what's the code?

the highlight of my day.

2007-05-08T17:44:00.000-04:00

so i was getting my occasional after-work cocktail at the bar car.
i order my usual - vodka and soda with a lemon. the drink guy (hardly a real bartender, right?) asked me, with all the seriousness of a protective father, "are you 21?"
i had to laugh and i admitted, "try 31! ...in a month!". And he said back, completely sarcastic, "sure, in a month." like he was saying, "whatever, kid."

Ha! He totally didn't even think I was 21! sweet! i aparently look more that 10 years younger than i really am!!!

He still gave me my drink. thank god.

somethin' i believe in. #2

2007-05-08T05:00:00.000-04:00

so this one is for the girls out there.

something that i own and love are seamless tanks by eloise*, available at anthropologie stores.

*unfortunately the above link only shows the seamless camis - which aren't necessarily my favorite

for $24, they are a perfect layering piece! the slightly wider strap is nice since it covers a bra strap. (something the camis don't do). they are super lightweight, stretchy, and aren't too short. so they stay down where they should stay! they also come in a variety of colors.

the competition?

hanro touch feeling tank. i'm sure it is nice, but who wants to spend $118 on a tank!?!
commando. this brand is new to me. decent price point. ($48) but it looks like it has a deep v, which i don't really like.
then there was the DKNY seamless tank that i wore for years. (i can't seem to find it online). it was my introduction to the seamless cami. problem was that it stretched out so much and completely lost it's shape.

we can't stop.

2007-05-07T23:26:00.000-04:00

yes, shane and i are addicted to taking pictures. even if we aren't the best photographers, we always enjoy our pics!

so last wednesday evening we ended up relaxing on his deck and enjoying a beer and the weather. then, i made a discovery! i've had my camera for almost 2 years now and never knew the fun of the "coupling shot"!! ( you can take a picture with someone else without using a timer and setting up the camera. one person takes a photo, and then hands the camera off to the other. try to line up the background the best you can. the two photos are then morphed together!)

here we go ...

first try. my baby shot me dead.

i'm making out with myself. that's hot.

i'm a little banshee!

and here, shane finally gets a taste of his own medicine!
lisa has been waiting for this day to finally come, i'm sure!
sorry lisa. i don't think he has any bruises!

all smiles!

2007-05-04T05:08:00.000-04:00

time for a little smile to brighten your day! here is my current favorite picture of millie ...

look at that grin!

this was taken at bear mountain a 2 sundays ago. that really beautiful sunday, when the weather was just perfect! hopefully this weekend will be just as beautiful!

somethin' i believe in. #1

2007-05-03T00:56:00.001-04:00

welcome to my first installment of somethin' to believe in!

i'm going to start it off with some thing i recently discovered at CVS and fell is looove with!

it's simply two new body washes. you don't need to spend a lot of money and go to specialty stores to get a great smelling and lathering body wash. just head on down to your local drug store (duane reade, CVS, walgreens).

the softsoap - pink grapefruit splash, smells sweets and fresh, but not too sweet like candy. (which i can't stand!) it is also a really pretty pink color for spring! i will admit, it was the pink packaging that originally drew me to this product!

now if you want a quick getaway in the morning during your shower, you have to get the caress - tahitian renewal! it brings memories of a tropical vacations! and it has little pomegranate pieces in it to exfoliate. usually i don't like body washes with bits and pieces of rough stuff in them, but this one doesn't bother me. maybe the scent just takes over and relaxes me!

go get 'em and clean up!

somethin' i believe in - an introduction.

2007-05-03T00:15:00.000-04:00

there are so many products, services, and other random things out there that i come across, fall in love with and then often find myself thinking, "hey! i really think that everyone needs this/ should do this/ should hear this, etc ... !"

i decided to create an regular segment here on whats the code, called somethin' i believe in (yes, that is a reference to the poison song. i am forever a child of glam rock.)

these recommendations can be anything from great to small. cheap to expensive. there is no qualifier here. if i love it and think you will too, i'll let you know all about it!

i can't guarantee it will occur every day, as my blogging has been sporadic lately. but i will try to keep it up the best i can!

join the club.

2007-05-02T23:43:00.000-04:00

dave made it to the big 3-0 last wednesday! ha ha ! i'm not the only one now!!! shane and i headed to fort greene for the celebration.

we all met for dinner at the smoke joint, a small and casual but very yummy bbq joint.

we had to wait a while to get the food. and since you just order at the counter and one person basically makes all of the food, we all got our food separately.

dave got his first. i guess this was his impression a pirate eating bbq!

in case you were wondering, the smoke joint is vegetarian friendly! i was actually curious as to why we were going there as dave is a vegetarian! he orders the crispy catfish and devours the fries.

i got the hacked chicken sandwich! ooohhh! i loved it! there was so much meat! and the sauce dripped all over your hands! lovely! the fries were amazing! just spicy enough!

shane also ordered the joint rubbed corn on the cob. i was unexpectedly full and coudn't really try it. but it looked good!

britt and gabe join the festivities.

james and yasmine are normally very smiley, happy people! they conversation must have been riviting!

adam strikes a pose.

on to some irish pub across the street that i can't remember the name of. i had the great idea to pick up some twinkies from the newsstand next door to the restaurant and bring them to the bar and then surprise dave with a "cake"! when we got the the irish bar, the waitress said that we couldn't eat outside food. whateves. so britt and i ordered dave a slice of chocolate mousse cake. you gotta have cake on your birthday!

surprise!

i was craving somethings sweet myself, so i tried to discretely pull a package of twinkies out of the bag that i had shoved under my seat. in my effort to be discreet, i created an embarrassing scene .... i slid off my chair and pushed the table down and fell to my hands! all for the love of dessert!

shhhh ... don't tell the waitress!
*note, these aren't real twinkies! the news stand only had lady linda's. sounds fancy.

since it was a school night, we had to head on home.

britt and i on the train, having a conversation about people we don't like anymore that just a little too loud. oops!

nap time on the metro-north.

celebrations and memories.

2007-04-08T15:54:00.000-04:00

happy easter, everyone!

here i am making easter eggs back in '85! cool multi-colored sweatshirt!

i hope you all have a great day, eating the best holiday candy there is (peeps, jellybeans, and chocolate!) and spending the day with those you love.

it isn't the best easter for me, though. my grandmother passed away early this morning. i will miss her dearly.

(here is grandma, i think in 1983.)

my grandma and i were similar in many ways: she loved to shop and loved clothes!
one of my memories is when she took me to neiman marcus to go shopping when i was in junior high. i was only interested in finding liz claiborne purses and units! (remember wearing units, those multi purpose, belt-y outfits!!!) then we would eat in their tea room.

big difference: she hated taking pictures! i don't have a lot of pictures of her because of that. she sure wouldn't have been a blogger!

i'll miss you, grandma!

back track.

2007-04-06T17:31:00.000-04:00

since i have admittedly been a bad blogger, there were some events that i thought were blog worthy that i never shared. one in particular was st patrick's day!
i was excited about st patrick's day this year, particularly since i am dating an irish guy and we live in irish neighborhood. i figured i would get the true experience!
all of the festivities occurred on mclean avenue in yonkers, an area with a high irish population . there are tons of irish pubs, resturants, and shops throughout the avenue.
the guys started the day much earlier than i could. they hit rory dolans around 11-12 am! i just can't physically do that! "ms-no-tolerance" here! so i caught up with them around 9 at night.

now, i always believe that every good party has an even better prop. and thanks to my mom, we had the prop of the night ... a green mullet wig!

here shane shows off the mullet in a little pre-party red neck pose, trashing the house with our furniture! (don't worry, no furniture was really harmed in photo.)

once we arrive at mc gilligan's, i immediately put on the mullet. i think i could pull this look off!

then the mullet was passed around. everyone had that hair on their head:

stew.

verionica.

siobhan.

brian.

mick.

random guy #1.

random guy #2.

random guy #3.

surprisingly, the mullet looked pretty natural on everyone!

needless to say, i don't think i will be putting that on my head again any time soon!

good luck!

still suffering.

2007-04-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

as i told you all a couple days ago, i have been suffering from a nasty cold or virus or something.
it's friday and i am still sick! ugh. why won't this go away! i have not been sick like this for quite a while!

go to the doctor! you all are probably shouting. i did. and let me tell you about that ...

since i still don't have a primary care doctor with my (not so new now) insurance, i had to go to the horrid DOCS - a walk in facility that takes almost any insurance. i have told you about this place before and i swore that i would never go back. but it was my only choice since i couldn't get an appointment from any recommended doctors. it was worse this time. i waited over an hour in the nasty waiting room to be seen. when i was finally called to the room, this horrible assistant took my temperature and blood pressure. now, this was the day that i couldn't speak at all. i completely lost my voice at this point. so he proceeds to ask what is wrong. i start to tell him that i lost my voice and my throat really hurts ... but he cuts me off, all irritated and asks how this all began. so once again i start to tell him how i felt last week, but he stops me mid sentence, and says, " but what is wrong now!" jesus! was i not trying to tell you!! so i force the words out again. but he just puts down my chart and tells me to wait for the doctor. a- hole!
alas, here he comes! mister homeless, hole-in-the-shoe doctor! now, aren't doctors supposed to make money? i mean come on! i'm sure this guy makes at least as much or a little more than i do. and if my shoe had a huge hole in it from wear and tear, i could at least afford to by a new pair, even if it was from payless! whoa!
so without even barely talking to me for a minute, he determines that i have laryngitis. which just means you can't talk and have a sore throat. he prescribed me some antibiotics and advised me not to talk for 2 days. uh, ok! that's it?
so i still went to work the next day, trying not to talk, but that is difficult when you deal with customers! last night i went downhill again! i got a massive headache! it was so bad that i was feeling nauseous! the hand full of advil didn't help at all. all i wanted to do was sleep.

so sleep i did. all day today! until about 2:30! still don't feel 100%. and i still have to work tomorrow.

if anyone has any miraculous home remedies, please send them my way!

*cough* *sniff* *cough*

m

spring fever. pt 2.

2007-04-03T05:41:00.000-04:00

literally.

The thing that I hate about spring is the horrid spring cold. Everyone was sick at work the past 2 weeks, coughing and 101+ fevers. I thought I would sneak by but it cought me. First a little sore throat then it started to go away. Then BAM on Sunday it hit me! I could barely talk my throat hurt so bad! I stayed home from work yesterday. My job involves a lot of talking and dealing with customers. Figured it was for the good of New York.

Thanks to shane and his Irish cup o' soup for getting me by!

Yum! *cough* ugh.

spring fever.

2007-04-03T00:53:00.000-04:00

friends, i know i have been a bad blogger lately. actually, i have not been a blogger at all! my last post was nearly a month ago! (but you all have been bad readers too! no one hooked me up with any girlscout cookies!!! wtf?!?!)
well, a lot has been going on in the past month. most importantly, spring is in the air. and when i have not been working, or sleeping due to crazy hours at work, i had been trying to soak in a little bit of nice weather that has come and gone the past few weeks.
it started with daylight savings time. i love winter and snowy days. i didn't think i would get all that excited for daylight savings time this year! but for some reason, that sunshine that was still there when i would leave work, or rising on my way to work in the early mornings made such a difference! it really does revitalize you and make you want to be a little more productive when you get home or at least leave your job! i did hate loosing an hour of sleep though, considering sleeping is my favorite past time. i look forward to the days getting even longer and after work activities beginning!

also earlier this month, we got our first really warm days! they were nice warm and breezy days and you could feel the spring in the air! it was so exhilarating!! i absolutely love sleeping with my window open on those spring nights and a light breezes blows over you. it feels wonderful and refreshing!

spring is all about rebirth and new beginnings. i think this is when my resolutions really are created, rather than at the new year. it seems to make more sense to make a fresh start when world around us is blooming and also making a fresh start. but i won't talk about resolutions now.
there is one thing i needed to kick off my spring: new scents!
i needed a candle that smelled fresh and new!

and i found it at anthropologie. a lovely lilac scent. voluspa candles are so fragrant and long lasting. and it is even in this beautiful magenta and gold tin!

the other thing i had been on the hunt for was a new fragrance for me. i also wanted something light and fresh. i had been searching and searching. every time i would go and smell something, there was no connection. fragrances are so personal and you have to love what you wear. i kind of compare looking for a fragrance to looking for a boyfriend (or girlfriends, i suppose!) you never find one when you are looking - you will find the perfect one when you least expect it!
that is how i discovered my new favorite scent!

kai. mmmmm.... it is a light and sexy gardenia scent. i can't get enough of it! apparently it is pretty "sought after" and i just stumbled upon it while strolling through the W Hotel Store!

so continuing with the newness theme, i decided to try something new in the kitchen. i am not much of a cook at all, so anything is quite a deal for me! i picked up this amazing cookbook about eggs at anthropologie. yep, eggs! it is beautiful! i love all of the photos. i was inspired to cook up some breakfast!

and so i made my first attempt. poached eggs. i always wondered how eggs benedict were made. and the pictures made it look so fun. the white blogs, floating around in the water. so here is how mine turned out ...

two pretty little eggs.

oops, the yoke of my first egg broke and made a mess!
the second was unharmed.

voila! i made a little sandwich!
doesn't look all that appetizing but it was actually pretty good!

and to conclude the springy freshness theme - and also, it has been a while since you have had a little mills in your life - someone needed a bath! sure, she hates it, but she was beginning to live up to her new occasional nickname, TakeOut. sometimes when you smell millie really close, she has a slight odor of old mexican or chinese takeout food! yuck! time for a bath, mills!

my little mummy!
she is all wrapped up in her towel after the horrid bath.
she actually sat like that for quite a while! no more takeout!!

calling all girl scouts!!!

