It was 40 degrees in NYC this morning

The opening lines of Stevie Nicks' "Nightbird" best capture my current thoughts:
And the summer became the fall
I was not ready for the winter...

Dogs on parade

On the way to brunch yesterday, I walked past the dog parade in Tompkins Square Park. There were hundreds of costumed dogs. Apparently this is the largest Halloween event for dogs in the US. My favorite was a Boxer dressed as a boxer (red silk fighting jacket and some tape on its face as if covering up cuts).

Pug as a spider.

Strange hairless dog as a lion.

Dirty 30 Russian-style

We returned to Paradise Garden in Brooklyn this past Saturday night to celebrate Clara's birthday. Unless you've been to one of these places, it's hard to imagine how over the top it truly is. Lots of food: 7-course meal that spans cold & hot appetizers, caviar, pasta, fish, meat and dessert. Lots to drink: free-flowing vodka shots and wine. And lots of dancing: which begins during appetizers and continues til the club shuts down.

The birthday girl.


Shani's visiting from San Francisco!


I almost wore this outfit.


Clara's cousins in action on the dance floor.

Lost in translation

I got this via email:

An office supervisor was planning a “going away” party for a colleague who was leaving the company. He called to order a cake for the party, and asked the bakery to write in the icing: "Best Wishes Suzanne," and underneath that write "We will miss you."

The cake he received looked like this:


Normally, I’d think this is some sort of tall tale/internet-based hoax. Except the "town" where this took place is my hometown, and I knew some people on the original email. So unfortunately I'm inclined to believe this is true. Thanks to Stephanie for the forward.

Extreme close-up

Was working offsite at vendor Thursday night. Their offices are on a highfloor in the Graybar Building, and this is the view from one of the terraces:

I truly believe the world would be a better place if more baby showers offered sangria

Robyn's baby shower was held over brunch last Sunday at Calle Ocho on the Upper West Side. We could choose from 8 different types of sangria, making things more festive than a typical shower.

Mama Sands supervises the opening of the gifts.


Fall centerpiece for the table. Yes, we’re Southern.


After the party, I walked through Central Park and stopped at the Neue Galerie on the Upper East Side. A Gustav Klimt exhibit just opened, actually the first-ever retrospective of this artist in the US. It was pretty disappointing to me because it mainly featured his sketches vs. finished paintings.

77 degrees and sunny at the Great Lawn.

Multiple uses for iridescent cellophane

Saw Fuerzabruta ("brute force") Friday night with Garet and Ab. It's very entertaining and visually interesting Argentinean dance/performance art. The theatre is a former bank on Union Square that was gutted and turned into a lofty performance space. Basically the audience stands in the middle of the room for the show. Some the action takes place overhead, but the audience also shuffles around to accommodate moving stages. I always felt like I was in the front row. Apparently photography is allowed; but I was too captivated to pull out my camera. Therefore I actually wouldn’t mind going again so I could take pics. PS - can't say I recommend this show for anyone with "spatial issues"; some moments are claustrophobia-inducing.

Ole!

October installment of Fork Floosies took place Wed. night at Pamplona, a new Spanish place in the Flatiron District. This restaurant was actually my pick. The tapas & drinks were OK, but nothing special. Most exciting part of the dinner was the hostess handing me my cellphone (it had fallen out of my pocket). It was one of those days.

Chicago: the porky city

I had research in Chicago last Monday & Tuesday, so I traveled early to spend the weekend with Sarah… she is State-side again! I refer to Chicago as “the porky city” because somehow I managed to eat eggs, bacon and sausage each of the 4 days I was there. A terrific accomplishment that left me feeling fairly gross.

Sarah & I had dinner with Ben & Josh Saturday night at the Bluebird in the Bucktown neighborhood. We also had drinks at Chaise Lounge nearby. They had heat lamps, so we were able to sit outside and enjoy some of the last scraps of autumn weather.

Dinner with the guys.


A slab of bacon at Bluebird started the road to dietary trouble.


Before we realized cosmos & martinis as night-caps aren't such a bright idea.

Brunched and shopped on Sunday. Walked around downtown neighborhoods and looked at many beautiful town homes. Went to Museum of Contemporary Art. Main exhibition was Sympathy for the Devil, which examines how rock & roll and visual art have influenced each other since the late 1960s. Most memorable exhibition was a real, live, young couple engaging in some sort of tantric tai chi in a very public place! Bonus. The museum is well-curated, and it has a great gift shop (basically I wanted to buy everything).

