Nesting on the Cheap

I couldn't even believe it. After breakfast at our favorite diner, we stopped into Starbucks for coffee (cause the diner doesn't do iced coffee justice) and I happened to notice that there was a moving sale just a block away. They were advertizing coffee table, kitchen table and chairs, two of the top items on our list of things for the apartment. And things that have proved elusive in all our shopping and online searching so far. So we headed over, just to see. I fully expected it to be like all the other furniture you see on Craigs list or that you picture in your head when you think of a moving sale in Queens. I'm thinking, ugly flwoered couches, nasty ornate light colored wooden furniture... Not so! One of the first things we see is practically the PERFECT table for our kitchen. Great color, its in great shape, and there are only three chairs, but that's ok by us. We bought it on the spot for WAY less than we should have. We were so excited we were almost beside ourselves.


We got it home, set it up and promptly tried it with some of our table settings. Did some "staging", as if we were on an HGTV show. Fun!



After finding the kitchen table, the search was still on for a coffee table. Geoff is itching at this point to get all of our purchasing done so that we can be SETTLED. I enjoy shopping around a little more than he does, (and I'm just generally slower to make a decision than most people...like to REALLY weigh all my options). SO we have checked all the usual suspects for coffee tables and have come up empty: Crate & Barrel, Macy's, Bloomindales, Bed Bath & Beyond, The Door Store, Pottery Barn, Target, Bob's Discount Furniture and general online searches. We sorta kinda liked one from Pottery Barn and another that we found online, but weren't crazy about any of them. And then there was Craig's list. We found one that someone in Union Square was selling that was Pottery Barn a few years ago that was perfect. And one day after a shoot, Geoff had the car, went to visit it and brought it home for another steal. Pictures to come in another post...

I love it when a house comes together...

The Bokas' Day Out

We had the BEST day. It was Saturday, there were no weddings to shoot and nothing to keep us from enjoying a summer day in New York. The weather was gorgeous and after several weekends of Geoff mentioning that we should rent bikes, (after loving it so much in Italy), we finally did it. And loved it again.


We finally found a bike shop that still had any rentals available at noon on a Saturday in the summer and high tailed it over there to pick them up. There was a slight moment of crisis when we realized that the woman before us at the store took one of the bikes we had on hold. And we were told there were no more rentals available. But the bike shop just found us another one. Possibly one that actually belonged to somebody else and was in for repairs, but we didn't ask any questions.


After a quick stop by auditions for me (I had to flex those rusty acting muscles and read with an actor), we headed over to the west side of Manhattan and rode south on the bike path by the Hudson River. It was GORGEOUS out.







And it seemed everyone else had the same idea, as it was packed. The bike paths, the benches, the grassy areas, the boardwalk... just tons of people out enjoying the day. Even saw the lady from the bike shop who had taken our bike. This guy though, was one of my favorites.


We passed Chelsea Piers, and hung a left on Christopher Street to ride through the West Village and almost as soon as we did, we saw this adorable little Italian restaurant with outdoor seating. So we stopped for a late lunch. It was SO good. And made for even more of a flashback to Italy.



Me stealing something delicious from Geoff's plate while he takes my picture.


Afterwards we would through the West Village a little more and came upon a street fair on 6th Avenue. We walked our bikes through and saw grilled corn on the cob vendors, jewelry sellers, cotton candy, fresh lemonade, and this really really cool furniture booth from a store where everything looked to be hand carved from whole trees...just some gorgeous and really interesting pieces.

Then we continue east, picking out dream houses in every other brownstone that was painted with colors that I liked.



After making it to 2nd Ave, we spent our last few moments in the bike lane there, just enjoying the breeze and the sights and the people watching. We love bikes. And if Geoff has anything to do with it, we'll be buying some of our own as soon as possible.

Our Love Plant

What nearly no one knows is that for our wedding favors, we potted a bunch of basil in these cute little silver galvanized buckets, because (according to what I read online), herbs represent things (who decides that, I wonder?) and basil represents love.

So my mom and her friend (and maid of honor in her wedding) Ginny potted all this basil, we put cute little stakes in each pot, and around that, looped everyone's name tag for the reception with table assignments. And it was two names to a bucket, one per couple...also keeping with the "love" theme.

No one would know this however, because of Wedding Day Rain Storm #1 ripped through just before the ceremony and destroyed them all. Fortunately, there is a silver lining here. My mom, Liz (my new sister-in-law), and Liz's mom salvaged as much of the basil as they could and nurtured it while we were galavanting around Europe. Liz planted some in her planters, which was growing beautifully when we were there for our mini pool party with Carla and Alison. And Liz set aside three buckets for Geoff and I to take back to NYC. After a month in those tiny buckets, they were looking a little sickly, so I repotted them and brought them back to live on our kitchen window sill. Don't they look pretty?


I've always wanted my own herb garden, and feel this is an excellent start. Now I have to just try not to kill it.

