happy holidays

One of my favorite things about New York during the holidays is when all the tree vendors pop up on the sidewalks. It's so picturesque and fun to watch people selecting a tree and carrying it home. We were very tempted this year to get a wee tree for our flat but it just wasn't meant to be. I am going to make sure that next year we make it a priority. No more tree in a can for us! The lights in our 'hood were very small town main street. Brooklyn has such style and pzazz. As much as I love the holidays in New York it wouldn't feel like Christmas without going home to Idaho. The snow, our tree with all the ornaments that our mum has gotten us over the years, the treats that Denise makes, wrapping last minute presents on Christmas eve, going to a movie as a family on Christmas day, eating LOTS of great food, listening to Christmas music and singing along really loud, our tradition of organizing the presents under the tree just so. We are usually all so tired after everything but it's still so fun.

Have a great holiday with your family and friends!

--heidi

**picture is our family tree in Idaho-ho

afirmative

I'm so excited for the second season of Flight of the Conchords. It doesn't start officially until January 18th but you can watch the first episode online here. This show makes me laugh over and over. It's set in New York and filmed here so we have a lot of New York pride when watching. Katie and I tend to break into the songs at random. "Robots" is the one I sing the most. Plus I have a bit of a crush on their manager Murray. He's so loveable in a pathetic way.

--heidi

she's so high

Oh, man I am so very excited to know that, Blur-one of my favorite bands ever, has reunited and is playing London's Hyde Park in July 09. This is a pretty big deal since they haven't played together in eight years and I'm so sad I won't get to be there (must start buying Lotto tickets...). They are a band that has just gotten better and better over time and is continually experimenting and evolving with new sounds.


*Doesn't Graham still look so good? He's wearing the glasses-heart pounds.

I'll never forget getting a cassette (I'm so old) of Leisure for Christmas when I was 15 and being happy as pie listening to it non-stop along with a cassette of Saint Etienne's Foxbase Alpha-two of my favorite albums still. Back in the 90's when it was Blur vs Oasis I was definitely in the Blur camp and had a HUGE crush on Graham Coxon (I've always had a thing for the Brit musicians). Here's hoping they come to NY too.

My favorite song of theirs is Blue Jeans but since there isn't a video for that I'll post the video to She's So High which is what got me hooked in the fist place.



--Katie

london shop fronts

I discovered a fantastic site today via Design Sponge. It is a site after my own heart. London Shop Fronts. It includes my love of signs, design and London, need I say more. It makes my heart so happy.

This is my favorite so far.


--heidi

i not dead

Such an intense beginning to our day today! Around 7:30 this morning an incessant beeping woke me up. We have a railroad flat and it sounded like it was in the back (our bedroom is in the front) so I got up to see what it was. If you don't have a carbon monoxide detector-GET ONE! Ours was going off like crazy so I immediately opened the windows and called 311. I love NYC for 311 which is the number you can call for anything-yes ANYTHING. They connected me to 911 who connected me to the fire department who was at our door in less than 5 minutes. We had three giant firemen in our kitchen and clunking around through our flat with their axes and other pokey staff things (to bust/tear down a door). These guys were big and made our place look oh so tiny. They confirmed we did have carbon monoxide in our kitchen and proceeded to wake up the entire building to find the source (the boiler?) and to check the other flats. While all this went down we stayed in the hall and watched while we waited for clearance to go back into our flat. This ends very anti-climactic because after a while they just left and we had to call our super to see if we could go back inside our flat. Wow! I love our carbon monoxide detector-If I could I'd take it to dinner to thank it for making this years Christmas the best cuz we're not dead!

--Katie

**no pictures taken by us since we were in our jim jams and we had other things going on.

image via

do you really want to hurt me?

Oh Topshop why are you doing this to us? We have been patient waiting for your grand arrival to the big apple and this is how you repay us. Haven't we suffered long enough without you in our lives everyday. You had better make this wait worth it or we're never speaking to you again (at least until you say you're sorry).

pulp

We used to go out dancing a lot with our friend Dirk. Most of the time we would see this guy at the club who looked like Jarvis from Pulp. He danced like him, dressed like him, even had glasses like him. If a week went by and he wasn't there we would be so sad because he was so fun to watch. Not knowing his name we just called him Jarvis. Jarvis of Salt Lake City what ever happened to you?

