April 2013

It's spring!!


It finally feels like spring outside!!! Here I am going bare-legged, and feeling amazing about it.

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photos by alyson greenfield


It's been awhile since I've posted any photos of myself. When I first started this blog, it was almost all style photos. My, how time passes...

Anyway, I got together for brunch with one of my besties, Alyson. When I asked her to take some shots, she turned out to be a natural behind the camera... mostly because we had soooo much fun doing it! A tiny and terrible secret: sometimes, taking outfit pics can feel like a chore. Often we're under pressure, he's been working all day, or it's late. I love it when it's spontaneous like this... you're just out having a good time, so the photos and the mood are energetic as a natural result.

I even think my hair looks kinda cute! Freshly washed, and no product.

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Also, this girl awesomely photobombed us! She was walking by and just decided to start posing in some shots, while talking on the phone!! Check out the look of confusion and excitement on my face and in my body language. It was all pretty hilarious.

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One last thing- I'm loving simple looks lately. Like really simple. I've started stockpiling these t-shirts that I found at Forever 21 for $5 each in different colors. I've been living in them.

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<3<3



chantilly


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Life Moments


I haven't done a "life moments" post in awhile, and that is sad. They're one of my favorite features here, and I'm going to make a better effort now that the weather is warmer. This winter has been cold and yucky, and I'm usually scurrying to the subway and back- not looking to casually stroll around and take photos.

New York New York


It's still a tiny bit nippy, and thankfully spring is slowly but surely coming. I've been in Park Slope a lot lately for work. The buildings are lovely. I've been inspired by the cute little flower pots displayed outside the brownstones, and pretty pink petals strewn across the sidewalks.

New York New York New York New York New York New York


In other news, I changed my About page a bit. Actually, I changed it a lot. I shortened it dramatically, though I might not keep it this way. I'd like to expand more on my story more, but haven't had time lately to write something real and proper. However, I also included some links from some of my favorite posts, as well as a directory of tags/ categories.

Tell me what you think!

Hope everyone is having a lovely Friday :)) Any plans for the weekend?



chantilly


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Browned Butter Frisee


Ever heard of frisee? Probably not... but you should! It's a bitter, hearty tasting green that is much yummier than it sounds. I never would've known its existence if it hadn't been this fancy-dancy little restaurant I lived near, and used to have dinner at semi-frequently. I don't remember why exactly I was drawn to their frisee salad, other than that it was one of their cheaper options. But it's one of those meals that I still think about from time to time... three years later.

Frisee salad


This is a pretty accurate attempt at recreating it, yet it's the simplest thing EVER. You will need approximately two ingredients: Butter and frisee lettuce.

Now you may be thinking- "Butter on greens??? No way." Except... yes. You don't just pour straight butter all over lettuce, you brown it first. Take about a Tbs of butter, and melt it on medium/ high heat. It will brown up quite quickly.

Frisee salad


After the butter is done, wait a few minutes for it to cool off.

Then slowly drizzle the butter on 2 cups of frisee in a bowl, and toss it with a fork to coat it. This will make one serving.

It's not your typical salad. But it is delish nonetheless :)

Frisee salad



chantilly


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Cat in a box!


My goodness, it's cat o' clock!! Time to post a ridiculously cute photo of one of my cats.

It's been quite awhile since I've posted a cat photo, and I sincerely apologize about that fact. This situation is being rectified immediately starting now....

We ordered something in the mail recently, and it was packed with a bunch of foam peanuts. Our resident explorer, Scout, decided to check it out. She had quite a fun time :)

cat cat


xxoxo



chantilly


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Chantilly & Indie Gift Box


Hey guys!

I've got an announcement to make this week. I'm an April contributor at Indie Gift Box. This is a company that presents a curated collection of monthly goodies from independent artists and small businesses.

A few months ago, I was approached by Erin, who asked me if I'd like to be included. So I packed up 100 or so cd's, and shipped them off! If you've been thinking about purchasing the Up to the Moon EP, you could get a gift box, and not only get my cd, but some other cute and amazing swag from other indie businesses!

