Addictions

I have a few things
that I have been addicted to recently.

*Bon Appetite Magazine.
I love looking at pictures of food, don't ask why
it has just always been so. Besides the sweet
food porn, there is also good articles and
great recipes. I'm debating a subscription.













*PerezHilton.com
Yes, I love reading trashy gossip.
and this is the perfect place to do it!

*Bagelsmith's in Williamsburg.
They make the best bacon, egg and cheese
in Brooklyn. and they don't have a minimum
for cards, and since I rarely carry cash, this is
an amazing plus. All the people that work there
are super nice as well.

















have a good weekend!! xoxo

new drawings and such.

As previously mentioned,
I spent some time drawing today

and this is what I did.

















This is still not quite the way I want it yet,
but i'm getting closer.
Maybe I will change it to a penguin
and a seal, or walrus. Not sure yet.

















This guy should look familiar,
this is a new take on the insurance salesman,
I've gotten rid of the suit and left only
a bow tie, and a briefcase filled with limbs.





















This is a drawing I've been working on
for some time. I just keep going back and doing
a little at a time.
In case you cannot tell, this is the Vampire Squid.
A terrifying cephalopod, that curls up into his
own tentacles. I love it.

In other news, I'm headed to the Barc shelter
once again, to do some dog walking.
I'll probably just walk sergio today,
whenever I walk sofia, I always need a shower
afterwards.

and then the rains came..

It feels like they never stop!
This is the rainiest NY summer
that I can recall.

I'm thinking today I'll spend
the entire day drawing and gluing
stuff together.
My life has been so consumed with
finding another job,
and trying to make my rent
that I just haven't had the time
to create anything. sad.

In a perfect world I'd get to the
Pratt silkscreening lab and bust out
some brand new prints..but we'll see how
that pans out! Because right now,
no spending can happen. At least until
the rent and bills are taken care of.

I have to imagine that other twenty-something
artists are struggling with the same issues.

How can we find a medium of semi-stability
and have time and $$ for art? I'm still
working on figuring out the answer.

This was a strange post, I think I just needed
to throw some thoughts out there and have a mini
starving artist pity party. But thats over now.
I promise a much more interesting post later. fact.

xo

Lazy Bones

I was doing so well with my blogging,
but it is just so easy to fall behind.

I have been fairly busy though,
once again I found myself on a train
to New Jersey. Had a nice 2 day visit
and got to see the Sex & the City movie
with my bestest friend Meghan.
pictured here.





















It was exactly what I wanted it to be,
and yes I did tear up at some parts.
Like any good series, you become so
involved with these characters,
it's hard not to get emotional.

My worst emotional attachments were
either Six Feet Under (I have yet to hear
(from a person that didn't cry their eyes out
at the finale), and the British Office.
When Dawn comes back for Tim,
my heart jumps and I always lose it.



I guess I'm a series nerd. oh well.

Speaking of movies I've seen,
last night the bf, mr sebeckis, and I
went to see Encounters at the End of the World.
(After watching Spain defeat Italia in a heartbreaking
shootout.) Naturally, I was cheering for the boot.

Back to Werner's movie, it was fantastic!
Had it not been for his charming wit, I definitely
believe that this would have been a very depressing film.
The images were absolutely beautiful and other
worldy, the organic shapes that occur will always blow my mind.

The movie is only at the Film Forum until tomorrow
(Tuesday) So if you have not seen it, I highly recommend it!


I had intentions to post the six feet under finale, but after
watching it again, I don't want to bring
my readers down. so here are some of my
favorites from icanhascheesburger.com

My New Favorite Person

Werner Herzog.

His new documentary, Encounters at the End
of the World, is right up my alley.
Taking place in Antarctica above and below the ice,
Herzog shows us the humans and creatures that call
this place home.

My favorite thing about him is
the words he chooses to express himself.
The statements that he makes in the video
featured below, are the reason he is my new
favorite person. It makes me laugh.
No one could ever describe the jungle this way.





Other Herzog Gems.

-on our civilization


-on language

Etsy Favs

It has been quite some time
since I've posted some favs
but here we go.

