This morning I woke up at the most un-holy of hours.  Which is anytime  before 9am on a day off.  I am really not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination.  I do it because it’s required of me.  If I had any say in the matter, I wouldn’t be seen untill 11am.  Waking up this early on the Sunday makes me all comtemplative and what not.  Thus the reason I am writing this post.

For some, Sundays are a time for rest.  For others (like myself), it’s a time for recovery.  Every Sunday, I always seem to ask myself the same series of question (not necessarily in this order);

Why did stay out so late?

Why that last drink?

What the hell did I buy this week?

Do I look bloated today?

What do I need to get done before Monday?

Can I just go back to sleep?

These thoughts usually consume the first hour of so of my morning, before I decide on what time would be most appropriate for me to change out of my comfy bathrobe and make myself presentable for public viewing (usually after Noon).

2010 has been a less than stellar year thus far.  It’s time to change that and start getting my thoughts, emotions, and criticisms out there.  So, I’m starting up this blog again.  Hopefully, this will stimulate some change and / or growth in my life and maybe inspire someone to the same.

For anyone who has been reading my blog, I do apologize.  I hope you enjoy the things that are to come.

In the meantime, here are some ways to find out what’s going on in my pretty little head.

Twitter : @Designerguyva (A day to day look at my acute insanity)

Tumblr: Life by Design (Mostly a photostream of things that inspire me)

Facebook: I am on there, but I like to keep it to people I’ve actually come in contact with.  If you want me to add you as a friend, let me know!

Inspiration can come from the most unlikely of places.  Case in point, today! 

A friend of my housemates stopped by tonight before heading out to the shooting range. (This is the second person I have chatted with that has wanted to go shooting in the past several weeks.  Is this a trend?) What prompted this somewhat random adventure…is that she has a 30 before 30 list.  The more we talked about her list the more excited I became. I love it when people have dreams and accomplish them.  It reminds me of the person I want to become.  The concept of the "30 before 30" list isn’t new or revolutionary, but it struck a cord with me (…)

For the past few months, I feel like I’ve been stuck in a rut.  Running around endlessly but getting nowhere. My life has been one big hamster wheel and I am the hamster.  The bulk of my weeks are spent working.  Most of my weekends are spent working with the addition of drinking, partying and/or spending money that could be used for better purposes (Did I really need to buy 3 tubes of salt scrub? Yes, but that’s another story).  The issue isn’t the partying and hanging out with friends.  I love spending time with friends.  It’s that it’s the SAME THING week, after week, after week. It just becomes predictable and old.

So with that being said, I am going to shake things up a bit.  Every month, I am creating a list of 5 things I haven’t done in a while or things that I haven’t done before. This will challenge me do step outside of my comfort zone and to experience life for what it is… Something that’s worth living to it’s fullest.

Here’s the Dream It! Do It! list for March:

1) Host a dinner party

2) Take a yoga class

3) Visit an art museum

4) Make an outfit for work

5) Ask someone out on a date (In person)

All of these seem like pretty realistic achievements.  I will let people know how it goes as I cross things off the list. Let’s see if can complete all 5.

• Achieve my goal weight of 220lbs. (20lbs to go)
• Become more active in the Richmond gay community. (more than just being a social butterfly)
• Create more of my own clothing.
• Make this blog a regular hobby.
• Live smoke-free.
• Learn to love myself unconditionally, before I get seriously involved with anyone else. (This is a BIG one)
• Build a strong and successful team of artists at work.
• Get my makeup artistry published.

I need to prioritize and use my time wisely.  It’s funny how the comments and criticisms written on grade school report cards make more sense when you are older.  Many changes have already occurred, while many have yet to begin.

Well, this is all for now… let’s see what happens.

The polo that I’ve been working on is near completion. For the most part, it’s been smooth sailing. There are a couple of things that need tweaking.

Details after the Jump…

Cutting and Marking:

Since this is my first garment sewing project in a while, I decided to eliminate buttonholes and the back neck facing.  Plus, I wanted the top to have a dressed-up feel.

Cutting and marking the garment was a breeze since all I had to do was clip placement lines.

Cutting the Body and Collar

Construction:

Once I got past the insertion of the placket, constructing the garment went pretty easy. I added topstiching to the collar and placket to give a professional look

The Placket

The Collar

Putting it All Together

So, my only concern is that I kind jacked up the collar when attaching to the body of the top. It can’t be seen in the photos but I know what need to be fixed.

