fête paradiso

Well, you know what they say—the days are long and the weeks are short. Actually, I think they say that the years are short but right now it's the weeks that are feeling really short. I'm now 36 weeks pregnant and we've been trying to fit in lots of last minute activities to celebrate the end of the summer and to celebrate the end of just the two of us. 

So! A recap of a couple of things we've done. We went to NYC a couple weekends ago (and I actually went on another whirlwind 24 hour trip a few weeks ago with Julie and Henry before they left for London) and spent most of our time having no agenda and spending QT together over donuts every day for breakfast and with old friends. I felt bad that we weren't able to see everyone that we wanted to see over the couple of days that we were there, but it all boiled down to us not having a schedule and me not feeling like I wanted to lug my 35 week pregnant self across town because I needed to stop to go to the bathroom every 5 seconds and I was just tired! But we did get to fit in some fun excursions. Our trip was accidentally well-coordinated with a visit from our college buddies Carrie and Courtney who were in town from Utah, so we met up with them and Kate/Regan/Gwen for a Utah reunion on Governors Island. I'd always wanted to go out there but every time we go to New York it's either way too hot or way too cold and it just doesn't feel like a good time to check it out. Fête Paradiso was also going on that day so we got to check out the "vintage" (their word, not mine) amusement park rides. I use quotation marks around "vintage" because I'd say they were more, er, "antique." Like, I wasn't really sure if everything would fall apart once the rides started going. But they were really cool to look at! Apparently some of the parts of the carousels actually dated back to 1850's France so that was pretty cool. The girls and Robbie all decided to go on the swings which sounded like a safe idea at the time but by the end of the ride we were all feeling kind of queasy. They should have had a warning saying that ride wasn't safe for adults. Robbie and Regan also went on a rollercoaster that they looked like they'd fly off of any second and after that everyone just stuck to the more benign carousel rides.

The rest of the weekend involved good eats and laying around in the park and catching up with some more friends that used to live in DC and really just spending time together as just the two of us. It was a perfect weekend with perfect weather and I'm excited to go back again some day when Li'l Ham can enjoy the sights and sounds and not be leaning on my bladder. Speaking of Li'l Ham, here's what he/she looked like at 35 weeks:

I still haven't learned how to turn to the side in pictures so I don't look like a chubby bunny. So sue me.

new york. we meet again.

We went to New York again this past weekend—last time we went it was the weekend of food with Bemily, this weekend was meant to be the weekend of theater with Bemily. We had high hopes of getting rush tickets for Death of a Salesman (pretty much the main reason we came back four weeks later... haha) and since we didn't decide to camp out at 11:30 the night before, we didn't get the 12 available rush tickets even after getting there at 6:30 am (it's a long and sad story that I'd rather not recount here). But! Never fear. Robbie and Ben were in the line for Once and got the last four tickets! And that was totally a wonderful consolation prize. It was really quite powerful and the music was amazing. The actors played all of the instruments, which was probably my favorite part of the whole thing. If you've seen it I'd love to hear what you thought about it. And if you haven't seen it, well, you've got to go park yourself in front of the theater for a $27 rush ticket. What a deal. 

Experiencing New York with a Broadway show is so exciting. It's more obnoxious than exciting when you're walking through the huge crowds in Time Square (it is never not crowded, even at 6:30 in the morning), but when you step into the old theaters with the beautiful decor and curtained box seats, it gives you this little thrill like you've gone back in time. It's just really fun. I can see why people get really into it.

Other highlights of the weekend:

• Spending Friday on the UWS with friends new[ish] (Natalie) and old (Sara Mo, my old London roommate and love of my life). There is nothing quite like hanging out with people you met six months ago or six years ago and just being able to talk until your face hurts and still not run out of things to talk about.
• FOOD. See also: Num Pang and Caracas Arepa Bar.
• Scandinavian candy from Sockerbit. My biggest weakness besides milkshakes? Sour gummy things. Sigh.
• I FOUND ICED HOT CHOCOLATE! (Again, not to be confused with frozen hot chocolate.)
• Reuniting with old friends at the Harlem Ward on Sunday. Funny part was that many of them were just visiting for the weekend. Holla at me, Harlem.
• Watching Robbie and Ben play XBox (not)

**Also. These pictures are coming out blurry and it's driving me CRAZY. That is all.

foodies

(Orla Kiely! Matchy matchy!)

Our New York trips are so short that we often inadvertently have a theme to accompany them (i.e., touristy, museum-y, lazy in the park-y, hanging out in only one neighborhood-y, etc.) and this weekend was the food trip—partly because being in a restaurant was the most comfortable thing to do on this chilly weekend. Emily and Ben (who hosted us) are super foodies, and between going out with them and some other friends, we had the most awesome food tour (with both old and new favorites) of some of the neighborhoods—which may or may not have focused heavily on desserts.

The rundown: in two days, we ate at Cafeteria (Chelsea), Levain (UWS), Café Habana (SoHo), Chinatown Ice Cream Factory (Chinatown), Momofuku Noodle Bar (East Village), Big Gay Ice Cream (East Village), Butter Lane (East Village), and Lombardi's (Little Italy?). I recommend all of these places, but I do not recommend eating at three of the establishments within an hour of each other (which we may or may not have done).