2007-03-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

so word has it on the streets that it's girl scout cookie season. i loooove girl scout cookies, and i seem to miss the cookie season every year! i can't let another year go by!! i crave the chocolaty-coconut chewiness of the somoa. i dream about the licking the top layer of peanut butter off the top of the tagalong. i need the freshness and simplicity of the thin mint! plus, i hear that there are a lot of new cookies that i would be delighted to try!

PLEASE!!! help a girl out! if you or anyone you know sells girl scout cookies - send 'em my way! it will be worth it! i may help her get that additional patch, a bike, do they maybe win ipods now??? if so, what color do you want - cuz it's yours!!!!

post you info in the comments and i will buy.

inappropriate use of technology.

2007-03-02T20:50:00.000-05:00

A lot of great things have come about due to advancements in technology. Our lives are easier, more efficient, and pleasurable due to many inventions.

Where would we be without the cell phone,the internet, an iPod, or digital cameras? well, you wouldn't be reading this blog right now! i can't even imagine a world like that!!

Then there are the a* holes who go and ruin things for everyone. they take advantage of a good thing and make it dirty and shameful. forget about the prevalence on porn on the internet. that's nothing. it was bound to happen. and at least you can "enjoy" that in the privacy of your own home.

but now there is so much mobility, we can do anything, anywhere. including ... watching porn.

recently, while driving down the expressway, i notice a car that has those tvs installed the back of the head rests. cool. not really my thing, but alright.
i look closer ... and porn is being played on the tvs!!! wtf?!?! this guy's homies are in the back, chillin' to big bootie porn! and totally in my view! i think this is an accident just waiting to happen. some dude is going to get distracted by some DDD jugs and *crash*!

it's just wrong.

a week later, i am on the metro north, on my way home from work. there is this guy seated in the row next to me. he is watching something on his zune (first of all, a zune? that's just lame.) he kept laughing out loud, and then he would look around to see if anyone was paying attention to him. no one was. well, at least not obviously. i was curios to know what could be so funny. so i tried to discretely peek onto his screen as he kept flipping through different files.
freak.
he was also checking out porn!
what's up with this! just because we have the ability, i don't think it is ~~right~~ necessary for people to get their rocks off anywhere!

but apparently, i was late on noticing this trend. while perusing through google images, looking for a good picture to go with this post, i came across this story of a boy busted for bringing his psp to school, filled with porn!

i'm sure he was popular.

listen to me? am i just getting older? turning into a prude?
absolutely not!

i just don't like pervs. especially sitting nest to me on the train!

ahead of the game.

2007-03-01T02:36:00.000-05:00

to all of you out there who thought i couldn't do it ...

well guess what i just finished ... at 2:24am on march 1st.

my taxes!!!!

hahahahaha! i didn't procrastinate! it's done! what a great feeling!

can i go to bed now???

random thoughts and observations.

2007-02-28T22:44:00.000-05:00

every once in a while i feel the need to gather all of the strange things that cross my mind and then share them with you!
so here are this week's, in no particular order:

do you notice that when ever you call your phone company (or any other place that needs to verify your phone number) they always say, "May I have your phone number, area code first." why do they have to say, "area code first"? who wouldn't give their area code first. are there people out there that say, "555-1234, area code 212" that doesn't even make sense! there is not phone number rhythm there! and with the amount of different area codes in single cities alone this day and age, you would have to be living in the middle of nowhere to think that someone would assume what your area code is!

and yes, i was the jerk who asked my t-mobile operator why they say that. her answer, you ask? "...because ofter it is the immigrants and people with native languages that usually say the area code last. but not the people who speak english." (yes those were her exact words!) oooookaaaay!

shane signed up for a new gmail account. he got an email back telling how you can use your cell phone to get messages. (like this is a new concept or something.) this is the picture showing how the messages would appear on your phone.

dude! this guys has some cool friends! they are all comin' back from hawaii, havin' parties, bbqs, dinners!! i wish i got emails like that! i checked my email this morning. 17 new messages. everything was junk! banana, the gap, shop bop, crate and barrel .... even the daily candies are as good as they used to be!

everyone loves a freebie. urban outfitters has a cool feature on their website . they give away 5 songs a week compliments of emusic. they feature artists they play in their store. not bad at all!

don't look at me that way.

2007-02-11T20:22:00.000-05:00

... it was an honest mistake!

you know the nights when you go out and the next morning you swear you will never drink again? let's just say that after friday night, I am now a sober woman (well, at least for a week!).

it was supposed to be a fun night out. dinner with kelly and then meeting the groovies later for drinks. i don't know where it went wrong, but I went crazier than lindsay just out of rehab!

kelly and i finally got together and caught up over good moroccan food at babouche on prince street in soho. we munched on yummy salads of veggies, beets, potatoes, and eggplants and, hummus, of course! the service was excellent! we had about 6 different people waiting on us! A+!

the bill came in a little slipper. 1/2 cute. 1/2 strange.

but we had to quickly rush off to see kelly's friends fashion show a few blocks away. unfortunately we were late and missed it! (sorry, kelly!) we did stay for drinks at the after party.

then, off to meet the rest of the gang who was waiting at rififi for their friday night party, trash.

nick and andrew were there to greet me! nick, keepin' it real, sporting man suspenders.

shane was already taking photos in my absence! the paparazzi are growing!!! beware!

lisa welcomes me to the party.

the gals.

andrew thought the drinks we too small. so he put all of his cups together to make a big gulp!

then kelly grabbed my camera and here is (a portion of) the montage that she created of shane and i.

ok! enough!! hahahah!

then! all of a sudden i had a great idea - and i was determined to carry it out ...

we needed cupcakes!!!!!

yep, so i grabbed lisa and went on a hunt!

but first, i had to freshen up. in the middle of the street.

these are some guys that lisa became friends with in the first bakery. they invited us to some party. i wasn't interested. i only had cupcakes on the mind!!! NEXT!!!

this is lisa picking out the cupcakes at the second bakery we went to. as you can tell from the photo, this one is definitely a little sketchy! why i thought it would be a better place to get cupcakes, i can't explain that.

one more stop before we return to the bar. the bodega around the corner. i decided to get a sparks! i hid that bad boy in my purse and waltzed back into rififi! (i also offered the big ol' bouncer a cupcake for good measure! he didn't want it!)

turns out the cupcakes were a good idea after all! a hit!

but this wasn't a good idea at all. i think this can was the downfall of my evening.

cupcakes everywhere!

oh, sarah! what a mess!

this is where my memory starts to fail me.
i remember wanting to dance. i heard them playing the sounds. i dunno.

you can never take back a first impression, and i sure didn't make a good one here! i met shane's old friend sylvia. she has to think i'm a maniac! but as lisa said. "we all deserve a night to be spectacular." and friday was my night to shine!

dancing amongst the masses.

i think then shane dragged me off to a cab. i pleaded to stay, but everyone knew what was best for little miss sunshine! bed!

i woke the next morning, swearing i would never drink again.

maybe i just need more practice?

you are my obsession.

2007-02-02T12:14:00.000-05:00

there is a man who know the key to all women's hearts.

marc.

marc jacobs.

his shoes!!! what more can i say!

i know it is just finally getting really cold and starting to show signs of snow here, but the spring collections are hitting the floors and i had to grab these new jellies before they were gone!

i can't wait for summer now!

chocolate memories.

2007-01-31T11:59:00.001-05:00

having grown up in chicago, there are many places that i have special memories about and miss. one of those places that i will never get to experience again is Marshall Fields, the elegant and magical department store that covered an entire city block on state street. (of course there were many branches of the store all over the city and the suburbs, but the state street store is the landmark!)

i remember my mom calling me out sick from school in junior high to go christmas shopping there. the store was sooo huge! it was amazing just wandering around! we would have lunch in the beautiful Walnut Room - i can still smell the soup wafting through the air ...
my mom would always get two of the yearly christmas mugs. everything about fields felt glamorous! they even wrapped your gifts in beautiful boxes (you would keep these sturdy boxes forever!) and when we would leave, we would walk around the whole store and look at the beautiful windows. it was magical!

another memory of fields is their house chocolate, Frango. mmmmm...... little bites of chocolate-minty lovleyness! Frango's used to be made in Chicago (on the 13th floor the marshal field's state street store). it was a sad day when it was announced that Frango would relocate their kitchens. the demand was just too high to accomodate the old factory. the new production site would be in Pennsylvania. Mayor daily of chicago was upset and wanted the chocolates made by a local chicago chocolatier.

the final straw and the demise of a wonderful era was when marshal fields was bought out by federated department stores - aka the horrid Macy's. fields is now called "Macy's on State Street". Horrible!!!! makes me sick. (and i'm not the only one who thinks this! look here!

back to what started me on this trip down memory lane.

shane and i were browsing through macy's last night when i saw a familiar site at the cash wrap. stacks of the dark green boxes!

are those frango's, in new york??? i forgot for a moment about the acquisition and the candies seemed out of place. then it all made sense to me.
it was exciting to be able to purchase the candies that i would always bring back from chicago on visits home, but something didn't seem right. it was a little out of place. this elegant candy next to a messy, dirty, uninspiring cash wrap at macy's. it just lost something.

i bought the chocolates anyways!

they didn't taste exactly the same, a little dry, but they were still nice.

marshall field's and frango, you will always be in my heart!

this is the life!

2007-01-26T20:18:00.000-05:00

People say, "why did you move all the way out to yonkers? What's out there?!"

Well, let me tell ya. What can be better Than relaxin' on the metro north, drinking a vodka and tonic from the bar car, and listening to a little tesla and slaughter!

Now, this is a commute!

sweet!

camera envy.

2007-01-26T00:39:00.000-05:00

last night, shane and i adventured to greenpoint, brooklyn to the polish national home - home of the warsaw, a huge, old, concert venue. you see, i like to make christmas go on forever, so by taking him here, shane finally got to appreciate one of his christmas presents ... tickets to see camera obscura!

(flashback to christmas morning!!)

the night should have been filled with nice tunes, an easy going crowd, and of course tons of picture opportunities!

turns out i had my grumpy pants on. i just had something to say about everything!! but come on, can't a girl have a bad day?!?

let's just start by having a look at some of my photos from the evening.
you all know that i loooove to take pictures at concerts, even if i take the risk of having my memory card taken away! and i have taken pretty good pictures as well! i know they aren't the best, but they were good. well, then i go and get shane this ultra cool, 10.0 megapixil, sony cybershot, and suddenly my pictures look like shit! i have competition!!! i don't like this at all!!!

here are some of my measly photos. i am too embarrassed to post many of them.

this one actually isn't that bad, just trying to get the stage and the backdrop.

a bunch of heads - oh wait! the band is in there too.

a slightly better photo of the band.

ok, on my behalf, these really weren't the best photo-taking conditions. the audience stood flat all the way to the back, so i really couldn't see very well since we were in the middle. also, the warsaw didn't have the best lighting, and usually i can get the good photos when there are lots of good lighting. so no biggie.

but aside from my jealousy of shane's crystal clear and close up shots, i was just annoyed with most of the people around me! these 2 douches behind us were really getting on my nerves! how can i best describe them ... ok, well you know the type, some typical a-holes, from the south, maybe Tennessee or something, maybe frat boys, who go to a place with a specific type of people that you know will be there (a concert with tons of emo-hipsters for example!!!) and just loudly make fun of all of them! WTF!?! why go! they just kept saying how dumb everyone was and making fun of them, when in reality, they were the people that stood out! plus, i really hated the fact that they had that real southern, "eeeooooooowwwww - yeeeehaaaawwwww!" after each song.

then my feet really started to hurt. why must i wear cute shoes to a concert??? why?!?! every time ....

plus, the concert was loooooooonnnnnggggg ......!!!!!!!!! i mean, the opening band played for over an hour! duuuuude!

don't even get me started with the coat-check-line-jumper!

but i had fun! really! they played my favorite songs and i had $4 vodkas!!!

then we had to schlep all the way back home.

we have to wait in grand central for about 30 minutes for our train.

shane peruses through his photos.

it's crazy to see grand central so quite at night, when during the day is packed and people are bustling all over the place!

at least we had time to try out the whispering gallery. you are to stand at opposite corners of the corridor and then you can hear each other whisper. shane demonstrates here. he doesn't realize i am right behind him!!!
and it works!

just to let you all know, after a semi-good night's rest, i was in a much better mood today! i didn't get mad at anyone today!!!

oh, martha!

