Seth Godin does Creative Mornings

I was incredibly fortunate to attend Seth Godin‘s lecture at last Friday’s Creative Mornings. The free tickets sold out in 45 seconds! And for good reason. Seth is an awesome speaker who has amazing ideas and great conversation starters about all kinds of professional topics.

Although this talk sounds like its aimed at designers, the lessons can really be applied to almost any profession (especially the music industry, industry friends!). Watch the 20 minute talk above. I promise it is well worth your time.

[via swissmiss]

Desaparecidos

During my second year of college, I got into Conor Oberst‘s mostly solo, emo-masterpiece Bright Eyes BIG TIME. When he joined social commentary rock band Desaparecidos and released “Read Music/Speak Spanish”, I loved having a punk alternative to his soulful sad songs.

I have seen Bright Eyes live many times. When I was 20, I saw him play the Horseshoe in Toronto then drove with four friends to Montreal the very next day to see him again. (I also got up the nerve to introduce myself to him and tell him I loved the new record before that show. On stage, he told a story about a Canadian girl who offered to marry him so he could live in our country instead of America. All of my guy friends thought that was me, and I never corrected them – until now.)

Although Desaparecidos did tour briefly, I don’t think they ever came to Canada so I never saw them. I was so happy to finally get the chance to see them live last night at New York’s Webster Hall. They were great! Lively and passionate and spot on with every song. Not to mention, they played all their old songs, with just a few that I believe to be new and a cover of opening band/their best touring friends Joyce Manor.

Sorry for the vertical video – I was holding my phone out over the balcony and didn’t feel comfortable holding it sideways! Also the floor was actually bouncing with people rocking out. What a great show!

P.S. I was standing a few feet away from Conor before they played in the VIP area and, yes ladies, he is still a cutie pie.

Parents Come To Greenpoint

This weekend, for the first time since Nick and I were married, my parents came to visit us in Brooklyn!

And although they’ve come to visit us three times now, this was the first time they were able to be here with no agenda, no plans, and not have to even venture into Manhattan. It was so nice to show them our neighbourhood and give them an idea of how we live here.

They arrived Friday evening, so we made dinner at home and hung out on the couch, drinking a bottle of wine from my favourite neighbourhood wine shop, just talking. On Saturday, after a bagel breakfast, we walked to Williamsburg and had lunch at Smorgasburg. I took my Mom to Dalaga (my favourite!) where she got to buy a cute sweater and scarf. We had a tasty dinner at Habitat and spent another night in, chatting on our comfy couch that has convinced them they need a sectional for their cottage ;)

This morning, we had brunch at Brooklyn Label and walked around Greenpoint, then to McCarren Park and back. It was such a beautiful, warm Fall day!

Since I got my sense of humour from them, I knew they’d appreciate our “Live Chicken Laughter” sign.

They should be landing back home in Toronto right about now. Thanks for coming to visit, Mom & Dad! We hope you liked Greenpoint and that you come back again real soon.

One Week After The Storm

Yesterday marked one week since Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast. I spent that day preparing for a disaster, but hoping it would be unnecessary. Luckily, it was. One week ago today, Nick and I stepped out of our apartment building after being inside for 24 hours, wearing rain boots, since our windows face a courtyard, we were unsure of what exactly the situation was going to be. Surprisingly, our main street was packed with people going about their normal routines just like any other day, with the exception of some blown over construction walls, scaffolding left askew, and one building blocked off because pieces of brick were falling from it.

We knew from the nonstop coverage on TV that we were very lucky. The Rockaways, Jersey Shore, and Staten Island were absolutely pummeled and there was irreversible damage done to many houses, schools, and even waterfront landmarks.

Last week was definitely disorienting. I’m fortunate that I always work from home, but since the subway was almost completely shut down the entire week, Nick was forced to work from home as well. On Wednesday, he had a friend drive him and his two assistants to work in Midtown and it took 2 hours to get there. They walked home in 1.5 hours. Still, there are no subways running in Greenpoint and the buses are packed. It seems though that New York knows how fortunate it is and no one is complaining. We’re all happy just to be warm and safe.

