The Good, The Bad, The City

I'm back. And good lord a lot has changed...Let's get started.

First I live in Brooklyn. I moved randomly on a Tuesday, on whim, and I've stayed for the past 7 months. I crashed at the old Halsey house for the first month. It has since been condemned. I got a job managing a salon and I grew to hate it, then I got fired. Now I'm unemployed and I've got an interview at my dream company on Friday, which also happens to be my birthday. I've got a little apartment, it's painted turquoise, it's on a park, in the ghetto. I've got an amazing group of girlfriends, we're all musicians, and artists, and broke. I was dating a nice boy, he was not a boy since he was 10 years older than me, but he is moving to Boston, and I'm not dating him anymore. I was dating a not so nice boy, the same not so nice boy musician I was dating in Boston. He moved here, he did not move for me, we are not dating any longer. I am in love with New York and it is kicking my ass. I'm broke, I'm tired, I'm lost and completely head over heels with my city. It's about time I started blogging about it.

Heading Back

Packed by acelovesvintage featuring TopShop dresses

I'm heading back to NYC for the weekend either tonight or tomorrow. Still no word on the job but I remain hopeful. I'm not totally sure what my plans are for this weekend but I think the above packing list has them all covered. And yes, this is more or less exactly what I'm packing though I'll admit that the jewelry is all wish list items. My dress for fourth of july is a sailor dress like that one but it's red polka dotted vintage betsy johnson and is my absolute favourite. The rest however is pretty much acurate. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!!

What I'm Listening To:

New York, New York- Ryan Adams

^always makes me think of the fourth of july

Fireworks

My annual fourth of july post. I don't know about you but I like to dress the part for the 4th. I bust out my red, white and blue and go for it. In honor of that I've found some red, white and blue for you as well. Hope you like it!
high waisted jeans or shorts would be great with this for a casual look. You could also pair it with a sweet skirt or even wear it over a bikini for a 4th of july beach party.
how great are these? They're so classic and of course you can wear them all summer, not just the fourth.
Oh I love it, how sweet! It's fitted and charming and just a bit silly.

It looks like I'll be heading to NYC for the fourth. I've got a few parties to attend and some good friends to run into. My social life is more or less exclusively in NYC at this point, I've got the contents of my apartment ready to go and frankly, I'm ready to hit the road. All I need now is a job to come through and I should know sometime around Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Once a King or Queen of Halsey Always a King or Queen of Halsey

^The ceiling in my old roommate at Halsey's room.

Ah new york, new york. It was so good to be back. You want the recap? Ok, I'll try and keep it short...

So I arrived in NYC with the help of my mom's best friend who is a real-estate agent in Tribeca. We got into the upper west side and I hopped a subway bound for my beloved Brooklyn. I arrived and was met by my ex roommate/pseudo ex beau. The one I mentioned who I dated for awhile after B and I broke up. We're not dating anymore but we're still good friends and whenever I'm in NYC I still crash at Halsey Kingdom. I met him at our two friends adorable little ground floor brownstone and we had a few beers and some mexican candy in their charming little backyard. It made me terribly jealous, it is exactly the kind of apartment I want. It was also so much fun.

Now, the next part of my evening requires a little explanation. For the sake of full disclosure I'm going to be straight up with you. I did the unthinkable. Ok, so here's the thing, several of my good friends admitted to doing it too and so I got curious. I figured, what's the harm, I'll just give it a try, have a look around. But then, I was hooked. That's right, I tried online dating. So, I had yet to actually get up the nerve to embark on any actual dates but there was this one guy I'd been talking to. We'd exchanged a few messages, he'd called and we'd talked for an hour(yeh, like in middle school), and he seemed sweet and non ax murderer-y. So I said to myself, Self, why not, let's give it a try. So I packed my metaphorical pepper spray, casually informed my best friend and then hung up on her before she could lecture me, put on my pretty blue maxi dress and headed out to the west side.

