Ethiopian Airlines

I got an email from Ethiopian Airlines today. I know what you are thinking, because I thought it too... Ethiopia has an airline? When you were a kid and you didn't want to finish your dinner, didn't your mom say, " There are starving children in Ethiopia that would be grateful for this food."? Didn't those comments paint a picture of what Ethiopia must be like? A poverty-stricken, third world country? I had those same thoughts (judgements) when some friends wanted to go out to an Ethiopian restaurant in NYC. We joked that we didn't know Ethiopia even had food to call their own. So thoughtless! BTW, the food was delicious (going in)! It was basically a large platter with several different hummus-like pastes you ate with pita. All vegan.  Pat and I both had the hershey squirts for a few days after.

Anyway, I learned from my email that Ethiopian Olympian, Derartu Tulu, became the first woman from Ethiopia to win the New York City Marathon when she crossed the finish line with a time of 2 hours, 28 minutes and 52 seconds. Wow and wow.

The Nutcracker

I had a friend recently email me  with questions about what to do and see when she goes to New York in December.  Oh the jealousy!!  December is a magical time in the city!  There are so many lovely and beautiful things to do and see!  

As I got thinking about what to tell her, I had memories of going to The New York City Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker.  Sigh.  That night was truly one of my most favorite nights in the city.  Although, I am a sucka for ballet.  The dancing was incredible, the costumes and set were fabulous and the music was phenomenal.  But, I think it was the theater itself that really did it for me.  To be sitting up on the first balcony in such a famous building, surrounded by red velvet, staring down at all the formal gowns, jewels and tuxedos of the rich was delightful eye candy!  And all the children in their best dresses.  I swear it was so cliche!  I tried to avert my eyes from the tennis-shoe, fanny-pack, camera-happy, tired tourists so they couldn't ruin the general splendor.

Anyway, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker should be on everyone's "see before I die" list.  I think.

Cashmere Elephant

This past weekend I was invited to a baby shower for an old family friend.  The cute mom and dad have decided to wait until the baby is born to find out the gender.  I love that!  I don't know if I could wait that long, the suspense would kill me, but I love it when people do.  It's got to be the ultimate surprise in the delivery room. 

Anyway, I had an old cashmere sweater that someone (whose name starts with a "P" and ends with "atrick") had put through the laundry, more importantly, the dryer, (allegedly) and shrunk the poor thing.  You would think my sweet husband would learn after he put my leather & wool jacket through the dryer a few years ago.  Love him.  

So what was once this sweater....

became this elephant....

He was so much cuter in real-life.  And so cuddly, too.  The brown was corduroy and you can't see it, but the back of the ears was a texture different from the rest.  The mom was so excited because she said it matched the nursery perfect.

Also, that picture of Patrick and I was taken at a rooftop restaurant in NYC where he took me to dinner for our 4th wedding anniversary.  It was a lovely surprise.

Cold Sores

Let's talk about 'em.  I hate them.so.much.  I have one right now and they make me cranky.  They throb, I can't smile or laugh, eat or drink without feeling the pain.  They blister over and I wake up with little spots of blood on my pillowcase.  I have to throw out all my lip glosses and chapsticks and get a new toothbrush.  It's one of the lovely gifts my husband gave to me:)  I get these bad boys about 2-3 times a year, usually when I am really stressed or really sick.  In the past 10 months I have had 3 already.  Not cool.  Meet my friend Valtrex that helps the pain (and humiliation) slowly subside.  And it costs a pretty penny, too.  Try $15 a pill!  But, worth it.

And, I can not believe I am going to post pictures of the dreaded event, but here goes...

It's like Botox gone wrong

Please don't have nightmares from the picture!  

I have not a spot of make up on and that thing growing on my face is terrible!!

These pictures are from my first attack.  It was in April 2006 after living in NYC for a few months.  I woke up one Saturday morning with my upper lip the size of a golf ball and freaked out!  This was my face we are talking about and I had NO IDEA what had happened!  Patrick thought it might be a cold sore, but he had never seen one so swollen.  He had to leave to go to school, so I decided to go have it checked out and hopefully get something to help it.  Remember, it is a Saturday, I am somewhat new to the city and have not established a doctor. 