The first item comes from Magic Jelly
I am a huge fan of her work,
and fairly jealous that I cannot
gocco like she can.

All pieces are vintage style,
with intricate patterns and
collages. fantastic.

This little fox is one of my favorites
and is very affordable at $15.




















Our next item comes from Dark Elegance Designs.
In this shop there is an array of beautiful
necklaces, earrings and chokers.
Obviously the Alice necklaces are a favorite
of mine, I love anything Alice.






















Finally we have Gypsy and Twink,
I just found this shop today and already am in love.
Little wooden shapes + collage= happiness.
The fruits with the birds inside is
kind of a brilliant idea. Those are definitely
my favorites. But I also liked this guy.

My Little Friend

This is Sergio.

















My new friend at the Barc Shelter.
I walked him again this morning,
and he is a bit of a slow mover
but a total sweetheart.

Walking dogs makes me so happy!

After I shower I am going to post a list
of my etsy favs, because it has been forver
since I have done so.

But for now I will leave you with this.
The bf's video from the aquarium.

shoes and ships and ceiling wax.

It is still hot out, but it is
a very comfortable hotness.
finally!!

I wanted to get out of my house
so I decided to walk a dog
at the barc shelter.
(the shelter I donate to)

I got Sergio, a cute little fuzzball
who was very obedient and quiet.
Naturally I talked to him
and gave him some lovins.
I am thinking of going back later
and walking him again.

I have all this spare time on my hands
why not use it to help some cute doggies.

In artsy news I have been obsessed with
folding paper into book form.
So that is what I have been doing lately
(because right now I can't afford gocco supplies)
and I'm enjoying it.
My favorite is the pocket accordion with hard covers.
Perfect for holding business cards and other flat trinkets.

I don't know if I could sell these, but I enjoy making them!
Pictures will be posted of the books and Sergio later

I Heart New Orleans (final installation)

Supposedly, New Orleans is one of
the most haunted cities in the US.
I believe that, the city has seen
quite a bit of trauma in its time.

And I also got creepy feelings from
certain places, some of which
produced orbs in the photos I took
(yes I am a ghost nerd)

Some of the stories are pretty lengthy
so just click on the name to take you to
the whole- or mostly whole- story.

My favorite, and arguably the most gruesome
is the LaLaurie house.





















This is said to be the most haunted property
in NOLA, and understandably so once you hear the story.
Every time I photographed this house an orb turned up,
which didn't happen with some of the other places.































































Oddly enough, the newest owner of this house is
Nicolas Cage- who paid $3.4 million for it.


This next story is about Marie Laveau, The Voodoo Queen.



















That second site isn't ideal, but to leave out the legend
of Ms. Laveau would be wrong.
New Orleans has a long history of voodoo, and it is
just another part of what makes this city so special.


Finally, we have Muriel's, a fine dining establishment
that scared the crap out of me. (Thought the food was divine)
You can read about their ghost story, but for this I'm going to
tell you about my own experience.

While we were waiting for the check,
the bf got up to go to the bathroom.
I sat at the table and began to look around the room,
my focus stopped on the servers in their little corner.
All of a sudden I felt this rush of cold air go by,
or possibly right through, me.
I quickly looked around and the servers were still in
their corner, and no one was around to have caused this.
Freak out #1.

Once we were finished we asked our server about the supposed
seance room upstairs. He confirmed that it existed and told us
that we could check it out if we liked.
At the bottom of the steps to the second floor
there sits a table set for 2, with full wine glasses and
a basket of break on the table.
It is reserved for the previous owner of the property
and his guest. The note on the table also warns guests not
to sit down or eat from the table, as it is bad karma.
Freak out #2

We begin to climb the steps and I officially freak out.
I don't like the feeling that I'm getting,
and it is getting colder by the second.
The bf argues that all the AC units were upstairs,
and I said that heat rises-there is no way it can be this cold.

The seance rooms were beautiful but very creepy
and just a little too quiet for me.
















