A week in NYC.

After a bumpy flight into JFK last Thursday, I headed into Brooklyn to meet up with my friend Alex. She arrived home from work a few minutes before I walked through her door so, we decided to keep dinner simple. We hit up a Mexican restaurant around the corner from her place: a short walk and some delicious food! It's always nice to Jude, Alex and Lily (meow).

On Friday morning, I headed into the city for our pre production meeting at Hudson Studios. Everything went smoothly and we were able to finish up a few minutes early. Here is the studio we're shooting in, (lots of beautiful light) and another picture of our view from the 13th floor.

I had a nice long walk from the studio to my hotel. My plans for the evening were up in the air. It's kind of rare and really neat that I had two, mostly free, days in NYC. I wanted to do something since it was a Friday but, I was running low on energy. I ended up at Le Poisson Rouge to see the band Asobi Seksu. It was such good music and just my speed. I was at home in bed by 11pm. Oh, and here is a picture of the scandalous tank filled with coy fish that was hanging in the lobby.
I woke up on Saturday with plans to head to the Tim Burton exhibit at the MoMa. I checked on line to get more info. They were offering timed tickets sales only during the weekend and every slot was SOLD OUT!! I wasn't sure when I would be back in the city again so, I was a little disappointed. I decided to make the MoMa my destination and walk from 29th street to 53rd just to see what I could see. I picked up a coffee and a treat (yes, I like to take pictures of my food) and headed out.

It was very cold, (not as cold as Vermont this week but, still cold). I made a few stops along the way to sip my coffee and warm up. I finally made it to the MoMa and lucky me, they were still selling Tim Burton tickets for the 2:00 pm time slot. Lucky me!

Here is a picture of an installation created by Gabriel Orozco that was dangling in the entry way of the MoMa.
The Tim Burton show was great but, at max capacity, a little too crowded for most people. I caught a cab back to my hotel and got ready to head to Williamsburg to meet my friend Deena. She and I dined at a place called The D.O.C Wine Bar, (If you ever find yourself there, please check out the bathroom. SO COOL). Deena is wonderful. She always will be!

Tim Burton's timeline:

This morning, I sent a few work emails in preparation for the shoot tomorrow and then coordinated to have brunch with my long lost friend Brooke. I met her at this little spot in Carroll Gardens called Char No. 4. They are known for their whiskey drinks but, it was brunch so I decided upon a mimosa instead. Brooke had a bloody mary with the special house whiskey in it. It's been a few years since we've gotten together so, we didn't really ever stop talking!
After a little shopping session in SoHo, I arrived back at my hotel, had some dinner and retired to my room. I'm going to sleep shortly to help ease the blow of an early morning wake up call. Goodnight!

The Gang Member marries The Queen!

Meet the newest married couple on the block - Colin and Penelope! Let me tell you, this was one lovely wedding. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Colin and Penelope over the last few years. What a delightful experience it has been. They’ve built a strong community of family and friends around themselves and this wedding demonstrated that - smile after smile & fist pump after fist pump. From the song written and performed by Penelope's sisters and mom during the ceremony, to the incredible toast/stand up comedy performance given by groomsmen Mark and Spencer, it was clear. This couple has some deep roots that will enable them to weather any storm.

The Newlyweds:

Trapp Family Lodge:

A few crisp moments outside to get a fun shot of the ladies in the snow:

(thanks for the photos isaac wasuck!)

party time:

Details, details.

I've been in my new apartment for the better part of a month now. It's been fun getting to know the creaky wood floor, the gas stove that burned most of the first meal I cooked on it and how things look when the sun shines in through the windows during certain times of the day. There is a short list of things I'd like to do before I'll really feel like each room is fully functional. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the parts that feel complete!

dining room chandelier crystal:

bedroom doorknob:

fireplace detail:

A long weekend.

While many have tomorrow off to recognize and remember MLK, I'll be at work. That's okay because this weekend over-delivered. I really feel like I got my two days worth! On Friday night Jeff, Nelia, Marin and I had a lovely dinner at Bluebird Tavern. I had two chilled oysters and a double burger with boucher blue cheese and poutine. Yummy! After dinner, we met up with Jay and Maegen at Drink for a drink but, left fairly quickly once the bar began to fill up with party people. On Saturday morning, I drove down to Stowe to ride. I finally met up with Maegen and Jay, after taking the longer route to the Sensation Quad, (now I know what's up). We took a bunch of runs and enjoyed the sunshine, soft snow and warmer temps. When I got home I spent some time picking up, doing laundry and researching the dessert wine I planned to bring to Soe's bachelorette party, a 2007 Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. Soe's sisters, Emma and Hannah, put together an amazing 5 course meal for the 10 of us! Each guest was assigned a course and then tasked with finding a wine that paired nicely with the dishes being served. We were invited to bring two bottles of wine just to be sure everyone got a generous taste. Yes, that means twenty bottles of wine for ten people. Things got interesting. I won't disclose the details but, what an amazing evening it was! Colin is one lucky guy to be marrying Miss Soe next weekend. At 3am, I arrived home and slipped into my bed. Here are a few pictures of the evening.