It’s time for a break…

More to come later…

Now, I have time to focus on me a little more.  Few people know that I used to study to apparel design at Virginia Tech.  Fashion has always been a passion of mine.  I’ve just never really pursued it long enough to accomplish much.  So in an effort to “find my drive”, I’ve started a new sewing project.

Side note:  I’ve Lost 12 pounds since doing the diet and exercise thing.  Yay Me!!!

The  project details are after the jump:

For my first men’s project in a while, I’m using a pattern from Burda World of Fashion from April 2007 #103.  Anyone who sews knows that Bruda has some of the best sewing patterns on the market.  Plus, there’s menswear selection is always on top of trend.

It’s going to be in a solid black knit crepe with Black and Silver poplin pinstripe as the trim. I’ve been holding on to this fabric for a while. I’m glad I figured out what to do with it.

The only issue with using BWOF patterns are you have to trace them and add seam allowances. It’s a tedious process and one that usually keeps me from doing anything.

More to come…

New Dockers Commercial via Kenneth in the (212)

I agree with Kenneth that the new model is pretty hot, but what really struck me was the song. Thankfully, someone was kind enough to post the song “California Soul” by Marlena Shaw. Here’s the fully track for your listening pleasure…

Marlena Shaw – California Soul

Time for some pre-game cocktails at JR’s where we met up with my buds Dave and Patrick. We also reconnected with Mike who stayed with us over the weekend…

Three cranberry and Skyys and one Sparks later… We head to Halo. This is one of my favorite bars in DC. It feels like a bar you would visit in NYC or see on Sex and the City…

Here’s Dave, Charles, and me cocktailing…

I had one of the strongest (and most expensive) Mojito’s of my life. It was like 5% Mint/Lime Muddle, 70% Rum and Ice, and 25% Champagne. It wasn’t exactly tasty, but the parade that followed was a blur.

Here’s the best of what I took… Some of the following is semi-NSFW (Not Safe for Work).

Then a cocktail break…Did I mention that Halo was right on the parade route.

Back to the parade…

That last photo wasn’t intentional…but it works. In case you were wondering, they were dancing cowboys.

anyhoo…

More cocktails…

We finished the night with a much needed burrito at Chipotle. Then back to the hotel for a wardrobe change and then to Town for dancing….

That didn’t last long. The club was gorgeous better than Velvet Nation, but have the trek to get there and our buzzes wearing off it was time for bed. We were back to the hotel and lights-out by 1 AM.

The next day was worth it though…

What did I do on my vacation????

I did what any red-blooded gay male does in the middle of June.  I packed my bags and went to pride.  This year we did DC.  At first, I wasn’t looking forward to it.  Once you’ve done one pride it seems like you’ve done them all.  When I lived in New York I went religously for 2 years, by year three I was over it.  Seriously why the big deal to coordinate your friends, travel to village, sweat while you crane your neck to see a parade you’ve seen one too many times before only to finish the day at the same bars you go to every weekend.

DC has been a similar experience except a little more complicated.  My B.F.F.s tend to be in different parts of the VA and run in different social circles.   Coordinating everyone to meet up always seemed disastrous and someone ended up disappointed. This year was different.  I had a blast…So enough ranting and on to the pics…

The funny thing is this year Pride Weekend fell on Father’s Day Weekend.  The “usual suspects” and myself set the theme for the trip as “Daddies Day Weekend”…. ’cause everyone is looking for a “daddy”.  NOTE: I’m happily attached so no inappropriate behavior was conducted by me during this trip.

On to the Pics….

The Suitcase… I know it’s only a weekend but somehow I always seem to pack for a week. I need options!

I also need product…pretty don’t happen on it’s own.

After an easy ride up we arrive at the Moulin Hotel Rouge…

Here’s the room…

Overall I had no major complaints about the room. It was a little modern circa 1998, but still cute. The gear in the room was a little dated…and the following cracked me up.

Seriously, TAPE???
Oh and the view was fabulous…

Anyhoo, I was able to capture this shot of my B.F.F.s Mark and Charles.

After settling in, we had brunch at Annie’s. My new favorite summer frou-frou drink is a Cremescicle. All I know is that it contains vodka, and that made me happy.

Next stop JR’s and the parade….

Sad…

“French fashion king Yves Saint Laurent is applauded by models at the end of his 1994/95 Fall/Winter ready-to-wear collection at the Carrousel du Louvre. Pierre Berge, the designer’s longtime business partner and former romantic partner, has said that Saint Laurent’s gift to fashion was that he empowered women after Chanel had freed them.”