walking on water

i know i am acting like i've just discovered the camera recently, and in part i have rediscovered the camera (thanks due to the wonderful cams i got for christmas), but it's also partially because i have been doing things, you know, like having fun, recently. and then documenting said things in pictures.

yesterday s had to work in the morning, so we had saturday night date night. we've been itching to do more things off the "us map" (not u.s. as in united states, or even as in us weekly, of trashy mag glory, but us as in we) i made back in february, so we met yesterday afternoon at the base of the brooklyn bridge. (actually, tragically, we met in city hall park, and then mistakenly walked south down broadway to the staten island ferry and along the water back up to city hall park and to the base of the bridge.) the brooklyn bridge has a wooden walkway suspended above the traffic, with state-park-style placards along the way, mapping out old new york and the physics of bridges. i walked across the brooklyn bridge when i still attended nyu on the instructions of my father, and it was a pleasant, educational stroll. it's apparently much more popular on hot saturdays in june, and we had to hustle to keep up with the flow of walking traffic, but we still managed to stop in the middle, tourist-style, to take pictures and admire the view. (i took the above photo looking up at one of the piers, or whatever that's called. i obviously don't remember the info i read.)

once off the bridge and back safely in the bk, we headed to brooklyn bridge-fulton ferry state park to look for some dinner. we forewent the block-long line at grimaldis (some other time, i suppose) and had dessert first at the brooklyn ice cream factory, some of the best 'cream i've ever tasted. (super rich though; i couldn't finish my one scoop, and s, usually a champ, was bested by his two-scoop cone.) we ate overlooking the water with a view back at manhattan and the bridge we'd just crossed.

for dinner we trekked to smith street for pacifico and drank margaritas under the lights strung up on the porch. we were both pretty tired from the day (s had worked, i had run errands, we both had gotten lost and found our way back to brooklyn again), but we had a lovely dinner. we got home in time to watch the wire (we're total addicts) and fall asleep before work today. a miraculous date night indeed.

feelin' blue

when s and i decided to live together, i was a little nervous that i would get lonely. not when he was here (duh), but in the evenings when he is at work and i am hanging around the house. (you: then blog more.) to be honest, i love being in the apartment by myself, but i miss having someone one to talk to. i'm a fairly chatty girl, and without a roommate or a boy, i have to let a lot go unsaid. which is why i particularly miss having a pet. i know it makes me sound like a crazy cat lady, but i used to talk to our cat when i was living at home. and now i wish i had a cat (or dog, especially a dog) to talk to. or maybe i just wish i had this little guy:


cute attack!

on a more new york note, i was completely intrigued by a little old man on the train yesterday. he was wearing an electric blue fedora and two hands full of rings, and then some faded t-shirt and white pants. he seemed lost, because he was poring over a subway map, but then he shuffled off at bergen street (which isn't necessarily a tourist attraction.) he was a real character. i liked him.

back for more

so you know what's silly of me? i get upset when the blogs i read don't update. and then i go more than a week without a post? boo, me. boo. and so: again with the pictures.

two weekends ago, i went down to washington d.c. to see my parents.



sup, d.c. still inspiring after all these years.



also inspiring: attending hillary clinton's concession speech with my mother. while i didn't necessarily want to get attached to either candidate this early, i admit to feeling sad. it was hard to listen to a strong, intelligent, brave woman capitulate. it felt important, being there.



then we went to a nationals game. they lost, miserably, to the giants. but it was made much better by the presidents race (big foam-headed presidents teetering along the diamond.)

we also spent an afternoon at the national gallery listening to my neighbor's father give a lecture on his amazing photography (randomly: my father has admired his work for years, we went to the speech, i suddenly had an uncanny sense that he might be his dad, and then he put up a picture i saw in my neighbor's apartment), seeing "sex and the city: the movie" (i will wait until everyone's had a legit chance to see it before i say how i really feel), and packing up a rental car with my boxes of books. monday my mother and i drove back to brooklyn and unpacked and ate at two boots (omg, smoked mozzarella) and went to bed.

early last week was abominably hot, so i forced s to buy and install a bedroom ac (best. purchase. ever.) and we existed primarily on ice and watermelon. last week was also all about work, so i didn't do all that much (although mk and i had a delicious dinner at barrio and then a delicious bottle of wine and some delicious work gossip on thursday night.) this past weekend was all about the apartment, so we spent friday organizing and saturday painting. pineapple grove is a bit bright, but i still love how its warmed up the living room. we also scooped up an excellent find at a stoop sale (who else thinks stoop sales are the best?): 12 fishs eddy dinner plates and 12 side plates in the pantone collection for only $30. they're probably the prettiest thing we own.

we've got a big jar of change that needs some counting. i think this weekend will be all about fun.

playing catch-up

i'm a no-good, terrible, very bad blogger, but i have been too busy to update. a lack of internet makes updation a little trickier as well. but i promised an update about our apartment and the bowl-a-thon, so i'm going to resort to that old lazybones standby and do a picture post.

apartment


living room.


kitchen.


bedroom.

i know it looks a bit like a bomb went off (primarily a book and shoe bomb, i discovered in my unpacking) but can't you see its potential? think of these as before pics; i bet you can't wait until our apartment is posing in its formerly size 0XL pants.

bowling


my fellow charity bowlers (they feature in previous tales of happy hours, lost-watching parties and band concerts.)