The weird part is that all the photos I took,
lacked those orbs that I had seemed to find all over the city.
So is Muriel's really haunted? I don't know
But I do know that it made me so uncomfortable
that I did not want to stay to find out.

Mini Post before the real post...

Apologies for being kind of lax
with my postings.
The temp in NYC is in the 90's.
and that makes me lazy bunny.

But my AC has been installed
and I'm currently up to the task
of blogging my little heart out.

xo

I Heart New Orleans (part 2)

Here we are again, 

for the second installment

in my New Orleans trilogy.

This portion is dedicated 

to all the delicious food

 we ate.

Our first meal was at Johnny's Po' Boy

where there are quite a lot of choices

of things for you to have in your po' boy.

The bf had catfish, and I went the easy route 

and had chicken fingers.

It was so delicious here is me eating my smamich.

For dinner we ended up stumbling into NOLA

which is Emeril's restaurant (who knew!)

and that also was absolutely wonderful.

If you go, as an appetizer, get the pizza with duck confit, 

arugula, truffle oil and fried egg.

No words will do this justice, I forgot to take a photo

of this culinary treat. But just imagine

 heaven on a plate.

For the next 2 days we had breakfast at Cafe Du Monde.

A wonderful outdoor cafe that serves basically 2 things.

Coffee and beignets.

(I think they have soda and oj too. 

but why go there to get them??)

This was the best way to begin the day!!

For lunch we managed to eat 1 lb of crawfish, 

that may or may not be 

the first and last time I do so...

But it was good, and I fully enjoyed the crabcakes as well!

I can't recall the name of this place but its in the French Market 

and they have an outdoor cafe, where they boil them in front of you.

Our last day there we had breakfast 

at the famous Brennan's.

They have a prix fix which is a little pricey

but totally worth every penny.

I had the strawberries and cream, eggs portuguese, 

and the bananas foster. With a mimosa and cafe au lait.

Quite wonderful. 

Oh and we also ate at Muriel's

but I'll save that story for the next and final installment.

I Heart New Orleans (part 1)

We arrived back to NY yesterday

and the bf and I are already planning

our next trip to the crescent city.

We had such a great time, 

ate amazing food, and I became

somewhat addicted to one of their

local beers. The Abita Strawberry.

It's so magical, if you can find it

I suggest you try it.

I'm thinking the topic of New Orleans

is going to be a 3 part post.

This one will be devoted to randomness, 

the next will be for food, and the last 

will be for haunted places.

Here are a few pictures from our trip.

This is us at the Gazebo Cafe, where we

drank our Abita's and listened to live music

This is the view of Jackson Square, which 

is quite a lovely place to hang out.

But the church kind of made us feel like

we were taking our picture by Cinderella's Castle

in Disney World...

This was my favorite building..I'm a sucker 

for balconies. and this city is full of them!

This is my favorite picture!

We visited the aquarium, and this is 

my new friend. I said hello to many of 

the fishes and animals there.

Dear Diary, Jackpot.

The latest edition of the Time Out NY
food awards has come out.
So the bf told me to pick a place to eat
from the best of's.

After scouring the pages I decided on
Fette Sau. Because, to me, a good BBQ place
beats out any kind of gourmet fare.
fact.
















Let me say that Fette Sau did not disappoint.
We arrived to find it totally packed, yet
we were still able to find seats (score)
The daily meat menu is written on a chalkboard
and you buy your meats of choice by the pound.
This system is also used with the side dishes.

Our choices were 1/2 lb of pulled pork
1/4 lb of brisket and a small order
of german potato salad. You also receive 2 slices
of potato bread per person, thus enabling you
to create the most delicious pulled pork smamich ever.
(i wish i had taken a picture of our platter,
but i had to steal one from google images. wah wah...)
















The sauces are available on the table,
and the sweet sauce is amazing.
For beverages you have a nice choice of beers,
locally made sodas, and whiskeys.

I loved this place so much, I'm thinking
that I may have my 25th birthday dinner here. haha.


In other news the bf and I are leaving
for New Orleans tomorrow!!
I am so excited to stuff my face with good food!
I'll take lots of pictures and post when i return!
Have a good week everyone
xo

Hello Sunshine.

