, in fact. in my mind it was the perfect first-post-back because cupcakes remind me so much of the big apple. and with halloween right around the corner i couldn't help but show you guys these cuties!

all of these are from the Cupcake Cafe in new york! yummy yum!

bye bye cornerstone

my last full day in new york, i woke up and went to Cornerstone to say bye to the people i worked with all summer.

here are my summer 2010 saving graces! nur, kyra and grant. fellow interns and incredible friends who i miss so much. i miss nur's sweet spirit and cute little jokes. when i got sick one my last weeks she went on her lunch break and bought me some cough drops :) i miss kyra TONS. she'll just have to get an entire post dedicated to her. and grant, phew. i miss our sarcastic banter.

how incredible to go to a city completely alone for a summer and be blessed with such amazing friends.

ellis island

its really strange sitting in my new house and writing about an experience that happened in a different state, but ellis island was one of my favorite things i did all summer so i have to tell you!

my favorite exhibit at ellis island was called "silent voices". it featured pictures of ellis island before it was restored -- how it was found after being closed in 1954. ive always loved museums but always wonder what it was "really like". this exhibit showed me just that!

what an amazing place!

back from the dead

after about two weeks, i'm finally back from the dead and all (or mostly) settled into my new house! sorority work week is under way and come monday freshman will be walking through the chi-o house doors and we'll be singing, clapping, and chatting our hearts out!

its been a whirlwind since my return back from the big city. not only did i just right into moving in, settling in the new house and sorority stuff...but i realized about two days after being back how much it was going to take for me to really "come back" from my incredible summer.

there is nothing -- and i mean nothing -- in college station that reminds me of new york. and while i still think about it almost every minute of every day, its a little sad not walking as much any more, taking the subway, or seeing so many people in one day. the quietness is nice but theres not much people watching here in college station. i miss my fellow interns, bosses and room mates so much. talking 24-7 with them doesnt seem like enough. i have never been so thankful for a summer in my whole life.

back in texas

i know i have a lot to update you on: ellis island, beach trip, last night in the big city, etc. but, please admire the large pile of junk that is staring at me in the face right now.

i am currently sitting in my new house back in college station. im living in a old duplex that has been redone and am sharing the third floor with my besty and the entire house with 7 (yes, seven) of my best friends. what a senior year, eh?

so please know that im moving slowly, but i will surely be updating you all on my last days spent in the empire state. a summer ill never forget!

whole foods

why we dont have one in college station still baffles me. not really, i just want one super bad. i know we have them in texas but having two within walking distance from work and two from my apartment is definitely going to impact my lunch.

their salad bar gets me every time. i mean where else can you chomp into a bite of grapes, tomatoes, salmon, pasta, capers, balsamic vinegar, chicken and onion and have it be the tastiest medley your mouth has ever known?

ill miss eating it with kyra on lunch breaks and with tyler overlooking union square.

statue of liberty

this morning i woke up early and ventured down to Battery Park, bought a ticket for the statue of liberty/ellis island and hopped on a ferry! that made it sounds extremely fast and painless, which it was, but when matt and i went down earlier this summer after 11 am the wait was 3 hours long. i felt bad that he wouldnt get to go but stashed that travel secret in the back of my mind and intended on taking full advantage of it before i headed back to texas.

can i just say that i was giddy, GIDDY, with excitement. just like when i see broadways, museums and anything to do with the U.S. of A can make me super emotional. i may or may not have teared up when i saw this sign.

kyra, if youre reading this...i know youre laughing.

so i get on the ferry, secure a spot on the top deck for some prime picture taking, and pass the time trying to figure out what the asian family next to me is talking about. i just dont understand any part of their language whatsoever.

little did i know the boat would be rocking left and right. for a minute i thought i was going to lose it. but then i remembered the wholesome $.75 bagel i had on my way to the subway and my stomach settled accordingly. all i could think about was passing out by myself on the ferry, everybody crowding around me and yelling "who is with this girl? is she ALONE?"...yes, sir and madam, yes i am.

well, there she is! i would post all the pictures i took but its basically just Lady Liberty and all of her flattering angles. let me just say that thing is HUGE. i never really understood how big it was until i was right under it. i would have loved to walk up into the crown, but those tickets were sold out. so much for planning ahead, hill.

