fred flare diary | lulu in the city: It was a "Red Hot" Summer!
tweed boyfriend blazer
$64
grey texting gloves
$22
forget me knot ring
$54
cupcake beanie
$30
   
 

One of the hardest things about living in New York is I that miss hanging out with my friends from Chicago. But the good thing about living in New York is that, eventually, everyone will come to hang out with you. Then they always fall in love with New York and promise to visit often! It’s perfect.

One of my oldest friends Cheri and her boyfriend Omar just came to visit. They visited last Spring but I had only been here a few months, still a newcomer. This time I was so excited to show off this city I love. The best thing about old friends is that they always enjoy the show… or at least pretend like they do!

Cheri and I have been friends for nine years. I met her at the opening of Urban Outfitters in Chicago the same time I met Chris. I knew after my first day of work that even if the job didn't last – although I worked there for over five years – I had met some people that I thought could become lifelong friends. I guess my hunch was right. Cheri was super fun to work with and I fell in love with her immediately! She was part of our crowd. We all had nicknames back in those days, as Chris explained in chartoppers: bedtime stories, and Cheri's was "Red Hot". It really requires no explanation!

Over time we all became better friends. Cheri, Omar and I even all lived in the same building and shared a rooftop deck for years. Now they are in the process of opening a gallery and tattoo studio in Chicago named Revolution Studios. Omar is an amazing tattoo artist! Even though they are busy with a new business they took some time out to come to New York to get inspired and spend some time with me! I was so happy!

Omar arrived a day before Cheri. She was on a business trip the week earlier and was taking a train in from Boston. It's funny to see them apart because they are always together. They have been dating since high school! The day Omar arrived we were super busy at the fred flare warehouse. I had planned to take the afternoon off and play tour guide but instead we put him to work! The funniest thing is that he helped us on a custom order of trucker hats we were doing for Urban Outfitters. It’s funny how some things turn out.

After work we had our usual happy hour at the Blu Lounge, went to an out-of-this-world pillow show hosted by the Sperber Sisters of 31 Corn Lane and then met another Chicago friend Margret at the Pencil Factory in Greenpoint. This is Margret’s third visit to NYC this year. She's destined to be here, I think. As the evening went on we were joined by several of our other friends who now live in New York, many of whom we had also met at Urban Outfitters in Chicago during that same time. It's a small world.

The next evening we picked Cheri up at Grand Central Station and our adventures began! We immediately went to a new fun place I just discovered, the Pine Tree Lodge. This is a great hidden treasure kinda near Grand Central. We spent that first night just chatting and catching up on all the things we had missed over the last several months. The hardest thing for me about seeing old friends is that you never want them to leave! You wish you could share all your experiences with them rather than just a speed round of storytelling the first few hours you are together.

We didn’t stay out too late because we had a lot planned for Saturday. Keith had organized a little group trip to P.S.1. Everyone at fred flare and some of our closest friends are in a "Summertime Fun Club." The club is designed so that each member plans either a day or weekend's festivities for everyone during the Summer. It is so much fun! It gives you something to look forward to all Summer long! Keith had planned P.S.1 in anticipation of Cheri and Omar’s arrival.

P.S.1 is one of the largest and oldest organizations completely dedicated to contemporary art, housed in what used to be a public school. It really feels like you are bustling off to class or to the cafeteria when you are checking out the exhibitions there. The art can be found throughout the whole building, too, often in the most unexpected places. The best is when you get that surprise. You are in the basement and see an installation piece behind the furnace. Or there is a tiny television placed in a hole in the floor with a girl screaming "HELP! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" My favorite exhibition featured posters, album covers and advertisements over the last 25 years by graphic designer Art Chantry.

But we were not there to just to look at art. Every Saturday in the Summer P.S.1 has an annual music series called "Warm Up," featured in the main courtyard. Each year selected young architects compete to design the outdoor environment of "Warm Up". This year the courtyard was turned into an urban beach including sand, beach chairs and several interactive sculptures full of water. That was my favorite part. You can't have a beach without water! There's tons of dancing, great DJs and lots of people sporting cute and not-so-cute looks. It's a great place for people watching! You can dance, eat food, drink, relax, soak your feet in the pool and just hang out all day, which is pretty much what we did. While we were there we ran into another old friend from our Urban Outfitters days who we hadn't seen in years. It really is a small world!

We did lots of other great things all weekend long. We had dinner in Little Italy, ate great Indian food on 6th Av, went to CBGB's, walked all over the East Village, went to several other museums, sat in Bryant Park and shopped in SoHo. I even gave them my billyburg shopping tour, but our grand finale was going to the top of the Empire State Building.

The Empire State Building is, for me, the ultimate symbol of New York City. I went straight to the top on my first official day as a New Yorker but, long before, had seen it star in such classics as "King Kong" and "An Affair to Remember". It has starred in so many other movies but is really the star of New York City itself as it towers over the Manhattan skyline more than a hundred stories tall. It has more to offer than just height, though. The Art Deco details and the marble lobby make it one of the most beautiful buildings in the world!

