greenlight district

Buying panties in bulk is underrated (and other discoveries)

And no, I'm not talking about buying 5 for $25 at Vicky's, where's the fun in actually CHOOSING the specific pairs of underwear you want to wear anyways? I mean visiting your local Duane Reade (or for you out of NYCers, your drugstore or 'mart of choice) and picking up a 5-6 pack (7 if you're lucky) of undies. I did this for the first time in at least the last decade yesterday* and got much satisfaction out of it. I would suggest Joe Boxer for those gals in a pinch and near a KMart (aka in Astor Place). I was super satisfied with the end product: a perfectly packaged bundle of "low rise hipsters." (Sounds like the L train after last call heh heh) They were also surprisingly sexier than I thought they'd be...that might be because they were essentially cheap and flimsy. But I digress.

The other thing I have discovered this week is Pandora. I know what you're thinking: "WHERE WERE YOU ALL THIS TIME, LRAP??" Or maybe: "I thought, since you have mad dj skills, Pandora would be your virtual playlist playground-will you spin at my son's bar mitzvah?" I know this is new in the same way that Twilight was a brand new concept to my sweet/indie/artist/hipster friend Sarah Wolfe to whom I had to explain my job and the Jonas Brothers to. I think that my iPod has been feeling the heat from PDors as it has been playing some ridiculously sick mixes! Just now I put it on Shuffle and it played: Hanson, old school Britney, Nelly ("Pimp Juice," duh), and M.I.A. It usually tries to sneak in Celine Dion Xmas songs or all of that Goldfrapp, Artic Monkeys etc I have that I don't like to listen to on my commute. Don't worry, iPod, not even the magical Pandora can replace you.

And lastly, rounding out the green element: TV Carpooling! My friends and I don't have minivans and kids to take to soccer practice, but what we do have are TVs and shows we mutually appreciate. So our resource saving "pool" is a little bit different; instead of all watching our prime time programs alone we get together for weekly viewing parties! Gossip Girl with the Mulberry Broads, Idol/So You Think You Can Dance with the Chelsea boys - anything Twilight related with Annie, a trashy reality show once in a while with Molly Mouse. Not only is it a great way to save electricity - instead of several televisions/lights/etc on in three/four households, you have one -  but it's the best way to indulge in our group guilty pleasures. I also recently met someone who told me about a "Guacamol-Off" she had where everyone contributed their guac recipes to the party. Um, Gossip Girl Guacamol-Off to kick off the season 3 premiere anyone?

*this is what happens when you work in Jerz, live in BK and spend 85% of your week outside of your apt leaving no time to do laundry. I don't really expect any of you to need stashes of prepackaged panties otherwise...

Betsey Johnson Saves the Day and My Wallet

Hi guys, DREAM coming true alert!!! Betsey Johnson is possibly planning a diffusion line to drop in the fall (according to NYMag, and a very fashionable grapevine). She's my ultimate favorite designer (and a Syracuse alum!) but since the cash flow is low here, putting me in a bit of a financial crunch, Betsey's bright and beautiful, cherry and sparkle-dotted fashions are farther out of reach so this couldn't come at a better time. Even if I do have to wait for back-to-school shopping to fill my closet with her line from...Target? H&M? Steve&Barry's? Old Navy?? Where!! Where!!

Please don't let me down, Betsey! I can only find so many pieces from your collections for super cheap at thrift stores...

Amazon.com Totally Gets It Right This Time

Not to sound like your Grandma, but back in my day Google Ads did not interfere with my conversations, read what I was saying, GET INTO MY HEAD, and then try to get me to buy stuff they assumed I was interested in based on their Big Bro-like eavesdropping. Don't you remember the first time you noticed that shit? When you were Gchatting about scheduling your pathetic bus ticket home for the holidays and all of a sudden Gmail was like "Upgrade your flight! First class flyers know what to do. Become one - find out here!" Amazon does this too, but they're usually a little out of touch, kind of like a mom that's trying too hard. They'll send me emails that are like, "Hey, Lis, saw that you bought a used book on Statistics when you had to take that class freshman year, do you want to buy similar math-based books?" And you're like, ew, I didn't even want to buy that one, please stop.