2007-01-24T13:09:00.000-05:00

on tuesday, anita, lauren, michael, and i were invited to spend the morning with the queen of the kitchen (and just about everything thing else), Martha Stewart! well, actually, we sat in the audience of her morning tv show.

we arrived bright and early to martha's chelsea studios to wait in line for our tickets. we were then told to leave the studio and come back in a half an hour. we couldn't wait outside. where should we go? the staff suggested dunkin' donuts. so off we went.

we could tell from the conversations around us that there were definitely some regulars here. they knew all about what was going to happen during the show and were buddies (or at least thought they were) with the crew.

we were soon corralled into an open room where we waited once again. the room was decorated with huge photos of martha's many dogs and cats.

well, martha wouldn't have been much of a hostess if she didn't offer something to eat! there were several trays of soft, doughy scones. they were good, just strangely shiny! but after being shuffled to dunkin' donuts, we really weren't all that hungry anymore!

warning!!! the most unexpected thing about the whole experience happened when i went to the bathroom right before we were escorted to our seats ...
the women's bathroom smelled sooooo horrible! i almost couldn't even stay in there, but i really had to pee! i seriously think that martha would have been embarrassed to know that her facilities stunk like someone just took their first morning shit in there! at least give us some potpourri or oust, something!!!

so were finally made it to our seats and we seem to have been stratigicly placed by our clothing and gender. lauren, michael, and i all were wearing shades of reds while anita had on a blue and pinky-red printed sweater. she was next the the blue-tops to her right - it blended nicely. michael had to sit on the end, spread out the males!

anita gets excited for the show!

michael shows his excitement!

pre-show pose. see the coloring??? strategic!

the show itself wasn't the greatest. it's really luck of the draw which show you get to go to when you reserve tickets. this show was mostly about weddings. whatevs. it was actually taped live and the segments went quickly. i thought it was most exciting watching all of the behind the scenes action - how they set up for eatch segment, how they fuss over martha and her hair. this cute and energetic little guy, joey, was the guy who would warm up the crowd and tell us when to applaud and "oooohh" and "mmm" in between segments, he would had out ~~goodies~~ junk from his random prop bag to the most energetic folks in the audience.

lauren was lucky enough to get a bag of biscuit mix!

after the show it was question and answer time with martha. here she is with joey.

ahhh, the smile! she had this perma-smile on for most of the show, even during the breaks as she stood there. i guess she had to look ready at any moment!

we were excited to find out about our free gifts! we were handed our issue of Martha Stewart Weddings along with a a flowery book of Inspirations by Preston Baily as we left the studio. hmmm .... not so great, martha! next time, give us food!!!

unfortunately, i couldn't get my vcr hooked up, but anita taped the show and said that we made it on the air! i can't wait to see! aparently they show back episodes online, but at this point, they aren't up. if you have a tape, i would love to see!!!

millie, it's cold outside!!!

2007-01-22T12:22:00.000-05:00

It finally got cold here! Time for mills to bust out the cold weather gear!

She likes her striped fleese. All ready to go!

The cold wind gives mills crazy powers! Check out the running shot!

Back inside for warmth and a treat. Baby carrots, yum!

(if you can't tell, I love taking action shots of mills!)

dying for a drink!

2007-01-22T11:12:00.000-05:00

on friday night, anita, brooke, and i finally get to meet up for a few drinks. yay!!! anita picked out death and co, a new bar that opened in the east village.

after walking past the ominous heavy wood doors, you enter a fairly small, yet not over-crowded space that is reminiscent of an old speakeasy. there is very soft jazz music playing, though you almost don't hear it. i would have liked the volume turned up ever-so slightly. the bartenders have been snatched up from various hot spots throughout the city, so they really know their stuff and pay attention to details when making your drink.

i ordered my first drink from the menu. a mig royal. hmmm.. didn't really like it.
but i'm still on my champagne kick, so i go a champagne cocktail next.

always pretty, the sugar cube creating bubbles. but i didn't like this drink either!! it kind of tasted like a spring time candle. maybe i don't like bitters.
brooke ordered a very dirty martini. (her first ever!) see in the picture the mini carafe set in a bowl of ice, her extra martini! a 3-in-1 drink!

the conversation got emotional! i don't remember what we were talking about (maybe the fact that there is not flash photography allowed in the restaurant!) but as i slammed my delicate glass down on the table, the stem broke!

oops!

so yes, they had a silly little rule where they didn't allow any flash photos in the restaurant, so i went to the only place where they couldn't catch me ... the bathroom!

ha ha! suckers!! just try to stop me!

after waiting forever for a table, and by now, about to knaw at the lovely wooden walls out of hunger, we were finally seated. we read about all of the great "small plates" they serve. let me just warn you, they are very small plates. do not plan on getting any type of a meal here! as brook put it, they are "teasers"!!

my favorite, the proscutto wrapped pear! aka "bacon pear!!!" - what i gleefully shouted to the waitress!

bites of mac and cheese. definitely good, though it was seriously just a small spoon full.
(yikes! almost caught in the act! my flash went off here!!!)

this was also very yummy, filet mignon wrapped around ... something! (don't remember!) loved it!

we were at a crossroads, stay and drink and be tempted to order more overly priced bites, or really curb our hunger and go someplace else for a bite.
decision? hit the road!!! anita and i made our way to pomme frites for a tube of yummy fries to top off the night!

all in my head.

2007-01-19T16:16:00.000-05:00

as the week went by, there were several things that i though of and meant to blog about. but alas, there was no time!
here is a collection of thing i came across during the week that struck me as strange or just plain stupid and i thought i would share with you:

i though that people carried around those dumb little dogs to pretend like they have a baby? but then, when you finally have a baby - or two - should you put the dog down and carry the real thing??

while watching fox news earlier this week ( i know, i know! i was just flipping around channels!), they had this ridiculous segment showing how palisades mall is a potential terrorist threat and needs to be more secure! WTF! this is just another way to instill fear in americans! i'm sure terrorist are secretly plotting to blow up a fucking mall in the suburbs of new york! they would definitely be hitting a powerful american institution.

i can't find the story on the fox website, but here is a related article.

i had to go to the doctor on monday - don't worry! i'm just fine! but i have new insurance and had to find a doctor, quick, who accepted my new plan. (always a difficult task!) since i didn't have time to research new doctors all day, i decided just to go to DOCS, the walk-in center that has offices all over the city. i heard that they were fine for normal, easy visits. ew. highly NOT recommended! my doctor was soo gross! in fact he had a big hole in his dirty old shoe!! like a homeless man! i know it wasn't some prestigious place, but come on! doesn't a doctor get paid enough to buy a new pair of shoes? unacceptable!

and i discoved a new (old) band this week while perusing through iTunes. if you totally want to rock out, check out rock goddess !!! they completely remind me of my motley crue, lita ford, vixen, headbanger days! these girls can belt it out! listen to their new album,

the original rock goddesses
on itunes.

treat of the day.

2007-01-19T15:34:00.000-05:00

they always say that you should make a list when you go to the grocery store to prevent yourself from buying all of the junky, eye catching, bad for you food that you don't really need or want - especially if you are hungry.

yeah, i never do that.

that is why i always over spend at the grocery store!

but this was a pretty good find! while walking the isles at stew leonards, mesmerized by all of the colors and fresh food, i came across this in the dairy isle. dulce de leche milk! hmm .... sounds tasty and sweet! chocolate milk with a hit of carmel!?!

yum! only a small glass is needed to fill this chocolate desire!

finally.

2007-01-17T13:01:00.000-05:00

vew from the mt. vernon west train platform.

so the fist snowfall of the year happened last night here in new york. wasn't very exciting or wintery. actually pretty ugly and depressing. i can't wait for the fist real snow! you know, all white and fluffy ... and a lot of it! when will it be here???!!!

the men's warehouse.

2007-01-11T12:35:00.000-05:00

in efforts for complete world domination, banana republic is now offering a men's big and tall selection (online only).

for a limited time only, free shipping to
midwestern states!!!

trainwreck!

2007-01-11T12:23:00.000-05:00

">
(click on pic for more!)

brit brit has a new man, and he has slighltly k-fed-esqe similarities! why do girls always fall for the bad boy, and when will poor britney ever learn!

so fancy.

2007-01-09T22:57:00.000-05:00

remember that seinfeld episode when elaine's boss, mr pitt starts the trend of eating his snickers bar with a knife and fork? it was mad! who does this? why must you be so fancy?

i think mr. pitts long lost neice was on the metro north today. i look over to the other seat to find this woman, struggeling to pour her cranberry juice into a plascit cup, out of the small, since serve bottle. completely unnecessary! i snickerd (no pun intended!) and was just waiting for someone to plow through the isles and knock that red juice all over her clothes.

all it took was a second. someone bumped into her arm. she looked up all annoyed, like "jeez! watch out! i'm pouring juice!" but nothing spilled.

she continued to drink and pour ...

so odd.

i love NY

2007-01-09T00:33:00.000-05:00

i fully admit it, was as obsessed with the flavor of love last fall. i couldn't get enough of flavor flav and all of his bootyliscious bitches!

craziness! i was stoked to find out that our beloved New York was given her own dating reality show after 2 failed attempts with flav! everyone loves new york! that crazy bitch that always gets what she wants ... well, except her true love, flav.

the highly anticipated i love new york aired last night on vh1, finally! and it was quite a show!

here are a few of the highlights:

naturally, a grand entrance was made by miss thang! god love her!

and check out her little "personal assistant". a wacky, gay, latin guy named chamo WTF?!?!?!?
ok, so the premise of this show is the same as any other reality dating show. a bunch of guys who are dying to have their way with this disaster fight over her with each other to be that last man standing. typical scenario. here we have 20 morons from all walks of life. your rough-necks, thugs, herbs, afro-centric dude, dorky white guy (or two!), latin, italian, and everything in between.

the exciting part is when there is a special guest appearance by ...

you guessed right, new yorks mom!!! the devil herself!

yes new york, be afraid! be very afraid! remember how she messed everything up last time???

(flash back to flavor of love when the beast went ape-shit on flav! poor flav!)

will she ruin everything again?!?!

well, after meeting and drinking with all of the men, we find out that new york has her heart set on the thug of the bunch. a complete a-hole, moron who can barely speak. what a winner. naturally, mom hates him and wants him out! (the only thing she was ever right about!)

the highlight was when the thug, aka Chance, gets in a very heated argument with the dork, mr boston, over talking to NY. this suburban dork holds his own against the city boy!

but will he still be picked at the end of the night???
ahhh, the tension!

chance waits as well. who will be picked??

go figure! they both get picked this round and continue on with NY! of course, this will make great tv!

ohhhh, i can't wait til next week!

welcome 2007!

2007-01-08T22:48:00.000-05:00

new years eve began with shane and i walking up to a very long line for a very "underground" party. we were hearing from people in line that the bar was already packed inside, no where to move. they weren't even giving out free champagne anymore.

what was this?! we aren't going to wait in line for at least an hour, pay $25 to get into a crowded club that didn't even give a champagne toast! to top it off, nick and sarah (the other half of the groovies) had some atm malfunctions and were out of money for the night!

what to do. it was already nearly 11:00 and we are in lower manhattan without a plan.

so, slightly annoyed with the turn of events, we jumped in a cab and headed back home to yonkers. yep, going back to yonkers for new years! not something you hear very often.
we decided to go to the frog, the best bar on mclean avenue.
but wait, i was seeing a light at the end of the tunnel ...

what did the sign say in front??? karaoke night!!!! yeee haaaawwwww!! now that is how i like to do it! plus a bunch of shane's friends were there, some that i haven't met yet, so it was fun! not too crowded, we were runnin' the place!

champagne was the drink of the evening for me - all night long! i have decided that it is the best choice for me, a fun, happy drunk! never sloppy! like a lady!

brian and siobhan dancing away. a little fact that i was unaware of, apparently the irish aren't that into karaoke! whaaaa???? let me have my way and i can change their minds!!!

everyone pose on the "red wall"!! (so very misshapes!)

and now is the time when i was ready for my debut at the frog!

my opening number, don't stop believin' by journey!

i got up on stage and sang my little heart out!

awwww yeeeaaaahhhhh!

but wait! soon it was time for the count down to 2007!

and who was my first and only kiss of the new year? my one and only (gush gush! i know!)

since i got the party started, those that said they wouldn't do it, started singing!

but they had to pick the longest song known to man, that damn meatloaf song that is like 12 minutes long! brian is seen hear holding himself up on the ledge - just can't take anymore!

"you da man!" "no, you da man!"

they couldn't hold me down!

a little styx ...

some steve perry ...

and the reprise!

the people were asking for it ...

i had to bring it back! don't stop believin'!

the night was complete.

it was going to be a very good year.

(end of the) year in review!

