Hello everyone!

I started to write a post last night about how I made the cupcakes, but I got side-tracked and didn't finish. I'd finish right now, but I'm on my way to Coney Island with the family. My sister and her husband wanted to take Nora and Jack there before it closes, and my Dad, who's in town visiting from Arizona, has never been. So anyway, that's my plan for the day!

Back to the cupcakes... in case you're curious about them and can't wait until tonight, I uploaded a few more pictures to my flickr account, so click on the photo of Nora a few posts down and it will take you there.

Okay, bye bye and have a lovely day!

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Kissing Lessons

Simply amazing... Kissing with Ross.

Cupcakes Update

Oh my gosh I feel like I'm going to die. I finished decorating the cupcakes and cookies at 2am. Pictures in the morning because I just can't bear to pull out the camera, upload the pics, etc.

UPDATE:

Cupcakes Are Done!

Baking, that is.



I haven't started decorating them yet. I've decided to wait until Nora goes to bed.

Dylan's Candy Bar

I just left Dylan's Candy Bar, my favorite candy shop in New York. It's located on Third and 60th, kitty corner from the uptown Bloominmgdale's. If you ever visit New York, you should check it out.

Anywho... I was there getting candy to decorate Nora's birthday cupcakes with and you'll never guess what I scored... white cotton candy for the sheep! It was supposed to be purple, but whoever dyed it didn't do a very good job because half of it was white. But their mistake is my gain. Yay for me!

Oh, btw, I'm not making only sheep cupcakes. I'm making pigs, chicken, and cows, too. I'm also making cookies that spell out "E-I-E-I-O". That was my sister's idea; I can't take credit for it. The big baking day is tomorrow and I'll post pictures, so make sure you check in!

Btw, Dylan's was started by Ralph Lauren's daughter, Dylan. Totally random, but did you know his real last name is "Lipshitz"? It is. Ralph Lipshitz, that's it. Doesnt quite have the same ring as "Lauren," does it? (Was that in a movie? How do I know that?)


Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Britney

I'm listening to my iPod right now and "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" just came on and it made me get all teary-eyed. Especially the beginning part where she goes, "I used to think... I had the answers to everything. But now I know... that life doesn't always go my way." Oh, and that part that goes, "I'm not a girl, there is no need to protect me. It's time that I... learn to face up to this on my own."

I love Britney. I hope she gets better.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Gus

And the winner of the World's Ugliest Dog Contest is...

Gus! A Chinese Crested with one eye and three legs!





Relinquishing his crown is last year's winner, Elwood:



And don't forget Sam, the winner for three years in a row before him:



I think Elwood's my favorite.

BTW, have you noticed how the winners have all been Chinese Cresteds? Kind of makes me want one.

Ants

I learned this last night while watching a show on the National Geographic Channel:

Ants groom themselves regularly, are very clean and don't transmit diseases. So, if you see an ant crawl across something you are eating, the only thing you need to do is flick it away and then continue eating.

Beaverly

I just looked up the origin of Beverly's name and learned that it's Old English and means "from a beaver meadow."

Yes, a beaver meadow.

I'm going to call her "BEAVERlee" from now on.

Infamous

I watched "Infamous" last night, the movie about Truman Capote. It was released a little bit after "Capote" and didn't get as much attention, but, oh my God, how I LOVED it! Toby Jones did a knock-out job portraying Capote, and, even though I LOVE Phillip Seymour Hoffman, I think I liked his (Jones') portrayal more.

Anyway, it was really, really great movie. It's a drama, but it's also funny, and the costume and set design are amazing. Other people in it are Sigourney Weaver, Isabella Rosellini (who looks gorgeous, btw), Sandra Bullock (who plays Harper Lee), and Daniel Craig (who plays one of the killers.)

BTW, Truman Capote wrote both Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood in the basement apartment of this house in Brooklyn Heights:

He talks about it in another book he wrote called A House on the Heights.

I always knew he lived in Brooklyn Heights, but never knew where. I just Google-mapped it...

View Larger Map

...and, based on its location, realized that I've probably walked past it a million times. I'm going to have to go back now and take my own picture.