here's a pretty sweet shot of manhattan as we turned the corner towards ellis island. i opted not to get off the ferry at the statue since my camera was full enough of the green lady and all her angles. plus, i didnt feel like walking in the steamy morning heat. so i parked it on the first level with a family of sweedes and waited until everybody unloaded. a park ranger came up to me and said "uh, youre going to ellis island?" "yes, sir." i said. either he was upset that i wasnt showing my patriotic duty by standing on lady liberty's foot stool, or he thought i was a complete loser for traveling alone. whatever!

off to ellis island we were! here's our ferry.

appropriately named, aint she?

central park

after i went to the Met on Tuesday, i went to central park for my last visit. what a place! i wish we had something like it back at school. but the park in the sketchy neighborhood where we feed the ducks will have to do!

i love, love watching the little kids do the sailboats. its reminds me of stuart little!

walking

what do you get when you only have two subway rides left on your metro card, $13 on your debit card, and a measly two days left to soak up all you can about this beloved city? you walk!

being the huge closet nerd that i am and loving to document really ridiculous things, i mapped out where i walked yesterday. "G" is my apartment, and i went around that misshapen circle (all 4.6 miles of it) yesterday afternoon. i stopped and shopped in few places, sat in a park or two, picked up a gift, and mostly just took it all in!

corny, i know, but worth it.

The Met

having this week off of work has been such a blessing. ive been able to catch up on some sightseeing that has been high on my priority list, explore and relax around my neighborhood, walk a lot, shop a little, and soak in these last few days.

the Metropolitan Museum of Art was one of those high-ranking tourist locations that, since day one, i wanted to devote an entire day to. i spent about an hour there when Bobby was in for the day but our time was spent observing Japanese armor and admiring relics of the Sons of Liberty. i wanted a me trip. so, when i set tuesday aside for this jaunt to the upper east side i knew i was finally going to get to admire the exhibition i had been waiting for since my initial knowledge of my summer in the Empire State.

American Women: Fashioning an National Identity

talk about timing, right? one: this exhibit is only open THIS summer. two: i LOVE fashion and history! three: im a woman; therefore it applies (see the awkward man in the photo? he doesn't belong).

the exhibit took you through six fashion eras: the Heiress (1890s), the Gibson Girl (also 1890s), the Bohemian (1900s), the Patron and Suffrages (1910), the Flapper (1920s), the Screen Siren (1930s).

i paid extra for the listening device. not only to i enjoy having the upper hand by being more informed than the average museum-goer, but it was narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker. so i just had to! total hottie. total fashionista. totally new york. now let me just say that i totally geeked out, as my dad would say, at this exhibit. i literally threw my hair in a pony tail to get it out of my face, put on my 1990's headphones, whipped out my moleskin notebook for some good ol' note taking, and found my stomach hungry and my wrist sore from writing 2.5 hours later. i was a note taking machine. my finance professor would be so proud. at first i thought it was because photography wasnt allowed and i just wanted to draw some of the styles. but no sir, i was jotting down facts left and right. four pages worth. i would share them with you but that would defeat the purpose of getting the upper hand via listening-device now, wouldnt it?

seriously though, if i started writing i know i wouldnt stop so im going to stop myself right here. so go here and watch a little summary!

sweet reminders

only two full days left here in the big apple. while my emotions are mixed, i thought id take a little time to share some things have kept texas and my sweet friends close in mind for these past two months.

every broadway sign or playbill i see in the trash reminds me of little sissy. walking home from meetpacking and passing Perry st. reminds me of my sister and brother in law (along with any baby i see). sitting on the hudson watching the sail boats reminds me of my dad. brunch at the Standard, well decorated restaurants, and flowers remind me of my mom. older men on the upper east side remind me of my grandpa. the ceviche restaurant down the street reminds me of josh. the event planning business next to my apartment reminds me of scholle. every time my hair is dirty and i wear my fedora i think of crissa. every anthropologie bag i see reminds me of tyler and bg.

before too long i wont have to be reminded by a restaurant or a hat! miss you all.

jcrew fall 2010

its official - they do no wrong.

boots on the bottom left? number one on my christmas list. check it all out here.

weekend highlights

1. running towards brit as she was getting out of the cab! we immediately dropped her stuff at my apartment, went to the grocery store and got some junk food, and then went and sat by the hudson a caught up on our summers.

