After wandering around the Met for a good four or five hours after seeing the Alexander McQueen exhibition, I found myself yet again in the modern art section of the museum. I was completely drawn to the work of Paul Klee. Instead of being trapped within one genre of painting, Klee’s work spans expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He has such a breadth of styles within his work that it was always a surprise to see what was going to come next. Obviously, his work has been on my mind for a few days.

Savage Beauty

The past few days have just been a blur. Even though it’s only Sunday, going into work on Friday seems like days ago! Friday’s lunch with Glen Senk ,the CEO of URBN, was amazing. We went to an Italian restaurant called Osteria and ate way too much. They served a full four course meal, with two dishes at every course. All I wanted to do afterwards was go back to my desk and take a nap. The lunch was really interesting. After we all introduced ourselves, it was pretty much a question and answer session with Glen. It was great to hear about his background and the things he did to get to where he is today. It all gave me even more hope that I’ll be able to come back to a job here after I graduate.

After work, Simon, Emily, Sara and I left for NYC. Leaving at six o’clock on a Friday night, we were expected lots and lots of traffic, but it only took us a little over two hours to get there. We went into the city to meet up with Simon’s boyfriend and headed to dinner at an absolutely amazing Thai restaurant. I’m a sucker for a good panang curry and this one was pretty excellent. After a bit more walking around, we headed out to West Chester County for a few hours of sleep before heading back into the city to make it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art before they opened for the day. I’ve been hearing how incredible the Alexander McQueen exhibition, Savage Beauty, was for weeks, but I wasn’t sure what to expect. So of course, I was blown away once I walked in. I had no idea how political and conceptual McQueen’s work was. It truly was one of the best shows I’ve every seen. I’m definitely going to need the exhibition book for that one.

I spent the rest of the day wandering around the Met, looking at everything from Medieval boxes to Picassos and I loved every minute of it. When living with five other people, sometimes it’s nice to do things on my own pace and spend the day by myself. We all met up at the bus station to ride back down to Philly and of course, slept the whole way back. It was an excellent 24 hours in the city…I’d forgotten how much I absolutely love being there.

I think the rest of the weekend is going to be pretty quiet. The Anthro building is moving around on Friday, so we only have a three and a half day work week with a four day weekend…not bad. I’m looking forward to having a few days to do whatever I feel like…including celebrating the 4th of July in the nation’s founding city! I can’t wait…it’s going to be a pretty big celebration, I’m sure.

Today really was one of the most red letter days I’ve had since finding out I was going to be coming to Philadelphia for the summer. And after yesterday’s not-so-wonderful afternoon, I was glad to have it.

To start with, this Friday, I’ll be having lunch with Glen Senk, the CEO of URBN! Previous summers, all of the interns were able to go to the executive lunches, but now that they’re accepting so many people to the internship program, it’s impossible for everyone to take part. We’ve had to apply to attend the lunches and I got the one with Glen! I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve already started making a list in my head of things I want to ask him while I’m there.

As if that weren’t enough, I’m absolutely going to be able to work with one of the buying teams at BHLDN while I’m here as well. I want to see how things are different for a brand that’s just starting up compared to one like Anthropologie that everyone knows and loves so much, so I’m really looking forward to it. AND there’s a sample sale next week!!! It was questionable whether or not there would be one while all the interns are here, but lo and behold, it’s happening. Next week.

I finished reading the book Room today too. It’s a really good book if you’re looking for a summer read.

Today couldn’t have been better.

Some old railroad building at the end of our walk today outside of Philly

It just keeps getting better

Just when I thought I was getting to work with most of the teams I wanted to this summer, my boss asked me yesterday if I would want to work with the catalog production team at some point…um, of course! I don’t know when or what I’ll be doing, but it doesn’t really matter. I get to work on catalog! Obviously, they won’t be flying me off to the next glamorous, international photo shoot, but I’ll be able to work with the team behind the scenes and figure out the logistics to make it all happen.

And to top it all off, I’ll be working in the web photo studio tomorrow and Friday. Can’t wait!

