Emily August

So, our amazing roommate, Allison recently went to a similar transition to me, quitting her daytime admin gig to pursue things that more closely resemble her calling in life. Its a bit scary, but definitely really cool to have someone so close to home going through similar struggles (OMG how do you buy yr own health insurance and other scary stories to tell in the dark).

She’s been playing hard to get with various jobs that came her way, holding out for just the right mix of business and pleasure, and by pleasure, in Al’s case, its usually food-related. She bakes, she woks, she chops and stirs like no one else I know. In fact, she and I used to both work at the now-defunct Down to Earth vegan restaurant in Red Bank, NJ, and she’s worked at other delectable destinations like the Bent Spoon in Princeton, NJ, and more recently an upscale coffee bar in the village (right near where my new boss has her home office! Its too perfect!).

Through her gallant display of patience, she’s scoured job sites for hours and hours and picked up a few really neat gigs that would leave you drooling if I told you all about them. For privacy’s sake, I won’t, but I want to share this link to one of her first blog posts on Serious Eats New York!

I love this because its so very much up her alley, and its been so neat to see her going through a similar transition to me and end up in such a unique space: posting about a ricotta-making workshop for a major food blog. This is something I could never dream of doing myself, but something that makes me really proud and excited for her. A year ago, neither of us would have guessed where would be right now, and, though all three of us can guess that we love our neighborhood too much to leave any time soon, we have no idea what’s going to happen over the course of the next year (and the next and the next…)

Seriously cool.

So, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that this is the summer of rock camp for me. I’ve been donating as much time as possible to the Willie Mae Rock ‘n Roll camp for girls in NYC as a photographer and cheering squad all summer, and its been completely awesome (especially since I quit my full-time job for a better part-time job that gives me a flexible schedule). I only wish I had more time to hang out with everyone involved during and after the camp.

The organization works all year long to raise money and give girls a chance to go to rock camp to learn instruments, get up on stage, write songs, form bands, and put on a show in front of a big crowd of people. I am totally jealous of the experience and wish that I had a chance to do something other than marching band and chorus in school (not that dance team and singing in chorus weren’t fun, but they weren’t exactly a satisfying artistic experience to say the least).

One of the things that Willie Mae Rock Camp does to raise scholarship funds is that they allow Ladies (like me, or my sisters, or our mom, or somebody’s kickass g-ma who has always wanted to play on stage) a chance to have a similar (albeit shorter) experience at Ladies Rock Camp. I help photograph for that, too (along with long-time photographer Kate). One of the campers, Kendra Arnold, wrote a post for the Star Ledger’s Morristown Green Blog about the experience, highlighting the fact that you get your photos taken by Emily August! It rocked my socks off!

Find Kendra’s article here on NJ.com! Featured in the article is this video of the band Kendra was in, which actually inspired me a lot because they had a great, kitschy-but-dark indie pop vibe. Their song was about 90210 (the original), and it is smart and hysterical in its simplicity. I would totally book this band if I were still putting on house shows in Southern Jersey somewhere.

Right now we are nearing the end of the Rock Camp season. This weekend is the Girls Rock Camp showcase, the final one of the year. Its been really fun to hang out randomly all week with the campers, and I wish I had more time to get involved! I have to say its got me itching to start something (another band! a fire!) soon soon soon. Okay, maybe just a theoretical fire.

–other posts about rock camp–
Ladies Rock Camp pictures on flickr
girls rock! the movie
rock camp for girls showcase
inspired by wall space
willie mae mini camp

I really wanted to go shopping recently at Urban Outfitters and I told myself that instead I’d go home and fix some things that are not quite right in my wardrobe. This was smart because A) I’m paying off my credit cards and I need to stick to it. B) I don’t fit into very many things at the old UO, anyway, and I’d end up all depressed and angry at myself for letting Big Media control my self-esteem.