UPDATE: Ooh, lookie! You can rent the house!

Cupcakes Take The Cake

Thank you, Marisol, for sending me the link to the website, Cupcakes Take The Cake.

I actually know two of the the lovely ladies behind it, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Nichelle Stephens (I don't know you, Allison, but you seem really nice!), and I didn't even occur to me to use it as a place to get ideas for Nora's birthday cupcakes.

Click here to watch the ladies on Martha Stewart and when your done, swing on over to Cupcakes Take The Cake and say hello.

Farm Animal Cupcakes

Nora's birthday party is Saturday and I'm in charge of the cupcakes. Since the theme is going be "farm animals," I've been looking on Flickr to get some ideas on how to decorate them. Here are my favorites so far:

Pigs:


Piggy Cupcakes Tower (via bhil250)


Cows:


Mooo cupcakes (via angelzcup)


Sheep:


Another sheep cupcakes (via momskitchen)


I can't seem to find any decorated like chickens or chicks. (Aside from sticking a Peep on top of it.)

What are some other farm animals?

Roller Skates

I want to get some outdoor roller skates for exercising. I'd get roller blades, but 1.) I can't stop in them, and 2.) Roller skates are so much more fun.

I've been looking online for a nice pair and I think I've decided to get the short ones that look like sneakers as opposed to the tall ones that look like ice skates.

So, this:


day 254: i don't want to take them off., originally uploaded by i am krisan.

Not this:



I can get different colored wheels and fun glittery laces; I can make them really cute.

I like roller skating. I used to do it all the time when I was younger. I'm going to put them on my birthday list.

Beverly Loves Me

Beverly french-kissed me this morning.

It was an accident.



She walked over to where I was lying on the bed, and just as I opened up my mouth to say, "Hi," she came at me with tongue.

It was wet and slippery. Especially against my teeth.

Brooklyn Rainbow

I took this a few minutes from my rooftop:



Whenever I see a rainbow from now on, I'm going to think of Tim Russert. Based on the location of this one, heaven is somewhere between Williamsburg and Windsor Terrace.

UPDATE: This photo was featured on Curbed! Thanks!

A Little Something For The Ladies...

Goldie Cox, originally uploaded by Karyn Bosnak.

Ladies, I took this for you today at the Mermaid Parade.

Enjoy.

Mermaid Parade

Coney Island's Mermaid Parade is tomorrow and I'm going! I'm going!

I'm bringing my camera and I hope to get some good pics.

Jack Is...

One cute baby.

He always sticks his tongue out of his mouth like this. I think he's channeling Jordan.


PS - Again, I took this with a special lens. His legs aren't freakishly long.

Great Bookshelf

Books in fireplaces. Love this.




Via Sarah Is Rad (she is) via Bellavita

Marbles In My Mouth

Sometimes when I talk, I sound like I have marbles in my mouth. It's like my tongue's too big or something.

Anyway, because I'm consciously aware of this, I seem to notice when other people sound like they have marbles in their mouth, too.

Like Ryan Phillipe. Sometimes it sounds like he's got marbles in his mouth.

And like the girl who plays Serena on Gossip Girl. Sometimes it sounds like she's got marbles in her mouth, too.

PS - I'm watching Breach right now, a movie starring Ryan Phillipe, which is why I thought of this.

PPS - He's such a fox.

PPPS - Chris Cooper is in it, too, and he's such an amazing actor. Don't you think?



PPPPS - Now I feel bad for not saying Ryan Phillipe's a good actor, too. I treated him like he's nothing more than a piece of meat. So, Ryan Phillipe's a good actor, too.

More Monkeys

I can't stop thinking about some of the comments people made over a week ago on the monkey post. Seriously.


Like this one:

I have always wanted a monkey. Specifically, an orangutan. they are so cute. and funny.
—Andie

Andie, I love that you want not just a monkey, but an orangutan. I'm still laughing over this for some reason. I guess because, in my mind, I picture you walking around with an orangutan, like going to the grocery store, etc. Scruffy would not be happy.