The Wall Sisters - Soe, Emma, Hannah:

The Aftermath:

LZ and I:

Soe and Hannah: Looking Sassy-and kind of ghostly?!? (argg Blogger...or perhaps I'm still learning how to use a flash?).

Now, it's on to the wedding next weekend!

A lovely send off...

Last night was Dana's last night in town for awhile. Rucchi will also be taking off to Champagne, IL for a few months at some point to be with Dana and to do something entirely new. Fun! Last night, a group of us got together to share some great food and conversation at the Bearded Frog in Shelburne, Vermont. They sat us at the table right in front of the fireplace-not a bad way to begin. I started with a Bleu Martini, complete with bleu cheese stuffed green olives as a garnish! I moved on to the Waldorf Salad, (my personal favorite) and then the Chicken Statler filled with ham and melted brie. Oh my. Finally, we shared this little number below for dessert: Dark Chocolate Sorbet, Mocha Earl Grey Sorbet and Citrus Sorbet. It was just the right amount for 6 of us after a large meal. Rucchi managed to survive his bite of sorbet that may have had some sort of nut remnants on it-despite his allergy. Victory!

It was so good to see everyone, smiling (with the exception of a shoulder punch here and there) and sharing the day's news. There was talk of the life that was saved yesterday by someone at the table, (Heimlich Maneuver!), the friend in the process of getting some information patented for work, promotions, new homes, new creative ideas and more. Thanks everyone for a great night. Let's do it again soon!

Wait. What day is it?

Wow. It's January 12th already? Where has the month gone?

I've been busy healing from the only cold I had in 2009, also known as the cold that has claimed every day of 2010 so far! I've finally come close to beating it entirely. Today, I plan to work out and hopefully WORK IT OUT of my system for good. So, there.

My new place has also been occupying a good part of my days/nights. It just takes time to make a place feel like home. I'll post pictures once things feel put together.

I've also managed to score a pretty great roommate to share the new place with me. My dear friend Steven Hazen Williams will be moving in shortly. One of my new goals is to make my hard earned dollars go further. While making the move into a lovely, spacious, renovated Victorian seems like it might be a step up, it was really a decision I made to help me retain more money each month. One bedroom apartments in Burlington are spendy so, when I found this place I saw the potential and that feels good.

Those are some of the bigger updates so far in 2010. I'll be back soon, promise.

If you have the choice, don't ever move during the winter.

I returned to Burlington last Monday evening and moved into my new place the very next day! I knew I had caught a cold during my visit with my sister and her family but, I didn't know that it had plans to stick around for the next 13+ days! I've learned that moving in the winter is the pits. But, moving in the winter while you're sick is even worse. The antibiotics are hard at work now and I'm feeling better already.

So, about this move...it was pretty eventful. I went ahead and picked up my U-Haul on Tuesday morning. While I was filling out the paperwork for the truck, I was asked, "insurance or no insurance?" I initially went with it but, the more I thought about it the more it seemed silly. I thought, I'll be driving about 2 miles total. So, I decided to pass. My new friend Dan, at the Pine Street U-Haul location, made a mistake and ended up printing out my contract with the insurance. In an effort to get out of there quickly, I kept it on the contract and left. Back to my house I went. We loaded up many of the smaller boxes, furniture and my plants and headed down the street about 5 blocks to my new place. I selected a good spot to park the truck and began to pull into said spot at about 3 mph when, out of the blue, a giant tree branch came crashing down on our truck! Nelia and I looked at each other totally shocked by what had happened. We decided to call the police to come and survey the damage. They arrived and took our info down. They also called Burlington Public Works to come, cut up the branch and take it away. (Hi, I'm new in the neighborhood and sorry to take down your tree during my move!) We determined that the branch had fallen because the top of my truck (which I didn't have a good sense of) pushed the branch just enough to break it off. I guess I'm not as skilled a driver as I thought I was. Oh well.

Thanks goodness Dan made the mistake and kept the insurance on the contract. I'd say $15 is much better than $600. What a blessing.

Here is a picture of the damage to the truck:

Where the branch broke off from the tree: