jinners (hearts) prudie and rah

jin is visiting me this week (in town to support her band cheeseburger).
the cats are happy.
they may never be the same.

funny valentine

for YOU (and you know who you are). thanks, very much. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

favorite video

if i had one wish now for my echo parck life, it would be that my friend manny marquez could be HUGELY recognized for his directorial work on this AMAZING music video: ferraby lionheart's small planet. whether intentional or not, i see 'le petit prince' all over the intro, and i love it. plus, i love the modern touch of the beautiful heroine sporting a page-boy haircut (how sweet is the tree scene?). the last segments were shot on the grounds where i first met manny and his girlfriend, leigh; elysian park, last july 4th. like it as much as i do, won't you?

first comes love: virginia!

last week i made my bi-annual pilgrimage to aylett, virginia to visit my oldest, bestest friend in the world, sarah pope. i've known sarah since we were 8 and she is one of the smartest, kindest and most beautiful people i have ever known (our 31 year friendship is a testament to that). for the first time ever, i spent a couple of days with her at where she heads the menokinmenokin foundation. menokin is an estate that was once owned by francis lightfoot lee, a signer of the declaration of independence. it is now a historical landmark. the property was last owned in the 70's by a family of eccentrics who let the estate fall apart. during a storm a tree fell through the foundation and rendered it unlivable. sarah and the menokin foundation are preserving the estate and establishing it as grounds where architect students can come to study how homes of that century were built. it is an unbelievable destination that you should seek out if you are ever in the area (plus they sponsor an annual, kick-ass, bluegrass festival on the property)!

the areas outside of richmond (aylett, tappahannock, warsaw, saluda) where i spent my formative years are rural and picturesque. driving down the narrow, curvy roads you see many abandoned properties, like this barn. i believe this is why so many artists reside here: there is something very romantic about these old places and the landscapes surrounding them. my mom was a wildlife artist and many of her paintings were inspired by views such as this.

(this one's for jeanie!) um, tattoo parlors were not around when i was growing up, but it was the 80's so establishments such as 'immortal ink' wouldn't have been popular then. now this is the landmark where you turn left to get to menokin. don't you love how it's housed in what looks like an old country store (wonder if they specialize in inking john deer tractors and chevy logos?)? i told sarah's 7 year old son flannery (perhaps you've heard me mention him: the boy who proposed to me when he was 4 - adorable!! when i left this time, he gave me a plastic, red superman ring to remember him by - the sweetest offering in the world!) that i'd take him there for his first 'piece of work'. he looked more terrified than flattered by the offer...

and finally i leave you with an image from the wall of nathan pope's art studio (sarah's talented husband). nathan is one of my favorite landscape artists who, despite growing up in georgia and north carolina, appreciates the beauty of rural virginia and perfectly captures its' colorful grace in his work. currently he is using a lot of sea-foam greens and blues in his pastels, which are my favorite! one day i'm going to have my own pope collection and will feature them in my future, bad-ass cottage in ware's wharf, virginia!! oh, the coloring book images are not done by nathan, but by the also talented flannery. i love that nathan hangs them with his own work and have happy thoughts of them making art together in the studio.

in addition to seeing sarah, nathan, flannery and rebecca (beck!), i got to spend time with sarah's cousin (and my old nyc partner in crime) lizzie and finally meet her sweet 8 week old baby, libbie, who she is madly in love with. lizzie hosted a fun girl party my first night in town with sarah, her sister ella and me. lizzie's cool baby nurse, norma (baby nurse to the nyc stars, but you didn't hear it from me) hung out too and there were appearances by both lizzie and sarah's parents (the 'adult-adults'). it was such a relaxing and fun week on the rappahannock river. can't wait to be back home with them for christmas!!

marc's bringing smart back!

it seems there is a problem in upstate new york: college educated kids don't want to stick around. marc vera is an exception to the rule and for that reason (plus he's bad ass), the local rochester news interviewed him. you can watch it here.

this is just a sampling of the wonderful clothing and gift items you can find in his unique boutique :nook (he was sweet enough to give me that blue shirt pictured front and center. i love it! thanks!).

and here he is in :nook apparently saving rochester's day (quote: 'i love it here. i really do.')! MY HERO!

we have a winner!

from The CWA Dagger Awards 2007:

Newcomer Gillian Flynn achieved a remarkable success, with Sharp Objects (published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson) winning both the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the New Blood Dagger. She was also shortlisted for the Duncan Lawrie Dagger. It is a tribute to the broad appeal of her book that it was singled out by three separate panels of judges, acting independently.

