Leslie Hall 4Ever

We went to see Leslie and the Ly's on Saturday night.



She's one of my favorite things/people. She's an amazing performer, her props and background videos are hilarious, and her merch table always woos me.

I got this t-shirt:


Leslie is now threatening P. Diddy's game and has created her own bands. The two opening acts are comprised of members of her band. Genius. Ramona and the Swimsuits and Pennyhawk.

Mona Bones, formerly a Leslie Hall backup dancer, has really stepped-up her game and was the lead singer of Ramona and the Swimsuits. We are throwing down the $5 to get that album, mostly for the song that's about Karen's dad taping COPS over her first grade talent show. It's a super-good song.


We were so happy the tiger heads came out.


Here's a geeked-out me with Mona at a show about two years ago:


I just love it so much that these girls rock the stage and rock the mic so hard and get people to go nuts for them. Just walking around, one would probably not assume that Ramona is a badass entertainer, but oh, she is.

I have better old pics here.

If you have small children and think you recognize Leslie, she has toured with Yo Gabba Gabba as herself.

Things I Rarely Do

Sunday I did two things I rarely do:
1. I made the conscious choice to wear an all black jacket for a bike ride.
2. I took myself to Brooklyn.


I got hot and had to un-zip my layers.

I usually like a colorful jacket to be extra visible. It was really sunny and I knew I would be home before dark so I did it. Risky behavior! I actually had bad luck in the way of cars being rude to me. Three instances of overt rudeness in a 14mile round-trip event. I was also twice honked at aggressively while I was in big, green, painted bike lanes, so just because the bike lanes are there now, does not mean cars respect you/me/us/anyone.

Why did I bring myself out to Brooklyn on a Sunday? To go to my friend's sale in his apartment. It's not exactly a sample sale and not exactly a yard sale, so I'll say apartment sale.

He makes hats and I'm thrilled to have purchased this straw one from him


This is me and him before I went into the witness protection program.

And here's the hat he made for SJP for the SATC2 movie. It was fun to catch-up with him, hear stories about the items he was selling, and he showed me this amazing film he's working on.

Some pics from my bike ride Sunday







So many people think I must live in Brooklyn, but I do not. I guess it's a compliment that people think I live there because it's the mecca for trendy cool girls, but I chill on the Upper East Side. Even on trains or cabs or cars I rarely go to Brooklyn. It just seems so far when you live uptown Manhattan. It's whiny to say that, but I admit that I bond with people who share this sentiment. 

Biking the Brooklyn Bridge - I Loved It!

I biked the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time last night and it was awesome!
Here's a post from the first time I walked it a few years ago.

I got an alarming phone call yesterday from a friend letting me know she was in the hospital. I think she's going to be OK, but she was in for observation. I mapped the hospital and saw that it was near the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm slightly intimidated when it comes to biking in Brooklyn. I just don't know it very well. It requires a little map-studying, and that's what I did.

I prepared directions and used clothes pins to clip them to my basket.


This is my round-trip route.


It was raining a little and that cleared out some of the tourists, I'm sure. I had consulted friends on Twitter and I was advised to get in a tourist mindset and I was, so I was happy. It was also my first time biking over this bridge so I was really into the scenery. For a long time I've recommend walking over the Brooklyn Bridge at night my favorite NYC attraction because it's so beautiful and it's free. 


I got poured on in Brooklyn. Drenched and then some, but I was fine. I dried out on the way home.

This pic is blurrr-city but I was happy and a guy in a bike-tour group took it. They were on a paid bicycle tourism tour. I was happy to tell them about a cool, free ride  tonight (and every last Saturday of the month.) 



When my clip-on directions got me back to the Brooklyn side entrance handily, you have no idea the relief I felt. Getting on that bridge meant I could get myself home and at this point, I could forget the directions. My Brooklyn geography is very poor.


I was relieved to pull it off so easily, but I was prepared. At one point, I opened up my emergency parka but decided that I would rather be wet than wet and covered in plastic.

