NYC

On Monday I and my brother went to NYC, as Irvington NJ isn't that far. Walked a few blocks to a dingey bus terminal which, even though as it was a ratty part of the city, I expected merely a glorified bus stop, actually did look like a terminal. We waited for about  twenty minutes, keeping ourselves entertained by the furniture shop across the street which was inexplicably using President Obama's face to advertise its 50% off sale. It seemed hilariously incongruous to see our President hawking a discount on cheap furniture.

We caught our bus and shortly thereafter were deposited in the heart of Manhattan, land of the $5 hot dog, dizzying skyscrapers twice the height of those in DC, glowing billboards, giant posters for The Expendables on seemingly every corner, and fast food joints decorated with more glittering LEDs than a nightclub on TV. Did I mention I'm a wide-eyed tourist? At least I know what side of the escalator to use.

We wandered down 7th Avenue, gawping at everything, stopped by starbucks for a free drink, went into Ripley's Believe It Or Not lobby and gift shop  (I was lured in by the whirlpool and because it was free), I commented on fashionable shoes in a window, fingered an over-the-top dress (it was strapless AND short AND ruched AND made of lace), nearly getting ensnared by an enthusiastic saleslady offering to let me try it on. She was seemingly oblivious to the fact that at an American size 16, not a single item of clothing in that shop would likely fit me. I don't know what she was thinking but hey, she was just doing her job. We stopped at a fancy city two-level Borders with the idea of sitting down, but the place was filled with other tourists with the same idea. There were still books to look at though, so we stayed for a while.

We walked back to Times Square and went into the Hershey store, then I showed my brother the Longacre Theatre where I and my sister had gone to see the revival of Talk Radio twice a few years ago and where I'd seen the play's lead Liev Schreiber on the street. Then we went into the M&Ms store. I've seen the LED display several times but never been inside before. Lots and lots of official merchandise and yes, actual candy too. I hid from a big yellow walking M&M (I'm allergic to giant walking character things in costume). As we walked out, a barker called us 'lovebirds'. I was almost taken aback, but replied simply 'Not lovebirds'.

No trip to NYC is complete without a stop at Roxy's Delicatessen. New York is famous for its cheesecake and I'm sure Roxy's is why. Their cheesecake comes in about 15 flavours plus plain, each decadent slice big enough to easily satisfy two, so we split one, commenting on the caricatures of famed New York City personalities lining the walls as we savoured our dessert (yes, I remembered to tip the waitress).

Having finished our cheesecake, we walked a bit more, sat down beside the fountain by Radio City Music Hall, then made quick trips into L'Occitane across the street to smell half the things in the store, and Brookstone, where a clerk urged us to google our own email addresses.

Our last stop was Bryant Park. We'd actually gotten a bit turned around on our way back to the bus station, probably helped by me gawping at the fancy architecture of the local skyscrapers, and found ourselves near the park. Before, Bryant Park had simply been a collection of syllables that got uttered a lot on the final episodes of Project Runway, along with 'New York Fashion Week'--call me dumb but it never really registered that there was likely an actual PARK, just stark white buildings with runways. That's how my brain works sometimes.


The bus arrived back near our hotel with more than enough time to spare before RAW (our wrestling show) came on. As we both had to get up at 3:30 the next morning, and anticipated not sleeping well, we turned the show off after a few commercial breaks and went to bed. Tomorrow was my audition day!

Sometimes you get MORE than what you paid for

Instead of blogging, I've spent a few days travelling; taking a day trip to NYC and staying in NJ to audition for American Idol. My brother came with me because he's better able to navigate New Jersey, plus it's always safter to travel with a companion.

We drove up on Sunday, straight to the Izod center where auditions would be held on Tuesday. I expected to stand in line for a few hours to get the wristband that would allow me to audition. To my surprise, I had to wait only a few minutes before claiming my wristband, then we went to the hotel.

I'd gotten a room at the cheapest hotel around, and I expected a dingey room with a hole or two burnt into the carpet, and maybe a few intriguing lines scrawled in Spanish on the headboard (yes, that happened once. It was actually kinda cool). When I got into the hotel lobby to check in, it certainly looked like the cheap place it was--but I did see a small sign advertising free breakfast from 6 to 9--not what I expected. The pleasant surprises continued as I settled into my room.

While I could tell it was a cheap place by the details (the kind of doors used, the cottage-cheese-textured walls and ceiling, and the chipped paint in the corners), the room itself looked respectable, there was a walk-in closet, a small refrigerator and microwave, free wireless internet, a table and small couch by the TV. And the TV had several excellent channels, including USA which airs my favourite entertainment wrestling show on Monday nights--a not-so-guilty pleasure of mine.

We began making plans that night for our Monday trip to NYC. Most of the plans involved figuring out what bus to take. We'd both been to the city before and knew even if all we did was wander up and down Broadway that'd be enough to entertain us for a few hours. (I am definitely, unapologetically a tourist.)

More on the NYC trip tomorrow! 

