My recent week in London was an entire week-long tea extravaganza of my favorite tea spots, bellow are some of my memories and recommendations. There's nothing like sipping on warm tea in rainy England in the afternoon, talking with your bestie, for me that was Luca Bella, who also helped me with this blog. We recharged for our London adventure filled evenings over high tea!
Beas of Bloomsbury Rated: 5/20
After leaving Beas of Bloomsbury I felt catfished. It was a classic example of: don't trust everything you see online. Things were definitely not how they seemed. Beas of Bloomsbury was a cramped (wifi-less) coffee shop. It should definitely not advertise itself as a "teaservice" because neither the tea itself (which was on the same level as Lipton) nor the service was on par with its virtual expectation.
Food: 2- the bread was definitely not fresh with very little toppings and the desserts were very basic for the shop advertising as a bakery. The only rescuing element was the warm scone and fresh clotted butter.
Atmosphere: 1- crowded, uncomfortable and just not special.
Tea: 1- hardly any selection and served in uninspiring, pottery barn-esque tea cups.
Presentation: 1- the menus were dirty and everything felt very rushed and unrelaxing.
Sketch Rated: 20/20
Sometimes it takes a low (Beas of Bloomsbury) to truly appreciate a high. Sketch is everything I could have wanted in a tea service and more. My inner little girl was freaking out as I entered the all pink dining room. There's an old school glamour mixed with magic at sketch. It's quirky, adorable, and delicious.
Food: 5- endless refills and delicious food is a deadly combination that definitely contributed to a sugar high followed by an ultimate sugar coma swiftly after. But, honestly, worth it. We also did the gluten-free option!
Atmosphere: 5!!! So much pink !! Amazing and endlessly entertaining art by David Shrigley surrounds your table. The waitresses also have the cutest pink dresses and made me feel very taken care of.
Tea: 5 - I switched up my tea a bunch and each one was better than the next. I even got a floral tea that blossomed in a clear pot!
Presentation: 5- I loved the David Shrigley designed dining ware. His work is so fun and quirky. The tray itself was so beautiful with lots of pink in the desserts (my favorite being the pink macaroons). Also, the simplicity of crisp white table cloths just makes everything feel fancier.
Tea tox at Brown's hotel Rated: 17/20
Sketch was amazing, but be warned it will leave you never wanting to touch sugar again. Which I learnt isn't necessarily a bad thing with the Brown's hotel health conscious tea service. They attempt to recreate a tea-service but with healthier ingredients. It was most definitely satisfying and it was so nice to walk out not feeling like I just ate my weight in sugar.
Food: 4- one point down because I missed the scones but the creativity of it all was really inspiring. Lettuce cups instead of bread. Fruit kabobs for dessert. Also the finishing touch of sorbet after everything was cleared was a perfect ending.
Atmosphere: 4- I couldn't help feeling I was in a library. The tea room had beautiful wooden detailed ceilings and creaking wooden floorboards to match that gave it old fashioned character. It had a very masculine feeling to it compared to sketch's pink girlyness. We sat by an unlit fireplace that would have been to die for in winter. Also a live pianist made everything feel a bit more special.
Tea: 4- they had a fine selection but to go with the whole tea tox theme we stuck with alterations between fresh mint, fresh ginger, and fresh rose petal tea.
Presentation: 5- White table cloths and super comfy leather chairs with food presented on beautiful silver trays that seemed to have a lot of history themselves made everything feel very classic London.
Oscar Wilde Tea Room at Cafe Royal Rated: 18/20
This service is the definition of decadence! It was our final tea service on Luca Bella's actual birthday and it was a really magical ending to our tea spree. Beas of Bloomsbury made everything look better online, but not even a photograph can capture the immaculate space of this tea room! The online platform cannot capture the glory of sitting at such a royal service fit for a queen.
Food: 3- this was the only disappointment. There was nothing that I really loved or wanted more of. Of course, maybe by this point I was feeling a bit burned out. The veggies with our big bowl of hummus was a nice healthy side snack though and was filling enough to make up for the rest.
Atmosphere: 5- Atmosphere was everything!!! We walked in to a grand piano playing classic Disney music and it just made my heart so happy. This pianist blew every other pianist out of the water with a wide repertoire (including the squeal-inducing "Sex and the City" theme). He just really got me. Also so many mirrors! Such beautiful gold leafed ceilings! It was all so special.
Tea: 5- they had the most beautiful tea menu with in depth descriptions of each special house blend. Definitely no knock off tea bags here.