I put on my jacket and walk down to 3rd Avenue to hail a cab uptown to the nearest ER.  Once I get through with the novel of paperwork, I am taken back and put in a tiny closet of a room and wait for the doctor to come in.  After an eternity, the doctor makes her way and spends all of point 3 seconds with me.  She takes one look at my lip, rolls her eyes (not really) scribbles something on a prescription pad and explains that I have a cold sore before she walks out.  My mind is screaming at her!  "WHERE ARE YOU GOING!!!???  This is my face!  It is deformed and I have no idea why!"

Defeated, I grab a cab towards the pharmacy by my apartment and set myself up for another embarrassment.  At the pharmacy counter, I hand the technician my prescription and step aside to wait.  After a few minutes the tech calls my name.  ("Wow.  That was fast.")  She then explains to me that the doctor has prescribed Abreva, an OTC cream.  Embarrassed, I buy the cream and go home to lock myself up for a week.

As you can imagine, the Abreva didn't do a thing and I had to ride this one out.  I couldn't work and I didn't really leave the apartment.  My face hurt so much!  

Damn you cold sores!

"Love, Loss, and What I Wore"

If I were in New York today, I would make my way to the Westside Theatre to see Nora & Delia Ephron's new show "Love, Loss, and What I Wore" based on the book by Ilene Beckerman.

First off, let's talk about how much I love Nora Ephron's work.  All of it.  This woman wrote, produced and/or directed three fabulous movies (among many other fine works) that I love...  When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail.  Come on!  Those are three quintessential chick-flicks that should be in every woman's collection!  As well as her most recent book I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts About Being a Woman that I haven't actually read, but want to.  I already know I like it.

Anyway, originally scheduled to run through December 13, the show has extended the dates for sometime in 2010.  I hope I make it to NYC before it's over:)

Read reviews here and here.

Apple Picking

While we lived in NYC, Patrick and I joined Zipcar, a car sharing program that is really big in cities.  I can't remember all the details, but I think we paid a one-time set up fee and then anytime we wanted to rent a car we paid for the miles, or something.  I can't really remember the money part of it.  But, what was convienient was that there would be a small amount of cars parked in different garages all throughout the city.  We could rent a car that was just a few blocks from our apartment instead of on the other side of the city.  It was so fun to rent a little Mini and take weekend trips!  But we also would rent a car for a few hours and go into Brooklyn to hit up Costco.  (It was not fun trying to get home all of our purchases from Costco the first time we went.)

Maggie, Renee & me

Our first excursion was to upstate New York to go apple-picking in early October.  It was something I have never done.  My friend Renee went with us and I think between the 3 of us we picked 3 huge bags worth of apples.  Over the next week, we peeled, chopped, baked and ate more apples than a person should.  But, I love apple pie.  It's in the Top 5 of pies.  Do you have a delicious recipe that I need to try?

We've got a bunch of apples that I am going to use in a pie tomorrow.  A couple of years ago, I came across a really yummy pie recipe that has a really sharp cheddar in the crust.  It was amazing.  I found a similar one here on Epicurious.  

typical Renee

The Sartorialist

I got a call from my brother yesterday.  It went a little something like this...

(brinnnggg, brinnnggg) lol!

me: Hey!  What's up?

Nick: Hi!  I need your address.

me: Ok.  Why?

Nick: To send you that book.

me: .....what book.....?

Nick:  I went to the book signing you asked me to go to and I got you a signed copy.

me: WHAT!!!!????  YOU WENT????!!!!!  I never heard back from you so I didn't think you went!!!  OH MY GOSH!!!  I am so jealous  you went!!!!

Nick:  Yeah, it was fun.  There were a lot of industry people there.

me:  I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!  You are the BEST!!!

Nick:  So....can I get your address?

That's right.  I shall soon be receiving my own copy, autographed to me, that I can swoon and salivate over!  It pays to have an awesome big brother who lives in an awesome city!

Thanks Nick!!

September 11th

Every summer growing up, my dad would take a group of Japanese students to Washington D.C., New York City and Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton being the "reason" for the trip and D.C. and NY were just bonuses. Princeton University has a Plasma Physics Laboratory that was the highlight for the Japanese group. I believe the majority of the group were aspiring scientists. I remember taking a tour of the facility and knowing that I would never be that smart! LOL! It was way over my head. I was there to take in the beautiful campus. Such a charming place!

