the insanity that is nyc - in the best sense of the word!

Yesterday, I was heading out for my *cough* weekly *cough* *cough* mani/pedi. As I walked to the new nail place I wanted to try (favorite so far), I had to pass the IFC Theater that is right by the W 4th Street subway stop. There was an event going on...it looked like a movie premiere. So of course, I stopped and gawked for a while (so sad I didn't have my camera with me).

Here's a link with pics of the red carpet at the screening with all of the famous people I saw (not the after party pics, just the obviously red carpet celebs). New York City is seriously magical; like Disneyland for grown-ups (who don't like Disneyland...and probably those who do, too).

And then today, KP and I were at Pommes Frites (a super favorite) and who should walk by. None other than Rachel Dratch. And yeah, she pretty much looks like she does on t.v. or in movies. After that, we went to Joe's Pub to see Katie Herzig (another super fave, but this one of the musical variety). And we had just enough time after the concert to jet up to the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble to pick up the new book by Jennifer Weiner (of In Her Shoes fame) and have them signed by none other than the author herself!

*All photos stolen from KP.

photoshop

Yes, I do have tons of stuff I could blog about...especially since it's been so long. And eventually I probably will, but for right now, I want to share with you all my first project in Photoshop (which, as you can see, does not actually involve any photos).

I spent Saturday evening in Brooklyn with KP learning all about Photoshop so I could make an invitation for my nephew's 1st birthday party! (All of the details have been changed except for the fact that it is for a 1st birthday.)

The colors look a little different now that I've posted it here, but whatever...you get the general idea. 

boston...in reverse ordered pictures

In case you were wondering, my life is still happening at an alarming rate. I had a fabulous 4th of July in Boston with Linda (pictured below) and Katie (need to get pictures from her since she wasn't sailing with us). My first time seeing Neil--my mom's favorite singer/songwriter of all time who deserves his own post--Diamond, sailing, and seeing the most amazing fireworks display of my life. I wish I'd had a tripod with me because my pictures don't even come close to doing them justice.

On the Charles River...we had front row seats!

The farthest point of land in Massachusetts...from here, nothing but ocean until you hit the UK.

Another amazing lighthouse! I love the east coast!!!

Linda, and our skipper (her friend) Matt.

Random MIT students who signed up for this trip...Matt volunteers to take people out as an alum and certified (is that the right word) skipper, and in return he gets to use the boats for free.

The toe rail...an appropriate name really. And you can see that Linda and I both felt white pants were the proper attire for sailing in Boston Harbor on the 4th of July.

Lobster traps (crates?). Can you tell I wasn't raised in New England?

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather...except that its perfection lulled me into a sense of security that kept me from applying sunblock until it was way past too late.

Isn't Boston gorgeous?!

Craig Ferguson...my oldest sister's personal hero.

Neil.
Neil.

Neil.

And finally, Neil. I can still hear all of the songs he played in my head, along with several more. America, Sweet Caroline, Forever in Blue Jeans, Shiloh, You Don't Bring Me Flowers, etc, etc. So many fabulous childhood memories tied up into one performer! It was...BRILLIANT!

my own personal theater week

Last week was seriously amazing. First, as I already posted about here and here, I got to see Twelfth Night in Central Park. Then, Friday night, Sarah, Kelly, Mark (Candice's husband...Candice didn't want to see it, so she was home with her kiddies), and I saw August: Osage County starring, none other than, Phylicia Rashad (aka Claire Huxtable). It was incredible. Seriously. I loved it. And meeting Phylicia Rashad was amazing, too.

Pre-theater, I met up with Sarah and Kelly for yummy sushi at Haru. My second time there...still loved it. Post-theater, we got to meet the cast, including Brian Kerwin (the dad in 27 Dresses). 

And a quick digression...what the crap were this kid's parents thinking when they took him to see this very R-rated play? Not to mention that the guy played a total perv which makes this pic and the one below of him riding away on a bike kind of creepy.

And then, after the play, Emily (my MBA friend from Boston) met up with us. On Saturday, Emily and I went to see both Our Town and Mary Poppins. Our Town was fantastic (and just around the corner from my apartment). I'd never seen it before and I loved it. Such a different experience and one that really made me think. Kind of heavy for a Saturday afternoon, but I'm a fan of deep thought as a general rule

We followed it up with Mary Poppins, which I would have thought to be the opposite of heavy, but the Broadway production really puts an emphasis on just what a difficult marriage George and Winifred Banks had. However, in the end, it all worked out, just like it did in the movie version, so a much happier ending than that of Our Town. Overall, the musical was good, but I will say that it didn't live up to my expectations. Some of those dancers would have never made it through Vegas on SYTYCD. And the actress playing Winifred Banks would have been cut from American Idol. Other than that, it was delightful.

Oh, and on Thursday, while not the theater, as in live theater, Kelly, Sarah, Candice, and I did go see The Proposal...again. It was in a movie theater, but a theater nonetheless. And can I just say Ryan Reynolds is dreamy!!! Part of it is that he is just good looking...the other part is that he is hilarious!!!

We did do some other stuff over the weekend, but those are the theater highlights from the week. I may not be paying down my school debt, but I sure am enjoying myself!!!

dinner at luz in the bk

Tuesday night I headed to Brooklyn to meet my friend, Emilie (an alumna from my MBA program who works for the company where I'm interning...and yes, I'm cryptic on purpose) and her husband for dinner at Luz. 

I have to say that I really enjoyed it. While it wasn't necessarily the best food I've ever had, it was good, and the company was fantastic. 

