Following Rabbits Blog — love it

I recently won a messenger bag from seabreezestudio that I'm totally in love with! It's got a London map print on the flap and tons of pockets. (I heart pockets!) I got it in the mail yesterday at my office, promptly stopped what I was doing and moved everything from the purse I carried to work into this new bag (making sure I found something to put into every single pocket, ha!). I absolutely love when bags have a zipper pocket on the outside that I can stash my metro card in- sometimes I hear that train pulling in to the station and gotta make a run for it! Can't be rummaging for my wallet or taking my bag off my shoulder to sift through all of the ridiculous things i find necessary to tote around with me at all times. This is absolutely my new fave accessory, and so well made. Seabreezestudio is run by Yukiko Kamioka who creates all of these fabulous bags in her studio in the UK (soon to be Japan!). You can find her creations on etsy and become a fan on facebook. Even Lily couldn't get over it:

I've been working my little bum off since I got home from work and ::finally:: have my new project site to share with you! I've been a veritable mess lately, as witnessed by my posts regarding my less-than-perfect apartment and my tweets about general frustration with the daily grind. Every once in a while when things start to pile up, it's easy to feel like the city is conspiring against you. She definitely has an energy all her own... she's capable of inspiring you and giving you those magical "new york city moments", but she'll also kick you when you're down. If you want to be a new yorker, you have to just go with the rollercoaster ride and hang on tight. I love new york. I've been here 2 years and definitely consider this place my home. Sometimes I have to make mental lists- what I love about the city, everything I've learned and experienced since I got here, the amazing people I've met... I'm a lucky girl. I'm starting this project, Love for NYC, in an effort to collect and share the reasons why new york city is so special. She's so many things to so many people. 8 million of us, in fact. Every postcard I collect will be a reminder of why this city is the best there is.

I'm starting a new project that I'm super excited to share with everyone! Unfortunately, my bedroom ceiling is caving with the rainwater on the roof, so I'm doing cleanup and damage control this evening. I've been feeling pretty discouraged lately, one of those situations where it seems like everything is going wrong all at once. I randomly thought up this project idea last night after watching Amelie for the first time. The premise is that I absolutely whole-heartedly love New York City... but I need a reminder once in a while of just why I fell in love with this city in the first place. When times are tough (and trust me, living on your own in NYC, it happens frequently) I feel like the city is hating on me. Bad. The city will take all the love you have for it, but rarely does she love you back. (When she does, I call them my "New York Moments"). Tomorrow I'll be heading to SpaceCraft in Williamsburg after work for a little craft meetup. I plan on telling my fellow crafters there about my project and enlisting their help to get the ball rolling. When I get home I'll have lots to share with you! (And hopefully I'll be blogging from a warm, dry apartment by then!!)

I've had Isabella's Art bookmarked in my favorite etsy sellers for a long time. I've recently "rediscovered" her prints while browsing for Alice in Wonderland themed art for my bedroom. Her black and white illustrations are all very whimsical, portraying fairy tales and folklore. "A Mad Tea-Party" is my favorite of the Alice set. I love the details-- the teacup in the tree, the ribbon on the rabbit's ear, Alice's hair. I think she does a great job of capturing the essence of Alice in Wonderland-- all of her prints have a very fun, magical quality about them. She also makes adorable laser-cut shadow puppets.

Isabella has a blog where she collects ghost stories, folk tales and lore from her fans and followers. She chooses stories to illustrate and share as blog posts. You can also see more of her portfolio at deviantART.

Everyone is swooning around Bryant Park and various nightspots in celebration and preparation for New York Fashion Week. The tents are up, the invites are out, and everyone's flocking to the city to see what's the latest on the runways. I, on the other hand, am a jeans and t-shirt girl to the bone (helloooo Johnny Cupcakes!). Don't get me wrong, I absolutely have a fondness and appreciation for designers and fashion, I'm just a very low-maintenance chick. That said, I've been dressing especially casual lately, given the wintry weather and feeling a bit down. So imagine my surprise (I was ecstatic, really) when I came home after work and had an Alice in Wonderland t-shirt in my mailbox?! My Aunt Jane recently saw my new blog and sent this to me! (Complete with rabbits, no less!) Aww, SO nice!! It's absolutely adorable, and you can pick up your own at Wet Seal if you wanna.