2007-01-07T22:19:00.000-05:00

hey kids!
a lot of you thought that i might have fallen off the face of the web since i didn't bog for quite a while. well, i'm alive and doing fine! this holiday season was quite a whirl-wind and did not leave much time for writing about my adventures, let alone uploading the photos! but let me tell you, there was quite a bit to talk about!
i'll give you a litte recap on what was going on ...

i seem to have disappeared at the start of the holiday season, thanksgiving.
shane and i went to a nice and quite dinner at britt and gabe's apartment.

the food was delish!

and of course, brecken was entertaining!

mara and coche brought the best dessert ever! krispy kremes! they go best with a red wine!

i had to get home and get a good nights rest because the next day was a big day for us in the retail world - black friday!!! supposedly the biggest shopping day of the year. we were deffinatley ready for some big business - but as a consumer/ normal person, i don't really get it. i would have no desire to get up at the crack of dawn, the day after eating and drinking with family and friends just to hit up some "bargins" at target, kohls, and macys!!! and the stores that i would want to shop at don't have anything different going on, so why not just shop at a more convenient time?! whatevs.

here are people, out and about at 7:30 am in front of saks! it looked like the afternoon on a (non)holiday! oh well, aside from the psychology of black friday, i actually love the madness of the holidays.

i was working the night that the tree at rockefeller center was lit. it was amazing to watch all of the people and the set up for the show from my office at work (this is actually a hugetv monitor that was set up for the masses to watch the program from the streets.)
but natuarally, when my shift ended, i high-tailed it out of the nighborhood! the streets were packed! it was like new years in times square! police were blocking off streets and only letting a few people in. not my idea of fun. and needless to say, i didn't even want to watch the lighting on tv at night. why would i want to when i get to see the tree every day at work!

this is the madness that i got to walk through leaving work every night.

saks also had a wonderful light display (forget their windows!) everyone loves to oooohhh and aaahhh at the snowflakes that dance to the music.
but this is where one of the things that i hate about the holidays fits right in ... the crowds!!!!
i know that this is not a new topic for any blogger or anyone that lives in NYC, but i just don't get it! why must the tourists all walk 5 people across?? why must they just stand in the middle of the sidewalk and not move?? don't they all know that we have jobs to get to, trains to catch, lives to lead?!?!!? and i didn't help that i happend to work in rockefeller, probably the 2nd bussiest neighborhood in the city at the holidays next to times square. i did my best to keep my cool - deep breaths, leaving earlier, trying to put myself in thier shoes (i have been a tourist before!). but it didn't always help. i must admit to having pushe and shoved my way through a few innocent (yet clueless) gawkers. welcome to new york city.

and now back to the joyful holidays!

this year was exciting, not only was my apartment big enough to actually have a christmas tree and display my decorations, i got a live tree!!

shane helped string the lights,

i finally got to display my favorite nutcracker ornaments,

and voila! the tree is up!

mills decided that the tree was her new den. she loved laying under the tree on the tree skirt and chewing her bones so much that i was not able to put out the presents early! my angel.

to add to the holiday cheer, i was excited to plan a holiday event at work.

my friend, http://www.myspace.com/amieamisband ">Amie Amis, performed lively holiday tunes for the afternoon at my job. it was so nice and the customers loved it!

and and early christmas gift was seeing my old college friend, Lauren when she and her boyfriend came into town for a wedding.
shane and i met her at this crazy little resturant near the lower east side, sammy's roumanian steakhouse, where they server iced vodka (vodka in a brick of ice! deadly!), serve up yummy latkes and applesauce, and dance to the lively jewish tunes! fun times were had by all!

lauren displays the vodka! and then pours another glass!

awww, crotchy! it's been too long!

forget the horrah! shane shows us an irish jig outside!

cheers to old friends, new friends, food and DRINKS!!!!!

back to reality now. the weeks flew by with long days at work, running around, trying to find the perfect gift, and trying to get some needed sleep! but soon enough, christmas was almost here! my dad came to visit, which was great! i haven't seen my dad for an actual christmas is about 6 years!!! gotta love retail! he got to visit my new place and finally had his irish breakfast!
but on to presents!!!!

christmas morning is here!!! yeahhh!!!!

and the tree was full ...
i was obsessed with my wrapping. i only used 3 coordinating paper, this special yarn, and home made gift tags (see if you can spot them under the tree!)

millie loves presents and thought that everything was for her! she was quite an expert at opening them!

and carefully watched everyone else open their gifts! whatcha get, shane!?!?

shane is already enjoying his new camera! (anita, we have some new compatition!)

and my dad did his best captain jack impression!

santa (ahmm - shane and dad!) were very nice to me as well! :)

and of course, dinner was wonderful! compliments to the chef! (and it wasn't me!!)

it was a wonderful christmas and a great holiday season! i am actually sad that it is over (i took my tree down today). but am glad to be able to relax.

you can see all of the rest of my pictures that were not
able to be included here
on my flickr account!

blackberry blogging

2006-12-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

Hey kids!yes it's been quite a long time since I blogged, but i'll catch you up later... I just got the blackberry pearl for Christmas from shane! And I am blogging from my phone! Awesome! More to come!

and you thought i couldn't cook!

2006-11-16T22:12:00.000-05:00

tuesday was shane's birthday and i surprised him with a lovely dinner, prepared by me! yep you heard that right, i cooked a full meal! (and it didn't involve hummus or rice krispies!)

i had a cheese plate and a nice olive foccia bread waiting when shane arrived. i also got my favorite wine, a Macon villages white burgundy wine. it is so light and easy to drink. i was still preparing my dinner, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and flank steak. i didn't have very good cooking "rhythm" so it took longer than expected.

the table was set. slightly bare? no, minimal!

the steak is cooking. i had to purchase a new skillet to cook the steak. my little old non stick just wouldn't do. i went to sur la table on spring street and got the best service ever! nathan really knew his stuff and was so helpful. he gave me tips on how to prepare the meat and what additional cooking supplies i would need and what i didn't need. the meal could have ended quite differently without his help!

my new specialty - mashed potatoes! oh my god! i loved them! a few secret ingredients is what made it!

and at 9:15, dinner is finally served. i just realized how green it all looks!

he likes it! he likes it!

and as an added bonus, i made champagne truffels! they were so rich and dense we could barely eat even one after the meal.

a post-dinner shot. we were so full! i was quite pleased with the results!

happy birthday, shane!!

kicking off the season.

2006-11-16T21:50:00.000-05:00

being a retail girl has it's perks. you don't have to sit at a desk all day, ocasionally getting to sleep extra late when you have a closing shift, but also a sweet discount! the best part about retail is the holidays. it's so hectic and the customers get a little crazy, but it's worth it. seeing the store decorated, the holiday music playing - it's always fun! unfortunately, once the holiday season begins, the retail schedule fills up quickly. so this is why we already had our little holiday party for work this past sunday.

jennifer hosted the party at her cute little apartment in red hook.
ps, never assume that your cab driver knows where red hook is. this trip could have been smoother with some type of a GPS device.

as you can see, the required dress was a cute apron!

jenna displays how to use a telephone seat, which i though was totally cool! expecially since it was that glittery blue platic, kind of like a carnival ride!

highly recomended. raspberry beer. doesn't really taste like beer, but sparkly and fruity! i couldn't get enough! (and I am not a big beer drinker!)

the closing crew arrives and brings their classy beer!

nik's chocolate dipped ruffels went along nicely with beer. also a great PMS treat. i was addicted! can't stop eatin' 'em!

as i demonstrate here.

it's also ellen's and edgar's birthdays! and someone remembered the cake!

and all the while we were there, we were being watched over ... god bless.

aromatherapy.

2006-11-10T12:18:00.000-05:00

i love anything that reminds me of fall! (as do other people i know!)

yesterday i started to use a new soap that just smells delicious! it is crisp apple by abode aroma. normally i am not a big fan of apple scents unless it has cinniman and spice in it (tends to remind of me something from bath and body works) but this is such a fresh and crisp scent! just like apple picking! yum! and it leaves a wonderful lingering scent in my bathroom for hours. in fact, when i came home later in the evening, i could still smell the apples!

random stuff #5

2006-11-09T13:09:00.000-05:00

google maps and brooklyn, a little inappropriate, i must say! standard devinat

and you thought your shit didn't stink? who comes up with this stuff?! japanese game show

i'm not usually star-struck, but i ran into a "celebrity" at work the other day. it was pretty funny, in my opinion. i guess i will respect his privacy. i'll tell you the story if you ask! hint

things happen in 3's.

2006-11-06T00:35:00.000-05:00

well, they say deaths happen in threes, but what about the death of a pair of pants? did you ever have something that just wasn't ment to be, no matter how much you liked it?

this is the story of a pair of pants that i just love, and i don't want to let go.

well, there they are. my cute little pair of paper denim cords. they were a thin cord, lots of stretch, a skinny, skinny leg, and they fit me perfectly!!! i didn't even need alterations!

i got the denim on a sunday a few weeks ago. i was eager to wear them to work the next day!

1) there i go, off to work at the crack of dawn in the morning. i was walking to the train. it was still dark out and i was a little groggy. as i am walking down a street along my route that happens to be a super steep incline, i was doing that little "light run" down the hill. BAM! i slip on some gravel, twist my ankle and skid down the street! i look down and my jeans are torn to shreads! blood gushing everywhere, my knee throbbing. FUCK! i didn't have those pants on for more than 45 minutes and they are ruined! not to mention that my knee KILLED! and was all gashed up!

out of spite, i bought a 2nd pair the next day. i looked hot!

2) about a week later, walking millie along my block. wearing my 2nd pair of cords. all of a sudden SKID! i'm down!!! i couldn't believe i slipped on some shit on the ground (it literally was some dog shit on the sidewalk!) and landed flat on my same, bad knee! this time, no damage to the jeans. my knee, well, it was a little sore. no blood.

3) one week past. give it another go. wearing my jeans at work. i was talking to a coworker, hand my hands in my back pocket, kinda hips to the side, you know the pose. all of a sudden RIIIIP! i was afraid to look. i couldn't believe that i ripped the fabric where the pocket is sewn on the back! now there is a little hole above the back pocket! you can't really see it, but i am concerced that if i bend over, the whole thing will blow!

a friend said, maybe it is time to just let them go. it's too many bad signs. i just don't want to believe it!

i'm torn. no pun intended.

ps, my knee is better now. just a little scabby. in case you were wondering.

feeling french?

2006-11-05T15:24:00.000-05:00

saturday night we enjoyed a filling dinner at paris commune. what a great last minute choice! tucked away in the west village, the food was delicious but the service was a little slow. still, i would definitely go back and would recommend it!

a sampling of our food:

two lovely, but very strong glasses of wine to start. i couldn't even finish my glass! sleep would have soon set in - the problem with red wine.

yummy, crusty bread. mmmmm!!!! and the olive oil was probably the best i've ever tasted!

ohhhhh!!!! meatloaf! i never though i would order meatloaf at a nice french restaurant, but it was delish! just a little too spicy though. shane had filet mignon. loved it!

and this was amazing ... creme bruile! so creamy! i wanted to lick the bowl!

skate or die!

2006-11-05T15:11:00.000-05:00

i'm no skating pro! in fact, i haven't ice skated since i was in 8th grade, i think! but the season has begun and the rinks are open so shane and i tried our luck at Wollman rink on friday night.

gotta love rental shoes. they looked like big blue smurf skating shoes! puuurty!

shane poses after a few laps.

naturally, i fell! but only twice! i though that was pretty good, considering my falling problem!

i was so freaked out when i got on the ice. i was so nervous that i would fall, and everyone was zipping around me at lightning speed! i had this permanemet scared, determened look most of the time!
i got the hang of it soon enough. i did alright! (little pat on my back!)

me and my personal trainer! ;)

update!!!

my mom found this picture of me ice skating when i was in 8th grade - like i mentioned!

ha ha!! check out the huge denim jacket, the pegged jean, and the big bangs! (and blonde hair!! hee hee!)

boo!

2006-10-31T22:31:00.000-05:00

i like halloween. halloween on other people! as much as i appreciate all of the great costume ideas that everyone has, all of the effort they put into getting dressed up, and all of the cute kids that are running around my neighborhood, i really hate dressing up for halloween! i just don't do it!

so i must live vicariously through millie.

time to bring back the bat wings!
i thought the mini pumpkin was nice touch for the photo as well!
need better props!

happy halloween everyone!

have fun and be safe!

a delightful discovery!

2006-10-31T22:09:00.000-05:00

it was a beautiful and warm halloween night and i wanted something sweet after dinner. ice cream! so we stopped by wendy's to get a frosty. always a good choice. kind of like soft serve ice cream, kind of like a shake, and chocolatey flavor.

i a was ready to order when i noticed that i had a choice for my frosty flavor ... chocolate or vanilla! what is this?! a frosty is chocolate! it's like if you get doritos - they are cheesey, not ... i don't know, bbq flavor or something!!!

but since this was the first time i had a choice in frosty flavor in something like 20 years, i went down a new path. i got the vanilla.

... i have a new favorite!

molly rants.

