You Know Brooklyn Rocks When...

...you buy an allegedly broken amp at a stoop sale for 3 dollars, take it home... and it works.

6th Avenue Makeover Materials

At one point today I had a feeling it would be a better idea to walk to the doctor's office the long way (Nora has croup) and it turns out I was right. Because I came across an amazing collection of fashion options just right for someone long overdue for a new look. But where to start? Taking account my performance in the Blue Barn video about Brooklyn bloggers, I can just skip all this stuff, even the That Girl dress, and put a brown paper bag over my head.

Wife Hates Chair

The note on the chair says "Awesome chair that my wife hates. Needs a little work. Free."

The note says a lot.

When my husband got home from work that day he said "There's this great chair, I think I'm going to go get it..."

It's in our house now. I hate it less than the one it's replacing, also from the street.

Lessons of the Little Red Hen

It was strange to turn the corner onto Windsor Place on Sunday and see the Little Red Hen lying there on the ground, turned to the last page, where the dog, cat and mouse get there just desserts. It was like the neighborhood itself was reading to me.

What a pain in the a** those lazy characters are, doing nothing and wanting everything. Is there a message for me in this? Perhaps that sometimes you have to step out of the way and let justice happen, even if it breaks your heart. I was talking to my friend, a mother of 4 teenagers. Over the weekend they needed some milk, and she asked one after another of her children to go get it. She asked her 16 year old daughter, who couldn't go because she didn't want to be seen in the pants she was wearing and her others were in the dryer. She asked her 15 year old son, he was too tired, told her he'd go the next day. But he didn't. So there was no milk, because no one wanted to get it.

That hen, she knows where to draw the line.

Or perhaps the story suggests that it's good I've gotten off my butt and gotten to work. But what will my just desserts be? I've agreed to do a photo shoot for a very experienced interior designer who doesn't have much in the way of a budget presently, so he's hired me, whom he knows has little experience shooting interiors. I actually wanted to back out of this job, once I found out this interior designer founded and edited a major shelter magazine for 18 years. I'm really not comfortable, but I'm learning more than I would have otherwise, all the while making an a** of myself. In all honesty, this man has born it with amazing graciousness.

By the end of the week I should know if I'll be eating cake or humble pie.