finally, we have open-window weather. i feel happiest when September rolls around. whooshing breezes carrying the smell of damp ground, gentle temperatures, crisp evenings, the sense of a relaxed, sighing earth...it makes me grateful for seasons and wistful for places where this happens almost every day. it reminds me of how i felt during our horseback ride in Banff a couple of weeks ago...
...because it has been almost TWO MONTHS since we got back and it's a massive pity i haven't shared the rest of our adventure yet.
here are photos from days 3 1/2 - 4...just a few more to go. up next: searching for Banksy graffiti, fun in the park, etc.
hazy evening outside our window.
we took a short walk from our hotel to the Tribeca Grill for the much-anticipated anniversary dinner. (13 years!)
he's secretly wondering if we're going to see anyone a little famous inside. we didn't.
my sea bass was Crazy Amazing. every ingredient on the plate merged magically. sigh...i miss that sea bass.
an older man working there eagerly offered to take our picture after seeing me with my camera. he was pretty exuberant about his photo-taking skills. this was the only one where we came out in focus.
mmm...raspberry key lime macaron.
Natural History Museum giant.
"...are there a bunch of birds behind me or am i being paranoid?"
melting in Union Square, 90+ degrees.
...the line for @BigGayIceCream truck, after it was announced on Twitter that Ottavia Bourdain (yes, that's Mrs. No Reservations to you) would be serving from the truck for charity, with proceeds matched & donated to Doctors Without Borders. ...plus, i really wanted one of those Bea Arthur cones i saw them serving up the day before at the Food Truck Frenzy.
Ottavia said on Twitter she thought she looked like a dude with her hat & no makeup. she didn't, of course. BUT - check out her guns. whoa. also, mental note to myself: teach husband how to focus camera more than 50% of the time. (@ottaviabourdain)
i see you, you see me.
Washington Square at the arch.
shoes, Day 4.
sling.
this street performer, while good at holding a pose, couldn't help from sweating profusely. also, the two dogs had just snapped at each other.
beautiful sky in the park, but the fountain being under construction really bummed me out.
Washington Square squirrel (who was just trying to eat a rock).
look up.
birds on wire.
chess.
messenger bag.
open-air.
our second meal at Sanctuary T...and the Greek platter that made me happy.
...see?!?
A couple of weeks ago we got back from a (MOSTLY!) gorgeous eight days in the city that never sleeps...though don't get too spoiled and think you can get takeout from anywhere at any time, because then you will be sad sad sad at 11:30pm when you discover you can not indulge in buckwheat noodles on a whim.
...the things you so easily get used to when you pretend to live in a Megafoodopolis for a week.
Also, it's a bit of a weird feeling when you start referring to your hotel room as your home. "ahgghh let's just walk home!", "how close is that to where we live?", etc. Sooo...I'd say eight days is a nice long time away. (I could, however, have my arm twisted to stay much longer in a Mediterranean villa somewhere, but wait, what was that? Hold on-- ...yeah, that silence is No One offering up their piece of heaven in Palermo or Barcelona, so that little extended vacation fantasy will try to gracefully exit now while it still has its dignity.)
Aaaanyway.
WE WERE IN A MAGNIFICENT, BUZZING, VIBRANT, NEVER-DISAPPOINTING CITY FOR A WEEK. And it was good.
And I have pictures.
There are far too many to post at once, so I'll do a few installments. Round one (days 1 through 2 1/2), here we go...
feet
cloudy skies the evening of our arrival
amazing amazing amazing pizza at Rubirosa
bathroom shot (of course)...notice my new little Lumix G1 eep
my shoes, Day 1
window display, Erica Weiner jewelry
what i woke up to on my birthday (Law & Order and a wee cupcake!)
tiny
buggy
my shoes, Day 3
Yummm...25 food trucks on two blocks (you got 5 tickets to use at any of them)
tomato & basil slice from Eddie's Pizza Truck
vegan donuts from The Cinnamon Snail
KOREAN BBQ!!!
"beef, pork, chicken or tofu taco?"
...i went with the tofu
art installation between the blocks of the Food Truck Frenzy
watching people go through the hole in the wall was almost the best part
...the nest
these feathers were trailed in the wet cement even far, far down the street
graffiti'd lady
just liked the texture of this stairway...
AW, MAN! i didn't have mine with me ;)
The Mister thought the dustpan was funny
fire station
a stop we made because i know someone who likes to collect cookbooks...this entire wee "store" was packed to the ceiling, and Bonnie was super sweet & talkative, even though she was stressed out about the little black dog hiding in the corner by her desk she was babysitting.
"an irony rich mouthful" ...COLBERT! ...OBEY.
the pigeon guy in Washington Square Park...he was there every time we came by that week
girl with dogs
Bleecker Bob's...a cool spot for really vintage (mostly rock) vinyl
friends
wart hog???
part of the selection at Once Upon a Tart...i got the one in the back with no label (i think it was cherry something?)
us in a window. looking at yummy things.
well, it has been a wee while, so i figured the best way to catch this space up with what i've been up to to is through pictures from the past few weeks...
we've been going out to breakfast every saturday to chat about how much we love omelets, our week's goals and what we're going to eat for lunch. plus, the food motivates us to detach our faces from our pillows early on rainy weekends.
we saw this actual "advertising" display in the window of a photography studio in the mall....um.
i became afflicted with what was affectionately referred to in the SarcomiHaus as The Neverending Plague (for 2 1/2 weeks), and the only things that could console me were medicine and noodle soup.
i helped my friend Stacy with a fabulously-styled shoot, during which once of her pups, Lola, stole a bit of the attention.
my new Finn frames arrived from Warby Parker! (p.s. FANTASTIC customer service, and just $95/pair.)
