Erika Licorice

Did you think Eric was immune to Dragulation? Oh no, my friends! Introducing Erika Licorice!

The Dragulator

You guys know how much I love Drag Queens, right? Well, I do. In anticipation of RuPauls Drag Race 2 on LoGo... I thought I would spend some time transforming myself with the Dragulator. These are the three "ladies" I came up with:

Pineapple Jolie:



J'appreece Dior:



Angelique Totalle:



Come on! Thats hilarious. Who's your fave?

Flora and Fauna

I've been keeping myself busy this week working on a few items to restock my Etsy store Clairebelle's ClosetIt will probably be another few weeks until I have a nice collection of goodies for sale, but these are some of the fabrics I'm working with.






They are from Michael Miller's Flora and Fauna collection. Like them? They are so bright and cheery and are definitely getting my creativity flowing again!

Showered with Love

I had such a fabulous time at Tricia's baby shower this weekend! It was so fun meeting all of her family and friends. I was made to feel very welcome. Oh boy, did this girl clean up! She got so many amazing gifts for little "Sweet P".



I was so pleased that my special gift was well received. I wanted to give something personal so I hand painted these four little onesies.


My favorite is the green sweet pea pod with pink bow. You can check out individual pic's on my Flickr feed.



Oh, by the way, they're calling her "Sweet P" for now because they are keeping her real name a secret until she is born. Cant wait to meet the little lady in just a few weeks!

Sweet P

Hey guys! meet my friend Tricia!



We met at American Girl and she is super awesome! She is also super preggers! Her little "Sweet P" is due March 10th, and I couldn't be more excited! She is my first NY friend to have a baby, and she only lives about 4 blocks from me, so I can visit whenever I want! Right Tricia?

Anywho, I am so excited to be traveling down to Delaware tomorrow for her baby shower! I cant wait to celebrate, meet her family and have an out-of-city sleep over. I'll give you the full scoop on Sunday when I return. Here is a sneak peak of my gift.



Happy weekend!

Lost in time...

I'm one of those people who likes to talk about her dreams. I just think dreaming is sooo fascinating. Mine are super vivid and I can almost always remember them. Because I remember them so often, I know when I'm having a stress dream because they always manifest in one of three scenarios. The one I have the least now is the "Falling Elevator" but I used to have that one a lot. Every now and then I have the "Car Crash" but even that one is rare too. Mostly, for as long as I can remember, I have "Tornado" dreams. They are always huge and twisty, and Im running to find shelter. Sometimes there are more than one funnels touching down all around me. Oh, shoooo.... so scary. The other night I think my stress was intertwined with my excitement for the upcoming finale season of Lost! In my dream last night I found out the tornadoes were actually time vortexes that would suck you up and propel you into another dimension in time. Hey, that would soooo happen on the Lost island.

Anything you can do, I can do better...

Does anyone else battle with a suuuuuper competitive partner? Yeah. Lots of fun when your on the same team, not so fun when your competing against each other. Eric just lost a 6th game of Trivial Pursuit in a row. The XBox controller was thrown, couch cushion were slammed and expletives were shouted.

And the worst part? It is so hard not to laugh!

A good laugh...

I am prepared to be thoroughly entertained by Eddie Izzard tonight!

Don't give up!

Have you ever had to just put yourself out there? Its hard. Really hard. It takes a lot of nerve to call places over and over just hoping that someone will agree to meet with you and take our resume. Today I called a particularly well know ballet company to do just that and the response was harsh. Like hitting a brick wall. I was feeling very defeated. Then, a few minutes after I had hung up with the Supervisor, I got a call back. It was from his assistant. He said something like this:

"I just wanted to tell you, that I know it was really hard to do what you did. It's hard to put yourself out there, but don't give up."

It took all of my effort not to cry on the phone with him. I wanted to unload all of my frustrations onto someone who understood. I took a deep breath and somehow squeaked out:

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. Don't worry, I wont give up. You'll hear back from me."

I wonder if he knows that he made my week. Maybe even my month.

Young Victoria

Nice post over on What I Wore about the costumes in the movie Young Victoria. We're going to see it tonight. So excited.

Philip Glass- Violin Concerto

I am obsessed with Philip Glass's Violin Concerto. Please listen. I think the third movement might be my favorite.





I think both my parents have choreographed to this piece and my sister has danced to it. It is so moving to me.


If you dont know Glass by this piece, he has also composed the score to a few well known movies: Notes on a Scandal, The Illusionist, The Hours and contributions to many other films and television shows.

Stir it Up...

... little darlin. Stirring up the creativity. Ok, three sketched ideas for summer wedding guest dress.

