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!

documentary: food, inc.

what an eye-opening documentary! i never realized what incredible leverage food industries had on our economy. this film is extremely informative and really interesting - especially if you went into it knowing nothing about the modern food industry. the narrator, michael pollan is soft spoken, yet direct, and seems to present an honest view the the going-ons without much bias.

i must say after watching this and reading Skinny Bitch, beef just might be completely erased from my diet. if you find yourself thinking im weird or getting mad, just think...more for you!

new books

i love, love, love buying new books. and i almost always read them! i bought two monday night after a 3-hour dinner with sweet Liz, an A&M/Chi-O graduate who is now living here in the big city!

i have never read anything by c.s. lewis but after matt told me all about The Screwtape Letters when he was here i knew i had to buy it. i tried reading it online for a while because i wanted to get started on it and hadnt made it to a bookstore. but reading on a computer screen just isnt enjoyable! thanks to Liz i found a barnes and noble 3 minutes away from my apartment.

when abby and i were in chelsea markets we stopped in a bookstore. i must say, i judge a book buy its cover and am a huge sucker for book cover art. the simplicity and cleanness of Tinkers caught my eye, i went home and googled it and then picked it up.

still not exactly sure what its about but worst case scenario i just bought a cook looking book that can serve as shelf art.

big sissy's visit: brooklyn bridge

visiting the brooklyn bridge has been on my nyc bucket list since i got here and i FINALLY got to cross it off. tyler met up with us, we went and got dinner at Spice and then headed down to the bridge. ive loved bridges since i was a kid, not sure why but visiting the brooklyn bridge reminded me (again) of the fact that i didnt try doing architecture at school.

the first set of pictures is the manhattan municipal building - you get out of the subway underneath it to get to the bridge. and there a few of the Williamsburg Bridge in there too.

the lighting was absolutely perfect which made for great pictures and a great last night with big sis!

big sissy's visit: Jersey Boys

something about broadway shows make me cry. maybe its the grand-ness of it all, the music, the loudness, the fact that im in new york...i dont know. all i know is that ive cried in the four ive seen this summer. jersey boys was just so fun and cute! i had no idea who The Four Seasons were initially but i had definitely heard a few of their songs. "Big Girls Don't Cry", anyone? all of the songs reminded me of when big sis and emily threw a 50's themed birthday party when we lived together. our moms bought us all poodle skirts, we played 50s songs and had a dance party and our dads served us banana splits in bluebell paper hats.

:)

big sissy's visit: MoMA

the next morning we spent our time getting together a game plan for finding Jersey Boys tickets. after waiting in a pointless line, paying $15 of my parents precious money on a grilled cheese made with white bread and plastic cheese, running between TKTS and the box office, preparing ourselves to pay $150 and only ending up having to pay $62, we had our tickets! we had a few hours to kill before our matinee performance so we decided to walk a few blocks over to the Museum of Modern Art.

i had been to the Metropolitan Museum but only for about an hour so this was my first real nyc museum experience and i wanted to do it right. i love museums but hate the thought of being rushed through so i took my time and opted to rent the listening guide. granted, totally nerdy. but extremely informative!

the first exhibit i went to was about women and photography -- as a photographer or subject. big sis and i both admitted that it was our favorite.

my favorite photo i saw in that exhibit was one by Tina Barney called Sunday New York Times (below).

this picture reminded me of living with the Kiltz for some reason. waking up on saturdays and having casual mornings around the house. Barney shot this picture with a long exposure focused on the husband at the head of the table. if you ever see it in person youll be able to see that while everything is in focus, he is the clearest and everything around him seems to have more movement. its incredible!

bruce nauman had an installation titled Days on display while we were there. it was super strange but really interesting. it was seven different recorded voices -- men and women of different ages -- being amplified throughout the room as they repeated the days of the week in random order. having them said in different timbres and pitches made it sound pretty cool but after 2 minutes in there i was ready to roll.