2006-10-31T14:54:00.000-05:00

some things just really get on my nerves. stupid things that i should really just let roll off my back, but i can't! i get so irritated with stupid people and retarded things they do!

for example ...

what's the deal with the leaf blower? i mean, who though of this machine and who actually hires people to stand around and blow leaves?!?!

ok, look at the above situation. this dumb ass is getting paid to blow leaves around. and the best thing is that he is blowing them into the street. but as i was walking by - in the wind, might i add - all of the cars driving by were blowing the leaves back onto the grass. this is great!

to add to this. another think i can't stand and cannot understand is the street sweeper. this is the biggest waste of time and city money that i can think of (well, i'm sure there are a million other things that the city wastes money on, but i have a one track mind at the moment!) so this big, huge truck drives down your streets every tuesday and thursday between 9-12, making people double park or search for alternative parking. and what does it do? spray some water on the ground and brush around the garbage on the ground. there is always still garbage left and i don't ever notice much a big difference in the cleanliness of the street. you? i think it is just a way for the city to make money by way of the parking tickets they issue along the way.

ok, to sum it up, anything that blows or sweeps around stuff in the streets is basically a waste of time.

whew. glad i got that off my chest!

a long awaited reunion!

2006-10-31T14:32:00.000-05:00

i can't believe that i haven't seen kelly in almost 2 months! how did this happen?!?! but what's a better reason to finally get back together than for a birthday! kelly celebrated her 29 (oops!!) 28th birthday with a casual party at her apartment. it was so nice to go back to brooklyn, even if it was just for a few hours!

i was starving and the spread was delish!

awww! it's been too long!
(this is me running on barely any sleep!)

kelly and justin display some of the handbags she has designed.

hey amie! when are you going to release the song that you wrote for kelly??
"sitting on a rock ..."

the halloween wigs are brought out. kelly said that she thought of me as soon as she put this wig on. hmmm ...

i'm not quite seeing the resemblance!! whatcha think?

amie shows off the strawberry wig.

and that's it! i had to skip out early since i had to be back at work at 7am the next morning. at least i got to finally see kelly!

happy birthday, kelly!!!!

it's begining...

2006-10-26T01:14:00.000-04:00

ahhh yes, christmas is just around the corner! (um yes. it is october 25th!)

i got a glimpse my first holiday decoration of the season on the corner of 5th ave and 50th st this morning.

and on my way home ...

the gigantic snowflakes that cover the the entire front of saks fifth avenue were being delivered.

(what they will soon look like!)

excitement!!!

fall is here!

2006-10-24T21:54:00.000-04:00

i absolutely love fall! it is my favorite season of the entire year! you get to layer up in the best fashions of the season while walking around enjoying all that nature has to offer. yesterday and today truly kicked off the season bringing crisp, cool weather and the occasional smell of burning leaves in the air (depending on where you are, of course!)

here is a brief list of my top favorite things in fall:

1) scenic views.

this is a picture takes while driving back from woodbury commons this weekend. there were so many beautiful views of the colorful trees along rt 87. perfect timing! that is the difficult thing about the changing leaves - it can happen so quickly that by the time you have the weekend available to take a scenic drive, you could be looking at gray, dead trees.

today was beautiful! look at the clear sky. the air was brisk and cool. i didn't mind though, look at this view of the hudson river from a house shane is working on in riverdale!

2) sweaters!! (and sweater dresses!)

chunky and comfey! layer up!

warm and cozy! (don't forget to add the wide belt and textured tights!)

and super cute! the perfect gift!

3) hot coffee.

enough of the iced lattes of summer. it's now time for my double shot vanilla latte - with soy, of course!

4) concerts.

there always seem to be the best concerts in the fall then going into the winter:

diamond nights 11/4 at the bowery
peaches 11/24 at irving plaza
goldfrapp ... ugh. just missed it last week!
but ... k-fed!!! 11/4 at webster hall! can't miss that one!!!

and i'm sure there are more to come!

5) sleeping.

there's nothing better than cuddling up in a thick, warm blanket with the window slightly cracked, letting in a soft breeze! i could stay in bed all day!

6) love.

but the best is having someone to share all of these things with!

snuggle-bunny!

you must be mistaken!

2006-10-24T21:39:00.000-04:00

do you ever have something happen to you that can be potentialy bad or dangerous and you have horrible reflexes or reactions to the situation?
well, today, i was waiting out in shane's jeep as he stopped in the store. there was a guy crossing the street, in the middle of the street, while having a conversation on his bluetooth so he obviously wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around him.
the guy was getting close to shane's door but i just thought that he was just trying to stay out of traffic as he walked to his car. then, he opened shane's door and started to get in the seat! all while still having his conversation via the stupid bluetooth!
dude, a stranger just walked into my boyfriend's car while i am in it. and my first responce was, "excuse me!" i barely moved or tried to grab ... anything! i didn't even try to yell! my "gra the cell phone" responce didn't even happen!
luckily the guy was super embarassed and jumped out! "oh my god! sorry!" I watched him and he had the same jeep as shanes. so it was a very stupid accident.

the story was complete when he drove away, he honked and waved to apologize. someone wrote in the grime on his back window, "gaymen rule". sucker!

upgrade me.

2006-10-18T00:16:00.000-04:00

shane and i have the same phone. silver motorola razor. they basically look the same, the scratches and nics from being dropped are just in different places. this leads to problem - the accidental phone switch! imagine it's early in the morning, one of us is leaving for work, half asleep, we grab, what we think is our phone but we later find out that it is the other persons phone! it has already happened.

can you tell whose is whose?

now t-mobile has created this cool new calling plan called myFaves where you pick the 5 people you call the most and for only $10 more a month, you can talk to these friends as much as you want! love it! sign me up! problem is you need a new phone that is compatable with this program. it's been a year. is it time for a new phone?

why yes it is!! now i finally have a girly phone!

here is the myFaves main screen.

and a closer look. you get to pick icons or use picutes for your friends. for right now, shane gets represented by the video game controller - since he is dying for the new playstation 3! and i feel like lisa is perfectly represnted by the blondie diva wearing a sweatband and sunglasses! too much wasted time fun!
new problem ... this is turning into the MySpace of phones! people now ask if they are one of your 5 friends and if not, why!??!!? "how can i become one?" "can i be #1 of the 5?"

i don't need this pressure!!! ahhhhhhh .........

it's that time again.

2006-10-18T00:15:00.000-04:00

fall is here again and that is about the time when a lot of concerts start popping up. i haven't gone to a show in awhile and i was getting in the mood! i surprised shane with tickets to see jenny lewis with the watson twins at the town hall on october 13th! i knew that he really liked the music but i was not that familiar.

we had some time to kill before the show and needed a quick bite to eat. since we were in times square, we grabbed a couple street dogs. yum! and washed them down with some tab energy. (it had been a pretty long week and we needed to be revived for the concert!)

then we pretended to be tourists visiting NY for the first time, staring up at the lights of times square and asking (obvious new yorkers) annoying tourists questions. yeah, we're crazy!

the concert was really nice! i enjoyed it more than i expected! jenny's boyfriend, jonathan rice opened for her. we didn't know who he was at first and we were convinced he was connor oberst, aka bright eyes. he sang and spoke exactly like him! jonathan sang mellow, acoustic, folk songs.

jonathan rice

jenny lewis was amazing! she has such a strong and powerful voice that just resonated in the theatre! and she is tiny! where does that voice come from?! i really enjoyed her music - some of my favorite songs being The Big Guns and Rising Up with Fists!! (jessica, here is it, you new music suggestions from molly - jenny lewis!! check it out!) jenny also sings with the quartet rilo kiley. the watson twins are 2 southern girls with beautifully melodic voices that perfectly back jenny up. they have a new album out as well. i definitely bet it is worth checking out!

i was not able to get many photos from the concert. security there was on high alert and was continuously walking the isles and stopping people from taking pics with cameras and phones.
this is the only one i got of the jenny lewis. here she is singing with jonathan, the watson twins to the left. i was lovin' her show girl style flashy dress with cowboy boots!

another weekend getaway.

2006-10-18T00:14:00.000-04:00

this time, however, not as scary as the last vacation!

shane and i traveled to boston a week and a half ago (yeah, i know, a little late to post, but better late than never!) to go and visit my mom who was stopping over as she toured the northeast. i haven't seen my mom since christmas, so it was great to see her, even if it was for just a quick trip! shane and i have also never been to boston before so we were excited to see the city.

we woke up early friday morning and took the amtrak from penn station. such an icky train station. just being anywhere in the general 34th street vicinity is usually a bad look. we were looking forward to a nice, calm train ride. unfortunately, the train was fully booked and we couldn't even sit next to eachother! we were lucky enough to get 2 isle seats that kind of looked at eachother. we spent a good amount of the time sending eachother text messages about the weirdos sitting around us. the nosy guy next to me was super curious and kept trying to casually look over my shoulder. so i proceeded to mess with him and wrote dirty messages. he finally turned away.

after about 3 hours, we finally arrived in boston! when we got out of the train station, we could have sworn that we were back in herald square!! tons of horrible shops like city sports, sneaker stores, trashy clothes, and yes, a macys! quick! off to the the hotel!

my mom booked us a room at the fancy-shmancy Omni Parker House, where she was also staying. we couldn't wait to get into the hotel and actually relax for a minute.

our room was very nice, with big soft, comfy beds!! (but 2 beds, mom??)

naturally, we had to jump all over the beds. yay! vacation!

and they provided these luxurious bathrobes.

perfect for lounging!!

i know, your lovin' the green chinese slippers! hey! you don't know what is on these hotel floors!

after a power nap, we went for a little walk to grab a bite to eat. strangely, a lot of the restaurants were closed early.

i liked the sign for this chocolate shop. what a cute little strawberry!

someone just got and idea for something to do later that evening !!!
(click on the picture to see who is playing at the theatre! very exciting!!!)

we met mom and her travel-mate, lorraine for dinner in the Parker house dining room.

mother and daughter. everybody say "awww"!

we had a pre-fixe meal and the food was so-so. but the restaurant's claim to fame is being the birthplace of the boston cream pie.

shane appetizer w as a boston cream pie martini. a little too strong and sweet for me.

and here it is, the moment we were all waiting for. the Parker House famous Boston Cream Pie! well, it was ok. not what we all expected. very, very rich. my mom says she makes a much better boston cream pie!

after dinner, we headed off to the Cheers bar for a drink.

this sign is the only thing about the bar that is the same as the tv show.

hey! where's norm?!?!

the next morning was another early start to have breakfast with mom before she left on her cruise. shane and i were not quite awake but my mom insisted on taking a ton of photos before she left.

i had to make this one big so you could really see me. my "i hate pictures at 7am" pose, holding corn cobs.

need more coffee!!!

later, an aimless stroll around the city. we had no clue where we were going, but we had a few hours before our train left.

now this is my idea of boston cream! america runs on dunkin - especially boston! we couldn't go down a street without passing a dunkin donuts!

care for a little nuget of information? the first dunkin donuts was opened in quincy, massachusetts. about 9 miles outside of boston.

this place looks familiar!

alley view with a church in the background.

a view in the Public Gardens.

and that ended our trip to bean town!

remodeling.

2006-10-05T03:39:00.000-04:00

don't hit refresh!! you are still at molly's blog!!!

i thought it was time for a little housekeeping or revamping of the blog since i have also changed so much in my life lately.
i decided on a new template. i have a few things to tweek still but i like the new, clean layout.

comments ... anyone????

just my luck!

2006-10-05T02:58:00.000-04:00

so i was sitting outside in the rockefeller plaza, enjoying the warm weather on my lunch break today when all of a sudden ... SPLAT!! what the??? a huge squirt landed on my leg and went down to me feet! i though someone spit on me from above but that would be way too gross! it was a damn bird! a nasty stream of yellow goo ran down my pants. someone told me later that when a bird poops on you, it's good luck. i'm waiting for something lucky to happen now ...

this camera phone pic does the goop no justice. it was disgusting!!!!

the great outdoors.

2006-10-02T08:37:00.000-04:00

old news now, but i figure i would keep you all up to date!

it was a nice sunday afternoon. the perfect temperature - not too hot or humid, you could tell that fall is just around the corner. shane and i took a trip to bear mountain in the hudson valley to spend the afternoon.

what a view! the water looked so clear!

look at my little friend!

a thoughful picture of shane, taking in the view.

we snagged the cool looking wooden bench to take this photo.

a little mushroom! i wonder who lives under there???

the park was celebrating Octoberfest a little early (it was still early september!) so naturally we had to partake in the food. i had a brat. it's the chicago in me! shane got the knockwurst, which i, actually, had never heard of. wash it down with a becks and the afternoon was complete!

work this!

2006-10-01T23:14:00.000-04:00

i previously commented on the crazy exercise machine found at brookstone, the iGallop.

i recently made a little visit to brookstone to try out the iGallop for myself.

the results? non-stop laughter!!

sorry that the video is sideways. i used the video function on my camera and i don't know how to rotate the picture! you get the idea though!

a reason to celebrate.