Below is a classic song by Pulp. It doesn't quite capture the magic of the real Jarvis' dancing but it's our favorite.



--heidi

** AHEM! Heidi forgot an important part of the story in that we would joke that we wanted to go to the Jarvis school of dance because we loved SLC Jarvis' moves so much. One year for Christmas we even had a t-shirt made for Dirk that said "I graduated from the Jarvis School of Dance".

--Katie

thanks!

Since it is a day of giving thanks I'm going to give thanks to my parents who instilled in me a love of travel. Growing up it seems like we would always take at least two trips every summer (one always being Redfish Lake) and we'd go places at other times of the year too. By the time I was 18 I had been to every state in the West along with Canada and Mexico and Hawaii which was pretty impressive since some/most kids my age had never been anywhere. So really it shouldn't be that surprising that I still have the wanderlust and I'm always wanting to go somewhere and do go whenever I can (it kills me when I'm on the subway and I see the ads for Iceland in only 5 hours at $799 for flight and hotel packages-I want to gooooooo!)

My favorite Thanksgivings were when we would go on a quick road trip, usually to CA but once to Phoenix-which were the last four that I lived at home ie: 9th-12th grade. Whoever came up with this brilliant plan (mum or dad or both?) cheers to you! The first time we took off for the holiday we went to San Francisco and had Thanksgiving at a Denny's in Santa Cruz. We had so much fun on that trip we went to San Francisco again the next year and Heidi and I still talk about the PETA protesters at Union Square over the disgusting fur coats women were wearing. Junior year we went to San Diego and we spent a lot of time trying to get to our hotel which we could see but couldn't get to because of the crazy roads and the freeway. Who can ever forget the Thanksgiving spent at Taco Bell at the Grand Canyon-classic.

Heidi and I loved these trips for the fun and adventure we got to have with our family and we usually got to go Christmas shopping and get some swell items. Especially in San Diego and Phoenix where we hit up the music stores and returned to ID with stacks of music. We were always on the hunt for anything that we couldn't get at home.

These trips were great to tide us over until spring break when we would hit the road again. With all the traveling we did when we were young it's in our blood to always be going somewhere and Heidi and I continue to get out and see the world while we can. Now we just need to go to Hong Kong, Praque, Stockholm, Tokyo, Brussels, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Bergen, Istanbul, Sydney, Luxembourg, Madrid, Copenhagen, Berlin, Munich, Sao Paolo, Buenos Aries, Cape Town, Moscow and everywhere else!

Thanks Mum and Dad for being such great parents and showing us that there is a world beyond the back yard.

--Katie

hairy situation

Anyone you know need to hide from the mob or the government? I have the perfect disguise for you. People will be laughing so hard when they see you in this they won't be able to see the real you through their tears.



See even the other head forms at the store are laughing at these guys.

--heidi

the necklace

Back in May I got this necklace at a design market-when I saw it I died and had to have it. It is the most amazing necklace and I love it. People ask me all the time what AGO stands for-it's just someone's initials as this is a combination of several vintage pieces reconfigured together. It's definitely an eye catcher and elicits gasps from all the girls at work and beyond.




I will be buried with this!




--Katie

does not offend at all

I am not known for being a great housekeeper. I have to be highly motivated to tidy up. This song is my new motivation, I seem to have no problem getting started on cleaning up once this starts playing. This is the first song for my "clean up your flat" playlist on my ipod.



--heidi

a little story

This story has made my whole week-it's that funny.

The other day at work I was having lunch in the break room with a couple of people when the funniest conversation occurred. Two of the guys who work in receiving (very strong and manly guys) were talking when all of the sudden Syed asked Javier if he had any baby pictures of himself. Javier was a bit confused and said no. Syed then asked Javier very seriously, "Would you like to exchange baby pictures?" I hadn't been paying much attention but that was the most random and funniest question I had ever heard I couldn't help but laugh for the rest of the day. Syed is a bit of a prankster so I knew even though he sounded serious he was just taking the piss out of Javier which made it all the more hysterical.

