It's my birthday, that's why!

For my birthday over 10 days ago, my darling husband rented out this entire restaurant, for our little meal.

Isn't it darling? Ok, so he didn't REALLY rent out the entire restaurant, but because we ate at the senior citizen time of 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon it appeared that way and he told me that if I chose to think that I could...cause it was my birthday.

The day was great, it went a little something like this.

Didn't go to work.
Slept in.
Took a lot of calls, mostly from people singing to me.
Made a few prank calls to friends.
Ate breakfast at 11 - pomegranates with Greek yogurt
Ate lunch/dinner at 4:30 - the best chile relleno I've had in a looongg time.
Ate dinner/dessert at 8ish - yummy cupcakes!
Overused the phrase, "because it's my birthday, that's why" quite frequently.
Talked to more people on the phone, opened a few presents.

If this day is any indication of what this year will be like, I'm in for a treat!

More Twins!

My darling friend Jenna had twins a few weeks ago and since she's living in Bermuda, I don't get to go and see them in person. So, I made these little outfits. Dereck thinks the boy is getting short changed cause he doesn't have a top, but I figured she could just throw these pants on him with a onesie...right? I must admit the dress is cuter and way more fun for me to make. This picture was taken with the iphone, so that's why you can barely see it, but had to share anyway.

Day with Tim Gunn

Last week I had the opportunity to hear Tim Gunn speak at Parsons. It was so much fun! First of all, I was in the front row. Second of all, Tim is hilarious! The entire audience was rolling at his jokes, mannerisms and just general nature. He kept busting out with these hilarious catchphrases.

Now that I waited to long to blog about it, I can hardly remember anything in particular that he said, but I walked away feeling that he was very sincere, very real to his TV personality, and a nice, humble person in general.

One story that I do remember was that he was at an airport and all these teenage girls came up to him and of course were fawning over him about project runway and getting his autograph and all that. And these other middle aged men kept looking at him and then when the girls left, one of the guys came up to him and was like how come we don't know who you are and why are all these young girls coming up to you at OUR age...haha.

But all in all, I still think he's great and I still want to be his best friend so he can tell me to "carry on" and "make it work".

Nosy Passenger

So creepy...
Yesterday I was on the train, reading a magazine and this woman came and sat down right next to me and started reading over my shoulder.
Kind of annoying, but as the train kept moving, her neck was like totally tweaked and I felt like I should turn the pages slower cause she was all up in the articles.

THEN, she had the audacity to say, (about the person in the article) "She lives in the East Village! I didn't know that?" At first, I didn't think she could possibly be talking to me about this article that she was eaves-reading off of me, so I looked at her and said, "Excuse me?" and she repeated herself.
I was not mistaken.
So I, with a shocked look on my face I'm sure, said "uh, yeah."
And then we continued reading the articles until we both got off at 42nd Street. That's New York for you!

In September my Internship had a party for the Fall/Winter 2008 line and a doggy fashion show. There are some photos listed on the website, under events. You may even see a photo of me...
http://lpandp.com/

While you are there, check out the new merchandise...

My email account has been hacked into!

What the...?!? How does this happen?
If you got an email from me about some "good website", please disregard it. I have no idea how this kind of stuff takes place. I DID NOT SEND THAT TO YOU. Even though it has my name attached to it. Super annoying.

So my entire contact list was not only sent a bogus message (with tons of grammatical errors, mind you) but all of MY contacts have been stolen out of my account. Gone. I have zero contacts in my yahoo account. Awesome.

Anyone know what I should do? Basically, if the only email address you have from me is my yahoo address leave yours in a comment and I'll send you my gmail address. I tried contacting yahoo and was sent from one recording to the next and then told to send an email to them. I am so frustrated!!!

Stupid email.

"It feels like hope won"

I agree with Oprah. It does feel like hope won!! It feels like such a victory for the human race!

Our neighborhood just erupted with cheers and screams from about 10:30pm, on. I heard a policeman get on his loud speaker and declare to all who were in earshot while driving down the block, "Barack Obama is going to be the next President" - like it was a parade in his honor.

There were fireworks. There were praises to the Lord. There was a feeling of hope and optimism that was practically tangible in the air.

