FashionMista

Indiana Jones Deemed a Knockout!! David's scenes are first 5mins

2008-05-19T16:56:00.004-05:00

Attention! The movie that David worked on last summer is here. His scenes are in the beginning of the movie, Indianna Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Action takes place on Yale University's campus, as the academic setting for Indie. David's job is to location manage, so he was in charge of making 4 sets of constructions sites go away, or promising a bride that Indie's motorcycle would not disrupt her service when Indie goes roaring by. These are some examples.

This is the movie where it was my 30th birthday (June 5th!) and I packed my bags on a Thursday, got a dog sitter for Gerdy and the cats, took the train to New Haven, CT like a big girl, and was ready for a 30th birthday surprise getaway to Nantucket. Except that, come Friday morning, the team of Very Important People (like, the director) for whatever reason didn't make the flight from LA to NYC, and so had to do their big scout on Saturday, which was exactly when we were supposed to be on vacation. Let me put it to you this way. If you've ever heard of a Katie Kaboom, this was one such time (I was really PMSing, so that didn't help). The weekend started with me at a LaQuinta in the industrial part of New Haven next to an Ikea, which I couldn't access. I was paying my dog sitter to dog sit Gerdy so that I could be in a LaQuinta.

But, the good that came out of it, was that I found my very favorite hair salon (in New Haven) who does all of my dark brown coloring and good layers, and I discovered that I can do very good design work in coffee shops if I haven't gotten out of the Home Office in a while. We also discovered the Thimble Islands, which are opposite from the Long Island Sound, and I personally would have loved to live there, but David says that the 2 hour commute is too long. One and a half hours for me by train, but he needs his car. Not looking to reduce that carbon footprint.

So anyway, please go see the movie!

How to Curl Your Hair with a Flat Iron - Yes, Curl

2008-05-18T16:50:00.005-05:00

It's the Chi Curl, and I've been mastering it before blogging about it. Couldn't give you a recommended how-to post without being able to curl my own hair with my flat iron, and with a Chi flat iron nonetheless. So here it is. How to curl your hair with your flat iron. After mastering this, you can throw that bulky round brush away!

To show you the curl, half of my hair in this picture just got curled with the flat iron in about 7 minutes. The other half remains straight so that you can see the difference. There are two big tricks to curling your hair with a flat iron: timing and your wrist. Depending on your flat iron, it may take a bit to master this combination. It did me, that's for sure. I thought my Chi was broken and tried to return it, but didn't want to bother. Then one morning, the curls sprang to life.

The curl is in the wrist: Glen, the rock-in-roll hair dresser for WRS Hair in Columbus OH (and stylist who taught me this technique), is pulling the hair from top to bottom through the flat iron. But do you see how his wrist is turned? He is turning the flat iron to have the curls go underneath. I have since gotten more layers, and want the layers to curl away from the face, so I have been grabbing my hair so that instead of pointing to the floor, as shown, it points to the ceiling.

Slow that curl: You must pull the flat iron slowly down the small section of hair you have. And by small, I mean small and thin so that the flat iron can cook it properly. Resist pulling the flat iron quickly through your hair, as if your hair is a ribbon that you are curling with the edge of scissors. Pull the flat iron slowly down the length of hair, keeping your wrist turned each time.

Little Tips: Here is what I've realized after curling my hair with the flat iron many times (and if you have your own findings, please tell us in the Comments below!)

You could start with your wrist turned, grab the hair, then flip your wrist back to a normal position, and it may be easier to run the flat iron through.
In the flat iron, your hair might slide and slip out the end of the flat iron. My flat iron , ever so slightly, does not close evenly, and although I thought this was a defect in my flat iron, I've since seen it with other brands. So. As you are pulling the flat iron down your hair, try guiding the tip of your flat iron with your other hand. Don't get burned, though! This is just an ever so slight guidance.
I don't use product on my hair before I flat iron. I did once, and the smoke it produced scared me too much. I do spread some Aveda Smoothing Fluid on it when wet, and then apply the smoothing fluid again when dry.

If you need a flat iron, I got mine at Ricky's, but you can get one from Amazon.

Good luck! If you have pictures, add them to the FashionMista Page at Facebook!

Wedding Update #547

2008-05-15T08:51:00.008-05:00

Location: We went to Maine last weekend...and it was cold and raining!! I really want to add heaters to the rental bill, so we will see. Please pray for us that it will not be cold and raining on said day, which is late August. If it does, though, it will be extra romantic, and we'll have to sneak in more candles to make it super snuggly.