I think this will keep me laughing for a long time.

--Katie

designer art

At the beginning of November we went to the Chanel Mobile Art exhibit in Central Park. It was what I needed after working 8 days in a row and I was ready for something to get me out of my work haze. I haven't stopped thinking or talking about this exhibit since we went-it was AMAZING and I loved every minute of it.




Basically it's a project to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the quilted Chanel bag (which I now suddenly kinda want one-oh they're good). So Karl Lagerfeld asked architect Zaha Hadid to create her interpretation of the inside a Chanel bag and then 11 other artists contributed works that were inspired by Chanel for the interior. It was free to attend but you had to have a ticket which we didn't know about and they were all gone months ago. We don't let that kind of thing get in our way as we are savvy in the ways of these kinds of events (sold out Sundance films are never sold out and I've only not gotten into a film once and I've been to a lot). We wait listed for two hours and got in easy peasy. Being fans of The Man we're used to waiting in lines and this was nothing compared to those lines.



So they let people in groups of about 30 at a time every 15 minutes and all of the workers were so nice and friendly. Even though you're in a small group they break it down even more to about two or three at a time for baggage check. After you check your bag and coat they sit you down on a bench and bring you a little headphones/MP3 player and tell you to wait for someone to come set it for you. Another person then comes over and sets it to the volume you prefer and explains that they are starting yours 10 seconds apart from each other for personal reflection. Then you wait for the narration to begin.

Okay, little did I know that the narrator is a voice I love, love, love. Her name is Jeanne Moreau and she has a deep, husky voice and I could listen to her talk all day (she is the narrator in the Drew Barrymore flick Ever After). There are various points throughout the structure and I'm not going to describe all of them-just my two favorites. A little way through you walk into a long narrow hallway where there is a bench to lean on. Across from you there is a wall that stops a foot from the floor and you can see a cobbled street with a puddle all along the hallway. It takes a minute for you eyes to adjust and THEN... I can hear in my headphones dripping water and I see the drips in the puddles but it keeps going and you see an upside down reflection of houses in Paris with little Chanel logos and there is the sound of talking and drapes opening/closing and you see little movements of life in the reflection. Then it goes from day to night while all this activity is going on. It was so beautiful to me I just wanted to stay in there all day but my narrator lady had us moving on.

My other favorite piece was at the end and we had to write out a wish and tie it to a tree. The point is to empty your "bag" and bare your soul. Then we went to the bag check and they give you a large magazine type catalog (a gift from Chanel) of the exhibit since photographs aren't allowed inside. Heidi and I left so refreshed and calm-almost like we'd been to a spa. It was such a brilliant experience and I was so sad it is temporary-it's moving on to London next. After we left the exhibit we walked through the park for awhile to enjoy the beautiful weather and just being in some nature for a change.





I've been struggling lately with being in NY and wondering what the hell I'm doing here but I'm back in the groove of loving it for opportunities like this where I get to experience something so magical that reminds me it's been worth it so far (my eight month mark was at the beginning of November-Yay!).

--Katie

P.S. I found this girls blog about this as well-check it out!

it's a sign

Being the design junkie that I am I have a tendency to take pictures of signs that I find interesting. I also have silly sense of humor so some signs or notices that I spot will make me giggle for days. Here are a few of my favorites.

In 2006 we went to jolly old England to see THE MAN in his home country. Not only did we get to go on tour but we got to see this:

In Birmingham--I love the basic graphic design, so subtle.


In Kings Lynn--We got into town late and went wandering around for food. It had been a long day of travel so we were in crankytown. This made us laugh and made our night brighter.


In London--we stumbled upon this charming sign. I couldn't help but read it in a silly voice, with strong emphasis on the cheeeese. It is the oldest pub in London and was also in Miroslav Sasek's book This is London. Looks like we aren't the only ones who love it.


Potty humor, I see the funniest things in bathrooms all over.

In Oxford--this sign made me laugh so hard when I first saw it. We went to a department store to use the restroom. It made me wonder what had happened to prompt them to make a sign to remind people of such a basic thing.