I loved this ride. I love that I biked about 20 miles and totally deserved to stop at Shake Shack and get a sweet Root Beer Float. I was also exhausted and slept very well. 

The Craftiest Time of the Year

Saturday I went to the Martha Stewart Craft Sale at MSLO HQ and then I went to see Amy Sedaris again- this time at SpaceCraft in Brooklyn. Amy said she's seen me "Three times already" this week but this was only two. She's bad at math, or I have an imposter.

Sidenote:  I made a new friend and saved her from going to a dreaded basketball game in the ultra-dreaded Dirty Jerz with my husband, her boyfriend and other Duke alumni. New lovely friend is along for this whole crafty Saturday ride... She is a dermatologist and she blew my doors off by reminding me to use SPF on the backs of my hands! They're gonna show my age, so I need to put SPF on the hands. I often find myself hanging out with doctors but never the kind that tell me anything remotely useful. I love this girl!

OK- Now were at Martha's- I fall hard for Mixed-Media Christmas Trees. I like spice.
So cutest use of puff balls and screws on this tiny baby Christmas tree-

Those sharp, silver ornaments are freaking screws - I guess they are hotglued together. So cute! But sharp as shit. Moving on.

This flat tree is a great idea for New York City crazies just like me who live in teeny-tiny apartments and can't spare the space for a 3-D tree.


Martha Stewart's Head Quarter is really sleek and pretty and I've been there and written about it before but it's still fun special to go where she goes. To be in her space and try to sneak a peek at the work areas and her old modeling photos. Martha was a fashion/beauty model before she took over the world. It's true.

This is really bad to say, but my friend and I weren't tempted enough by the offerings to purchase anything, but we both stepped out of there with some fantastic ideas. There's a necklace that I can't wait to try to make myself. By myself. For myself.

Ooh! I also saw the make-up artist who did my make-up that time I was on Martha and I told my friend - because this was day 2 of her knowing me, "I'm about to possibly have a strange interaction with this woman" and then I went up to the make-up lady and geeked out! Like "You did my make-up when I was on Martha and it was one of the best experiences of my whole life. Not just being on Martha, I mean- just the make-up part was one of the best times of my life." And she did not remember me at all, and she was honest about that, but she was happy that I had such a good time and she wrote down her number in case I need her freelance services. Could happen.

And this is her from that day in 2007. I told her she explained her whole spread to me, and that I have a picture of it.


I realized it was getting close to time to get ourselves to Brooklyn to post up for the Amy Sedaris event at SpaceCraft. We took the train and showed up around 4:30 and they told us we couldn't come in til' 5. Dang! So we went across the street and ate kick-ass sandwiches at Papa Lima. OMG.



Emily joined us and we got in line but after sammich time, the line was a little scary because SpaceCraft is small, but we were behind a gang and a NY1 camera. Amy stood on a chair and did a quick demo.


During the Q & A - the questions from the audience weren't that great, in my opinion. It was more exciting when I asked her what she plans to sell at the BUST Craftacular Sunday and she busted me out for stalking her, listed what she's going to sell, then said I can only buy 1 thing. Liar!

Oh! She also said she wore a diff. dress because she knew I'd be there.

The Q & A wasn't going anywhere so she asked Paul Dinello a question about what he dressed up as for Halloween and he joined her in standing on a chair. He was beyond adorable/precious and that's the NY1 camera that's filming her for an upcoming special.


I have horrible photos because I want to be discrete and not be an asshole.

That NY1 Special better be an hour long, and they should have interviewed me.

My gang didn't buy books. Amy was signing at the other end of the big SpaceCraft craft table and they had a glitter-toothpick-marshmallow ornament crafting station set-up opposite Amy. We sat down and worked some magic.


We tricked Amy into posing with Emily. Har har!


The basketball slumber-party broke up and I had this hot new glitter marshmallow ornament from the Amy event so I was hot to put my my tree. My massive 3' tall tree with trashy but festive, fiber-optic tips.



I love these plastic flower light covers.


Oohs & Aaahhhhs!