Flowers: Oh, the flowers. We met with the florist, and there might possibly be hanging baskets of purple flowers everywhere. How delightful. I'm very excited about my bouquet, because it is not roses. Don't know why I don't want roses, but I don't. Mom found a clipping in RealSimple of a bouquet with a surprise flower that I can't tell you about until The Day, but if it works, you will be surprised. Let's put it this way: I'm having a bouquet of weeds! Just kidding, but it will be a wild flower theme...

The Cake: I live-blogged about the cake tasting. It was delicious, and may have the flowers from my Twitterpaited desktop wallpaper swirled on it.

The Dress: Is looking fabulous! Jenny (the dressmaker) and I have been working hard to pin and stitch the muslin into a shape just so. I have been to 4 muslin fittings and our next date is to step into the actual silk dupioni. I have been wearing 3 inch heels in her studio for height, but David and I just looked at ourselves in the mirror, and (throat clearing), I'm taller than him barefoot. It must be all the whole milk I drink. So, if I can find a smashing flat, then that is what I will do. Please put suggestions in the Comments! And I'll have to investigate in Stylehive.

The Bridesmaid's Dresses: They are on the schedule to begin getting made. I love them so much, that I am getting one for myself. Hopefully, they will be short, poof skirts (maybe even above the knee) with a bustier on top, very similar to the Katie James bustier.

The Invitations: This is the next project. Mom is going to find a printer online with a template, and I'll provide some art files. For my own wedding, I didn't want to use a lot of paper. For Mother's Day, I sent Mom the DIY Wedding book from Kate's Paperie (which is also available at Amazon, and if you buy it there from this link, I get a commission!). The DIY Wedding book had a big invitation section with lots of ideas and websites, so I need to get cracking on looking at them.

The Groom's Attire: Eek. David has been working 15 hour days, 7 days a week, so has not been available to shop. I thought I could just make this decision for him (buy the suit, he puts it on), but suddenly he had an opinion about how pale he would look in a very light cream suit. So. Now that I think about it, I will be in off-white/cream, and if he and his merry men are in cream, that could be a lot of cream. The men will have chocolate colored "cosmos" in their lapels, so that will look nice against cream...but hmm.

The Flower Girls: Another eek. This is such a fun dress, so I've been putting off designing it, because they are going to have skirts of tulle. I need to get this done.

Showers: Three showers are in the works for June: One in Cleveland for Clevelanders given by my dear friend and inspiration of the Katie James burp cloth, and one in Columbus for those folks, which will be 'personal' themed! Think bath salts and candles. Hopefully one in New York for New Yorkers, if David is in fact NOT working on a weekend.

This past Christmas, David's sister gave me a table massage to be used on the wedding weekend. When she gave it to me, I thought "Can I use it now?" But based on all of these decisions, I am so glad to have it for the wedding week!

PS! You must go see the movie that David worked on last summer! Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He managed the locations for the beginning scene with Indie is at his academic location, and rides away on a motorcycle.

Dinah, my starving kitty who lives on the 'fridge

2008-05-15T08:43:00.001-05:00

Dinah, my starving kitty who lives on the 'fridge, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

The Treats Truck! Perfect for Literary Mista's Bachelorette Pedicure

2008-05-10T15:30:00.001-05:00

The Treats Truck! Perfect for Literary Mista's Bachelorette Pedicure, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

Gerdy on morning walk in Central Park

2008-05-07T12:04:00.001-05:00

Gerdy on morning walk in Central Park, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

My Introduction to Julia Cameron at Barnes and Noble

2008-05-06T08:03:00.005-05:00

Morning pages. Morning pages are an activity I have done in the form of blogging in the morning, journaling, or scrapbooking while at FIT. To Julia Cameron, and the rest of the generations of Artist's Way enthusiasts, these are an integral part of releasing creative energy, or helping maintain a balance in the day. Perhaps in the way that Martha Stewart drinks a glass of hot lemon water on her way into New York every day (just learned this during a New York Times in-flight interview with her on Jet Blue) to cleanse and refreshen, these people have been purging their minds to make room for whispers of the next thoughts.

I was new to writer and thinker, Julia Cameron, until I went to listen to her for the Ladies Who Launch Speaker Series, which was held at Barnes and Noble at Lincoln Center. And what a great spot to host the event - surrounded by inspirational letters, book covers, stickers, scrapbooks, pens, wrapping paper - a paper lover's delight.

