The Eve

As I sit here on this beautiful Sunday (judged only by how relaxed I feel and the delicious breakfast I just prepared as I haven't been outside yet) I'm realizing that it is also the eve of my potential unemployment. If you were to ask me a year ago how I felt about unemployment I would have told you I hated it and all I want is to be working again. This time is a little different. I am grateful for every day I work but if I don't have a job arranged by September 13th- the last day of my current freelance job- I won't be too upset about it this time. Last year I spent 5 months unemployed, something I'm sure will jump out to potential employers reading this as they Google me, but alas this is my blog and it is the truth. Last Summer I was also in the middle of my very first relationship and the more upset I felt about my jobless situation, the more that person withdrew from me, making me feel even more crazy and insecure about my situation than was really necessary. This time will actually be very different. I've had the last almost nine months to reflect on my life and myself while having the fabulous distraction of a good job during this early onset of my quarter life crisis. What I have come up with is that if I am unemployed for an extended amount of time I will not waste it. I won't have any baggage to deal with but my own and really I don't have very much as single young lady. In April I was briefly unemployed for one month and while I was slightly terrorized by my own memories of those 5 Summer months in 2012- I managed to occupy myself quite well by going to yoga a few times a week, watching A LOT of television, and researching and coming up with some ideas for what will be my own personal brand. If I'm unemployed again I have a plan.

I've been commissioned by a friend to make a skirt for a wedding shower in September and lucky for me the fabric I'm working with and the silhouette of the skirt is right up my alley and I can't wait to get started. It's what I'm kicking off this new era with and I couldn't be happier than to jump in feet first. Just the idea of patterning and sewing and designing has made me more excited than I've been in while about fashion. I know it sounds silly as fashion design is my career choice anyway but I get to have a say in very aspect of how this skirt gets done and it really will be my creation from start to finish. Perhaps then I will be thought of as the designer I truly am and not "just the freelancer" people think I am.

I'm hoping to blog a little more but I can't promise that I'll stick to any kind of editorial calendar. But maybe? I do love a good routine! I'm always seeing things I want to make and places I want to go and these are normally just things I jot down in the notes section on my phone or bookmark in Yelp but maybe documenting them on this blog will be a better use of my time. I tend to feel sort of "bougie" about the blogging world and all these bloggers whose day job is solely to blog and whatever else accompanies that. I'm pretty sure it's because I'm jealous since it seems like they just take pretty photos of what they wear and have been doing it so well and long enough that they just a get a bunch of free stuff from what I consider to be the most current and exciting brands. And the thing that gets me is that now this side of the blogging industry is completely flooded. One's chances of being able to achieve a similar level of blogging success this late in the game is slim to none. I/ we have to find a new approach to blogging that is unique to all that is out there. And that's particularly difficult when people are so creative and the bar is being set increasingly high in terms of content and aesthetics.

So here we are! Being unemployed, whether it be in the next few weeks or a year from now, will not be traumatizing as it was before. I only have myself to worry about and therefore I will only have myself to blame if I get sidetracked. I am going to make things I want to make, blog about things I want to blog about, and- on a semi-unrelated note- go to hot yoga everyday for my own health and sanity. And I'll continue to watch more television because let's be real, some of today's TV shows are seriously so amazing. I love that in almost every industry we are settling for nothing less than perfection. And that perfection is something I hope to settle for nothing less than myself.

J. Crew on Film: "Shiny Ponies"

Hello all!

I was cruising the J. Crew website looking for a design detail I wanted to use on a sketch when I stumbled upon their latest #jcrewonfilm video. I normally don't watch a whole lot of videos- I find most of them tedious but I was really intrigued to see and hear Jenna Lyons. That might seem kind of weird and I'm sure most of you have seen videos with her before but I haven't. You know that feeling when you know who a person is and you know what they do but you have no idea how they are in real life? Well that's why I was compelled to watch this video... and because it's title is "Shiny Ponies", I really couldn't help myself! I found Jenna to be completely charming and I'm not gonna lie I kiiiiiiind of want to run out and get myself of "business in the front, party in the back" heels. Please watch and enjoy!

Kate Upton is a Goddess

I was just starting to think that Harper's Bazaar was losing its luster. And I will say that as a mildly OCD person, it's slightly larger than 8 1/2" by 11" format sort of drives me crazy when I'm filing tear sheets. But in any case when I pulled this months issue from my mailbox last week, I was pleasantly surprised to see Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover. And then when I opened it, lo and behold Carine Roitfeld had styled an amazing editorial with one of my very favorite models: Kate Upton. Please soak in all this amazingness yourself and check out the rest of the shoot here. And also please enjoy this gif.

 

Photos via Harper's Bazaar, gif via Terry Richardson.

What I'm Cooking!

♥ My first official "real meal" of the season: Rigatoni Bolognese!

