Love proving I can walk in heels without committing to them for a full day (I switched to boots later and no fucks were given, unlike with a real outfit that requires them. Looking at you, culottes).
Someone threw a beanbag at me while this photo was being taken. I caught it because I’m a motherfucking boss.
This QR code worked, P.S.
This photo doesn’t have anything to do with stripper shoes but is notable because it’s the first time I copied internet makeup and had it come out!
I was specifically trying to get the gears to look like gears and not black flowers. I didn’t have the dope glitter this makeup artist used so I did my own thing with eyes and face. Pretty pleased! (But seriously get the full tutorial from this chica here, she’s good!)
How was everybody’s halloween? I saw some promos for some pretty awesome pole shows going around but I’ve been swamped with homework 😐
Just saw this and realized it was totally shot at Body and Pole. (I have burned my ass on that furnace below the window so many times, hot pants and uncovered furnaces do not mix).
Also unrelated, but maybe kind of related: I just found out that not one, but THREE other girls in one of my classes (communications masters program) of 9 people do pole. That’s 30% of my classmates, y’all.
Uneducated whores, all of us!!
Final unrelated note in a collection of mishmash: I’m totally incorporating my lucite platforms into a halloween costume this year. I’m going as an Ashley Madison bot. Let your imagination fill in the rest.
Just wanted to apologize for going a bit dark lately. I’m a little short on time, but I guess I’d rather be dancing than writing about dancing! (While not actually dancing, haha).
I’ve just started my master’s degree (J school at Syracuse Newhouse, HOLLA), resumed rehearsals with the Fire Blossoms (Maki’s back from Japan, yay!), have been writing several pieces a month that embarrass my parents for Bustle, and am of course still working full time! I’ve also been trying to into the pole studio at least for my flexibility classes if nothing else, but honestly, I have not been on a pole for a while. I can’t even complain though because my lucky ass has a gym attached to my office with great classes around lunch time so I’ve been able to keep my conditioning up regardless of what I have going on after office hours. I guess I just need to worry about losing a few callouses and some grace when it comes to pole, haha.
I love being busy and I feel like I get a lot more done when I have a lot more to do–that’s a thing, right? But check back in with me in a month and I might be on the verge of a breakdown, we’ll have to see, haha.
Oh and also I have a boyfriend and I’ve tricked him into taking a flexibility class with me this week, muhahahahahahahahaha. #lifechanges.
Hey y’all. No real news, except that I got to do a photoshoot this past week with Body & Pole for their promo materials and website! Actually it was two separate shoots: one for poleography, and one for flexibility (good thing I walked to the studio because I was warm enough to split on command without popping anything, eek).
I’m excited to see the pics, but also concerned about how crazy the smiling looked when combined with long, painful pose holding. I’ll share ’em when I see ’em!
Hope everybody’s enjoying this gorgeous September. Is there really any better weather than “light blazer over your sundress” season? Yes please.
A dude I’m dating… I come out of the bathroom and he’s holding an envelope and a wrapped box. In the envelope is an extremely sizeable gift certificate to B&P that I still don’t think I can accept and THIS: LED LIGHTS FOR MY POLE.
Of course we put it on immediately and he held up his phone so we could test the “syncs with music” feature. TOTALLY WORKS. It was meant as a gag gift, but, to be honest… it made my apartment look like a strip club and I don’t hate that.
What do you think?
Here’s how it works with music:
Also, we can all agree that this guy is husband material, yes?
Speaking of gifts, my momma got me THESE:
They came wrapped in a fancy box wrapped tissue paper and I feel like a friggin princess.
Okay so I admit this wasn’t the hugest surprise because I went to the store with her to try them on. And wow, so glad I did–I thought I’d put on a pair and love them and the end, but I had to try on three styles, which was everything they had (this was Utica). I was also a size nine (I’m a 7.5/8 street shoes!) because I apparently have a long big toe (???), so, get yo’ shoes picked out for you by a pro, yo! They know what they’re doing.
Do you guys have a pole wish list? This is everything I wanted and then some (ie. I didn’t know I needed my pole to light up but I SO DO).
…So it’s a great time to create that Glass Animals station I told you to make and get some pole inspiration without hearing about Toyota promotions.
Expert tip: whatever you hit “like” on you can find in a list later. This is what I go to when I’m putting together a pole playlist and drawing a blank on what I want to add.
Not dead. In the Adirondacks for my little sister’s birthday. Doin’ it for ourselves!
There are ducks and shit, it’s awesome.
Also, just saw MY BEST FRIEND GET MARRIED in Boston. It was nuts. She was a gorgeous bride and my extremely talented lil sis did all the hair. Oh and it was in a BARN which was actually stunningly beautiful all lit up, plus a great place for dancing (before I stepped on an uneven board and went down in my platforms in front of everyone. Whoops. I love a stripper heel, LET ME LIVE). There were also chickens and pigs around. So basically this past week has involved 95% more wildlife than I am accustomed to. It’s been great. Especially since my older sister and niece live in Boston so… I GOT TO SEE THE STINKER! 😀
me and my mom 🙂
Mom and the stinker
lil sis 🙂
excited to see the toasts 😀
this bitch… love her.
