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Thursday, December 27, 2012

nyc holiday post #3: christmas and things

Dear fairies,

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and New Year's is approaching quickly!

So, the day before Christmas, I went with Andrew and his friends to a Jazz Club called Swing46. It was a cozy little place where a live jazz band played swing music and even gave swing lessons. Andrew and I shared some calamari and we ordered a couple bottles of Francis Coppola merlot which was very nice. Swing46 is a great place to go for a bite or drink if you love jazz and swing.
What I Wore
Scarf: made by my grandmother
Polka Dot Dress and Belt: Forever 21
Floral Ivory Tights: Nordstrom
Shoes: Charlotte Russe
Legwarmers: Off brand 
Gold Star Brooch: Off brand

Christmas Eve day, Andrew and I went to see, as one of my gifts, The Nutcracker with the New York City Ballet. It has been so long since I've seen this ballet. My parents used to take me to see it all the time when I was little and it has since been a great inspiration to me. It's a magical and utterly deliciously sweet show. Of course, it was a lovely performance which had contemporary choreography by George Balanchine. Not to mention, the David Koch Theater, where the ballet is performed, is all gold with beautiful lighting fixtures that look like diamonds! Definitely one of the things to put on your list when visiting New York City for the holidays!


After the ballet, we went walking around Times Square for a bit. We went into the Hershey's store and M&M's World. It was way too crowded for us to wait in line to buy anything, but I saw this shirt of Red as the Phantom of the Opera, which made me chuckle ^_^

 

We then decided to take a trip to the two-story Disney Store. It's a child's dream, but was a nightmare on Christmas Eve! People were everywhere and we attempted to find things to buy in the chaos (mainly Beauty and the Beast merch).

I have actually been very taken with Disney's recent Villain Designer Collection which is all of the Disney villainesses fabulously redesigned. They include limited edition dolls, purses, shirts, stationary, etc. I was looking at a lovely Evil Queen shirt from the collection which was on sale! I think I'll be back for it... Also, the place was decked out with Christmas-y decor, including the cute little Cinderella carriage upstairs. That is what I will be leaving in when I'm married ^_^



That night, we were invited by Andrew's friend, Isabel, to join her and her family for dinner. We made our way to Queens and had a proper family dinner with Spanish style side dishes called "tapas" including cheeses, meats, and olives, followed by a meal of fish and green beans. The desert was a delicious three layer chocolate cake. I ate so much and quickly crashed when we were back at the apartment!

What I Wore

Bow: H&M
Blouse: Off brand
Skirt: Off brand
Tights w/ Fur Trim: Betsey Johnson
Shoes: Franco Sarto
Necklace: Off brand



Christmas Day I woke up with lovely Christmas cheer and played holiday tunes as we got ready to go see the film Les Miserables as my third gift. I have never seen or read Les Miserables in any form before and this film was so lovely. I must say that I almost never cry in films, and while watching this, I cried about five times! Anne Hathaway's performance of I Dreamed A Dream was shot continuously without any cuts and was so powerful. The entire film was so powerful and, of course, I thought the costumes were brilliant. The wardrobe of the Thernardiers was a joy to look at ^_^


When the crying was over, Andrew and I went to have a bite to eat for lunch. We went into a small ramen shop called Terakawa Ramen. This was a treat and was so authentic, it made me think I was back in Tokyo again. You walk in and it's just a few chairs seated around a three sided bar and the waitress takes your orders in the middle. I had the miso ramen and Andrew had the shiro ramen. Both were very tasty and hit the spot.


Of course I wanted to see the big Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza as well. Unfortunately, it was too crowded and there was a long line to ice skate, so we left back to the apartment to make dinner and cookies.


 



Andrew made a wonderful steak meal with potatoes and asparagus and ate while we watched Dumbo on Netflix. We didn't have the proper baking tools, so we ended up using premade cookie dough and decorated them with pink and green dyed frosting and sprinkles I brought from home which I thought made them look adorable.


