Renegade Recap

Renegade Craft Fair Day!

(rob and i with the mustaches we got from Something's Hiding in Here)

We woke up bright and early yesterday morning to get ready for the craft fair. I was so excited I woke up extra early! Nice job sleeping in on a weekend Suzy. After taking the train and a couple subways and walked a bit, we found ourselves at McCarren park...over an hour early! Luckly, there was a farmers market being held and we enjoyed some yummy raspberry and apple cider and a delicious apple while sitting and relaxing on the grass. It was super nice to just sit there and watch all sorts of people walk by. I love the diversity of New York, 'specially in the "normal" living areas of the city, not the tourist clogged streets in Manhattan.


(me in front of the booths)

Little after 11, we headed to the "pool" where the fair was being held and I went into giddy crafter mode. We started at one end and ziz-zagged our way through almost every booth looking and drooling over everyones' goodies. It was so exciting to see crafters I've been following online in the flesh with their products in real life. Me being shy, didn't really talk to them. And you know everyone's super nice and friendly, but I just freeze up! Although the boys at Etsy were too awesome and I did talk to them a bit. Anyways. I was able to buy a lot of great stuff! A LOT!!! (i will list what i bought in the photo down below) Surprisingly, I did not spend all my birthday money and had quite a bit leftover, which is pretty rare for me to do. It did get overwhelming at times with all the wonderful things people were selling and we tried to make mental notes to come back, but the list got so long! But, there are a few things we are going to order online in the next fews weeks that we didn't get a chance to buy and that, I think, is a great sign because that person made a lasting impression. Despite the grueling heat, sun and humidity, everyone (vendors and visitors) was so friendly and totally laid back. I seriously loving the indie craft crowd. And the tattoos everyone had! Oh so kick-ass! After making our second way around, we decided that we saw all the we could see and it was time start the trek towards home.


(yummy cupcakes)

Our next stop was Babycakes in Manhattan. This sweet little place claims to have the best cupcakes around, which are all made with all natural, vegan friendly ingredients. Me being a lover of cupcakes just had to go there! And the verdict? Fantastic!! Even Rob liked them! I had a chocolate cupcake and a cupcake top and Rob had a carrot cake cupcake and a brownie bite. The word to describe them is refreshing. The lack of refined sugar and all the crap makes the cupcakes taste light and not rich and overly sweet. They were a little crumbly and messy, but it is sweets and that makes it fun sometimes!


As we headed uptown towards Grand Central, we ended up in Bryant Park and I told Rob that Kinokuniya, the japanese/asian book store had just relocated there and it was supposed to be bigger and better then its last location in Rock Center. Man oh man do I love that store! 3 floors of japanese goodness. We spent a good time looking at design books, craft books, tattoo books, manga, and paper goodies. I ended up buying a sweet japanese craft book with sewing and embroidery projects with cute cat motifs (yes it's all in japanese, but the illustrations make it manageable), a folder for papers and a little notebook.


(my sad shoe)

And it's not a trip to NYC for me without it raining of course! I swear, every single time we go there it rains when we head back! This time it rained hard. To make matters worse...my beloved mary janes that I had been wearing for 3 years got a hole in it!! So we're running to Grand Central, covering our goods from Renegade like they were the holy grail and my poor foot is completely soaked. Thankfully, our things did not get wet, but my feet stank so bad! Ahhh! R.I.P dear shoes, you were the best.

The fun didn't stop there, nope! For dinner we had yummy sushi from the place down the street. I also spent the rest of my birthday money buying some books I've been wanting for a long long time. Crafting books of course. I'm so inspired!

The Loot:

(i'll do my best to list what i got)

L-R
-Japanese craft book from Kinokuniya
-felt mustaches and wooden acorns from Something's Hiding in Here
-laptop skins from Sharp Shirter
-t-shirt from Renegade
-purse from 31 Corn Lane
-pins from assorted places
-bunch of zines and cards and stickers
-cardinal print and pins from Berkley Illustration
-a subscription to ReadyMade mag for only $5!
-wooden bookmark from Beacon Bookmarks
-wallet from Chikabird
-iPod cozy from Mr. Poncho
-mini grab bag from The Sampler
-lip gloss, lip tint and shaving soap from Bunny Butt Apothecary
-and for $5 the boys from Etsy gave you a plastic bag and where whatever you could fit in the bag from these 3 boxes of fabric, yarn and art stuff was yours. I got yarn, fabric, sweet clothing patterns, a yarn loom, a shirt, tote and a video on silk screening.
-somewhere in there is small bird earrings from Figs & Ginger
-and there are a couple of other things in there that I can't remember the names of the places I got them from.

*and as a good girl, I put everything and I mean everything, into the closet and will not take anything out until my birthday. I haven't even gotten to look through my grab bags, but at least I'll have a few surprises for my birthday: )