Squeals!

This is what was heard at apartment 14 on Alexander Yanai when I was glued to the Anthropologie website.


The sumptuous sweaters, the toasty slippers, the opulent dresses... and don't get me going on the holiday decorations...






Oh my heart is fluttering with delight!

The Devil Wears Prada

I had seen this film before on a plane and loved it. It was on last night, so you can imagine my excitement as I settled down with my huge bowl of soup and pile of yarn in front of the television. Watching it the second time made me realize how close to home it is on the subject of first jobs. When I first moved to New York I had a job as assistant graphic designer in a top advertising firm. It was a small company, but we handled many of those ads you see in fashion magazines. I had NO idea what I was getting into, and still have no idea why they hired me. I knew nothing about fashion or advertising, or how to deal with the higher ups...I still cringe when I recall the day I asked the Big Boss where the copy machine was. He looked at me as if I were a cockroach in his path, and walked away. I was totally lost and had no one to explain anything to me. The creative director would praise me one day and ask the next if I wanted to be a secretary because, "the way I flung my campaign on his desk" wasn't how a creative worker would present it. He was probably right...I was in way over my head. I would complain to my co-workers about him and they would agree, but then add "But he's such a genius". A genius? He created images to sell clothes for thousands of dollars! (This was how I thought back then... much like the main character in the film, Andy, when asked which belt she liked better). My poor boyfriend at the time had to deal with my complaints one night, and my starry eyes the next if the creative director had given me positive feedback for my work. It took over my life. I would stay late because I was scared HE'd need something after I had gone; I had enough nervous stomach pains walking to the office, that his morning anger was not something I was willing to contend with. Then one day I got sick. I was sick for about a week and a half. I realised that this job was not helping, I was miserable. I cried at work more often than not, my friends and family wondered why I was still working there. I didn't want to give up, I didn't want to leave and then regret my choice; many (tougher) people would have loved to have this job. In the end, unlike Andy, I couldn't stand up to him, or be the worker he wanted, so I quit. It was a great feeling. There were no regrets. Even during my months of unemployment, I never would have prefered to be back in that office. After a while, I got my dream job, and was so surprised that a boss could be compassionate, good-humored, a friend even. I never heard from anyone at that first job ever again, the last I read about my boss was in W magazine explaining how he kindly comforted Kate Moss after her cocaine incident. I would love to say that the job made me stronger, or a better person... but I'm not sure it did. If I had to take the job now, I would do everything differently. I'm older and wiser now, I was too young and inexperienced for it at the time. Who knows, maybe if I stayed I would have come into my own and finally felt comfortable, but I would probably be a different person now. I've realized it's more important to be happy than have a job that many people 'would kill for'.

Noa Noa

One of my favorite clothing websites to peruse is Danish company Noa Noa.
I love the aesthetic, very Anthropoligie with a European twist. They also have a line for little ones too...Adorable.

Stockings and Stuff

I finished three stockings this morning. They are lined and have batting inside, so they are pretty thick. Last night I made this flag banner for our hallway while watching Being John Malkovich.... such a good movie. Erik comes back tomorrow afternoon (Hurray!) Maybe by then I'll have the whole entire apartment covered in stockings!!! Heeeeeeee....

Let There be Light

I swear, I must be some kind of idiot.... what was I thinking? (in Christine Lavin's voice) I live in a square with tons of ex-pats. So wouldn't I think that the tiny toy store next to my apartment might have lights?!?! I went in and found magazines (weee!!) and lights. Only colored ones for now, but next week he said he'll get some white ones in for Christmas. So I left with a string of colored lights and a copy of Marie Claire Idees. Sometimes what you're looking for is right under you nose...

Birds and Sparkles, Oh My!

I've opened up the Christmas box this morning, I think the tree may go up today...Lights or no lights. Because I share the tree with Erik and didn't want to scare him away, I compromised with a blue decorated tree instead of my favorite pink. However, I covered the whole tree with fake birds and butterflies. weee.
This morning I went to the Herzliya Museum of Art. It was interesting, I'm still processing it all. I'm unfamiliar with Israeli artists and was surprised that the majority of the artists featured were about my age! (but maybe I'm just getting older and most artists are around 30!?) I think I've given up my hope of being an artist...I thought when I graduated college, I would move to New York, have a loft and paint all day... ha! However, it did give me hope to learn that Christian Dior didn't open his fashion house until he was about 41. So it's never too late to start something. And right now I'm going to start going on a walk.

Beauties

I love these party dresses at Karen Millen. Fun and sparkles!!! They would go perfectly with silver strappy heels, a vintage clutch, and some fun costume jewelry... Yes Please!

Starting the Projects...

I spent a long time trying to figure out what to make today... I ended up with one of those projects that I spent so long on and then hated... so I chopped it into a stocking. I was planning on making a few, so tomorrow there should be more. This one is a bit boot-ish...so we'll see how the rest turn out.