Finally! 

Yesterday was the first friday 

in a very long time, 

where the sun was shining all day.

It was glorious!

Yesterday was also fun

I had lunch with my friend Avia,

and while we were stuffing our faces 

with large chocolate ice cream cones,

I was approached by a woman and a photographer

who were wondering if they could take my picture

for french Glamour.

Random right?

Naturally I agreed, and they said that it would

be in the August issue! woo!

The guy who photographed me also gave me his card

and he does a very cool fashion blog.

I had a lot of time to kill be

fore work

so I stopped in at the old job and said hi to everyone.

Then I did something that I haven't done in ages.

I wandered in and out of stores.

This rarely happens because I am so broke

and I often find it hard to restrain myself 

when I see items that I feel I must own.

Luckily I am fully aware that I have no money.

And I simply enjoyed browsing.

I stopped in at

-Lugo

-Dinosaur Designs (I LOVE this place)

-The Iron Fairies

-Obscura

-Sustainable NYC

I am kind of obsessed with this bracelet from

Dino Designs, if they have it in gold

I think I will have to go into debt for it...

oh! and there was this great store on 10th 

possibly between 1st and A,

that had a wonderful collection of cacti.

I will definitely be back there buying some.

you know, when I have money someday..

A few things...

#1:

Yesterday I hit my 100th heart on etsy!

and I thought that was pretty cool.

So, in honor of 100 people liking me

I am adding 10% off everything in my shop

until Sunday 5/25. yay!

#2: A Note to Mother Nature.

Dear Mrs. Nature,

You are driving me crazy.

One moment it is raining, 

next its blue skies and sun.

Make up your mind, 

and by make up your mind

I mean send us some summer weather...

Love, 

JessChambers

#3

I created a new sketch for a gocco print

and this is it.

Sweet Steven Jenkins napping with Fluffy J Bunny,

Fluffy J is dreaming of cupcakes,

while Jenkins dreams of human limbs....

so sweet and so deadly.

Once these are made I'll be posting them on etsy.

naturally.

#4

Here is a photo of the painting for the bf

it's almost finished!

#5

I'ts been a very long time but I plan

on doing another Etsy Fav post soon.

I've been finding lots of cool sellers and items.

xo

What Nots

Today started out so beautiful.

The sun was shining, it was warm enough

to leave the jacket home....

and now it looks as dreary as it did yesterday. 

what is going on!?!

I'm about to take a much needed nap

(i'm still feeling semi-lousy)

but I wanted to post my newest gocco cards

featuring my squid and his best friend.

When the sun decides to shine through

my window again, I will take better pictures

and post them on etsy.

And a big thank you to everyone that has 

kept baby joel in their thoughts and prayers!

xoxo

Randomness.

It's been nice to be home,

I spent the weekend with the bf.

We caught up on the Tudors,

had dinner at Quaint, stuffed our faces

with Chipotle, and saw Iron Man.

I wasn't sure that I'd like it, because

I don't follow comics so I was 

kind of clueless about the plot.

But I really enjoyed it!

I love Robert Downey Jr, I'm glad he 

got himself together, 

because he is such a good actor.

Oh and if you do go see it, 

stay until the credits are over.

There is a bit of a teaser at the end!

the bf knew about it so we got to see it.

Before the movie we were strolling around

the Virgin Megastore and looking at movies.

I finally found a movie I had been searching for

called  "Midnight".

Couldn't buy it because I'm broke

but I like knowing that I can buy it.

I found a few other movies 

that I had the bf netflix for me.

-The Red Shoes (Ballerina!)

-The Night Porter( it looks sexy)

-Le Samourai(curiouser and curiouser)

In baby news, little Joel is hanging in there.

and here is his first picture.

What a Week

I am finally back in brooklyn.

after the craziest week in new jersey.

So far my nephew is hanging in there,

we're taking it day by day and just praying

that he will make it through all this.

Meanwhile I had been playing "mom" for the week

and running the house. Let me just say,

that I have no idea how my mom does it.