And this one:

I had a friend who had a monkey a little kind, not spider monkey but a marmoset, who ate kitty litter and it exploded in his tummy, killing him. I was so sick over that, still am, that little monkey went everywhere with him. I loved that monkey.
— TTQ

TTQ, this is terrible, one of the most frightening thing I've ever heard.


And this one:

When I was little, my neighbors had a monkey. At night it stayed in a giant cage in their dining room. One night it reached out of the cage and grabbed some matches off the credenza and set fire to the house. So I would not recommend a monkey as a pet.
— Anonymous

This sounds like it's out of movie. Who knew the little buggers could be so mischievous?

Nora Pimps Her Ride

Nora pimps her ride.



Please note: This was taken with a wide-angle zoom lens, so it's distorted.

The Ole iPod Shuffle

I'm working at Starbucks right now and listening to my iPod. I have 4,391 songs on it and it's on shuffle, so anything can pop up. I'm going to list some of the songs—good and bad—as they do.

I'll update this list throughout the afternoon. The most recent songs will be at the bottom.

• Head Over Heels / The Go-Go's
• I Wanna Be With You / Mandy Moore - I love this song—does that make me a dork?
• You're The First, The Last, My Everything / Barry White - I dream of the day a man will sing this to me.
• Easier / Grizzly Bear - Such talented musicians.
• Circle / Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - Reminds me of college. Particularly of a boy I dated named Ollie.
• Forever / Ben Harper - Love this song.
• Happy Valentine's Day / Outkast
• Love Is All Around / R.E.M. - I keep meaning to do a post about how much I love R.E.M. To save myself the trouble, my top five favorite R.E.M. songs are Strange Currencies, Belong, Let Me In, Nightswimming, You Are The Everything, and Find The River. (I know, that's six.)
• Come Pick me Up / Ryan Adams - I've written about my love for Mr. Adams on this blog before. This song is one of my top ten faves of his. (Sometimes I don't think "shuffle" is as random as we think.) I used to sing this to Nora when she would cry as a baby, except I'd change the words to, "Come pick me up, take me out, love me up, steal all my kisses."
• I Can / Nas - I wrote about this song on my old website! I know every word. (Again, I don't think "shuffle" is as random as we think.) The video makes me cry.
  
• La Boheme: Si, Mi Chiamo Mimi (Atto I) / Maria Callas
• Slide / The Goo Goo Dolls - What happened to these guys? Where did they go?
• She Will Be Loved / Maroon 5 - I couldn't listen to this song for a while because it reminded me of a painful time in my life. Every time it would come on, I'd go to the next song. It was a way I avoided dealing with the unpleasant feelings that came along with listening to it. But recently I started not hitting "next" on every song that did this to me. I know it's silly, but I feel a little bit stronger when each one ends. Like, I felt all those feelings music can conjure up—bad ones, in this case—and I survived.
• Forever Your Girl / Paula Abdul - I sing this song to Beverly sometimes. In fact, I'm thinking of making a music video for it with the two of us. (Elvis will sit in the background of it by himself with thought bubbles saying, "You two are so gay.") She's forever my girl and I'm forever her girl.
• Language of the Kiss / Indigo Girls - I love gay people. I know being gay is not as big of a deal today as it was in the past, but I still think it takes tremendous courage to come out and I admire those who do.

NOTE: Four more Ryan Adams songs have come on since "Come Pick Me Up." I listen to him all the time and the play count on his songs are high, which is why I don't think "shuffle" is as random as we think. I mean, out of 4,391 songs, five of the 30 or so songs I've listened to have been by Ryan Adams. Can anyone confirm my suspicions? How does "shuffle" work?

• Gloria / Laura Branigan - I need to tell my mom to download this song; she'd like it. When she got her iPod, she said she wanted to download songs that she can workout to. When I asked her what they were, she said, "The Rocky theme and that song from Flashdance."
• X.Y.U. / Smashing Pumpkins - Along with my gal Liz Phair, one of my favorite bands to come out of Chicago.
  