I met him at a cute, darkly lit little bar, we found ourselves a quietish corner and a few glasses of wine. To my complete shock and awe it was neither awkward nor blood bath horrible craigslist killer like. It was actually, kind of, fun. And the fun kept coming, we talked, we laughed, we headed to a new quieter and only slightly brighter bar which afforded the luxury of a couch. Bars with couches get serious points in my book. We had a few more beers, psychoanalyzed each other(what, what do you do on your dates?) and then all the sudden he looked at me and said come home with me. Yeh, I know, alarm bells should have gone off. But instead I found myself getting in a cab bound for the upper west side(my what a circular day) and then I found myself getting falafel(yum). And then I found myself making jokes in an upper west side studio with a boy who was playing guitar.

As it turns out dating, while scary, can also be really really fun. I don't know if this will go anywhere, maybe, but either way it was a really great date with a really sweet guy. He has since called(side note: we're also getting married and coming up with names that fulfill both our irish and indian heritage...kidding) and I will hopefully be seeing him again. However, the next day and therefore the next post was the interview, dun dun dun...

Falling For New York

I posted awhile back that one of the scariest parts of going through a breakup and being on your own for the first time is feeling something for someone new. It hasn't been long since my breakup, and I'm the type to second guess myself a lot, it's what I do. I wonder if it's too soon to feel something for someone, if perhaps I should be in some sort of relationship mourning, I wonder if he's the right person to feel something for. Is it rebound? Or perhaps am I rebound for him? I worry that I'm treating having a man around as a crutch, I tend to over analyze.

But my last trip to New York made me appreciate this certain someone and how much he respects me, cares about me and wants to be around me. It feels good to be wanted, and though I've resisted, I find myself wanting as well. I'm not saying I want to jump in head first, eyes closed and hope for the best. I am the portrait of emotional caution, of slow, timid movements towards anything beyond friendship. He would like more, he has been honest about that, and I respect that, but he also respects the fact that I am far from ready for anything more than casual and cautious.

I haven't invited him to Boston yet, it feels too intimate to bring him into my space, in the place that to be honest I hide from feelings and let myself be unashamed and hurt. He understands that hurt as well I know, having been through similar if not worse hurt himself. But bringing him into my place still feels too overwhelming. All the same though, it feels good to have a few timid butterflies in my belly.

Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Take Me In...

Headed to the city for a weekend of music and revery. Have a great weekend everyone!

The Halsey Sisters

I am going through musical withdrawl. I don't think I mentioned it, but over the summer my roommates and I formed a casual but very fullfilling band which we dubbed The Halsey Sisters. We wrote a few songs, covered a few, played in a few parks and it was frankly fantastic. I am missing that outlet terribly now.

I just found out that a friend of mine, who is not a musician per say, sang at her bars open mic with a friend. The wave of jealousy that washed over me was not only overwhelming but surprising. I was intensely jealous of that oppurtunity and really wanted the same for myself.

My old roommate and have been attempting some long distance song writing and she's coming up in a few weeks to record some stuff for my recording class and I'm heading to NYC this weekend to play a bit and see some friends. But I'm itching to have some people to write and play with on a more consistent basis, and also the time with which to do so(dare to dream).

What I'm Listening To:

I and Love and You- The Avett Brothers

Je t'aime

Sometimes, the most confusing thing is feeling something for someone new. I'll admit to running scared from those feelings because it feels too soon and I'm admittedly a bit gun shy. But also because the feelings on the other end of this are much too intense for my deer in the headlights, post relationship war zone, refugee self. I'm not ready for french movie romance with champagne and hand held trips to the museum. I'm still not ready to come out of my bomb shelter no matter how hard the world outside tries to beat in the door.

Needles to say my trip to New York was enlightening. It was not the same as the New York I left, but I don't think it ever will be or can be, and that's ok cause it still felt like home. New York feels right in my bones, it smells right, crisp like autumn. It was nice to go, though I admit to feeling a bit out of place. However it was awesome to see old friends, reconnect with some, get to know others better. My old stomping grounds in the East Village were still there, favourite pizza spot, favourite coffee shop, as was my beloved Little Poland. But it was also different, or maybe I am. New York is a big world, and it expects a lot of me. I'm ready for the challenge of New York. But letting go of my past relationship and even dipping my toe in the waters of a new one seems much too soon.

We all need time to lick our wounds and and pick ourselves up after we fall down. After my last relationship I didn't give myself the time to do that, this time I need to make sure I'm ok before taking on anything else or anyone else. So for the time being I think I'll leave the french romance at a safe distance, at least as far as my TV, or New York City.