Presentation: 5- fancy white table clothes, shiny silver platters, and gleaming silverware arranged by size. Everything was perfect.
Honorable Mention: Beach Blanket Babylon
It's great for going during the day with your BFF to talk the day away. They're cool with you siting and just having fresh mint tea for hours though their Macrobiotic platter is also Devine. The Lion fireplace is a must for an extra cozy time.
Honorable Mention: Biju
Biju is the best place to go bubble tea your heart out and still be healthy... My favorite is Rooibus tea with milk no sugar plus tapioca, pudding, herb jelly and chia seeds. Please get the large if you get as many toppings as me lol. All my friends love the coconut water no sugar with coconut jelly an chia seeds yay happy belly happy body happy mind!
Vera the owner and designer of VeraMeat works very closely with artist and illustrator Anja Slibar. Here is an interview between the two. Talking partly about a new T-shirt collection they're doing together!
Anja can you talk about what first sparked your interest in illustration?
Anja: I was studying graphic design and noticed that graphic design always adapts to a specific client. But with illustration the artist is in control of the style and therefore it always stays true to itself. So I liked that idea.
Do you feel like you’re going to stay with the style you have now for a while?
Anja: I hope so.
Vera: Ha. It’s really cool because you like that style and it compliments Verameat’s style, so it’s perfect.
Let’s talk about how we met, it was a crisp fall morning & I was looking at your submission for our monthly illustration competition & couldn’t believe my luck. Yet I thought I had seen your name before. How did you hear of VeraMeat?
Anja: I found it while I was searching for my daily inspiration. I found the sweet tooth necklace on @anotherloves and I just had to get it!
What made you want to apply to the illustration competition; did you see it on Instagram?
Anja: Yes! Instagram was my only creative news channel I was looking at, at the time. I actually applied twice!
Vera: So I’m hearing this for the first time, I didn’t realise you had applied twice! Well perseverance pays off cause I did not see your submission the first time. But when I saw your strong lines and very expressive characters full of story I was hooked. I felt like I was reading a novel about very developed characters that knew what they wanted. I felt like I wanted to know more about the people you depicted in your illustrations.
Some of your characters have a dangerous edge are you attracted to youth culture?
Anja: More people in general. I like to draw things I want to have or people I want to be.
Vera: Well working with you for the last 3 years has been very inspiring, particularly while seeing artistic renderings of famous faces like those of the Wes Anderson characters or your Bill Murray drawings you did for our new T-shirt line.
Can you talk more about what drew you to the selections you made for each character on our T-shirts?
Anja: Interesting question. I usually start with inspiration images. Since I know I’m going to make a pattern I search for images of many different shapes and sizes of characters or objects and connect them to fill the space in a unique unexpected way.
How do you know what’s going to be interesting to people?
Anja: I don’t, I simply pick the stuff that I like and make something I’d like to wear.
Vera: We have that in common as I am also our customer and make stuff I’d want myself. I guess that’s one of the unique things about our VeraMeat family. We are young hip chicks.
Anja: Yes, we just like to wear nice things with flattering cuts made out of quality materials with art on them. And because it’s so hard to find that we just have to do it ourselves.
What's one of your favourite projects you did at Verameat?
Anja: I liked drawing the temporary tattoo's we sell at the store. A lot of people even got my illustrations as a permanent ink on their skin, including an illustrator friend that used to work for Verameat before too. My favorites are also all the hand drawn t-shirts we made! Being a horror movie fan made Too busy to fear my favorite Verameat tee.
Can you tell us about your work in early life?
Anja: How early?
Vera: As early as you can think back
Anja: I was always drawing when I was a kid. I was drawing real life situations. No fairy tales, more characters from school or things I’d like to have happened. I did more research in college where I found Polish poster designs that inspired me to go from Graphic Design to Illustration.
What about your education, what was your favorite thing you’d like to share?
Anja: It’s funny because in Slovenia we only have one main college and they only accept 15 people per year. But still they don’t offer much. If a student wants to learn something, he or she has to learn it him or herself. The illustration courses didn't offer me much so I had to go look for them in Finland. The atmosphere amongst students was more relaxed there. We didn't see each other as competitors but respected each other as artists.
You use very simple tools. Can you talk more about that?
Anja: Yes I do, I like simplicity.
Vera: We both want to preserve the hand drawn lines that form the art and not make yet another computer generated thing. The final product is an art piece you can wear. Same goes for Verameat jewelry, we want to create wearable art to go with the rest of the brand.
So what can we look forward to seeing from your imaginative brain in 2016?
