Rock Center Tree Lighting

Since my firm is in Rockefeller Center, we have a tree lighting party every year on the day that they light the big Rock Center tree. SO everyone has a cocktail and stands around muching on HDs until the big countdown then we all hang out the windows in the partners offices that are on that end of the building. Its pretty fun. Here are just a couple of shots I got from the 24th floor. As you can see.. there were thousands down there. People started lining up at like 4 in the afternoon. I don't think it was really worth the wait for them but hey.. what do I know??





I always love the Saks snowflakes and the Cathedral when its all lit up.. pretty festive.

Weekend in Tally

We went for a family reunion in Tallahassee, Florida. It was so amazing to get to see everyone and spend lots of time together visiting. I was not very good at taking pictures while we were there but I did get a few.



Larry AKA "Grill Master"... sometimes nothing beats good old burgers and and hotdogs.



Stephen worked up an appetite playing soccer with the younger cousins. We were so happy to take this break and we even got to visit with Katie and Ryan and Mason before #2 arrived.

Visiting Parents

Mom and Dad came to Brooklyn this weekend for a little visit. We always have such a great time visiting with them - whether here or at home. We did lots of eating and some walking around and a few tourist-esque things. Case in point the photo above - honestly, have you ever seen a more adorable picture of tourists??? :)

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We took the same boat tour of the harbor that we took with John and Mariel. The weather was cooperative so that was a serious bonus since last week it was stinkin cold!!!



We went to Coney Island for lunch and grabbed a couple of Nathan's hotdogs. Dad and Stephen had an after-hot-dog cigar.



It was looking pretty deserted but still as carnival as ever.



Last but certainly NOT least ... dinner in Brooklyn Heights. No, this is not a picture of the restaurant (Noodle Pudding) where we ate. This is a picture of us being totured by a fire fighter. Dad asked them if he could take a picture of them at the firehouse.. and in return they said they would LOVE to take a picture of all of us dressed in their gear since they "love to torture the tourists!!". Well it is certainly a memorable picture and one that I would never have gotten if they were not in town. All things considered it was an experience I will always remember :)

We had a great time with you Mom and Dad. Next time we will make it Park Slope for sure. Come back any time! Love you guys!

Happy Birthday Stephen

Stephen's real birthday was on the 7th. For his birthday we...


Hung out with Jeff that night in the East Village...


Walked around on the sidewalk...


Ate dinner together at CaraCas - a Venezuelan restaurant in the East Village that is SO good. Our friend Flor took Stephen there when his parents were in town and that is how we discovered it. Killer Arepas and Empanadas.
Stephen is 26 this year. It seems like yesterday that my roommates and friends in college were teasing me about robbing the cradle by dating that 19 year old art student in Florida. Time flies.

babies..?

So I have been thinking alot lately about babies.. more specifically the fact that everyone I know seems to be pregnant with them or raising them..wanting them... having them... there are alot of babies around right now. Even though they are at a distance - not right here in my building - it still feels funny sometimes. Here I am alone in my apartment with Stephen and my puppy - happy. Is that wrong? I am going to be the oldest of my friends to have kids, whenever we do have them. I know that everything has a time and a season and this is not our baby season but everytime I hear that someone else is pregnant.. I get really confused and I have a hard time deciding how to feel about it. I am always happy for the person and wish them the best but I guess what I mean is that I have a hard time because I start to feel like I am doing something wrong. Like I am on the wrong track because I don't have a baby yet and we are not really planning on it right now. If it happens it happens but.. it's not something we are really in a place to do right now. People always say that you are never really ready for a baby - you just have to jump in with both feet and everything else will work out. I guess I have a hard time with that because we jumped into married life with both feet and though everything has been great and worked out - it has been a difficult journey getting Stephen through school and moving to four different states in less than 5 years. Now that he has graduated and is on the road to getting a more permanent job and submitting work to the gallaries around here..it just feels like we are starting from ground zero. Like we finally can relax and start the life that was on hold for the MFA. That's a great feeling - like you are on a second honeymoon or something. The only catch is that I am not 23 anymore and every day that goes by - another friend has a child or a 2nd child... why do I care so much? Well..all of my friends are great.. they never make me feel like an outsider because I don't have a kid yet. But the truth of the matter is - no matter how great they are or how sensitive and laid back.. I am going to feel like an outsider - because I am. I don't know what it's like to have a baby kicking my insides or feel the pain and joy of childbirth. I don't know how happy you feel when your child smiles at you or says their first word. I know that I get really excited about cuddle with Oli on the couch!!! The plain truth is that when a couple has a baby they cease to be the couple that can go out for coffee at any hour or stay out late to see a movie. They have a child to care for. A child that they love caring for and are seriously in love with. It's just different. Lonely. I hope all my friends with kids don't get offended by this post because you should know I love each and every one of you like crazy and your kids too!!! It's just.. been on my mind alot so I felt like sharing - and I can't sleep so I tend to share odd subjects when I am up late like this. Anyway - one day I will get pregnant and have my own baby and someone I know will feel like things have been forever changed.. but for now.. I will just wonder if I am being selfish enjoying my life with Stephen and the dog up here.. or if we should be jumping on the baby band wagon...it's a tough one to actually think on.

Yellow November Birthday ..OR.. Some Trees Grow in Brooklyn..