YAY GILLIAN! for the full story on the awards ceremony, you can go here (btw, this image was not released by the cwa dagger association, just a good picture i took of her a couple of years ago when we were....yes...drinking).

go talented friends, go!

here is another cute picture of jin hanging out at my old place in williambsburg. you should watch this awesome interview she did with the band the pipettes for filter tv. best interview question in the history of interview questions: 'why polka dots?'

how was everyone's july 4th? i had a great time watching the fireworks over dodger stadium from elysian park. originally i was supposed to visit my uber talented friend gillian (pictured here) in chicago, but NO. little miss success was called to london because her outstanding first novel, sharp objects, was nominated for a mystery-writing award. i couldn't be happier for her. a while ago, i found this essay she wrote, which shows her sneaky, sinister side and will give you a taste of what her book is like if you haven't read it. speaking of sinister, there was a real bitch of a character in her novel named katie (the changing of the vowels doesn't fool me for a second!). joking aside (but seriously bff, that bitch in your book, katie..) she has always been a thoughtful and generous friend to me: she had her publisher offer to reimburse me for my flight to chicago and was sweet enough to thank me in her book acknowledgements (which you will see when you buy it, if you haven't already. paperback out soon!). i can't wait to see her next month at brian and jenny's wedding in vermont!

p.s. i'm bringing glasses back. remember when i used to wear these 24/7? well they are back, but don't get mad at the lasik surgery i had years ago. turns out i still have 20/20 but it's taking my left eye longer to focus than my right and as a result i'm getting headaches. now i just wear these bad boys when i 'm on the computer or reading and there is no more pain. glasses (now that i don't need to wear you all of the time), i'm not gonna lie, i kind of missed you. we were a good team. welcome back!

nyc: we had a park party

so my lovely jin came to the office wednesday night and suggested that we have a central park party STAT! she brought naughty treats (in the form of menthol cigarettes and mint mojito gum!) and we stopped by the liquor store for a screw top bottle of white wine and then headed over to whole foods for some meals to go...

we navigated our way over to sheep's meadow and the park party ensued. in attendance were none other than my ew faves annie barrett, marc vera (who decided to come to town at the last minute) and francisco rosario!!!!

so we ate and drank and made shameful conversation (even within the hearing range of children!) in the unseasonably cool june weather, which i LOVED!! i even had to put an extra coat on! is it still illegal to drink in central park? i thought so until beer-man (to my right in this picture) showed up with his laundry cart covered in some old brown paper and kept mumbling 'cold beer.' speaking of backgrounds, what's going on behind jin in this pic?? sadly, the park party didn't last as long as some of us wanted. but there were those of us who were cold and others who had errands to run and well, we'd run out of twisty-top white wine. so we bid adieu to the always charming annie and francisco and headed over to my hotel, the hudson, for trouble.

marc, jin and i found our sweet spot in the back area of the hudson bar and ordered way overpriced drinks and people watched. people of note were the you're-about-to-get-naked-so-please-get-a-room-right-now-before-we-all-feel-gross-couple and the work party who showed up and screwed up all of the good music, turning it into bad reggae dance hall/ black eyed pea crap. before we had bits and pieces of great 90's brit pop that kept the drinks flowing for us. i believe my favorite part of the whole evening (in an evening full of great moments) was during a pulp song when jin, who was full of giggles, leaned into marc and shouted 'SO, DO YOU WANT ME TO SHAKE MY BOOTY IN YOUR FACE??' it was so funny i had to text it to myself to make sure i didn't forget!! for jin's version of the good time, you can read all about it here!

in addition to the park party, i was lucky enough to be in town for josh's book (BUY IT!) reading on thurday where i saw eve and brian and finally got to catch up with christine. one night i also took in an off broadway production of eurydice with jeanie, got in some quality time with my friends larry b and lizzie s and made trips to my, how i've missed you, favorite restaurants vynl diner, kate's joint and lil frankie's among others.

as an aside, here is my old ew view of the world wide plaza. the work site of my first photo editor job (senior photo editor at sidewalk.com. r.i.p.). the views from l.a. are nice but not half as interesting. sigh. everytime i'm back in new york, i plot my return with more of a vengence. this week was no different, despite a handful of hilarious misadventures (suitcase breaking, rain, rain, rain, and a train...oh and a nasty cab man etc).

and finally i leave you with this picture of little bit just being himself in bed. pretty in pink. isn't he?

