one day of NOT THANKFULNESS -- NEW JERSEY (wtf?!?!)

This just in--I hate New Jersey.

All my days of thankfulness will continue after turkey day (who says you have to be thankful only ON t0giving?) but until then, everyone have a safe and happy holiday!

love from the most terrible state on the planet,
c

seven days of thankfulness : day four

So this post is a little late, but it still counts because today (ie. Saturday) I am thankful for the thing that kept me up so late! Today I am thankful for another group of friends--the ones that get the giggles, indulge in finger moustaches and other acts of imaginative play, have awesome houses in the northside (with a fucking PINBALL MACHINE) and hospitality to match, and who find the humor in fat guys wearing Behemoth (the band) t-shirts. Plan 9 family, I love you.

A gift from Mr. Lett to all of Plan 9 -- Nabisco treats up the wazoo

Moustache crew. A teenage boy customer actually asked to have his photo taken with us.


Rob's living room--one wall of several. damn!


Cookie-making! Hopefully Rob won't kill me for posting this.

seven days of thankfulness : day three

today I am thankful for my favorite form of art: 35mm photography! It's not that I don't like paintings, prints, etchings, dance (swing dancing!), music, poetry, etc....it's just that I feel most skilled with and attached to 35mm film. I got my first camera from my dad when I was in middle school--an old Minolta--and had no effing clue how to use it. Much later, I took a not-for-credit photography class in college and things just sort of...clicked! And while everyone who's anyone LOVES them some digital photography (yours truly included)...there's something special about something more concrete. How many memories have I held in my hand, hidden inside a disposable camera, whilst rushing to Wal Mart for their 1-hour photo service? Hint: a lot. (And who can beat having to use a SCANNER to get that shit online to your angelfire website? Gah I'm old.)

A couple of my favorite old-school version photos, scanned and otherwise:



The view from the St. Louis Arch

Best Second Grade Class EVER


Me & T, Summer 2000

The Grandin

omg. FIRST YEAR.

seven days of thankfulness : day two

Howdie folks!

Starting this series of posts has been a really great idea, because I'm having a hard time categorizing all my favorite things for which I am most grateful into seven neat little categories. Today I would like to say that I am grateful for my apartment. Now, I know that I pay way too much for the luxury of living alone, and that admittedly bad decision is something I live with every day (ie. not nearly as many pumpkin spice lattes as I would like). But in a way that makes me love it that much more. And I will say this: not many things are more satisfying than coming home from a long day of working, babysitting, and going to grownup art class to a beautiful, colorful, all-mine apartment!

The Red Room, Jan 2009

The Great Paint


The mess after last year's xmas party...


...and some more recent destruction

seven days of thankfulness : day one

Hello friends!

For the next seven days I'm going to post once a day about things that I'm thankful for. Although stress and the thought of someday (soon) entering the world of "real work" have sort of been getting me down, I know that I'm a lucky individual, and what better time to recognize the things that make my life delightful than Thanksgiving season?

The first thing on my list is a certain group of Richmond friends who are always up for an impromptu photo shoot in the middle of the night, a snowday mimosa morning, playing music, giving fitness advice, cooking vegetarian dinner, bike rides, and whatever else we feel like doing:

Zack and I on Church Hill

Kim on Halloween



Zack in 821



View from the stage at the Langhorn(e?) Slim concert

Reading [Wish] List

Last night after work I went with my friend Rob to Barnes and Noble and poked around. I try to buy my books used (cheaper!) at Chop Suey (local!) but it was cool to check out the selection and remember all the books I want to check out. What do you think?

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Werewolves in their Youth by Michael Chabon
And the Hippos Were Boiled in their Tanks by Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
Female Chauvinist Pigs - Ariel Levy

Additions? Comments?

when camels attack!!

I hope my sister doesn't mind that I've turned her suffering into a new postcard:

haircut!

i got a haircut:

*purple hair color may or may not be real.

no really, send more postcards!

More postcards up at sendmorepostcards.etsy.com! Tell your friends! I've got some Coldplay, some Hold Steady, and some non-lyrics-related cards for you music haters out there...just kidding.

Just about to start re-reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and thinking about Miss Jen. (And Mr. Joe also--who provides a great link to Jonathan Safran Foer's take on vegetarianism) Tomorrow there is a meeting someplace far from here regarding a job I want to have eventually, so cross your fingers for me! I'm looking towards some big life changes soon so I promise I'll keep you all updated.

In other news, Operation: FALL09, otherwise known as Send T The Most Embarrassing Things In The Mail, has been going smoothly thus far. Most recent victory: sending a 3' x 3' poster promoting the ?new? Lynyrd Skynyrd album.....as a postcard. (translation: T had to carry this thing all the way back to his dorm without anything to cover it up.) Behold:




It is indeed majestic. Other ideas for embarrassing things to send are welcome! Keep in mind he doesn't read this blog!

FREE STUFF!

Okay ladies and gents, here's how it works! Do you want a shot at some delectable free goodies, including some lovely cards and paper goods, jewelry, and exotic coins?