we're an expressive bunch.

i didn't get many action shots, but we weren't all that active anyways. my teammates bowled well, i bowled terribly (but i did avoid any further injury), and we all had fun.

too tired to type

on friday, s and i spent 16 hours moving, just us and a cargo van and the sustaining promise of greek food. i know my posts have been all "wah, so tired" but it's true! i don't think i have ever felt every muscle in my body ache at the same time. and after spending the day moving from a third-floor walk-up to a third-floor walk-up (which is insane, btw) i was so tired that i laid down on the ground (not the sidewalk, but almost) just so my ribcage would stop throbbing.

but, BUT, it was all for good! because now we are living in our lovely and wonderful new apartment in park slope, slowly unpacking and putting our lives in order and enjoying living alone. i know we've basically cohabitated for the past three years, camping out in each others dorm rooms and college apartments (and then the glory of boyland), but this is the first time we have really officially lived together. and it is wonderful. i love coming home to s, to our apartment, to our dishes and futon and movie nights. it might be the honeymoon period still, but so far this is pretty much bliss.

i am updating from work (oh, the scandal! but i have been so productive today) only because we don't have internet at home yet. but i promise to update again soon because tonight we bowl! i'll post pictures and a great recap of the night's hilarity. i predict rediculousness indeed.

i want to make a pun on "gala"

but i can't i am too tired.

the venue: the mandarin oriental hotel, 36th floor, looking out over the tree tops of central park and the building beyond, lit up like a string of christmas lights after the sky darkened.

the performers: the adorable children of the special music school and philip glass. philip glass, playing his own composition, captivating the audience for a few moments. it was so beautiful, listening to philip glass, looking out the windows at blue blue sky.

the food and drink: begged for (maybe even flirted for?) but worth it.

the celebrities: usher passing through the lobby (short, cute, unobtrusive), bob kerrey (who said to me at check in "bob kerrey", tiny and dapper in his tuxedo, and i said "kerrey?" like i didn't know who he was), philip. glass.

the train ride home: never have i been so glad to see an f train.

this is one of those "only in new york" nights, when you feel so privileged to be a part of this city and its communities of artists, intellectuals and philanthropists. but next time, i want to be seated at the table.

OH, and it's not too late! i am still begging for my charity bowling team to help raise money for HIV/AIDS research through broadway cares. you don't have to sponsor my every pin bowled; if you go to the link below, you can donate online. (you can also mail cash and checks to me in brooklyn. email me for my real live mailing address.) every $5 helps (although every $25 helps even more!) if you donate, i promise i will bowl my best in your name, and in the name of raising money for a very important cause. you can click here to donate $5, $10, $25 and $100,000,000 to the cause. i know it can feel like a lot, $5, but it would make a real difference to those working to find a cure. if you have ever read something i wrote and liked it, or laughed at it, or thought about it again, please consider donating. i promise even a little bit makes a big difference. the bowl-a-thon is next monday, june 2, so please donate soon!

downunder

i know we put it to a vote, but we didn't get to go into the city this weekend for fun galore, because we are now important grown-ups who have to do things like shop for housewares and pack and watch episodes of "the wire." but we did have a lovely weekend.

we spent saturday afternoon walking around dumbo, exploring the many new and beautiful furniture shops and clothing boutiques that have taken over the former industrial neighborhood. while i had heard all sorts of things about dumbo, i had never actually been, and i totally fell in love. it is like a pretend new york, all old buildings turned into beautiful lofts, with cobbled streets and beautiful people, full of resturants and chic stores, with a view of the manhattan skyline to boot. we saw multiple weddings and a fashion photo shoot, so you know i'm sold. (another neighborhood to add to our "when we make it big, we'll live there" list--here's looking at you, west village.) we started with shopping along front street (pictured above), including a stop at the dreamy design store prague kolektiv and then wandered through brooklyn bridge park. the park was holding 125th birthday celebrations for the beloved bridge (you don't look a day over 124!) and while we were late for the music and too early for the movie, we did enjoy a stroll through the park. lovely, right?

sunday s had to work so i packed and did crosswords (a real lady of leisure, no?) today we had brunch with our couple friends, my owf and her boy (this is a goal of mine, couple friends. we sort-of had them in college, but i love couple friends and we've never gotten any great ones off the ground, but aa and p seem to make a great match) at cafe luluc, a super cute spot in carroll gardens. (can we just talk about how much i love the french tradition of eggs served with fries? it surprised me the first time, but then i was like "hello, genius." there are few things i like more than french fries. those french, they really get me, you know?) aa and p have lived in boerum hill for five years now, so they are like our sage old friends, full of "have you seen this?" and "oh, you have to go there!" i feel like a little kid when they get started, but it really is wonderful to have friends who are so happy to play tour guide.

the rest of the afternoon pre-s-on-a-train-to-work was spent packing (dear goodness, how did we fit so much into so little space?) and then napping. for me, that is. it is very suddenly summer here in our fair city, and my best defense, beyond ac (which we will not install until we move into the new apartment), is a nap. seriously, i am a southern belle, aren't i, napping away the afternoon. now i am sitting here, sweating in front of the fan, getting ready to do a crossword or two. it's back to work tomorrow, and then a busy week (we are having our gala on wednesday, which should make for exciting posting) capped off by our big move. i promise words and pictures later.