2006-10-01T22:11:00.000-04:00

this is a back- track post...

as i previously mentioned, i started a new job. so to say goodbye to the old job and hello to a new beginning, i celebrated with some friends. shane, the groovies, hayden and I all gathered at the dark room. i had never been there before so i wasn't really sure what to expect. we just wanted to drink, dance, and have fun!

andrew, nick, and sarah showed up with a nice going away present for me.

this is deborah. lovely!
nick found her poor head in a dumpster. the remenents of an old mannequin. they all signed her neck - kind of like a card. awww, guys, you really shouldn't have!

throughout the night, everyone wanted a picture with deb. she provided hours of entertainment:

licking deborah.

posing with deborah.

deborah does hayden.

deborah in a bandana.

nick and sarah were having a great time.

but as my grandma always say, "after laughter comes tears!"

and sarah cut her foot on some glass. **note the blood on her jellies.

nick comes to the aid of his lady while giving his best impression of nelly.

a little dancin'

"lisa, this isn't goodbye!"

naturally, some craziness occurs!

help! i've fallen! and i can't get up!!!
and look at deb, always in the middle of things!

awww! we're too cute!

it only took me a year to discover the black and white feature on my camera!

time to head off back to yonkers,! ha ha! get it!!! deb fits discretely in my bag.

peace out, bitches!!!

BBF!

2006-09-29T19:59:00.000-04:00

i have the best boyfriend ever!
look at the beautiful flowers i got yesterday, for no reason!
love love!

the adventures of molly.

2006-09-29T16:15:00.000-04:00

hey y'all! everyone has been asking about me and the blog! where have we been? what's going on?
well, i finally had some free time today and am ready to fill you in.

there have been a lot of changes in the life of molly lately. first of all i moved out of my beloved neighborhood in brooklyn (*tear* ... wait, i'm over it now!)

here is shane displaying his moving abilities during my move. thanks, snugs!!

but i must have fallen flat on my head wearing my kenneth cole flats and then suffered some major head trauma because i decided to move to yonkers! yep, i'm in westchester!!! it's acually not that bad! i have an awesome apartment! not only have i moved up in the world to a one bedroom, but i now have a dishwasher, central air, and a washer and dryer (all utilities included!) sweet jams!! oh, and i also now have countertops and a super new bathroom! how did i ever live in that mess before?? but wait, that's not all. those of you who know me are well aware of my clothing and shoe obsession. remember the rolling rack i used to have in the middle of my room due to lack of closet space? the rolling rack is gone because i now have a ~~walk in closet~~ dressing room!!

check out this shit! it is double the lengh of what you see here! a retail girls heaven!

the other great thing about my apartment is this

this crazy bear is sitting on the steps of my apartment! WTF?!?! love it! WHAZZUP has become my new "phrase that pays"!!!

but the best part about moving is that i am now minutes away from shane! no more commutes from brooklyn to yonkers to see eachother!

along with the new apartment, i have a new job!

i am loving about the new store i am working for! it is absoloutely beautiful! the product, the atmosphere, the people, even the smell! and i'm back working in rockefeller so back to annoying tourists watching the today's show, businessey folks, but better lunch choices!!

so that is what has been going on with me. i am now back, in full attack! the next few posts will be slightly out dated but will further catch you up on my adventures!

cheers!

i am alive!!!

2006-09-11T20:01:00.000-04:00

hey everyone!
sorry, i have been lacking in the blog world lately. i moved on the 1st of the month and still don'e have internet service. plus i have been super busy settling into my new place ... that i LOVE!!!!! no pics yet since they are on my computer. soon enough...

i also started a new job today!! yaaa whoooooo!!!! i am so happy!
things are working out great! the apartment, the job ....

i will have so much to blog about very soon! stay tuned!

x
m

the big day.

2006-09-01T08:45:00.000-04:00

well, this is it gang! it's moving day! finally!!
my day was pushed forward by two days by the now former psycho landlandy, so i have to completely finish packing today so that we can get it out of here tonight! (more coffee, please!)

also, i have to turn off my cable today, so there will be no blogging for a couple of days. hopefully i will get the new place hooked up asap and it won't be as difficult as last time!

i'm a little sad to be leaving brooklyn. i would have liked to have gone to dinner to a couple of my favorite neighborhood resturants or had a drink a union hall again, but this week was just so hectic with work and the move that i barely had time to think! it's not like i'm moving to another state though. i can always jump on the train and come back!

back to packing!

i'm it!

2006-08-29T00:45:00.000-04:00

pinknest tagged me.

Life's to do list - Completed items are bolded

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen an eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces or all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake Dead River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently...I'm changing it to semi
95. Performed in aisles at Rocky Horror
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

whew! that was long! i think i have some things to chech off my list!

now i have to tag bethie and ongina! go!

countdown.

2006-08-28T00:27:00.000-04:00

7 more day until i move.

my feelings?

excited - for my awesome new apartment!
sad - to leave brooklyn.
nervous & stressed - about everything i have to get done before i move while working 10 hour days up until then.

whatcha lookin' at?

2006-08-27T00:22:00.000-04:00

check out the cute dog that was walking down broadway in soho yesterday!
just walking with the poland spring bottle in his mouth! too cute!

more amour.

2006-08-26T23:35:00.000-04:00

friday night was the log awaited world premier perfomance of mor amour! i was so excited to finally see stephen perform!
i high tailed it to 169 bar after work to meet up with the groovy gang. i though i would be late, but luckily, his set started very late.

he started with "before i let you down"

and ended with one of my favorites, "my mistakes"

why does stephen look so nervous to be between lisa and i??? memories of "perfect folds and client books??

shane+lisa= crazy times ahead!!
lisa, did you wear your padding?!?!

lisa climbs the scaffolding.

while shane quietly strums a tune in the trunk of someones car.

shane and nick discuss new forms of the "shocker".

the groovies!!

and more grooves...

back inside are picture opportunities of people who don't get to see eachother enough. boo!

lisa's "little friend" of the evening is in the middle!

shane is lonely and tries to make out with the fishie!

on the way home, walking down the dirty, stinky china town streets, what do we see??? nothing better than a perfect picture opportunity ...

... hey, a "beverage center" left on the street = an open opportunity for fun! but not for long. shane said it smelled like a million stinky cockroaches!!

(what do cockroaches really smell like???)

gettin' heavy.

2006-08-23T16:10:00.000-04:00

well, i'm moving very, very soon. a little sad, but also very excited.

but along with moving comes the dreaded packing.
i'm not the best packer. i tend to make the boxes too heavy. like here. the box is barely half way full with magazines and it is pretty heavy! and yes i need to keep all of my old issues! i guess the rest of the box will be stuffed with sweaters and linens.

update:

i made some progress - i compromised with myself and threw out the ok magazines. i also threw out all of my vhs tapes that i recorded seinfeld on over the years. that was like 10 tapes. i am slowly letting go!

ps everyone i'm havin' a big ol' stoop sale on saturday!!! tons of ~~shit~~stuff! especially clothes! (good clothes, not nasty dirty stuff!) bring everyone you know - support the moving van cause!

weirdness.

2006-08-23T13:57:00.000-04:00

i was in brookstone the other day and discovered a crazy new product that they sell. it is called the igallop. iwasn't quite sure what it was a first. was it another strange massage thing? and new ergonomic chair? no, it was excercise equipment!

basically it is like riding an elecronic bull machine at a country western bar.

... i think just not as fast and without the chaps and boots.

you are supposed to really be able to tone up your butt and abs by maintaing your balance as the machine moves all over the place. interesing ...

so watch this video and see what you think:

please, stop.

2006-08-21T01:08:00.000-04:00

i had to watch. i knew everyone would be talking about it. but it had to be one of the most horrid performances i have ever witnessed!

oh, k-fed! why, why, why!!!

no wonder you had to start your own record label. you suck and know one would ever sign you!

they used to call me "sporto".

2006-08-21T00:34:00.000-04:00

i am sooo athletic ... not! that's why i naturally said "yes!!" when shane asked me if i wanted to go golfing on sunday. i knew what it was really about - not how much under par we were, not which club to use - it was all about the gas cart, the head gear, and the beer cart!!!

rev it up baayybeee!!! let's get this cart movin'! we took this girl off roading, over rocks, in the brush, on the green, backwards spins! the fun didn't stop! why would anyone walk?!?!

check out this form!

now check out this form!! note how i am looking in the distance to see where my ball landed when it is actually still in the sand right at my feet!
and yes, this is where i spent a lot of the day, in the sand traps.

i wanted to be in the proper golf head attire, so i wore my "play hard" visor.

later, i switched to the sweatband. thanks lisa! i knew this would totally come in handy!

i had a difficult time actually hitting the balls in general. it usually took me at least a solid 8 swings to move the little ball.

shane kept loosing his balls...

but he found twice as many as he lost!

golfing is a rough game! we had to call it quits just after 8 holes. i don't think i need to go golfing again for a year or so. except of course mini golf ...

snuggle-bunny.

2006-08-18T12:02:00.000-04:00

dogs like to make dens for safety, comfort and to sleep in.

millie aparently things the best place is snuggled up to someone's back side!

don't touch me!

2006-08-18T10:50:00.000-04:00

somebody wasn't too excited about going to the vet today!

normally mills is super excited about going to the vet - she gets touched, loved, and treats! in her mind any attention is good thing. and her vet, hope vet in brooklyn, is probably one of the nicest vets i have ever been to. it's clean, the staff is very kind and knowledgable.

but she was not feelin' it today. look at that suspicious look on her face!

but all was well, perfect health! she is just has a bad case of seasonal allergies.

sunrise.

2006-08-17T01:19:00.000-04:00

a view of the softly colored horizon at 6:30am on wednesday
as i rode the amtrak through new jersey.

lazy sunday.

2006-08-14T00:38:00.000-04:00

i was so happy not to have to work today!
time to chillax.

the day consisted of brunch at beso, lounging in prospect park, some heated games of galaga, and a necessary trip to target.

teasing millie with bites of watermelon

millie giving her best nicole richie impression.

ahh yes. the beauties in prospect park!

shoes always make me happy.

2006-08-13T23:36:00.000-04:00

the highlight of saturday was briging out a favorite pair of shoes.
i love my little red louis vuitton flats! they remind me of a flowy flamenco skirt! and of course, they remind me of the fun vacation my mom and i took to france in 2001.

... they made going to work a little more fun.

still discovering brooklyn.

2006-08-10T12:14:00.000-04:00

even though i have lived in my neighborhood in brooklyn for a little over a year, there are always new places to go to or old places i have yet to try.
shane and i wanted a nice meal on tuesday and he was craving oysters. we decided to try convivium osteriea, on 5th ave in park slope. the place had always been intriguing, small dark, very rustic. we weren't even really sure what was on the menu but decided to give it a try.

we weren't sure if the restaurant was even open when we first walked in - it was completely empty and it took about 3 minutes for someone to greet us from the back. after he never came back to seat us, it just seemed a little strange, and we decided to leave.

off to a new place.
we walked down 5th ave and came across moutarde, a quaint french bistro. it kind of had a look of a very less crowded and scenster schillers.

shane didn't get oysters.

but he did have escargot. i tried. it was actually pretty good!

my entree was salmon and goat cheese pillows with potatoes au gratan. i loved the potatoes!

shane had cod with a yummy side of butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes. sounds like "fall" food but it was still nice!

on our way back to my apartment, we came across a new bar that just opened up on union, just off of 5th ave. i don't know why i didn't notice it before, i guess i usually walk on the other side of the street. it is union hall. it looked nice, so we decided to check it out. inside was warm and friendly, not annoyingly hipster and loud and obnoxious. you felt like you were walking into your grandparents big library. they had lots of comfortable seating and the walls were stacked to the ceiling with books. basically, a good neighborhood bar.

this dog looked right at home, laying on the rug.
we sat at the long wooden bar to have a drink. the bartender was even nice. not "too-cool" like the jerk at the stupid cherry tree that recently opened near me on 4th ave.
other winning points about union hall:

good juke box
they serve food
the have a space in the lower level for live music
nice, clean, and abundant bathrooms
and bocce ball!!! who has bocce ball in a bar! i have never played but i think i might just start!

must learn bocce!!!

definitely will be back!

the night was going so well, but took a turn for the worst...

i woke up to being violently ill! i was basically laying on the bathroom floor until 3 the next afternoon! ugh!! i haven't felt like that in a loooong time! and i hate throwing up! (ok, well, who really likes it. but i really really hate it!)
i hate to say that it was the fish from dinner because we really loved the meal, but i think that is what it had to be.

i'll still eat a moutarde again! a little bulimia never hurt anyone!!

morning sickness?

2006-08-08T12:49:00.000-04:00

...no, my puking was just caused by this - the first thing i saw on the web this morning. ugh. wtf, brit-brit?

more love.

2006-08-06T22:12:00.000-04:00

ever since my terrible experince on saturday, i have been loving millie non-stop. sometimes it takes a scary experience to make you realize how special something is to you and to never take advange of it but always show your appreciation. but don't get me wrong, my dog is my life. i love her more than anything, ask anyone who knows me! i am always talking about her and showing pictures of her - like a proud parent!

i wanted to give millie a special treat on sunday.
i had a bag of "canine popcorn". popcorn made special for dogs!

it was filet mingon flavored!

normally millie will eat anything but i don't think she understood. she just looked at the popcorn for a minute.

but once she took at bite of the meat flavored treats, she was hooked!

she couldn't be stopped!

a clean bowl!

my piggie angel!!!