This is a tuna ceviche (raw tuna) with a really yummy vinaigrette, grilled pineapple, jalapenos, and corn (I have no idea how to explain how the corn was cooked, but it was kind of puffed and crunchy, but not fried). This was by far my favorite dish of the evening. 

Empanadas: the one on the left was filled with this delicious goat cheese melange. The one on the right was a spinach concoction that I can't say I fully appreciated.

This was not actually my dish, but it was really good. Emilie ordered it and it was really good steak and yucca (right?) with a mayonnaise based sauce.

I decided to get semi-adventurous with dessert (some of you may find raw fish adventurous - I do not). It was a warm guava tart (I LOVE all things guava - not the adventurous part) with CHEESE ice cream. Guess what. Cheese ice cream is about as good as it sounds. It was kind of...GROSS!!!) 

And after our fabulous dinner, we stopped by their apartment so I could see just how much more one can afford by going one train stop into Brooklyn. Drool was coming down my chin. A gorgeous one bedroom on the 19th floor of a high-rise, with a view of the Manhattan Bridge and some of the Brooklyn Bridge and the downtown skyline, a washer and dryer in the unit, beautiful kitchen, lots of storage, and more space than I knew existed in a New York apartment. Unbelievable! It was enough to make me consider moving to Brooklyn, assuming I come back next year.

proof

So, here are the other pictures from last night. I don't have time to label them. But the first pic is us waiting. The next is us with Anne Hathaway. And the bottom is Mark, Candice's husband, with Raul (I can't remember his last name now), but he played the Duke. Anyway...fun times.

shakespeare in the park

I snuck a picture of the stage on my phone before the play started. The stage alone was super impressive!!!

So, thanks to my fabulous friends who got up at the crack of dawn this morning to go stand in line for five hours while I worked, we all got to see Twelfth Night at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Anne Hathaway was the major headliner, but I think Audra McDonald (of Private Practice fame) was probably the show stopper. Or...well, really, the whole performance was PHENOMENAL!!! It was the first live performance of Shakespeare I have ever seen and all I can say is that I'm sad I wasted so many years of my life not knowing just how amazing Shakespeare is live! I mean, I know the stories, and I've seen a number of movies, but it's just different. And all of the live music, both instrumental and vocal...fabulous!

And then there was the theater itself. From our seats, we could see the castle behind the stage (look at the picture again...castle is real, not part of set). There was a beautiful sunset making me appreciate all the gray skies I've had since moving here. No rain (a miracle in and of itself). Seriously, incredible. And, afterward, we all got to meet the cast, including Anne Hathaway. She was so nice, too (as were they all). I'm a huge fan. I just wish I could see it again! (Assuming I move here next summer, I will for sure be getting here in time to do this again!)

P.S. Picture of all of us with Anne Hathaway to come.

where does the time go?

Okay, I know where it goes. It disappears with work, commuting, eating out, the gym (which at this point is only ensuring that I don't balloon from all of the delicious food here), Broadway shows, movies, starting and finishing a 350+ page book, and sightseeing. The two activities not getting much of my time? Internet communications (emailing, reading blogs, writing blogs, etc) and sleeping. 

It has been a seriously packed week...in fact, "sleeping in" on Saturday gave me my best night of sleep the whole week; a whopping 5 hours. And it's not that I don't have a lot to share. That's the problem. I'm doing so much that I have too much to share so I don't share any. In the meantime, here is a list of all that I did this week:

• Sunday - Got back from my quick trip to Arizona, headed to the Harrison's for dinner, wandered Riverside Park (of You've Got Mail fame), saw the apartment building from Enchanted, home to unpack.

• Monday - Work, trainer, out to dinner with my new friend, Alisa (currently getting her MBA at NYU and interning at L'Oreal) which consisted of dinner, wandering the Lower East Side, dessert at Cups and Cones, a stop for Alisa at the Dessert Truck (yes, it's a truck...with dessert), and then back home. Began the book.
• Tuesday - Work, and then I can't even remember what else I did on Tuesday because that's how full my week has been. Maybe it will come to me? And it just did (pre-posting). I'm not sure how I forgot this. Pete Yorn came to play at the Apple store in SoHo...for FREE!!! So I took myself down there (sad the girls weren't in town to join me) and listened to him play a bunch of songs from his new album, some old favorites and a few amazing covers. When the live recording comes out on iTunes (which I'm sure it will) you'll know I was there. After which I got myself dinner at The Creperie on McDougal (thank you Oliver!). 
• Wednesday - Work, then hung out with Kelly and Sarah who were finally back in town. We had dinner at Toast (a favorite) and then ice-cream at Ben & Jerry's. Yummy!
• Thursday - Work, delicious sushi at Haru, and then I went to see 9 to 5, with Allison Janney, Stephanie J. Block, and Megan Hilton...and yes, I totally met Allison Janney after the show. AMAZING!!!
• Friday - Work, trainer, and then met up with the girls at Shake Shack, followed by The Proposal. (P.S. That movie is hilarious!!! I am in love with Ryan Reynolds!)

• Saturday - Woke up at 8:30 (that's an extra 2.5 hours of sleep over the norm...except that I'd gone to bed about 3:30) to talk to Emily in Boston. Met up with Sarah, Kelly, and Candice for lunch at Freeman's (amazing!!!), spent a couple of hours reading in Barnes & Noble (we had some time to kill), then up to try for the lottery for In the Heights. Sarah won two tickets (and by "won", I mean won the right to purchase two tickets at $26.50 a piece), so she went with her friend, Keila, and Kelly and I went to another movie. 

All in all it was  busy week. There's just soooo much to do here...and see...and eat. And this week is already shaping up to be just as busy...if not busier.

So, I'm going to throw a couple of pictures up and call it a night.