My dad would take one or two of us every time he would go and the first time I went, my cousin came with us. I think we were going into the 9th grade. We were classic tourists. I'm sure we embodied every stereotype of an obnoxious tourist there is! Today I searched for the photos from that trip and found a few, but not the one I was looking for. I have some of us riding the Circle Line cruise to The Statue of Liberty with the skyline including the Twin Towers behind us. We went to the top/observation deck of The Towers and saw the view. I remember being scared up so high. (I have a fear of falling)

The next time I went to NYC with my dad, my sister Malory went, too. It was the summer before I went into the 11th grade. It was Malory's first time and I remember she almost got ran over! She just walked out into the street without waiting for the "walk" to appear. My dad pulled her back just.in.time. And he was not a happy camper with her. I think he felt bad he got so mad at her because he then took us for ice cream:) And New York in July calls for ice cream! I hate humidity!

I don't remember if we went to The Towers that trip or not. I do remember being so happy to be back in NYC and not so much of a tourist this time around. From this trip, I remember more about D.C. and visiting the museums and falling in love with all the history there. I came home obsessing about J. Edgar Hoover and Einstein.

My third trip to NYC happened in August 2001. I was there just a few weeks before the terrorist attacks. This time we went to the observation level of The Twin Towers. I remember it being late at night and thinking the city looked so romantic all lit up. Yet, I emphatically remember feeling a sense of fear, for the buildings were too close together. That night I said, "if something were to happen to one of these buildings, there would be a domino effect."

September 11, 2001, I was still living with my parents and my mom came in my room woke me up and turned on my TV. We sat on my bed and watched over and over all the footage. I was transfixed by the TV. I was in a state of shock and felt nothing the whole day. It wasn't until that night, trying to sleep that I was consumed with emotion. I sobbed. I felt so vulnerable. I felt deep empathy for those who lost their family members. I cried for all the children who would never see their mom or dad again. I imagined what it must have felt like for the wife who was never to kiss her husband again. I felt the horror and ugliness of what had happened that day.

My first time back to New York after 9/11/01 was in May 2005 a few months before we moved there. I was married by this time and it was my husband's first time there. Lucky for us, my brother was already living there, so we were able to visit NY not as tourists, but as travelers. I did, however, insist that Patrick and I visit Ground Zero. In my memory the Financial District looked like one thing and I wanted to see it now for what it had become. I was sick with emotion at the thought of the loss of life and love at that spot and we didn't stay long. To make it worse, a man was playing Amazing Grace on his flute and since my grandfather's funeral, that song undoubtedly brings tears to my eyes.

My husband and I moved to NYC in November of 2005 and fell in love with and cursed the city immediately. We didn't venture down to Ground Zero unless we had family or friends visiting that would want to see it. I would get so angry while we were there to see people trying to sell photos and memorabilia to the tourists for their own personal gain. I believe that besides from being immoral and insensitive that it is actually illegal. I could be wrong, however, I did into more than one argument with one of these "salesmen" that Patrick had to pull me away from.

As a NYC resident, I was always so curious to hear how that day unfolded for others. It not an easy subject to talk about with some... often they knew someone who lost their life or a loved one. Certainly it is a day any of us who were alive will ever forget. Where were you?

Each year on this date, I am reminded of how beautifully lucky and well-taken care of I am. I am surrounded by those I love. We have more than enough. And while the reasons for the attacks and conspiracy theories will be constant, we will always have this opportunity to remember how fragile life is and the importance of love. Always love. Only love.

I'm Leavin on a Jet Plane

See you next week:)

Beautiful Cappuccino

Not that I am some novice coffee drinker, but I do like an occasional latte or so as long as there is a LOT of sugar in it. (I have an opinion on coffee and the WofW and if you want to know it, just ask.) Anyway, at 25 Main, we serve a variety of espresso and coffee drinks, so I have been learning alot about coffee from how and where the beans are grown, to grinding, tamping and pulling a beautiful shot of espresso. I find it so interesting.

Over on Martha's blog a couple of weeks ago, she met a barista who is an artist and his medium is coffee and milk. It is incredible. Look...

Barista artist Sammy Lin and me.

Sammy begins his creation by carefully spooning foamy milk.

He’s inspired by the pattern the foam makes.

With a steady hand, Sammy uses a wooden skewer to create images.