Dereck and I just sort of sat quietly at first, just taking in the moment and then I wanted to dance and scream and join the hysteria. We cheered. People were calling and texting. I cried. It felt amazing!

I immediately teared up again as I watched him and that amazing family of his walk onto the podium and the crowd silence as he delivered yet another speech filled with hope and promises of change and reassurance that we had made the right choice and that each and every one of us had voted and believed in the right candidate.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face, while listening to "OBAMA..." being yelled on balconies, porches, street sidewalks all night long.

What a wonderful night.

I voted!

P.S. 22 - My neighborhood polling booth

Ok, so I voted via absentee ballot over a week ago because I thought I was going to be out of town, but I went with Dereck this morning when he voted and almost got a bit teary. I know that I haven't ever been this moved or excited about a candidate. I've been feeling jittery all day and know for sure I'll probably be up most of the night watching CNN. Can't wait!

Even though the political process has many, many problems, I'm still very grateful for the opportunity that I have to cast my vote for the candidate that I believe will do the best job for our nation. I also know that if I had been born in a different time period, that I wouldn't have been allowed to vote.

So, I hope that everyone took the opportunity to go out and exercise YOUR right as a citizen of this country to allow your voice to be heard. It's so empowering!

GO OBAMA!!!

Love them or hate them?

I got these new shoes over the weekend and wore them today for the first time...what do you think?

Weekend in DC

I went to DC last weekend and got to stay with Kimberly and see her new beautiful home! It's amazing. We mostly just chilled, laughed, watched political videos and ate delicious food. She also put me to work and we hemmed all her curtains. She was a great host! Stupidly, this is the only picture we took and it's pretty dorky. Thanks again for the hospitality!! I also got to see Elaine, Cheryl, and Dianna. It's always fun to reconnect with old friends!
I was also so lucky to see these lovely ladies. (Danette, Gloria, and Keysia) I absolutely adore these women. They have been there for me for so many years, since we all worked together at a law firm. (My first "real" out of college job about 8 years ago...). We always have so much fun together. We ate at delicious "The Heights" and then went to Target. I love friends like this, that you can do next to nothing and yet have the best time ever. Thanks for the good times always!

On the way to/from I took the Chinatown bus....why do I do this to myself? I'm always trying to save money and apparently that gets me nowhere. Although it's only $35 roundtrip, so I guess you get what you pay for...

To: the woman in front of me leaned her seat back soooo far (must have been malfunctioning) because she was literally lying in my lap. And I'm short! I was just glad Dereck wasn't on the bus, he would have been even more miserable the whole time. Since I went at night most people were asleep. I was, at first, until the man in the row next to me started snoring!!! It sounded like he was sawing logs. so ridiculous.

Way back: The bus left an hour late. They made us stand in line and wait and it was so lame and boring. Then we finally got on and it smelled like leftover take out. Gross! But oh well, so I immediately fell asleep. I woke up about an hour into the ride to someone throwing up at the seat directly behind me. Can you say disease? I just covered my mouth and prayed that I couldn't smell anything. Luckily it was into a bag, but still. I seriously considered just getting off the bus and figuring out a way home on my own. NASTY.

Otherwise a pleasant, fun trip!

Celebrity Sightings

It's been awhile since I posted my recent sightings, so here they are!

I saw her in Soho she was by herself. Head down, big glasses. She is little in person and cuter than I thought she would be.
He was driving in some fancy car. I was shocked that he was actually driving himself around town, but the windows were part way down and it was unmistakeably LL. He was stuck in traffic in the garment district and I was walking through traffic. Looks just liked the picture! I like to imagine that he smiled at me as I was crossing the street.

I've seen her twice now. Agnes Degn. For those who don't know, she's an amazing model. Open a Vogue, she's probably there. The first time Dereck and I were in the lower east side riding our bikes on a Saturday. (She was walking with some guy, looking amazing.) He didn't see her, but

the second time she was in times square with a Tiffany & Co. hoodie on her head trying to be incognito in the middle of the day. Her skin is perfect. Now, I feel like I'm stalking her.

I think if I see her again, I'm going to stop her and say something. But what can you really say...I think you're an excellent model...sounds so dorky and psycho. Dereck said I should ask her to model my clothes (as in for charity...)haha!