Listening to Julia Cameron was so peaceful. Her life has contained so much, and yet she has led it simply - by listening to her voice, her gut. She was there to promote her new book, The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size, which we all got copies of, each of which she signed on the spot. While walking (one of her most recommended activities to create sparks of forward motion), she had the most startling revelation: that people in her Artist's Way classes typically lost weight if they were overweight. They looked fresher and more healthy at the end of the class. She attributed this to writing, and to how Morning Pages purges people of clogging thoughts. In fact, after the event, my friend told me that in fact her Morning Pages led her to divorce her husband. When I leave a job I don't like, I have been known to go through a transformation. Twice this has happened, where I leave a terrible job, see my old co-workers, and I look like I've been on vacation. Now that I work for myself, I wonder what I look like... ;)

While she was signing my book, I confessed that I had not heard of her, and that I was so glad to finally be exposed. She just inspires truth. I couldn't not say it. Not a flicker of surprise or delight at a new reader passed through her eyes. She went to the heart of the matter, telling me that this book would help, but that The Artist's Way was the best place to start my teachings. I cannot wait to read her. I am so lucky to have started reading a classic writer in my own time.

Cake Tasting Galore at Sticky Fingers!

2008-05-03T14:55:00.004-05:00

Cake Tasting Galore at Sticky Fingers!, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

Here I am, tasting wedding cake at Sticky Fingers in Maine. Yummidy yummidy.

What will our cake flavors be? All cakes have a stiffer butter cream outside frosting, with the exception of Bonnie Butter which had a super sweet outside frosting. I really wanted the super sweet outside frosting, but the cooks suggested not. Therefore, we will have one chocolate and one vanilla cake. Both will have the butter frosting on the outside, and on the inside, will have a lining of the super sweet frosting. On the vanilla, we will also have a spread of raspberry preserves.

The cake will be decorated with tulle and rose petals. And if rose petals are too expensive, I will cut out circles of dupioni from my silk dupioni collection here in the Home Office. Oh, and maybe the cake will have the Katie James Twitterpaited flower pattern on it!

But stay tuned, because we may go cupcakes.

Yum!

Schitzo Thursdays, and other afternoons

2008-05-01T16:30:00.004-05:00

Hi Mistas!
Sometimes when I disappear from this blog, I am in Facebook writing posts over there for different groups. I started a group called Home Office Collectives (notice spiffy "ad" over to the right of this post, in the new column for Sponsors). It makes me miss FashionMista, though, to not share conversations that go over there. Someday soon I will make a blog for Home Office Workers, but until then, here is a post I just put up that some of you may relate to. If you are in Facebook, and work at home or in a shared space, come join our group and play with us over there!

Post:
Here's my day in and out of the Home Office, and then I want to hear about your day:

Wake up late (8am), slow walk Gerdy in Central Park (lovely).

Shower, makeup, curl hair, suddenly it's 10am for a quickie scrambled eggs and coffee, and an attempt to make a quick Mothers Day newsletter for Katie James burp cloths.

Got to go, have a client meeting at 11am on the East side (I'm on the West) and hopstop.com says it's 30 min by taxi. Jump in a hybrid taxi, and learn about why the taxi drivers hate the credit card machines as we cross through Central Park into blocked traffic at 5th Avenue.

Make it to meeting on time, hair still in tact, ready to absorb and toss around ideas. Two hours later, meeting over, search for Whole Foods begins for sudden craving for their prepared foods. Return missed calls while in meeting and leave messages. Call the wrong number for finance and have a conversation that consists of insistent "Hello!"s with a random man who is not finance for 2 minutes.

Eat ham and swiss wrap on subway on way home (with other exotic prepared foods from Whole Foods). Get inside, greet all animals and feed them. Get reminder call from finance that company is staying with us tonight, then get off phone in order to design and send stupid Katie James email that will lead to no sales (sorry, had to insert self-doubt in the day).

Send newsletter and check gmail quickly. Gerdy lays at feet, waiting to go outside since that is the habit once I walk through the door. Gather up Gerdy and checks from clients, David's half of the bills, and partial reimbursement for vision appointment and contacts (YES!), and head the the dog friendly bank.

Stand in line forever, thank goodness for iPhone. Get email from someone at Newsday.com who got the newsletter and loved the burp cloths and dog treat bags and is doing a Mothers Day collection and requests high rez images for webpage. Hurrah!

Walk back home with minimal chicken-bone-eating by Gerdy. Put away food from earlier, look at dishes in sink with disgust, return client call but leave message, then notice the horrid moldy spots on bathroom walls. Horrid moldy spots on bathroom walls have been there for weeks. Company is sleeping over tonight. Oh dear.

Turn on Patty Griffith on iPod speakers. Scrub horrid bathroom walls walls and tub with lemon Lysol and Soft Scrub with Bleach. Pray that none got on designer Paige jeans.

