MERRY CHRISTMAS!

My parents and I FINALLY mad it home last night on Christmas! I was so very thankful. Due to bad weather in Chicago, our flight was canceled on the 23rd. I was so upset, but I was so very grateful that my parents were there with me for Christmas Eve and Christmas. We decided to make the most of Christmas Eve and went shopping on Fifth Avenue, and went to FAO Schwartz, the most amazing toy store on the planet. We had a great day together, and couldn't wait til we could go home the next day.

We finally arrived home greeted by Krista and Jon! I was so excited to see them. Today we start Christmas with the family... which I am so excited about! My favorite time of the year. Hope you have all had an amazing Christmas, I wish you the best in the new Year.

I will post pictures of mom and dad in the city as soon as i get a chance!

Disappointed...

Well, today has been a pretty disappointing day! My parents were on their way to NYC and while in Chicago, their flight was canceled! It decided to come a blizzard today. The snow is already about 1.5 feet high, and they say we are expecting around 2 feet of snow! So tonight they are stuck on Chicago... sad times. BUT they will be here tomorrow at around 11PM. I am glad they are still being able to come.

The Meaning of Christmas!

Being it this tinsel filled city at Christmas can certainly be distracting at Christmas time. All the lights, the music, the Rockettes, the stores, the windowns, the Christmas tree! It is all so beautiful, but not at all what Christmas is about. This simple video from A Charlie Brown Christmas sums it up, every time. What an amazing thing to celebrate! The birth of our savior!

The Metropolitan Museum Of Art!

Yesterday I went to see the Christmas Train exhibit at Grand Central Station... I was expecting a huge train that you boarded filled with Holiday cheer... well, scale it down and I was right. It was a HUGE miniature train set they had set up and recreated New York City! The train ended up at the North Pole, it was pretty cool.


Here is an interesting fact everyone... If you are planning on visiting a NYC museum... DO NOT pay full price! Most museums here have a sign that states "suggested donation" The usual $20 admission, is merely a suggestion! So... yesterday I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and handed them 2 dollars... the man at the counter looked at me and said, "How many tickets?" IT ACTUALLY WORKS! I was very excited!

My buddy Stevie B from CMT was in town and we met up and went to the museum together! It is now most definitely my favorite museum in NYC!


Yikes, looks like someone copied the Starbucks Logo and made some art... jk

I wish I could do a shoot in this room, it was incredible. Complete with carved cherubs all over the ceiling.

A beautiful Baroque Christmas Tree! The ornaments are hundreds of years old. Photos were not permitted of the tree... geez, my camera must have accidentally triggered.



Pretty cool chair and mirror combo.


This couple decided to take a nap together right in the middle of the museum... how appropriate.


One of my favorite artists! Chuck Close! This man had an exhibit at the Frist this summer and it was incredible. The exhibit consisted of his print work, but THIS is what I wanted to see. This giant painting is so incredibly photo realistic that it blows my mind. Also, it is cool to know that the artist is paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair... just goes to show you, if you put your mind to it, it can literally happen.


As you get closer, you can begin to notice more strokes.


The closest I could get, still photo realistic... this blows my mind.


I love ancient Egypt! This was an actual temple relocated here, you could actually go inside... so very awesome.


Another one of my favorites... Roy Lichtenstein!


HEY EVERYBODY... I AM MODERN ART! This was pretty awesome, a giant satellite dish shaped piece covered with mirrors, made for a pretty trippy experience.


So I saw this book the other day, and was inspired by it. It was called Pictures of paintings, and the artist went around and photographed the frames in the piece that were the most interesting to him. After seeing this book, I thought I would try and do the same... pretty fun.





This one is for my friends at CMT... in my opinion, LONG LIVE THE CRITTERS!





Now to my favorite part of the entire museum, Robert Frank's The Americans. Robert Frank was a Jewish man from Switzerland and came to America to photograph "This thing that was born here and was spreading everywhere else" AMERICA! This series is so incredible to me, I believe he truly captures the American spirit and the way things worked back then. Frank was amazing.

I think this image is incredible because Frank captured the social order of Americans at the time as they all hang out of a bus window. This photo was taken a few weeks before Rosa Park took a stand!





Looking at this exhibit made me want to document my trip and the people I see everyday so much more. To really tell the story... like Frank did.


On my way home, I saw this and got so excited! The subtle glow of electric... well, you know, in the window of this home made me so happy! CHRISTMAS IS HERE!


Mom and Dad are coming tomorrow! I had better get some sleep!

A Boring Night, turned fun!