This is the first time I’ve dealt with a natural disaster. It’s strange in so many ways. I’m relieved that Nick and I, and our friends, are fine, but it’s hard to relax knowing what the affected areas are going through. I want to help them, but because of the gas shortage and subway service, getting there is difficult. The best Nick and I can do so far is to have friends who lost power in the city over for hot showers, food, and phone charging. We’ve also made a sizable Red Cross donation. Still, I am so inspired to see so many business and individuals running drives to collect supplies for those areas. If you think New Yorkers are cold and heartless, you are wrong!

Do you want to help too? Check out these links: Donate to Red Cross | Help | New York Cares

Photo: NBC News

The Hurricane

All of this hurricane talk makes me want to watch The Simpsons, specifically Hurricane Neddy.

If only I had season 8! For now, I’ll continue to scour Twitter for info, watch the news, and keep Nick from eating all our food tonight.

How is it where you are?

Hurricane Sandy Visits NYC

I have officially gone into survival mode now that the impending storm should be hitting within hours. Nick and I bought food and water yesterday, but this morning I woke up and started filling containers and pots with water. We’ve been charging our electronics and bought more batteries for the iPod dock we can charge our phones with. I’ve washed and cut up vegetables for us and bought even more cereal and crackers. Still at this point, we’ve been waiting for the storm to hit for almost a day and it’s hard to concentrate on anything else.

I appreciate everyone who has checked in on us. We will be staying in our apartment and waiting this out. Our area might flood, but will probably lose power which will mean we’ll lose internet. I just hope our cell phone service holds so I can let everyone know we are doing fine.

Take care everybody! xoxo

Never Enough

I am a firm believer that you can never have too many photographs.

Whether you take photos of your family…

…Your friends…

…Amazing animals…

…Funny attractions…

…Exciting moments in someone else’s life…

…Encouraging signage…

…Even when you’re riding a double decker bus in London and your husband thinks it’s time to stop taking photos, it probably isn’t.

 

Because someday you’re going to look back on these photos and be so glad you took the time to take them.

Tell me, what do you take photos of and do you take them often?

Also, I’m becoming an Instagram addict. Find me there: “christinastorch”.

My New NYC & Brooklyn City Guide

Being from Toronto means that I have a lot of friends and family who want to spend their vacations in New York. It’s just far enough to make you feel like you’re in a completely different place, but the plane ride is only one hour. This also means that I give out recommendations for restaurants, shopping, and things to do and see year-round. Summer is an even busier time for visitors (which I love!), so I thought this would be a perfect time to update my New York & Brooklyn City Guide.

This time, I’ll break it up into categories, posting one a day. Stay tuned for what could be your new favourite place to visit in New York!

{photo: Joisey Showaa}

Two Years

Two years ago today, Nick and I got married at City Hall in Manhattan.

And since then, I’ve fallen in love with him even more.

I’m truly a very lucky lady. Happy anniversary, donkey!

(To see more photos and read the play-by-play of our city hall wedding, go here and here. To see our favourite wedding present, go here.)

Practicing Yoga in NYC

Those who know me well know I love yoga. I started about five years ago with free classes at my gym in Toronto and have progressively gotten more serious about my practice since then. Finding a yoga studio that’s right for you is on par with finding the right hairdresser – they’ve got to make you feel comfortable and give you what you want to make you come back. Luckily, I found Sangha Yoga Shala in Williamsburg after trying just two other studios in the city. The owner and one of the studio’s most prominent instructors, Alana Kessler, is just amazing. I’ve never been athletic in my life, but she makes me feel like I can do anything as long as I work at it. As a result, I can do things now that I actually laughed at in disbelief when she demonstrated them to me about 15 months ago.

Last weekend, I was happy to participate in the filming of the studio’s new testimonial video. Check out my moves and sweaty post-yoga face:

{Photo by Armando Zubieta}