Anja: I’m excited about our art show for this late Sept. Showing some of my personal artwork for our New York fans, check my illustration instagram @luckygirlmotel or anjaslibar.com for updates and of course @verameat on insta. I'm also excited about the new clothing you have to watch out for on verameat.com.
What about New York has made you want to make it your new home?
Anja: It’s funny because I always dreamt of NY. I was always watching movies filmed in NYC. I felt I’d never get a chance to come here but when I finally made it here walking down the streets it felt like home. We’d joke about it with friends from school about how we’d move here one day. It didn’t seem real at the time though now it feels right.
What are your favorite things you’ve done in NY in 2015?
Anja: Mochi Ice cream is one of the highlights of my experience that truly made my life sweeter. I enjoy walking around in the summer just enjoying everyday life and every new experience New York has to offer. Some of my personal drawings we used for the limited Secret Weapon series were inspired by New York!
What's your favorite NY restaurant and menu item? What strange exciting tale can you tell us about your time in NY so far?
Anja: Favorite NY restaurant would be Radegast Hall in Williamsburg, just because I secretly love their sweet potato fries, wursts and tap beer. I like strong food, what can you do!
The strangest tale about my time in NY is definitely seeing a guy being hit by a car, just lying in the middle of the street in a puddle of blood. More shocking was when he woke up confused and started fighting the police that wanted to help him.
Do you have a top favorite artists list going?
Anja: Cleon Peterson, Charles Burns and Tom of Finland.
Is there anything else you’d like to add or maybe a tip for success in an artistic life?
Anja: Just try to work hard on the things you love to do. Don’t be afraid that if one day you wake up and don’t feel like holding a pencil because it’s always going to be in you. That will never disappear.
What is Slovenia like? Tell us some secret shocking tales!
Anja: Slovenia is actually very beautiful. The nature is amazing there, so pure! Everything is tiny and there aren't many people so you can drive anywhere and just enjoy the view.
The most shocking Slovenian tale I ever heard about was about a bachelor's party. They have pretty intense "rituals" there, the guys take it seriously, it's like they wanna punish the lucky guy getting married. So apparently one time, a bunch of friends got drunk and made the future groom wear high boots and filled them with liquid concrete. After a while the concrete got solid and completely crushed the guys feet. He lost his legs. I don't know if he ever got married after. Who knows!
What's your favorite place you've ever visited and why?
Anja: I was always really attracted to big cities. Maybe because I have never experienced them in real life so I idolized them through movies. Visiting Berlin and NYC for the first time was very special to me. Being afraid that the dreams I had were gonna be crushed by reality, then positively experiencing each city as they are really inspired me. Of course I still have my quiet places in Slovenia that keep me happy when I think about them.
Tell us a funny story about childhood or a traumatic one, we'll take either!
Anja: I don't really have any traumatic stories. My childhood was a pretty chill childhood, filled with cartoons, playing with Barbie dolls and drawing with crayons (ugh - I hate crayons now)
One of the funniest things I did when I was a kid was when I threw a rock at another kid's head! By accident, that is! I'm still so bad at throwing anything really. My judgment of hitting the main target was so off that I threw a really big rock into a kid's face. Man he cried! I felt so bad!
What inspires you the most in your life so far? Do you have a catch phrase?
Anja: Simple real life things inspire me the most. Like listening to your inner self, what you wish for, what you feel, and with who you wanna feel that with. And my catch phrase would be: "Treat me as good as your leather."
Favorite weapon: I think knuckle dusters look very appealing.
Book: Madame Bovary
Movie: The Cook, The Thief, His wife and her lover
Song: Currently John Maus: Hey Moon
Hey Dears & Dear Lovers,
Hope you're all enjoying your weekend or whatever day it is while you're reading this. I've had the huge sweet lovely blessing of some of my instagram fans asking to form a book club. I hope you all don't regret this once you see the amount of books I would like to recommend because I LOVE LOVE reading more then almost anything else. Really I've been listening to books since I was little with my Mom's calm magical concert pianist trained voice reading Eastern European fairy tales. And Now I'm Obsessed with reading 3+ books at the same time. Anyhow here is my current list (please note some of these are available on audible.com and read by THE AUTHOR!! I think this adds SO MUCH to the experience of their story if it's a memoir which some of these are!):
1. M Train by Patti Smith (I've known her since I was 16 years old, she's popped into my life when I've most needed her. Genius alert)
2. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (I've always been intimidated by her perceived strength in Portlandia but this books makes her more accessible, cool!)
3. If You As Me by Betty White (The heart emoji with arrow threw it fits this book perfectly)
Please feel free to comment here with what you think of these books and if you read them how did they digest?