Also, sadly, this company won't be making the boxes anymore after May. So it's a nice time to order one while you can :)


chantillysongs



chantilly


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New Business Cards

new business cards


I'd been meaning to get this done for at least a few months now... the designing and ordering of new business cards. I've been running low on the old ones for awhile, and these were cheap as heck at nextdayflyers.com... $18 for 1000! I'm pretty excited that I finally have some cards my new branding on them. I've been giving out the old ones all year long, even as my site, newest cd, and other materials were completely different. And this is a little embarrassing, but they're so old that they even had my myspace address on it, as well as a totally outdated description of my music (on the back.)

new business cards


It's nice to have new cards. But part of me thinks that soon, I'll want to just scrap everything and go in a totally new direction. Some people like to keep their "signature" look for years. I get bored looking at the same logo over and over again, and have been feeling a bit sick of my newest look, haha.

Well, I guess it's not really "new" anymore, seeing it's been about a year since the last site redesign. In fact, I've been thinking a lot about a total re-brand. Some of you might have noticed- I've been recently making some tweaks to the site... taking away the background, then changing up the header. I also want to re-do the nav bar soon.

I feel like I need to keep things consistent with the look of my last album, which is why I kept the same font that I used for the cover, and the white background. At the same time, I have a desire to simplify everything, while still holding onto my core personality.

Sometimes though, I find it hard to fully express what it is that I want to convey via fonts, design elements, and colors. I learn things as I go. Doing my own designs only started as a necessity, and a way to trim costs. It was never my chosen artistry, though it is useful :)

So. I'm feeling a spring cleaning coming on... I want to start more clearly defining what this space is for, who I am, and what kind of people I want to attract here. I want to find better ways to tie together my life's musical track, and the writing/ photography I do on the blog. Though it is hard to know my "branding identity" when there are just so many directions I'm going in. I want to be so many different things, but sometimes I can't.

I want to "have it all."

Anyway... yeah. That's how I'm feeling today. I do hope you like the cards though :) I'm happy. xxo



chantilly


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A day out and about in Soho

Monday. The start of a new week, once again :)

macbook air

I had to take my lovely new laptop to the Genius Bar at Apple on Saturday. One of the keys kept sticking. It seems like such a trivial thing to go to the Genius bar about... all around me, people's motherboards were crashing. The guy next to me asked if "my screen was going blue." That's what was happening to his Air. Luckily, such a minor problem was fixed pretty easily, and I was on my way in no time.

After that, I had a nice walk around Soho, snapping a few pictures as I went.

soho nyc soho nyc soho nyc


I forget where it is that I live sometimes. I don't usually the take time to realize how awesome it is to reside in not only an amazing city, but one of the centers of the world. I'm usually too busy shopping for groceries, or lugging a big bag of cat litter home to understand the hugeness of a statement like "I live in New York City."

I've been here for seven years, and it does take a bit of cunning and skill to survive here for that long- especially for a member of the artistic class. Still it is exciting. And I consider myself very lucky.


Anyway, Soho is really nice. There are always artists and people selling various books and jewelry set up on the sidewalks, selling their wares. It always puts a smile on my face to walk past them.

I topped off my day splurging on a caramel macchiato and doing some writing. What the hell. I'm worth it.

soho nyc



chantilly


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Mad Men!

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I thought I didn't care that Mad Men was coming back, but I was wrong. I've been so wrapped up in my Walking Dead and Game of Thrones dramas, that I just lost track.

I caught the first episode of season 6, and am now pretty pumped for the new season! All our favorite brooding anti-heros and heroines are just as messed-up as ever, and every delicious detail of every costume and every scene is excruciatingly stylized. And... I think I'm even starting to like Megan!

Also amazing to look forward to are Tom and Lorenzo's awesome weekly recaps. If you are a true fan of Mad Men, you just cannot miss these. Trust me.