Well, today, Amazon got it right!
Yes I did buy some do it myself books, and yes, I would like to check out your selection of DIY books, Amazon, and make a hat that holds my iPod headphones and sock monkeys that deliver messages, thank you very much for the suggestions!

me: what do your gmail ads say right now?

 Sent at 12:27 PM on Thursday

Zack: jcrew party dresses

me: hahahahaha

me: are you talking about parties?

Zack: i got the tree trimming party email

me: hahaha okay

sure you did

Those Gifts Suck - THESE Gifts RULE.

The warm weather almost makes one forget that Christmas is just about a week away (and don't forget, Jews, and fellow shiksas dating Jews, the Festival of Lights starts at sundown on Sunday!) so you still have shopping left to do. If you were smart like me you went to the Bust Craftacular yesterday and checked off most of your "nice" list, and got books signed by Amy Sedaris (no, girl, YOU "let the good times roll!") and saw a sweet gay chihuahua-toting hipster try to show one of Stella Zotis' fur-wearing workers a video about said fur. But don't fret! There's still more handmade holiday shopping to be had:

Lyceum Holiday Craft Market
Shop local artisan clothing, jewelry, home goodies, antiques and more this Saturday and Sunday (from 11am - 7pm) at the Brookln Lyceum. There will be over 65 vendors, food and drink, and more Christmas-y fun (make a day/date of it and check out the sched) at this Park Slope pit stop for handmade holiday gifts.

Missing the Brooklyn Flea Market??
I know I am - so I'll definitely be checking out "gifted - a holiday market" at the Fort Greene Brooklyn Masonic Temple across the street from where the flea market is during the summer. The last day is this Sunday, so take a look at the vendors and make sure to fulfill your Buy Handmade pledge!

Update: As one of my greenlighters was sweet enough to alert me about - and remind that I have to give Manhattan a little love even though they have the Holiday Shops at Union Square annnd Bryant Park - there is also Jingle at Chelsea Market, an annual festival featuring a higher end, more artsy array of goodies. Hipster chic schmipster chic, as much as I love the shit at the above fairs, sometimes there really are only so many feather headbands and screen-printed American Apparel tees one can browse before they realize their Grandma is just not that into ironic tote bags. AND one of my favorite jewelry and houseware boutiques Jillery will be showing there! Thanks, Chelsea Boy!

So what's on your list and what are you getting for your lovers and friends this holiday season? So far it's been pretty easy for me to get the Grandmas, aunts, moms, and cousins goodies at the fairs - Dads (a Santa's Pipe soap bar from Dirty Loves Clean) and brothers (can't say because he reads the site!) are the toughest, so perhaps an eco-man gift guide is needed?

Let's Get Some Gifts!

For those of you that didn't get all of your holiday presents out of the way on Black Friday (who are those weirdos anyway??) here are some NYC & Brooklyn crafty indie designer markets for all of your local artisan holiday shopping needs:

Bust Craftacular
When: now! Sunday, December 14th until 7:30PM
Where: 125 W. 18th St. (Metropolitan Pavilion)
What: Over 200 designers and Etsy-types are showing off their goodies and making all of your local shopping hopes and dreams come true. There will be food, probs drinks, and even a signing and showing from Amy Sedaris and Stella that "leathaaaah" lady from Project Runway. I am also so in love with Bust (the mag, not my own-although duh, that too) so I'm sure it will be fun as well! They can offer me a job any day now. That would be great. Annnd it's all only $2 at the door.

More to come later right now I'm off to the Bust Craftacular! See you (and Amy Sedaris) there - with your eco-fabulous tote bags, of course!