one of my favorite classes ive taken in college was my freshman year art history class. my professor was an incredible teacher and his love for art was absolutely contagious. it was so neat seeing some of the art that we studied that semester in real life! i remember studying Jackson Pollock the most. he painted by dripping and dragging paint across a huge canvas that sat on his floor. i used to think a 4 year old could do what he did but after looking at it for a while you begin to see the purposefulness in where he placed the paint, what color it was and how thick he let the paint run.

after a few hours our feet were tired and we were ready to go and sit down for a few hours at Jersey Boys!

big sissy's visit: day 3

day three was definitely a five-star day! we got a ton of sleep which helped us prepare for our big day out on the town. another factor in being ready for our busy day was a fantastic breakfast at The Standard Grill (my personal favorite). their brunch is absolutely incredible and it reminds me of my mom. i have been there several times for brunch or dinner but this was the first time i had the kissing doggy salt and pepper shakers. they had magnets in their noses; it was precious.

i had an incredible omelette with peppers and goat cheese, big sis had the fruit and yogurt parfait. definitely enough food for the two of us, we enjoyed every bite! The Standard is directly below Highline park so we walked up there and walked across the Highline over to Chelsea Markets and did a little shopping.

the views from the Highline still amaze me! i absolutely love it. all thanks goes to my grandparents for telling me about it. how lucky that im a 10 minute walk from my apartment? sis really loved Chelsea Markets and found some cute stuff at anthropologie. i found a semi-formal dress at a sample sale and a gift for my room mates back at school (there will be 8 of us total now!).

after our (now fourth) starbucks of the trip, we ventured over to do a little shopping in times square and see what the fuss was about regarding this new 90,000 square foot Forever 21. let me tell you, the fuss was well deserved. that place could easily be the most overwhelming shopping experience ever. anybody who actually tries to look at each and every item or even rack is completely insane. i found a cute dress and high-tailed it out of that tourist attraction as fast as i could.

we ventured towards central park and sat down in the shade of the big field. the place was packed but you still felt like you were in a quiet spot. the shade was an incredible break from the heat and we both read for about an hour. abby, of course reading something fun and me reading a stressful book about my future employment for a paper i had due later in the week.

we ended the night with a glass of sangria at The Frying Pan. if youve never been or heard of this place youre absolutely missing out. its a permanently anchored boat with multiple other boats added on to it -- very Swiss Family Robinson style.

its such a fun spot for happy hour with an incredible view of the sunset overlooking the Hudson. we ended the night with dinner and going back to times square to see Despicable Me (highly recommend!).

big sissy's visit: day 2

day two, big sis got to see my live and in action at work. friday marked my last concert to work at governors island! ive seriously started to love that place and all the people ive met who work for Converse. they are such a fun crowd! kyra, grant and i (all interns) have so much fun together and its interesting getting an insider look at the bands that play.

that morning we slept in (until about 11:30!) and then went to the grocery store next door to get some things for breakfast. from there we went down to the ferry and jumped on towards governors island.

this concert was the first one that katie (my boss) was able to make it to (hi, katie!) so that was fun getting to do my last one with her. kyra couldnt make it because she was out of town but grant, abby, katie and i had a fun time chatting about college station, new york, portugal and pine cove :) abby had fun getting to see what i do, and the weather was pretty once the sun set.

we ended the night back at my apartment, skyped with the brother in law and i fell asleep dreaming about a yummy brunch soon-to-be-had at the standard grill.

big sissy's visit: day 1

big sis got into the big apple late, late wednesday night. i went outside to meet her and it was pouring rain so she wasnt able to see the sights as she crossed the bridge. i had my work cut out for me! since it was so late we stayed in my apartment chatting about how we hadnt really done anything like this since before she got married. that got me excited for our next few days together!

we woke up the next morning ready to hit the ground running. we walked around my neighborhood and i showed her some of my favorite spots...including brunch at Cowgirl. room 310's favorite!