STUNNING bride who’s also tough and funny and generally the best person I know.
a little bit louder now…
this chicken was like…
bye felicia.
sistahs.
that face tho… haha Rachel dancing with Dad.
Each table was supposed to break a wishbone and make a wish for the happy couple and my mom broke hers into THREE PIECES. whatever happens to Matt and Kristen as a result of this is on YOU mom.
casual hog.
playing with BUBBLE WRAP!
“Julia where are you sitting?” “Aunt Rachel’s car!”
Other stuff that happened: my sister and I left a bag of bagels unattended for ONE HOUR inside of another bag inside of a screen tent and a little bastard chipmunk got in and destroyed two of them. So we fed the rest to the ducks. They were super greedy. But one of them did tricks!!!
And here’s some unwashed camping pics!
sunset and a solo cup… there’s a country song in here somewhere.
the ducks must have recognized us as the girls with cinnamon raisin bagels because they did a fly-in visit.
whole beach to ourselves. like, seriously.
happy birthday!!!! we didn’t have cake but we DID have danish. the princess candles were my contribution.
I have to be honest: this took 2 hours.
dad reporting with helpful updates from the state fair
self timer learning curve.
“why is there not a drink in my hand rn.”
working…
…dance break!
essentials.
happy campers
…literally.
birthday spread. I bought this tablecloth as a surprise haha
matching sweatshirts. matching chairs. town gift shop suckers…
we heard some scary rustling near our tent and apprehended this perpetrator.
don’t worry, camping didn’t interrupt my fitness routine.
cleared out and leaving 😦
but not before being those assholes who feed the aimals. sorry not sorry… he was so cute!!
Hope you all are sucking every last bit of sunny happiness out of this last week of summa!!!
My mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year (tomorrow) and this is the list I gave her (from which she could pick an item or two):
-Ballet slippers
-OR just a package of black socks. Exactly the same thing, practically.
-An over the door pull up bar (like, self explanatory).
-Ear buds.
This is an accurate reflection of my interests this summer.
I signed up for “summer school” at Body and Pole, which, in hindsight, was a mistake.
For one thing, I didn’t calculate how many weekends I’d need to be out of town this summer–camping trip, wedding shower, wedding-wedding, special visit home to visit the Lil Stinker who looks like this now, CAN YOU STAND IT??
Julia 😀
My favorite classes–and frankly, the only ones I’m fit enough to do in a row–are all on weekends: ballet, flexibility, and poleography.
The classes available on weeknights are too early (5pm???? Body and Pole you need to calm down, you’re a half hour away and I get off work at 6), or too freaking advanced (we all remember my foray with “floor fusion”).
😐
The upside is, without feeling guilty about spending precious pole $$$ on flex classes, I did definitely did get super into flexibility this summer. And that is (sorry, I have to do it again), 100% due to the lovely teachings of Emily Sanderson, who was just made flexibility director/czar/empress/etc at Body and Pole. Coming back from that low back disc issue, I could weep tears of gratitude at the zero-pressure atmosphere she creates in her class. With her cues and notes on where things should feel “interesting” and plenty of modifications, I always know HOW to push a little harder if I want to, but I never, ever feel shamed into doing stuff that doesn’t feel right. I only wish this was true of all of my fitness classes. #SHADE.
Okay stopping gushing now, I also had a blast with Polegraphy–and omg, I discovered so much amazing music. Body and Pole had a studio-wide “Glass Animals” movement and now that’s my whole stretching playlist.
Here’s a sample of how sick this music is for pole (this is Emily from flex dancing to Gooey. BTW, COULD YOU JUST DIE at her fluidity???):
I could post a shitton of videos here, but, I just did a dump on instagram, so click the the link to the laptop-friendly version of all those. (Re: instagram: yes, I have one, yes I’m still intimidated by other dancers, and yes, I’ve decided to embrace mediocrity and put it out there. We need more examples of what “intermediate” looks like, or MARION CRAMPE WINS).
Huge ups to Tatiana, Kelly, and Irmingard of B&P for their beautiful choreo which was unfortunately butchered by my willing, yet not terribly able body. The struggle is real, but so is the progress!
What have y’all been up to?
Are you on insta? Can I follow you? I don’t know anyone. Come find me at @thespindiaries!
Now enjoy these pictures I took from”Movies with a View,” plus other miscellaneous summer picks. Movies with a View is basically free movies under the Brooklyn Bridge, and the night I took the pics we saw “Dr. Strangelove.” It was motherfucking hilarious. PROTECT YOUR PRECIOUS BODILY FLUIDS.
Oh, and after that, I’ve dropped a few choice yummy jams from Glass Animals. I HIGHLY recommend you use them as Pandora/Spotify inspiration, they’ll turn up some great pole music.
I discovered orange lipstilck… while I was supposed to be getting ready for the movie.
shockingly wearable!
Like… are you kidding right now.
Other stuff that happened: I met this guy whose banter game was ON POINTE.
And another one!
I went to my best friend from home’s wedding shower with my mom and my sister 🙂
And I did my hair/put on eyeshadow for the first time this summer in real life (ie. excluding shows).
Speaking of shows, we had one!
oh yeah and then it was just the usual suspects on Tinder. #brooklyn.
Glass Animals Songs I Like (presented without comment because this post is already hella long).
The Spin Diaries: Your Guide to Everything Pole and Aerial 