laundromat music

new home!

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:26:05 -0500

i’ve decided to take the leap and migrate off of tumblr and onto blogger, please find me at my new home, here: kethywang.blogspot.com. please do stop by and say hello!

on a related note, i’m still having issues trying to assign my custom domain to my blogger account - if there’s any web dev folks reading this and think they might be able to help, i’d love to talk to you!

till next time. :)

valentine's day handmade gift exchange

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:51:27 -0500

for those of you that might have been following me on twitter, you may have heard about a project i’m starting that i’m super excited about - a valentine’s day gift exchange! and good news! the flyer is finally ready. all the details are in the flyer above - feel free to post on your personal blog or share it with friends you think might be interested in participating. i think it’s a great way to spread the love in a different way on a day that ofttimes draws such polarized feelings. if there are any questions or if you’d like to participate, the most important things to note are 1) email me at whoskay (at) gmail to let me know and 2) please let me know by february 8th.

a couple of shots from last weekend, when an impromptu grocery...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:48:45 -0500

a couple of shots from last weekend, when an impromptu grocery trip in chinatown led us right into full swing chinese new year’s festivities. happy chinese new year!

for dog lovers, this is pretty great. and even set to a score of...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:34:34 -0500

for dog lovers, this is pretty great. and even set to a score of ratatat! awesome.

and this is why i love the man i love.

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:19:38 -0500

him (with an ikea duvet draped over his head fresh out of the dryer): look, i'm a swedish ghost.
me: laughing hysterically

meet me in montauk.

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:44:00 -0500

photo from my own travels, circa 2004.

it’s wet and miserable here in nyc today; the snowstorm from last weekend has all but disappeared, leaving in its wake sheets on sheets of rain and grey. unfortunately, it’s also days like this that completely kill my productivity.

ever since seeing ‘eternal sunshine of the spotless mind’ years ago i’ve had a fascination with the beach, particularly during rainstorms. i remember one year heading down to cannon beach on christmas weekend with a couple of friends during one of oregon’s worst rainy seasons. on a beach normally overflowing with families, children, dogs and beach toys, the entirety of the beach was quietly and absolutely deserted. we fought so hard to walk the beach, fighting against the rain and wind with every step as the rain pelted us nearly horizontally as it fell, determined to knock us flat; it was one of the most peaceful and beautiful moments i’ll remember.

now that i’m in new york and especially during times like these, it takes all i have to not fantasize a day away about trips to the rainy beach. when i had my car it was no issue to instantly uproot for such spontaneous trips, but now when it’s an entire event to simply head over to the neighborhood ikea, such a journey to the beach seems a far reach at best. one can dream, though. and that’s exactly what i intend to do.

photo from design*sponge, tutorial here. i literally had TONS of...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:06:00 -0500

photo from design*sponge, tutorial here.

i literally had TONS of this stuff when we moved and now i’m really kicking myself for not keeping some just so i could make this awesome diy. seriously, what a great way to repurpose something most people just throw away after a move! plus it seems like you could really do this with any packaging/wrapping paper, maybe even some stiff fabric. how sweet would a butcher paper version of this with red thread be? now go make one, dangit. tutorial can be found here.

first/second photo from the purl bee, third/fourth photo from...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:41:08 -0500

first/second photo from the purl bee, third/fourth photo from martha stewart.

i was looking up projects for valentine’s day gifts and got the idea to do a valentine’s day handmade gift exchange - would anyone be interested in participating? i was thinking it’d be super simple and casual; basically email me if you were interested and i’d match you up with someone else from the pool and you two would work out the timing, secrecy of the gift and address of where to send it to. sorta like a secret santa really, except more like secret valentines in this case.

if interested, please let me know! send me a note at whoskay (at) gmail and i’ll start a list (friends welcome) of people interested. i’ll update in a week or so after i get a better idea of how many people are participating. but seriously, what could be better than getting a handmade with love valentine’s gift from a new friend on valentine’s day? not many other things, that’s what.

photo 1: felt coffee cozies from the purl bee
photo 2: i-cord necklaces from the purl bee
photo 3: catnip hearts from martha stewart
photo 4: scented sachets from martha stewart

image on left from ladies’ home journal/peter...