(that picture on the right is a garden next to my apartment building. its attached to a precious catholic church and people always sit in there on their lunch break.)

(we stopped at the back fence to take a picture for my dad)

from brunch we poked around some more and headed to williamsburg for the mates of state concert! first, we got some sangria and mac and cheese at Blackbird Parlour and sat for about 3 hours. it was hot outside and we were wiped out. from there we went to Ella Cafe for dinner and sat again. then we went to Music Hall of Williamsburg and sat again waiting for Mates of State. but we had a circus freak and comedian opening for them so that was enjoyable.

MoS puts on such an incredible show. they are so in love! watching them on stage is like watching them in their living room. they chat, laugh, flirt and smile at each other the whole time. its precious to watch! they love their fans, too. some think their music is annoying, but if you see them live your life will never be the same.

that wasnt my first time to see them and it definitely wont be my last!

sister is here

big sis got here late wednesday night and we've been livin' it up in the city ever since! i have a bunch of pictures that need to go up and will hopefully get to that tomorrow. until then, we just got back from Despicable Me and im cranking out a paper for my class going on back in college station. who knows how late ill be up writing it!

i promise to update you with our going-ons and pictures as soon as i can. until then, ill leave you with a few fun sites.

a classic computer game.

a book on my wish list.

my favorite tv show.

for the gossip girl fanatics.

pretty tape.

a guilty pleasure.

wish list

dress by my pet square, wedding invitations by hello!lucky, skirt by lauren moffatt, glass baskets, rug by anthropologie, letter press numbers on AMradio's etsy.

slow week

not too much has been going on since the weekend. my internship is for credit so ive been reading an awful book titled 'when reality hits' that only continuously reminds that i am entering the working world in less than a year and chances are i have no idea what im doing. which, on one hand, is true because i have no idea what i want to do, where i want to live, or anything like that. but on the other hand im pretty sure i know how to appropriately shake someones hand and know not to interrupt my boss while hes on a conference call. i would love to meet nancy barry's inspiration for writing this riveting how-to. other than that i have just been preparing for big sis to get into the big apple! she gets here tonight around midnight...i cant wait! the weather here has been rainy and humid so im hoping it clears up for us because getting around this city when its like that is smelly and not fun. tomorrow were going to brooklyn and ending the night at the Mates of State concert. be looking forward to lots of pictures!

this morning little sissy had surgery on her nose. shes a swim coach and a kid pushed her into the side of the pool and broke her nose. so basically shes getting a NOSE JOB. maybe shell come out with a drastic change like heidi montag or ashlee simpson.

one could only dream.

things i cant do: cut paper

ive decided to start a new blog category..."things i cant do". its sort of fun thinking about things you cant do...gives you a little more appreciation for those who can!

ive had these images saved on my computer for over a year now and instead of keeping them to myself, i thought i would share them! please take a minute and appreciate the incredible detail of these installations. see them all here!

these are all made out of simple white paper and glue. im still amazed!

morning brunch

saturday morning the room mates (plus a few of their friends from school) took a walk through the west village to find a place for brunch. after stumbling into a few places and leaving due to a 45+ minute wait, we settled one and ordered! honestly, i cant remember what it was called but they had some killer pancakes with caramelized apples...mmm!

we headed home and stopped to take a picture in front Carrie's house from Sex and the City!

isnt this city just crazy?

that afternoon i headed out to governors island to work another concert. it was rainy towards the beginning and not a ton of people showed up but it was fun hanging out with people from work and meeting some new friends (one from houston!).