Unbelievably detailed and quite gorgeous! Almost too beautiful to drink, however, the cappuccino is unbelievably delicious!

Sammy at work behind a stack of clean cups.

The front of Bottega del Vino.

The cafe’s "shingle."

I agree... it is almost too beautiful to drink. How long before I learn to create that?

I miss NY.

If I Was in NYC Today...

I can't stop wishing I could eat at Rairaiken lately. The BEST ramen shop. Ever. Period. I really miss yummy food. It really was an authentic Japanese food resturaunt. Pat and I spent many a cold nights patienly waiting for a seat in the 14 seat shop to be able to slurp to our delight the delicious ramen. I always got the same thing (which is kinda unlike me) and never regretted it once! The menu isn't that big--how can it be...? Did you see the size of the place? And trust me, the pictures totally don't do it justice. Other than ramen, they offer curry that Pat loved and really good gyoza (potstickers). My brother introduced us to the place when he was living in the East Village and it quickly became one of our favorites.

I'm hungry. And in case you are wondering... Rairaiken is on 10th between 1st and 2nd.

View from the Empire State Building

I am in awe of the Flat Iron Building. I used to live 1/2 a block away from it and would walk past it everyday. Sigh. This picture was taken facing south.This was taken facing north. See the Chrystler Building?

I'm going through NY withdrawals again today... It makes me sad when I think of New York. I miss all the walking I used to do. I have many a callous on my feet to prove the miles and miles I walked (is that gross?). I remember the first time I would wear a new pair of shoes... before I would get to my destination, my feet would be bleeding. I would carry bandaids and moleskin everyday, just in case. After a while, I could go the whole day in heels and be fine.

I read somewhere once that the reason women in NY will wear such ridiculously uncomfortable shoes in the city is because our feet are our main means of transportation... It's like wearing your car on your feet and sadly, a bit of a status thing. You can always spot a tourist first by the neighborhood you are in and second, the shoes they are wearing.

P.S. If you ever go to the top of the Empire State Building, get the audio tour. It is a good one and totally worth it.

Beautiful Architecture

I love the Chrystler building. It is so glamorous!

Ork Posters!

I ordered this poster for Pat for his birthday (like a month ago) and it just barely got here! All the same, it is freakin' sweet! I'm excited to frame it and put it up.

Our first apt. was right between the "D" and the "T" in "Midtown" and our second apt. was in the second "E" in "Chelsea".

I miss New York.

My Style

The Parade of Homes is going on right now and it has really got my juices flowing. I so want to build or buy a house that I can design to my tastes. I really like the stuff that Nate Berkus does. I want my house to look like the penthouse suite in the Soho Grand Hotel in New York. Nate gives Oprah a tour here (FYI, Nate didn't do the design). I love the design in this place. There are so many cool things about it that I don't even know where to start. Chic, hip and modern come to mind. And the view...sigh!

I have not stayed there, but I walked through the lobby, bar and salon. The Prive Salon there is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s.

...New York is so cool.

Reasons Why I Miss New York #3

If you know me, you know I have larger-than-average size boobies. Not my favorite thing. I have always struggled with finding the appropriate bra. I could never get the support and comfort that I needed. The cup size and the around-size were never compatible. While living in NY, I met a girl who had the same problem. Bless her heart, she introduced me to a fabulous store... Intimacy, The Bra Fit Specialists. You've seen them on Oprah and on TLC's What Not To Wear. I kid you not, I cried real tears the first time I went in for a fitting because of how relieved I was to actually find a bra in my size. They sell swim suits, too. You can NOT go to New York without going to this store. I forbid you to miss it. (Unless you are a boy.)

Reasons Why I Miss New York #2

While Pat and I lived in Manhattan, I had the opportunity to do some work for Chan Luu. She is a designer based out of LA, but has a showroom in New York (Penthouse showroom in Times Square, I might add). I met the Chan gang when they came in and ate at the sushi restaurant I was working in. Terry asked if I would come do a show with them and I said YES! and it was love at first sight. However, because I don't have the body of a twelve-year-old boy, I worked mostly with the jewelery and accessories and not the clothes.

I have the wrap bracelet in a couple of different colors and get compliments on it all the time! That is probably Chan's most well-known piece. But, Terry or Bree or Jillian, if you are reading this, send me these earrings!!! Miss you guys!