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:13:00 -0500

image on left from ladies’ home journal/peter ardito.

chris was at work all/most of the day saturday, so i took some time to settle in at home and work on a few projects i hadn’t had time to tackle during the week, starting with this vintage book kindle cover. i got a kindle as an “indirect” christmas gift and have been hauling it around everywhere, and since i don’t have the greatest track record in keeping portable electronics alive and remembered that i really enjoyed this tutorial when i first saw it posted on design*sponge, i figured this would be the perfect project for a lazy saturday. plus, i accidentally discovered the bargain racks of books outside strand last week (first time there - what an amazing bookstore!), and totally found the perfect hardcover victim for my kindle. and what a surprise! when i took off the book jacket i was greeted with a little embossed dog on the cover. score.

image from amazon. when i first moved to ny i was super excited...

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:32:32 -0500

image from amazon.

when i first moved to ny i was super excited to be in a city filled with so many artists, crafters and artisans, and i made it a personal goal to try and meet as many people as i could that were just as interested in crafts/handmade as i was in hopes of starting a monthly craft night. we’ve since been here two months and it’s been kind of a disappointment as craft night still hasn’t happened, though to be fair, we’ve been so busy getting our apartment situated and me working during the day that i just haven’t had the time to go out and meet as many people as i’d hoped. realistically though, i should probably go easy on myself - it’s only been two months and there’s been so much stuff that we’ve needed to do since we moved here and unfortunately life sometimes takes over. but seriously, how amazing would it be to get together and make something fun, like one of the stuffed animals from sian keegan’s ‘how to make stuffed animals’?

on a related note, it’s kind of unfortunate how much the outside weather can really affect my mood. i managed to soak my entire head of hair this morning in the half block it took to walk corn (no umbrella, oops), and it’s been cold, rainy and gloomy all day. all of this has me in a pretty melancholic mood, so i might just be a little more disappointed about craft night (or lack thereof) than usual. things will look up though, and craft nights will happen. even if it is just between me, the dog and the cats. dammit.

image from steven alan. i promised myself i wouldn’t post too many...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:16:40 -0500

image from steven alan.

i promised myself i wouldn’t post too many “things” that i wanted on the blog this year, but how cute is this sweater? i’ve been looking for a good gray sweater that isn’t terribly ornate or too long in the torso, and this really looks like it fits the bill. i can easily see this transitioning from cold and gloomy nyc weather to warm and sunny, plus the light gray is in my favorite shade of gray. now, if only it’d go on sale…

image from blog.shopwiksten.com did you guys see the shop update...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:16:00 -0500

image from blog.shopwiksten.com

did you guys see the shop update from jenny yesterday? jeez. my favorite is the Öljett Hat. if i didn’t look like i had an egg for a head any time i wore beanies i’d totally be up on that. plus, how adorable does she look? double jeez.

taken well after christmas. i was out walking corn sometime last...

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:04:09 -0500

taken well after christmas.

i was out walking corn sometime last week when i happened upon this perfectly fine ornament laying dumped but intact and beaming through a bed of mulch outside my apartment complex. given its golden brethren of an ornament lay in pieces on the sidewalk having suffered a slightly lesser fate, i hung ‘lil red on the neighboring tree and there he’s sat since, keeping the christmas spirit alive.

i made these while procrastinating on cleaning the house for the...

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:15:00 -0500

i made these while procrastinating on cleaning the house for the umpteenth time, and i’m pretty pleased with how they turned out. i couldn’t get it to show in the photos, but the best part about these beads was the gold clay i used had tiny little flecks of gold dust, which when folded into the pink matte clay distributed an even dusting of the gold flecks throughout the bead, totally an unintentional plus. i was inspired to make these after seeing alyson fox’s ‘a small collection’ on jenny’s blog/shop; kinda neat that the desire to own one culminated into necessary creativity since those necklaces sold out so darn quick.

ch-ch-ch-changes.

