It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...

I'm finally home on spring break!  It's been a really crazy week, from last Friday until today.  But now I am back in lovely, farm-country PA, and I've never been happier to see it/hear it/smell it.  No more of the phantom pockets of bad smells that characterize midtown Manhattan!  It was so nice just to get in the car last night and fall asleep and not have to worry about anything.  Hooray for spring break!!!

The ABSOLUTE BEST part of the craziness of the past week, and probably my best weekend in New York, occurred when my best friend Marissa came to visit.  I picked her up at the Port Authority bus terminal on Friday afternoon, and we went to go see Phantom of the Opera that night.  We got ourselves all gussied up, me in my former prom dress, her in her graduation dress, both of us in heels, and we.... took the subway over?!  It was Marissa's first experience on the New York subway, and she was Not Pleased.  We were heading over at about 6 p.m., so it was the time of day when everyone is coming home from work, and the trains were packed.  Standing on the subway in 4" heels in fluffy dresses?  Not so easy, it turns out!

Phantom of the Opera was *fantastic.*  Here we are waiting for it to start! 

I was very intrigued by the ceiling, and consequently took lots of pictures of it.  

Saturday morning, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of my very favorite places.  Marissa tried on some ancient armor.



The next day, we went to the Museum of Natural History, and imitated the faces of all the dinosaurs.  I hope we ended up in the backgrounds of a lot of other people's pictures.  We had ourselves a grand old time.

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A week ago this morning, I had Photoshop class, and handed in the project we've been working on up until this point in the semester.

Mood board:Mission Statement: Figures:

Flats:

Stripes:

Plaids:

Repeat Patterns:

And that, ladies and gents, is that!

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So, last Friday, I also made a purchase about which I am still ecstatic.  Ever since I saw this Seventeen cover---- I have wanted that flower ring.  However, it was being sold at Steve & Barry's, and there's not one near me.  But las Friday, I was returning from a visit to the library when I finally, finally found flower rings!

(Pardon the rather crappy picture quality, I left my camera cord at school, so I had to use my parents' camera, which uses a floppy disk. )

And the obligatory artsy shot--

I'm not sure where else hese are available besides New York, but if you are in the city, you can pick these up at Gem Story NY, located on 14th St. between 5th and 6th Avenues, for $2.99 each.  Nearly everything in the store is $2.99, and they have a HUGE selection of fun jewelry.  It's not, y'know, heirloom quality stuff, but it's cute and if you need a piece for a costume, this would be a great place to go.  Unfortunately, their website has given people malware in the past, so ordering online is out of the question if you're worried about that.  Which I am.  Still, great store, fun stuff!

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What I've Been Listening to Lately!

• Ingrid Michaelson, especially "Overboard," "Corner of Your Heart," and "You and I."  Incidentally, I cannot find "You and I" anywhere except Pandora.com, anyone seen it floating around?


• The National, especially "Driver, Surprise Me," "The Thrilling of Claire," and "All Dolled Up In Straps."


• Songs from the early '90s kid show, Fraggle Rock!  I found them online someplace, and they're hysterical.  I highly recommend "The Doozer Knitting Song" and "Do It On My Own."

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Recently, a friend of mine told me that a major reason she dislikes one of our mutual acquaintances is because she feels that this person talks down to me.  There are few things more heartwarming than hearing someone else's righteous indignation on your own behalf.

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I have a lot more to talk about, but this post is getting extremely long, and I've been working on it for a day and a half, so the rest will have to wait until next time.  Coming up, look for my opinion of Spring Trends and where to find them inexpensively, artsy pictures taken while home on spring break, and much more!