1. Classic formal.



Im thinking royal blue taffeta with blue chiffon overlay. Embellished empire waist.

2. City Chic a la' Cynthia.



Beautiful silk satin bodice with silk dupioni skirt.

3. Classic Vintage.



Fabulous metallic linen with embellished boat neck detail.

Which is your fave? Any fabric suggestions? I have 6 months to decide.

Choreographic Genius

Thought maybe you could use a little inspiration for some new moves...



Choreographic genius.

Progress

Dropped my resume off at 15 shows today: Hair, Chicago, Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages, Fela!, Wicked, Spider-Man, Billy Elliot, Phantom, Lion King, Mary Poppins, West Side Story, In the Heights, The Addams Family and Mamma Mia! Phew! Maybe I'll hear back from one of them?

Beach Body indeed...

Yeah, this is what E and I were supposed to look like after we completed P90X. I only lasted one week. E lasted a few more, but all in all, we just couldnt hang. I got the fiercest set of hives after these workouts. They kill you. Bless Gwen and Gavin for lookin so rad. Co-incidentally, the Bush/ No Doubt Tour of '96 was the first concert I ever went to.

The truth about being un-employed for nearly a year?

It sucks. Dont get me wrong, there are things I love about it, but is not the cake walk some may think it is. Lets weigh the pros and cons.

Pro's
1. No alarm clock. Well, I still set one for 8:30 every morning, but it is nice to know I can ignore it if I want to.
2. A clean house. I find myself cleaning and organizing almost non-stop to feel as though Im contributing to the household.
3. Tea and T.V. Relaxing and enjoying my favorite movie or HGTV program.
4. E time. Eating dinner together and being in bed before 2 am is something you do not get while running a show.
5. Plenty of time to be creative... only here's where things get ugly.

I dont feel creative. I am not great at self- motivating. I am an expert procrastinator. I excel at nap taking. I am quick to excuse my laziness.

The truth is I havent done all that I can do to find a job, even a temporary one. The few bits of work that have popped up for me over the past 10 months have been due to random recommendations, rather than my "go-getter-ness". I have become complaisant and reliant on un-employment benefits, which are now gone. Which brings me to the major Con of all of this:

1. NO MONEY! I know I'm not alone here. Many people have faced this issue recently. I became comfortable with the salary I was making at American Girl and never really re-adjusted my spending when those checks went bye- bye. My next job at Forbidden Broadway payed almost $500 less a month than at AG, but the little bit of cushion I had built up kept me a float for a while. So when that job went bye- bye too, I was really screwed.

2. Feeling Useless. I know, I know, Mom- I am sooooo talented. Sometimes I do feel that way, but after months of not working you begin to doubt yourself. I applied for a few jobs I thought I would be truly great for and they didnt happen. The truth is that I dont do well with rejection. Who does? In all honesty, things have usually come pretty easy to me. I havent had to struggle much. I've been very lucky. So, this is really my first bought with "hard".

3. Feeling Dependant. Eric has been really great and understanding during this time. Especially after getting married he really accepted the whole "our money" thing. Still, he's no millionaire and I know he's feeling the strain of my financial dependency. I dont like it much either. I've always been able to support myself and it has been a real piece of humble pie to realize that I can't right now. Thankfully he is there for me and has only complained a few times.

* * *

Now, please dont think I am looking for sympathy here. I'm not. I merely needed to write out my feelings and admit my weaknesses. Sometimes when you put things out there they are harder to ignore.

I have applied to a few part time jobs this week, so hopefully one of them will come through with a little bit of cash flow. I also recently registered with I.A.T.S.E 764 Wardrobe Union, which means I am eligible to work on Broadway. Yippie! but getting my foot in that "stage door", well it wont be easy. Broadway is hurting financially too and lots of experienced people are out of work. Still, Im calling on all the contacts I have and trying to get my name circulating. I'd like to say that by years end I WILL be working a Broadway show. Cross your fingers for me.

I realize that there are actually more pro's than con's listed, but I think the con's are of much greater weight. Wow, if you've actually read this entire post, than I thank you for "listening".

Wedding on the way!

Exciting news! On Christmas Eve, my sis-in-law Chandra became engaged!


I am so happy for her, Brian and Kailyn. They wasted no time setting the date and picking a venue. Esperanza Mansion looks like a beautiful place and July will be so nice there! I have offered to make our adorable niece's flower girl dress.


I cant wait to create a very special dress for her!



Also, I'll have to make a new dress for myself! Maybe I'll finally make that Cynthia Rowley pattern I've had for a while.

Oh the places you'll live...