*** and for all of you that are wondering, no, i didn't try the popcorn! she doesn't eat my food, i won't eat hers! ***

quite possibly the worst day of my life.

2006-08-06T21:32:00.000-04:00

i had the worst freak out experice of my entire life yesterday.

i was at work and noticed i had a voice mail from my roommate/ land lord/ resident psycho bitch.

"hi molly, call me back as soon as you can. i was showing your apartment and millie ran out. i don't know where she went. i am inside now, but i am sure she will come back. call me back."

WHAT ?!?! MY DOG IS GONE?!?!

I was going crazy!

let me just break down this message and tell you everything that went wrong:

"hi molly, call me back as soon as you can. i was showing your apartment showing my apartment? to who? when did we discuss this? i though you were selling the building? aren't you supposed to give me notice if you are entering my apartment? and millie ran out. how does she just "run out" there are two doors she has to get past. i don't know where she went. THEN START LOOKING!!!! i am inside now, excuse me .... INSIDE !! GET OFF THE PHONE AND LOOK! but i am sure she will come back. what?!?! my dog is not some cats that just romes around. she runs and runs fast! i live between two busy streets, will she be hit by a car? snatched up by a stranger? lost?!?!. call me back."

there was a 2nd message though. this time she said she found millie, she is fine and not to worry.

oh, gee, thanks. i got over my heart attack now. but it didn't end there. i called her up and let her have it like i have never screamed at someone before. why would she just go in my apartment? she never discussed showing my apartment to anyone. i am moving at the end of the month - and thank god. i can't wait to be away from this inconsiderate, crazy woman. but doesn't a tenant have the right to be informed by the landlord when they are entering the building?

when i got home i gave millie the biggest hugs i ever could. she is my angel! i think she probably saw the homeless guy down on 4th ave and realized that she couldn't live that life. she needs her special pillow, yummy treats, her favorite bone, air conditioning, and cuddling at night.

kisses

the only stranger i don't mind sitting next to.

2006-08-03T15:10:00.000-04:00

as i slid into my seat on the metro north this morning, i felt like i kicked something. i though it was someone's backpack, but when i looked down, this is what i discovered!

this cute little guy! his owner was sitting in front of me but he aparently liked sitting under the seats. we hung out for a little while until he had to go back to his dad.
the conductors didn't give the dog or the owner any grief for being on the train. i should bring millie next time!

hot enough for ya?

2006-08-02T16:34:00.000-04:00

yeah, i know. it's becoming a joke to say that at this point. but it really is so fucking miserable outside!
it's 95 today but feels like 104. and i swear that it is even hotter than that!

so i am staying inside, loving my ac, listening to music, and blogging.

but seriously. we don't need anymore power outages in NY, so let's all try to conserve a little energy.

turn off any unnecessary lights.
set your ac to 78 and turn it off when you are not home.
do your laundry in the evenings - after 11pm.
stores as resturants should keep their doors as to no let out all the cool air.

stay indoors if you can, for god-sakes, this is the worstday to go for a run outside! and don't forget about the dogs and cats. make sure they have lot's of water as well. and keep them cool!

rock the vote.

2006-08-02T15:42:00.000-04:00

hey everybody! pretty boys, one of my favorite bands, is in a really great contest sponsored by glamour magazine! pretty boys are competing or votes with two other all-female bands, and the winners (the band that gets the most votes) gets a music video produced by pink.

i listened to the other bands and pretty boys are by far the best, naturally!

so go and vote (you can vote once a day - every day through august 14th!!) galadriel and hopey would really love to win a chance to make a video!

ghetto rock to the top!!

a groovy gathering.

2006-08-02T13:11:00.000-04:00

on saturday, shane and i met up with 50% of the groovy gang - sarah and nick. we met up at park in chelsea. i know, it's a little cheesy and very bridge and tunnel (especially on saturdays!!!) ( and yes, where are we all from, brooklyn, yonkers, conneticut, and staten island, so who are we to talk!!) but you know when you just can't make a decision of where to go and you just end up somewhere?

we all had a lot to catch up on ... it's been a while.

sarah's ready to blaaaaaaggggg!!!!

shane and i told sarah and nick about our fantastic voyage to the catskills.

this is sarah's impression of me with my head put in a chopping block by the catskills' locals from taking pictures of their hideous "vacation getaway".

the conversations turned to tales of dirty strippers and things they do with their feet.

complete with photos on shane's phone.
it takes a lot to disgust nick. and he's not laughin'!

michael gong!!

the shocker!! if you have to ask, it's not for you to know!

i was having some contact issues that day. the issue was that i only had in my left contact in all night. my right one ripped. so i was completely blind in one eye!

shane's best jay-z imitation.

nick does an imitation of me and jay-z combined.

sarah looks unimpressed.

wierdos!!

don't know what's going on here!

this couple ended up in our pictures all night!

my mom always says that random people look like crazy banshees. shane laughed at my use of that word. he says that banshees are some type of mythical witch, and in this picture, i apparently look like a banshee!

once again, the gang gets out of control!

we decided to get some food. the waitress was such a bitch! she made us pay before we got our food - how insulting! no tip for you!!!!

yum! what a feast!

i think we're done.

a clean table.

it was roasting hot, but sarah decided to whip out her new were's waldo sweater from urban.

i like! i must try!

sarah and nick go dancing off to old dance hall tunes.
we head out.

a photo of the lanterns hanging in the stairwell.

i'm supposed to eat this?!

2006-08-01T01:54:00.000-04:00

just a picture of a gummy candy i was about to eat.
didn't seem right to me.

public service announcement.

2006-08-01T01:36:00.000-04:00

i feel the need to let the world know about bad service or bad resturant conditions when i happen to come across them so here is my latest warning.

stay away from gonzalez y gonzalez on broadway, just north of houston.

now, i normally wouldn't even recommend going there at all - there are far too many other good mexican resturants in NY to waste your time there. i think if i wanted cheap mexican food, i would rather go to taco bell!

anyways! one of my coworkers had lunch there the other day and found a live cockroach in her food! ahhhhhhh!!!!!! horrible!!!!!!!!

enough! don't go, don't go, don't go .... don't go!!!!!!

a must-have !!

2006-07-31T11:02:00.000-04:00

you all know that it happens. you are out with friends, innocently (or not!) having a great time doing whatever - eating, drinking, dancing, wearing a poncho - when all of a sudden ...

blaaaaaggggg!!!!!

it happens - you've been blogged! there is no getting around it, the pictures can't be deleted, the paparazzi are in full effect.

anyways, i need this tee-shirt. bethie found it first. and i know, i am blogging about someone blogging about blogging. this is what it has come to.

so be aware .... bloggers are everywhere!!!

neighborhood dining.

2006-07-31T00:36:00.000-04:00

new york is known for all of it's wonderful restaurants, and it's great to know that i don't have to leave my beloved borough of brooklyn to enjoy some wonderful cuisine! in fact, i all have to do is walk one block from my apartment for one of my new favorite restaurants!
peperoncino is a wonderful little family run italian restaurant in park slope (5th ave and st marks). the atmosphere is airy and rustic but comfortable and not pretentious. they specialize in crispy, brick oven pizza but i have never ordered the pizza; i always enjoy their other entrees.

on friday, shane and i went for our second time to peperoncino.

we started with some drinks. i loved mine! it was a vesuvio, strawberry puree with limoncello and sparkling wine. refreshing!
shane's had something with banana liquor. it was soooo strong! undrinkable! he said that it tasted like paint thinnner. i guess he would know! ok, bad joke.

i accidentally took this picture with my flash off.

i started with a salad of arugola with goat cheese, grape and pistachio "balls". the grapes we so yummy! i could have eaten an entire plate full of them!

shane had a salad of thinly sliced beef covered with big slices of parmesan cheese.

the waiters are very knowledgeable (or maybe their heavy italian accents make everything sound better) and have made nice suggestions for our meal. but this time i really just wanted something simple.

i had the spaghetti. and i almost ate it all!

shane's chicken rolled with prosciutto was good as well.

there was no room for dessert. but if there was, we probably would have stopped into the chocolate room down the street. a chocolate lovers dream!

go and get your passports (manhattanites!) and come and dine in brooklyn!

snack time.

2006-07-27T21:22:00.000-04:00

people just love to eat on the subway, and ususally they eat such weird or smelly foods! enough with the fried chicken, french fries, tins of nasty chinese or spanish food. can't we all just agree that the only food allowed on the subways should be:

granola bars, nutrigrain bars, or any kind of morning breakfast bar you can eat on run with minimal odor and mess. i understand you have to eat on the run - just save the bacon, egg , and cheese for the office!

candy bars - snickers satifys. we all need a quick fix.

and i will allow cheese or onion-free chips. but stop with pouring the bag into your mouth!

tonight, i noticed this woman doing something strange on the 4 train. she kept digging into her big purse and then stuffing something into her mouth. i thought it was gum at first. then i realized it was cold cuts! she must have had a deli in her bag, because she kept pulling out slice after slice. does anyone else thing that is a little odd???

can i get a vacation?!

2006-07-27T08:47:00.000-04:00

as i said earlier, it has been a very hectic and stressful month for me. in a nutshell and without going into all the details, lots going on at work and i am looking for a new apartment for 9/1. (anyone know of a great one bedroom that will take millie?!?!?!?) too busy to blog, too busy to do almost anything!
so i needed a little vacation. some R&R. so i took a 3 day weekend from work and shane and i planned a fun little getaway to the catskills to a bed and breakfast! i couldn't wait! away from the city, being in the mountains, tubing down the creek, hiking along the trails. relaxation!

our reservations were at the river run bed & breakfast. it looked cute. the rooms sounded nice an we were going to have our own personal bathroom ,which i really liked!

we found this b&b on bnbfinder.com where they stated that "River Run is the recipient, for the second consecutive year, of the 'New York Catskill Service Award' for best bed and breakfast in the Belleayre region." sounds great! we're off!

shane and i finally left friday around noon, after a hearty breakfast from beso, my favorite brunch spot in my hood! i always get the latin eggs benedict but since it was a week day, they had a limited menu.

my omelet with tomato, swiss, and avocado was yummy! and shane had the huevos rancheros. kinda just reminded me of a breakfast burrito. oh, and yes, we did get it to-go since i was still rushing around packing and we didn't have a lot of time to go and actually sit down.

ok, we're fed, packed, now, LET'S GO!!!!

we were so excited to get out of the city!

driving away!

ahh, the tappan zee bridge. or as shane likes to call it, the chimpanzee bridge!

**fyi - if you are like me and always wondered what tappan zee meant, i finally goggled it. find out for yourself here!

first stop, rest stop!
i never knew a rest stop could be so much fun! look at the size of this place!!

two levels, little gift shops, several places to eat. fun times!
we ended up having loads of fun in the gift shop, buying eachother "presents".

i got shane some really rad, bad-ass sunglasses and zipper-pulls with his full name!

he got me the zipper-pulls as well, along with a pink pen that say "NY princess" awwww !!!!

must represent the shades!! aaawwwwwoooooo!!!!!

"braw, this road trip is fuckin' awesome! dude, gimmie my milkyway!!"

snap shot of the truck driving in front of us.
inside joke.

after about a 2 hour drive, we were just about there! how exciting!
look at this view!

but don't get too excited. once we turned down the street of the b & b it all went down hill ...

it was like a twilight zone. all trashy and nasty. it looked like the houses were all falling apart. dingo dogs walking the streets. crazy white trash people plowing through the streets in their pick up truck with confederate flags in the back.
we didn't even get out of the car. it was a bad feeling. and look back at the picture i posted of the river run inn ... doesn't really look like that. the local pool that they suggested going to looked like a sesspool! i wore our new shades as a disguise just to fit in!!
i didn't even take any pictures for fear of the locals!

needless to say, we turned around! can you believe it! we though that we would be robbed during the night!

back home.

oh, but it gets better!

we decided to make the best of it. we were going to go to a water park or hiking at bear mountain on saturday instead.

rained out!

can't go wrong with eating, right?
so we had a nice irish breakfast at rory dolan's.

shane had the traditional "irish breakfast" - eggs, potatoes, sausage, and bacon with white and black pudding. he never eats the black pudding. if you knew what it was, you probably wouldn't either!

i safely ate an omelet.

after taking it easy all day, we decided on more food.

reservations were made at alias on the lower east side.
a recommendation from the foodie herself, anita!

shane had skirt steak, with potatoes, and a poached egg on top.

i had the roasted upstate chicken (a shout out to the catskills!). it was so crispy and juicy! yum!

the meal was perfect! finally, nothing went wrong!!!

afterwards, we met anita and matt for drinks. first stop, the pegu club, where the drinks were perfectly mixed and crowd was less than desirable.

we all then walked down to the dove in the west village.

i don't know if it was due to double fisting the drinks, but we were enjoying the night!

everyone say ~~"cheese"~~ terri schivo!!!

shane's just happy to not be driving anymore

chocolate boy tries to take our picture but ...