Ok, not sure if she even really counts as a celebrity. More of a celebreality.... Marshana from the Bachelor. I saw her twice also. Once in Brooklyn on 5th Avenue and once at the Earth Day Celebration at Grand Central. I asked her about being on the Bachelor and she said it was really fun, but that the girls on the show...got on her last nerve...hahahah

Bodies Exhibit

Last Friday for "date night" Dereck and I went to see the Bodies...the Exhibition. Amazing. No seriously so cool.

We stayed there for about 2 hours just reading everything and staring. I took Anatomy in high school (Woah....Anatomy - for you cath and jess) and we had the opportunity to work with cadavers, however, the views that you get in this exhibit are incredible. The isolation of different systems, the cross-sections, etc. Wow. I learned so much!

The main thing that I took away, however was this -

Our bodies weren't designed by anyone but Heavenly Father. They are too intricate and work to well together to be evolution or an accidental "bang". Our bodies are amazing. It gave me not only a profound respect for our bodies and all that they can accomplish, but a sense of awe that we've been given these bodies to do as we wish. It made we want to do more and really make the most of what we've been given. I'd recommend going if this exhibit comes to your area.

On a side not, I was kind of shocked to learn that people were grossed out by seeing this exhibit. Um, hello - don't you want to know what is inside YOUR OWN body? Don't you want to see the brain and blood vessels and heart that give us life? Anyway, that's a discussion for another day.

After the exhibit we went to dinner at Souths in Tribeca. Not bad, but not great. Probably wouldn't go back, but at least it was cute inside.

Art exhibit...sort of

One thing that I love about New York and Brooklyn in particular is the random art displays. New York is so creative in general, which is inspiring, but sometimes you see a formal exhibit and often times its just an artist trying to get noticed by displaying art wherever he/she can. Often times it's in the subway or street, but in this case it's on the side of a building. Nice! I really appreciate the fact that you can get inspiration from practically anywhere.

Happy Anniversary...to us!

2 years later and we're still laughing and falling all over eachother!

Camping at Fire Island

Over Labor Day weekend, Dereck and I took a camping trip to Fire Island with our friend Sarah and a bunch of other people. The three of us woke up early and got on the Long Island Rail Road (just barely) with all of our stuff.



I seriously don't know how we carried all this stuff, but we did. When we got off the railroad, it was supposed to be right across the street where we catch the ferry. So we asked a taxi driver where it was and told us that it was about a mile away. Well, since none of us had ever been here, we piled all of our stuff into the van and off we went. Well, apparently it was the wrong ferry that took us to a different part of the island, so we piled back in and he proceeds to drop us off right across the street from the train station to the other ferry (after taking our $5/person)....
Grrrr....
We jumped on the ferry and headed to the island. This island is unique in that they don't allow cars.

Dereck on the ferryView from the ferry

This is the beach that greeted us when we got to the other side. Seriously amazing. The most beautiful blue water, soft beaches. Really great. So we pitched our tent, ate some lunch and hit the sand. We layed out all day and played in the water and just enjoyed nature. Well, when we got back to our campsite around 6ish, the mosquitos were in full force. Honestly ridiculous! I seriously have never seen them so thick. So we lathered on the bug spray and made dinner and went to bed. Somehow overnight, the ground turned to cement (or so it seemed) and when we woke up, the flies arrived. Not sure where they came from but they were out of control. They were undettered by bug spray and loved biting the ankles or any other body part for that matter. The only relief was by being IN the water. Even lying on the beach the 2nd day, we got attacked. It was unbearable. We instead decided to take a walk around the town which was so much fun and the flies didn't bother us too much. That night we discovered the most beautiful electricity in the sand. I don't even know how to describe it or what it was but we walked down to the beach at night and when we stepped, the ground lit up like little stars underneath our feet. It was beautiful, and magical. I could have stayed there all night trying to figure it out. So worth the trip right there.

Emma - waiting for the tide to die down.
Here we are hiding out in our tent. We both got sooo sunburnt! The other positive of the trip, was our delicious food. We couldn't make campfires, but we could cook on grills. So, we grilled every meal! We had salmon, shish-ka-bobs, turkey burgers, hot dogs, etc...
Yum!
I think we made our fellow campers jealous, but why should you have to eat poorly just cause you're camping! :)
The final day, I had had enough. The flies were ruining my flesh, I had a million mosiquito bites and my shoulders were burnt to a crisp, so instead of staying all day, we left in the afternoon. We came home dirty, happy, and tired. A fun, fun trip, but next time I go, I will be staying in a beach house instead!