We went to the top at night and it was so beautiful. When you look down from the outdoor observatory the panoramic views are amazing! The taxicabs look like little toy cars and the people like Barbie dolls. The Empire State is Barbie's ultimate dream house for sure! It was at least 80 degrees when we were up there but it started to snow. I know it wasn’t really snow, just misty rain lit white by the bright lights, but everyone was so excited. It was like when you were a kid and saw the first snow of the season, a great ending to our visit.

Truly one of the best parts of being in the best city is getting to enjoy it with your best friends!

08/08/2003



DIARY ARCHIVES: fred friends Estelle, Lights, One Night Only, Rye Rye, next BIG thing! 2008, Jesse McCartney, Jonas Brothers, Top Model's Sarah Vonderhaar, Jack Mackenroth, Think Pink writer Lisa Clark, Kit Pistol, Au Revoir Simone, Supayana, What the Buck, Peter Bjorn and John, Ratatat, next BIG thing! 2007, shoe designer Jeffrey Campbell, Erika Forster of Au Revoir Simone, heartist Chris Uphues, Alison Kelly of Dahl, Stephanie Deleau of Noisette, Marilyn Patrizio of M.Partizio, Liam Sullivan of Kelly "Shoes", Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, next BIG thing! 2006, Jill Bliss, next BIG thing! 2005, Loop NYC's China Young, Sukie, The Donnas, Vinnie's Tampon Case, Leah Tinari, Peach Berzerk, The Sperber twins, Jennifer Worick, Cody, Patch NYC 2, Chip Wass, Angela Adams, Venue, Jack and Lulu 2, All Girl Summer Fun Band, 31 Corn Lane, Charlotte Ronson, Three by Three Seattle, Princess Tina, Imperial Teen, Built by Wendy 2, Dana Carlson, Sweden, Jack and Lulu 1, Bob's Your Uncle, Mary Ping & Jonathan Adler, E-Z Living, Built by Wendy 1, Endicott Five, Patch NYC 1, media blitz Mod*Mom, Aya Kanai from Nylon, Grace Bonney of Design Sponge, Samantha Moeller of Missbehave, Marie Kare of The Sampler, Pink Is The New Blog's Trent Vanegas, Martha Stewart Kids' Jodi Levine, BUST's Debbie Stoller, YM's Elizabeth Kiester, Cargo's Ariel Foxman, teeter on tour back to brooklyn, she's so rad, double handsome, wild pony, enchanted treehouse, beanz-n- rice, wide open road, crush Teeter Sperber, Kelis, Jennifer Garner, Kylie Minogue, Charlie Brown, Scarlett Johansson, employee of the month Julie, Jen, Sammy Joe & Joe Sammy, Amy, Vanessa, Tim, Anne, Chanel, Josh, Lauren, Diane, Charles, Lillian, nancy drew review the haunted bridge, the whispering statue, the mystery of the ivory charm, the message in the hollow oak, the clue of the broken locket, password to larkspur lane, the sign of the twisted candles, nancy's mysterious letter, the clue in the diary, the secret of red gate farm, the secret of shadow ranch, the mystery at lilac inn, the bungalow mystery, the hidden staircase, the secret of the old clock, lulu in the city lulu luvs, extra! extra! read all about it!, pink Christmas, thanks, new york!, single in the city, spooky lulu, roller girl, jersey girl, no lights, big city, it was a "red hot" summer!, miss independence, billyburg shopping guide, lulu and the kitty, in like a lion, out like a lamb, my best friend joe, hotpants!, the queen of brooklyn, summer in the city, the anniversary party, garbage & neighbors & mice...oh my!, lulu in the city, cheap & cheerful give thanks, hula hoops, a piece of pi, cupcakes, fred fleur, tommy: mini mode happy summer days, it's a mod, mod world, good night, sweet dreams, my girl, keep on marching, one fine day, supermodels Dana's Lucky magazine shoot, hi-fi holiday honeys, supermodel Hillary's Warhol, fallfabulous, supermodel challenge, covergirls, fred on tour Paris Dispatch: Eiffel Awesomeness, Paris Dispatch: Just Strollin', Paris Dispatch: From Colette w/ Love, Paris Dispatch: Marie & The Moulin, Paris Dispatch: Bonjour, Peeps!, behind the music, San Fredcisco, LA Flare, chartoppers: the 80's 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, chartoppers: madonna Hard Candy, Confessions on a Dance Floor, reinvention tour recap, reinvention contest winners, Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer, I'm Breathless, Erotica, Bedtime Stories, Ray of Light, Music, American Life, top 50 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, window shopping 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, sales and events Store Cute Grand Opening, Fall Sample Sale 2008, Carnival of Cute: Holiday 2006, Fall Sample Sale 2006, Pool Party 2006, Holiday Sale 2003, let's skate, Holiday Sale 2002, Holiday Sale 2001, Holiday Sale 2000, Spring Sale 2000