Month: August 2011

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1...the park bench outside the bowery hotel is quickly becoming my downtown summer home away from home. just a superbite from the peels take-out counter, a purse-friendly paperback, and a semi-serious staring problem and i’m all set for my post-work party of one.
2...there is a giant pig living across the street from angelica kitchen and i like them both (a lot).
3...lauren and i can’t wait much longer for the big gay ice cream shop to open. everyday, i see more and more people tinkering and typing away in there, but their sign still reads, “closed.” seriously guys, what could possibly be taking so long? i’m sorry, i just need me a bea arthur before summer ends.
4...on friday, i fled the office a little early on account of too many impending hurricanes and too few impending bosses and decided to trade a wrap-around line for beans and bottled water for a fantastic workout with kimani at pier i on riverside park south. as the sun stretched and set over the hudson, it was a little hard to believe something fierce was about to take over my weekend.
5...like everyone else in zone b and c, i spent all of my saturday indoors, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, refreshing weather.com, and wondering what my sunday was going to look like.
6...it looked just fine.

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1...friday’s roundabout through the union sq market led me to a run-in with a rag tag bunch of carrots. they were wild and crazy, but a solid homage to this summer’s trendiest color. be cool, stay in school.
2...after work, i met some co-workers at la bottega and, since i couldn’t order the judson, i decided to drink negronis instead. suddenly, the skies started to shift, so i made a quick and quiet exit and arrived home just in time to watch the storm from the comfort of my dining room (ie porchetta‘s window seat).
3...after joanna informed me on tuesday, “your presence is requested in philadelphia, pa from saturday 8/20 – sunday 8/21,” i followed strict orders and caught the first amtrak out of penn station that would have me. huge surprise – – – > riding the amtrak train from nyc to philadelphia was, by far, the loveliest, most stress-free travel i have ever had the pleasure of purchasing. i arrived just 1.5 hours later, happy as a clam and without a single horror story to my name. that is, until i saw a monster.
4...turns out, the good life is just some gin and tonic bruschetta girl talk on an afternoon stoop. well, ok!
5...so i’m officially in a rut and all my warning signs and red flag conversations say i’m long overdue for a big picture change of scenery. while i’m not looking to break my lease and move out of nyc forever, i’m ready to really surprise myself and find some bliss again. if you have any life advice or travel recommendations for this twenty something lost in transition, please don’t be shy. sharing is caring.

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1...thanks to a heads up from nymag, i made a point to stop by the alexander wang sample sale. while it was far too hot / packed to try anything on, i had a stellar time just straight up people staring (huge pastime). let me be clear – – – > the nymag sales & bargains calendar game changed my nyc. not only does it score me seriously incredible pieces like my one of a kind, hand-painted, silk-lined libertine blazer that used to sell at bergdorf’s for $6000 (i paid $60), but it also keeps me fashion fed even when my cashflow is, ehem, low just by getting my ass out of my apartment and into piles of gorgeous clothing while staring at piles of gorgeous people. not a bad way to spend a saturday, really.
2...friday means i’m walking through union square and last week it was all about the blueberries.
3...when people ask me how i know nancy, i like to say she used to be my editor (at our high school newspaper, but whatever, still true). right now, however, she is many, many things – a wanderlust, a foodie, a journalist, a food journalist, a publicist, a grad student, a friend – and her plethora of personas means she adds a plethora of weird ass city shit to my to-do list. buyer beware = if you know nancy, you could end up riding an inflatable dolphin at a dumpster pool party in long island city.
4...this dachshund decided to call it a day in the middle of his walk and i was like, “dude, i so feel you.”
5...i’m trying to let go of a lot of things – assumptions, imagined plans, expectations – and i think leonard cohen was right when he said, “forget your perfect offering, there is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”

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1...sometimes happiness is just a cool, breezy river (for me and this guy, at least).
2...ben and i are serious morning people. this means we get up really early and spend the first several hours of our day wide awake with nothing but our thoughts and a growing to-do list to keep us company. thankfully, ben’s in nyc right now, so we spent a very recent am keeping each other company instead.
3...while biking around town a few days ago, i looked up and caught a plane writing something in the sky. i never could decipher the message, so fingers crossed i’m not re-blogging something awful.
4...news flash – – – > first run in tompkins square park is where it’s at, but please do yourself a solid and skip the little run beside it (unless you want a giant lesson in lesser than).
5...the mise en scène here is very very vandaag.

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1...happy 1 year anniversary, doh letter grades! i was told to get you paper, so here you go.
2...last wednesday, i ended up working late and by the time i left the office, chelsea market’s sign had flicked on, a sudden summer rainshower was evaporating on 9th ave, and everyone was laughing. in that moment, so much was so right that there wasn’t much room left for wrong.
3...the apartment building across from mine is called “the mckinley” and most nights you can find me sitting on my stoop staring at it, wavering between zoning out and imagining who might live there. according to timeout, “boston red phil” davidson, a petty thief who knocked off a jewish crime mobster “big jack” zelig, lived there in 1912. he told the police the attack was revenge for a fleecing he had suffered from big jack a day earlier, but others believe it was to stop big jack from testifying as the key witness in a concurrent murder trial. sweet jews for jesus, i <3 the east village.
4...if i’m not on my stoop, it probably means i’m in line for vegan ice cream at lula’s sweet apothecary. i’m neither vegan nor lactose intolerant, but lula’s is one of my favorite ice cream stores in the city (stop rolling your eyes, their stuff is legit). if you are a serious chocolate fan, please get a soft serve malt. if not, a scoop of maple and waffles, strawberry, or any of their peanut butter flavors will do you right.
5...is it just me, or are these two doors super mysterious?