Internship Update

I'm really enjoying my internship. Not only is she very organized and concise, but she's nice and creative and I'm being invited to learn their processes which is wildly important to me. My goal is to run my own design shop, so being able to have this hands-on experience is crucial.
Next Monday I'll be helping her set up the booth at Coterie which is one of the top tradeshows. You can scroll through the list on the right to get an idea of the caliber of designers that sell there. Most of the important boutique owners and buyers attend this show to purchase for their stores. After we set up on Monday, I'll be given a pass to have access to walk the show for the remainder of the week, so I can have a chance to see what is going to be available in stores in Spring 09. Such fun!

80 years young

On August 18th, Dereck's grandmother turned 80! His sister, Alexia, put together a weekend celebration that truly memorialized her life and gave people the chance to honor the amazing person that she is. The weekend started off with a lobster luncheon boat cruise in Boston Harbor. It was truly a beautiful day!

Pre-cruise Dereck and Tariq (Alexia's husband)

Here is Alexia, Sandi, grandma Joyce, Kim, and Aunt.

Here she is getting serenaded on the boat. She wasn't so happy about that.

Some views of the Harbor.
Kim (cousin), Dereck and Alexia

Delicious cake

Me and the Captain

Day 2 of the festivities was a surprise party! This picture below was when she first walked in and saw everyone there for her. She was truly shocked! There were about 80 people there - mostly family and family friends and long-time neighbors who all had a story to tell about how she had touched their life. This woman is amazing. Dereck wrote a poem that his cousin read and Alexia and Sandi did all the decorations and the food was catered and sooo good. A lot of work went into this event, but it was so worth it for her! She was so grateful!A lot of people got up and gave speeches about her. Here is Dereck's mom giving a tribute.

This is Dereck's cousin, Jon. He gave a very funny/touching speech.
Another cake!

Enjoying the festivities!

And then the dancing began! Soul train line and everything... watch out!

Thoughts on 9/11

Can you believe these events happened 7 years ago? A few days after September 11th I wrote the following and sent it out to all my friends and family since a lot of the phone lines were down. Since it was the days before blogs I wanted to get it written down somewhere so I wouldn't lose it. I just wanted to share my thoughts and feelings on what was going through my mind. I know most of you have your own memories of that day that I hope you have written down so that you can remember years later.

Here it is. (I was living with my sister in DC and working at a law firm as a legal assistant at the time.)

...I got to work thinking that it was going to be just a regular day. I even arrived early! When walking to work, I remember thinking how perfect the weather was.
At about 8:50, one of the attorneys in my firm came literally running past my desk screaming that something had hit the World Trade Center and to come into the conference room. We all sat with eyes glued to the news, our entire firm watching the replay over and over again, and as we watched were speechless as the second
plane flew into the second tower. I kept thinking how much it resembled special effects in a movie. My next thought was about my two friends in New York, Sara and Scott. I knew that Sara would be at NYU and Scott works in the financial district not too far away.

Of course all of the lines were down. No calls in or out of NYC. As we kept seeing the replay, we heard another report - the Pentagon had also been struck. Now the fear
was really rising. The Pentagon is a little too close to home. As I watched what was going on at the Pentagon, I called my mom. I was trying to remain calm and as we spoke and she kept reassuring me that everything was going to be ok because the events were happening only in NYC. I lost it! I screamed - No, something just
happened at the PENTAGON! That's when it hit more closely to home for her also. Although she was grateful for my safety, she knows how closely that Kijuana and I worked in relation to the Pentagon. After talking to my mom, I called my sister and made sure that she had made it to work and that she was safe. She said that she could see the smoke from the Pentagon when she stood on the roof of her office
building in Virginia.

At this point people were fleeing the city. I stepped outside onto the balcony at work and people were in complete disarray. People were running in every direction. The
streets were completely deadlocked. All I could hear was honking and sirens and
screaming. People getting out of taxi's and walking. I was in shock at the events happening around me. How could this happen in the USA and in DC, nonetheless?