Thought occurs to self that this is the day in the life of a Home Office Worker, because now I must go find high res images of products to quickly send to reporter who may or may not include in her Mothers Day Collection. Today was supposed to consist of meeting, invoicing for April, finishing Bridesmaid skirts, and making a Mothers Day email for someone else. It's 5:30pm. The day is still young.

What's your day like??

Free Shipping at Katie James - Limited Time for Newsletter Subscribers

2008-04-30T17:43:00.002-05:00

Special for Mothers Day, newsletter subscribers get free Priority Mail shipping on anything in the store. Check out the pretty burp cloths for new moms, or the Chow Chow for moms of dogs, or just to have a pretty pocket purse...

You'll find the newsletter sign up on the left side of the website. It's safe and secure and powered by Vertical Response. Coupon will be sent out tonight - Wednesday, April 30th. If you don't make this round, sign up and there will be new deals another time...

Wedding Wine Tasting: Freakout

2008-04-27T21:25:00.004-05:00

Wedding Wine Tasting: Freakout, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

Yum! Am sampling the most delicious white wine, Freakout, courtesy of my Uncle of Vintage Point, the Napa Valley based independently owned boutique marketing partner for luxury wine producers in the US, Canada and the Carribbean, so that we may pick the finest wines for the wedding.

What I forgot about is the fact that David is in the prime of his shooting schedule for remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, which means that although he is working in the City, he is really never home! Except to sleep. It's funny how people want to throw you a party, to meet the fiance (David), but the finance can't attend!

And so, I have cracked open the bottle of Freakout by myself (Freakout is one of many brands that was shipped to us), and it's really quite a happy wine. I'm pacing it, though, because we may have a little party on a Sunday in mid June, when David would be able to come, so it would be most fun to have the rest of the wine then. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, Freakout is delicious. Here's a list of all of the brands that Vintage Point represents. Here's how Freakout is described:

"freakout, n: an experience of unrestrained excitement.

"Looking to challenge the traditional ways of Friuli winemaking on the Italian-Slovenian border, maverick Italian winemakers began experimenting with new styles of winemaking, creating unique and exciting white wine blends. When Mike Drash, Winemaker for Luna Vineyards in Napa Valley, tasted these exotic white wines, you could say he freaked out. The secret of "freakout" is in the innovative winemaking. Each varietal is treated individually and then married together two months before bottling to create the ultimate blend."

Read more about Freakout...

Yum is all I can say. I think this one will be served at the wedding. Will go nicely with lobster.

Cheap Decorating Tip: Flower Petals in a Bubble Bath Jar

2008-04-26T07:18:00.002-05:00

Cheap Decorating Tip: Flower Petals in a Bubble Bath Jar, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

Here's a little house decoration I made yesterday because some tiny purple flowers had finally dried out and were ready for the trash. But I didn't want to put them in the trash, and a few had fallen into the clear glass vase they had been in, and I thought: "Now doesn't that look pretty."

I had some other dried rose petals lying around (I know, don't we all?). Another case of me not wanting to throw away flowers. I had carefully stripped the dried roses of their dry petals one by one and placed them into a pretty pottery bowel in the living room.

In this case, I took a pretty jar of Fresh's Milk bubble bath, that I just love, and gently brushed the dried purple flowers into it. I'm not sure what these purple flowers were called, but they wre only $1.50 at the flower store, for a stem that had about 5 bunches off of it. I quickly realized I didn't have enough, so added some of the dried flower petals, covered the top, and gently shook the flower petals so that the little purple ones would get mixed up with the rose petals.

And voila!

Still waiting at Shake Shack; Recommended Yoga Pose

2008-04-24T20:07:00.001-05:00

Still waiting at Shake Shack; Recommended Yoga Pose, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

Shake Shack: the New York burger Mecca (line is 1mile long)

2008-04-24T19:05:00.001-05:00

Shake Shack: the New York burger Mecca (line is 1mile long), originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

How cute is this butterball turkey?

2008-04-21T13:20:00.002-05:00

How cute is this butterball turkey?, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

Red Gingham Dress for Red Gingham Table Cloth Dinner?

2008-04-21T11:42:00.003-05:00

Ha! Would this dress be too much for the rehearsal dinner? Which will be a clam bake with red gingham table cloths? I first saw it in Stylehive, and then found it at Victoria's Secret (and it's $59 on sale...). It would certainly let me be full... ;)

Not sure how I feel about those fly-away-sides of the dress. If you can see a picture here, it's because something is wrong with my DNS something or other, so go to Stylehive or Victoria's Secret to check it out and leave a comment here!

