Brooklyn | Hold the Glamour

December 6, 2013

Three castings, a dead body and sore feet

Two days ago my day started at 6.30am. I was out the door by 7.45am ready to catch a cab to the Port Authority on 42nd Street and 8th Ave, New York.

I boarded an 8.20am bus to a town in New Jersey called Rochelle for a casting at 9.30am. I was dressed up, hair and make-up were done and I wore a cute pair of heeled boots for maximum impact to impress my potential clients.

Minutes away from my first casting of the day, the bus I was on slowed down. I looked up and saw police cars everywhere as we crawled passed a crime scene.

I then saw a partially naked women’s body lying under a tree — DEAD! All but her legs from the thigh down were covered up by a white sheet. I stopped breathing. The reality of it all moved from my stomach to my throat. Insanity! I’ve lived in New York for almost 12 years, and never before had I seen a crime scene like this one.

I saw my client, tried on three outfits and had photos taken of me wearing their samples. I was there for an hour.

I waited 40 minutes for a bus to take me back to New York all the while wondering if I’d see the poor victim on my return (I didn’t).

Once in New York, I lost my weekly unlimited metro card (public trains & buses) on my way to my agency JAG in Chelsea… Great! I was still a little shaken at seeing the dead woman.

I picked up my composite cards, book and details for my next two castings. Next stop was Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Someone at casting #2 took a comp card and some digital shots of me in my own clothes. I rushed out the door on my way back to the city.

I hadn’t anticipated on walking so much in my cute heeled boots which were no longer feeling so cute. All I kept imagining was taking them off and soaking my feet for hours.

Casting #3 was in Tribeca, New York. I didn’t have a picture ID on me to be let into the building so the security guard gave me a hard time for a while before he let me up to the 12th floor of the building… Really? I just saw a dead woman.

I had literally traveled to two states and two boroughs in one day. Onward I went, walking the city that never sleeps and is never quiet in my boots and hot, throbbing feet — counting every step closer to home. What a day!

Later that night, I watched the news and saw the segment about the dead woman I had seen. It was horrible and very real unfortunately.

Have you ever seen a dead body from a crime scene before?

If so, what happened and when?

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May 12, 2013

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mother’s out there in the world. I hope you have a wonderful day, spent with your loved and treasured ones. May today be a reminder of the amazing and brilliant things you do, everyday. Enjoy!

We are running out the door for the day however, I wanted to let you know it’s a beautiful, sunny day in Brooklyn. I have made sure to put my L’OREAL Revitalift Miracle Blur on my face after my Weleda Skin Food moisturiser. It has a SPF30 sunscreen in it – I don’t want to get burnt and I want to look my best. This stuff rocks my world and my face!

We are about to go and have brunch at our local, favourite place Bar-Tabac, then we are heading to Manhattan – on Broadway to see The Lion King. We are all so excited and what better way to spend Mother’s Day, than with my precious family that I love and adore.

It’s all about slowing down to smell the roses…

Have a fabulous day, wherever you are in the world!

November 27, 2012

Turkeylicious!

Well, our Thanksgiving dinner was a success I am thrilled to report. The six hours I spent labouring over dishes and prep the day before was certainly worth it. Standing on your feet in virtually one place is no joke. I was exhausted that day, having flown in at midnight the night before – it was all systems go!

As I have learn’t, there are traditional meals that go with the traditional turkey and this was my maiden journey into the most celebrated American holiday. Everyone I know that is from America, takes this traditional holiday very seriously. They will fly, drive or train it ‘home’ for four days – where ever that may be. Or they will celebrate it with those closest to them. This is what I have observed over the years of living in the U.S. of A. Fortunately for us, we had some of our dearest friends spend the afternoon and evening with us.

Brooklyn – Our Thanksgiving table

I had some wonderful guidance from my American friends (you know who you are so thank you) and they guided me into uncharted waters of green beans, corn pudding, home-made stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potato and of course the bird which my darling husband Steve took care of. Martha Stewart’s recipes featured heavily on this festive day and I must say, her recipes are easy, spot on and delicious.

I can’t believe the amount of butter these Thanksgiving dishes require. I wouldn’t go through that amount in a month or two! No wonder everyone complains afterwards of overeating and over-stuffing themselves. Why would you one day or two knowingly in a year? Why wouldn’t you I hear other’s say? I personally don’t get it. It was just another yummy meal in my life. It is as always, each to their own.

Steve also bought me and took care of my lobster that you see sitting on the table (not traditional Thanksgiving fare). I don’t eat meat. I’m a pescatarian which means, I only eat seafood. I have done this since my late teenage years and it is how I like to eat and live my life.