"wait! i'm not ready!!" squeals anita!

"i'm still not ready!!!!"

oh, we're all ready here!

it's almost time to go. and i think a clear sign of that is matting thrusting his pelvic region into the table.

go on with yer bad self, chocolate boy!

the weekend came to a close with a little celebration for brecken. his first birthday! britt and gabe threw the party at fresh salt, the bar around the corner from their apartment.

not quite sure what was going on.

coche serenades the birthday boy.

gabe lights the magnolia birthday cupcakes.

gabe feigns excitement over the "noisy" toy we gave him! haa haa haaaa!

apparently brecken didn't want to be held!

rock n' roll, dude!!! great party!!

well, the weekend had come to an end. what and adventure!
we still had a nice time together and not working!! it will be a good story to tell!

2006-07-25T00:28:00.000-04:00

hold tight kids!
i know it's been a loooong time and no updates here.

it's been one hell of a month!

i'll have a fun new post up on tuesday, promise!

access granted!

2006-07-10T16:28:00.000-04:00

i made an attempt to go to PS1 again this saturday, hoping that it wouldn't be sold out, like last weekend, as i rushed over to queens after work.

yay!! i got right in!

it was a great - there were a lot of people out but it wasn't too crowded like i sounded to be last weekend.

i was immediately met by the beer god - i mean shane - who personally know the beer god!
we got the hook up! all for! 2 tickets = 5 beers!

let the good times begin!
oh, and guess who was sitting next to us for a minute. rosie perez! she was all incognito in a hat and sunglasses. just chillin'.

this next picture may be NSFW ... scroll down quickly if you must.

shane decided to take off his backpack to reveal his ....

cock-back!!!

haha! look at the sweat mark!

mick shows how big some cock backs are.

this is mick's "get a load of this guy" face!

on the way to the bathroom, friends are made!

time to meet these crazy bartenders!

the girl (don't know her name!) shane, 50 euro, and marc.

a couple tickets are exchanged ....

and more than enough beers are received!

shane is having a very good night!

time to dance in the pool! take your shoes off!

sopping wet!

fun times!

waiting for the steam to rise.
my pants are a little see-through from the water! reminiscent of the red dress???

PS1 ended so we headed off the the beach again.

how can you pass up fun pictures with a big arrow on the wall along the way?

shane and mick made a friend along the way.

introducing, ~~drew~~ dean!

we also got a ride along the way to the beach from some nice random guys, sasha and michael. thanks!

mara and coche met us at the beach.

hey drew! were's your girl?!

mick shows off his new threads.

coche wants to learn the secret to get the beer hook-up at PS1.

time to chillax and enjoy the great evening.

live music = fun!

2006-07-10T16:08:00.000-04:00

it's been a while, but the specimen are back and performed on friday night at arlene's grocery.

it was a cd release show and they played a few new songs!

there was a big turn out! and the girl in front here was a quite a dancer!!

brooke was keepin' it classy!

matt strikes a sultry pose...

the specimen brings everyone together, even when they haven't seen eachother in weeks! awww!

do this.

2006-07-06T22:00:00.000-04:00

time for another specimen show!

friday nite.

see ya there!

lost in the supermarket.

2006-07-06T20:53:00.000-04:00

having grown up in the suburbs of chicago, i am used to an had become accustomed to large and plentiful grocery stores. there was jewel, cub foods, but my favorite was dominicks. the big isles, the endless variety off food. just felt like home!

but when i moved to new york, it was quite a culture shock! when i lived in queens, i was forced to shop at the local c town or associated. they were so small! knocking other customers out with your basket, reaching for cereal over the ice cream, the tampons were next to the coffee. nothing made sense!! the food was over priced and lacked variety! plus there was the strange manager of the associated who was always trying to ask me out.

things did get better though. i discovered the food emporium while in union square and was comforted by it "normalcy". then along came the whole foods in the time warner building and later to union square. heaven! i could wander those isles for hours. but who wants to schlep bags of food home on the subway. so since i've been in brooklyn, i learned to love my key food. it's got just about everything i need, organized, clean, and just the right size.

but on wednesday, i was in supermarket heaven! shane and i went on an adventure to stew leonards, a huge food spectacular!

a view of stews in the horizon.

cow head on a truck. fun times, and we aren't even inside yet!

the store was huge, colorful and customer friendly. everything "made sense" and was easy to find. instead of isles, you followed one path through out the entire store. (which could be a problem if you want to run in for one thing)

strew began as a diary store, so it is natural that they have an ice cream shop on premises.

they make everything look so good! look at these bing cherries!

and let's not forget about the entertainment... there were little trapeze chefs spinning above us and cows that moo-ed when you pushed a secret button on the wall.
a kids dream!

i have no more pictures of stews after this point because some guy came up to me and informed me that photos are not allowed. oh well.

the goods.

if you are a foodie, go and rent a car and high-tail it up to yonkers or conneticut and shop at stews! don't forget to try their house brand guacamole - yummmm ...

denied!!!

2006-07-05T16:00:00.000-04:00

saturday was the first day of PS1 for this summer! the warm up music series kicked off with Body and Soul, delivering house music that got the croud bumpin'.

well, so i was told ...

because this is all i got to see of PS1 on saturday:

i waited in line for 45 minutes while everyone was inside just to finally make it to the front of the line and be told that the event had met capacity and no one else is getting in! i couldn't believe it!

looking through the little opening in the concrete walls, i could see people dancing, drinking, and having fun. i felt like a little pauper who was begging to be let in.

shane made a good effort in trying to get the big guy at the door to let me in, but he wasn't gonna do it. i was not getting in.

so we left!

conviently, we ran into nikki and christian was sitting out side on the steps. i haven't seen nikki is so long! she said they were going to some new beach that was created in long island city and invited us along. so we all walked along. i don't think i could find this place again! i get lost out there!

but we made it!

it was awesome! there was sand, music playing, people dancing, food, beer, but there was no water to go in, instead, you had an amazing view of the city!!

shoes off!

who need a pedicure?!?!

nikki! how did your toes get so dirty!

shane harasses mick as the shoes come off.

time for a beer and a yummy hot dog!

this cute little girl entertained shane and mick almost all night.

they covered eacheother in sand and built sand castles. she was so adorable and so smart!

it was great to run into nikki! we had so much to catch up on!

but they had to go.

we wanted to stay longer and enjoy the view on such a nice night. this was really a great place to discover!

the city always looks amazing.

eating a hot dog with the city in the background.

this is my hobbit look???

we looked for the long-lost mick on the dance floor, but he was no where to be found. so we headed home. already looking forward to going back to the beach again!

the lease is up.

2006-07-05T14:34:00.000-04:00

i got the cutest little sigerson morrison flats back in april. soft brown leather with chunky red and orange stones on the toe - they looked like big jelly beans! i loved them!

unfortuantely, a few weeks ago, i got in after running around all morning, and found that one of the big stones was missing!!! i didn't know when or where it happened. how could i even get it replaced? so i finally made it back to saks and took my poor shoes to the shoe manager. he was completely understanding and said this actually happened to a lot of people who bought this shoe. he refunded my money with out any problem. now that's what i call serivce!

sooo ....

i needed to replace the shoes! but of course i couldn't get the same shoe. that would be silly and a disappointment just waiting to happen.
so i found these supere cute Kors sandals!

and look at the camoflage heel!

it's like i leased my spring time sigerson morrisons and traded them in for the summer time kors! love love!

healing feeling lite

2006-07-05T14:18:00.000-04:00

on wednesday, we headed off to the delancey to experience the healing feeling's first performance. the healing feeling andy's new band but the whole group couldn't get together for this first gig, so it was just andy, solo!

the first band we got to hear was the Rock n' Roll Impulse Band.
a group of guys who loved to sign about their home town, jersey city!!

they were actually pretty good. the lead singer kept talking and shouting out to the audience like he was yelling to a sold out auditorium. too bad there were only like 10 people there! oh well, i guess you have to dream big and live big!!

my favorite song they sang was "take it back to '99"! man, those were the days!

yeah, i know this is a little TMI, but why did i see this in the garbage of the women's bathroom??? i mean, who douches at the delancey????!!!

photographic moment as we wait for the next set.

time to be healed ...

andy strikes a pose.

the intermittent chime.

fine tuning.

nice show!

for all of you who couldn't make it, the healing feeling will be performing again on july 23rd. (i'm not sure where! i will find out soon!)

blog alert!

2006-06-28T15:00:00.000-04:00

hey kiddies! one of my friends has joined the blogging world!

go and read "the verdict, fiercely delivered, by ONGINA"!!!

fierce, sassy, opinionated! ... and he has only just begun ...

i could use a laugh today!

2006-06-28T14:08:00.000-04:00

god, do i love japanese practical jokes!

while i'm at it ... time to bring back the girls!!!

i can't get enough of this video!

in bloom.

2006-06-27T13:48:00.000-04:00

sunday was a walk in the park - well, in the garden, actually!
my dad and i strolled through the brooklyn botanic gardens. we were unsure what the weather was going to do. it was supposed to rain all weekend. but we ended up having great luck! it was slightly overcast, but it did not rain during our entire walk!

the garden is beautiful!

as you walk in, you almost forget that you are still in brooklyn!

everything is so green and lush.

there are many different types of gardens within. we discovered this little pathway that reminded me of being in a forest preserve at home. there was even a little pond! (and mosquitos!)

there was a beautiful rose garden. june is "rose month"!

i would have never guessed that many of these flowers were roses. they all look very different.

must stop and smell the roses!

this tree looked like it would feel like a hairless cat! yuck!

did i find the fountain of youth?!

a serene pool.

lily pads, glistening with water drops.

something tells me this little rabbit has been getting hand-outs because he kept hopping around all of the people, unafraid of anything!

i couldn't decide if this leaf looked like a heart or a set of lungs! anyone ...???

dad and i take turns posing in front of the flowers.

a few more.

think you are looking at a big tree??? WRONG!! bonsai!!

back to reality!

don't rain on my parade!!

2006-06-25T23:14:00.000-04:00

on saturday, my official birthday, we decided to go on an adventure.
dad, shane and i decided to jump on the N train and head on down to coney island!
"why?" you ask?! two reasons: the annual mermaid parade was occurring on this day. and my dad has never been to coney island, nor has he had a nathan's hot dog!

let's go!

the parade was full of all kinds of crazy in interesting folks.

weirdo serenading elvis. sometimes it was difficult to determine the criteria for entering the mermaid parade. freak or just mermaid body suit??!!

ok, now i don't know. who is the worse parent? britney or this ya-hoo's for dressing like this and then bringing their kid along?

no comment. i shouldn't, nor do i even ever want to see this!

i think they were dead mermaids or something like that. couldn't really tell!

well, lucky enough for the parade, there was barely any rain! just a few sprinkles. i thought we were going to get soaked for sure.

next stop. food!

dad finally makes it to the world famous nathan's hot dogs!

i guess even mermaids like hot dogs.

definitely not a chicago dog!

they guys enjoys their feast!

what a beautiful day for a photo!

awww yeah!!! time for my favorite game!! skee ball!

i take skee ball about as seriously as i take my karaoke!

i'm kickin' ass!

shane is speechless!

and look who the winner is!! i totally won more tickets!! ha ha haaaaaa!!!!

all of that work and all i won was this lousy dinosaur ring!

the rain finally started coming down, as forecasted. everyone started fleeing the beach with their umbrellas up!

safety from the rain!

after the long ride back on the subway, we stopped back at my apartment for a drink and to get ready for dinner.

and snack on the yummy champaign truffles lisa got me from jaques torres.

we had dinner at bogota, one of my favorite restaurants in my neighborhood. bogota serves latin food spanning from colombia, costa rica, and brazil. there is something for everyone! the staff is always friendly and the restaurant is colorful and fun without being silly or typical.

i always have to have an arepa de chocolo to start.

yum! the sweet and chewy cornmeal cake with the white cheese on top.

for dinner i ordered the salmon tropical. i think i enjoyed the celantro mashed potatoes best!

shane ordered the sweet and sour duck special. the duck was tasty and melted in your mouth. but his side was also very good - some type of mashed plantains with pecans! it tasted like a thanksgiving side dish sent from heaven!

dad got the skirt steak with chimichurri sauce. very filling.

now time for the post dinner, obligatory photos.

here it is ...

2006-06-24T10:35:00.000-04:00

6.24.76

yes, the day is here! my big ol' birthday!!! i can't believe it - i'm thirty!!! i don't feel thirty. i don't think i look thirty! (or do i ?!?!)

i used to always think that being thirty was a pretty big deal. my parents had me when they were thirty. and growing up in the suburbs of chicago, being thirty meant that you were "older" now, not "fun" anymore. an adult who was having kids, driving the mini van, getting fat - you know the type. settled.

but living in new york, i feel the complete opposite! i feel young as ever! i go out and do new and fun things and act just as crazy as i did when i was 22! i can't imagine being a boring adult. why settle for that?!

so here is to just being another year older (why bother with calling out numbers!) i apparently just get better as i age!!!