Now here are a couple other books I read this year that are a must!
1. My Extraordinary Ordinary Life by Sissy Spacek (Could she be any more special and beautiful? The answer is NO SHE IS AMAZING OMG)
2. The Spart: A Mother's Story Nurturing... by Kathe Mazur (I recommend anyone being told there is something wrong with them because they are on the autism spectrum just tell that person to fuck off. It's all about love and believing in yourself and your loved ones. Labels just separate us but I believe we are all a part of each other. This family in the book had a mind blowing tail to tell of a Mom that is magic.
3. The Weiser Field Guide to Witches by Judika Illes is probably my favorite book to re-read with friends. Everyone can relate to unique things happening to you. And wanting to find meaning and control over your life with a unique path using old knowledge is rad.
4. Hold Still by Sally Mann I'm pretty sure this lady has lady balls, huge ones. She is an inspiration. Through her work, as a girl, I learned not to be afraid to be feminine and vulnerable. In this book her personality seems so strong and breathtaking; very cool family life story too.
Hope this isn't too overwhelming oh so many books. I'll write another one with more recommends. And for anyone wanting to write your own book PLEASE DO IT! And if you need a little inspiration read, please read, On Writing by Stephen King. Or listen to it on audible as he reads it himself, the character in his voice is amazing!
The nights turns with the thoughts unfolding in my mind, I'm tired. Goodnight. But if you can't sleep & want to have a girly night of crying watch Twinsters on Netflix. Such a heart warming story of twins reunited. Oh and if you want a fun fancy night of cool shit being throw at your eyes watch Spirited Away. Puppy Fred, my Affen pup says We OUT (Emoji with crosses over eyes).
Gonna make this quick today as am on way to my lovely model friend Courtney's bday party! OMG I love other people's birthdays!
Got a massage from Aroma Organic's in the west village this weekend and it was amazing, the guy who did it was a personal trainer and gave me free tips at the end.
In other fun news I'm again and forever in love with Meat Market the Ukrainian deli on 2nd Ave & 9th St. Oh fish how much I adore thee. You swim in my eyes while being swallowed by my soul delicately mind you but with vigor. Ok not sure what I'm writing but I'm tired as am looking for a new apartment! Fingers crossed I'll find something great tomorrow. Here's an outfit idea from VM+
Today I found out Demi Moore and her daughter Tallulah Willis have amazing taste in jewelry. T is wearing a VeraMeat Lady Cuff and Demi is showing off her VeraMeat Frenchie Ring. Love these Gals and their casual stylish ways.
Fridays Fio and I make perfume and write. Here's Fio writing some perfume labels after getting her strength from eating shrimp fresh from the Chelsea Market. I'm super into my Lady Metal today, you should know I drink a min. of 10 cups of tea a day so need tea recommends? I'm the one to ask!
Lately I'm really into:
1. Ginger Twist by Mighty Leaf
2. Royal King Sinus Buster Honeysuckle Herb Tea
3. Earl Grey Lavender by Choice Organic
4. Peppermint Tea by Harney & Sons if you need stomach help
5. Green Tea with Ginger and Cardamom by Buddha's Herbs Wings
Try em out and let me know how you like them! XOX Vera
Today was super fun as I had lunch at Hasaki Japanese on 9th St with rad blogger Nikki (HelloToBeauty.com)
Then Fred needed a good belly rub! 
Then I decided to do a little brain reading literally in my new sleep shirt which is very chill When I lived in Utah for fine art photo portraiture school I loved this band called Smashy Smashy. It was a metal jazz band, very loud, very mathematic :) Nerdy Metalhead is my new style inspiration!
Ok goodnight lovely people, don't forget to re-wire your brain, you can do it!
Today was all about the Polish Meat for breakfast, yah I was born in Europe people and this is how you can tell. 
Do you see my secret admirer?
The bags are beautifully designed, I got smelt, chocolates, sausage oh a perfect breakfast.
Looking for a new home, going from the west village to Brooklyn I think. Maybe green point. Need a yard for puppy Fred though so we'll see! East Village Meat Market 139 2nd Ave. Yum yum!
We went to Dumont Burger which has amazing pickles and caramelized onions + sautéed mushrooms. It's a day all about eating. But don't worry I'm eating raspberries as a snack now so I'm healthy.