This is from Parsons, bathroom graffiti is so much better at an art school.


We went to the Coney Island freak show labor day weekend with our sister Denise. We enjoyed the freak show but the bathroom had some classy entertainment.



Graffiti from Salt Lake City, inspiring reminder to...


vs. graffiti from Brooklyn, inspiring but in a different way


These signs are what really catch my eye












Last year when we were in Oakland for THE MAN we saw this and thought it very appropriate


Many New Yorkers can relate to this


There have been times late at night we have thought this very thing...


I wish I could have been there to see who did this one.

--heidi

magic is right!

Since heidi wrote about her new favorite design site I thought I'd post my new favorite subway song. Damn, this song is so good!! I haven't turned into a true New Yorker yet in that I don't get down in the subway like other people but this could be the song to make me do it-until then I just walk fast and then dance at home. I'm not savy enough to just post an MP3 so here is the youtube clip.

Ladyhawke-Magic




By the way, I saw an older man (hep cat if you will) in the subway yesterday that I could tell was itching to boogie on down and then when he couldn't hold it in anymore he shimiied and twisted and head bobbed-it was amusing.

--Katie

the selby

I love magazines about interior design with all their pretty photos of gorgous apartmaents and homes all over the world. But sometimes they feel too over styled and don't really show the personality of those who live there. I want to see how real creative people live because for me right now that is more inspiring than a pretty home that a designer has worked on.

One of my favorite new places to look for inspiration is The Selby. I'm sure the photos have been styled but not to the extent that a magazine would. Below are a few of my favorites.

Bill Gentle and Fanny Bostrom



Mary Randolf Carter


Cheri Messerli and David Rager



--heidi

eek

This year for Halloween we went to the famous parade in the West Village. So far every year I've lived here I haven't gone but I'm glad I waited to go with Katie because it was much more fun with her than it would have been by myself.

We got there with enough time to get a good spot. Right across from the VIP section at the library. Thankfully that night wasn't as cold so we were ok sitting around waiting and waiting for the parade to start. In typical NY style the people next to us started to argue with the girls next to them. Space issues always bring out the worst in people in NY.

The best part of the parade was the begining. We really liked the ghost party. The ghosts where some of the best we've seen. Plus the wind helped make them look extra spooky.




As expected this year there were a lot of political costumes and soooo many people as the joker. We also saw a lot of girls dressed as a stove. Not sure why this costume was so popular but it was. We also saw a lot of people dressed as bananas.

The other great part of the parade was the Thriller group. There were two Michael Jackson's fighting for attention but the zombies were so brilliant! They had their dance worked out and all of their costumes were fantastic. It made us think of when we were in grade school, we would hear that song and get so scared.

Towards the end of the parade it was getting a bit boring because it was the same costumes over and over. Once we left we had the joy of trying to get to the subway along with two million other people (seriously, that's how many people went to the parade). On our way there we saw this creepy clown hanging out on a window ledge by Washington Sqaure. It wouldn't be Halloween without a creepy clown


--heidi

we love it! we love it!

One of our families favorites films is Gotcha! Our parents did a good job picking that one out one weekend. It is a classic 80's film with so many great lines and killer music. Recently the show Chuck had a few references to Gotcha! Thus proving it is beloved by many.

This is the scene that makes us laugh the most. Guaranteed fit of giggles if you watch this with us.

makes me happy

I'm so smitten with the work of Kat MacLeod. Her illustrations are so lovely and I just want to be one of those girls with their great outfits and fun hair.








I love the way she uses a mixture of different medias and even thought it's a flat image there is still a texturized quality to them that attracts me. They also remind me a bit of Egon Scheile (one of my favorite artists-especially "Sitting Woman with Legs Drawn Up"). Once upon a time I fancied myself to be an artist and if I were I'd want to be like Kat or painter Elizabeth Peyton who has an exhibit that just opened at The New Museum. I haven't gone yet but plans are being made for a night to get over there and drool for awhile. I'm such a girl-I really love simple and pretty pictures (yet I also love the dark work of Francis Bacon and Lucien Frued hmmmm...).

--Katie