carrie girl

chair re-do

life has calmed down a bit, and because this is my last full week of summer i've been trying to get some projects finished that have been on my list of things to do before my life becomes all about first grade. last year i received my grandparents amazing mid-century dining room table, and it came with four chairs in dire need of recovering. don't get me wrong, the orange velvet definitely reminds me of meals at grandma and grandpa's house, but i just don't think it goes well in a brooklyn apartment.

i used some echino japanese linen i got from brooklyn general and put a layer bamboo batting under for a little extra padding. 

 

 

we need to get our artwork up on the wall, and get some extraneous furniture out of the apartment and we will be pretty close to settled. moving is such an exhausting task, but i also love the opportunity for change and reinvention it provides.

vintage fabric and a stolen iphone

i was officially welcomed back to the city wednesday night by having my iphone stolen out of my hands while standing outside a bar on van brunt and pioneer street. i didn't even see it coming, and while it was very much a non-violent experience, i was still shaken up. i'm sure most people who live in the city have their own story or know someone who has one. in the three years i lived here before, nothing like this ever happened so it is a tad disheartening that i've only been back for three weeks and this is what goes down. my friend was mugged in iowa city, so i know this kind of stuff happens everywhere, but the bottom line is that is just plain sucks.

in sewing news, i did finally get out of the apartment to do something other than buy a garbage can or make another trip to ikea. i walked over to brooklyn general to scope out the vintage fabric selection and was pleasantly surprised to learn they're having a 25% off sale for the next two weeks. they always have such beautiful fabric and are super friendly, too, so if you're in new york you should definitely check it out. after that, i headed into the city to daytona trimmings to explore other ways to have my travel jewelry wallet close. i love the little button, but i'm making a larger version for bigger bracelets and necklaces, and i'm not sure the small button/elastic combo will suffice. now that i don't have my iphone to distract me for a week or so, perhaps i'll make more progress on the sewing front...a silver lining?

red hook

yesterday, ted and i went for a cloudy walk around our new neighborhood. in our last go-round in brooklyn we lived on the edge of park slope, more like gowanus if we're being honest, and coming back we knew we wanted a change of scenery. we couldn't afford fort greene, couldn't find anything we liked in clinton hill, but got lucky with red hook. i taught here from 2004-2007, and watched the neighborhood change--a bakery here and a fairway there, but i wasn't quite prepared for the boutique stores, wine shops and ikea that i found when i came back. even with all the new shops and restaurants, red hook is still very much red hook. without a train nearby, things move at a slower pace and our apartment is as quiet as the one we shared in iowa city. the downside is that our cellphones rarely hold a call longer than 5 minutes, and there is a little hike to the train, but in my opinion the pros outweigh the cons. i'm excited to explore the new shops, try the restaurants and eat my weight in swedish meatballs.

landed

well we've landed in brooklyn and are knee-deep in boxes and totally reliant on the iphone for internet, so please forgive the wonky post and sketchy photos.

it is sort of surreal being back. i most definitely miss iowa city, and it seems like the older i get the harder these transitions become. it also doesn't help that the only room unpacked is the kitchen. we're working on it though.

we did manage to get to prospect park to see sharon jones and the dap kings last night. it was incredible. we followed it up with a trip to sunny's bar, so it's not all boxes and bubble wrap around here.

here's hoping for internet very soon!