Following Rabbits Blog

My alarm went off 90 minutes earlier than usual today, but for good reason. The Zac Posen for Target pop-up kicked off at 11pm last night for a 24 hour run... or until they run out of pieces. I knew it would be madness last night, so I went to bed early and crossed my fingers that they'd still have some good stuff first thing in the morning. I got there at 7am, and was not disappointed.

*These photos are from my stoneaged phone, and the lighting was dark in the shop area and blazing in the dressing room. I'll update this post tonight with better photos I took with my actual camera.*

The brocade dress that everyone was fired up about didn't really grab me... which was cool, cause there were only sizes 3 and 5 left. I snatched up the tuxedo jacket, a pink skirt, the black sweater dress, and the black party dress with removeable ruffle layer (so chic!). I brought them all up to the dressing room in an effort to narrow down my choices, and managed to fall in love with every piece. The party dress is absolute perfection- fit like a glove. The detachable ruffles make it a super fun and versatile dress. The skirt is bubblegum pink- very flirty. The tuxedo jacket is beautiful- again, fit supremely well. The sweater dress is very clingy, but it's pretty lightweight. Overall I'm really impressed with the quality- nothing felt cheap, and the attention to detail is evident in all the pieces I bought. The skirt, jacket, and sweater dress were all $49.99, and the party dress was $79.99. Really great prices considering Zac Posen's pieces usually go for thousands. 

The sale is on 8th Avenue at 34th Street- you can't miss it. There's a big entrance set up with "ZAC" emblazoned on vinyl siding, and two burly doormen in tuxes who warned me: "Hope you brought your credit card." Indeed.

Here are the better quality photos that I took with my camera... didn't have the means to upload them at work! (And the party dress with the ruffles attached! woo!)

Wouldn't it be silly fun to have a mini-me? Well for about $20 you can make your own this weekend. Yoodoo designer, Sarah Lu, will help you create a little Yoodoo doll in your (or your boyfriend's or cat's) likeness. Sarah will be on hand from 2-4p on Saturday at the International Center of Photography Museum. (They also have a Paris photo exhibit going on. Woo!) Once your Youdoo has a cute little mug ironed on, you get to be crafty and sew, paint, and draw to your heart's content. (Make a fun dress for yours, don't forget your boyfriend's tattoos.) It's too quirky to not go check it out... can't decide if mine will be sporting an L2R tee or Johnny Cupcakes. Might have to do a sick collabo and incorporate 'em both. Send me photos of yours if you go!

This is one of my very favorite dinners to make. It's super easy and tastes great! The tropical flavor makes it good for summer, but it's hearty enough for cold weather, too. I like to buy individually wrapped chicken breasts since I'm usually cooking for one. You can toss the rest in the freezer without making a fuss defrosting them later. Make sure the chicken is totally thawed before putting it in the oven. Usually I'll move a piece from the freezer to the fridge before work if I have that much foresight. If I'm extra hungry I'll up the rice to 1/2 cup uncooked to make myself a full cup of cooked. I prefer jasmine (sticky) rice, but use whatever suits your fancy.

I actually made this for a date one time who was coming to my little Brooklyn apartment for dinner. I made a salad of spinach and mixed greens, mandarin orange slices, craisins, shredded carrots, candied walnuts, and a sesame ginger dressing. Was amazing! (The date was good too!) 

I moved to Astoria February 1, and I still have things in boxes! For shame. I moved from a studio in Brooklyn where less was more: for two years my clothes were in makeshift file-box drawers in the closet for lack of a dresser. My new apartment is a very big 1-bedroom that I had picked out in January with my boyfriend. I figured when we mashed together all of our furniture we'd have more than enough, so no biggie, right? There was no mashing, and I have since become the sole occupier of the space- trying desperately to spread out! My bedroom remains completely empty save for my clothes (in boxes in the middle of the floor, natch). I'm not devastated by sleeping studio-style in the living room- I've got a killer walk-in closet and dressing room to make up for it. I was, however, itching to get my workspace set up again. My sewing machine, fabrics, ribbons, patterns, and screenprinting table have been stashed in a corner since I moved.

Anyone who reads my twitter feed knows that I've been planning a June trip to Paris. This weekend I got an unexpected Cherry Sunshine special request order that is going to fund my tickets! Ah, good karma pays off again. This bit of serendipitous news prompted a victory dance and the speedy set up of my new craft space.

I have an odd cubby-hole cut out of my long hallway. On one side is a closet door, and the rest is open space with an outlet. My sewing table fit perfectly! There's an overhead light, and I've installed a shelf in the closet to make a nice dark space for burning screens for my screenprinting table (Loyalty II Royalty hoodies coming soon!). Everything is stored in plastic tubs because Lily loooves to play with ribbons and zippers. I have a collage that I made my 1st week in NYC in an effort to spruce up my first apartment, and a cork board for random bits of memories and inspiration. I'm already halfway done with my magically lucky order, and am excited to start working on creative projects again! (Having all this space to myself isn't so bad after all.)

I'm usually not one for investing too much money or effort in fashion, but now that I'm going to Paris in June, I'm feeling a need to upgrade from my jeans and tees. I spent my 15th birthday in France on a 2-week exchange, splitting my time between Paris and a small farmhouse in Blois. I remember the city of Paris in black and white, while my memories of the country have splashes of yellow and blue. In planning my trip, I'm feeling a Jackie O vibe on the fashion front. Crisp daytime frocks in colorful florals and soiree dresses in solid blacks and whites. I could fill three posts with accessories alone, but here are the dresses I'm eyeing:

These babies are all on modcloth.com. Clockwise from top left: Preservation Society Dress (by BB Dakota), Immaculate Confection Dress, Royal Parks Dress (by BB Dakota), and the Dance Floral Dress.

I've been invited to guest blog on a fab little Parisien blog while I'm there, which I'm super excited about! I'll hopefully be doing some networking and hanging out with bloggers... got to look my best! I'm also fawning over Dear Creatures... an indie clothing line that was brought to my attention by calivintage. There are a few pieces from the Spring 2010 and Autumn 2009 collections that I'm in love with... embodying the Jackie O class and vintage French charm I'm going for:

Dear Creatures Cherbourg dress, 9 to 5 dress, and Atrium dress (I can't find a retailer for this one! ::sadness::)

Now I'm feeling a strong urge to buy up all of these dresses and compose a video showing off the different looks with accessories and set it all to the Belleville Rendezvous. Just sayin'...