Anyway, Steve brined our organic turkey 24 hours prior ( I knew nothing of this) and prepped it before popping it into the oven (which took four hours to cook by the way). The verdict came in from our American friends and they loved it. I was so pleased and delighted that all our effort and trouble was worth it. It was a steep learning curve for me and I like to be challenged in positive ways.

What are your thoughts about eating a turkey?

Do you prefer it over another bird or meat? If so, why?

As always, I welcome your thoughts and experiences.

November 6, 2012

Life after Hurricane Sandy

Red Hook, Brooklyn – A business/warehouse has lost it all

It really is difficult to fathom such a catastrophe as Hurricane Sandy, even if you did experience it or something like it. My family and I are safe, dry and warm. We suffered very little if any damage to our home. We are so thankful and feel blessed to have escaped the wrath of the storm. Wild winds partially tore down a side of our courtyard fence however, it is nothing compared to what hundreds of thousands of residents in the area endured and experienced. My heart goes out to all of them. For them, I am truly sorry.

A full-on recovery drive is on and the clean-up has begun! New Yorker’s are pulling it together and donating their time, food, supplies etc. to assist those that need it most. Everyone I know in our neighbourhood is helping in some way. There are so many areas affected by Sandy with the closest to our home being Red Hook – all of it is on the waterfront and in Zone A (mandatory evacuation zone). We are giving them all we can.

Brooklyn – a local playground is locked up as trees are uprooted and unstable

So many of the local playgrounds are still closed because trees were uprooted and have become unstable. There is debris everywhere and it’s simply going to take a long time to get to all of it. The city departments are inundated with calls and requests – where does one start?

There was very little escape from the reality and destruction of this storm. Even the terrorist attacks of September 11 didn’t manage to successfully mobilise the city like Hurricane Sandy has. Mother Nature is reminding us who is in charge.

Last week was a weird and surreal time with all four of us home 24/7. Kids at home from school, no trains running or airports open therefore work had to be rescheduled. So many businesses below 39th Street didn’t get their power back on until the weekend. The city was at a standstill. Everything seemed frozen and on hold. You couldn’t really leave your local area.

Brooklyn – Trees fell down like toy soldiers

Brooklyn – The day after Sandy hits our neighborhood

Brooklyn – This car is holding up the tree

Brooklyn – The clean-up begins

I love to see people pulling together, helping each other out so selflessly and unconditionally. I am so proud of the city that I live in. It is resilient and strong. It bounces back and some. It carries on and moves forward. It becomes a unified force. That’s why New York has a pulse of its own that you see and feel every time you are in the city’s presence.

Have you ever experienced such a storm or force of nature? I would love to hear about it.

October 29, 2012

Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst – awaiting Hurricane Sandy

New York – a view of our courtyard as Hurricane Sandy approaches

It started raining at 6.45am this morning and hasn’t stopped since. As I write this post from my home office this evening, my family like many, many others in the New York area await the wrath of Hurricane Sandy which is heading our way in a matter of hours.

The last two days have seen grey skies with rain and winds preparing the Northeast area for the unknown at this stage.

Our family and friends have been calling, emailing and texting us however, we don’t have much news to report at the moment. We are as prepared as one can be in the hands of Mother Nature.

With schools closed, work cancelled and all mass transit suspended since 7pm Sunday evening, there isn’t much to do other than relax, spend time at home with the family and simply wait it out. There are no appointments or errands to run and our busy schedules have all-of-a-sudden, ceased.

You can’t go anywhere for that matter. Thousands of flights have been cancelled and it will take many days to resume the normal schedule. It feels like a four day long weekend, although we know it’s not.

We have storm surge threats and power outages likely in the area once the center of Sandy nears close enough. Here’s hoping Sandy, like Hurricane Irene some 15 months earlier, surprises us by not creating as much havoc, damage and tragedy as first predicted. We want to be pleasantly surprised Sandy!

However, there is an urgency in the air. Yesterday, people were buying food, water and supplies to hopefully last them a few days. Today, most stores are closed and stock is sold out.

My husband and I, and some of our friends that live in our neighbourhood are not too rattled or worried to be honest (at the moment anyway). We don’t live on the waterfront and we live in apartments not houses. We remain sensible by staying indoors and have prepared ourselves as much as we can by buying enough food, candles and batteries etc. to see us through (we hope).

We hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Stay tuned for more Sandy updates…

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Tag: Brooklyn