TRUE CONFESSION TIME: at the hudson i helped myself to a bar of soap (because it was quality), a travel size shampoo (ditto) and a washcloth (who buys washcloths?). oh no, i also did the 'dirty' eat the pringles and put the empty can back in the drawer to see if they notice act. i meant to replace, bc it would cost a lot less, but didn't. so hudson, if i end up getting busted (i'm so flustered by how many times i show up on google, i thought this blog of many a blog was lost in the shuffle) i accept the charges. just don't overcharge me, please? i love you!

ok new york. i'll see you in september! xo

my friend josh wolk is about to be book famous!! perhaps he is talented friend #2

this is my friend josh's publicity image for his book cabin pressure that is coming out in about three weeks. josh has been a friend of mine for almost a decade and although the critics keep saying that his book is 'hilarious' i have been a pawn of josh's 'funny' pranks for quite a while now. please read the following document that josh sent as his first official office haha aimed at me. i discovered it on the ew.com server in my folder (yes, the folder named FOR KATY) i believe the year was 1999 and i was the ew.com rookie. it was well known in those parts that i loved (er, love) beck:

KATY --

I AM THE SERVER AND I DON'T USUALLY WRITE TO THE PEOPLE WHO USE ME, BECAUSE IT'S NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ME TO PLAY AGAINST THE WHOLE "NO INDEPENDENT THOUGHT" IMAGE THAT I USUALLY GO FOR. BUT YOU PUSHED ME INTO BREAKING CHARACTER.

ANYWAY: STOP CLOGGING ME WITH YOUR PICTURES OF BECK. I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING WITH THEM AND THE WHOLE THING MAKES ME FEEL DIRTY INSIDE. WHY CAN'T YOU SPEND YOUR WORK HOURS DOING WORK LIKE EVERYONE ELSE?

SINCERELY,
EW.COM SERVER

the second prank involved josh getting an instant messenger account using the name of a former boss, who was pushed out of ew.com, and pretending to need urgent weekend photo help with her new post at a porn site. if you really want to read the banter, i'm sure i can track it down and publish it here. i finally caught on to josh's antics after his third online attempt to get me (this time he was pretending to be a sassy black girl from the bronx or queens or somewhere else we would have never been welcome at the time).

anyway, josh grew up and fell in love with a talented woman named christine, who became a close friend of mine, and they had a daughter they named lila. here we are having fun just last summer at their home in beverly hills.

these are picture i took right after miss lila was born about 4 years ago. i remember thinking that their l.a. lives were so great and i couldn't wait to join them here. but oh how things have changed!!

this is one of my favorite pictures of christine. she was so tired yet so fascinated by her life with her new child and josh. and to this day i love to watch how content she is with her family life. the way she looks at josh gives me hope that one day i may be just as smitten with a family of my own. by the way, they have since moved back to brooklyn and i understand lila has a sibling on the way... chris, we need to catch up!!

you can read all about josh wolk here. and that site was put together by our other talented friend stella, who has her own business, hairy legs and co., building websites for nyc and philly's finest!

talented friend #1: jeanie engelbach

jeanie in silver lake


the first of my talented friends who i would like to discuss on this here blog is my dear friend jeanie engelbach, aka queen, aka photojeanie. i met jeanie about 10 years ago when we were working nights at a nyc music venue called tramps. jeanie, a long time fixture in the nyc music scene, worked the front door, selling tickets and carding patrons and i worked in the coat check. at the time she was working various executive assistant jobs and i was working at a low paying (i grossed $400 a week - what?!), demoralizing (it was common to hear my agent screaming 'where the fuck is katy?!' ) talent agency . anyway, we have been friends long enough to watch each other evolve into our current career selves and jeanie is one of the best in the visual merchandising field, having worked for sony style, abc carpet & home and bergdorf goodman, among others.

jeanie on tv!

jeanie's lifestyle has been documented in bust magazine, the new york city metro paper and hgtv's ' small space big style . each feature emphasizes jeanie's knack for interior design, specializing in bold colors, flea market collections and pinup/rock 'n' roll diy. jeanie also has her own photo archiving business , which i have added to my 'a few of my favorite links' section for you to put to use or recommend to others!

jeanie has not only been a good friend for a decade but she is also the only person who sends me a valentine every year! let's here it for jeanie: YAY!