Good Morning!

(isn't this a great color combination?!)
Today I have a few things I need to get done...put up the tree, start making christmas presents, clean the apartment... But most importantly, I need to find some fairy lights. I realize it may be difficult since they are kind of Christmas-y, but I didn't think it would be this hard. I'm going downtown today to look (where there also happens to be a yarn store...weee!!) and if no luck, I'm sure I'll find some in Tel Aviv.
Last night Sliding Doors was on. I couldn't stop thinking about how good she looked after her haircut and how horrible she looked with that long mousy hair.


I sooo want that haircut now. I have spent most of my life with short hair, but the past 7 years it's been long and I'm scared to cut it. But I feel that my hair looks better shorter since I can't cram it back into a pony tail....oh decisions!

Monsoon

While in London I didn't buy one thing...I know. who am I??? It was just waaay too expensive with the exchange rate. Also, I didn't want Erik to suffer while I dragged him from shop to shop (although he did buy some spiffy shoes and a scarf). So instead, I enjoyed looking at everything. Here are some perfect coats from Monsoon.

London!

We arrived in London on Tuesday afternoon and from then on were on a whirlwind of everything to see in London mission. We spent the first day walking around to see Trafaglar Square, Houses of Parliment, Big Ben.


We made our way over the Thames to the London Eye. It was pretty amazing to see everything from that height. It took about half an hour to go all the way around.


I would not recommend it to anyone afraid of heights, or close spaces that are really high up.... We then had lunch in a reastaurant that was actually a docked boat. From there we walked around Soho and Oxford St.
Next day, we went on a boat cruise along the Thames. It was a lunch cruise and when we signed up the woman who booked us freaked out when she heard we were living in Israel. She had lived here for most of her life and was missing it as she now lives in Lonon. So we chatted for a while and she gave us the best table on the boat. Right in front next to the window. Hurray!


After the lunch, we walked all the way to the top of St Pauls Cathedral.


Oh my god. I was out of breath, and freaked out by the height and small staircases... there were 2 small children behind us crying the whole time because they were so scared... but there is only one way up and one way down, but once you're on your way up, you can't go down until you get to the top. yikes. But the view from the top was worth it all.


After that (I told you we did a lot...) we went to the Tate Modern.


The latest piece downstairs is an enormous crack.


Very Andy Goldsworthy.


After that we met up with our friend Lisa. She took us to this great cocktail lounge. I swear it was like drinking a martini in Anthropologie.


I loved it. After that, we had curry in Bricklane.
On Friday we went to the V&A Museum. There was a great Ikat exhibit, and a really great craft exhibit.



But the best was the Golden Age of Couture. Beautiful Dior dresses, perfect Richard Avedon photos, all in a dark serene setting with 1950s music. I was so moved that I was crying. We celebrated Thanksgiving on Friday at Lisa's house. The food was sooo good, and the company awesome. Our last day was spent going to Harrods, Kings Rd, Leicester Square, and riding lots of double decker buses. Phew... unfortunately something happened at Erik's work and he had to fly out to Dallas instead of coming home with me. All he had was his suitcase full of dirty vacation clothes... and last night when he arrived.... they had lost his suitcase! Poor thing.... I hope he comes home soon. After spending every second together for the past 10 days, i'm going through withdrawal!

The Chico Bag

Our friends in San Franciso are friends with the creator of The Chico Bag. It's a nylon bag that squashes down to a tiny little shape when stuffed inside itself. My friend Meredith gave me one while we were in Amsterdam. A lovely pink one. It came in sooo handy in London when Erik and I were buying groceries. When I shop here in Israel, I walk across the square to buy the food I need. I hate plastic bags, so I started bringing my own. The Chico Bag is perfect. It's easy to find in California, but you can get it online anywhere. I saw an Anya Hindmarch "I'm not a plastic bag" here in a shop next to our house, got so excited as to how or why it would be here in the same shop that sells snorkels and Crocs.... went back... it was gone. ah well. I love my pink chico bag!

Amsterdam!!

The first part of our trip was Amsterdam, and I fell in love with it.


Everything was so beautiful, the canals, the buildings, the bicycles. I loved it all.


The first night was just Erik, his brother Randy, and me. We walked around the city at night and saw the, uh, red light district...wasn't expecting it to be so...so... red light-ish?! Interesting to see. We then found a great wine bar to save us from the cold.


We tried some great wines and Erik made friends with the owner. Although, It took me a while to get used to the fact that people smoke cigarettes everywhere... all the time! So you go into a nice wine bar and there are people all around you smoking cigarettes, and eating. All of my clothes are going through must needed cleaning now from the smokey smell. The next day 5 of our friends from San Francisco, Maine, Ct and Turkey all arrived... It was sooo much fun. We mostly walked around and took everything in. We walked to the floating flower market...