Of course you do!

Here's how you can win this stuff: go check out my chum Jen's blog, a pocket novel, and leave a comment. That's it! You'll be put in a drawing at 5pm on Thursday, October 15th. Go! Go! Go!

Here are the details of the booty:
(1) a pocket novel Happy birthday elephant card, (1) a pocket novel Hello card, (1) empty bicycle matchbook for secret notes by the paper princess, (1) brooch, and (3) coins (1 Danish kroner, 1 swedish kroner, and 1 islandic kroner) to inspire you to plan your own Scandinavian adventure and (1) sendmorepostcards postcard (inspired by a song by Stars). All of these goodies come packaged in a recycled screech owl postcard box.

oh the life of a craftster

Guess what everyone! I have almost--almost--made enough money on my etsy shop to cover the cost of my most recent batch of supplies! Woo! And I know you have been meaning to tell your friends about what a great idea it would be for them to Send More Postcards...so get on it!

With love,
Carly
at 6:13am
because I stupidly agreed to pick up a barista shift at can can this morning
dang it

there's something strangely satisfying

about reading Animal Liberation in a Princeton library. Like if I have a question, I can go find Peter Singer and ask him to clarify.

Ta-ta for now!

I'll be back to my semi-regular posting on Tuesday! Until then I'll be way up in the lovely, amazing, gorgeous New Jersey (ew) with my boo for my bday!

ALSO, if you haven't checked out my new Etsy shop, PLEASE do so! The postcards are cheap and you never know when I'll send you a bonus card for being nice enough to buy one... :)

One of my cards has been featured in an Etsy Showcase, which is when a member of the Etsy community makes a collection of items that they like, based around a theme. This one (big surprise) is music!

I rarely LOVE my job(s)

but I almost always love the people I work with!

Fake Birthday!

Yesterday was my fake birthday, in which I celebrated with all my VA friends, because my real birthday will be spent in NJ with my boo.

Let me just say, I love my friends, and I love birthday crowns.

TA-DA!!!

Hello everyone,

I'm pleased to announce that I'm starting a new Etsy shop based on my postcards and their success at the Bizarre Market!

SendMorePostcards.etsy.com

I am going to try to add a new design every couple days (yikes!!) and work with the philosophy that sending more postcards would make the world better, because it's a cheap and creative way to tell people you care!

Spread this link far and wide, especially to people who: love someone far away, want to bring back real letters/postcards, enjoy music and/or photography, love someone who lives close, etc.

Here's one of my favorites as an example, made with my dear dear fellow CTYers in mind, the ones who first inspired me to use and appreciate the USPS:

New Photos - Richmond Vareitease!

A couple weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to take photos at the Richmond Varietease Sass and Class show; it was a total blast! All the best shots will be up soon, but for now, a couple samples:

This is my life.

The other day at Plan 9, someone payed in over $30 worth of gold dollar coins. Inconvenient? Yes. Leading to hilarious pirate-money photoshoot? Yes also.

PILES AND PILES OF GOLDDDDDD:

Arts + Crafts fair TOMORROW!

Hi everyone!

Please please please excuse the lack of updates. I've been very hard at work all summer on some new ideas, new ways of incorporating photos into different projects, and tomorrow at the Bizarre Market (see flier below) at the Visual Arts Center (Main St, RVA, 1pm - 4pm) I will be debuting a brand-spanking-new project:

lyrics - music + photos
a series of postcards
[click here for a sample!]

and of course I'll have some regular photos and postcards for sale! A portion of the proceeds actually go to the Center, which is a fantastic place and where I am learning to use Illustrator better! Woo!

Please stop by and say hi to my and the truly amazing Jen!

new photos on my website/etsy (soon!!)

Getting excited about a photoshop action I found to make my photos look super cool. Observe:







More at redroomrichmond.com

The Duke & The King on BBC

Of course, I still haven't mustered the energy to do a lifesummary type of entry, but you should all click below to hear a great cut on BBC from The Duke & The King's new CD, Nothing Gold Can Stay.

"really really lovely"

Michelle Obama loves Arch's ALMOST as much as I do

Sweet. Literally.

i stole this from feministing because it's THAT AWESOME

wow.

updates coming soon

i swear

the decemberists at bonnaroo 09

YES PLZ

wtf?

why does someecards keep posting its newsletter on my blog???

RIP Dr. Tiller

"Dr. Tiller was a fearless, passionate defender of women’s reproductive health and rights." - Nancy Northup

Handmade Fair Roundup!

A couple of weeks ago, my sister and I headed down to Raleigh for a weekend visit with our other sister who just moved there! On Sunday morning we went down to Marbles, the children's museum, for the Handmade Fair, where I snagged some lovely cards, jewelry, and handcrafted caramel treats! Here are the links of my four favorite craftsters I met there:

Rosy Revolver
Wolfie and the Sneak
Metamorphosis Metals
and
Pell Mell Press

Spoons!!