We ordered Giordano's stuffed pizza for dinner and watched "Casino Royale" on DVD, which was longer and cheesier than I expected. However, the casino scenes were shot in Montenegro. Perhaps this could be a future vacation destination?

I can't really say anything negative about Chicago, except that it's not NYC. I won an advertising competition during my senior in college, and the prize was a week-long trip to Chicago. In February. It was such a fun time. However, by that point, I'd interned in NYC, so my heart already belonged to NYC. And not much has changed in 12+ years. But Chicago is a nice place to visit, and it was a good weekend.

Ridiculous sunset from Sarah's balcony.

Not bad for a Monday

Had Monday off last week due to Christopher Columbus. It was 86 degrees in NYC, tying the record for high temp. Can’t complain. Slept in, had brunch at Life Cafe, relaxed under a big weeping willow tree in La Plaza Cultural. Went to Zum Schneider for Oktoberfest (potent beer + surprisingly good food), followed by drinks at Esperanto and Rue B. I would be very happy if I could have one a day a week like this.

One of the gigantic weeping willows in La Plaza Cultural.


The oompah band takes a break at Zum Schneider.

Cooking: the new spectator sport

The “Next Iron Chef” TV show debuted last Sunday night. Aaron Sanchez, one of the competing chefs, had a viewing party at his restaurant Paladar. Rick and I went; it was a fun time. With all the cheering and clapping going on, it felt like we were at a sporting event. Did he just de-bone a chicken or score a touchdown? One of the judges was there to watch too. Obviously everyone was rooting for Aaron, but John Besh from New Orleans was another audience fave.

You had me, but then you lost me

I got tickets to the New York Film Festival, so last Saturday Robyn and I went to see the world premiere of The Axe in the Attic, a documentary about people affected by Hurricane Katrina. The film tells the stories of dozens of people trying to carry on with their lives after relocating to new cities after the hurricane. There are some terrible stories, but the film also shows some precious moments, particularly of a family staying in Pittsburgh, experiencing their first snowfall.

I applaud anyone who is trying to bring awareness to the situation in New Orleans. Many people in the audience admitted that they learned something new as a result of seeing the film.

However, the directors decided to turn the camera on themselves a fair amount during the film. For me, this was incredibly annoying and what they chose to include in the edit shifted the focus from the people who were suffering to the filmmakers. My opinion was validated after the film when the directors answered audience questions, and none of the questions were about New Orleans - they were about the filmmakers and the dynamics of their relationship (they quibbled a lot on screen).

Citing journalistic tradition/integrity, the filmmakers also chose to not give money to anyone they filmed, including a man who spent 5 hours walking to and from work every day because he couldn't afford bus fare. I found this to be distasteful. Even more infuriating is the fact that the movie's website explains how you can donate money to help the directors finish and distribute the film, but not how you can donate or volunteer to help the Katrina recovery.

Obviously I had some major issues with this documentary, but will take this blog post as another opportunity to remind everyone that New Orleans still has a long way to go in terms of recovery. And the city and its people still need help, even if the filmmakers aren’t offering it.

Everything is beautiful

I've been reassigned to a new account at work. Will be busy, but I really needed a change. Got thrown into the mix immediately, meeting the clients right away, and spending the first week with them in research.

Shot of the Chrysler Building with the clock in the Grand Central Terminal facade in the foreground.

First run

Had brunch Sunday with Rick at 26 Seats. Can't believe this was the first time I've eaten there.

Saw the Darjeeling Limited on its opening weekend in NYC. I think people either like Wes Anderson films or they don’t care for them. I’m a fan. Rushmore was genius, and I also enjoyed Life Aquatic (some funny stuff: unpaid interns and a member of the crew singing David Bowie songs in Portugese). Darjeeling Limited was good overall, but it struck me as being more melancholy than Anderson’s previous films. However it contained plenty of the absurdity he’s become known for. Nice cinematography. I was craving Indian food when I left so I got curry from Brick Lane for dinner that night.

Rejoining the land of the living

Was finally able to go out on the town Sept. 29. Nicole was in from CT, and Tina was up from VA. Had dinner at Yuca Bar, drinks at Bar on A and Angels & Kings (new bar owned by Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy). It's a decent bar, but it got super crowded. Probably would be more enjoyable on a week night.

Nicole’s in town! Note the celebrity mug shots hanging on the wall behind us. That’s the décor for Angels & Kings.


Tina’s in town!