Never Give Up

So all I really want to do is crawl in bed and sleep and eat leftover Chinese food. But I refuse to allow myself to just give up. I never give up. So, with a renewed sense of purpose and a kicky new craigslist add it's back to the roommate hunt I go. Hopefully I will have some luck. My roommate/apartment searches have always been stressful but I've always had amazing luck at the very last minute so hopefully that will happen again. Also, I'm heading back to Halsey Kingdom for the weekend for a house art opening/party. There shall be art, drinks and a band in my roommates room. Yeh, I think we're weird too. Hopefully that will take my mind off of all this stress. Also, you must listen to the new Jay-Z album. I don't listen to rap, but trust me, this is good.

What I'm Listening To:

Empire State of Mind- Jay-Z

Glamourpuss

Yet more pics from the Halsey Kingdom photo shoot.  These are more of me and my alter glamorous ego.
My other roommate snapped this candid of me putting on my lippy.  Don't I look sassy

My Inner Nerd

As promised, some more pics from my little photo shoot with my roommates.  These are my nerdy side.
The glasses were borrowed from my roommate, but check out that tie, I tied it myself!

Yours Truly

I figured it was high time to actually introduce myself.  So this, my darling friends, is me.  As I've mentioned before my roommate is photographer and this is a shot from our house family portraits.  Everyone who lives in the house has a portrait in the hallway.  We chose to do ours like senior portraits in our favourite style.  Since it's well known that I love pin up style photography I chose to do a funny little fifties look.  You can also see a bit of my ink in the picture, which I will be posting more about later.  I have to say, it feels nice to properly introduce myself.My bored housewife look, eyes half closed, ironic smirk.  God I love my roommates.

If Only Polyvore Could Pack For Me

Get Outta Town! by acelovesvintage featuring Minnetonka shoes

I'm not giving up! Sure, I have no mode of transportation to get to my parents lake house, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up. I'm having beautiful visions of me and my friends cracking open PBR's and wrapping blankets around our wet bathing suited selves while stoking a bonfire and enjoying tasty s'mores. I can see us jumping off the dock and shining sunny pictures taken by my photographer roommate. I can see us chasing my mom's golden retriever puppy through the park and mingling with the locals at dive bars and all American college boys at the Cornell bars. I certainly see us canoeing and kayaking out to one of the islands for a late afternoon picnic and some fishing. I see us playing monopoly in my parents cozy living room if it gets too rainy and basically being some sort of coming of age indie movie. It would be glorious.

Growing up my sister and I hated going to my parents lake house in the summer, it was usually as some form of punishment for whatever trouble we had gotten into that week. We generally spent our weekends there playing guitar and refusing to leave our room. The lake house is rather remote and because of this has rather unreliable internet, which means no real access to email or aim, cell phones also fall victim to the isolation of the lake house. As a teenager this was a place akin to hell as far as I could tell, but now I see the benefit of literally being able to disappear for a few days. But I think the biggest difference is being able to disappear with people I love. So, anyone got suggestions beyond hitching hiking(though hey, viable option) on how me and my 3 roommates could get to Ithaca?

What I'm Listening To:

Caring is Creepy- The Shins

Snuggle Bugs

Sometimes the best thing you can do to cheer yourself up is climb into bed with some friends and just cuddle.  Spooning is a big pass time here at Halsey Kingdom and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoy a good snuggle.  How do your friends cheer you up?

Get Down In Your Skivvies!

You're going to think I'm crazy...but I'm going to tell you anyway.  My roommates and I threw a party this past weekend for two of their Bday's.  It was a lingerie party.  Now, now, before you go thinking I live in a frat house, my lingerie parties are very different from your typical sorority sisters in vickies secret taking jello shots.  Back in Boston a good friend of mine threw an annual lingerie party and while it was always an insane event it was also a really amazing gathering of people.  I met one of my closest friends at just such a party and these parties were so well known we had people who came in from as far as Texas and Florida to be a part of it.  

My lingerie parties aren't about who looks the hottest or who gets laid.  Everyone wears silly outfits or outfits they feel express who they are.  I wore pin up style high waisted panties, my roommate had on a ridiculous teddy that had a picture of a deer sewn to it, my other roommate had on superman underwear, basically, it's about laughing at yourself a bit. We invited a bunch of friends, mostly gay guys but hey that's who we know, and bought some booze, decorated and waited for the madness to ensue.  

