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Big Purchase of the Summer

After much deliberation I finally bought a 4-color table-top screen printing press. I was debating for about 3 months and wasn't sure if we had the room in our tiny apartment - or if it was a necessary expense, but finally I just did it and it feels great. It doesn't even take up that much room. Our desk is really a door so it's pretty long and we don't use it for doing work - it basically just collects clutter, so we just dedicated a 1/3 of it to the press. I have to build a support leg for it though because it is a lot wider than the desk/door once you add on the screens. I rescued some new 2x4's from the garbage outside a house under construction. I'm going to try and use that wood and have my dad help me cut it with a power saw this weekend when I go home. I always say I wish we had a living room big enough for a normal couch, but what I really fantasize about is a workshop with power tools.

Apartment Decor Project #3

I'm starting Phase 1 of a new project: Bedroom Curtains. We have two large windows in our bedroom. The walls are pretty plain and not pretty, but we don't want to paint them since we rent. I decided to spruce up the joint with some nice curtains. We recently bought a new duvet cover (dark gray from IKEA) but otherwise our room is a total snoozefest. Curtains were a bit of a challenge since Abe doesn't want anything too girly (I'm willing to compromise a little since I want him to like it, but since I'm taking the initiative my vote overrules).

I took before photos are that especially hideous (note 2 piles of dirty laundry) to make the effect more breathtaking. I'm making my curtains from Amy Butler's pattern from her Lotus collection that I picked up from Purl Patchwork on Sullivan Street this afternoon.

 

I need to pick up some blackout lining and then hopefully I'll have a new set of curtains this weekend!

Gay Pride Parade NYC

On Thursday we realized that this weekend was the Gay Pride Parade in NYC. I had not been in past year, but my boyfriend passed through last year on his way to work and was very excited. It was perfect timing because I had a good friend in town for the weekend and we were looking to whoop it up. So on Sunday afternoon we sucked up our hangovers and headed to Christopher Street. Out of the group of us only one is gay and I think he was probably the least pumped up out of all of us. Last year I went to my first NYC Marathon (sad because I've lived here for 5 years) and it was a battle to not hysterically cry. There is something about cheering people and all the energy in the air that made my emotions run wild. I something similar when we first got to the Pride Parade. I'm totally behind equal rights for gay and straight people, but besides that it is a wonderful feeling to be around so many people pouring out positive energy. Next year there's talk of marching in it...

Red Sox Fever

For Father's Day I look my dad to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. I hadn't been there since I was a little kid so it was super exciting. I forgot how small the park is compared to all the other stadiums (especially compared to Yankee and Shea, which are the only ones I've been to as an adult).

I had a little trouble with the bartender on Yawkey Way when I showed my NY license. My dad explained that I am Massachusetts bred and still a Sox fan and bartender smiled and put out his fist for me to bump.

We dranks some beers, wandered around the park, cheered on Manny and Ortiz, and ate Cuban sandwiches. I think the highlight of the day was when my dad spotted Luis Tiant hanging in from the Cuban sandwich counter, El Tiante, which is named after him. My dad said hello and I took a picture of them together.

All in all it was a pretty great Father's Day. The Red Sox won 1-0, Barry Bonds didn't hit a home run towards breaking the record, we met El Tiante, and we left the game just in time to beat all the traffic on the Mass Pike.