• Not Ready To Make Nice / Dixie Chicks - Omg, I just realized something: I'm a Dixie Chick. I mean, I ripped on Bush and lost blog readers because of it.

  "I'm not ready to make nice! I'm not ready to back down! I'm still mad as hell and I don't have time to go round and round and round! It's too late to make it right and I probably wouldn't if I could. 'Cause I'm mad as hell and I can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should!"

(I want bangs now.)

• Together Again / Janet Jackson
• Leaving On A Jet Plane / Peter, Paul & Mary
• Blue Morning, Blue Day / Foreigner
• Wild Horses / Rolling Stones
• Hot Child In The City / Nick Gilder - I swear this song was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Can anyone confirm this? Because it's not on the soundtrack.
• Going Back To Cali / LL Cool J
• Better Dayz / 2Pac
  
• Secret Garden / Bruce Springsteen

  "I was just about to tell you that I love him. I do! I love him and I don't care what you think. I love him for the man he used to be and I love him for the man he almost is. I love him, Laurel—I love him!" — Renee Zellweger in one of my favorite movies ever, Jerry Maguire
  

• Beautiful Loser / Bob Seger
• Memories Of You / Ryan Adams - This is a live recording of an unreleased song of his that's so amazing. (Oh, and note: At least four more Ryan Adams songs have come on since the last one, but I didn't list them.)
• Breathe Me / Sia - It's Sia! Sia!
• Step By Step (Junior Vasquez Mix) / Whitney Houston - Man... before she started smokin' crack, my gal Whitney sure could bring it. I have big hopes for her comeback album.
• Yele / Wyclef Jean - This is one of my favorite songs.
• Shake Your Groove Thing / Peaches & Herb - This is not one of my favorite songs.
• Hard to Starboard / James Horner/Sissel - From "Titanic." How do you not cry when you hear a song from this movie?

"It's been 84 years. I can still smell the fresh paint. The china had never been used. The sheets had never been slept in. Titanic was called the ship of dreams... and it was, it really was."


• I Want You To Want Me / Cheap Trick - I remember rollerskating to this song when I was little. (Another Chicago band.)
  
• New Shoes / Paolo Nutini - I think this song should start playing when you open a copy of Save Karyn, like a musical greeting card.
  

"Hey, I put some new shoes on and suddenly everything is right. I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling—it's so inviting. I'm short on money but long on time, slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine. And I'm running late but I don't need an excuse, 'cause I'm wearing my brand new shoes."

• Desert Sunrise / Brett Dennen - I've been listening to him since 2004. I LOVE HIM.
• Paradise City / Guns N' Roses - This song makes me wanna give someone a lap dance.
  
• Run, Baby, Run / Sheryl Crow - I think the first Sheryl Crow album is still my favorite, especially with this song and "I Shall Believe."
  
• Brass in Pocket / The Pretenders - Whenever you are feeling down, you must listen to this song; it's one of my top ten favorites.
• I'll Close My Eyes / Dinah Shore - Sooooo romantic! From "The Bridges of Madison County" soundtrack.
  
• It Must Be Love / Rickie Lee Jones - Listen to the version of this song on the "Naked Songs" album. It's amazing.
  
• I Am Woman / Helen Reddy

Okay, I'm disenchanted with the whole iPod "shuffle" thing. I mean with all the Ryan Adams songs and then "Step By Step" and now "I Am Woman" (two songs I've listened to a million times and even wrote about in Save Karyn)? It's so obviously not random.

I'm done.

Hervé Léger Bandage Dress

From Jenny Allison...

OMG the one actress I thought would NEVER put herself in this horrible excuse for a dress.

Oh, Jenny, I disagree! I go GA-GA over these Hervé Léger bandage dresses. I think they're amazing and make everyone in them look amazing.

Bush On Disasters

George W. Bush on disasters...

"I, unfortunately, have been to too many disasters as president."

— George W. Bush

Yes, George, you have. And one of those disasters would be you, as president.

Truth In Advertising

Unlike the picture of the ovary that I so easy threw up on my blog, I can't put what I'm about to show you up for everyone to see.

