Taking it easy...

This weekend, I took some time to rest after my work travels. Yesterday morning was rainy and cool so, it was easy to stay inside and just be mindless. Last night, a small group of us went out to Mallett’s Bay to visit Annie at her beautiful new place right on the lake, (she’s house sitting for 8 months-lucky girl!). We watched the sun sink into the lake, drank some wine and had a tasty dinner that the group prepared. Later, we went through the homeowner’s music library to find some of the albums we hadn’t heard since college. Rusted Root was the crowd favorite. After dinner we curled up next to the fire and quizzed each other on our knowledge of...the female orgasm? Yep. I don’t know who owns this book. It just showed up on the coffee table so, we dove in and began to enhance our sexual vocabulary. 

Pretty funny stuff. Apparently, Chile and Greece are the wild ones...Rarrr.  

Today I unpacked, organized all my receipts from NYC, went food shopping and finally went on a “leaf peeping” mission. I’ve posted my favorites below. The fall air smelled heavenly! Tomorrow, back to work...and onto the next.

Dried up weeds never looked so good!

Yesterday was the 3rd and final day of the shoot. It's been a busy few weeks and an intense couple of days but, it went well. There is nothing like the moment when things wrap up and you realize the list of tasks is getting shorter and shorter. David, Douglas, Georgia, Fabienne and I took some time after the shoot to walk The High Line. I have been wanting to see it for some time. What a delightful experience it was! I took a few pictures along the way with an unsteady hand. Sorry about that. I was carrying a laptop, small printer and two giant binders. 

Oh...and for those of you who don't know about The High Line, here is a quicky explanation from their site. 

The High Line was built in the 1930s, as part of a massive public-private infrastructure project called the West Side Improvement. It lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air, removing dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan's largest industrial district. No trains have run on the High Line since 1980. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as an elevated public park. The project gained the City's support in 2002. The High Line south of 30th Street was donated to the City by CSX Transportation Inc. in 2005. The design team of landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, created the High Line's public landscape with guidance from a diverse community of High Line supporters. Construction on the park began in 2006. The first section, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, is projected to open in June 2009.   

This is the hotel where the lovely couple were spotted sowing their wild oats. They were perfectly back lit and knew they had an audience. The best part was when this 60ish year old woman said, "I hear what you're saying but, I just can't see. Where are they?"

Pretty in purple:

Goodnight!

A tiny army.

This morning, my shower worked! I picked up my delicious coffee, hailed a cab in about :05, arrived to the studio early, and finally met the photo shoot crew members in person. There were so many hands to help get things done. Then, breakfast. Where was it? At 8:15, I wondered. At 8:20, I called. At 8:30, I got a call back. "Delivered to the wrong address?" What can you do.  At 9:05 our crew ate and things really got rolling. We spent the rest of the day about an hour behind for one reason or another. 

There are so many details on a shoot that are flexible. When it comes the number of required shots vs. the number of hours in a day, there isn't much room to move. If there are too many you either need to eliminate shots or choose to go over the negotiated 10 hour day. Today, we scaled back as needed but, still went an hour over. On the bright side, we learned an awful lot about what will make tomorrow and Thursday run more efficiently. Thank goodness for that.  

I'm back at the hotel. I just dove into my dinner...room service and emails. Tomorrow night's post shoot activities are keeping me going just now. Looking forward to seeing you!

The Breslin Burger: 

My tiny army of condiments:

Tomorrow, Day 2. 

Scrap metal and 1000 thread count sheets.

I started the day with a coffee from Stumptown, located just off the lobby of the Ace Hotel. Their coffee is some of the best I've had...and lovely to look at too. 

Overall, today went smoothly despite the fact that it started with a broken shower. I had to use the bathroom across the hall until mine was fixed. That caused me to be a bit late but, all was well when I arrived at the studio to start the prep work. It was a long day but, many questions were answer and just as many decisions were made final. I think we've got a great crew on this one.

We went to dinner at Resto located just a few blocks away from our hotel. If you find yourself in the neighborhood, get the deviled eggs. They will be the best thing you've had in a long, long time. Delicious! Our photographer wowed us with her knowledge about scrap metal (what it's made up of) followed up by a breakdown of how higher thread count sheets are actually made. We were riveted? Then we laughed. Then she blushed. She's charming.

I'm off to bed to get some sleep before our first shoot day. Wish me luck! Loveyoubye.

Hello, New York City.

I finally arrived in NYC this evening after my flight was delayed out of BTV. It's always a bummer when it takes 4 hours to make that trip by air, total flying time - 53 min. I pulled up at my hotel, The Ace, at around 8:15. I decided to unpack my things since I'll be here until Friday. I ventured out to find some dinner close by. I ended up at Bar Breton for an endive, orange, almond and apple salad with a yummy house dressing and a glass of red. Easy. Fast. Then, back to my room. The Ace is such a friendly hotel. They have little messages everywhere to remind you that life is good and you are pretty great too. Seems like all the inanimate objects have something to say. My ironing board is telling me, "You sure would look better pressed." My bathroom mirror is telling me, "Love is meant to make us glad." I like a hotel with a sense of humor. Here are a couple of quick snapshots...

Fun!

It's been pretty nice so far. Ace, I'll sleep with you anytime!

OK, now I need to close my eyes. Tomorrow, the work begins. 

Not my best week ever...but, I sure did my best.

This week I...

sent 535 emails

drank 7 coffees

skipped lunch twice

missed my mom's call-4 times

still didn't get new tires

had sushi

woke up at 7:05 everyday

brought my laptop with me to a doctor's appt.

was reminded that laughing is one of the best stress relievers

saw the movie Whip It

had to wear another layer

found an eyebrow waxing appt. to be very relaxing

got to know the show 30 Rock

had coffee with a stranger

should have had more water

couldn’t believe cnn:

A 6-year-old climbed into a balloon-like experimental aircraft built by his parents and floated into the Colorado sky.

stayed in on Friday night

The cooler weather is rolling in!