I was just thinking about all the different places that I've called home. I've lived in 11 different places in my 27 years. Somehow that doesnt seem like a lot, but I guess it is. How many homes have you lived in? Here's my list...

1. Den Hagg, Netherlands(1982- 1984) My first home. I don't remember anything about it, but I've seen in pictures that it was a sweet little row house with beautiful wood floors and a back yard garden.

2. Dallas, TX (1984- 1985) Dont remember this house either. Again, from pictures I've seen that it had a brick fireplace painted white.

3. Pittsburgh, PA (1985-1987) This is the first home I have actual memories of. My bedroom was very sunny. There was kind of a finished attic upstairs that I found very cool. There were raspberry bushes along one side of the house and I had a swing set in the back.

4. Winston- Salem, NC (1987- 2001) The home I grew up in. My parents still live there. A lovely Ranch home with a huge back yard and a swimming pool. Love that pool. When I was a growing up my neighborhood was full of young kids. We were all on the swim team in the summer and rode our bikes everywhere. Do you find that summer's are what you remember most about childhood? Or at least, what you reminisce about most?

5. Marymount Manhattan College Dorm- 55th St, NYC (2001- 2002) My first home in NYC. The dorms were brand new when I moved in. In fact, they weren't even totally complete. For the first few months you were awoken by drilling and hammering. The washers and dryers weren't installed for a few weeks so the school payed for our laundry to be sent out. We had no television connection for a few weeks either, which meant I didn't see the 9/11 news coverage that day. I only heard about it from the car radios I passed on my way to class that morning.

6. Yorkville Towers- 93rd St, NYC (2002- 2003) A really amazing building. At the time, my school owned a couple of co-op's in this awesome high rise that they would dorm a few select upperclassman in. Well, I wasnt a select upperclassman, but my roommate Krista was! I got to come along and we shared the master bedroom which had its own bathroom and walk in closet.

7. 75th St and York Ave, NYC (2003- 2005) My first non- dorm! I loved this neighborhood and its where I spent my junior and senior years of college. Sometimes weeks would go by where I never left a 10 block radius. School, work, and home were all in the east 70's. Most of my friends lived near by, too. My room was a cozy 8' by 9.5'. I had my twin bed and a narrow desk, a lamp, and a tiny t.v. perched precariously on the window ledge.

8. Providence, RI (2005- 2006) After college I began a 10 month internship at Trinity Repertory Company. Six of the twelve interns lived in a litte 1920's bungalow. It was run down but it had sooo much character. I often fantasized about how I would renovate it if it were mine. There was a great front porch where I spent a lot of my free time. (It was the perfect smoking porch. *3 years smoke free, by the way!)

9. 21st St.-Astoria, NY (2006- 2007)When I returned to NYC after Trinity, I found an apartment with two girls via Craigslist. It was a cute apartment on a quiet street. The two girls were from Africa, and one of them had a little white puppy. The apartment was on the third floor of a home owned by this very old Greek lady. Her very odd daughter lived on the second floor. Well, this is a long story for another post, but basically the daughter hated me and one day she slapped me hard across the face. I called the cops and I had to move out.

10. 23rd St- Astoria, NY (June- October 2007) I had to move in with Eric. He was living in this house a few blocks away with our friend Ben from school and this other really weird girl. His room was in the basement. We slept in a twin bed. One day we witnessed the aftermath of a termite mating swarm. Note the line "There will most likely be a lot of evidence left behind once the termite swarm pattern has dissipated, such as shed wings and demised insects." Um, yeah.

11. 38th St- Astoria, NY (October 2007- Present) Needless to say, we couldn't wait to find our own place! It was a very annoying and grueling process. We put in five different applications before finally finding the wonderful apartment we're in now. Its a small building with only four units. Two of the units are young couples like us and one is the elderly, widowed sister of out little Italian landlord. We call her the dungeon troll because she spends most of her time in the basement and she has a horrible hacking cough. Her name is Maryanne and she is totally sweet. At least think she is. She doesnt speak any English. As long as she doesnt slap me, we're cool.

Anyways, we love our place and we plan to stay here as long as we can. Our little Italian landlord (Pietro) is very nice and adorable, if not long winded. Our neighbors are quiet, we have no rodent or insect problems, and the space is just right for two people. Who knows how many more places I will call home in my lifetime. At least one more, I know, as we plan to eventually leave the city and buy a house to raise our family in. Still, that could be one year or five years from now. Who knows. All I do know is that no matter where I live, as long as Im with Eric, I'm home. Awwwwwwwwwwww.


(Adorable knitted socks courtesy of Mama Susan)

2010!