Now, there were rumors flying left and right. There was a bomb at the FBI building, the White House and the Capitol were the next targets. About this time is when they started shutting down the airports and having planes land wherever they were. Then we heard about the plane that went down in Pennsylvania. The people of Washington, DC really felt like that plane was headed in our direction and we felt so grateful to the people that lost their lives for us! So my thoughts turned to what to do next. My office was located a few blocks from the White House and FBI building. My home was located near the Capitol. The subways were shut down.
I didn't know where to go.

So I opted to stay at work. It seemed like a long walk home and not knowing what was going to happen I wanted to at least be protected by shelter and with friends and associates not out on the streets alone. I didn't know when Kijuana would be able to make it home. The phone lines were working sporadically. Some calls would connect and some wouldn't. I kept thinking what good is a cell phone if you can't use it in
emergencies!

By the time I finally decided to leave work with a few of my office mates, the streets were barren. It was about 2:15 and it was like a ghost town. Like all the mice had scurried into hiding. The few people that I did see looked terrified and guarded. The subways (now running) that are normally filled with noise and laughter were
silent. I got home at about 3pm and Kijuana made it home sofon after and we just reflected on the events of the day. It felt like a dream, except I was exhausted and emotionally drained!

The rest of the day was spent talking on the phone to loved ones, watching the news replay the same scenes, and sleeping on and off to be awakened by nightmares from the horrific scenes I had seen on the screen all day. Smoke filled the night as I went out to view my surroundings. There were F-16 fighter jets flying overhead throughout the night. Every time the plane would fly overhead, my stomach would
tighten into knots until the sound was far enough away to help me realize I wasn't
in danger.

In the weeks that passed it seemed as though people were a little bit nicer to one another on the streets, the air was filled with somberness as the search for people and life continued all through the night. Our little neighborhood held a candlelight vigil. There was a sense of bonding.

This is an event that affected EVERYONE all around the nation. I don't know anyone that couldn't tell you exactly where they were when they heard about 9-11. My heart goes out to anyone who lost loved ones. To those who lost jobs, livelihood, and a place of belonging.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell you all - my friends and family how much I love and appreciate you. I am truly blessed to have all of you in my life! I
know that Heavenly Father would want us to take these types of situations and
make the best of them. I will use it to strengthen my bonds with those that I love. Thank you for being a part of my life!

I love you! -Kamilah

I am lucky to not personally know anyone who was killed, but I feel that it has changed America. We think differently, we went into war because of it and have been in war ever since. Our economy has been affected, even years later. I still think about it. Not every day, but often. I think that it's important to think about how we are not indestructible. We are just humans and need to think on a more global scale. We need to realize that although there are people that live on the other side of the globe that we may never meet or see, every life is worth the same as another.

Lazy Blogger

I have been a seriously lazy blogger. I have a bunch of stuff blog about and catch up on, but I'm not super motivated for some reason. But now that summer is over I guess I have no more excuses.

The past 3 summers I've started off Fall by going to school, so it's weird not buying supplies and books, but I'm not complaining! It's a great feeling, but a small part of me misses it.

Also, I put everyone's blogs that I follow into google reader so I only have to go one place to check blogs and let me tell you - that is like a full-time job staying updated! So addicting! I love logging on and seeing who updated their blog that day! Smartest thing ever.

And it's fashion week, so my tivo is full of fashion shows that I need to watch and I'm starting to get ideas swirling around in my head, so life is good.

I'll post some pictures soon. Promise. I have some good stories coming up so stay tuned!

Someone thinks he's funny

So, the other day I came home from work and Dereck told me to go look into the spare bedroom, but to not get mad. So, I looked and this is what I saw…looking very similar to a flat screen TV box.


Granted, our tv is several years old, but it works perfectly well and although I would love an upgrade for aesthetics sake, we did NOT talk about buying a new TV!
I about lost it.
I went into the whole “we’re a team” speech and how “we have to talk about these large purchases now that we’re married” and “we are saving for something else, so why would you just make this purchase”…on and on and on and he just let me go on while he sat there with this smug look on his face….

THEN he calmly replied, well, actually I just happened to be home and signed for it, it’s not ours, it belongs to the neighbors.

Nice.