Spring sprung up all over the place...
the furry-faced inhabitants of the house have lounged & loafed to their hearts' contents (the cat says 'duuuuude you know it'.)
we've been to a few shows. here is Bobby Long, signing my record...
...and this was the result. (we racked our brains: "am the Bed"? ..."on the Ben"? and then i eventually figured it out: "all the best" - in slightly intoxicated performer penmanship perhaps.)
we had a chance to see Ra Ra Riot, too. Mr. S. snapped my friend Suzanne & me with 1/2 the band. (they were nice - and young. yeesh. everyone is so young.) p.s. FANTASTIC live show.
...and i got all but one autograph on the vinyl. courtesy of a temporarily stolen Sharpies.
perhaps the most...interesting show: Das Racist. fun. but...interesting.
i've started to get my office put together the way i want it since we switched, me moving back into the loft. (people always ask so i'll tell you - the bookcases were from IKEA years ago.)
OMG I FINALLY GOT A DAMNED MILK FROTHER. and i love it. i love it and i want to kiss it.
two of the three original wee shrimp are still alive in this little sphere thing i got for Mr. S. a couple of christmases ago from Sharper Image. hmm...can you find them?
my sister came and we took her to a hibachi place we have become in love with. and we ate so much it hurt.
Mr. S. made a kick-ass meal from that new Rocco DiSpirito book. um. YES.
i bought 2 replacement cacti for some sad-looking ones on the window sill (say hello to Baby Red & Mr. Crab Hands)...and an aloe plant.
:: so there's a little bit of what's been going on here lately. and of course, since putting this together there's even more to report. but that's for the next post. ::
Yes, though the Chinese New Year was a month ago, we were graciously invited to a party that had been postponed (if you remember, we have been trapped under a tundrous pocket of ice and snow for weeks, rendering all things Fun and Happening quite difficult to attend) at artist Josh Johnson's home last weekend. (First of all, check out Josh's art, for it is Le Bomb.)
illustrations, letterpress, watercolors and more featuring whimsical animals & magically mysterious characters - and one very special family called The Spindletons...
We were supposed to wear something that represented the Zodiac animals correlating with the year we were born. Mr. S. lucked out - he is a rabbit, and LO AND BEHOLD...Easter was throwing up all over the place everywhere we went. For him we settled on a wee stuffed hamster wearing bunny ears. I thought that was pretty funny. At the party, the hamsterbunny got friendly with various other animals as well as the Mr. T doll, who was apparently there to Pity the Party (seen here wearing the wine cozy we brought and appearing in further shenanigans later):
Mr. S arrived with said hamsterbunny pinned to his jacket, but for some reason he decided to take him off pretty quickly. Hmm...
My animal is the dragon (throw your hands up, 76ers! yay...we're 35 this year...errghh...yay?) and I didn't have as much luck figuring out how to incorporate that into a fun little accessory. So...I went classy. I went for the temporary tatt:
...which you can see here as I show off my contribution to the spontaneous jamming that was taking place throughout the night with various super-fun instruments...
(Also check out my friends Tonos Triad, who I photographed a few years ago and pretty much kick ass and jam ridiculous everywhere they play. Two of the members were there with others providing the *ahem* PROFESSIONAL instrumental yumminess during the evening.)
Here are some more photos from the party:
“Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze.” -Carolyn Gold Heilbrun
A pitcher of water infused with sliced lemons.
Being warm & insulated during a snowstorm.
A fluffy cat who kept reminding me to pick him up and nuzzle his face.
My ugly, ugly bread machine loaf of olive & feta cheese "Greek Style Bread". It was flat, flat, flat, but I snacked on it all week long.
Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?
The discriminating crowd demands nothing less than perfection. And sake.
Polina turned the camera on me & Amber, as we put on brave faces through the pain.
Tempura makes girls happy. So very, very happy.
On an unrelated note, Amber takes a turn about the room with a cane she found very funny at the time. She & I may or may not have practiced waltzing a few seconds later. I'm not sure. You'll have to wonder.
Words. Words escape me.
Ben finally takes a moment to make a plate for himself, after we all wept Uncle.
Here, Ben tells Polina that our next culinary gathering will be...
(wait for it)
...
(wait for it)
...
CURRY NIGHT!
Oh. my dear. sweet. Lord.
Sis-in-law Polina & I had "high tea" today at local eatery Serendipity. (We were [SO VERY this close] to donning our fake British accents.) They served us three different teas, the hands-down favorite being the dessert tea...a mind-numbing chocolate flavor. The adventure began with a cranberry spritzer "to cleanse your palates", touted our hostess, and included an evil Tower of Treats atop a tray of wee sandwiches. I can now say I have fully lived, having tasted the stacked concoction comprised of blueberry toast and cheese. WHAT? Yes.
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