Halloween!

This year, Halloween fell on a Saturday. I'm guessing that many people decided to do something fun since there was time to plan, time to play and time to unwind the next day. I woke up early on Saturday morning. After checking a few items off of my to-do list, I met Steven for brunch at Sneakers. While we waited for our food to arrive, we brainstormed about costumes. Finally, I made the final decision. I've posted a picture of the main ingredient below.

Smarties:

Steven and I stopped at Costco, Kmart, Battery Street Jeans and Lowe's to pick up the materials required to create our Halloween looks. Then, we headed back to my place to start construction. It took both of us two hours to create the pants for my costume, and another 15 minutes to create the belt to go along with the pants. Steven's costume was done as soon as the clothing came out of the packaging...oh, and once the suspenders were adjusted, (which was a small task).

Steven sewing 6 bags of Smarties onto my jeans:

"Smarty Pants"

"Deee-Lite"

Here's Ted Olsen after aging rapidly just in time for Halloween!

The Lumberjack:

Ian, the fish man:

A group of us started at S.P.A.C.E down on Pine Street to see some artwork, then up to East Ave for a bit (yummy cookies and beer pong in a really neat carriage house) then, to Jeff's place on North Willard for a dance party, vodka shots from a fireman's water hose (if you so desire) and popcorn courtesy of the host, Mr. Orville Redenbacher. Finally, we ended up down on Flynn Ave for the party of all Halloween parties. Odele did it again and really showed her guests a great time with musical performances by, The Creepy Cave Bees and DJ Luis Calderin. Somehow, I didn't get much candy. How can this be? It's probably for the best but, I'm saddened that all I'm left with is 4 1/2 bags of Smarties!

Sunday morning I met up with AB, Max, Rucchi, Dana and Steve for brunch at The Bluebird Tavern. It's becoming one my favorites in Burlington. I had a small french press, part of a scone, a taste of a sticky bun and wait for it....FRIED CHICKEN AND WAFFLES with honey lightly drizzled over the entire plate! It was the perfect mix of sweet and savory. What a great way to wake up slowly after a long night! Thank goodness for that extra hour. 

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.