"helloooo, new jerseyyy!" -youve got mail

happy birthday: bdill

happy 21st birthday, b-dilly!

yesterday was my best friend, brittany's, birthday. it killed me that i couldnt be there for her...she did so much for me on my 21st!

happy birthday, sweet brittany.

i am so sorry i couldnt be there for you yesterday. actually, we give each other birth WEEKS, so im sorry i couldnt be there for you this week :) you are one of the greatest friends that my 3 years in college has given me. not a moment goes by hanging out with you that i am not thankful for your sweet spirit. you have an incredible gift of making others feel comfortable and at home. i know we joke all the time, but you are going to be an incredible mommy.

i miss our semester as roomys in the Chi O house so so much. what an incredible memory! you were always there when i was sick, curled up in the hallway with a fever after pulling too many all-nighters for geography, or when i needed a ride to my class. i love that if one of us wasnt there when we got back from school the other would frantically text them to see where they were. "its been ten minutes, where ARE you?" you are always up for having fun, and you remind me to! i dont know how i got the grades i did that semester because we never studied. even when i said "bdill, i have a test tomorrow. i will NOT let you talk me in to hanging out" i knew that i would anyways. how many hours do you think we spent at The Yard? or driving around listening to weezy? and is it strange that whenever i see Cash Cab or Friends on tv i think of you?

you are such a joy, britt. i miss you so much and cant wait to give you a decent birthday back at school! i cant believe we only have one year left. were gonna live up this semester being neighbors...i cant wait. i love you so much and plan on seeing you august 7!

happy birthday, dobber :)

ill miss: well-dressed men

every morning i leave my apartment at 10:35 to walk to work. id estimate that three out of the five days i go, i pass the same boy at the same intersection. im 90% confident he works at the rag and bone right next to my apartment because he's always wearing nautical stripes, cargo/military jackets or grey. its nice seeing that some boys put a little thought into their appearance...

but if i said a button-down, wranglers, and cowboy boots didnt do it for me anymore...i'd be lying :)

book: the great gatsby

i just finished reading the great gatsby earlier this week. i read it once in high school, but didnt remember it at all (i probably used spark notes), so decided to read this american classic once again.

im not about to review Fitzgerald's most famous piece, but i will give you a few of my favorite quotes that i underlined throughout.

-"it was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life."

-"every one suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: i am one of the few honest people that i have ever known."

-"now it was again a green light on a dock. his count of enchanted objects had diminished by one."

-"it is invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expended your own powers of adjustment."

-"but what had amused me then turned septic on the air now."

definitely a must-read!

"on your left!"

for those of you who know me from school, you know that me + bikes do not get along. like, at all. i had one my freshman year because my sister and dad convinced me it was a good idea. the one time i rode it i got in the biggest bike wreck ever. ive got the scars on my knuckles to prove it!

a girl and i were riding straight towards each other and we did that -- oh dang, which way are you going/hesistation face -- and then our front tires slid right next to each other and we smashed our chests together. she hit the ground, i stayed on my bike. which, in retrospect, made me look like a huge jerk. sorry for being strong?

that bike was totaled. the wheel was all mangled. then i got another bike, but i lost it (so embarrassing), and then i got another bike and it was stolen. three bikes in three semesters. so, again, me and bikes just dont get along. BUT, i have this perfect vision in my head of me riding a bike to class everyday with cute little accessories on it. needless to say, this being my last year of college...it aint gonna happen.

but while reading 'the cut' this afternoon i found all these cute bike accessories which only fueled my bike-to-the-business-school desire. i guess ill just stare at these instead :)

clock-wise from the top: a little snakey bike lock, trendy tweed helmet, butterfly bicycle seat, ring-a-ling-ling a bike bell, cute lime green basket, sweetheart seat, birdy reflector, and handlebar flowers.

fireworks pictures

how could i forget about these pictures from the macy's fireworks display? my friend melissa and i watched from the west side highway which runs along the hudson. six barges are positioned on the river spread between 24th and 59th for the 30 minute show! it was so fun :) definitely favorite-holiday-worthy.

the pics obviously don't do it justice, but here are a few fun facts about the show!

-the show contains over 40,000 shells

-shells explode at a rate of over 1,500 per minute

-fireworks go as high as 1,000 feet

-my favorite is the weeping willow

-they had one that looked like a smiley face