New York: Day Uno

So I am a day behind, yesterday was a long day with traveling and I didn't get to blogging.  I will try to catch back up tonight.  Day One was a success; I landed in NYC at 5:00am, just before the sun came up.  We flew over Manhattan on the way in.  What a magical sight from the air at night.  All the lights were twinkling just like the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland.  You could see Central Park, the big, dark rectangle in the middle of the city, and also the big video screens in Times Square.

First on the agenda: Sleep!  After a massive nap I was ready to explore and Morris took me to Highline Park.  He is the best tour guide!  It was right up my alley and such a great experience.  The urban park is built on an abandoned, elevated train path, very well designed with a lot of different sitting areas and places to realx and people/city watch.  I love how people really seem to enjoy the outdoor space here.  It was lovely to have no plans and get to really take our time enjoying the beautiful weather.

Mark Motherfuckin' Jenkins

This man makes awesome street installations.  They are slightly creepy and a really great sociology experiment.  Take a look at some of my favorites then check out his site here!

CUT!

Stuck in the Middle

Working at a Children’s Hospital has taught me so much.  But mostly it’s taught me that people give their kids really fucked up names.  
 

Hair today, Gone tomorrow!

It has taken me a long time to grow my balls for this, but I am cutting my hair off tomorrow! And I am not showing you any pictures of what I want because I don’t need you to tell me not to do it.  I just need you to tell me it looks good when it’s done; even if it doesn’t, Jillian. 

Jillian asked me on our way in to work after another awesome carpool session, “If I don’t like your hair when you cut it, do you want me to tell you?”  Oh you mean after I hack off inches and inches from my head should you tell me it looks horrible? What am I supposed to do if you don’t like it?  Goodness gracious…lie to me, baby!

Every time I get ready to make a big hair change I get so nervous and really start loving my current style.  Suddenly it lies just right and the color is perfect and I have so many options for styles.  All of a sudden I am in love with what I already have.  But isn’t that the way it goes with a lot of things?  When you know you are about to lose something you start really appreciating it, scared to let go, sad to say goodbye. 

One Day

They say “don’t judge a book by its cover” but we all do, right?  And I would actually kind of like to think, as somewhat of a designer, that the book cover really, really matters.  When I was on the subway in New York I spotted a girl reading the book One Day by David Nicholls.  I was staring at the book wondering what it was about, swore I would make a mental note to look it up on Amazon later, got off at my stop and immediately forgot the name of the book.

My Weekend: Pals and Pedicures

I had such a lovely weekend.  Saturday I took my Grandma to visit Micah Man, my adorable giant nephew.  He is crawling now!  And he is playing more and reacting and giggling, it is so much fun.  I absolutely love being an aunt; I suggest everyone try it out sometime.  My sister Kristen made a delicious lunch for us, we chatted and gossiped, and I spent many silent minutes in the car with my grandma who braced herself every time I made a lane switch. 

Nothing is Wasted

My mom recently passed a book on to me that a coworker gave her during a big transition in her career, it is called What I Wish For You: Simple Wisdom For a Happy Life by Patti Digh.  Originally seeking advice for her daughter upon high school graduation, Patti turned to readers of her blog asking them to send in anything that would help.  What she received was a vast collection of warming and inspiring stories, short notes, and art with advice for people going through, well…life.   This book is much more than guidance for a teenager entering the real world; in fact it is probably better appreciated by adults who know these lessons to be true. 

This is one of the entries that I read this weekend and enjoyed so much I wanted to share…