Saturday night I decided to go to the Guggenheim Art Museum on Fifth Ave. I always thought the outside looked amazing, a large white spiral building. It was designed by Frank Loyd Wright. After waiting outside in the cold for a very long time, I finally got inside. There was a Kandinsky exhibit going on... really not one of my favorites at all, so I was pretty disappointed. I must say that his drawings were pretty interesting tho, I just was not that into the paintings... and there were A LOT.


I left the museum, and by this point I had still not decided if I wanted to go to this Swing Dance Ball I had heard about... sounds like a great time, but by yourself.... a little different. Well, I went on a hunt for a costume, I thought if I found something I would go.

The Ball was a Babes in Toyland theme, and you were required to dress vintage style as a list of characters they had chosen. I thought this sounded pretty awesome. I didnt find any vintage clothes at the store that I thought would work so I just headed home to see if I could make something work. I decided to be Hansel from Hansel and Gretel. So... I got my blue tuxedo shirt my mom made, and wrapped one of my hats in left over yarn from the ornaments and made a tie out of it as well... and it actually kind of looked like Hansel to me!

When I arrived, I could hear the Live swing band playing in the hall, and when I stepped inside I was blown away. Toy Soldiers, wind up ballerinas, and dolls everywhere! The costumes were incredible, and so was the swing band! Here is a picture of a toy soldier and a candy cane... these two owned the dance floor... they were amazing at the Lindy Hop.

I made some friends while I was there! Phillipa and Erica. Phillipa is a swing dance instructor and Erica works with financial things. They were very nice and I took turns dancing with them all night long! It was so much fun!

The Ballet and Polar bears!

Well, as you all know I went to see the Nutcracker. It was so incredible... I have decided that I am going to marry a ballerina. It was the craziest thing to watch them just float around on the stage. Another thing, the music was so incredible! The orchestra was just great... It was a very cool experience.

When I got inside, you couldn't take pictures... not even of the theater before it started, so I snapped this one of the fountain and the building outside.


Lauren and Josh had their annual ornament trade party in TN and I was obviously unable to go... BUT through Ichat it was just like I was there! Lauren set up her computer in the living room and I was right in the middle of the party. I was on Ichat with them for around 4 hours... ha. I got to see them open the ornaments I had mailed to them to open at the party. It was very nice to be able to "be there" although I did want some of that food... Josh is an amazing cook.

Here are the ornaments I made. They are polar bears made out of roving wool. I used a technique called needle felting, it took a long time, but I think the bears ended up pretty cool.

Christmas is Here!

I don't know what happened, but I AM FINALLY IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT! Maybe its the hours of Christmas music I have been listening to today! i took my picture for my Christmas card, this is not the actual picture, but you guys get a look at what it is like... I had a lot of fun. I made the beard from wool! And yes I am wearing a union suit... they are great.

I am going to see the Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet, I am excited!

And this is most unfortunately the Wrong shade of Christmas red... The internet ruins colors often... sorry.

Not to Much going on today...

I had a great day at the internship yesterday. I got to design a few things once again! I am always glad to be able to use some of my skills at the internship. I really like it there! Today I am just catching up on some freelance work so I can get that out the door and delivered. Pretty much a lazy day, but a good one! I have been doing a little research on a few places i want to see while I am here, i think i am going to try and make it to Sleepy Hollow, and Niagra Falls! If the trip is not to crazy, I think it could be fun since I am so close.

Tomorrow I am going to the New York Ballet to see The Nutcracker! So maybe I can get a few pictures for you guys... i certainly hope so!

Lady Liberty & Lady Martha

Saturday Jason and I went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was absolutely freezing, and the ferry ride their nearly froze me. In fact, it was so cold, I couldn't stop laughing because of how ridiculous and cold it was on the ferry. It was rainy and all misty in the city. Right when we rolled onto Liberty Island, there stood Sheryl Crow with her family! It was pretty cool.





This is inside the Ellis Island Station. Here is where the immigrants were processed and checked in.

Jason brought up a good point and said how excited the new immigrants must have been when they looked out this window and saw Manhattan. It really makes me proud to be an American citizen. This truly is the land where if God puts a desire in your heart, and you want to chase your dreams, they can really happen.

SOme of the luggage left behind, many of the items are on display from all the countries.. so very interesting.

After returning back to Manhattan, Jason and I made our way to Martha Stewart's headquarters. She was having a Christmas Craft Sale. It was actually in her studio where they develop all the crafts and foods for her show and the magazine... pretty cool. Definitely the only craft fair I have been to that had a coat check... ha


The crafts inside were incredible. Many of the vendors were Martha's staff and others were people she selected to sale there. There was everything from hand woven scarves, home made skinny ties and bow ties, to the most unique jewelery I have ever seen.

I walked away with a really cool pocket square... It is a cool color of green. The craft fair basically blew our mind, but we had a great time. Jason was here for the weekend, and we definitely made the most of his trip and saw many things! We had a great time!