A weekend in the Country

Our first weekend back after the honeymoon, we headed to Connecticut for some R&R. You may think we couldn't possibly need it after three weeks in Italy, but traveling for that long isn't as restful as it sounds. So, we headed to the country.

It was gorgeous weather and we had invited Carla, our amazing friend and wedding photographer over for a BBQ. Alison joined us as well and we made food, drank beers, talked, swam and laughed a TON. I mean, a TON. Here is the evidence...

Alison and I check out Carla's sweet new ride.


Bucket o' beers.


Alison and Carla chillin' poolside.


Lunch


Carla & Geoff laughin' it up.


What's better than sunshine, a pool, good friends and beer?


Takin' some photos...


Seriously, how gorgeous is my best friend? Seriously?


AND, how handsome is my husband?!



And a lovely weekend was had by all.

The Rest of Rome

We loved Rome. SO much cool architecture and ruins just sprinkled through the sprawling city. It was...unlike anything else I'd ever seen. We did a ton of walking around. We went to Vatican city only because I wanted to see the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately they make you wind through the ENTIRE Vatican museum in order to see it, which was kind of annoying. And I have to say, the excessiveness of the art and the insane prices in the gift shop (I'm sure, though we blew past it too quickly to verify) just didn't give me the best of feelings. Somehow it made me feel like the Vatican was missing the whole point. But that's another blog entry all together. The ceiling was pretty awesome though, and so it was worth it. Can't take any pictures in there unfortunately, but it was a really cool experience.

The Colloseum was pretty awesome. As you may imagine we took a ton of pictures.


Love the little sprig of green in this one...



Classic example of how ruins are just everywhere in Rome... There's the Colloseum, just right by the main road.


I mean, how amazing is it inside? Imagine all those lions and tigers roaming around the maze in the bottom just waiting to fight the gladiators.


A friend of mine (I'll not use names, so as to protect the not-so-innocent) told me a story about how his brother was in Rome with some friends and they hopped the fence and snuck inside the Colloseum at 3am (quite drunk, as the story goes) and ran around down on the stage and in the maze below. How amazing must that have been?

Loved the actors who pose as gladiators and try to get you to pay them for pictures.


And apparently, it works sometimes...



The only time in Italy we took a guided tour (with one of those ladies with a flag) was in Rome, and even though our guide was hard to understand and we eventually abandoned the tour early to take pictures of that gorgeous bride and groom. It was worth it to get inside the Colloseum and walk through the Forum though.

Us on the tour bus at the start of the tour, trying to figure out how the headphones work.

These stones in the Forum have been there since Jesus's time. So amazing.


View of the Forum from above.


Me drinking from the old Roman water fountains, which I thought were so stinkin' cool. They are just taps where water flows freely and you can either fill up a water bottle, or plug the spout and water will come up through a hole in the top and you can take a drink. Amazing, genius design.


We also thought the Pantheon was cool. Really cool light to take pictures in.



And people liked to pose right in the center of the spotlight.



But we found that the best light for pictures was just on the edge of the circle of light.



And we loved this couple at the fountain just in front of the Pantheon. They were splashing each other, and having a ball.


We had lunch at this amazing place with absolutely the world's best pizza. BEST.


And we decided this is our house in Rome. Three story townhouse with a perfect blue door, right next to the restaurant with the world's best pizza? Yes please.


Lots more wandering around and taking of pictures. Loved this one from the fancy shopping district.


A chalk artist. Kind of like Burt from Mary Poppins. Only Italian. And yes, that does say "Lost Tourist Information". See how lovely and helpful the Italians are?


Columns of an old church in the Forum.


Italians are beautiful people. AND beautifully dressed beautiful people. How gorgeous are these swanky shoppers?



Case in point, we had dinner at this outdoor restaurant next to this super hip Italian guy and his French model girlfriend. He was from Milan but had a place in NYC (SoHo) and in Rome and chatted with us about American politics and about how pro-American he was, and then also spoke fluent French to his girlfriend who spoke no English and only had two bites of dessert. Well...good for her. I'm on vacation. This is me at the end of the meal, perhaps after some wine was had.



After a drink from the rooftop bar of our hotel on our last night.


We had a wonderful trip, but by the time it was over, we were ready to come home and start our lives together. It was a trip we'll never forget. Not picture perfect, as we had our share of frustrations. I didn't even post about how Geoff had to coordinate two wedding shoots from Tuscany for his business and had to be in touch with both brides, planners, the shooters, the audio guy and we had limited phone access and virtually no internet. Yeah. Which is part of what made Tuscany so challenging. We spent part of almost every day on the corner of this bench near the library in Montespertoli where he could sometimes KINDA get a signal. Kinda. And had our first couple of serious conflicts as a married couple too. But that's life, isn't it? Fights happen, work gets in the way, and just when you need it most, the internet is bound to fail you. All in all, it's a trip we will never forget. We loved it and would love to go back. Next time: Cinque Terra, the Amalfi Coast, and Capri. And more...

But for now....back to New York!