Seriously, thinking about all of the eating we did is kind of making me have indigestion. But that last picture of Robbie really sums it up for me. Yum yum, New York.

concrete jungle II

Since this was my parents' first trip to New York (well, my dad's second trip in about 40 years), we did a lot of the more touristy things that Robbie and I haven't done before. It occurred to us that this is the third time in four months that we've made the trip up, and on those trips we usually just hang out with friends. On Friday night we walked around 5th Avenue and looked at the store windows decorated for the holidays, and watched the ice skaters at Rockefeller Center paying way too much money for a run around the ice ($75!!!). Saturday afternoon we walked around Ground Zero, then walked through Battery Park to the Staten Island ferry to check out the Statue of Liberty from afar. I can't believe how incredible the weather was this weekend—every time we've gone it has been blazing hot, and I was worried that we'd be freezing the whole time. But guess who didn't even wear a jacket? (This gal.) Guess who did? (My perpetually chilly dad.) Anyway, sunny and breezy, and perfect for a walk around the big city.

I'd also like to draw your attention to my dad's V smile above, a feat that only a few of our siblings can do, which makes me think that it's like a special genetic trait. Seriously! My mom can't do it and Robbie can't do it... but Eliza can (even while carrying a sleeping three year-old on her tiny self):

Robbie says it freaks him out when I do it, so I'm sorry if the V smile freaks you out too. I think it's cute. On my dad, at least.

concrete jungle where dreams are made of

1 - details at the Met

2 - Robbie looking pleased at the Met

3 - my parents enjoying the glory of Tiffany's on 5th Avenue

4 - a $25K Barbie foosball table at FAO Schwartz and a sweet lion in the Bergdorf windows

5 - 30 Rock decked out in holiday finery (sans lights on the tree...)

6 - a parting shot at Herald Square 

7 - the Lincoln Center and dinner at Patsy's 

Yes, it's true—I've resorted to pretty much only taking pictures on my phone. Robbie was so annoyed with me that during most of our trip I didn't use our SLR very much, but in my defense, it was crowded and unwieldy and I was carrying a backpack AND a purse the entire time so I was not feeling like pulling the camera out for a photo op. And in my defense again, my camera phone is higher quality than my point and shoot, so we're all winning here. Plus I have some other "nicer" pictures to share later. If that's what you're into.

Anyway, my parents were here for Thanksgiving, and we decided a few weeks ago to introduce them to the glory that is New York City on the Friday and Saturday after the holiday. Eliza and fam also joined in on the fun, which was a bonus—and the kids were so good despite the fact we were dragging them all over the city for hours on end. We had deluxe accommodations in Park Slope thanks to the Johnsons, and I think that we gave them a pretty good taste of the city for being there such a short amount of time. I even had a random meet-up with my inter-friend Natalie on the Upper West Side (who recommended Patsy's), which was really fun. I love making my internet friends into real life friends. Also, I seriously love New York City. I was once wary, but now I want to give it a big hug.

And to close, here's a glamour shot of ol' Lady Liberty:

God bless America.

my last new york post, i promise

Filling in gaps from the rest of the weekend, in fifty words or fewer:

Hang out in bed time.

Enjoy view from hotel roof time.

Stinky subway time.

Empire State Building time. (Seriously, watch that video.)

Flatiron Building time.

Highline time.

sheep meadow

The best way to enjoy a city, I feel, is to have a picnic in the park. Most big cities have parks and grocery stores stocked with cheeses and bread and hummus and fruit, so it's not too hard to achieve that goal. Saturday evening was the perfect time for a picnic. We were exhausted from a day of walking around and were ready to just crash anywhere, so we got the sheet from our hotel bed (ghetto) and a bag of grocs and went to town in Central Park. Sheep Meadow is still one of my favorite places to hang out in New York. The great view of the skyline really feels like you are in the city without having to feel grimy and surrounded by people. (Except for the people making out on the blanket about 20 yards away from us, that was really cool.)

We were also lucky enough to be close enough to the road to hear a very large group of roller skaters bumping their jams. Dance party on the blanket, y'all.

bp/nypl

(one time I wore this skirt to work and someone asked me if I was a folk dancer... seriously??)

I am a little ignorant when it comes to landmarks in other cities. On Saturday, when we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do (we spent the bulk of Friday shopping), I suggested we go to the New York Public Library to check out the lions. You know, because that's something people like to see.

Well, apparently there's a lot more to see than the lions. First of all, the library sits on Bryant Park (where they used to host NY Fashion Week), which was nice and pretty to sit in for a bit. Second, you can go IN the library. I mean, duh, it's a public library. But it was so calm and gorgeous inside. Plus, there is a really great exhibit there right now celebrating their centennial and exhibiting highlights of their collection. We saw a letter from John Keats to Fanny Brawne (which was cool because we watched Bright Star on our bus trip up [which Robbie actually really liked even after I tricked him at first into thinking it wasn't a chick flick, don't tell him I told you]), a copy of the Declaration of Independence, a copy of Audobon's Birds of America, plus hundreds of other really, really cool things. Needless to say, the library was one of the unexpected highlights of the trip. You should probably go see it and the exhibit if you can.

By the way, please note that Robbie was really nice and carried my bag for me all day. He does not normally carry a gold sequined murse.