What I Wore
Bow: Hot Topic
Hello Kitty Christmas List Shirt: Sanrio
Skirt: Urban Outfitters
Tights: Nordstrom
Frill Cuff Socks: American Apparel
Shoes: Charlotte Russe
Hello Kitty Watch: Mc Donald's toy



Now that Christmas is over, I'm back to working on A Christmas Carol, which runs until the 30th! I'm hoping to see a few more shows, take a walk through Central Park, shop, and a bit more. Overall, this has been a wonderful Christmas and there's still more loveliness in store!

For now, I'm going to just chill while I clean the mess that is my suitcase with my digging through clothing to find the right outfit.

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Sunday, December 23, 2012

nyc holiday post #2: arrival in new york city ~

Dear fairies,

I'm on my official fifth day in New York City! I will be posting every few days or so. This time, I haven't had too much going on.

Basically, I arrived in New York in the afternoon a few days ago. My boyfriend, Andrew, and I decorated the 1 1/2 foot Christmas tree I brought while eating Chinese take-out and watching The Adventures of Tintin. Yes, That is a black Christmas tree with a peacock on top and teal, purple, emerald, and magenta colored decorations.



Andrew also got me a wonderful Beauty and the Beast snow globe that plays the title song when wound up. It will go so nicely on my bookshelf at home ^_^

 
Next day, went down to 13th Street Repertory Theatre to volunteer work to help with costumes on A Christmas Carol. It's a small and cramped theatre here in New York City, but just creating art with others like this is always lovely. The costume designer on the show is named Tom and everyone at the theatre is so nice and very much unlike some of my previous theatre experiences. So, for the past few days I've been assisting with costumes backstage while helping to make any repairs or steam any costumes that need to be de-wrinkled. What can I say, the costume designer and director love me!

Every day I've rode the subway to the theatre. It's simple, yet I only have to ride one line all the way down! It's becoming almost a habit with all the walking and the riding. I feel as if I'm beginning to blend in. Yet, I will admit, I've refrained from wearing fairy kei because I've been working, so I haven't taken any photos. Rest assured, my suitcase is filled with wonderful fairy kei-ness that I will be wearing on those most important days.

Also, no matter what people say, I think New Yorkers are some of the nicest people. It's as if everyone's a big family. Yet, many who live in New York City come from somewhere else, bringing their cultures of their place of origin with them to fulfill their dreams!

The night before last, Andrew met me at the theatre after the show and we decided to eat somewhere there in Greenwhich Village. There are so many choices in this area and I highly recommend checking out the restaurants around here!

So, we stumbled upon a fish and chips place which was right next door to a lovely tea shop and British sweets store (I imagine all three were of the same owners from England and I will be making a stop at the sweets store). It was called, A Salt and Battery, and was apparently the winner of a Bobby Flay throwdown! We ordered haddock as our fish of choice and enjoyed a yummy meal while we watched Hugo back at  Andrew's apartment.

At A Salt and Battery <3
It's getting colder every day and it should snow on Wednesday! Wonderful for fairy kei, yet I hope it doesn't get too cold! I will be working most of my days in New York City, but I will definitely be doing much more as I have days off coming up with Christmas and all.

Happy Holidays!

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust

~Sparkling Ga Eul

Sunday, December 2, 2012

nyc holiday post #1: fairy in new york city

Dear fairies,

Start spreading the news...

I'm going to be going to New York City in a couple of weeks and I want to share with you all my adventures in this great city with my lovely significant other~

I'll be chronicling everything from seeing shows, eating at restaurants, cooking, and fashion!

Of course, New York City is one of my favorite cities in the entire world! I will be pursuing my aspirations of being a costume designer there in couple of years, as well. For now, I'm hoping to do a bit of volunteer work in the costume shop of a theatre there.

Stay tuned fairies for updates so you can perhaps get some ideas of what you might want to do while in New York!

Do you have any suggestions for lovely things to do in NYC? Let me know!

Faith, Trust and Fairy Kei Dust

~Sparkling Ga Eul