It's a beautiful day for a BBQ

Perfection

I had an absolutely wonderful day today. I worked on a project that I liked (top selling products of holiday 2010) so the day flew by, with a short intermission for lunch with my roommate, Emily. We went to pilates after work, which I’m probably going to regret in the morning…it’s been awhile since I’ve done pilates. My abs might hate me in the morning. Made a tasty dinner and then headed out for a walk to the nearby gelato place for dessert. The best part? I SAW FIREFLIES!!! Which, as my roommates informed me, is a normal thing for people out east, but for those of us from Colorado where humidity is just a rumor, this was a pretty big deal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen fireflies that I can remember. So Emily, Austin and I ate our gelato in the park and watched the fireflies lazily drift in and out of the grass. They were magical…I’m in love. I think a late evening walk is necessary every night from here on out just to watch them.

I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Gas again...rejoice!

I have never enjoyed a shower as much as I did yesterday. After a week of cold mornings to wake up to, I couldn’t have appreciated hot water more. And to top it all off, a working refrigerator too! So of course, we had to visit Trader Joe’s to restock our freezer. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited for some wontons and pad thai over the next few days.

We went to an exhibition of Sheila Hick’s work yesterday at the Institute of Contemporary Art near our house. I love that even though she’s been making art for over fifty years, it’s still relevant and can still have such a dramatic impression in galleries. Her work (both small and large scale) is absolutely amazing. It creates this inexplicable tension between the natural and man-made. While I had previously seen pictures online, they were nothing compared to standing next to the 30-40 foot installations. They made me feel like a little kid-surrounded by some unexplainable and imagined world. Basically, if you ever get the opportunity to see her work, do it.

After the exhibition, we stopped by Avril 50 to check out their selection. I usually have to search to find magazines from Europe in bookstores in Colorado, but here I was, surrounded by French decor, Spanish fashion, and Dutch entertainment. I was in heaven. Miraculously, I walked out without buying anything, but I’m sure I’ll need to go back next weekend.

I finally watched Country Strong last night. I originally had no desire to see it when it came out in theaters, but after hearing so many people gush about how great it was, I figured it was time. Gwyneth Paltrow surprised me with her singing. And whoever the guy was…he was just adorable. It was a night well spent.

Today’s laundry day. And while waiting for loads to dry, I’ve realized that I graduate in less than six months. That’s a terrifying thought. Considering that most of my family is out of state, I need to send out invitations for them to come stay at some point in the near future. Time to start coming up with some design ideas…

Yet again, another week has passed in the blink of an eye. Between research, inspiration searches, inventory checks, business reviews, summer 2012 concepts, and more research, I feel like there’s barely been enough time to breath…let alone enjoy the city! I can’t wait for this weekend to have a few days of to explore.

Rumor has it our fridge and hot water will be fixed in the upcoming days, which will be a nice change of pace. Cold showers are not my ideal thing to wake up to in the morning. But luckily it seems like we’ve finally got it all figured out.

Part of my “job” includes creating weekly inspiration boards to present to my team. They can be based on whatever my heart desires. I figure I’ll share them here too! This week’s concept is copper. It was a major trend at the Milan Design Week. I loved the copper orbs in the bottom right of the image and it all just stemmed from there!

summer in the city

The humidity here is 50% higher than it is back at home. Good god.

Although University City isn’t the place for me (Campus Apartments has left a bad taste in my mouth), I really do like Philadelphia. I’m looking forward to getting to explore a little more this weekend now that we’ve got the subway figured out. I’m just hoping our fridge and hot water are fixed by then…that would be nice.

The best part about the internship is that I’m doing things that actually matter to the company. And while I’m a firm believer that a morning coffee can lead to great things, I’m glad that I’m working on more substantial projects instead of Starbucks runs. Especially since this is unpaid, it’s good to know I’m getting something out of it as well.

Today is a cloudy fashion blog day. I’m newly obsessed with pretty much every site my roommate has been telling me to check out. Apparently I’m going through a rainy day, Hunter boots, trench coat phase…fitting for the day!

images from What I Wore and Atlantic-Pacific

Our refrigerator is broken. Fantastic. Looks like necessities shopping trip round two is in order.

longest week ever.

Even with Monday off, this week was simply exhausting. But I am absolutely IN LOVE with my internship. This week, we finalized all of the product for holiday and it’s gorgeous…it’s going to be a pretty amazing season. I’ve also been working with Architectural Digest and Elle Decor’s online websites to promote our product.

But today was the best of all…I got to help pick which books we’re going to sell during holiday! It was probably the best meeting I’ve ever been to. Of course, you know my not-so-secret obsession with books. It’s unhealthy. I can’t wait to work with that department again for spring!

Tomorrow, we venture into Center City for the day! After sleeping in, of course. After waking up at six for the past week, I’m ready to wake up after the sun rises.