So, I have this dress...

Back in 2006, I worked at the Betsey Johnson sample sale while I was a design intern there.  I saw a dress on the racks that I wanted so badly, but it was not my size.  I searched the entire place hoping to find it, but 10's were hard to come by.  I finally found an 8 and decided to go for it.

I got back to my tiny cell of a room at The Webster and immediately tried it on.  I was pretty disappointed to find that I could not get the buttons to reach the button holes.

Here is the positive part of the story though...6 years later, I can finally button it.

Now I want to wear it, but the dress is a bit fancy and the only fancy events I attend are weddings.

Here is my dilemma...

The dress is white.

Can I wear a white dress to someone else's wedding?

Your advice is much appreciated.

-Kira

The Weekend

 This weekend was pretty great.

On Friday, Pearl and I went to coffee at Heart with my friend Whitney and her mom.  They were visiting from the east coast.  Whitney and I were both interns at Betsey Johnson back in 2006.  The last time I saw her was a few years back when I took a trip to New York for work.  It was great to catch up.  We also got our taxes done that day and with Pearl's help we got a pretty nice refund.

Saturday was my friend Pam's wedding.  I'm so happy that she asked me to be a bridesmaid and to take part in her special day.  I brought my camera with me, but I was pretty busy so I just have a few cell phone photos to share.

Me and the bride.

Pearl in her outfit for the wedding.  This is before she pooped on her dress at the reception and we had to take her out of it.

Family photo :)

 Super blurry, but I really love this photo of me and Pearl.

On Sunday we had dinner for Jeremy's parent's birthday.  Their birthday is on the same day!  Then we played games and ate donuts.

And...we get a bonus weekend day today!

I hope your weekend was great too!

-Kira

Five Years and Many Changes

 I happened across this photo on Facebook yesterday.  It's from a work Christmas party I attended back in 2006 when I interned at Betsey Johnson (that's Betsey next to me).  It's hard to believe that was five years ago, but on the other hand it's crazy to think about all that has happened in my life since then.  A move back to Portland, marrying Jeremy, getting a great job, buying a house, buying a house again, and now I'm spending my first Christmas as a mother.  Honestly, during my senior year of college I thought I would move to New York to work and not come back.  I didn't consider children to be a part of my plan.  I'm glad I changed my mind because I couldn't be happier.

-Kira

Betsey Make-up Scavenger Hunt

I was going through an old file tonight and came across something from my time interning at Betsey Johnson.  I thought it was a story worth telling.  Are you curious about what kind of make-up Betsey wears?  Well, I can't tell you what she wears now, but I can definitely show you what she wore near the end of 2006...

The day started pretty much like any other.  I picked up milk for the break room and then worked on sketching a vintage dress.  The rest of the interns were out of the office running errands that afternoon and I was at one of the computers putting together tech packs.  I got the call that Betsey needed help immediately in her office so I quickly headed in there.  It turns out she left her make-up bag in a cab that morning.  She needed her make-up replaced.

Betsey and I sat down together and formulated a plan...

I don't know about you, but if I lost my make-up I would have a really hard time communicating to someone else what to buy.  I would not remember the name of the color or potentially even the brand in some cases.  Betsey did remember where she bought everything and what they looked like so she drew me pictures.  She also pointed out colors around the room that were similar to the shades she was looking for.  I had to take mental notes of that.  Remembering the colors was definitely the most difficult part.

Once we had everything documented I headed to Macy's to visit the Chanel and MAC counters.  Then I went to Sephora and finished up at a Duane Reade.  Once I told the sales people I was working for Betsey Johnson and gave them a business card they were all so helpful.  I thought the girl at MAC was going to pass out, she was so excited.  I just wanted to get things right so I didn't have to go back and forth all day.

I couldn't believe how accurate my purchases ended up being.  Only one item was slightly off in color, but everything else was right.  This wasn't necessarily a task I anticipated doing when going to New York for a design internship, but it was actually a pretty fun day and a neat story to share.
-Kira

A walk down memory lane

I have had this blog for a little over a year now.  Readership has grown slowly over time and although I still don't have many "followers" I certainly have a lot more readers than I did when I started.  I had about five regular readers my first few months and looking back I think some of my posts were actually quite interesting.  Since hardly anyone read them before and posts tend to get buried I have selected a few of them to link to here.

1. My first ever blog post with photos of our old house.

2. A bit about my time in NYC at Betsey Johnson and my thoughts on the fashion industry.

 3. Photos my friend Nate took of us while I was still a blonde.
4. My adorable niece.
5. A dream studio in my backyard.

 6. My Asia trip...posts for Shanghai (here & here), Vietnam, and Taipei.

-Kira

Bike Rides, Lebron James, and New York

Today was hot! It's great to have sunny weather finally, but anything pushing 100 is not really my style.  I am an Oregonian after all.  I did get out and enjoy the weather a bit.  I played sand volleyball on my lunch break and went for a bike ride this evening after watching the Lebron James Special "The Decision" or whatever it was called.  It was pretty anti-climactic for me as the outcome was basically what we all expected.  That guy is so into himself, it's just ridiculous.  I do feel kind of bad for the people of Cleveland though.

Half way through our bike ride this evening Jeremy and I parted ways.  He went on some dirt trails and I just turned around and came home.  I'm not advanced enough for those trails yet.  I end up having to get off and push the bike up a hill every once in a while.  It makes me feel bad about myself so I decided not to do it.  Problem solved.  So, I got home about a half hour before him.

What does a girl do when her husband isn't home?  Well, I know what I do.  I sit down and watch some ridiculous girly show that he would never let me watch when he is here.  This time I picked "The City" on demand.  On this particular episode Whitney had a booth at Coterie.  Years ago I did an internship in New York and attended the Coterie trade show.  It made me think of those days and how my life is so different now than it would have been if I had stayed.  That is why I like watching that show.  It reminds me of things that I loved and things that I hated about the fashion industry.  I guess I'm still in the fashion industry in a way, but the active sportswear/outerwear business is so much more laid back and less pretentious.  I like that.  And, I prefer Portland as much as I sometimes miss New York.

This is a photo from my time at Betsey Johnson with the designer herself.  It was a great experience for me.  It taught me a lot about what I wanted in so much more than just my career.  I was very lucky to have that opportunity.

This weekend we are going up to Bremerton, WA so my twin sister and I can spend our birthday together.  I think my sister, my mom, and I are going to spend some time in Seattle on Saturday.  Should be fun!  Have a great weekend!

-Kira

Going back to New York!

On Tuesday I leave on a work trip to New York! I lived there for a while after I graduated from college doing an internship for Betsey Johnson. I haven't been back since so I am very excited! I won't have time to visit many people since there is a lot of work to do, but the work is awesome and I am just so excited for this experience!

Here is a picture of me on the roof of my old building:

















I will definitely blog about the trip when I get back! I return on Saturday.

Kira