And let me tell you, it was insane, and amazing.  I made some really great new friends, played mostly nude twister, sat on the roof in my underwear with 20 people I had just met and at the end of the night we had a room full of barely clothed artists having a jam session and everyone singing along.  The great thing about being, well, exposed is you're forced to get over your hang-ups and just get to know people.  I mean, you're all naked, there's no being shy.  Also, crazy underwear makes for a great conversation starter, come on, you know you're looking anyways.

Penny Saver: Movie Night

Now, I told you that Halsey Kingdom doesn't have cable, but that doesn't mean we don't do family movie nights!  In fact, we have movie nights all the time!  Now, we have Netflix, but really, you could do movie night any way you want, borrowing from friends or those handy redbox things are a great way to save a pretty penny.  Since Halsey Kingdom also doesn't have a living room or a couch, family movie night means all of us piling into one bed, snuggling up with some beers and some popcorn and putting on a flick.  One of my roommates is really into scary movies so so far we've watched Grindhouse, The Toxic Avenger and that show Dexter.  But we've also had a girls movie night where all the ladies piled into bed and giggled through Twilight.  Movie nights are a great, cheap way to hang out with your friends and relax.  Got movies I should see?  Tell me!

What I'm Watching: Lars and the Real Girl

Wanna Build a Fort?

Some days, I just don't want to leave my house.  And with all the rain lately, I've had a lot of those days.  On one of those particular mornings my lovely roommate wandered into my room and asked if we could just not go to work and instead stay home and build a fort.

That got me to thinking, do you remember building blanket forts when you were a kid?  Why don't we do that anymore?  These lovely pictures just make me feel so cozy all I want to do is snuggle up with a book and pretend there is no world outside.

Well Meaning Chaos

If there is one thing I have learned to love and appreciate from my artist roommates it is a little well meaning chaos.  I will admit it, my name is Ace and I am a neat freak( Hi Ace).  I haven't always been but over the past few years it has gotten worse.  It's generally a response to stress and frankly, college can be pretty damn stressful.  Living in a house full of artists, one can not be a neat freak.  This is not to say I'm not clean, I am, but I have learned to accept a little bit of chaos as a welcome part of my life.  The photos above and below are a good example of how a little crazy can work together and be just lovely.  OK, so there's dishes in my sink and my floor is far from perfectly shiny but that's ok cause I'm happy, I'm having fun and I'm enjoying life.  
We all get so wrapped up in being perfectionists sometimes that I think we forget to just let go and enjoy the world around us.  Go on, smell the roses, who cares if they're covered in dirt?

What I'm Listening To:

Little Secret- Passion Pit

P.S.  How much you want to bet that half of the stuff in those pics is second hand, don't forget, going green is good for the soul!

Halsey Kingdom

Meet my home sweet home for this glorious summer.  My apartment goes by the name Halsey Kingdom and is inhabited by the most wonderful group of artists I have ever met.  The above pictures are of my room.  The bottom is the desk from which I currently greet you.  It's still a work in progress but it is certainly starting to feel like home...

What I'm Listening To:

Barking At The Moon- Jenny Lewis

Kitty Bear Moves: My New Room!

Meet my new room!  It's gorgeous, huge, in Brooklyn and it's all mine.  I share the house, which is maze like and amazing, with an awesome group of artists and art students.  The room itself is gargantuan,  it has 3 closets, nice bright windows.  A big old mirror on one wall and shiny hardwood floors.  It's also attached to the kitchen which will make stumbling to my morning coffee a breeze.  Also, the kitty half of Kitty Bear will be coming with me to keep mousies at bay and bask in the glorious sunshine of her new palace.  The Bear half(my little 14 year old yorkie) will be summering in Ithaca with my parents and his various furry siblings.  Though he will be coming to visit.  I think he will enjoy some relaxing time in the country,  Brooklyn is just too hot for him.  
So what do you guys think?  Should I paint?  Keep it white and crisp?  What color Curtains?  My bedding will be blue, but what else should I do?  I'm on a budget so I've been trolling to street looking for discarded lovelies to add to my massive room and not my massive debt so far?  A cool wall shelf I'm going to paint a fun color.  So, what do you think?