2. first night being a girls night -- too bad matt had to be at work the next morning but i'd say the timing was perfect :)

3. dinner at los feliz (finally!) and yummy margaritas

4. staying up until the sun was out! this was high on my new york city bucket list and getting to do it with three of my best friends from Texas made it that much better.

5. Nike Sportswear block party in Soho. free bar-b-que and beer! i thought matt had died and gone to heaven.

only 2 full days left here. i really cant believe it.

weekend run down

here is the nitty gritty of what me and my Texans did this weekend just to give you a picture. ill finish it with some highlights!

thursday night: matt had to get up for work early so after dinner at a nearby bar called Off the Wagon, he headed back to his hotel and left us for our girls night. i took them to several of my favorite bars on the east side and we ended the evening with a large pizza from Monster -- typical room 310 style.

friday: brit had left her phone in a cab the night before and by the grace of god a man kept it. so we got in contact with him and ventured out to Park Slope to retrieve it. definitely not in the plans, but it ended up being really fun showing them around a part of town that wasnt Manhattan. from there we went up to the office to see Katie and have a little chi-o reunion. then we grabbed lunch at Cosi and headed back to the apartment for a nap until matt got off work! from there we got ready, headed out to dinner at Los Feliz and ventured all around the big city until we got home at 6:30 am. definitely a big night for us all. seeing the sun coming up on the hudson when the cab driver dropped us off is one of my favorite nyc memories bar none!

saturday: surprisingly, we were up by 10, got ready and headed to The Standard Grill for mimosas and brunch. we spent the afternoon in Soho finishing it off with an event Cornerstone had worked on with Nike. a block party with free beer and bar-b-que! i thought matt was going to die he was so happy. we went to see Ainsley working at Public House but went home soon after because we were so wiped out

sunday: brit left bright and early before anyone woke up :( matt, court and i went and grabbed some breakfast at my favorite little spot and then we caught him a cab and he was off to catch his flight! court and i sat around the apartment for a little bit and talked with Ains and then went down to Chinatown because court thought it was "such a happy place" :)

all in all, it was the best way to spend my last full weekend here in the big city. with three of my best friends, getting to show them what i do and the awesome city ive been so blessed to live in this summer!

chris benz

just flipping through Chris Benz Resort 2011 and boy oh boy did i like what i see.

j.crew meets grandma meets diana vreeland...what a combo

crazy crazy crazy

what an memorable last full weekend in new york city -- with three of my best friends!

(me, matt, court and brit at the Nike block party in soho)

matt had been here all week working and thanks to his food stipend i got free dinner all week! it was so refreshing spending time with somebody from home every night. thank you, J.P Morgan for the yummy meals all week. brit got to my apartment around 7 and we grabbed some junk food (we dont call her fatty for nothin!) and headed down to the hudson to enjoy our chips and dip. it was a big surreal catching up with her considering she called me less than 24 hours before telling me she was flying in. what a sweet, sweet surprise. matt came over, court got in an hour later and the four of us were set for a busy, crazy 2.5 days!

get ready for some stories!

things i cant do: skateboard

never in my life have i been good at things on a board. i learned to like the diving board pretty fast considering i was on swim team for 5 years, but wake boards, skateboards, skim boards, longboards and i have never gotten along. i trace this fact back to two events:

1. when we lived with the kiltz in Hockley they had a long driveway with a mild down-grade. i was probably six and decided that since i knew i couldnt stay on my feet, i would sit on it and steer by leaning left or right. i had my hands wrapped under the board and once i got going really fast my knuckles got stuck under the board and scrapped all the way down the hill. lots of blood.

2. in 8th grade i went out on the lake with a bunch of friends. i had only tubed before, never tried wakeboarding or kneeboarding and decided hey, the boy i like is here, i think im going to give it a shot. what better way to impress a boy in 8th grade than being athletic, right? not only was i the only person not to make it up on the board, but to this day i cannot get up on a wakeboard. thankfully (sort of?) my knees are really bad and my doctor wont let me do it anymore so i have an excuse in order not to embarrass myself.

all that to say. i was happy to find this video. not only because they arent doing any intimidating tricks, but they make skateboarding a little more fun and artsy. enjoy!

ps. the commentary is really lame-o

ribbonesia

i have always been one to enjoy a good hair bow, wrapped gift, or cute little animal. fortunately for me, japanese artist baku maeda of Ribbonesia has combined all three.

the seal couldnt get any cuter if he tried!