This past weekend my sister Jenny, her husband Jonathan and I closed up Crooked Path for the year. The weather cooperated, closing tasks were completed and all children were accounted for by the time they left. Jenny and I even had time to cook two apple pies! Here are a few pictures from their visit. 

Adeline Violet:

Oliver and Adeline:

A donut:

Gretchen Charlotte:

Bath time fun:

An evening in Montreal with Miss Molly Margaret McGlynn from Missoula, Montana...how magical!

I left work a bit early yesterday to drive up to Montreal for a visit with my west coast "rock," Molly. She was in Canada for a friend's wedding. We met at her hotel in Old Montreal and decided to have a drink at Versus which was a 10 minute walk from her hotel. We arrived and ordered champagne and olives to snack on while we talked and talked. Oh...I've missed her! She is one of those friends, the easy kind. The kind that you can always laugh with despite all of the time and space that keeps you from more frequent visits. Life is so busy. Thankfully, every once and awhile we get the chance to have an evening like last night...time to just catch up. 

We left Versus and headed back to my car to feed the meter. We decided to take a walk around Old Montreal to see the cobblestone streets and beautiful old buildings while we searched for a good spot to have dinner. We decided upon Barroco. I found a picture of our table on their site. It was a small, quaint restaurant which was exactly what we were looking for. I had oysters to start and then beef short ribs braised in veal stock with a port reduction, garlic cloves and thyme and artichokes in a vinaigrette. Yum!
We also stopped by one of my favorite spots in Old Montreal, Espace Pepin. It's part gallery and part boutique. Molly tried on a super cool belt but, in the end we left empty handed. Thank goodness...that place in dangerous. Here are some pictures of the artwork that was on display. 

After dinner, we walked back to Molly's hotel and said our goodbye's for now. Until next time... I headed back to Burlington right around 9pm. My eyes closed the moment my head hit the pillow. Thanks for a lovely evening Molly! XO

Here they are...

Lucky Lanterns

Yesterday, I drove to NY with Anthony and Rob to hit up, what some would say is, the largest annual "yard sale" in the area. I was well equipped with a fanny pack which made for easy, hands-free shopping. After making a quick stop at Anthony's house on Schroon Lake, we headed to the sales. I had such a hard time not stopping at all of the yard sales set up on the road leading to the town holding this event. There was SO many! Finally, after scoring a prime parking spot that would allow for a speedy exit at the end of the day, we started browsing. There was so much to see. I was sort of amazed at the prices. These people weren't your average sellers. They were charging $125 for a set of four, vintage, aqua colored glasses with a matching pitcher. Hmph. Next.  

There were so many food offerings, some better than others. We walked and walked snacking on hot, candied pecans along the way. YUM!   

The highlight of the day for me (aside from the QT with Anthony) was my one purchase. Throughout the early afternoon, I saw a number of people walking by with bunches of Chinese Lanterns. I've been wanting a bunch for myself but, I've never had much luck finding them around here. Yesterday, I was searching the tents, barns, front yards and side streets for the person who was selling these beauties. Finally, we stepped off the main street and headed into this small nook filled with lovely antique furniture. There were three women sitting at a table just outside of a barn. For no good reason, I decided to ask them about the lanterns. "Excuse me, do you know where I might find the Chinese Lanterns that I've seen people walking around with today?" One woman responded, "Yes, we sell them and they are sold out!" How could this be? Out of the hundreds of vendors that filled the streets, I picked the one that sold just what I was looking for. I was amazed. They were so surprised by this that they decided to go out back and cut me my own, fresh, bunch of lanterns for $5. I was so happy that I had, for some strange reason, decided to ask these women about them. They just looked like they might know.They are drying in my living room now! 

The colors at Schroon Lake:

Nido

My friend Shannon Roesch sent out an email this morning about a new fabric and yarn shop that her friend Phiona opened up just two days ago. It’s call Nido and it's located at 209 College Street.  I was running a few errands during lunch and found myself right around the corner from her store. So, I popped in. She’s made such a beautiful space! There are lots of fun fabrics, sewing books and patterns by Amy Butler. There are six sewing machines set up (just beyond the sparkly chandeliers) in the store that students will use when classes begin in November. I don’t know how to knit but, all of that colorful yarn made me want to learn so I can makes some fun scarves this winter. This store really got me excited to make something! I wanted to hold every bolt of fabric up to my waist so see what a simple A-line skirt (that might be the only pattern I can work with on my own just now) might look like. I guess I should focus on finishing the sewing project I’ve already started and then maybe, more practice. If you’re crafty, you should definitely check out this store!

Tobin Yelland

Since the age of fifteen, photographer and filmmaker Tobin Yelland has been steadily documenting the shadowy existence of youth and its vestiges in day-to-day life. First published in Thrasher magazine, Yelland’s work has expanded beyond the world of skateboarding, becoming a collection of images that lend voice to an entire generation, transcending many locales and social identities. Yelland’s photographs have been exhibited worldwide, including the Luggage Store, Deitch Projects, Thread Waxing Space, White Columns, The Institute for Contemporary Art Philadelphia, and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. They have also been featured in publications such as Visionaire, Tokion, Spin, and the New York Times. His films include the documentary Beautiful Losers, music videos for High on Fire, Chemical Brothers, Apples in Stereo, and commercials for Nike, MTV, and DC Shoes. He currently lives and works in New York City. The JDK Gallery, in association with Seth Neary/Driven Studio, invites everyone to attend the show opening on Friday, October 2, at 6 pm. Performances by Swale and Rough Francis begin at 8 pm.