The WINNER of the Redheaded Actress Etsy Shop Giveaway is...

...Katie, from The Indecisive Bride (or Latte Love, from Weddingbee) !

She has selected the MANHATTAN from the Redheaded Etsy Shop as her prize.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered and helped spread the word about my new Etsy shop. It was so much fun that I will definitely be doing another giveaway at some point, so please come by and enter again!

And if you really can't wait that long, feel free to head on over to our shop and make your own luck ;)

Redheaded Actress Etsy Shop Giveaway - ENTER NOW!

To celebrate the opening of my new Etsy shop, the Redheaded Actress, I've decided to give away one free item* from the shop of the winner's choosing!

Entries will be accepted all this week until midnight on Friday, December 18. The winner will be announced by Monday, December 21 and will get a one-of-a-kind hairpiece as a Holiday gift from me!

Ways to Enter:

1. Go check out the shop here and then come back and comment about which piece is your favorite

2. Add the Redheaded Actress Etsy shop to your Etsy favorites by "hearting" it and then comment here to tell me that you did

3. Become a fan of the Redheaded Actress Etsy shop on Facebook by going here, then come back and comment to tell me that you've done so. Already a fan? Convince one of your other facebook friends to become a fan!

4. Retweet on Twitter the following text -- "The Redheaded Actress Etsy shop (@beeingmissstar) is giving away a beautiful hairpiece! Check out the giveaway at: http://bit.ly/6sTcjr" and then come back and comment to tell me that you've done so

5. Write a blog entry about the giveaway that includes a link to the Redheaded Actress Etsy shop and come back here and comment with a link to the blog.

6. Make any purchase at the Redheaded Actress Etsy shop and comment here that you've done so. You'll get two entries for this one!

--Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry that you complete! Winner will be chosen randomly from eligible comments.--

Thank you for competing and good luck to all of you!

*All non-wedding pieces are eligible to be won

If Harrison Says So...

As I was wandering the VIP Section of the Midtown Public Library -- most of you probably know it as the "reserved/holds section" -- I noticed a particularly compelling poster:

I mean, I already love to read, but now that I know that Harrison wants me to? I will definitely be sure to keep reading :)

Am I the only one with a special place in my heart for Harrison Ford? Who on a poster would compel you to spend a little more time at your neighborhood public library?

Human Balcony

Lucky for all of you (or unlucky?), my whole family just upgraded the iPhones (eeee!) and so capturing and sharing the wackiness I come across in the city has never been easier.

Just the other night, I was running to an interview on the Upper West Side and looked at this sign at least three times, wondering what a human balcony could possibly be...

So I guess you could say this picture isn't so much a picture of the wackiness of NYC, as it is evidence of the wackiness inside my head. Hunan Balcony makes a LOT more sense...

The Death of My Favorite Eye Candy

As I walked to the gym yesterday, I noticed a very sad sign in the window of one of my favorite Garment District wholesale dress stores:

Not that I've ever actually bought anything in there because they don't have any small sizes for some strange reason, but the dress displays in the windows are always the most ostenatious and fun to look at on the block. I'm definitely sad to see my favorite eye candy dress store close. 

But also excited to see what could possibly open down there...something more useful in my life, perhaps? 

P.S. We do not need another bank or a Duane Reade, New York!

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

As I was working on adding new items to my Etsy shop and writing wedding recaps for Weddingbee, I heard strains of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" seeping in under my door and realized that there were, in fact, Christmas carolers making the rounds in my apartment building! How festive! I was especially in need of such a surprise, since I've been finding it particularly hard to get into the spirit of the season this year, inexplicably.

I smiled to myself and thought, "Only in New York would there be Christmas carolers in an apartment building." Just another reason to love New York.

The Redheaded Actress Etsy Shop Launched!

Hi All!

Sorry posting has been light lately. I'm still so burnt out on blogging from the wedding and have been keeping myself very busy with auditions, shoots, and...starting my own Etsy shop!

I knew I needed a crafty creative outlet post-wedding and have been tossing around the idea of opening a shop on Etsy for awhile now, and I finally got the nerve up to do it! It was surprisingly time-consuming, from writing my shop policies to creating a shop banner to learning how to use Etsy from a seller's perspective -- not to mention, actually hunting down all the supplies in the Garment District and making the pieces!

I've had a lot of fun doing it, though, and have already made a few sales, which I'm VERY excited about! Please take a second to check it out. I hear the headbands and rings make great Christmas gifts ;)

Oh, and comment to tell me what your favorite piece is, if you don't mind! I'd appreciate the feedback.

The Redheaded Actress Etsy Shop

Happy Mashed Potato Day!

To celebrate our first Thanksgiving as a married couple, we were able to watch the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade right from our balcony. It was quite the sight and we were thrilled to have such awesome seats without fighting the crowds!

Seeing such a famous and impressive parade from the perfect bird's-eye-view spot was truly one of those "you may never get to do this again!" New York experiences. We hope that we get the same thrill next year, but who knows if Mayor Bloomberg's new pedestrian malls will stay in place so that the parade can't go down Broadway again? Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Realistic Determent

I saw this sign posted in the window of a big commercial van yesterday:

I had to laugh because

1. It's so true and

2. Is that a threat??

Only in New York...

Craving Crafting

As I've mentioned here before, one of the hardest things about living and crafting in Manhattan is that you can't just go into a big box store and find what you need. You have to seek out a specialty store for just about everything. Specialty stores are fabulous and full of gorgeous eye candy, but often the prices make shopping for my everyday crafting needs inaccessible.

(Source )

There has long been a Michael's in Queens that is reachable by subway, but the selection there is very poor and the shelves are often half empty, which is disappointing after a 30 minute subway ride to get there.

Good news, though, my Manhattan friends! A new Michael's has just opened on the Upper West Side in Manhattan!!

The store is much larger than the one in Queens and certainly closer to Midtown, especially with cruddy weekend subway service. It's clean, brightly lit, spacious, and full of fabulous crafty goodness! I can't say the high-school-aged staff is particularly helpful or that the selection rivals suburban Michael's stores, but it certainly is a welcome Manhattan addition to me.

New York purists may say that makes me a traitor, but c'est la vie. I certainly don't wish the specialty stores gone by any stretch. They have their purpose and are a wonderful strength of the city. But I don't mind them sharing the city with Michael's, either ;)