By the end of each day I was absolutely exhausted.

It's nice to be in my own large bed,

I think before work I am going to take a very long nap.

The posting will get back to normal now!

hooray!

Gone to Jersey.

This is just a quick update.

My sister went into premature labor

yesterday (mother's day of course)

and they had to do an emergency c section

and bring my little nephew into this world 3 1/2

months early.

So far mom and baby are doing alright.

I'm taking a train home today to see them-

and stay for however long.

So the blog will be quiet for a few days.

If you are reading this please keep my sister

and my little nephew in your thoughts and prayers!

I want to be her.

go here

your own, personal, New York.

As usual I started my morning off with a reading
of the Gothamist, to see what's happening in my city.

There was a link to an article about how
women are making pilgrimages to NY
to see the Sex & the City landmarks.
There are bus tours, and even a service
(a very expensive one i'm sure)
that will take you to the restaurants, stores,
and even let you get some botox.
All in the name of reliving this show.

If this is your obsession, and you have the $$
I guess, go for it.
However, the New York lifestyle portrayed in this show
is very different than the lifestyle of most New Yorkers.

Obviously.

I realize that Sex & the City is the new urban fairy tale,
but maybe instead of trying to relive something fictional,
you come to nyc to make it your own.

I have little spots all over the city, that I consider "mine".
My favorite place to sit in Union Square (near the dog park),
Favorite restaruant ('inoteca), favorite chinese restaurant
(yummy house aka hoes), favorite street (clinton st)
you get the point.

So I guess my message to these ladies

is to forget the bus tour.
get out there and find your own New York.

Life in this city can still play out like a fairy tale,
even if you are wearing 10$ shoes from kmart
and drinking 1$ PBR's.

rain rain go away.

it's pouring outside.

right now i'm in my bed

recovering from the trip 

to the post office and former job.

I say recovering because my pants were soaked, 

and with that came the inevitable freezing

of my entire body.

On the plus side I picked up 2 paychecks

and got my etsy order sent out.

Now I am inside until I have to

go to work around 5.15

I think I'll work on the bf's painting

which I will not post in case he reads this.

But as always I'll leave you with something.

Clips from the British version of The Office
which always manage to make me laugh.
Have a good Friday bunnies!

Hands off my buns!

I am proud to say that after hours

(literally) of preparation,

my cinnamon buns are in the oven!

yay!!

This is what they looked like before going in

I have to say that I am pretty proud of myself.

Throughout the day I became a little more motivated.

I began painting the bf's drawing of the squid and owl, 

and actually made these from scratch.

Also, while sitting here waiting for the buns to rise 

and whilst i posted on the etsy forums, 

I got my biggest sale yet!

3  squid prints!

It really made my day.

Well! the buns are finally finished

and in about 10 minutes katie (my roommate)

and I will be feasting on them

I hope they taste as good as they smell!!

This is the final product!!

I could never live in Seattle.

When the sun is not shining

I find it hard to do anything.

I tried to sew. couldn't finish.

Tried to paint. hated everything I did.

Thought about baking something. 

cant find a good recipe.

It's cloudy and I am unmotivated.

This is one thing I do not like about myself,

but am not really sure how to fix.

I think I might get myself out of the house

in a bit, maybe to Barnes and Noble.

Maybe to pick up some baking supplies.

I really want cinnamon buns...

and after looking at that photo 

I'm thinking that I may go for it.

I'll report back later with my

cinnamon bun adventure.

Takin' it Easy.

Today was a nice day.

I filed for unemployment, ran errands,

snacked on watermelon, drew a sea slug,

watched the newest gossip girl (guilty pleasure),

took a nice nap, made mexican lasanga for dinner, 

and now i'm watching Enchanted (for the millionth time)

drinking peppermint tea, and fixing my cheetah squid.

I wish that I sold enough of my own stuff

to bring in some real income.

Because I'd love to have nice days like this, always.

But who doesn't?

This won't be a very long post because I want to keep working.

But i'll leave you with this walrus dancing to smooth criminal.

and let me say that I am totally willing to be his next dance partner.