It's Stephen's birthday on Tuesday so we decided to celebrate this weekend. Saturday we went for a walk in Park Slope and the ginko trees on 7th were this amazing golden yellow. It was nice and cool outside and not too breezy.. the perfect weather for a nice long walk.





We stopped in at Ozzie's for some coffee and a pumpkin square. Great fall combo. It's so hard to be in this neighborhood sometimes. You just want to spend the entire day in about 50 different places! Hard to decide how to divide your time. I mean, you could spend all day in the park, the museum, shopping, coffee shops... the list goes on. I am almost looking forward to the bitter cold - to help cut down on the options! Then I could just make my way to the coffee shop and tuck in for a couple hours before heading home to read or something. I am sure I will eating those words in a few months when the snow actually starts flying around here.. but that's my opinion tonight.



I took Stephen out for his birthday but the whole gig was a surpise. I am not usually able to keep secrets but this time I was determined to keep it to myself. We went to Henry's End in Brooklyn Heights for dinner. This is a tiny little place that Carol recommended that specializes in wild game during hunting season - the food was incredible. Tiny, tiny little place that was warm and cozy inside and packed with Brooklyn-ites. We had the best table in the house. Stephen had the wild boar ragout and I had Buffalo rib-eye - though I already eat alot of Buffalo and know this is not really wild game. It was so good - the salad was perfect the wine that John helped me pick out was just right (Bogel- Phantom). All in all I am looking forward to eating there again very soon. Then I surprised Stephen by taking him to the new "Evil Dead the Musical". I have no idea if any of you will know what this is - a B rated horror flick that is completely insane and stupid. They musical version was AMAZING and even though we were in the mezzenine (great seats!) and not the "splatter zone" in the front we laughed out heads off. It was SO funny and silly and something we would never have done on a normal night. Happy birthday baby.

Marie Antionette and corn-on-the-cob

Finally!!! We went to see the new Sophia Coppola film Marie Antionette last night. I have been reading the book for the last few weeks. I got suddenly very interested in this time period after reading "Sex With Kings" by Eleanor Herman, which is a history of various European mistresses, and the kings that loved them. So when I heard that Coppola's movie was based on the book by Antiona Fraser I decided to try and read it before the movie came out.
Antionette has gotten a lot of mixed reviews in the press. Coppola was given unprecedented access to Versailles and the Petit Trianon by the French to film the piece - apparently the country loved Lost in Translation and Sophia's own personal sense of fashion. However when they saw the result of her efforts at Cannes, there were more than a few up-turned noses and catcalls. Having read all about this I was nervous to see the film, afraid I wouldn't like it after having looked forward to its release for almost a year now. Thankfully - it was brilliant!
The fact that every shot is colourful and decadent should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen Coppola's other films (The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation). She did a wonderful job of recreating court life at Versailles. The costumes are a fantasy and there are at least two plates of incredible edibles (pastries, cookies, chocolates) in every scene. Everyone knows she can shoot a movie. The music was not a surprise either. From the 80s hit "I Want Candy" for the montage of her ladies gorging on cream filled delights to the haunting Aphex Twin number while she wonders innocently through her new quarters on her arrival at Versailles. Not only did the choices make the character more relatable but they just make you feel good. What I was not expecting was the dialogue. I would have missed this if I had not read the book, 95% of the lines were direct, historically accurate quotes. This is what excited me the most about the film. Sure she played contemporary music in with the classical choices and she allowed all of the actors to speak in their native accents (a' la Amadeus), you even get a glimpse of a blue Converse in one of the closet shots - but keeping the dialogue minimal enough to use accurate quotations was the most genius move. Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman acted their tales off portraying the emotions of teenage monarchs in the midst of personal and political turmoil. The gut wrenching grief of Marie's "inability to inspire passion in (her) husband" and the struggle of the two to consummate the marriage and produce an heir came across much better without invented language. Her loyalty in standing by her husband even as the angry French mob is banging down the doors of their home is touching - as is the haunting echoes of young Louis XVII's fearful cries as they await their fate in the nearly empty palace. Highly recommended. Feels good to have a healthy dose of history in with your hipster movie fare.


Oh.. and Oli got a new corn-on-the-cob bone :)

Cranberry Bog

This week Rockefeller Plaza played host to a re-creation of a cranberry bog for Ocean Spray. There were Ocean Spray farmers there to explain anything you wanted to know about cranberries. Here is what I learned.



Cranberries are grown on srubby bushes that are pretty low to the ground. The berries themselves are filled with tiny air pockets. When it comes to harvest time, they flood the bogs and use giant wooden rakes to loosen the fruit from the plant. The ripe berries float right up to the top and they skim them off and train the bog. Pretty neat huh? I always thought they grew in water because you always seen pictures of the harvesters walking around knee deep in berries. Anyway it was really cool.







Red is my favorite color. Especially the deep tangy color that is a cranberry. I also LOVE cranberry anything.. relish, sauce, juice, muffins... walking outside the building and seeing a giant pool of floating red yummies was such eye candy. I just stared at them and felt like I was getting a massage on my optic nerves. It really felt so relaxing. I think with all the advertising and concrete and commercialism and materialism of Midtown the best treat for the senses is a large pool of cranberries.