What a week. It was scary, surreal, and just plain weird. I think that before the storm, New York may have lured itself into a false sense of security. The power won’t stay off for more than a few hours… nothing really bad will happen… everything is going to be just fine. And then the lights went off. And for many of us they are still off, and staying off for a lot longer. The city is a mess. We were fortunate enough to stay in a hotel this week so I can’t complain, but wow. Friends of mine are packed 6 or 7 into tiny studio apartments, others have had to head to a shelter to shower or charge their phones… and that’s just the city… the world outside of our little bubble is much worse.
The city itself is, in a word, eerie. Our office opened back on Wednesday… coming into work has been a good distraction. But weird stuff is happening, and as lame as it makes me sound, a part of me is scared to go outside. On Wednesday, we saw a dead body in the middle of the street at work. Someone had jumped. I debated whether or not I should share that here, but there you have it. Crazy. Sad. Didn’t feel like real life. Then, that night I made the mistake of walking back to our hotel from Flatiron up Park Avenue. The stretch between 28th street and 42nd street was total darkness. Traffic still running (with no stop lights or traffic signals) but pitch black on the sidewalks. After seeing the body and walking in the dark, I wanted to hide out indoors for the rest of the night. I’ve lived in New York for seven years and never felt truly scared… but this week, I was terrified.
I’ve felt a bit funny writing about fashion this week. The truth of the matter was that my posts were already written, so I just let them go. And I could have pushed my redesign out a week, but the posts were already migrated – I was ready to go. In a way though, blog life has been a nice little escape from real life. That and wine… every night. But I digress. We should be in SF right now for Victoria’s wedding but with all of Sandy’s drama we decided that it would be best to stay put. I’m beyond sad to miss it, but I just couldn’t see leaving with things the way that they are right now.
All of this said, these are champagne problems compared to what others are dealing with. Life will go back to normal for me in a few days. It’s not the case for many, many others. My heart breaks for the families who experienced real loss and devastation. Personally, it makes me feel a little bit helpless. In an effort to help a little bit, I decided to donate all of my advertising revenue from October to the Red Cross. If you are able to, I encourage you to volunteer your time or make a donation to the disaster relief section/charity of choice (here are some good ones.) Another way to donate is to text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to donate ten dollars.
Whew. The good news is that it’s the weekend. I’m planning to distract myself further by playing major TV catch-up and working on a few fun DIY projects this weekend. I hope yours is a good one… and that if you were affected by Sandy, that things are slowly going back to normal.
Taking a break from the seriousness… below are some things from the week that made me smile.
loved these under $30 finds.
not so spooky skulls!
bzzzz… bumble bees.
obsessed with this pretty manicure.
must learn how to do this!
a fabulous embellished sweatshirt.
glitter animal masks = too fun.
in need of a good read? look no further.
loving my friend meg’s redesign! and this post.
lastly, a thoughtful post-sandy post from taylor.
I can’t even imagine how it must feel like, being in the city right now. I’m sitting at home more or less 8000 km away in Europe and when I see the reports on CNN or BBC I’m so shocked. I always felt like New York was like this big indestructible city but now seeing as half of it is under water and/or without electricity… it’s just plain crazy…
I’m so sorry this happend to you guys over there and I hope everything goes back to ‘normal’ soon!!
Stay safe!
xo Andrea
Wonderful and Marvelous
Thank you Andrea! We got power back yesterday so things are getting better for us. I just feel so horribly for the people who were affected in a greater way.
Living in a post disaster zone always affects you. Having lived in FL for the past 20 years, I am a hurricane veteran and every aftermath is different. I feel for those who have lost everything and hope that ‘normalcy’ in some form will come sooner than later. Hang in there.
Thank you Lisa. I can imagine you’ve experienced the worst of it!!!
Sending you guys the biggest hugs. Hope life is back to normal for you asap. I’ll miss you this weekend but don’t you worry about a thing — I am just very glad you guys are safe!
Thanks girl. I hope your wedding was the bestest and cannot wait to hear all about it when you are back from your honeymoon! xoxo
I think we all appreciate your honesty, especially as everyone tries to get back into their normal groove after such a tragic natural disaster. I’ve been worried about friends and family in NYC, and to those of us outside the area, it seems that things are improving…slowly. But there’s still a lot of work to be done too.
Hope things return to life as planned shortly. (And thanks, by the way, for linking to my post.) Hopefully getting settled back at home is helping too.
thanks Jess. Our power came back yesterday morning which was such a treat! And I loved your reading list. x
Hi Grace, glad to hear you are safe. We just got power back yesterday – I feel guilty for even saying what an inconvenience that was, as so many lost so much. What a reality check this all has been. Stay well! Things will just keep getting better 🙂
You do the same. I know, I feel exactly the same way. Hope you are doing okay!
Its heart breaking to hear and I hate having my hands tied and not being able to help.
All my family and I can do right now is send prayers and donations.
Thinking of you, and hoping this week brings a positive turn!
x, Anna
Thanks, Anna – it is just so crazy! Our power was back on Saturday… I’m so thankful for that!
I almost cried reading this. That poor person feeling so bad they they jumped :'(
Hope things start to get better soon. It really makes you feel grateful for what you have.
xx Tanya
I think because of last year no one was really expecting much and then it hit hard. My office was in the black until Saturday with no means of back up power system. I thankfully, in Bk, had power but I feel terrible for those that did not especially with how cold it is now. And especially now that it is snowing… I’m glad you were able to get to a hotel and hopefully your friends have all gotten back into their homes. xo
Best, M.