I had a fun day of watching Somewhere by Sofia Coppola and went out with my Sunday Funday model friend Courtney. We have the best luck together. Last weekend we had lunch right next to the beautiful talented Dakota Fanning. Who actually sent me a thank you letter for VeraMeat. So I said hello and her boyfriend was very cool. He picked Tea & Sympathy as a date spot so he's basically a genius in my eyes. Any guy who's cool enough to love tea is the shit. Dakota was seriously so breathtaking in person. Very strong as you'd expect but seriously great features. As a cinematography lover (see my new film SaladDaysMovie.com), I don't think anyone has yet lit her as well as they could.
So Courtney and I's plan was to see Big Eyes or Still Alice with Julianne Moore. Julianne actually wore my tote and jewelry in What Maisie Knew so I have to support her film. Anyway we decided to get Fried Chicken as movie food at Dirty Bird. Then Courtney told me she hadn't been to Donut Planet so that was next. But after we where literally the last customers at Donut Planet and they gave us thier last 5 donuts for the price of one - I lost my phone. They where so nice to help me look. When Courtney tried calling my phone a cutie Mexican man answered and said we could meet him downtown near Canal St. So we drove down hoping not to miss our movie. But this mans English wasn't amazing and our Find Your iPhone app told us his address but his co workers at a delivery spot said he'd just left but he'd be back in 30 minutes. So we sat in our car eating donuts and fried chicken talking to delivery men. It was seriously the best time.
Then we went to Black Market to say hi to my old friend from Style.com who I haven't seen in 3 years. Of coarse Matt Hitt was Dj'ing, he's a magical boy creature. One of those boys who give great hugs and makes your imagination sing. Ok fine he touched my boob I assume by accident when saying hi. It was pretty surprising. Oh NY nights! You never know what to expect! Latkis was doing magic tricks and bartending. Latkis is seriously a genius person and drummer. NY rocks because you have these amazing neighborhood friends who like Matt and Latkis are so talented yet sweet people who are fun to hang. Alexa Chung is actually very cool in person and chills in the East Village. Maybe I'm just a big fan of magic tricks. Either way it's time for me to get back to falling asleep listening to Danse Macabre by Stephen King. I loved his "On Writing" book and yah it was my first by him but it was rad. Ok night.
It's my day off and I'm hanging in the west village with my BFF and VeraMeat mascot Fred Meat. All the girls with their periods today say hey! My thoughts about periods are that everyone should be able to talk about them freely. Also feminine hygiene products should be free like toilet paper. They are necessary for more then 50% of our population. This bit of the population is responsible for us ALL having life. Without the period not one of us would be here today. How do you like them apples.
It's the last day of the month and our illustration competition judge Anja Slibar and I have chosen lovely Ivana Jancikova as our illustration winner this month. We have a monthly competition for the VeraMeat brand to show off the work of our fans illustrations. Then we display their work in the VeraMeat boutiques. I love illustration work as a visual artist myself I find drawing and looking at art very therapeutic. Its fun for us VeraMeat girls to see the different interpretations of the VM brand.
In other news I've gotten into the Big Sur writing retreat! Maybe part of the reason I'm more excited to write a daily Musings blog entry here! It's happening this March and seriously this is one of the biggest things to ever happen to me. I wrote my first novel at age 10. Really can't remember a time I didn't love telling or hearing stories. Looking into flights and secret spaces in Big Sur .
Just watched a delightful inspiring film called Miss You Can Do It. About a pagent for girls with disabilities on HBO Go. We all are different and it makes us more interesting. When I was in Ukraine teachers told me I was gifted and could go to private study if I could get a math problem solved before class began. They'd write it on the chalkboard, let me walk up and have 6 min to solve it. At first I couldn't understand how I possibly could solve a math problem I'd never been taught to understand. But then I would realize I understood what all the variables meant and all I had to do was put them all together. I realized this puzzle was a doorway into a beautiful mystical moving puzzle inside my own brain.
When I got to the US my savant'ness was seen as a disability. I was told I probably had autism, ADD and anything else that meant I needed to take a little pill before class to calm down. I was told not to do my math test in 2 min. instead to take the proper 45 minutes it took the other kids. I could easily spend more time but I was previously taught to do everything fast because I had a purpose, a gift. At 4 years old I rewrote a Liszt piece for my audition to a gifted kids school. After performing I was told I could be a composer when I grew up. My taking apart another persons work was a good thing. It meant I wanted to make a harmonious balanced story between notes and emotions. True.