New York has cooled considerably in the past couple weeks and I've actually been cold by the time I get into bed at night which I haven't experienced since April or so. But with this cool weather brings my renewed interest in using my stove top and oven again. The first big meal I decided to tackle was Rigatoni Bolognese. Anyone who knows me knows that I usually go through phases of eating the same food frequently for a few months until I get sick of it and move on to something else. Over the last year it has been burgers, steak, sushi, sandwiches, pizza and now it's pasta with meat sauce. This phase may have something to do with the fact that I've been watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" a lot and Marie, the Mom, is constantly making lasagna or bragioli. I've had bolognese at Cafe Minerva and Extra Virgin (both in the West Village) in the past couple weeks and I just can't get over how good it was! I used this recipe from Epicurious and it turned out amazingly well. I used one less onion than the recipe (because I only had one) and instead of white wine I used a cap-full of white vinegar and another cup of water. I was so excited about it that I made a big meal out of it for my boyfriend and I a couple nights ago, complete with a salad of romaine lettuce with avocado and Gorgonzolla cheese and garlic French bread and (reduced-guilt) brownies for dessert. I spent about $20 on the ingredients for the bolognese but I think technically it serves 20, so you can freeze some like me or just half or quarter the recipe.

Have you tried any noteworthy recipes lately? Do any of you go through phases of eating a specific kind of food? I'm curious to see what you've been cooking and if any of you are as weird as I am!

Instagram Rewind - Labor Day Weekend

From top to bottom, left to right:

♥ 1. A couple friends and I went to Brother Jimmy's (again!) on Saturday for happy hour wings and a bowl of "Swamp Water." Right as we were paying our bill, the waitress brought over another fish bowl and said someone at the bar bought it for us!

♥ 2. After happy hour, we met my boyfriend at the Frying Pan. It's a bar on the Hudson River on a boat. It has an amazing view and the weather was beautiful! I had a couple Bluepoint Blueberry Ales and if you can I highly recommend you try it!

♥ 3. Our view of the city from the Frying Pan at night.

♥ 4. On Sunday, my roommate wanted to go to the Brooklyn Flea and I happily obliged as I love any kind of vintage or thrift shopping. Artists & Fleas is another market on the same street.

♥ 5. A sketch I did of a glass of soda pop!

♥ 6. At Target, Campbell's released a limited edition run of their tomato soup with labels by Andy Warhol.

♥ 7. My exciting Labor Day meal was a classic BLT sandwich.

♥ 8. I finally finished my deerskin tote bag that I started a few weeks ago. Now I can bring a book and my sketchbook with me on the long train rides downtown.

Did you guys have an amazing three-day weekend? My whole life is a weekend so it's a little less exciting for me but I managed to have a lot of fun- hanging out with my roommate, my friend Olivia (who was visiting from SF) and my BF. This week will be a little more exciting because I'm visiting my family on Thursday in Seattle, so I'm sure to be busy the whole time I'm there! I'm excited for Fall but I'm a little sad to see Summer leave. Are any of you extending your Summer by doing or going anywhere this week? I hope you all have a fun, short week! To see what I'm up to, check my Instagram!

What I'm... Doing!

 

♥  My Canon Rebel 2000 film camera!

Yes, this week's "What I'm" post is a little broad in title but very specific in actuality. I am constantly looking for things to keep myself occupied and a very smart person suggested that I do something creative that doesn't necessarily have to do with fashion. As in, what would I like to creatively pursue as a hobby that is only for me? The answer is photography. I've always been interested in it and even took a couple classes in high school- darkroom and everything. I have a Polaroid camera that I love using but the film is expensive so I decided to start using my Canon Rebel 2000 film camera again. It took a little brushing up on my shutter speed and f-stop numbers but I started taking my first photos with it again last night and I can't wait to see how they turn out. I leave for Seattle on Thursday (in what is a very spur of the moment trip, so no "why didn't you tell me?!") and I'm so excited to capture some good times and share them here!

Have you been pursuing a new hobby lately? Or have you had a renewed interest in an old hobby? I'd love to read about it in the comments. I hope you all have a great Labor Day weekend!

Instagram Rewind - Wings and a Birthday!

From top to bottom, left to right:

♥ 1. My view from the West Side Highway of the New Jersey skyline.

♥ 2. My roommate Allie and I went to happy hour at Brother Jimmy's. We had some amazing wings and a pitcher of Bud Light.

♥ 3. The Guggenheim museum is Pay-What-You-Wish on Saturdays from 5:45 to 7:45 PM so a couple friends and I took advantage of that and saw some great modern art!

♥ 4. My party outfit for my friend Olivia's birthday party.

♥ 5. My view from New Jersey of the New York City skyline.

♥ 6. Olivia cutting her birthday cake!

Hello all! My weekdays tend to drag on a little bit because as my job search continues I almost feel like I'm running out of things to do. Fortunately for me my weekends are usually jam-packed! New York has so many free things to do that even living on a budget can be fun, as long as you have someone to accompany you every so often. To keep myself busy this week, I plan on setting up my serger so I can start making a dress I have dreamed up. I hope you have a fun and busy week! And don't forget to see what I'm up to this week on my Instagram @chelseapurcella!