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:55:41 -0500

at the writing of my last post, we were still in la, still pretty much same ol’. since then, so much has happened, so much has changed that i don’t even know where i’d begin. a rather incomplete list (but the most important), we’ve 1) moved to new york, 2) set up shop in clinton hill, brooklyn, ny, 3) i quit my job at match and found a new one in new york, 4) chris quit his job at original and moved out to new york to be with me and 5) totaled my car during the first snowstorm in new york in october in over 30 years. oh yeah, and amidst that mess, i turned 28. it’s been quite the whirlwind these last few months and it feels like years since we first set up shop in our new home state, but it’s only been since october.

without getting too personal about my choice for moving back, it’s been an amazing experience moving back in the city. the last couple of months have been a mixed bag in terms of both elation and stress - it took us weeks to find an apartment that wasn’t completely out of our price range and/or a complete dump (and heartache on two we liked that both fell through), living with chris’ sister and three roommates in bushwick while we apartment hunted 20+ apartments each day, having all our belongings in storage and living out of suitcases while we apartment hunted, us having been out here for over two months now with no job leads for chris, and on our first trip back to pennsylvania, my car totaled in an 11 car pileup (11 at the least that i counted - chris had to get 31 stitches, i got a contusion on my forehead) on the way back. thankfully, things have calmed down a great deal since then. we found a place about a half block off the g in a newly constructed apartment complex fashioned from an old linen factory that we now call home. slightly exasperated because it’s so expensive, absurdly so when compared to what i was paying in la, but neat since we now live in a studio with 13.5’ ceilings where we’re allowed to build a loft amongst many other home improvement projects (a home depot is literally behind us, which has proven to be immensely helpful). it took us awhile to finally be able to get all our stuff out of storage and into the new place, and even then it was weeks later until we got most everything unpacked and sort of organized so that the space was at least livable for two people and a dog (and two cats, to come later). i’d say we’re about 95% of the way there now which is such a huge relief; ideally i can’t wait until we’re completely done so we can finally start having friends over for dinners, cookies and pie.

already this is so long and i already have the urge to stop, but if you’re reading this far down, thank you for being with me still. so much has happened within these last few weeks and i know more will happen in the next couple of months, but all in all, i can already feel the good happening. la was truthfully very difficult for me (more on that later, maybe) and while i’m effectively moving forward by coming back to new york, i’ve already started seeing the world in a changed perspective. it’s nice. it’s good. in fact, it’s beyond good. this, you guys, i can get used to.

last ring i made from the jewelry metalsmithing class i took. ...

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:32:00 -0400

last ring i made from the jewelry metalsmithing class i took. hand cut, shaped, sanded, soldered and polished from solid sheet brass. likely my favorite out of the three i’ve made…this could definitely be something i’d love to pick up as a hobby if time allowed.

vogue italia

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:49:52 -0400

i absolutely cannot get over these vogue italia photos…they are truly stunning. proof that real women (not rail thin models) can be and are genuinely beautiful. see more from this issue here.

gregory weinkauf @hufftingtonpost on the harry potter and the deathly hallows 2

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:35:00 -0400

gregory weinkauf @hufftingtonpost on the harry potter and the deathly hallows 2:

freaking amazing article.

sorry for the bursts of nerd-osity today guys, but i’ve read all the books, seen all the films, and bought tickets for tonight nearly two months ago; tonight will finally culminate into a high point of my life, albeit a sad one. please don’t hesitate to let me know what you think!

new etsy shop!

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:46:00 -0400

i’m a hoarder…a fact that i try to deny but constantly am reminded of every time i find something else that i forgot that i had. so, in an effort to purge myself of the unnecessary but pass onto others the treasures that i’ve found in my years of scouring swap meets, thrift stores, estate sales and the like, i’ve started an etsy shop of all my vintage finds! click to shop the things we keep on etsy, and please feel free to peruse, forward or share the link! a sampling of what i’ve listed in the shop is below - i plan to an ever-growing roster of new goodies as i find them.

Etsy
thethingswekeep

yea, it’s that kinda day.

Fri, 20 May 2011 13:13:31 -0400

yea, it’s that kinda day.