I know not every child is a target for being different in the US. But all I'm saying is it's important for everyone to educate themselves on being kind and tolerant of others eccentricities. Even liking our neighbors differences as Mr Rogers might say. Yes that Mr Rogers! The slow walking, slow speaking, quick to take off his sweater, and change his shoes in the house - Rogers! His show helped me not call it quits as I wanted to once around age 10. Any immigrant person will know it's real hard to adjust to a new country. Even if you're used to traveling a lot as a child. Europe is so much more chill about individuality. It's hard for an artist to conform and it was hard for me.
Thanks all you lovely people for being curious about my life and reading this all the way to the end. I thank my lucky stars to be a person of interest to anybody now in what feels like old age. Any former child prodigy will tell you it feels like you digress as you age. I can't play the piano anymore and I can't do math super well. I'm a different animal now. Who feels it's her duty to wish you a cool kid weekend, wherever you are.
Now for tittynopes (aka small quantities of something's left over). Get your windklepickers out (aka pointed toe boots) and get outside! You may find a doodle sack (aka bagpipe). Happy Weekend!
Fridays are a creative day I spend this my girl Fiona pictured below. As we sample Aux Merveilleux dessert as they opened a store right next to our studio in the west village.
Oh but what magic! We needed more so we went to the Rubin museum and tried their white earl grey tea, more soothing winter vibes~
There are fun new things coming to the VeraMeat world that may surprise you and it aint jewelry though we do have emoji inspired jewelry coming so soon-next month OMG! Ok it's the weekend so today is gonna be cut short, over & out!
Many people have asked me when I started drawing. Here is a man in a hat I saw in a dream when I was 10.
In the dream I was on a European street and saw him sitting in a cafe. We welcomed me inside with his index finger. I had this strange feeling that if I went inside everything would change forever. But I went in anyway, then he showed me another room in the cafe but it was the same as the room we where in and when I tried to leave out the front door it led to the same cafe. The white haired man with all the scares on his face is how I saw myself as this was a self portrait of my 10 year old self. I was getting trained to be a concert pianist and composer and I think I was very upset at having to be ripped out of this program which I enjoyed. Just to move to the US a country I had no interest in. Now of coarse I'm happy to be here. But it took awhile to get to this point and strangely this white haired man is guarding a key necklace and now I'm a jewelry designer!
When I was 18 I drew a portrait of how I felt before starting my business after I'd just quite modeling.
The reason I drew an older man is because I felt strong but old. Too much life for too few years. I was excited to live in NY and not travel as much. Having moved at least 3 times a year since I was born up to when I moved to NY!
Hope you all enjoyed this peak into my young art days! Have a beautiful crisp winter day!
Hey Everyone. Thanks for catching me on day two of my write everyday to mystery internet readers. I am debating on getting a new friend for Fred Meat our Affenpinscher puppy mascot who you can see on the front of this page! Fred loves all animals, so far its either a white kitty bff or a red puppy bff. Let me know your thoughts.
Another thing of interest to me lately are these articles about how bras don't work. WTF are men blind?! The reason women wear bras is so our body doesn't shake around uncomfortably. Also because it makes us able to sculpt our bodies to how we see fit. Duh bras work and are awesome - the end! I used to be a runner in high school and boy was I disappointed when I got my period and the adult body I was hoping would never come finally came. But when I found bras all was well with the world again. YAY bras! (P.S. There should be a law against any man writing or testing stuff made for women's body's!!)
Next point of interest today was seeing Lena Dunham and Miranda July speak about Miranda's new book at BAM. I've read Lena's new book & REALLY like what she had to say about grown ass old celebrity men treating women as if they have no chance in actually being successful. This has happened to me with famous and non famous men - most of whom are now less successful then me. Definitely read Miranda's book and check out her films, she's very special.
Be positive about yourself is what I learned seeing these two ladies being so sweet with each other. We all have our touch spots but let's help each other grow and get through it. You all may not know but I'm allergic to oh so many things and I have hyper reactive hypoglycemia. This means I can't eat anything with carbs yet I also have a crazy fast metabolism. Funny thing is I'd like to gain weight yet my body says no way.
In the past my need to eat every 2-3 hours on the dot has made many men see me as an expensive girlfriend and probably someone who won't be successful. Part of the reason for VeraMeat's name is I have to eat meat every 2-3 hours to stay alive. This has not stopped me from believing in myself and going after my dreams. Some have said I'm too eccentric to not be crazy. Great! Whatever! My true friends know I'm just a hard worker and that's about it. My point is : if I can do it, trust me, you all can do it too! Hard work beats any physical problems or even mental ones, wink wink. Not to say you should seek therapy if you feel you need it as that is a part of hard work and dealing with problems. Not running away from them. I'm going to a therapy session tomorrow for a tune up :)
Positive thinking is truly a magical tool. And surrounding yourself with people that believe in you. Sorry if this is so preachy pep talk time but it's that kind of night. I went to the Lena and Miranda talk with the lovely Fiona who works in my stores and helps me with my writing. She's a treasure and a dream, made me feel nostalgic and lucky to have her in my life.