We all got ready one morning to go to the Heineken Brewery for a tour, and when we got there, it was closed for renovations!! ah well....we saw the building!


One of the highlights was a canal tour. We brought our own wine and cheese and had a great tour of the city from the water. It was so interesting to see everything we had walked past from a different angle.

I split up from the group at one point while they did.. um...something else... and went shopping! I found this ring that reminds me of a sea anemone. Not too practical, but very cute.


I didn't do as much site-seeing tourist stuff as I would have liked (though some of us went to the Torture Museum...culture!), so I will just have to come back!
We celebrated Erik's birthday on Sunday the 18th. He and I woke up before everyone, so decided to go for a walk and see if we could find Sinterklaas. Despite the cold and our freezing noses, we found him!!! He arrived on a big boat surrounded by his mischievous elves who have black faces, tights, and funny costumes. it was HILARIOUS. All these little children shouting for Sinterklaas and singing little songs in Dutch. Erik and I couldn't get over our luck at stumbling upon this scene.

After that, we walked back to the apartment we were all staying in, and there was a parade, running right past our windows! It was sinterklaas again, and we had the best view.

I had SUCH a great time there. A wonderful city, and a great group of people. It was perfect. But not over for Erik and me yet... we were then on to London....

Sorry, Sorry!!!

I've been SO bad with my posts because i've had no email and no way to get my photos... but! i'm flying back to Israel in a couple of hours, so tomorrow morning I will have many photos and stories... oh it's been so wonderful!!!! but i'm going home alone.... wah... erik was suddenly called back to the US for work for a week. poo.

Off We Go!!!

To the land of clogs, tulips, and Sinterklaas!!!

J. Crew Dresses

These are such great colors and styles for bridesmaid dresses from J. Crew. I love that there are so many updated modern bridesmaid dresses out there. For my wedding, the bridesmaids are in J. Crew dresses. I would like to think that they can be worn again, and I saw one of them in real life while I was home, and it was gorgeous. Hurray!!! But if I get married again (to Erik of course!) I would love to have these bridesmaid dresses. Great for an outdoor daytime garden wedding... or perhaps even a daytime winery reception in California...hmmm

Fun Trip 2007!!!

I would have written Fun Trip '07, but after an awkward incident involving ordering 100 hats with 04' printed on them... I'm now never sure where that darn apostrophe goes.... Anyway, we leave tomorrow afternoon for Amsterdoodle!!! I'm so excited! I love going to places that I've never been to before. You just don't know what to expect, and photos can only do so much. We'll be celebrating Erik's birthday on Sunday, and then on Tuesday flying to London. Hurray!! I will probably have to stock up on Christmas things for home... a Christmas pudding perhaps?  (yuck) I love Christmas at our house, despite my parents being in the states for, oh I don't know, maybe thirty something years, our Christmas still always feel British. Crackers, pudding, Christmas cake, sausage rolls, Yorkshire pudding, boxing day. This year I won't be home for actual Christmas day. (I'll be in warm South Carolina with the future in-laws) So we will pretend to have Christmas afterwards when I get to Connecticut. My family doesn't know this yet, so if they are planning to celebrate on the actual day... they'll have to do it twice... and I'll expect Santa to make a delivery to my stocking. Is it weird that I'm 30, Konrad's 28 and we still have stockings? hmmmm
oh! also, we just found out that while we're in Amsterdam, Sinterklaas arrives!!! I believe he is the Dutch version of Santa Claus. If we were there on December 5th, I'd put my shoes by the fire place for him to fill with presents and sweets. This Sunday, he arrives in Amsterdam on a horse and shakes hands with the Mayor (Yes, I will be watching). The excitement is building...

Happy Birthday Kathy!!!

I hope you have a great Birthday!!! I'm excited that we're now the same age!! I believe Matt is the next one to go....

Lovely Dresses

I love love love these fun dresses at Banana Republic. I love the whole Holiday/New Years glitzy glamorous look that comes out around this time. It makes me want to be invited to tons of parties and dress up. Although, I seem to remember when ever I was invited, I would wear the usual 'jeans with cute top', but I think I'd like to move toward the over-the-the top glam. Not sure if it will happen here this year though... we'll see.....

Dreaming of a Pink Christmas

I would LOVE to have a pink themed Christmas... however, I think that may be met with some protests...Boys don't love pink. Especially mine. Maybe I can have a small pink section somewhere in the house. A few years ago (I think in 1999), there was this great idea in Living Etc, get a few twigs, spray paint them white and put them in a glass vase. Then wrap pink fairy lights around them and add pink feather butterflies and miniature pink glass balls. I made it at my parents house. Unfortunately it was near the front door, and kept falling over... Make sure it's well grounded.... Erik is going to Boston when we get back from our Europe trip and this is when I'm be putting up the tree. So who knows what can happen when a zoe is left alone with a tree and lots of pink ribbon.....mwaa haa haaaa.