Etsy Gives Me Multiple Craft-related Orgasms This Week

Thanks to some combination of the brief wet snow we had this weekend, my roommate forcing me to watch Jim Carrey's Grinch (awful,) and last night's snuggly YouTube-ing of the Charlie Brown Christmas, I'm really getting in the Xmas/holiday spirit. I dabbled in starting my shopping this weekend and have decided that I'm going to do all (okay, most, my parents really want a couple months of Netflix, what can I do?) handmade/hipster/local gifting this year. I figure that I'm going to be dropping some cash regardless of my financial situation, so I might as well have it go to a good cause - oo charityish!!

Hey here's something that I love: CRAFT FAIRS. Or any fairs where you can purchase goods that you don't necessarily need. This prob stems from the Santa Shops we had in elementary school. Did everyone have that? Or is that some white trash Upstate, NY thing?? They would basically set up some tables with cheap crafty-type gifts in our gym and my mom would give me $20 and I would knock out all of my Christmas shopping in the hour allotted for purchasing these fine artisan crafts. This is why my mom/aunts/grammas have a collection of things like jewelry boxes made of yarn and shitty Santa pins, and plastic wreathes. 

This past weekend I went to the grown up (and socially conscious, duh!) version of my beloved Santa Shop, Etsy's Handmade Cavalcade. It was wonderful - but I treated the experience more like window shopping as there are a whole slew of similar handmade fairs that will feature NYC indie designers in the next couple weekends. (And the place was PACKED so I didn't feel bad about just perusing for the time being...) After the jump, here's a list of what caught my eye, (and just might catch my credit card)

Etsy Pick of the Week

I've been a big fan of Etsy ever since I was working at Sheckys. I got really sick of choosing from the same ol' sites all the time so I started digging deeper into the world of independent/smaller designers - which, even a year ago garnered a lot less on Google then it does today.

Etsy is a definite shopping staple for any indiva's, like a big fun craft fair filled with less Gramma-approved potholders and more eco chic-o, vintage-y finds and creations. I am in LOVE with gift guides (no really, I'm a huge sucker - if a magazine says "gift guide" on the cover I'll buy it. I think it's partially my love of lists) and of course they are hooking us up with an environmentally friendly gift guide.

I spotted this designer FoxAndClover and her gorgeous necklaces and (yay!) xmas decorations. My favorites are the Doily Necklace and, for ho-ho-ho sake, the Quail Christmas Ornament! The designs are hand-painted on 100% recycled glass - RECYCLED GLASS! The act of recycling anything to make something beautiful and fun makes me REAL excited on so many different levels.

So begin your shopping at Etsy for unique gifts for friends and fam! And if I'm on your shopping list, I REALLY like that doily necklace...

It's a lovely day in the neighborhood!

Lately, there's been a lot going on in our lovely 'hood off of the Graham Avenue L stop. Besides the new weekly stops at Cho's, there's been a lot opening around here the past couple months (not including all of the new condos/apts springing up - insert obligatory complaints from Brooklyn blogger that's an anti-gentrification gentrifier...) 

I'm most excited about Boneshakers! They slipped a bunch of menus under our door and I was DELIGHTED to read that it's a new take out/fast food/coffee shop hybrid with all veg - vegan foods! I will be digging in (and reporting back) soon!

The Richardson, a new bar on Graham by the BQE - must go and review! I've been holding out until they start doing brunch, but I might as well just check it out in the PM.

More shopping! In place of that Mac store that was on Graham next to Mighty Diamond, there's now a fun gifty shop called Brooklynski (a little play on the Polish 'hood we live in) I've only window shopped past it so far, but that needs to change soon.

New coffee shop! More of a to-go than a sip-and-blog kinda place.

Sadly, there's also been a greenlight-friendly closing. Mighty Diamond, the vegan restaurant on Graham just closed! I didn't realize until I walked past a few days ago and saw newspaper in the window. I read on a Billyburg site that it closed Oct. 31 and they are going to open it up with a different type of food, not sure if the management is going to change or what. The food was always just okay even though it was veeg. It was one of those places I wanted to be good more than it actually was - and the first time I went I found a decent sized rock in my mac n cheez... Anyone know any of the deets?

Will scope out the new spots soon!