With that said, if you'd like to see the best advertisement ever, click here.

WARNING: It has a really big "ewww" factor.

Chromeo

I don't know who these guys are, but they're on Jimmy Kimmel right now (that's "Jimmy Kimble," to you, Laura's mom) and they're real snazzy.

Me likey.

The Visitor

I saw the movie "The Visitor" tonight.

It was very good, and the guy in it, Haaz Sleiman, is very, very sexy.

Sons

I just watched this interview that Matt Lauer did with Tim Russert's son, Luke, and it totally made me cry. If I were him, I'd be a bawling mess, but he's incredibly well-spoken and surprisingly upbeat. I'm sure he's still in shock and overwhelmed by the outpouring of grief.

Anyway, watching this made me think of boys—sons, really—and that made me think of the best baby book ever called Love You Forever.



My aunt gave it to my sister when Jack was born and I was there when she read it for the first time and we both started crying. Have any of you read it? I think it's sold like 15 million copies since it was first published in 1986. If you know someone who is pregnant with a boy or someone who has a baby boy, you have to get it for them.

Weeds

A new season of Weeds starts tonight and I'm so excited!




Oh, Nancy... you're such a babe.

"Experts"

From New Scientist magazine: Human egg makes accidental debut on camera.

Look closely: this is history in the making. These are the clearest pictures ever taken of what is the starting point of every human life: ovulation occurring inside a woman's body.

Observing ovulation in humans is extremely rare, and previous images have been fuzzy... The release of an egg was considered a sudden, explosive event, but [these] pictures, to be published in Fertility and Sterility, show it taking place over a period of at least 15 minutes."

I read this article at my sister's house last week and showed my brother-in-law right afterwards. At first, we were both obviously amazed. But after a second or two, we looked at each other and were like, Hmmm... experts don't really know anything, do they?

I mean, you'd think with all the progress with IVF, etc., they'd know it takes 15 minutes for an egg to be released and not a nano-second, right?

"There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don't know."

— Ambrose Bierce

Via Popgadget

(BTW, regarding the picture of the ovary... that's what Picky and Choosy's home looks like.)

Renegade Craft Fair

I went to the Renegade Craft Fair this weekend. It's a very cool craft fair with hip designers—not all like the craft fairs you grew up going to with ugly Christmas ornaments and dolls. It took place at the McCarren Park Pool in Greenpoint, which is an old empty swimming pool in McCarren Park. (Duh.)

Anywho, I got a bunch of cute things, but my favorite is this necklace made from a vintage typewriter key:



I was going to get a "K" but then I saw the "back space" key and I had to have it because I'm always saying things I shouldn't.

You can get one online at The Weekend Store. They make rings, earrings, bracelets, cuff links, etc.




The Renegade Craft Fair happens every summer in Brooklyn, Chicago, and San Francisco. If live in or near one of those cities, you must check it out!

BTW, this is Wilson; I met him at the fair.



Isn't he cute?

Wilson's mommy works for ReadyMade magazine. You should buy it, subscribe to it, give it as gifts to everyone you know.

I bought some Shrinky Dink paper from them for Nora and Jack.

I Want A Facelift

I want a facelift.




If a good plastic surgeon out there is reading this, perhaps we can strike up a deal of some kind in exchange for some publicity.

Dot Coms

You know how you can get domain names with the ending .com and .net and .org and .biz and .tv and .us and dot-all-kinds-of-things?

I want to get karynbosnak.ho

Gummi Lighthouses

Well, these are absolutely fabulous:



I need some now.

Via Accordion Guy

Hello Russia

After several delays, Save Karyn has finally been published in Russia.

Look how pretty the cover is:



I love foreign translations.

PS - My legs totally look like that.

Home

So I finally left Connecticut tonight, and upon arriving home, realized I forgot to lock my apartment door.

Whoops.

My apartment was unlocked for a whole week. Anyone could've walked in and stolen a slew of electronics, clothes, handbags, jewelry, etc., but they didn't.

Who says Brooklyn's not safe?

Recycled Suitcase Dog Bed

TTQ sent me a link to this a while ago.