What a Weekend...

So, this Saturday around 4:30am

I received a text informing me that

due to my extremely limited schedule

(which is only somewhat limited)

I was being let go.

so yeah...

I have a lot of time on my hands now.

Which I'm not sad about.

I used that extra time to make these cards today.

Say hello to the Nautilus.

The lighting is bad in my room right now

so I'll be posting them on etsy tomorrow.

In other news besides the freak firing occurence,

the weekend was pretty good.

My sister came to town for a visit

and we had an excellent time.

The bf and I took her to Central Park, 

Williamsburg, and Kenka for dinner.

This is her struggling with chopsticks

-though I will say that she has since improved.

Yesterday we hung out in soho and 

then spent the rest of the night in brooklyn.

This morning we just hung out in Union Square 

and watched the dogs at the dog park.

It was an excellent time.

This is another picture of her

where you can see her cute little belly.

When I took this she was stuffing her face

with Kinder Happy Hippos.

I think this is so cute.

I can't wait for Reggie to get here!!

I like this.

I think this is totally adorable.

it makes me want to own a family of raccoons.

and can you blame them?

who doesn't want ice cream?!

this guy is mean for not sharing. fact.

A Visitor

Tomorrow my sister Nan
(the one having the baby!)
is coming to visit me.

I'm not really sure what we will be doing yet
It's supposed to be a pretty lousy day
weather-wise. And that usually means a day
of stuffing my face with good food!

No complaints here.
I think monday the bf and I will take her
to central park, whatever stores she wants to go to,
and buy her whatever food she has a craving for.

Here are some foods i'm craving at this moment,
and restaurant suggestions! haha.

Pork Buns at Ssam Bar

(i think i write about these all the time...)

Polenta at 'inoteca

(and everything else in this picture, 

'inoteca is my FAVORITE place to eat)

Spaghetti Carbonara at Crispo

(seriously the most perfect carbonara ever.)

Shrimp Tempura roll at Lure (job #1)

(no picture for this one. sorry kids!)

Hope everyone has a good saturday!!

Randomness.

Right now I am just lounging in bed, 

eating strawberry ice cream

and watching Monty Python

(I have a few Flying Circus dvds)

I don't have work until 6 today

so it's kind of nice to just

do nothing.

Well I'm not really doing nothing, 

I'm researching nocturnal animals

for my "night series" with my squid.

the owl and squid print previously featured

is #1 in the series.

I'll leave you with some python clips

Monty Python Ministry Of Silly Walks - The most popular videos are here

Hooray for May!

I'm finding it hard to believe it is May.

Where does the time go??

It's only the 1st and this month looks promising.

the bf and I are taking our trip to New Orleans,

the aquarium called and I go for an interview on Sunday, 

and my new hostess job starts tomorrow.

Things are good.

I've been gocco-ing as much as possible

and today I created these

It's birthday squid surprise!

I also made gift tags with him on them.

I've become a big fan of postcards rather than folded cards.

I can't really say why.

Soon they will be posted on etsy. 

$3 each or 4 for $10.

In other news, my friend Christina

sent me a link to a NY Times article

about a Colossal squid that was being studied.

In the article it linked to the researchers blog

and it is heaven. 

You can find it here, or in the side link bar.

My favorite is the picture of the huge beak!!

Just look at that thing! 

Totally terrifying but amazing.

The only thing that bothers me 

is that the title of the NYT article was

"Giant Squid has biggest eye in world, 

scientists say"

OK. this is not a Giant squid.

this is a Colossal squid.

You are probably thinking -

Jess, it's practically the same thing.

But it isn't.

Here are a few differences.

Colossal Squid-Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni

Giant Squid- Architeuthis

Colossal Squid- suckers with hooks

Giant Squid- suckers with small teeth

Colossal Squid-grows 39-46 feet

Giant Squid-33-43 feet

The NYT needs to get their facts straight.

Besides the title the article is interesting, 

but I encourage all readers to head to the

Te Papa blog. They have great pictures and 

interesting facts!