my BUST looks column april/may 2010: izzy hayes

yet another one of my patented, perfected "better late than never" announcements:
my latest looks column interview is out, in the april/may 2010 issue of BUST. should be on newstands now. go get it! :)
this one's all about the lovely, creative izzy hayes, who hails from montreal, quebec, canada. check her blog out here! she's been on wardrobe_remix since almost the beginning (i think?), and was absolutely a dear...we could have talked for hours.
which is the case with pretty much everyone i've chatted with so far...such fascinating women, with such imitable style, and a plethora of intelligent, interesting things to say about fashion and so much more. such an honor to do this! i find it incredibly fun.
as always, thanks BUST! and thanks izzy!

a space to be creative

after what seems like ages (really, it's only been about a year!), i finally have a creative space to call my very own.

our new place in greenwich is three glorious but efficient stories, and the third floor, which sits above the master bedroom, is my sewing/art studio. or, atelier. or workspace. or office. whatever it wants to be called or should be called...it's all mine. it ain't perfect, but it's falling into place nicely. kinks shall be worked out over time, me hopes.
the room has INCREDIBLE natural light, due to two giant skylights. during the day it's just a complete dream to dawdle around in there. at night, not so much. we're going to hire an electrician to come and wire the room for an overhead light so i can work at night, after p.'s shuffled off to dreamland. i also hope to get a couch or cushy chair up there for lounging, eventually. there's a tv on top of the card catalog that's connected to the downstairs TIVO...when i feel like doing handwork or whatnot i can perhaps retire there. pete could also sit there computing in the evenings and keep me company. here's hoping that seating comes into our lives sooner rather than later. i'm chomping at the bit to really spend quality time there.
admittedly, i do manage to get up there at least once a day, even if it is accompanied by my little friend. she likes to dig through the lower drawers of the card catalog, seen at left, emptying each, and scattering the contents across the carpet with glee. she also uses the yellow trashcan as a drum with the spirit moves her, and colors on a special pad i put up there for her personal use. she literally begs to go up there, hanging off the lower gate like a monkey; it has fast become a daily routine. while she goes nuts exploring and mess-making, i ponder what i want and need to get making, sort through fabric or patterns, or press needy bits of fabric and/or pieces freshly washed clothing. i even managed to do a tiny bit of sewing in her presence this week, while she quietly played. so nice.
i'm hoping that sometime soon, maybe in the next few years, i can set her up with some crafts or toys in a corner up there and get down to some honest to goodness sewing. maybe it's a laughable thought, but hey, a mom can dream, right?

hello stranger

yes, it's been a while, longer than i expected. not sure if anyone's still out there, if anyone's bothered to stop by. but it's ok really, if no one did.
i've been spending the last month or so moving in, getting settled, reassessing my life, this blog, where i want to go with it and with just everything in general. i've been spending time making things and enjoying my husband and daughter and the fact that i feel happy again after not feeling happy at all for a good long time.

***

i have had a hellish year. really, a hellish two years. the end of my pregnancy was complicated (breech baby, blood pressure issues, seriously late baby, complicated birth), and after she was born i was depressed and had some major adjustment issues. nothing felt the same. p. was an awful napper and sleeper, until well after her first birthday. 20-30 minute naps, if she even took them. wakeups every hour or two through the night, every single night. it was soul-sucking. i was on the verge of insanity. we all were, really...my marriage was on the verge, it all seemed to be going, as the brits say, a bit pear-shaped.
about 7 months after p. was born we packed up and moved from SF to NYC, chasing some weird dream. a dream to go back to the fantasy NY we thought would make us happy. but our recent experience there was pretty hellish. our apartment was completely horrific and overpriced, our neighbors were loud and obnoxious, playing music until all hours (see also, related: baby who didn't really sleep).
fate smiled on us six months into the lease: we we were able to find a legal way out of the apartment situation, just as my husband found a new job, one that would take us temporarily to chicago for about six months, and then permanently to CT, just north of NYC.

***

i am not sure if it's the fact that i am in a new town, in a great apartment, the fact that my daughter has become an awesome person and a better sleeper, or that it's spring (and it's GORGEOUS!!), but i'm finally starting to feel like i am coming out of a long, dark, and impenetrable fog. i'm finally starting to feel happy again.
thank you, universe.

***

what does this mean for blogging stuffs?
well, i'm still figuring it all out...where i want this blog to go.
i'm not sure if i like where it's gone the past couple years while i idled along, just trying to make it through each day. i feel like i've gotten away from what means something to me (making things, thinking deep thoughts/asking deep questions), and i want to get back to those things in earnest here, if i can find a way to do so.
i'm not sure if i want to call this a "fashion blog," if at all. i don't feel like it suits me, or what i am about, though i suppose that most of what i do, think and write about is clearly "fashion-related". i know that makes no sense. but am i doing a "typical" fashion blog? what does that mean these days anyhow? i am leery of pigeonholing myself or putting myself in a category that i don't deserve to be placed in (as there are people in the genre doing a much better job matching the definition than i).
i have a lot of questions i am asking myself. a lot of soul-searching i (still) need to do. there are answers i need to find before i can really go forward here in earnest. as such, i'm going to take my time and just check in when i can. it's the best i can do until i can find a way to interface with the world in a way that feels real and comfortable for me.

***

one thing i do know: i want to give wardrobe_remix it's own bloggy home. it's probably crazy late for such things (w_r will be FIVE years old this september) but better late than never? stay tuned for more info on that front as i get my act together.