Yay! I don't know about you, but I'm certainly looking forward to more philandering and 60's countercultural references. xoxo



chantilly


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Calm Yourself- Staving off Stress

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the best meditation- coffee and a journal


I've been recently trying to practice some breathing exercises and meditation during my morning train rides to work. I usually try to take slow breaths in, counting up as my lungs reach capacity, and letting the breath out slowly while counting the same way. The counting is important, because it takes your mind off of possible stresses and worries.

So after a peaceful few days off, or spent at home, I started to notice a pattern: The first day back, I was able to breathe in counting up to 12-seconds. On the second day, it was 10-seconds. And the third, 8 seconds. I noticed that due to the day-to-day amount of stress doing various tasks and being under-the-gun for projects, I was actually taking in less oxygen every day.

By the end of the week, I concluded that #1, my stress levels were increasing day by day, and #2, that my body was reacting negatively to it. It then really hit me, how stress affects our bodies, and how important it is to take care of ourselves when this happens.

Stressed feelings often lead to more stressed feelings, and then to more mistreatment of ourselves. It can depress our immune system, causing us to get sick easier. And since humans have physical reactions to stress, it can eventually wear our bodies down in the longterm, and manifest in ways that are even less fun than a few sniffles.


So here are six simple ways to take care of yourself when you are stressed:

1. Take more deep breaths. Your body craves oxygen!

2. Drink a glass of water... now. Your body needs water, and generally, humans don't get enough of it.

3. Try to make a list of things you are grateful for. There is so much in our lives that we take for granted on a daily basis. Taking stock of all the ways that our lives are amazing can bring an unexpected surge of joy. And used the right way, this trick also has the magic ability to turn some of those stressors into blessings.

4. Plan to exercise. Even if it's just once per week. Even if it's just here and there. I notice that I always feel better after 20 minutes of running, or a yoga class. Your body releases those endorphins, and it makes life better. Even just a stretch here and there can relieve tension!

5. Take notice of your surroundings. For myself, I tend to go inward when things are starting to make me feel crazy. I tend to forget that I'm in the present moment. But bringing you back into the present is exactly what you need. Try focusing on the tree outside... the green leaves. Try noticing the shape of the building you're passing as you're walking. Try pinching yourself! When you realize you've retreated, coming back into reality can be really powerful (and inspiring!)

6. Take out a notebook and write! This one is my favorite. Getting things that are bothering you out of your mind and onto the page can alleviate some of that harmful junk that likes to circle around in our heads.



It's easy to tell ourselves that we don't have time or energy to do some of these things. We put it off, expecting to magically feel better. What usually happens to me is a meltdown. If I don't set aside time to take care of myself I get cranky, depressed, and generally not-fun to be around. I know we are taught that it's selfish, but I think it's really important to take care of yourself first and formost. It doesn't benefit the world to have a bunch of anxious, sick, grumpy people skulking about.

Protect your boundaries, and give yourself permission to set aside time to do the things that help you feel better.



chantilly

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light and shadows


Poking my head in from my little blog break :) How's everybody doing out there?

Forever 21 outfit


On our way to coffee on Saturday, it was nice enough to go outside and take a few photos out in the neighborhood! Indoor shooting is such a different animal than outdoor shooting... the environments produce such drastically different results. And it's still a little chilly out, so I definitely needed my hat and scarf to keep warm.

The sun was setting, which made this cool half-shadow across my body. It was a nice effect for the photos, but made them a little difficult to edit, since the contrast between light and dark was so stark.

Forever 21 outfit


I also got these over-the-knee socks from Sock Dreams the other day! I'm really into pastels lately and love this color. I really want seafoam and grey next.

Forever 21 outfit Forever 21 outfit
shirt/ skirt/ scarf- F21// hat- ebay// socks- sock dreams// java boot- blowfish// cardi- tulle


Also, I have some giveaway winners that need to be announced! I know it's been a few days since I've been around, but here are the lucky gals-

Acute Designs Giveaway- Laza Kostic
giveaway winner

Charlie Foxtrot camera giveaway- Sarah Perry
giveaway winner



Yay! Hope everyone is having a great Monday. Thanks for hanging in there with me :) xxo



chantilly


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