So if someone takes a blow at you have it make you stronger. Really there where SO many people who wanted to push me down. Even a past employer who's business I changed and grew. Working mostly alone and more then full time.
When I modeled; and this is after I got into DNA a top 10 agency in NY; many said I would fail. I'll go into my experience and thoughts on modeling another time. Now I work with mostly with women and love seeing them support each other just like Lena & Miranda. I've worked with many men too & not all but many have had it so easy they can't or don't want to see past their own nose. More then half the people in our world have periods, let's just talk about it because it's awesome and blood is a very pretty color. Yes it's painful sometimes but we take care of ourselves. The loopy dream like state some women like me get into is an interesting topic and should be explored. Not by men but by women first. Then men can comment if they truly care to understand and relate to us.
I have the best lawyer in the world. He is a man that's hard working and just gives me hope in humanity. But I'm not afraid to mention that many men I tried to hire where mean and lazy. So I'm all about calling it like I see it. I'm sick of women being pigeon holed and guys being called all the same. We are all unique individuals who should be equal with equal rights. Women and men have asked me how I've build my business. Well I call it like I see it and don't settle in my romantic relationships. I broke up with a man when I started my business because he didn't have confidence in me to stand up for me. Some of his friends made fun of my tiny business and he didn't stop them. Though later he said he knew I could do it I knew it was easy to say that after the fact. Don't let yourself read into a situation to make it what you want. If a dude seems like he just doesn't get it, he doesn't so move on. The second I figured that out - my business grew. Respect yourself everyone! That's all I'm saying here. We're all so unique and interesting. I'd like to give you all the assignment of writing an autobiography every 25 years. Everyone should do it no matter your perceived level of success. I know each of those books would kill it and I want to read them so do it go! Untill tomorrow I'm signing off. Hope this all makes sense as it's 10 minutes before midnight so I don't have time to edit - lol. xox vera
At the VeraMeat studio with hurricane Juno outside. It's actually more beautiful then it is terrifying see:
Fred went out 9 times before it was noon:
I have to admit : I'm not a huge fan of interviews as I always get the same questions. So I'm going to start writing more entries on here so my fans - aka real people - can read if inspired to do so.
My story has taken many turns and many of you may not know I'm an actual immigrant. I was born in Ukraine and came to the US around the age of 5. Some of the things that have happened to me aren't pretty or normal. But that is why I'm such a strange young lady making interesting talismans to brighten you up on the daily. In fact, it's kind of hard to begin at all because there has just been so much. For instance I saw 3 people killed in front of me before the age of 5. That's something I don't know if any magazine wants to know or print. However it's important to know exactly what makes up an artist. The truth reflected in the eye, observed by the retina, and stored in our brains. My stories look like me because they are me and therefore they are eccentric.
I'll start this lovely storm off with my first eyes on murder scene. I was about 2 years old sitting in a stroller as my Mom and I where making our way to the entrance of a large park. My eyes drifted to a large poll that had a man hung upside down from it. He had dirt and blood spots all over his otherwise nice cloths. He was being beaten by what looked like uniformed men. This was a regular day near a public park and many Ukranians where trying to get through their day. Stalin had recently made it clear you could be killed if you spot a Ukranian. Only Russians were permitted but it's hard to say what this man had done. I think my Mom was hoping I wasn't watching as she hurried her pace. Don't worry that wasn't my first memory. I remember almost everything since I was born. It's not strange to me and the memories are pretty chill mostly. However, I'll pop on the page only ones that will shock and entertain.
It's important to note I don't feel scared by anything that's happened to me because the human spirit is resilient. I know the hardships I've experienced have made me a better stronger person. Mostly I just want to offer you another perspective on me and I feel stories are important but hard to tell in the current fashion interview climate. Most people know I was a child prodigy in piano just like my Mom who was a concert pianist. Not many jewelry designers are also artists but I am, so my story will be different.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy3b3p8B1Jo
Having a sale to fundraise OMG code: Film
For more see SaladDaysMovie.com
Check this out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkJjkXK7mTA&feature=youtu.be
If you want to know me know this, I LOVE hotels, love love. Kisses under the pillow cause it's secret oh so close to my heart, yay hotels. Yesterday was Les Alicorts Resorts, cool trees house's on one side & scary creepy mini people on the other. Screaming, gummy finger & red sun burnt face's, wide eyed children with super glue knees that pick up every particle of dirt within a mile. So I put on my I'm too hot & will pretend this is a European beach not a forest outfit.