DIY - Recycled Suitcase Dog Bed



Isn't is so cute?

PS - That's not Beverly.

Via Design^Sprout

My Pets = My Family

I'm at my sister's house in Connecticut right now, soaking up the central-air-conditioned air. I ended up taking an eleven o'clock train here Sunday night after losing power in my apartment. I packed my bags and made my way down three flights of stairs in a pitch-black building carrying my dog, cat, and bag using only the light of my BlackBerry. I then walked to the subway in the middle of a lightening storm, positive I was going to get struck. But I didn't and I'm alive and so are my pets.

If I didn't have Elvis and Bev, I probably would've stayed in New York Sunday night. But it was supposed to be 97 degrees on Monday, and while I could've found an air-conditioned place for me to go to if my electricity still wasn't working, it would've been more difficult to find a place for me, Beverly and Elvis to go. I live on the fourth floor of a walk-up (the penthouse, baby!), and even when the AC is working, it gets hot up there in the summertime. There was no way I could've left my babies up there without air. My pets are my family; I'm responsible for their well-being.

I know the majority of people who read this blog are animal lovers who don't need me to tell them to take extra precautions when caring for their pets during record-breaking temperatures, but I'm going to do it anyway: TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS WHEN CARING FOR YOUR PETS WHEN IT'S HOT OUTSIDE. They're domesticated animals and they can and will overheat just like you.

This message was paid for by the following panting animals:


My Hot Dog (And Cat) from Karyn Bosnak on Vimeo.

I know the above video is incredibly short and boring, but I just wanted to show off my lil babies.

Jealous?

I got an important message from LL Cool J in my inbox this morning.



Did you?

Brooklyn Flea Bags

For those of you who emailed and commented about wanting a limited edition Brooklyn Flea Bag (I got one!) and/or shirt, they're designed by Loyalty + Blood.

I'm not sure if you can order them through the internet, but here's a link to their Etsy page... you might want to send them an email and ask.

Via Brownstoner

Brooklyn Flea, Finally

So I finally made it to the Brooklyn Flea yesterday.



I went with my old roommate, Scott, and had a lot of fun.

I saw some lovely things, like...

Art!



You can check these out at shopjohnmurphy.com.


Jewelry!



These necklaces are made out of scarves, ties, etc.


And pickles!


This guy said, "My mom, dad, brother and I make these pickles and jar them in Detroit." You can get some here: McClure's Pickles.


I even had two celebrity sightings!

The first was Sia. I didn't take a picture of her, but I saw her in this one when I got home:



Do you see her? She's over there on the right, in the blue and purple skirt.

I know, I know... her head is turned and you can barely see her face, but trust me, it's her.

The second celebrity sighting I had was... Elvis!



How cute is that? I'm going to try and make one this winter.

And How Was Your Sunday?

I was one of the 1,500 people in Brooklyn who lost power:

Manhole fires in Brooklyn yesterday caused disruptions on five subway lines Sunday evening and cut power to up to 1,500 residents in Boerum Hill.

“Around 5:45 p.m., a manhole fire at Dean and Smith streets disabled power to signals on F and G lines, while nearby, at Bergen Street and Fourth Avenue, problems on the power lines cut electricity to signals on the Nos. 2, 3, and 4 lines. Subway service was shut down along section of the lines, mostly between Brooklyn and Manhattan, for more than an hour.”

No word on whether all power has been restored.

After I lost power, the temperature in my apartment started to rise. I thought 85 degrees was unbearable, but then it got to 86, then 87, then 88...

At 89, I grabbed Beverly and Elvis and hightailed it out of there.

Story in a few.

(Via Gowanus Lounge via amNY)

Earrings

Earrings, originally uploaded by Karyn Bosnak.

I took this inside a Cool Cat jewelry store on the Fulton Mall, Brooklyn.

UPDATE: My photo on Gowanus Lounge. Thank you!

Brooklyn Beads

Beads, originally uploaded by Karyn Bosnak.

Taken with my new Canon EF-S 10-22 lens! Yay!