BIG HEADS!

after an insurmountable amount of pressure, hassling, and threats of torture I am here to write about the below picture in its entirety.

me (rostam), kyra (best coast), katie (kid cudi)

before i start, watch this video.

basically kid cudi, rostam from vampire weekend and best coast collaborated with converse to make a song, All Summer -- 3 Artists 1 Song. its super fun to listen to and constantly being played throughout the office. so download it! as you can see in the video, they have huge paper heads on! well, when we did the 3 Artists 1 Song event last week they were used as decoration and so we grabbed em for a second and snapped a picture :)

the event was a blast. they did a live performance of All Summer and katie, in her typical style, let kyra, grant and i have the time of our lives -- standing on stage during kid cudi's performance and having us check in on the artists to see if they needed anything. internship of a lifetime if you ask me!

check out some pictures of them performing! or the live video! or what about an interview from that night? i've got it allllllll.

how'd i do, yunk?

yankee experience

i love baseball. i dont keep up with it, but when its on tv or if im sitting at the game... im loving it. thanks for passing along your love of the game, poppers. so, living in the city i live in, a yankees game a was a no-brainer.

after waiting for a train for 45 minutes (subways are awful on sundays) we finally made it to the stadium! glorious! who cares about the 100 degree heat when you have room mates, a cold beer and a pretzel with mustard. i hate hotdogs. we made our way to the ticket booth and were asked to fork over A HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS. we laughed for a minute and asked the man again. $150. apparently the last home game of the season is a big deal or something? :) so we snapped some pics, checked The Bronx off room 310's bucket list, and trekked back to Manhattan to watch the game our go-to sports bar 3rd and Long.

go yanks.

a sentimental weekend

this marked my second to last full weekend here in the big city. august 7th ill be on a plane back to the lone star state... right after i figure out how to maneuver two x-large suitcases (which im praying to god wont be over 50 pounds, but who am i kidding?) to the airport alone. im not going to get all sappy about leaving (yet) but i just had such an incredible weekend with my roomys and friends from work its hard not to be a little sad.

saturday marked my FINAL trip to governors island on saturday. we had a long, hot day full of noisy bands, vying for swings, fried chicken, a rained out M.I.A. show, lil wayne raps, "farries" vs. "ferries", SGs :) , and -- granted, corney -- a great last event with some hysterical memories! kyra, grant and i have had our fair share of ferry rides for the summer but those trips have made for some great summer moments...and probably too many pictures of manhattan at sunset.

pictures to come.

west village love

did today make me realize how much im going to miss my 'hood, or what? kyra called me from the office as i was about to leave saying that we didnt have to go in until 3. what a sweet surprise! a free afternoon! since i had to meet kyra to give her something i decided to stay around west village.

i met her at Lifethyme, sat down with her for a bit and then went off to explore! oddly enough, i havent really gotten to know my neighborhood until these last 2 weeks or so, so i was excited. i really, really wanted to start reading The Screwtape Letters and found a coffee shop called Joe with a bit bench in the shade out front. i sat there for about an hour and then walked down Waverly to the puppy store that Liz had told me about a few nights before. it was called Le Petit Puppy and i was home to some of the cutest little doggies i had ever seen. it made me miss my Magpie :(

from there, I walked down Christopher and stopped in a paper/card store called Greenwich Letterpress. i have always been a huge sucker for greeting cards. ever since jr high i wanted to own a paper store. maybe if this whole marketing thing doesnt work out ill shoot for that.

i still hadnt bought anything souvenir-ish and when i saw a hand drawn picture of greenwich village in mint green (matches my room perfectly), i know i had to have it! i picked up a card or two to send my family - one of which was made by dudeandchick - an incredible stationary company from minnesota.

all of them are super clever and cute. too bad so sad you dont live in new york, but you can get them online here!

i went home, grabbed a bite to eat and headed to governors island to help set up for a cookout were having before the M.I.A. concert on saturday. unfortunately, i was 30 seconds late to the train so i had to wait until the next one, which made me .4 seconds late to the ferry (i could have taken a tiny leap, but they wouldnt let me) which led to me sitting on a bench for 45 minutes reading Screwtape and writing my newly purchased notes to my family. time well spent, i guess.

then it was off to governors island where kyra, clarence, marlina and i set up and assembled some A-frame swings. woo! here are some pics clarence took for us on the way back to the ferry :)

oh and clarence and i had matching American Apparel tshirts. great day!