Home Office Making it Into Wedding Registry

2008-04-20T14:36:00.004-05:00

I tried to deny myself the home office items, thinking that David and I should get kitchen items (and love money to help build the down payment for a house!). But alas, I cannot deny any longer, and have added more items to the Pottery Barn registry: home office items.

I love the rustic barn look mixed with a finished floor, or nice furniture. Since David and I started looking for a home, it really made us think about what we wanted in a home. While we were considering a fine, totally finished townhome, I started to miss the older, rustic look that I thought I could live without.

Here is an example of a rustic, converted barn look, combined with gloss that I would be happy to concentrate in:

Go see this home office >

The Pottery Barn swivel chair. It never goes out of style, or focused comfort. I did include this chair in the registry, but it's a little pricey for a registry. I did include the cushion. I could always make a velvet cushion cover to jazz it up a bit.

Go see this swivel chair >

Oh...the Project Table. How divine! First of all, I love sitting up high. Second of all, it would be so fun to sit with little projects in bookshelves! This one did not get included in the registry, because it really is out of the price range.

Go see this project table >

The home office organizer. So fun to have on your wall, to contain bills, invoices, to-dos, all at once. Stuff would be off of the desk, and onto the wall. This is in the registry.

Go see this home office organizer >

Yippie!

Overcome with paper goodness at Barnes & Noble...

2008-04-19T11:51:00.002-05:00

Overcome with paper goodness at Barnes & Noble..., originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

It was a Saturday, and I can't lie. There were sooo many more journals and binders than I am used to seeing at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble! I totally bought $135 worth of journals and magazines. I bought 2 things of Amy Butler designer paper for scrapbooking, and I'm not even a scrapbooker. But I think I'd like to be a scrapbooker, so bought the stuff. The scrapbook desire came from my desire to build a scrapbook of the wedding planning for David and me. The one I ended up getting was a little too small. I did get a binder thing for keeping reciepies in, but it was already broken by the time I got home! So I will return both, and get a larger scrapbook.

Ok, off to cut some paper!

So I bought a hula hoop...

2008-04-18T12:55:00.001-05:00

So I bought a hula hoop..., originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

Glitter-mania Folder as My Inbox

2008-04-13T15:08:00.001-05:00

Glitter-mania Folder as My Inbox, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.

Katie James Page at Facebook!

2008-04-11T11:20:00.002-05:00

Hey all! I just created a Katie James Facebook Page, and need some fans! If you're in Facebook, won't you come over?

Current Favorite Song on Repeat: Creep'in In

2008-04-04T11:36:00.003-05:00

On Friday's, I usually try to focus on one client for a really long time. Usually I do things like code a newsletter, or analyze website traffic and make recommendations. So this Friday, I bought a Norah Jones album I didn't have yet, Feels Like Home, and I'm just tickled by a duet with Dolly Parton in the song Creep'in In! This album has been in repeat for about 5 times now in iTunes, and I get so happy with the song comes on...I might need to find a Dolly Parton album to buy. The Backwoods Barbie album cover looks fun.

Get the Creep'in In on iTunes:

Get the whole darn album Feels Like Home on iTunes:

Awe, shucks...

2008-04-04T08:43:00.003-05:00

I made a new friend in Facebook, Katja of Skimbaco, and on a whim asked if she wanted to help me promote my sleep masks on her blog, which she did by making it into a giant, comment-based giveaway. Then another blogger who is committed to showcasing American made products saw it, and she wanted to do a comment-based giveaway, so now, when I'm feeling blue, I can go to their comments, and read any of over 100 comments from the combined blogs! It's like a mini focus group!

Comments at Skimbaco's blog

Comments at Made in the USA

Darn Cute Interior Design Blog - Trendspotting

2008-04-03T11:27:00.002-05:00

Betty Newman, creator of the blog Trendspotting, is an expert packager (via The Holding Company). I always knew she was good, but now that she's launched this blog, I see that she's DARN good! I have the pleasure of knowing Betty through the NYC Ladies Who Launch Incubator, and I always recommend her to people who need packaging, but now I'm going to hang out on her blog and just stare at the pictures of trends that she finds! Wall art, pet pillows, clever clothes pins? Omg. Trendspotting is a baby, but it rivals Apartment Therapy in terms of eye candy and great finds! She has found some of the best wall art I've seen. Plus, she's got the inside scoop on all of the great stuff for your interior decorating splurges, or if you need packaging or promo delights...

Dream townhome in Columbus...think good thoughts

2008-03-29T13:58:00.001-05:00

Dream townhome in Columbus...think good thoughts, originally uploaded by KT Flicker.