My vacation visit to Beads Amore

A few months ago at my local bead shop, I saw a necklace made from hazy aqua crystals paired with the most intriguing glass pearls. At first glance, they appear to be the classic ' tahitan black', but upon closer inspection, multiple hues come out to play, depending on the beads with which the pearls are paired. In this necklace, the crystals brought out a faint aqua cast, with hints of green and purple. I was delighted, and determined to myself to get some of those beads. Unfortunately, the beader who made the necklace told me that the shop where she bought the pearls no longer carries them.
But a few weeks later as I vacationed in Indianapolis, I went to the shop  Beads Amore there, and what should I find but those very pearls! I immediately bought a pair, and, upon getting home,  made simple earrings with my few remaining 'pacific opal' colored crystals and the pearls.

I've seen my share of independent shops, but must say that Beads Amore is the most stylish bead store I've ever visited.

I also bought some hot red oval  glass beads, incorporating them into minimalist earrings just as I'd planned, but with the unexpected addition of small black crystals. Black Ice and Red Fire, I call these earrings.

I couldn't resist getting this intriguing focal bead made of hypersthene, a chatoyant stone almost like a sable-brown labradorite, and pairing it with some mother-of-pearl coins I had in my stash at home.

Bead & Button Show Day 2 Part B

When it got near 4 pm, I got into the neverending line which mercifully moved quickly. Then I was in the show floor!
Trying hard to manage my bubbling excitement (I'm here, I'm finally here, look at all the BEADS EVERYWHERE!!!) I followed my plan to start at the FIRST of the show's 12 rows, instead of the last like I've always done before. Distracted by the line of booths along the facing wall, I stopped at Christi Anderson's Elemental Adornments booth to admire her staggeringly detailed silver clay birdhouses (her impossibly blue-eyed son seemed to remember me from last year--maybe he loved my necklace too) and at Andrea Guarino-Slemmons' booth, where I always want to buy several of her signature beads, each one costing as much as my plane ticket. But a simple black feather bead on her table caught my eye.

At only $15, it was well within my price range, and it felt special, as if I had an important design that needed this feather to be complete. Being a good girl, I didn't buy it right away, but following my plan for the show, wrote it down on my list of possible things to buy (I bought it the next night) while chatting with her a bit. She's very personable.
Barbara Becker Simon of the glass-fish fame, remembered me as well, asked where my necklace had gone and when I told her it had sold, exclaimed ruefully "You didn't tell me it was for sale!" Maybe I should think up some graceful way of letting more people know upfront that my pieces are for sale.
Despite rarely using cabochons, I succumbed to the temptation of some magical-looking 'dewdrop' clear dichroic cabs from Karen Nan. I'd purchased a dreamy large piece several weeks prior at Beads on Parade, the shop where I teach, and used that as a justification for buying these. "I'll put them together in a bead embroidery piece" I told myself.

Being dichroic of course, the photo doesn't nearly capture their beauty.
And at last, after loving chalcedony from afar, I bought my very own half-strand of irresistibly hot pink briolettes! Even though strands of chalcedony can be found on many a bead show table, historically, the price has always been too high for my cheapskate side, and I could never make a colour selection, but these bright fuschia ones hit a high note in my designer's brain somewhere--I just knew this was the right thing to buy.

One of the things that made me do a double-take in the Bead Dreams exhibition was Robert Jennik's clever new design--glass nails! He had done a set of what looked exactly like metallic dark silver nails, bent in various contortions, but in glass! At the Knot Just Beads booth, he explained the thrill of making little things generally perceived as worthless (nails), and elevating their desireability simply by changing the material from which they were made, from metal to glass. I could not resist picking up a clear one.

After the show floor closed, I took a few photos of my newest acquisitions back in the comfort of my hotel room.

More to come later!

Bead & Button Show Day 1, part A

Every year, the city of Milwaukee plays host to the largest consumer bead show in the world--the legendary Bead & Button show. Thousands of beaders from literally all over the world congregate like geeks to Comic Con, each attendee more enthusiastic than the last. Some attend to buy, some to sell, some to teach and some to learn--and some to do a bit of all four!

While Stateside attendees are the majority, people fly in from England, Mexico, Spain, Africa, Australia, Japan and other countries too numerous to mention. Living on the mainland, I only had to fly over a few states to get there, and so it was I took my flight Wednesday morning, spending half the plane trip craning my head to see the clouds like a little kid. Lucky for my seatmate I had the window seat!

When I got to Milwaukee, I had several hours before the Meet the Teachers reception began (an event to which I had a ticket). I also had an unfinished beaded necklace I wanted to wear to the reception, so I sat down in the lobby for a few hours' beading. As beaders tend to notice other beaders, a few other show attendees noticed what I was doing as they passed through the lobby, so we chatted a bit before they moved up to their rooms or out to their classes.

I was working on my signature 'Crime Scene Tape' necklace, as pictured below:

Well, I ran out of yellow beads with a single word left unstitched in my necklace! Ah well, it looked almost done, and certainly finished enough to wear to the reception. So, ticket in hand (yes, I'd actually remembered something so important) I went off to the Frontier Airlines Center where the reception was held.

As soon as I stepped into the building, I saw a seemingly neverending line of women (and a few men) reaching across the entire building! There were a few oohs, ahhs and gasps of delight from other attendees as we waited the 15 minutes or so, chatting about our classes and our projects. Then it came my turn to enter the reception hall....

Stay tuned!