And Sew! What’s a modern girl to do when faced with such a dilemma? Why, she rifles through the donation pile at the bottom of her closet and stitches the hell out of some discarded garments to make them unique and fun and once-again flattering. I turned a too-big denim dress into a drawstring skirt, and a nightgown into a lacy wing top with more coverage. I can’t tell you how satisfying this little experiment was and I want you all to run to your closets and do this tomorrow and report back.

In my case, the trick was to use a diagonal stitch on the stretchier bits of lingerie so there would be some give, as well as paying attention to the way I was changing the dress because of darts that were worked into the original garment. Totally simple. I did these both today (an hour before work I did all the cutting, pressing, and stitched the drawstring; finished up in less than an hour after work and dinner, just in time for Project Runway). The drawstring itself needs a rewrite, and we’ll probably pick something with color or just use an old belt from something or other.

Here are some detail shots to prove I’m getting the hang of this.

Center panel from the hem of the nightgown;
note the hiked up boob parts that ended up
being part of the overall yoke motif.
I find it hysterical, actually.

I can. not. get enough of this denim.
Its the reason this skirt has stuck around,
despite being at a point where it was falling
off my body after I recently lost some weight.
(I left it at the gym–let me know if you find it!)

Viva la Vivacious Curves. I am really enjoying having the energy and time to focus on sewing and fashion lately. I am also happy that I’ve been sticking to the gym membership I bought myself this year, because its giving me a lot of creative energy to do this kind of thing in the middle of busy week (Rock Camp! Work! We are going to have a new nephew soon! Cat fights! Show this weekend! Aaargh!)

10PM: LIVE BAND FROM PORTLAND OREGON AND 2 DJ SETS
HOSTED BY EMILY AUGUST OF GOGODISTRO.COM
AND ALL YOUR FAVORITE FRIENDS WILL BE THERE
AND DID WE MENTION DANCING BECAUSE IT WILL BE

ITS A BAR SO ITS 21+ PLEASE COME AND HANG AND BUY OUR WEST COAST FRIENDS A BEER; FIRST SHOW WE'VE PUT ON IN LIKE A MILLION YEARS!

So as not to get lost in the shuffle of everything this weekend. I know I’m not alone in occasionally capturing myself in a way that reassures that I still exist. Lots of pictures to come of my busy weekend. I’ve been joking that I caught Rory’s jet lag, but I’m just exhausted from it all.

These are all from my cell phone; because I was getting sick of carrying around my xTi all day.

Been totally out of whack this past week: traveling, crazy things happening, family stuff, friend stuff. Too much to go into, but I’ll be back in action shortly.

Today I went and hung up flyers for a show that I’m hosting at the Lamppost in Jersey City this month. More on that in a future post, as the details come together!

Other items of interest to look forward to:

* pictures from Ladies Rock Camp, and getting featured in the Star Ledger with an awesome post by a camper.
* getting featured on a cool thrifting post by a friend.
* some neat sewing I accomplished this past week with the thrifted polka dot fabric from last weekend.
* some really great patterns that have recently gone up (for free) on Burda Style.
* really amazing, angelic pictures of time spent with family.

The Humane Society has their kennel on hiatus this week because of a bug going around amongst the doggies. They can really use some help with basic donations of old newspaper, rawhide chewies, and other very common household items, so please consider getting some stuff together for them if you are in the Jersey City community–thanks!

I have also been working from home this past week, and I’m finding its kind of funny that I don’t want to do anything else on the computer after I finish a few hours of work for my boss. I know I’ll find a good balance with that eventually, but right now, with Rory still away and my feeling kind of distracted and mopey, I apologize for my lack of web-face-time. Here are some nice, calm pictures of my work environment for the past week:

Besides, it was my birthday today and I really have let myself indulge a bit in some basic pleasures, like playing video games and going for walks to far away places I would usually take public transportation to get to. Thank God for this break in the weather, and the fact that Rory is coming home tomorrow night! Just in time, I might add, for the whirlwind that is the rest of our summer.

Stay tuned, friends!

Love, Emily August