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Precious

I just saw this post on Feministing and I can't figure out how to put the video right onto my blog so click on this link and watch the trailer for Precious-- it looks awesome

The Marvelous Collective

As I've told my dear friend Jen many times, I sometimes shy from exploring other artists and what they're up to because it makes me feel a little, erm, inadequate. But today I stumbled upon some stuff that really makes me smile. Behold:


The Marvelous Collective

New Website!!

www.redroomrichmond.com
www.redroomrichmond.com
www.redroomrichmond.com
www.redroomrichmond.com
www.redroomrichmond.com
www.redroomrichmond.com
www.redroomrichmond.com
www.redroomrichmond.com
www.redroomrichmond.com
www.redroomrichmond.com

Simone Felice, please marry me. Or be my friend.

Here's a great video of Simone and his friend Chicken doing a song from their new collaboration, The Duke and The King. It's a really nice song. Afterwards Simone recites a Robert Frost poem, thereby cementing his status as the world's perfect man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itP7CVzIBE8

felice love

Click for the full effect :)

One Word:

CAMERATRUCK

etsy, etc

i bought a slot in todays "art showcase" on etsy--woo!! to check it out, go to http://www.etsy.com/showcase.php and click "art" in the dropdown menu. also, i put some of my photos ON SALE (25% off!) on the site so if you've been eyeing something and want to help me get groceries this month (just kidding...sort of), check it out!!

also, yesterday at work i convinced one of the bakers to make me a special fragel:

LOVE IT! this is the sort of thing that makes working at 6am totally worth it.

THIS JUST IN: Making Websites Hard, Painful, Frustrating

Hi friends

Just a brief update: I'm trying to start up a website that will combine my photos, my graphic design experience (ha), my resume, and a blog into one big thing. Well, it's hard. And I suck at it. So if you know anyone who can help with websites, please let me know. I've been told that I rush headlong into things, much like one very favorite redhaired lady, but this time I'm a leeeeeetle bit over my head. Yes. Eeeeek!!

Meanwhile, don't you want a Carly Romeo Original Photo to give your mom for mother's day??? Yes, you do.

new tattoo idea!!

steph and carly's friend tattoo take 1

new felice bros fanblog!

A new Felice Brothers fansite has popped up, and I've gone on board with them to do concert reviews and take some photos. Check it out here for info and news about the best band on earth, and soon for primo photos and reviews from every show i can get my ass to!

Woo!

eek!

Okay, this time I have been seriously remiss. Apologies!

Wednesday is my last day at ROSMY, and after that I'm into the wild blue yonder of a trip across the east coast, and after that the wonderful world of being a professional barista and wannabe photographer. Very exciting.

This weekend there was a bike festival on Belle Isle called Slaughterama--basically the biggest convention of crustpunks, hipsters, anarchists, and potsmokers in all of Virginia. it was nothing less than pure insanity. Example:

That bridge in the background is the one with the pedestrian bridge hanging from underneath it...that day was so windy that I got slightly nauseus walking over it. Eeek!

Please share my etsy shop link with everyone you know. Just ask them to look at the photos and send the link to anyone they think might be interested. If you do this, I will love you forever.

xoxoxoxoxo

I'm on ETSY!! Photos for salez yo.

www.redroomphotography.etsy.com

Wow, two weeks since my last post. Things in the red room and surrounding areas have been BUSY AS FUCK so that's why. In the past 14 days, there has been a 5-day visit from my future husband Jay, Karaoke at sticky rice, not one not two but THREE trips to cville (incl. one for Jen's birthday!), the printing of my first photo accepted into an art show, my sister's trip to honduras (ie. hedgiesitting), a couple of kim&zack's house sleepovers, an impromptu jam featuring constance playing a heartbreakingly beautiful cello, and more.

i love richmond
but i miss people, too.

meg and eric and ashley, that means you!!

SNOW DAY

SNOW DAY from real life: Carytown, noonish, Zack, Andre. Not pictured: Seth, Kim, Jordan, another bottle of Andre, fish OJ, red wine.

it's been a long time

An old hydroelectric plant on Belle Isle

Spotted on Cary St. during the most glorious early-February Saturday afternoon bike ride EVER

Into the Wild Blue Yonder featuring Eli Welborn-Shaw

Episode #??: January Was Not Fun, or The First of February Makes Me Hopeful.

gone, gone, to new york city

where you gonna go with a head that empty?

Back to Photos!

Found on the door of my building:


And here's another important love/appreciation note I wrote just now in my head:

"To the precious hour-difference between being at work at 6am and 7am--You're my new hero."

YAY!!!!!

Obama issues executive order reversing GOP abortion policy

the eric and carly mutual appreciation and doting society part one

eric: i'm going to punch you after i give you a big tackle/hug next time i see you

me: why are you going to punch me???

eric: because i just feel so excited about you

sometimes in the mornings, it smells like bacon in the red room.

EW!

cute

B+W Revisted

NYC subway ("Carly, I think they call it that because it's under the way")



Dwellings of different breeds



A small testament to my love of Can Can....



...and one to my love of the James River