Sorry if this offends anyone but being a single young lady when I go on vacation I want those kiddy critters miles or more away. You can't run up in these parts as I was 2 hours away from Paris. Even lunch was out of the question as I learned the peeps in every town around sleep from 12-4pm, kinda cool. I LOVE ME SOME OLD PERSON activities, seriously. Some Mr. Rogers Sh*t, love love.
So first things first, me & my sister Dasha got a badminton set at the kiddie store & booked a hotel in Paris for the next day. A lake paddle boat ride calmed our spirits as some kids face planted it near by. Being dragged by a rope, no board or anything. Drag, face plant, cry, parent running into water & pulling child out. Over & over, very Addams Family Values, I was wondering if another day here would have worked out after all.
When the sun went down alas the pee in a bag full of sawdust was upon us. Morning brought a throwing strawberries into the trees sport, I was surprisingly good or did I just bit off half the strawberry & use science, no one will tell. Ok it was time to go. So note if you come here DO NOT cross the parking lot, do not listen to the Unusual Hotels web sight were it shows the fun nature, THERE WILL BE SLIMY KIDS EVERYWHER! The childrens wave pool will have floppy parents with the disillusionment of centuries in their eyes. They will gather under your treehouse anyway discussing something you cant understand. Ok a day at a hotel is never wasted, even if you have to take a killer selfie to salvage it, not the Freedom Ring, still blinding it out even in nature!
Visit to Cimetiere Du Pere, a must if like me you have a sister obsessed with scary movies. Note the black cat with shinning eyes behind me, I didn't say I wasn't part witchy.
Now we at Kipling Hotel, its oh so sweet, like a sugary treat on my tongue, the little flower kleenex melting my soul. And not one scream child OMG tears coming to my eyes. First things first checking business emails in the skylight tea tongue, my Mr. Rogers sweater is a Helmut Lang dress jacket, makes me feel super on it.
Warm green tea with cold cooling milk & a little honey, can't get much better. The service here is amaze-balls, writing in their room now with a free upgrade while my sister takes a pimp bath. 3 different lotions & conditioners oh yah! It's true love, goodnight & I say that in the southern Duck Dynasty accent Good Night!
It's my Birthday & I'm drinking tea in the jungle. Ok I'm at my favorite lighthouse in Saugerties New York, my friends who run it just made a person, who I'm going to meet tomorrow!
For my birthday I'd like to send my birthday wishes to all of you beautiful people & smart pets who support VeraMeat. It's meant to much to me to get your amazing fan art, postcards & instagram posts about your adventures with your VeraMeat. You all make me so much more excited about improving myself as a person & opening up my life in hopes of inspiring someone. Ok fluffy stuff aside here are my recommendations for a relaxing day in Saugerties.
- Start with a tea and morning read at the local Inquiring Minds Bookstore.
- Walk over to Lucky Chocolates for a chocolate in the shape of a dog to bring to your biggest enemy back in NY. Stand in front of them as you eat this chocolate & then laugh in their face. Just hiding, give it to your best friend :)
- Go over to Diamond Mills to watch the water fall.
- Walk up to the Lighthouse with your canoe, go. Or stand next to the water there with your best friend. Pretend you are walking on the water or take 100 of the best selfies you'll ever get in your life. Seriously this spot is SO PHOTOGENIC.
- Go to Miss Lucy's for lunch or dinner depending on how obsessed with taking selfies you are. Not you can also swim here in the summer!
- Orpheum Theater has the best haired ticket taker in all the land. Just blow him a kiss for me when you're walking into the theater.
- Now drive over to New World Home Cooking for oysters & drinks. They have local student-art up that's sometimes good & sometimes so bad you'll need another selfie stat as close as you can get to this hideous art.
- If you're lucky enough to be staying at the lighthouse brava, now go to sleep so you can enjoy the best pancakes of your life tomorrow morning. Yes they'll be gluten free. And if you're not as lucky Diamond Mills has some great views & waterfall sounds so it's not so bad. Plus their restaurant is great if you got so many bones to rub together. Ok there are a bunch of Bed & Breakfasts around here so enjoy. Don't forget to get a VeraMeat cloud eye cover from our Plus store for your adventure!
Alright speaking of sleep. That's it for me, for now. Enjoy your day kids, just have fun, it's all always funner when you've got a light heart.
