Following Rabbits Blog — do it

Today I went to the Church of Craft meeting at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn. They meet there on the first Sunday of every month from 2-6p. I've been looking to meet some crafty peeps, so I packed up my scrapbooking supplies and headed down to Brooklyn. It was a gorgeous sunny day out today, and walking around Jay and Front Streets made me miss Brooklyn a lot! I got to the Labs around 3:30, and it was pretty crowded. I tucked myself into the corner and unpacked my stuff, trying to introduce myself to everyone (who were all already wrapped up in conversation). The Labs are stocked with all kinds of craft supplies, long bench tables to spread out on, sewing machines, and big windows that let in lots of light. I'm really behind on my scrapping... I save absolutely everything and take photos almost every day, so I'm still working on getting my 2009 year-in-review together (starting with New Year's Eve 2009, pictured above). I eventually got to talking with the people at my table, including the amazingly talented guy behind Flying Haystacks (you can see his etsy shop here). There was a bit of New York cynicism when I asked people to fill out postcards for me, but before I left I got 2 ladies to help me out. (Thank you!!) I cut out a bit early so I could catch the sunset from the Brooklyn Bridge (post to come) but I may check out Etsy's other open craft time on Monday nights from 4-8p. I can't go tomorrow night because I'm going to see Civil Twilight and Company of Thieves, but maybe next week!

Long work-week this week, so my co-workers and I high-tailed it out of the office a couple hours early and crashed Dave & Buster's in Times Square. Two hours of drinking and game-playing definitely lifted everyone's mood. We had a 2 on 2 air hockey tournament, played skee-ball, tried to win giant stuffed animals with the biggest claw machine I've ever seen, raced cars, shot up stuff, and collected an obscene amount of tickets. Brian insisted we do kamikaze shots, Allie was addicted to a game she kept hitting 300 ticket jackpots on, and I had tickets wrapped around my arms and neck like bracelets and a boa. Lisa won so many tickets on a game that she kept walking away from the machine while it spit out the long string of tickets. It was so long she walked across the aisle and up onto the ramp of the skee-ball game, with the tickets still connected to the game! ha! At 5:30 we left with bags of D&B loot, candy and stuffed animals we traded in our tickets for. Such a ridiculously silly fun time.

Let me first say that so many people help me out on a regular basis. I would never get by on my own in this city without my parents pulling me out of financial (and emotional) binds. My family and friends back home are proud of what I'm doing here and believe in me. Sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me going. A week before I moved to Astoria, my dad came to visit me with his girlfriend and my Gram. It was my Gram's first trip to NYC, and on her first day she bought a lottery scratch ticket. She won $20. Everyday we were in such a rush going here and there, trying to squeeze all of NYC into a 3 day visit. On her last day she pulled the ticket out and gave it to me. She said she forgot to cash it in, and I should buy something for myself with it. For the rest of that week I was packing up my Brooklyn apartment, and tossed it into my box of scrapbook stuff- photos, ticket stubs, admission bracelets... I forgot about it. I'm eking by on a super tight budget right now, so when I pulled out that ticket yesterday my excitement was comparable to Charlie Bucket and the golden ticket. I got dressed, put on some makeup, bundled up against the wintry wet weather, and cashed the ticket on my way to Union Square. I had my postcards and markers in my pocket for my Love for NYC project, and I wanted to get some hot cider, apples, and fresh pasta from the Union Square Farmer's Market with the $20. I had only walked a few paces through the market and saw a mother and young daughter selling pottery. It was already sundown and getting very cold, and the girl didn't have a jacket. One piece on their table was shouting at me- this gorgeous bowl, with periwinkle blue and green glaze, with a foamy white crackle glaze over it all... it looked like the ocean. Everything on the table had a price tag on it but this piece. When I asked, the woman told me it was $25, and her favorite piece she's ever made. I stood there for a minute, looking at the other pieces. The girl whispered to her mum, and the woman said "I would sell it for $20." The amount was all I had to spend, but the little girl reminded me of myself- working craft fair booths with my wares when I was young. She had been outside in the cold all day, wearing just a sweatshirt. I pulled the $20 out of my pocket and tucked the bowl into my bag. The girl told me it was their first sale all day. I walked to the street, and with no more money to spend and the temperatures dropping, I turned around and walked back towards the subway. The mother I bought the bowl from was packing up her table, telling the daughter that now they could go get grilled cheese sandwiches and hot chocolate on their way home. The girl was dancing around the table, so excited. Brought tears to my eyes and made me feel selfish for having weighed buying the bowl or buying myself a hot drink. And now this morning, I was telling my mum this story and she's buying me breakfast at my favorite place... you get what you give.

I decided way before I knew a snowstorm was brewing that I was going to take a few days off. I've been needing some down-time... no one at my office could argue with that. When I realized yesterday just how bad the snow was going to be today, I was kind of happy at the prospect of being snowed in. I have the bare necessities... tea, girl scout cookies, good reading material, warm pajamas. My mailman prevailed through the snow to deliver my netflix rental, 500 days of summer (which managed to be cute and depressing, go figure). I've been working on a lot of different projects, listening to tons of great music, chatting with my family and yelling at Lily for climbing on top of the fridge (she found my quill, her treats, and a roll of twine... she was victorious for but a moment). It's so nice to not have to be anywhere... to actually sit and relax, and know that I have the next 3 days to do the same thing. Everything, nothing. Whatever. Sometimes you need to let it all go and just take care of yourself for a few days. I'm not stressing about work, I'm working on things when I feel like it, laying down with a movie when I want to chill, curling up in my papasan chair with a book. Ahhh... I so needed this. 

I loooove music. I play my iPod and iTunes at least 5 hours a day. I listen to music that fits my mood- like I'm living in a movie and my iPod is playing the soundtrack. So I'm always trying to discover new music to keep my playlists fresh. I've had great luck with Pandora- I've got 5 or 6 stations on mine, all different genres of music for different moods. I try to listen at work and bookmark songs I like. Then once in a while I'll open up my Pandora profile and download all the songs that I have bookmarked. Instant new playlist of recently discovered music! I did just that yesterday afternoon. I found myself sans valentine and made myself a playlist to kick around the city with. I tapped my foot on the subway, shook my hips in the Forever 21 dressing room, and walked to the beat down to Spring Street to have dinner at Bread. I came home and danced down my long hallway to track # 9. Life is better when it's set to music. 

1. 11 am - Incubus 2. All We Are - Matt Nathanson 3. Poison - Beyoncé 4. No Envy No Fear - Joshua Radin 5. War of My Life - John Mayer 6. Won't Back Down - Mat Kearney 7. Open Your Eyes - Snow Patrol 8. Wake Up - Arcade Fire 9. Sleepyhead - Passion Pit 10. Come Down to Me - Saving Jane 11. 2 O'Clock In the A.M. - Swati 12. Glitter In the Air - Pink 13. Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart - Alicia Keys 14. The Last High - The Dandy Warhols 15. A Clouded View - Ola Podrida